Accounting Fraud at Worldcom

Accounting Fraud at WorldCom LDDS began operations in 1984 offering services to local retail and commercial customers in the southern states. It was initially a loss making enterprise, and thus hired Bernie J. (Bernie) Ebbers to run things. It took him less than a year to make the company profitable. By the end of 1993, LDDS was the fourth largest long distance carrier in the United States. After a shareholder vote in May 1995, the company officially came to be known as WorldCom. WorldCom culture was dominated by a strong chief executive officer (Bernie J. Bernie) Ebbers), who was given virtually unfettered discretion to commit vast amounts of shareholder resources and determine corporate direction without even the slightest scrutiny or meaningful deliberation or analysis by senior management or the board of directors and legal function was less influential and less welcome than in a healthy corporate environment. Top hierarchy granted compensation and bonus beyond the company guidel ines to a select group of individuals based on their loyalty to them.The company’s human resource virtually never objected to such special awards. Inaddition, there was no outlet for employees to express their concerns. The room four improvement and corrective measures was obsolete, the consequence of all these culture irregularities were the factor to the big disaster for the company. According to Ebber, in 1997,†our goal is to be the NO. 1 stock on Wall Street. †Revenue growth was a key to increasing the company’s market value. Ebbers was obsessed with revenue growth and insisted on a 42% E/R ratio.He encouraged managers to push for revenue, even if it meant that long term costs would outweigh the short term gains. As business operations declined post the 1st quarter in 2000, CFO Sullivan used accounting tactics to achieve targeted performance, accounting principles require companies to estimate expected payments from line costs and match them with revenu es in the income statement,. Throughout 1999 and 2000, Sullivan told staff to release accruals which too high compared to the relative cash payments, without considered â€Å"Matching Principe†.Over a 7 quarter period between 1999 and 2000, WorldCom released $3. 3 billion worth of accruals. Sullivan directed the making of accounting entries that had no basis in generally accepted accounting principles in order to create the false appearance that WorldCom had achieved those revenue targets. As an accountant, one should be familiar with the standards and rules of the position, accept personal responsibilities for the foreseeable consequence of actions, and realize the long-term effect of such behavior on the accounting industry and the citizens.At all times, an accountant should conduct themselves with integrity, dignity, and respect for the position held in society. Whistleblowers frequently face reprisal, sometimes at the hands of the organization or group which they have acc used, sometimes from related organizations, and sometimes under law. | As Terance Miethe explains in his book, Whistle blowing at Work, many people see the whistleblower as a â€Å"snitch,† or a â€Å"a lowlife who betrays a sacred trust largely for personal gain. † In the flip side, whistleblowers are seen as â€Å"saviors† who ultimately helped create important changes in organizations.This approach to whistleblowers as guardians of public accountability is often taken by consumer advocates. I would not consider blowing the whistle. I would rather distance myself after informing my immediate supervisor if any wrong practice or misconduct similar to the WorldCom Fraud is happening in my environment. Public confidence in the accounting profession has been changed by corporate scandals, which created a crisis that affected the reputation and credibility of accounting professionals.The unethical decisions made by accountants can prove detrimental to the public who rely on information from the financial statements to make decisions. Users of financial statements rely on the information purported by an enterprise to exhibit certain qualitative characteristics that are both relevant and reliable. The impact of unethical decisions of both corporate leaders and accounting firms involving financial reporting by U. S. orporations has necessitated a new governmental regulation under SOX Act of 2002. President Bush signed this Act into law (Public Law 107-204) on July 30, 2002. The Act resulted in major changes to compliance practices of large U. S. and non-U. S. companies, whose securities are listed or traded on U. S. stock exchanges, requiring executives, boards of directors and external auditors to undertake measures to implement greater accountability, responsibility and transparency of financial reporting. Accounting Fraud at Worldcom Accounting Fraud at WorldCom LDDS began operations in 1984 offering services to local retail and commercial customers in the southern states. It was initially a loss making enterprise, and thus hired Bernie J. (Bernie) Ebbers to run things. It took him less than a year to make the company profitable. By the end of 1993, LDDS was the fourth largest long distance carrier in the United States. After a shareholder vote in May 1995, the company officially came to be known as WorldCom. WorldCom culture was dominated by a strong chief executive officer (Bernie J. Bernie) Ebbers), who was given virtually unfettered discretion to commit vast amounts of shareholder resources and determine corporate direction without even the slightest scrutiny or meaningful deliberation or analysis by senior management or the board of directors and legal function was less influential and less welcome than in a healthy corporate environment. Top hierarchy granted compensation and bonus beyond the company guidel ines to a select group of individuals based on their loyalty to them.The company’s human resource virtually never objected to such special awards. Inaddition, there was no outlet for employees to express their concerns. The room four improvement and corrective measures was obsolete, the consequence of all these culture irregularities were the factor to the big disaster for the company. According to Ebber, in 1997,†our goal is to be the NO. 1 stock on Wall Street. †Revenue growth was a key to increasing the company’s market value. Ebbers was obsessed with revenue growth and insisted on a 42% E/R ratio.He encouraged managers to push for revenue, even if it meant that long term costs would outweigh the short term gains. As business operations declined post the 1st quarter in 2000, CFO Sullivan used accounting tactics to achieve targeted performance, accounting principles require companies to estimate expected payments from line costs and match them with revenu es in the income statement,. Throughout 1999 and 2000, Sullivan told staff to release accruals which too high compared to the relative cash payments, without considered â€Å"Matching Principe†.Over a 7 quarter period between 1999 and 2000, WorldCom released $3. 3 billion worth of accruals. Sullivan directed the making of accounting entries that had no basis in generally accepted accounting principles in order to create the false appearance that WorldCom had achieved those revenue targets. As an accountant, one should be familiar with the standards and rules of the position, accept personal responsibilities for the foreseeable consequence of actions, and realize the long-term effect of such behavior on the accounting industry and the citizens.At all times, an accountant should conduct themselves with integrity, dignity, and respect for the position held in society. Whistleblowers frequently face reprisal, sometimes at the hands of the organization or group which they have acc used, sometimes from related organizations, and sometimes under law. | As Terance Miethe explains in his book, Whistle blowing at Work, many people see the whistleblower as a â€Å"snitch,† or a â€Å"a lowlife who betrays a sacred trust largely for personal gain. † In the flip side, whistleblowers are seen as â€Å"saviors† who ultimately helped create important changes in organizations.This approach to whistleblowers as guardians of public accountability is often taken by consumer advocates. I would not consider blowing the whistle. I would rather distance myself after informing my immediate supervisor if any wrong practice or misconduct similar to the WorldCom Fraud is happening in my environment. Public confidence in the accounting profession has been changed by corporate scandals, which created a crisis that affected the reputation and credibility of accounting professionals.The unethical decisions made by accountants can prove detrimental to the public who rely on information from the financial statements to make decisions. Users of financial statements rely on the information purported by an enterprise to exhibit certain qualitative characteristics that are both relevant and reliable. The impact of unethical decisions of both corporate leaders and accounting firms involving financial reporting by U. S. orporations has necessitated a new governmental regulation under SOX Act of 2002. President Bush signed this Act into law (Public Law 107-204) on July 30, 2002. The Act resulted in major changes to compliance practices of large U. S. and non-U. S. companies, whose securities are listed or traded on U. S. stock exchanges, requiring executives, boards of directors and external auditors to undertake measures to implement greater accountability, responsibility and transparency of financial reporting.

Psychology Development in Chine

History and Systems of psychology PSYC 331 Dr. Bihan Al Qaimari Midterm Paper â€Å"Development of Psychology in China† Name: Ahmad Shiber Student number: 1071843 Introduction: When we started this class, we started learning the history of psychology, its theories, and its development. I couldn’t help but notice that the course curriculum is focused on European and American psychologists and their theories, which gives us a very westernized view of psychology and the nature of humans and their humanity.Studying psychology from a western point of view also limits the horizons of applying psychology and how it explained since it will be connected to mainly western church ideologies and financial and political systems are in the west like capitalism and democracy. I developed an interest in far eastern cultures four years ago studying the common religions in that region basics of languages spoken there, and I even started studying the Japanese language as a second language .Thus, I was interested of how these cultures saw psychology and compare their psychological thinking with Greek and Islamic psychological thinking and philosophy which was covered in class. I was amazed by the sheer amount of knowledge these cultures had offered in psychology and I was disheartened on how it is almost never mentioned in psychology classes or when mentioned it gets marginalized. Of all the cultures that constitute the Far East, I chose China.In this paper I will discuss the development of psychology in this country from its historical roots till the modern day, along with all the ups and downs of this field. I hope to shed light on the amazing contributions to the psychology field in particular, and to humanity in general. Attachment: a brief description of Chinese culture of well being. The Historical Roots: Modern psychology was brought to China from the West in the late 1800s, but the study and discussion of psychological issues had a long history in ancient Chin a. Read also Memory – ForgettingEarly psychological thinking in China not only was contained in diverse philosophical, political, military, and other literature but was also expressed through various practices in education, medicine, and human resource management. The influence of Chinese culture on world psychology has been widely recognized in current literature in the field and is attracting more and more attention (Jing, 1994; Murphy & Kovach, 1972; Wang, 1993). In China a rich body of psychological thought existed in the writings of the ancient Chinese philosophers.One of the most important figures was Confucius (551-479 B. C. ) whose teaching has, for centuries, exerted a profound influence on the development of China's cultural history. Confucian thinking emphasized the discussion of human nature, education, human development, and interpersonal relationships. For example, when Confucius discussed human nature, he asserted that â€Å"human nature is the order of heavenâ₠¬  (Jing, 1994, p. 668). By this Confucius meant that our patterns of existence are determined by Nature or by God.He did not address this issue in order to differentiate whether human nature was good or evil but proposed it as a common heritage upon which personal and mental development could be based through education: â€Å"By nature close to each other, but through practice far from each other† (Analects 17:2, Dawson, 1993). This means that people are similar when they are born but that they become different as a result of social molding; hence the importance of learning. Confucius was a famous teacher as well as a philosopher; he advocated that all people should be educated, irrespective of their abilities.He categorized people into three types: superior, medium, and inferior and concluded that everyone should be educated according to their abilities. These ideas are in agreement with the modern idea of everyone's right to an education and the concept of individual diff erences and the need to provide education in a suitable form for all to benefit, whatever their abilities. With regard to human development, Confucius viewed this as a life-long process as stated in the summary of his own life:. At fifteen I set my mind on learning, at thirty I became firm in my purpose; at forty I was free from doubts; at fifty I came to know fate; t sixty I could tell truth from falsehood by listening to other people; at seventy I followed my heart's desire without trespassing the norm of conduct. (Analects 2:4; Tang, 1996). A distinctive feature of this outlook is an emphasis on the development of wisdom and social maturity at a later age. Contrary to some modern thinking that human development is primarily an early childhood process (as has been proposed by Freud or Piaget), Confucius gave new insight with the view that development is a life-long process. In addition to Confucianism, other Chinese philosophies such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism were also important. For instance, Chinese Taoist scholars considered that opposition exists everywhere in the universe and that the synthesis of contrary systems operates to form an integrated unity that is a manifestation of the power and operation of the Yang and the Yin, the alternating forces expressive of light and darkness, birth and decay, male and female. These powers, which in their combined operation form the Tao, the Way, the great principle of the universe, are the mainspring of every activity, the mechanism of constant change and balance, which maintains the harmony of the cosmos. (Fitzgerald, 1976, p. 220). According to Lao-tzu (570-490 B.C. ), the reputed founder of Taoism, nature keeps a proper balance in all its working. If any activity moves to an extreme in one direction, sooner or later a change occurs to swing it back toward the opposite. This thinking may have influenced Jungian psychology, for â€Å"Jung discovered the self from Eastern philosophy and characterized it ‘as a kind of compensation for the conflict between inside and outside † (Jung, as cited in Kuo, 1971, p. 97). In addition, recent findings indicate that the self-actualization theories of Rogers and Maslow bear certain similarities to concepts in Taoism and Zen Buddhism (e. . , Chang ; Page, 1991; Ma, 1990). The practice of naive psychology was widespread in ancient China, and many present-day psychology applications could trace their roots to thousands of years ago. For instance, in Medical Principles of the Yellow Emperor, the first Chinese encyclopedia of medicine, published about 2,000 years ago, links between brain pathology and psychological problems were described, and a bio-psycho-social model was the main approach to medical and mental treatment (Wang, 1993).Another famous ancient Chinese text, Sun-tzu's classic book The Art of War, was written 2,500 years ago. It is a treatise on strategies of warfare containing an analysis of human nature, organization, leadership, the effects of the environment, and the importance of information and may have influenced the development of modern organizational psychology. The most important contribution of Chinese culture to the application of psychology is that of mental testing. It is common to think of testing as both a recent and a Western development. The origins of testing, however, are neither recent nor Western.The roots of psychological testing can be traced back to the concepts and practices of ancient China for some 3,000 years (Anastasi, 1988; Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 1993). Various methods for measuring talent and behavior were popular, such as observing traits from behavioral changes, identifying intelligence by response speed, eliciting personality across situations, and measuring mental attributes through interviews (Lin, 1980). The purpose of all these tests was to allow the Chinese emperor to assess his officials' fitness for office. By the time of the Han Dynasty (206 B. C. to A. D. 20), the use of t est batteries (two or more tests used in conjunction) was quite common in the civil service examination system (Zhang, 1988) with essay writing and oral exams in topics such as civil law, military affairs, agriculture, revenue, and geography. Tests had become quite well developed by the time of the Ming Dynasty (A. D. 1368-1644). During this period, there was a national multi-stage testing program that involved local and regional testing centers equipped with special testing booths. Those who did well on the test at the local level went on to the provincial capital for more extensive essay examinations.After this second testing, those with the highest test scores went on to the nation's capital for a final round of examinations. Only those who passed this third set of tests were eligible for public office. It is probable that the Western world learned about these national testing programs through exposure to the Chinese during the 19th century. Reports by British missionaries and di plomats encouraged the British East India Company to copy the Chinese system in 1832 as a method for selecting employees for overseas duty.Testing programs worked well for the company, and the British government adopted a similar system of testing for its civil service in 1855. Later, French, German, and American governments in succession endorsed it, and the testing movement in the Western world has grown rapidly since then (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 1993). Testing was also well developed in ancient Chinese folk culture. An article written by a scholar, Yen (531-590), indicated that, the so-called â€Å"testing the child at one year of age† was a popular custom in southern China.On a child's first birthday, he/she would be placed on a large table full of food, clothing, paper, pens, jewelry, toys, books with, in addition, an arrow and sword for the boys, and needle and thread for the girls. The baby was encouraged to crawl freely and pick up the item he or she liked best. By observ ing what the baby grasped first, the proud parents projected the baby's intelligence, personality characteristics and aptitude by the things taken from the table. This custom lasted until the 20th Century. (Zhang, 1988, p. 02). Although clearly not a test by modern standards, it does illustrate a willingness to assess individual differences by concrete means. Zhang (1988) also noted that Lin Xie, a well-known 6th century scholar, designed what appeared to be the first experimental psychological test in the world. He asked people to draw a square with one hand and at the same time draw a circle with the other. His aim was to show that, with interference from the attempt to do the second task, neither task could be done correctly.Interestingly, Binet in the 1890s developed a similar test as part of the early psychological work on the effect of distraction (internal and external) on mental tasks (Pillsbury, 1929; Woodworth & Marquis, 1949). Binet may have been aware of the Chinese hist ory. This review is only a brief discussion of the historical background of Chinese psychology. However, psychology in China did not develop into a systematic discipline, despite the fact that the concepts of psychology have deep roots in Chinese civilization dating back almost 2,500 years.Furthermore, few empirical studies have been done in this area of knowledge in China, compared with studies done in the Western world. Thus, Chinese psychology has lacked a scientific basis because of the belief that Chinese scholars should only concern themselves with â€Å"book learning, literature, history and poetry–but not with science† (Fitzgerald, 1976, p. 274). When Chinese intellectuals began the reform movement in the early 1900s, they promoted an uncompromising rejection of Chinese traditions (especially those with Confucian roots) and advocated total or whole-hearted Westernization, in terms of science.Chinese psychology became a graft product of Western and Soviet psycho logy (Barabanshchikova & Koltsova, 1989). Early Chinese psychologists had adopted the Western ideas of behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and gestalt psychology, and the works of Pavlov, Bekhterev, and Komilov were translated from the Russian. Nowadays, however, more and more scholars taking the cross-cultural view of psychology (e. g. , Matsumoto, 2000) have realized that it is not appropriate simply to apply Western theories to explain the behavior of the Chinese or any other cultural group.Although the collection process has not been fully carried out, some Chinese psychologists (such as Gao, 1986) have started their exploration of the old studies and literature to search for the roots of Chinese psychology. Those valuable assets of the old civilization, when thoroughly explored, may give us new insights into the understanding of contemporary psychology. For example, researchers are studying early writings on traditional Chinese medicine and translating their conclusions into testable hypotheses of therapeutic effectiveness (Lee & Hu, 1993; Li, Xu, & Kuang, 1988; Tseng, 1973).This kind of work is also significant in cross-cultural studies and has particular relevance in the Chinese context. Development of Modern Chinese Psychology: Chinese psychology began a long time ago, but the modern scientific method is only recent. However, the era of modern Chinese psychology commenced in the late 1800s with the dissemination of Western psychology in China along with other Western influences. Chinese students who had studied in the West brought back ideas fundamental to modern psychology and translated Western books.In 1889, Yan Yongjing translated a Japanese version of Joseph Haven's Mental Philosophy (1875), which was regarded as the first Western psychology book to be published in China (Kodama, 1991). Psychology as an independent scientific discipline was first taught in some Chinese pedagogical institutions at the turn of this century. The Chinese educational reformer , Cai Yuanpei, who studied psychology at Wilhelm Wundt's Laboratory in Leipzig and who later became president of Beijing University, set up the first psychology laboratory at Beijing University in 1917 (Jing, 1994).In 1920, the first psychology department was established in South Eastern University in Nanjing (Li, 1994). In August 1921, the Chinese Psychological Society was formally founded. Unfortunately, its activities were interrupted by the Sino-Japanese war. Meanwhile, some Chinese scholars finished their studies in Western universities and returned to China to teach and do research in psychology. They played important roles in laying the foundation for the development of modern Chinese psychology. One of the most widely known Chinese psychologists from that period was R. Y.Kuo, who went to the University of California at Berkeley in 1918 and returned to China in 1929. As a behaviorist, his major contributions were in the field of the developmental analysis of animal behavior a nd the nervous system (Brown, 1981). Another influential figure was P. L. Chen, known as the founder of Chinese industrial psychology, who carried out field studies in Chinese factories after studying under Charles Spearman of University College London. Later, Chen's study on the G factor was translated and noted as an achievement in the developing understanding of intelligence (Wang, 1993).Another was S. Pan, who obtained his Ph. D. in Chicago in 1927, having worked with Carr on the influence of context on learning and memory. He later became president of the Chinese Psychological Society when it was re-established in 1955 after the People's Republic of China was founded. In short, from the 1920s through the 1940s, Chinese psychology was oriented mainly toward Western psychology and in fact was not different from the latter. Experimental approaches were emphasized, and Chinese psychologists were strongly influenced by the schools of functionalism, behaviorism, and the Freudians.Psy chology was basically an imported product whose general development was slow because of the unstable social environment in China during this period. After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, psychology was reestablished under the auspices of the Communist Party. The new psychology took Marxism-Leninism and Mao's thought as the basic philosophy underlying its psychological theory. For instance, Marxism's materialist dialectics saw psychology (apart from experimental psychology) as entirely hypothetical and, therefore, not materialist and not permitted.Although the Western psychology of the 1930s was well known, it was rejected after 1949 because of its capitalist nature. Chinese psychology during the mentioned time period was guided by the slogan â€Å"Learn from the Soviet Psychology† (Barabanshchikova ; Koltsova, 1989, p. 118), and books by Soviet psychologists (Pavlov, Luria, Sechenov, etc. ) were translated into Chinese; Chinese students and postgraduates began to study in Russia rather than in the United States (Barabanshchikova ; Koltsova). Soviet psychology focused on the relationship between psychology nd the workings of the central nervous system, especially as shown in the work of Pavlov with animals, whereas Western psychology with its emphasis on individual differences was seen as a â€Å"tool of the bourgeoisie,† which contradicted the Marxist doctrine that states that people are primarily shaped by their social class. Jing (1994) noted that as in the Soviet Union in the 1940s and in 1950s, there were no independent departments of psychology in Chinese universities. Psychology was a secondary discipline in the departments of philosophy or education. It was only 30 years later, after the Chinese Cultural Revolution, that independent departments of psychology were reestablished in Chinese universities). (p. 670). Psychology had a preliminary development in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1958, the Institute of Psychology was se t up as a part of the Chinese Academy of Science, where, because it was classified as a science, its funding was more favorable than that of other social sciences. About half of the 3,000 Chinese psychologists then worked in normal universities or pedagogical institutes in the fields of developmental and educational psychology (Jing, 1994).Some basic psychological studies were also carried out on perception, conceptual development, memory, and physiological psychology. The publication of three important Chinese textbooks in the early 1960s reflected a significant development of teaching and