Active Theory of Television Viewing - 2269 Words

NAME: Simba Elijah Kiage ADM NO: 643419 ASSIGNMENT: A Report on Active Theory of Television Viewing Course: Jnr2223 INSTRUCTOR:Kioko Ireri, Ph.D. SUMMARY PURPOSE Delivered for the fulfillment of a Bachelors Degree in Mass media SCOPE: The Report covers the Active Viewing Theory, its contribution to understanding media effects on audiences documented challenges from research scholars. Presented To: Kioko Ireri, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Journalism amp; Mass Communication Patron, Journalism Club, Journalism Department United States International University-Africa. Introduction This theory finds its roots in Bandura’s 1977’s social learning theory which states that some prim aspects of television programming†¦show more content†¦Julian Rotter (Phares,1972),doesn’t fundamentally agree with Bandura on the instantaneous learning curve but he seems to suggest that learners will only act in accordance with the knowledge they have on what the consequences of their actions will be at any given moment and their beliefs are what govern their specific actions on any subject.(Julian Rotter,p.g.130) Baltes and Reese(1984)support this theory by stating that it is indeed true that individuals learn from their environment and that child psychologists will agree that age coupled highly by environmental factors act as the major influence on development and learning process of a child (Baltes and Reese p.g.514) In this retrospective view, this theory also does find its roots in the Ulric Nasser’s 1967 journal on human psychology where he defines the learning process as a complex integration of observation, long exposure to information, storage and using and reusing (Cognitive Psychology, Ulric Nasser pg.256) which perfectly marries with the Banduras explanation that observation was key to the individuals learning process. Jean Piaget (1936) who was among the first psychologists to make a contribution to cognitive learning and especially in children seemed to also subscribe to the point that children learn from the environment and the eventually gauge what they already know with what the environment offers them (Jean Piaget p.g.125).Although his study wasn’tShow MoreRelatedThe Creation of Digital Media for Adolescents Essay655 Words   |  3 Pagesdevelopment of digital media for children. One could consider that the foundation of children’s digital media content must account for the four stages of child development as stated by, social constructivist, Jean Piaget. By employing active mediation and co-viewing a child’s parents and peers can participate in a child’s experiences; using digital media in the context of learning can facilitate the understanding and processing of content in programming and advertisements. When establishing the formationRead MoreExploring Why the Mass Media May Exert Only a Limited Influence Over the Audience1307 Words   |  6 PagesExploring Why the Mass Media May Exert Only a Limited Influence Over the Audience Media is the way in which large companies are able to diffuse their choice of information to the public via sources such as television, newspapers and radio stations. It is evident that the media in general has become a major function in most people’s lives and consequently has been blamed fir crime, abortion and the corruption of morals in society. I will attempt to evaluate to what extentRead MoreIntroduction. Obesity Has Been A Growing Problem In The951 Words   |  4 Pagesindicated a direct association between television viewing and obesity, using various approaches and theories. Literary review Boulos,  Vikre, Oppenheimer, Chang, Kanarek, (2012) performed a literature review on television’s influence on weight gain and found both direct and indirect causes on the nations obesity epidemic. Direct causes include a decrease in physical activity, television food marketing and advertising, and â€Å"mindless eating† while watching television. If watching TV â€Å"is repeatedly pairedRead MoreEssay on Child Development1286 Words   |  6 Pagesunfold through my son’s eyes as he holds batman and robin figures. Today’s culture views the media as a necessity. One class of media entertainment is television. Television is often exchanged for play among children. Marie Winn wrote â€Å"The End of Play† commenting on how children have replaced â€Å"fantasy and make-believe games† for television. (Winn 76) A research study in USA Today showed results of a survey indicating â€Å"14% of parents said TV is always on.†(Par 4) Their findings point out â€Å"TVRead MoreEffects of Obesity on the Motor Development of Children Essay1367 Words   |  6 Pages There are also several theories that surround motor development. For example, the maturational theory suggests the maturation of different body systems, most importantly the central nervous system, is the main force that drives motor development (Payne Isaacs, 2008). This theory proposes that genetic inheritance is the most important factor that determines motor development and the environment plays a small rol e. On the other hand, the information processing theory maintains that humans respondRead MoreAudience Is A Term That Used To Describe A Large Group1602 Words   |  7 Pagesthe audience. Media has huge influential power towards audience thinking and behaviour. There are many approaches on how to deconstruct the relationship between the text and the audience. Questions arises on how do humans receive text from the television, or the internet, how do they analyse it and how does it affects them. McQuail, Blumler, and Brown proposed a model of â€Å"media-person interactions† which was to classify different gratifications. The four gratifications they classify were personalRead MoreThe Journal Reality Bites : An Investigation Of The Genre Of Reality Television1433 Words   |  6 PagesWhile reading the journal Reality Bites: An Investigation of the Genre of Reality Television and Its Relationship to Viewers’ Body Image researchers utilized a unique methodological approach, this study investigated subtypes of reality television (RTV) to study the influence of exposure to RTV on body image (body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness) as compared a more traditional weekly report of RTV viewing. Young adults (N  ¼ 472) completed online surveys measuring their exposure to Reality TVRead More Television and Media Violence - Is Aggressive Behavior Linked to TV Violence?3420 Words   |  14 PagesIs Aggressive Behavior Linked to Television Violence?      Ã‚   According the Centerwall (1992), the average child aged 2-5 in 1990 watched 27 hours of television per day, or almost 4 hours per day. When much of what is on television, including cartoons and television shows targeted at children, contains violence, it becomes important to know whether watching televised violence can lead to or increase aggressive behavior. Social learning theory tells us that children model theirRead MoreThe Persuasive Power of Television in the 1960’s Essay1376 Words   |  6 Pagessixties provided for a definitive coming of age era for the United States. While much of this revolution can be attributed to the events themselves, the medium used for disseminating these ideas bears some of the responsibility. Throughout the decade television replaced radio and newspaper as the primary source of news and entertainment. Unlike other forms of media, combining the components of auditory and visual stimulation allowed TV to become a powerful mass media distribution outlet, which uniquelyRead MoreUGT in the 21st Century14999 Words   |  60 PagesMASS COMMUNICATION SOCIETY, 2000, 3(1), 3–37 Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century Thomas E. Ruggiero Communications Department University of Texas at El Paso Some mass communications scholars have contended that uses and gratifications is not a rigorous social science theory. In this article, I argue just the opposite, and any attempt to speculate on the future direction of mass communication theory must seriously include the uses and gratifications approach. In this article

Education And The Global Studies Foundation - 998 Words

Education is power. It has the power to influence our goals and motivate ourselves to attain those goals. Each decision we make in life is primarily influenced by the knowledge we have gathered through education. It develops the sense of who we are as a knowledgeable and diverse human being. Education has to do with our identity, with how we characterize ourselves mentally and in the way we communicate with others. Education gave me the competence to independently seek out information and pass my knowledge to others. Most importantly, it allows me to help others to continue to pursue an education. I will extend my education by attending Central Connecticut State University. In college, I will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Political Science/Public Administration with a double minor in Journalism and Criminal Justice. I will use what I learned in college to become involved in the Global Studies Foundation. Their mission is to promote education by connecting with young individual s of different cultures. The communication skills I obtain through my degree in Public Administration, will definitely allow me to connect with millions and show them what the worth of an education is. I will help the foundation promote education on a national level. This foundation is imperative in our society and will allow me to obtain skills in education administration. I will also utilize my skills and experience to achieve my ultimate career goal to become the Superintendent of Schools in theShow MoreRelatedInternational Partnership : Education And Cultural Exchange Foundation1428 Words   |  6 Pagesfostered, education has changed forever for educators and for students around the world. The People s Republic of China has entered a historical conversion, as well, that has revolutionized the lives and futures of Chinese children. Through of the transformative power and the interconnectedness of today s worldwide system, globalization has brought huge challenges and opportunit ies to high school students in China. The purpose of this paper is to explore one international partnership in global educationRead MoreHow New Zealand Is Perceived As A Destination For Overseas Studies? Essay1036 Words   |  5 PagesMethodology Cohort 1 Teacher: Dr. Julian Wu Framework of the Project Exploration Question- â€Å"How New Zealand is perceived as a destination for overseas studies?† ? As such the inquiry can be clarified as what are the variables and reasons that pull in International understudies to incline toward New Zealand as an issue for Education? 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However the education system in Venezuela id not standardized apart fromRead MoreThe Impact Of Megacities On The World1731 Words   |  7 Pagesadvantages and disadvantages for those who chose to live in urbanized regions (BBC, 2005). For instance, the diverse economic opportunities found in megacities have and always will contribute to an influx of immigrants seeking better education and job prospects (Annenberg Foundation, 2015). However, challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, and easily-transmitted diseases will continue to impact dense megacities more than anywhere else in the world (Kotkin, 2011). All of these factors have theRead MoreBill Gates: A Global Leader917 Words   |  4 PagesPage Introduction 2 My Inspiring Global Leader 3-5 Conclusion 5 References 6 Appendixes A Microsoft 8 B Philanthropic Work10 Introduction A leader is someone that you can look up to, someone who has a conglomerate of attributes that motivate people to follow them. There are many reasons why you can find someone amusing, intriguing or interesting but the conglomerate of actions performed by them is what makes them stand over others. A global leader is someone who has transcendsRead MoreOrganizational Learning Is Not Built On Firm Foundations1412 Words   |  6 Pagesclear presence in today’s workplaces; I am analyzing various case studies to better understand the intentions and impact of such organizational changes. Who benefits from organizational learning? What impact does it have on the economy? Studies suggest the outcome of organizational learning is not guaranteed to result in a win-win situation for all parties and the outcomes differ from one organization to the next. Furthermore education is still designed to instill compliance. There is a danger societyRead MoreUniversity of Phoenix-Birmingham721 Word s   |  3 Pages(AACSB) and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). 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Our Overarching Vision of the School We envision a school that will address the need to prepare students to be college and career ready in the competitive, global economy

European Corporate Responsibility Reporting

Question: Discuss about the European Corporate Responsibility Reporting. Answer: Introduction: This memorandum is constructed in order to evaluate the sustainability report of LOreal so all the issues related to the organization can be discovered. The sustainability report is a form of an organizational report that provides basic information about the environmental, economic social and performance of the governance. This sort of a report is not generated from any data but is instead a process to improve and adopt the firms commitment towards sustainable enhancement in such a way that they can be validated to the stakeholders, both external and internal. It is important to establish a sustainability report for LOreal so that all the policies and the plans that have been established by the organization can be understood and a clear idea can be framed as to whether the polices and the sustainable implementations undertaken by the firm are actually real. It is seen that the sustainability report of the firm comprises of the producing, innovating, developing and living that enhances the current position of the organization. The following is the Balance Score Card that provides the sustainability report of LOreal. The balance score card is given below: Innovating Sustainability The innovative sustainability that is undertaken by the organization involves decreasing the footprints that are related to the environment within the formulas that are used in order to manufacture their products. It is seen that LOreal wants to assure their customers that they are undertaking various experiments with respect to their products so that the products they produce are environment friendly but there are no hints of the process used to manufacture the product in front of the market and the consumers. LOreal has the aim of respecting the biodiversity of the global environment so that all their products are eco-friendly and they do not have an impact on the diversified ecosystem. The company has the aim of optimizing their level of packaging by making use of biodegradable items as their packaging items so that they do not harm the environment. The bottles and the boxes they use for packaging are recyclable so that they can be used again again for the packaging the same product. The aim concern for the global environment is the issue of deforestation that is leading to rise in pollution and global warming. LOreal has focused on manufacturing their product with the help of items that do not lead to deforestation. They try to make use of the sap that are available from the trees and with the help of innovative scientific process undertake various researches to create healthy cosmetic items that will be beneficial for the consumers. LOreal is against deforestation and they have undertaken various promotional activities and CSR activities in order to aware the consumers about the effect of deforestation. Producing Sustainability LOreal is under the impression that the only way to reduce the negative impact on the environment is by taking positive initiatives by all the organizations who are functioning in the world. LOreal tries to manufacture their products with the help of new and improved techniques so that the level of CO2 emission reduces thereby taking care of the environmental issues. There has been an increase in population with the advent of time and it is seen that the level of water consumption has increased (Maon Lindgreen 2015). Therefore, the company tries to decrease the level of water consumption so that optimal use of the resources can be achieved. The firm tries to reduce their level of waste by making use of various waste reduction techniques that can reduce the level of waste and thereby developing the environment where the organization operates. LOreal has always been trying to generate their living sustainability as it uplifts the image of the firm in front of the consumers. The firm tries to evaluate the footprints that are undertaken by the product thereby finding out what steps can be taken in order to improve the initiatives the products undertake in order to make a sustainable environment that will develop the economy and the environment. LOreal is under the impression that sustainability can be accomplished by increasing the consumer awareness with the help of training programs and awareness activities through advertisements that will promote the need for environment to be preserved properly. LOreal are focused on enhancing the sustainability in the environment and within the organizational culture. LOreal looks to motivate and promote the admission of the employees in developing sustainability program so that new ideas can be generated that can be implemented so improve the sustainability policies of the organization (Epstein Buhovac 2014). The firm even tries to include the society within the sustainability program so that their issues can be recovered and new ideas can be introduced in order to rectify the problems and develop a better developmental plan. The company is under the impression that if they join hands with the suppliers with respect to their commitments then the suppliers can understand what the organization requires and accordingly the suppliers can bring about changes in their manufacturing style that will even improve sustainability of the organization. The firm tries to globalize their social model by spreading its wings in various corners of the world and thereby distributing their idea about an eco-friendly environment can be accomplished. Ideologies of LOreal The process of environmental accounting has an influential impact on the company report. It is because of the fact that this method is influential for examining their effect on environmental performance and the value of the organization (Gatti Seele 2014). This process is even ideal for the reducing the cost of the organization that can lead to better performance of the firm. Environmental accounting can even lead to rise in profit and will thereby lead to increase in market share. LOreal has the aim of increasing the promotional activity with respect to awareness among the consumers with respect to decrease in the level of pollution from the environment and optimal use of the scarce resources. The organization tries to manufacture products that are eco-friendly and has ingredients that are obtained from the nature so that these products become useful for the consumers. The earlier section describes about the operations and the objectives that are performed by LOreal with respect to their sustainable and environmental policies. There are various issues that are related organizational policies of LOreal that creates a wrong impression to the consumers. The most important issue that has been identified with respect to LOreal is their promotional policies of their subsidiary The Body Shop. The products that are sold by Body Shop smells nice and they are felt nice when they are applied on skin. The firm claims that all their products are made from natural ingredients by undertaking various publicities through their icons, websites and their promotional activities like protection of the world through community trading support, protection of the planet, self-esteem activation and initiatives against animal testing (Lam Quinn 2014). The firm promotes their product as 100% biodegradable and they maintain the eco-conscious standards. Body Shop has stated th at their products are even non-toxic and does not have an impact on aquatic species. They are even able to minimize the level of packaging waste and thereby creating an image in front of the world that their products are safeguarding the environment. However, there rose a controversy right after Body Shop was acquired by LOreal. The media disclosed that LOreal were undertaking tests on animals to find out the effectiveness of the product and to discover whether they have any side-effects. The products were sold to the public after the animal tests were successful. This issue was against the value that was highlighted by Body Shop. The firm tried to undermine these allegations by awaking the consumers regarding wrong information but these approaches were not sufficient to change the mindset of the consumers. The issue that generated after this incident was that even though the firm highlighted green products on their website, consumers wanted to know the level to which the products were actually green. This showed that the company undertook the policy of green washing by which the company promoted their products to be eco-friendly. The labels on the product claiming to have an Eco-conscious standard were able to create an impression that the products were made of natural products but without the labels, this promotion sounded meaningless as there were no elaboration about the products that were used. The symbol on the product showed that eco-conscious standards are met but the actual truth is that the product is not even meeting the international standards. Therefore, the process of green washing is a significant issue that requires to be amended by LOreal in order to preserve their customer base in the market. Another issue that is seen with respect to LOreal is their faulty advertisement. The organization undertakes advertisements that looks to highlight their products having natural ingredients and are very effective of personal healthcare. The company ascertains that they look to provide eco-friendly products but during advertisements, their focus is on how the products provide smooth skins and beautiful hair. The advertisements do not seek attention to the focus on eco-friendly and non-toxic products. Therefore, these are the main issues that are pertinent with LOreal and require to be resolved in order to create a better reputation in the market. The following table depicts the SWOT Analysis of LOreal. SWOT Analysis Strength Largest Cosmetic and Beauty Company Has a continuous Research and Development Activity Good brand and product portfolio High Quality Products Integrated market communications Widespread Distribution Natural and Organic in nature Weakness Too many subdivisions Lower profit margin Degrading hair care treatment Opportunities Market Potential High demand for organic cosmetics Expansion of product mix Revival of the Body Shop Threats Cash Crunch Dynamic feature of cosmetics industry Recommendations The analysis of the issues that have been explained earlier in the memorandum shows that there requires a drastic change in the organizational policies of LOreal because even though the organization shows that they are focusing on manufacturing eco-friendly and natural products the problem that was discovered during the acquisition of The Body Shop has changed the mindset of the consumers. It is important for the firm to transform their advertisement and promotional strategies where the focus will be on protecting the environment and the planet. It is essential for LOreal to undertake a market research and analyze the strategies that are undertaken by their competitor especially Unilever that will help them understand their position in the market. LOreal should even look at the strategies implemented by Unilever so that they can undertake necessary changes so that they can stay one step ahead of them and brand their product efficiently better. The organization should even publish their sustainability report in front of their stakeholders and in the official website so that anyone can access them and have an idea that what the firm is really undertaking for the environment. The firm should even venture into markets where they have not accessed yet and thereby increase their revenue. LOreal should even make undertake brand extensions with the introduction of new and improved eco-friendly and natural products that will add value and will even generate revenue. The use of extensive and proper advertisements will enhance the sale s in the market and increase their market share. The changes in the management policies and additional supervision on the progress of the market and the production process can be influential. The use of all these activities can be useful in enhancing the firm in the economy. Reference List Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. (2014). A new day for sustainability: is your company ready to take on increased responsibility for its activities throughout the globe?. Strategic Finance, 96(1), 25-34. Gatti, L., Seele, P. (2014). Evidence for the prevalence of the sustainability concept in European corporate responsibility reporting. Sustainability science, 9(1), 89-102. Lam, J., Quinn, F. (2014). The role of sustainability in enterprise risk management. Workiva White Paper. Maon, F., Lindgreen, A. (2015). Reclaiming the child left behind: The case for corporate cultural responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(4), 755-766.

Digital Marketing of Splash Fashion

Question: Discuss about theDigital Marketing of Splash Fashion. Answer: Introduction Digital Marketing is the most technologically ameliorate method to reach out to the consumers. It is seen as the most efficient way to conduct and expand a business. The concept of digital marketing has evolved into a new dimension since its first implementation in 1990s (Fulgoni Lipsman, 2014). Consumers can be targeted by optimizing strategies like search engine optimization, e-commerce, display advertising, marketing in social media and even through mobile phones (Thoring, 2011). Splash, the well established fashion company of UAE has been using this approach to expand their business. Through this essay an evaluation of this fashion industrys performance after digitalizing their product portfolio has been portrayed. The chosen organization Splash has been into commerce since 1993. It is a division of Landmark Group, the popular retail conglomerates in Africa, India and Middle East. The company at present has branches in 14 countries and are trying to reach out the global customers (Fashion, 2016). Before implementation of digital marketing only the people who resided in that location could get access to the products. The first and most important benefit received from bringing the company on digital platform is that now it can reach out to customers worldwide. In a report it has been found that social media and digital marketing has played a major role in empowering the companies to enhance their business. (Powers, 2012). Before plunging into digital marketing, the company must follow few simple strategies like: Setting Goals: It implies finding out the target that the company wants to achieve, like target more customers, target to move ahead of competitor and target to get more recognitions. Our chosen apparel industry targets to expand its customer portfolio by offering wide range of collections for their customer. But in recent times Splash fashion has been facing a cut off in their share of profit. Market Funnel Creation: A company who expertise in creating a good market funnel is expected to face lesser risk. It involves tracking the expected moves of the consumers and implementing strategies likewise. Call-to-Action: It is a way to channelize customers into the companys page to collect information. Call-to-Action is conducted by sending text or picture messages to customers and influencing them to visit certain website through given links. Traffic optimization: By ensuring keyword strategy, use of social media, quality contents and website optimization a digital marketing strategy can aim their targeted customers towards themselves. Splash fashion used the social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc to reach out to their customers while they are busy socializing (Thoring, 2011). It can be concluded that the company has achieved success by spreading out to global customers via an easy to use, well organized online portal. It has also conducted fashion shows and uploaded it on internet for the customers to spread product information to them. It has bagged the award titled Most Admired Marketing Campaign in 2011 and the Dubai Lynx Award in 2014. Earning the Powerbrand Award consecutively for 4 times in 2013 in it-self proves the success of this company in digital marketing (Fashion, 2016). References: Fashion, S. (2016). Splash - In love with Fashion. Www2.splashfashions.com. Retrieved 2 December 2016, from https://www2.splashfashions.com/in/en/about-us Fulgoni, G., Lipsman, A. (2014). Numbers, please: Digital game changers: How social media will help usher in the era of mobile and multi-platform campaign-effectiveness measurement.Journal of Advertising Research,54(1), 11-16. Powers, T., Advincula, D., Austin, M. S., Graiko, S., Snyder, J. (2012). Digital and social media in the purchase decision process.Journal of advertising research,52(4), 479-489. Thoring, A. (2011). Corporate tweeting: analysing the use of Twitter as a marketing tool by UK trade publishers.Publishing research quarterly,27(2), 141-158.

Sport Psychology Essays - Behavioural Sciences, Applied Psychology

Sport Psychology In our society today it seems like sports rule the land. Everywhere we look, there is some kind of sporting event going on or being televised. Almost everyone could be considered a fan of at least one sport. Some people follow sports like a religion. With such an increased focus on sports, the athlete's performances are put under a microscope. This puts more pressure on athletes to give a winning performance. No longer do athletes play for fun, they play to win. This isn't happening just on the professional level; it is happening on all levels of sport. From little league to backyard football, the goal is to win at all cost. With this increase pressure, athletes are looking for more and more ways to better their performance. One such way, which is now gaining popularity, is Sports Psychology. Though this isn't a new field, its popularity is just beginning to take off. There is still a lot of skepticism about the validity or worth while of the practices used. The following is a review of a number of articles that outline different studies done that show how athletes can improve their performances. The articles were found using a database search of PsychInfo. Keywords such as increased performance, psychological practices, and sports were used to narrow the search. What is Sport Psychology? Over the years there have been many different definitions offered as to what Sport Psychology is. One of the best ways to look at it is to ask what does a psychologist do? A psychologist does a variety of things. They provide psychological assessment, crisis intervention, and psychological service. Just to name a few broad areas. All of these are areas that can also be useful to an athlete. A lot of the tools used by a sport psychologist are adapted directly from clinical psychology. Concepts such as Freud's Psychodynamics, Caltel's Personality Test, and The Piagetial Cognitive Theory are widely used. (Sloubanov, 1999) All of these are critical tools used by a sport psychologist to assist an athlete with his or her problem. Sport psychology involves preparing the mind of an athlete, just as one prepares the body. Sport psychology is an emerging field in the worlds of psychology and athletics. What Methods are Used? The problem that an athlete is facing will dictate what type of approach a sport psychologist takes. Issues such as motivation, self-efficacy, and depression are common in the athletic arena. (Miserandino, 1998, p. 287) Athletes can also suffer greatly from anxiety and stress. (Holm, Beckwith, Ehde, Tinius, 1995, p. 463) Any of these conditions can be detrimental to ones competitive ability. Techniques such as mental imagery training and relaxation techniques can be used to attack problems in these areas. (McKenzie, Howe, 1997, p. 196) Marianne Miserandino's research was focused on failure, and why athletes believe that they don't accomplish their goals. She learned that starting at young age, athletes are told that failure comes from their lack of ability. This is called learned helplessness. (Miserandino, 1998, p. 287) In her study she approached this problem by splitting her subject into two groups. One group received feedback about their shooting techniques and were told that lack of effort was the reason for missed shots, not lack of ability. The other group received only feedback on their techniques. After her 4-week study was done, the group that received the positive reinforcement showed more mastery of the skills and greater improvement than their counterparts. (Miserandino, 1998 p. 286) Another study also used basketball free throws as the basis for its study. Craig Wrisberg and Mark Anshel did this study. It looks at the effectiveness of applying cognitive techniques to improve performance of shooting free throws. (Wrisberg, Anshel, 1989, p. 95) Participants in the study were asked to shoot a number of free throws to provide a baseline for the study. Over the next three days, the athletes were giving instruction in between shooting sessions. They were introduced to mental imagery as a way to help with their shooting. The results showed a significant improvement in shot percentages of the players. (Wrisberg, Anshel, 1989, p. 99) The Holm, Beckwith, Ehde, and Tinius study also looked at the use of cognitive approaches to athletic performance. They we interested in the role of stress and anxiety. College athletes were split into two groups. One group participated in daily two-hour group sessions that introduced them to a variety of cognitive-behavioral interventions. These methods were discussed and practiced. The subjects were also asked to do a homework assignment outside of

Pituitary Gland - Function and Hormone Production

Pituitary Gland - Function and Hormone Production The pituitary gland is a small endocrine organ that controls a multitude of important functions in the body. It is divided into an anterior lobe, intermediate zone, and posterior lobe, all of which are involved in either  hormone production or hormone secretion.  The pituitary gland is termed the Master Gland because it directs other  organs  and endocrine glands to either suppress or induce hormone production. Key Takeaways: Pituitary Gland The pituitary gland is called the Master Gland because it directs a multitude of endocrine functions in the body. It regulates hormone activity in other endocrine glands and organs.Pituitary activity is regulated by hormones of the hypothalamus, a brain region connected to the pituitary by the pituitary stalk.The pituitary is composed of an anterior and posterior lobe with an intermediate region between the two.Hormones of the anterior pituitary include adrenocorticotropin hormones (ACTH), growth hormone (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).Hormones stored by the posterior pituitary include antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin.Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) is an intermediate pituitary hormone. Hypothalamus-Pituitary Complex The pituitary gland and hypothalamus are closely connected both structurally and functionally. The hypothalamus is an important brain structure that has both nervous system and endocrine system function. It serves as a link between the two systems translating nervous system messages into endocrine hormones. The posterior pituitary is composed of axons that extend from the neurons of the hypothalamus. The posterior pituitary also stores hypothalmic hormones.  Blood vessel connections between the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary allow hypothalamic hormones to control anterior pituitary hormone production and secretion. The hypothalamus-pituitary complex serves to maintain homeostasis by monitoring and adjusting physiological processes through hormone secretion. Pituitary Function The pituitary gland is involved in several functions of the body including: Growth hormone productionProduction of hormones that act on other endocrine glandsProduction of hormones that act on the muscles and the kidneysEndocrine function regulationStorage of hormones produced by the hypothalamus Location Directionally, the pituitary gland is located in the middle of the base of the brain, inferior to the hypothalamus. It is nestled  within  a depression in the sphenoid bone of the skull called the sella turcica. The  pituitary gland extends from and is connected to the hypothalamus by a stalk-like structure called the infundibulum, or pituitary stalk. Pituitary Hormones The posterior pituitary lobe does not produce hormones but stores hormones produced by the hypothalamus. Posterior pituitary hormones include antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin. The anterior pituitary lobe produces six hormones that are either stimulated or inhibited by hypothalamic hormone secretion. The intermediate pituitary zone produces and secretes melanocyte-stimulating hormone. This image shows hormones of the pituitary and their affected organs. ttsz /iStock / Getty Images Plus Anterior Pituitary Hormones Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH):  stimulates the adrenal glands to produce the stress hormone cortisol.Growth Hormone:  stimulates growth of tissues and bone, as well as the breakdown of fat.Luteinizing Hormone (LH):  stimulates male and female gonads to release sex hormones, testosterone in men and estrogens and progesterone in women.Follicle-stimulating Hormone (FSH):  promotes the production of male and female gametes (sperm and ova).Prolactin (PRL):  stimulates breast development and milk production in women.Thyroid-stimulating Hormone (TSH):  stimulates the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones. Posterior Pituitary Hormones Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH): helps maintain water balance by decreasing water loss in urine.Oxytocin - promotes lactation, maternal behavior, social bonding, and sexual arousal. Intermediate Pituitary Hormones Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone (MSH): promotes melanin production in skin cells called melanocytes.  This induces skin darkening. Pituitary Disorders Pituitary disorders result in the disruption of normal pituitary function and the proper functioning of target organs of pituitary hormones. These disorders are most commonly the result of tumors, which cause the pituitary to produce either not enough or too much of a hormone. In hypopituitarism, the pituitary produces low levels of hormones. The insufficiency of pituitary hormone production causes a deficiency in the production of hormones in other glands. For example, a deficiency in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) production can result in an under-active thyroid gland. Lack of thyroid hormone production slows down normal body functions. Symptoms that may arise include weight gain, weakness, constipation, and depression. Insufficient levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production by the pituitary results in under-active adrenal glands. Adrenal gland hormones are important for maintaining vital body functions such as blood pressure control and water balance. This conditio n is also known as Addisons disease and can be fatal if not treated. In hyperpituitarism, the pituitary is overactive producing hormones in excess. An overproduction of growth hormone may result in acromegaly in adults. This condition results in excessive growth of bones and tissues in the hands, feet, and face. In children, overproduction of growth hormone may result in gigantism. Overproduction of ACTH causes the adrenal glands to produce too much cortisol, which results in problems related to metabolism regulation. Overproduction of the pituitary hormone TSH may result in  hyperthyroidism, or the overproduction of thyroid hormones. An overactive thyroid produces symptoms such as nervousness, weight loss, irregular heartbeat, and fatigue. Sources Acromegaly. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 Apr. 2012, www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-diseases/acromegaly.Pituitary Gland. Hormone Health Network, Endocrine Society, www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/glands/pituitary-gland.

Article Summary Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary - Article Example If clinicians know more about these aspects of emotional intelligence of their AN patients, they can help the latter improve their emotional functioning skills as part of their core treatment approaches. Clinicians would then be more sensitive to identifying emotional functioning skills deficits and help their patients with eating disorders manage their emotions more effectively. 3. How the author’s literature review supports the authors’ choice of hypotheses The author’s literature review showed support to the authors’ choice of hypotheses, by describing studies that showed that people with eating disorders tend to have emotion recognition deficits. For instance, Harrison et al. (2009 cited in p.349) illustrated the study by Zonnevijlle-Bender and colleagues, where they used three separate studies and discovered deficits in emotion recognition in people with an ED. Furthermore, Harrison et al. (2009) used literature on bingeing and restriction to explore the difficulties of people with eating disorders in managing their emotions. ... Second, there would be a relationship between emotion recognition and emotion regulation (Harrison et al., 2009, p.350). 5. Independent/predictor and dependent/criterion variables The independent variable is the ailment of AD. The dependent variables are emotion regulation and emotion recognition. 6. Operational definitions of the variables Anorexia Nervosa (AD) is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV. The authors no longer defined AD itself, aside from connecting it with the dependent variables of emotional recognition and emotional regulation. The authors did mention, however, that â€Å"disordered eating is used to regulate affect† and that according to Mayer, Waller and Walters (1998) â€Å"eating pathology† aims to â€Å"block emotions† and ED behaviors commonly consist of â€Å"bingeing, vomiting and restriction may be used in order to regulate and manage painful emotional states experienced by the individual† (Corstorphine, 2006 cited in Harrison et al., 2009, p.350). Emotion recognition pertains to the ability to accurately perceive emotions in â€Å"faces, music and designs† (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999 cited in Harrison et al., 2009, p.349). Emotion regulation refers to the ability to â€Å"manage emotions in the self and others† (Harrison et al., 2009, p.350). Emotion recognition was measured using Emotion Recognition: The RME Task (revised) (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001). Emotion regulation was measured using The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004). 7. The research subjects The research subjects consisted of twenty female participants with AN and twenty female healthy control (HC) participants. Participants with AN were came from the South London and Maudsley National

Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Literacy - Essay Example The theories and concepts which relate to literacy can be understood based on different viewpoints and perceptions. This paper seeks to present a critical analysis about the concept of literacy. It will seek to communicate how selected studies contribute to my understanding of literacy theories and issues, and how these studies have practical applications for teachers and trainers in adult and vocational education or for students in the university. This essay is being carried out in order to establish an improved conceptualization of literacy and how its elements can impact on the overall education and development of students and learners. Body Literacy in its most basic context refers to the ability to read in order to gain knowledge and coherently and critically conceptualize the written word (Kress, 2003). Literacy also refers to the ability to understand the different means of communication, including language, videos, and images (Kress, 2003). Changing conceptualizations of lite racy include various symbols which are crucial to any community. Literacy includes various complex skills which seek to understand and utilize major symbols of culture for general development (Kress, 2003). For technological societies, the idea of literacy is developing to encompass the media and the electronic tools, including the alphabets and numerical systems. These areas are different and based on varying social and cultural applications (Street, 1984). Literacy is still equivalent to a lifelong and intellectual progression of establishing meaning of the written words (Goody, 1986). The idea of literacy is to establish development, to improve skills, which starts with the power to understand words and to deconstruct them. In the end, these processes lead to a deeper understanding of the text (Goody, 1986). The development of reading includes different and complex language processes which include an understanding of speech, spelling, word meaning, grammar, as well as word format ion (Goody, 1986). All of these establish a strong avenue for the development of fluency in reading and comprehension. As these skills are gained, readers can then ensure strong literacy in language and communication, which then includes the power to understand printed materials and conduct critical analysis or make inferences (Graff, 1991). With these skills, it is also possible to develop accuracy and coherence and to use data from the text to make decisions and develop creative ideas. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) declares that literacy is based on the power to identify, interpret, and communicate related ideas (UNESCO, 2004). Literacy includes a wide array of learning processes which help enable individuals to secure their goals, to support knowledge, and to take part in their society. Being literate is associated with the idea of one’s familiarity with literature (UNESCO, 2004). In the 19th century, it has also been relate d to one’s abilities to read and write and to be educated in a particular field. Scholars have given much attention to defining literacy, and their activities have had much impact on various approaches to practice as well as policies (Bowman and Woolf, 1994). Scholars from various fields of psychology, economics, linguistics, philosophy and history have been involved in the highly contentious process of defining literacy and what it implies for education and knowledge (Graff, 1991). In considering these discussions, there are several possible understandings of literacy: literacy as an independent set of skills; literacy as applied in practice and also contextual; literacy as a learning process; and literacy as text (UNESCO, 2006). In relation

Java zone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Java zone - Essay Example As a consequence, birds, reptiles and other animal species in these forests have increasingly been endangered as almost all forests are gone only to create space for this lucrative plant. It took the intervention of North America to realize that there has been a significant drop in the number of birds in Central America. As per the reports of the researchers, this is attributed to cutting down of tree previously used as coffee shades. As such, this work pertains to biodiversity more than anything else. The information is similar to the context that constitute of biodiversity. This is due to the reality that most farmers in Nicaragua and other Central American nations have been affecting biodiversity through their own action. In biodiversity, people look at the short term benefit of their action, which similar to the java zone farmers who cut down the forest not caring for the long run impacts. Cutting down the trees negatively affects biodiversity, given that they are natural habitats of some other creatures such as birds, and mammals. Is it right to compromise the biodiversity to increase the sales volume of

Prevention and Control of Locally Endemic Diseases

Prevention and Control of Locally Endemic Diseases Worldwide, countries are facing various public health problems but at unequal intensity. Low and middle-income countries are more suffering from high burden of disease than developed countries (Lopez et al., 2006). Public health issues in the world have existed for hundreds of years and to cope with them different interventions from different people have been put in place and have been improved over time depending upon new health-related discoveries. In September 1978, World Health Organisation in collaboration with The United Nations Childrens Fund organised the famous International Conference on Primary Healthcare in Alma-Ata, former Soviet Union, where 3000 delegates from various national governments and international bodies convened to find new ways of dealing with public health setbacks. This conference was a landmark in the promotion of population health around the world given the introduction of the theme of Health for All with the slogan Health for All by the Year 2000 (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). In the Declaration issued at the end of the conference, Primary Healthcare was defined as essential healthcare based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination (World Health Organisation, 1978). In this essay, with relevant examples, the explicit meaning of this definition will be discussed. Later on, gaps and lessons drawn from the conceptualisation and implementation of Primary Healthcare in Rwanda will be identified. Finally, the relevance of Primary Healthcare in the Rwandan health system will be examined. A.EXPLICIT MEANING OF DEFINITION OF PRIMARY HEALTHCARE ACCORDING TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION The definition of primary healthcare, as it was issued in the Alma-Ata Conference Declaration, was general and needed some precisions and common understanding to avoid any misinterpretation. To fully grasp the explicit meaning of primary healthcare, as was defined by the World Health Organisation, it worth, firstly, to break it into basic terms: A.1.Primary healthcare as essential and appropriate activities for promoting the health of the population Primary healthcare is a set of activities aimed at promoting the health status of the population. Through these activities, prevailing health problems that the community suffer are addressed properly by providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services (World Health Organisation, 1978). World Health Organisation (1978) states that the essential services that primary healthcare would provide were : education on prevailing diseases and the ways of preventing and controlling them; promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; maternal and child healthcare including family planning; adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; immunisation against major infectious diseases; prevention and control of local endemic diseases, appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; and provision of essential drugs. These services were expected to vary according to the country and community provided their economic and social aspects that they reflect and from which they evolve and health system had the social responsibility to avail essential healthcare to all (World Health Organisation, 1978). A.1.1.Education on prevailing diseases and the methods of preventing and controlling them This component of primary healthcare aims to support personal and community social development by informing them through education for health. The enhancement of their life skills leads to behaviour change at individual or collective level in order to tackle health problems prevailing in their community. Additionally, this activity makes people aware of other factors that determine their overall health like environmental factors, lifestyle and genetics. As a result, people are empowered to have informed options to have control over their own health and over those factors determining their health status. Various ways are used ranging from mass media tools to simple messages transmitted to individuals or to the community regarding the strategies to fight against common diseases in their communities (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). Further, health educational materials can be developed, supplied in the schools by those working in education sector to be integrated in health system. To illustrate this activity in the community, the strategies regarding the prevention of malaria should include the education on what is malaria, its causes, signs and symptoms of the disease, treatment and preventive measures in place. A.1.2.Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition The Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition in the families and in the community in general is a cornerstone in fighting against ill-health. Under nutrition and micronutrients deficiencies mostly in women in reproductive age and children largely contribute to a global burden of disease (Caulfield al., 2006). A.1.3.Maternal and child health including family planning Maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates, mostly in resource limited countries, are still high and more action is needed to tackle this public health issue. Women and childrens deaths are attributed to the causes which in many cases are preventable and avoidable through collaboration of various stakeholders (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). A.1.4.Adequate supply of safe water and improved sanitation This component of primary healthcare ensures that population has not only access to safe and clean water but also to clean environment. The role of contaminated water and environment in spreading diseases is known. The supply of safe and adequate water, sanitation and disposal of liquid and solid waste play a key role preventing diseases transmission (Howard et al., 2002). A.1.5.Immunisation program against major diseases Immunisation against major diseases plays a key role in preventing serious contagious diseases mostly in children like Tuberculosis, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, etc .Women in reproductive age are also vaccinated for Tetanus. A.1.6. Prevention and control of local endemic diseases Some persisting diseases in a community contribute to the burden of disease and are attributable to the increasing morbidity and mortality in many countries. Regular screening and appropriate treatment of these diseases done by skilled healthcare workforce with appropriate health technology are key to the control of them (Wooding, Nagaddya Nakaggwa, 2012). A.1.7. Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries This component of primary healthcare deals with the treatment of common diseases and injuries that members of the community suffer. These diseases include common infectious diseases that prevails in the community, skin lesions due to injuries, infections or other disease conditions that affect the skin all of which contribute to the burden of disease. A.1.8.Provision of essential drugs The provision of essential drugs contributes greatly in effective management of common pathological conditions in the community. They are of an utmost importance in preventing and treating diseases which have a greater impact on lives of millions of people around the world. Essential drugs save lives and improve health (Balkan et al., 2013). A.2.Primary healthcare as essential activities based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology To achieve its ultimate goal, which is better health for all, primary healthcare should be evidence-guided. Primary healthcare practice has to be based on scientifically-proved methods, techniques, equipments and drugs (World Health Organisation, 1978). To avert health problems, various methods, techniques, equipments and drugs are used in prevention, diagnosis, treatment of diseases and patient rehabilitation once the disease in treated. Selection of health technology to be used has not to be only based on scientific evidences but also on its affordability and acceptability in the context of local value, culture and belief (World Health Organisation, 2011). For example, primary healthcare providers should use those healthcare technologies that enable clients to have access to high quality, safe and cost-effective healthcare. A.3.Primary healthcare should be made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community All members of the community should equally and universally have access to health services regardless of their social economic standing, religion, sex, age, race, language or geographic location and to ensure that it is effectively achieved, the concept of equity should be taken into consideration. The availability of health services itself is not the assurance that the primary healthcare would be successful. There are other components to be addressed to ensure that health services made universally accessible are appropriately used by all members of the community. World Health Organisation (1978) recommended that states government should make use of available resources effectively by increasing the funds allocated for health and firstly giving priority to the extension of primary healthcare to disadvantaged communities. Countries should make sure that all barriers including social economic barriers are properly addressed by reducing exclusion and social economic disparities to help those in need to have access to health services. A.4.Primary healthcare should involve full participation of community members at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination The participation of communities in primary healthcare care activities forms an integral part in the health system. Central level should take into consideration the role of communities that play in primary healthcare activities planning process. To achieve this, communities have to be enabled to understand their role, especially in primary healthcare strategies and in the development process at community level in general, by providing with them the guidance and the necessary information that they do not have at their level. Once community members fully understand the part they play in the national primary healthcare strategy and in the overall development process at community level, then they are able to give their contribution in the formulation of primary healthcare programmes by examining themselves the health problems that they face in their community, setting priorities, adjusting national solutions to their local communities and organising themselves and put in place support an d control mechanisms (World Health Organisation, 1978). Also, the effectiveness of primary healthcare depends on the use of means that are affordable and acceptable by both the community and the country. The necessity of involvement of other health system components and other sectors that contribute to general countrys social economic development is of paramount importance in the implementation of primary healthcare programmes as health cannot be attained by the health sector alone (World Health Organisation, 1978).The linkage between primary healthcare and other sectors in the context of community development needs a coordinated effort in planning process at the community level. The joined effort from various community development stakeholders results in a sort of collaboration which has a greater impact on primary healthcare. As an illustration of the above, malnutrition reduction programme in less than five should involve community members, healthcare workers, and agricultural worker as they might have the key information that can help in planning process. Additionally, community members can actively participate in the implementation of some components of the programme jointly with other development initiatives from other social economic development sectors. B.GAPS AND LESSONS DRAWN FROM THE CONCEPTUALISATION OF PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN RWANDA The implementation of primary healthcare in Rwanda has been proven to be effective in recent years. Despite the four years of civil war and genocide that left more than one million of people dead, thousands of hundreds displaced and health system totally collapsed, Rwanda has made remarkable progress in improving the health status of its population (Rodriguez Samuels, 2011). The above remarkable progress is imputable to various factors including ambitious political will that predominantly played in key. Health sector reforms which included community health insurance commonly known as mutuelle de santà © and a boost of health services done by providing the incentives to healthcare staff through performance-based financing schemes have also been a cornerstone in the achievements of such results. Furthermore, strong leadership, strong health policies together with involvement of community health workers in participatory decentralisation and effective coordination of donations from health and development partners have been implemental in implementation of primary healthcare strategies. B.1.Lessons to be leant Primary healthcare conceptualisation and implementation, in Rwanda case, offers great lessons to be learnt for future primary healthcare initiatives either in Rwanda itself or elsewhere in the world mostly in resources-limited countries. Rodriguez and Samuels (2011) highlighted that putting in place a strong leadership and accountability mechanisms at all levels, involvement and creation of ownership of health services seekers, collaboration of all stakeholders in planning process supported by evidence-based policies are more likely to help in achieving the desired outcomes of primary healthcare as it has been shown for Rwandas experience. B.2.Gaps In spite of the above mentioned remarkable achievements that Rwanda has made in implementation of primary healthcare, there is still chasm to be addressed.

Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

Throughout The Lord of the Flies, the author shows how different Simon is from the rest of the savages on the island. He is much more innocent and pure than the others and has a religious demeanor. Light, very commonly a symbol of holiness and purity, is used quite often during Simon’s â€Å"funeral†. In the last four paragraphs of chapter nine, â€Å"A view to a death†, Golding makes clear the use of light imagery to suggest the apotheosis of Simon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During chapter nine, the sky and water are used to convey a sense of innocence during Simon’s glistening funeral. For example, the air becomes clear as the rain ceases, indicating a calm and peacefulness. When the â€Å"silver tide† comes in and washes away his blood and â€Å"streaks of phosphorescence† mend his battered body, it is as though Simon’s body is being prepared for ascension into heaven. â€Å"Lamps of stars,† â€Å"bright constellations,† and the moonlight provide much radiance. In addition there are brilliant flashes of lightning from the still lingering storm. The luminous sky provides light while the clear, silver water works on restoring Simon’s body after he has been savagely killed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Simon’s body and the creatures around it also show his holiness. Light images of the creatures that surround Simon glorify his body, and as light falls on his corpse he is transfigured into an icon of expiation. Also, the water covers Simon in a â€Å"coat of pearls† and â€Å"creatures† (interpreted to symbolize angels) begin to spread a layer of silver over him. The apotheosis of Simon is complete, as he becomes completely silver.

History of South Africa’s Apartied Essay

South Africa is a land of abundant natural resources with a mild climate, and lush fertile land. With natural resources like diamonds, gold, and platinum, it’s no wonder that the Dutch East India Company set up settlements on the Cape of Good Hope. These settlements established a trade port between South Africa and other countries. The 17th and 18th centuries, saw settlements popping up all over Africa. Settlers from France, England, Portugal, Belgium and Spain came, forcing the Africans from their lands and turning them into a labor force. By the 20th century the British had taken over most of the settlements in the northeast, east, west, and the center of South Africa and the French controlled most of the northwest. The Republic of South Africa has had a very turbulent 20th century. Although apartied officially started in 1948, South Africa’s history for racial domination began much earlier. The Land Act was put into place in 1913, restricting Black African citizens from buying land outside special areas or reserves. This act also allowed for black sharecroppers, living on â€Å"white land†, to be relocated to these reserves. Although the Act was not enforced often, it set the stage for the â€Å"Black Homelands†, which would come into play later. The National Party, a white pro-segregation party, was voted into power after WWII. They began preparing racial legislation, and in 1949, the Mixed Marriage Act became law, prohibiting whites and blacks from marrying. In 1950, the Immorality Act made it a crime for whites to have sexual relations with any other race. The Population Registration Act required all people living in South Africa to register their race. A child born from any union would immediately be registered with their race/ethnicity. Many other acts were introduced in the coming years. All were passed to seriously limit any economic, political, or educational opportunities for the black South Africans. These Apartied Acts actually resulted in the promotion of the Black Self-Government Act in 1958, and the Black Homeland Citizenship Act in 1971. The Self-Government Act established ten areas in South Africa called Homelands. These â€Å"Homelands† were divided based on the tribe formally living there. All tribe members were expected to return to this land, where they would live and be governed by their own self-government. With the 1971 Citizenship Act, tribes were no longer citizens of South Africa. Instead they would be citizens of their Homelands. RESISTANCE TO APARTIED One of the first political organizations that opposed apartied was Lumumba Yama Africa; they believed that African unity was the only way to fight the white government . This party started in the 19th century, encouraging many other parties to join them in this goal. The apartied was also influenced by outside powers, such as Gandhi. These organizations instituted revolts beginning in 1960, leaving 69 dead and 190 injured. Apartied did not receive international awareness when the laws were created in 1948. With the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and the troubles in Asia and the rest of the African continent, awareness was finally brought to light to the rest of the world. In November 1977, the United Nations also became involved, by imposing arms embargos December 1977saw other sanctions. Many countries brought more awareness by not allowing South African Airway to land in their country. The South African government, because they were experiencing great economic growth, chose to show indifference to any criticisms from other organizations or countries. Because the white South Africans were prospering economically, sanctions continued to be ignored. IT’S OVER Apartied finally came to an end in 1990. By 1991, all apartied laws were repealed. The sanctions by other countries and organizations were also repealed. Since then, the government has been working hard to improve economic growth by creating jobs and integrating the workforce. Even though racism still exists in South Africa; cooperation between races has improved significally. REFERENCES Apartied Timeline. (n. d. ). Apartied Timeline. Retrieved from http://cyberschoolbus. un. org/discrim/race_b_at_print. asp Apartied in South Africa. (n. d. ) In Wikipedia (Rep. ). (n. d. ). Retrieved from www-cs-studentsstanford. edu/~cale/cs201/apartied. hist. html White, G. W. , ;amp; Bradshaw, M. J. (2011). Essentials of world regional geography (2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Germans essays

Germans essays The German society is alomst as the American society is, but there are some differences between those two cultures. Germans spend their money for traveling all over the wolrd, the Americans (which isnt quite the right expression for people who live in the US, because there are a lot more people, who live in America) spend their money for their freetime... they buy more stuff that is more fun. The drivers license is a lot more cheaper in the US, the Autobahn is better than the highway, because its more fun. And no, their is not just one Autobahn in Germany, there are a lot of Autobahns. The freedom the people from the US have, because its written down in the constitution doesnt really exist. You are bind to your parents for al ong time...longer then 18 years. You arent allowed to drink till youre 21, you cant have your girlfriend spend the night at your house, also if you are 18 ...but youre supposed to be an adult with 18. ...so whats the problem over there? ...A lot of parents make their children go to church...why? ...dont you have the riht to choose your own religion...and you should be old enough with 17 or 18 to decide weather to go to church or not... you parents dont want you to have sex...but you are adult and can make up your own mind... its really strange. There are also lots of things in Germany that suck, but I wont mention them yet. ...

FRIARS essays

FRIARS essays Lawrence's works details how the mendicant orders arose before and during the thirteenth century. Europe supported the establishment of the church, implemented change and reform leading to heresy and separation. Lawrence regards the "revolutionary situation" (page 225), as one resulting partly by the growth of towns and the general population. Due to social changes within medieval Europe itself it sought control and threatened the stability of the Church and of the religious beliefs of the people. In a way, the rise of the mendicant orders at this time is an answer to the problems in this situation. Mendicant orders are seen by Lawrence as "a revolutionary answer to a potentially revolutionary situation" (page 225) because of the long-term effect to help preserve the church hierarchy. This sometimes was in conflict and even become partly incorporated into that hierarchy themselves. Although, to some extent the mendicant orders were innovative, they cannot be seen as itself revolutionary. In order to be considered revolutionary, they would have had to overthrow the previous church order and perhaps replacing it with a new one. But mendicant order did nothing of the sort. The establishment of monasteries and schools allowed them to later become part of the Catholic Church, government system. The Friars were well trained in theology and pastoral skills which is why they were chosen by the papacy to completely destroy the religious beliefs that opposed the orthodox views (page 188). At this time religion in the West was a relatively new concept. The friars are noted to have had some importance in the Inquisition: "suppressing the heresy" (Webster's New World Dictionary, 249). "Developing... out of... measures... to combat the dualist heresies... rampant in France and in northern and central Italy by the middle of the twelfth century." (Page 189). Here the Church used its various means to combat the Cathars and others ...

Write a critical commentary on part 3 of the Prologue of Nietzsches Term Paper

Write a critical commentary on part 3 of the Prologue of Nietzsches text. (Thus Spoke Zaratustra) - Term Paper Example Nietzsche positions the Superman as the most effective solution to the nihilism which, according to him, is the definitive feature of his reality and the world around him. In part 3 of Zarathustra’s prologue, Nietzsche refers to the analogy with Darwin’s philosophy of evolution, to prove that the process of transition to the Superman is in no way a product of natural selection; rather, it is something an individual can achieve only through a profound self-transformation and sacrifice. Part 3 of Prologue in Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra offers an insight into the concept of the Superman and the ways individuals can achieve the highest state of spiritual being. Actually, the Superman is the highest state of each person’s being and the only way individuals can combat nihilism which dominates their society: â€Å"The Superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: The Superman shall be the meaning of the earth!† (Nietzsche). Those, who are unable to grasp the meaning of the Superman and are not willing to lead themselves to the spiritual self-awareness and revival, are bound to spend their lives surrounded by disguise and blasphemy. The Superman is something that can help people to look beyond their bodily urges and concerns. The Superman can help the society to look contemptuously on their bodies from the viewpoint of a supreme thing (Nietzsche). The Superman will work to reduce the poverty and pollution of the society’s spi rit and soul and justify the happiness of its existence. It is interesting to see, that in his explanation of the Superman concept, Nietzsche (or Zarathustra) refers to the concept of evolution and Darwin’s theory. Zarathustra uses Darwin’s concept of evolution, to illustrate the point of the Superman and to show the best way toward the ultimate point of happiness and self-fulfillment. Zarathustra criticizes the society’s belief in evolution and points out that achieving the highest state of consciousness is spirit

The brief and frightening reign of Phil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The brief and frightening reign of Phil - Essay Example In this case, people are focused on stripping the natural resources of Inner Horner (Saunders and Saunders 15). Additionally, the political leadership of the location becomes power-hungry, which leads to grisly political murders in order to hold onto power. The demagogic Phil seizes the chance to assume power of both Outer and Inner Horner. Phil uses unethical strategies such as ruthlessness, flattery and deceit in order to assume to power. The story by Saunders points to human tendencies towards political and social ruthlessness in order to gain power. In order to highlight these tendencies, Saunders uses allegories and symbolism to express his purpose. The symbolism and allegories used in the story represent real world events. Question 1 Saunders’ main purpose in writing the novel is to highlight human tendencies. The story aims to highlight mass hysteria and series of injustices following the assumption to power of power-hungry and tyrannical Phil. Saunders uses symbolism t o describe Phil and the people of Inner Horner, and allegory to describe outer and inner Horner. For instance, Saunders states that Phil is a despot in a fabulous country in Horner. The citizens of this country are cockamamie fusions of organic substance and machine parts. The author uses symbolism by using elements, animals, places and colors in order to represent Horner and Phil. For instance, Saunders states that Carol, â€Å"an Inner Hornerite who resembled a gigantic belt-buckle with a blue dot affixed to it, as if a gigantic belt buckle had been stapled to a tuna fish† motivated Phil to device senseless and cruel systems of leaderships (Saunders and Saunders 22). The author aims to expose the nature of rulers as jealous and power hungry people. According to the author, citizens of a country deserve leaders they can trust. These leaders should act as reflections of the society. The systems used by Phil focused on depressing citizens through unsustainable tax regimes, gen ocide and harassment (Saunders and Saunders 31). This compares events in Horner to recent events in countries such as Bosnia and Iraq. Saunders used symbolism by using abstract characters. Additionally, he uses allegory to create the setting of the story. For instance, the characters in the story are not strictly humans though the story uses the term human. The characters have three arms, legs, unique mechanical parts and organic matter. They have other features such as antlers and additional brains, â€Å"one on the side of his neck and one on his hip† (Saunders and Saunders 42). Allegory is seen when the author describes inner Horner as a small place that only one Inner Hornerite could fit. This means that the other Inner Hornerite had to wait for their opportunity to live in their country. Question 1b This story connects with the ideas of genocide and harassment. Leaders use genocide and harassment to oppress citizens or people deemed as threats to their leadership. Philâ €™s ascent to leadership was motivated by jealous. He aimed to deprive the region of its natural resources in order to deprive its habitats their livelihood. Phil was jealous because Outer Horner was not blessed with the natural resources of inner Horner. As a result, he organized supporters from Outer Horner and hired giants in order march to power. He began by instituting unsustainable tax regimes and relentless mining of the natural resources (Saunders and Sa

Sociology and culture of Chicago Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sociology and culture of Chicago - Essay Example That's why Chicago has the biggest population and median home values throughout the state. In 2000 there were 2,896,016 people living in Chicago. The U.S Census Bureau provides us with the data that says that 42.0% of Chicago dwellers are white, 36.8 % percent of them are Black or African American, the percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native persons is only 0.4%, while there are 4.3% of Asian persons living in Chicago. 26% of Chicago dwellers are persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, and the percentage of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders is 0.1%. 2.9% of people reported two or more races, and 13.6% of the citizens reported some other race. The research conducted by the U.S Census Bureau displayed that the population of Chicago has grown by about 4%, but the Local Information Data Server Website reports that in recent years Chicago's population has been declining at an annual rate of less than one percent. The quantity of children under five years old was about 7.5% in Chicago in 2000, while the quantity of young people under eighteen, equaled 26.2%. 10.3% of the Chicago dwellers were sixty five years old and over at the time when the research was conducted. There were 51.5% of females dwelling in Chicago in 2000, and 48.5% percent of male dwellers. 21.7% of those, who lived in Chicago in 2000 we... In 1999 Median household income equaled $38,625, and the per capita money income was $20,175. 19.6% of Chicago dwellers lived below the poverty threshold in 1999. Like most big cities, Chicago has to deal with the problem of poverty within it. Of course, there are some people in the city that can't or don't want to work, but most of Chicago dwellers work hard to earn their living. The thing is that working very hard is often not enough to ensure the proper level of life for yourself or your family. Like all of the American huge cities, Chicago has to face the problem of the working poor. A new class of poor people appeared in the USA, those who can not provide themselves with the things needed for the decent living in spite of the amount of time and effort they spend. Those are home health care aides, call-center operators, child care workers, security guards, receptionists, food processors, gardeners, data-entry clerks, waiters and cleaners. If all of those low-waged workers stopped working at once, the countries social, economical and industrial life would be paralyzed. Low wages aren't the only problem of the working poor. Most of them are not socially secure. Of course this state of things influences their physical and psychological condition badly. The poor often cannot afford to buy a proper food and clothing for themselves and their children, or they have to choose between having a supper and paying the water and electricity bills. Most of them don't have any medical insurance, and those who have it wish they didn't, because it takes the considerable share of their earnings. Low-wage workers often experience problems finding the accommodation and paying for it, as the rent is too high for them. They are often

Iran-Contra affair Essay Example for Free

Iran-Contra affair Essay The Iran-Contra affair was a US scandal that occurred in the mid 1980s under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan and vice president George bush. The scandal majorly involved two events. First, there was the sale of US arms to one of its main enemies, Iran and then the millions of dollars in profits derived from the arms deal were used to finance a clandestine operation rejected by congress, the financing of Nicaraguan guerrillas named the Contra. The Contra guerillas were opponents of the Nicaraguan’s Sandinista rebels who came to power after overthrowing Anastasio Somoza, the then leader of Nicaragua in the year 1979. The idea was to secure the release of American hostages held by the Hezbollah terrorists. This scandal prompted numerous investigations that led the indictment of US government officials. Indeed, many questions still linger on the minds of many concerning the role played by top US White House officials including President Reagan and the then vice president George Bush (TheFreeDictionary, 2009). This paper will discuss some of the dealings in the arms trade, stating their historical background, reasons behind the trade, the parties involved and its eventual outcome. The Contra Affair first received public attention in November 1986 after al-sharia, a Lebanese publication reported that the American government was involved in arms trade with Iran. Worse still, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supply plane was shot down by the Nicaraguan forces. The only survivor was the pilot and he was captured. The plane was carrying, over 50 000 rounds of ammunition, Russian rifles and boots (Tristam, 2009). The confession of the pilot shocked the public indicating that the US government was involved in arming the contra rebels and also confirmed the earlier reports in the Lebanese publication. The irony was that President Ronald Reagan was on record as having numerously associated the Iran government with terrorism (TheFreeDictionary, 2009). Why Reagan supported the Sandinistas To Reagan, the victory of the Sandinista in Nicaragua was a major US security threat since he thought that it had the potential of sparking off a revolution in Central America (BBC News Channel, 2004). The fear could be traced back to 1954 when Jacobo Arbenz won the elections to become president of Guatemala. What alarmed the US government was his oratory which indicated that the US government was on the verge of losing its control in Central America. In 1979, the Sandinistas overthrew the Arbenz government and initiated communist reforms. This was in spite of the fact that in actual sense they never really defined themselves as communists but as pluralists. They began to reallocate estates and to redistribute wealth and this was enough to alarm the United States which became uncomfortable with having a communist state right in its backyard. Violence also erupted spreading to other countries and this was seen as an indication that communism could end up spreading to other countries in Central America (BBC News Channel, 2004). Reagan was alarmed by these developments and felt that he had to do whatever it took to stop this. Fortunately for him, other groups within Nicaragua began arming themselves against the policies initiated by the Sandinistas. Reagan’s hope then lay in equipping the rebels in an attempt to overthrow the Sandinistas government. At first he allocated the funds openly and even gave additional funds to the CIA to carry out his mission. However, the allocation of funds to the contras was opposed within the United States throwing his plans to the gutter. Ronald Reagan involvement with Iran Ronald Reagan was known to have publicly referred to Iran as one of the nations that both supported and financed terrorism in the world. It therefore seemed to be a stab in the back for US citizens when the world heard reports that the US was trading arms with its worst enemy. The entire situation could be traced back to the 1980 US presidential elections. These pitted the then president Jimmy Carter against the implicated Ronald Reagan. The period between the 1970s and 1980 was one characterized by numerous incidences of hostage taking. In the year 1979, fifty two workers of the US embassy in Iran were captured by Iranian students and held hostage. The US at the time proclaimed a ‘no- negotiation’ policy when dealing with terrorists. The then president Jimmy Carter failed to secure the release of these hostages (Absolute astronomy, 2009). During the elections, Jimmy Carter was slightly taking the lead and if only the US hostages held by the Hezbollah group had been released, it could have been a sure win for Carter. The release of the hostages then became the decisive factor on who would win the elections. This prompted the Reagan team to negotiate a release deal with Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. This team met with the then prime minister of Iran Bani-sadr in Paris. The agreement reached was that the US hostages would remain captives until after the election and in extension of this favor, Iran would be supplied with weapons. At that time, Iran was at war with Iraq and the supply of weapons was absolutely welcomed. It therefore came to be that immediately after Reagan won the elections, the hostages were released (Angel Force, n. d). Arms transactions The US received special assistance from Israel to carry out the sale of arms to moderate Iranians opposed to Ayatollah Khomeni. Michael Ledeen and Robert McFarlane the then National Security Adviser managed to convince the Israeli government to ship arms to these politically influential Iranians in return for the same kind of weapons along with monetary benefits. Israel agreed but in the mean time Reagan was hospitalized for a colon cancer surgery. Later on, Israel tried to convince the United States to allow Israel to sell a few antitank missiles as an indication that the Iranian group had strong US ties. This offer was initially rejected but eventually Israel managed to convince Reagan that the group was an antiterrorist group. The group in return had promised to talk to the captor to release seven hostages, a proposal that Reagan readily consented to. The plan was later readjusted such that the arms were now to be sold directly to the Iranians at a marked up price of about 715 million dollars as suggested by North. This price was rejected but eventually over one thousand anti-tank missiles were shipped. The adjustments also included the financing of the contras contrary to the Boland Amendments that restricted the US administration and the CIA from financing the contras. (Absolute astronomy, 2009). The scandal blew up after Mehdi Hashemi a cleric with the Islamic revolutionary guards leaked information concerning the trade to Ash-Shiraa, a renowned Lebanese magazine. This together with the crashing of a CIA plane led to Reagan’s confession in the national television that the arms deal transactions had indeed taken place. His argument was that the trade had taken place in an attempt to forge better ties with Iran and to also to make Iran reconsider a negotiation for the release of held hostages (Absolute astronomy, 2009). Conclusion The Iran-Contra Scandal led to the sacking of numerous government officials including Oliver North who was sacked and also tried for the shredding of evidence (some say that the evidence was bulky enough to jam the government’s shredding machine. In his defense, North tried to link the case with the Vietnam War by arguing that the main issue in the affair was the actual financing of the contras (Isaacs, (1997). He also attempted to justify his action by saying that it fell within his powers. The president’s popularity ratings also dropped from a high of 67% to a low of 46%. Internationally, the scandal sent harmful signal to terror indicating that hostage taking could be used as a powerful means of coaxing political influence with the west (Absolute astronomy, 2009). References Absolute astronomy. (2009). Iran-Contra Affair. Retrieved on 28th March, 2009, from: http://www. absoluteastronomy. com/topics/Iran-Contra_Affair BBC News Channel. (2004). Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair. Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/world/americas/269619. stm Isaacs, A. (1997) Vietnam Shadows. Baltimore London: John Hopkins University Press. TheFreeDictionary. (2009). Iran-Contra Affair . Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://www. acc. af. mil/news/story. asp? id=123080422 Tristam, P. (2009). What Was the Arms-for-Hostages Iran-Contra Affair? Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://middleeast. about. com/od/usmideastpolicy/f/me081109f. htm Angel Force. (n. d). Iran-Contra. Retrieved on 30th March, 2009, from: http://www. angelfire. com/ca3/jphuck/BOOK3Ch7. html

