Monday, September 30, 2019

Work in Front of the Kids

Kohler-Evans, Patty A. Co-Teaching: How to Make This Marriage Work in Front of the Kids. Education, 127, 2, 260-264. Summary The article â€Å"Co-Teaching: How to Make This Marriage Work in Front of the Kids† by Kohler-Evans discusses the implications and effects of co-teaching on children, and provides co-teaching lessons for teachers whoa re willing to improve class performance. The article provides both theoretical and practical research of the problematic issues. The author writes that general education teachers don’t try to meet the needs of all students, but it is inappropriate as students have different abilities to learn.Moreover, disabled students should be provided with more care and attention than normal students. Therefore, co-teaching seems to be one of the most effective strategies to make teachers feel the needs of all students and to choose education program depending on that factor. As a result, a practical research was conducted to identify whether co- teaching was effective in improving overall students’ performance. During experiment two teachers were placed in one room at the same time. This process was called co-teaching.Kohler-Evans continues that â€Å"co-teaching teams have been forced into the general education classroom where veteran teachers feel insulted to have a special education teacher placed in the room with the expectation that they both teach content area critical concepts†. (p. 260) She claims that results appeared encouraging. Despite the fact that teachers were forced to teach, not asked, the majority of teachers involved in the experiment said they were pleased with the outcome and were going to try again as it ensured positive effect of students’ performance.However, the author claims that more studies are needed to identify exacts effects and outcomes of co-teaching on children, especially on children with special needs. Nevertheless, it is apparent that co-teaching is effective way to make students more involved in studying process and to improve their achievements. I think that one of the most important ideas of co-teaching is tendency to cooperation and partnership as working with another teacher will provide more new ideas about managing, planning and monitoring the perfect lesson. Apparent strength of the article is that the author doesn’t simply discuss effects and benefits of co-teaching.Instead, she provides practical recommendations for those teachers whoa re willing to practice the technique of co-teaching. She recommends, for example, finding volunteers. Of course, many teachers are confident in their professionalism and they don’t want to be taught, but there are still teachers who are open to new ideas. It is important to note that co-teaching relations are an excellent opportunity for professional growth and development. Further, the author tells to place value on co-teaching and to refer to it as inclusive practice.It is important as à ¢â‚¬Å"when all students are valued, students without disabilities have the opportunity to develop into more compassionate and caring individuals†. (p. 262) However, the central advice is to have fun from co-teaching as it offers many opportunities for cooperation and collaboration, for exploring new teaching practices and improving performance. Knowledge Application I think the article is very informative offering use new fresh ideas about teaching practices. The information provided in the paper has improved and broadened my knowledge of co-teaching and its specific moments.I think that this practice can be implemented in every classroom as it is a new opportunity for both teachers and students. Teachers will learn how to treat each other equally and how to share responsibilities. Students, in their turn, will be provided with wider range of information and knowledge. However, I don’t think that traditional education should be forgotten. Summing up, co-teaching gives a n opportunity to share the best teaching moments with someone else. References Kohler-Evans, Patty A. Co-Teaching: How to Make This Marriage Work in Front of the Kids. Education, 127, 2, 260-264.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Martha Stewart Essay

Its headquarters is in New York and it employs approximately 760 people with annual turnover of $327. 9 million dollars (Martha-Stewart-Living-Omnimedia,-Inc. ). Martha Stewart achieved her fame because she was able to reach the masses. She managed it through her affordable product line along with lot of common sense. Her television shows gained popularity in the U. S. A. MSLO earned good revenues through her magazine sales. It appears that Americans took pride in having Stewart’s products — whether they are for decorating the home or used in their yard. This demonstrates MSLO’s popularity in the U. S. A. Any company’s mission statement is reflected in its business culture. The mission statement of Martha Stewart’s MSLO is: â€Å"Martha Stewart Living enriches the everyday lives of women with a sense of pride, creativity, and how-to confidence. Our relationship is comprised of dreamers and doers– those who aspire to a more beautiful life and those who are actively in pursuit of one, in ways big and small. We provide both the tools and inspiration they need to elevate their quality-of-life. Martha Stewart Living sharpens their senses to the world around them, trains them to see the potential of beauty in their surroundings, and helps them establish a distinctive signature style to enhance their world† (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. , 2010). It appears that MSLO’s culture is very vibrant and focuses on having a stylish and meaningful life. Martha Stewart’s values reflect on MSLO’s culture. Those are: †¢Pursue your purpose with passion. †¢Practice solid values. †¢Lead with your heart as well as your head. †¢Establish connected relationships. Unfortunately Martha Stewart, an American home decorator icon, was convicted of conspiracy, making false statements, and obstruction to an agency proceeding. On December 27, 2001, Sam Waksal, the key shareholder in ImClone, ordered his broker, Peter Bacanovic to sell all his stock in the company. Bacanovic was also Martha Stewart’s broker and told his assistant to phone Stewart. The assistant left Stewart a message about Waksal’s sales (insider information), suggesting she might do the same. Martha Stewart called Bacanovic back and ordered him to sell her entire holding of ImClone’s 3,928 shares. The sale took place on December 27, 2001 (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). â€Å"ImClone stock plummeted and Waksal was investigated. The SEC learned of Stewart’s sale, and called Stewart to a formal interview. Before the interview, Stewart and Peter Bacanovic conspired. Rather than admitting that Bacanovic gave Stewart an inside tip, they invented a story of a â€Å"standing sell order. † Stewart gave this story to the government in formal interviews. After a lengthy investigation, Stewart was found guilty by the court on various charges on June 4, 2002, although not for insider trading. † (AcaDemon term papers and essays). Obviously, Martha Stewart was engaged in this unethical and illegal behavior along with her broker Peter Bacanovic. Selling shares was just a onetime incident on December 27, 2001. â€Å"Martha Stewart was tried in U. S. District court. On June 4, 2003, James B. Comey the United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York, and Kevin P. Donovan, the Assistant Director in Charge of New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the filing in Manhattan Federal court of indictment charging Martha Stewart, chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. and Peter Bacanovic, a former securities broker at Merrill Lynch & Co. , Inc. , with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal agents. The indictment separately charged Stewart with securities fraud in connection with her artificial manipulation of the price of MSLO common stock† (Justice Government Press Release, 2003). The charges contained in the indict ment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 230). The defendants filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that expert witness Lawrence F. Stewart, director of the Forensic Services Division of the United States Secret Service, had committed perjury in his testimony on behalf of the prosecution. Motion for new trial was denied by the court on the basis that defendants cannot escape the fact that the jury acquitted both defendants of making false statements relating to the existence of the $60 agreement, and the fact that ample evidence supports the charges (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 42). Stewart did not enter into a plea bargaining agreement. A plea bargain is an agreement in which the accused admits to a lesser crime than charged. In return, the government agrees to impose a lesser sentence than might have been obtained had the case gone to trial. This saves costs, avoids risks of trial, and reduces the burden on the prisons (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 231). Defendants Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic were both convicted of conspiracy, making false statements, and obstruction of an agency proceeding. A jury panel of eight women and four men found Stewart guilty on all four counts. Stewart did not appeal. The conviction came exactly one week after U. S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum threw out the most serious charge against Stewart, securities fraud which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine (Kellman). STEWART’S CRIMINAL INTENT AND CRIMINAL ACT Martha Stewart had mens rea and actus reus. Mens rea is a criminal intent when an act was committed. Actus reus refers to the actual performance of an act. Stewart was charged with insider trading (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. pg. 227-228). She gave public statements saying she was not involved in such activity. Her intention may have been to defend herself and tell general public the truth. Government prosecutors became creative. They did not pursue their charge for insider trading but charged her with mens rea — her criminal intent was to keep the MSLO stock price stable in the stock market. Later, Stewart corroborated the story that she already had a standing order with her broker to sell ImClone stock once it reached $60. She tried to falsify her trading records. Here she had actus reus. Brief time line of key trial events: On June 4, 2003, Stewart resigned as chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. hours after she was indicted on obstruction of justice charges. -On March 5, 2004, Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. The charges carried up to 20 years in prison. -On July 16, 2004, U. S. District Court Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum senten ced Stewart to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and fined her $30,000. She was spared an immediate trip to federal prison as the judge stayed her sentence pending appeal. On October 8, 2004, Stewart slipped into Alderson Federal Womens’s prison in West Virginia in the early morning hours and began serving her five-month sentence. -On March 4, 2005, Stewart was released from Alderson in the early morning hours and arrived back at her multimillion dollar 153 acre New York estate to begin serving the five-month home detention portion of her sentence (Fox News, Martha Stewart timeline, 2005). CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS The Constitution protects the rights of the people from unreasonable search and seizure by the government (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 241). Stewart was a criminal defendant. Sixth Amendment was her second option. These rights mainly give rights to confront the witnesses against accused and have a speedy trial. IMPACT ON AMERICAN PEOPLE Martha Stewart was a successful businesswoman. She not only influenced lot of American people but improved their quality of life. Americans were shocked to learn that Stewart was charged with criminal fraud. Her ImClone stock transaction saved her approximately $45,000. This is a small sum of money compared to multi-billion dollar white-collar crime cases, as well as in relation to her wealth (in the hundreds of millions). It is important to note that ordinary shareholders incurred sizeable losses by purchasing Stewart’s dumped stocks. Celebrities like Martha Stewart are always in the limelight. Illegal acts committed by them instantly become public news (Heminway). PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND STEWART’S ILLEGAL ACT Going back several years in Stewart’s life, one notices that she is a daughter of Polish immigrants. She worked as a stock broker in her earlier career. Whether Stewart’s decision to sell ImClone stocks was either an impulse decision or a calculated move to cut losses will be difficult to determine. Everyone makes mistakes in life but we avoid making blunders. Sometimes personal success, wealth, and ego make a person feel that he or she is invincible. Even though she was a multimillionaire, greed compelled her to commit an illegal act. Stewart has a very positive mindset. She is more of a leader than a manager. She believed that MSLO will prosper in the near future. She had courage to overcome challenging circumstances. Stewart had faith in her heart that success is not too far if she sticks with core business values and maintains the quality of MSLO’s products. ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Ethics and social responsibility are an integral part of any individual’s life. They fit like a hand in a glove. They should be followed strictly not only by individuals but also by company personnel. Both of these terms are very subjective. Any activity is considered ethically correct or good when it is differentiated by incorrect or bad behavior or conduct. Milton Friedman strongly recommended that businesses should solely operate for profit. In my professional opinion, individuals as well as corporations owe their society. A corporation donating money to the local charity or church is an example of social responsibility. It adds value to mankind’s quality of life. Martha Stewart sold ImClone’s stocks based on inside information to reduce her losses; it was an unethical act. She conveniently ignored her social responsibility. She did not think of the other stock holders who suffered loss because of her action. It would be interesting to analyze Stewart’s act in light of three theories of ethics. These theories are: †¢Consequential theory †¢Deontological theory and †¢Humanist theory (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 89). All of these theories revolve around good or bad behavior. Consequential theory, as its name suggests, is based on the consequences of the act in question. Deontological theory analyzes behavior based on set rules and principles which a citizen should follow. Humanist theory focuses on the good qualities and applying mind during instinctive behavior. Sadly, Stewart failed miserably if one applies these theories to her act of ‘sale of ImClone stocks’. She did not restrain herself from selling the stocks based on inside information. She neither applied the rules which are set in such a situation nor thought of the consequences of her action. In Stewart’s case, humanist theory applies to her unethical behavior most. Honesty is a very important virtue. She did not use self-restraint when she quickly made the decision to sell the stocks. She lied to the Federal Court. If she had told the truth upfront, she would have saved herself from all the embarrassment. Let me attempt to evaluate Stewart’s actions in terms of five schools of social responsibility. These are: 1. Profit-Oriented school– Only goal is to make profit. 2. Managerial school– Corporations deal with people at large. 3. Institutional school– Deeds should help society. . Professional obligation school– Top tier of the company owes to public welfare. 5. Regulation school– Onus is on businesses to be responsible for actions. (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. p. 98). It is obvious from the above brief description that Martha Stewart is from the ‘Profit-Oriented’ school. She acted reck lessly to reduce her losses to maintain the profits. MY OPINION Martha’s behavior is understandable. One should not forget that Stewart is a human being. A real life example will prove my point. Once in the middle of the night, a car was following me. I got scared and started speeding thinking he was a shady person. The driver turned out to be a police officer but did not give me a ticket when I explained my position. Stewart, although successfully defended her from insider trading charges, was prosecuted for other crimes. Considering Stewart’s reputation, she should have used her poise, status, and considered the impact of her actions on her and on the general public. Celebrities’ minor mistakes and blunders become news and it is usually blown out of proportion. Martha, being a smart woman, was most certainly aware of this. From this perspective, Stewart’s behavior is ifficult to understand. In my professional opinion the sentence is fair. Martha Stewart is characterized by egoism philosophy, where right or acceptable behavior is defined in terms of maximizing personal wealth. Martha’s actions were purely out of selfishness. She sold the stocks thinking it was fair and acceptable to avoid personal loss es. She did not bother to warn the shareholders about the upcoming losses. She bluntly did not care about the shareholders bearing losses as long as she was not losing. With this is mind, the sentence she received is not too harsh and fair enough to warn other greedy people. With this said, I also think and believe that Stewart acted on the information from her broker which she was not entitled to. One should not forget, however, that she did not ask for the information. Hence Stewart did engage in common business behavior. Attorneys should have stopped chasing her once they knew that they could not convict her for insider trading. In reality, I think she was simply a scapegoat. In business, a person has to be completely ethical. Ninety-nine good deeds are forgotten at the cost of one bad deed. That is human nature. To build one’s reputation again, one has to really work hard, with no guarantee that his or her image will be renewed in the public’s eyes. Martha is gaining popularity again. Recently she was on Donald Trump’s popular show, The Apprentice. Business leaders will surely think of Martha Stewart if they ever are tempted to sell stocks to avoid losses, especially since she went through a lot of unpleasant things, such as serving jail term, house arrest, and losing approximately 250 million dollars of her personal fortune. Martha Stewart’s case is really different from other criminal cases like WorldCom, Enron, or Tyco. Stewart’s wanting to sell the stock was a very personal decision and the US attorneys were successful in trapping her to make mistakes out of fear. In my opinion, this case will not provoke more government regulations and controls. Corporate whistle blowers are not an issue in this case. Bacanovic’s assistant, Douglas Faneuil who told Stewart of Waksal’s activity, reached a plea bargain with the government and became a witness (Custom edition for Indiana Wesleyan University. 2007. P. 229). I do not consider him to be a whistle blower. The first step to learn ethics and social responsibility is at home. Mistakes in life are acceptable; we learn from them and try our best not to commit those again. Blunders are so obvious that one can stay away from them and not commit them at all. In the business world, chances are higher that, when a blunder is committed, it is most probably illegal. Anything illegal has dire consequences. Illegal activity surfaces for sure. Until it comes to public knowledge, that person leaves in fear. So my recommendation is do noble things which are helpful to society. Make sure that you have a very clear conscious. Accept mistakes and be humble.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Examine how Shakespeare Presents Essay

Romeo and Juliet’ has many different themes and messages, with one of the most popular being love. Shakespeare gives most significance to the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet, but there are lots of other aspects of love in the play and Shakespeare uses the different characters to present this. One form of love that Shakespeare describes in the play is the parental love between parents or carers such as the nurse, and children. Romeo’s family life is presented as more caring than Juliet’s. This is shown when Romeo’s mother dies of grief when Romeo is banished and also when Juliet’s parents don’t understand how she’s feeling and don’t guess that she is prepared to kill herself. The Montague’s are concerned about Romeo’s state of mind at the beginning of the play, as he seems very depressed: ‘Many a morning hath he there been seen, with tears augmenting the fresh morning dew, adding to clouds, more clouds with his deep sighs†¦ ‘ This is contrasted with the way Shakespeare presents Juliet’s family life. Capulet at first appears to love Juliet as a parent loves a child and does not consider her an adult. When Paris asks to marry Juliet, Capulet says he should wait as they do not feel she is ready to be a bride. This could be interpreted in two ways, that he does not feel she is ready to experience sexual love, but also that he does not want her to leave his household. ‘She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let two more summers wither in their pride Ere we think her ripe to be a bride. ‘ However, later his attitude changes, it seems to be more important that she obeys him and he threatens to disown her if she doesn’t marry and settle down in a good arranged marriage. This still appears to be a loving thing to do, as he feels he knows what’s best for her as a loving parent and he is sure that Juliet will do what he wants: ‘Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender Of my child’s love. I think she will be ruled In all respects by me: nay more, I doubt it not. ‘ However as soon as Juliet refuses to do what Capulet wants, he completely loses his temper and says: ‘And you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend; And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee, Nor what is mine shall never do thee good. Trust to’t, bethink you, I’ll not be forsworn. ‘ As Juliet has mainly been brought up by her nurse, she is not very close to Lady Capulet in a mother/daughter way and theydo not have a very good relationship; Lady Capulet seems to be unsure of being alone with Juliet and asks the nurse to stay when she is going to tell Juliet that she is to marry Paris. Later Lady Capulet refuses to comfort Juliet, when she is distraught at the thought of marrying Paris. Her view of love seems to be that marriage is far more important than love and a woman is not secure until she is married. She feels that as long as Juliet likes the look of Paris when she sees him that evening, then love can come later: ‘Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face, And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen; Examine every married lineament. ‘ And see how one another lends content;’ The nurse though is far more natural when talking of Juliet, for example she knows Juliet’s birthday to the last minute, while Lady Capulet seems a little unsure of Juliet’s exact age and the nurse reminisces at length about Juliet’s childhood. It is also the nurse who Juliet gets to help her to contact Romeo. The nurse also shows another type of love, which is a crude form of love. The nurse, even though she brings some of the things she talks about down to this level, does it in a somehow more pleasant way than Sampson and Gregory, as she is not boasting but just reflecting her upbringing ‘Go girl seek happy nights to happy days’ This language also contrasts with the language of Juliet and her mother when the three of them have a conversation, it is obvious that Lady Capulet and Juliet are of a higher class. She refers to Juliet’s wedding day and of course the first thing she thinks about is the wedding night; she quotes her husband:†yea,’ quoth he, ‘dost thou fall upon thy face? Thou wilt fall backward when thou hast more wit,’ Another character who uses this kind of language is Mercutio, but because he is a higher class, therefore his language is more superior and witty. The characters Sampson and Gregory, are also used by Shakespeare to highlight the more crude forms of love. They parade around the streets and are always boasting and showing off. ‘Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall’ This is obviously not talking about true love, but simply referring to sex. It is all talk of what they are going to do to the enemy, but none of it is likely to happen. ‘Aye the heads of the maids, or their Maidenheads – take it in what sense thou wilt. ‘ Shakespeare has used Sampson and Gregory and their bravado in the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet to demonstrate the hatred between the two families and also that it has spread right through the households to the servants. The whole idea of Shakespeare using this crude speech, is to then emphasize the beautiful poetry between Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare also presents love in the form of infatuation. Initially Romeo is portrayed as a young man who thinks he is desperately in love with Rosaline. However he is evidently very confused and his language reflects his feelings. ‘Mis-shapen chaos of well- seeming forms Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still waking sleep, that is not what it is’ Romeo’s behaviour shows he enjoys his melancholy state as he cuts himself off from the outside, but makes sure everyone knows about his depression. He tries to explain to Benvolio how depressed and confused he feels. ‘love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs,being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes, being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers’ tears, What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet. ‘ Unfortunately for Romeo, Rosaline does not love him back and is unlikely to: ‘From love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed. ‘ Benvolio’s view of love seems to be quite cynical. In his opinion, all Romeo needs is to meet someone else to love and that will cure him of loving Rosaline: ‘Tut man, one fire burns out another’s burning, One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. Then later: ‘Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die. † When Romeo does see Juliet, his feeling for Rosaline is proved to be infatuation, as he forgets all about Rosaline: ‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night. ‘ Romeo also confides in the Friar who is amazed that Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline can be so quickly changed: ‘Holy St Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou dids’t love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies. Not truly in their hearts but in their eyes! ‘ The Friar tells Romeo that what he felt for Rosaline was not true love but what he feels for Juliet might be. ‘For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households’ rancour to pure love. ‘ Romeo had taken his infatuation very seriously and it affected him deeply. His love is like a religion and he is angry that his faith leads him to believe something so false: ‘When the devout religion of mine eye Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fire,’ Romeo’s behavior undergoes a big change when he meets Juliet. Shakespeare contrasts Romeo’s feelings of infatuation for Rosaline, with his true love for Juliet, through the language Romeo uses. Instead of the confusion he felt when he was in ‘love’ with Rosaline his speech becomes romantic and gentle. ‘Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven Having some business, do entreat her eyes. To twinkle in their spheres till they return. ‘ Romeo is presented as an extremely romantic character and true love means a lot to him. Shakespeare has shown us what false love or infatuation is like and this then emphasises how he presents true love. Romeo has a complete change in his personality after he meets Juliet. He had been hiding himself away from company, but in Act 2 scene 4 there is a complete change in his manner and he is sociable again. His friends try to tease him but Romeo gets the better of them and they comment on the change in his nature: ‘Why is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo. Now art thou what thou art, by art as Well as by nature†¦. ‘ Juliet’s behaviour also changes as soon as she meets Romeo at her father’s party. As she is so young she is an obedient and dutiful daughter, whose only love is for her parents, but as soon as she falls in love with Romeo, she becomes headstrong and determined towards her parents. Before she meets Romeo she is willing to marry Paris because it is what her parents want: ‘Ill look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep can I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly’ However when she falls in love with Romeo she is prepared to stand up to her parents even if it means being disowned. This shows that Juliet is also affected by love. She realises that it is going to be very difficult loving Romeo because of the fact that he is a Montague, but she is powerless to do anything about it: ‘My only love sprung from my only hate, Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy. ‘ In the love scenes between Romeo and Juliet the whole language becomes more eloquent. At one point Romeo is lost for words and Shakespeare puts this across by leaving the last four syllables on the line empty, so as to create the feeling of silence and words unsaid: ‘It is my lady, O it is my love. O that she knew she were. ‘ In conclusion, the main theme of the play is love, but all the characters view it’s importance and meaning differently. It is obvious to anyone that Romeo and Juliet feel that love is the most important thing in their lives, as they are prepared and do die for it. However every character treats love in a different way. Benvolio for example cares more about his friendships than romantic love and shows no desire for a romantic relationship in the play. Mercutio treats love as a game and as he has never experienced true love, he enjoys mocking other people’s experience of love. The parents of the two lovers care a lot about their love for their children, but this parental love is treated differently by each set of parents. Capulet for example, wants the best for Juliet, but is also conscious of the family name while Lady Montague actually dies of grief for her son when he is banished. The nurse loves Juliet as if she was her daughter up to a point, but is not prepared to stick by her when she is in trouble. Through these characters and their presentation of the many meanings of love, Shakespeare illustrates that love has many aspects.

