Merchant Banking in India Essay

†¢ Merchant Banking In India: The merchant banker are those financial intermediary involved with the activity of transferring capital funds to those borrowers who are interested in borrowing. The activities of the merchant banking in India is very vast in nature of which includes the following a) The management of the customers securities b) The management of the portfolio, c) The management of projects and counseling as well as appraisal d) The management of underwriting of shares and debentures e) The circumvention of the syndication of loans f) Management of the interest and dividend etc Factors responsible for the Changes: 1) . Globalization of Indian Economy It has made the whole economy open, which has more multinational player in the era of the financial services? This has resulted in to the emergence of the global investment in financial sector. Government has now open up the doors of investments especially in the area of banks and insurance, which leads to competitive environment for the present players. Now they have to bring something new which is efficient and best services to live in the competitive environment. 2). Competition arising out of Private Company Participation It is due to the liberalization of the economy. Now along with the public/government players, private players are also offering financial services and instruments, which are more innovative and different than the earlier offering. All around, there is a fresh thinking on the financial products, structure of banking and insurance instruments with value creation. Financial markets are being redefined, reinvented and reconfigured on a persistent basis. 3). Changing Customer Demographics: If we look at the all-growing economies like China, Germany and Brazil, India has 35% of the population in the age group of 15years to 34 years. It is estimated that by 130mn plus people get added to working population by 2009 with 55 million families (320 million people) will be added in the middle-income group (0.1 to 0.3 Million Rs). The demographic change leads to the change in the need of the customer. 4).Changing Customer Needs Customers have larger segment in corporate decision-making they are the final judges of the every single activity offered by the marketer. Banks in India have traditionally offered mass banking products. Financial market has turned into a buyer’s market. Market focus is shifting from mass banking products to class banking with introduction of value added products. Today, financial institutions are co-designing the products/services with their customers and striving to provide them with global solutions 5).Technology Improvements Technology is also helping market players redefine the way they have been operating in the market. In today’s time it becomes vary easy for a customer to transfer a fund from one location to another location with CLICK of Mouse. Availability of the concepts like phone banking, anytime banking etc. has become possible because of the technological developments only. 6).Government Reforms Government is major decision player in the financial market. It decides the proportion of the investment limits as well as the regulation and control. In last ten years government is designing its policy with more liberal and competitive content. Which it are welcome trends for the emerging financial services. 7).Heightened focus on customer relation Banks of the future has to be essentially a marketing organization that also sells banking products. New distribution channels are being used; more & more banks are outsourcing services like disbursement and servicing of consumer loans, Credit card business. Direct Selling Agents (DSAs) of various Banks go out and sell their products. They make house calls to get the application form filled in properly and also take your passport-sized photo. Revolution in Banking Sector: Banking in India originated in the first decade of 18th century with the General Bank coming into existence in 1786. Bank of Hindustan followed this. Both these banks are now defunct. The oldest bank in existence in India is the State Bank of India being established as the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta in June 1806. In the early 1990s the then Narasimha Rao government embarked on the policy of liberalization and gave license to small number of private banks, which came to be known as new generation tech-savvy banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Currently in 2005, banking in India is considered fairly matured in terms of supply, product range and reach-even though reach in rural India still remains a challenge for the private sector and foreign banks. With the growth of Indian economy expected to be strong for quite some time especially in its service sector, the demand for banking services specially retail banking, mortgage and investment services are expected to be strong. †¢ The emerging areas in banking services are; 2 in 1 Accounts Overdrafts (OD) ATMs Net Banking Credit Card 2 in 1 Accounts 2 in 1 accounts are available at many of the foreign and private banks. It amalgamates the features of a savings or a current account and a fixed deposit account. As soon as one opens 2 in 1 accounts with the bank, deposit starts earning a rate of interest higher than that of a plain savings account. The rate of interest can be equivalent to prevailing rates for Fixed