research during that period: general psychology (Cao, 1963), educational psychology (Pan, 1964), and child psychology (Zhu, 1962). However, the development of psychology was not smooth because of the ebb and flow of political movements. Even though it is a science, psychology could be construed as an ideology and hence a threat to the doctrine promulgated by the ruling regime or by influential se gments of society,† noted Leung and Zhang (1995, p. 694). Jing (1994) gave an explanation for this statement. He described the 1958 campaign against the â€Å"bourgeois direction in psychology† that criticized the â€Å"globalization† and â€Å"abstractionism† of psychology. This criticism was aimed at basic research with controlled experiments. In China, confounding political matters with academic ones led to the suppression of certain subfields in psychology.For example, social psychology and psychological testing were abolished â€Å"on the grounds that the former ignored the class nature of social groups, and the latter stressed too heavily individual differences rather than social differences† (Jing, 1994, p. 671). The only social psychology articles then published were criticisms of the bourgeois and idealist values of Western psychology. As Brown (1983) noted, Western theories were viewed as a tool for exploiting the working class and a false bourgeois science, which contradicted the Marxist framework of historical materialism.Kuo (1971) gave some interesting examples of how Western-style psychological research was seen to be politically dominated. For example, Kretch and Crutchfield's proposed social psychology program for factory managers to help eliminate conflict between workers and factory owners was described as actually intended â€Å"to iron out the class struggle, to diminish the proletarian's fighting will for revolution, and to sacrifice the proletarian basic profits in order to meet the need of capitalists† (p. 100).For these reasons, between 1966 and 1976, during the period of the Cultural Revolution, psychology was attacked by the extreme leftist revolutionaries as a â€Å"bourgeois pseudo-science† and was uprooted completely as a scientific discipline. Leading psychologists were labelled as â€Å"reactionary academic authorities,† scientific research and teaching institutions were dis solved, and psychologists were dispatched to remote areas of the country to work on the farms. The disaster lasted until the termination of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. (Jing, 1994, p. 72). In a later article (1995) Jing commented that this was a â€Å"dark period† for psychology in China and lamented the â€Å"great price to be paid for political interference in science† (p. 719). Happily, Chinese economic reform launched an open-door policy to the outside world in the late 1970s, and psychology was rehabilitated as a scientific discipline. Both the Chinese Psychological Society (CPS) and Institute of Psychology have resumed their academic activities; research in, and application of, psychology is being carried out all over China.With increased international exchanges, new ideas and areas of research such as cognitive psychology and counseling psychology have become popular. For example major cities now have counseling telephone hot lines (Xu, Guo, Fang, & Yan, 19 94), many high schools have their own counselors, and cognitive behavior therapy is a popular new approach to psychiatric problems. Chinese counseling models have to adapt to the characteristics of Chinese clients and counselors (Wang, 1994). Many Chinese psychologists visited other countries, and psychologists from abroad visited China and lectured in China's universities.Thus began a more favorable environment for the present development of Chinese psychology. Wang (1993) gave a good picture of the current scene: By 1991, the CPS had more than 2,900 members, two thirds of whom were developmental and educational psychologists. The CPS has 11 special divisions of psychology, including educational, developmental, medical, general-experimental, industrial, sports, physiological, judicial psychology, and psychological measurement. Each province has its own psychological association such as counseling (Wang, 1993, p. 92).Because psychology restored its momentum in the late 1970s, Chines e psychologists have reached a consensus on building psychology with Chinese characteristics (Chen, 1993; Shi, 1989). Yue (1994) reflected on the need for Chinese psychologists to strengthen their theoretical roots and bind their work closely to life in China. Wang (1993) concluded that much recent Chinese psychological research has been closely linked with economic and social reform, technological developments, and applications of psychology (e. g. , the design of Chinese language computers, the effects of the single-child policy).Bond (1996) and the Chinese Culture Connection (1987) noted that Chinese society is still shaped by Confucian values such as filial piety and industriousness, the saving of face, and the networks of personal relationships. Even in 1922, Chinese psychologists were exhorted to unearth existing Chinese materials, investigate new materials from overseas, and based on these two sources, invent our own theories and experiments †¦ the content must be approp riate to the national situation, and the form, must insofar as is possible, be of a Chinese nature. Jing ; Fu, 1995, p. 723). In experimental psychology, the Chinese language with its ideographic characters has become a subject of great interest (see Bond, 1986, for some examples). Extensive studies are being carried out in this field, including ideographic and sound characteristics of Chinese characters; the relationship between Chinese languages and Western languages; the hemispheric laterality of information processing of the Chinese language; and reading and comprehension of the Chinese language.Because of the importance of the application of these studies to school education, artificial intelligence, and industrial technology, many Chinese psychologists are collaborating in their research efforts in the hope of finding some answers, such as how to simplify the typing of Chinese characters on computers (Tan ; Peng, 1991; Yu, Feng, ; Cao, 1990; Zhang ; Shu, 1989; Zhang, Zhang, ; Peng, 1990). Developmental psychology is another area of intensive study.There are 300 million children in China, and any new knowledge acquired in the field would have important implications for the education of this next generation (Jing, 1994). For example, Mei (1991) demonstrated that the remote rural minority people's tradition of keeping their babies propped up in sandbags for most of their first 6 months resulted in lower IQ scores up to the age of 16. Much has been published on concept development, language development, the development of thinking, personality, and moral development, gifted children, and slow learners (see Dong, 1989; Liu, 1982; Zhu & Lin, 1986).These findings have been applied to improve the teaching and testing of children, such as the development of the standardized Higher Education Entrance Examination. In addition, since the national family planning and birth control program was implemented in the mid-1980s the characteristics of the only-child policy h ave been a hot topic (Chen, 1985; Falbo & Poston, 1993; Jing, 1995). For example, Ying and Zhang (1992) found that rural Chinese still expected their children rather than the government to support them in their old age. This will clearly be a burden on a single child with four dependent grandparents.Psychologists are concerned with the school achievement and social development of these only children as well as the social psychological effects and personality problems that may be encountered in the future. Within this area, cross-cultural psychology studies among China's minority groups offer an important new prospect (Hong ; Wang, 1994; Xie, Zhang, Yu, ; Jui, 1993). In the field of medical and clinical psychology, besides the introduction of Western psychotherapeutic methods (behavior modification, group therapy, psychoanalysis, etc. ), the demonstration of the effectiveness of some traditional Chinese medical treatments (e. . , acupuncture, see Ng, 1999a) and therapies (e. g. , qig ong ; taichi, see Ng, 1999b) has been a significant development (San, 1990; Sun, 1984; Wang, 1979). Moreover, many psychologists are also involved in the process of modernization in industrial, military, and educational areas, playing important roles in policy making. For example, psychometricians helped to initiate the standardization of college entrance examinations. In personnel selection for the Air Force, psychologists are widely consulted and are actively participating in the design of selection procedures (Hao, Zhang, Zhang, ; Wang 1996).Industrial psychologists also make their contribution to the establishment of color standards of industrial illumination as well as to the developments of signs and symbols for technical products. The role of psychology has become increasingly prominent in China's rapid modernization and economic and social development. Disadvantageous Factors that May Impede the Development of Psychology: Although psychology is recognized by the Chinese gove rnment and is enjoying apparent prosperity at the moment, its future status is questionable.The development of psychology is contingent on economic growth. Compared with the other natural sciences (such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry), the development of psychology depends especially on the resources and prevailing intellectual practices of that country. It was reported in the mid-1980s that there were well over 60,000 psychologists who belonged to the American Psychological Association (Mays, Rubin, Sabourin, & Walker, 1996), whereas there were fewer than 3,000 registered members in the Chinese Psychological Society by 1991 (Wang, 1993).The ratio of psychologists to the general population is higher in developed countries than in developing countries. China has fewer than 2 psychologists for every million people (Jing & Fu, 1995). A developing country has to provide for its people's basic needs–food, shelter, health–before it can afford to provide for their â⠂¬Å"higher† psychological needs. When a country is underdeveloped, the more important problems of developing industry, commerce, and agriculture receive more attention because of the need to improve basic living conditions for everyone.In China today, with its economic pressures and its huge population problem, the further development of psychology cannot be seen as a top national priority. However, the Chinese government has begun to recognize that economic progress ultimately depends on the talents of the managers and workers and now sees the value of investing in modern management selection and training (e. g. , the setting up in 1999 of the Beijing Senior Management Selection Centre; personal communication, Gu Xiang Dong, January, 1999). Because the Chinese Government employs almost all the psychologists in the country, the future of the profession depends n its support (Jing ; Fu, 1995). In practical terms, lack of funding in developing countries means that psychologists cannot afford to attend international conferences, buy expensive books and journals, or experiment with highly technical equipment. Jing and Fu noted,. As China's market-oriented reform continues, people in academic circles are adjusting their ways of making a living. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the main organizational body of scientific research in China, started its reform in the middle 1980s to satisfy the market need for applied technology. p. 721). In 1993, the CAS elected to move 70% of its staff into research related to economic development and thus more than 50,000 people began to conduct research in areas relevant to the market economy (Wang, 1995). It is also known that a further 10,000 of the original CAS staff have become businessmen or managers as a result of the expansion of private business enterprises (Jing & Fu, 1995). Budgetary difficulties are a more immediate problem for reform. In developed countries, psychology can rely on private funding.For example , the ratio of private to government funding in the United States was as high as 1 to 10 in 1990 (see Rosenzweig, 1992), whereas in China there is little private funding to which psychologists can turn. If such funding does exist, psychology is rarely on the list for support. The lack of funding for research has had an adverse impact on basic research. In an analysis of 2,274 studies between 1979 and 1988 in developmental and educational psychology involving 362,665 participants, Shi (1990) found that 48. 9% of the studies were applied research whereas only 8% were described as basic research. The rest were more or less repetitions or adaptations of previous studies or instruments. ) Psychologists in China are predominantly concerned with applied problems, and research that addresses economic and social problems. This situation was aptly described by Long (1987): â€Å"The pressing need †¦ was a technocrat in a factory, not a rat in a Skinner box† (p. 232). An applied or ientation is understandable in the light of the heavy emphasis placed on economic development. It may be expected that psychology will play an important role in the attainment of China's present goal to modernize industry, agriculture, science, and technology.The main problems for Chinese psychologists are how to help the nation accomplish these important tasks with minimal funding and lack of facilities (Jing ; Fu, 1995). The development of psychology is based on having a sufficient number of people with advanced training, and universities are the main source of training for psychologists. Bachelor degree courses in psychology are similar to those in the United States, but Chinese lecturers have far heavier teaching commitments than their Western counterparts, and they are often required to teach topics well outside their specialist areas.The lack of educational funding also limits access to leading journals and books in the field. Universities in China can afford to subscribe to o nly a few American and European journals, and most newly published English language books are not available in the library or if they are, their use may be restricted. Thus â€Å"psychological knowledge transmitted to China falls behind the times and is less sophisticated than that in the West† (Jing ; Fu, 1995, p. 725).At present, there are only six psychology departments and four psychology institutions among all the institutions of higher education, although all normal universities and teachers' colleges have psychology curricula and established psychology teaching and research groups. This provision is clearly inadequate for future needs. In addition, students often teach in the universities in which they received their degree, leading to a restricted perspective of the discipline. To a certain extent, China must depend on the developed world for the training of its psychologists (Jing & Fu, 1995).This dependence comes through the importation of foreign experts as well as the training abroad of Chinese psychologists at the postgraduate level and the subsequent brain drain, as many of the latter do not return to China. Another serious problem affecting the development of psychology is that there are no specific career paths for students who major in psychology. There is no organized postgraduate professional psychology training, and psychology graduates are often trapped in low-income jobs. Thus, uncertain career prospects have turned away many talented students.Unfortunately many students who chose psychology as a major have turned to unrelated professions on graduation. Future Perspective The field of psychology has a long road to travel before it will reach its maturity in China. Despite the difficulties mentioned here, recent developments have revealed some directions for the future. As we have seen, the development of Chinese psychology is closely linked with the social environment and with government policy, such as the influence of the family planning program and the open door policy. This link will continue and will orient most psychological research toward practical applications.Given the poor resources in research and the limited number of psychologists, the nationwide and collaborative approach will greatly facilitate research, teaching, and the practical application of psychology. Chinese psychology has attracted tremendous interest from all over the world in recent years. The reason for this sinophilia (Leung & Zhang, 1995, p. 696) â€Å"is because of the increasing importance of China world-wide, both politically and economically. † In the next few years, more emphasis will be put on the mutual communication and exchange of ideas with the rest of the world.Chinese psychology will certainly benefit from learning from Western advanced psychology. However, to interpret the mental phenomena and behavior of the Chinese people, attention must also be focused on the theoretical construction of China's ancient psyc hological heritage traced through traditional Chinese culture. It may be that this will eventually reflect Fairbank's view (1992, p. 258) when he stated, â€Å"Chinese learning for the substance the essential principles and Western learning for function the practical applications. That is, the traditional Chinese philosophical stress on the importance of understanding human nature, balanced harmony, and the â€Å"unity of multiplicity† may serve as a useful foundation for the future development of Chinese psychology, especially in applied settings. The adherence to the ancient wisdom in modern Chinese psychology will place world psychology in a broader framework and expand psychology to a more complete body of knowledge. REFERENCES Anastasi, A. (1988). Psychological testing (6th ed. ). New York: Macmillan. Barabanshchikova, V. A. , & Koltsova, V. A. (1989).Psychology in China: History and the present status. Soviet Journal of Psychology, 10, 116-124. Bond, M. H. (1996). The handbook of Chinese psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. Bond, M. H. (Ed. ). (1986). The psychology of the Chinese people. New York: Oxford University Press. Brown, L. B. (1981). Psychology in contemporary China. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press. Brown, L. B. (1983). 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International Bonds: Credit Ratings