Friday, September 27, 2019

"Bullying in Schools" Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

"Bullying in Schools" - Assignment Example This conducts amounts to negative repercussions because some students end up dropping out of school while other resort to suicidal incidences. School authorities and parents are trying to curb this habit by watching their children at home and within the institutions. In this regard, bullying arises when one student intends to harm the other, victimize or provoke for self-fish interests. It is detrimental to the learners’ safety and development in the social setting since it reduces the self-esteem and study ethics. The central idea is that measures should be adopted to avoid the occurrences of bullying in learning facilities. Bullying in schools occurs in different aspects and forms, including online harassments, physical, emotional and verbal abuses. It is apparent that some bullies target their victims on electronic platforms where they harass them. This takes place on social media channels, especially between peers and classmates who interact frequently. Considering this, bullying can affect the mental health of adolescents who face harassment from peers (Langan, 2013). This is because the trauma stays with them into adulthood whenever they encounter similar treatments in their marriage lives. According to Langan (2013), the physical, emotional and verbal abuses are the prevalent forms in schools and can be performed by both boys and girls. This is because it is observed that boys engage more in physical abuses while girls use verbal and cyber harassments. This habit is also common among the popular students who take advantage of their influence to mistreat others. It happens in the presence of other students who influence the climate and the ability of the mistreatment to occur. This is because of the peer culture that makes it easy for the bullies to perform the bullying. It is also common that the different aspects of bullying normally happen during the transition periods from one stage to the other

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Old dependency ratio(demography) Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Old dependency ratio(demography) - Lab Report Example The question remains, what other factors are likely to be varied, simultaneously, along the change? How have people’s behavior been adjusted and in what manners? Whether the high dependency ratio is a burden on working population or the situation is merely another social outcome of the demographic transition; without concluding it to be negative or positive? Figure.1 is a diagram of historical data, projecting â€Å"old dependency ratio† in U.S. As graph shows, old dependency ratio has been substantially raised historically due to both lower fertility and reduced mortality of old population. It is anticipated to sharply increase after 2010s. From year 1950 to 2010 the ODR changed from a value of 0.14 to 0.22, where as the likely jump for the period from 2010 to 2030 will be from a value of 0.22 to 0.35 (all figures are noted approximately) (the change for 20 years after 2010 is almost double the change between 1950 and 2010). The projected sharp increase (from 2010 to 2030) can be interpreted as a result of post WWII baby boom from 1946-1964. From 2010s, some of the babies born between 1946 and 1964 will be over 65. The diagram indicates that during this period there will be a huge financial burden on rest of the population (the working population). However, it is pre-mature to assume a negative situation without further investigation into more details. Something favorable might be happening as a consequence of demographic changes in the population ratios of the old and young. There are factors which might change as consequence of change in the old dependency ratio. This change might be helpful rather than being adverse. First of all, let us look at the historical data of expenditure on education. Table 1 and Table 2 show the yearly expenditure on education as well as income over the years. Table 1 shows this data on the

Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Report - Assignment Example You may as well think about both your fleeting procedures and long haul objectives in the arranging stage, giving careful consideration to contrasting the dangers and the potential The Marketing Process rewards. When you have improved a plainly characterized marketing arrangement, you can start the usage stage. The triumph or disappointment of the usage stage depends practically altogether on the work you have finished in the examination and arranging stages. In the event that your arrangements are practical, well thoroughly considered and dependent upon sound investigation, the execution stage may as well bring about triumph for your business. It is vital to remain concentrated on your target goals throughout the execution stage and be readied to acclimate your arrangements to suit evolving conditions. We have to be attentive to changing economic situations, our rivals and clients and alter marketing techniques in like manner. These fundamental standards of marketing apply to all business sectors far and wide. Coca-Cola is extremely market orientated, accompanying the arrival of distinctive products, for example, Coke Lime flavour, and diet Coke. They went under far reaching statistical surveying to discover what individuals preferred, and regulating around the range of 59% of the planet market. Coca-Cola is the drink that gives where it counts down refreshment for the brain, figure and soul since just ice-frosty Coca-Cola makes a minute more uncommon by joining together the extraordinary Coca-Cola sensation with whats true and bona fide giving a wellspring of satisfaction in regular life. Coca-Cola customers are not just restricted to just drinking Coca-Cola, they can look over an assortment of juices, games beverages, and mineral waters. Despite the fact that carbonated beverages are their biggest development fragment, the Asia showcase alone has around 3.2 billion buyers. Globally, Coca-Cola

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Environmental Policy and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Environmental Policy and Law - Essay Example (House of Lords, 2000) The scenario in the house where the Oakleys were tenants was such: the bathroom next to kitchen was devoid of a washbasin, therefore forcing the inmates to wash their hands in the kitchen sink. Contamination of food and foul smell were one of the few complaints that arose from this state of affairs. Taking place over a period of five days, the case closed on the decision that the appeal would be allowed. According to the case, there was a grave health hazard in the state of the premises. It was left upto the Justices to determine whether the risk was sufficient to constitute a statutory nuisance. The case went onto explore the legislative history of statutory nuisance, from the time of its mid-Victorian roots, and concluded that "prejudicial to health" should be interpreted in line with its "sanitary" origins; and that section 79(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is directed to the presence of some feature of premises which is in itself prejudicial to health, by way of being the source of possible infection, illness or disease. (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, 2000) This brings us to the issue of the origin of nuisance at Common Law. A conclusion to the contrary, i.e.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

A Feasibility Study of Building Structural Deformation Monitoring Essay

A Feasibility Study of Building Structural Deformation Monitoring using Global Positioning (GPS) - Essay Example To achieve their objectives through this study, the authors monitored structural deformations in one high-rise building, viz. the Twin Tower of Science and Technology Complex, and one low-rise building, viz. the Innovation Centre Building, both of which belonged to the University Technology MARA (UiTM), in Selangor, Malaysia. The authors chose high accuracy GPS ( ±1 mm) and total station ( ± 1 mm, 1†) to apply in deformation monitoring of the buildings, to improve accuracy of the survey. During the course of the study, authors identified appropriate points on the building structure, and suitable control points around the building to begin the structural monitoring process. They then carried out GPS surveys using the rapid static technique, geotechnical surveys through crack-width measurements using the digital movement gauge, and terrestrial surveys using the intersection technique on the building structures for four epochs. In this study, the authors demonstrated that whil e crack width measurements using the digital movement gauge were helpful in identifying deformations occurring in one dimension (1 D), the intersection technique of terrestrial surveying is advantageous for monitoring the deformations that occur in two dimensions (2 D). However, the GPS survey was of no utility for monitoring the building deformations, as it did not provide consistent results. According to the authors, the inconsistency of results of the GPS survey was due to obstruction of the antenna that was to receive the satellite signal, by the surrounding building structures. The strength of this study lies in the fact that accuracy in survey methodology and results was maintained. The authors successfully demonstrated the use of various survey techniques in monitoring building structure deformation through appropriate and reliable data and measurements. The information on the efficiency of the various techniques in monitoring building structure deformation occurring in 1D an d 2D will prove to be useful in choosing the appropriate technique based on individual building survey requirements. The weakness of this study, however, is that it suffers from lack of appropriate data analysis, as the objective, i.e. assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed techniques was not sufficiently met. Importance of the study: This article is significant as the authors assess the most prominent survey techniques and distinguish them based on their utility in deformation monitoring. The study will enable making a better a choice while choosing which type of survey technique is to be used when deformations occurring in 1D or 2D are to be monitored. This study also indicates that using GPS for monitoring deformations is futile in areas where surrounding high-rise buildings and obstructions exist, such as in cities. This paper provides concise methodology and distinct deformation monitoring techniques that will be helpful in carrying out deformation meas urements for my project study. 2. Deformation Monitoring by GPS at Embankment Dams and Deformation Analysis Summary: The main objective of this study was to assess deformation at the crest of the Altinkaya dam, caused by a combined effect of the weight of the dam and the water load occurring at different water levels. A secondary objective was to investigate if GPS surveying technique and its measurements are accurate enough to be used for examining deformations

Monday, September 23, 2019

Manufacturing Technologies - Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Manufacturing Technologies - 2 - Assignment Example The late1980s was marked with intense marketing of a cast magnesium frame (Anon, 1987 and Anon, 1988). Despite the fact about the difficulties regarding the proof of the long term success as a product, this however had quite little to do with the functional design and method of manufacture of the frame (Anon, 1987: 235-236). Today, there is many more research being conducted in this production field which ultimately aims at improving the existing models and bring into market more sufficient models that are of high quality. Critical aspects in the processes of manufacturing sequence for a bicycle frame Bicycle manufacturing involves a series of process which can be classified in to primary stage and secondary stage. The primary stage safe ultimately involves the hardware part of manufacturing with the main aim being the creation of the structure of the bicycle while the secondary part can also be looked upon has the finishing stage of manufacturing a bicycle which involves the paintin g of the bicycle among other small things that are done to a bicycle before it is ready to be used (Springfield Bicycle Manufacturing Co. (Boston, Mass.), 1888). The process of manufacturing a bicycles frame involves a sequence of processes. There are two main sequence processes that are followed in the manufacturing of the frame namely, the casting technique and the forming-joining technique. The casting technique is an innovation of British bicycle and was designed by Frank Kirk. It is designed using computer. The casting technique used a magnesium alloy which was more efficient and advantageous as compares to steel-tubed diamond bicycle frame. Magnesium alloy casting proved to e twice as rigid as steel-tubed bicycle frame, it was more aerodynamic, cheaper to produce (Linda, C, and Ernest, 1996). It is also lighter and cheaper to produce in the long run. Another advantage of the casting technique was that it produce a bicycle frame which could not flex, it did not produce energy t hat was expended to produce propel the machine and it was made to be high stiff by running the down to tube along the axis from the head tube to the rear axle. Casting production method was an improvement seen it facilitated the production of identical frames with identical performance that were more durable (Springfield Bicycle Manufacturing Co. (Boston, Mass.), 1888). Casting production of the bicycle frame proved to be more sufficient in terms of its function despite its low cost. Another advantage of the casting of a bicycle frame was that the frame had special inserts which allowed the insertion of all components parts of a bicycle such as the brakes and it was also composed of a carbon fiber hanger which enabled the mechanism to be swurfg clear so that the wheel can removed and replaced more easily and fast (Yu-Shan, Ming-Ji, Lin, and Chang, 2009: 207-217) The production of bicycle frame was boosted by development of the a large pressure die-casting machine which produces larg e amount of bicycle frame over a short period of time with the production of one frame being estimated to take one minute and annual production being 200000 frames. The process of making a bicycle frame is very complex. It involves joining tubes together by brazed lugs where more lugs are built in order to

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Influence of Information Literacy on Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership Essay Example for Free

The Influence of Information Literacy on Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership Essay Information Literacy is a crucial portion of the scholarship, practice, and leadership model. Information Literacy that is utilized in a clinical setting by Physicians, Physician Assistants, and Nursing staff help to determine the type of care that is provided to patients. â€Å"Information competence is a basis for long-life learning competence and is necessary in any way of learning† (Tursheva, 2009, p. 127). As a scholar, practitioner, and leader, one must possess the knowledge and the ability to access various types of information. At the VA Hospital medical staff must all be knowledgeable of software that allows them to access the numerous amounts of patient data the assists them daily in performing their medical duties. Access to the internet or taking a trip to the local library is an everyday occurrence in the life of a medical student. Because of their career choice, they are constantly on a quest for new and vital information. We live in an information society. All individuals have the opportunity to enhance their way of thinking and change their lives personally or professionally. â€Å"Often information competence is defined as a skill of searching, evaluating, using, and distributing all kinds of information, which is developed during our whole life† (Tursheva, 2009, p. 127). Throughout hospitals in today’s society, there are medical libraries and journals available for medical students to use to broaden their knowledge as it relates to providing the proper treatment for their patients. Medical students serve as scholars. They continue to look for new and improved ways to enhance their knowledge in the medical field. The information they obtain is crucial for their development. Information literacy must continue throughout their careers. â€Å"Information literacy is not remedial, it is foundational† (Badke, 2009, p. 49). See more: how to write a scholarship essay for study abroad In a clinical setting, medical information changes on a daily basis. Physicians serve as practitioners in the medical community. They provide key information to medical students, residents, as well as nursing staff that help with their growth and development. Simons, Morgan, and Davidson (2012) stated, â€Å"in order for physicians to practice medicine successfully and become learners for life, they need to know how to search and manage the medical information they discover within their patient-centered context.† As a practitioner, physicians understand that these skills are necessary in order for their medical students and other medical staff becomes experts in their chosen field. As a scholar and leader in the area of medicine, it is imperative to understand how to work as a team to provide the best possible care to patients. â€Å"Educators are responding to complexities of today’s medical knowledge by developing educational programs based on current learning theories, such as enactivism, where learning takes place within teams that are actively engaged in clinical environments† (Davidson, Morgan, Simons, 2012, p. 291). This results in more patients that can place their trust in physicians and nurses who know how to work together as a team. Leaders provide an opportunity for students to grow. Upon entering college medical students are unaware of the importance of information literacy. They fail to understand the purpose that it will serve in their everyday lives. According to Russell (2009), â€Å"today’s students don’t have a clear understanding of what it means to obtain scholarly information that is useful† (p. 92). Staff physicians at the VA Hospital serve as leaders. They are solely responsible for the medical knowledge they provide medical students and residents. Because medical information is constantly changing, as leaders, they have to be prepared to adapt. â€Å"This learning must include access to evidence-based medical literature to make informed decisions, thus making information literacy a central activity of the team responsible for the care of patients† (Davidson, Morgan, Simons, 2012, p. 291). At the VA Hospital medical literature is readily available on all of the computers as well as a plethora of other information sources for the medical residents to make the best decisions regarding patient care. Information literacy provides the opportunity to access a variety of information utilizing different sources. This information provides needed knowledge to support ideas. Information literacy skills allow the adaptation to changing environments which serves as a support tool for better decision making in everyday life.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The International Accounting Standards Board Structure

