Analysis paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis paper - Article Example He arguably concludes that western standards are being used in Arab programs. He believes that the show created by Saudi Arabians who emulated western ideals and wanted to convince the society that Islamic discourse is inferior over western discourse. Kraidy says that he used critical discourse and institutional research analysis which indicates that his response was negotiated. He came up with a conclusion based on the interviews and polling data that which reflected the thoughts of the citizens. He also interviews the elite in the society and compares it to the opinions of the public that indicates that his thoughts are purely negotiated (Kraidy 347). This negotiated response increases the trustworthiness of his study and conclusions. He does not consider all Islamic practices and hence his response is dominant. His major consideration is gender mixing, and he does not give any attention to Islamic cultures (Kraidy 346). Although most of his conclusions are based on research, he insists on his personal idea that women sovereignty should be valued, and hence his research is dominant and at the same time

The Atomic Bomb Essay Example for Free

The Atomic Bomb Essay In 1939 World War II broke out in Europe. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was by then the President of the United States of America. Because of their previous experience in World War I, isolationist ideas had led to the approval of Neutrality Acts in American Congress. These Neutrality Acts were laws which prevented American citizens from selling military equipment or lending money to any country at war. As for non-military supplies, they could only be sold to warring countries if they paid cash for them and took care of their transportation. Japan had turned into Germans strongest ally and their power frightened America, sandwiched between the two countries. Because of this, Roosevelt succeeded in persuading Americans to send both non-military goods and military equipment either to Britain or to any country whose defence he considered necessary to the safety of the USA. In July 1941 the USA stopped all shipments of oil to Japan hoping to weaken the Japanese who imported 80 per cent of their oil from America. On December 7, 1941 Japan bombed the American Pacific battle fleet in Pearl Harbor. The fleet was totally damaged and over 2,000 men were killed. Japan aimed at seizing the Southeast Asia oil and this attack took place to prevent Americans from stopping them. Therefore, on December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan and, since Japan was Hitlers ally, Hitler declared war on the US. The United States was now fighting on the side of Britain and the Soviet Union (the Allies) against Germany and Japan (the Axis). America entered the war to win it. To achieve this goal, some measures had to be taken: First of all, the American government implemented a complete reorganization of American economy. Factories started producing tanks, bombers and other war supplies instead of cars and washing machines. Wages and prices were seriously controlled and income taxes were introduced. To gain the war, more powerful weapons were needed. Thus, scientists started working on a top-secret research scheme, code-named the Manhattan Project. As the White House press release on Hiroshima states, this project was carried on in the United States with British agreement since the USA territories were out of reach of enemy bombing. The director of the laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where this project developed, was J. Robert Oppenheimer. The aim of the project was to make a nuclear weapon, the atomic bomb, and as soon as possible. First, because the Germans were already working on it, and secondly because it seemed the only means to stop Hitler and the Japanese from destroying the free world, to end the war quickly and to save many human lives. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died and Harry Truman, his vice-president, took over as President of The United States. On July 16, 1945, an atomic bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert. On August 6, 1945 an America bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima (a military base in the words of H. Truman). On August 9, 1945, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese surrender put an end to World War II. Was Harry Trumans decision to drop the bomb, the most destructive weapon ever seen, aright decision? Some people say yes, others answer is no. Even the scientists involved didnt agree about the issue. Most really hoped that the mere possession of such a weapon could be enough to frighten the enemy and stop the war. Before its use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of them clearly showed their disagreement signing petitions and warning both of the bombs unusual destructive force and of the radioactive fallout which followed the bomb test. After the damage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, different opinions could still be heard: We were afraid that Hitler had the bomb first, and we made this bomb, which shortened the war and saved a lot of American and Japanese lives in the Japanese war (Victor Weiskopf, physicist). If I had known that the Germans would not succeed in constructing the atomic bomb, I would have never lifted a finger (Albert Einstein, physicist). I think it was necessary to drop one, but the second one could have easily been avoided. I think Japan would have capitulated anyway (Hans Bethe, physicist).

A Patriarchal World Essay -- essays papers

A Patriarchal World John Bodnar says it well when he suggests that "the center of everyday life was to be found in the family-household. It was here that past values and present realities were reconciled, examined on an intelligible scale, evaluated and mediated." This assertion implies that the immigrant family-household is the vehicle of assimilation. I will take this assertion a step further and examine more specifically the powerful role of the patriarchal father within Anzia Yezierska's book Bread Givers and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. Yezierska's theme vividly depicts the constraint of a patriarchal world, while Levinson illustrates the process of assimilation and the immigrant, now American, family and its decline. In this paper, I will exemplify how the patriarchal father, Sam Kochinsky (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and Reb Smolinsky are the key determinant of the dynamics by which the family assimilates. In assimilation, you are said to conform to your surroundings. Assimilation is a process by which you reconcile the ideal with reality. Dealing with virtually three generations of an entire Jewish American immigrant experience, Levinson illustrates not necessarily the merging of two cultures, but possibly the tainting of authenticity, clouding (memories of) the familiar-the villain being the television. The happy community of extended family is, in the end, supplanted by the glowing idiot box that kills conversation and turns its suburban audience into zombies. In Yezierska's work, she epitomizes the struggle between the Old World and the New World. The patriarchal father, representing traditional Jewish ways, and Sara Smolinsky, the heroine, struggling against her father with the desire to reconcile with reality. In Bread Givers, Yezierska symbolically depicts Sara as the immigrant parting her ways as she embarks anew on the journey that was given to her when she arrived by which to transform her life-dealing with the daily transformation as she struggles to hold together the wants of society and her (families) authenticity in these days of deep troubles. The head of the family, Reb Smolinsky is an immovably Orthodox Jewish rabbi, who lives by the Holy Torah, and expects his family to do the same. His reign over the family reinforces Old World, traditional values and beliefs. Reb holds to the Torah belief that "if they [women] let... ...ggested an adaptation in the hopes that Jules would simply have a better life than that of a wallpaper-hanger. In putting television in place a New World, Levinson portrays how a cheap, gaudy, poor substitute somehow seduced and enraptured the family. Perhaps Levinson is saying that although it may be the easier to converge, assimilation is too costly. On the other hand, you have Reb whose stubborn beliefs and male superiority coupled with a passive wife allow him to claim control over his daughter's lives. Resentment is quite damaging and separates families as well. Either way you look at it the outlook is favorable for neither assimilation nor isolation. And so I conclude in saying that the patriarchal father has an especially important role and while he needs the strength found in Yezierska's character, Reb, (in order to hold the family together) he must also be willing to adapt to a changing reality. Immigration is neither a call for assimilation nor isolation. Indivi duality is important, but why resist change when you can better yourself in the process. Bibliography: Levinson, Barry. Avalon. 1990. Yesierska, Anzia. Bread Givers. Persea Books: New York, 1999.

Crucible VS. McCarthyism

The main difference between McCarthyism and the Crucible is that McCarthyism was a real political period in the United States when Senator McCarthy tried to scare people that communism was leaking into our government but as for the crucible it was a group of people that was just accusing other people of witchcraft. While the Salem witch trials occurred in the late 1600’s, a similar unfortunate situation occurred in the 1950’s with McCarthyism. The Salem witch trials shared many common characteristics.The similarities include continuous accusations, leading politicians, and the reaction to witchcraft and communism. The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism both involved ongoing accusations that led to numerous innocent people being accused and prosecuted. In The Crucible, local people accuse women and men in Salem of witchcraft. When the teenage girls first accuse Tituba, the Reverend’s housekeeper, a chain of accusations begin. To avoid death, Tituba accused others in the town causing each of the accused to place blame on others.The Crucible is a metaphor for the accusations made in the 1950’s during the McCarthyism era. Senator Joseph McCarthy led the series of allegations with a list of people he felt were related somehow to communism. The list that was made grew as more people accused others for personal revenge. These continuous accusations went on until the original list of over 200 grew to almost 10,000. The accusations would not have led to any consequences without a leader to oversee the proceedings. Both the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism had instigators who fueled the hysteria.The Crucible’s judge supervising the trials of those charged of witchcraft. He not only supervised the trials, he set the punishments for those convicted of witchcraft. It was the judge who decided who was to get what punishment although all accused were innocent. The modern Judge Daniforth is Senator Joseph McCarthy who watched over the 1950à ¢â‚¬â„¢s McCarthyism era. During the McCarthyism era, Senator McCarthy oversaw the proceedings and created the House Un-American Committee. Senator McCarthy directed the questioning to all those accused of association with communism.The Salem witch trials and McCarthyism pretty much go hand in hand. During the witch trials everybody started accusing everybody else of witchcraft. During the McCarthyism era, Senator McCarthy started accusing people of being communists. Senator McCarthy also made up most of the statements he said about the supposed communists. Senator McCarthy is a guy that was known for lying and never telling the truth. A lot of people were executed and basically everyone was killed. They both had leaders causing public hysteria against the accused. Then people realized that there was no proof.Also people that were accused had no say if they were guilty weather they were or not. The similarities begin with a culture of panic. Both instances are characterized by this. The Salem Witch Trials were the result of a concerted effort to find witches brought on by panic. The same was true for Senator McCarthy in the Senate. He was on a mission to find communists and rallied a panicked public around him. The hysteria in Salam led to many people being accused of witchcraft and hanged. McCarthyism was fueled by hysteria because people accused others of being Communists. Both were fueled by paranoia and mass hysteria.The McCarthy Hearings were referred to as â€Å"witch hunts† because of their similarity to the Salem witch trials. They both struck fear in the people due to the â€Å"guilty until you confess† attitude which controlled the courts. In Salem the only way to escape death was to confess and repent; in the McCarthy hearings if you were accused, whether guilty or not, you would always be viewed as a Communist. McCarthy also relates to Abigail in The Crucible, because they both made false accusations against innocent people. McCarthy accused people of being communists, whereas Abigail accused people of using witchcraft.Of course, the events were very different in results and reasons, but the main idea of seeking and hunting down the people who represent different ideals is the same. In both cases, the leaders were looking for people to blame their own fears and lack of certainty on. It was with the Salem witch trials that people from one side of town were accused of being witches, not because they had done anything related to witchcraft, but because they or their families occupied valuable land that the accusers or their masters or friends were seeking to purchase at low prices.By associating the land with witchcraft, the value of the property was greatly decreased. If the woman was found guilty of witchcraft, they and their families could be stripped of their property making it easier to be acquired by those seeking to own it. Senator McCarthy managed to form a senate commission to investigate the spread of com munism in the USA, putting particular focus and emphasis on the entertainment industry. This effectively ended their ability to perform or earn a living under their own names, as they were blacklisted by the industry to assuage McCarthy's perceived political masters.