Deposit. Customers can choose the sweep option – Term Deposit or Mutual Fund, based on their requirements. Overdraft [OD] Overdraft is the agreed amount by which a bank account can be overdrawn. When the amount of money withdrawn from the bank account is greater than the amount actually available in the account the excess is known as the overdraft and the account is said to be overdrawn. If agreed by the bank in advance this is essentially a form of loan facility and there is a particular interest rate attached with the overdrawn amount. ATMs Automated Teller Machines has revolutionary’s entire banking sector. Currently there are more than 16000 ATMs in India fulfilling the daily requirement of money to a common man. The story of the humble cash-dispensing machine started around three decades back. Since then they have become common site in metros and semi metro cities. ATM allows a customer to do number of banking functions like withdrawing cash, making balance inquiries, transferring money from one account to another account, request for a Cheque book and statements, Utility Bill Payment – like electricity bills, Credit Card payments etc by using a plastic, magnetic strip card and personal identification number issued by financial institution. Net Banking Internet technology has invaded the portal of our banking institutions. No doubt innovation like ATM have considerably put customer at ease in the recent past, but with net banking the customer will be able to transact with the help of the mouse. The services offered enable one to check credit card transactions, paying bills, transferring fund between accounts in two different banks, and scheduling future payments and transfers. A gradual increase in net banking is logical as the need to minimize costs catches attention. A North American Internet Banking survey done by management consultancy Booz Allen & Hamilton in 2000 revealed that the cheapest way of banking is internet banking. Credit Cards It is estimated in the year 2004; the total credit card market in the country was at 17 million cards. The credit card industry is growing at 30 – 35 % per annum at present. The size of Indian credit card market is estimated to be around $4bn by end of 2010. Four banks have now crossed the 2 million card base, with ICICI bank leading the pack at 4 million cards followed by Citi bank at 2.8 million, HDFC bank at 2.2 million and SBI card just over 2 million. Industry average for spends on credit a card two years ago was just around Rs 16,000 per card that has now increased to around 20,000 per card. Rapid Advancement in Technology, Easier access to knowledge and globalization have changed entire banking sector. Because of these factors today customer is sophisticated and well aware about the financial needs. Leasing Services The Indian company investors must be acknowledged that lease is that agreement under which the company or Indian firm acquire the exact right and make use of certain capital asset on the consideration of payment of rental charges. The Indian corporate company must equally known that it cannot equally know that it cannot acquire any kind of ownership to such an asset apart from making use of it. The user comparatively pays all the expected operating costs and also the maintenance expenses. The main corporate companies must equally take into the consideration that developed countries like America, United Kingdom the companies of such a countries are commonly depending on the leasing factor. In India since the era of liberalization, many of the Indian companies have equally been involved in the leasing transactions. On the other side, many financial institutions and even the commercial banks in the Indian financial sector have comparatively been accepted over the same transactions. Mutual Funds Services The Indian corporate companies must equally be informed that the mutual funds comprises of the exact funds gained by pooling all the public savings. The mutual funds are comparatively invested in those portfolios, which are commonly diversified in nature with the main objectives of sharing the risk. The Indian small-scale investors cannot be able to get their funds from the comparative big corporate companies can equally gain there working funds from the mutual funds. Interpretation:- However, the modern concept of the mutual funds was developed in1968 in London by the foreign and colonial government trust of London. By which it gained its invention in India in early 1980, even if it was exactly started in 1964 by the unit trust of India. In addition to the above, the mutual funds can be grouped into [a] Close ended funds & [b] Open ended funds. The Indian corporate companies can only benefits from the mutual funds on gaining savings for investment, better yield low cost on investment, tax benefits, flexible on investment, promoting industrial development reducing the cost of new issue and many more other advantages. On the other side, Indian corporate companies must be informed on the kind of risks involved with the mutual funds like market risks, scheme risks, business risk, investment risks and even the political nature of risks. While the investors are selecting the funds must take into account the objectives of the fund, consistency of performance of the funds. Historical background of the funds, cost of operation, capacity for innovation, the investors servicing, market trends, and even the transparence of the fund management. For the Indian mutual funds to have good future there must be full support of SEBI better control of capital issue, better interest rate, good PE ratio, investors must have good choice, tax concessions, and many more. Hire Purchase Services In the hire purchase kind of transaction is that method of selling by which goods are left out on hiring by the Indian corporate company to the purchaser by which the hirer is comparatively required to the payment on an agreed sum of amount in the system of periodical installments. In the hire purchase the Indian corporate companies must know that the ownership of such kind of the property exactly remain under the control of the creditor who normally passes the right to hirer on the condition of payment of the last agreed sum of money in installment. The Indian corporate company must know that legally, payment is made in installment over the agreed specified period, possession of the same right is delivered to the purchaser during the time of agreement, the property passes to the exact purchaser on the agreed last installment, and the hirer has a right to return the property without further installment. In addition to the above, the Indian corporate company must know that the agreement must comparatively contain the nature of the goods as described in manner so that to identify them easily, the nature of the hire purchase price, the date of commencement and finally the extend or number of installments. Venture Capital Services The venture capital is that investment in the new Indian enterprises without stability in growth. It’s that environment of capital, shareholding and even the setting up of small firms, which are comparatively specializing, in same new technological ideas in the commercial sectors. The venture capital is equity participation, it’s of high risk in nature, it’s also available only for commercialization of new technologies and it’s the exact promoter of the projects, and it’s continuous in nature and input of the firm. The Indian corporate companies must equally know that venture capital involves the development of project idea, implementation, fledging or additional financing, and establishment stage. The main importance of venture capital to Indian, corporate companies are the reduction of risk, easy to analyze the business prospects and to assume the investors on affairs of the business. The Indian methods of venture financing are equity participation, income notes, the conventional loans and even the conditional loans. In order to promote the venture capital growth in India, there must be tax concessions for capital gains, high level development of capital market, giving of fiscal incentives to Indian corporate companies, high level participation of the private sectors the improving and reviewing of the existing laws and limited partnership and many more. Discounting, factoring and forfeiting services Due to the exact trade transaction the trade bill comparatively arises, the Indian corporate companies must take into consideration that the supplier of the exact goods draws bill which is based on the purchase for the invoice price of goods sold on credit method of which is drawn on the short period of time. The buyer pays the amount on the exact date by which the supplier of goods has to await until the expiry of the exact bill. However, the banks provides the cash discounting based on the exact trade bills by which they deduct certain charges as discount based on the amount of the bill and credit balance of the customers account. Factoring Factoring is to get thing being done. The ward factor means to mark or to do according to R.W. Johnson factoring is a service involving the purchase by financial organization, called a factor of receivables owned by manufacturers and distributors by the customers with the factor assuming full credit and collection responsibilities. The main conditions of factoring that the Indian corporate companies must know are these must be assignment of debt that has to be in favour of the factor. The selling limits for the client, the factor must have recourse to the client in the case of non-payment by the customer; the factor will equally have recourse in case of non-payment, details on payment for the services, interest and limit of any overdraft facility charged. The Indian corporate companies must be well informed about the types of factoring as full service, recourse factoring, maturity, bulk, invoice, agency and also international factoring. At the same time the exact cost of factoring li ke the pricing, fee, discount, accounting system must be taken into consideration. Forfeiting Forfeiting is the French term means â€Å"to give something† or â€Å"give one’s right†. Generally the term forfeit is non-recourse purchase by the commercial bank or any other financial intermediaries or institutions receivables that equally arises from the export of the goods. Securitization of Debt Services The securitization is that process by which the liquidating of the liquid and the long term assets of the Indian corporate companies like the loans and receivables by the issuing marketable securities against the same. However, the Indian corporate companies must know that securitization is that technique by which the exact long term, non-negotiable instruments are equally converted into securities of such kind of small value in nature which can be easily