The International Accounting Standards Board Structure There is overwhelming demand for high quality accounting standards that are internationally accepted. It is of the utmost importance that the IASB delivers these as quickly as possible. Required: a) Outline the current structure of the IASB, highlighting the major influences and controls on it. (30%) b) Explain the main advantages of high quality, internationally accepted accounting standards and the main challenges the IASB faces in developing them. (50%) c) Comment on the quotation above and give a conclusion on its validity. (20%) ANSWER a) The International Accounting Standards Board (hereafter â€Å"IASB†)[1] replaced the International Accounting Standards Committee on April 1 2001. This represented the culmination of a restructuring project based on the recommendations of the report Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future.[2] The IASB, which is based in London, is constituted by fourteen board members drawn from nine different countries, of whom twelve are full-time and 3 are part-time. The composition of the membership is as follows: a minimum of five former auditors, three former users of accounts, three former preparers of accounts, and one academic. The remaining two can be drawn from any of these backgrounds or from a different background. The IASB is entrusted with the responsibility to establish International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and its goal is to create conformity and compatibility around the world.[3] Its mission statement is to provide â€Å"high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards†[4]. This is a substantial task, given that the accounting principles generally accepted in each individual country can in practice differ significantly between national jurisdictions. The IASB is organised on the following lines. Its parental body, the IASC Foundation is an independent entity having two main arms, namely, the Trustees and the IASB, and in addition it incorporates the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee and a Standards Advisory Council. The 22 Foundation Trustees of the IASC are empowered to appoint members to the IASB, to exercise general oversight and administrative and managerial supervision, and to generate the funds needed to finance the operation. However it should be stressed that the IASB has sole and exclusive responsibility for establishing accounting standards. The focus of the IASB is on the pursuit of a rolling work plan. The work plan is determined and updated at regular IASB meetings and reflects the objectives and broad timetable of the Memorandum of Understanding[5] between the IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (hereafter â€Å"FASB†) which lays down the so-called Roadmap for Convergence between IFRSs and US GAAP between 2006 and 2008.[6] The Memorandum of Understanding establishes goals that the IASB and FASB have agreed to achieve so as to facilitate the convergence of accounting standard-setting.[7] The long-term strategic priority of both the IASB and FASB remains the establishment of a common set of high quality global standards. b) The overarching goal of the IASB is the creation and maintenance of a set of understandable, enforceable and effective accounting standards for consistent application around the world. The object of this exercise is to attempt to guarantee both equivalence and transparency in certain universal financial statements compiled in different national jurisdictions across the globe by engineering a commensurate and smooth convergence of previously diverse national standards of accounting reporting..[8] It is manifest that the achievement of such an end would facilitate international business and investment, reduce commercial risk and increase transparency, and improve the general quality of financial reporting around the world. The IASB has resolved that if consistently reliable and effective financial reporting infrastructure is to be established it must both embody and reflect four essential characteristics:[9] 1. It is deemed essential that settled accounting standards are consistent, comprehensive and founded on a transparent set of general principles which strive to guarantee that financial reports fairly and accurately reflect all background and underlying financial realities. 2. Functional mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the adoption of efficient and effective corporate governance practices, and that in turn these should incorporate a condition for strict systems of internal control which serve to apply common accounting standards. 3. Auditing practices must be established in which the diverse users and prepares of accounts in the outside world can invest confidence and trust, and which categorically establish that undertakings produce reports which represent a true and fair view of their economic performance and overall financial state. 4. It is necessary to implement a cogent surveillance and enforcement regime which ensures that the fundamental rules and principles as determined by the universally prevailing auditing and accounting standards are both respected and applied.. The Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements[10] was published by the IASB’s predecessor, the International Accounting Standards Committee in 1989. Popularly known as the Conceptual Framework, this document lays down the essential concepts to be adhered to in the production of financial statements for external appraisal and usage. The Framework deals with such matters as: qualitative characteristics of financial information; fundamental assumptions; objectives of financial statements; elements of financial statements; core components of financial statements; measurement of the items of financial statements; capital maintenance issues.[11] That said, it is worth emphasising that the Conceptual Framework is not accorded the full status of an accounting standard. The same can be said of the Statement of Principles of the UK Accounting Standards Board. This obviously constitutes a practical challenge because it renders application less certain and can result in a dilution of the principles it endeavours to entrench. Despite this difficulty, the Framework guides the current work of the IASB in its development of contemplated International Financial Reporting Standards and it influences the IASB’s rolling review of established International Accounting Standards.. It is submitted that this modus operandi should encourage the harmonisation of accounting standards, and hone those procedures and regulations relevant to the presentation and substance of financial statements by setting down an underlying conceptual rationale for reducing the number of different accounting treatments allowed under international standards. The IASB faces a huge challenge in catering for the all the different classes of users of financial statements, who may seek to use those financial statements for a wide number of purposes. Given that users may include classes as diverse as, suppliers, lenders, trade creditors, investors (current and potential), employees, customers (current and potential), the general public and Government agencies, it is clear that the IASB has to take a vast array of different and sometimes competing interests into account in determining the appropriate rules of accounting.[12] c) It is very hard to argue with the quote under review, because there is manifestly considerable demand among, in particular accounts users, who rely upon accounts to guide a multiplicity of business and investment decisions, for high quality accounting standards that are both internationally accepted and respected and universally applied. Given that unarguable truth the second part of the quote is also clearly well founded. Of course it would be desirable to deliver improvements to accounting standards as soon as possible. This commentator can conceive of no reason to delay the introduction of what would represent a significant improvement in conditions of finance and trade, in particular given the increasing globalisation of business and commerce and the relative growth in the number of international transactions as opposed to national transactions with each passing year. In simple words, business is becoming ever more global and accounting standards must consolidate to reflect t hat new environment and practice. The demand and determination to achieve high quality and internationally accepted accounting standards is perhaps best evidenced by the focused cooperation between accounting standard setting bodies witnessed in recent years. In 2004 the IASB started work on a project in partnership with the US FASB which is aimed at the development of a so-called common conceptual framework, in the hope of that such would facilitate the convergence and refinement of the existing frameworks of both accounting standards Boards.[13] Demand for tighter and more consistent accounting standards has also been fuelled by analysis of the high profile corporate collapses of companies like Enron and WorldCom in recent years.[14] Accountants were widely criticised for auditing errors in these cases, which have already proved the catalysts for a raft of new corporate governance regulations.. These huge corporate collapses and others of their ilk have not only given rise to increased demand for accounting standard improvement and consolidation but also underline the very real need for concerted action in this field. In sum, it is submitted that the quote under review is well founded in both its primary assertions.. THE END WORD COUNT: 1574 (excluding footnotes) BIBLIOGRAPHY Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future: A Report of the International Accounting Standards Committee’s Strategy Working Party, Recommendations to the IASC Board, 30 November 1999: http://www.iasb.org/uploaded_files/documents/8_210_swp_rep.pdf Mirza and Epstein, IFRS: Interpretation and Application of International Accounting Standards, (2006) Wiley Horngren, â€Å"Uses and Limitations of a Conceptual Framework,† Journal of Accountancy, April 1981 Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements, http://www.iasplus.com/standard/framewk.htm. Alfredson et al., Applying International Accounting Standards, (2005) Wiley. Lewis and Pendrill, Advanced Financial Accounting, (2004) Prentice Hall International Accounting Standards Board website: http://www.iasb.org/Home.htm Inman, UK accounting firms enjoy  £1bn bonanza in wake of Enron, The Guardian, 28 June 2006. Memorandum of Understanding between the FASB and the IASB 27 February 2006: http://www.iasb..co.uk/. The IASB Conceptual Framework An Introduction, Dr Philip Dunn, AccountingWeb, 9 May 2005: http://www..accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=140805d=448h=0f=0. International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (1998); â€Å"Shaping IASC for the Future†, Discussion Paper, December, 1998 1 Footnotes [1] The non-profit organisation IASC Foundation, incorporated in March 2001 in Delaware, US is the parental body of the IASB. [2] Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future: A Report of the International Accounting Standards Committee’s Strategy Working Party, Recommendations to the IASC Board, 30 November 1999: http://www.iasb.org/uploaded_files/documents/8_210_swp_rep.pdf. And see: International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) (1998); â€Å"Shaping IASC for the Future†, Discussion Paper, December, 1998. [3] For an insightful overview see: Alfredson et al., Applying International Accounting Standards, (2005) Wiley. [4] See: http://www.iasb.org/Home.htm. [5] Memorandum of Understanding between the FASB and the IASB 27 February 2006: http://www.iasb.co.uk/. [6] See: http://www.iasb.co.uk/. [7] This is an integral part of the process towards removal of the duty owed by foreign registrants with the SEC to converge their financial statements to the US GAAP model. [8] See for general background and insightful comment: Lewis, R. and Pendrill, D. 2004 Advanced Financial Accounting 7th edition. [9] Statement of Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB, Before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the United States Senate, Washington DC, 9 September 2004: http://www.iasb.org/uploaded_files/documents/8_129_040909-dpt.pdf. [10] See: Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements, http://www.iasplus.com/standard/framewk.htm. [11] The IASB Conceptual Framework An Introduction, Dr Philip Dunn, AccountingWeb, 9 May 2005: http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=140805d=448h=0f=0. [12] Horngren, Charles T., â€Å"Uses and Limitations of a Conceptual Framework,† Journal of Accountancy, April 1981, p. 90. [13] See: http://www.iasb.org/current/active_projects.asp?showPageContent=noxml=16_107_116_30112004.htm [14] Inman, UK accounting firms enjoy  £1bn bonanza in wake of Enron, The Guardian, 28 June 2006.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Realization in Welty’s A Piece of News Essay examples -- Welty Piece o

Realization in Welty’s A Piece of News Ruby’s death fantasy reflects the conflict between her wants, needs, and life in this Eudora Welty story. We first meet Ruby while she is coming in from a storm with a package of coffee wrapped in newspaper from a man from Tennessee. We find out later that she has a habit of hitchhiking and picking up men from Tennessee. Welty writes, â€Å"When Clyde would make her blue, she would go out onto the road, some car would slow down, and if it had a Tennessee license, the lucky kind, the chances were that she would spend the afternoon in the shed of the empty gin† (14). When Ruby comes in out of the rain, both she and the package are soaking wet. After drying herself off a little by the fire, she spreads the wet newspaper on the floor and lies down. Soon, she looks at the newspaper and reads her name: â€Å"Mrs. Ruby Fisher had the misfortune to be shot in the leg by her husband this week† (13). Immediately, Ruby connects her husband, Clyde to the crime, and she shouts out to him in the storm. However, she slowly realizes that â€Å"it was unlike Clyde to take up a gun and shoot her† (14). Nonetheless, she fantasizes about her funeral in a daydream, and when Clyde finally arrives home, she shows him the excerpt from the newspaper. Clyde vehemently denies the charges but, for a moment, is taken by Ruby’s assertion. In the end, Clyde proves to Ruby that the story cannot be about them because the newspaper is from Tennessee, and the storm rolls â€Å"away to faintness like a wagon crossing a bridge† (16). Throughout the narrative, Ruby’s comings and goings are intimately connected to the storm outside. Specifically, the storm mirrors Ruby’s innermost thoughts and implies the cyclical nature of Ruby’s experi... ...s often a perfect mirror of the feminine persona’s place within society, an image of the enclosure and of its victims, and thus the transformed hero who has survived this layer of her unconscious is unlikely to be able to reintegrate herself fully into â€Å"normal† society. (142) When Ruby mixes fantasy with reality she unlocks a way to understand her relationship with Clyde. But as a result of claiming that her fantasy is a reality, she is regarded as crazy by Clyde, the narrator, and perhaps, the reader. Hitchhiking, storm, green-world lover, confrontation with Clyde, and journey into the unconscious create a transformational journey, which brings Ruby to realization, resignation, and madness. Ruby’s inability to change her situation despite her psychological inroads into knowing precipitates her odd behavior and keeps her journey from being fully transformational.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

My Philosophy about Child Development Essay -- Education Children Deve

My Philosophy about Child Development Works Cited Missing A child's development affects how they learn. All children don't fit the norms of development but not all children should be looked down on because of this. The development of the body and mind leads to the development of skills a child learns in life. Teachers need to help the child expand their skills and the knowledge to do the skills well. "Virtually everything a young child does is affected if physical development is delayed" (Charlesworth, 2000). Adults and teachers need to do everything possible to keep physical development from being delayed. Adults can provide children with opportunities to help them in development. By the age of three a child's brain is three quarters of its adult size. From infancy to the age of two development is very rapid (Santrock, 1996). For this reason it is essential for the child to be able to explore their world around them. By exploring children will increase their knowledge and understanding of the world. A child must have physical development before motor development can occur (Charlesworth, 2000). According to Piaget infants acquire knowledge from their environment. Through sight, smell, hearing, and touch this is accomplished. Adults are responsible for seeing that the children have a chance to explore to acquire the knowledge. A child must be physically able to do the work that is required to keep up with the other students. Many chil...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Imaging Techniques and Cognitive Function Essay examples -- Medicine

Neuroimaging is a multidiscipline science and experts from the field of psychology, statistics, physics and physiology all contribute to its further development (Poldrack et al., 2007). In the last 20 years the imaging techniques developed from single proton emission tomography (SPET) to positron emission tomography (PET) and finally to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (Page, 2006). Their applications are numerous in experimental and cognitive psychology. However, at one level they can constitute another dependent variable (brain activity) as a response to an independent variable (stimulus manipulation) and at the other level, understanding the structure and processes of the brain can shed light on ‘normal’ cognitive functioning (Kaye, 2010). Therefore, this essay will argue that imaging techniques not only tell us about the brain structure but also try to explain its cognitive functions. Two non-invasive imaging techniques will be put forward, namely, electr oencephalogram (EEG) that measures electrical activity and gives excellent temporal resolution and fMRI that is based on changes in blood supply and provides excellent spatial resolution. The claim will be evaluated in the light of their basic assumptions, methodology and contribution to examining the brain function. Relevant evidence of studies with healthy adults will be provided. Finally, technologies that can only show the brain structure will be introduced. First, let us look at the electroencephalogram (EEG), which is based on recordings of electrical brain activity with millisecond temporal resolution and it provides â€Å"the most direct measure correlate of ongoing brain processing that can be obtained non-invasively (Johnsrude and Hauk, 2010, p. 28). The ba... ...12 from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b047404-ffff-413f-b018-a4213e391053%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=110 Page, M. A. (2006). What can't functional neuroimaging tell the cognitive psychologist?. Cortex: A Journal Devoted To The Study Of The Nervous System And Behavior, 42(3), 428-443. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0010945208703757 Poldrack, R.A., Fletcher, P.C., Henson, R.N., Worsley, K.J., Brett, M. and Nichols, T.E. (2007). Guidelines for reporting an fMRI study. NeuroImage, 40 (2), 409-414. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811907011020 Whatson, T. (2006) Studying the brain: Techniques and technology. In Exploring the Brain (2nd ed.), 11-41, The Open University, Milton Keynes.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Role of Cognition and Thought in Learning

Learning is an essential part of man’s life. Learning is attained through continuous education and acquisition of knowledge pertinent to a man’s daily concerns and activities. Thus, learning is a process of acquiring knowledge and information over time. There are various ways and means of attaining information and knowledge. Some people choose to attend formal education in order to obtain a systematic form of learning. However, learning can also be attained through experiences and observation. Learning is comprised of various mechanisms that helps perform total learning process. Cognition is one of the relevant mechanisms that are needed in acquiring pertinent knowledge and information. Cognition is a concept that is utilized in various fields. In the field of psychology, cognition refers to the processing of information viewed by the psychologists in human’s psychological functions. It can also be interpreted as gaining perceptions and opinions. The term cognition refers to the various mental processes used to acquire learning. This includes â€Å"gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving. These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning† (Wagner, 2008). It also involves various processes of human beings such as learning, attention, memory, thought, perception, problem-solving, reading and concept formation. It is a concept that is very broad and involves abstract processes such as thinking (Ireland On-Line, n. d. ). Cognition also involves adjusting to the internal processes of the external world. The adjustment period is accomplished through process of experience and discovery and the assimilation of interaction and the resulting adaptation. The very task of cognition is learning (Alpiner & McCarthy, 2000). Thought, on the other hand, is one of the underlying mechanisms of cognition. It is one of the mental processes that are parts of human cognition. It is a product of mental activity which can be in the form of idea, concept and percept. Cognition and thought play significant roles in the whole learning process. Cognition is regarded with high value of importance especially during childhood, as majority of the knowledge and information acquired by an individual happens through the early stages of development. It is a part of child’s learning as they move along the various stages of development. Cognition evolves through the entire life span of a person, but the development is rapid during childhood years (Alpiner & McCarthy, 2000). It has been observed that language development in children fails unless they are exposed to language. Language is an emergent behavior which can be acquired if the person is exposed on the certain aspect of learning. Such input is important in cognition, as cognition is the aspect of mental activity which processes the acquisition of knowledge. Moreover, cognition is an important aspect of the child’s learning. The various underlying mechanisms comprise of the different mental activities of human, which serve as the basic components needed for the successful children’s acquisition of knowledge. Two of these important mechanisms include memory and meaning (Alpiner & McCarthy, 2000). Thought, as a product of the various mental processes of the human cognition, also plays an important role in learning. Thoughts are the developed ideas, concepts and percepts that resulted from human cognition. Thoughts, therefore, are the views and perceptions of a person about certain things. It adds up on the body of knowledge of a person. Thought and cognition are two of the most important aspects of learning which serve as essential parts of man’s development and growth. Man’s education and learning mainly relies on these vital processes and products.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Dual Identities Essay

What is identity? We know from intuitive self-awareness that personal identity exists. It seems to be a fact of conscious life, as common as the word â€Å"I.† But the real question is how to define it? I have come to realize that there is no set definition on what makes an identity, so if my understanding is correct anything and everything can make an identity. There is no wrong answer. It varies from person to person. For example Andre Dubus, the author of â€Å"Witness†makes his identity clear through stories in which he shows his disability. In his case having a disability is part of his identity â€Å"I cannot stand or walk . . . I cannot live as normals do.† As for myself, I can relate, although not to the extent as Dubus, I can understand the anger that goes along with a disability. My disability is anemia, and while most people that suffer from anemia do not see anything other than minor side effects, I do. I am severely anemic, and so it affects my everyday life. I have trouble getting up in the morning because I am too tired, even after a good night sleep. I have to take iron pills and I eat red meat almost every day. Furthermore, I have seen more doctors than I wish to remember and they all tell me the same thing â€Å"you’ll grow out of it.† â€Å"Really, thanks Doctor, you’ve been so helpful,† I reply sarcastically. Few people know about my sickness, which I plan to keep that way. For some reason I feel that if many people knew about it they would feel bad for me, and could possibly think I was weak, which is the last thing that I want. Part of my identity is being strong and un-afraid, which is a difficult thing to pull off for a girl. Dave Barry the author of â€Å"Guys vs. Men† thinks that a lot of men give â€Å"guys† a bad name. Just like Barry I think that a lot of girls give females a bad name. Let me explain. I think that a lot of girls are overly dramatic, way too emotional, and acted dumber than they really are, for reasons that are very unclear to me. I know that I am feeding into the stereotype, but some girls fit the stereotype too well to not comment on. I refuse to take guff from anyone, unless I deserve it, and I speak what is on my mind. I have heard that I can be very threatening, but I do not believe that I should refrain from speaking my mind when I see it necessary.  In Keith Bradshers essay â€Å"Reptile Dreams† Clotaire Rapaille describes teens very well by commenting that â€Å"They want to give the message, †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢I want to be able to fight back, don’t mess with me.'† Clotaire seems to sum up the thoughts of the American youth very well, or at least me. I think that I acquired that aspect of my identity from when I lived in Los Angeles. Zora Neal Hurston explains it well â€Å"I left Eatonville, †¦as Zora†¦When I disembarked on the river boat†¦She was no more,† in her essay â€Å"How if feels to be Colored Me.†She expressed exactly how I felt when I moved to Sacramento. I felt like I wasn’t myself anymore. When I lived in Los Angeles I developed an eclectic personality; because I was friends with so many different types of people I took on other aspects of my personality. Unfortunately because I lived in LA I always had to have my guard up, im not sure how to explain it correctly other than, if you lived there you would understand. For the most part everyone had to fend for themselves, and if you weren’t able to do that than you were a follower of someone who did. I later came to realize that ones sense of self, or ones identity is developed through, among other things, external influences including friends, family, and situations. Now looking back I can see where I have gotten my attitude. I’m smart mouthed, sarcastic, and blunt. Through those traits I have also acquired nicknames. A recent nickname as of this summer was, â€Å"Ms. Attitude.† This summer I went wake-boarding with some family friends, their friends, and my best friend. So basically it was my friend and I, and 7 guys. What I came to realize though this summer, is that most guys aren’t used to girls that talk back. Because I am very sarcastic the guys were very surprised, which is why I developed the nickname. They thought it was hilarious, and I was recently told by one of them that they miss my attitude, so I guess I left an impression. What is shocking to me though, is that I usually get that reaction from most guys, which leads me to believe that they have never met any girls from LA. I moved last summer before senior year to Granite Bay, and attended Granite Bay High School my senior year. I moved from my moms house to my dads house,  willingly, to avoid a lot of un-necessary drama. The move was quite unexpected for everyone but myself. I left because I came to realize that my friends were no longer my friends. Many of my friends had begun to do some very hard drugs, and so I no longer wanted to be around them. I knew it was a bad environment, so I left. I have always been very independent and have never relied on anyone else to make decisions for me. I only did what I thought was right, yet after sharing my story with a few new friends in Nor*Cal I witnessed a lot of jaw-dropping, everyone thought that it was such a big deal. My identity quickly developed, I was the girl from L.A. I valued that identity, I almost felt like superman, I was Clark Kent when I was home in LA, and Superman when I was in Sacramento. I say Superman because a lot of people kind of looked at me like that, like I was invincible. I was like nothing any of them were used to. Other than being influenced from where one lives or lived, I believe that family can have a huge impact on ones identity. For instance, because I was raised by my mom, I turned out differently than if I was raised by my dad. If I was raised by my dad I think I would have turned out much more emotionally detached, and much more independent. I say this because my dads a guy, he doesn’t seem to care about anything other than himself and definitely shows no sign of emotion or feeling, that means no hugs. If I was raised by him Im sure I would have had a job at thirteen and would probably be living on my own now. But because I was raised by my mom I grew being very spoiled, because my mom believes that school is more important than work so I was never allowed to get a job. Unfortunately I grew up having everything handed to me. Which is good because I got everything that I wanted very easily, but bad because I got used to having everything handed to me. In addition, because I grew up living with my mom I became more compassionate and caring because that’s what I was taught. I consider the way I was raised part of my identity, I grew up with very strong ties to my family and that’s part of who I am. In conclusion, I believe that there is no one way to decipher where an identity can come from. So once again what is identity? humans are the only animal that can be aware of oneself, and so we are also the only animal to  contemplate who we are, and why we are that way. Through this constant mission of self discovery everyone seems to have an ever-changing view on their personal identity. It is a fact of conscious life, as common as the word â€Å"I,† to want to know who we are. I have come to realize that there is no set definition on what makes an identity, so if my understanding is correct anything and everything can make an identity. There is no wrong answer. It seems to vary from person to person and if any given event, person, action, etc, has effected someone greatly enough it can become part of their identity, even unknowingly. For me writing this paper was a mission of self discovery, I have never really considered who I am other than the obvious. I now know who I am and why I am the way I am. To me that was the hardest thing to answer. Why?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The Present Scenario of Smes in Bangladesh

Assignment On The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh The Report Presented to the Faculty of Business Administration in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration Submitted To Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman Course Instructor Faculty of Business, ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Course Title: Entrepreneurship Development Course Code: MGT-321 Submitted By Name | ID| Section| Al-amin| 101-12-0054| 9B| Md. Alauddin Al Mahdi| 101-12-0064| 9B| Hyder Hossain| 101-12-0062| 9B| Nilufa Yesmin| 101-12-0067| 9B| Rashiduzzaman| 093-12-0035| 9B| ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Date: 07 August 2012 ———————————————— Letter of Transmittal Date: 07/08/2012 To Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman Course instructor Faculty of Business, ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Subject: Submission of the Group Assignment . Sir, It is our pleasure to submit the report on â€Å"The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh† as a part of our course â€Å"Entrepreneurship Development† We have enjoyed preparing this assignment which enriched our practical knowledge of the theoretical concept. We tried to reflect the practical operational aspects of the organization which is complementary to the theoretical lessons.Should you need any further information to evaluate the assignment, it would be our immense pleasure to furnish you the same. Sincerely Yours Name| ID| Section| Signature| Al-amin| 101-12-0054| 9B| | Md. Alauddin Al Mahdi| 101-12-0064| 9B| | Hyder Hossain| 101-12-0062| 9B| | Nilufa Yesmin| 101-12-0067| 9B| | Rashiduzzaman| 093-12-0035| 9B| | ————————————————- ————————————————- Acknowledgement Preparing this term paper on â€Å"The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh† was a wonderful experience for our. At fast we would like to thank almighty Allah to carry on our work.We would like to thank our faculty member, Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman , course instructor, Faculty of Business ASA University Bangladesh for giving our this opportunity as well as for his constant guidance and support. Finally we would like to thank our family for supporting our courage to carry on our work. It was a practical experience for us. Executive Summary Bangladesh is s developing country. Its per capita income is only $750 and per capita GDP is $684 and present GDP growth rate is 6%. Most of the people are living in the below of poverty line. Poverty as like as curse for our country.To remove poverty government and other organization such as NGOs, Bank has taken many steps. Bangladesh Government has taken Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programs that first goals is eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Th ey also have written Poverty Reduction Strategy paper (PRSP) to remove poverty. To achieve the committed MDGs and PRSP, Bangladesh must strive to expend employment creation opportunities very rapidly. For this government have formed SMEs Foundation. SMEs means Small and Medium enterprises, it can be defined as enterprises which have at most 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros.Further there is the distinction of Small enterprise- they fewer than 50 staff members and less than 10 million Euros turnover- and micro- enterprises (less than 10 persons and 2 million Euros turnover). Different countries and organizations define SME differently. The government of Bangladesh has categorized SME into two broad classes (a) manufacturing enterprise and (b) non manufacturing activities. Manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories (a) Small enterprise and (b) Medium enterprise.Non-manufacturing activities also can be divided into two categories (a) Small enterprise and (b) Medium enterprise. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics different enterprises are defined as Micro industry that number of employees is 0-9, small has 10-49 employees, Medium has 50-99 employees and Large above 99 employees. To complete this assignment we have collected data from the secondary source such as internet, books, journal etc. The objectives of the study are to appraise the present situation of SME in Bangladesh, to identify the problems of SME in Bangladesh and recommend solutions to overcome the problems.Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by producing exportable surpluses of commodities together with local value additions and creation of employment opportunities, can make significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. Although financing of SMEs in off-farm rural economic activities are largely dependent on equity financing from personal and family savings, currently banks and financial institutions are also coming forward to pr ovide finance to this sector. As the large potential of employment generation by SMEs has attracted attention of the policy makers, a range of initiatives for channeling loans to SMEs are being taken.The Government has taken up programs to provide financial assistance to expand SMEs through commercial banks. Alongside the disbursement of loans, since FY2004-05, Bangladesh Bank has taken up a scheme of Tk. 100 crore for refinancing the scheduled banks and financial institutions as revolving fund. Recently, the scheme has been widened with an enhanced allocation of Tk. 600 crore. Up to June 2009, Tk. 716. 44 crore and up to December 2009 Tk. 853. 15 has been disbursed among 17 scheduled banks and 21financial institutions for refinancing potential entrepreneurs.In addition to this, IDA has provided US$10 million and the Government of Bangladesh has provided Tk. 112. 32 crore through ‘Enterprises Growth and Bank Modernization Project (EGBMP)’. With the stipulated revolving fund of Tk. 224. 50 crore up to June 2009 and Tk. 244. 14 crore up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 2541 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 15 schedule banks and 14 financial institutions. Moreover, in an attempt to provide incentives to the sector, ADB has been providing an additional US$30 million to Bangladesh Bank and Tk. 34. 94 up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 3264 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 9 schedule banks and 7 financial institutions. These resources would contribute both in employment generation as well as in enhancing the purchasing power of the poor. It is found that micro enterprises run by up to 10 workers contribute the most which is 86% of the total contribution from SMEs to GDP of Bangladesh. It is also observed that micro enterprises run by more than 21 workers contribute about 7% of total contribution from SME to GDP of Bangladesh.It is reflected from the table that manufacturing sector contributes the high est contribution in GDP i. e. , 38%. It is also observed from the table that agriculture and wholesale and retail sector contribute more than 22 percent in the GDP of Bangladesh. We also show the growth pattern of SME. It is observed that during 2001-2002 to 2004-2005 in every financial year the growth rate of SME is about 7%. In 2005-2006 the growth rate was 9. 21%. The highest growth was in 2006-2007 i. e. 10. 28%. Quantum Index of Production for Medium to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries in 2009-10 is 431. 51.We also found some major problems these are Resource scarcity, High employee turnover, Absence of modern technology, Poor physical infrastructure, Financial constraints, Lack of uniform definition, Lack of information, Lack of entrepreneurship skills, Participation of women entrepreneurs, Access to Market and lack of awareness regarding the importance of marketing tool, Bureaucracy, Absence of transparent legal system, Lack of commitment to innovation and customer satisf action, Lack of quality assurance, Lack of research and development facilities, Fierce competition with the cheaper foreign goods.We also provide some recommendation that mention in the Recommendation chapter. At last we conclusion our assignment on the conclusion chapter. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) act as a vital player for the economic growth, poverty alleviation and rapid industrialization of the developing countries like Bangladesh. SMEs are significant in underlying country’s economic growth, employment generation and accelerated industrialization. Government of Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of SME in the Industrial Policy-2005.SME has identified by the Ministry of Industries as a ‘thrust sector’. As the SME sector is labor intensive, it can create more employment opportunities. For this reason government of Bangladesh has recognized SME as a poverty alleviation tool. SME also foster the development of entrepreneurial skills and innovati on. Along with poverty alleviation SME can reduce the urban migration and increased cash flow in rural areas. As a result it will enhance the standard of living in rural areas. Performance of SMEs in Bangladesh is significantly found below the level of international standard.Although government of Bangladesh has taken some initiative to ensure the growth of SME but those steps are not enough at all. Keywords: SME, Finance, Employee, Capital Table of Contents Contents Pages Title Fly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Title Page†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦2 Letter of Transmittal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Acknowledgement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (5-7) Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Chapter NameChapter 1 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (9-15) Chapter 2 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦16 Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpret Data†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (17-27) Chapter 4 Findings and Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (28-30) Chapter 5 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦ (31-32) Chapter 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 33 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦34 Chapter 1 Introduction Bangladesh is a developing country. Its per capita income is very low and its $750 and per capita GDP is $684. Its present GDP is 6%. Bangladesh economic review, 2009-10) Most of the people are living in the below of poverty line. Poverty is the main problem of our country. To remove poverty government has taken many steps such as Millennium Develop Goals, writing Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) etc. To achieve the committed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of 2015 or the targets of the National Strategy for Econom ic Growth, Poverty Reduction and Social Development, commonly known as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the development process of Bangladesh must strive to expand employment creation opportunities very rapidly.The MDGs reflect the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. Bangladesh has made noteworthy progress in the attainment of MDGs during 1990-2000. Bangladesh advancement towards MDGs is evident in human development, for example attainment of gender parity in primary and secondary school enrolment. Mid-way through to the 2015 target of MDGs attainment, Bangladesh has covered significant grounds and can safely be said to be on track in relation to most of the targets.A midterm review of progress at the aggregate level shows that Bangladesh is making progressive strides in reducing poverty, already bringing down the poverty gap ratio to 9 against 2015 target of 8 with the rate of poverty reduction being 1. 34 percent in relation to the required rate of 1. 23 percent. The main goals are as following: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Goal 3: Promote gender equity and Empower women Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseasesGoal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development The scope of additional absorption of labor in agriculture being somewhat limited, the best potential for this lies in the manufacturing sector. To create job space government founded SME Foundation that provide loan and help to established small and medium enterprise. In the context of Bangladesh, the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be considered as a vital instrument for poverty alleviation and ensure the rapid industrialization.In this paper we have tried to identify the problems of SMEs of Bangladesh. The performance of SMEs of Bangladesh especially in terms of employee turnover rate, quality assurance, allocation of funds, marketing activities have been found significantly below the international standard. The sector gets negligible support from government. The rate of development of SME is not up to the expectation. In order to overcome the problems a few suggestions for the development of SMEs are given by us. 1. 1 Scope and Delimitation of the Study This topic SMEs is a very important in the context of Bangladesh.It help us the gather practical experience and we are to know that the role of SMEs, Problems, prospective and their solution. But we have some limitation; it is we are collected data from secondary source, basically internet using. We do not conduct face to face interview because, time was not enough for us to prepare this assignment. If we got enough time we think it will be help to prepare our assignment. 1. 2 Objectives of the Study In this pa per we have tried to identify the factors that influence the development and growth of the SME sector of Bangladesh. Thus the specific bjectives of the study are as follows: * To appraise the present situation of SME in Bangladesh. * To identify the problems of SME in Bangladesh. * To recommend solutions to overcome the problems. 1. 3 SME Definition SME: around the world According to the European Union (2003) SMEs are defined as enterprises which have at most 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros. Further there is the distinction of small enterprises — they have fewer than 50 staff members and less than 10 million Euros turnover — and micro-enterprises (less than 10 persons and 2 million Euros turnover).According to the World Bank (2006) medium enterprises are defined as enterprises which have at most 300 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 15 million US dollars. Further there is the distinction of small enterprises — the y have fewer than 50 staff members and up to 3 million US dollars turnover — and micro-enterprises have up to 10 persons and $100,000 turnover. In the UK, sections 382 and 465 of the Companies Act 2006 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than ? . 6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than ? 2. 8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than ? 22. 8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than ? 11. 4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth noting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. In the USA, the definition of small business is set by a government department called the Small Business Administration (SBA) Size Standards Office.The SBA uses the term â€Å"size standards† to indicate the largest a concern can be in order to still be considered a small business, and therefore a ble to benefit from small business targeted funding. The concern cannot be dominant in its field, on a national basis. It must also be independently owned and operated. Unlike the UK and the European Union which have simple definitions applied to all industries, the US has chosen to set size standards for each individual NAICS coded industry. This variation is intended to reflect industry differences in a better way. The ost common size standards are 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries 100 employees for wholesale trade industries $6 million of annual receipts for most retail and service industries $28. 5 million of annual receipts for most general & heavy construction industries $12 million of receipts for all special trade contractors $0. 75 million of receipts for most agricultural industries. Breaking down the SME definition, Industry Canada defines a small business as one that has fewer than 100 employees (if the business is a goods-producing business) or fewer than 50 employees (if the business is a service-based business).A firm that has more employees than these cut-offs but fewer than 500 employees is classified as a medium-sized business. (www. about. com) In India the Small Scale Industries (SSIs) are industrial undertaking in which the investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery, whether held on ownership terms or on lease or by hire purchase does not exceed Rs. 10 million. The Small Scale Service And Business (Industry related) Enterprises (SSSBEs) are industry related service and business enterprises with investment in fixed assets, excluding land and building up to Ps. million. (Ministry of trade and Industry, Government of India) According to the SME bank of Pakistan, SME means an entity, ideally not a public limited company, which does not employ more than 205 persons (if it is manufacturing concern) and 50 persons (if it is trading/service concern) and also fulfils the following criteria of either ‘a’ and ‘c’ and ‘c’ or ‘b’ and ‘c’ as relevant; (a) A trading/service concern with total assets at cost excluding land and buildings up to Rs 50 million. b) A manufacturing concern with total assets at excluding land and buildings up to Rs 100 million. (c) Any concern (trading, service or manufacturing) with net sales not exceeding Rs 300 million as per latest financial statements. 1. 4 SME in Bangladesh Different countries and organizations define SME differently. The Government of Bangladesh has categorized SME into two broad classes 1. Manufacturing enterprise 2. Non Manufacturing activitiesManufacturing enterprise: Manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories; 1. Small enterprise: Small enterprise is an enterprise would be treated as small if, in current market prices, the replacement cost of plant, machinery and other parts/components, fixtures, support utility, and associated technical services by way of capitaliz ed costs (of turn-key consultancy services, for example), etc, excluding land and building, were to up to Tk. 15 million. 2.Medium enterprise: Medium enterprise an enterprise would be treated as medium if, in current market prices, the replacement cost of plant, machinery and other parts/components, fixtures, support utility, and associated technical services by way of capitalized costs (of turn-key consultancy services, for example), etc, excluding land and building, were to up to Tk. 100 million. Non-manufacturing activities (such as trading or other services): Non-manufacturing activities can be divided into two categories; 1.Small enterprise: Small enterprise is an enterprise should be treated as small if it has less than 25 workers, in full-time equivalents. 2. Medium enterprise: Medium enterprise an enterprise should be treated as small if it has between 25 and 100 employees. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics different enterprises are defined as: Name of Industry| N o. of employees| Micro| 0-9| Small| 10-49| Medium| 50-99| Large| Above 99| The Ministry of Industries, Government of Bangladesh has been identified following 11 booster sectors: 1.Electronics and electrical 2. Software-development 3. Light engineering and metal-working 4. Agro-processing/agro-business/plantation agriculture/ specialist farming/tissue-culture 5. Leather-making and leather goods 6. Knitwear and ready-made garments 7. Plastics and other synthetics 8. Healthcare & diagnostics 9. Educational services 10. Pharmaceuticals/cosmetics/toiletries 11. Fashion-rich personal effects, wear and consumption goods. 1. 5 Literature ReviewWith respect to the SME sector of Bangladesh, foreign and national experts undertook some studies. Some of the notable ones are; Uddin (2008), Chowdhury (2007), Miah (2007), Ahmed (2006), MIDAS (2004), ICG (2003), Hallberg (2002). Uddin (2008) has stated that the economic efficiency and overall performance of the SMEs especially in the developing coun tries are considerably dependent upon macroeconomic policy environment and specific promotion policies pursued for their benefit.Chowdhury (2007) highlighted that in context of Bangladesh SME is characterized by Low capitalization and limited assets, geographical diversity and high mortality, poor credit knowledge, very limited access to formal source of credit, cash intensity in transactions, very limited record keeping habit, poor financial disclosure on account of tax issues, high risk perception has led to high borrowing costs.In a study about SME sector of Bangladesh Miah (2007) stated that the major constraints for SMEs are lack of adequate investment, lack of modern technology, high rate of interest on bank loans, irregular/inadequate supply of power, poor physical infrastructure and high transportation cost, poor information about market opportunities and requirements, inadequate availability of raw materials, lack of skilled technicians and workers, lack of research & devel opment facilities, fierce competition, absence of effective and transparent legal system, difficulties in accessing technology, credit constraints, low access to business services, constraint of quality of human resources, low awareness, low lobbying capacity, rapid changes in policy environment. Ahmed (2006) observed that availability of finance is a major constraint to formation and growth of SMEs in Bangladesh.Banks are reluctant to expand their SME credit portfolio because they do not consider SME lending an attractive and profitable undertaking. This is so because SMEs are regarded as high risk borrowers because of their low capitalization, insufficient assets and their inability to comply with collateral requirements of the banks. Administrative costs are also higher because close monitoring and supervision the SME operation becomes necessary. A study (2004) by Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS) revealed that sources of finance are mostly friends and family member in case of SME. MIDAS tried to identify the sources of funds of SMEs. These are: Table-1: Survey Result of MIDAS Source of Funds| Percentage of Finance| Informal sector| 41%|Family members| 20% (interest free)| 4% (with interest)| | NGO| 17%| Bank| 18%| According to Hallberg (2002), a stable macro-economy, an open trade and investment regime, and a competitive financial sector are argued to be most essential ingredients for a vibrant private sector. But with a law and order situation below the optimum level, corruption well above the level of acceptance and unstable political situation, the domestic environment of Bangladesh does not come to any help, rather hinders the prosperity of SME in this country. Chapter 2 Methodology This is basically a library research. Most of the data have been collected from secondary sources.So the research work has been based on published information and data available in any form such as books, journals, magazines, newspapers etc. devot ed to SME sector. Secondary information has been collected from Ministry of Industries, SME foundation, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, MIDAS, and Financial Institutions and from other SME related organizations. Relevant articles and literature in this context has also consulted. In this article we have analyzed the data of last six years of SMEs of Bangladesh. We have tried to analyze the performances of SMEs by applying simple statistical analysis i. e. , growth percentage, average etc. Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpret Data 3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by producing exportable surpluses of commodities together with local value additions and creation of employment opportunities, can make significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. Although financing of SMEs in off-farm rural economic activities are largely dependent on equity financing from personal and family savings, currently banks and financial institutions are also comi ng forward to provide finance to this sector. As the large potential of employment generation by SMEs has attracted attention of the policy makers, a range of initiatives for channeling loans to SMEs are being taken.The Government has taken up programs to provide financial assistance to expand SMEs through commercial banks. Alongside the disbursement of loans, since FY2004-05, Bangladesh Bank has taken up a scheme of Tk. 100 crore for refinancing the scheduled banks and financial institutions as revolving fund. Recently, the scheme has been widened with an enhanced allocation of Tk. 600 crore. Up to June 2009, Tk. 716. 44 crore and up to December 2009 Tk. 853. 15 has been disbursed among 17 scheduled banks and 21financial institutions for refinancing potential entrepreneurs. In addition to this, IDA has provided US$10 million and the Government of Bangladesh has provided Tk. 112. 32 crore through ‘Enterprises Growth and Bank Modernization Project (EGBMP)’.With the stipu lated revolving fund of Tk. 224. 50 crore up to June 2009 and Tk. 244. 14 crore up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 2541 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 15 schedule banks and 14 financial institutions. Moreover, in an attempt to provide incentives to the sector, ADB has been providing an additional US$30 million to Bangladesh Bank and Tk. 334. 94 up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 3264 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 9 schedule banks and 7 financial institutions. These resources would contribute both in employment generation as well as in enhancing the purchasing power of the poor.Detailed refinancing of Bangladesh Bank to various financial institutions and banks is shown at Table. Table-2: Summary Information on SME refinancing (up to June 2009)* Refinancing Source| Amount refinanced (in crore Taka)| No. of Beneficiary Enterprises| | Working Capital| Mid Term Loan| Long Term Loan| Total loan| Industrial Loan| Commercial Loan| S ervice| Total| Bangladesh Bank| 178. 48| 336. 40| 201. 56| 716. 44| 1724| 4150| 1127| 7001| IDA| 61. 51| 96. 40| 66. 59| 224. 50| 899| 1220| 358| 2477| ADB| 138. 68| 112. 82| 52. 75| 304. 25| 728| 1864| 331| 2923| Total| 378. 68| 545. 62| 320. 90| 1245. 20| 3351| 7234| 1816| 12401| (*Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2008-0, Chapter 8, Industry)Table-3: Summary Information on SME Refinancing from Bangladesh Bank (up to June 2009)* (*Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010) Table-4: Summary information on SME Refinancing from IDA (up to June 2009)* (*Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010) Table-5: Summary Information on SME Refinancing from ADB (up to June 2009)* *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2010) Table 8. 3 shows that up to June 2009, Bangladesh Bank and IDA have distributed Tk. 940. 94 crore as refinancing to 17 banks and 22 non-bank financial institutions. It may be mentioned that the fund has been disbursed (by the mentione d banks and financial institutions) to a total of 9478 SMEs earlier as loan. Out of the total loan, Tk. 239. 9 crore has been provided as working capital, Tk. 432. 79 crore as medium-term loan and Tk. 268. 15 crore as long-term loan. Table-6: Summary Information on SME refinancing (up to 31, March 2010)* | RefinancingSource| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| Number of financing enterprise (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Bangladesh Bank Fund| 224. 80| 493. 79| 235. 70| 954. 28| 2443| 5844| 1537| 9824| 2| IDA Fund| 63. 71| 100. 74| 87. 26| 251. 71| 924| 1258| 402| 2584| 3| ADB Fund| 144. 48| 132. 27| 58. 19| 334. 94| 800| 2096| 368| 3264| | Total| 432. 99| 726. 80| 381. 15| 1540. 8| 4167| 9198| 2307| 15672| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-7: Summary information on SME Refinancing from Bangladesh Bank (up to June 2010)* | N ame of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(17)| 201. 43| 226. 43| 65. 98| 493. 84| 1257| 4469| 562| 6288| 2| Financing Institutes (22)| 23. 37| 267. 35| 169. 72| 460. 45| 1186| 1375| 975| 3536| | Total| 224. 80| 493. 79| 235. 70| 954. 8| 2883| 5844| 1537| 9824| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-8: Summary information on SME Refinancing from IDA (Up to June 2010)* | Name of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(15)| 57. 48| 67. 07| 24. 73| 149. 27| 688| 1167| 79| 1934| 2| Financing Institutes (14)| 6. 23| 33. 67| 62. 53| 102. 44| 2 36| 91| 323| 650| | Total| 63. 71| 100. 74| 87. 26| 251. 71| 924| 1258| 402| 2584| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-9: Summary information on SME Refinancing from ADB (Up to June 2010)* | Name of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk.Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(9)| 144. 32| 90. 95| 34. 17| 269. 44| 657| 1893| 155| 2705| 2| Financing Institutes (7)| 0. 16| 41. 32| 24. 02| 65. 50| 143| 203| 213| 559| | Total| 144. 48| 132. 27| 58. 19| 334. 94| 800| 2096| 368| 3268| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table 8. 3 shows that up to March 2010, Bangladesh Bank and IDA have distributed Tk. 1205. 99 crore as refinancing to 17 banks and 22 non-bank financial institutions.It may be mentioned that the fund has been disbu rsed (by the mentioned banks and financial institutions) to a total of 12408 SMEs earlier as loan. Out of the total loan, Tk. 272. 70 crore has been provided as working capital, Tk. 519. 79 crore as medium-term loan and Tk. 304. 80 crore as long-term loan. 3. 