Why do most International bonds have high Moody or Standard & Poor's credit ratings? Credit Rating Is a social Intermediary service to provide credit Information and reference for the community. Credit rating Is alma to show the size of a credit default risk the rating object, rating agencies focus on financial conditions and historical data to give the overall valuation of object. Currently, credit rating on the issue of international bonds is the popular investment risk valuation method in the international capital market.Specifically, this is assessed on debt servicing capacity of the issue bonds in a period, its fundamental purpose is to protect the interests of investors. At present, there are about 20 credit rating agencies on the issue of international bonds over the world, Moody, Standard & Poor's are the top 2 institution all over the world. Though they are private institution, but the rating scale and guidelines gradually become recognized as Internationally accepted sample s with considerable authority. Credit rating Is the traffic permit' for bond issuer to enter theInternational bond markets. International bonds with high credit rating mastered the global Information dominance and capital allocation rights. The rating will directly affect the level of costs and interest rates of oversea companies, it also can affect the strength of a business or even the survival and development of a country. Credit rating could provide objective and impartial credit information in order to strengthen management, avoid risks, optimize investment, boost sales and improve efficiency.High credit rating can increase the international business community awareness, improve competitiveness, to expand markets, increase sales and achieve rapid development of enterprises, expanding the scope of corporate finance at the same time, promoting financing success. High credit rating also can reduce financing costs in international enterprises. Companies with high credit ratings can get more credit policy In economic exchanges, easily to expand the scale of financing, therefore reduce financing costs.Q. What should a borrower consider before issuing dual-currency bonds? What should an investor consider before investing in dual-currency bonds? Dual-currency nod is a bond that is issued in a currency and pays coupons in the currency as well. At due date, the capital is paid in another currency. The coupon rates for dual- currency bonds are usually higher than other straight fixed-rate bonds. The amount of principal would set when the bond is issued based on currency appreciate.There are many motivations for Issuing the dual-currency bond, but the core reason is due to the long-term foreign currency offered by bank are rarely more than a decade, it must be used In order to avoid the foreign exchange risk. Exchange rate uncertainty would primarily considerate for both the borrower and Investor when dealing with dual-currency bonds. Currency fluctuation will Influe nce whether a borrower or issuer will gain or loss. As for the borrower, if the issued currency appreciates or principal, thus, the borrowers will benefit.However, if the issued and coupon currency depreciate or principal currency appreciates, the borrower will suffer a loss from exchange rates. As for the investor are opposite to borrower. If the principal currency appreciates or issued currency depreciates, the principal repayment they chive will be more valuable than the issued currency repayment, thus, the investors will benefit. On the contrary, they will suffer a loss from exchange rates. Normally, coupon rate dual-currency bond is higher than the single-currency bonds.On the publisher's point of view, the repayment in different currencies may get lower risk, therefore, the bond issuers were willing to pay a higher coupon rate in order to reduce exchange rate risk, and choose to pay the dual-currency bond. Q. Discuss the process of bringing a new international bonds issue to m arket. The main international bond issuance processes are as follows: (1) The issuer will contact an investment banker and ask it to serve as lead manager of an underwriting syndicate.

Animal Use In Medical Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Animal Use In Medical Research - Essay Example Medical research includes acquirement of new knowledge and using animals for testing chemicals and compounds for ensuring safety and guarantee. According to them, no new medicine or drug can be introduced to the market or the patients, until and unless it is tested on an animal. The new drug, medicine or treatment all over the world is confirmed effective based on the tests done on animals (Green, Guyer & Institute, 2011). The surgery on animals is supporting the techniques of transplantation of organ and open-heart surgery. Experiments done on animals do the introduction of vaccines against diseases like polio, rabies, mumps, tuberculosis, and rubella. Also, advancement of antibiotics, insulin, HIV and cancer treatments are done on animals first. The animal research has made the most significant development in reproductive medicine like Vitro fertilization, oral contraceptives, and therapy of hormonal replacement (World Medical Association, 2001). Though many people are of the view that medical research done on the animal is brutal, there would be no possibility to develop so many medications that are found today.The researchers found that the benefits accrued by humans through the research on animals are much more, compared to the losses suffered due to the less number of animals. According to a report by American Medical Association, 99% of the doctors in the US believe that use of animals in medical research has lead to increase in the advancement of the medical sector.

Five Year Career Development Plan Research Paper

Five Year Career Development Plan - Research Paper Example This is because of the training programs I will have to attend in order to achieve the desired educational level. I will have to complete my Masters level education before proceeding onto my Doctorate degree. There are several promotion opportunities that will come my way due to the advances I make in my education. After acquiring my Master’s and Doctoral degrees, I intend to get a permanent job in a company where the employers will consider my skills level in granting me a promotion. While working for the company, I will apply my creativity and other personal initiatives in assisting the company to augment its efficiency (Brown, 2002). This will enable the management to take notice of my good work and recommend me for the promotion. The growth of my business in the next five years will enable me to expand the business to other areas. This will increase my power in the company since I will be dealing with a greater variety of products, workers and customers (Patton & McMahon, 2001). This expansion will prompt the expansion of the business management team. I will be the acting chief executive for the business and charged with the responsibility of making all the major decisions. There are several methods that I intend to use for managing my career. These include the use of tools for assessment such issuing questionnaires for gauging my performance within the business (Bohlander & Snell, 2009). The development of processes allowing me to investigate my competence will be vital in developing my career. They will enable me to determine whether my skills conform to the company’s goals and objectives. I also intend to use appropriate methods in setting and planning the actions I will take. The above methods are achievable through the development of strategies applicable to my circumstances. I will assist in rolling out these strategies in the course my duties to ensure they conform to the set plans (Brown, 2002). Currently, I am a degree holder in the f ield business administration and very proficient in using computers. I am an internationally certified accountant having achieved the qualifications after completing the required courses in a college within my neighborhood over the last year. I happen to have very good inter personal and communication skills. I can work for long hours and under minimum supervision while taking care of the equipment I am using. The education I have achieved throughout my school work assists me in very many fields. This is because I was enrolled into a curriculum that equips students with skills in diverse fields. I have also been trained in computer maintenance processes. This skills equip me with the ability to work independently when dealing with various types of technology. The attributes that will indicate satisfaction at my work place will include pay increases, promotions and adequate allowances to cater for my requirements. Satisfaction at the job place will be indicated by the levels of effic iency with which the above three features will be implemented (Bohlander & Snell, 2009). It will involve working towards achieving my goals and objectives without distracting the routine operations in my duties. The achievement of my goals and objectives will largely depend on the action steps I take. In order to attain my objectives, I intend to use efficient time management strategies to avoid the wastage of time and

Reports of Digital Investigations to Management Essay

Reports of Digital Investigations to Management - Essay Example Certainly, digital forensics investigations are time-consuming and resource-consumptive but are integral to the continued securitization of an organization's data and the protection of both its customers and its market status. Following a brief overview of the type of information which Digital Investigation Reports are expected to contain, this essay will examine the question of what organizational managers expect to see in these reports and why. Jones, Bejtlich and Rose (2005) explain that there are several types of digital investigation reports and the structure and content of each is ultimately determined by the person they were written for. If directed to either the IT Manager or the organization's Chief Security Officer, they are extremely detailed. The reports will, customarily, include all the relevant information surrounding the incident, the tools which were used to detect the penetration or attempted penetration, its consequences and the technologies employed for the investigation of the incident. The results of the investigation are comprehensively detailed. ... Digital investigation reports which are forwarded to the organization's Legal Department are similar to those composed for the Finance and Accounting departments (Jones, Bejtlich and Rose, 2005). As indicated above, the composition of digital investigation reports is a complex and complicated process. This is not simply because of their intricately detailed nature but because several reports are generated and the style and content of each differs according to intended recipient. 3 Reports to Management Digital Investigations Reports addressed to management are, quite possibly, the most important of all the digital forensic reports prepared by the organization. The reason, as explained by the IT Director, is that the organization's top management are its decision-makers; they allocate the budget and resources necessary for such investigations and, importantly, make the decision on follow-up action. These reports tell management what happened, the extent of the damages, if any, and why the incident occurred in the first place. Importantly, these reports may also contain suggestions for the avoidance of future incidents. From the IT Director's perspective, the reports addressed to management are intended to provide them with the information needed for them to arrive at a decision on future action and reaction. Stephenson (2003) similarly emphasizes the importance of the digital investigation reports submitted to management. As he argues, the information contained in these reports undoubtedly influence management decisions regarding subsequent action. For example, if the investigations revealed the incident to be serious and

Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example As the essay stresses everybody is equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of law; it is man who has created discrimination. The opponents of same sex marriages use their personal interpretation of the Bible to condemn homosexuality. Homosexuality is not something you adopt, it is biological. If God was against homosexuality than why did He create such people? Same sex marriage is a right; just as heterosexual couples have the right to celebrate their union so do gay and lesbian people. People opposed interracial marriages too in the beginning but now interracial marriages are frequent. Man is becoming progressive and the institution of marriage is being revisited; it is no longer a union between a man and a woman it is about two people who love each other and want to spend their lives with each other. As the paper states legalizing same sex marriages and giving them support by extending marriage benefits and laws does not harm straight marriages nor does it encroach upon their rights so why this vehement opposition to a bond between two same sex people who love each other. Same sex marriage does not threaten the institution of marriage; if the real definition of marriage is the union between a man and a woman to procreate than why several heterosexual couples are choosing careers ahead of having children. Same sex marriage is a lie; a deception man has coined to satisfy his/her gratifications.

Business Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Plan - Assignment Example The existing capacity of Protrich is not able to meet the demand for the products in its various markets. If the company is not able to expand the capacity for the existing demand and for the anticipated future demands, it will lose the market to other major competitors. Also, the Protrich need to expand as an international brand rather than confining itself to the south Indian and Middle East market. The potential markets for Protrich are China, Europe and USA. In order to compete in China, Europe and USA markets, Protrich will not only have to focus on the quality aspect but also on the cost aspect. For having an edge over the price, Protrich should adopt cost effective manufacturing. This is possible in India only up to a certain limit. Therefore, to have an even lower cost of production, it is better for Protrich to setup manufacturing unit in China. China, along with Netherlands accounts for more than 50% of the exports of white button mushrooms. China’s mushroom producti on has been in question for several times including certain countries imposing even anti-dumping measures on them. But this is mainly based on the fact that there wasn’t much notable technology being used for production process in the country. (Mushroombusiness, 2011) But Protrich being a company with all technological support for production, quality of production will never be in question. This report will analyze the benefits for Protrich to invest in China. Analysis Home Country The home country of the company is India. India as a mushroom market is not well flourished. There are very few established brands in the country. Even for the established brands, the market coverage will be limited. Retail customers are mainly from the upper middle class and above. Even for them, mushroom is not a frequent item on the dining table. But there is huge demand from hotels and restaurant chains. This is the customer group from which Mushroom companies have a steady demand. Dominos Pizz a and US Pizza has been the customers of Protrich for six years and four years respectively. Apart from these established brands, there are also many other mediocre restaurant chains who are frequent customers of Protrich. Protrich’s major market is the southern states of India such as Kerala (the company’s home state), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Protrich’s products are available only in the major cities of these states. It is not distributed widely to include the smaller towns because there is very less demand in the smaller towns and cities. Even in the cities, the products will be available only in supermarkets. Protrich enjoys third position in terms of market share. The market leaders are Best Mushroom Limited and Mushroom India Limited. Protrich is almost at par with the market leaders in terms of the brand value. In the UAE market all the three brands are very popular. The advantage of current expansion move of Protrich is that it will be a ble to gain market share over the other two. Neither Best Mushroom nor Mushroom India has a market presence in Europe and USA. At this point, if Protrich is able to provide the market with quality products, it will be advantageous for the company in terms of brand value and market share. Host Country The potential host markets of Protrich are China, Europe and USA. Among these, foreign direct investment will be made by Protrich in China where it intends to setup the manufacturing units. The analysis will be based on the

Legal Aspect of Transsexuals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Legal Aspect of Transsexuals - Essay Example At the turn of the century where egalitarian mentality provoked social change and global recognition geared towards the recognition of transsexual rights saw the greater acceptance in the concept of sexual orientation. Sexual change that was deemed unacceptable and unthinkable is now legally accepted. It is understood that in the human rights activist cry for equality, a collective recognition is acceptable for all and not merely censored on a few singular groups. The potential for random discrimination in relation to their legitimate acceptance although currently under legal protection of laws has still raised compelling questions that can never be dismissed. We cannot deny that there are still the so-called moral activists in adherence to old conservative theories who utter a different lament against these sexual minorities. There is an even greater chance that the social change may take its toll and be delegated to the far recesses of one's imagination unless the laws that protec t the identity of transsexuals are recognized and properly implemented particularly in the society and their legal rights upheld where common complaints of gender inequality are often heard. With the passing of certain laws that govern sexual discrimination acts, the seemingly simple question on the legal recognition of transsexuals in terms of thei... When the European Convention on Human Rights recognized individuals other than the traditional gender classification of male and female, a ground breaking law was heralded. In the field of sexual orientation the protection of transsexual rights of gay and lesbian under Article 8 of the European Convention has been interpreted "to extend to an adult's right to participate in private, consensual homosexual activity". In Cossey v U.K.1, lodged with the Commission was Miss Cossey's complaint of the fact that under English law she cannot claim full recognition of her changed status and in particular is unable to enter into a valid marriage with a man. The applicant challenged the government to change her birth certificate to reflect her new gender and the basis of denial dwell on the substantial administrative burdens imposed on the birth certificates. Whilst the government desires to keep the accuracy of its records, the Government argued to maintain the privacy except on the "position o f third parties (e.g. life insurance companies) in that they would be deprived of information which they had a legitimate interest to receive". As a matter of interest, insurers have the legitimate interest in knowing the actual gender reassignment surgery. The Insurance laws has its ways and means of protecting that interest and the insured party's obligation lie mostly by providing material facts and empowering the insurer to nullify the contract if it appears that the insured has withheld such vital information.Nobody would imagine protecting insurers by insisting that everyone enters all medical treatment in a public register and besides it will take up

Assessing non-parametric or t tests Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessing non-parametric or t tests - Assignment Example Student’s t-test for single mean is used to test a hypothesis on a specific value of the population mean. It is used to test the null hypothesis against the alternative hypothesis. The t-test for difference of means is used to test the hypothesis that two populations have the same mean. A paired t-test is usually used when the two samples are dependent- this happens when each individual observation of one sample has a unique relationship with a particular member of the other sample. A t-test for correlation coefficient is used for testing an observed sample correlation coefficient (r).Lastly, a t-test for testing significance of regression coefficient is used to test the significance of regression coefficients in linear and multiple regression setups. However no matter the type of t-test you use two assumptions have to be met. These assumptions are that the populations from which the samples are drawn are normal and the population standard deviation is not known. In this resea rch article unpaired t-test was used. Unpaired t-test which is also known as the student's t-test assumes that analyzed data is from a normal distribution. An unpaired test will need two independent groups to be applied and the sample size from the two groups may or may not be equal. In addition to the assumption that the data is from a normal distribution, there is also the assumption that the standard deviation (SD) is approximately the same in both groups. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY The research study is ‘The Effects of Vitamin B6 on the Liver of Diabetic Rats: A Morphological and Biochemical Study’ which was done by Sehnaz Bolkent, Ozlem Sacan, Ayse Karatug and Refiye Yanardag. It is a biological study where the aim of the research study was to examine the morphological and biochemical results of supplement B6 on liver organ cells of normal and streptozotocin-diabetic mice. A trial diabetic issue was caused by intraperitonal hypodermic injection of streptozotoci n (STZ) in a single amount of 65 mg/kg. Vitamin B6 was applied by subcutaneous hypodermic injection at an amount of 20 mg/kg for 15 times. The degenerative changes in the liver organ cells, biochemical changes in sugar stages and in serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) actions were identified. Degenerative changes were seen in the suffering from diabetic issues creatures by light microscopic research. Blood vessels sugar stages, serum AST, ALT and ALP actions improved in the suffering from diabetic issues group. On the other hand, the treatment with supplement B6 for 15 times changed these results. As a result, all of the acquired morphological and biochemical results led to the summary that supplement B6 has a safety effect against diabetic issues. DESCRIPTION AND CRITIQUE OF THE STATISTIC The biological results in this study were evaluated using unpaired t-test. The two variables used were control and control animals given v itamin B6. Both variables were subjected to the same conditions for a specified time of 15 days. The function unpaired test is used to compare two population means. Basically the main aim of this function is to test the null hypothesis that the two population means are equal or the same. The procedure to carrying out an unpaired t-test is first you have to calculate the difference between