transacted in the commercial capital market. In India, apart from the above, there is low and unpopularity of securitization due to introduction of it as it’s a new idea or concept to India, heavy stamp duty and comparative registration fees imposed by the Indian government, complicated and also legal transfer procedure the difficulty in the assignment of debts. Also there is poor standard of loan documentation, problem of inadequate credit rating system, poor accounting procedure and lack of comprehensive guidance. Derivatives The derivatives are those instruments, which are commonly used to derive therein-exact value of underlying asset of the financial institutional corporate companies. The derivatives comparatively may involve the payment or receipt of the value or income created by the underlying assets. The main factors that are responsible for the slow growth of derivatives in India and high level of misconception of the derivatives, the derivatives lends themselves to leveraging, the nature of the off balance sheet, items, poor accounting system, speculative mechanism and finally poor infrastructure system. Credit Rating Services According to Moody’s Rating are designed exclusively for the purpose of grading bonds according to their investments qualities†. Also according to the Australian Ratings â€Å"A corporate credit rating provides lenders with a simple system of gradation by which the relative capacity of companies to make timely repayment of interest and principal on a particular type of debt can be noted†. The main credit ratings in India are credit rating information service ltd (CRISIL), investment information and credit rating agency of India (ICRA), Credit Analysis and Research (CARE), and Duff Phelps Credit Rating Pvt. Ltd (DCR India). Objectives of Merchant Banking in Prevailing Economy: * To study the significance of Merchant Banking towards the development of securities industry. * To analyze issue management regulations. * To analyze the functions of Merchant Banking in relation to rules and regulations of SEBI. * To evaluate the performance of Merchant Bankers, both activity performance and operational and financial performance. * To draw a conclusion and suggestions based on the analysis and experiences †¢ Comparison of Merchant Banking Services of INDBANK V/S CANARA BANK About IndBank:- Indian Bank, established in 1907, is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai (Madras), India. It has 22,000 employees, 1,657 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in 69 countries. The Government of India nationalized the bank, along with 13 other major commercial banks, on 19 July 1969. Merchant Banking at INDBANK Indbank is a Category 1 Merchant Banker registered with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) undertaking assignments * Under various capacities like Lead Manager, Co-Manager, Advisor, Arranger etc. for public issues, rights issues and private placement. * For acquisition of shares & takeovers under SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997, SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 1998 and SEBI (De-listing of Securities) Guidelines, 2003. * For Employee Stock Option Scheme / Stock Purchase Scheme by Corporates under the SEBI (Employee Stock Option Scheme and Employee Stock Purchase Scheme), Guidelines, 1999. Advisory Services

An analysis of hamlets philosophy of life and death in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay

Dylan Thomas once wrote â€Å"And death shall have no dominion†. William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, is a provocative play that portrays how a young prince struggles with his philosophy of life and death after the death of his father. Hamlet, the prince, has trouble overcoming his father’s passing as he also has to deal with its aftermath. The first problem Hamlet has to deal with is his mother Gertrude’s marriage to the newly appointed king, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. Hamlet is disgusted by this, seeing it as â€Å"incestuous†(Shakespeare 1. 2.162) and begins to contemplate suicide as an alternative to dealing with his problems. His strong angst toward the newly weds grows even more acute when Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost and becomes aware that Claudius murdered his father. With this, he continues to struggle, asking himself which is easier, â€Å"to be or not to be†(3. 1. 64). After this, Hamlet’s outlook on life and death is continually changing due to a series of events until he comes to the conclusion that people should â€Å"let be†(5. 2. 238) because â€Å"there’s a divinity that shapes our ends†(5. 2.11). Thus, through Hamlet, Shakespeare presents the idea that there is a greater power shaping everyone’s lives and no matter what life throws at people, they must persevere and let events play out as fate is in control. Hamlet has a very bleak outlook on life at the beginning of the play. He is very emotional about his father’s death and feels as though his mother and uncle’s marriage is â€Å"less than kind†(1. 2. 67). Hamlet finds the death of his father very personal and is greatly bothered by the fact that everyone is faking their sadness instead of mourning properly. Furthermore, not only are others not mourning, Gertrude and Claudius have the audacity to tell Hamlet to stop mourning as â€Å"all that lives must die†(1. 2. 