2 Present Scenario of SME In 2003 the International Consultancy Group (ICG) of the UK, in collaboration with the Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS), conducted the National Private Sector Survey of Enterprises in Bangladesh. The survey results drew the conclusion that there were approximately 6 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which included enterprises with p to 100 workers employing a total of 31 million people, equivalent to 40 per cent of the population of the country of age 15 years and above. The survey also found that the industrial structure of SMEs consisted of primarily wholesale and retail trade and repairs (40 per cent), production and sale of agricultural goods (22 percent), ser vices (15 percent), and manufacturing only (14 per cent). Thus the survey brought out the fact that the large untapped potential for expansion in manufacture and production could be exploited (or contributing more significantly to the national economy. Another vital findings of the survey under discussion was that SMEs contributed BDT 741 ($ 12. 5) billion i. e. early 25 per cent of the GDP (BDT 2,996 billion) in 2003. It is reflected from this survey that enterprises employing 2-5 workers contribute 51 percent share of the total SME contribution to the economy, followed by 26 percent by those having only one worker and 10 per cent by those having 6-10 workers. For LDCs like Bangladesh, SMEs are a highly cost-effective route for industrial development. It is observed from Table-1 that micro enterprises run by up to 10 workers contribute the most which is 86% of the total contribution from SMEs to GDP of Bangladesh. It is also observed that micro enterprises run by more than 21 worke rs contribute about 7% of total contribution from SME to GDP of Bangladesh.Table-10: Sectors wise contribution of SME in GDP of Bangladesh (Taka)* Sectors| Total contribution to GDP (Taka)| Percent of total Contribution| Agriculture| 177,729,637,637| 24%| Fishing| 32,872,674,464| 4%| Manufacturing| 282,344,700,575| 38%| Construction| 7,196,460,200| 1%| Wholesale and Retail trade and Repairs| 171,335,861,390| 23%| Hotels and restaurants| 28,599,263,975| 3%| Transport, Storage and Communication| 8,950,171,356| 1%| Real state, Renting and Business activities| 13,771,436,794| 2%| Education| 151,808,506| 1%| Health and Social work| 2,743,049,893| 1%| Others Service activities| 15,632,094,785| 2%| Total| 741,327,159,609| 100%| (Source: ICG/MIDAS Survey, 2004) Figure-1: Sector wise contribution of SME in GDP of Bangladesh Table & graph 2; provides the information regarding sector wise contribution of SMEs to GDP. It is reflected from the table that manufacturing sector contributes the high est contribution in GDP i. e. , 38%. It is also observed from the table that agriculture and wholesale and retail sector contribute more than 22 percent in the GDP of Bangladesh. Table-11: Growth pattern of SME* Year| Growth rate of Large & Medium enterprise| Growth rate of Small enterprise| 1999-00| 4. 35%| 5. 80%| 2000-01| 6. 55%| 7. 02%| 2001-02| 4. 60%| 7. 69%| 2002-03| 6. 56%| 7. 21%| 003-04| 6. 95%| 7. 45%| 2004-05| 8. 30%| 7. 93%| 2005-06| 11. 41%| 9. 21%| 2006-07| 9. 74%| 9. 69%| 2007-08| 7. 26%| 7. 10%| 2008-09| 6. 58%| 6. 90%| 2009-10| 5. 64%| 6. 61%| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Figure-2: Growth rate of SMEs Table 3 shows the growth pattern of SME. It is observed that during 2001-2002 to 2004-2005 in every financial year the growth rate of SME is about 7%. In 2005-2006 the growth rate was 9. 21%. The highest growth was in 2006-2007 i. e. 10. 28%. Table-12: Growth pattern of Manufacturing Sector * Year| Growth percentage of Manufact uring Sector| 1999-00| 4. 76%| 2000-01| 6. 68| 001-02| 5. 48| 2002-03| 6. 75| 2003-04| 7. 10| 2004-05| 8. 19| 2005-06| 10. 77| 2006-07| 9. 72| 2007-08| 7. 21| 2008-09| 6. 68| 2009-10| 5. 92| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Figure-3: Growth rate of Manufacturing Sector Table shows the growth pattern of manufacturing sector. It is observed that the average growth during 1972 to 2005 was 6. 4%. During 2001-2002 to 2006-2007 the highest growth was in year 2006-07 i. e. , 11. 19%. It is also observed that during 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 in every financial year the growth of manufacturing sector was more than 6%. Table-13: Size and Growth Rate of Manufacturing Sector* At constant prices of 1995-96) (Taka in Core) Year| Large & Medium enterprise| Small enterprise| Total manufacturing| 1999-00| 21709| 8659| 30368| 2000-01| 23130| 9267| 32398| 2001-02| 24194| 9980| 34174| 2002-03| 25781| 10700| 36481| 2003-08| 27572| 11897| 39069| 2004-05| 29861| 12409| 4 2269| 2005-06| 33268| 13552| 46820| 2006-07| 36507| 14865| 51372| 2007-08| 39157| 15920| 55077| 2008-09| 41735| 17019| 58754| 2009-10| 44087| 18144| 62232| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Table-14: Quantum Index of Production for Medium to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries* FY2000-01 to FY2008-09 (1988-89=100)Medium to large scale industries| 2000-01| 2001-02| 2002-03| 2003-04| 2004-05| 2005-06| 2006-07| 2007-08| 2008-09| 2009-10 (Up to October, 09)| | 228. 43| 238. 75| 254. 45| 272. 13| 294. 72| 328. 35| 360. 33| 384. 82| 413. 42| 431. 51| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Chapter 4 Findings and Results At present SME sector is facing a lot of problems in Bangladesh. Some major problems are as follows: 1. Resource scarcity: In Bangladesh scarcity of raw materials hinder the ability of SME to be export oriented and limits its ability to reach more advanced stages of international business. 2. High employee turnover: Due to limited growth of SME most of the skilled employees leave SMEs.Levy (2003) observed that SMEs are knowledge creators but poor at knowledge retention. 3. Absence of modern technology: One of the main barriers for the development of SME in Bangladesh is inadequate technologies. Many SMEs have failed to adopt modern technology. 4. Poor physical infrastructure: Inadequate supply of necessary utilities like electricity, water, roads and highways hinder the growth of SME sector. Moreover unfavorable geographical conditions increase the transportation cost. 5. Financial constraints: Availability of finance hinders the growth of SMEs in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi bank considers SMEs as high risk borrowers because of their inability to comply with the bank’s collateral requirements.Only about 15-20% of the owners of SMEs own any immovable property. Bankers issue loan on the basis of ownership of immovable property as collateral risk. As a result it automatically excludes rest 80% SME’s from the list of privileged clients of the banks. Whatever collateral SME’s can manage gets used up in talking the term loan leaving them with no means to seek working capital loans from banks. Because of low access to institutional financing SME’s rely on inefficient financing services from informal sources. 6. Lack of uniform definition: In Bangladesh the definition of SME has changed overtime in different industrial policy announced by the government in different year.Absence of uniform definition makes the formulation and implementation of SME policy difficult. 7. Lack of information: Miah (2006) has observed that SMEs have very limited use of information technology (IT). Accounting package is used by 1-2% of the SMEs. The use of computers is revealed by say 15% of the SMEs, while the use of the Internet for business purposes applies to say 8-10% of SMEs. 8. Lack of entrepreneurship skills: Conservative attitude towards risk, lack of vision, ability to make plan and implementing those hinder the growth of SME in Bangladesh. 9. Participation of women entrepreneurs: Equality of opportunity is a major problem for SME. Female entrepreneurs are treated discriminately.They are not well represented in business organization. Government does not provide adequate institutional assistance for women entrepreneurs. 10. Access to Market and lack of awareness regarding the importance of marketing tool: For SME, owing a retail space is very expensive in the major cities in Bangladesh. As a result many customers are not interested to buy products and services from SMEs. Because they can’t judge the quality until they physically examined the product. Most of the cases SMEs in Bangladesh are not able to use the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) tools. But these tools play the role of important stimulus to motivate the customers and retain them.The country does not have enough marketing capability and resources to invest in m arketing. 11. Bureaucracy: Wang (1995) observed that the inadequate government supports are top ranking constraints for SMEs. Unnecessary layers of Bureaucracy and red-taps reduce the competitiveness of SME and raising the cost of transactions and operations. 12. Absence of transparent legal system: The absence of an effective and transparent legal system discourages SMEs in exploring into risky ventures of business. There are a number of unnecessary formal requirements to start and run business that create high compliance costs and become barriers to SME development, growth and market entry. 13.Lack of commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction: Ernesto (2005) stated that to keep in pace with international competition, firms of all size are challenged to improve and innovate their products processes constantly. But in Bangladesh SMEs are still not relating the importance of satisfying and retaining customers by offering novel and desired benefits. 14. Lack of quality assura nce: Govt. has failed to frame a national quality policy, provide adequate support systems and establish a national quality certification authority. As a consequence SME of Bangladesh has failed to ensure the quality of their products and services both in local and international market. 15. Lack of research and development facilities: It is observed that investment in R&D is still negligible in. 16.Fierce competition with the cheaper foreign goods: Fierce competition with the cheaper goods of China, Taiwan, Korea, India, and Thailand also pose threat to SME in Bangladesh. Chapter 5 Recommendations In order to overcome the above mentioned problems the following suggestions are recommended; 1. Government must have to take adequate measures to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw materials for SME. 2. Government needs to take appropriate measures to fix the minimum salary/wages of the employees of SME. That will help to minimize the employee turnover. 3. Government and financial inst itution may provide adequate finance for modernization and technological advancement. 4.Development of infrastructure is essential for the optimum growth of SME. So government of Bangladesh needs to take appropriate policy strategy for the infrastructure development of Bangladesh. 5. Government, financial institutions and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) may take necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted financial support to the prospective SMEs in Bangladesh. 6. Due to the absence of uniform definition the policy formulation and implementations are not possible. Government should take initiative to develop a uniform definition of each category of SMEs. 7. Govt. of Bangladesh should take the initiative to develop web pages exclusively for SME and an integrated SME database.It will reduce the barriers to SME access to global market. 8. In order to ensure the retention of skilled workforce the government should make the entrepreneurial career attractive by minimizing the uncertainty. 9. In order to encourage women entrepreneurship govt. may; involve women entrepreneurs in policy formulation and implementation. Arrange funds for women entrepreneurs. Provide necessary training to women entrepreneurs in rural and urban area of Bangladesh. 10. SME foundation may take appropriate marketing tools to popularize their products. 11. For minimizing red tapes and accelerating the growth of SME government may provide one roof service under the SME foundation. 12.Appropriate legal framework is necessary to ensure the development of SME of Bangladesh. 13. In this era of intense competition continuous planning and quality improvement act as a prerequisite for the survival of SMEs. In order to improve the quality SMEs can follow the Just in Time (JIT) philosophy and use Total Quality Management (TQM) and can ensure the improvement of quality and productivity at a time. 14. Government should establish a credible certification authority especially for SMEs. So that this sector c an obtain a technical evaluation of the quality of their products within a shortest possible time. The certification of the authority should be world wide accepted. Govt. ay also provide assistance to SMEs during the certification process and promote the importance of product certification for international acceptance among the SMEs. 15. Research and Development (R&D) is must for the development and growth of SME. So government must have to invest in R&D for ensuring the intensification of SME of Bangladesh. 16. Restriction may be imposed on import of SMEs’ products which are available in Bangladesh. Chapter 6 Conclusion Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) act as a vital player for the economic growth, poverty alleviation and rapid industrialization of the developing countries like Bangladesh. SMEs are significant in underlying country’s economic growth, employment generation and accelerated industrialization.Government of Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of S ME in the Industrial Policy-2010. SME has identified by the Ministry of Industries as a ‘thrust sector’. As the SME sector is labor intensive, it can create more employment opportunities. For this reason government of Bangladesh has recognized SME as a poverty alleviation tool. SME also foster the development of entrepreneurial skills and innovation. Along with poverty alleviation SME can reduce the urban migration and increased cash flow in rural areas. As a result it will enhance the standard of living in rural areas. Performance of SMEs in Bangladesh is significantly found below the level of international standard.Although government of Bangladesh has taken some initiative to ensure the growth of SME but those steps are not enough at all. But government shows its positive attitude towards this sector. Bangladesh government should continue to give more focuses on some areas, such as arrangement of finance, provide infrastructure facilities, frame appropriate legal fra mework, establish national quality policy etc. From the sequence of our analysis it seems that for the economic development of Bangladesh SME can play a vital role. We are quite optimistic that if the above mentioned suggestions are implemented then the growth of SME sector in Bangladesh will be accelerated. References 1. Ahmed, M. U. , Mannan, M. A. , Razzaque, A. , and Sinha, A. (2004).Taking Stock and Charting a Path for SMEs in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Dhaka. 2. Alam, M. S. and Ullah, M. A. (2006). SMEs in Bangladesh and Their Financing: An Analysis and Some Reccomendations. The Cost and Management, Vol. 34, No. 3. 3. Hossain, N. (1998). Constraints to SME Development in Bangladesh, Seminar Proceedings, University of Maryland at College Park, USA. 4. Miah, M. A. (2006). 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