Research Critique, Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Research Critique, Part 2 - Essay Example Burns & Grove (2011) state that the potential benefits to the subjects would include improved physical condition that could encourage emotional and social benefits in research on therapeutic or non-therapeutic aspects In terms of risks, risks involved depend on the purpose of study and the procedures used to conduct the research. Risks could include physical, social, emotional or economic and could cause permanent damage. If the risks outweigh the benefits, the research could be unethical (Burns & Grove, 2011). Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wà ¤ndell & Tà ¶rnkvist (2012) do not identify the benefits and risks of using human participants. In terms of consent, researchers must obtain informed consent from the subjects. Therefore, subjects must participate voluntarily. In this research, the participants participated voluntarily because as the researchers point out, they called the individual nurses who participated where 39 agreed to participate while 1 refused. The ones who agree to participate were presented with an information letter with which they could distribute the questionnaires to their colleagues. With regard to institutional review board approval, the authors do not state whether they obtained institutional review, board approval from the agency in which the study was conducted (Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wà ¤ndell & Tà ¶rnkvist, 2012). logistic regression analysis. The first dependent variable is, â€Å"if you suspected that a woman was exposed to IPV, would you confirm it by asking her if it was true?† The independent variable here was, â€Å"Being sufficiently prepared†. The second dependent variable is, â€Å"do you believe that you are sufficiently prepared to deal with a woman exposed to IPV?† The independent variable here was, â€Å"having obtained knowledge by themselves† (Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wà ¤ndell & Tà ¶rnkvist, 2012). The researchers collect data using both primary secondary data collection methods. The primary data was collected by use of

Customer Service in Leisure and Recreation Essay Example for Free

Customer Service in Leisure and Recreation Essay The Importance of Customer Service Increased sales are one of the key ways to tell how well the company is doing. Excellent customer service means customers will buy more and recommend more products and services other people, which will add to the increase in sales. While sales are very important to leisure and recreation organisations, another way to measure the success is in terms of customer numbers, which is particularly true for non-profit making organisations. Customer service plays a major role in attracting new customers and the main source of this is the powerful influence of word of mouth. Existing customers who are impressed by the customer service at an organisation will tell other people about it. This means that an organisation keeps its existing customers as well as gaining new ones. An effective customer service policy is that customers will view the organisation in a positive way. This means the image of the organisation will be enhanced by the standard of customer service. Having a good public image is very important for: * Attracting new customers * Retaining existing customers * Reinforcing customer satisfaction * Securing repeat business * Gaining an edge over the competition An organisations public image is the mental picture that we have of the organisation. This can be based on our own experience, what others have told us about it or on what the organisation itself has told us about via its marketing activities such as advertising and public relations. Read more:Â  Recreational Activity Example Television programmes such as Watchdog also help us for an image in our heads, especially when they start reporting viewers complaints. This could have a very bad effect on the organisation. Good customer service can also enhance the image of an organisations individual products or services. For example, customers may have a positive image of a sports centre, but also have a positive image of the individual products and services such as the reservations system and changing facilities. Good customer service gives an organisation a competitive advantage. If you sell a similar product or service, you gain an edge by offering a better quality service and this gives a greater chance of attracting customers. A pleasant working environment is another benefit of good customer service. If customers receive good customer service, they will respond in a friendly and appreciative manner. Customer satisfaction is extremely important in a business and this means the organisation must meet the needs and expectations of the customers. Customer loyalty is very important in a business and good customer service helps reinforce customers loyalty to the organisation with every visit they make. If customers are loyal, they are likely to return and these people are known as repeat customers. This means the customers of the past become the customers of the future. If an organisation has poor customer service, they will suffer from: * Decreased sales * Fewer customers * A poor public image * An absence of competitive edge * An unhappy and less efficient workforce * Dissatisfied customers * Lack of customer loyalty and repeat business Personal Presentation The first impression the customer gets of personal presentation is very important as it is one they will never forget. It directly influences customers satisfaction and the image they have of the organisation. Personal presentation includes appearance, personal hygiene, personality and attitude. Appearance covers everything from clothes and footwear, to hair, make-up and jewellery. The reasons for providing staff with a uniform are: * It helps create a positive first impression * Staff are recognised instantly as working for a specific organisation * It is easy to identify a member of staff when a customer needs advice or assistance * It can indicate the department in which a member of staff works * It helps to create a professional corporate image A lot of organisations now provide their employees with a uniform. Organisations rely on their employees judgement for deciding what is and is not acceptable in terms of appearance. Some organisations set ground rules and to a large extent, this reflects the nature of the organisation and the type of customer it serves. For example, a five star hotel will be very strict with the dress code of the employees who work at the front-of-house. They will be required to wear a uniform and it may also include rules on footwear, hairstyling and make-up. The most important point is to make sure that dress and general appearance suit the job, the organisation and the customers expectations. On the other hand, the organisation should make sure that the uniform is comfortable, easy to maintain and look appropriate for staff of all builds. Anyone serving customers should have excellent standards of personal hygiene. Different types of organisations will have different standards of personal hygiene, for example, anyone who works in the food industry will be expected to wash their hands at least a dozen times a day. First impressions also come from the employees own personality. Again, different jobs require different personalities. A childrens sport coach will require a different personality to a personal fitness instructor because they are working with different types of people. From the personality of the employee, people can tell a lot about the organisation itself. The employees attitude towards the customer is critical. The customers feel that they want as much attention as possible when they go into a workplace and if an employees attitude is poor, they may feel neglected and not wanted. Types of Customers Customers have different needs depending on who they are and the circumstances. There is a difference between internal and external customers. Internal customers are members of staff or outside suppliers who contribute towards the service provided for the external customers. External customers are the people who actually buy or use the organisations products and services. External customers are then categorised into individual, group, age, culture, language spoken and specific needs. Many leisure and recreation providers serve groups and the individuals who compromise them in ways that enhance and promote customer service. Customer age groups are classified as children and adults. Although the companies feel the age of the customers is important, they also feel it is important not to make assumptions about customers needs based solely on age. Cultural background influences peoples traditions, tastes, preferences and opinions and it will therefore influence the type of service they need and expect. It is also important not to make assumptions on the culture of the customer. Foreign visitors are an increasingly important part of the UK tourism market. People still want to feel that they can be dealt with even though there is a language barrier. Large organisations often employ multi-lingual staff to communicate with non-English speaking customers. Some customers have specific needs that may require special customer service in addition to that provided to meet the general needs of everybody. These include sensory disabilities, mobility problems, literacy, dietary requirements and people with young children. Dealing with Customers Almost everyone working in the leisure and recreation industry has to deal with customers, whether be face-to-face, on the phone or in writing. Face-to-face communication has many advantages but only the staff use it well. For example, your presentation can help create a positive image. You can also use facial expressions and gestures to help communicate more effectively. Telephone communication is used in most leisure centres and it provides an essential part of customer service. Some organisations even use the telephone as the main method of dealing with the customers. For some organisations, written communication is the main way of keeping in touch with customers. Menus, tariffs or price lists and letters are all forms of written communication, along with bills, advertisements, notice boards, tickets, e-mails and timetables. Non-verbal communication comprises all forms of communication that are spoken or written down. 80% of communication is non-verbal, so it is clearly very important in customer service. Body language is the main form of non-verbal communication and people can tell how interested the staff are just by looking at them. Selling Skills Selling skills are an important part of customer service. Every time somebody asks for help, advice or information, it is probably a selling situation. As a member of staff, you should be helping customers a lot and to be able to do this effectively, you should have good knowledge of the products and services you are trying to sell. Customers can only buy products and services from an organisation if they know they exist, therefore raising customer awareness is a key part of selling skills Establishing rapport with the customer means encouraging a conservation in which the staff and the customer are both communicating on the same level. Within this category, you must also make the customer feel they have your undivided attention without being too over the top. The easiest way for staff to identify the customers needs is to ask if they need any help. From the reply, the staff will be able to decide what further questions to ask to identify the customers specific needs. Presenting the product or service to the customer in an appropriate way is important. For example, is someone wants to buy something but cannot afford it, then the staff should suggest something of a similar range but at a less expensive price. Closing the sale means actually getting the customer to buy the product or service you are offering. Some people may wish to go away and think about the offer that has just been made and in this case, it is probably a good idea to reserve the product or service. Taking a customers payment is also included in closing a sale. This should be done cheerfully, politely, friendly and gratefully to make the customer feel that they have made the correct choice by buying this product or service from this store or centre. Customer service does not end when the customer hands over their money. This is known as after-sales service and sometimes this will be immediate such as asking the customer of they have enjoyed their visit. Sometimes, if people subscribe to a gym for a year, they may need help in using the service after a couple of months. This is where after-sale service comes in useful. A technique known as AIDA is used in the design of advertising and promotional material and when considering effective selling skills. A stands for attention, I stands for interest, D stands for desire and A stands for action. If you use this technique, it will result in the customer desiring the product and therefore taking action by buying it.

