Gangsters in Malaysia Essay Example for Free

Gangsters in Malaysia Essay Longman dictionary 2005 defines gangsters as member of violent group of criminal. Gang Identifiers and Terminology, Cantrell, Mary Lynn, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems (1992) defines gangsters as organized crime that Bootlegging activities such as importing or making illegal liquor and speakeasies where alcohol could be illegally purchased gave rise to rivalry that resulted in hired gangs of criminals and gun battles. Thompson, Tony. Gangs: A Journey into the heart of the British Underworld. (2005) London defines gangsters as a member of an organized group of criminals or racketeers. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gangsterism (2004) defines gangsterism as Subscribing to a course of action reminiscent of organized crime. Acting or conducting business in a way that is violent and totally without conscience. Acting like a gangster/thug/hoodlum. Running business or holding a high government position with the help of hired guns, intimidation and the occasional assassination. wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangsterism (2009) defines gangsterism as a gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. History of Criminal Gang in Malaysia Who Are the Triads Identified? article at mynewsfocus.com (2005) stated that it is believed that Sio Sam Ong which literally means Three Little Emperors is a leading Chinese triad in Malaysia was established during the 1940’s to 1950’s; being mainly active in northern Malaysia. According to Wikipedia, A wide variety of historic gangs, such as the The Order of Assassins, Adam the Lepers gang, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Snakehead, Japanese Yakuza, Irish mafia, American Old West outlaw gangs, Russian mafia and Italian Mafia crime families have existed for centuries. One of notorious gangsters in Malaysia was [2]Mamak Gang which has been active since the early 1990s. Gangsters Behavior and Activities The Star wrote in its article about Gangsterism, Gangsters are a threat to society and you can be considered a gangster if you are involved in any of these activities: Extort money from shop owners, hawkers and the like. Receive payment for threatening others or to beat someone up. Protect/cover-up gambling, prostitution, and drug trafficking syndicates. Ransom people for money. Be a part of organized crime. Force anyone to join a gang and its illegal activities. Attend a gang’s swearing-in ceremony. Engage in â€Å"table talk† or a fight with other gang members. Beat people up or destroy property of those who refuse to follow the gang’s commands. Gangsterism Amongst Youth in Malaysia [3]Yayasan Da’wah Foundation Malaysia (2007) in its article about â€Å"gangsterism amongst youth†, it is indeed saddening to witness our children change from a loving person, obedient and loyal to a person that likes to hurt, bully, shout, ill mannered, aggressive, rude and could not care less about others. They are involved in gangsters since their early age. There is a case where a father from Seremban called in the police and accused them of holding on to his son. That is the only thing that he could do. Just imagine how painful it was. Each group of gangsters have a symbol and of their own. It does not matter whether they are new or whether it is relevant the world of gangsterism, they all have a logo, a signal or a sign of their own. If you child waves to his friend in an explicit manner, be warned. Other than that, absenteeism from school maybe one of the indications that they have joined a gangsters organization. Internal Security Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop in an article by Daily Express on Wednesday, July 28, (2004) said that the Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Crime Prevention) 1969 can be enforced on students involved in extortion and gangsterism. [4]Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop also commented that there were 1,502 cases in 2000, 1,324 cases in 2001, 1,136 cases in 2002 and in 2003 1,429 cases were reported. Among crimes usually committed by students were murder, robbery, rape, housebreaking, theft, using force, molest and receiving stolen property. In 2000, there were 1,152 cases involving students aged between 13 and 15, and 1,398 cases involving student aged between 16 and 18. The police always made efforts to overcome the problem of crimes among students by giving lectures and holding exhibitions at schools to increase student awareness on crimes and drugs and encourage students to join [5]Police Cadets to enhance their discipline and launch special operations to check unhealthy activities at entertainment outlets. Ways to Prevent Gangsterism Yayasan Da’wah Foundation Malaysia (2007) in its article about â€Å"gangsterism† amongst youth stated that several ways to prevent gangsterism. Studies indicate that the prime cause for children joining gangsters today is due to being able to collect money easily; to acquire drugs and to see protection. Some youths are bullied into joining. If they are afraid, or feel shame and easily bullied, their friends may threaten them by saying, â€Å"If you do not join our group, watch out! However if you are together with us, we will protect you and we will make you rich and feared!† Love Your Children. Just because he has made a mistake, do not leave him to fend for himself or to allow him to go astray. He will become more involved in social crimes. Just reflect over having a child delivering drugs for a group in comparison to your friend’s child who ends up becoming a doctor. You will most certainly ask as to where did you go wrong? You are only wrong if you neglect the well being of your child. Self-Confidence. Instill within your child with something that can never be changed, notably, confidence in himself. It has been proven that children that possess a high degree confidence in themselves are not involved in gangsterism. Parental Love. Parental love from the very beginning is very important in the shaping of your child’s future. If there is little love at home, then it will be sought off elsewhere. The same is applicable to money. If they do not receive it, they will seek it elsewhere. Make sure that you always are concerned and observe who your child mixes with and know where he is every time. If he has a cell phone, check if he has switched it off so that you c annot call him.

Tasting Colors and Feeling Sounds :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Tasting Colors and Feeling Sounds: Modes of Reality Each individual experiences reality in a different way. Show ten people the same picture, and each will present a different description of the scene. We all live in the same world and yet we all have different philosophies and ideas about reality and life. What do these differences tell us about objective reality? Do our senses detect the same reality, or does each person see a different picture in her head? To some extent, this difference seems to hold true. What holds significance for me does not seem important to other people. The reality I grasp is unique to me. For a small portion of people their sensory reality differs radically from the accepted norms of society (1). They suffer from a rare condition, synesthesia, which remains constant throughout their lives. Synaesthetes, instead of having their senses in concrete, separate blocks, blend different senses. Many merge their perceptions of words and numbers with different colors. In stronger cases, people see colors and shapes floating in their visual field when they hear certain musical tones. In one extreme case, a man felt specific tactile sensations when he smelled different things. Even more radically, some scientists now say all humans may have undifferentiated senses in early stages of development. This paper will explore the understanding of synesthesia in terms of sensory development. The first of four sections will establish contemporary criteria for synesthesia and will evaluate its usefulness. >From this foundation, the paper will explore the possible associative origins of their condition. It will then analyze the shared physical characteristics among synaesthetes, and the origins of synesthesia in infants. Finally, this paper will examine the neurological basis for synesthesia in adult synaesthetes. Definitions Synaesthetes experience "cross-modal" sensory associations involuntarily, such that the experience of one sense stimulates the sensations of another (1). Cytowic defines five features of clinical synesthesia (1). First, people experience synesthetic phenomena involuntarily whenever presented with a certain stimulus. The experience is not a forced association, but one the subject has felt since birth. Also, an actively-induced synesthetic perception, rather than a passive experience, is not a genuine phenomenon. Synaesthetes project the sensation into peri-personal space; they sense an actual physical quality outside of the self, not an internal sensation or aura. In addition, the triggered synesthetic perceptions remain constant over time and are unelaborated, generic perceptions. Synaesthetes report the experiences to be memorable, and emotional.

