The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

I'll try to keep this pithy - but this is an important concept in critical art analysis.

What is Orientalism?

In shot - it's a critical concept that covers a broad swath of the historical "West"s (generally the US and Europe) contempt for the "East" (Asia - including the Middle East, India, China, Japan, etc.) as reflected through art, storytelling, and other media. Fundamentally imperialist in nature, these depictions and narratives are used to justify western superiority and exploitation (be it religious, social, economic, or otherwise) often using exoticism to other the subjects of its work.

Works that fall under this term are things like the works of Jean-Léon Gérôme - while beautiful and technically strong, their subjects reflect both a dehumanizing fascination and fear, aimed at titillating and amusing their western audience (Gérôme, French, traveled though Northern Africa and used some of his observation of Muslim practice and local architecture along with a hefty dose of fantasy and studio models in Paris to create works such as The Slave Market, The Large Pool of Bursa, Pool in a Harem - all of which highlight female nudity/vulnerability and a brutal sort of political structure. Despite the fantasy of the images, they were eventually used as anti-Muslim propaganda by the Nazi party.)

It is, to be fair, a fairly complex critical lens to apply to work, and one that relies on the understanding of the historical prevalence of the demonization of it's subjects in western art. However, it is also important to understand that fanciful depictions of the (actually very culturally varied) Middle East often fall under this umbrella term - think of how the west depicts these subjects; harems, caravans, sultans, courtesans, and other similar subjects you may see in paintings and films which seek to create a 'mysterious' or 'oriental' setting. Certainly, these are all things that exist or have existed - but to pull out the harem as an example, as the west loves to objectify and commodify it - the idea of many sensuous women sumptuously dressed draped over cushions smoking hookahs and protected by huge, emasculated guards is a fiction entirely meant to scandalize. What a harem exactly is varies tremendously by culture, but generally refers to a domestic place of seclusion for female family members and young children (how much polygamy, slavery, eunuchs, social status, and corporal punishment factor in is... an entirely separate essay). Suffice to say, the western mental picture versus reality is the work of a seemingly endless stream of works which are subtle but insistent in their vilification and othering.

This is not at all to say that creating fantasy work that exists within context similar to real-world places and practices is inherently offensive in and of itself. Orientalism is a spesific term that refers, in essence, to exploitative caricatures. It is important to examine why one may lean toward such depictions (even if trying to portray them in a neutral or positive light) and how they play a part in a very long imperialist narrative.

Why does this matter?

Consider today how the US and the UK on a whole view the Middle East - as an area of religious repression, backward politics and beliefs, exotic locales, and strange customs. Consider what the parties in power do with this public opinion. Look to where these conventions arrived and how they have justified strife and oppression.

And then consider how even today we see the same tropes, narrative conventions, caricatures, and historical inaccuracies appear in works that are meant to entertain. Consider that Orientalism still helps to maintain a certain status quo which benefits imperialist actions still being made today.

As with any critical analysis term, nuance is critical - it's not a term to be thrown around as a way of simply putting down an artist in disagreement. Orientalism specifically is a broad brush by which to paint the historical presidence for misinformation, used for imperialism, spread through exotification.

-

Further Reading:

Orientalism by Edward W. Said

Iliopsoas Strains, Side Stitches and Testicle Turmoil.

//As written to the NATA News. (National Athletic Training Association). 

Dear Editor

The exact cause of sidestitches during running has long eluded the profession. What has been agreed on are ways to subdue the discomfort. A letter to The Physician and Sports Medicine suggested  “bending forward pressing ones fist up into the ribcage and against the liver and run 10 to 15 steps like this.” (Duncan). Less severe methods by this contributor (in order) include 1)try belly breathing rather than shallow chest breathing, 2)exhale when the foot opposite the side stitch strikes the ground, and (3) run with your hands over your head while breathing deeply. The uncomfortable circumstance seems local to endurance runners, especially novices.

Chris Webb of Moonjoggers.com echoes nearly identical advice. With a jpeg of all the muscles of the abdomini and obliques family shown on his website, Webb goes on to join the viewpoint blaming the transverse abdominus for exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP)(Webb). With that in mind, make concern of two different forms of advice to 1)raise ones arms over their head. 2)concentrate on exhaling when the opposite foot of the stitch contacts the ground.  The effect of each of these strategies brings passive attention to the gait. The runner is forced to concentrate on moving their footstrikes underneath them rather than behind or in such a way that their running gait is mechanically swayback.

It would be first wrong to only focus on the anterior face of the body (trunk flexors) to narrow down the culprits.  The posterior zone of core stabilization includes Psoas major and iliacus (iliopsoas), longissimus thoracis, serratus anterior, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae and many others. In fact, the American public's issues with low back pain mirror sports medicine's and orthopaedic disinterest in the low back musculature as individual components.  

Webb added that stopping a run to stretch trunk musculature (inclusive of the pectoralis major) could somehow relieve the ETAP pain. An athlete of enough experience to know what DOMS feels like would readily realize the pectoralis major and diaphragm could not be culprits to a side stitch. Either the stitch would replicate shooting pain down the arm or breathing would be entirely altered. Worry of a heart attack should certainly end a run. Webb and Duncan give us our clues what the underlying cause is: its deep, deep as the liver (seemingly). They suggest pressing on the point to relieve pain. We in sportsmedicine already use this method to defeat tennis elbow and patellar tendonitis: reducing the range of motion of the muscle/tendon to ease strain on the attachments with chopat straps The psoas major is a clear victim of conditioning neglect and the root of  ETAP. What is the cause: bad form favoring hip hyperextension which strains the muscle while the runner already has it in a stretched position (standing upright). The psoas group is tasked with both core stabilization and run form performance posture. The iliopsoas's relaxed position occurs while sitting. A stitch is condition of a muscle under tension not yet acclimated to the jarring of running and aiding inefficient run mechanics. Whether these elements are alone painful or result in a spasm existing as a 'standing wave” are yet to be decided.  

