سید حبیب موسوی

Islamophobia is defined as a closed-minded hatred, fear or prejudice toward Islam and Muslims that result in discrimination, marginalization, and oppression. This phenomenon was strengthened after September 11 marked a watershed in the history of America. In the wake of 9/11, Islamophobia was promulgated in a plethora of textual and visual narratives, including novel. This paper studies Islamophobia in Greg Hrbek’s latest novel Not on Fire, But Burning (2015). A close reading of the novel reveals that the novel couples Islam with terrorism and barbarity, and sets forth the Self/Other dichotomy, which is rather cherished in the discourse of Islamophobia. As observed in a long history of Islamophobic rhetoric, Hrbek’s novel depicts that certain people, undoubtedly Muslims, are outside the American system of values, ready to catch America off-guard. With the images the work promotes of Islam and its followers, it is argued that Not on Fire, But Burning reinforces Islamophobia and biased frames of reference on Islam and Muslims.

One of the most important aspects of investment is determining the “optimal investment portfolio”. To date, scientific research has been conducted to determine the optimal portfolio with “artificial intelligence” and “Fuzzy logic”. However, we determine the optimal portfolio based on Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model. On the other hand, several factors affect returns, which is one of the most important issues in investment decision-makings, and various models have been developed to analyze the return of “capital” and “other assets”. In this regard, some of the most important models include linear and non-linear models, artificial neural network models, Fama–French model, Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model, and optimal stable model. All of these models are indicative of the use of quantitative methods and models in the investment industry. One of the causes of using these models is developing the financial economy. In fact, the development of financial economy has more increased with the concept of “portfolio optimization”. In fact, the portfolio optimization and diversification concept is the basis of developing and expanding classical finance and financial decision-making. Financial markets, especially the capital market, can have a great deal of relevance to other sectors of the economy. In the present study, we design and calibrate a new Keynesian DSGE model in relation to the optimal investment portfolio and effectiveness of shocks (e.g., productivity and foreign exchange earnings fluctuation) on macroeconomics variables.