Sarbanes-Oxley

Securities Exchange Commission is the highest authority which administers and monitors the audit of U. S Listed Companies at NYSE, NASDAQ and Dow Zones. All U. S. Listed Companies which get traded at U. S. bourses, have to comply with the FASB rules and practice GAAP standards of accounting. Non-compliance to any of the auditing rules prescribed by GAAP would be seriously viewed. U. S. Federal Government works in the interest of public investors and it expects all public companies to work in a transparent method by disclosing fair transactions in annual financial statements of all public companies. Particularly, with the collapse of Enron, which is the world’s largest corporation, which shocked the entire corporate world, with the clean opinion of company’s auditor. , Arthur Anderson. The emphasis here is more on auditing committees and board of directors of the company who must participate and work without any prejudicial interest, with the fact that Board of Directors are the fiduciary officers of a company who work and intermediate between shareholders and management of the company whereas Auditors are the representatives of public investors who must in all respects protect and safeguard the investments of public. In spite of highly qualified CFOs, COOs and CEOs, who are penalized for falling part of the non-compliance, officers also invite criminal charges. In order to prevent future scandals in corporate America and also to protect all the investments of investors, President Bush signed the law of SOX on 30th July, 2002 and it was passed through Congress for unanimous support. For the common investor, SOX is a great saver and also enables complete transparency about a public listed company. Further this is also in the interest of Federal Government whose responsibility to safeguard the international businesses and nation’s economy. Discrepancies found in Enron that laid foundation to SOX Enron filed bankruptcy in the year 2001 and the company’s share dropped down from $ 90 per share to $ 0. 30 cents per share. Fortune magazine named Enron as â€Å"America’s most innovative Company†. Enron had nearly $ 101 billion revenues prior to the filing of bankruptcy and it was the most successful company in United States in supplying electricity and natural gas. Surprisingly, all the credit rating agencies viz. , S&P, Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Rating have given all good credit ratings until Enrol filed Chapter 11. According to SOX reporting standards , some of the discrepancies found in Enron are viz. , successive resignations of management, inaccurate and unreliable financial statements, CEO stock sales during blackout period, nondisclosure of earlier CEO stock sales, off-balance sheet transactions to hide losses, destruction of documentation and rigging of ratings. After three months of collapse of Enron, another giant Internet company Global Crossing Ltd. , filed its bankruptcy indicating its financial condition. WorldCom followed by Tyco went completely bankrupt indicating disability to run the companies any longer. One common factor in all of the above companies, is either mismanagement or non-practice of professional accounting procedures which yielded the companies to its last stage of fate and certainly, this could have been prevented by methodical and professional accounting procedures particularly with the authentication and certification of Auditors who in all probability are relied upon by the SEC and Federal Government. Therefore, the emphasis here is that auditors have to be free and fair in certifying the financial statements and in order to thoroughly screen the public companies, without leaving any scope for fraudulent account procedures, U. S. Government has initiated SOX law in the year 2002. (Jill Gilbert Welytok Sarbanes-Oxley for Dummies) Literature Review What is SOX law? Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 also called as SOX is mandatory for all organisations including large and small. This legislation is aimed at enforcement of financial practices, regulations and to ensure corporate governance. Sarbanes-Oxley is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley, who were main designers in setting number of deadlines for the compliance of legislation. SOX is arrnaged in eleven titles. Some of the most importance sections with regard to the compliance are sec. 302, 401, 404, 409, 802 and 906. Compliance through SOX has to be performed methodically, through proper analysis and study. After a thorough work, SOX leaves no scope for any fraud or misrepresentation of facts and figures and by far, it recommends all the organisations to act in a credible manner stating that â€Å"don’t put off until tomorrow what can be done today! † in order to save companies and also refraining from adverse consequences caused by lenient views either by audit committees or by the management of the companies. SOX has helped many companies to draw benefit from the compliance of regulations as it provides a clear picture of financial status of the company and to those who would like to have to access to the information about a particular company. Further, this also helps the U. S Government to keep a watchful eye on the financial status of companies and keeps a vigilance on the financial system of companies. (A guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002) Methods Section 302 of SOX This section is listed under Title III of the Act and details about â€Å"Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports†. Section 302 states that periodic filing of statutory financial reports should be certified by the signing officers who must review the report. The report must not contain any untrue or false statements or omissions or misleading statements. The financial statements must state only related information which is fairly presented and must also reflect on the financial condition of the company and must also details the results of all material facts and aspects. The signing officers are responsible for all internal controls and must evaluate these internal controls within previous 3 months and must have reported on the findings. A list of all deficiencies if any found, in the internal controls or any fraud information that involves the employees of the company who are involved in internal activities must be stated. Any significant change or observation made by the signing officers, within internal controls which can negatively impact must be reported by the officers. All the provisions of this Section cannot be avoided by transferring or reincorporating the activities of a company outside United States. Whether company is operating within United States or outside United States, must comply with this Section as a registered company under Securities Exchange Commission. (A guide to Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, summary of section 302) Section 401 of SOX This section is listed under Title IV of the Act and discusses about â€Å"Disclosure in Periodic Reports†. Financial statements published must be accurate and must not contain any incorrect statements or admit the fact that material information is stated. Financial statements apart from regular Profit & Loss Account and Balance Sheet, also include off-Balance Sheet liabilities, obligations or any transactions. To this effect, the Commission would study and report with a complete analysis of off-Balance Sheet transactions and to what extent these are transparent. The Commission has also to decide whether GAAP principles or any other regulations are resulting in its reporting. Section 404 of SOX This section is listed under Title IV of the Act and discusses about â€Å"Management Assessment of Internal Controls†. All Annual Reports of companies have to publish information about the scope and adequacy of the internal control structure and other procedures with regard to financial reporting. This statement must also confirm the effectiveness about internal controls and procedures. A registered accounting firm can also attest and report on the assessment and about effectiveness of the internal control procedures for financial reporting. Section 409 of SOX This section is listed under the Title IV of the Act and details about â€Å"Real Time Issuer Disclosures†. Issuers are required to provide information on material changes pertaining to financial conditions or changes. Public must have access to information on urgent basis and no delay can be made. These disclosures have to be presented in an easy and understanding manner and the information should be qualitative with graphic presentations as required. Section 802 of SOX This section is listed in Title VIII of the Act and pertains to the â€Å"Criminal Penalties for Altering Documents†. This section states that penalties and fines or imprisonment up to 20 years is levied on the persons who are responsible for altering, destroying, concealing, falsifying records or documents or tangible objects. This act done either with an intention to obstruct, impede or to influence a legal investigation is seriously viewed by the SOX officers. Further this section also imposes penalty or fine or imprisonment up to 10 years on any accountant who knowingly or willfully violates the provisions of this section or violates the maintenance of audit or review of papers for a period of 5 years. Discussion SOX is divided into many parts and each part carries certain specific rules and regulations which are prescribed for easy understanding of corporates. SEC-Rules states about SOX SEC Rules and Regulations, which states that officers have to certify about the maintenance, regularity and establishment of effectiveness of the issuer’s internal controls. IC-Primer states about internal control framework, risk control, assessments, audit programs relating to Sections 302 and 404 regarding Certification of Disclosure and Managements’ Internal Controls and Procedures. This framework established by COSO/SAS-78. SOX Act 2002 is aimed at to improve the quality and transparency in financial reporting, independent audit and accounting services for public companies and also to create a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, to work towards setting up of standards for best accounting practices and also to strengthen the independence of audit firms who audit public companies. Further SOX is aimed at to increase the corporate responsibility and the useful advantages of financial disclosure, to protect the independence of securities analyst and also to improve the Securities and Exchange Commission resources for all purposes. SOA-Manual lists all the key dates and timetable, self-assessment questionnaires, definitions relating to Titles II and III regarding Auditor Independence and Corporate Responsibility. Forms have to be prepared independently or by the assistantship of a practitioner who is engaged to perform accounting compliance services. (Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, Financial and Accounting Disclosure Information) According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers Report 2006, â€Å"Audit Committees Effectiveness, what works best† focus and emphasis is more on financial statements, compliance and ethics, relationship with external auditors, risk management and internal control which discuss as to how effective practice of auditing can be conducted in organizations. There is also an emphasis about external auditing and internal auditing which is conducted periodically within the internal environment by internal audit committees and whose report can reveal much accounting information about the recording of business transactions of organizations. After the year 2002, which witnessed the unfortunate events in U. S. corporate sector, the entire corporate world, stood up for more accuracy and correct presentation in financial statements. A quote which states â€Å"prevention is better than cure† which is applicable in health, is also now applicable to corporate sector with the fact that, companies would never reach to the last stage of liquidation or bankruptcy, if the companies had been properly conducting internal audits and external audit, and thoroughly complying with the auditing procedures and has been GAAP accounting practices, worst state-of-affairs could have been prevented and many companies could be saved. Another development in the corporate sector that is to be noted is, loss making companies or companies that are performing low in business, are finding many potential ways to save the companies by mergers or acquisitions. In the recent years, throughout the world there have many mergers and acquisitions (M&A). For example Daimler-Benz is now called as DaimlerChrysler, JP Morgan & Chase Co. , purchased Bank One Corp, CitiCorp purchased Travelers Group, AT&T Inc purchased Bell South Corporation. It can be stated here that, M&A activity saved many companies in the past decade and even saved jobs of many people. Apart from M&A activity, SOX Act is equally protecting companies and public investments and there can be absolute assurance about the compliance of SOX regulations. This is due to the fact SOX aims at checking the fraudulent working of organizations. From another angle, SOX Act credibility is also being questioned by the legislative authorities and another alternative is also being looked for future business regulations. According to the authorities, who believe that the advantages of SOX would never last long which is why another source of compliance is being searched. (How Does The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Impact American Business? ) However, the Federal Government continues to update SOX mandates and in the year 2007, U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved new auditing standard for internal controls. In order to bring more awareness about auditing, SEC and PCAOB are encouraging auditors to undertake risk-based approach in the evaluation of internal controls on financial reporting of public companies. There are many benefits from SOX compliance such as findings can be used in evaluations, it would reduce the costs associated with risk assessment, it would also reveal the risks that an organization is confronted with and the remedial measures available to manage risk, help companies to begin groundwork for risk assessment and to introduce more regulations and specifications and further a risk management program can be developed through SOX compliance. As stated above the success of SOX is quite benefiting to both American companies as well U. S. Federal Government with the fact that SOX identifies assets and activities, monitors the activities and ensures accuracy in financial statements which is the most important activity in checking the health of a listed company. Access to data wherever required demonstrates and indicates the practice of Accounting Standards according to FASB Rules and it reveals complete business transactions of a company. SOX can also retrieve entire events, records, commands given to data server and find out whether there is any mismanagement, forgery or fraudulent activity in the accounting procedures. SOX also generates audit reports which gives a full length of information about each and every company. The information that is provided by SOX enables Government to take necessary steps to issues notices or memos to U. S companies to make necessary corrections wherever required and can also provide plans for remedial measures to save the companies from liquidation. SOX is a wake up call for many American businesses and also to all those foreign companies which are venturing into business with American companies. Conclusion SOX continues to keep the companies under check and investigation about the compliance of accounting procedures as laid in FASB Rules and also about the compliance of auditing procedures in internal controls. It is very difficult for American companies to evade any procedures which come under the purview of SOX and therefore, there is expected to be a neat and clean organizations with excellent auditing committees.

Erich Remarque s The Red Badge Of Courage Essay - 1873 Words

Erich Remarque-A. Wheen-John Groth - Printed at the Spiral Press for the individuals from the Limited Editions Club – 1969. Looked into By, Michael Anderson, Shepherd University. Erich Maria Remarque was conceived in Osnabruck, Germany, in 1898 into a lower-working class family. In 1916, he was drafted into the German armed force to battle in World War I, in which he was gravely injured. Ten years after the war finished, he distributed I m Western Nights Neuse, converted into English a year later as All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel about the encounters of conventional German fighters amid the war. In spite of the fact that different books, most strikingly Stephen Crane s The Red Badge of Courage (1895), had investigated the viciousness and severity of war in a sensible light, the abstract convention of war stories still tended overwhelmingly toward romanticized beliefs of eminence, enterprise, and respect. In introducing his dismally reasonable variant of an officer s experience, Remarque stripped the common sentimentalism from the war story in the staunchly antiwar All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel immediately turned into a universal, widely praised achievement. An American motion picture in light of the book was discharged in 1930. After Adolf Hitler s ascent to control in Germany in the mid-1930s, the furiously nationalistic Nazi administration assaulted All Quiet on the Western Front and Remarque as unpatriotic. Remarque made no endeavor to opposeShow MoreRelatedA Comparison between the Two Novels The Red Badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front990 Words   |  4 Pagesfeelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses