Sunbeam Corporation and Chainsaw Al Essay Example For Students

Sunbeam Corporation and Chainsaw Al Essay OTTAWA UNIVERSITY FINANCE ADMINISTRATION POST-CLASS ASSIGNMENT MODULE 5 FAHRIAN C. H. CHOE STUDENT ID: 128370 MELAKA # 03 DUE: JULY 5, 2004 FINAL CASE IN FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING SUNBEAM CORPORATION AND CHAINSAW AL Prepared For Richard Brewington Instructor Ottawa University International Prepared by Fahrian C. H. Choe Student Ottawa University International June 30th, 2004 CONTENTS Page 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‚¬ ¦. i 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‚¬ ¦ 1 Dunlap’s Action Plan†¦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 Accounting Practices Raise Questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Lawsuit †¦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 Discussion†¦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‚¬ ¦ 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‚¬ ¦. 9 Reference †¦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‚¬ ¦.. 10 Executive Summary This report is based on Sunbeam Corporation and Albert Dunlap, the CEO from 1996 till 1998. In July of 1996, Michael Price and Michael Steinhardt hired Dunlap as the CEO and chairman of the board for Sunb eam Corporation. As two of the original investors who bought Sunbeam from bankrupt Allegheny International, Price and Steinhardt together own 42 percent of its stock. We will write a custom essay on Sunbeam Corporation and Chainsaw Al specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Prior to hiring Dunlap they had tried, unsuccessfully, to sell Sunbeam. They believed that he was the one person who could turn the company around and increase stock prices and profits. The increase in stock prices did occur, almost instantly. The turnaround took just fifteen months. On July 19, 1996, the day Dunlap was named chairman and CEO of Sunbeam, the stock jumped 49 percent. The jump increased the share price from 12 ? to 18 5/8, adding $500 million to Sunbeam’s market value. The stock continued to increase and reached a record high of $52 per share in March 1998. Corporate turnaround specialist Al Dunlap, whose penchant for slashing jobs earned him the nickname Chainsaw Al, His plan involved massive cuts to the companys product lines, plant closings and major cutbacks in the number of employees at Sunbeam. He called for the same types of cutbacks at previous companies he headed, including Scott Paper. As head honcho at Scott Paper, Sunbeam and other once-sleeping giants, Dunlap has turned around balance sheets with dramatic speed and results. Dunlap had built quite a reputation for himself. He was well regarded by Wall Street and the investment community for his track record in dramatically boosting shareholder value at troubled companies. To investors who made millions by following him, Dunlap was, if not a god, certainly a savior (2). In 1997, on the basis of Sunbeam’s financial statements, it appeared that Sunbeam’s turnaround had been accomplished. In 1998 Sunbeam began a series of acquisitions of Coleman Inc. , First Alert Inc. , and Mr. Coffee, all synergistic businesses related to Sunbeam’s core businesses. In the first Quarter of 1998 the stock hit its all-time high of $52 per share. By June 1998, the companys directors had fired Dunlap, commenting that they had lost confidence in his leadership abilities. Dunlaps dismissal comes less than two years after the company recruited him. Three years later, Sunbeam was in bankruptcy court and by May 2001 Dunlap was charged with fraud by the SEC. Dunlap was charged with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to create the illusion of the successful restructuring of Sunbeam and facilitate the sale of the Company at an inflated price. (1) By September 2002, Dunlap had been banned from ever serving as an officer or director of a public company. He also was required to pay a $500,000 fine. (The New York Times; September 5, 2002). By December 2002, the company announced that it had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This announcement came with a name change for the company, from Sunbeam Corporation to American Household Inc (The New York Times; December 19, 2002). The purpose of finance is to maximize shareholders wealth. How did pressures for financial performance contribute to an organizational culture that tried to manipulate quarterly sales and to influence investors?. Introduction When John Stewart and Thomas Clark founded the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company in Dundee, Illinois, in 1897, they probably never expected the company would be facing ethical and financial dilemmas more than a century later. Like many corporations, the firm has changed and faced many crises. It has acquired rival companies, added totally new product lines, changed its name, gone through bankruptcy, gone public, rebounded, restructured and relocated. Sunbeam is a well-known and recognized designer, manufacturer, and marketer of consumer products. Sunbeam products are considered household staple items and are known for their use in cooking, health care, and personal care. Over its 100 years of operation, Sunbeam has grown and changed according to societal needs. It operates facilities in Canada, England, Hong Kong, Mexico, the US, and Venezuela. In June of 1996, Sunbeam Corporation needed help. Its earnings had been rapidly declining since December 1994, and by 1996, the stock was down 52 percent and earnings had declined by 83 percent. Sunbeam also had 12,000 employees as well as 26 factories worldwide, 61 warehouses, and 6 headquarters. This when Albert Dunlap also known as Chainsaw Al came into the picture. He received his reputation as one of the country’s meanest executives because he ruthlessly eliminated thousands of jobs. He was known for his ability to restructure and turn around troubled companies. His philosophy was deficient in regards to ethical responsibility. Shareholder wealth, at any cost, was his only goal. Dunlap’s Action Plan In order to make money for shareholders, Dunlap created and followed four simple rules of business. Get the right management team, cut back to the lowest costs, focus on the core business and get a real strategy. In following those four rules, Dunlap helped turn around companies in seventeen states and across three continents. The champion move he made was to work on the first step of his four simple rules of business, get the right management team. Once the first step had been accomplished, Dunlap and the â€Å"Dream Team† for Sunbeam quickly went into action implementing the second rule. The second of Dunlap’s four simple rules is to cut back to the lowest costs. .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .postImageUrl , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:hover , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:visited , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:active { border:0!important; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:active , .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0 .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u6f4d4671d23e44fad4f909bed4b8e6b0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Greece And Rome EssayAs expected, and true to his reputation, layoffs occurred. After less than four months as the chairman and CEO of Sunbeam, Dunlap announced plans to eliminate half of the 12,000 worldwide employees. Another method used by Dunlap to cut back to the lowest costs was to reduce the number of SKUs (stock keeping units) from 12,000 to 1,500. The reduction of SKU enabled Dunlap to eliminate unneeded factories and warehouses, which was another cost-savings method. This made it possible to reduce the number of headquarters locations. The third step was to focus on Sunbeam’s core business, which first needed to be defined. Dunlap defined the core business as electric appliances and appliance-related businesses. Five categories surrounding the core business were identified as vital to Sunbeam’s success: kitchen appliances, health and home, outdoor cooking, personal care and comfort, and professional products. All products that did not fit into one of these five categories were sold. The final of Dunlap’s four simple rules of business is to get a real strategy. Dunlap and his team defined Sunbeam’s strategy as driving growth of the company through core business expansion by further differentiating products, moving into new geographical areas, and ntroducing new products that tied directly to emerging customer trends as lifestyles evolve around the world. Each of Dunlap’s four rules had been reviewed and changes had been made within seven months of his taking the position to complete the turnaround of Sunbeam. The stock had risen to over $48 per share, a 284 percent increase si nce July 1996. In October 1997, just 15 months after accepting the position as chairman and CEO, Dunlap issued a press release stating the turnaround was complete and was looking for a buyer for Sunbeam. Unable to get the price he wanted, Dunlap decided to invest by purchasing companies. On March 2, 1998, Sunbeam acquired 82 percent of Coleman (camping gear), Signature Brands (Mr. Coffee) and First Alert (smoke and gas alarms). Two days after these purchases were announced; Sunbeam’s stock jumped to a record high of $52 a share. With share prices the highest they had ever been and 1997 net income reported at $109. 4 million, Sunbeam truly seemed to have turned the corner, at least on paper. Dunlap accomplished what he set out to do at Sunbeam, but the shareholder wealth did not last.. Sunbeam is again facing rough times. Soon after the purchases, rumors began emerging that the three purchases were made to disguise losses through write-offs. On Saturday, June 13, 1998, the board of directors agreed that their confidence in Dunlap and his ability to turnaround Sunbeam was lost, stating his immediate departure would be necessary. Chainsaw Al was told that same day, via a one-minute conference call, that he was the next person to be cut at Sunbeam. Accounting Practices Raise Questions Paine Webber Inc. analyst Andrew Shore had been following Sunbeam since the day Dunlap was hired. Shore had been scrutinizing Sunbeam’s financial statements every quarter and considered its reported levels of inventory for certain items to be high for the time of year. He noted massive increases in sales of electric blankets in the third quarter, which usually sell well in the fourth quarter. He also found it odd that sales of grills were high in the fourth quarter, an unusual time of year for grills to be sold, and noted that accounts receivable were high. On April 3, 1998, hours before Sunbeam announced a first quarter loss of $44. 6 million, Shore downgraded the stock. By the end of the day Sunbeam’s stock price fell 25 percent. Dunlap had been using a bill and hold strategy with retailers, which boosted Sunbeam’s revenue, at least on the balance sheet. A bill and hold strategy involves selling products for large discounts to retailers and holding them in third-party warehouses to be delivered at a later date. In essence, the strategy shifts sales from future quarters to the current one. By booking sales months prior to the actual shipment or billing, Sunbeam was able to report higher revenues in the form of accounts receivable, which inflated its quarterly earnings. In 1997, the strategy helped Dunlap boost Sunbeam’s revenues by 18 percent. A bill and hold strategy is not illegal and follows the General Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP) of financial reporting. Even though the bill and hold strategy is not illegal, many shareholders felt the company had deceived them so they would purchase Sunbeam’s artificially inflated stock. Several decided to file lawsuits alleging that the company made misleading statements about its finances. Lawsuit A class- action lawsuit was filed on April 23, 1998, naming both Sunbeam and its CEO as defendants. The lawsuit alleged that Sunbeam and Dunlap violated federal securities laws by misrepresenting and or omitting material information concerning the business operations, sales, and sales trends of the company. The lawsuit also charged that the motivation to artificially inflate the price of the common stock was so Sunbeam could complete hundreds of millions of dollars of debt financing to complete the mergers with Coleman, First Alert, and Signature Brands. Sunbeam’s subsequent reporting of earnings significantly below the original estimate caused a huge drop in the stock. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action in U. S. District Court in Miami, Florida, against Dunlap and four other former officers of Sunbeam. The Commission alleges that the Defendants engaged in a scheme to fraudulently misrepresent the Companys results of operations in connection with a purported turnaround of the Company. When Sunbeams turnaround was exposed as a sham, the stock price plummeted, causing investors billions of dollars in losses. 4) Albert Dunlap agreed to pay $500,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he defrauded investors by inflating sales at the largest U. S. maker of small appliances. The SEC alleged. Dunlap was the guiding presence at Sunbeam when it did a panoply of things wrong, SEC assistant enforcement director Richard Sauer said in an interview. A number of Sunbeams accounting irregularities, which included using â€Å"cookie-jar reserves to exaggerate the companys turnaround from 1996 to 1998, have e choes in more recent accounting cases at Enron Corp. nd WorldCom Inc. Sauer said. Sunbeams auditor was Arthur Andersen LLP, which also audited the books at Enron and WorldCom. (3) Discussion Dunlap authored a book entitled Mean Business where he stressed that making money for shareholders is the most important goal of any business. When he was hired by Sunbeam to turn the fortunes around, Dunlap’s concern was only maximizing shareholders wealth. Dunlap used the four simple rules of business which helped turn around companies in seventeen states and across three continents. The four simple rules however could not help Sunbeam. Chainsaw Al Dunlap, earned his nickname for his propensity to recklessly slash jobs. His poor management decisions tanked company stock value, sparked shareholder lawsuits and prompted a federal investigation into company accounting practices. Dunlap insisted for results and in desperation several management staff manipulated the accounts so as to show g reater profit. Good profit news can light a fire under a companys stock. Most of Sunbeam’s senior executives have compensation packages tied to stock-price and earnings targets. .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .postImageUrl , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:hover , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:visited , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:active { border:0!important; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:active , .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088 .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua075abbda28e005b766641373d9d9088:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Daddy 2 EssayInvestors profit by correctly divining which companies will meet or exceed expectations and which will fall short. As for accounting firms, if they help a company meets its numbers, sometimes by ignoring or even suggesting, some pretty dubious bits of bookkeeping; then they can usually count on retaining the companys lucrative auditing business and maybe pick up a consulting contract as well. But for all the attention paid to the quarterly profit, its not much use in predicting a companys future performance and future cash flows, theoretically the basis for determining the value of a share of stock. Quarterly profit report says next to nothing about a companys prospects beyond the next quarter and even over such a short time horizon, the reports predictive value is severely limited. For a company thats trying to position itself as a turnaround story or as a fast-growing superstar, even one bad quarter is one too many. In such cases, a company may stretch its ingenuity and accounting standards to the limit in order to put the best possible face on disappointing results. It may resort to borrowing sales and profits from the next quarter to cover a shortfall in the current quarter. One popular tactic is selling goods to customers who arent ready to buy yet. To make the deal attractive to the buyer, the seller often finances the purchase interest free and, in some cases, picks up the cost of storing the goods until the customer is ready to take delivery. It often appears harmless, a matter of offering a few customers incentives to place an order a little ahead of schedule. But that seemingly innocent practice can get out of hand. The trouble with borrowing future sales to pad current results is, of course, that the loan must eventually be repaid. Companies often plan to square accounts as soon as business picks up. But sometimes business never improves, and the deception becomes more and more difficult to disguise. Thats what happened at Sunbeam. When summer rolled around, its customers already had all the grills they needed, so the company had no fresh revenue in which to bury the sales it had borrowed during the winter. From the last quarter of 1996 until June 1998, Sunbeam Corporations senior management created the illusion of a successful restructuring of Sunbeam in order to inflate its stock price and thus improve its value as an acquisition target. The management employed numerous improper earnings management techniques to falsify the Companys results and conceal its deteriorating financial condition. In June 1998, negative statements in the press about the Companys sales practices prompted Sunbeams Board of Directors to begin an internal investigation. This resulted in the termination of certain members of senior management, including Sunbeams chief executive officer and chief financial officer, and, eventually, in an extensive restatement of the Companys financial statements from the fourth quarter of 1996 through the first quarter of 1998. As a result, Sunbeams restated 1997 income was approximately one-half of the amount previously reported. Conclusion Flexibility, the great virtue of most accounting systems as practiced in most of the developed world, is also those systems weak point. In honest hands, most accounting systems are up to the job of providing a reasonably accurate rendering of a business’s financial performance. Accuracy, however, is not always the aim of those who manage a corporation or stand to gain from ooperating with management, be they board members or outside accountants, analysts or investment bankers. All may have an interest in manipulating the accounting system to produce a misleading, distorted, or downright fictional portrayal of a business’s health and prospects. Companies like Enron and others have shown how easy it is to manipulate companies financial statements. Maximizing shareholders wealth is important but it should not be at the expense of manipulating the financial pe rformance of the company. Reference 1) R. Laing, Jonathan. June 8, 1998) Did â€Å"chainsaw al† dunlap manufactured sunbeam’s earnings last year? Available online : http://www. kellogg. nwu. edu/faculty/hayes/ftp/Articles/sunbeam_barrons. html 2) Chainsaw al, He anointed himself Americas best CEO. but al dunlap drove sunbeam into the ground. Businessweek On-line (Oct 18, 1999) Available online : http://www. businessweek. com/1999/99_42/b3651099. htm 3) Roland, Neil Mathewson, Judy. (September 4, 2002) Sunbeam ex-CEO chainsaw al dunlap settles SEC case. Washington Bloomberg News. Available online : http://securities. tanford. edu/news-archive/2002/20020904_Settlement03_Roland. htm 4) Norris, Floyd. (September 5, 2002). Ex-Sunbeam CEO agrees to huge fine on SEC charges. Chainsaw Al Dunlap also cant accept executive job offers. New York Times. Available online : http://www. sfgate. com/cgibin/article. cgi? file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/05/BU234335. DTL. q„? â₠¬Å" ¤?  §ou §Ã‚ ©Ã‚ °Ã‚ ±~ â‚ ¬ ? „ ? XYEI µ mnU? II uo? o UoNUoUoIoAo ¶Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ §oUuo—o†°? o? u? o†°? u? oe-jh„eUmHnHtHuh„eB*CJaJphh„eB*phh„eCJUmHnHuh„e? h„am

Free Essays on A Brief History Of Feminism

A Brief History of Feminism Feminism is difficult to define because every woman views feminism differently. â€Å"Generally speaking, feminism is a political, social, and cultural stance that is pro-woman† (Warhol, 1995). Feminists believe, among other things, in equal rights, opportunities and paychecks for men and women. Women are just as worthy and valuable as men and feminists want the world to know it. Before the 1920’s, women had virtually no rights. They could not vote, they could not own property and they were treated with little or no respect. Women were expected to stay at home and take care of their husbands and children. If a woman did choose to work outside of her home, there were few jobs to choose from. Most women worked as clerks, nurses, schoolteachers and other traditionally female occupations. Women began to grow very frustrated and they realized that something had to change. â€Å"Historically speaking, feminism has been associated in the United States with the struggle for women’s political enfranchisement† (Warhol, 1995). The first wave of feminism in the United States occurred in the 1920’s hen women fought for the right to vote. A proposed constitutional amendment was introduced in every session of Congress form 1878 to 1919, but was defeated each time. Finally, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution giving women equal pay for equal work, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited job discrimination on the basis of gender. The second wave of feminism arose in the 1960’s with the sexual revolution. This wave of feminism is sometimes referred to as Women’s Liberation. This time the movement involved issues of reproductive rights (such as birth control and abortion) as well as equality in the workplace and female representation in the government. Many believe that this wave of feminism is still in place today. To... Free Essays on A Brief History Of Feminism Free Essays on A Brief History Of Feminism A Brief History of Feminism Feminism is difficult to define because every woman views feminism differently. â€Å"Generally speaking, feminism is a political, social, and cultural stance that is pro-woman† (Warhol, 1995). Feminists believe, among other things, in equal rights, opportunities and paychecks for men and women. Women are just as worthy and valuable as men and feminists want the world to know it. Before the 1920’s, women had virtually no rights. They could not vote, they could not own property and they were treated with little or no respect. Women were expected to stay at home and take care of their husbands and children. If a woman did choose to work outside of her home, there were few jobs to choose from. Most women worked as clerks, nurses, schoolteachers and other traditionally female occupations. Women began to grow very frustrated and they realized that something had to change. â€Å"Historically speaking, feminism has been associated in the United States with the struggle for women’s political enfranchisement† (Warhol, 1995). The first wave of feminism in the United States occurred in the 1920’s hen women fought for the right to vote. A proposed constitutional amendment was introduced in every session of Congress form 1878 to 1919, but was defeated each time. Finally, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution giving women equal pay for equal work, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited job discrimination on the basis of gender. The second wave of feminism arose in the 1960’s with the sexual revolution. This wave of feminism is sometimes referred to as Women’s Liberation. This time the movement involved issues of reproductive rights (such as birth control and abortion) as well as equality in the workplace and female representation in the government. Many believe that this wave of feminism is still in place today. To...

Evaluate Submission Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluate Submission - Assignment Example The participating students were needed to develop a training prototype. The participants’ aims depend on the outcome of the instructional training; individuals were required to carry out a step by step framework of tasks directed at meeting the objectives and goals of the training (William & Rothwell, 2006). The modified version of the evaluation instrument provides the instructor with an opportunity to evaluate the training materials and the effectiveness of the entire training package by incorporating distinct and measurable outcomes. This method also creates a framework of identifying any flaws in the training program. Consequently, improvements and adjustments to the course curriculum can be implemented based on the results of the training program developed by the participants (Aris, 2000). The failure of participants to effectively provide a framework of the working of the new concepts and theories learnt from the training program would be viewed as a total failure. They should be able to set clear goals and directions as a result of new knowledge earned through the training prototype. Inability on the part of participants to incorporate the steps learnt from the program and be able to achieve desired goals shows the incompetence aspect of the overall framework of the training program. The inability of the participants to put to test and practice what they have gained from the training program is evidence of the flaws present in the training prototype, or the participants may not be able to comprehend the information given to them. The training prototype should be redesigned and the methods used to convey information should be examined and evaluated. Inability on the part of the student to outline some of the theories used in the training program may be as a result of poor reading skills. The training program should ensure participants understand the concepts used and are able to comprehend them. The inability of the students to comprehend the

Finance Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finance - Dissertation Example Islamic banking and finance is the new representation of financial institutions and it is also said to be the answer in looking for a better and fairer way of managing money and in underpinning the real financing activities. Since its origin, just over thirty years ago Islamic banking has been the fastest growing industry in the financial system and financial markets of several countries. It has â€Å"concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, but they are also present as niche players in Europe and the United States† (Cihak & Hesse, 2008, p.3). For instance, Islamic banking in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is more lucrative compared to conventional or commercial banks of the country (Parker, 2010). Aside from profitability, Islamic banks also are strong in asset growth despite of the abrupt decline of credit ratio compared to the average banking sectors in many countries. However, when global financial crisis had entered the real economy, Islamic banks started to incur more and more lucrative losses than their conventional counterparts, because Islamic investments are more prone to risk. The aim of this paper is to investigate the financial stability of Islamic banks versus conventional banks in the perspective of the global credit crunch. ... The growing literature mostly contained issues of comparison between the role of Islamic and conventional banking in the global credit crunch. When it comes to empirical analysis of financial stability the argument would always be about risk whereas when it comes to empirical papers, most of the arguments are discussing the efficiency of handling risks (Cihak & Hesse, 2008, p.3). The severe deficiency of money or credit which is also known as credit crunch has created a big impact on banking operations and practices around the world. Global credit crunch is a higher form of risk that distinguishes the differences executed by Islamic banks from those executed by conventional banks. Several institutions in various countries are now offering Islamic financial services like Murababa, Ijara, and Musharaka, wherein Muslims and non-Muslims can lend money without interest and no trading debt (Ahmad, 2010, p.38). According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the success of Islamic banks is present in almost all Middle East countries except Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE. Based on the study of Hassan and Bahshir (2005), Islamic banks are said to be efficient when it comes to resources allocation, profitability, liquidity, development of assets, and many more. However, according to Schoon (2009, p.187), Islamic banks are settled in a less efficient and cost effective market as long as the average rate of return is elevated. He said further that Islamic banks are not efficient in terms of liquidity ratios because of an absence of liquid assets and accepted primary liquidity instruments such as cash, bank balances, negotiable instruments, etc. It also

Evolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evolution - Research Paper Example Natural selection refers to a process in which species compete and struggle for their survival according to the limited resources and conditions of their natural environment with different adaptive abilities. As individuals in a population are not the same due to difference in inherited characteristics, nature only selects those individuals that are best suited to the environmental conditions, and thus rest of the population dies over time (Starr et al., 2012, p. 263, 264, 265). As all the offspring in a population acquire characteristics from their ancestors, produced more than nature can support and have different reproductive characteristics, only those organisms will survive that are better adapted to the living conditions. This means that organisms with higher reproduction ability will survive due to higher probability of their descendants to survive, and others will eventually become extinct due to less survival rate of their offspring with the passage of time. Since environmen tal conditions are different from place to place, there will be variation in characteristics of species at different locations. Darwin concluded that populations extending over large areas or through migration might have been isolated resulting in variation of their characteristics according to varying environments. Over long periods of time, they may have diverged or evolved into different species. For instance, Darwin found that finches on the Galapagos Islands were more similar to each other than to finches of the mainland. He also noticed that some varieties were only existent on the archipelago islands. So, he proposed that all species might have descended from a common ancestor and increase in number of species occurred through evolutionary natural selection over time rather than special creation (Strickberger, 2005, p. 22, 23). Darwin and other naturalists believed that variations among individuals of a species were due to mixing of traits from both the male and female. He wa s not aware of the heredity mechanism and different traits were regarded to be the result of blending of characteristics through generations over time. However, the concept of blending inheritance failed to describe the survival of variety as they descended through generations with time. It also failed to describe the maintenance of specific characteristics in varieties and how new species would emerge through blending. It was 1866, when Gregor Mendel published his experimental findings on garden peas. To experiment with pure seeds, he selected a self pollinating plant. He experimented with garden peas that were different from each other in many characteristics such as their flowers were either red or white, had green or yellow seeds, and tall or dwarf. After cross-breeding generations having different characteristics, he observed that descendants from each cross possessed characteristics of only one of the parents and blending did not happen. Mendel concluded that instead of blendi ng of certain fluids, heredity from parents was passed on to offspring through independent discrete units, particles or factoren, which were later termed as genes. The characteristic that appeared in a descendant after cross breeding was termed

Wireless Sensor Networks: Applications and Forms

Wireless Sensor Networks: Applications and Forms 1 Wireless Sensor Network In this chapter, wireless sensor network (WSN) principles are being shortly introduced and discussed. In order to increase the level of understanding for analyzing Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) systems it is useful to study the technology behind them the technologies which are presented in this section. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are distributed and independent sensors that are connected and worked together to measure quantities such as temperature, humidity, pressure, noise levels or vibrations [5]. WSNs can measure vehicular movement (velocity, location, etc.) and monitor conditions such as lightning condition, soil makeup and motion [5]. Nowadays, WSNs are utilized in many common applications such as vehicle applications. Some of vehicle applications are: vehicle tracking and detection, tire pressure monitoring, vehicle speed detection, vehicle direction indicator, traffic control, reversing aid sensors etc. Such applications can be divided in major categories such as safety, security, environment and logistics. To implement WSN in an application and have an efficient system, first we need to consider about WSN technology, components and communication topology and protocols. Therefore, first, in this chapter, basic information about WSN components, the communication devices and process unit of WSN will be described. Then, the chapter will be followed by a description of the WSN topologies and protocols emphasizing on mesh WSN technology with ZigBee Protocol. 1.1 Wireless Sensor Network component To provide comprehensive view of WSN hardware, understanding of WSN components structure is required. Wireless sensors are small microcontrollers equipped with wireless communication device and an energy supplier. The architecture of WSNs is illustrated in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 . As Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 shows the components of WSNs are sensing unit, processing unit, power supplier and communication device. The sensing unit consists of sensors and Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs). ADCs are responsible for gathering the signals and converting them into digital signals data and transfer them through each other using network topology to the processor unit. In the sensing unit, each sensor is called an ‘end node and varies in size and cost. The mission of these multifunction sensor nodes are to sense, process data and collaborate with other nodes [8]. Wireless sensor network can be positioned in two ways, either using a complex technique with the large sensors far from the object or using several sensors with an engineered design on position and topology [5]. In addition, each node provided with a wireless communication transceiver as a communication component. In the process unit, the controller and small memory storage are responsible for managing the collaboration within the sensors to achieve the assigning task. In addition, the communication device with a transceiver makes the network connection. Above all, the essential component of WSN is the power unit, which supports the power for all units [5]. One of the unique characteristics of sensor networks is that they are equipped with an on-board processor. This feature enables them to locally process some simple computations and broadcast only necessary processed data [5]. Network communication is really complicated and needs years of study [8], but to be able to implement WSN, we need to know some basic primary concepts of communication technology such as; network topologies, network protocol and their standards and specifications. 1.2 Communication technology To cover technical aspects of WSN, network topology and network protocol studying is needed. This study will help to provide information about reliability, robustness, security and stability and of WSNs software aspect to answer the research questions RQ. 1 ,RQ. 2 and RQ. 3 . 1.2.1 Topologies in WSN Communication In network communication, the big issue is how data transfers through nodes and nodes interconnect with each other. Several basic network topologies may be used for transmitting to and receiving from a node. The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) the standards organization of telecommunication industry explained the network topology as â€Å"The physical, real, logical or virtual arrangement of the nods/elements of a network† [9]. The topology shows the diameter and the number of nodes between any two nodes. Moreover how a data process and the data routing complexities are relied on the chosen topology. Consequently, some characteristics of a sensor networks such as latency, robustness and capacity are changed by their topology [10]. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 is a graphic mapping of networks topology which shows the links of one or more nodes and explains the physical topology of the network. Despite having the same topology, two networks can differ in transmission rates because of their physical interaction, signal types and distance between nodes [9]. Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 describes the different types of network topology. Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 Topology TYPES [9]. Since Mesh topology is a main topic in the thesis, it is studied more in-depth in this section 1.2.1.1 Mesh Wireless Network Wireless mesh network is a term used when all wireless nodes are connected to each other within an ad-hoc multi-hob and mesh topology. In this network, any pair of nodes is able to communicate between each other within more than one path. In this network each node is used as a router to forward packets to the neighbor nodes which they have linked to. That means all nodes communicate directly or through other midway nodes without any manual configuration. Therefore, this network also called a self-configuration and self-organized network [11; 12]. As described in Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1, there are two types of mesh topology ‘Partially connected and ‘Fully connected (See Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ3). In a fully connected topology each node has the ability to communicate with all other nodes in the network and creates an interconnection links. By increasing the number of nodes in a mesh network, the number of links increases as well. On the other hand, in a partially connected topology, instead of direct interconnection between nodes, each node has two or more links to others to provide alternate routing and traffic balancing. Due to more links and indirect connections between nodes, traffic can flow through one or more router nodes to the destination [7] and create more reliable interconnections between nodes. Moreover, in partial network, the nodes are connected to either the node with higher rate of data transaction or the nearest neighbor node while in fully connected network all nodes have a direct links with each other. This multiple link path conducts a reliable communication. Therefore, whenever a connection fails or a node breaks down, the packages can automatically change their path by ‘jumping from a disconnected node. This is often called the self-healing of the network. This means that the networks connection stability and reliability are not essentially affected by node failures [11]. Due to the characteristics of wireless sensor network mesh, this network is self-configuring and self-organizing network in which each end-node is also used as a router (dual role- data originator /data router) to forward the signal packages all the way back of the main gateway. Therefore, due to the characteristics of mesh networks, this network is becoming one of the most implemented networks which able to have the flexible architecture for the network, easy self-configuration and robust fault tolerance connectivity [11; 12]. Additionally, the self-configuring characteristic of mesh WSN, bring the ability for the network to connect or disconnect nodes from the network. This brings the ability to grow/decrease the network by adding/removing nodes of a system. Mesh WSN has reliable self-healing and robust fault tolerance. This means if ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ a node fails or breaks down the signal packages jump from the disconnected node and automatically conducts a new path through the nearest node. However, the new path imposes re-routing and re-organizing to the network [5], which consumes too much power from the system. Therefore, having a power-aware protocol and algorithm is necessary for mesh network. ZigBee protocol is one of the protocols which provides this ability for WSN. 1.2.2 Protocols in WSN Communication WSN systems include variety of protocols for communication. Protocols need to program in different architectural layers. One of these architectural standard is OSI (Open System Interconnection) framework. In this session a brief introduction of each protocol and OSI are delineated. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ4 shows the graphic overview of all wireless network technologies. This figure illustrated IEEE PAN/LAN/MAN technologies and clearly shows how these standards and protocols can be used in different conditions. For instance, 3G protocol is used to cover a long range of audio information in a wide area network (WAN) while for the same information in a short range and personal area network (PAN), Bluetooth is better. The standard conceptual rules set for data representation, data communication and error detection across two ends in telecommunication, are called communication protocols. These abstract rules represent in different layers of communication. There are different protocol stacks introducing different architectures for these layers such as AppleTalk, Distributed Systems Architecture (DSA), Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) and Open Systems Interconnect (ISO/OSI). Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 (a) illustrates the different layers of an OSI Model and their functionalities. The OSI model has seven layers and each layer provides services for the upper layer and requests services from the lower layer. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 (b) shows the typical communication protocols layers. Each of these layers has to deal with different issues regarding the communication procedure. As the typical protocol stack model shows in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 the communication protocols should implement all layers from bottom to top. In addition, a management protocol needs to be applied in each layer to manage power efficiency, robust connectivity and connection reliability (see: Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 b). Below, rules and functionality for each layer are described: * Physical layer: is responsible for signal processing and physical interface connectivity between a device and physical medium and used bit stream in its data unit. It acted as communication channel for sensing and actuation in cost-efficient and reliable manner. Some examples of this layer are: IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee, etc. [7] * Data link layer: provides functionality toward channel sharing, Medium Access Control (MAC-Layer), timing (e.g. data time arrival), local link and capacity. It is responsible for detecting and correcting the data errors in physical layer and control the locality data comparison. It follows the protocols such as point-to-point protocol (PPP) and IEEE 802 Local Link Control (LLC). [7] * Network layer: is responsible for network routing functionality, network security, energy and power efficiency and reliability of the communication. It includes the network topology management and manages the information and detects errors in data transfer from router to router. A number of protocols is address in this layer such as: Internet protocol (IP), Threshold Sensitive Energy Efficient Sensor Network Protocol and etc. [7]. * Transport layer: provides end-to-end transportation (distributing and gathering) of data between end users. It includes storage and responds for caching and controlling the data to recover them back to the initial message that has been sent. Best-known protocols for this layer are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) [7]. * Upper layers: The Upper Layers are responsible for application processing, external query processing and etc. Upper layers include presentation layer session layer and application layer [7]. The summary of these standards and protocols are shown in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ6 Among all the standard and protocols, IEEE PAN/LAN/MAN technologies are the ones applied in the majority of commercialWSNs to support physical layer and link-data layer signal transmission. As SOHRABY and ZNATI (2007) mentioned, the most common best-known protocols are:† (1) the IEEE 802.15.1 (also known as Bluetooth); (2) the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n series of wireless LANs; (3) the IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee); (4) the MAN-scope IEEE 802.16 (also known as WiMax); and (5) radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging† [7]. Each of these protocols has their own benefits and constraints. The comparisons between IEEE technologies are mentioned in Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2. As Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 shows the IEEE 802.15.4 standard provides data rate of 20 to 250 kbps and operates in the 2.4-GHz ISM band. This standard covers signals in range of 10 m and requires the lowest power among other IEEE class. While IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n transmits the data in the rate of 54 Mbps ideal for wi reless internet connections and operates in the 2.4-GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) radio band as well as the 5-GHz ISM / 5-GHz U-NII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) radio band. However, it requires much higher power consumption than IEEE 802.15 [7]. Recently, researchers put much effort to develop â€Å"a cost-effective standards-based wireless networking solution that supports low-to medium data rates, has low power consumption, and guarantees security and reliability† [7]. ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies which aims to provide such a standard for WSN consumers. Their mission is to have a simple, reliable, low-cost, low-power and standards-based wireless platform 1.2.2.1 ZigBee standard The ZigBee standard builds on IEEE 802.15.4 and is suitable for remote monitoring and controlling applications. Although it has lower-data-rates than the other standards, its reliability, security, long life battery with less complexity mechanism make it ideal for building automation in industrial network applications. The architecture of the ZigBee stack is established on the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. The IEEE 802.15.4 defines the physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) sub-layer and In addition, ZigBee Alliance defines other functionalities for upper layers [7]. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ7 is a graphic overview of ZigBee protocol stack and shows the responsibility areas of IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee Alliance platform and users applications [7]. This picture also shows the basic functionality of each layer. The data transmission service is provided by PHY layer and the protocol in this layer enables the connection between data units and the physical radio channel. ZigBee provides three different frequency band options for PHY layer. First, the transmission data-rate of 250kbps in 16 channels at 2.45GHz (Global) frequency. Second, with 40Kbps in 10 channels at 915MHz (Americas). And the last one, with 20kbps in 1 channel at 868MHz (Europe). The higher data-rate causes a higher order in modulation design and the lower frequency cause a larger cover area and better sensitivity. Depending on the power output, the transmission distance rate can change from 1 to 100 meters. (For more detail information see: Table 7à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 in Appendix A) ZigBee WSN has the ability to have static or dynamic network/component with either star or mesh topology and it has three types of nodes: a ZigBee Coordinator (ZC), ZigBee Routers (ZR), and ZigBee End-Devices (ZED). In order to have a communication protocol and physical connection both PHY layer and MAC sub-layers of the architecture should be defined upon agreement between server and clients. These layers require manual administrative procedures setting for server/client gateway. The next three levels namely: the network layer, security protocol and transport layer are defined by ZigBee alliance platform automatically. The last layer, application layer, has to interact with the user-interface and other applications; it ought to be programmed with high-level language so that integration with any existing devices applications becomes more conveniently practical. The ZigBee stack in gateway is responsible for all the network functionality such as network process management, authentication of the joined nodes, binding nodes and routing the messages throughout the network. ZigBee stack as a standard protocol, has clusters and libraries for improving the implementation process, therefore, using ZigBee compare to other protocols makes the system (including both hardware and software) development process much faster and easier. On the other hand, such standardisation provides easiness of adopt with third party sensors regardless of manufacturer, which might be attached to the network later. 2 Software Aspects To address the research question regarding the reliability, robustness, and security of any WSN application, it is essential to investigate the software architecture of that network. For convenience in description of the architecture of a WSN application, it is divided into three segments: Physical devices (such as lamps, sensors, nodes), Communication Protocol (terminals and servers, bridge, switch, network topology and standard) and Carried Information (application, functions, etc.). Any attempts to retain a precise design on software architecture for each part will cause an effective data transmission, which ensures reliability and security of the system [7]. Hence achieving any desired data transmission precision level in a WSN, network management (NM) techniques are applicable. Such techniques assist in network status monitoring, reliability and security amendment, and cooperation supervision between components [7]. NM techniques could also detect and resolve network faults in addition to restoring the system respectively [7]. In practice, designing WSN application necessitates tailoring NM techniques for each architectural segment. Various NM techniques regarding each segment are summarized as follows [7; 12; 5]: a) Physical architecture: Sensing and processing management, operation and administration, fault tolerance, maintenance, energy efficiency management, configuration management, performance management, security management, network element management. b) Communication architecture: Network management, networking protocols, network topology, function management, monitoring functions, fault management, performance management, security management, service management and communication, maintenance management, network configuration and organization, network behavior, data delivery model, sensor mobility, naming and localization, sensing coverage area, communication coverage area energy efficiency management c) Information architecture: Real-time information management, mapping management, service management, analyze information, control application, business application management report management, sending and receiving commands or response, naming, localization, maintenance, fault tolerance Aforementioned NM techniques enhance quality of the system. According to ISO 9126-1 software quality model Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 [13; 14; 15], the quality characteristics of a system could be divided into six fundamental properties: functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. According to the same documentation, these characteristics are broken to sub-characteristics such as suitability, security, maturity, fault tolerance, adaptability, analyzability, stability, testability and so on [13]. However, focusing on all subcategories collectively exceeds the time horizon of this research, from this stance three dimensions namely reliability, robustness and security are brought into attention. This section will be divided to two subsections describing the architecture issues and NM techniques for (1) Reliability and Robustness, (2) Security, of WSN and other characteristics is relegated to future studies. 2.1 Reliability and Robustness In WSNs context, the probability that a network functions properly and aggregates trustworthy data without any interruption continuously, is usually referred to as reliability characteristic of the network [23; 20]. According to ISO 9126-1 software quality documentation, reliability characteristic shows the capability of a network to maintain or re-built (re-start) the service in certain period of time [13]. So, it is important that during long sensing, the network has to service up continuously. Reliable service of a network includes precise and proper sensing, delivering and sending acceptable data to the base station. In other words as Taherkordi et al. (2006) put: â€Å"The less loss of interested data, leads us to higher reliability of a system†. Systematic approach perceives reliability as probability of data delivery to the base station rather than point-to-point reliability [16]. Robustness defined by Sohraby et al. (2007) as: â€Å"a combination of reliability, availability, and dependability requirements†, reflects the degree of the protocol insensitivity to errors and misinformation†. Achieving system robustness in WSN, necessitates system capability to detect, tolerate and confine errors as well as reconfigure and restart the network respectively [7]. According to the given definition by Sohraby et al. (2007), it is apprehensible that reliability and robustness share commonalities with each other; this is the main rational behind discussing these two attributes together in this section [7]. Considering the nature of communication in WSN, a network is unpredictable and prone to fail caused by any physical damages in hardware devices, energy depletion, communication link error, information collapses in packages and etc. [17; 16]. Therefore, one of the critical issues in design phase of WSN is applying fault tolerance techniques to optimize the network so that reliability and robustness attained [17]. These techniques enable the network to withstand and recover any upcoming failure and restart operation [13]. Liu et al. (2009) categorized fault tolerance techniques into: node placement, topology control, target and event detection, data gathering and aggregation, and sensor surveillance. Reminding from the beginning of this chapter architecture design divided into three segments. Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 depicted a summary of the plausible related faults and their solutions in each segment. In the following, each aforementioned fault tolerance techniques are being discussed in each design segment. Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 The most probable fault and their fault tolerance solutions in WSN [17; 7; 18] 2.1.1 Reliability and Robustness of Physical Architecture: Fault: any physical interruption in sensor surveillance Solution: Node placement management and signal-effect management First item that should be considered in designing physical components architecture for reliability and Robustness is: physical placement and signal-effect management. As it is mentioned in section 3, although the mesh network communication is self-organize topology and does not need any manual configuration to bind the network for mobile sensors, the physical architecture and the location schema of the hardware components, sensors and gateways need to be designed carefully [7]. As a characteristic of mesh WSN, the sensors in network are free of any installation restrictions, even though, the placement should be far from any physical destruction or hostile locations. Inappropriate physical placement of sensor transmitters and gateway antenna can cause noise or significant lost in signals [7]. In addition, the signal coverage is decayed by surrounding objects and materials such as metal wall and the like. (E.g. exterior wooden, concrete, brick or gypsum frame, block or wall). Especially in the case of vehicles, the main body can impose such problem and henceforth installation of the sensors in this manner would be delicate. Moreover, the signal waves might be faded and affected during the transmission, due to various physical phenomena such as reflection, diffraction or scattering [7]. These effects would cause significant interruption in sensor surveillance. Therefore, it is important to manage these signal-effects in early stage of WSN physical architecture design. Reflection occurs when electromagnetic wave of signals is duplicated due to impinge of the wave on large object or surface such as walls, buildings and the Earth [7]. Therefore, all the reflection of the walls and also the Earth should be acknowledged in physical architecture design. Diffraction refers to any defection and obstruction in waves caused by irregular sharp edges during the data transmission between the transmitter and receiver [7]. In this case, designers have to be prudent in sensors placements in the proximity of sharp edges and corner angels. Scattering refers to any deviation from straight line. Environmental obstacles in the propagation path affect passing waves from their original structure. Even small irregular object such as street signs, and lampposts might encounter and scatter the wave. Hence WSN should be design to face with any irregular scattering during the wave transmission. Above all, the mobility of sensors and surrounding objects might fade the signals and add noises that should be considered in architecture design [7]. These issues are the basic physical factors, which cause major fault in data aggregation of WSN and cut down reliability and robustness. These destructive signals need to be subtracted from the received signal paths [7] before sending the data to gateway. Therefore, reflection, diffraction and scattering should be considered not only by designers in the physical components placements, but also by programmers in network development. Fault: Sensors failure Solution: Hardware replacement The next issue that needs to be considered in designing the physical architecture of a WSN is hardware failure. Sensors energy suppliers or any damages to the sensors and/or their transmitters are the sources of hardware failure. Regardless of source of failure, the WSN must be capable of functioning as well as replacing and switching sensors when necessary. Additionally, any changes in the physical components, on one hand, needs an explicit and well-defied consideration on security issue to prevent any potential threats, and on the other hand, needs an adaptable and configurable communication connection network [18]. 2.1.2 Reliability and Robustness of Communication Architecture Fault: communication link errors Solution:Topology control and event detection , Replicated services in communication model, Communication link error is an important concern in dealing with reliability and robustness of a network in communication architecture. The sensors in WSN are prone to fail and make link errors in point-to-point reliability of communication protocol. Therefore, it is the network topology responsibility to detect the errors and guarantee the overall reliability of the syste

Exploring Identity and Time in Here, An Arundel Tomb and The Whitsun Weddings :: An Arundel Tomb

Exploring Identity and Time in Here, An Arundel Tomb and The Whitsun Weddings  Ã‚  Ã‚   Larkin has been criticized over the years for the moroseness of his poems, the blackened description of everyday life that some people say lacks depth, however, unlike many other poets, Larkin does not always write the truth or the depth of his feelings. In many there is a voice, trying to convince its author of something that is usually quite evident or exploring itself but revealing only the surface. Why he is trying to convince himself and what are is true feelings present the real challenge and profundity of Larkin poems. The search for one's identity, combined for everybody in one's unique fantasies and realities is a recurrent theme in his poems. As is time, the passing of it, the transformation it engenders and the damage it inflicts. In "Here", identity or the search for one's identity is the main theme. The search is symbolized by the journey taken by Larkin, which takes him through the countryside before Hull, through Hull and finally into the countryside and the beach outside Hull. He finds his identity in the countryside outside Hull, however, he knows that although it is here that he yearns for, it is not his true self, it is his fantasy, the "Here" he would like to live in but that is nevertheless "out of reach". His real identity can be found in Hull with the people and city he so despises. His journey starts in the farm lands before Hull, he does not stop his car, he swerves passed everything as he knows it is not what he is searching for and the slowness of the life he describes here is used in contrast to the imagined speed of the author's swerving vehicle on the motorway. His next stop, his arrival in Hull marks an abrupt change in scenery ("the surprise of a large town") and the driver stops his car, Larkin uses the word "Here" here for the first time so that we assume he has at last found something, a part of his identity. What he sees, described in the next two paragraphs is a city he despises, a city of people whom he feels are below him, yet he knows it and them extremely. He knows about the contrast between its "domes and statues" and "grain scattered streets", as he knows the people there, he describes their movements as "stealing" suggesting stealth and sleaze as they move towards the supermarkets, swinging doors to their "desires", emphasizing that the desires are theirs.

poverty and the failure of macro economic policies

With the increasing tendencies of poorness and coupled with the failure of macro-economic policies in supplying recognition services to the hapless, micro-financing is progressively being advocated as an alternate agencies of recognition bringing to the hapless. Microfinance has bit by bit developed to be a world-wide motion, no longer being a capable affair of microfinance practicians entirely, Governments, givers, development bureaus, Bankss, foundations, corporations, concern communities, civil societies, research workers, universities, advisers, altruists and others are taking increasing involvement in it ( Latifee, 2006 ) . Microfinance is a general term that refers to the proviso of fiscal services for the hapless who conventionally have been excluded from the formal Banking system. Microfinance is hailed as a tool for poorness relief because entree to fiscal services assist the hapless families in run intoing their basic fiscal demands, protects against hazards and develop societal and economic authorization. Notwithstanding these potencies of microfinance towards helping the hapless, other surveies elsewhere have shown that microfinance does non relieve poorness as claimed by some surveies. In Nigeria, like most other developing states microfinance proviso is both undertaken by formal and informal agreements. Between 1977-1999 the Nigerian authorities have initiated and implemented no fewer than 5 microfinance plans in the signifier of microcredit to help the hapless as a manner of relieving poorness. However, with the drastic decrease of authorities subvention to them, they all ceased to run as all of them depended chiefly on Government support. ( Mohammed & A ; Hassan, 2008 ) . Sing the failure of the so top-down attack, the Government in 2005 came up with a new microfinance policy under the supervising of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The execution of this new policy led to the active engagement of the private sector runing along-side with the bing government-owned microfinance establishments in supplying fiscal services to the economically active hapless.1.1 Statement of jobBing a developing state and the most thickly settled state in Sub-Sahara Africa, Nigeria harmo nizing to 2006 nose count figures has a population of 150 million people. Available statics shows that out of the 150 million Nigerians, 70 million people are populating below poorness line ( World Bank, 2009 ) . Further, the highest poorness rate of 72 % is recorded in the Northern portion of the state compared to 43 % recorded in the southern portion of the state ( Kpakol, 2009 ) . This is an indicant that the incidence of poorness is more outstanding in the Northern portion of Nigeria. In an effort to turn to the job of poorness, Government had between1977-1999 initiated and implemented no fewer than 5 poverty relief plans in the signifier of microcredit proviso to help the economically active hapless as a manner of relieving poorness. However, with the drastic decrease of authorities subvention to them, they all ceased to run as all of them depended chiefly on Government support ( Mohammed and Hasan, 2008 ) . Sing the importance and increased protagonism of microcredit as a agency of relieving poorness, the Government in 2005 came up with a new microfinance policy under the supervising of Central Bank of Nigeria. Under the new policy, authorities and private persons are granted licence to open and run microfinance establishments. This development led to the outgrowth as of today, more than 900 registered microfinance establishments runing in the state which hitherto been entirely a authorities matter. Available statistics indicates that the formal microfinance establishments merely service less than one million clients in a state where over 50 % of the state ‘s population of 150 million unrecorded below poorness line ( Felix and Adamu, 2007 ) . In add-on, the formal fiscal system provides services to about 35 % of the economically active people, while the staying 65 % do non hold entree to fiscal services ( CBN, 2007 ) . In separate surveies about microfinance in Nigeria utilizing different sets of variables, shows that engagement in microfinance by and large improves the life conditions of its participants which constantly consequences in relieving poorness ( see for illustration, Irobi N C,2008 ; Felix & A ; Adamu, 2007 ; Mohammed & A ; Hasan, 2008 ; S B Williams et Al, 2007 ) . Of involvement to observe nevertheless, most of available literature on microcredit in Nigeria focused on the impact appraisal of microcredit towards poorness relief and more significantly, the surveies were carried out in southern parts of the state. However, small or nil is known about the state of affairs of microcredit in the northern parts of the state which statistics have shown to hold higher prevalence of poorness. The intent of this survey hence, was to understand the perceptual experience of selected communities in Northern Nigeria towards microcredit and how it has contributed towards elating the populating criterion of clients1.2 Significance of the surveyTaking into consideration the developmental challenges posed as a consequence of poorness peculiarly in developing states, the significance of the survey can non be over-emphasized. The variables involved in the survey viz. ; microfinance and poorness relief are of import issues environing modern-day development circles. Most surveies conducted on the viability and effectivity of microcredit towards poorness relief reveals that microcredit greatly enhances the life conditions of the hapless. In position of the foregoing, it is expected that the recommendations offered at the terminal of the survey, will travel a long manner in supplying informed advice and policy sentiment on ways and agencies of germinating echt microfinance activities pa rticularly in countries where poorness is still prevailing. Similarly, the findings of the survey will greatly lend to the bing literature for usage in academic and policy issues.1.3 Research QuestionsThe research inquiries are ; What is the general perceptual experience of these selected communities towards microcredit? In what ways does microcredit alleviates poverty among donees of microcredit?1.4 Purpose of the surveyThe survey seeks to understand the general perceptual experience of some selected communities in northern Nigeria towards microfinance. In making so, the survey will besides find the viability and effectivity of microcredit as a scheme for poorness relief. Contrary to earlier surveies on same issue that chiefly focused on formal microcredit establishments and the impact of loans peculiarly to adult females, this survey will analyze the function of the informal sector that is believed to be supplying fiscal services to more than 60 % of the economically active hapless with a position to understanding whether the informal microcredit can every bit lend towards relieving poorness as is obtained in the formal sector. Furthermore, the survey besides seeks to understand the ways in which the microcredit helps in elating the life conditions of the hapless.1.5 Restrictions of the surveyThis survey investigated the research job based on the relevancy and or effectivity of microcredit in selected communities in Northern Nigeria. Due to fiscal and clip restraints, the survey was limited to merely two communities where two community leaders were selected as samples of the survey. Similarly, the Chief Executive officer of Yerwa microfinance Limited was besides used, and two ( 2 ) donees of loans from the said Bank besides serve as samples of the survey. Otherwise, the sample would hold been much larger than this. One other thing to see as restriction in this survey is the inability of the research worker to be in the field for the behavior of interview. As such, a research helper had to carry on the in-depth interview with the respondents based on the interview usher sent to him, except for the CEO of Yerwa microfinance Bank who granted interview to the research worker straight through SKYPE. Chapter TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The construct of microfinance As mentioned earlier, the failure of the conventional banking system to supply recognition services to the hapless led to the outgrowth of microfinance establishments as an alternate beginning of recognition bringing with the purpose of supplying little loans to the hapless without collateral. Microfinance hence, is a manner of funding to hapless for their concern, to relieve their poorness, authorising them and giving societal benefits on sustainable manner. Due to microfinance activities, many possibilities have emerged including widening markets, cut downing poorness and fostering societal alteration ( Agion & A ; Morduch, 2005 ) . Microfinance Bankss are establishments that are established to supply fiscal services to the active hapless. They can be non-governmental organisations ( NGOs ) , nest eggs and loan co-ops, recognition brotherhoods, authorities Bankss, commercial Bankss or non-bank fiscal establishments ( Ledgerwood, 1999 ) . One of import facet of microfinance to observe is its comparative success in intentionally making out to the hapless life in different socio-economic environment. It has been argued nevertheless, that the successes of microfinance mediation recorded in some cases can non be generalized taking into consideration the heterogenous nature of societies within which a microfinance establishment operates. Many research workers had conducted the impact assessment surveies on microfinance plans. Some of the research workers have concluded the positive impact of the microfinance on the socio-economic development ( Tripathy, 2006, Sundarapandian, 2006 ; Pandin, and Eswaran, 2002 ) in India and across the universe ( Hiatt and Woodworth, 2006 ) . At the same clip, some other surveies found that the microfinance intercession had small impact on the socio-economic development of people ( Kabeer, 2005 ; Shamsuddoha and Azad, 2004 ) . Besides ( Kabeer, 2001 ) found out with the negative impact of mic rofinance in Bangladesh. So, taking into awareness the conflicting results of assorted impact surveies conducted utilizing different methodological analysiss in different state of affairss the positive impact of microfinance can non be generalized and universally accepted in this regard. 2.2: Microfinance Approachs There are two diverse attacks in the literature handling microfinance ; the welfarist ( besides called the direct recognition attack ) and the institutionists approach ( or fiscal market attack. The welfarist attack focuses on the demand side, which is to state on the clients. This attack support the thought of subsidising microcredit plans in order to take down the cost for the microfinance establishments so that they can offer low involvement rates on their loans, the public presentation of the MFIs are measured through family surveies with focal point on the life criterions of the persons, figure of nest eggs histories, figure of loans, productiveness betterment, incomes, capital accretion, societal services such as instruction and wellness every bit good as nutrient outgos. ( Congo, 2002 ) The Institutionists criticize the subsidisation because it leads to high, unpaid rates dealing costs, which have led to the failure of many microcredit plans. They mean that it is non sustainable for the MFIs to be subsidized and that the subsidies lead to an inefficient allotment of the fiscal resources. The economic experts back uping this position mean that the welfarist made the incorrect premises when they say that the repayment involvement rate must be low, that the clients are non responsible and unable to salvage and that commercial Bankss can non last in rural countries because of high cost of offering fiscal services to the hapless families. The institutionalists suggest that the MFIs should run harmonizing to the conditions of the market, bear downing high involvement rates because of high costs and in that manner operate on a sustainable mode. They mean that hapless persons are willing to pay high involvement rates in order to hold entree to recognition. The public presen tation of MFIs is measured through the refund rates, dealing costs, fiscal autonomy of MFIs etc ( Congo, 2002 ) In malice of holding advanced thoughts for concern, if there is no entree to fiscal resources, these thoughts go in vain. Microfinance alterations whole scenario and reaches to the hapless to happen their thoughts and acquire fiscal benefits. Harmonizing to Sengupta, Aubuchon ( 2008 ) there are now about 70 million people who are acquiring benefits from 2500 MFIs in over 100 states by microfinance. Conditionss of the hapless are different in different states of the universe. These conditions are related to societal, ideological and political issues ( Weiss, Montgomery, 2004 ) . Therefore, there are typical differences between attacks and motivation of microfinance. We will see briefly two attacks, one is the celebrated Grameen theoretical account originated from Bangladesh and the other is Banco Sol, in Bolivia.2.2.1 Grameen ModelIn Grameen theoretical account, primary unit is a group of 5 members that organize and apply for a loan. In first unit of ammunition, loan is granted for tw o members to put in their concern. If these two members become successful to refund back, so four to six hebdomads subsequently, the following two members are granted besides. The last one will be eligible upon successful refund of the old two. If one member of the group defaults in refund, the whole group will be disqualified for farther loan. Similarly, alone and advanced attack of group loaning is used. As Sengupta, Aubuchon ( 2008 ) described that group loaning has many benefits. First, groups are normally organized in members who are neighbor to each other, those that can understand each other good and acknowledge their demands. Second, if any of the group members will non be present in a meeting, the leader or other group member can pay its installment. We can state there is common apprehension among members. Third, in south East Asia by and large, and in Bangladesh specifically, there are societal force per unit areas among members of society with societal binding in them. If one member of group will non pay even one installment, societal force per unit area will be levied from all eight groups on this member. Ultimately, this leads to decrease of hazard.2.2.2 Bonco Sol of Bolivia.While the Grameen theoretical account of microfinance emphasize on loaning to villagers, the other nucleus construct is the formation of groups and these groups are eligible to take loans, no option of loans to persons. The thought of Bonco Sol of Bolivia is progressive loaning where the sum of loan will increase after completion of every refund agenda. But other features of Grameen model ( Group loaning ) are included in this method like aiming to hapless, adult females, group formation and public payment. No uncertainty, progressive loaning is an extension of group imparting which many microfinance establishments are now following this attack. In this theoretical account of progressive loaning, micro-lenders are flexible about collateral and lend loan to groups and persons b esides. This method is really helpful in countries with low population densenesss or high diverse population where group forming is non so easy due to different ratio of safe and hazardous borrowers. While appreciating the differences in attacks as indicated above, one can state that microfinance are evolved due to different political, ideological and societal conditions. Harmonizing to Weiss Montgomery ( 2004 ) â€Å" Microfinance in Latin America developed under rather different conditions. In Bolivia, a fall ining democrat government led to widespread unemployment. Bonco Sol, a pioneering microfinance establishment in the part was developed to turn to the job of urban unemployment and supply recognition to the cash-strapped informal sector. The impression of commercial profitableness was embraced comparatively early in this attack.2.3 Microfinance- a Development ToolIn developing states, people from low income communities have advanced thoughts for their concern, even as shop-keepers or family merchandises maker, but they have no fiscal resources to implement their thoughts. This low economic activity in low income communities due to miss of fiscal resources lead them to more poorness and hapless life criterions. By and large, fiscal services screen nest eggs and recognition activities and there is same construct about MFIs. But harmonizing to Ledgerwood ( 2000 ) , MFIs work for general fiscal services with this they provide insurance and payment services to their clients. But of import facet of MFIs is non merely fiscal mediation but besides supplying societal intermediation and societal services to their clients. Social mediation and societal services contain many activities including preparations, direction development and fiscal literacy activities. Furthermore, many MFIs, arrange get-together where experient people guide others, where they give utile suggestions, tips and other tactics for their concern. Therefore, microfinance is supplying fiscal services with societal services. Normally, societal services are non applicable in general banking system. So, microfinance is non merely banking system but development tool, uniting both fiscal and socie tal intermediation. Therefore, microfinance provides the undermentioned services ;2.3.1 Fiscal IntermediationFiscal intermediation is by far the most primary aim of MFIs because without loan/money societal intermediation can non work. MFIs in this respect, becomes a span to entree finance and this consequences to poverty relief, wellness attention and instruction literacy ( Ledgerwood, 2000 )2.3.2 Social IntermediationSocial intermediation that covers the issues of group formation, leading preparation and concerted acquisition is secondary function of microfinance for borrowers of MFIs. Development in societal capital is a basic ingredient of sustainable development in hapless ‘s life and particularly in society. Social capital really links between clients of a group and multiple groups and between MFIs and borrowers ( Agion & A ; Morduch, 2005 ) . The ratio of societal capital will increase with the addition in concern activities among members and fiscal dealing between loane rs and borrowers.2.3.3 Enterprise Development ServicesMFIs provides support to persons or groups in different endeavor development services like selling, concern and accounting services etc. this service can be divided into two parts, endeavor formation and endeavor transmutation. In endeavor formation, MFIs provide proficient support to group or person in start up of concern with thoughts and accomplishments. While, in transmutation of endeavor, MFIs arrange preparations for borrowers, workshops and get-together for developing latest accomplishments in their concern countries ( Ledgerwood, 2000 ) .2.3.4 Social ServicesHarmonizing to microfinance practicians, poorness can be addressed by funding hapless for productive activities which in consequence come up to their entree to life necessities. Ledgerwood ( 2000 ) observes that MFIs serve to their clients with extra societal services and fiscal intermediation. The best manner to reach with their clients is in the signifier of group, that is the easy manner to educate them, giving wellness attention and other installations. So in this manner, MFIs function is productive in the life of hapless by offering fiscal services with supportive services. These supportive services really play of import function in sustainable human development and support of the hapless ( Khan, Rahman, 1998 ) .2.4 The Goals of MicrofinanceThe ends of Microfinance Bankss are ; To supply diversified, reliable and timely fiscal services to the economically active hapless. To mobilise nest eggs for fiscal intermediation. To make employment chances. To supply regular avenues for the disposal of the micro-credit plan of authorities and high net worth persons. To render payment services such as wages, tips and pensions on behalf of assorted grades of authorities. To affect the hapless in the socio-economic development of the state ( Egbu, 2006 ) .2.5 The Concept of PovertyThere is no individual definition of the word ‘poverty due to the relativity of the construct, it can take assorted signifiers depending on the context within which the construct is defined. In a more luxuriant definition, The United Nations defines poorness as â€Å" Fundamentally, poorness is a denial of picks and chances, a misdemeanor of human self-respect. It means deficiency of basic capacity to take part efficaciously in society. It means non holding plenty to feed and dress a household, non holding a school or clinic to travel, non holding the land on which to turn one ‘s nutrient or a occupation to gain one ‘s life, non holding entree to recognition. It means insecurity, impotence and exclusion of persons, families and communities. It means susceptibleness to force, and it frequently implies populating on fringy or delicate environments without en tree to clean H2O or sanitation † ( UN, 1998 ) . Poverty in many developing states is mostly a affair of non holding plenty on their tabular arraies to eat. Supplying the hapless with fiscal services is one manner to increase their income and productiveness e.g. through self-employment and therefore get away poorness ( Chowdhury, 2001 ) . Poverty is farther classified into three variables ; income poorness, exposure and authorization. Income poorness bases for deficiency of income to afford minimal basic necessities of life. Vulnerability involves the chance of hazards of today being in poorness or to fall into deeper poorness in the hereafter. Sing authorization, based on the focal point of this survey, to find the manner ( s ) microcredit alleviates poorness, most MFIs are working towards authorising economically active to partake in one signifier of endeavors or the other. Here, authorization is farther classified into three classs viz. ; Economic, societal and political authorization. They are defined as follows ; Economic authorization refers to economic security of oneself. Social authorization refers to the ability to take part in decision-making in the community including the family and non-family groups. Political authorization refers to the ability to interact in the populace sphere.2.5.1 What causes Poverty?Poverty is a macro job. The causes are every bit broad as they are deep besides. Some of the cardinal grounds why people all over the universe are hapless and remain hapless are political instability, natural catastrophes, corruptness, socio-economic disparities and bias, deficiency of entree to instruction, deficiency of substructure etc. Some other causes of poorness can be from acute conditions like warfare. The stuff and human devastation that is frequently caused by warfare is a major development job ( World Bank, 2000/01 ) . Apart from devastation caused by natural events such as hurricanes, environmental forces ever cause acute periods of crisis by destructing many harvests and animate beings every bit good.2.5.2 Measuring PovertyWhen poorness is defined in a broader sense, it can raise the inquiry of how to mensurate overall poorness and how to compare accomplishments in different dimensions. Below is how the different dimensions of poorness can be measured. Measuring material want: Under this we have the income and ingestion degrees of the family. This is measured by utilizing the national poorness line, a critical cut off in income or ingestion below which an person is deemed to be hapless. Measuring Vulnerability: Poverty can non be to the full alleviated in a sustainable manner unless mediators are designed to undertake the multi-dimensional nature of poorness. Vulnerability being a dynamic construct has its measuring centered on the variableness to income or ingestion and on the handiness of other dimensions of wellbeing like physical assets, human capital, societal capital and prevalence of non-income hazards like force, natural catastrophes and so on ( World Bank, 2000 ) . Measuring Authorization: Measuring authorization may change harmonizing to the context i.e societal, cultural and political context of a given society.under this we have: Economic authorization: This can be measured harmonizing to the ability of single to command sufficient resources. Social authorization: This can be measured in footings of the ability of single to partake in determination devising. Political authorization: This has to make with persons ‘ ability to take part in political personal businesss.2.6 Microfinance Profile in Nigeria.Variously described as the giant of Africa, Nigeria is the most thickly settled state in sub-sahara Africa with an estimated population of 150 million people. Divided into 6 geo-political parts, operates a federal system of authorities. Bing the 7th largest exporter of rough oil manufacturer in the universe which constitutes 70 % of the states gross and yet more than 70 % per centum of its 150 million people are populating below poorness line. In line with the desire to contend poorness, consecutive disposal in the yesteryear have initiated and implemented assorted poorness relief plans with a position to turn toing such job. Notwithstanding these far-reaching policies the issue of poorness has continued to be a repeating job as most of these plans failed to accomplish the coveted aims and by 1999 all authorities poorness relief plans ceased to work due to inadequate subvention from the authorities. In realisation of its duties to its citizens peculiarly the hapless, the authorities in 2005 came up with a new microfinance policy under the supervising of the cardinal Bank. Under this policy, prospective persons, corporate organisations and NGO ‘s willing to partake in microfinancing were granted licence to run. This new policy saw the outgrowth into operation of more than 900 microfinance Bankss across the 36 provinces of the federation. Of involvement to observe nevertheless, these MFIs provide services to merely 35 % of the 70 million economically active hapless Nigerians, the staying 65 % do non hold entree to credits ( Soludo, 2009 ) . One other upseting facet of microfinance activities in Nigeria is uneven spread of its operations to the hurt of the Northern parts of the state as most of these establishments are concentrated in the Southern parts of the state. By and large, microfinance establishments in the state are faced with legion jobs runing from deficient financess to deficiency of managerial accomplishments which in bend effected on the hapless outreach of its operations and their inability to provide for the pullulating economically active hapless. As specified by the new microfinance policy, microfinance establishments have the undermentioned aims: To better the socio-economic conditions of adult females, particularly those in the rural countries through the proviso of loan aid, skills acquisition, generative wellness attention service, grownup literacy and miss kid instruction ; To construct community capacities for wealth creative activity among enterprising hapless people and to advance sustainable support by beef uping rural antiphonal banking methodological analysis ; and To eliminate poorness through the proviso of microcredit and skill acquisition development for income coevals ( Anyanwu, 2004 ) . Chapter 3 Methodology3.1 Research Design:The survey is of qualitative nature which is besides referred to as inductive attack. Inductive attack is done by taking into consideration the empirical informations foremost and so research worker goes on to construct hypothesis which leads to the development of and consideration of new theories or doing add-on in bing theories ( Bryman, 2004 ) . It is of import to observe here that the pick of this attack was informed by ; non-sufficient informations of the researched subject and besides because of the argument on the impact of microcredit as a medium of poorness relief. Otherwise, the survey would hold employed the deductive attack in turn toing the research inquiries. Furthermore, it is appropriate to utilize qualitative attack as the survey seeks to understand the perceptual experience of donees of microcredit. It is believed that this method will supply rich and thick description from the participants sing their experiences, perceptual experience and apprehension of microfinance.3.2 participants and scene:The participants involved in the survey include the Chief Executive Officer of Yerwa Microfinance Bank, Maiduguri, 2 community leaders and 2 loan donees of the said Bank. The Chief executive officer who is holding 5 old ages experience in microfinance activities besides serves as the current director of the aforesaid Bank. He was chosen because of his wealth of experience and besides runing in one of the countries with high prevalence of poorness. The two back-to-back interviews he granted to the research worker through skype have provided an institutional position on the general nature of Nigerian microfinance industry. Two community leaders of Matara and Bulangu identified as samples of the survey represent the voices of the said communities that are considered to be among those countries worst hit by poorness. Their perceptual experience towards microfinance is by and large believed to stand for the position of their co mmunities. Similarly, the two donees were identified in coaction with Chief Executive Officer of Yerwa community as his clients, gave a self-account of their perceptual experience, experiences every bit good as their apprehension of microcredit as being direct donees. 3.3: Ethical Measure Attached as appendix 1 is the consent missive served to all participants seeking their consent to take part in the survey as respondents. The aim of the survey was clearly explained to them and were assured that all informations obtain from them will entirely be used for the intent of the survey and that they are at autonomy to retreat at any clip they deemed appropriate to make so. In add-on, they were promised a transcript of the work should at that place be a demand for them to verify the intent for which the survey is intended. 3.3: Ethical Measure Bing a qualitative attack, the research worker is the instrument of the survey. Data aggregation was at the same time obtained by both the principal research worker and the research helper employed due to some restrictions encountered as a consequence of the inability of the principal research worker to be in the field. While the principal research worker conducted an in-depth interview with the Manager of Yerwa microfinance Bank through Skype, the research helper conducted same with the community leaders and the donees of loans who every bit served as respondents guided by the interview usher prepared and sent to him for that intent. By and large, the following semi-structured inquiries guided the behavior of the interview ; Would you wish to state us about yourself and what you do for a life? Would you wish to state us what Yerwa microfinance Bank is making in this community? Have you of all time collected any loan from the bank? If yes, when? Would you wish to state us what has happened to you since you obtained that loan? Would you wish to state us who introduced you to Yerwa microfinance Bank as a client? What has been the procedure of obtaining the loan? How did you see that your life has changed as a consequence of the loan you collected. What advice would you give to others like you who have non collected the loan? Have you completed refund of the loan? If yes, would wish to travel for farther loan? All interviews were audio-taped and subsequently transcribed. Having transcribed the information, common tendencies and forms associating to the respondents ‘ perceptual experience of microcredit and its impact on the general betterment of their life conditions were marked and coded suitably. In add-on, similarities between coded statements were compared which enables grouping into major subjects for concluding presentation. In all, a sum of 49 codifications associating to the general perceptual experience towards microcredit and the ways in which it has improved the criterions of life of participants emerged. These codifications were farther categorized into major subjects as will be presented in the concluding analysis of the informations.Chapter FOURINTERVIEW RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Founded in 2006, the Bank as of today has a sum of 3,000 clients with one caput office every bit good as a subdivision office wholly situated within Maiduguri township. The operational system is fashioned along the Bangladeshs ‘ Grameen Bank in which loans are offered to groups of between 5-6 members. The sum of loan offered to groups scopes between N500,000 to N700,000 for the intent of puting into broad scope of economic activities like cowss rise uping, orienting, agricultural activities depending on the pick of donees. The sum of involvement charged harmonizing to the Bank Manager is for every N100,000 given out as loan, the Bank charges 5 % as service charges. These charges are chiefly used for employee rewards and payment of rents and other administrative costs. Though comparative new with a small capital base, deficient figure of staff and comparatively few clients, the Bank was able to go on with the hope of spread outing its services in the hereafter. 4.2 Data analysis Based on the informations generated from the interview, a sum of 56 statements refering to perceptual experience of the respondents every bit good as the impact of microcredit on donees were coded. These codifications were farther compared based on their similarities and subsequently grouped into two major subjects dwelling of several sub-themes as will be presented hereunder. The two major subjects are ; the general perceptual experience of the donees of microcredit and impact of microcredit towards poorness relief. Table 1 Percept towards microcredit Impact towards poorness relief Trouble in accessing loans. Limited finance. Default in loan refund. Lack of consciousness on the activities of MFIs Increase in income. Social coherence. Table 1 above shows the classs of major subjects with sub-themes.4.3 Data reading.4.3.1 Trouble in accessing loans: Most of the respondents interviewed complained about the trouble in treating a loan with the Bank. Harmonizing to one of the donees it took them as a group about six months before they eventually obtained the loan. This has to make with the weak capital base of Microfinance Bank. As found out in the survey this microfinance Bank is one of the few microfinance establishment operational in province that is estimated to be holding more than 1.8 million economically active hapless that require one signifier of recognition or the other to enable them partake in economic ventures that would take to fiscal betterments. Another factor responsible for the hold in treating the loans is that the Bank deficiencies adequate work force and even the available 1s lack proper preparation to run into the increasing client demands. The Bank harmonizing to the Manager has merely 10 employe es in its wage axial rotation. This figure is rather deficient compared to the figure of clients of the Bank. 4.3.2 Limited finance: One of the disclosures in this survey which is mentioned by both loan givers and receiving systems is deficient financess. Insufficient capital harmonizing to the Bank Manager is one of the jobs the microfinance industry is confronting. This has a attendant consequence on the figure or sum of loan the Bank is able to give out as loans. Apart from that, the bank could non ship on enlargement undertakings such as staff enlisting and preparation, gap of other mercantile establishments to diversify its operations etc. One of the donees interviewed besides testified to that fact he had ab initio applied for N100,000 but eventually secured N40,000 which harmonizing to him is grossly unequal to take attention of his planned enlargement of concern. 4.3.3 Default in loan refund: loan default is besides one of the jobs associated microcredit. Although harmonizing to the Manager the Bank was able to enter 87 % and 90 % in the preceding old ages, but still the Bank is seting all necessary steps to guarantee impressive rates in the coming old ages. On the portion of donees they normally complained of higher involvement rates and high inflationary rates as factors responsible for their refund as and when due. Short refund period is besides mentioned by clients as one of the grounds for their inability to refund back harmonizing to agenda. 4.3.4 Lack of consciousness on the operations of MFIs: though comparative new in their operations, Microfinance Banks are still non known to bulk of the hapless and even if they know they can non appreciate the differences between them and other conventional Banks. Most of the donees interviewed said that they were introduced by friends who have been clients of the Bank and they were besides told that it is a topographic point where one can borrow money even if do n't hold a house or land to demo as collateral. Harmonizing to the Bank Manager, due to the weak capital base of MFIs, they can non be able to patronize adverts in the print and electronic media and as such they have to trust on the bing method to make out to their clients. This, he added will be a history as the Bank is bit by bit turning twenty-four hours by twenty-four hours. 4.3.5 Increase in income: by and large, most of the donees acknowledge though non significantly, alterations in the general conditions of their life as a consequence of the loans they collected from the Bank. One of the donees said that because he has invested the loan he received, after paying back the loan he noticed an addition in his overall capital base from N200,000 to N500,000. With the enlargement of his concern he was able to use an helper and at the same clip enroll into grownup flushing category which he is about to graduate in the following three months. To him this loan has brought succor as it has empowered him economically and educationally. Similarly, another donee besides said that as a consequence of the loan was able to purchase a reasonably used bike which he uses for commercial intents. As a consequence, he is now gainfully employed, able to purchase another new bike which he will give out for same commercial intent. In add-on, he was able to buy a little piece o f land that he hoped to develop bit by bit. 4.3.6 Social Coherence: apart from the fiscal mediatory function that microcredit dramas, the survey besides found out that engagement in microcredit unites its participants socially as a consequence of group loaning policy of microfinance establishments. As pointed out earlier, the microfinance establishments merely lend money to groups. Coming together of group members to use for a loan has afforded them the chance to carry on meetings on how to obtain, use and pay back the loans. The single groups besides register themselves under one umbrella of association of microcredit donees within the whole community. This has non merely further their sense of belonging but besides afforded them the chance to organize themselves into a formidable group that in most instances influences the determinations taking by the community. As one of the respondents remarked, â€Å" â€Å" Because of the formation of this association we are now politically empowered as most of the political parties ev er seek our support and input as a group, we support campaigners that we feel capable of protecting our involvement. In this regard we can state that our engagement in microcredit has given us a stronger voice to be heard even by the leaders contrary to what it used to be before our engagement in microcredit † . In another case, another donee besides said â€Å" â€Å" Because we are now formed into a strong group, we ever during our meetings raised and help in work outing personal jobs of our members such as sing infirmaries to help the bed-ridden, go toing societal assemblages like matrimony and appellative ceremonials. Most significantly, we were able to enroll a instructor who conducts flushing grownup literacy category to us on hebdomadal footing. Besides, field officers from the Bank educates us on the rudimentss of accounting and record maintaining which has greatly helped us in carry oning and pull offing our concerns † .Chapter FIVECONCLUSION AND POLICY RECOMM ENDATIONS: In decision, the survey has succeeded in understanding the perceptual experience of some donees of microcredit in Northern Nigeria. The survey found out that though microfinance establishments are faced with series of jobs runing from deficient fund to give out every bit loans to prospective clients, inability to spread out its operations to make out to the bulk hapless who largely live in the rural countries. In add-on, the operations and ends of these microfinance establishments is non known to bulk of people due to their concentration in urban countries. Yet, with the small they were able to loan out, has made an appreciable betterments on the life conditions of its clients in different respects. As other surveies have indicated the positive every bit good as the negative impacts of engagement in microcredit plans, the findings of this survey suggest that microcredit has impacted positively in bettering the life conditions of participants. In position of the foregoing and as revealed by this and other old surveies I wish to propose as follows ; Government should as a affair of precedence, happen a agency of supplying more sufficient and accessible financess to this microfinance establishments so that they excessively can hold plenty to impart out to prospective clients. As most microfinance Banks are concentrated in urban countries to the hurt of rural countries where bulk of the hapless resides, the Bank should ship on witting attempts in opening their subdivisions in rural countries. By taking their services to the door stairss of the hapless, it is believed the that this will pull more clients and thereby ensuing in the enlargement and growing on the portion of the Bank and to function as a agency of relieving poorness amongst the generalization of rural inhabitants. Another issue that needs to be observed and which has ever been complained of by donees is the duplicate issues of high involvement rates and short refund periods. Government and these fiscal establishments should look into this facet with a position to supplying microfinance services with easiness to the hapless. It is believed that high involvement rate and short refund periods are the major obstructions militating against popular engagement of the economically active hapless section of the society in microcredit plans. Intervention of the Government and all stakeholders of Nigerias ‘ microfinance industry in this way will promote the hapless to take part and prosecute in micro-enterprises activities that will finally better poorness. Mentions A D Mohammed and Z Hassan ( 2008 ) Microfinance in Nigeria and the chances of presenting its Islamic Version, MPRA Paper. 2008. Agion, B. A.d. & A ; Morduch, J. , ( 2003 ) , â€Å" Microfinance, Where do we Stand? â€Å" , The Anyanwu, C.M. ( 2004 ) . â€Å" Micro finance establishments in Nigeria: policy, pattern and British Association for the Advancement of Science Meetings, University of Salford, UK, 3, pp.136-144. Bryman, A. , ( 2004 ) , Social Research Methods, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press Inc. , New York. 2004. CBN, ( 2007 ) Annual Report and Statement of Account for the year-ended 31st December 2006. Congo, Y. , Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Burkina Faso, Discussion Paper No. 2002/01, UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research potencies † paper presented at the G24 workshop on bottlenecks to growing in Sub-Sahara, Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, November Felix, M A and Adamu G ( 2007 ) Support to the Development of Sustainable Microfinance in Nigeria. Mid-term Evaluation Report. UNDP/UNDCF 2007. Khan, M.A & A ; Rahaman, M.A, ( 1998 ) , â€Å" Impact of Microfinance on Living Standards, Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation of Poor Peoples: A Case Study on Microfinance in the Chittagong District of Bangladesh † , Master thesis, diva-portal.org, pp.14-30. Ledgerwood, J. , ( 1999 ) , â€Å" Microfinance Handbook: an Institutional and Financial Perspective † , Washington DC: The World Bank, pp.1-2, 63-90. M Kpakol ( 2009 ) The Role of Government in Poverty Eradication. A public Lecture series held in Minna, Niger State 2009. Sengupta, R. & A ; Aubuchon, C.P. , ( 2008 ) , â€Å" The Microfinance Revolution: An Overview † , Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, Volume 90 ( 1 ) , pp. 9-30. UN – United Nations Capital Development Fund, Special Unit for Microfinance ( 2002 ) Weiss, J. , Montgomery, H. , ( 2004 ) , â€Å" Great Expectations: Microfinance and Poverty Reduction in Asia and Latin America † , ADB Institute Discussion Paper No.15, pp.3-7APPENDIX 1UNIVERSITY PUTRA MALAYSIA ( UPM )DCE 5920: Introduction TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCHINTERVIEW CONSENT FORMI, Sule Ahmadu a pupil of the above mentioned class is required to set about a qualitative survey entitled â€Å" Microfinance and poverty relief in Nigeria: perceptual experience of microcredit donees in Northern Nigeria † . You have been invited to be in this survey due to your experience either as an operator of microfinance Bank or as a client. Note that your engagement in this survey is wholly voluntary and you may make up one's mind to retreat at any point you may hold it appropriate. If you decide to take part you will be asked to give an history of your perceptual experience on microcredit. You will every bit good be asked to besides depict in what manner ( s ) does microcredit improves the life conditions of donees as a consequence of their engagement. As you may make up one's mind to conceal your individuality, you are assured that anonym will be used to depict your individuality throughout in the presentation and analysis of the research work. Additionally, if you wish to cross-check the genuineness of the informations obtained from you, a transcript of the research work will be forwarded to you for that intent. For farther elucidation and information, I can be reached on 0102737786 Thank you for your cooperation! Signature of participant Date aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦.. Bukar Modu Name of research Assistant Date & A ; SignaˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦.. Sule Ahmadu Name of Researcher Date & A ; SignaˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦..