The Origin Of Money And Banking Essay Example for Free

The Origin Of Money And Banking Essay Origin of Money. Origin of Banking Money did not develop spontaneously at the same time across the world. It has evolved and developed gradually over the past 5,000 years   till it develops into the various forms in which we now know it today. It has assumed different unfamiliar shapes, structures, recognized in certain objects   in whatever communities where it had been used as a medium of exchange before transforming into the present universally acceptable coins, bank notes, and now the â€Å"cashless society† where credits can be accessed with mere presentation of plastic cards, or use of telephone to obtain money from a bank. Indeed the origin of money and banking had come a long way, and this is exactly what this paper is out to explore. According t, Gly Davies, (2002),   Money originated very largely from non-economic causes: from tribute as well as from trade, from blood-money and bride-money as well as from barter, from ceremonial and religious rites as well as from commerce, from ostentatious ornamentation as well as from acting as the common drudge between economic men.   [1] The barter system is the system that has sustained mankind before the evolution of money. But this was discarded because of its complexities and inconveniences.   So the use of money developed out of deeply rooted needs for a more convinient medium of exchange and to some extent customs; the clumsiness of barter provided an economic impulse but that was not the primary factor. The evolution of money had seen it taken different nature, various forms of tools and objects. For example, various precious metals had been accepted and used as money in primitive communities, Also, cowrie shells obtained in some island in the Indian Ocean. In the words of Davies (2002) quoted above, . So important a role did the cowrie play as money in ancient China that its pictograph was adopted in their written language for money.[2] Even in most communities in West Africa used this medium of currency until the recent times. In Nigeria, the cowrie was in use till even the recent decades. Also in China, disc shaped stones were used, and this is known as yap. In variuos other communities in objects like sheep, goat, cattle, manillas, and whale teeth were once used as money. China and some European countries had also produced metal coins in some other forms of objects like spade, hoe, and knives, and they had long been accepted as currencies in their communities. Most archeologies suggested that coins and metal money evolved at the end of the second millenium. The same time that the European coins evolved too. The ancient Greeks used iron nails as coins. Even Julius Ceasar had to taunt the primitive Britons as backward for using sword blades as coins. The invention and modernization of money makes trading and commerce easier. With money, all prices can be expressed in the same way, in terms of how much money is needed to buy the product. The unit of money becomes the measuring stick of value, or what economists call the standard of value. With money, making choices, becomes easier. ORIGIN OF BANKING. According to the account of   Benjamin Bromberg, (1942), he traced the origin of banking to ancient Babylon, in the city of Mesopotamia, where the royal palaces and temples provided safety and security for keeping grains and other commodities. Receipts were issued for all such goods deposited. Even private houses got involved in such banking operations that laws regulating their activities was included in code of Hammurabi.[3] Also, in Egypt, the centralization of state warehouses also led to a ststem of banking. In the view of morris Jatrow (1911), It is believed that the temple is the first bank in the whole world. It has noble existence for about four thousand years. However, its exact financial record did not date beyound the reign of Sabuis (1884-1831)[4] The kept record of payment of tithes, and every revenue from other cities. [1] Davies, Gly . History of Money. From the Ancient Times to the Present Day. Cardif: University of Wales Press. 2002. Pp. 36. [2] Ibid. Pp 36. [3]Benjamin Bromberg,   The Origin of Banking: Religious Finance in Babylonia. The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 2, No. 1 (May, 1942), pp. 77 [4] Jastrow Morris, Aspects of Religious Believe and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria. New York: Princeton Publishers. 1911. Pp 277.

How Social Capital is Viewed by Different Communities Essay -- Social

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two different papers that highlight how social capital is viewed by different communities in any given society. The first article titled â€Å"Social Capital and Civil Society† was published in October 1999 by Francis Fukuyama from the institute of Public Policy, George Mason University. Fukuyama (1999) explores to examine in a wider context what social capital is? It’s key function in the free market, how social capital is measured and finally makes suggestions on how social capital can be cultivated for the good in any given society. In the second article titled â€Å"What is Social Capital and why is it important to Public Policy?† was published in 1998 by Robert E. Lang and Steven P. Hornburg from the Fannie Mae Foundation. The authors highlight that social capital has a clear link to government housing and urban policy formation and argue that the lack of social capital has a clear affect to community stability and housing provision. By using Robert Putman’s concepts and comparing six different articles on social capital the author’s further see the increase to social capital to an area has a high effect to the community and improves the lives of many people that are living in deprived areas of the society. Brief Outline Articles Article One â€Å"Social Capital and Civil Society† published in October 1999 By Francis Fukuyama from the institute of Public Policy, George Mason University. Fukuyama (1999) defines social capital as the cooperation of a group of people that are mainly formed by two or more people. He goes further to claim that the formation of the group can be between two very good friends or be more complicated like in the formation of religious group b... ...l suggested by â€Å"globalisation† where the involvement of the community is made not just for capital gain but by ideas of culture. In conclusion this two articles even though different and written for two different audiences, prove without a doubt the theoretical concept behind social capital whether the focus is in housing, public policy or civil society, an enhanced social capital within a community can generate good to any given society. Bibliography Fukuyama F., (1999). Social Capital and Civil Society. The Institute of Public Policy. Web. March 1, 2016 https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/seminar/1999/reforms/fukuyama.htm Lang R.E, and Hornburg S.P (1998) What is Social Capital and why is it important to Public Policy?. Housing Policy Debate. Vol.9, No.1, pp1-16. Web. March 6, 2016 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10511482.1998.9521284

Mass Culture and the Visual Arts Essay

The essay of Jean Baudrillad is a highly philosophical and sociological paper. It uses complex terms, a lot of analogy, and included a lot of theories which might have been created just for the report. Since Jean Baudrillad is a very accomplished man, his ideas and views are often regarded as top quality, and some tend to bend in immediately believing these. Upon reading the essay, I come to think that it would be unwise to be attached strongly to the author’s feelings and demise regarding the topic. I believe that a lot of his own and personal ideas were incorporated in his paper criticizing the museum guidelines. These ideas may be for the better, but it could also be possible that they may have been affected by the author’s own background. In this view, it is highly important to know a bit about the author to gain a deeper understanding on his essay. This way, we can critically analyze his work and draw some conclusions based on in. To begin with, Jean Baudrillad is a French sociologist and philosopher who writes and criticizes works usually about post-modernism and post-structuralism. He is said to be in line with many modern philosophers in this time. He is a well known writer and proposed many theories regarding human relationship and many other topics, such as wars (World War 2, Gulf War). An interesting topic for him is the evolution of technology processes and their effects to social change. He seemed to be attached in studying these processes and looks at them as a kind of breakout from tradition. He is also very well versed with semiotics, the study of signs, and even wrote a number of papers about it, the writing where the essay was taken being one of it. He believed, like other poststructuralists do, that signification and meaning are only understandable by looking on how the signs interrelate. This point is very important in analyzing this essay since art, especially visual art, is a kind of sign. It is visually available to the naked eye, and can convey many meanings to the viewer. The essay is also a home of many arguments which I believed to be contradictory to his previous theories. He also argued that meaning is based on the absence – a cup means a cup because it does not mean a spoon, a fork, or a spatula. Therefore, to know the meaning of a cup is by not by knowing a cup, by proving that that cup is a not a spoon, fork, spatula. Baudrillad’s theories and expertise may vary from different subjects, but his beliefs in semiotics and signs are crucial in this critic of modern art museums. Now, we can slowly digest Baudrillad’s work and analyze it not only by reading it, but it is also important to take into consideration the author’s stand and opinions on several things affecting the statements he made. The author, in his first paragraph, described the museum as an â€Å"incinerator, absorbing all cultural energy and destroying it. † This harsh depiction of modern art museums was then strengthened by him using different examples. Some of his examples and arguments were a little absurd, and too much to be true. Let’s take for example the first one. He made an analogy between the museum and a nuclear plant. He said that it is not the lack of security, pollution, or explosion but the radiation of a protective zone of control and deterrence. In the center, a kind of political deterrence is elaborated. This deterrence is also showed by the employers, who are assigned to a polyvalent space. They then remained in that space, using all their energy. Deterrence, by definition, is the inhibition of bad behavior by fear, such as punishment. I believe that fear is an important factor here, and the mere fact that the author did not have any proof that fear is actually used in the center makes his analogy a little over the edge. The employers, even though confined to this â€Å"bubble†, never made a statement that they were kept there against their will. After some more critics, he fled to the topic of the mass media, which was discussed crucially. He said that culture in the center is dead, and the masses are celebrating over it by going to the museum. We must take note that the author already gave the masses a reason for their excitement over the museum. Like a disaster, he said, on which humans are naturally invited to look upon. Since there is no way to flee to the museum itself and personally feel this, it would be, if not mandatory, sufficient to look at a very popular way of advertising places of such – their website. Upon inspection of the museum’s website, there are some facts waiting to be discovered. First is the way the museum advertises its exhibits and events. Then, there are the events themselves. The characters that emanate from these advertisements can help in proving some of the author’s arguments wrong. The website, upon first glance, is very simple compared to other sites found all around the internet. Could it be possible that the center was low in funds to create and maintain a more elegant and dashing website? I think not. This is a proof that the center does not aim to catch the audience attention by visual effects. There is a deeper goal for them to invite the masses to the center – for them to see its content and its display, its artists’ works and their playwrights’ plays. By looking at the events posted on the website, it can be noted that a wide range of artistic events are catered for – visual arts such as sculptures, paintings and the like, programs with concerts and cultural events. Their advertisement strategy is simple, a photograph of the event and some few liners describing it. Baudrillad seems to say that the masses have lost the ability to see â€Å"real culture† and dashes only to the museum because of signs, not because of the artistic values it conveys. He accuses the center of hiding true culture from the masses, using signifiers instead of the real thing. But the way the center advertises its programs are simple – come and see this, no other sparkling stars on the computer screen, no lotto tickets waiting to be clicked, no hidden charges, just plain and simple, â€Å"come to the museum to see this kind of culture. † The author, as mentioned above, has always talked about the topic of technology’s effects to the human. For me, this certain technology of using websites as an advertisement strategy deals with a lot of subconscious semiotics. But the center’s website is just a simple page you click, and read a lot on. There are detailed descriptions on the artworks, the shows, the galleries. I would definitely go there for its content, its real culture. The center, in my own opinion, never tried to gain public interest through semiotics and signifiers. The establishment, together with any other modern day museum and galleries, are doing good jobs in opening the masses eyes to a culture beyond traditional. There are some truths in Baudrillad’s analyses of these establishments, but these are not enough to say that modern museums are capable of incinerating culture around it. Culture is said to be a way of living, and one must accept that the modern age needs a new way of living compared to traditional times. This evolution of living also calls for an evolution of cultural art and practices. Modernism has brought just about anything today, and we can’t deny the fact that is has also greatly affected the realm of visual arts. But being modern doesn’t mean that it tries to lose any traditional virtue in it. The whole step is simply bringing in a new dimension of art, and with the help of these modern art museums, these arts can be appreciated the in a way similar to the tradition. A final flaw in Baudrillad’s argument is his description of the buildings external structure. He claims that this structure proclaims that the humans time are never to be that of any duration, that our culture is like hydrocarbons, breaking and synthesizing to make new products. He means that the center breaks traditions and cultures, and puts them together for a new type of culture. I believe that this is giving a rebirth of the culture, and hence not destroying it or any part of it. Baudrilladmust understand that nothing grows exponentially forever. Even cultures, reaches a point wherein you can’t improve on it no matter how much effort you put in. A time will come when people must find a new way to incorporate differences in culture and try to come up with a new one, one that would allow the human to grow without sacrificing the longevity of the culture. Somewhere in his essay, Baudrillad shouted the question on what should be placed on the center. His answer was nothing; the void would have signified the disappearance of any culture of meaning and aesthetic sentiment. This seems to be contradictory to his primary beliefs. Going back a few paragraphs, remember that Baudrillad believed in the theory of absence, that one can give meaning to a sign only because of absence. Like the above example, a cup is a cup since it is not a fork, etc. Thus, having nothing, no culture, no art, no whatsoever in the center would only mean that the museum really do contained culture and art. Works Cited Baudrillad, Jean. â€Å"Simulcra and Simulations† VI. The Beaubourg Effect : Implosion and Deterrence (1981) European Graduate School Website. â€Å"Jean Baudrillad Biography† From: http://www. egs. edu/faculty/baudrillard. html

Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will - 10092 Words

The following is a highlighted summary of the book, A Stake in the Outcome, published by Doubleday Company. The statements below are key points of the book as determined by James Altfeld and have been made available at no charge to the user. Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will (p.4) Workers who share their employer’s goals don’t need much supervision. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Control your destiny, or someone else will. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were. Be candid with everyone. Don’t manage, lead. Change before you have to. If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete. â€Å"facing reality is crucial in life, not just in business. You have to see the world in the purest, clearest way possible, or you†¦show more content†¦Ambitious GE managers kept their ties knotted and their mouths shut. The mounting expense of this bureaucracy was a major reason GE became a high-cost producer, vulnerable to foreign competition. The complex interaction of GE’s culture, organization, and bureaucracy created a symphony of not-so-subtle signals that taught GEers how to behave. But as Jones realized, behavior that has been appropriate in 1878--or even 1978--might prove disastrous in the 1980s. In an attempt to ensure fair treatment of its workers, GE had assigned all employees to one of twenty-nine civil service style levels of rank. By counting Jim’s ceiling squares, visitors could calculate the footage of his office, and thus his status in the hierarchy, that told the executives whether to grovel before Jim or boss him around. (p.41) The money helped, but ultimately Edison lost his job. The investors forced Edison out, replacing him with a former show salesman named Charles Coffin. In 1892, Coffin reorganized the burgeoning portfolio of business under his command into the General Electric Company. Coffin. Coffin became known as the father of professional management. 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