American Business Leaders

This essay briefly describes the life and achievements of two successful American business leaders, their brief life sketches, the ways and means used by them to achieve their success . It also goes to explain how each of them affected the American society and finally concludes with a comment on the morality of their actions.The two businessman chosen for this essay are : Andrew Carnegie, the pioneer of the American steel industry who lived in the nineteenth century, and Bill Gates,  the software wizard who has managed to change the definition a computer, from a ‘ highly scientific equipment’ of 1960s, to a necessary machine of every member of every family, not only in America but the entire globe !!!Andrew hailed from a very poor family of a hand weaver of Scotland who was disposed ‘workless’ by the power looms of the industrial revolution, and Bill was an entrepreneur at the age of 14 as a school student !!!! Both climbed up the ladder, to be respected a s the ‘captains’ of their ownrespective industries. Life sketches â€Å" I began to learn what poverty means, it was burnt to my heart that my father had to beg for work, and then came the resolve that I would cure it when I become a man. †. ( Andrew Carnegie) Can anyone believe that he would become the pioneer of the formidable American steel industry and the richest man on this world? Andrew Carnegie was born in a very poor family of a hand weaver who was disposed from his work when power looms came in during the industrial revolution in Britain.His mother used to do household work to manage daily bread. The family shifted to Pittsburgh in US in 1848. Andrew started working at the age of 17 as a telegraph delivery boy, and never missed an opportunity for advancement. Carnegie happened to come close to Thomas Scott, who was an official with Pennsylvanian railroad, while working at the telegraph office. Thomas hired him as his PA, and from there he climbed up to become the later become the superintendent of Pittsburgh division. The outbreak of civil war created a huge demand for iron and steel.Andrew saw this as an opportunity and invested in steel rolling mill. There was no looking back then. He became the richest man on this world during his times. In the later stages of his life, he sold off his steel business and concentrated on philanthropic activities, mainly for the spread of education and global peace. 2500 public libraries were opened with the help of his donations. He had given away $350 million as donations for the improvement of mankind. He had floated the idea of ‘league of nations’ and built the ‘ palace ofpeace ’ which later became ‘ world court ’. He was so disturbed by the hostilities of World War I that the last entry in his autobiography was on the day the war began !! ( Andrew Carnegie) On the other hand, Bill Gates, real name William Henry Gates III, was born in a rich family of Se attle, USA, to a lawyer father and mother was director in a bank. He went to the most expensive school of Seattle, where the fees were $ 5000 as compared to $ 1760 at Harvard. He was interested in programming from his early school days.The Computer Center Corporation banned students from his school, when they were caught exploiting bugs with the operating system to buy computer time!! So involved was he with programming that at the age of 14, he had already made a payroll program in Cobol and formed a venture with his school colleagues to make traffic counters and earn $ 20,000/- in the first year. When his age was disclosed, he was shown the gate !! He went to Harvard for his degree study where he met Steve Ballmer. Both joined hands as partners to establishMicrosoft ® a software consultancy firm, which has become the largest software company on this world. Windows operating system, invented by Microsoft ® has revolutionized the computer industry. Bill Gates is perhaps the only person to be ranked as the richest man on this world for 13 successive years, from 1993 to 2006 !! He announced his retirement from day to day activities in 2006, to turn his attention to philanthropic activities. ( Bill Gates) Methods Both Andrew and Bill have lived two centuries apart, and both were polesapart in their personalities and background. Hence their methods to amass wealth also vary substantially. Andrew lived in times when technology was not so advanced and resources were scarce. A very fierce lust for wealth was the driving force behind all his methods, and this force was driven by necessity. He had seen the ghastly face of poverty in his childhood and his sole aim in life to drive it away. This was coupled with eagerness to progress and earn more. In absence of any good scholastic background, his instincts was the only asset he had.He kept his eyes and ears open and took a right jump whenever he saw a rise in income coming through that jump. Experience was the only teacher, and he was an avid learner. He did not hesitate to jump if it offered financial gains. This was coupled with a sharp sense of vision. A vision to see the shape of things to come in future. He saw an opportunity in iron and steel during the civil war, and he invested in it. Taking right steps at an appropriate time is also one of the salient methods adopted by him.Though he was an advocate of trade unionism, he did not mind exploiting the workers of his own steel company, because self gain is the only motive of any businessman. This is evident from the labor strike at his company. Good administrative skills and good human relations management were the key methods to his success, which has earned him the reputation of ‘Captain of steel industry ’. Bill Gates has lived in a different era when technology had highly developed and he had an enviable scholastic background.His methods are more ‘intellectual’ than ‘physical’. It were the intell ectual abilities, especially his ability to find software solutions , that has enabled Bill to win the race. Like Andrew, Bill also saw an opportunity and lost no time in grabbing it. A salient highlight of Bill’s methodology is that he has always focused on ‘ innovations’ and ‘speed’. The milestones of developments his development are witness to the fact that his thoughts are very fresh and innovative, and he worked at such great speeds thathe has always been the first to offer tangible solutions. It has been Bill’s strategy to bank upon someone else’s idea, work upon it, and present the solutions before others can do it. Bill did not see anything wrong in working upon GUI which originally someone else’s idea. It was Bill who came up with the first GUI ‘Windows-3. 1’ which was an instant success. ‘ Ruthlessness’ was one of the methods which helped Bill to attain his status as the ‘captain of softw are industry’. Impact on American SocietyBoth Andrew and Bill have had tremendous impact on the American life. Andrews’ daunting spirits were not only helpful in establishment of the formidable American steel industry, but also an inspiration to many youngsters who were eager to start on their own. Europe was the focus of all technological development so far, but Andrew was instrumental in demonstrating that America has all the resources to beat Europe in this matter. It was largely due to his efforts that large scale industrialization and mass production concepts startedgaining momentum in the war torn America. Talking of Bill, he has changed not only America but the whole world. So wide and great is the impact of his thoughts and the products of his company that today almost Microsoft ® has become a household name over the globe. He has completely changed the way people communicate across the globe. This has a massive impact on the increase in global trade and comm erce. Today, a Director of a company head quartered in London can get the production figures from its units situated in America, and thesales figures from his office in Tokyo, within seconds. He should thank Bill Gates for making all these possible !! Moral Aspects All of us big or small, rich or poor have a social obligation. Both Andrew and Gates have erred drastically during their young age in their quest for wealth. Even though Andrew had witnessed poverty, he did not hesitate in exploiting the poor workers in his own steel company. The strike and the labor unrest due to this is a blot on his otherwise spotless career. ( Andrew Carnegie) On the other hand Billwent one step ahead, and saw nothing wrong in ‘stealing’ the GUI concepts which were initiated by others. His fierce maneuvering with IBM is one more example of business practice which can be judged ‘wrong’ morally. A legal suit, filed by the American Government over Microsoft ® raises many quest ions about the ethical policies of the Company. ( Bill Gates) Both these ‘captains’, towards the end of their career have exhibited unparallel moral sense by donating huge amounts for the betterment of the society. Andrewconcentrated on improvement through education, while Bill has been more aggressive and even touched social issues like ‘AIDS eradication’. Andrew died as a frustrated man due to hostilities of the first world war and what happens to Bill, only time will tell. Works-cited page 1) Andrew Carnegie, People and events- Andrew Carnegie, 1999, Retrieved on 18-02-07 from, < http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande01. html > 2) Bill Gates, wikipedia the free encyclopedia, 18-02-07, Retrieved on 20-02-07, From: < http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Bill_Gates >

Mechanisms of Response essays

Mechanisms of Response essays The human body is built with its own immunity system. It provides defenses against foreign objects in the body and prevents disease. Specific diseases have a specific reaction- the immune system has a mechanism of response for each particular foreign substances. A foreign molecule that draws specific response lymphocytes is called an antigen; antigens are the molecules that are rejected by the body. Antigens are inclusive of molecules that belong to viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and parasitic worms. However, antigenic molecules can also be found on the surfaces of foreign materials such as pollen and transplanted tissue (as in the situation of a skin graft.) A skin graft is a patch of skin that is surgically removed from one part of the body and transplanted to another. It replaces tissue that has been destroyed or creates new tissue where none exists. One way that an antigen begins an immune response is by activating B cells to secrete proteins called antibodies. The term antigen is a contraction of anti-body-generator. Each antigen has a particular molecular shape and stimulates certain B cells to secrete antibodies that interact specifically with it. In fact, B and T lymphocytes even distinguish among antigens with molecular shape s that are only slightly different. So, in contrast to the nonspecific defenses, the immune system targets specific invaders. B cells and T cells can recognize specific antigens by their plasma membrane-bound antigen receptors. On B cells, these are actually transmembrane versions of antibody molecules and are often referred to as membrane antibodies. The antigen receptors on a T cell, called T cell receptors, are structurally related to membrane antibodies, and they recognize antigens just as specifically; contrary to antibodies, T cell receptors are never produced in a secreted form. Just one T or B cell can hold about 100,000 receptors for antigen, all with exactly the same specificity...

The Grim Reality of the United States Prison System essays

The Grim Reality of the United States Prison System essays The grim reality of the U.S. prison system We as Americans abide by rules imposed on society by past individuals, who believed that society could no longer function in a structured manner without such laws. These laws are what make freedom a reality; even so the price to pay for breaking a law that tarnishes the ultimate goal of society is a price most people, from a mental standpoint can barely survive. The harsh judgment man endures on judging another man is a punishment all in its self. Even so, this does not pertain to violent crime offenders, for nobody deserves to be attacked in such a manner. Regardless, non-violent crimes such as drug offenses need serious adjustment at the national and state level. There is substantially a significant amount of evidence to prove that the current punishment for non-violent criminals in no way contributes to excelling society to a higher intellect, but rather hinders the capabilities of society economically and morally. The American prison system is a system most people try to not thi nk about, why else would the system be in such a debacle as it stands today. Prison, the underworld that stretches deep into the dark depths of the soul, twisting and pulling ones mind into chaos; this wretched feeling is well deserved by violent crime offenders such as rapists, murderers, for they deserve no rights. From an Economic standpoint crime does pay for these individuals. Although non-violent crimes I woefully disagree with, the American prison system is to blame for the hindrance posed on these people; the public could benefit if 10-20 percent of prisoners were under some other form of rehabilitation rather than cold prison time. (Piehl, Dilulio, 20-5) The entire Economics of the prison system is as confusing as the laws written for people to get in there. The New Jersey prisoner self-report survey, show that the average violent crime prisoner costs, twenty five thousand dollars a year to impr...

Parametric and Nonparametric Methods in Statistics

Parametric and Nonparametric Methods in Statistics There are a few divisions of topics in statistics. One division that quickly comes to mind is the differentiation between descriptive and inferential statistics. There are other ways that we can separate out the discipline of statistics. One of these ways is to classify statistical methods as either parametric or nonparametric. We will find out what the difference is between parametric methods and nonparametric methods.  The way that we will do this is to compare different instances of these types of methods. Parametric Methods Methods are classified by what we know about the population we are studying.  Parametric methods are typically the first methods studied in an introductory statistics course. The basic idea is that there is a set of fixed parameters that determine a probability model. Parametric methods are often those for which we know that the population is approximately normal, or we can approximate using a normal distribution after we invoke the central limit theorem.  There are two parameters for a normal distribution: the mean and the standard deviation. Ultimately the classification of a method as parametric depends upon the assumptions that are made about a population. A few parametric methods include: Confidence interval for a population mean, with known standard deviation.Confidence interval for a population mean, with unknown standard deviation.Confidence interval for a population variance.Confidence interval for the difference of two means, with unknown standard deviation. Nonparametric Methods To contrast with parametric methods, we will define nonparametric methods. These are statistical techniques for which we do not have to make any assumption of parameters for the population we are studying. Indeed, the methods do not have any dependence on the population of interest. The set of parameters is no longer fixed, and neither is the distribution that we use.  It is for this reason that nonparametric methods are also referred to as distribution-free methods. Nonparametric methods are growing in popularity and influence for a number of reasons. The main reason is that we are not constrained as much as when we use a parametric method.  We do not need to make as many assumptions about the population that we are working with as what we have to make with a parametric method. Many of these nonparametric methods are easy to apply and to understand. A few nonparametric methods include: Sign test for population meanBootstrapping techniquesU test for two independent meansSpearman correlation test Comparison There are multiple ways to use statistics to find a confidence interval about a mean.  A parametric method would involve the calculation of a margin of error with a formula, and the estimation of the population mean with a sample mean.  A nonparametric method to calculate a confidence mean would involve the use of bootstrapping. Why do we need both parametric and nonparametric methods for this type of problem? Many times parametric methods are more efficient than the corresponding nonparametric methods. Although this difference in efficiency is typically not that much of an issue, there are instances where we do need to consider which method is more efficient.

The Process of Institution Governance and Decision Making Research Paper

The Process of Institution Governance and Decision Making - Research Paper Example The process of institutional governance and decision making is dependent on how the authority is distributed amongst the administration under the legal rights and obligation. This ultimately trickles down to the organizational behaviour of the members of the institute, which is unfolded into what direction the institute adopts by unfolding its strategies that impact all the stakeholders. One of the solutions to avoid the conflict amongst different stakeholder groups by the board of the higher academic institute is by provisioning of ‘shared governance’, which allows representation of views of all the stakeholders that are affected by the decision making process. This happens because each stakeholder group provides the views and inputs related to their interest in the decision-making process of the board. Faculty, student groups, members of the alumni, members of the board of trustees, founder members, investors etc. are all provided with a chance to share their views in setting up a strategy by the board for the future of the institute. Rivera (2008) pointed out that shared governance is the process of involving many different actors in making decisions or choosing outcome direction that serves the best interest of the whole. But this has also been criticized by many schools of thought since it is believed that institutions are to be managed like corporations. Hence applications of concepts such as delegation of authority, a division of autonomy and negotiations form part of how the decisions unroll and who has the advantage in terms of higher bargaining power.

Ethics and Law in Business and Society (4 questions) Essay

Ethics and Law in Business and Society (4 questions) - Essay Example A common example (argument) that arises when discussing market failure is the issue of the minimum wage law (Verleun et al. 15). The law sets wages higher than the going market-clearing wage in an effort to elevate market wages. Analysts argue that this greater wage cost will make employers recruit fewer minimum-wage workers compared to before the law was enacted (Verleun et al. 15). Therefore, more minimum wage employees are left jobless, establishing a social cost and leading to market failure. The advantage of government regulation on the minimum wage is that is enable people to be paid fairly for the work they have done (Verleun et al. 16). However, the disadvantage of this is that a firm cannot control how much they pay their workers. A sewer system could be regarded as a public good. It also falls under the theory of market failure because, in some regions, they system does not function appropriately as it is needed, and; therefore, it affect the people who depend on it. Questi on 2 One main policy foundation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was personal liability (Verleun et al. 23). ... 23). The act importantly reinforced the rule that shareholders own the United States corporations and that business managers ought to be working for shareholders to distribute business resources to their best use (Verleun et al. 23). After the law was enacted, financial experts cited enhanced investor confidence, more accuracy and more reliable financial statements as some of the benefits that the U.S. was enjoying. The CFO and CEO are now needed clearly to take charge for their financial statements below Section 302, which was not so before the SOX (Verleun et al. 23). Critics noted that this law is financially feasible because it has improved the confidence of investors (Verleun et al. 24). Many investors are now willing to venture into the United States because of the easiness of investing in the country. Also, the government does not have to worry about financially backing the investors because shareholders can enjoy full ownership of the corporations. This policy is fully conser vative as it puts everybody on the same platform when it comes to investment (Verleun et al. 23). Even though, critics argue that it reduces the number of workers in the U.S., everybody still has a chance of reaching the highest level with this law. Question 3 According to Hobbes, peoples’ lives in the state of nature were "lonely, poor, spiteful, violent and short", a state through which egotism and the nonexistence of rights and contracts prohibited the 'social', or society. Locke, on the other hand, considered that people in a state of nature are morally bound by The Law of Nature, simply not to harm themselves, but devoid of any government administration to safeguard them against those

Operationalizing New Service Concept in Pre-Existing Fast Food Chain Essay

Operationalizing New Service Concept in Pre-Existing Fast Food Chain of Restaurants - Essay Example Introduction 4 2. Background 5 3. Literature Review 5 4. Designing New Service Concept and Service Innovation 6 5. Research 6 6. Service Recovery Design 7 7. Recommendations 8 8. Service Strategy 10 9. Conclusion 10 10. References 12 1. Introduction Customers are significant for every business , however, for fast food companies , which offer food which are perishable, it is very important to retain customer, create customer loyalty and regulate customers to survive in the increasingly competitive environment, which has been elevated through the globalization of fast food chains. Brink and Berndt (2004) found that many companies spent a lot of their efforts, money and time to recruit new customers but a few companies took appropriate steps to retain customer and customer loyally. In 2011, the total revenue generated by Italian fast food market was $2.1 billion, which represents a negative annual rate from 2007 to 2011. The demand for fast food was high till 2007 and the market perform ance also reduced during this time period. The market volume in fast food is classed as the number of visits the customer makes to the same fast food restaurant. Fast food restaurant market can be broken down into- Take Away Quick Service restaurant Mobile Food Street The fast food restaurant at the leisure locations The fast food chains meet new competitors in the market and customer relationship is the marketing purpose which can keep customers from going to the competitors (Ramakrishnan, 2006). Customer retention is the method which helps to keep customers actively involved with the firm through optimal allocation of resources (Kotelnikov, 2006). Six economic benefits of customer retention as outlined by Brink and Berndt (2004)- It reduces the cost of customer acquisition and customer replacement. It guarantees base profits as the customers may follow the minimum spend for a time period. It promotes increased customer revenue. It reduces the overall operating costs as the compani es spread the costs over many customers. It provides easy referral to new customers from the pre-existing customers and the customer can be charged premium price as they do not wait for discounts or price reductions. 2. Background The Italian restaurant operates a chain of 26 full-service restaurants close to shopping malls and high streets. The restaurant is known for excellent service and high quality Italian cuisine. The restaurant is looking for expansion opportunities and the management wants to launch new chain which will have following features 1. Low cost food 2. Limited menu The main issue is that the new outlets may lead to poor customer experience which can tarnish the image of the well established restaurant brand. Regardless of what the service industry perceive about their service and customers, the service should function for customers properly. It should be as per the perceived notion of service by the customer, even if in case, the customers have not experienced it previously (Johnston and Clark, 2001). Through word-of-mouth customer have a perceived imagination of the type of service, and during and after the service delivery the service should meet customers’ expectations related to the duration, notion and flexibility provided. Every organisation should focus on delivering the service concept. The paper explains how service concept is the key driver in service design decision at various

Chinese Lion Dance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Lion Dance - Research Paper Example This paper tells that as Buddhism was the predominant religion in China for a very long time, Lion Dance has come to be an integral part of Chinese culture. Some experts have explored in depth the Buddhist connection in Chinese culture and believe that this famous dance of China has its roots in India. There is also a mythical tale intertwined with Lion Dance. There was a mischievous young lion in heaven that used to go about its pranks causing enormous irritation to the inhabitants. One day matters reached a head when it tried to pull a fast one on Jade Emperor, the lord of the heaven. He got infuriated with the antics of the lion and killed it by decapitating and throwing both the head and the body down on earth to putrefy. But Kwan Yin, the Goddess of mercy, came to know of it and brought the lion back to life by tying its head and body with a red ribbon. The red ribbon is very much visible in the Lion dance costumes of today and is considered to be the lucky omen that most surely ushers in prosperity and good luck. The Goddess of mercy also decked up the lion with a mirror and a horn that were meant to drive away evil spirits. Thus it is a standard ritual among Chinese Lion Dancers to invoke the spirit of the lion in a new lion head before it is used in the dance. This is an elaborate ritual and is known as "Hoi Gong", or the "Eye Opening/Dotting" ceremony. The ceremony consists of painting eyes on the lion head on completion of which the lion is thought of as having entered into this world. Any performance done with a lion head that has not been blessed through the Hoi Gong ritual is considered as a bad omen that most surely brings bad luck and misfortune. There is always a thread of narrative running through the performance which usually begins in a closed space signifying a cave inside which a lion is found sleeping. A rotund Buddhist monk enters the cave and has a look around before he starts setting up the temple. He opens the doors of the closed space , lights up an ornamental lantern and dust and cleans the interiors to make the place worthy of Buddha and his worshippers. The time finally comes to wake the lion which the monk does by beating a drum, a gong and a cymbal. The lion awakes and starts playing with the monk and this continues for some time.

Needs Assessment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Needs Assessment - Assignment Example Some of the considerable changes that were noted before and after the assessment related to the duration which the children brushed their teeth and also the number of times they did this. These responses changed to the positive side. From the discussion, it is also seen that the greatest change in response is to do with the reason why people brush their teeth. After getting the results in the post-assessment it came to be realized that the children gained a better understanding of the importance of brushing their teeth. In order to achieve the expected results or feedback, there are instruments which will have to be used in order to get the necessary information from the target population, the survey instrument that was used in this case was a questionnaire. Some of the goals of the questionnaire were to establish whether the students are well aware of the constituents of good oral hygiene, establish whether they are carrying out the right practice when it comes to their oral hygiene among other goals. Chances are considerably high that an unbiased opinion may be given since the questionnaires do not call for personal details, for example, the name of the respondent and so the respondent may give feedback without fear of victimization. The instrument used may not have provided a conclusive result in the sense that the target population was rather small and for this reason what was gotten from them could not be used to come up with a clear conclusion that would reflect on the situation away from the school. The people involved in the assessment may have played a role in influencing the feedback from the students. This was maybe through the tone and the expressions they used.  

Chinese Lion Dance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chinese Lion Dance - Research Paper Example This paper tells that as Buddhism was the predominant religion in China for a very long time, Lion Dance has come to be an integral part of Chinese culture. Some experts have explored in depth the Buddhist connection in Chinese culture and believe that this famous dance of China has its roots in India. There is also a mythical tale intertwined with Lion Dance. There was a mischievous young lion in heaven that used to go about its pranks causing enormous irritation to the inhabitants. One day matters reached a head when it tried to pull a fast one on Jade Emperor, the lord of the heaven. He got infuriated with the antics of the lion and killed it by decapitating and throwing both the head and the body down on earth to putrefy. But Kwan Yin, the Goddess of mercy, came to know of it and brought the lion back to life by tying its head and body with a red ribbon. The red ribbon is very much visible in the Lion dance costumes of today and is considered to be the lucky omen that most surely ushers in prosperity and good luck. The Goddess of mercy also decked up the lion with a mirror and a horn that were meant to drive away evil spirits. Thus it is a standard ritual among Chinese Lion Dancers to invoke the spirit of the lion in a new lion head before it is used in the dance. This is an elaborate ritual and is known as "Hoi Gong", or the "Eye Opening/Dotting" ceremony. The ceremony consists of painting eyes on the lion head on completion of which the lion is thought of as having entered into this world. Any performance done with a lion head that has not been blessed through the Hoi Gong ritual is considered as a bad omen that most surely brings bad luck and misfortune. There is always a thread of narrative running through the performance which usually begins in a closed space signifying a cave inside which a lion is found sleeping. A rotund Buddhist monk enters the cave and has a look around before he starts setting up the temple. He opens the doors of the closed space , lights up an ornamental lantern and dust and cleans the interiors to make the place worthy of Buddha and his worshippers. The time finally comes to wake the lion which the monk does by beating a drum, a gong and a cymbal. The lion awakes and starts playing with the monk and this continues for some time.

A Report containing the complete Environmental Audit & Suggested Essay

A Report containing the complete Environmental Audit & Suggested Program of Action - Essay Example a top priority by the Council as to maintain a cleaner city and to ensure maximum protection to the environment of the City as set out in this Environmental Policy of the Council. The Council will strive to comply with regulations laid down by the County’s legal systems as well as by all the international conventions dealing with the environmental protection in the EU countries. The aim of the Council is to attain the maximum standards prescribed for the protection of environment in respect of Waste Management. As proclaimed in the Environmental policy in order to ensure that the compliance with the various environmental regulations are kept up to date and also to educate the staff of the Council on the importance of the Environmental protection, the Council has strengthened the ‘Department of Environmental Protection’ by increasing the scope of the department with more number of staff appointed there for. This department is entrusted with the specific task of taking care of the issues relating to the environmental protection and also the compliance with various environmental regulations has been made the responsibility of the department. A senior level manager has been appointed to oversee the functions of this department. The Council has appointed field inspectors to visit the various waste management sites of the Council located throughout the Council area, inspect the progress made by the sites on the environmental management and make a report thereon. The audit conducted a survey among 324 departmental employees who are entrusted with the various responsibilities for the waste management at 12 different sites of the Council. These employees were selected randomly out of the total employees of the Council. The audit also included the visits to the various sites during the period between April 2006 to March 2007 and a study of the reports maintained by the Council for a period of 3 years. The Department initiated the baseline assessments for the 12

The Age of Napoleon Essay Example for Free

The Age of Napoleon Essay The Age of Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte was a very influential character in the history of France. When Napoleon rose to power, many reforms were made regarding the social system, economics, education, and political aspects. For some, the reforms made under his rule were for the better of the people, but others viewed the reforms as negative changes. Nonetheless, Napoleon will always be thought of as a powerful figure in the French Revolution. A leader from the beginning, Napoleon was sent to France for military training at age nine. Before Napoleon completely conquered France, he had a number of early successes such as defeating the British in Toulon in 1793, and he won victory against the Austrians in Italy. In 1799, he came to France and set up a 3-man governing board called the Consulate, overthrowing a very weak system of government called the Directory. People accepted him as a leader because he was charismatic and a good speaker. France was also in a state where they desperately needed a system of order, they are in a midst of a revolution with no one taking charge. It makes sense that Napoleon, a man who seizes power, takes control of the revolution. Napoleon also had a reputation of being an excellent military chief, which lead to an even greater acceptance to him in France. In 1802, he declared himself the consul for life, and 2 years after that, he held enough power to become the emperor of the French. The French longed for change because the American Revolution had inspired them, and there was a large gap between the rich and the poor. Napoleon valued order while he was in power. Order, security, and efficiency replaced liberty, equality, and fraternity. He restored the struggling economy by building new roads and canals, so it could be easier to transport goods or obtain them from other societys. He also set up a public school system and made peace with the Catholic Church by signing the Concordat of 1801. The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the Roman Catholic Church in France and Napoleon, for the French had been in disagreement with the Catholic Church since the revolution. The Third Estate (made up of peasants and a vast majority of France) didn’t feel that it was fair that the clergy were getting treated better than them. It ended the churches political power and recognized religious freedom for Catholics. The taxes weren’t as high for the clergy as it was for the Third Estate. Napoleon even encouraged the Emigres to return to France. The Emigres were people who feared the revolution and fled France to seek foreign help to restore the old order. He also gave the land that had once belonged to the churches to the peasants, so they could have more land to farm with, which could boost the economy. Jobs were now â€Å"open to all talent†, meaning anyone could work in any job, no matter what Estate they belonged to. The Napoleonic Code was also established when Napoleon came to rule. It recognized equality for all citizens under the law, religious toleration, and trial by jury. The Napoleonic Code was a set of French laws made by a group of legal experts. The rules governed all French-controlled countries in Europe. The Napoleonic Code undid some of the reforms made in the revolution, for example a lot of the rights women had just gained, were now lost. The men now gained complete control over the household and children. Another reform Napoleon made was he abolished serfdom, or slavery. Over time, he came to bring negative changes such as how women had very few rights. He also eliminated freedom of press. When he became emperor, he could not be removed from office which was a problem because not everybody liked the way he was ruling, and they wanted to overthrow him. In Napoleons rule, he attempted to build a French Empire. With Napoleon being an egomaniac, he felt like all of his decisions would be for the better of the people and that he could do no wrong. He won victories over Austria, Prussia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany, but failed to defeat Britain or Russia. By 1810, his Grand Empire reached its greatest extent. Napoleon was able to win victories over so many countries because he used a different strategy for each battle, so no one could predict his next move. Some say that one Napoleon was the equivalent to 40,000 troops. His Grand Empire redrew the map of Europe, and controlled much of Europe through diplomacy. A diplomacy is the practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. He replaced the King of Spain with his brother, Joseph. The spirit of nationalism, which is the devotion and loyalty to one’s nation, was spread throughout France. Soon, new alliances formed to resist Napoleon’s extreme power, and he was defeated in 1815. The Age of Napoleon brought many reforms in France. His reign included achievements and failures. One of his greatest successes was that he equalized the people of France, and their worth was based off of merit instead of social status. He established the Napoleonic code, which is still in use in France and other parts of the world today. Most importantly, e restored order in France by stabilizing the economy, building schools for better education, made roads, and built hospitals and orphanages. Some of the failures encountered when Napoleon was in rule was that he violated the freedom of the press when he censored the newspapers being published. He invaded Spain, which began a war with the Spaniards. He changed the European boundaries forever. He was the first modern dictator and brought out the spirit of nationalism in France. Overall, Napoleon changed the way of life for the French and surrounding countries forever.

