Double Jeopardy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Double Jeopardy - Research Paper Example Double jeopardy is regarded as an abuse of process because the same person is brought to the court based on the same facts. The rule of double jeopardy has received dramatic attention in the past few areas and critics are constantly calling for upgrading the rule because of its failure as it is causing injustice in the society. A classic reason often quoted for advocating the rule of double jeopardy and is often cited in academic literature and law cases was made by Black J in the case of Green v United States (US Supreme Court 187). The idea behind the statement which he believed is ingrained in the mind of American system of jurisprudence is that the State should not be allowed to make multiple attempts to allege a charge to convict a person for an offence, thereby subjecting him into incur unnecessary expenses, making him disgraceful in the society, and it causes the individual to suffer from embarrassment & mental turmoil. This compels him to live a life full of anxiety and insecurity, and also increases the chances of the individual to be declared guilty even though he might be innocent. Double jeopardy is recognized as a constitutional right in several countries. The fifth amendment of constitutions of United States of America states: â€Å"nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb† (AFA para. 3). ... Double jeopardy is recognized as a constitutional right in several countries. The fifth amendment of constitutions of United States of America states: â€Å"nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb† (AFA para. 3). In addition to that, it is also recognized in international laws. For instance, the Article 14 (7) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that â€Å"No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country† (ICCPR 14). In United Kingdom, this principle is famously known as ‘Connelly principle’ after the case of Connelly v Director of Public Prosecutions as it was regarded as an abuse of process. Lord Pearce in this case stated that a man should not be tried for a second offence which is clearly inconsistent on the facts with either a previous conviction or acquittal. The court should apply judicial discretion under such circumstances as without such a process, injustice will prevail (Johns 3). In Australia, the High Court’s decision regarding R v Carroll triggered a reform about the rules of double jeopardy (Johns 7). The case was concerned with a murder of an infant girl named Deidre Kennedy in 1973, for which Raymond Carroll was prosecuted for the case by the court. The girl was strangled in Queensland and her body was found with bruises on left thigh which were identified by medical experts as marks of human teeth. Carroll defended himself by swearing an oath and claiming that at the time of murder he was attending a course at RAAF base in South Australia. The defendant

Labeling, Indentity and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Labeling, Indentity and Education - Essay Example In the essay â€Å"I Just Wanna be Average† by Mike Rose, it is implied that they are, as vocational students, are treated with not much respect by the society. â€Å"Vocational education has aimed at increasing the economic opportunities of students who do not do well in our schools† (Rose, 1). With that prejudice over their school, the students also identify with the prejudice and treat themselves like they are expected to be treated in the society, according to what they perceive the society perceives them to be – the lowest class of students. This is what he calls â€Å"identity that is implied on the vocational track† (Rose, 3). The schools are actually responsible for labeling us, the students. For putting identities on people based on their scholastic abilities. In the immigrants’ case, because of their poor English, they were put in the vocational track – which is basically assigned for those with scholastic difficulties. This is also part of the prejudice, or the identity being served on one’s person if he is in the vocational trac

Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction

Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. This thesis is structured in five chapters. First chapter after briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, such as parties to the letter of credit transaction, kinds of letters of credit, step by step procedure of the transaction, different type of the documents used and the common defects in those documents, it also explains about the division of the risk under such a transaction and how the applicant’s risk has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. Second chapter after brief discussion of the drafting and interpretation of the UCP, explains about the reluctance of the courts to intervene in order to balance the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction, status of the UCP, scope of the banks duties and in addition the disclaimer clauses under UCP. Chapter three explores the autonomy of the letters of credit, the doctrine of strict compliance and the ways in which the courts deal with documentary compliance. It further considers that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provides opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment without actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. Chapter four explains â€Å"fraud exception† to the autonomy principle in detail, the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of the English cases relating to the fraud. In addition it also examines the reasons for such an enormous increase in the number of cases relating to fraud. Finally, chapter five considers some of those methods, which can be used to avoid such an increase in fraud cases and also provides few suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst all the parties to the letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit, if the documents presented by the beneficiary are conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit. Thus, the issuing replaces the customer to make payment to the seller. Elements of a Letter of Credit An undertaking given by issuing bank to make payment Issuing bank gives undertaking on behalf of a applicant To pay a given amount of money to the seller On presentation of required documents under the letter of credit Within a specified time as provided by the letter of credit Documents must be in compliance to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit Documents must be presented at a specified place provided by the letter of credit Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for the performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods, therefore the duty of issuing bank to pay to the beneficiary and than to be reimbursed from its customer will only be completed upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents from the beneficiary, to examine the documents and then to make the payment. The issuing bank provides a guarantee to the seller that if the documents presented by the beneficiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit, then the bank will make the payment to the seller. Generally the documents presented include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document etc. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the seller’s country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice This includes description of the goods, their price, FOB origin, and name and address of the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller information must be in compliance with the description provided in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiary’s presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The bank’s performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicant’s bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the seller about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank asks the correspondent bank not only to inform the seller of the issuing bank’s undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiary’s presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and therefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the bank’s reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the bank’s; it will be the applicant’s.† Increase in the applicant’s risk and decrease in the bank’s risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of bank’s negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for bank’s negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods, they have not contracted for. Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting, hints that in drafting UCP, ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commission’s answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in balancing the rights and duties of the parties In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers’ irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. The Scope of the Banks Duties Before analysing the wording of the disclaimers used, the scope of the duties undertaken by the banks involved must be identified. Whereas the type of credit and the documentary stipulations therein will usually have been negotiated by the commercial parties and included in their sales contract, the terms and conditions under which a bank undertakes to open a documentary credit will normally appear in the banks standard application form which the importer will be required to complete. Although the application would normally refer to the UCP, it is important to note that the provisions of the UCP would not automatically apply in English law if not expressly incorporated by the parties to the credit and, even if expressly incorporated, its provisions can be excluded, or modified by the express terms of the credit. The duty to issue an efficacious credit The importers failure to procure the issue of a documentary credit which conforms to the terms of the sales contract may be treated by the exporter as a breach of a condition precedent to his performance and a repudiation of the contract by the importer. Whether the applicant can sue the issuing bank in respect of its culpable failure to issue (or to issue in good time) a conforming and efficacious credit is, however, by no means clear. The duty to issue a conforming credit An initial problem arises where the applicant requires the issue of a confirmed credit, that is, a credit in which a second bank, normally in the beneficiarys country, adds its own independent undertaking, to pay against the stipulated documents, to that of the issuing bank. Is the issuing bank in breach of contract towards the applicant if it is unable to procure the confirmation? The answer must depend upon the issuers conduct on receiving the application from the applicant. The second aspect of the duty to issue a conforming credit raises the question of liability for the acts of other banks involved in the transaction. Clearly, if the issuing bank opens a credit which specifies documentation other than that called for by the applicant, then in the absence of a disclaimer it will be in breach of its contract with the applicant under the doctrine of strict compliance. The position should be the same where the issuing bank unreasonably delays issue of the credit so that the beneficiary incurs loss. A difficulty arises, however, when it is not the issuing bank itself which causes the error or delay in complying with the applicants instructions, but the issuers correspondent bank. The doctrine of privity of contract would appear to prevent contractual liability arising in this context. However, in any event, it appears that there is no reason for holding that, in the absence of a disclaimer; an issuing bank should not be liable for the consequences of errors by its correspondents. Duty to receive and examine documents The doctrine of strict compliance means that issuing banks which pay against non-conforming documents are in breach of their contractual obligations to the applicant. The issuer is not, however, a guarantor of the documents conformity; its duty is discharged by the exercise of reasonable care to ascertain that the documents comply on their face with the terms of the credit. Duty to make payment under the terms of the credit The party with the primary interest in enforcing the banks obligation to pay against conforming documents is the beneficiary although it is clear that this obligation is also owed to the applicant. Furthermore, any variation of the payment terms would be a clear breach of contract. Duties of correspondent banks In so far as the confirming bank gives an undertaking in exactly the same terms as the issuing bank, it clearly owes precisely the same duties to the beneficiary. However, since a confirming bank looks to the issuing bank alone for reimbursement, it may be prima facie unlikely that it owes any duty to the applicant, even where the applicant is paying the confirmation fee. There are, however, some judicial dicta which might support the recognition of such a duty. Bank’s risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do not interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary. Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Rights and Duties in a Letter of Credit Transaction Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. This thesis is structured in five chapters. First chapter after briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, such as parties to the letter of credit transaction, kinds of letters of credit, step by step procedure of the transaction, different type of the documents used and the common defects in those documents, it also explains about the division of the risk under such a transaction and how the applicant’s risk has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. Second chapter after brief discussion of the drafting and interpretation of the UCP, explains about the reluctance of the courts to intervene in order to balance the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction, status of the UCP, scope of the banks duties and in addition the disclaimer clauses under UCP. Chapter three explores the autonomy of the letters of credit, the doctrine of strict compliance and the ways in which the courts deal with documentary compliance. It further considers that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provides opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment without actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. Chapter four explains â€Å"fraud exception† to the autonomy principle in detail, the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of the English cases relating to the fraud. In addition it also examines the reasons for such an enormous increase in the number of cases relating to fraud. Finally, chapter five considers some of those methods, which can be used to avoid such an increase in fraud cases and also provides few suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst all the parties to the letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit, if the documents presented by the beneficiary are conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit. Thus, the issuing replaces the customer to make payment to the seller. Elements of a Letter of Credit An undertaking given by issuing bank to make payment Issuing bank gives undertaking on behalf of a applicant To pay a given amount of money to the seller On presentation of required documents under the letter of credit Within a specified time as provided by the letter of credit Documents must be in compliance to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit Documents must be presented at a specified place provided by the letter of credit Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for the performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods, therefore the duty of issuing bank to pay to the beneficiary and than to be reimbursed from its customer will only be completed upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents from the beneficiary, to examine the documents and then to make the payment. The issuing bank provides a guarantee to the seller that if the documents presented by the beneficiary are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit, then the bank will make the payment to the seller. Generally the documents presented include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document etc. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the seller’s country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice This includes description of the goods, their price, FOB origin, and name and address of the buyer and the seller. The buyer and seller information must be in compliance with the description provided in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiary’s presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The bank’s performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicant’s bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the seller about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank asks the correspondent bank not only to inform the seller of the issuing bank’s undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiary’s presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and therefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the bank’s reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the bank’s; it will be the applicant’s.† Increase in the applicant’s risk and decrease in the bank’s risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of bank’s negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for bank’s negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods, they have not contracted for. Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting, hints that in drafting UCP, ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICC Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commission’s answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in balancing the rights and duties of the parties In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers’ irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. The Scope of the Banks Duties Before analysing the wording of the disclaimers used, the scope of the duties undertaken by the banks involved must be identified. Whereas the type of credit and the documentary stipulations therein will usually have been negotiated by the commercial parties and included in their sales contract, the terms and conditions under which a bank undertakes to open a documentary credit will normally appear in the banks standard application form which the importer will be required to complete. Although the application would normally refer to the UCP, it is important to note that the provisions of the UCP would not automatically apply in English law if not expressly incorporated by the parties to the credit and, even if expressly incorporated, its provisions can be excluded, or modified by the express terms of the credit. The duty to issue an efficacious credit The importers failure to procure the issue of a documentary credit which conforms to the terms of the sales contract may be treated by the exporter as a breach of a condition precedent to his performance and a repudiation of the contract by the importer. Whether the applicant can sue the issuing bank in respect of its culpable failure to issue (or to issue in good time) a conforming and efficacious credit is, however, by no means clear. The duty to issue a conforming credit An initial problem arises where the applicant requires the issue of a confirmed credit, that is, a credit in which a second bank, normally in the beneficiarys country, adds its own independent undertaking, to pay against the stipulated documents, to that of the issuing bank. Is the issuing bank in breach of contract towards the applicant if it is unable to procure the confirmation? The answer must depend upon the issuers conduct on receiving the application from the applicant. The second aspect of the duty to issue a conforming credit raises the question of liability for the acts of other banks involved in the transaction. Clearly, if the issuing bank opens a credit which specifies documentation other than that called for by the applicant, then in the absence of a disclaimer it will be in breach of its contract with the applicant under the doctrine of strict compliance. The position should be the same where the issuing bank unreasonably delays issue of the credit so that the beneficiary incurs loss. A difficulty arises, however, when it is not the issuing bank itself which causes the error or delay in complying with the applicants instructions, but the issuers correspondent bank. The doctrine of privity of contract would appear to prevent contractual liability arising in this context. However, in any event, it appears that there is no reason for holding that, in the absence of a disclaimer; an issuing bank should not be liable for the consequences of errors by its correspondents. Duty to receive and examine documents The doctrine of strict compliance means that issuing banks which pay against non-conforming documents are in breach of their contractual obligations to the applicant. The issuer is not, however, a guarantor of the documents conformity; its duty is discharged by the exercise of reasonable care to ascertain that the documents comply on their face with the terms of the credit. Duty to make payment under the terms of the credit The party with the primary interest in enforcing the banks obligation to pay against conforming documents is the beneficiary although it is clear that this obligation is also owed to the applicant. Furthermore, any variation of the payment terms would be a clear breach of contract. Duties of correspondent banks In so far as the confirming bank gives an undertaking in exactly the same terms as the issuing bank, it clearly owes precisely the same duties to the beneficiary. However, since a confirming bank looks to the issuing bank alone for reimbursement, it may be prima facie unlikely that it owes any duty to the applicant, even where the applicant is paying the confirmation fee. There are, however, some judicial dicta which might support the recognition of such a duty. Bank’s risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do not interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary.

How does Bram Stoker create fear and suspense during Jonathan Harkers

How does Bram Stoker create fear and suspense during Jonathan Harker's encounter with the three young women in chapter three of Dracula? 'Dracula' was written 1897 and written in a first person diary format. The extract from chapter three tells us that Jonathan Harker is trapped in Draculas castle. He has discovered that he is alone with Dracula and in the previous chapter has seen him coming from one of the lower windows, climbing down the wall. Count Dracula has warned Jonathan Harker not to sleep in any other room in the castle but Jonathan has other ideas. "The Counts warning came into my mind, but I took a pleasure in disobeying it." This creates suspense as the reader feels apprehensive for Jonathan and wants to read on to reveal what actually happens. Jonathan then realises someone has appeared in the room with him. "I was not alone." This simple short sentence also creates tension as Jonathan realises he isn't in the room on his own and there are three young women with him. He feels they outnumber him as they do everything together and act as...

I am Legend Essay

Traditionally, bookstores categorize various books based on their respective contents – horror, fiction, literature, or science fiction. Horror texts invoke feelings of fear in readers due to their bizarre or macabre content. Science fiction or fiction books describe imaginary concepts of either scientific or general nature respectively. Conversely, literature books comprise of texts that are neither fictional nor horror-based. Matheson’s I am Legend novel thus belongs to the category of horror owing to the ghoulish events described therein. For example, the vampirism that is evident in the novel instills fear among readers, thus rendering the work a horror literature. Although ‘good’ or ‘bad’ are purely subjective terms, people sometime use these terms to describe different texts. Such categorization relies heavily on persons’ subjective judgment, for example, regarding the emotions that such texts invoke in readers. To illustrate, horror, mystery, or romance books may be termed as ‘bad’. Conversely, science fiction books are labeled as ‘good’. Since such classification is very subjective and unstable owing to persons’ varied preferences and views, there is essentially no entire class of books that can be categorically termed as either ‘bad’ or ‘good’. After studying Matheson’s I am Legend novel, I cannot help but view it as a subjectively ‘bad’ book based on the ghastly scenes that the author describes. For example, Robert Neville – the novel’s main character – is consistently described as being engaged in a futile rush to beat some seemingly insurmountable bigger forces. The character is thus clearly destined for death as is evident through his obviously futile attempts to fight against a vampire curse on earth. Eventually, Neville dies a sad and regretful death after spending a great deal of his time trying to outdo the evil that lurks on the earth. Through the somewhat unnecessary and martyr-like death of Neville, the author makes the book appear as a ‘bad’ one because a character is unjustly punished by death.

Diseases Found Through Fecalysis And Urinalysis In The Philippine Women’s University Community

The researchers thought of a topic wherein the researchers could benefit and relate the study to their field which is Medical Technology. The chosen study was entitled Diseases Found through Fecalysis and Urinalysis in the Philippine Women’s University Community. According to the researchers, the goal of the study is to determine the common disease of the PWU students since knowing the common disease through urinalysis and fecalysis can help bring out awareness to everyone that these tests should not just be ignored because if so, the diseases could affect one’s daily living.Thus, fulfilling it was a big thing. Objectives were listed, researches were conducted, limitations were seen and the study was further analyzed; the data were gathered and the procedures were done. The researchers conducted the study by using a tabular questionnaire as seen in Table 1 and sent it to the clinic. The researchers calculated the mean of the infected students in the tabular presentation data and the calculated Mean of the UTI-infected students was 9 while none of the respondents were infected in their fecal samples.In the end, the researchers concluded that urinalysis and fecalysis were definitely beneficial and that these helped spread awareness of living a healthier way even in the littlest ways viable. It is recommended for future researchers to know the common cause of UTI and how to prevent such. Lastly, the researchers could extend the time of study and so there would be increased number of respondents to be examined. INTRODUCTION The first laboratory test performed in medicine and has been used for several thousand years was Urinalysis.Today, urinalysis keeps on to be a great tool in obtaining important information for diagnostic purposes in medicine. Urine is an unstable fluid, and changes to its composition begin to take place as soon as it is voided. As such, collection, storage, and handling are important issues in maintaining the integrity of this spec imen. In the laboratory, urine can be characterized by physical appearance, chemical composition, and microscopically. Physical examination of urine includes description of color, odor, clarity, volume, and specific gravity, and this is taken from Echeverry, Hortin, and Rai.(2010).Routine and Microscopy (R&M) is commonly known as Urinalysis. It is an array of tests performed on urine and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. It can reveal diseases that have gone unnoticed because they do not show striking signs or symptoms. Examples of the diseases include diabetes mellitus, various forms of glomerulonephritis, and chronic urinary tract infections. The physical, chemical, and microscopic examination of urine is called urinalysis.It involves a number of tests to detect and measure various compounds that pass through the urine. Shtasel’s (2000) book entitled, Medical Tests and Diagnostic Procedure, Fecalysis is known as stool analysis. It refers to a series of la boratory tests done on fecal samples to analyze the condition of a person's digestive tract in general. Among other things, fecalysis is performed to check for the presence of any reducing substances such as white blood cells (WBCs), sugars, or bile and signs of poor absorption as well as screen for colon cancer.The accuracy of fecalysis can be compromised if a patient has not been properly educated about what he can and cannot do before or during the test. Fecal analysis is performed mainly to identify parasites. Sometimes, stool may be checked for dangerous bacteria, like salmonella, or for viral infections like parvovirus and corona virus. These tests are usually only performed when the pet is suspected of having these diseases and are not routine.According to Kee and LeFeve‘s (2001) Handbook of Laboratory and Diagnostic tests, the purpose of Urinalysis and Fecalysis are performed for several reasons: general evaluation of health; diagnosis of metabolic or systemic diseases that affect kidney function; diagnosis of endocrine disorders; diagnosis of diseases or disorders of the kidneys or urinary tract; monitoring of patients with diabetes; testing for pregnancy screening for drug abuse. This study only focuses on knowing the diseases which fecalysis and urinalysis will show.Moreover, the researchers intend to find out if the said tests are really needed to be conducted. Due to complexities and limited time, the researchers neither engage themselves into studies that deal on the causes of the diseases nor into ways on how to cure the diseases. Our primary objective in our study is to provide information regarding health awareness. Furthermore, the parameters of this study are set only from the two tests conducted, arranged procedures, written statements of the problem, listed recommendations and up to the feasibility of accomplishing a research paper. Diseases Found Through Fecalysis And Urinalysis In The Philippine Women’s University Community ABSTRACTThe researchers thought of a topic wherein the researchers could benefit and relate the study to their field which is Medical Technology. The chosen study was entitled Diseases Found through Fecalysis and Urinalysis in the Philippine Women’s University Community. According to the researchers, the goal of the study is to determine the common disease of the PWU students since knowing the common disease through urinalysis and fecalysis can help bring out awareness to everyone that these tests should not just be ignored because if so, the diseases could affect one’s daily living. Thus, fulfilling it was a big thing. Objectives were listed, researches were conducted, limitations were seen and the study was further analyzed; the data were gathered and the procedures were done.The researchers conducted the study by using a tabular questionnaire as seen in Table 1 and sent it to the clinic. The researchers calculated the mean of the infected students in the tabular pres entation data and the calculated Mean of the UTI-infected students was 9 while none of the respondents were infected in their fecal samples. In the end, the researchers concluded that urinalysis and fecalysis were definitely beneficial and that these helped spread awareness of living a healthier way even in the littlest ways viable. It is recommended for future researchers to know the common cause of UTI and how to prevent such. Lastly, the researchers could extend the time of study and so there would be increased number of respondents to be examined.INTRODUCTIONThe first laboratory test performed in medicine and has been used for several thousand years was Urinalysis. Today, urinalysis keeps on to be a great tool in obtaining important information for diagnostic purposes in medicine. Urine is an unstable fluid, and changes to its composition begin to take place as soon as it is voided. As such, collection, storage, and handling are important issues in maintaining the integrity of t his specimen. In the laboratory, urine can be characterized by physical appearance, chemical composition, and microscopically. Physical examination of urine includes description of color, odor, clarity, volume, and specific gravity, and this is taken from Echeverry, Hortin, and Rai. (2010).Routine and Microscopy(R&M) is commonly known as Urinalysis. It is an array of tests performed on urine and one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. It can reveal diseases that have gone unnoticed because they do not show striking signs or symptoms. Examples of the diseases include diabetes mellitus, various forms of glomerulonephritis, and chronic urinary tract infections. The physical, chemical, and microscopic examination of urine is called urinalysis. It involves a number of tests to detect and measure various compounds that pass through the urine. Shtasel’s (2000) book entitled, Medical Tests and Diagnostic Procedure, Fecalysis is known as stool analysis. It refers to a ser ies of laboratory tests done on fecal samples to analyze the condition of a person's digestive tract in general.Among other things, fecalysis is performed to check for the presence of any reducing substances such as white blood cells (WBCs), sugars, or bile and signs of poor absorption as well as screen for colon cancer. The accuracy of fecalysis can be compromised if a patient has not been properly educated about what he can and cannot do before or during the test. Fecal analysis is performed mainly to identify parasites. Sometimes, stool may be checked for dangerous bacteria, like salmonella, or for viral infections like parvovirus and corona virus. These tests are usually only performed when the pet is suspected of having these diseases and are not routine.According to Kee and LeFeve‘s (2001) Handbook of Laboratory and Diagnostic tests, the purpose of Urinalysis and Fecalysis are performed for several reasons: general evaluation of health; diagnosis of metabolic or systemic diseases that affect kidney function; diagnosis of endocrine disorders; diagnosis of diseases or disorders of the kidneys or urinary tract; monitoring of patients with diabetes; testing for pregnancy screening for drug abuse.This study only focuses on knowing the diseases which fecalysis and urinalysis will show. Moreover, the researchers intend to find out if the said tests are really needed to be conducted. Due to complexities and limited time, the researchers neither engage themselves into studies that deal on the causes of the diseases nor into ways on how to cure the diseases.Our primary objective in our study is to provide information regarding health awareness. Furthermore, the parameters of this study are set only from the two tests conducted, arranged procedures, written statements of the problem, listed recommendations and up to the feasibility of accomplishing a research paper.

Facts, Geography About the West African Nation of Ghana

Facts, Geography About the West African Nation of Ghana Ghana is a country located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. The country is known for being the second largest producer of cocoa in the world as well as its incredible ethnic diversity. Ghana currently has more than 100 different ethnic groups in its population of just over 24 million. History of Ghana Ghanas history prior to the 15th century is concentrated primarily on oral traditions. However, it is believed that people may have inhabited what is present-day Ghana from about 1500 BCE. European contact with Ghana began in 1470. In 1482, the Portuguese built a trading settlement there. Shortly thereafter for three centuries, the Portuguese, English, Dutch, Danes, and Germans all controlled different parts of the coast. In 1821, the British took control of all of the trading posts located on the Gold Coast. From 1826 to 1900, the British then fought battles against the native Ashanti and in 1902, the British defeated them and claimed the northern part of todays Ghana. In 1957, after a plebiscite in 1956, the United Nations determined that the territory of Ghana would become independent and combined with another British territory, British Togoland, when the entire Gold Coast became independent. On March 6, 1957, Ghana became independent after the British gave up control of the Gold Coast and the Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate and British Togoland. Ghana was then taken as the legal name for the Gold Coast after it was combined with British Togoland in that year. Following its independence, Ghana underwent several reorganizations that caused the country to be divided into 10 different regions. Kwame Nkrumah was the first prime minister and president of modern Ghana and he had goals of unifying Africa as well as freedom and justice and equality in education for all. His government, however, was overthrown in 1966. Instability was then a major part of Ghanas government from 1966 to 1981, as several government overthrows occurred. In 1981, Ghanas constitution was suspended and political parties were banned. This later caused the countrys economy to decline and many people from Ghana migrated to other countries.By 1992, a new constitution was adopted, the government began to regain stability, and the economy started to improve. Today, Ghanas government is relatively stable and its economy is growing. Government of Ghana Ghanas government today is considered a constitutional democracy with an executive branch made up of a chief of state and a head of government filled by the same person. The legislative branch is a unicameral Parliament while its judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court. Ghana is also still divided into 10 regions for local administration: Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, and Western. Economics and Land Use in Ghana Ghana currently has one of the strongest economies of West Africas countries due to its richness of natural resources. These include gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, and limestone. However, Ghana remains dependent on international and technical assistance for its continued growth. The country also has an agriculture market that produces things like cocoa, rice, and peanuts, while its industries are focused on mining, lumber, food processing, and light manufacturing. Geography and Climate of Ghana Ghanas topography consists mainly of low plains but its south-central area does have a small plateau. Ghana is also home to Lake Volta, the worlds largest artificial lake. Because Ghana is only a few degrees north of the Equator, its climate is considered tropical. It has a wet and dry season but it is mainly warm and dry in the southeast, hot and humid in the southwest and hot and dry in the north. More Facts About Ghana Capital: AccraBordering Countries: Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, TogoLand Area: 92,098 square miles (238,533 sq km)Coastline: 335 miles (539 km)Highest Point: Mount Afadjato at 2,887 feet (880 m)Ghana has 47 local languages but English is its official language.Association football or soccer is the most popular sport in Ghana and the country regularly participates in the World Cup.Ghanas life expectancy is 59 years for males and 60 years for females. References CIA - The World Factbook - Ghana. Central Intelligence Agency, May 2010.ï » ¿Ghana. United States Department of State, March 2010.Ghana: History, Geography, Government, and Culture. Infoplease.

Gluckel essays

Gluckel essays The person as a whole, mind and body, is a complex and unique organism which can be easily influenced by society. Since people are so easily susceptible to be influenced by others, each person must rely on their own beliefs in order to make judgments for daily life that are morally and ethically pleasing. Gluckel of Hamelns religious and spiritual beliefs shaped her mind, body, and spirit. Gluckel lived in a time incomprehensible to today; an age where personal emotions were discounted. However, Gluckels devotions to God enabled her to live life fulfilled despite terrible tragedy. Marriage was precious to Gluckel and was more than just an economic union that is often connected with marriages of her time. Gluckels husband was an interpersonal companion for her and his loss was crushing to Gluckels soul. But who is now my comforter? To whom shall I pour out my soul? Whither shall I turn? All his life my beloved companion hearkened to my troubles, and they were many, and comfort ed me so that somehow they would quickly vanish. (150) Gluckels husband deeply esteemed his wife as well. Even at deaths door he thought of nothing but to spare me pain. (150) There was clearly love in this marriage even if love had yet to be defined for society. As much as Gluckel had a marriage of love, she recognized love by itself will not bring happiness. She understood relationships have their problems and if those we love do not always meet our expectations, it doesn't mean that we have lost our chance for happiness. We, my children, have no friend on whom we may depend, save God, who will ever stand by you and aid you. (157) So many people look to their love relationships, especially marriage to give them the happiness that they cannot find on their own. The belief that love guarantees happiness is left over from the ideology of romantic love that tells us we will live ha...

Do you spell Free Reign with a G

Do you spell Free Reign with a G Do correct spellings change over time? This video clip from ABC News, and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), assert that they do. Usage does dictate what authorities such as the OED report as correct spellings of words, such as free reign and vocal chords. As much as I would like to think things like spellings do not change, I am forced to admit that they do. National Dictionary Day:Â   do you spell free reign with a G? Category:Grammar Writing TipsBy Brenda BernsteinNovember 29, 2009

Bill Gates Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bill Gates - Research Paper Example In this regard, the essay aims to proffer Bill Gates’ influence and entrepreneurial contribution that have changed, not only America’s lives, but on the lives of people on global scale. A short biographic profile would initially be presented prior to delving into Gates’ remarkable contributions to human lives. The objective of the discourse is to determine how this person has made a difference, why that difference is important to society and how this all affected history and the lives of individual Americans. Personal Profile The world knows him as Bill Gates but his full name is William Henry Gates, III and was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington (Biography.com, 1). From his school in Seattle’s Lakeside School, Gates have manifested genuine interest in the field of computer programming at the age of 13. The burning desire to create new things was explored with his friend, Paul Allen, who together designed various computer programs including à ¢â‚¬Å"’Traf-o-Data’, a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle, and netted $20,000 for their efforts† (Biography.com, 2). Gates pursued a law degree from the Harvard University but his heart and mind remained to pursue his passion on computer programming. ... It wouldn’t be rich, although he is the wealthiest man in the world. It wouldn’t be powerful, although he has shaped the future of computing. It wouldn’t be nerdy, but some may describe him as such. It definitely wouldn’t be evil, although many people think that is the case, and in my Mac loving days, that thought probably crossed my mind. No, the word that I would use is ‘passionate’† (Gilgenbach, 1). Bill Gates exhibited immense passion as one of the characteristic of his leadership style that made a difference in his building a software empire. Together with Paul Allen, their design for a BASIC computer program for an Altair computer instigated the discovery of software programs for computers that revolutionized information technology. As revealed in Biography.com, â€Å"his acumen for not only software development but also business operations put him in the position of leading the company and working as its spokesperson. He personal ly reviewed every line of code the company shipped, often rewriting code when he saw it necessary. As the computer industry began to grow with companies like Apple, Intel, and IBM developing hardware and components, Bill was continuously out on the road touting the merits of Microsoft software applications† (3). Gates’ prominent and distinguishing characteristics and traits differentiated him as an exemplary entrepreneur and leader, whose visionary talents set him apart from others. His dedication, commitment, high drive to achieve was combined to revolutionize applications in computer programming. His willingness to take calculated risks and the desire for innovation and improvement

W5-Data Security Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

W5-Data Security Policy - Essay Example Modern technology poses modern confronts to the protection of entity privacy which existing (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Privacy is the declaration of individuals to be theft alone, free from observation or intrusion from other individuals of organizations as well as the state. Declarations to privacy are also caught up at the place of work. Information technology and system pressure individual declarations to privacy by making the incursion of privacy inexpensive, cost-effective, and efficient (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Organizational information security strategies, measures, and standards are entirely significant reflections. Organization has to properly file and put into practice a successful information safety plan. Every category of such information safety serves a diverse function. The W5-Data Security Policy incorporates following main points regarding the organizational data (W5-data security Policy, 2009) Security risk: The data and information security risk can be illustrated as the intensity of affect on organization activities (comprising operational jobs, illustrations, or status), organization possessions, or individuals ensuing from the procedure of an business information arrangement offers the possible influence of a hazard and the probability of that intimidation occurring (Rebecca, 2007). The above section has presented the possible hazard situation is business. Such situation can lead to lot of possible information exploitation cases. Like that any worker can take information regarding any customer and blackmail him for some reason. That will make some bad image of the company information management. Lot of customers will hesitate to provide their information or even do no come to that company. This will case a serious business problem. Data security procedures illustrate how to put into practice the data security strategy. Actions articulate the gradually comprehensive events essential to effectively fulfill a job that chains the

Employee selection method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Employee selection method - Essay Example Additionally, the cognitive ability test evaluates the participant’s potential or aptitude to solve job-related issues by providing data about their mental abilities such as mathematical and verbal reasoning, as well as, perpetual abilities such as speed in identifying letter in the alphabet. A good example of cognitive ability test is the aptitude test that is given to prospective employees. The advantages of the cognitive ability test are that it produces various organization outcomes such as success in training and performance. Secondly, this method can be used to predict job performance, especially for complex jobs. Thirdly, the test can be administers through paper and pencil or using computerized methods. Lastly, the method is cost-effective to administer, as the participants are time (Durai, 2010). However, there are various pitfalls that are associated with this method that include that the test is likely to differ in results because of race and gender than any other type of test administers. Lastly, the method is time-consuming in case the test is purchased off- the-

Industrial Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Industrial Project Management - Essay Example Comprising three people, the management team also had a works manager in the team, but what is quite surprising is that the seniority or position of the works manager was never formally acknowledged, leaving bitterness amongst the staff and the team. Ideally, once the works manager is part of the management, he should have been granted the status and powers to deal with the staff as a 'manager', but the indecisiveness is apparent all over in this decision as well. All this is because the company hierarchy and decision flow system is not well planned; instead it is being run as a family business with many lines of communication sending across conflicting signals to the workforce. This not only results in confusing the workforce but it also results in delay for the customer's deliveries. Such delays leave dissatisfied customer, and employees too find it difficult to face the customers advancing reasons for delays etc. This acts as a de-motivator for the workforce. The ad-hoc approach i s also visible in the way the chairman sends across his orders and directives. Chairman is of course within his rights to select people for particular tasks, but at the same time the chairman must not appear to be taking sides opening in favour of someone or against someone, on a routine basis. The favouritism is also apparent in salary reviews for the employees. It results in lowering the morale of other people in the company. Teamwork is also affected, because employees are wary of working with such people. The company is now operating at a small scale, but taking care of customer's preferences, and quality will go a long way in preparing the company for taking on the competition for a longer period, strengthening its financials and adding more value to its products. But as of now company doesn't have any quality standards in place. Today we are living in a competitive era and quality forms one of the important cornerstones for product differentiation. Performance Improvement Essentials For sustainable development the company will have to resort to a number of measures towards improving the motivation level of the workforce, breeding team spirit and for improving the overall outlook of the company. Some of the steps that the company can take are; Motivation for the workforce: Motivation in fact proves to be of strategic importance in an era when competition requires best use of the resources for value addition and customer satisfaction. In simplest terms motivation can be defined as a means of providing motives. Motives can act towards making or spoiling the work, towards doing a job more efficiently or for distorting the work environment. The lack of any positive motivation from the management often results in an automatic negative motivation. This could be defined as the state of an individual's perspective which represents the strength of his/ her natural inclination to exert efforts towards some particular behaviour. It is through their behaviour that employees give expression to their commitment to work, level of motivation and their attitudes. For this small manufacturing company, problems are many on the delivery front and role of the workforce becomes crucial to fulfil the

Consumer Behavior case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Behavior case analysis - Essay Example Efficiency in the company will be increased when the customers are able to know about the company via the rides. That will cut on the cost that the company will use on advertising. That in one way will increase efficiency of the company’s advertising campaign and in another way increase the profitability of the company. Profitability will increase because of the reduced advertising costs. Halley should hold on to the ride as it has shown benefits to the customers and also to HOG. Customers get a great experience during the ride when they get to interact with the other customers and HOG personnel. This in turn is a good marketing strategy, because when the customer is happy the sales will improve. Alternatively, because the rides go on getting better, it would be appropriate just to keep them running rather than do away with them (Fournier 7). The Posse Rides bring customers together, help them bond and with other customers, together with their HOG staff. Judging from the riders comments, where some talk of finding new friends, as Brad, Marie, and Jim Stephens did. When executives participate in the ride, they get to know about the Halley customers, and to more understand their needs. Through the interactions they have, the executives are able to get the customers opinions and to better understand their view on the product and get to know how best to improve the next brand. The Posse Ride is also a marketing strategy as people get to know about the brand as they get to test the product. The Ride also removes a notion that being a rider is a very funny hobby, as one of the riders commented that her kids did not support her being a rider and sometimes were embarrassed, but after the ride, they have to embrace her being a rider. The Ride has a lot of benefit to the customer in the following areas, based on the research done from the Posse Ride; they get

Analysis Of The Gift Of The Magi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Analysis Of The Gift Of The Magi - Essay Example And lastly, the ending is satisfying but has failed to uplift the interest of its readers. JOURNAL ENTRY 14. AMERICAN HISTORY Like the short story â€Å"American History,† Toni Cade Bambara’s â€Å"Blues Ain’t No Mockin’ Bird† also details how its setting is essential in establishing the plot and the time frame of the story. Based on their manner of speaking, the setting may be estimated during the1950s to 60s or maybe just prior to the popularity and rise of Martin Luther King – due to the existence of a camera. A place off the countryside, some of the characters mentioned that this event took place in a county. And since there are children involved in the story, it had also probably occurred during summer or school break – where kids can enjoy the warm sun and the greenery outside their lawn. JOURNAL ENTRY 15. AMERICAN HISTORY Door of Hope for the United States Inside the door of hope for the United States are flashes of the colors b lue, white, and red – or the colors of the national flag. The color red symbolizes traumatic yet significant events like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the fall of the World Trade Center, and the like. Like Elena, I would continue to hope for such inevitable events that would make this country stronger, united, and hopeful that everything that happens is for the betterment of the country. The color blue symbolizes peace, serenity – that is above everything bad that is happening in the country peace will still outshine in the hearts and minds of every American hoping for a better future. And the color white symbolizes purity, cleanliness, and innocence. Despite the unending destructive events in the country, I am still hopeful that this country will be able to bring out a just, humane, and decent society, who only hopes for the betterment of the country and not the betterment of the elite few. Door The door open for Me Like Elena, I only hope that the E l Building will remain only a setting of the past and the present. Whatever the future may bring, and the course of outcome of Kennedy’s assassination and other significant events, I only hope that El Building will only be a bridge that will take me towards my dreams and aspirations towards a better life outside this suburban community. And through the El Building, and its significant lessons that has taught me, I may be able to explore the world full of hope, dream, and pride. Door of Hope for the World For the third door of hope, I would hope that the world would continue to be as blue and green as it has always been, with hardly the shades of gray, black, and red. The vast water bodies, bolstering with pride at its cool sea breeze. The green mountains and landforms, signifying the healthy state of nature – as it conquers shades of gray, black, and red or the colors of destruction, famine, and war. JOURNAL ENTRY 16. HELEN ON EIGHTY-SIXTH STREET Vita, the main charact er on Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street: Physical Attributes Vita struck me as a nerd. A girl who studies so hard that she already memorized the story of Helen of Troy and the Trojan War word for word, cover to cover. Although not explicitly mentioned, Vita may be less than physically attractive than Helen. This may have been the basis why Mr, Dodd initially chose Vita to be in the Trojan Horse. Emotional Attributes Because of the absence of her father, Vita is somehow longing for security that only a father could provide.