The psp essays

The psp essays Technology is everywhere and is still growing at a rapid rate. Its everywhere, inside your house, in the street, at the shops, in your car or in public transport. Technology is something that is never going to stop growing and it plays a major part in our lives. Lately, technology seems to be flying through the roof with all the new computers and gaming systems being released. It is unbelievable how fast these systems are expanding into newer, bigger and better things. The Sega megadrive; few people even remember this system but this is around where console gaming got big! This moved on to Super Nintendo that went onto N64 and after that came the Sony playstation. Now we have such devices as the Playsation2 and the XBOX. These are probably the newest console devices to be out at this time but were we satisfied by that? No, we are still bringing that technology further by adding new software, better graphics, and internet availability. One anticipated console which few people are to know about is the PSP which stands for Playstation Portable. Sony is entering the hand held game market in the winter of 2004 with the PSP. It has a backlit 16:9 widescreen LCD, a Universal Media Device (UMD) which can store 1.8GB of data on a disc thats half the size of a CD. It will support Sony's own ATRAC sound format, used in Mini Discs. It will also have a secure ROM cartridge to aid in Anti-Piracy. It will be a while for this to arrive in Australia but will be out in Japan early next year. ...

How to Format Papers in MLA and APA

How to Format Papers in MLA and APA MLA and APA Essay Formatting Tips Writing services are growing in popularity among both students and authors seeking for a job. Becoming a professional essay writer looks impossible without knowing how to organize and format texts in all major academic styles. Knowing how to write a good essay is not enough to get scholarship as well as well-aid writing job. You are supposed to be an expert when it comes to formatting papers in APA, MLA, Chicago or any other style. Benefit from our simple guide on how to organize papers in MLA and APA. MLA formatting tips We should start with the core structural elements. Introduction is the first paragraph in your paper followed by the thesis statement. It should contain the following: Transition and the topic sentence; Arguments, proofs and evidence; A hook or a sentence that will wrap up the topic. Once you are done with the main paragraphs and conclusion, you need to handle the reference page featuring works cited. Use Times of Roman font type. The size is generally 12pt. Italic fonts are used to add some contrast where necessary. Start each new paragraph with eh 0.5-inch indents, while the text itself should have one-inch margins with double-spacing. Make sure each page of your essay has a header containing your name and the number that refers to the page. Do not create a separate title page when it comes to MLA style, unless it is indicated in the requirements to the assignment. Ensure a proper first page format with indicated author and instructor’s names in addition to date and title in the center of the page. The in-text citation should include the source name and the number of page. Do not put commas between them. APA formatting tips The core structural elements of the APA style include: A Title Page; An Essay Abstract; Body Paragraphs; A Reference List. You should place the abstract before the introduction paragraph. Place it on a separate page centralized and typed in Times New Romans 12pt. Make sure the abstract does not exceed 200 words with double-spacing. The intro comes as a brief summary of the major work where you need to highlight the key points of the essay. It should also cover the key aspects and claim disputes. The conclusion is not just a summary of the paper. It is supposed to encourage readers for further exploration and examination of the areas related to the topic. Include each and every source you cite in the reference list. The text size is generally 12pt. Italic fonts are used to add some contrast where necessary. Start each new paragraph with eh 0.5-inch indents, while the text itself should have one-inch margins with double-spacing. Do not create a separate title page when it comes to MLA style, unless it is indicated in the requirements to the assignment. Indicate the running head of the essay on the first page in addition to a full student’s name. Formatting in-text citations is a bit more complicated if compared with MLA. Here you need ti indicate the name of the author in addition to date of publication, page number. Commas should divide each point.

Should Nuclear Power Be Revived in California and the United States Research Paper - 1

Should Nuclear Power Be Revived in California and the United States - Research Paper Example On attaining a wealth of information from the US senate, senator Domenici indicated that human development is the creation of a surrounding where individuals can establish their maximum potential, as humans are considered the real wealth of the world; indeed, human development supersedes economic growth. The fact remains that we need energy to not only drive our industries, but also support our current trends of living. Lack of electricity has been identified as one of the perpetrators of poverty. In 1999, the United States was noted to consume approximately 25 percent of the world’s energy. Nevertheless, high consumption of electricity indicates the ever-changing lifestyle in United States’ growing population. Nuclear power generation as a way of diversifying the sources of electricity generation can not only free up fossil fuel, but also ensure the uses have no other substitutes. The result of use of nuclear power is a cleaner environment, creation of more job opportu nities and maximum use of available raw material. According to Sir Ingham, based on rational discourse, nuclear power should be viewed based as the foundation of man’s sustainable power that has no offence to the surrounding environment (Domenici, Lyons and Steyn, 2004, p. 182, 183 & 184). Increase in population brings about high demand of energy. This high demand of energy hence forces the country to import energy, which could lead to political instability and lack of cost control. According to Domenici, Lyons and Steyn (2004), reliance of imported energy has been predicted to rise from 50 percent to 70 percent in the decades to come within the European countries. Heavy reliance of imported energy may have negative global impact and hence United States should have an equilibrium energy policy that incorporates healthy reliance on nuclear power in order to suppress the ever-increasing competition of fossil fuel supply in the decades to come.  Increase in population brings a bout high demand of energy. This high demand of energy hence forces the country to import energy, which could lead to political instability and lack of cost control.

Child care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child care - Essay Example Mother has a very important role in the nurturing of a child particularly in the pre-school age. A child starts to learn from the very first day of his/her life. In fact, much of the psychological development of a child happens in the very first year. Therefore, mothers should be very careful in their attitude with the child in the pre-school age. In the contemporary age, there is a growing trend among mothers to feed their babies with supplements. Many mothers prefer not to give their babies their own milk. Although there is considerable evidence and scientific research to show that artificial supplements are never nutritious enough to replace mother’s milk, yet there are several more factors that speak against such attitude of mothers. For example, when mothers feed their babies their own milk, it also lays basis for the development of a unique psychological relationship between the mother and the child in addition to the child’s health. This psychological relationshi p lasts throughout the life of both, and gains strength from the initial two years of mother-child feed relationship. Therefore, mothers should feed their children their own milk. Mothers commonly have trouble when the child becomes 2 years old because this is the age when mother’s milk has to be removed from the child’s diet plan. Mothers have a tough time saying â€Å"no† to their children when they ask for milk at that age. This requires display of extreme patience and determination on the part of mother along with the child. Mothers can say â€Å"no† to the demanding child and mean it by reading literature about child’s diet schedule. There is comprehensive information available regarding what type of diet should a child be given at a particular age. Frequently reading such digests helps a mother make up her mind and be practical on her plans. The attention mothers pay towards their children’s education in the kindergarten age lays foundations upon which the children build their academic career. The stronger the foundations, the stronger the career becomes. Children are introduced to the world of academics by their mothers. That is an age when they are least receptive towards academic load. In those days, mothers convince them to accept the load by singing nursery rhymes with them so that they feel at home doing school work. In order to facilitate the transition from pre-school age to kindergarten age, mothers should make use of moving image. Nursery rhymes on youtube are one of the best means to inculcate a liking for poems in children. Child care covers a wide range of subjects that include but are not limited to child’s education, sports, mannerism and behavior with adults and other children the age of child. Mothers lay the foundations for child’s psychological development in the pre-school age and academic career in the kindergarten age. Breastfeeding offers far more benefits that bottle-feeding the child (Lee). Therefore, mothers should resolve to breastfeed their child up to 2 years from birth. After the first 2 years when the child asks for breastmilk, mothers have to be determined and consistent in saying â€Å"no† to the child. In that phase, mothers can seek help from mothers’ digests that are frequently published. These digests offer

Blacks worthy of Free

Blacks worthy of Freedom Essay Born the youngest of eleven children, Marcus Garvey started his inspiring life in the rather uninspiring town of St. Ann, Jamaica in 1887. Before his death in 1940, Garvey would revolutionize the way many Blacks throughout the world portrayed their lives and approached the White world they were thrown into. Garvey was revolutionary from many of his contemporary thinkers, Black or White. His most extreme belief was that it’s impossible for white people to responsibly hold the best interests for black people. Garvey proclaimed an activist paradigm at a time a place when black Americans most needed hopeful guidance and social rejuvenation. Garvey believed that Black people had to unite as a common faction, not one that was divided by scales of darkness, or history of family DNA, all Black could unite under the Pan-African principle. United, the rallies spread a revival amongst down trodden Black Americans, many of who were disenfranchised by White America, who only recently saw Blacks worthy of Freedom. After World War I, Europe and Africa proved themselves easy to carve. Territory boundaries were easily re-drawn on maps and countries grew, while others collapsed. The theory of new country, one founded under the principles of Garvey-ism, did not seem that distant to his followers. Eventually, under carful structure that saw room for all members of the community, Garvey’s organization, the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) grew as a symbol of rebellion against the White rulers, as well as social gathering welcoming all Blacks with the same Pan-Africanist that united everyone. Garvey sought to revive the Black community through communal strength, societal willpower, and business gumption. As his organization grew in radicalism, it spread warning of rebellion, which naturally appealed to disenfranchised blacks in all parts of the world, many of who saw Garvey as the agent of an Earthly salvation.

Roman Religion In A Romans Everyday Life Vs. Religions Effects On Tod :: essays research papers fc

"We Romans", said Cicero, "owe our supremacy overall other peoples to our piety and religious observances and to our wisdom in believing that the spirit of the gods rules and directs everything." Roman rites and observances took two main forms. One was the domestic reverence of the spirit or genius of the family. The other was the public attitude to the gods and goddesses by whom the destiny and welfare of the Roman people as a whole were supposed to be guided and controlled. During the Classical period, religious observance accompanied all important private and public events and transactions and, no successful outcome went without a vow of thanks or public dedication. Temples, priests and sacred rites were provided by the State. Nothing in the nature of religious services as we know them, in which the body of worshipers as a whole were able to participate, seems to have been celebrated in the temples. Any set forms of prayers, hymns or chants were performed sole ly by the official priests whose secrets they remained. The ordinary Roman man or woman had little personal part to play in such rites (Handbook To Life In Ancient Greece). While they were being undertaken and fulfilled it was the duty of the ordinary citizen not to interfere or make any disturbance and to refrain from any business affairs. When religiously minded Roman dropped in to a temple in order to worship the god or goddess whose house it was , they had some practical object in view : some personal favor or advantage. They came and perhaps burn incenses. When praying they stood with upturned palms. Sometimes they got as close to the image of the god as they could in order to whisper their pleas; the feet of some of the images were worn by the kisses of generations of worshipers. In addition to paying a fee for admission, the grateful petitioner for divine aid also brought sacrifices and thankful offerings to the temples. Enormous numbers of livestock and cattle went to augmen t the wealth of the temples, and to swell the incomes of the priests and attendants, many of whom became extremely wealthy. Temple worship was no essential part of Roman life. If it had been, it is difficult to understand why there were not more than about a hundred within the city confines, which is no large number in a city of some million inhabitants.

Study on Mutual Funds

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The main objective of the present study to understand how mutual funds function in India. Specifically the study seeks to answer the following question: 1. What is the present status of mutual funds industry in India? How does it compare with mutual funds in foreign countries? 2. How mutual funds operate to create value for their investors? 3. What consideration an investors should keep in mind while making investment in mutual funds? 4. What is the regulatory frame work for mutual funds in India? 5. What are the problems faced by mutual funds industry in India & what are its future prospects? RESEARCH DESIGN & METHADOLOGY The Present study has been completed on the basis of secondary data colleted from internet and from various books, publicity materials and brochures issued by various mutual funds co. Reference has also been made to the regulations issued by securities and exchange board of India in regard to mutual funds. The data and the resource material so collected have been analysed within the frame work of 5 sections each focusing on a particular questions the study seeks to answer. PLAN OF THE STUDY The Study has been completed within the frame work of five sections. The Section wise plan is as follows:- I. PRESENT STATUS OF MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY II. OPERATION OF MUTUAL FUNDS III. INVESTMENT CRITERIA IV. REGULATORY FRAME WORK OF MUTUAL FUNDS V. PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTUS I PRESENT STATUS OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIAN CAPITAL MARKET Retail investors usually want to participate in the capital market, but due to paucity of funds, lack of expertise knowledge and limited risk-bearing capital, they have limited access to capital market. Mutual funds provide a mechanism that helps the retail investors enter the capital market. the mutual funds manage their funds for maximum gain with minimum risk and in the most professional way and work as agent for growth and stability of capital market. Till 1964, there were no mutual funds in India. In 1963, UTI Act, 1963 was enacted for the establishment of first mutual fund. The UTI launched its first scheme, US-64; in1964 which later became the most popular unit scheme in India. In1987, the RBI issued guidelines for bank-sponsored mutual funds. The evolution of mutual funds in India is consisting of different phases as follows: PHASE I: History of mutual funds started in India in 1964 when the first mutual fund in the name of Unit Trust of India was established in July 1964. UTI launched its first scheme US-64 which eventually became the most popular scheme and could accumulate the largest corpus. After 1964, it started several other schemes also. Till 1987, UTI remained the synonym for mutual fund in India. It was a sole player and gathered shape of monolithic mutual fund with millions of investors in several schemes. PHASE II: In 1987, the Government allowed the public sector banks to establish mutual funds. SBI Mutual Fund in 1987. Other mutual funds to follow suit were Canbank Mutual Fund (1987), PNB Mutual Fund (1989), IndBank Mutual Fund (1989), LIC Mutual Fund (1989), GIC Mutual Fund (1990), etc. The position continued till 1992 and other mutual funds were also established. PHASE III: There was a historical change in 1993 when the government allowed private sector mutual funds also. The first mutual fund in the private sector was Kothari Pioneer. Thereafter, in 1994, the foreign mutual funds were also allowed to operate schemes in India, and Morgan Stanley was the first foreign mutual fund in India whose initial issue of units was overwhelmingly subscribed by the investors. In 1992, SEBI was established and it issued guidelines for the working and supervision of mutual funds. PHASE IV: In 1966 a need was felt for the modification of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations. On the basis of ‘Mutual Funds-2000’ Report, SEBI framed new Regulations in 1996. There have been several amalgamations of mutual funds. After 1996, a number of foreign mutual funds as well as Indian mutual funds have been established. At the end of march 2004, there were 33 mutual funds and Assets Under Management of Rs 1,39,616 crores. After 1996, mutual funds have become very popular among retail investors. The increase in number of mutual funds and their schemes speak of the underlying strength of the investors’ confidence in them. As in April, 2005, there were 28 mutual funds operating in India. Some of the mutual funds operating in India at present are as follows (in alphabetical order): ABN AmroDSP Merril LynchJM Sahara Bank of Beroda Escorts Kotak Mahindra SBI Benchmark Fidelity LIC Standard Chartered Birls Sunlife Franklin Tempelton Morgan Sundarum Canbank HDFC Principal Tata Cholamandalam HSBC Prudential Tauras Deutsche ING Vysya Reliance UTI A large number of mutual funds have intensified competition and led go to product innovation. Each of these mutual funds has a number of schemes operating with different features and characteristics. There are more than 500 schemes in operation at present. II OPERATION OF MUTUAL FUNDS A mutual fund is a financial intermediary which acts as an instrument of investment. It collects funds from different investors to a common pool of investible funds and then invests these funds in a wide variety of investment opportunities. Small investors who are unable to participate in capital market, can access the stock market through the medium of mutual funds which can manage their funds for maximizing return. The investment may be diversified to spread risk and to ensure a good return (dividend or capital gain or both) to the investors. The mutual funds employ professional experts and investment consultants to conduct investment analysis and then select the portfolio of securities where the funds are to be invested. Thus, a mutual fund is a pool of funds contributed by individual investors having common investment preferences. FEATURES AND CHRACTERISTICS OF MUTUAL FUNDS A mutual fund is a financial intermediary and works as an investment company. It has distinct features and characteristics which differentiate it from other financial intermediaries. Some of the features of mutual funds are: (i) Mutual fund is a pool of financial resources. Investors bring their individual funds together. Sometimes, the funds which otherwise may not come for investment in the capital market, are invested through mutual funds. (ii)Mutual funds are professionally managed. The resources collected by mutual funds are managed by professionals and experts in investment. These professionals can undertake specialized investment analysis such as fundamental analysis, technical analysis, etc. , which are not otherwise expected on the part of individual investors. (iii)Mutual fund is an indirect investing. The individual investors invest in the mutual funds which in turn invest in the shares, debentures and other securities in the capital market. The proportionate funds given by an investor are represented by the units of mutual fund. Investors own these units. The shares, debentures are owned by the mutual fund. Investors have no direct claim on these securities. In case of closure or liquidation of the proceeds of these securities are proportionally distributed among the unitholders. (iv)Investment in mutual fund in not borrowing-lending relationship. Investors do not lend money to the mutual fund. Consequently, the investors have to share the gains or losses of operations of the mutual fund. (v)Mutual fund is a representative of investors. The mutual funds collect the funds from investors under a particular investment scheme. as a representative, the mutual fund has to invest these funds as per the designated scheme only. MECHANISM OF MUTUAL FUND OPERATIONS A mutual fund represents pooled savings/funds of individual investors. Professional managers of the mutual fund invest these funds in different types of securities. They have to take different decisions from time to time. The revenue returns may be distributed by the mutual funds to the unitholders. Capital appreciation in the mutual funds also belong to the investors. MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES One of the main objectives of mutual funds is to provide better returns to investors at minimum risk. Mutual funds issue units to the investors in proportion to the funds contributed by the investors. The income of the funds are shared by the investors in the proportion to the number of units held. These mutual funds offer different types of schemes from time to time to attract investors and to take care of their needs, on the basis of nature of investment, type of operations and type of income distribution. Mutual funds may launch different schemes to offer one or more of the following: (a)Regular and steady flow of income, (b)High capital appreciation, c)Capital appreciation and regular return,and (d)Return with tax benefits. There are different ways in which various mutual fund schemes can be classified. Following shows the classification of mutual fund schemes with reference to schemes being offered in India: 1. On the basis of Life Span. (a) Close-ended Schemes (b) Open-ended Schemes 2. On the basis of Income Mode (a) Income schemes (b) Growth schemes 3. On the basis of Portfoli o (a) Equity schemes (b) Debt schemes (c) Balanced schemes 4. On the basis of Maturity of Securities (a)Capital Market Schemes (b)Money market Schemes 5. On the basis of Sectors Different Sectoral Schemes 6. On the basis of Load (a) Load Schemes (b)No Load Schemes 7. Special Schemes: (a) Index Schemes (b)Offshore Schemes (c) Gilt Securities Schemes (d) Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) (e) Fund of Funds. Some of these schemes have been explained below: OPEN-ENDED AND CLOSE-ENDED MUTUAL FUNDS SCHEMES As per SEBI Regulations, 1996, open-ended scheme means a scheme of mutual fund which offers units for sale without specifying any duration for redemption. On the other hand, close-ended scheme is one in which the period of redemption is specified. The open-ended mutual fund scheme sells and repurchases the units of mutual fund on a continuous basis. Any investor can become a member (by purchasing units) or can exit (by selling these units back to the mutual fund). These sales and repurchases of units take place at a price called Net Assets Value (NAV) which is calculated periodically on the basis of the market value of the portfolio of the mutual fund. The sale and repurchase prices are announced by the mutual fund on a periodic basis. The Unit Scheme-1964 (US-64) was an open-ended mutual fund scheme. The essential feature of open-ended scheme is the liquidity. On the other hand, close-ended mutual fund scheme is only one in which the limited number of units are sold to investors during a specified period only. Thereafter, any transaction in these units can take place only in secondary market, ie, the stock exchanges. So, after the initial public offering, the mutual fund goes out of the picture and subsequent sale and purchase take place among the investors. The market price of the units of a closed-ended mutual fund scheme is determined by the market forces of demand and supply. The liquidity to investors provided by the market. However, all the closed-ended mutual fund schemes are redeemable at the end of a specified period when all the investment of the scheme are sold and the proceeds are distributed among the unit holders on a proportionate basis. There are several close-ended schemes such as Master Share Scheme of the UTI. INCOME FUND AND GROWTH FUND The mutual funds are called income funds when they promise a regular and/or guaranteed return in the form of dividends to the investors. For example, UTI launched several Monthly Income Schemes. The portfolio of these schemes is usually consisting of fixed income investments such as bonds, debentures, etc. The income schemes are also known as dividend schemes. These schemes are ideal for investors who need or seek intermediate cash flows in the form of dividend payment. A growth fund scheme is one which offers capital appreciation as well as a variable dividend opportunity to the investors. The investors may get dividend income from the mutual fund on a regular basis and the capital appreciation is available in the form of increase in market price. Growth schemes are good and suitable for investors having long-term investment perspective. In addition, there may also be income-cum-growth (hybrid funds) where the investor may be offered fixed incomes as well as growth opportunities. An example of a growth fund is UTI Growth and Value Fund which is an open-ended equity oriented scheme. The objective is to seek capital appreciation by making investments primarily in listed securities of Indian companies. A variant of income fund is known as Dividend Yield Fund. These invest funds in shares of those companies that pay high dividends. In addition, any appreciation of share price adds or subtracts investors return. DOMESTIC FUNDS AND OFF-SHORE FUNDS The domestic funds schemes are those which are open for subscription by the investors of the country of origin only. Most of the mutual funds launched in India are domestic mutual funds. The off-shore mutual funds bring funds (in the form of foreign exchange) to the capital market. At present, several off-shore mutual fund schemes have been floated in India. Ind Bank Off-Shore Mutual Fund, 1993 and Common Wealth Equity Mutual Fund, 1993 are examples of off-shore mutual fund schemes. TAX-SAVING SCHEMES These mutual fund schemes are designed to avail tax exemptions and concessions to the investors. These schemes help individual investors in their tax planning. CANPEP MEP 1994, PNB-ELSS were some of the tax-savings schemes. These schemes are also known as Equity-linked savings schemes were entitled to tax benefit under Section 88 of the Income Tax Act. Recently, private sector mutual funds have also launched these schemes such as HDFC Tax Plan, KP Tax Shields, etc. MONEY MARKET MUTUAL FUNDS (MMMF) SEBI Regulations, 1996 define an MMMF, as one which has been set up with the objective of investing in money market investments which include commercial papers, commercial bills, ‘T-Bills, etc. The funds collected by these mutual funds are invested exclusively in money market instruments. Money market mutual funds are a part of short-term pooling arrangement of funds. These are open-end funds. These funds are very liquid and risk free because of nature of their investments. MMMF provide better returns than short-term bank deposits and are often considered to be good alternative to bank deposits. The Reserve Bank of India has announced Guidelines for money market mutual fund in April 1992. However, at present, the MMMF are also regulated under SEBI Regulations, 1996. SPECIALISED SECTOR FUNDS Sector funds schemes are those under which the funds are planned to be invested in a particular region, industry or sector. For example, Pharma (D) Scheme of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, Technology Company Scheme of DSP Merill Lynch Mutual Fund, Banking (D) of Reliance Mutual Fund are some specialised sector schemes of mutual funds. INDEX SCHEMES In this case, the funds collected by the mutual funds are invested in the shares forming the Stock Exchange Index. These funds are also known as growth funds. The funds are allocated o the basis of proportionate weight of different shares in the underlying Index. For example, Nifty Index Scheme of UTI Mutual Fund, Index Fund (Sensex) of Tata Mutual Fund, Index Fund (D) of Principal Mutual Fund are Index Schemes. There are 13 Index Funds which use S & P CNX NIFTY as the underlying index. EQUITY FUNDS SCHEMES Under these schemes, the funds are invested primarily in equity shares only. The equity fund schemes are high on the risk scale as the share prices are volatile. These funds try to reduce the risk by diversifying the investments in different types of shares. If invested rationally and properly, these schemes may give high returns commensurate with risk taken. The choice of investee companies is made by the mutual fund. These schemes may be income schemes or growth schemes. Fidelity Equity Fund is an open ended equity growth scheme with the objective of generating long term capital growth from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity-related securities (95%) and Money Market Instrument (5%). DEBT FUNDS SCHEMES In case of debt funds, the collected funds are invested in debt securities. A variant of debt funds schemes may be in the form of government securities funds scheme wherein the funds are invested in government securities only. Debt schemes are generally income scheme. A debt fund scheme is an ideal option for investors who are averse to risk which is associated wit equity schemes. BALANCED FUNDS A balanced fund provides both growth and regular incomes as these schemes invest both in debts and equity instruments in the proportion as disclosed in the offer document. These schemes are appropriate for investors who look for moderate growth. The NAV of these schemes are likely to be less volatile than the pure equity funds. GILT FUNDS The funds of these schemes are invested exclusively in government securities. These funds are low return and low risk and popular among the risk averse investors. Some of the gilt funds operating in India are Gilt Plus (Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund), Gilt Investment (Cholamandalum Mutual Fund), FT Gilt (Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund), Gilt long-term (HDFC Mutual Fund), Gilt Treasury (Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund), etc. SCHEMES BASED ON MARKET CAPITALIZATION In recent past, mutual funds in India have launched several schemes with a focus on market capitalization of companies. For example, UTI Large Cap Fund, UTI Small-Cap Fund, Chola Multi-Cap Fund, HDFC Premier Multi-Cap Fund, etc. are schemes based on market capitalization. It may be noted that the classification between large, small and mid-cap is arbitrary and can vary from market to market. In India, the National Stock Exchange defines mid-cap companies as those having average 6-months market capitalization between Rs. 75 crores to Rs. 750 crores. In Case of multi-cap or flexi-cap schemes, the investments ar e made across companies with different market capitalization-large, small or mid. LOAN AND NO-LOAN FUNDS A load fund is one that charges a % of NAV (Net Assets Value) as entry or exit fees. Whenever an investor buys or sells the units, a fee is charged by the fund to meet the administrative expenses. On the other hand, a no-loan fund is one which does not charge any fees for entry or exit. In case of no-loan fund, all transactions of sale and repurchase of units are done at NAV while in case of load funds, the repurchase is made at a price less than NAV and sale is made at a price more than NAV. FUND OF FUNDS A fund of funds scheme means a scheme that invests primarily in other schemes of same mutual fund or other mutual funds. Benchmark Mutual Fund has started a FOF under the name of FOF Junior BeES. EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) refers to basket of securities that are tradeable at a stock exchange. They are somewhat similar to Index Fund Schemes. The ETFs are so called because they are listed on a stock exchange and are traded as any other listed security. So, ETFs have characteristics of open-ended mutual funds as well as that of listed shares. ETFs do not sell their units directly to the investors. Rather, a security firm creates an ETF by depositing a portfolio of shares in line with an Index selected. The security firm creates units against this portfolio of shares. These units are sold to the retail investors. So, the ETF has portfolio of shares as well as a liability towards the holders of ETF units. ETFs are different from Mutual Funds in the sense that ETF units are not sold to the public for cash. Instead, the Asset Management Company that sponsors the ETF (fund) takes the shares of companies comprising the index from various categories of investors like authorized participants, large investors and institutions. In turn, it issue them a large block of ETF units. Since dividend may have accumulated for the stocks at any point in time, a cash component to that extent is also taken from such investors. In other words, a large block of ETF units called a â€Å"Creation Unit† is exchanged for a â€Å"Portfolio Deposit† of stocks and â€Å"Cash Component†. The number of outstanding ETF units is not limited, as with traditional mutual funds. It may increase if investors deposit shares to create ETF units; or it may reduce on a day if some ETF holders remeed their ETF units for the underlying shares. These transactions are conducted by sending creation/ redemption instructions to the Fund. In case of mutual funds, the portfolio of the investments made under the scheme may change, but in case of ETF, this is not so, because the ETF portfolio created once does not change. The market value of the units of ETF changes in line with the Index automatically. The funds managers are not required to actively manage the portfolio resulting in lower expense level of the fund. Consequently, the NAV of the ETF would be higher than the NAV of the Index Fund with the same portfolio. As the ETFs are listed on a stock exchange, they provide a lot of liquidity and price is determined by the demand and supply forces and the market value of the shares held. As opposed to ETF, the sale/ purchase prices of the units of a mutual fund are based on the NAV. A comparison of ETF, Open-ended funds and close-ended funds has been presented in table below: 1. Parameter Open-ended Fund (OEF) Closed-ended Fund (CEF) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Find Size Flexible Fixed Flexible 2. NAV Daily Daily Real Time 3. Liquidity Provider Fund itself Stock Market Stock Market/Fund itself 4. Sale price At NAV plus load, if any Significant Premium/Discount to NAV Very close to actual NAV of Scheme 5. Availability Fund itself Through Exchange where listed Through Exchange where listed/ fund itself. 6. Portfolio Disclosure Monthly Monthly Daily/Real-time ETFs have edge over the ordinary mutual funds. In case of latter, an investor cannot take the benefit of intra-day movement of price of shares because the mutual fund units can be traded at the closing NAV based rate. However, the performance of ETF is based on the underlying index and ETF can be traded through out the day taking benefit of intra-day movement in price. In India, several ETFs, have been created so for. Bench Mark Mutual Fund has created 5 ETFs. 1. Liquid BeES 2. Nifty BeES 3. Nifty Junior BeES 4. Bank BeES, and 5. FOF Junior BeES All these 5 ETFs are listed and traded at the capital market segment of the NSE. Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund has launched SPICE which tracks the Sensex. It combines features of both open-ended scheme and exchange traded share. It is listed at Mumbai Stock Exchange and can be traded in a lot of one unit. Value of one SPICE is 1/100 of the Sensex value. UTI Mutual Funds has launched SUNDERS, which is also listed at Mumbai Stock Exchange. Certain ETFs traded at American Stock Exchange are QUBES (Representing NASDAQ-100), SPIDERS (representing S&P 500), DIAMONDS (Representing Dow Jones Industrial Average), etc. NET ASSETS VALUE (NAV) OF A MUTUAL FUND Investors are the owners of the mutual fund. Funds collected under a particular scheme are invested in different securities. So the ownership interest of the unit holders is represented by these securities. Net Assets Value (NAV) refers to the ownership interest per unit of the mutual fund, i. . , NAV refers to the amount which a unit holder would receive per unit if the scheme is closed. NAV is represented as follows: An amount of Rs. 50,00,000 has been collected by a mutual fund by the issue of 5,00,000 units of Rs. 10 each. The amount has been invested in different securities. The market value of these securities at present is Rs. 56,00,000 and the mutual fund has a liability of Rs. 4, 50,000 in respect of expenses, etc. The NAV of the fund is: The units of an open-ended mutual fund scheme are sold and purchased by the mutual fund at a price based on NAV. The NAV of a mutual fund scheme is calculated by dividing the net assets of the scheme by the number of outstanding units under that scheme on the date of valuation. SEBI Regulations, 1996 provide that while determining the price of the units, the mutual fund has to ensure that the repurchase price is not lower than 93% of the NAV and the selling price is not higher than 107% of the NAV. Further that the difference between the selling price and the repurchase price shall not exceed 7%, calculated on the selling price of the units. The NAV varies from time to time and is published in newspapers so as to enable the nvestors to know the value of their investments. SEBI Regulations, 1996 require that the NAV of a mutual fund scheme shall be calculated and published at least in two daily newspapers at an interval of not exceeding one week. III INVESTMENT CRITERIA MAKING THE INVESTMENT DECISION Ones main considerations as an investor, besides choosing which vehicles are right, lie in the a reas of risk management, taxes and inflation, and asset allocation. In order to reach your financial objectives, you must choose from diverse investment alternative – all of which vary greatly in the degree and type of risk and potential return. The key to developing a sound portfolio is to strike the right balance between potential reward and risk, based on your financial objectives, financial situation and investment style. We’ve all heard the expression, â€Å"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. † Perhaps nowhere does this maxim hold truer than in the financial markets, where pursuing potentially higher returns means accepting higher levels of risk. Before you venture anything, you should determine your personal level of risk tolerance, given your needs and goals. To do this, you should familiarize yourself with the various kinds of risk and how they affect different types of investments. THE MANY OF FACES OF RISK Risk is the possibility that one may lose some or all of his investment in real terms, or that his investment may not increase in value. Several factors may influence the amount of risk one can comfortably accept, including ones age, family situation, income, time horizon and financial goals. When investing, one faces the following key risks: †¢Market Risk: This is the possibility that an investment (e. g. , a stock) will decline in value. As a result, if you sold the investment, you would receive less than what you initially paid for it. †¢Credit Risk: This is the possibility that the issuer of an investment (e. g. , a corporate bond) may not live up to its financial obligations. A default by the issuer could mean that you lose your invested capital and the expected interest payments. †¢Inflation Risk: This is the possibility that the value of a long-term asset (e. g. , a government bond) may not grow enough to keep up with inflation, reducing your purchasing power as a result. †¢Reinvestment Risk: This is the possibility that interest rates will fall as an investment (e. . , a bond) matures. If this occurs, you may be unable to reinvest matured assets at the rate of return you were accustomed to receiving. This type of risk also applies to reinvesting the coupon payments received from bonds and other fixed-income payments. †¢Liquidity Risk: This is the possibility that you will be unable to liquid ate an asset (e. g. , real estate) when you want and at the price you want. As a result, you may be forced to retain the asset or accept less than you wanted for the sake of liquidity. †¢National, International, and Political Risk: The possibility that a country’s government will suddenly change its policies. Events such as wars, embargos, coups, and the appointments of individuals with unfavorable economic policies can impact the financial markets, especially concerning investments related to that country. Possible results changes in tax structures and changes in bond or stock ratings. †¢Economic Risk: The risk that the economy will suffer a downturn as a whole. Such an event generally affects all the financial markets across the board, from product prices to the job market. †¢Industry Risk: The risk that a specific industry will suffer a downturn. Often, industries related to the one that experiences problems will suffer as well. Tax Risk: The risk that high taxes will make investments less profitable for both businesses and investors. Businesses that have no pay expand or improve. Investments that carry heavy tax baggage generally lead to lower dividends for an investor. How Much Risk Is Right? The amount of risk that is right depends upon person to person. To determine the r isk comfort level, one may ask this himself: Am I willing to tolerate greater volatility for potentially higher returns from my investments, or do I place more emphasis on quality, with less risk? Several factors may influence the amount of risk one can comfortably accept in ones portfolio, including: †¢Age †¢Family situation †¢Income †¢Financial goals In addition, the markets evolve and ones personal goals will inevitably change with time. One of the best ways to keep ones investments on target is to meet with financial professional regularly. In these meetings, the investor and his financial professional can discuss the investment objectives, determine the individual risk tolerance level and help to understand the various risks associated with an investment. The financial professional can also help an investor build a portfolio that has the potential to provide the highest returns consistent with the amount of risk one wish to assume. HOW TO CHOOSE WHICH RISKS TO TAKE? Whenever one considers a new investment, he may wish to ask his financial professional the following questions: †¢What types of risk are involved? Once the financial professional has explained the risks, one must ask how he or she can help to manage or minimize the different kinds or risk for the investment one is considering. Not all kinds of risk will apply to every investment. †¢What could happen to the principal in a â€Å"worst-case† scenario? The financial professional can explain how diversifying ones portfolio can help mitigate the effect of a downturn in any one market or industry. For example, assume you invested in the stock of a highly speculative biotechnology company. The stock’s trading price could fall substantially if the company’s only product fails to get FDA approval or is shown to be inferior to a competitor’s product. Spreading ones money across different asset classes – stocks, fixed – income investments, and cash equivalents – could help one manage the risk better than investing all his funds in this one stock. †¢How will adding this investment to the holdings help to manage the portfolio’s overall risk? Managing market risk through a balance of financial assets in ones portfolio is a significant component of long-ter m investment success. Ideally, ones portfolio should offer a measure of protection during inevitable market downturns and be positioned for opportunity when markets heat up. In addition to risk there are other factors also which need to be considered before investing, as stated below: INFLATION: Inflation taxes are two factors always on the minds of investors. Inflation is the persistent increase in the cost of goods and services, and the reason why the same loaf of bread that costs you $1. 00 today will probably cost you $1. 05 next year. For your purchasing power to grow in â€Å"real† terms, your returns must outpace the inflation rate. TAXES: Additionally, taxes must be a consideration. There are investments available that are both taxable and tax-free; others are tax-deferred or tax-deductible. The differences are significant, but not as dizzying as they seem. ASSET ALLOCATION: Asset allocation refers to the diversification of your portfolio across all the different classes of assets. The goal of effective asset allocation is to develop an appropriate mix of investments based on your specific investment objectives that maximizes performance potential with an acceptable level of investment risk. The goal is more consistent returns, lower volatility and a greater chance of achieving financial objectives. SELECTION OF A MUTUAL FUNDS There are thousands of funds to choose from, but there are some general guidelines that can help you choose a fund. †¢Define your investment time horizon and financial goals. Meeting a long-term goal (e. g. , starting a college fund for a newborn) will require different investments than in meeting a short-term goal (e. g. , accumulating money to purchase a car). †¢Understand your risk tolerance and the risk of different mutual funds. Risk tolerance is based on your comfort level in the fluctuation of price, which will affect your investment principal. Once this is determined, you can match fund types that have historically shown commensurate price movement. Keep in mind, however, that past performance is no guarantee of future results. †¢Combine your goals, time horizon and risk tolerance and find a fund category that matches these objectives. This will help in deciding what types of funds you may want to consider. You will find that there are still many funds to choose from within a specific category. Your prudential financial professional will be able to perform a comparative analysis of the individual funds to find the most appropriate choice. Check with your tax advisor prior to investing in a tax-exempt or tax-managed fund. Match the term of the investment to the time you expect to keep it invested. Money you may need right away (for example, if your car breaks down) should be in a money market account. Money you will not need until your retire in decades (or for a newborn’s college education) should be in longer- term investments, such as stock or bond funds. Putting money you will need soon in stocks risks having to sell them when the market is low and missing out on the rebound. Expenses matter over the long term, and of course, cheaper is usually better. You can find the expense ratio in the prospectus. Expense ratios are critical in index funds, which seek to match the market. Actively managed funds need to pay the manager, so they usually have a higher expense ratio. Sector funds often make the â€Å"best fund† lists you see every year. The problem is that it is usually a different sector each year. Also, some sectors are vulnerable to industry-wide events (airlines do come to mind). Avoid making these a large part of your portfolio. Closed-end funds often sell at a discount to the value of their holdings. You can sometimes get extra return by buying these in the market. Hedge fund managers love this trick. This also implies that buying them at the original issue is usually a bad idea, since the price will often drop immediately. Mutual funds often make taxable distributions near the end of the year. If you plan to invest money in the fund in a taxable account, check the fund company’s website to see when they plan to pay the dividend; you may prefer to wait until afterwards if it is coming up soon. Research. Read the prospectus, or as much of it as you can stand. It should tell you what these strangers can do with your money, among other vital topics. Check the return and risk of a fund against its peers with similar investment objectives, and against the index most closely associated with it. Be sure to pay attention to performance over both the long-term and the short-term. A fund that gained 53% over a 1-yr. period (which is impressive), but only 11% over a 5-yr. period should raise some suspicion, as that would imply that the returns on four out of those five years were actually very low (if not straight losses) as 11% compounded over 5 years is only 68%. Diversification can reduce risk. Most people should own some stocks, some bonds, and some cash. Some of the stocks, at least, should be foreign. You might not get as much diversification as you think if all your funds are with the same management company, since there is often a common source of research and recommendations. The same is true if you have multiple funds with the same profile or investing strategy; these will rise and fall together. Too many funds, on the other hand, will give you about the same effect as an index fund, except your expenses will be higher. Buying individual stocks exposes you to company-specific risks, and if you buy a large number of stocks the commissions may cost more than a fund will. The compounding effect is your best friend. A little money invested for a long time equals a lot of money later. The decision to invest in a mutual fund is one you have to make on your own. However, when you try to choose an investment, it’s usually best to seek the guidance of an investment representative. Why? Consider that there are more mutual funds than there are stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. While many of these funds share the same objectives, no two are exactly alike. Similarly, as an investor, your goals are unique. An investment representative can help you determine the fund that’s right for you. A mutual fund investor has more options than ever before – stock, bond, and money market funds to satisfy all outlooks, from the most conservative to the most venturesome. Generally speaking, in investment management, intelligently assumed risk creates the opportunity for greater returns. †¢A money market mutual fund aims for current income at minimal risk. †¢A municipal bond mutual fund aims for current tax-free income. †¢Government income funds aim for current income with principal security. †¢Corporate bond funds aim for a high rate of current income. †¢An income fund aims for a higher rate of current income. A balanced fund aims for current income with some capital appreciation. †¢Growth and income funds offer the possibility of more growth than a balanced fund, but probably less income. †¢A growth fund aims for the accumulation of capital, with little or no current income. †¢Aggressive growth funds offer the prospect of maximum capi tal appreciation, with more than average risk. In addition, specialized funds are available – for instance, those that invest only in certain geographic regions or in certain sectors or industries (like health care, technology, or energy). There are even funds that have adopted certain social objectives or that follow specific investment philosophies. For more complete information, including charges and expenses, obtain the mutual fund’s prospectus. Read it carefully before you invest or send money. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires every open-mutual fund (where the fund’s managers issue new shares on demand) to provide you with a copy of its prospectus before – or coinciding with – a purchase of shares. A prospectus is a key source of information regarding a mutual fund and often is the best place to start when you are considering investing in one. It will describe the fund’s objectives, risks, and operations. TURNOVER Turnover is a measure of the amount of securities that are bought and sold, usually in a year, and usually expressed as a percentage of net asset value. It shows how actively managed the fund is. A caveat is that this value is sometimes calculated as the value of all transactions (buying, selling) divided by 2; i. e. , the fund counts one security sold and another one bought as one â€Å"transaction†. This makes the turnover look half as high as would be according to the standard measure. Turnover generally has tax consequences for a fund, which are passed through to investors. In particular, when selling an investment from its portfolio, a fund may realize a capital gain, which will ultimately be distributed to investors as taxable income. The very process of buying and selling securities also has its own costs, such as brokerage commissions, which are borne by the fund’s shareholders. The Dalbar Inc. consultancy studied stock mutual fund returns over the period from 1984 to 2000. Dalbar found that the average stock fund returned 14 percent; during that same period, the typical mutual fund investor had a 5. percent return. This finding has made both â€Å"personal turnover† (buying and selling mutual funds) and â€Å"professional turnover† (buying mutual funds with a turnover above perhaps 5%) unattractive to some people. IV REGULATORY FRAME-WORK OF MUTUAL FUNDS Immediately after its constitution, SEBI issued the Mutual Fund Regulations in 1993. However, with the growth of mutual funds, it was imperative that they should follow prepared a ‘Mutual Fund 2000 Report’ and on the basis of this report, it prepared more stringent and comprehensive regulations in 1996, known as SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996. ince then, there have been number of amendments in Regulations, 1996. Besides, SEBI has also issued several guidelines in respect of working of mutual funds. Some of the provisions of the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996 (as amended from time to time) have been summarized hereunder: 1. The sponsor, who wants to establish a mutual fund, should have a sound track record and a general reputation of fairness and integrity, i. e. , must be in business of financial services for 5 years, and must have contributed at least 40% of the net worth of the Asset Management Company. 2. A mutual fund is constituted in form of trust. The trust shall incorporate an Asset Management Company (AMC). The trustees shall ensure that the AMC has been managing the schemes independently of other activities. 3. Two-thirds of the trustees shall be independent persons and not be associated with the sponsor. 4. The trustees shall ensure that activities of the AMC are in accordance with the Regulations, 1996. 5. The trust shall periodically review the investors’ complaints received and shall be redressed by the AMC. 6. The mutual fund shall appoint a custodian to carry out the custodial services for the schemes. The sponsor or its associates shall no have 50% or more of the share capital of the custodian. 7. No scheme shall be launched by the AMC unless the offer document contains disclosures which are adequate in order to enable the investors to make informed investment decisions. 8. Advertisement in respect of every scheme shall be in conformity with the Advertisement Code. 9. Every close-ended scheme shall be listed at a recognized stock exchange, or there will be a repurchase facility. 10. The close-ended schemes may be converted into open-ended schemes under certain conditions. A close-ended scheme may be allowed to be rolled over if necessary disclosures about NAV, etc. , are made to the unit holders. 11. In case of over-subscription for a new scheme, the applicants applying for upto 5,000 units shall be allotted full. The refund to applicants, if any, shall be made within 6 weeks from the data of closure of the list. 12. No guaranteed return shall be provided in a scheme, unless such return is fully guaranteed by the sponsor or the AMC. 13. An open-ended scheme shall be would up after the expiration of the mixed period, or in case, 75% of the nit holders decide so, after repaying the amount due to the unit holders. 14. The money collected under any scheme shall be invested only in transferable securities in money market or capital market or private placed debts or securitized debts. 15. The mutual fund shall not borrow any money except to meet temporary liquidity needs and borrowing, if any, need not be more than 20% of NAV of the scheme, and for period o f less than 6 months. 16. The funds of a scheme shall not be used in option trading or a carry forward transaction. However, derivatives can be traded by a mutual fund at a recognized stock exchange for portfolio balancing. 7. A mutual fund can enter into underwriting agreement. 18. NAV for each scheme shall be calculated by dividing the total assets of the scheme by the number of outstanding units. The NAV of the scheme shall be published in two daily newspapers at interval of not exceeding one week. 19. In case of open-ended schemes, the repurchase and sale price shall be published at least once a week. 20. The mutual fund shall ensure that the repurchase price of a unit is not less than 93% of NAV and the sale price is not more than 107% of NAV. In case of close-ended schemes, the repurchase price shall not be less than 95% of the NAV. 1. The AMC may charge the mutual fund with investment and advisory fees as per rates prescribed in the Regulations. The issue expenses and redempt ion expenses of a scheme shall not exceed the limits given in the Regulations. 22. The mutual funds are required to raise at least Rs. 20 crores or Rs. 50 crores (for close-ended and open-ended schemes respectively) or 60% of the target amount, otherwise the entire subscription be refunded. Each scheme should have a minimum of 20 investors and not single investor should account for more than 25% of the corpus of the scheme. 23. The unquoted debt instruments shall not exceed 10% in case of growth funds and 40% in case of income funds. 24. Investment in one company under any scheme should be restricted to 5% of the corpus of the scheme. Under all schemes, the investment in one company should be restricted to 5% of the paid-up capital of the company. Total investment in all securities (debts and shares) in one company shall be restricted to 10% of the corpus of the mutual fund. 25. Funds under the same AMC mutual not be lent or invest from one scheme to another, unless the funds are transferred at the prevailing market price. 26. All mutual fund must distribute a minimum of 905 of their profits in any given year. The e3arnings must be segregated as current income, short-term capital gain and long-term capital gain. 27. Trading by mutual funds shall be restricted to hedging and portfolio balancing purposes only. The securities held shall be marked to market by the AMC to ensure full coverage of the investments made in derivative products. 28. Mutual funds are permitted to participate in the Securities Lending Scheme of SEBI under certain guidelines. 29. Mutual funds are allowed to invest in ADRs/GDRs issued by Indian companies. They can also invest in foreign securities under certain conditions and within limits. 30. Mutual funds can also invest up to 10% their funds in equity of listed overseas companies which have a shareholding of at least 10% in an Indian company listed on a recognized stock exchange. 31. The AMC and the trustees are required to review and disclose the performance of their schemes. They are also required to disclose the performance of the benchmark indices. Any of the following indices may be selected for this purpose: BSE Sensex, S&P CNX Nifty, BSE 100, BSE 200 or S&P CNX Nifty 500. 32. Several Guidelines have been prescribed in respect of Advertisement to be issued by mutual funds. Any advertisement, communication, sales literature, or presentation, etc. , should not be misleading. 33. Detailed guidelines are prescribed for valuation of investments. For this purpose, the investments are classified into traded, thinly traded and non-traded investments. 34. Guidelines for identification and provisioning for NPA are also provided. For this purpose, an asset is NPA if the principal/ interest is not received for one quarter. On NPA, no interest shall be accrued. If any interest is already accrued, it shall be provided. A provision @ 10%, 20% or 25% of the book value of NPA is required depending upon the period for which it is NPA. 35. A mutual fund and the AMC shall, before the expiry of 1 month from the close of half year, shall publish its financial results in respect of that half year. MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENT AND INVESTORS’ PROTECTION IN INDIA In case of mutual funds, small investors park their funds in expectation of a suitable return and safety of their funds. Mutual funds take decisions on behalf of the investors. There is a relationship of trust between the mutual fund and the investors. Market regulators should take a cognizance of this fact. The interest of the investors should be protected by framing a comprehensive set of regulatory provision. As the first mutual fund in India, the UTI was created as a statutory body under the UTI Act, the relevant provision regarding investment policies, etc. were all given in the UTI Act itself. However, the position changed after 1992 with the constitution of SEBI. The basic objective of SEBI is to â€Å"protect the interest of the investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate, the securities market and for matters connected therewith or incidental therewith. So, the regulation of mutual funds activities was make a matter under purview of SEBI. SEBI issued the Mutual Fund Guidelines, 1993 as a first attempt to provide for a regulatory framework to give directions to the functioning of mutual funds and to protect the interest of the mutual funds investors. Keeping in view the changing scenario, SEBI issued a new set of Mutual Funds Guidelines in 1996. A detailed list of the provisions of Guidelines, 1996 is already given in this chapter. Some other provision specifically dealing with investors protection are: (i)Each mutual fund must be registered with SEBI. The sponsor must have a sound track record and experience in financial services of at least 5 years. (ii)Number of terms and conditions have been provided in respect of Asset Management Company (AMC). The Directors of the AMC should here adequate professional experience in finance and financial services. (iii)The custodian of the mutual fund should also be approved and registered with SEBI. (iv)No mutual fund scheme can be launched unless approved with the trustees. (v)Minimum and Maximum amount to be raised under the scheme should be notified. (vi)Lot of disclosures are required in respect of the scheme in the prospectus. vii)No scheme with a guaranteed return can be issued unless such return is guaranteed by the AMC or the sponsor. (viii)Periodic report in respect of each of the scheme is to be published. Any information that has an adverse bearing on the investment should also be disclosed. (ix)There are investment norms provided for mutual fund investment with a view to contain t he investment risk. Investors’ interest is protected by prohibiting mutual funds from excessive risk exposure. (x)SEBI can impose several types of monetary penalties for violations of SEBI Regulations and Guidelines.

Jim Crow laws Essay

African Americans No matter where or when a person lives, skin color, beliefs, class, or history he/she will see a difference in the way every ethnic group is treated. This world has never been fair for anyone. Life can treat a person with the greatest of care or it will treat a person as if he/she is lower than dirt. African Americans are no different. They have faced great hardships and triumphs throughout the years. Since they had been forced from their homeland they have been treated as if they had no rights or thoughts of their own. They were placed in the status of slaves even though they were human beings too. No matter if they were placed in the minority group by the dominate majority group of white Americans they remind structurally pluralism by keeping to their beliefs and traditions. Before and after slavery African Americans did not receive equal treatment. â€Å"Even when slavery ended, Jim Crow laws went into effect meaning that the very best of everything was reserved for white’s only-school, jobs, neighborhoods, hospitals, etc. † (Moore, 2008). In other words, the African Americans took the subordinate status to the dominant white Americans. Their race was used to dictate what rights they would be allowed to have in America. At one point, they did not have the right to be free and over the years they were given that right back. Even though they regained their right to be free, they still were not very free. They were only allowed to eat in certain places, drink from certain fountains, and ride in the back of the bus. This is not what would be called very free. They were not even given the opportunities to receive a quality education or to vote. â€Å"With the 1896 Supreme Court decision in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the separate by equal doctrine was upheld, and the system of segregation in the South was securely in place† (Merger, 2012, pg. 169). When it came to getting a quality education, they were placed at the bottom of the totem pole. The whites receive the best opportunities for receiving a quality education while the African Americans were not. It was not until the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case that African Americans were allowed a better education. â€Å"Separate schools were inherently unequal and imposed an inferior status on black children, causing irreparable psychological change† (Merger, 2012, pg. 173). The rights as citizens were also being denied by not allowing them to vote and make a proper living to take care of their families. Years ago, African Americans were not allowed to vote, so they had no say in the laws that were made that would deny them their rights as American citizens or human beings. This kept them from changing the laws that kept them from achieving economically and politically. The Civil Right Movement began a new era for African American. It was their gain of the right to vote and be elected to office that gave the some power over their rights as human beings and citizen in the economic and political environment. Even after everything that the African Americans have gone through, they still face prejudice and discrimination in all areas of their lives. It is no wonder that for some it feels as if it is never over. No matter what a person looks like, how he/she talks, their beliefs, where he/she lives, how much money he/she has, or what race he/she may come from we all bleed red and where cut from the same cloth. We all deserve to have the opportunities and resources that are out there to help better ourselves. African Americans are human beings too and they have the same rights as everyone else.

West Side Story Essays

West Side Story Essays West Side Story Essay West Side Story Essay Essay Topic: A Dolls House The Winters Tale We Real Cool In the context of 1960s, chain gangs and gang wars are prevalent between Latin and White American adolescents. For the reason that the White American adolescents despise and discriminate against the Latin Americans (particularly the Puerto Rican race), the Whites resort to bully the minorities and they even ostracize the Latin Americans by depriving them of their rights to use recreation places like the street’s basketball court, food houses, and the like upon believing that the White Americans are the most superior and the better race than the Latin Americans; and in so doing, the White Americans perceive and believe that should not mingle with those inferior and minority race (such that of the Latin Americans as an example) who were different from them (Brian 2005). Moreover, in this movie directed in 1961 by Jerome Robbins Robert Wise entitled: West Side Story, the conflict between the two opposing races namely the White and the Latin Americans was further described throug h presentation of some prevailing scenarios that the Latin Americans unjust encounter and experience with the White Americans.BodyThe West Side Story is a movie adapted from Broadway’s musicale. It was an adaptation of the infamous Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet (UAPI 2009). Starred by Natalie Wood as â€Å"Maria,† Richard Beymer as â€Å"Tony,† and George Chakiris as â€Å"Bernardo,† the rest of supporting characters of the film includes: Russ Tamblyn as â€Å"Riff,† Rita Moreno as â€Å"Anita,† Simon Oakland as â€Å"Lieutenant Schrank,† Ned Glass as whom they call â€Å"Doc,† William Bramley (as the notorious police of the street) named, â€Å"Officer Krupke,† Tucker Smith as â€Å"Ice,† Tony Mordente as â€Å"Action,† Eliot Feld as the â€Å"Baby John,† and lastly, David Winters, as the one who portrayed the character of â€Å"A-Rab (Shulman 1961).†The Plot of the West Side StoryThe Movie West Side Story was depicted in the life of the citizens of the White and Latin Americans living in the 1950’s in Manhattan streets of the United States. A division was clearly evident as it was created and recognized by the adolescents of the east coast and west coast of Manhattan. The setting begins in the mentioned streets of Manhattan as a self-gratifying and self-centered musical song was sung by the Jets (the name for the White Americans’ gang and clique). Throughout the song sung by the Jets, the Puerto Ricans/Latin American adolescent gang led by Bernardo were discriminated and ostracized. First instance was when a fruit held by one of the Sharks (the name of the Latin adolescent Americans)it was abruptly grabbed by another member of the Jets without consent and respect to the quiet Latino. Moreover, the Latin Americans/ Puerto Ricans were mostly driven away and out of establishments and public leisure places. It was evident in the entire film that the he ight of discrimination and prejudice occurred in the late 1950s to early 1960s and it was shown how the Latinos were mostly bullied by the White Americans (Dirks 1961).The setting of the West Side Story is at the basketball court of Manhattan. Even if the scenario in the court, it was obvious that the Latin Americans were discriminated as they were not favored to play in the same court with the White Americans. It was evident however, that there was a rival even in basketball for the two different races. Furthermore, a representative member of the Jets (White American adolescents) vandalized a wall and wrote: â€Å"Sharks stink!† Upon catching this adolescent in the act, the Sharks saw what the White American adolescent did and so they chased after him and the riot between the White and the Latin Americans began (Howe 2003).The Sharks (East side) and the Jets (West side)A hot-tempered and authoritative cop was assigned in monitoring the activities of the two distinct groups, The Sharks and Jets. The cop’s name was Officer Krupke, played by the actor William Bramley. Officer Krupke’s major task and obligation is to control and to minimize the rate of crime and therefore maintain peace and order in the streets of Manhattan.Meanwhile, the Jets (West side) were preoccupied in praising themselves with all pride and self-centered egoism. According to the Jets, they walk tall as they consider themselves the kings of the streets in Manhattan. The Jets perceive that the east side, Sharks (the Latin Americans) were a threat to their dream of being the king of the streets, in so doing, the Jets consisting of the White Americans just would not stop throwing mock at the Latinos and drive them away wherever the Jets hang out. Further, the Sharks or the Latin Americans led by Bernardo just kept themselves mum at a time just to keep their group away from trouble. However their threshold of patience was reached at a certain point of them when Bernardo was mocked by the cop, Officer Krupke himself- showing that he was in favor of the White Americans. In this case, Bernardo decided he would stand up for his group and race and they decided to fight in defense of those Jets and other White Americans who interfere with their freedom and right of peace (RC 2008).Upon Bernardo’s (leader of the Sharks in west side) and his group’s implicit decision to fight for their right of freedom, respect, and peace in Manhattan, they resort to fight with the Jets in a dance showdown. From that dance, the difference of the two cultures was shown in terms of their specialties in music genre: the Latinos were good dancers of boogie, salsa, twist, and cha-cha, whereas for the white Americans, they are good dancers but not as good and as creative dancers as the Latin Americans. During the dance showdown, two eyes met as if they were magnetized to notice each other inspite of the numerous Sharks and Jets dancing on the floor. The two love birds were Maria (played by the famous Natalie Wood) and Tony (as portrayed by Richard Beymer). Maria (a Puerto Rican/ Latin American woman) fell in love at first sight with Tony ( a member of the Jets, a white American) during the first dance showdown between the White Americans and the Latin American adolescents. Further, the dance showdown halted as soon as Bernardo (Maria’s brother) noticed the undesirable scene. Bernardo obviously did not want his sister to fall in love with a White American especially with belonging in their opponent Jets (Shulman 1961).In the next scene of the film, the West side Jets claim they have departed the social norm that is why they are anti-social and juvenile delinquents. According to the songs they sing, they need help and they could not be blamed for their behavior since each one of them have their issues and problems in their families. Most of them were misunderstood and belonging in broken family set-up. At the end of their song, they address officer Krupke (RC 2008).The climax of this move is when the conflict between the Jets and the Sharks became intense up to the point that both parties decided to pick a fight and end their rival in duel. ON the other hand, Maria (Bernardo’s sister and Tony’s girlfriend) secretly meet with Tony even she knows that it is dangerous for the both of them. Since Tony was madly in love with Maria, he took the risk and courted Maria. However, Maria requested and pleaded her Tony to try to stop the war between the two groups. Tony, hesitant at first for the difficult request of Maria, agreed to do his best and try to stop the fight as soon as possible (Shulman 1961).The West Side Story: A grand slam receiver of Academy AwardsHaving been released by the United Artists in 1961, the West side story gained praise and at the same time critiques from the viewers and it also achieved the title of: â€Å"the 2nd highest grossing movie† in 1961. The West side story received a tot al of ten Academy awards and it achieved several nominations and recognitions in the United States.This award winning movie, West Side Story achieved success in depicting the current existing culture of the Americans (both for the White and Latin Americans) during the 1960’s. The West side story achieved several honors and Academy awards namely for the following categories: for Best Picture, considering Robert Wise is the producer; Best for Supporting Actor played by George Chakiris as â€Å"Bernardo;† Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno who portrayed the role of â€Å"Anita;† another Academy award for the film’s Best Art Direction category considering the aspects of the right choice of set color and design, claimed by Victor Gangelin and Boris Leven; Best in Cinematography category: good choice and quality for the film’s color which induces the movie’s theme, claimed by Daniel Fapp; another award of Best in Costume Design for Irene Shar aff; Best in Directing for Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins; Best Academy award in Film Editing for Thomas Stanford; Award for the film’s Original Music Score and of the   Musical Picture credited to Johnny Green, Saul Chaplin, Sid Ramin, and Irwin Kostal; and last but not the least, the West side story also gained the Academy award Academy for Best Sound as credit to Fred Hynes (Todd-AO SSD) and Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD) (Howe 2003).In addition, the West side story achieved further recognitions, awards, and nominations were the result of the cooperation of the cast and those working staff behind the scenes. In 1997, the film was promoted by the United States Library of Congress (USLC) as it has been considered as a film that is being culturally significant and it was chosen to be preserved in the collection of the National Film Registry. Similarly, the West side story achieved further awards and recognition as Best in Writing and Screenplay based on material from an other medium, as credited to Mr. Ernest Lehman; another received award by this film is the Academy Award for Brilliant Achievements in the Art of Choreography on Film credit to and for Jerome Robbins (one of the directors of the West side story). Furthermore, the west side story achieved 1998 American Film Institution Recognition (AFI) as rating number 41 out of 100 movies in the United States. In 2002, it also gained American Film Institution Recognition (AFI) as rated number three in the Passions of the United States for 100 years. The songs used in the West side story also top rated the charts especially for the songs: Somewhere (rated number 20 for 100 years), also for the song America (rated number 35 for 100 years), and also including the song, Tonight (rated number 59 for 100 years) consecutively as recorded in 2004 charts. In 2006, it achieved recognition of100 Years of Musicals rating number 2 from AFI and apparently, the West side story achieved the recognition of 100 Year s for 100 Movies in its tenth (10th) Anniversary Edition rating number 51 from AFI, as put into account in year 2007 (Howe 2003).The Soundtrack used in the West Side StoryIn order for a great multi-million dollar winning movie to become possible, the choice of songs as background music for the movie’s soundtrack plays a very important factor in determining the success of the movie. Originally, the West side story was a musical created by Johnny Richards. In 1961, West side story was adapted and recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra as musical collection jazz orchestra using Bernstein scores. However the Stan Kenton Orchestra’s version was viewed and evaluated by the film directors of the West side story, it was the different version of musicale from the musicale included in the ongoing film. In fact, upon seeing the Stan’s orchestra jazz version, the directors claim that they should have used Stan’s version as soundtrack of the film but it was too late an d a new and different version was created by the song directors to be used in the West side story. Although The Stan Kenton’s version was not used as the basis of musicale background of the film, it gained a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Recording of a large group in 1962 (Shulman 196).This is not saying that West side story was free from flaws and considered therefore as perfect, but it was generally agreed by majority that the film was a good and timely musicale reflecting the current cultural norms and values of the Americans in 1960s. In manner of clothing, perception of power, basis for conflict, the prevalent prejudice and discrimination, and the diverse nature of language, music, and dance steps. The difference between the White and Latin Americans was explicitly described and presented in the portrayal of the main and supporting characters of the movie (RC 2008).Characteristics of the Characters in West side storyDescribed as â€Å"New York’s classic of the 1960s ,’’ West side story was astoundingly studded with magnificent and good starts who sang the songs like Tonight, Maria, I Feel Pretty, America, Officer Krupke, A Place for Us, and I Have Love (citation). Although Maria was criticized for delivering some lines the songs with uncertain accent, the musicale was a success for its overall success in portraying the life and culture of the adolescent, White and Latin Americans in 1960s. The characters of the West side story played a major role in making the film on of the best musicale created in the United States.First and foremost, Rita Moreno (girlfriend of Bernardo) and the one who played the role of â€Å"Anita,† delivered a great portrayal of her character in the movie. Anita, as a Latin American, was a graceful and flexible dancer, and at the same time, was good singer as she sang some songs in the film. Similarly, Russ Tamblyn, who played the role of Rif, was the persuasive leader of the Westside Jets and portray ed his character fairly as well.Having been playing the role of Maria, Natalie Wood portrayed her character as an innocent-looking, young, and a graceful dancer and singer, Maria. The character Maria fell in love with Tony, the member of the Jets gang in the west side. On the other hand, George Chakiris playing the role of Bernardo, as the brother of Maria and leader of the Sharks in the East side, portrayed the role of a discriminated leader of a minority group of the Latino adolescents in Manhattan. Bernardo could be quiet and soft spoken at times but he has the tendency for aggression to assert himself and represent his group in defending their race against discrimination and prejudice of the white Americans. Most and the rest of the characters exerted their best performance level in portraying their roles for the West side story (UAPI 2009).The Significance and Recommendation of the West side storyThought the West side story was just presented in such a simple way, it successful ly addressed the important issues and problems in the society existing long, long time ago at the onset of 1960s and still exists nowadays. The social issues of family set up of the adolescents (particularly as sung by the Jets), the lack of attention parents and school personnel who should aid the personality development of the disturbed adolescents, the racial issues, conflict, discrimination and prejudice existing among culturally-diverse communities, increased the awareness of the viewers (who may be a parent, a policymaker, or district guidance counselor) and so, they could devise ways and create programs for the benefit of the currently growing adolescents. Even if the culture describe in the film was during the 1960’s it is obvious that discrimination and prejudice is still occurring in some communities in the United States; in so doing, this film may serve as a guide for the adolescents and the adults to address and provide solutions to current problems in the society and its members- especially for the benefit of the adolescents who are in pressing need of guidance, understanding, attention, and advice from the adults. In such case, the West side story is must-seen (UAPI 2009).Indeed, the West side story is a re-tell or a remake and a musical version of the popular novel/movie Romeo and Juliet (citation). It is a musical drama with soul-inspiring and enervating song lines sung by the stars of the film. Just like the tragic Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, the West side story ended with a tragic accident of killing the major characters in the movie namely Bernardo and Tony. Maria was left alone by her two loved ones due to the hatred built between the Jets and the Sharks of Upper West side Manhattan, New York City (RC 2008).Compared between the rival between Montague and Capulet families of Romeo and Juliet, the gangs Jets and Sharks hate could not stand each other as well. And so the gang wars between the two different races began (war exis ted between the Latin and White Americans in Manhattan, New York). Thus, the creation of the West side story was just in time to support the cinema/ silver screen in competition with the shows on television popularized during the 1960s (UAPI 2009).The Staff behind the Scenes of the West side storyThe film version of the West side story was based from the book of Arthur Laurents having the same title. Further, the musicale collection based from the collection of musical scores of Leonard Bernstein. The lyrics of the songs sung by the stars in the West side story were composed by Stephen Sondheim. Moreover, the choreography and the musical concept were contributed of Jerome Robbins. Further, the screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman. Producers of this film were Walter Mirisch, Robert Wise, and Saul Chaplin respectively. The cinematography on the other hand, was powered by the creative mind of Daniel Fapp. Color for the film was also powered by Technicolor and thus, the film itself w as taken in Panavision 700. This movie was astoundingly directed two of the greatest directors of the era: namely, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise (UAPI 2009).The Relationship of the West side story to Shakespeare’s Romeo and JulietThe West side story was indeed a vibrant film which is full of life among the characters. Further the Broadway musicale style of the 1961 film written by Laurents and directed by Robbins was a â€Å"hit† top-notching the charts of the best movies in 1960s in the silver screen. Replicating the tragic, Shakespearean novel, Romeo and Juliet, the West side story has the same characteristics of the play Romeo and Juliet since the lovers in the story, Tony and Maria attempted to risk the danger of having a relationship despite of their difference in their races. Maria was Puerto Rican and Tony was a White American making them members of the two opposite races (UAPI 2009).The two opposing and distinct races and ethnicities, White and Latin Americans were the focus of this movie. In order to present the differences in culture of the White and Latin Americans, the movie was able to show the attitude of White, European adolescents towards the Latin, Puerto Ricans. Further, the story was presented by producing the story using a ground-breaking, exhilarating musicale with an astounding well-performed choreography by the various outstanding artists. The West side story poses the emerging conflict present among the inhabitants of the Upper West Side Manhattan in New York City during the 1960s. The movie poses the problems of the adolescents in engaging in criminal chain and gang wars which obstructs the peace and order in the community of Upper West side New York. Moreover, in order to present such existing culture and social problems of the United States in 1960, the entire movie was taken and shot in the streets of Upper West side New York City and in Manhattan. However, some of the parts and scenes in the movie were shot and recor ded on the improvised sets and studios prepared by the floor directors (UAPI 2009).In comparison of the West side story in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, The Montague family came to be the counterparts of the White American Jets in the West side story. Similarly, the Capulet family was the counterpart of the Puerto Rican/ Latin American Sharks. Relatively, Bernardo’s abduction of Riff in a gang fight (Tony’s elder brother), simulates the similar scenario of the tragic accident of Mercutio (Romeo’s friend in Romeo and Juliet) being killed by Tybalt, who appears to be Juliet’s cousin. As a result, Romeo resorted to kill Tybalt as well as a revenge for the death of his friend Mercutio. Apparently, the same related scenario of revenge in a fight simulates the scene where Tony abducted Bernardo after stabbing Tony’s elder brother, Riff. Furthermore several characters in the west side story have their counterpart or equivalent characters that por trayed similar roles in Romeo and Juliet and these are the following: Anita in the West side story portraying the â€Å"Nurse† (Juliet’s confidante in Romeo and Juliet) and Doc in the West side story portraying the role of â€Å"Friar Lawrence† in Romeo and Juliet novel. But it is to put into account that the tragic suicide of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the story was not the same with the ending of the West side story since Maria, after the death of her beloved Tony, did not kill herself but she just furiously pointed the blame to the pointless, mad desire of the Shark and Jets gang (citation).Critiques argue for the West side story that the movie was a similar recreation of other classic hit musicales like the â€Å"Gypsy† and the â€Å"Dolls.† However it was interpreted that way by critiques and viewers, The West side story is considered as one of the America’s masterpiece production in the global silver screen. The West side story was a hit for it was a divergence from the current popular culture of movies in the 1960s. The unique musicale of the West side story discussed social problems in the United States: gang wars, racial discrimination, juvenile delinquencies and family problems through the songs sung by the adolescents, Jets in the entire movie (Zoglin 2009).Salient points to consider and some important scenarios in the West side storyFocusing on Maria and Tony’s love affair, they seem to risk what danger could happen the moment the other members of the Sharks and Jets the get to know the forbidden relationship of Maria and Tony. When the lovers hear the arrival of Anita (Bernardo’s girlfriend) Tony quickly escaped his way out of the house and he said Maria that they should meet at the drug store owned by Doc to elope and get married. However, Anita accidentally caught the presence of Tony quickly escaping the house. Anita was startled and reacted negatively at first but she listened when Ma ria explained how she loved Tony so much. Inspite of Anita’s grievance over Bernardo’s death she resorts to help Maria arrange their plan of eloping and getting married. Moreover, Anita gave Maria a hint that Chino of the Sharks is after Tony to kill him with a pistol (Zoglin 2009).As the officer, Lt. Schrank arrived at Maria’s house he questioned Maria for the riot/gang wars that recently occurred between the Sharks and the Jets. Maria was careful enough for covering up Tony in order to protect him from the further questioning and investigation of the officer. Maria lured the Lt. Schrank by sending Anita as an errand to Doc’s drugstore to buy a medicine to relieve the pain she is feeling in her head. Such action of Anita was for the purpose of delivering a message to Tony at the drugstore that Maria could not come and meet her for Maria was held as a detainee a under investigation of Lt. Schrank. However, upon entering the drugstore, Anita did not expect that she was going to be mocked by the White American, Jets. Not only this, the Jets tried to harass her as an insult to her being a â€Å"Puerto Rican.† Maria was disrespected by the rest of the Jets not giving her a chance to deliver Maria’s message for Tony. In so doing, the circumstance really made Anita really furious. Consequentially, Anita distorted the real message that she has to deliver (that Maria was detained due to Lt. Schrank’s queries) and she imparted that her message was to tell Tony that Maria was shot dead by Chino with a gun. The chaos was stopped by Doc as he yelled to them inside the drugstore and also, for the Jets to stop harassing and making fun of the Puerto Rican lady, Anita. The jets stopped and listen to the old man (Doc). However, Doc went down to the basement and checked out the hiding Tony. Further, he relayed Anita’s untrue, bad news to Tony that Maria was shot dead by Chino. So, Tony abruptly ran his way up and out of th e drugstore’s basement and then he searched for Chino with desolation and hopelessness and how he’d wish that Chino would kill him as well (Zoglin 2009).While searching for Chino, Tony saw Maria on the road. The lovers were so happy to see each other again especially Tony when he thought that his beloved Maria was already dead. Suddenly, Chino appeared in the scene and shoot Tony. Maria was so startled as her lover fell on his knees and landed on Maria’s arms. Maria, trying to comfort her dying lover sang a song for him so that he will not be afraid. The lovers affirmed that if their love was not possible here, they should continue their love somewhere place as they should see each other again in their next life and in the other world. The White Jets and the Puerto Ricans Sharks ran towards the death scene together with the cops (including Officer Krupke in the scene). Maria was infuriated with the mere presence of officer Krupke and she yelled at him not to eve n dare to come closer the dead body of his beloved Tony. Maria took the gun from the suspect Chino and there she pointed the gun ate everyone: the Sharks and the Jets. She blamed that the death of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony was the fault of the both gangs and the result to all their selfish hatred. So for the reason that Officer Krupke was hindered by Maria to get even closer to Tony, some of the members of the Jets and Sharks took the initiative in carrying Tony’s corpse. After the tragic killings of the leaders of the Jets and Sharks in the streets of Manhattan, New York, the gang war between the two gangs was considered over (Zoglin 2009).Realism was shown and achieved in the West side story since the songs used in the entire movie were a mixture of English and Spanish songs. In order to reflect the underlying multicultural theme of the story, the songs were carefully selected and very well performed by the actors/singers. Together jam-packed with a set of dance steps, pirou ette, leaps in its choreography, the overall mood of the movie was an exciting one (citation).The West side story was indeed a must-seen movie since it is very substantial and culturally significant. In order for people to understand the nature of conflict in different groups, and the reason for discrimination and prejudice, the West side story successfully presented the conflicts occurring among the adolescents resulting to their behavior problems and maladjustment in the society. In the form of musicale of songs and dances, the message of the film was carried out through the innovative and creative performances of the carefully-selected artists of the film (Zoglin 2009).Modified by Ernest Lehman, the rewrite version of the West side story had remained a striking and filled with energetic and enthusiastic songs reflected from its lyrics. Furthermore, the book version of the West side story play was containing songs which are mostly composed by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein . The talented directors of the West side story are Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Considering Robert Wise’s expertise I the field of directing, the collaboration with the professional dance choreographer, Jerome Robbins was a very intelligent decision and resulted to make the movie a real big hit in the silver screen (Zoglin 2009).Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins respectively gained recognition for the West side story. However, Jerome Robbins was pulled out of the West side story project since he was frequently the reason for procrastination of the shoots, budget-exceeding production rates, and also, Robbin’s frequent disagreement with Wise was a reason for the rest of the staff to remove him from the direction of the West side story. Robbins’ ideals for the completion of the West side story were becoming overwhelmingly expensive just for his wish to make the movie close to perfection. Four of the dynamic dance steps which Robbins choreographed in the West side story were the following: â€Å"Something’s coming,† â€Å"Prologue,† â€Å"Cool,† and â€Å"America.†The West side story is also focused on the love story of two different people having different races. However love was the foundation, Tony and Maria were separated due to hatred and violence. Tony was Maria’s first love. She loved the man inspite of the fact that they were belonging in different race and that her brother and their group of minority Puerto Rican gang (Sharks) not in good terms with the White American gang (Jets). When Maria first set her eyes with Tony, she fall (right then and there) madly in love with Tony and vice versa; these first encounter of Maria and Tony happened during the dance showdown between the Jest and the Sharks. Tony’s on the other hand, who was previously preoccupied with the activities with his gang in the West side has diverted his attention to Maria when he fell in love with her.However, consider ing the obvious fact that Maria’s brother, Bernardo was a leader of the Sharks and his prospect lover Tony was member of the opponent Jets, Maria still persists to pursue her forbidden and controversial love affair with Tony.   Maria knows that Bernardo would never approve of her love affair with Tony for Bernardo knows how cruel, prejudicial, and discriminating the White American race was. Meanwhile, Jets Sharks just would not stop claiming right over the west side streets of New York for their gang’s territory. At first, the Sharks could be observed that they do not have any intention of keeping the streets to their own, but the Jets just would not stop bullying and discriminating, and driving them away wherever they see them. The Sharks think, especially Bernardo (as their leader) that this was too much and they believe they deserve a right to whatever the White Americans enjoy doing and hanging around. So what the Sharks did is to engage in a fight with the Jets most of the time to defend themselves from the unjust dominance of the Jets. Consequentially, the rival lead to a fight between the Jets and the Sharks and this caused the death of Riff, Bernardo, and Tony as well (Zoglin 2009).Maria requested Tony if he could no something to stop the mad fight between the two gangs. At first, Tony hesitated to give in to Mari’s request but because he loves her so much and he would love to marry her, he agreed with Maria and he said he would do everything he can to stop the war between the two gangs. The sad thing is, Tony did not expect that his brother Riff was going to be killed in the gang war. So, to avenge the sudden death of his brother in Bernardo’s hands, Tony resorts to abduct Bernardo as well due to the sudden rage of his emotions (Zoglin 2009).The 1960s showed a great importance to the subculture created by adolescent Americans. Although the Americans are a culture in itself, it has different influence of subcultures branch ing out and one example of this subculture is the Puerto Ricans. The multicultural society of the gangs among the adolescent White Americans and Puerto Ricans in the New York, West side community was emerged during the 1960’s where gang wars chain gangs had become eminent and widely spread in the local news (Zoglin 2009).The West side story was indeed an enticing film by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise. Similar to the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, the west side story successfully addressed the social problem of juvenile delinquency and discrimination in the multicultural society of the United States during the 1950s to 1960s. Relatively, the love story of Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) is similar to the love story of Romeo and Juliet that the lovers crossed boundaries despite their difference in ethnicity, race, and culture. This shows that the heart does not choose the one to love. For Tony, It does not matter if Maria is a Puerto Rican, discriminated and a member of their enemy, Sharks. Same for Maria: she does not care if Tony is a white American, a mocker, discriminating, and a member of the Jets gang which is the opponent of Maria’s brother, Bernardo. The west side story was able to accomplish a creative, upbeat, and ardent choreography of dance steps and overwhelming lyrics of the songs sang by the characters in the West side story (Zoglin 2009).This invigorating and elating film is dazzling with the combination of songs and dance steps interpreting the lifestyle and culture of adolescent Americans in the United States during the 1960s. It was plausible to the extent that the prevalent gang wars among the diverging culture of the Puerto Ricans against the White Americans was portrayed in such a way that it seems less violent and therefore, there was no violent bloodshed in the movie. However, there was no need for blood-shedding, serious fight in the entire film in order to present how serious the outcome would be for eng aging in gang wars of the New York streets (Zoglin 2009).Officer Shrank warned both the Jets and the Sharks to avoid fighting on his streets or else, Officer Shrank threatened the boys that he would beat the boys up. After the encounter with Officer Schrank and Officer Krupke, Riff led his group to sing a song which is praise for the Jets. The Jets despise the Sharks for they were a threat to the streets in which the Jets wants to own. He persuaded the rest of his Jets members to perceive that their gang is the most strenuous, invincible, and superior team and that they deserve the right to everything especially in the streets of the Upper West side New York. Riff was very anxious to control the spreading volume of the Sharks since it was a tendency that the Sharks might dominate the streets of New York, should the latter multiply its members. In so doing, Riff persuaded his gang mates that they should fight against the Sharks/Puerto Ricans and kill them if they have to so as to con trol their proliferation in the streets. The one who should win the fight would be declared as the winner and therefore, would have the right to dominate in the Manhattan streets of New York. Moreover, Riff resorts to fighting their rival gang, Sharks with deadly weapon like a dagger for instance (Zoglin 2009).Overall, the story shows that there is both a similarity and difference in the culture of the Puerto Ricans and the White Americans. Though they are different in race, color, and ethnicity, both races was shown to have the same interests like in dancing, singing, basketball, and favorite hang-outs. Because of such similarity and interests, the White American Jets, led by Riff was pissed off upon always seeing the Puerto American Sharks wherever they go and spend their time. Further, it was explicitly shown that the Jets are more confident than the Puerto Ricans since they are the majority of inhabitants or citizens in New York during the 1960s (Zoglin 2009).From a challenge to a dance night out with the Sharks, the Jets just would not stop pissing the Sharks and driving their rivals away so that the Sharks would not be a threat to their desire of keeping their authority and ownership of the streets of New York west side. But what happened in the dance was overlapped with the instance when Maria and Tony saw each other and locked each other’s eyes for long time as if they are not seeing anybody but the two of them. Bernardo caught the both of them in the act that is why he did not decide to finish the dance; hence, he took his sister’s hands and pulled her off the dance floor (citation).Because of pride, the Jets boosted their egos by singing themselves song of somewhat victorious melodic songs as if they were the superior race and the others are just second class. Riff (the current leader of the Jets) decided that Tony should be the one to coordinate the challenge of the Jets to the Sharks. At first, Tony was hesitant to give in to the requ est. However later on, Tony agreed to tell the message to the Sharks. For the reason that Tony was once the leader of the gang since Tony was also a mastermind in co-founding the group of White Americans. On the other hand, Maria was conversing with Anita at a bridal shop where Maria is working. Maria told Anita (Bernardo’s boyfriend), how much Maria loves Tony and that she explained to Anita that his brother Bernardo, should not be that too much, extreme protective of her (Zoglin 2009).Inspite of the distinct difference of the Puerto Ricans from the White Americans, the two divert gangs were shown to be enjoying themselves using their talents in dancing and singing which makes them similar in their interests. The gang members Sharks and Jets may have experienced conflict between their groups because of their overt difference. The majorities of the White Americans dislike the minorities of Puerto Ricans because the Whites believe and perceive that they are the strongest race, invincible, and therefore, they should walk tall and act like kings! For the Jets: they should own, rule, and dominate the streets and they should have the right to the territory no matter what it takes (Dirks 1961).ConclusionThe West Side Story highlights the following scenarios which had occurred in the 1960’s: During the 1960’s, juvenile delinquencies are rampant among adolescents. Similarly, there is also prevalence of discrimination and prejudice among the White and Latin Americans. Puerto Ricans are disliked and bullied by the White Americans upon thinking that the White Americans are the superior race that should own the streets and that the Latin Americans, specifically the Puerto Ricans, have no right to be in places where the White American adolescents hang out and play. In so doing there were chain gang fights are everywhere. Emerging in late 1950s and early 1960s, the streets of Manhattan had become a place where there is no peace and order due to the freq uent gang wars that occur between the two distinct races of the Whites and the Puerto Rican adolescents. However, the love story of Maria and Tony having the opposite race shows that love does not choose the color, race, and ethnicity of a person as a basis of whom it should love.