74). This is the first issue that leads Hamlet to debate if suicide would â€Å"resolve†(1. 2. 134) the problems he is dealing with. He sees death as a way to relieve himself from his earthly problems, but realizes he will be damned to hell if he commits suicide, as it is a mortal sin. Thus, Hamlet is discouraged by all the untimely events that seem to come another the other and they seem to overwhelm hi. Hamlet’s pessimistic view on life is again seen the night that he and his friend Horatio go to find the ghost of Hamlet’s father. As they are waiting, Hamlet tells Horatio how he believes everyone is born with a â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27) that with â€Å"o’ergrowth†(1. 4. 30) causes people to be victims of fate. Even if a person is genuinely â€Å"pure†(1. 4. 36), if their tragic flaw is unchecked, even the smallest amount of blemish the will cause them to lose their â€Å"reason†(1. 4. 31) and corrupt all their other virtues. This short, but rich passage again display’s his pessimistic view on life, as he believes that a person’s fate is unavoidable. Hamlet’s ideas on life and death appear to become less pessimistic after he encounters his father’s ghost. At first, Hamlet is troubled as to whether the ghost is Satan or actually his father’s â€Å"spirit†(1. 4. 44), but follows he the ghost anyways. He does this because he wants to believe it is his â€Å"father’(1. 4. 50) and does not think following will risk his life or cause any harm to his â€Å"soul†(1. 4. 74). Hamlet not wanting to risk his life displays how even though he wants to disappear, he still values his life. After Hamlet decides to â€Å"follow†(1. 4. 97) the ghost, the spirit reveals that he is the dead kind and he is in purgatory because Claudius murdered him. This means that Hamlet has to avenge his father’s death and so he makes an oath of vengeance, that he will kill Claudius to right his father’s murder. This new goal gives Hamlet a reason to live, but because he believes he was â€Å"born to set it right†(1. 5. 211), he implies that after he does the deed, his life will be complete and he will die. Hamlet’s new philosophy is guided by the oath of vengeance, as it gives him a purpose in life, but a self-destructive one. Although Hamlet finds a new purpose in his life, Shakespeare continues to show how Hamlet’s outlook on life is far from positive. While talking to two old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet acknowledges that he feels like he is in â€Å"prison†(2. 2. 267). In the literal sense, Hamlet feels trapped in his home with Claudius, being the murderer of his father, and his mother abandoning him for that â€Å"adulterate beast†(1.5. 53). On a deeper level, Hamlet is trapped within his own thoughts, as he is constantly struggling with suicidal thoughts and is also burdened with figuring out how to avenge his father. He continues to see the world as a â€Å"foul†(2. 2. 326) place and finds others â€Å"a piece of work†(2. 2. 327). This shows how Hamlet’s pessimistic view of the world is still overwhelming, despite his newfound reason to live. Hamlet’s fatalistic view on life develops even further as he seriously contemplates suicide once again. The â€Å"question†(3. 1. 64) he ponders is whether it is more noble to â€Å"suffer†(3. 1. 65) through life or to end life’s hardships by killing oneself. He comes to the conclusion that he wants â€Å"to die†(3. 1. 72), but realizes that just like â€Å"sleep†(3. 1. 72), death is not the end of all hardships. Hamlet is aware that suicide leads to damnation. It is this and the uncertainty of what comes â€Å"after death†(3. 1. 86) that scares Hamlet and makes him less enthusiastic about death. Furthermore, he observes that the more he thinks about death, the more cowardly he becomes and the less he wants to kill himself. Therefore, Hamlet’s desire to kill himself is not great enough for him to follow through with it, as the thoughts to what comes after death scares him too much. Even though Hamlet chooses life over death, he still does not find life pleasant and wishes he could just disappear. Hamlet started off with a very bleak look on life and a skeptical view on death, but when Hamlet is talking to Horatio, readers can see him start to change his outlook to be less pessimistic. He has seriously contemplated the worth of living twice and even though he has found new meaning to his life, he still wants to cease to exist. It is all of this that leads Hamlet to anticipate his death during a conversation he has with Horatio. It is here that Hamlet thanks Horatio from the bottom of his â€Å"heart†(3. 2. 78) for being so loyal to him. This moment between the two characters, shows that Hamlet is anticipating his own demise and wants to make sure he Horatio knows that he was appreciated by Hamlet. The fact that Hamlet is expecting to die, shows readers that the implication Hamlet makes when taking the oath of vengeance is correct. He is convinced that his life will come to an end after he avenges his father’s murder. This shows how Hamlet is beginning to think about how people cannot control our lives, but that everyone has a certain fate. This theme is further developed through Hamlet’s actions later on in the play. Even though Hamlet’s view on life and death is still quite pessimistic, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet to the idea that humans may not be in control of their fate. Shakespeare does so through â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago†(2. 2. 564) the play Hamlet puts on, as Hamlet is aware that â€Å"the purpose of playing†(3. 2. 21) is to mirror reality. With this in mind, Hamlet adds â€Å"some dozen or sixteen lines†(2. 2.567-568) to create a mirror image of his father’s murder within the play. Hamlet does this to see if his uncle really killed his father, and determines that he does do to his reaction. The play discusses how people live their lives â€Å"determine[s] oft we break†(3. 2. 210). This idea connects back to Hamlet’s discussion with Horatio about people’s â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27) causing them to be a victim of fate and builds upon that concept. The play also considers how, what someone wants to happen and what actually happens, are totally different; people have no control over their lives. Thus, the play builds upon the concept that no matter what people do, their efforts will be overthrown, as they cannot control fate. This exposes Hamlet once again to this idea putting it in his sub-conscience to be seen further on in the play. Hamlet has now been exposed to the idea of fate controlling people’s lives, but has not come to realize this for himself yet. This is seen when Hamlet accidentally murders Polonius and still accepts responsibility for it even though Polonius was killed due to his tragic flaw, being nosy and arrogant. Polonius is killed after giving away his location while â€Å"intruding†(3. 4. 38) on Hamlet and Gertrude talking. Since this is how he is killed, it could be expected that Hamlet would try to rationalize Polonius’s murder as it was his fate to die in that manner. Instead of doing this, Hamlet’s sense of responsibility for the death of Polonius is at odds with his cynical view that people are a victim of their fate. This reveals that Hamlet is just beginning to grasp the concept presented in the play. Rather than rationalizing Polonius’s death as something uncontrollable, he believes that he is an agent of divine retribution and it was his duty to kill Polonius. Thus, Hamlet twisted the words of the play and came to a different conclusion than what the play presented. Either way, Hamlet’s philosophy on life and death comes closer to his final conclusion as he is beginning to realize that people have no control over their lives. Hamlet’s philosophy on death is refined even further when he is confronted with the idea that death may not be as big a deal as he makes it seem. He is faced with this idea when he comes across troops led by â€Å"Fortinbras†(4. 4. 15) going to â€Å"Poland†(4. 4. 16) to fight to â€Å"gain a little patch of ground†(4. 4. 19) that is useless to the troops. This puzzles Hamlet because he sees it as illogical, as the men are fighting without a â€Å"cause†(4. 4. 29). He does not comprehend how so many people are willing to die for nothing, when for him dying is a very hard thing to come to terms with. Shakespeare uses this scene to show Hamlet that death is not as significant as he makes it seem, but rather insignificant in the big scheme of things. Although he does not grasp this concept right away, it is important in shaping his overall view on life and death at the end of the play. Thus, Hamlet is once again exposed to an outlook on life and death that contrasts his own and leads him to a new understanding about life and death. The outlook Hamlet has on life and death becomes more optimistic as he has finally come to terms with death. Horatio has just fetched Hamlet from a pirate ship bringing him back from his journey to England and they are in a graveyard near the castle. They stumble upon a gravedigger and his friends and when the gravedigger digs up a â€Å"skull†(5. 1. 77) Hamlet reveals he is now amused by death, rather than scared of it. He jests about what the skull may be and reveals he now grasps that life is a â€Å"fine revolution†(5. 1. 92). This shows how Hamlet has come to terms with the fact that everyone dies and are all reduced to just â€Å"bones†(5. 1. 93). Instead of being bothered by this and constantly fighting death, Hamlet has become allies with it, a kind of fatalism. Despite this, Hamlet is not fully unaffected by death, as he is still emotionally touched by it when it is personal. This is seen when the skull of â€Å"Yorick†(5. 1. 191), the old jester, is dug up. After seeing this, Hamlet beings again to conceptualize how everyone is equal in death as even â€Å"Alexander†(5. 1. 216) and â€Å"Imperious Caesar†(5. 1. 220) â€Å"returneth to dust†(5. 1. 217). Although Hamlet tries to rationalize Yorick’s death, when he finds out that the grave being dug is for Ophelia, he cannot control his emotions any longer. Once again death affects Hamlet and he is overcome by â€Å"sorrow†(5. 1. 268) and â€Å"grief†(5. 1. 267). Thus, Hamlet has a new fatalism about him, but death still moves him when it is personal, which is continually seen through to the end of the play. Hamlet’s once pessimistic view on life and death takes a final turn when he takes everything that has happened and comes to believe that â€Å"providence†(5. 2. 234) controls life and death. After the graveyard, Hamlet tells Horatio how he escaped the ship taking him to â€Å"England†(5. 2. 44) to be killed, by authority of Claudius. The ship was under attack by pirates and before jumping ship he wrote letters to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who were taking him to England, killed instead of him. This huge escape, along with all the events prior enable Hamlet to realize how insignificant everyone is in life. Hamlet now believes that regardless of what a person does, it will not matter because â€Å"there [is] a divinity that shapes our ends†(5. 2. 11). This is seen when Hamlet admits that the deaths of â€Å"Guildenstern and Rosencrantz†(5. 2. 63) are â€Å"not near [his] conscience†(5. 2. 65). He rationalizes their deaths because they died in the process of ingratiating themselves to the â€Å"King†(5. 2. 43), their tragic flaw, and since providence is always in control, their deaths are out of Hamlet’s hands. This contrasts Polonius’s death when even though he died due to his â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27), Hamlet still felt responsible since he did not yet believe fate controls everything. Furthermore, Hamlet answers his own question â€Å"to be or not to be†(3. 1. 64) with â€Å"let be†(5. 2. 238). He recognizes that people cannot live their lives scared of dying because â€Å"providence†(5. 2.234) has a hand in the smallest of things. This philosophical look on life and death reveals that Hamlet has accepted his fate and is now ready to die. Hamlet’s philosophical look on life continues until his dying moments. Since he has accepted his fate, he stops thinking about his actions and lives with the â€Å"readiness†(5. 2. 237) to die. He goes into a fencing match with Laertes who is there to avenge Polonius’s death, knowing he may â€Å"lose†(5. 2. 223) but does so anyways. Little does he know, Claudius and Laertes have made a plan to poison him with the sword or with a poisoned â€Å"chalice†(4.7. 183). Hamlet is struck by the poisoned sword and is told that he only has â€Å"half an hour’s life†(5. 2. 346). It is with this that readers see Hamlet’s philosophical outlook prevail again. After killing Claudius, the leader of this plan, he acknowledges that he only has a few moments to live and takes control. He is not scared but rather calm and tells Horatio to â€Å"let it be†(5. 2. 370) and to live his life and â€Å"tell [his] story†(5. 2. 384). Lastly, Hamlet passes on the kingdom to â€Å"Fortinbras†(5. 2. 393) and recognizes that â€Å"the rest is silence†(5.2. 395); Hamlet’s life is over. Thus, Hamlet’s philosophical look on life and death goes hand in hand with his death, as he does not fight it and he is well aware that he is dying and stays calm. This is a major contrast to how the play starts off when Hamlet is terrified to die, as he is scared of damnation. Now, Hamlet is ready to die and is okay with dying â€Å"now†(5. 2. 236). Thus, Hamlet’s philosophy on life and death has come full circle, as he started off very pessimistic and ended up with a reflective view on life and death. Shakespeare presents the concept that life and death are out of people’s control and are shaped by â€Å"providence†(5. 2. 324) through the character of Hamlet. Hamlet believes that life cannot be controlled by people but rather, it is controlled by God and fate. He realizes that he should not live his life in fear of death and many events lead him to be convinced that no matter what people do, the way they die will still be controlled by a â€Å"divinity†(5. 2. 11). Although God plays some part in everyone’s lives, people cannot depend solely on him to shape their lives. How a person lives does â€Å"determine†(3. 2. 210) how they die, but only that person can shape their own future. Every new generation is told that the future is in their hands and this is very true. Everyone can make their life what they want it to be and no-one has to succumb to fate, but anyone can choose that path. People need to be aware that even though fate and destiny may be considered real, everyone has the power to shape their own life. Bibliography: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Eds. B. A. Mowat, P. Werstine. New York: Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992.

Why may the Romans be considered great city builders Essay

Why may the Romans be considered great city builders - Essay Example The capital city of Rome was especially famous for its detailed planning and organization. It is difficult to perceive how city planners of Rome could have pulled off such a grand and sweeping project without the aid of modern architectural aids. Yet, it is a fact that the monuments, government buildings, public recreation houses and other structures and provisions within the city were quite advanced for the time. And some of the technology used by Romans continues to find application in modern cities today. With no greater aid than stones, bricks, wood and mortar, the Romans constructed great works of architectural value. The Bridges over Danube and Rhine are prime examples of Roman architecture. These two rivers, which set the northern limits of the empire, proved to be a hurdle for the northward expansion of the empire. To overcome this problem Julius Caesar brought together the best architectural minds at his disposal to build these politically and militarily important bridges. T he Colosseum is another landmark in the historic city of Rome. Even after several centuries of its construction, the structure has largely remained intact, offering visitors a theatrical experience. Built by Emperor Titus, the Colosseum was meant to host gladiator fights and animal fights. So during its functioning days, it was witness to some of the most gory battles for life.