Tennysons Ulysses and The Lotos Eaters Essay examples -- Poetry Tenny

Tennyson's "Ulysses" and "The Lotos Eaters" The great hero Odysseus has captivated readers throughout the ages. It is no surprise that the Victorian poet Tennyson not only read the Odyssey but wrote poetry about Odysseus as well. In the poems 'The Lotos Eaters' and 'Ulysses,' Tennyson remains true to the legends, but he infuses the characters with the ethos of his own day and his own experiences. 'The Lotos Eaters' recalls the Homeric legend that has Odysseus and his men passing through an island that grew magical fruit. Anyone who ate of the fruit would ?forget the way home? (Bk 1X, line 97). Odysseus sent three men to scout the land. They tasted the fruit and had to be dragged back to the ship protesting and crying, by Odysseus. No word is mentioned about why the sailors had to be dragged back to the ship, weeping. No word of what they wanted so badly to forget. Tennyson, in 'The Lotos Eaters,' fills us in on why he thinks the sailors were bone-tired and why they wanted rest. ?All things have rest and ripen towards the grave/ in silence; ripen, fall, and cease: / Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.? It serves as a parenthetic explanation to Homer?s legend. However, the specific nature of and reason for their weariness is Tennyson?s own creation. ?Why should we toil alone, / we only toil, who are the first of all things? while the ?flower ripens in its place, / ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil, fast-rooted in the fruitful soil?? The speaker rages against the human condition that has humans seek endlessly for the path to their fruition. It isn?t encrypted into their soul as it is in the soul of the fruit which blossoms and ripens without effort. For the... ...es of nature, and not his own soul. Both heroes are victorious through the powers of their intellect, but what they seek to overcome, and what they seek to understand, is vastly different. Though Homer wrote his epic over two thousand years ago, it still excites the modern reader; though Dante wrote his poetry nearly one thousand years ago, his language and sinful characterization are captivating; and though Tennyson wrote his poetry over one hundred years ago, its pain is fresh and was a precursor to the existential pain of the modern man. Works Cited: Tennyson, Alfred. "Ulysses." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1998. 1139-41. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. ?The Lotus Eaters.? The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. 1208-1213.

Conflict Between Andrew Jackson And The Cherokee :: American History

To own land, that is the privilege of whom? To Andrew Jackson the Cherokees current homesteads where on his country’s land. For whatever reason at that time some people living in America weren’t treated as good as there white counterparts. Meanwhile the Cherokees principal chief John Ross felt like that land belonged to his people. If you want to get technical he was speaking on the behalf of a tribe that made up a mere one-eighth of his ancestry. Not exactly a full blooded leader. He also was one of the main reason the â€Å"trail of tears† was as hostile and brutal as it was on his people. Its ironic, even as hard as Jackson pushed and deceived the Cherokee, the Cherokee people in turn pushed back, but past the point of being rational. Some of these individual efforts worsened the outcome for the whole tribe. Jackson’s manipulative ways of handling this situation in office and out of office forced the Cherokee to make hard decisions, and I feel like these decision makers for the Cherokee failed miserably. The reason behind the lack of attack on Jackson is quite obvious, politicians have been acting like politicians well since the very beginning. As selfish and egocentric as his view was, he knew what the was going to do, and being president of this powerful nation not much any one nation could do to stop him let alone the nation of a tribe. To any logically thinking person the senate wasn’t a roadblock to Jackson it was a mere bump in the road. Even the Cherokee tribe knew what power he possessed. That is why the smart two thousand Cherokee, â€Å"resigned themselves to the inevitable, asked their belongings, and headed west† (AJ vs. the CN). The rest ignorantly stuck behind because they had faith in the false hope that John Ross would be their savior. This being the basis for the remainder of my discussion of the Cherokee tribe, the faulty leadership. The leaders’ inability to act for the overall well being of their tribe cost the Cherokee supplies, land, and most importantly lives. In a huge sense, it was John Ross being jokingly overambitious during his negotiations with the President that caused a lot of their pain and suffering. He also was the main voice behind trying to resist the government even after the two years was over, not to mention the whole two years they had to leave.

Interest Rate Behavior and Lending in Microfinance

An Essay on Interest Rate Behavior and Lending in Microfinance Abstract: This essay analyzes factors which affect interest rate behavior and its subsequent impact on lending in microfinance. Here we have used regression model for our analysis. Furthermore comparison has been drawn among the different sources of loans outside Bangladesh. Here the experience of microfinance outside Bangladesh like India, South and South-East Asia, Latin America has been fully illustrated. This essay conducts analysis on the basis of the existing literatures on Microfinance.Interest Rate Behavior Determinants of interest rate of lending in Micro-finance: * to expand and improve business operation * recruiting personnel , * marketing the services , * improving financial information system, * constructing new offices * Default * Unwillingness to pay * Poor Management * Economic recession * Inability to pay * Staff identifying * Checking creditworthiness * processing loan applications, * disbursing loans, monitoring * collecting repayments, * costs of the space occupied, * communications, transport, * support staff, Grant * Equity * Foundation * Trust * Saving Account We can observe that in MFI lending there is higher interest rate than the commercial bank’s lending rate. The interest rate charged here is higher as cost of funding, processing, cost of risk of loan losses and profit are higher in this case. The graph below shows the different ingredients interest rate. As above-mentioned factors are very much crucial in this sector that is why require extra attention and thereby require the MFI to charge high interest rate. Rosemberg, R. , A. Gonzalez and S.Narain (2009) and Gonzalez (2010), suggest that though small loan provided by the MFI has low default rate but has higher administrative cost that most of the cases cannot be offset by economies of scale. These administrative costs are the single largest contributor to interest rates. Finally, they suggest that, a bigger loa n size may help them to reduce their lending interest rate. Further, they also emphasize if higher loans were received by more experienced borrowers then credit risk would decline and thereby interest rates. Lending in Micro-finance: Accordingly the loan transaction may be described in the following steps.First, the financial firm decides how much to charge and what the optimal loan size to offer must be in order to reach its profitability goal. Once known the value of the lending interest rate and the average loan size the financial institution offers, a potential customer decides whether s/he wants to request a loan. Taking into account the credit history of the potential borrower and its income-expenditure stream, the financial institution builds a risk profile of the individual. With this at hand, they decide where to lend or not. The loan transaction process is given below: P. otler of Groningen university with his vast research wanted to show that profitability will increase w hen lending interest rates and/or productivity and/or the loan size increase or when the funding cost declines . He also showed that The lending interest rate will be negatively correlated with the loan size. So if they wish to achieve a higher profitability it is likely that all else equal they will offer loans of higher size. When microfinance institutions start operations they usually offer loans of small amounts because they do not have much capital or experience and debtors tend to be people without credit history.We find that the lending interest rate is negatively correlated with the productivity of financial institutions and years of operation and positively correlated with the funding costs. What Can Reduce the Interest Rates in Microfinance? P. cotler also shows that probability that financing boosts growth is weakened if interest rates are extremely high. There are two policies to reduce interest rate : * One is to reducing funding cost and * Another is increasing product ivity. How could productivity be raised? Institutional factors such as technology use and management quality and commitment to efficiency should be variables to consider.Further, it should depend on with what capacity loan officers to reach their target clients. Such capacity not only depends on the quality of infrastructure but maybe more important on the geographic and demographic characteristics of the country in which microfinance institutions operate. 1 Effects of Competition over Lending Behavior in Microfinance Competition in a good influencing factor for the markets, consumer protections, efficiency of allocation and incentive for the development of new products. MFI’s enjoyed a monopolistic market in the early years of its inception.Monopolistic market power is associated with allocative inefficiency. Allocative inefficiency refers to the welfare losses as a consequence of high prices a monopolist charge. There is even further loss if the monopolist employs inefficie nt technology (productive inefficiency). Besides, there may not be demands to invest in efficient technology and introduce new products. Therefore, it would be realistic to assume competition can be beneficial in the context of microfinance market as it may result in improved and new financial product designs, better customer services, lower costs and lower interest rates.The other side of the argument is that microfinance market makes use of soft-information and depends on strong MFI-client relationship. MFIs provide financial services for the poor that are considered not creditworthy by the conventional banks. They are often praised for overcoming the problem of information asymmetry and providing loans without collateral requirements. They do so by establishing strong personal relationship with clients. Another tool is the usage of other forms of collateral such as group lending that generates social collateral.Competition and the effort to win clients and expand market share, th erefore, may lead to low screening and lending standards. There are some indications of lose MFI-clients relationship with intense competition. Increased competition is also associated with an increase in information asymmetry, which makes it difficult for MFIs to know about the general debt level of clients. This in turn may lead to manifold borrowing, serious debt burdens, low repayment rates and poor portfolio quality.The effect of competition could go both ways and deserves an empirical investigation. However, very few examine the effect of competition among MFIs and the literature on competition in microfinance is limited. Below is an overview of the few available related works. The focus on making MFIs profitable and financially-sustainable started in the 1980s and 1990s. The essential elements of this approach are competition, regulation and profitability. The essay explores the Latin American microfinance market where the commercial approach to microfinance proceeded rapidly .It describes the market as facing rising competition, which leads to market saturation in some countries. Olivares-Polanco (2005) examines some of the subjective and descriptive evidences. He investigates the effect of competition by mainly focusing on outreach (measured by loan size). His findings show that increased competition results in lower outreach. Navajaset al. (2003) studied competition in the Bolivian microfinance market by focusing on two major MFIs (Casa Los Andes and BancoSol), which collectively have around 40 percent market share.The results suggest that outcome of competition is ambiguous since competition leads to innovation thereby expanding outreach. However, it reduces the ability of lenders to cross-subsidize less profitable smaller loans. In a similar study, Vogelgesang (2003) examines how competition affects loan repayment performance for Caja Los Andes. The analysis indicates competition is related with multiple loan taking and higher levels of borrower ind ebtedness. The probability of default is also shown to be high with higher levels of indebtedness.On the other hand, he argues the probability of timely repayment is high in areas where there is high competition and high supply of microfinance services. Thus, the results seem inconclusive. A theoretical model developed by McIntosh and Wydick (2005) characterizes the effects of competition between MFIs where increased competition leads to increased information asymmetry. As a number of competing MFIs amplify in a market, which makes information sharing between them challenging, borrowers may engage in multiple borrowing which increases the debt level of clients and the probability of default.This in turn can make worse off borrowers with a single lender since this behavior will create an externality by inciting MFIs to respond to multiple borrowing by adjusting interest rates upward. In a Ugandan microfinance market, which McIntosh et al. , (2005) studied, there is a rise multiple bo rrowing and decline in repayment rate as competition intensifies. Other works that do not address the effect of competition among MFIs but present an argument about the possible effects of competition includes Hermes et al. (2009). Their work examines how overall level of financial development in a country affects the efficiency of MFIs.After presenting a balanced argument that the effect of financial development on efficiency could be both negative and positive, they empirically document a positive effect of financial development of efficiency of MFIs. They suggest competition, among other channels, through which financial development could affect efficiency. On a related work, Cull et al. (2009b) investigates how MFIs perform under the pressure of competition from formal banks. Their results show that in a country where there is larger formal bank presence, MFIs tend to deepen their outreach (i. . , extend their outreach to women and also lend in small amounts). However, the effec t on other performance indicators, such as profitability, appears weak. Findings Given significantly large numbers of people in developing countries are financially excluded and the relative success of MFIs in promoting access to finance for the poor, it is not surprising to see MFIs get the attention they are enjoying. With the growth of the microfinance sector and increasingly varied players comes intense competition, which the effects on MFIs outcomes are not clear.In this essay, we take the first approach in measuring competition in a standard way. Interestingly, the measure shows indeed competition is growing in the microfinance market. As a next step, a critical question is addressed, namely what is the effect of increased competition. We consider important dimensions of MFIs’ performance. These are outreach, loan repayment, efficiency and profitability. The results document strong negative effects of competition on performance of MFIs, after controlling for various mac roeconomic and MFI factors.We show competition is negatively related with outreach while it is associated with rising default rates. Furthermore, declining efficiency and deteriorating financial performance is shown to be associated with intense competition. The results might appear rather depressing for microfinance enthusiast, anyone for that matter, who would like to see the sector grow and bring all the positive benefits along. What could be done? These calls for measures that do not put a halt on the growth of the sector rather ensure the (negative) competitive effects are minimized.This may include designing ways that makes sure MFIs do not compromise lower lending standards for increased market share. At the same time, designing ways that promote information sharing between MFIs, so that a borrower that default on one MFI loan could not turn to another MFI in the neighborhood and granted a loan, can contribute to lower delinquency as well as better borrowers’ welfare. In addition, promoting financial literacy among clients may help them in their borrowing decisions, which in turn may limit multiple loan-taking. Finally, as we show in the results, increased competition is negatively associated with efficiency of MFIs.Innovative ways among MFIs that could enhance efficient service provision may also help in ensuring benefits from the growth in the microfinance market. Incentives and Disincentives that Affect Lending Behavior in Microfinance In late 1980s and early 1990s thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and specialized finance institutions around the world initiated micro enterprise finance programs. Most of these programs are financially supported by the international donor agencies or governments to improve the lives of the poor.Therefore, for NGOs micro enterprise finance appears to be socially motivated. Reasons Why Banks Make Micro and Small Enterprise Loans Frequency of Response* % of total a) Profitability of micro and small loans 72 49% b) Changing market conditions and increasing competition in lending to large/medium enterprises 64 44% c) Regulations imposed by the government 25 17% ————————————————- d) Poverty alleviation / social objectives 29 20%Disincentives for Making Micro and Small Enterprise Loans Frequency of Response % of total a) Higher administrative costs 29 40% b) Risky borrowers 12 17% c) Interest rate controls 21 29% d) Not interested in micro enterprises 5 7% e) Lack of network and personnel to serve this market 23 32% f) Other 18 5% Banks’ Lending Behavior and Loan CharacteristicsBanks Age and Their Portfolio Share in Micro/Small Business Loans Out of 148 banks, 119 banks answered to the question on loan portfolio analysis. When these banks are classified according to the number of years since they were established, it is found that the newly established banks, o n average, have a larger share of loan portfolio delegated to small and micro enterprise loans than the older banks. Loan Terms The findings of this research indicate that, the loan terms provided by these commercial banks for small and micro enterprises ranges between three months to six years.On average, the loan term for micro enterprise loans is 2. 4 years and for small businesses it is 2. 9 years. These loan terms are much longer than the loan terms provided by NGOs, which are generally between one to three months. Average Loan Terms for Micro and Small Enterprise Loans Sample Size Average (years) Median (years) Micro 57 2. 4 1. 75 Small 46 2. 9 3. 00 Loan term: In micro and small business finance, the loan term or the loan repayment schedule can affect the ability of the borrower to pay his/her loan back.The shorter loan terms or frequent payments of installments can make it easier for the borrower to pay his/her loan back, whereas the longer loan terms and infrequent payment s of loan installments can make it difficult for micro/small business owners to pay their loan on time. Therefore, the longer the loan term, or the less frequent are the loan installments it is more likely for banks to have higher arrears which indicates a positive relationship between the length of the loan term and the level of arrears for a bank.Average interest rate on micro/small loans: In the micro finance literature, it has been widely accepted that micro and small enterprises are capable of borrowing at commercial, or market interest rates. Furthermore, it is also argued that, if micro or small enterprise loans are subsidized by governments, loan default or corruption may be encouraged which may result in higher arrears in banks’ loan portfolios. These arguments suggest a negative relationship between loan rates and banks’ arrears.On the other hand, the higher nominal interest rate paid on a loan implies a greater cash flow burden on the enterprise hence increa sing the likelihood of arrears. Due to data limitations, other financial costs, such as fees and commissions associated with the loan could not be taken into account in this research. Findings: The higher the loan interest rate given everything else is held constant; the higher will be the rate of arrears.This finding contradicts with the common argument that the micro and small enterprises are capable of borrowing and paying their loan back with a high rate of interest. It is however important to note that micro and small enterprises may show different characteristics in loan repayment with respect to given interest rates. One of the most important findings of this study is that many banks are using inappropriate lending criteria when making loans and managing their portfolio of small business loans.In the case of small business loans the banks that require collateral have higher than average levels of loan arrears. Hence reliance on collateral tends to cause poor borrower evaluati on and inadequate follow up once the loan have been made. It is also found that the level of interest rate charged on the loans is not a factor affecting the rate of arrears for micro enterprise loans but it is a factor affecting the level of arrears for small business loans. Justification of high interest rate in Micro financeSmall businesses normally struggle to find out the sources of fund due to the small size of business where lenders face difficulties to cover up the loan money. From several evidences it is observed that small businesses are very efficient to utilize the funds and can rapidly realize profits though borrowing at very high interest rate. An author explained this through an example of a fruit seller who takes loan in the morning, buys fruit, sells it and pay lender outrageous rates to repay the money by the end of the day.So, It is very critical that though rates are high that MFIs have, small business can cover the spread. How can interest rate be reduced? Evide nces from Bolivia pursue us that interest rate in micro finance sector can be reduced by great regulation and create a competitive environment among the micro finance institutions. If situation looks like that MFIs are managing huge profits in that case government should take some initiatives that will discourage MFIs to make extra ordinary profit.Government can give licenses to new MFIs to create competition. But it should be remember that regulatory framework is a vital element. So, before giving licenses government should strengthen the monitoring function. Then we can expect thatat least some of that profitability will be passed back to the customer either through lower rates, reduced fees or another way. Should Subsidy Be Provided To Reduce Interest Rate? From the very beginning of the history of Micro finance we see that it has been growing at an exponential rate over the years.Many evidences about the recovery rates convince us that interest rate is almost justified so subsid y may create distortion in this sector. According to Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking, â€Å"I don’t think a subsidy is the way to go about reducing rates because, in the end, the reason that microfinance has been so successful to-date is that it has always been about sustainability—sustainability of the institutions to recover their costs as well as sustainability of the borrower to make on-time payments. Responsiveness of lending amount to the changes in interest rate: Example from Bangladesh Bangladesh is a poverty-stricken country. It is a great pleasure for marginal people to get loans from MFIs because it is almost impossible for them to manage loan from conventional commercial banks. So, poor people are willing to pay even high interest rate to get loans. Now the question is that how are poor people responsive to increase in interest rate charged by MFIs? SafeSave, a credit cooperative in the slums of Dhaka,Bangladesh, o perate three branches across the city to provide credit.Administrative records kept by this MFI asserts that when interest rate increases suddenly, less wealthy borrowers reduce their demand for loan and they are relatively more sensitive than the wealthy borrowers. Another important thing is that the loan portfolio of this organization shifts from less wealthy borrowers from wealthy borrowers with the increase in interest rate. Influential advocates now argue that poorhouseholds are so insensitive to interest rates so interest rate in micro finance sector should be deregulated.If this is so, microfinance can readily expandto serve the hundreds of millions of currently excluded households, without sacrificingdepth of outreach. This claim is far from clear as a general proposition. First, diminishing marginal returns to capital disregards the possibility of unequal access to non-capital inputs like managerial skillsand human capital by poor borrowers. Moreover, raising interest rates can in principle exacerbate moralhazard and adverse selection, worsening loan repayment rates and screening out the most reliable borrowers.And, while microlenders may still find a pool of customers afterreal interest rates are raised, the customers may not be from the same pool that was reliable, willing and able to pay the lower rates. In addition, Moral perception to keep costs as low as possible for the poor, have compelled thelargermicrolenders in Bangladesh to keep real interest rates below 40 percent per year,even if it means turning to subsidized resources to cover costs (e. g. , Morduch, 1999). The average fees charged by two large lenders in Bangladesh arejust under 30 percent.The Grameen Bank (which is not one of the two) keeps theirinterest rates and fees close to 20 percent per year (nominal) on their main lending products—and they ignore suggestions to raise rates. Experience inside Bangladesh Credit delivery system by Grameen bank Grameen Bank Credit Delivery means taking credit to the very poor in their villages by means of the essential elements of the Grameen credit delivery system. The credit delivery system of this authentic micro-finance is very much well-functioning. The credit delivery is the most productive weapon of Grameen bank to reach the highest number of its beneficiaries.Grameen Bank credit delivery system has the following features: 1 There is an exclusive focus on the poorest of the poor. Exclusivity is ensured by: i) establishing clearly the eligibility criteria for selection of targeted clientele and adopting practical measures to screen out those who do not meet them ii) ii) in delivering credit, priority has been increasingly assigned to women iii) iii) the delivery system is geared to meet the diverse socio-economic development needs of the poor 2   Borrowers are organized into small homogeneous groups. Such characteristics facilitate group solidarity as well as participatory interaction.Organizing the primary gr oups of five members and federating them into centres has been the foundation of Grameen Bank's system. The emphasis from the very outset is to organisationally strengthen the Grameen clientele, so that they can acquire the capacity for planning and implementing micro level development decisions. The Centres are functionally linked to the Grameen Bank, whose field workers have to attend Centre meetings every week. 3 Special loan conditionalities which are particularly suitable for the poor. These include: i) very small loans given without any collateral i) loans repayable in weekly instalments spread over a year    iii) Eligibility for a subsequent loan depends upon repayment of first loan iv)   Individual, self chosen, quick income generating activities which employ the skills that borrowers already posses    v) close supervision of credit by the group as well as the bank staff    vi) stress on credit discipline and collective borrower responsibility or peer pressure    v ii) Special safegaurds through compulsory and voluntary savings to minimise the risks that the poor confront    viii) Transparency in all bank transactions most of which take place at centre meetings Simultaneous undertaking of a social development agenda addressing basic needs of the clientele. This is reflected in the â€Å"sixteen decisions† adopted by Grameen borrowers. This helps to: i) Raise the social and political consciousness of the newly organized groups    ii) Focus increasingly on women from the poorest households, whose urge for survival has a far greater bearing on the development of the family      iii) Encourage their monitoring of social and physical infrastructure projects – housing, sanitation, drinking water, education, family planning, etc. Design and development of organization and management systems capable of delivering programme resources to targeted clientele. The system has evolved gradually through a structured learning process, tha t involves trials, errors and continuous adjustments. A major requirement to operationalize the system is the special training needed for development of a highly motivated staff, so that the decision making and operational authority is gradually decentralized and administrative functions are delegated at the zonal levels downwards. 6| Expansion of loan portfolio to meet diverse development needs of the poor.   |   As the general credit programme gathers momentum and the borrowers become familiar with credit discipline, other loan programmes are introduced to meet growing social and economic development needs of the clientele. Besides housing, such programmes include:|   | i)| Credit for building sanitary latrines| | ii)| Credit for installation of tube wells that supply drinking water and irrigation for kitchen gardens|   | iii)| Credit for seasonal cultivation to buy agricultural inputs|   | iv)| Loan for leasing equipment / machinery, ie. cell phones purchased by Grameen Bank members|   | v)| Finance projects undertaken by the entire family of a seasoned borrower. Three Cs in Credit delivery: Character: means how a person has handled past debt obligations: From credit history and personal background, honesty and reliability of the borrower to pay credit debts is determined. Capacity: means how much debt a borrower can comfortably handle. Income streams are analyzed and any legal obligations looked into, which could interfere in repayment.Capital: means current available assets of the borrower, such as real estate , savings or investment that could be used to repay debt if income should be unavailable. | | The loan disbursement has been robust year after year and profit has also been increasing year after year. The loan disbursement schedule and profit are summarized below: year| Loan disbursement (million Tk)| Profit/loss (million Tk)| 2001| 146538. 20| 58. 45| 2002| 162286. 24| 59. 67| 2003| 183575. 33| 357. 52| 2004| 209166. 76| 422. 13 | 2005| 3248163. 17| 1000. 44| 006| 306368. 63 | 1398. 15| 2007| 356798. 22| 106. 91| 2008| 418903. 07| 1305. 00| 2009| 498311. 47| 371. 57| 2010| 594460. 61| 757. 24| Interest rate charged on different loan on different duration are given below: Description of the loan| EAIR(Old Payment Method)| EAIR(New Payment Method)| 10-Year stable Level Loans @ Tk. 2,000| 350%| 556. 44%| 10-Year Increasing Loans| 18. 48%| 44. 13%| Actual 7-Year Center Loan History| 15. 39%| 35. 57%| The â€Å"Old† Payment System: Under the â€Å"old† system, Grameen borrowers made weekly payments for 50 weeks.Their principal balance was reduced by the full amount of the payment, and no interest payment is credited. The â€Å"New† Payment System: Under the â€Å"new† system, the entire structure of loan payments was altered. The loan payment period is now defined as 46 weeks in length, but factored into the system is the anticipation of 6 official â€Å"national holidays† when the we ek’s payment is suspended. ASA Microfinance in Bangladesh: ASA has been working relentlessly to reduce poverty since its inception in 1978.The formal banking sector in developing countries, like Bangladesh, does not typically provide financial services to the poor. This sector concentrates on large loans to the upper class, thereby completely excluding low income groups. The microfinance movement, however, has shown that there is a thriving market among the poor when financial products cater to their specific needs. The poor are a quite active group in any economy. ASA has shown that their needs can be met while at the same time making the providing institution profitable as well.Up to October 2011 ASA's cumulative Loan disbursement has been BDT 481,381 million (US$ 6,326 million) while loan outstanding (principal) is BDT 44,972 million (US$ 591 million) among 4. 43 million borrowers. At the end of June 2011 ASA's Operational Self Sufficiency(OSS) was 182. 48%, Financial Self -sufficiency (FSS) 118. 82% and rate of loan recovery 99. 83%. The loan disbursement over the years are given below: Year| Disbursement in million Tk. (during the year)| 2008| 61,108,00 | 2009| 61,495,00. | 2010| 68,486,00| 011| 44,835,00| The rate of interest charged by the ASA is given below: Category| Eligible Criteria| Initial Maximum Loan Size| Interest Rate| Loan term| Primary Loan| Economically active poor to undertake or strengthen income generating activities (IGAs). | BDT 8,000-20,000 to maximum BDT 50,000 at first loan cycle. | Maximum 27% declining| 4, 6 or 12 months based on nature of IGAs| Special Loan| Small/micro enterprises or entrepreneurs and traders to promote and scale up production, business activity and employment generation. BDT 51,000-500,000 | Maximum 27% declining| 12, 18, 24 or 30 months based on nature of enterprises| BRAC BRAC, a development organization, was formed in 1972 under the Societies Registration Act 1860. Although it was first set up to reset tle refugees in post-war Bangladesh, BRAC later redesigned its strategies in accordance with its philosophy of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. At present, BRAC has a large number of development programs that cover the areas of health, education, credit, employment and training for the poor people of Bangladesh.BRAC carries out licensed banking activities through the BRAC Bank Ltd. and also earns from various income generating projects such as Aarong Rural Craft Centre, BRAC Printers and Printing Pack, BRAC Dairy and Food project, BRAC Tea Estates, andvarious programme support enterprises such as poultry farms, feedmills, seedmills and prawn hatcheries. Microloans: These loans, which range from USD 50 – 700, are given exclusively to individual women who are serviced in a group setting, namely the VO. The VO acts as an informal guarantor by creating peer pressure to ensure timely repayment.Borrowers repay through weekly or monthly installments and deposit savin gs during the regular VO meetings. These loans are generally used for small operations in poultry, livestock, fruit and vegetable cultivation, handicrafts or rural trade. Microenterprise loans (Progoti): These loans, which range from USD 700 to 10,000 are given to both male and female entrepreneurs to support and help expand existing small enterprises which are too small to qualify for credit from mainstream banks. Borrowers generally use these loans to finance shops and small-scale manufacturing activities.A ladder of opportunity :BRAC have developed a ‘ladder’ of financial services to target different poverty groups because we understand that the financial needs of the poor are diverse. The most vulnerable are the extreme poor who do not benefit from microfinance – for this group BRAC have developed a grant-based programme that incorporates asset transfers with non-financial support; BRAC’s Ultra Poor programme. Similarly, it has launched, with the help of the Government, a specific customised product for marginal farmers, which combines access to finance with technical support.Another specialised microloan scheme aims to financially empower adolescent girls, helping them continue their education, build savings and receive livelihood training to start smaller home-based enterprises. The rate of interest charged by the BRAC Bank SL no. | Types of loan| Annual interest Rate| 1| General micro credit (Rural and Urban)| 25%-33%| 2| Micro Enterprise loan| 26%-40%| 3| Ultra poor loan| 22%| 4| Agriculture loan| 22%-33%| 5| Seasonal loan| 26%-33%| 6| Disaster management loan| 2. 8%-21%| Loan Disbursement over the year is given below: Sl no. | year| Loan disbursement(TK)| | 2009| 75680756900| 2| 2010| 38749653600| 3| 2011| 39554248779| 4| 2012| 42235412000| Experience outside Bangladesh There is a vast array of experience outside Bangladesh as microfinance is now a globalphenomenon. The information below is simply intended to give a snapshot of the differentexperiences in a few countries, and to show how the complex issue of interest rates has beenaddressed, either by inaction or explicit action by governments. Figures on interest rates fromvarious countries in different parts of the world are given below, in particular those nearby inAsia.Countries are also mentioned where the government or parliament (not necessarily thesame) has sought to impose a ceiling on interest rates in the twin belief that poor peoplecannot afford to pay the high interest rates charged by MFIs and that it is indeed immoral thatthose who are poor should pay higher interest rates on loans than those paid by richerindividuals. South and South East Asia The table below (prepared for the Joint Donor Strategy initiative) gives a summary picture ofthe situation in selected countries in the S. nd SE Asia Region, showing data assembled byEDA Rural Systems, with the comparative rates in Bangladesh at the bottom of the table forcomparison: Three importa nt conclusions can be drawn from these figures. 1. First, that the interest rates charged by MFIs are invariably higher than the rates charged by commercial banks, on average approximately 100% higher. 2. Second, that in general the rates charged by informal moneylenders vary much more widely than either the rates charged by the banks or by MFIs, and almost always are substantially higher than the rates charged by the MFIs. . Third, the interest rate charged by almost all NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh, 30% effective annual rate, is by no means out of line with what is being charged elsewhere in South and South East Asia. If any person wants to borrow from traditional banking system he has to fill out application form. He has to go to the bank for many times for the sanctioning of loan that incurs substantial amount of transportation cost for him. In addition to high transportation cost, there are some processing cost and commissions charged by banks.Ultimately, Effective interest rate is q uite higher in case of borrowing from traditional banking system. On the other hand, traditional banks can’t cover up administrative cost by providing small loans. Comparison of Interest Rates of Various Sources of Loans in India Quoted Cost and Cost after Adjustment for Transaction Costs From the table we see that there is no transaction cost in case of borrowing from MFIs loan. From the evidence of India, we have found that MFIs are used to make election engineering.The main motive of MFIs is to provide credit to women and poor. But, politicians are trying to use it as a political tool. Government provides subsidy which are distributed through MFIs. Large number of impoverished people is a big vote bank for politicians. In this process government influences the decisions of the voters in time of election. In Tamil Nadu we see that government passed ordinance that MFIs could not charge more than 12% interest that may ultimately drive out huge number of lenders from the marke t.So, poor people have to rely on nonchalant public sector banks and according to Mahajan and Ramola they will not have no recourse except money lenders for borrowing. Interest rate, Lending ; Microfinance Less Dependence on Money lenders, Mahajon etc More economic activities because of easy funding reduce asymmetry of information, rural development possible. Downward competitive environment in informal market. Rise in income level, Purchasing power, Overall standard of living. Production, consumption level increases. ResultEliminate the practice of charging usury, greater financial leverage, only does it help to reduce poverty, it Scales down inequality as well. Fig: Effect of Interest rate, Lending ; Microfinance On the Perspective of Latin America In Latin America, the leading MFIs all operate under a formal legal framework, usually as specialized MFI banks, under the supervision of the central bank. Figures for five of the best known institutions are given below, all of which ha ve substantial numbers of clients (by the standards of the region) and are currently operating profitably.Probably the most interesting (for Bangladesh) is Comparators which has from its inception deliberately targeted poorer clients, as can be seen from the current average size of loans ($277). Leading Microfinance Institutions Primary Indicators (End Third Quarter 2003) The figures below for the same five MFIs show the average rates of interest which they are receiving on their various loan products. Descriptive Statistics | Mean| Std. Deviation| N| NO. CLIEN No of CLIENTS| 94000. 00| 65490. 457| 5| AVG. LOAN Average Loan| 1002. 0| 501. 657| 5| LOANST Total Loan| 78000000. 00| 42361539. 160| 5| Regression Variables Entered/Removed(b) Model| Variables Entered| Variables Removed| Method| 1| NO. CLIEN No of cLIENTS(a)| . | Enter| a All requested variables entered. b Dependent Variable: LOANST Total Loan Model Summary Model| R| R Square| Adjusted R Square| Std. Error of the Estimate| Change Statistics| | | | | | R Square Change| F Change| df1| df2| Sig. F Change| 1| . 169(a)| . 028| -. 295| 48213878. 375| . 028| . 088| 1| 3| . 786| Predictors: (Constant), NO. CLIEN No of cLIENTS The unstandardized parameters tell you the difference in Y per unit change in X whereas the standardized tells you the difference in Y in standard deviations per standard deviation difference in X. With the exception of BancoSol, these rates are all higher than those charged by the NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh (in the case of Compartamos substantially so), but their operating costs are also higher than the leading NGO-MFIs in Bangladesh due largely to the higher costs of staff.Nonetheless all five institutions are profitable and the high returns achieved by the three most profitable institutions have enabled them to achieve the most rapid rates of growth in client numbers in the 21 months covered by thee figures; almost triple by Banco Solidario; more than double by Compartamos; and over two t hirds by Mibanco. Leading Microfinance Institutions: Costs and Interest Rates (End Third Quarter 2003) As reported by Helms and Reille, when BancoSol in Bolivia began as a bank in 1985, it charged a combination of interest and fees equivalent to 65% effective annual interest rate. Today, BancoSol, operating in a highly ompetitive environment, has brought down its costs and charges interest rates on its products yielding the 24% shown in the table above. According to one of the managers at BancoSol, the banks growth from 4,500 to 55,000 clients in just ten years has been possible by its ability to charge sustainable rates of interest. Further, whilst its return on average assets is a modest 1. 6%, its current return on average equity is over 11% (because of the leverage it has been able to exercise on its equity). Conclusion Obtaining financial information from institutions involved in microfinance is no easy task.In most countries because there is no financial authority that collect s it and makes it available to the public. Furthermore, the absence of governmental or organized market supervision means that these entities can freely decide how to measure – if they want to do it– the variables describing their different sources of income and expenditure. Finally, even if there were an informal consensus on how to measure these variables, that would not necessarily ensure that the information is reliable since it is very likely that accounting deficiencies might exist. 1. David L. Wright, Dewan A. H.Alamgir, Microcredit Interest Rates in Bangladesh ‘Capping v Competition’, Donors’ Local Consultative Group on Finance, March 2004. 2. P. Cotler , What Drives Lending Interest Rates in the Microfinance Sector? , August 4th, 2010, Microfinance Workshop, Groningen University. 3. Esubalew Assefa, Niels Hermes and Aljar Meesters, Competition and Performance of Microfinance Institutions, August 2010. 4. Mahajan, Vijay and Ramola, Bharti Gu pta; (August 2003); ‘Microfinance in India – Banyan Tree or Bonsai’, a Review Paper for the World Bank 5. Donoghue, Kieran et al, (June 2002), unpublished manuscript for AusAID ‘ Interest Rates in Microfinance’ . Porteous, David, of Finmark Trust, South Africa (2003); unpublished paper ‘Is Cinderella Finally Coming to the Ball? † 7. Hatice Jenkins, Commercial Bank Behavior in Micro and Small Enterprise Finance, Development Discussion Paper No. 741, February 2000. 8. Microfinance Institutions Under Interest Rates Ceilings, Denis H. ACCLASSATO, Laboratoired’Economied’Orleans (LEO), Universited’Orleans, Preliminary Version, June 2006. 9. Sinha, Sanjay, (2003); ‘Experience in Selected Countries in South and South East Asia on Regulation and Supervision, and Comparative Interest Rates’