Challenges Facing Health Care Providers and Health Insurance

Challenges Facing Health Care Providers and Health Insurance Topic: challenges facing Health care providers while dealing with Health insurances: a case study of a private hospital in Nairobi Kenya Introduction Define health financing (who,2000)world health report ‘ A health system is the sum total of all the organizations, ititutions and resources whoseprimary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health (WHO, 2000).Effectiveness, efficiency andequity of health financing system is determined by interaction of the three health financing functions namely collection of revenues, the pooling of pre-paid revenues and purchasing.Purchasig means the process by which interventions are selected and services are paid for or providers are paid. Healthcare providers are part of health system and re key component of health system strengthening and they play a significant role in determining whether the goals of a health system can be achieved.It is important that the buyers of services align provider payment methods with organizationalarrangements for service providers and other incentives for efficient service provision In Kenya most of the private health insurances operate on a purchaser provider split model with the insurances being directly responsible for entering into purchase agreements with providers and reimbursing them. Most of the provider payment is fee for service with a few health management organizations trying out the capitation mode of payment on outpatient services.Before the claims are approved for payments they have to undergo through the schemes claims process for eligibility purposes. According to S. Sodzi-Tetteyet al (2012) the purchasing function of health financing has been beset with problems of delay in provider payments. A study by Ministry of Health, Ghana, (2009) showed that in 2008 health facilities nationwide were owed a total of USD 32.6M most of it in unpaid claims while health providers themselves reported a 2-6 month delaying having their bills settled. Health insurance schemes are being used as an alternatives funding for health sector (Baltussen et al 2000).Insurance authorities are established to secure improvements in the health of the population by assessing health needs of the population ,determining the most cost effective mean of meeting these needs and contracting with providers to supply the required services. They are different types of health insurance models and one of them is the purchaser /provider splint models .they are many advantages to this arrangement according to ZurnAdams (2004) among them compiling of services providers to offer quality care however this model can also lead to major problems which according to Sakyi et al (2012)could be enormous among them being late reimbursement thus increasing the financial volatility of health providers which may in turn affect service delivery due to lack of finances to buy drugs ,to improve health facilities, to pay health workers to buy commodities among other things .witterGarshong ,(2009) says that providers who depend heavily on subsidies from the insurances could offer poor quality care when they are under billed or a large portion of their claims are rejected. The study will explore the challenges experienced by health care providers dealing with private health insurances especially the claim processing. Problem statements Health providers are offering health services to health insurances clients yet the insurances are not honoring their pledges to pay. There so many rejected bills after clients are discharged; many providers have unsettled bills by the patients because after services were offered the insurances give decline letters or covered bills up to a certain limit. A lot of time and money ,human resource is used in reconciliation of the accounts and in most cases the claims are not paid and as sakyi et al (2012) says this increases financial volatility of the health care providers which may in turn affect service delivery due to lack of finances to buy commodities and pay workers.witter Garshong (2009)continue to say that providers wo depend heavily on subsidies form the insurances could offer poor quality care when they are under billed or a large portion of their claims are rejected. . Research Objectives The study seeks to explore the challenges facing healthcare providers while dealing health insurance companies. The specific objectives of the study will be: To establish the administrative challenges facing health providers in executing operational guidance of health insurances. To establish the challenges healthproviders face from the health insurance during service delivery to their clients. To establish the challenges health providers face from the health insurance after the delivery of service to their client To come up with recommendation’s that would be used by the health providers and health insurance to ensure a workable purchaser –provider splint system Research Questions The study will answer the following research questions: What are the administrative challenges facing health providers in executing operational guidance of health insurances(admission process, scheduled cases ,emergency cases ) What are challenges health providers face during service delivery to health insurance clients(declines,exclusion ,limited covers ,clients not knowing their limits ) What are the challenges health providers face from the health insurance after the delivery of service to their clients.(rejections of claims ,late reimbursements What are the political challenges facing healthcare financing towards universal coverage by NHIF? What are the recommendation’s to health providers and health insurance to ensure a workable purchaser –provider splint system Theoretical framework Health insurance theory Utility theory Behavioral model of utilization Event model of studying health services utilization med care 1998. Conceptual framework Dependent variable- Challenges faced by health providers Independent variable- Operational guidelines (preauthorization process-preadmission process). service provision(admission post service provision (claim and reimbursement process) Significance of the Study Health providers are key in health system strengthening and key stakeholders in attainment of universal health coverage (delloitte ,2012)hence the importance to find out ways of ensuring both the private and public insurance work harmoniously with providers. Help policy makers in making decision like proper ttraining their enrolessabout their benefits ,providers to hve mechanism to carry out operational guidelines, Policy makers need access to knowledge on purchaser –provider splint system dynamics and the appropriate responses. Therefore, the study provides guidance and recommendations instrumental in designing appropriate policies that regulate the healthcare sector and what need to be done to ensure workable /effective and efficient system. The study will also be a reference material to the healthcare insurance firms, healthcare providers/institutions and other stakeholders. Relevant data that could allow for recommendations that could be implemented to strengthen the role of private health insurance players or providers or to strengthen provider and purchaser reltionship Methodology of the Study It will be an exploratory study .Qualitative andquantitative approaches will be used for primary datacollection using interview guides and checklists. References WHO,the world Health report 2000:Health systemsimproving performance ,Geneva ,World Health Organisation,2000

Essay --

Alison Hennen The Glass Castle Book Review The Glass Castle was overall very strange. Written by Jeannette Walls in her point of view, this book is her memoir that she wrote to share her story with the rest of the world. It won the 2005 Elle Readers’ Prize and the 2006 American Library Association Alex Award. The title comes from an unkempt promise from Jeannette’s father, but rather than seeing it as a letdown, Jeannette remembers it as a hope that things will get better, a trait she must have received from her mother. While The Glass Castle focuses mainly on her immediate family, she later wrote another book, Half Broke Horses, about her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. The book starts off with Jeannette, a successful adult, taking a taxi to a nice party. When she looked out the window, she saw a woman digging through the garbage. The woman was her mother. Rather than calling out to her or saying hi, Jeannette slid down into the seat in fear that her mother would see her. When asking her mother what she should say when people ask about her family, Rose Mary Walls only told her, â€Å"Ju...

Rabbit Proof Fence Essay

Physical journeys involve the movement of a person from one place to another. They provide opportunities for travellers to extend themselves physically, intellectually and emotionally as they respond to challenges and learn more about the world around them. This concept of physical journeys can be clearly seen in the texts â€Å"Rabbit-Proof Fence† by Phillip Noyce and â€Å"A Horse with No Name† by America. Both texts use a number of methods and technical features, to represent the journey and the impact of its result. The film â€Å"Rabbit-Proof Fence† tells the story of 3 Aboriginal girls (Molly, Daisy and Gracie) who travel on foot across 1500km of inhospitable Australian outback to be reunited with their family, after being forcibly removed by the Australian government. It has been represented as a physical journey of epic proportions, an act of survival and a quest for freedom, as the girls lead by Molly, overcome various obstacles. Such as surviving without food, water or shelter in the harsh Australian bushland, while navigating their way home via the rabbit-proof fence and cleverly outsmarting their tracker. The primary setting of the text is the physical landscape of outback Australia over which the girls embark their journey. This landscape is used throughout the film to represent the progression of the girl’s journey through its changing terrain, emphasising the distance they have travelled and the hardships that they have had to face. Their lack of freedom on the journey is represented visually through the juxtaposition of point of view shots of the landscape through the bars of imprisonment, when they are being sent away. This contrasts the previous scenes where an aerial shot is taken of them roaming freely, in their vast and spacious environment. In effect it symbolises they oppression that they feel and creates an understanding of the importance of the journey to the girls. The use of other film techniques such as slow motion, the playing of indigenous Australian music and close-up shots of their faces during the girls travels emphasis their physical and emotional displacement as a result of the journey. Also as the film is seen through the eyes of Molly we are aware of the importance of the journey to her through her continuous determination, as well as the impact it has had on her through her gradual deterioration and exhaustion. The film relies on the conventions of realism to represent the physical journey undertaken. The hardship of the journey is illustrated through a series of images, including a heat haze-where they are dragging their feet through the sand, them digging desperately for water and Molly carrying Daisy, as she cannot continue any longer. This physical journey has resulted in individual learning and growth and an understanding of the world. This is particularly evident through the character of Molly. As a result of this journey, she has discovered many things about herself, her spirituality and her identity, as well as the world she lives in, and her place in it. In the song â€Å"A Horse with No Name† a story is told about a man travelling by himself through the desert on a horse. He is exploring the world, and discovering things about himself and life without the interruptions that society and its people bring. The theme of physical journey has been reinforced by the consistent rhyming pattern of ABAB throughout the song. As it flows, it progressively reveals his story and reinforces the impact it has had on him. The concept of physical journey has also been achieved through the choice of words that reveal his inner feelings and motifs. Evidence of this is in the line â€Å"in the desert you can remember your name, cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain†. This indicates he is on the search for his identity and to escape from society, which inturn represents the physical journey as a quest for spiritual growth and change. Throughout the journey the man looks many aspects of nature and life, these have had an impact on him physically due to the harsh climate of the desert and emotionally due to the sadness he feels in the face of death. This is illustrated through the use of figurative language in the lyrics and shows the impact and reality of the journey. The metaphor â€Å"the ocean is a desert with its life underground, and a perfect disguise above† represents and adds depth to the theme of physical journeys resulting in discovery and an understanding of the world. The extensive use of visual features and imagery such as â€Å"the sky with no clouds†, and the â€Å"red hot desert sun† coupled with the precise attention to descriptive detail, offers a realism to the experiences on his journey and the impact that this journey has made in his life. In conclusion, in both â€Å"rabbit-proof fence† and â€Å"a horse with no name† the concept of physical journeys is represented as a way by which people learn about themselves and discover the world around them, and will often result in spiritual growth.

Surviving on a desert island

Surviving on a deserted tropical island Being stranded on a deserted tropical island is not ideal for most people, especially if you are alone. Although many people who end up in these situations get rescued, it is still important to know five essential tips to survive. Giving purpose to items often ignored and utilizing all available resources is vital. Water is an extremely important essential to surviving, water makes up more than two-thirds of our body weight and works in many different ways to maintain our bodys health, stabilize our metabolism, nd keeping digestion in order.A reason why the island you are stranded on is deserted might be because of the lack of fresh water. If you cannot find a stream nearby then look for coconuts, the milk inside is high in potassium and a variety of minerals. Although you cannot survive off of coconut milk, it will last you until the next rainfall. Collect as much rainwater as you can, because you never know when the next one will occur. Assum ing you cannot contact anyone from your cellphone because there is not a signal on the island, getting noticed is also extremely important. Building a fire that creates lots of smoke is recommended.Using dead and dry palm leaves creates a thicker more noticeable smoke. Collecting dry tinder from trees is helpful, especially hibiscus tree's, which are common on most Pacific islands. A fire is also important for cooking food, staying warm and keeping the insects away. As for food, fishing is an obvious go to. But remain cautious of the types of fish you eat. Stay away from fish with spikes or abnormal structures. Fish are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, they reduce blood pressure; they are rich in protein, vitamin D, alcium and many minerals.If you have hunting skills you could also go hunting, there is likely to be boars on the island and a variety of other meaty animals. Building a shelter is vital; it needs to be done before dark. That way you do not have to go snooping throu gh a forest in the middle of the night in which you have no idea what lies ahead. Find a spot that provides protection from the wind, sunlight, and animals. Use shaped sticks for the frame and dead palm tree leaves for the roof. Search for a vine to tie together everything so it stays put.Put leaves in the inside of your hut to create a floor to rest on. Waiting patiently is very important. Keep yourself busy so you do not feel like you are going crazy. Go for a swim, work on building a safer shelter and explore the forest. You have plenty of time on your hands, so do as much as you can to make the time pass until you are rescued. References http://www. survivalskillstoday. com/Hot-Tip-How-to-Survive-on-a-Deserted-Island. html http://purpleslinky. com/humor/life/castaway-five-top-tips-to-survive-on-a-deserted- island/ surviving on a desert island By heavyflow

Persuasive Speech About K12 Essay

â€Å"Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress, no crime can destroy, no enemy can alienate, and no despotism can enslave†, a famous quotation from the writer, Joseph Addison. In Filipino sayings, it would be described as something that can never be stolen from you. The K12 system of education is popularly used in the United States, Australia and Canada, it was recently initiated by the Aquino administration to be adapted in the Philippines. Since it denotes prolonging the education of students by two years, would it really be beneficial or unhelpful to a Filipino student? We all know that life is hard and public or private education is costly for parents. However looking past the financial aspects of a student’s education, the K12 system proves to be very beneficial. Unemployment and poverty are two cancers of society and are both problems rooted from Filipinos unable to finish school. The K12 program aims to uplift the quality of education in the Philippines in order for graduates to be easily employed. The program also aims to meet the standards required for professionals who would want to work abroad. Furthermore, it would help the student acquire mastery of basic competencies and be more emotionally mature. According to G. K. Chesterton, â€Å"Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. † Wouldn’t it make a brighter future for the Philippines if all schools will upgrade the level of teaching? Wouldn’t it make a better generation of Filipinos? Wouldn’t it make the Philippines better equipped to compete globally? Adapting to the education system of first world countries like the United States could definitely uplift the lives of the young Filipinos. After all, they are already living proof that their educational system made them a powerful country in the world. I believe that the K12 system will help the Filipino students attain a better level of learning, a better career to earn a living and a brighter Philippines. From the words of John Dewey, â€Å"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. † Building a strong educational foundation will help any Filipino reach their dreams and make the Philippines a better country.

Consumer Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Consumer Law - Essay Example Since D-I-Y is in the business of selling home improvement products, there is an implied condition that the varnish supplied is of satisfactory quality, especially since it is an in-house product. Was the varnish of satisfactory quality? There are two factors that would appear to indicate that it was not. Firstly, goods are deemed to be satisfactory if â€Å"they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory†¦.taking into account all other relevant circumstances.†2 In the case of â€Å"Dà ©cor Shine† the instructions on the tins indicate that the product is suitable for use on all types of wood. But this is not the case – the product is not suitable for use on very old wood since it causes shrinkage. Therefore the description that has been used for the product is false and akin to misrepresentation3 and cannot be said to be the kind of goods that Alf intended to buy. In the case of Reardon Smith v Hansen Tangen4, Lord Diplock clearly highlighted grounds that could exist for breach of contract through lack of identification of the goods being purchased: Alf intends to buy varnish for treating old wood, Dà ©cor Shine is not suitable for use on old wood, yet the label implies that it is, therefore the description of the product is inaccurate – they are not fit for the purpose for which Alf intends to use them.6 The statutory test to determine the merchantable quality of goods is that they are fit for the purpose that they are to be used8. Secondly, there is another factor impacting upon the satisfactory nature of the product - it contains no instructions that it should be used in well ventilated conditions, a statutory warning that would normally be included with these types of products and which a buyer has a right to expect. Since Dà ©cor Shine is in the business of supplying building products, there is an implied condition that the goods being supplied are of â€Å"satisfactory

Finace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Finace - Essay Example licly traded company can be defined as those companies which are involved in selling its various securities like stocks, bonds, etc to the public in general. The primary role of a publicly traded company should be to work for the interest of the public and disclose information about all its company affairs to the public. It is so because all the investors and public in general would have access to same, meaningful and relevant information about the company, which would facilitate them in their decision making process. Fiduciary responsibility of the CFO or Chief Financial Officer of a company means that the CFO has the responsibility of ensuring that the company is able to achieve its missions through the money generated by the firm. The CFO of a company also ensures that the vision of the company set by the executive directors is feasible and it does not result in the bankruptcy of the company (Burns 7). The fiduciary responsibility of CFO also includes that he should work for the interest of the company and its owners. Different types of exchanges operate within the financial and futures markets like, stock exchange, foreign exchange, etc. All these exchanges plays a vital role in the financial markets by regulating, assisting and controlling the business procedures involving selling, buying and dealing with securities like stocks and derivative instruments in the market. Its primary objective is to facilitate an efficient, attractive and well regulated market for the investors, companies, and intermediaries like stock brokers. In a broader sense financial markets are the places where different sellers and buyers take part in the trading of various financial instruments like stocks, bonds, derivatives, currencies, etc. Financial markets are characterized by having a pricing system which is transparent in nature, having trading regulations, including various transaction costs and are driven by market forces that help in the determination of the prices of the

Strategy choice and change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategy choice and change - Essay Example Changing the approach to organisational operations is therefore expected to have a direct impact on the organisational culture. In this paper therefore, the change contexts at TED are analysed in relation to the culture of the organisation. As the change has already taken place, the appropriateness of the change process in relation to known change models will also be analysed. Three major models are used in doing this, including Kaleidoscope model, Johnson cultural web, and Kotter’s 8-step change model. Based on the Kaleidoscope model given about, there are some aspects of change context that can be identified as enablers. These include power, readiness, preservation and capacity. The reason these are said to be enablers is because they have the potential of fostering the change process that was intended to happen. For example in terms of power, the fact that power was vested in the CEO to carry out desirable changes whilst maintaining organisational processes meant that issues of resistance to change was going to be minimal (Balogun & Hailey, 2009). Again, as noted by Christensen and LÃ ¦rgreid (2002) readiness to change on the part of employees is a major determinant of success with change. Meanwhile, given the background to TED’s performance, before the coming of the new CEO, all employees appreciated the need for there to be change, which informed their readiness. In terms of preservation, even though the factors identified were downgrading, their mere existence gave th e justification for why there needed to be change and so are considered as enablers. This is because Carnall (2013) argued that whenever negative contexts are identified, they serve as catalysts for speeding up the change process because no leader wants to continue working with such negative contexts in place. Lastly, the capacity at both individual and organisational levels

Female Gender Dynamics in Elementary and Secondary Education Essay

Female Gender Dynamics in Elementary and Secondary Education - Essay Example When addressing the gender bias it has frequently been asked if males and females are different as a result of social or biological reasons (Frawley, 2005). Unfortunately, the answer does nothing to change the fact that men and women are viewed in different ways and are expected to act in different manners. The differences that exist in the educational arena can be traced to society's views on acceptable behavior of men and women. Because males and females are expected to act in different ways, it is impossible to expect them to act in the same ways within the classroom setting. Instead, the differences in male and female behavior need to be correctly identified and taken into consideration when it comes to curricula in schools. The differences that exist in the education of men and women can be traced back to social views of the two genders. Traditionally, males have been more educated than females. In addition, males have been expected to achieve more intellectually as a result of the belief that men are smarter and more capable of intellectual accomplishment than women. In addition, women have been viewed in as inferior in academic settings and as a result, less encouraged to excel in academia. The effects of these views can still be seen in the behavioral differences that exist between males and females in classrooms (Banks, 2004). In colonial America, females received a very minimal education in the form of dame schools only at a very young age. The education of females at these schools consisted of learning how to correctly perform household duties that would be expected of them when they married. Classes consisted of cooking and sewing. Very few females knew how to read or write. In fact, "less than one-third of the women in colonial America could even sign their names" (Banks, p. 136). The reading females were taught was for the sole purpose of reading the bible to their children. In order to fully grasp the inferior education females have historically received, understand that "not until the 1970s and 1980s did they win the right to be admitted to previously all-male Ivy League colleges and universities" (Banks, p.136). Only thirty-six years have passed since then. When looking at education from a historical perspective, the education of women is still extremely recent and we have a long way to go before gender equality is reached in classrooms. The gender inequality has been so documented that in 1995, a Gender Equality Act was passed. As a result of this act, many teachers received special training on how to create a sense of gender equality within their classrooms (WikEd, 2005). Because much of the gender bias of teachers was subconscious, training in this area has been extremely beneficial in creating more equality for females in elementary and secondary schools. Use of Language, Time and Space Males and females are proven to have different linguistic styles. Males are louder, more assertive, and more aggressive in their speech than women. Females tend to speak in a softer tone with more hesitation. In addition, women are more likely to turn a statement into a question and follow it with a "tag" question ("don't you think"). Because of their linguistic

Parenthood the Movie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Parenthood the Movie - Essay Example One of the most fundamental themes of the movie Parenthood is that people become more responsible in their duties towards their spouses as well as children with the passage of time. Gil has a very loving relationship with his wife Karen. Gil has grown up under the supervision of his workaholic father. Due to the limited control such a person can exercise upon his children, the children assume immense tendency to become spoiled. Realizing this and not willing to grow up his children the way his father did his siblings and him, Gil does not want to be workaholic. He wants to find time for his children to give them the best upbringing that he can. Gil and Karen have three children. Kaven is their eldest child. He has an emotional problem due to which, he is considered in need of a therapy. Having gained an in-sight into the problems with his children, Gil takes all the blame for the problems of his children and becomes doubtful of the extent to which he has been successful in playing th e role of a responsible father. Gil is not sure whether he can provide his and Karen’s forth child that is yet not born with a happy lifestyle since he is financially not in a position to have another child. Helen and Garry are ex-husband and wife. Helen is a bank manager while Garry is a dentist. Garry has left Helen for some reason and is not concerned about his teenager children that he has had with Helen. Helen and Garry parent two children. The elder of the two is Julie who is 16 years old and the younger one is Garry who is 13 years old. The father and the son have the same name, i.e. Garry. One of the most touching and emotional scenes in the movie is the one in which Helen tells Garry that she knows his father better than Garry does, so she would suggest him not to shift with him. The son Garry has just entered the age of puberty and is exploring the world of sex in numerous ways. He is addicted to porn. He is disturbed mentally and generally remains quiet and uninvol ved in the social activities. Julie cultivates a hidden sexual affair with Tod who happens to be her drag-racer boyfriend. Julie is just in her high school and has had sex several times with Tod. Garry, on the other hand, carries around sexually explicit videos in a bag. Helen’s ex-husband Garry leaves Helen for another woman whom he marries and has a son with her. The encounter between Helen and her children is the worst among all parent-children encounters in the movie. At one occasion, Helen catches Garry masturbating. Despite knowing that it was masturbation, she comforts herself by thinking of it as drug abuse. In an attempt to console her son, Helen asks Tod to convince Garry that his obsession with the girls is quite normal and predictable of a boy who has just entered the teenage. Tod is able to achieve this. In the beginning, Helen did not consider Tod suitable for her daughter. Finding that Tod has managed to make Garry happy, Helens starts to cultivate a sense of r espect and admiration for Toad in her heart. Near the end of the movie, Julie and Tod get married. Julie becomes pregnant. The love marriage is caught in fumed arguments and fights analyzing which, the audience can tell that the marriage is difficult to last. However, Helen admires Tod so much that

Creoles & language evolution process Essay Example for Free

Creoles language evolution process Essay Creoles have generally been considered to have more complex formation processes than pidgins, which lie at an earlier stage in the language evolution process (Culpeper, 1997). The processes that drive the development of creoles and pidgins have been the subject of interest and debate to linguists for many decades. Some have hypothesized that the development of these forms has been driven by variables similar to those that drive the creation of languages. Some of these hypotheses have included biological approaches to creole and pidgin evolution, while others have posited synchronic methods (Adone Vainikka, 1999; Bickerton, 1999). Many of these synchronic and biological ideas are compelling highly challenging in their plausibility, employing ideas related to Universal Grammar as a means of illuminating creole and pidgin development. The development of pidgins has been considered to be less difficult to understand than that of creoles, mainly because of the precise phenomenon that pidgins describe. As a language form that develops from the mixing of two distinct languages, many have simply considered it to occur as a result of the mixing of two (or more) people groups that possess distinct languages. Yet, some complexity exists in the different scales to which pidgins might develop (Adone Vainikka, 1999). Furthermore, it is interesting to note that when the languages of a bilingual child develop, even at an early age, that child generally distinguishes between the two perfectly without mixing them (Culpeper, 1997). When languages exist together on larger scales could be when pidgins are more likely to develop, and this appears to stem from the likelihood that the multiplicity of languages is intelligible by a wider range of persons. When this is the case, it creates no real need for any one speaker to make the effort distinguish between them for purposes of being understood. Despite the fact that pidgins and creoles are distinct language forms, many consider pidgins as a form that occurs on the way to the formation of a creole. In fact, the definition of creolization given by Adone and Vainikka is â€Å"the process by which pidgins develop into creole languages† (1999, p. 76). Discussions regarding the relationship that creolization bears to language acquisition processes and language development have led to two distinct schools of thought. One has viewed creolizaiton as being an extended process that takes several generations to mature. Indeed, this process never ends but continues to develop alongside the development of the particular culture in which it occurs. The other school of thought has viewed the process of creolization as on that has the potential to occur suddenly, within only one generation (1999). The gradual development of creoles appears to be more consistent with the prevailing theories of language development. If creoles are viewed according to the definition above (as a product of pidgin development) then it would appear that such a fast development of the language would be very difficult. Such speedy development would afford little time for the creation of the pidgin itself before its further evolution into a fully developed creole. The mixing of more than one language appears to be a phenomenon that would take quite some time, as this would involve a certain degree of standardization concerning which parts of each language should be included in this pidgin. In addition, it would appear that more than one generation would be needed to allow the general spread of this understanding among the population. However, it would also seem that geographical and population-density concerns would have a bearing on the ability of the creole to develop and suffuse an entire region. It may also depend on the demographic of the individuals who act as the agents of this development. Those theorists who believe that creolization has the potential to develop within one generation have cited young children as being the agents of such change (Bickerton, 1991, cited in Adone Vainikka, 1999). This researcher argues that this form of â€Å"radical creole† develops through a Bioprogram that operates very closely with the theory of Universal Grammar. Such a development, therefore, is based on humans’ innate understanding of language, which is to some degree distinct from the language that is learned in any given cultural context. Because this theory posits humans as having a relationship to grammar that transcends the grammar rules of any given language, the development of a particular radical creole would be based on the similarity of the language variation put forth by each child despite the fact that they may not grow up in close proximity to each other (1991; 1999). This particular view of creolization is based on language evolution theories that take a biological or even genetic approach to language change (Mufwene, 2001; 2006). In the creole form used in Mauritius, for instance, the children have been found to make fewer â€Å"mistakes† that represent a non-conformity to the language than those found in many standardized, non-creole language (Adone Vainikka, 1999; Bickerton, 1999). Bickerton writes, â€Å"Children acquiring English and other noncreole languages make a number of â€Å"mistakes,† a very high percentage of which would be fully grammatical utterances if the children were acquiring a creole language† (1999, p. 66). The opposite of this does not appear to be true—children acquiring creole languages do not make as many mistakes that would be considered grammatical in a noncreole language such as English or French (1999). It would seem therefore that creole might be considered a more naturally occurring form of a given language as distilled through the human’s biological propensity toward language expression. However, while this supports the idea of Universal Grammar, it does not appear to offer much support of radical creolization, as the Mauritian Creole has been evolving for many generations. Creoles and pidgins are interesting in that they offer insight into the earlier stages of language development. Many ideas exist concerning the classification of these language forms. Theories also exist concerning how such forms are developed, as well as the relationship they have to each other and to the languages on which they are based. Biological and synchronic approaches have both pointed toward the idea of Universal Grammar as having a bearing on the development of these forms of language, and intriguing (yet inconclusive) discussions have come about as a result of research done in that direction. . References Adone, D. A. Vainikka. (1999). â€Å"Acquisition of Wh-questions in Mauritian creole. † Language creation and language change: creolization, diachrony, and development. Boston: MIT Press. p. 75-95. Bickerton, D. (1999). â€Å"How to acquire language without positive evidence: what acquisitionists can learn from creoles. Language creation and language change: creolization, diachrony, and development. Boston: MIT Press. p. 49-75. Bickerton, D. (1991). â€Å"Haunted by the specter of creole genesis. † Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 14: 364-366. Culpeper, J. (1997). History of English. Oxford: Routledge. Mufwene, S. S. (2001). The Ecology of Language Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Mufwene, S. S. (2006). Language evolution : the population genetics way. Marges linguistiques, 11, 243-260.

Entrepreneurship and Microfinance Impact on the Poor

Entrepreneurship and Microfinance Impact on the Poor Chapter One: Introduction Background Around the world economies have experienced high growth and financial systems have undergone major transformation, a significant number of people especially in the developing countries do not have access to finance. Policy makers have increasingly promoted the use of microfinance as a tool to eradicate poverty and implement financial inclusion strategies. Pakistan being a developing country is no exception to this, having a large number of people that are poor with limited recourse to livelihood. Though limited in its scope, microfinance in Pakistan has been able to bring some of the large number of unbanked people into the banking network and has also helped in improving their socioeconomic condition (SBP ILO, 2009). About 90 % of the people in developing countries lack access to financial services from institutes, either for credit or saving, which further fuels the â€Å"Vicious Cycle of Poverty† in Figure 1. A lack of assess to financial institutions also hinders the ability for entrepreneurs. Microfinance serves as a means to empower the poor and provides a valuable tool to assist economic development process. Pakistan is fourth most populous country in Asia and sixth in the world. Having an average annual growth rate of 2.02 percent the population of the country reached 160 million in 2007 as compared to 139 million in 2002. Two third of the population is living in rural areas and the working age population (15-60 years) is increasing which was 51% in 1998 and 57% in 2008 (SBP, 2008). In 2008, about 24% population is living under the line of poverty which was 34.46% in 2002. There is significant increase in economic growth and improvement in Social Sector Development. Now Pakistan has shifted from Low Human Development group to the category of Medium Human Development (Global Monitoring Report, 2007). Despite all these improvements, poverty is a major issue which every government is combating against. Pakistan is a country with high population growth and increasing ratio of labor force. According to Economic Survey 2007-08, Pakistan has 51.78 million active labor forces while 2.69 million out of this is unemployed. If we look unemployment gender wise, despite of women ratio of population which is 49.6%, ratio in labor force is only 25% (10.08 million out 51 million) of total labor force. Government of Pakistan has taken many steps to increase women participation in labor force, still women ratio is very less to over all labor force and it is not matching to world standards and trends about women participation in business and job opportunities (SBP, 2008). All these facts show potential to work in microfinance to encourage people and specially women to develop their own entrepreneur so that men in general and women specially can contribute a productive part of society to make it a sustainable. To combat unemployment, only big companies or public sector are not enough for job creation but it would be better if people start their own business for making society productive. Microfinance is being recognized by different researchers as an effective tool to fight poverty by providing financial services to those who do not have access to or are neglected by the commercial banks and financial institutions. Microfinance has been successfully implemented by Grameen Bank. Back to 1976, Mohammad Yunus took initiative of lending loans by developing solidarity group of women in Jobra village, Bangladesh. Many MFIs has adopted idea adding with new strategies and now serving poor in effective way. Now Garmeen Model is a successful approach of microfinance. Microfinance is being considered as one of the most essential and an effective driving force for poverty reduction and alleviation. Kashf case attracted me because Kashf believes in a world where financial inclusion is a possibility and where poor women are fully engaged in realizing the economic dreams of their families. Kashaf vision of â€Å"Financial Services for All† posits a miracle for transforming the role of women in society and for making a poverty free world a reality. Statement of Problem Although social entrepreneurship plays great role as looking to the world real and see clearly what is happening, feel responsibility for financially weak people and help them as much as they can. It is also a big challenge to the entrepreneurs and organizations that they should take steps to eliminate unbalance between different levels in society. In other way, this thought encouraged me to choose this problem. I think that empowerment of poor people by microfinance and with combination of micro entrepreneurship is a great idea. You can never help people just giving money. But you can help people giving them job and help to create their small businesses in order to optimize their share of production to the society. All these issues lead to research on this topic that how microfinance is contributing for entrepreneurship in low income communities of developing countries, how sustainable society is evolving as the result of doing own business in low income communities and how Kashf’s way of microfinance is supporting all of this process. Research Objectives To be meaningful, every work must have to formulate the objectives of the study (Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Andrian Tronhill, 2007). Although most of research has been done either microfinance or entrepreneurship separately. But in my opinion there is close relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship. As social entrepreneurship is doing a lot for credit pool of MFIs with social services, micro entrepreneurship can be found in micro enterprise. As per research topic the objective is research on the issue that how do microfinance and entrepreneurship work for poverty alleviation and empowerment of poor. Research Questions The study was conducted with the guidance of the following questions. How microfinance is contributing for entrepreneurship? How do microfinance and entrepreneurship work for reduce poverty, empower poor in Pakistan? How do microfinance entrepreneurship work for sustainable development in Pakistan? Research Methodology The research methodology of this paper will be qualitative. My work is covering two main topics; entrepreneurship and microfinance with discussing three factors; poverty reduction, empowerment of poor and sustainable development. In this paper data collection techniques are used, interviews as primary source and internet, web pages, articles, annual reports, books etc.) as a secondary source. The research type will use deductive and empirical data will analyze by the help of conceptual framework, develop after literature review. Significance of The Study A lot of research is doing on Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship because it is emerging thread in business. On microfinance and entrepreneurship much research work has been while discussing in Grameen model. For both fields in terms of combining microfinance and entrepreneurship this research will lead a new horizon. It will also give a vision, to Kashf that how they can improve microfinance lending process, and other Microfinance institutions (MFIs) that how they can develop process in more effective way. Further, students, researchers in Microfinance field, NGO’s and Governmental organizations can extend research in this area to address the issue of poverty alleviation and empowerment of poor. Assumptions Limitations The assumption of this research is that all information, written in the reports, news, web page true and can be used fairly. The study does not cover all the aspects that the promotion of microfinance requires. It was difficult to organize interviews at large scale from borrowers due to distance problem between Pakistan and The Netherlands and this can reflect limited information about micro entrepreneurship. I primarily focused on microfinance and entrepreneurship role in reduce poverty and empower people. Organization of Study The thesis will consists of six chapters and will be organized in the following manners: Chapter One: Introduction: Briefly introduces the background information of the study. In addition, it consists of, statement of the problem, research objectives, and research questions to be addressed, significance of the study, research methodology, scope and limitation of the study. Chapter Two: Literature Review: Describe different theories and readers will look on previous research on the research topic. Also, discuss microfinance, its different models and how microfinance contributes in poverty alleviation, and theories about entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework and Research Methodology: It will be building a theoretical framework that will use while analyzing empirical data. Chapter Four: Empirical Findings: It will present empirical data collect through borrower’s interviews and Kashf’s administration. Empirical daa is including facts and figure about poverty, unemployment, economy and microfinance. There is also detail information about Kashf Foundation. Chapter Five: Analysis of Data and Interpretation: It will present analysis regarding need of interactive strategy of microfinance and entrepreneurship, social services and intermediation by Kashf and sustainability issue. Chapter Six: Conclusions: Finally findings and conclusions will be put in the light of previous discussions. Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The extent to which microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are interrelated is dependent on the extent to which it addresses the economic development process. Yunus (1994), claims, â€Å"If we are looking for one single action which will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, I would go for credit. Money is power.† Credit invested in an income-generating enterprise as working capital or for productive assets leads to establishment of a new enterprise or growth of an existing one. Profit from the enterprise provides income, and a general strengthening of income sources. A variety of financial institutions, worldwide, have found ways to make lending to the poor sustainable and to build on the fact that even the poor self-employed repay their loans and seek savings opportunities. The challenge is to build capacity in the financial sector drawing on lessons from international best practices in micro, small enterprises and rural finance. The extent to which microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are interdependent is becoming increasingly recognized by experts in their respective fields of work, associated with economic development. Over 500 million poor people around the world run profitable microenterprises and often cite credit as the primary constraint to business growth (IFC, 2002). Robinson (2002), a prominent expert in the field of microfinance, notes that â€Å"The formal sector has begun to realize that financing the poor can be both economically and socially profitable.† 2.2 What is Microfinance? Poor people are not able to access loans from commercial banks normally because of lack in guarantee and collateral. But there are also many other reasons involved for which commercial banks were not willing to finance poor. These reasons are included that poor have less education, experience and training, high expenses on transactions of small loans and lower rate of profit. This situation resulted in emerging the idea of micro lending and microfinance. Microfinance, therefore, a way to finance people, those have no collateral or any property for guarantee. Microfinance is a way of financing to poor for their business, to alleviate their poverty, empowering them, giving social benefits on sustainable way. Due to microfinance, there are many possibilities have emerged including extending markets, reducing poverty and fostering social change (Agion Morduch, 2005, pp.3). But there is general concept that microfinance is just lending loan to poor but as I mentioned that microfinance is no more only loans but covering the issues of poverty alleviation, putting social impact on poor and educating poor to savings. Therefore, MFIs, today, not only NGOs but serving as a complete banking system. This discussion lead to me that microfinance is a form of financial services for poor to help them for their business activities by giving micro credit. There is no one universal accepted definition of microfinance as different related variables like poverty, lone size, the poor and the poverty line carry different meanings in different countries. Different authors have defined the term in different ways. According to CGAP, Access to financial services puts power into the hands of poor people. Evidence shows that when poor people have financial services, they use their savings or loans to improve their families’ lives in a variety of ways: sending their children to school, buying better medicines and more nutritious food, fixing a leaky roof, meeting social and cultural obligations like paying weddings and funerals, and building income generating potential by investing in business (CGAP 2007). Microfinance has evolved as an economic development approach intended to benefit low-income women and men. The term refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including the self employed (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.1). While according to ADB (2008) Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low-income households and, their microenterprises. These definitions are elaborating that microfinance is a financial services but designed specifically for poor to improve their lives in sustainable way. 2.2.1 Microfinance Activities Economic activities are based upon sellers and buyers and their capacity. Sellers, before market their product, look at buyer intention and capacity. On the other hand, banking activities depend on both sellers and buyers. Financial institutions/lenders finance both sellers and buyers for their activities and commercial banks invested in projects at large scale while with this, banks invested in consumer finance also. Usually MFIs don’t invest in consumer finance, but give finance only for micro enterprise. MFIs encourage people to improve their standards by doing businesses and earning from them and this is a consistent and sustainable way. In fig (2), microfinance is dedicated only to poor and explicitly for business activities. But with this, there are some indirect impacts of microfinance on the micro borrower which are alleviation of poverty, improvement in healthcare, increase in literacy and other social impacts. These figures are taken from Ledgerwood, 2000. Figure 1: Economic Activity by Commercial Banking Figure 2: Economic Activity by MFIs There are many activities and characteristics are included in microfinance. Some are (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.1): Small and short term loans Social collateral rather than financial collateral Access to larger amount of loan if repayment performance is positive Search and access the real poor and their business demand Continuous monitoring of business. Higher interest rates on loan due expensive financial transactions and risk factor. Easy way to access finance, therefore not too much paper work, and easy and short procedures. Saving Services and training services to borrower’s development. Literacy training to borrowers so that they can come up with competence to daily business problems and its solutions. Health care, social services and other skill training services to provide borrower a sustainable base for their business development. 2.3 Microfinance A Developmental Tool Due to lack of financial resources in developing countries, people from low income communities while having innovative idea for their business, even as shop keeper or house hold products manufacturer, they can’t implement their ideas. This low economic activity in low income communities due to lack of financial resources lead them to more poverty and poor life standards. Generally financial services cover savings and credit activities and there is same concept about MFIs. But according to Ledgerwood (2000), MFIs work for general financial services with this they provide insurance and payment services to their clients. But important aspect of MFIs is not only financial intermediation but also providing social intermediation and social services to their clients. Social intermediation and social services contain many activities including trainings, management development, and financial literacy activities. Furthermore, many MFIs, arrange get together where experienced people guid e others, where they give useful suggestions, tips and other tactics for their business. Microfinance is providing financial services along with social services. Normally, social services are not applicable in general banking system. So, microfinance is not simply banking system but development tool, combining both financial and social intermediation (Ledgerwood, 2000). 2.3.1 Different Services by MFIs Financial Intermediation The primary objective of MFIs is financial intermediation because without loan/money social intermediations can not work. As prior discussions that poor face barriers to access finance from general financial service institutions. In this regard, MFIs become a bridge to access finance and in result to poverty alleviation, health care and education literacy (Ledgerwood, 2000). MFIs provide many financial services including credit, savings, insurance credit cards, payment services etc. It is not necessary that every MFI should facilitate their customers by all these services but MFIs can facilitate anyone of these services or all. The choice of which financial services to provide and the method of providing these services depend on the objectives of MFI, the demands of its target market and its institutional structure (Ledgerwood 2000, pp.66). Social Intermediations Social intermediations for individual whose social and economic disadvantages place them beyond the frontier of formal finance (Von Pischke 1991). A successful financial intermediation is often accompanied by social intermediation. It covers the issues of group formation, leadership training and cooperative learning, is secondary role of microfinance for borrowers of MFIs. Development in Social capital is a basic ingredient of sustainable development in poor’s life and especially in society. Social intermediation is process of building the human and social capital required by sustainable financial intermediation for poor (Ledgerwood 2000, pp.64). Now question rise, how social capital be acquire and strengthen? Social capital is actually links between clients of a group and multiple groups, and between MFIs and borrowers. These links establish on the basis of strong foundation of trust and cooperation (Agion Morduch, 2005). The ratio of social capital will increase with increase in business activities among members, and financial transaction between lender and borrowers. It is normally developed through group activities but there are other ways to develop it by individually. In group social intermediation, activities perform inside the group with some help from outside to develop institutional capacity and human resource. In group, most of members belong from remote areas, having less literate and experience about business and financial transaction. So from group formation to selecting leader, developing networks and working mutually, MFIs support borrower to deal with these issues. Therefore, these members need training in record keeping, book keeping, accounting, training about business activities and tactics, and negotiation skills (Ledgerwood,2000). Enterprise Development Services Micro finance institutions (MFIs), not all, support to borrowers, either in group or individual in different enterprise development services like marketing, business and accounting training etc. This service can be divided in to two parts, enterprise formation and enterprise transformation. In enterprise formation, MFIs provide technical support to group or individual in start up of business, development and maturing ideas and maturing the skills. During in transformation of enterprise, MFIs arrange trainings for their borrowers, workshops and get together for developing latest skills in their business area (Ledgerwood, 2000). Figure 3: Minimalist and Integrated Approaches to Microfinance (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.65) Minimalist Approach Integrated Approach One-missing piece Financial and non financial Credit Services Financial Intermediation Working Capital Fixed asset loans Savings Insurance Social Intermediation Group formation Leadership training Cooperative learning Social Services Education Health and Nutrition Literacy training Enterprise Development Service Marketing Business training Production training Social Services Microfinance practitioners define that, poverty can be addressed by financing poor for productive activities which in result comes up to their access to life necessities. But financial lending is only a one tool to poverty alleviation. Poor needs more than microfinance to address the problems of poverty and accessibility to other life needs like food, health, family planning, education, social support network and so on. In Ledgerwood (2000) MFIs serve to their clients with additional social services with financial intermediation. The best way to contact with their clients is in the form of group, that is the easy way to literate them, giving health care and other facilities. So in this way, MFIs would positive effect in the life of poor by offering financial services with supportive services. These supportive services, actually, play important role in sustainable human development and livelihood of the poor (Khan, Rahman, 1998). Social service should not implicate with financial or social intermediation because financial intermediation is primary service providing by MFIs. That means, there should be no additional cut off from loans in account social service but it should be provide by secondary means or by subsidies (Ledgerwood, 2000). 2.4 Microfinance Models The term model refers to â€Å"service delivery methods and microfinance products†. There are now nearly 70 million poor people who are getting benefits from 2500 MFIs in over 100 countries by microfinance (Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008). The poor’s conditions are different in different countries in world. These conditions are related to social, ideological and political issues (Weiss, Montgomery, 2004). Therefore, there are some distinctive differences between approaches and motive of microfinance. I will see briefly two approaches, which is very famous Grameen Model, originated from Bangladesh and other is Banco Sol Model, Bolivia. 2.4.1 Grameen Model In Grameen model, primary unit to whom lending fund is a group of 5 members that organize and apply for loan. In first stage loan is granted for two members to invest in their business. If these two members become successful to repay amount, then four to six weeks later, next two members are granted for loan. Last one member will be eligible for loan if previous two repay loan successfully. Repayment of loan open door for next loan and then go on if all members repay loan successfully. If anyone of group member will default in their loan, whole group will disqualified for further loan. Each group has its own president and secretary to coordinate all activities among their own group and to communicate and coordinate with other groups. Eight groups are then organized at center level, by which a bank officer deal with these all eight groups. This center of eight groups has its own center chief and center group leader (Khan, Rehman, 2007). According Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008), first time, bank granted loan $100 and bank require to repayment of 10 percent amount, at rate of per annum, weekly. This repayment ensures to user for loan security, and also encourages them for savings. Along with five percent of loan deposited in group account for emergency and social need. For example, in case of need of health care of any one member, in case of emergency, this five percent deposit will be use. A unique and innovative approach of group lending is used in Garmeen Model. As Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008) described that group lending have many benefits. First, group usually organize in members who are neighbor to each other, those can understand each other well and recognize their needs. Second, if anyone of group member will not present in group meeting, leader or other member can pay its installment. We can say that there is a kind of mutual understanding between all members. Third, in south Asia generally, and in Bangladesh specially, there are social pressures among members of society with social bindings with them. If one member of group will not pay even one installment, social pressure will be levied from all eight groups on this member and this reduces the risk factor. 2.4.2 Banco Sol Model Grameen model of microfinance emphasize on lending to villagers and keep loan lending on in smaller amount. The other core concept of model is formation of groups and these groups are eligible to take loan, no option of loan for individuals. Idea of progressive lending introduced to lend loan to individuals with group lending (Agion Morduch, 2005, pp.119). In this model after completion of every repayment schedule the amount of loan increased. But other characteristics of Grameen model (Group lending) are included in this method, like targeting to poor, women, group formation, and public payment. No doubt, progressive lending is an extension of group lending but now many MFIs are adopting this approach. In this model of Progressive lending, microlenders are flexible about collateral and lend loan to group with individuals also. This method is very helpful in areas with low population densities or highly diverse population where group forming is not so easy due to different ratio of safe and risky borrowers. In Bolivia, there was different situation when populist regime left government and there was high ratio of unemployment in urban areas. To come to fulfill the need of time, Banco Sol started operations in microfinance with progressive lending. Therefore we can say that microfinance approaches are evolved due to different political, ideological and social conditions. In Weiss Montgomery (2004, pp.3) Microfinance in Latin America developed under quite different conditions. In Bolivia, a collapsing populist regime led to widespread unemployment. Banco Sol, a pioneering microfinance institution in the region, developed to address the problem of urban unemployment and provide credit to the cash-strapped informal sector. The notion of commercial profitability was embraced relatively early in this approach. 2.5 Empowerment Poverty effects not only on individual’s life but also on society as a whole. Poverty is one of the main reasons in cause of less empowerment of poor especially in developing countries. Empowerment is a broad concept to define because there are many elements involve in it. These elements influence by including political, social and power system in the country. Empowerment covers many issues and when there is discussion on empowerment it includes many elements. These elements are, self-strength, control, self-power, self reliance, own choice, life of dignity, fighting for rights, independence, decision making, being free, capability , access to basic human needs etc.(PREM,WB, 2002). Misra (p.3) describes empowerment as a power to the people and self governance. He define that Empowerment builds self-reliance and strength in women, preparing them towards gathering the ability to determine the choice of life. This adds to the command over resources outwit insubordination and signify their social role. Empowerment is about change, choice, and power. It is a process of change by which individuals or groups with little or no power gain the power and ability to make choices that affect their lives. Due to different social, political, economical conditions, we can not define a one definition for empowerment. According to Batliwala (Makombe, 2006, p.52), empowerment mean, take control over material assets, intellectual resources, and ideology. The material assets over which control can exercised may be physical, human, or financial, as land water, forests, people’s bodies and labor, money and access to money. Intellectual resources include ideas and knowledge information. Control over ideology signifies the ability to generate, propagate, sustain, and institutionalize specific sets beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior-virtually determining how people perceive and function within a given socio-economic and political environment. Empowerment is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives. (PREM, WB 2002, p.11) define that A strategy for empowerment is taken at individual, government, civil society and private sector level. Usually these efforts lead to empower people in context of sharing of power, freedom of information, access to resources and health and education services. These strategies normally share four types of elements: First, Access to information, its mean every citizens including poor have direct access to information because information is power. Second, Inclusion/participation, that’s mean there should be opportunities for poor that they can participate in decision making and they should be included in all financial and political policies. Third is accountability, that’s mean officials, public servants, private actors should be accountable not only to some specific institutions but to their citizens for performance. Fourth and last one Local organizational capacity, its mean that people can work together, organize themselves, mobilize and utilize resources and solve problem at community level (PREM, WB (2002). 2.6 Entrepreneurship It is one of the most widely used terms in business, management, economics and other related fields. One of important thing is that entrepreneurship has different meaning for different people, some use it in the meaning of innovation, some use for creativity, risk taking, leadership, and profit maximization or in social context, and some consider it as start up of business, new production methods and many other different meanings. Davidsson, (2004) describes it that entrepreneurship is rich phenomenon which makes it a resourceful field. While defining entrepreneurship, I consider some school of thoughts that have major role to define this field. According to Schumpeter school of thought (Swedburg, 2000), Entrepreneurship is about innovation in organizational process, thinking up new combination, entrepreneurial behavior and motivation of entrepreneurs. While according to Gartner (Thornton, 1999), entrepreneurship is about creation of new organization or new startup, creating values and entrepreneur mean owner-manager. In Krizner’s view, entrepreneurship is searching opportunities and exploiting them so it reflects towards the alertness capability of entrepreneur towards profit opportu Entrepreneurship and Microfinance Impact on the Poor Entrepreneurship and Microfinance Impact on the Poor Chapter One: Introduction Background Around the world economies have experienced high growth and financial systems have undergone major transformation, a significant number of people especially in the developing countries do not have access to finance. Policy makers have increasingly promoted the use of microfinance as a tool to eradicate poverty and implement financial inclusion strategies. Pakistan being a developing country is no exception to this, having a large number of people that are poor with limited recourse to livelihood. Though limited in its scope, microfinance in Pakistan has been able to bring some of the large number of unbanked people into the banking network and has also helped in improving their socioeconomic condition (SBP ILO, 2009). About 90 % of the people in developing countries lack access to financial services from institutes, either for credit or saving, which further fuels the â€Å"Vicious Cycle of Poverty† in Figure 1. A lack of assess to financial institutions also hinders the ability for entrepreneurs. Microfinance serves as a means to empower the poor and provides a valuable tool to assist economic development process. Pakistan is fourth most populous country in Asia and sixth in the world. Having an average annual growth rate of 2.02 percent the population of the country reached 160 million in 2007 as compared to 139 million in 2002. Two third of the population is living in rural areas and the working age population (15-60 years) is increasing which was 51% in 1998 and 57% in 2008 (SBP, 2008). In 2008, about 24% population is living under the line of poverty which was 34.46% in 2002. There is significant increase in economic growth and improvement in Social Sector Development. Now Pakistan has shifted from Low Human Development group to the category of Medium Human Development (Global Monitoring Report, 2007). Despite all these improvements, poverty is a major issue which every government is combating against. Pakistan is a country with high population growth and increasing ratio of labor force. According to Economic Survey 2007-08, Pakistan has 51.78 million active labor forces while 2.69 million out of this is unemployed. If we look unemployment gender wise, despite of women ratio of population which is 49.6%, ratio in labor force is only 25% (10.08 million out 51 million) of total labor force. Government of Pakistan has taken many steps to increase women participation in labor force, still women ratio is very less to over all labor force and it is not matching to world standards and trends about women participation in business and job opportunities (SBP, 2008). All these facts show potential to work in microfinance to encourage people and specially women to develop their own entrepreneur so that men in general and women specially can contribute a productive part of society to make it a sustainable. To combat unemployment, only big companies or public sector are not enough for job creation but it would be better if people start their own business for making society productive. Microfinance is being recognized by different researchers as an effective tool to fight poverty by providing financial services to those who do not have access to or are neglected by the commercial banks and financial institutions. Microfinance has been successfully implemented by Grameen Bank. Back to 1976, Mohammad Yunus took initiative of lending loans by developing solidarity group of women in Jobra village, Bangladesh. Many MFIs has adopted idea adding with new strategies and now serving poor in effective way. Now Garmeen Model is a successful approach of microfinance. Microfinance is being considered as one of the most essential and an effective driving force for poverty reduction and alleviation. Kashf case attracted me because Kashf believes in a world where financial inclusion is a possibility and where poor women are fully engaged in realizing the economic dreams of their families. Kashaf vision of â€Å"Financial Services for All† posits a miracle for transforming the role of women in society and for making a poverty free world a reality. Statement of Problem Although social entrepreneurship plays great role as looking to the world real and see clearly what is happening, feel responsibility for financially weak people and help them as much as they can. It is also a big challenge to the entrepreneurs and organizations that they should take steps to eliminate unbalance between different levels in society. In other way, this thought encouraged me to choose this problem. I think that empowerment of poor people by microfinance and with combination of micro entrepreneurship is a great idea. You can never help people just giving money. But you can help people giving them job and help to create their small businesses in order to optimize their share of production to the society. All these issues lead to research on this topic that how microfinance is contributing for entrepreneurship in low income communities of developing countries, how sustainable society is evolving as the result of doing own business in low income communities and how Kashf’s way of microfinance is supporting all of this process. Research Objectives To be meaningful, every work must have to formulate the objectives of the study (Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Andrian Tronhill, 2007). Although most of research has been done either microfinance or entrepreneurship separately. But in my opinion there is close relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship. As social entrepreneurship is doing a lot for credit pool of MFIs with social services, micro entrepreneurship can be found in micro enterprise. As per research topic the objective is research on the issue that how do microfinance and entrepreneurship work for poverty alleviation and empowerment of poor. Research Questions The study was conducted with the guidance of the following questions. How microfinance is contributing for entrepreneurship? How do microfinance and entrepreneurship work for reduce poverty, empower poor in Pakistan? How do microfinance entrepreneurship work for sustainable development in Pakistan? Research Methodology The research methodology of this paper will be qualitative. My work is covering two main topics; entrepreneurship and microfinance with discussing three factors; poverty reduction, empowerment of poor and sustainable development. In this paper data collection techniques are used, interviews as primary source and internet, web pages, articles, annual reports, books etc.) as a secondary source. The research type will use deductive and empirical data will analyze by the help of conceptual framework, develop after literature review. Significance of The Study A lot of research is doing on Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship because it is emerging thread in business. On microfinance and entrepreneurship much research work has been while discussing in Grameen model. For both fields in terms of combining microfinance and entrepreneurship this research will lead a new horizon. It will also give a vision, to Kashf that how they can improve microfinance lending process, and other Microfinance institutions (MFIs) that how they can develop process in more effective way. Further, students, researchers in Microfinance field, NGO’s and Governmental organizations can extend research in this area to address the issue of poverty alleviation and empowerment of poor. Assumptions Limitations The assumption of this research is that all information, written in the reports, news, web page true and can be used fairly. The study does not cover all the aspects that the promotion of microfinance requires. It was difficult to organize interviews at large scale from borrowers due to distance problem between Pakistan and The Netherlands and this can reflect limited information about micro entrepreneurship. I primarily focused on microfinance and entrepreneurship role in reduce poverty and empower people. Organization of Study The thesis will consists of six chapters and will be organized in the following manners: Chapter One: Introduction: Briefly introduces the background information of the study. In addition, it consists of, statement of the problem, research objectives, and research questions to be addressed, significance of the study, research methodology, scope and limitation of the study. Chapter Two: Literature Review: Describe different theories and readers will look on previous research on the research topic. Also, discuss microfinance, its different models and how microfinance contributes in poverty alleviation, and theories about entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework and Research Methodology: It will be building a theoretical framework that will use while analyzing empirical data. Chapter Four: Empirical Findings: It will present empirical data collect through borrower’s interviews and Kashf’s administration. Empirical daa is including facts and figure about poverty, unemployment, economy and microfinance. There is also detail information about Kashf Foundation. Chapter Five: Analysis of Data and Interpretation: It will present analysis regarding need of interactive strategy of microfinance and entrepreneurship, social services and intermediation by Kashf and sustainability issue. Chapter Six: Conclusions: Finally findings and conclusions will be put in the light of previous discussions. Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The extent to which microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are interrelated is dependent on the extent to which it addresses the economic development process. Yunus (1994), claims, â€Å"If we are looking for one single action which will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, I would go for credit. Money is power.† Credit invested in an income-generating enterprise as working capital or for productive assets leads to establishment of a new enterprise or growth of an existing one. Profit from the enterprise provides income, and a general strengthening of income sources. A variety of financial institutions, worldwide, have found ways to make lending to the poor sustainable and to build on the fact that even the poor self-employed repay their loans and seek savings opportunities. The challenge is to build capacity in the financial sector drawing on lessons from international best practices in micro, small enterprises and rural finance. The extent to which microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are interdependent is becoming increasingly recognized by experts in their respective fields of work, associated with economic development. Over 500 million poor people around the world run profitable microenterprises and often cite credit as the primary constraint to business growth (IFC, 2002). Robinson (2002), a prominent expert in the field of microfinance, notes that â€Å"The formal sector has begun to realize that financing the poor can be both economically and socially profitable.† 2.2 What is Microfinance? Poor people are not able to access loans from commercial banks normally because of lack in guarantee and collateral. But there are also many other reasons involved for which commercial banks were not willing to finance poor. These reasons are included that poor have less education, experience and training, high expenses on transactions of small loans and lower rate of profit. This situation resulted in emerging the idea of micro lending and microfinance. Microfinance, therefore, a way to finance people, those have no collateral or any property for guarantee. Microfinance is a way of financing to poor for their business, to alleviate their poverty, empowering them, giving social benefits on sustainable way. Due to microfinance, there are many possibilities have emerged including extending markets, reducing poverty and fostering social change (Agion Morduch, 2005, pp.3). But there is general concept that microfinance is just lending loan to poor but as I mentioned that microfinance is no more only loans but covering the issues of poverty alleviation, putting social impact on poor and educating poor to savings. Therefore, MFIs, today, not only NGOs but serving as a complete banking system. This discussion lead to me that microfinance is a form of financial services for poor to help them for their business activities by giving micro credit. There is no one universal accepted definition of microfinance as different related variables like poverty, lone size, the poor and the poverty line carry different meanings in different countries. Different authors have defined the term in different ways. According to CGAP, Access to financial services puts power into the hands of poor people. Evidence shows that when poor people have financial services, they use their savings or loans to improve their families’ lives in a variety of ways: sending their children to school, buying better medicines and more nutritious food, fixing a leaky roof, meeting social and cultural obligations like paying weddings and funerals, and building income generating potential by investing in business (CGAP 2007). Microfinance has evolved as an economic development approach intended to benefit low-income women and men. The term refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including the self employed (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.1). While according to ADB (2008) Microfinance is the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low-income households and, their microenterprises. These definitions are elaborating that microfinance is a financial services but designed specifically for poor to improve their lives in sustainable way. 2.2.1 Microfinance Activities Economic activities are based upon sellers and buyers and their capacity. Sellers, before market their product, look at buyer intention and capacity. On the other hand, banking activities depend on both sellers and buyers. Financial institutions/lenders finance both sellers and buyers for their activities and commercial banks invested in projects at large scale while with this, banks invested in consumer finance also. Usually MFIs don’t invest in consumer finance, but give finance only for micro enterprise. MFIs encourage people to improve their standards by doing businesses and earning from them and this is a consistent and sustainable way. In fig (2), microfinance is dedicated only to poor and explicitly for business activities. But with this, there are some indirect impacts of microfinance on the micro borrower which are alleviation of poverty, improvement in healthcare, increase in literacy and other social impacts. These figures are taken from Ledgerwood, 2000. Figure 1: Economic Activity by Commercial Banking Figure 2: Economic Activity by MFIs There are many activities and characteristics are included in microfinance. Some are (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.1): Small and short term loans Social collateral rather than financial collateral Access to larger amount of loan if repayment performance is positive Search and access the real poor and their business demand Continuous monitoring of business. Higher interest rates on loan due expensive financial transactions and risk factor. Easy way to access finance, therefore not too much paper work, and easy and short procedures. Saving Services and training services to borrower’s development. Literacy training to borrowers so that they can come up with competence to daily business problems and its solutions. Health care, social services and other skill training services to provide borrower a sustainable base for their business development. 2.3 Microfinance A Developmental Tool Due to lack of financial resources in developing countries, people from low income communities while having innovative idea for their business, even as shop keeper or house hold products manufacturer, they can’t implement their ideas. This low economic activity in low income communities due to lack of financial resources lead them to more poverty and poor life standards. Generally financial services cover savings and credit activities and there is same concept about MFIs. But according to Ledgerwood (2000), MFIs work for general financial services with this they provide insurance and payment services to their clients. But important aspect of MFIs is not only financial intermediation but also providing social intermediation and social services to their clients. Social intermediation and social services contain many activities including trainings, management development, and financial literacy activities. Furthermore, many MFIs, arrange get together where experienced people guid e others, where they give useful suggestions, tips and other tactics for their business. Microfinance is providing financial services along with social services. Normally, social services are not applicable in general banking system. So, microfinance is not simply banking system but development tool, combining both financial and social intermediation (Ledgerwood, 2000). 2.3.1 Different Services by MFIs Financial Intermediation The primary objective of MFIs is financial intermediation because without loan/money social intermediations can not work. As prior discussions that poor face barriers to access finance from general financial service institutions. In this regard, MFIs become a bridge to access finance and in result to poverty alleviation, health care and education literacy (Ledgerwood, 2000). MFIs provide many financial services including credit, savings, insurance credit cards, payment services etc. It is not necessary that every MFI should facilitate their customers by all these services but MFIs can facilitate anyone of these services or all. The choice of which financial services to provide and the method of providing these services depend on the objectives of MFI, the demands of its target market and its institutional structure (Ledgerwood 2000, pp.66). Social Intermediations Social intermediations for individual whose social and economic disadvantages place them beyond the frontier of formal finance (Von Pischke 1991). A successful financial intermediation is often accompanied by social intermediation. It covers the issues of group formation, leadership training and cooperative learning, is secondary role of microfinance for borrowers of MFIs. Development in Social capital is a basic ingredient of sustainable development in poor’s life and especially in society. Social intermediation is process of building the human and social capital required by sustainable financial intermediation for poor (Ledgerwood 2000, pp.64). Now question rise, how social capital be acquire and strengthen? Social capital is actually links between clients of a group and multiple groups, and between MFIs and borrowers. These links establish on the basis of strong foundation of trust and cooperation (Agion Morduch, 2005). The ratio of social capital will increase with increase in business activities among members, and financial transaction between lender and borrowers. It is normally developed through group activities but there are other ways to develop it by individually. In group social intermediation, activities perform inside the group with some help from outside to develop institutional capacity and human resource. In group, most of members belong from remote areas, having less literate and experience about business and financial transaction. So from group formation to selecting leader, developing networks and working mutually, MFIs support borrower to deal with these issues. Therefore, these members need training in record keeping, book keeping, accounting, training about business activities and tactics, and negotiation skills (Ledgerwood,2000). Enterprise Development Services Micro finance institutions (MFIs), not all, support to borrowers, either in group or individual in different enterprise development services like marketing, business and accounting training etc. This service can be divided in to two parts, enterprise formation and enterprise transformation. In enterprise formation, MFIs provide technical support to group or individual in start up of business, development and maturing ideas and maturing the skills. During in transformation of enterprise, MFIs arrange trainings for their borrowers, workshops and get together for developing latest skills in their business area (Ledgerwood, 2000). Figure 3: Minimalist and Integrated Approaches to Microfinance (Ledgerwood, 2000, pp.65) Minimalist Approach Integrated Approach One-missing piece Financial and non financial Credit Services Financial Intermediation Working Capital Fixed asset loans Savings Insurance Social Intermediation Group formation Leadership training Cooperative learning Social Services Education Health and Nutrition Literacy training Enterprise Development Service Marketing Business training Production training Social Services Microfinance practitioners define that, poverty can be addressed by financing poor for productive activities which in result comes up to their access to life necessities. But financial lending is only a one tool to poverty alleviation. Poor needs more than microfinance to address the problems of poverty and accessibility to other life needs like food, health, family planning, education, social support network and so on. In Ledgerwood (2000) MFIs serve to their clients with additional social services with financial intermediation. The best way to contact with their clients is in the form of group, that is the easy way to literate them, giving health care and other facilities. So in this way, MFIs would positive effect in the life of poor by offering financial services with supportive services. These supportive services, actually, play important role in sustainable human development and livelihood of the poor (Khan, Rahman, 1998). Social service should not implicate with financial or social intermediation because financial intermediation is primary service providing by MFIs. That means, there should be no additional cut off from loans in account social service but it should be provide by secondary means or by subsidies (Ledgerwood, 2000). 2.4 Microfinance Models The term model refers to â€Å"service delivery methods and microfinance products†. There are now nearly 70 million poor people who are getting benefits from 2500 MFIs in over 100 countries by microfinance (Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008). The poor’s conditions are different in different countries in world. These conditions are related to social, ideological and political issues (Weiss, Montgomery, 2004). Therefore, there are some distinctive differences between approaches and motive of microfinance. I will see briefly two approaches, which is very famous Grameen Model, originated from Bangladesh and other is Banco Sol Model, Bolivia. 2.4.1 Grameen Model In Grameen model, primary unit to whom lending fund is a group of 5 members that organize and apply for loan. In first stage loan is granted for two members to invest in their business. If these two members become successful to repay amount, then four to six weeks later, next two members are granted for loan. Last one member will be eligible for loan if previous two repay loan successfully. Repayment of loan open door for next loan and then go on if all members repay loan successfully. If anyone of group member will default in their loan, whole group will disqualified for further loan. Each group has its own president and secretary to coordinate all activities among their own group and to communicate and coordinate with other groups. Eight groups are then organized at center level, by which a bank officer deal with these all eight groups. This center of eight groups has its own center chief and center group leader (Khan, Rehman, 2007). According Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008), first time, bank granted loan $100 and bank require to repayment of 10 percent amount, at rate of per annum, weekly. This repayment ensures to user for loan security, and also encourages them for savings. Along with five percent of loan deposited in group account for emergency and social need. For example, in case of need of health care of any one member, in case of emergency, this five percent deposit will be use. A unique and innovative approach of group lending is used in Garmeen Model. As Sengupta, Aubuchon (2008) described that group lending have many benefits. First, group usually organize in members who are neighbor to each other, those can understand each other well and recognize their needs. Second, if anyone of group member will not present in group meeting, leader or other member can pay its installment. We can say that there is a kind of mutual understanding between all members. Third, in south Asia generally, and in Bangladesh specially, there are social pressures among members of society with social bindings with them. If one member of group will not pay even one installment, social pressure will be levied from all eight groups on this member and this reduces the risk factor. 2.4.2 Banco Sol Model Grameen model of microfinance emphasize on lending to villagers and keep loan lending on in smaller amount. The other core concept of model is formation of groups and these groups are eligible to take loan, no option of loan for individuals. Idea of progressive lending introduced to lend loan to individuals with group lending (Agion Morduch, 2005, pp.119). In this model after completion of every repayment schedule the amount of loan increased. But other characteristics of Grameen model (Group lending) are included in this method, like targeting to poor, women, group formation, and public payment. No doubt, progressive lending is an extension of group lending but now many MFIs are adopting this approach. In this model of Progressive lending, microlenders are flexible about collateral and lend loan to group with individuals also. This method is very helpful in areas with low population densities or highly diverse population where group forming is not so easy due to different ratio of safe and risky borrowers. In Bolivia, there was different situation when populist regime left government and there was high ratio of unemployment in urban areas. To come to fulfill the need of time, Banco Sol started operations in microfinance with progressive lending. Therefore we can say that microfinance approaches are evolved due to different political, ideological and social conditions. In Weiss Montgomery (2004, pp.3) Microfinance in Latin America developed under quite different conditions. In Bolivia, a collapsing populist regime led to widespread unemployment. Banco Sol, a pioneering microfinance institution in the region, developed to address the problem of urban unemployment and provide credit to the cash-strapped informal sector. The notion of commercial profitability was embraced relatively early in this approach. 2.5 Empowerment Poverty effects not only on individual’s life but also on society as a whole. Poverty is one of the main reasons in cause of less empowerment of poor especially in developing countries. Empowerment is a broad concept to define because there are many elements involve in it. These elements influence by including political, social and power system in the country. Empowerment covers many issues and when there is discussion on empowerment it includes many elements. These elements are, self-strength, control, self-power, self reliance, own choice, life of dignity, fighting for rights, independence, decision making, being free, capability , access to basic human needs etc.(PREM,WB, 2002). Misra (p.3) describes empowerment as a power to the people and self governance. He define that Empowerment builds self-reliance and strength in women, preparing them towards gathering the ability to determine the choice of life. This adds to the command over resources outwit insubordination and signify their social role. Empowerment is about change, choice, and power. It is a process of change by which individuals or groups with little or no power gain the power and ability to make choices that affect their lives. Due to different social, political, economical conditions, we can not define a one definition for empowerment. According to Batliwala (Makombe, 2006, p.52), empowerment mean, take control over material assets, intellectual resources, and ideology. The material assets over which control can exercised may be physical, human, or financial, as land water, forests, people’s bodies and labor, money and access to money. Intellectual resources include ideas and knowledge information. Control over ideology signifies the ability to generate, propagate, sustain, and institutionalize specific sets beliefs, values, attitudes, and behavior-virtually determining how people perceive and function within a given socio-economic and political environment. Empowerment is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives. (PREM, WB 2002, p.11) define that A strategy for empowerment is taken at individual, government, civil society and private sector level. Usually these efforts lead to empower people in context of sharing of power, freedom of information, access to resources and health and education services. These strategies normally share four types of elements: First, Access to information, its mean every citizens including poor have direct access to information because information is power. Second, Inclusion/participation, that’s mean there should be opportunities for poor that they can participate in decision making and they should be included in all financial and political policies. Third is accountability, that’s mean officials, public servants, private actors should be accountable not only to some specific institutions but to their citizens for performance. Fourth and last one Local organizational capacity, its mean that people can work together, organize themselves, mobilize and utilize resources and solve problem at community level (PREM, WB (2002). 2.6 Entrepreneurship It is one of the most widely used terms in business, management, economics and other related fields. One of important thing is that entrepreneurship has different meaning for different people, some use it in the meaning of innovation, some use for creativity, risk taking, leadership, and profit maximization or in social context, and some consider it as start up of business, new production methods and many other different meanings. Davidsson, (2004) describes it that entrepreneurship is rich phenomenon which makes it a resourceful field. While defining entrepreneurship, I consider some school of thoughts that have major role to define this field. According to Schumpeter school of thought (Swedburg, 2000), Entrepreneurship is about innovation in organizational process, thinking up new combination, entrepreneurial behavior and motivation of entrepreneurs. While according to Gartner (Thornton, 1999), entrepreneurship is about creation of new organization or new startup, creating values and entrepreneur mean owner-manager. In Krizner’s view, entrepreneurship is searching opportunities and exploiting them so it reflects towards the alertness capability of entrepreneur towards profit opportu