Rupee Depreciation: Challenges for Indian logistics Sector

Rupee Depreciation: Challenges for Indian logistics Sector Abhinav Goyal Article Rupee depreciation creates challenges for Indian logistics sector Depreciation of  Indian Rupee  against the  US Dollar  has created a challenging environment for the  Indian logistics sector, owing to the increased costs of operation for both international shipping companies  and the  domestic transportation companies, and increased costs of services for end users (manufacturing and distribution companies) within the country. The challenges for logistics end users are primarily in case of international  shipments  since  importers  and exporters  need to pay the shipping charges in US Dollars and hence, additional amount has to be paid for the same shipments, making  international trade  less profitable for the companies. On the export front, Indian exporters will be viewed as the most price competitive , however, they will be faced with high freight costs, subsequently hitting their profit margins. Owing to the risk of losing international customers to competing exporters from other international markets, Indian exporters may be forced absorb the increase in freight charges and work with lower margins. In the event of failure or capability to absorb such additional freight costs, the exporters and importers may avoid/abstain from international trade. This could lead to an overall decline in the international trade volumes from India that would prove to be challenging for the shipping and freight forwarding companies. Especially for the shipping companies focused on Indian industries, a decline in international trade volumes from the country would result in idle capacity or shipments with not-fully loaded ships, resulting in lower revenues as well as higher operational costs per customer consignment. On the domestic front, Rupee Depreciation against US Dollar would lead to increase in fuel costs (already increased once within last 2 weeks), thus resulting in higher operational costs for cargo transporters, which would invariably be passed by them to the end users. In this case end users are on the losing side due to the impact of depreciation. In cases where logistics service providers (LSPs) and users are bound in long term contracts with charge revisions permitted only once in a year or a half year, service providers have to absorb /bear the increased costs of operations and hence are likely to incur erosion in profits or even losses in some cases. LSPs with business interests in port terminals are likely to benefit to some extent, given that a significant share of shipping and port related services are charged in dollars, but that gains could also be negated by the decreased trade volumes. The sharp increase in the price of aviation turbine has already resulted in a proportional rise in airfare. Air freight services are premium logistics services and will now be even costlier owing the increased fuel cost. The impact is not only on LSPs and end users, but also on the end consumers of goods due to the cascading effect. In majority of the cases, however, the depreciating rupee largely affects end consumers of imported goods. The LSPs and end-users alike may choose to work on decreased margins for a short period of time with the intent to spare their customers from increased prices, however, this will not be sustainable in the long term. Eventually, the increase cost of logistics services will be passed down to the end consumer. On the whole, the depreciation of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar will impact all the key stakeholders of the logistics sector in India. The primary impact of this will be borne by the LSPs, particularly the transporters and the freight forwarders, and the end-users. COMMENTARY The depreciation of indian rupee against US dollar has hard hit each sector of the economy .One such sector is Logistic sector where the cost of production has increased invariably and revenues have decreased .This article is the study of pathetic conditon of logistic service provider . In India road transport has occupied a pivotal position in all the transport system existing in India .The sector is growing at the rate of 10% per annum1. There are many factors attributed to the growth of logistic sector in India such as rapid growth of many sectors like FMCG , retail , pharnmaceuticals and automobiles and the change in taxation system by the governement .The sectors of aviation , mining and consumer goods are investing a huge amount of money in this sector . The market has more competiton now than before because of the concept of outsourcing and this has made positive impact on logistic sector in India. The Indian logistic sector is facing a number of problems today which includes infrastructure in India and it is the main hindrance in the development of this sector .Poor infrastructure includes bad road conditions , problems with railways , inland water transport , domestic aviation , lack of proper connectivity and incapable ports are posing challenges for this sector . The loopholes in infrastruture has made the cost per transaction veryu high for the logistic sector in India and this has caused several other problems such as low economy of scale , the companie can not hire skilled labours and the industries are widely fragmented . In india one of the major problem faced by this sector ins the scattered customer base . Recently this sector if posing the challenge of depreciation of rupee (the fall in the value of rupee in the market ) against dolar as it has not only made international shipping very costly but has made a bad impact on domestic transportation very costly .Depreciation has increased the cost per transaction . In case of international shipments the fall in the value of ruppe will increase the cost of freight which will reduce the profit margin as the exporters will be compelled to absorb the rise in price and thus they will be less interested in getting more contracts .Eventually the business will be hit hard business will be hit hard . Graph 1 shows the impact of depreciation on the international shipment The decline in trade volumes will result in will result in idle capacity which will cause low income for the sector and high cost of operations . In the country the depreciation will increase the cost of fuel and this will make the service costlirr for the customers who will be paying money in the end thus the business will become less lucrative for the owners .In some cases the companies work on contract basis and with the higher operational cost the companies may end up reaping loss only. The sector has hope of earning profit from ports if the volume of trade is high while if the volume will be lower the company will again end up getting loss only .A rise in the price of air turbines will cause a rise in the price of airfares which will subsequently lead to the rise in cost per transaction. All the above discussed reasons will cause a fall in aggregate demand of logistic services in the economy. Graph 2 shows that the AD will fall if the depreciation will continue thus leading to more loss for logistic companies . The government can play a key role in helping logistic sector in this time of great challenge .There are need of stringent measure for solving the problem of depreciation in the country .The government can also reduce the tax rates so as to make this service cheaper for the national and international consumers . 1. http://logisticsweek.com/column/2013/04/challenges-faced-in-logistics-sector-in-india/

Role of micro finance in natural disasters

Role of micro finance in natural disasters The impacts of natural disasters are mainly faced by the poor community people in every country. It is very much tough for the poor people to cope with the impacts of natural disasters. Micro-finance has not only generated enormous hope for the poor people in many developing countries but also played a vital role in natural disasters affected areas. In this paper, the roles of micro-finance in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters are illustrated. It has been seen that micro-finance institutions provide support on poor community people prepare for the onslaughts or rehabilitation needs of the disaster victims, show coping mechanism during a disaster hits and how people can wake of a post natural disaster both at the personal level and generally. Key words: Role of Micro-finance, impacts of natural disasters, poor, support, coping, developing countries. Introduction: Over the years, natural disasters seem to have become more frequent across the world, resulting in enormous human and economic losses. Natural disasters take many forms like earthquakes, floods, cyclones, tsunamis, tornados and droughts, which threaten the very existence of the local communities. Further, it has been observed that the effects of natural disasters are more acute in developing countries than in developed ones. Natural disasters have had devastating dev ·as ·tate  Ã‚   tr.v. dev ·as ·tat ·ed, dev ·as ·tat ·ing, dev ·as ·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. .. Click the link for more information.  effects on the poor. For example, in 1998, Bangladesh experienced the flood of the century. Households exposed to flooding had major crop failure, suffered various water-borne diseases, lost shelter, assets and the ability to meet basic needs. Results show that the burden of medical expenditures due to flood-related sicknesses is significantly higher for poorer households, and for households more exposed to flooding. More positively, econometric results indicate that social cohesion built on group-based micro-finance programs provide an informal social insurance that reduces sickness shocks. The strength of group-based micro-credit in coping with natural disasters is yet to be fully explored. Micro-credit may not be effective in the case of a large-scale natural disaster that creates a covariate shock. However, even in the case of a large-scale natural disaster (e.g. 1998 flooding), social capital developed through micro-credit programs is s hown to play a positive role in reducing the burden of sickness shocks. Micro-finance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services. At the end of 2009, 1,084 MFIs that were serving 74 million borrowers ($38 billion in outstanding loans) and 67 million savers ($23 billion in deposits). For example, In Indonesian context, micro-financial savings and lending institutions support families to ensure consumption against illness shocks. Micro-finance actually helps the poor and vulnerable poor people. So, micro finance reduces vulnerability and increases coping against socio-economic shocks, including Natural disasters. At the same time, microfinance can provide relief in direct response to disasters. Thus it is possible to make micro finance tools a part of diverse disaster relief programs or response. Objective of the study: Disaster mitigation practices needs to be tied up throughout the life cycle of micro-finance tools in order to make poor community people sustainable and minimize non-financial losses. As just mentioned, the roles of micro-finance in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters are the purpose of this study. This study is prepared based on the following questions: What are the roles of micro-finance in mitigating the impacts of natural disasters, coping mechanism during or after disaster period? What are the main lessons and challenges of micro-finance to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters in poor community? Microfinance and Disaster Mitigation: Some Conceptual Issues The attributes of microfinance, which are applied in reducing household level risks, are relevant for reducing disaster risks too. Microfinance instruments help poor households diversify their income by source and season. They also diversify income by earner as it provides opportunities to women to earn. Multiplicity of income-earning opportunities and asset building through microfinance help poor households in dealing with disasters better. Microfinance also provides explicit and implicit insurance to the households. There is growing interest and constant experimentation in using microfinance in disaster management. The role of microfinance and microfinance institutions in disaster situations, however, is to be clearly analyzed here. Microfinance deals with the poor who are vulnerable to various types of risks. The poor are more likely to be hard-hit hard-hit adj. Badly or adversely affected: Official rescue and recovery efforts were just getting underway in this ravaged port city and more than a dozen other hard-hit towns  R. .. Click the link for more information.  by disasters like drought drought,  abnormally long period of insufficient rainfall. Drought cannot be defined in terms of inches of rainfall or number of days without rain, since it is determined by such variable factors as the distribution in time and area of precipitation during and before .. Click the link for more information., floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. Disasters normally give rise to two kinds of needs, namely relief and rehabilitation. What is required immediately after a disaster is relief to take care of food, shelter, medicine and other immediate needs of the victims. Through its long term impacts of reducing poverty and supporting sustainable development, microfinance reduces the vulnerability of the poor to disasters. Microfinance cannot, however, provide standalone protection against disasters. It must be part of a greater strategy of disaster risk reduction. MFIs must be prepared for disasters by developing disaster management plans that ensure the survival of the MFI and sustainable delivery of its services. Education on microfinance and disaster mitigation is needed for both successful poverty reduction and disaster impact reduction. Microfinance must be linked to disaster mitigation, especially during rehabilitation when the links between recover y and preparedness are clearly evident. MFIs like BRAC, ASA, Grameen Bank, Shakti etc. are working to reducing vulnerability during natural disaster by providingClint-responsive loans, housing improvement loans, adaptation of current lending, emergency reconstruction loans etc. They help to so compulsory savings, voluntary savings, adaptation of forced loans etc. MFIs suggest people for doing Insurance (best established before disaster). MFIs provide money transfer services (remittances likely to increase), Grants and donations (for increasing power and building financial discipline), Livelihood relief (no payment) to the poor community people. Microfinance Institutions also provide non-financial services like training, information dissemination, distribution of supplies etc. In the aftermath of a disaster, microfinance can quickly provide relief, and then support sustainable recovery and rehabilitation. Microfinance institutions can additionally provide post-disaster communication and coordination through their established community networks. Microfinance requires a degree of self-management by clients and is normally community based, thus fostering recovery ownership, dignity and community cohesion during traumatic and unstable times. Microfinance can reduce the cost of post-disaster recovery financing, while reducing aid dependency. At the same time, however, post- disaster aid can distort markets, adversely affecting microfinance performance. Post-disaster activities must be carefully considered to prevent negative long-term impacts on local markets and MFIs. To best reduce disaster impacts on a community, MFIs should offer a suite of flexible products to adapt to specific needs and situations. Links and/or partnerships with the formal financial secto r are needed to enhance liquidity and support institutional and managerial capacity. IV.Cases (Disaster management of Micro-finance programmes): Flood in Bangladesh (1998): Bangladesh is largely a flat deltaic country formed by the confluence of great river systems of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. These river systems annually drain a vast basin about 12 times its own size. Apart from this, hilly regions experiences flash flood after heavy rainfall and due to frequent depressions in the Bay, Bangladesh experiences regular threats of cyclonic storms, often catastrophic. The role of microfinance services in responding to disaster risks was demonstrated first during the 1998 flood. Bangladesh experienced the worst floods in its history from July to September 1998. The damages to standing crops, livestock and houses were overwhelming. The income generating activities of rural landless people were almost suspended. There had been a huge loss of property and human and animal lives during the SIDR attack in 2007 in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, nearly 4 millions affected, and more than six thousand people died, thous ands of livestock perished, and 0.9 million homes fully or partially damaged. All the MFIs in Bangladesh responded to the unprecedented situation of floods and SIDR. During the floods and cyclones, MFI workers even went on boats to ensure that weekly contacts with all members were maintained. Workers carried money with them and provided immediate interest-free consumption loans so that the members would not go hungry. the MFIs allowed the members to withdraw their savings. Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA, Proshika, TMSS, CODEC, GUK and many other small MFIs despite a very serious financial consequence for their liquidity, opened access to compulsory savings account in an attempt to reduce the precipitous decline many households experienced in their incomes. In non-disaster times, members of these institutions did not have access to these funds unless they had fully repaid any outstanding loans and decided to leave the MFI. BRAC also operated disaster-related deposits, which allowed members to keep their assets safe from loss or damage due to the floods. A number of MFIs such as ASA and others provided voluntary savings facilities to their members. These facilities provided the members more assistance in disasters than compulsory or disaster-related savings with less negative financial consequences for the MFI. Tsunami -Micro Finance in Sri Lanka(2004): The December 2004 tsunami is one of the worst natural disasters experienced by Sri Lanka in recorded history. With over 35,000 dead and over 800,000 displaced it is a disaster of a magnitude that the country was ill equipped to deal with. Thirteen of the countrys twenty five districts were affected with the North and East provinces accounting for over two thirds of deaths and nearly 60% of the displaced. Sri Lanka (RADA) estimates that about 150,000 people lost livelihoods about 80 per cent of the affected lost their main source of income; 90 per cent lost their productive assets including the abodes. There were several issues facing the micro finance sector even pre-tsunami. The micro finance market has been pluralistic with high penetration by many different types of institutions, employing a wide range of micro finance models and methods. Bulk of micro credit is funded through Government banks and programmes, through subsidized credit, w hich is not sustainable. Agro Micro-Finance, BRAC, Arthacharya Foundation were working in Sri Lanka during tsunami. While these MFIs might be fulfilling their social mission, they were not charging interest rates that would achieve cost recovery. Capacity building of these institutions was a priority. Agro Micro-Finance was operating in eight districts in Sri Lanka, many of which were affected by the tsunami. Arthacharya Foundation is a national not-for-profit NGO functioning in seven districts. This organization is working with a large number of donors in promoting micro enterprises through savings and credit, and also working in health and sanitation. BRAC set up operations in Sri Lanka for undertaking post-tsunami rehabilitation activities. BRAC has quickly expanded the outreach as well as loans since establishing operations in Sri Lanka. Within a year of operation the number of clients reached has touched 26,373 making it one of the larger MFIs in Sri Lanka. Well established man agement practices and systems have enabled the MFI to quickly scale up. Though the initial operations were through grant funds from BRAC and Oxfam NOVIB, BRAC has recently approached commercial banks for loans for expanding its loan portfolio. Pre-tsunami, voluntary savings was offered by four MFIs and compulsory savings by ten MFIs. Overall, there have been several positive developments due to post-tsunami funding by donors. Lessons and challenges of micro-finance: As we look broadly at micro-finance as an industry, and at specific experiences in the natural disaster context, it is possible to draw several broad lessons: Microfinance cannot be a financial safety net to an entire affected community, but can play an increasingly constructive role in disaster preparedness and response as it expands its range of products and services. Establishment of long-term relationships between individuals and MFIs allow poor households access to existing MFI products that can help reduce some of the hardships caused by natural disasters. Preparedness of the MFIs staff and systems is the key to providing timely response to clients. Timing of MFI services matters to clients: emergency loans must be available quickly after disaster strikes, while reconstruction support is useful once the household has fully passed the emergency stage. Along with these broad lessons, there are also clear bottlenecks that limit the role MFIs currently play in natural disaster response and mitigation: Most MFIs do not have the liquidity position (or access to a Disaster Loan Fund) to respond quickly or fully in a disaster context. MFIs-from management, to field staff, to reserves, to information and communication systems-are not currently prepared to either weather or respond to a natural disaster situation. MFIs have not considered client needs from an emergency perspective; rather products and services are primarily geared to day-to-day business or household concerns. Demand for special services may be small, yet may require significant institutional investment. Therefore, individual MFIs are unlikely to invest in developing or maintaining these services. Regulatory restrictions and limits to institutional capacity will keep most MFIs from mobilizing voluntary savings for the foreseeable future. Findings of the study: Although the concept of using microfinance for disaster mitigation is a novel idea, the relevance of microfinance under disaster conditions especially for the poor is yet to be fully established. Microfinance even under normal circumstances faces quite a few limitations in bringing about improvement in livelihood. While microfinance can ensure livelihood protection by reducing various shocks and vulnerability, it cannot lead to livelihood promotion unless it is accompanied by other equally important measures like training, market linkages and technology development. As micro-finance institutions involved in livelihood restoration interventions, they are aimed at establishing funds that could be used in normal situations and during times of disaster. Their main aim during normal times was disaster preparedness. By taking up various activities aimed at disaster preparedness, they secured livelihoods and resources, improved the lives of the communities, made them less vulnerable and bet ter equipped to face disaster. In case of an emergency, the projects assisted the communities in mitigating mit ·i ·gate  Ã‚   v. mit ·i ·gat ·ed, mit ·i ·gat ·ing, mit ·i ·gates v.tr. To moderate (a quality or condition) in force or intensity; alleviate. See Synonyms at relieve. v.intr. To become milder. .. Click the link for more information.  the effects through loans reserved for the purpose. Insurance could be a useful instrument of risk mitigation for the poor especially under disaster situation Micro-insurance can take up under MFIs to provide protection to the women against loss of life, accidents, prolonged pro ·long  Ã‚   tr.v. pro ·longed, pro ·long ·ing, pro ·longs 1. To lengthen in duration; protract. 2. To lengthen in extent. .. Click the link for more information.  illness and hospitalization, and damage or destruction of houses and household assets. Thus, both during normal and disaster times, the MFIs funds were used mainly through loans. The core objective of the MFIs is to reach out to the most vulnerable among the target groups. As observed in the study, the members would like to depend upon MFIs for their social, economic and emotional security. For protection and improvement of their livelihood, they need diverse financial services. Many of them would like to take up income generating activities to strengthen their economic base. Moreover, no significant attempt is made by these interventions to adopt an integrated approach required for improving the livelihood of the disaster-affected households. Given the fact that the members of the poor households in the study area are faced with many social and economic constraints like illiteracy, severe caste and gender discrimination, and landlessness, m ere introduction of microfinance may not help them in bringing about any significant improvement in the livelihood. VI. Methodology: The study mainly uses secondary sources. Secondary data on Flood in Bangladesh (1998) was colleted from Bangladesh Country Report by Sirajul Islam (INAFI Asia Bangladesh) and Tsunami Micro Finance in Sri Lanka (2004) was collect from Review of Post-Tsunami Micro Finance in Sri Lanka by Girija Srinivasan. Moreover, I have taken help from different websites and books. VII. Conclusion: Reducing the Poors vulnerabilities to disasters and emergency situations is the role of micro-finance in disaster risk mitigation. It can immediately relieve financial burdens caused by the on set of calamities, especially if savings and micro-insurance is included in the package of services. It can further support consequent initiatives for sustainable disaster recovery and rehabilitation. Since, MFI is private in nature; it has great potential to provide financial and non-financial services in all stages-relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development. However, micro-finance services alone cannot immediately translate into a stand-alone successful disaster recovery enterprise but needs to form part of an over-arching disaster risk mitigation strategy. The success of the microfinance industry in various disasters is indicative of future accomplishments in exploiting microfinance for pre- and post-disaster mechanisms. While micro-finance can be an entry-point for the delivery of sustained services in disaster situation, it still needs the prompt provision of services from the government, like installation of damaged infrastructure and other rehabilitation interventions and active participation of other civil society groups for training, counseling and organizing. A more thorough understanding of microfinance and disaster mitigation is needed for poverty reduction and disaster impact reduction. Finally, it can be said that micro-finance institutions can be an entry point or a point of convergence of poverty alleviation and disaster mi tigation programs.