This discussion doesn't yet explain why the stitch only occurs on one side of the body. The immediate answer is ;no matter how perfect in attempt; all sports gaits are somehow assymetric. I do not choose that particular hill for my professional career to have a momentus death(or celebrity status). Instead, I favor a causal notion behind assymetry: ergonomic and physiological mechanisms of energy conservation. When two muscles occupy a redundant function, its my hypothesis the brain sends only one message and at certain times there is a dominant muscle of the pair and a subdominant. The subdominant follows the dominant.  Õunpuu and Winter's EMG study confirms higher activity in  dominant side plantar flexors. Their abstract directly states: “an assumption of symmetry is not valid for individual subjects” and bilaterial differences are hidden in pooled data. (Õunpuu). As early as 1989, the potential for muscles of a pair to act differently opened the door to evaluate ETAP correctly.

Side stitches are not the only difficulty an injured or strained iliopsoas/psoas can deal out. For males, a strained iliopsoas can leave one doubled over and cursing at all family members and every barking neighborhood dog. Pain is far surpassed by worry; surgical intervention worries. Do I have a varocele, testicular torsion, a hernia; what is a matter? The onset of a psoas major strain is often a long time coming. The tightness in an upper side quadrant of the abdomen is often written off as resistance exercise DOMS or a nuisance.  Graduate school coursework circa 1998 had conflicting views whether stretching actually reduced potential for injury when before exercise. Sprinters and weightlifters should always expect to stretch regardless of research debating maximum muscle tendon and force. The endurance runners face a dicier gamble. I prefer to believe their best routine is stretching after a preliminary portion of their run has warmed them up to deliver preformance goals in their daily workout; when they are ready to drop the hammer on more challenging hills or paces.  Othewise they should always stretch after the run or keep their goals section limited to stretch directly after and follow with a cool down run element.

For musicians/percussionists the strain will casually take place by whichever side the toms are arranged for fills while playing the drum kit. From high tom to floor tom; the daily enthusiasm to rockout first and stretch later sets a stage for serious pain radiating from the trunk down through the scrotum.  Even actively trying to stretch the trunk muscles can leave an athlete or percussionist vulnerable to series of events that trigger the strain.

The trigger of a moderate iliopsoas strain (as experienced by the author) came to fruition while trying to stretch the muscle. Lying in a supine position on a press bench (at the gym) and allowing the legs to hang off each side edge while not touching the ground, the iliopsoas was put under extreme tension. That instant of posture was a rest period between doing raised-straight-leg crunches.  Giving no warning to the body for a not-gradual mode of extreme tension, the psoas muscle group became insulted. The effect was not pronounced until three hours after. The effect also included an hour of elliptical cardio including a crossramp of the whole leg focus before returning home.

The sharp large-area pain of an iliopsoas strain can cause male athletes to be very concerned of testicular conditions. The pull on the inguinal ligament, internal and external oblique insertions along the pelvis floor raise due worry of conditions that require surgery. The threat of surgery amidst a condition having very little literature can compound individual sensitivity to pain. The pained area will comprise just below the pectoralis major down to the epididymis of the testicle on the same side, some central discomfort in the central low abdomen exists as well. The acute injury can be handled with rest, ice on both the epididymis, crotch, iliopsoas bursa and pained side of the abdomen. Most pain will subside in three days.  Latent effects or warning symptoms include hypersensitivity to the edges of seats when the rear of the testicle brushes against them, slight oddity in latent fluid sensation at the end of the penis following ejaculation and some urinations is also telltale.  These are not sensations of burning or pain nor should urination or ejaculation be painful, Otherwise you may be dealing with another situation entirely. There is a change in the chemical composition of the fluid denoting some form of stress or small scale inflammatory response.

If the athlete returns to resistance exercise before the injury is healed, they risk a slightly less painful experience providing their gym routine was unchanged and they guarded against painful postures and excessive weight. Squats were unaffected; both for quadriceps and gluteal focus. Running is also not painful nor did it result in ETAP. The author is an experienced runner so his posture may not have the quirks that would raise a disabling condition to novices with an iliopsoas strain.  In this experience a few tests of the leg and abdomen were evaluated. Step sign was negative. Step sign was followed by a hip flexor test which was also negative but resulted in an internal 'snapping syndrome' sensation near the ASIS. The snapping sensation was not painful as it moved from external to internal, nor did it radiate pain to the offended/engaged testicle of the condition. General soreness following workouts did require further icing in all regions.  

A test for this strain is as follows: lying supine in a resting position of yoga's bridge; begin with a wide stance with feet planted on the ground and knees at a comfortable maximum distance apart. Rotate each foot inward to about 30-40 degrees. At this point the clinician should ask the athlete to begin spreading their knees as far as possible. The motion will cause mild discomfort on the iliopsoas-pelvic pathway and can send stress down to the rear of the testicle.The athlete may notice significant details about the attachment location of the pelvic fascia to the testicle and its unlike the vas deferens.

A return to rest position will clarify if impact to the strain has been achieved by discomfort in the upper psoas major region.   In no way should the discussion of an iliopsoas strain deter visiting a general physician or a urologist for concerns of genital injury.  Having done extensive research it appears the misdiagnosis of this ailment has resulted in excessive and unneeded antibiotic medication, invasive testicular modifications, the false diagnosis of repeat bouts of epididymitis, routine torsion protocols, testicular removal and many wild guesses.  Even well trained professionals utilizing the Arnheim & Prentice “Principles of Athletic Training”(8th Ed) undergraduate text or even the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons “Athletic Training and Sportsmedicine” (2nd Ed) text would not be able to differentiate a posterior stabilizer induced discomfort from a testicular complication from the mid 1990s research absence in the area. Urologists and orthopaedic doctors should also take heed.

(Now I'm going to get back to my sore tummy and my sore man-ball).

Michael Bench graduated East Stroudsburg University's Movement Studies Program with honors and concentration in Athletic Training SportsMedicine in 1998. He was NATABOC certified in 1999 while completing a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology and Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies; (#GoDucks) specializing in body dysmorphia.  His further experiences in body modification scenes and independent work in competitive endurance (amateur) athletics, gate control theory, percussion coordination and body composition have enabled the perspective on this elusive malady. He has published two books, “This Device of Reason” and “Native Supremacy”; and many unpublished papers ranging from economics to anorexia nervosa. His current edition of research “External Motivators of Anorexia Nervosa and Anorexic Self Abuse” is available free on request.

Duncan LA (2001) Unraveling Side Stitches, The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 29:4, 66, DOI: 10.3810/psm.2001.04.733

Mole JL, Bird ML, Fell JW. (2013)The effect of transversus abdominis activation on exercise-related transient abdominal pain. J Sci Med Sport. 2013 Jul 10. pii: S1440-2440(13)00144-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2013.05.018. [Epub ahead of print]

Õunpuu S, Winter DA(1989)Bilateral electromyographical analysis of the lower limbs during walking in normal adults,Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology,Vol 72 (5), 429-438,ISSN 0013-4694,

https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(89)90048-5.

Webb, C. (2013. Nov 21) Rocking on the Roads: Stitches. https://www.moonjoggers.com/rocking-roads-stiches/

More on the language of immunity

This continues the process from last week (the I essay) of introducing terms that will be encountered as we engage with the complexities of immunity. I’ve bolded a few words and phrases that, while some may be commonplace, will be used in an unfamiliar context. Repertoire is in that category.

Repertoire is mainly ‘owned’ by the entertainment and performance cultures. The repertoires of: an opera singer or solo instrumentalist; amazing strokes from a top tennis player; tricky moves by a spin bowler; and the playlist that defines the repertoires of both actors and a theatrical company like Bell Shakespeare or the fictional  ‘Good Companions’ in JB Priestley’s novel. What we’re discussing here is a diversity of ‘selected repertoires’, with that selection being made first by the performers on the basis of their specific abilities and interests, then by those who care to engage by listening, buying tickets and attending an event as part of their ‘target’ audience. The ‘audience’ for, say, the latest Opera Australia production of ‘Don Giovanni’ at Sydney Opera House will, though there may be some crossover, be largely different from that enjoying live music at a King’s Cross night club.

Immunologists use ‘repertoire’ in discussing the extraordinary diversity of the ‘adaptive’ immune system (See Immuno and the Red and the white essays) that has evolved to limit the damage caused by pathogens as different as measles virus and malaria. When it comes to any individual infection, what we are talking about is, in fact, three quite distinct repertoires that incorporate a diversity of highly specific recognition molecules, or receptors, expressed on three very distinct categories of immune white blood cells (WBCs) that do very different jobs in protecting us. Each cell, or lymphocyte (the terms are interchangeable here), within these populations of immune ‘performers’ expresses only one highly specific receptor that, with its ‘feet’ anchored firmly in the outer membrane of the cell, is made up of two protein chains. At the outer tip of these molecules, we find individually unique but enormously varied structural ‘motifs’ (styles?) that bind to one or other ‘target’ induced by the infectious process, in this case by SARS-CoV-2.

Taking the ‘human performer’ analogy, it is these targets (we call them antigens in immunology) that are the ‘audience’ selecting a high-performance repertoire from the enormous pool of possible ‘candidates’ that live within each and every one of us, just as the nine billion or so human beings on our planet are the ‘precursor’ pool for the top musicians and sports people selected by ‘target audiences’. Fans pay money to see them because they have great regard, or ‘affinity’ for what they do. The central principle of specific immunity is that high affinity binding of an individual cell surface receptor to a particular target antigen leads to its incorporation in a selected response repertoire.

The three categories of immune lymphocytes that concern us here are the B cells, the CD4+ ‘helper’ T cells and the CD8+ ‘killer’ T cells. The B refers to a weird organ in birds called the ‘Bursa of Fabricius’ where naïve, or precursor, B cells first develop and start to express their surface receptors, the B cell receptors (BCRs). Mammals like us don’t have that ‘bursa’ (which has nothing to do with ‘bursitis’,) but we think that the same type of process goes on in our bone marrow (BM).

The T refers to the thymus, the organ in the neck that is large in children and gets smaller (involutes) as we age. BM ‘stem cells’ travel to the thymus via the blood, where they multiply, differentiate and express the T cell receptors (TCRs) that ‘direct’ the attention of the CD4+ ‘T helpers’ and CD8+ ‘T killers’. After exiting the thymus into the blood, these naïve T cell pools provide the narrow, antigen-selected repertoires that coalesce after infection or vaccination.

The ‘CD’ of CD4 and CD8 is short for ‘cluster of differentiation’ and is just part of a classification scheme for molecules on the surface of immune cells. Currently, there are 371 members in this molecular ‘club’ some of which are differentially expressed on the surface of antigen-selected immune T cells (and B cells) as they multiply, then go down different functional pathways. These CD activation markers allow us to characterise distinct CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets.

The BCRs on naive B cells are an early form of the immunoglobulin (Ig), or antibody molecules that we met last week. By the time the Igs are being secreted by the B cell descendants, the large ‘protein factory’ plasma cells, the BCRs will have been refined and changed by a process called ‘affinity maturation’ that is unique for the B cell/plasma cell lineage and does not happen for the T cells. More of that later.

The CD4+ T helpers are, if you use the performer analogy, the agents and promotors of immunity. The CD8+ T killers are the ‘assassins’, the ‘killers within’ – that sounds a bit dangerous, but they are very important. Enough for now!

This article is the latest in the Setting it Straight series written by Laureate Professor Peter Doherty from Australia’s University of Melbourne and Doherty Institute to explain aspects of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. You can read them all here.

More on the language of immunity published first on https://triviaqaweb.weebly.com/

A financial exchange, value market, or offer market is the conglomeration of purchasers and merchants of stocks (additionally called shares), which address proprietorship claims on organizations; these may incorporate protections recorded on a public stock trade, just as stock that is just exchanged secretly, for example, portions of privately owned businesses which are offered to financial backers through value crowdfunding stages. Interest in the financial exchange is regularly done by means of stockbrokerages and electronic exchanging stages. Speculation is typically made in light of a venture system.

📷

A 400-year development of worldwide securities exchanges (and capital business sectors by and large)  Patio of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Beurs van Hendrick de Keyser in Dutch), the premier focal point of worldwide protections markets in the seventeenth century.  The exchanging floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2008.  New York Stock Exchange  London Stock Exchange  Public Stock Exchange of India  Workplaces of Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia's public stock trade (referred to before demutualization as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange)  Set up in 1875, the Bombay Stock Exchange is Asia's most established stock trade.

📷

Stocks can be classified by the country where the organization is domiciled. For instance, Nestlé and Novartis are domiciled in Switzerland and exchanged on the SIX Swiss Exchange, so they might be considered as a feature of the Swiss securities exchange, albeit the stocks may likewise be exchanged on trades in different nations, for instance, as American depositary receipts (ADRs) on U.S. securities exchanges.  Size of the business sectors  The absolute market capitalization of value upheld protections overall rose from US$2.5 trillion of every 1980 to US$68.65 trillion toward the finish of 2018. As of December 31, 2019, the all out market capitalization of all stocks overall was roughly US$70.75 trillion.  Starting at 2016, there are 60 stock trades on the planet. Of these, there are 16 trades with a market capitalization of $1 at least trillion, and they represent 87% of worldwide market capitalization. Aside from the Australian Securities Exchange, these 16 trades are all in either North America, Europe, or Asia.  By country, the biggest securities exchanges as of January 2020 are in the United States of America (about 54.5%), trailed by Japan (about 7.7%) and the United Kingdom (about 5.1%).  Stock trade  Principle article: Stock trade  A stock trade is a trade (or bourse) where stockbrokers and merchants can purchase and sell shares (value stock), bonds, and different protections. Numerous enormous organizations have their stocks recorded on a stock trade. This makes the stock more fluid and subsequently more alluring to numerous financial backers. The trade may likewise go about as an underwriter of settlement. These and different stocks may likewise be exchanged "over the counter" (OTC), that is, through a seller. Some enormous organizations will have their stock recorded on more than one trade in various nations, to draw in global financial backers.  Stock trades may likewise cover different sorts of protections, for example, fixed-interest protections (bonds) or (less often) subordinates, which are bound to be exchanged OTC.  Exchange financial exchangues implies the exchange (in return for cash) of a stock or security from a merchant to a purchaser. This requires these two gatherings to concur on a cost. Values (stocks or offers) present a possession interest in a specific organization.

📷

Members in the securities exchange range from little individual stock financial backers to bigger financial backers, who can be based anyplace on the planet, and may incorporate banks, insurance agencies, annuity assets and flexible investments. Their purchase or sell requests might be executed for their benefit by a stock trade dealer.  A few trades are actual areas where exchanges are done on an exchanging floor, by a strategy known as open clamor. This technique is utilized in some stock trades and products trades, and includes dealers yelling bid and offer costs. The other kind of stock trade has an organization of PCs where exchanges are made electronically. An illustration of such a trade is the NASDAQ.  A potential purchaser offers a particular cost for a stock, and a potential dealer asks a particular cost for a similar stock. Purchasing or selling at the Market implies you will acknowledge any ask cost or bid cost for the stock. At the point when the offer and ask costs match, a deal happens, on a first-come, first-served premise if there are numerous bidders at a given cost.  The motivation behind a stock trade is to work with the trading of protections among purchasers and venders, in this manner giving a commercial center. The trades give ongoing exchanging data on the recorded protections, working with value revelation.  The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is an actual trade, with a mixture market for putting orders electronically from any area just as on the exchanging floor. Orders executed on the exchanging floor enter via trade individuals and stream down to a story intermediary, who presents the request electronically to the floor general store for the Designated market producer ("DMM") for that stock to exchange the request. The DMM's responsibility is to keep a two-sided market, making requests to purchase and sell the security when there could be no different purchasers or merchants. On the off chance that a bid–ask spread exists, no exchange quickly happens – for this situation the DMM may utilize their own assets (cash or stock) to close the distinction. When an exchange has been made, the subtleties are accounted for on the "tape" and sent back to the financier firm, which then, at that point advises the financial backer who submitted the request. PCs assume a significant part, particularly for program exchanging.  The NASDAQ is an electronic trade, where the entirety of the exchanging is done over a PC organization. The cycle is like the New York Stock Exchange. At least one NASDAQ market creators will consistently give an offer and ask the cost at which they will consistently buy or sell 'their' stock.  The Paris Bourse, presently a piece of Euronext, is a request driven, electronic stock trade. It was robotized in the last part of the 1980s. Before the 1980s, it's anything but an open objection trade. Stockbrokers met on the exchanging floor of the Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the CATS exchanging framework was presented, and the request coordinating with framework was completely computerized.  Individuals exchanging stock will like to exchange on the most well known trade since this gives the biggest number of possible counter gatherings (purchasers for a dealer, venders for a purchaser) and presumably the best cost. Notwithstanding, there have consistently been choices, for example, dealers attempting to unite gatherings to exchange outside the trade. Some third business sectors that were well known are Instinet, and later Island and Archipelago (the last two have since been procured by Nasdaq and NYSE, individually). One benefit is that this keeps away from the commissions of the trade. In any case, it likewise has issues like unfriendly choice. Monetary controllers have examined dim pools.  Market member  Market members incorporate individual retail financial backers, institutional financial backers (e.g., annuity reserves, insurance agencies, common assets, record reserves, trade exchanged assets, mutual funds, financial backer gatherings, banks and different other monetary organizations),

and furthermore traded on an open market enterprises exchanging their own offers. Robo-consultants, which mechanize speculation for people are likewise significant members.  Socioeconomics of market investment  Aberrant versus Direct Investment  Aberrant speculation includes possessing shares by implication, for example, by means of a common asset or a trade exchanged asset. Direct venture includes direct responsibility for.  Direct responsibility for by people rose somewhat from 17.8% in 1992 to 17.9% in 2007, with the middle worth of these property ascending from $14,778 to $17,000. Backhanded cooperation as retirement accounts rose from 39.3% in 1992 to 52.6% in 2007, with the middle worth of these records dramatically increasing from $22,000 to $45,000 in that time. Rydqvist, Spizman, and Strebulaev trait the differential development in immediate and circuitous property to contrasts in the manner each are burdened in the United States. Interests in benefits reserves and 401ks, the two most basic vehicles of aberrant investment, are burdened just when assets are removed from the records. Then again, the cash used to straightforwardly buy stock is dependent upon tax collection just like any profits or capital additions they produce for the holder. In this manner the current assessment code boosts people to contribute by implication.  Investment by pay and abundance layers  Paces of support and the worth of possessions vary altogether across layers of pay. In the base quintile of pay, 5.5% of families straightforwardly own stock and 10.7% hold stocks in a roundabout way as retirement accounts. The top decile of pay has an immediate cooperation pace of 47.5% and a backhanded interest rate as retirement records of 89.6%. The middle worth of straightforwardly claimed stock in the base quintile of pay is $4,000 and is $78,600 in the top decile of pay starting at 2007. The middle worth of by implication held stock as retirement represents similar two gatherings around the same time is $6,300 and $214,800 individually. Since the Great Recession of 2008 families in the base portion of the pay conveyance have decreased their interest rate both straightforwardly and in a roundabout way from 53.2% in 2007 to 48.8% in 2013, while over similar period families in the top decile of the pay appropriation marginally expanded investment 91.7% to 92.1%. The mean worth of immediate and roundabout possessions at the base portion of the pay conveyance moved marginally descending from $53,800 in 2007 to $53,600 in 2013. In the top decile, mean worth of all possessions tumbled from $982,000 to $969,300 in a similar time. The mean worth of all stock possessions across the whole pay dissemination is esteemed at $269,900 starting at 2013.  if you like this article please follow our website.A financial exchange, value market, or offer market is the conglomeration of purchasers and merchants of stocks (additionally called shares), which address proprietorship claims on organizations; these may incorporate protections recorded on a public stock trade, just as stock that is just exchanged secretly, for example, portions of privately owned businesses which are offered to financial backers through value crowdfunding stages. Interest in the financial exchange is regularly done by means of stockbrokerages and electronic exchanging stages. Speculation is typically made in light of a venture system. A 400-year development of worldwide securities exchanges (and capital business sectors by and large) Patio of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Beurs van Hendrick de Keyser in Dutch), the premier focal point of worldwide protections markets in the seventeenth century. The exchanging floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2008. New York Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange Public Stock Exchange of India Workplaces of Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia's public stock trade (referred to before demutualization as Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) Set up in 1875, the Bombay Stock Exchange is Asia's most established stock trade. Stocks can be classified

by the country where the organization is domiciled. For instance, Nestlé and Novartis are domiciled in Switzerland and exchanged on the SIX Swiss Exchange, so they might be considered as a feature of the Swiss securities exchange, albeit the stocks may likewise be exchanged on trades in different nations, for instance, as American depositary receipts (ADRs) on U.S. securities exchanges. Size of the business sectors The absolute market capitalization of value upheld protections overall rose from US$2.5 trillion of every 1980 to US$68.65 trillion toward the finish of 2018. As of December 31, 2019, the all out market capitalization of all stocks overall was roughly US$70.75 trillion. Starting at 2016, there are 60 stock trades on the planet. Of these, there are 16 trades with a market capitalization of $1 at least trillion, and they represent 87% of worldwide market capitalization. Aside from the Australian Securities Exchange, these 16 trades are all in either North America, Europe, or Asia. By country, the biggest securities exchanges as of January 2020 are in the United States of America (about 54.5%), trailed by Japan (about 7.7%) and the United Kingdom (about 5.1%). Stock trade Principle article: Stock trade A stock trade is a trade (or bourse) where stockbrokers and merchants can purchase and sell shares (value stock), bonds, and different protections. Numerous enormous organizations have their stocks recorded on a stock trade. This makes the stock more fluid and subsequently more alluring to numerous financial backers. The trade may likewise go about as an underwriter of settlement. These and different stocks may likewise be exchanged "over the counter" (OTC), that is, through a seller. Some enormous organizations will have their stock recorded on more than one trade in various nations, to draw in global financial backers. Stock trades may likewise cover different sorts of protections, for example, fixed-interest protections (bonds) or (less often) subordinates, which are bound to be exchanged OTC. Exchange financial exchangues implies the exchange (in return for cash) of a stock or security from a merchant to a purchaser. This requires these two gatherings to concur on a cost. Values (stocks or offers) present a possession interest in a specific organization. Members in the securities exchange range from little individual stock financial backers to bigger financial backers, who can be based anyplace on the planet, and may incorporate banks, insurance agencies, annuity assets and flexible investments. Their purchase or sell requests might be executed for their benefit by a stock trade dealer. A few trades are actual areas where exchanges are done on an exchanging floor, by a strategy known as open clamor. This technique is utilized in some stock trades and products trades, and includes dealers yelling bid and offer costs. The other kind of stock trade has an organization of PCs where exchanges are made electronically. An illustration of such a trade is the NASDAQ. A potential purchaser offers a particular cost for a stock, and a potential dealer asks a particular cost for a similar stock. Purchasing or selling at the Market implies you will acknowledge any ask cost or bid cost for the stock. At the point when the offer and ask costs match, a deal happens, on a first-come, first-served premise if there are numerous bidders at a given cost. The motivation behind a stock trade is to work with the trading of protections among purchasers and venders, in this manner giving a commercial center. The trades give ongoing exchanging data on the recorded protections, working with value revelation. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is an actual trade, with a mixture market for putting orders electronically from any area just as on the exchanging floor. Orders executed on the exchanging floor enter via trade individuals and stream down to a story intermediary, who presents the request electronically to the floor general store for the Designated market producer ("DMM") for that stock to exchange the

request. The DMM's responsibility is to keep a two-sided market, making requests to purchase and sell the security when there could be no different purchasers or merchants. On the off chance that a bid–ask spread exists, no exchange quickly happens – for this situation the DMM may utilize their own assets (cash or stock) to close the distinction. When an exchange has been made, the subtleties are accounted for on the "tape" and sent back to the financier firm, which then, at that point advises the financial backer who submitted the request. PCs assume a significant part, particularly for program exchanging. The NASDAQ is an electronic trade, where the entirety of the exchanging is done over a PC organization. The cycle is like the New York Stock Exchange. At least one NASDAQ market creators will consistently give an offer and ask the cost at which they will consistently buy or sell 'their' stock. The Paris Bourse, presently a piece of Euronext, is a request driven, electronic stock trade. It was robotized in the last part of the 1980s. Before the 1980s, it's anything but an open objection trade. Stockbrokers met on the exchanging floor of the Palais Brongniart. In 1986, the CATS exchanging framework was presented, and the request coordinating with framework was completely computerized. Individuals exchanging stock will like to exchange on the most well known trade since this gives the biggest number of possible counter gatherings (purchasers for a dealer, venders for a purchaser) and presumably the best cost. Notwithstanding, there have consistently been choices, for example, dealers attempting to unite gatherings to exchange outside the trade. Some third business sectors that were well known are Instinet, and later Island and Archipelago (the last two have since been procured by Nasdaq and NYSE, individually). One benefit is that this keeps away from the commissions of the trade. In any case, it likewise has issues like unfriendly choice. Monetary controllers have examined dim pools. Market member Market members incorporate individual retail financial backers, institutional financial backers (e.g., annuity reserves, insurance agencies, common assets, record reserves, trade exchanged assets, mutual funds, financial backer gatherings, banks and different other monetary organizations), and furthermore traded on an open market enterprises exchanging their own offers. Robo-consultants, which mechanize speculation for people are likewise significant members. Socioeconomics of market investment Aberrant versus Direct Investment Aberrant speculation includes possessing shares by implication, for example, by means of a common asset or a trade exchanged asset. Direct venture includes direct responsibility for. Direct responsibility for by people rose somewhat from 17.8% in 1992 to 17.9% in 2007, with the middle worth of these property ascending from $14,778 to $17,000. Backhanded cooperation as retirement accounts rose from 39.3% in 1992 to 52.6% in 2007, with the middle worth of these records dramatically increasing from $22,000 to $45,000 in that time. Rydqvist, Spizman, and Strebulaev trait the differential development in immediate and circuitous property to contrasts in the manner each are burdened in the United States. Interests in benefits reserves and 401ks, the two most basic vehicles of aberrant investment, are burdened just when assets are removed from the records. Then again, the cash used to straightforwardly buy stock is dependent upon tax collection just like any profits or capital additions they produce for the holder. In this manner the current assessment code boosts people to contribute by implication. Investment by pay and abundance layers Paces of support and the worth of possessions vary altogether across layers of pay. In the base quintile of pay, 5.5% of families straightforwardly own stock and 10.7% hold stocks in a roundabout way as retirement accounts. The top decile of pay has an immediate cooperation pace of 47.5% and a backhanded interest rate as retirement records of 89.6%. The

middle worth of straightforwardly claimed stock in the base quintile of pay is $4,000 and is $78,600 in the top decile of pay starting at 2007. The middle worth of by implication held stock as retirement represents similar two gatherings around the same time is $6,300 and $214,800 individually. Since the Great Recession of 2008 families in the base portion of the pay conveyance have decreased their interest rate both straightforwardly and in a roundabout way from 53.2% in 2007 to 48.8% in 2013, while over similar period families in the top decile of the pay appropriation marginally expanded investment 91.7% to 92.1%. The mean worth of immediate and roundabout possessions at the base portion of the pay conveyance moved marginally descending from $53,800 in 2007 to $53,600 in 2013. In the top decile, mean worth of all possessions tumbled from $982,000 to $969,300 in a similar time. The mean worth of all stock possessions across the whole pay dissemination is esteemed at $269,900 starting at 2013. if you like this article please follow our website.

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

As Dream of Holiday, Holiday Villa and Daily Rental Apartments, especially in the cities of Aydin, Mugla, Antalya(Turkey), Bursa(Turkey) and Istanbul, in almost every coastal cities and large cities we have offered you a high quality and economical accommodation alternatives. Whatever your budget or your status, you will definitely find all the accommodation spots in Turkey for a holiday home according to your taste. Pools and terraces are not visible from the outside, luxury honeymoon villas, economic honeymoon villas, seafront, jacuzzi, heated and indoor pool with winter honeymoon villas, sea view, close to the center of the daily apartments and villas options are available. For more Information; 🌎 http://dreamofholiday.com/en/tanitim/120/villa-holidays.html 📞 0090 532 350 95 66 ☎️ 0090 531 502 95 66

What Should I Know When Purchasing A New Property?

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the government will waive all stamp duty charges for first-time purchases of unsold houses priced from RM300,001 to RM1 million in the first six months of next year during Budget 2019. You might be one among many who are thinking of leveraging on this incentive to purchase your own home between January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019. Buying a new residential property can be exhilarating, but if you are not careful it can be an unpleasant experience. Below are five basic things you should consider as you embark on the journey of purchasing your first home. It is by no means a comprehensive list, but it will hopefully set you on the right path.

#1 Know yourself, know your budget

Arguably the most popular advice when buying a property is “location, location, location.” Perhaps as important, if not more, would be “budget, budget, budget.” It sounds very logical and simple, but it is something buyers may forget in the excitement of shopping for a new home – buy only what you can afford. First-time buyers, especially, can go overboard when looking for their dream home. There are plenty of new launch options available in the market, with property developers giving all sorts of freebies to entice buyers. [block]However, do not get blindsided, many make the mistake of purchasing a property that is beyond your means just because there is a great promotion offering zer0-downpayment or an easy-entry financial scheme. Securing the property is one thing, but will you be able to service the monthly instalments once the loan kicks in upon the property’s completion?[/block] Long before you start property hunting, you (and your partner/spouse/significant other) should sit down and calculate your total budget. The property price is just the beginning; do not forget about the additional costs involved such as the stamp duties, legal fees, maintenance fees, and so forth. Having a fixed budget would also help a great deal when shopping around for your housing loan – it will help you determine the margin of financing you need to obtain as well as the maximum monthly repayment that you can afford.

#2 Research the developers of your dream home

No matter how great your dream house looks, you don’t simply give your hard-earned cash to the developer as down payment without first doing a background check on them. The most basic check is to see if the developer is financially stable and profitable. If the company is in financial difficulty, you should probably think twice before considering any of its projects. Developers with cash flow problems are definitely not a good sign. If the company is not a public listed company, you can do a basic search of the company’s latest financials on the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s website for a small fee. For public-listed property development companies, you can dig more information from its annual reports either on the company’s site or Bursa Malaysia’s website. However, a company’s financials don’t always tell the full story. A developer might be solid financially but have a mediocre track record. For example, the craftsmanship of its houses may not always be top notch. Another thing to be wary about is developers that are not receptive to customers’ complaints. [block]You can check out the developer’s Facebook page to take a look at their customer reviews and scroll through the FB comments on their posts to get a gauge of how the developer interacts with the public.[/block] It is also good to speak to other buyers who have bought a property from said developer to find out whether the developer is reliable or not.

#3 Try to interact with your potential neighbours

If you’re buying the property to stay in, it would be a good idea to know the people that you will be interacting with on a daily basis, i.e your neighbours. You can have a gorgeous home but if you have neighbours you can’t get along with, your investment will lose its attraction very fast. Even if your property is newly launched and is years from being completed, you can mingle around with other potential buyers – and potential neighbours – during the launches and events organised by the developer. This could give you a good feel of what to expect when you start living in that residential area or in the strata building. Forming a good relationship with your neighbours is especially important when purchasing a strata residential property. After all, you will be sharing the use of common facilities such as the swimming pool, gymnasium, etc with each other. [block]The maintenance of your property also largely depends on the behaviour of your neighbours – Will they pay their maintenance fee on time each month? Will they be considerate and keep the common areas clean? Will the Management Committee of your building be diligent in enforcing the House Rules, etc?[/block] It is a great idea to start interacting with these other owners from the onset; you can either form a Facebook group or a WhatsApp chat group to keep in touch and share updates on the project’s progress, updates from the developer or any current news which affects strata owners. This interaction will help foster the right attitude towards living harmoniously in a strata development.

#4 Scout out the neighbourhood

    Other than knowing the people, you should also find out about the facilities, amenities and infrastructure surrounding the house or residential building that you are about to buy. These include shopping malls, retail outlets, schools and colleges, hospitals, commercial areas, eateries, mosques/temples/churches, leisure and recreational parks, sports centres, access road; just to mention a few. Your priorities when buying a new property will play an important part in determining which facilities would be preferable within your vicinity. For example, some buyers like to be in a quiet residential area, far away from the hustle and bustle. If you fall into this category, then you would probably not want to be near any shopping malls that would cause traffic congestion. On the other hand, if you’re a shopaholic, you would want your new home to be within a stone’s throw of the major shopping centres to satisfy your retail cravings. You might want to visit the neighbourhood at different times of the day to get a feel of its traffic conditions and noise levels, especially during peak hours. Go the extra mile and talk to people who have been living nearby for a long time to get a more in-depth knowledge of the pros and cons of staying there. From there, you can weigh the good against the bad, and make your own decision.

#5 Know your rights before signing documents

This is something that is often an afterthought for property buyers, and many regret this negligence only after it’s way too late. Read everything before you sign any documents related to your home purchase, including the sale and purchase agreement as well as your housing loan. Read the fine print carefully, because most often, the details missed are the most important to the buyers’ rights as consumers. Take your time. Even if the salesperson is pushing you to sign on the dotted line, remember that you’re not obliged to do so until you fully understand what you’re getting yourself into. For example, how much will you be able to claim for any damages to the new house? What if your developer delays delivery of the house? Or, god forbid, what if the developer abandons the project? You have to be 100% sure of your rights as a buyer before you commit. Ask if you’re not sure of anything. You can ask other buyers who have purchased from the developer before. If it is a complex or technical question, you should refer to professionals. Engage a lawyer or real estate agent, or even solicit bank officers for advice. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry. [block]This article was first published on iProperty.com.my and has been edited for relevance[/block]

The post What Should I Know When Purchasing A New Property? appeared first on iMoney Malaysia.

Beginning in the 1870s, Gérôme produced a group of bath scenes, with After the Bath among the most accomplished examples. The composition follows a motif famously developed by early nineteenth century artists like Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (fig. 1). In the present work a group of female bathers---with dampened hair and in various states of undress---gather around a reflective pool.  Each figure holds a distinctly different pose from the seated nude, her spine flexed, her neck softly twisted as she turns to her companion, to a shadowed figure standing in contrapposto, a saturated blue robe held across her pale body.  Unlike many of his contemporaries, Gérôme does not eroticize the bathing scene---instead, the work serves as a careful examination of the human body and its skeletal structure, subtle muscle movement, and textured skin.  From the 1870s, Gérôme's intense anatomy studies for his sculptures were further put to use in his paintings supported by observation of professional models in his Paris studios.

The architecture and decorations of After the Bath's interior may have been assembled from photographs and Gérôme's own props. When visiting Constantinople (now Istanbul) Gérôme met the famous Turkish photographers, the Abdullah brothers (founders of the Abdullah Frères firm); he used their images of the city, mainly its interiors, as sources for his compositions' backgrounds. Further, the artist decorated his Paris studio with tiles, metalwork, fabrics and other Middle Eastern souvenirs. Gérôme's visits to the Turkish city of Bursa's Sinan baths were likely important inspiration for After the Bath.  Working in the baths on Men's Day (his presence among women would certainly have been forbidden), Gérôme naturally observed the casual society of the male bathers around him in the warm, steamy space.  Gérôme's friend, Frédéric Masson, recorded the artist's account of the baths: "I was taken by the architecture... and they certainly offered a chance to study nudes. It wasn't just a question of going to see what was going on inside, and of replacing [some men by some women], I had to have a sketch of this interior; and since the temperature inside was rather high, I didn't hesitate to sketch in the simple apparel of a beauty just aroused from her sleep—that is, in the buff. Sitting on my tripod, my paint box on my knees, my palette in my hand, I was a little grotesque, but you have to know how to adapt yourself as necessary" (Frédéric Masson, 'J.L. Gérôme. Notes et fragments des souvenirs inédits du maître', Les Arts, 1902, p. 30).  Such first hand experience provides a particular immediacy to After the Bath; each element of the composition suggests the warm, languorous luxury of the space and the soft, supple forms of the female body: the steamy water flowing out of a shiny, brass spigot, the hookah sending forth aromatic smoke, the glossy peppers, nubby oranges, and ripe persimmons tucked among the bathers.  Gérôme's use of light in After the Bath also closely captures a sense of space—both architecturally and atmospherically. Turkish public baths consisted of a series of "apartments" in which beautiful mosaics and tessellated pavements were illuminated by shafts of light from the small, round windows of the domed ceilings.  In the present work, soft areas of shadow are broken by spots of light absorbed into cool, marble surfaces and splash across the pool, allowing for the vivid reflection of the bathers at its edge, the bright blue of discarded drapery dipping into the surface, and the artist's own signature, inscribed at the edge and mirrored in the water's surface.

While the setting of

After the Bath

is based on buildings as they looked during Gérôme's lifetime, the bathing scenes were ultimately formed from the artist's imagination and aesthetic choices. Contrasted with the visual virtuosity of the composition, the "reality" of the bathing scene mattered little to Gérôme's patrons---the great American industrialists and businessmen of the late nineteenth century.  

After the Bath

was one of a number of Gérôme's works listed in the American critic Edward Strahn's 1880s inventory

The Art Treasures of America

. The visual brilliance of the painting reflected the connoisseurship of its first recorded owner William Astor. Viewing the work in Astor's private New York galleries, Strahan cited it as evidence that that "there is no living painter, and there are few living writers, whose mind can be called so interesting as the mind of Gérôme" (Strahan, 1977, p. 72). Born into one of the great American dynasties, Astor ultimately became the wealthiest man in America (in 1890 upon the death of his father, and fellow Gérôme collector, John Jacob Astor) and used his fortune to amass one of the most important collections of art in the late nineteenth century.  Despite the prominence of Gérôme's patrons, by the turn of the twentieth century his oeuvre had become largely and unfairly overlooked.  Indeed, After the Bath's next recorded owners, Henry and Frances Wilke Haussner, are credited for their role in re-introducing the artist and his era.  Soon after their first painting purchase in 1939, the Haussners built a collection that echoed their predecessors like Astor, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Henry Walters.  

After the Bath

hung in the Haussner's landmark Baltimore restaurant, where generations of patrons dined surrounded by the best examples of nineteenth century art.  The record breaking sale of the Haussner's Restaurant collection in these rooms in 1999 further evidenced the renewed and deserved appreciation of Gérôme's masterworks like

After the Bath.

"The Large Pool of Bursa" (1885), by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

The Large Pool Of Bursa by Jean-Leon Gerome 

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-leon-gerome/the-large-pool-of-bursa

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-leon-gerome/the-large-pool-of-bursa

The Large Pool of Bursa, 1885, Jean-Leon Gerome

https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-leon-gerome/the-large-pool-of-bursa