WMD Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

WMD - Research Paper Example Some scholars of the world have often referred to the disease as ‘rabbit fever’. The disease is less contagious hence not communicable and individuals can only contract the disease upon breathing in the dust that is contaminated with the Francisella tularensis virus, drinking water or eating food contaminated with the virus, being bitten by an insect that is infected with the disease and touching the wounds, hair, skin of both the infected animals and human beings. The Department of Health and Human services (HHS), Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP), Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH) as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation would adequately respond to the Francisella tularensis virus release situation since it is a bioterrorist event. The local law enforcing agencies as well as the Texas Health Department would also play a significant role in containing the incidence. At this juncture, the different health agencies will work towards minimizing the number of casualties by all means possible. The emergency response system in Texas would be fully tasked and resources fully committed. The Texas Health Department (THD), health care physicians and other medical practitioners would work for long hours to try and contain this situation. Resources within the Texas hospitals in this regard would be strained and eventually drained. Chen is a medical chief at Harborview Medical Center and also an associate professor in the University of Washington. Hickner is a professor of Family Clinical medicine and a Head of Department in the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine. Dr. Fink is a physician practicing family medicine. Calligher is one of the best research consultants in America while Dr Helen is the vice president of National Quality Forum (NQF). The main aim of this article was to establish the nature of

Answer the question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Answer the question - Essay Example The practices should be friendly enough for the students to be interested to adopt and implement them and continue focusing on them rather than the socially unacceptable behaviors. I agree with the teachers that the fourfold interest is good for the children to use to pursue their own interests and gain experience. However it is necessary for them to learn the subjects even if juts the basics if their knowledge is to widen and they are to learn more about the world outside their schools and homes. Subject such as English is important for their communication. Not all children have their first language as English and hence may have difficulties communicating in proper correct English if they are not taught. History is important for the children to grasp the concepts of their country, how it came to be as well as about the other continents. Children not exposed to these subjects are bound to have closed minds which is not good for the global environment in this day and

Medical Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medical Anthropology - Essay Example The increasing interest on global health issues may have been fueled by the United Nation’s Millennium Poll, besides the fact that it has been the primary concern of the majority of citizens. Globally, much efforts are exerted to improve health standards, whether or not individuals come from rich or poor countries. However, it is still obvious (Bloom & River Path Associates, 2000) that whichever regions of the world, health problems bring discontent to people coupled with perceived inequalities. Sen (1999) states, health depicts a complex challenges and consequences to national governments. As the richer countries enjoy better health than poorer ones; health improvements are not automatically delivered in the market does (Sen, 1999). Understandably, major turn overs in health status are structured according to the same foundations as that of the economic growth — up-to- date knowledge and technology, new labour requirements and new investment. However, (Bloom and River Path Associates, 2000), the process that enabled health to improve is on parallel direction and not the same as that of the economic development.... Across the globe there is an existing evidence that, as the epidemic advances, HIV/AIDS is increasingly focused in poor populations. In Asia and the rest of other continents, no statistical association has been established between poverty and AIDS, While wealthier individuals learn to shield themselves, the poor masses have less access to health care services and information, and are more likely to be forced by marginalisation and hardship as well as into making sub-optimal choices (World Bank, 3 1997) The disease therefore proves harder to tackle among poor people (Farmer, 1999). Health Reforms and Socio-Economic Developments One challenge to policy-makers, is not entirely focused on policy interventions which will discuss the impacts of AIDS, but also to see the opportunities plan, execute and implement action against AIDS. Examples of action plans are: intensification of campaigns which can make improvements towards broad and advantageous collateral impact; Protect people against various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); Curricular reform directed at improving health education; Conduct programs which can lower the incidence of drug-resistant strains through common self-medication practice with antibiotics; and an overall building capacity to meet different cross-cutting problems on AIDS (World Bank, 1997).There are developing countries which are also focusing on poverty diminution as a key component of the total development thinking. A good deal of poverty reduction strategies are at present, considered the key to accessing an expanding proportion of multilateral as well as bilateral donor funding,

Case Study - Consulting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Study - Consulting - Essay Example The physician in this site should ensure that he assesses every client’s motor skills and record them down electronically. Since assessing the motor skills is mandatory, the centre should employ elaborate programs that will ensure the physicians follow the correct procedures. This policy may be ensured by the introduction of the Electronic Health Records system. This system will advocate for the recording of relevant report and charts regarding the patient. This system allows patients to create and maintain their own portal accounts(AHA & CHME, 1981). These portal accounts give patients control about information regarding their health and the different evaluations being done by the physicians. The portal also allows the patients to share various diagnosis materials, schedule hospital appointments, as well as update patient information. The update of the patient’s progress is important and it is carried out on a secure platform. By introducing a patient portal into the s ystem, the patient ensures that the physician carries out every activity that is required of him or her. The Residential Chemical Dependency Program for Adult Women is governed by the Joint Commission and the State standards. The policies found therein require that treatments plan be completed in two weeks of admissions. However, this site does not maintain any treatment plans for the patients. It is important that the site maintain create treatment plans for the adult women in order to help them with their recovery process. The site needs to employ physicians that will carry out the processing of relevant information to be used in the treatment plan. These physicians should also identify the various needs and problems that each specific patient requires. Every patient has different requirements. The site should also employ clerks in order to ensure the information given by the patients is fed online where