Definition of love Essays - Social Psychology, Emotions, Friendship

Personal definition of love: Love is an emotion. It refers to the deep feeling of carrying about someone. This feeling differ depending on the relationship between two people. Love for a mother is different than love for a husband but in both cases it involves affection, admiration and respect. Personal definition of friendship: Friendship is a personal relationship between two people. This relationship involves affection and mutual esteem as well as trust and loyalty to each other. Knowing that you can always count and rely on each other with anything is what true friendship is all about. A false friend is more dangerous than an open enemy! True friends trust each other so much that they feel very comfortable to share everything between themselves. This can involve material assets as well as a load of personal information such as insecurities, joys , fears, mistakes etc. A true friend knows that this kind of information cannot be disclosed to anyone and that is part of the respect that friends have for each other. When such information is disclosed by false friends, these provoke anger and emotional pain. We often get disappointed when a friend turns out to be false and it becomes more difficult to engage in such close relationships as the fear of being deceived and disappointed again can have a strong presence. One other factor about false friends is that we are always taken by surprise to discover a false friend. We can never expect that the person that we trusted with everything, helped whenever it was necessary, saw like a brother has turned out to be the worse enemy. When it comes to an open enemy, we know what to expect. Personal information must not be in the open air as it can be used as a tool of revenge we know to always keep our eyes open in the presence of an enemy. Usually it is not wise to let an enemy too close to friends or relatives as this will always try to dig something dirty that its can use as revenge. We all know what the intentions of our enemies are and what they are capable of. We are never too surprised about their actions. Even when they try to show their best intentions, we can already anticipate that is a trap and not give them the satisfaction to get through with their mall intended actions. The relationship that we have with our enemies is based on envy, jealousy, lack of trust and sometimes even fear. To conclude, I would say that a false friend can hurt us deep and not just by disclosing the information or the things we intrusted them with but by the fact that those things and information came together with our trust and affection for that person. We allow them into our privacy and our lives become transparent for them as we most of the time believe that there?s nothing more precious in this world as a true friend. This can explain the intensity of the feelings that we experience when we find out that the person we though of and treated as a friend is actually not a friend at all.

The Guns or Butter Nazi Economy

The Guns or Butter Nazi Economy A study of how Hitler and the Nazi regime handled the German economy has two dominant themes: after coming to power during a depression, how did the Nazis solve the economic problems facing Germany, and how did they manage their economy during the largest war the world has yet seen, when facing economic rivals like the US. Early Nazi Policy Like much of Nazi theory and practice, there was no overarching economic ideology and plenty of what Hitler thought was the pragmatic thing to do at the time, and this was true throughout the Nazi Reich. In the years leading to their takeover of Germany, Hitler didn’t commit to any clear economic policy, so as to widen his appeal and keep his options open. One approach can be seen in the early 25 Point program of the party, where socialist ideas such as nationalization were tolerated by Hitler in an attempt to keep the party unified; when Hitler turned away from these goals, the party split and some leading members  (like Strasser) were killed to retain unity. Consequently, When Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the Nazi Party had different economic factions and no overall plan. What Hitler did at first was to maintain a steady course which avoided revolutionary measures so as to find a middle ground between all the groups he’d made promises to. Extreme measures under extreme Nazis would only come later when things were better. The Great Depression In 1929, an economic depression swept the world, and Germany suffered heavily. Weimar Germany had rebuilt a troubled economy on the back of US loans and investments, and when these were suddenly withdrawn during the depression the Germany economy, already dysfunctional and deeply flawed, collapsed once more. German exports dropped, industries slowed, businesses failed and unemployment rose. Agriculture also began to fail. The Nazi Recovery This depression had helped the Nazis in the early thirties, but if they wanted to keep their hold on power they had to do something about it. They were helped by the world economy beginning to recover at this time anyway, by the low birth rate from World War 1 reducing the workforce, but action was still needed, and the man to lead it was Hjalmar Schacht, who served as both Minister of Economics and President of the Reichsbank, replacing Schmitt who had a heart attack trying to deal with the various Nazis and their push for war. He was no Nazi stooge, but a well-known expert on the international economy, and one who’d played a key role in defeating Weimar’s hyperinflation. Schacht led a plan which involved heavy state spending to cause demand and get the economy moving and used a deficit management system to do so. The German banks had tottered in the Depression, and so the state took a greater role in the movement of capital – borrowing, investments etc. – and put low interest rates in place. The government then targeted farmers and small businesses to help them back into profit and productivity; that a key part of the Nazi vote was from rural workers and the middle class was no accident. The main investment from the state went into three areas: construction and transportation, such as the autobahn system which was built despite few people owning cars (but was good in a war), as well as many new buildings, and rearmament. Previous Chancellors Bruning, Papen and Schleicher had started putting this system into place. The exact division has been debated in recent years, and it’s now believed less went into rearmament at this time and more into the other sectors than thought. The workforce was also tackled, with the Reich Labour Service directing the young unemployed. The resu lt was a tripling of state investment from 1933 to 1936, unemployment cut by two-thirds (Nazi faithful were guaranteed jobs even if they weren’t qualified and if the job wasn’t needed), and the near recovery of the Nazi economy. But the purchasing power of civilians had not increased and many jobs were poor. However, Weimar’s problem of a poor balance of trade continued, with more imports than exports and the danger of inflation. The Reich Food Estate, designed to co-ordinate agricultural produce and achieve self-sufficiency, failed to do so, annoyed many farmers, and even by 1939, there were shortages. Welfare was turned into a charitable civilian area, with donations forced through the threat of violence, allowing tax money for rearmament. The New Plan: Economic Dictatorship While the world looked at Schacht’s actions and many saw positive economic outcomes, the situation in Germany was darker. Schacht had been installed to prepare an economy with a large focus on the German war machine. Indeed, while Schacht didn’t start off as a Nazi, and never joined the Party, in 1934, he was basically made an economic autocrat with total control of the German finances, and he created the ‘New Plan’ to tackle the issues: the balance of trade was to be controlled by the government deciding what could, or couldn’t be imported, and the emphasis was on heavy industry and the military. During this period Germany signed deals with numerous Balkan nations to exchange goods for goods, enabling Germany to keep foreign currency reserves and bringing the Balkans into the German sphere of influence. The Four Year Plan of 1936 With the economy improving and doing well (low unemployment, strong investment, improved foreign trade) the question of ‘Guns or Butter’ began to haunt Germany in 1936. Schacht knew that if rearmament continued at this pace the balance of payments would go crippling downhill, and he advocated increasing consumer production to sell more abroad. Many, especially those poised to profit, agreed, but another powerful group wanted Germany ready for war. Critically, one of these people was Hitler himself, who wrote a memorandum that year calling for the German economy to be ready for war in four years’ time. Hitler believed the German nation had to expand through conflict, and he wasn’t prepared to wait long, overriding many business leaders who called for slower rearmament and an improvement in living standards and consumer sales. Quite what scale of war Hitler envisioned isn’t certain. The result of this economic tug was Goering being appointed head of the Four Year Plan, designed to speed rearmament and create self-sufficiency, or ‘autarky’. Production was to be directed and key areas increased, imports were also to be heavily controlled, and ‘ersatz’ (substitute)  goods were to be found. The Nazi dictatorship now affected the economy more than ever before. The problem for Germany was that Goering was an air ace, not an economist, and Schacht was so sidelined that he resigned in 1937. The result was, perhaps predictably, mixed: inflation had not increased dangerously, but many targets, such as oil and arms, had not been reached. There were shortages of key materials, civilians were rationed, any possible source was scavenged or stolen, rearmament and autarky targets were not met, and Hitler seemed to be pushing a system which would only survive through successful wars. Given that Germany then went head first into war, the failures of th e plan soon became very apparent. What did grow were Goering’s ego and the vast economic empire he now controlled. The relative value of wages fell, the hours worked increased, workplaces were full of the Gestapo, and bribery and inefficiency grew. The Economy Fails at War It’s clear to us now that Hitler wanted war, and that he was reformatting the German economy to carry out this war. However, it appears that Hitler was aiming for the main conflict to start several years later than it did, and when Britain and France called the bluff over Poland in 1939 the German economy was only partially ready for the conflict, the goal being to start the great war with Russia after a few more years building. It was once believed that Hitler tried to shield the economy from the war and not move immediately to a full wartime economy, but in late 1939 Hitler greeted the reaction of his new enemies with sweeping investments and changes designed to support the war. The flow of money, the use of raw materials, the jobs people held and what weapons should be produced were all changed. However, these early reforms had little effect. Production of key weapons like tanks stayed low, due to flaws in design negating speedy mass production, inefficient industry, and a failure to organize. This inefficiency and organizational deficit were in a large part due to Hitler’s method of creating multiple overlapping positions which competed with each other and jostled for power, a flaw from the heights of government down to the local level. Speer and Total War In 1941 the USA entered the war, bringing some of the most powerful production facilities and resources in the world. Germany was still under-producing, and the economic aspect of World War 2 entered a new dimension. Hitler declared new laws – the Rationalization Decree of late 1941 – and made Albert Speer Minister of Armaments. Speer was best known as Hitler’s favored architect, but he was given the power to do whatever was necessary, cut through whichever competing bodies he needed, to get the German economy fully mobilized for total war. Speer’s techniques were to give industrialists more freedom while controlling them through a Central Planning Board, allowing for more initiative and results from people who knew what they were doing, but still kept them pointed in the right direction. The result was an increase in weapons and armaments production, certainly more than the old system produced. But modern economists have concluded Germany could have produced more and was still being beaten economically by the output of the US, USSR, and Britain. One problem was the allied bombing campaign which caused massive disruption, another was the infighting in the Nazi party, and another was the failure to use the conquered territories to full advantage. Germany lost the war in 1945, having been outfought but, perhaps even more critically, comprehensively out produced by their enemies. The German economy was never functioning fully as a total war system, and they could have produced more if better organized. Whether even that would have stopped their defeat is a different debate.

Strategic Management and Finance Research Paper

Strategic Management and Finance - Research Paper Example 1,670,000 Net cash flow per year 690,000610,0001,350,0001,505,0001,670,000 Net Present Value: Present Cash Flows PV Factors Value Year 1 690,000 0.8929616,071 Year 2 610,000 0.7972486,288 Year 3 1,350,000 0.7118960,903 Year 4 1,505,000 0.6355956,455 Year 5 1,670,000 0.5674947,603 Salvage return 700,000 0.5674397,199 Total 4,364,519 Investment (10,000,000) Net Present Value (5,635,481) Payback Period: Net Remaining Cash Flow Investment Payback period is Longer than the project life of 5 years Investment 10,000,000 Year 1690,0009,310,000 Year 2 610,0008,700,000 Year 3 1,350,0007,350,000 Year 4 1,505,0005,845,000 Year 5 2,370,0003,475,000 Scheme 2 Net Cash Flow per Year Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Expected annual cash receipts from sales2,600,0002,800,0003,000,0003,200,0003,500,0003,500,000 Expected annual costs of new product Cash expenses 1,550,0001,620,0001,720,0001,810,0001,930,0002,060,000Depreciation expense 583,333583,333583,333583,333583,333583,333 Net income 466,667596,667696,667806,667986,667856,667 Net cash flow per year 466,667...The reduction in the inventory turnover resulted from the significant increase in the stocks. This increase might be a result of the company's hedging for foreseen price increases. The Board should accept Scheme 2. Based on NPV, it has a much lower negative NPV than Scheme 1. Moreover, it has a shorter payback period than Scheme 2, which according to the above calculations will never be able to pay back the company's 10,000,000 investment. PT Trada Maritimes debuted in the Indonesia Stock Exchange on September 2, 2008 (Trada Maritime 2008). Right after its debut, the stock price reached as high as 27 per cent of its IPO price. The company went public as a result of its additional capital requirements on its expansion plan for 2009. Trada Maritimes plans to spend as much as $315 million to purchase additional vessels over the next five years (Trada Maritime 2008). Globus Maritime Limited received the International IPO of the Year on February 1, 2008 at the Quoted Company Awards (Reuters 2008). Globus was first listed in the London Stock Exchange under its AIM index in June 2007 at an IPO price of 300 pence (www.timagenislaw.com; www.investegate.co.uk). Right after its debut, the price of the company's stock skyrocketed as show in the graph below. Reuters 2008, 'Globus Maritime Limited Receives the 'International IPO of the Year' at the Quoted', Reuters, [Online] Retr

Renanlt Nissan the making of Global Alliance case Essay

Renanlt Nissan the making of Global Alliance case - Essay Example major changes were taking within the global automotive market characterized by large-scale mergers between some of the major automotive companies in the world. In addition, the economic slowdown being experienced in the Asian region was also affecting the industry, with many of the Asian automotive manufacturers experiencing financial problems. Conversely, the earlier attempted merger between the company and the Swedish carmaker Volvo in 1993 was unsuccessful and had left a negative effect on the company. This merger had been a well-planned initiative that was based on shared synergies between Renault and Volvo and comprised a significant part of the European industrial policy (Krcmar & Klein, 2006). The merger negotiations had lasted for three years and had involved various key authorities, including the French industrial minister, as the French government was a major stakeholder in the company. It was therefore important for the company to be able to undertake a successful merger undertaking in order to go past the effects of the previous failed merger. A major strength involved the company’s privatization 1996 due to the various changes in the country that resulted in the separation of economic and political factors and influences. This privatization process resulted in the French government owning only 46% of the company’s shareholding (Krcmar & Klein, 2006). As such, the management was quite sure that the company’s shareholders would approve the company’s need to expand as well as provide the management with a conducive environment to implement the company’s strategy. Another major strength of the company was its experience and market share, as the company was a major automotive producer within the western European and South America automotive markets and had a 5% of the total global automotive market. The company had excelled in the field of mid-range cars and light commercial vehicles. It was also ahead in cost reduction, efficient purchasing and

Theories Of Grameen Bank Founder Professor Muhammad Yunus

Theories Of Grameen Bank Founder Professor Muhammad Yunus Microfinance is the provision of financial services by certain institutions known as MFIs such as Cooperative Banks, Community Based-Saving Bank, Credit Unions, development bank to the poor, low income earners, self-employed and small businesses design to address to address issues of poverty. According to MIX in June 2010 there was more than 1800 MFIs in over 100 countries, with 92.4 millions borrowers and 78.5 millions savers in the developing world. The concept of microfinance was created by Professor Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen bank in Bangladesh. Microfinance includes a range of services such as microcredit, saving, insurance and funds transfer. Traditional banks do not provide facilities to low income earners; they provide services to people after assessing the profile of clients according to certain criteria such as pay, credit history and assets of the clients. According to Hernando De Soto (1989) a Peruvian economist poor people have no assets to provide as collateral t o bank when taking a loan, therefore they are not liable to receive loans from banks. Since poor people do not have access to traditional banks they have to lend money with high interest rates from others sources such as pawnbroker and local money lender sometimes with 100% interest rate as borrowing from them is fast and flexible. Over the last 30 years MFIs have developed new methods with less collateral to offer small loans to low income earners and has grown rapidly in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America where there were few bank infrastructures and where in some cases more than 80 % of the population did not have a bank account. According to CGAP (2008), MFIs are funded by 33 donors of 21 investors such as DFI. Microfinance offers permanent financial facilities for education, health, personal emergencies, disasters, investment opportunities to the poor and it is used as a development tool. MFIs begin as non-profit organization increasingly they are now evolving as profit entities because MFIs are required to have a banking license for saving services. Some MFIs offers non-financial facilities such as health services and business development. In this review we will analyze and see how microfinance contributes to the economic development of a country and the review will be focused on creation of e mployment and the empowerment of women by microfinance. 2.1.1 Professor Muhammad Yunus Theoretical review The concept of microfinance was created by Professor Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen bank in Bangladesh and noble price winner in 2006.He receives 76 other awards in different countries for his work. Professor Yunus obtainded a doctorate in Economics from Vanderbilt University found in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States. During the famine of 1974 in Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus minor loans of USD27 to 42 poor families for them to buy and sell small articles to allow them to earn a living. The objective behind the loan was to reduce poverty in Bangladesh. Grameen bank was an idea generated by Professor Yunus the bank started as a project at the University of Chittagong as a pilot test to find different ways of providing credit to the poor in the rural area. The Grameen bank offered its services to a village named Jobra near the university; the project was successful and had the support of Bangladesh central bank in 1979. The bank extends its services to Tangail district and to other areas of Bangladesh. In 1983 the Bangladesh Government turns the project into an independent bank and Professor Yunus had a grant from the Ford foundation to incorporate Grameen bank with the support of two bankers namely Mary Houghton and Ron Grzywinkski from Shore bank of Chicago. The Ford foundation was established in 1936 it is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental organization which help in social change, the organization help to reduce poverty and help in human advancement worldwide by offering subsidies and loans to certain organizations. 2.2.4 Credit Union Mutual societies Grameen bank is a Nobel Prize winner corporation founded in 1983, its headquarter is situated in Dhaka in Bangladesh and the bank is known for its solidarity lending system or banking and is also known as banking to the poor. Solidarity lending is the foundation of microcredit. The word Grameen is derived means village in Bangladesh, the bank incorporates the 16 decisions which is recited by bank borrowers and which they shall abide to them. The 16 decisions comprises the four principles of Grameen bank which are Discipline, Courage, Unity, and Hard work, and the other 15 decisions are resumed as to improve their standard of living and there is the element of togetherness to do social activities to improve their way of living. These sixteen decisions have a positive impact on the inhabitants of Bangladesh where more children have joined school. The bank has different sources of funding; initially huge capital was obtained from donor agency at low rates. During the 1990s the bank has its bulk of capital from the Central bank of Bangladesh and recently from the sales of bonds subsidized by its government. In 1998 The bank make loan to poor people in the form of microcredit as a result of flood in Bangladesh, the repayment rate decreases but recovered afterwards, USD4.7 billions has been loaned in 2005and USD6 billion in 2008. Nowadays the bank has expand more and offers more loans to the poor and in 2006 it has up to 2100 branches in Bangladesh. Due to Grameens success more than 40 countries including the United States in 2008 where 12.6% of the population live below the poverty line have been inspired by the bank to make projects with the same perspective, only Africa which has lag behind. The World Bank has financed the projects. The bank is owned by the poor borrowers of the bank of which the majority are women as the borrowers own 94% of the equity and the remaining 6% is owned by the Government of Bangladesh. The bank has grown to a large extent between 2003-2007 in 2003 the numbers of borrowers have doubled and in October 2007 the number of clients was 7.34 Million of which 97% were women and had a staff of 24703, in 2468 branches over 80257 villages that is the branches have spread in more villages since they were situated in only 43681 villages in 2003 and the repayment rate. Since the banks start ed to operate it has USD6.55 billions as loans USD87 billion has been repaid and the bank claim repayment rate of 98.35% up from the 95% of 1998 but again the Wall Street journal in 2001claim that it doubted the 95% and the accounting standard used by Grameen bank. Grameen started to diversify in the 1980 where it develops into a multi facet group with profit and nonprofit group among which are Grameen fisheries foundation for fisheries project, Grameen Agriculture Foundation for irrigation project, Grameen fund and Grameen Trust.Grameen believe that the concept of giving charity will encourage charity whereas the concept of microcredit will help poor people to exit poverty and the bank invest in children education by providing scholarships and loans for higher education. Grameen Foundation PPI Microfinance in developed countries 2.3.3 Theoretical study of Microcredit Theoretical study According to Boudreaux and Cowen (2008) microcredit is a micro magic and makes the life of the poor becomes easier, it is an alternative to traditional lending of banks. Instead of giving charity to the poor, microcredit is a human way of providing finance to poor people as according to the Chinese proverb Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, it is an investment in human capital. Microcredit is an innovation in the world of finance it forms part of microfinance, the concept did not exist before the seventies, and it is a small loan rarely exceeding USD200 and usually below USD50 made to the poor or people with low income with little or no collateral. Microcredit clients are those that are considered as near the poverty line, the loans allow micro entrepreneurs to generate an income for a better standard of living. Grameen bank based itself on three Cs namely Character that is the reliability of the people the Capacity to h andle funds and the Capital which is the assets of the borrower such as savings. Microcredit is gaining more credibility in the finance industry and many large organizations are developing microfinance programs for future growth although at the start many were pessimistic about the future of microcredit in the financial system. 50% of the population in many developing countries is self employed and these loans of three months to three years with small interest rates and no collateral help poor people to become financially independent and help to reduce poverty. The microcredit programs helps people to achieve high repayment rate even sometimes more than that of traditional banking because of the system of peer support. In the case of the Grameen bank where there are solidarity groups and it is also known as social capital and is composed of 5 members and each member is responsible for each other success and repayment, but are not guarantees or liable if members default. Nevertheless the members make sure that each one is taking its responsibility to make repayment this act as a motivating factor for the members. Sometimes in real life when a member of the group defaults the other four collaborates together and contribute to pay on behalf of the defaulting member. The microcredit system of Grameen bank is based on Trust and there is no conventional contract between the bank and the borrowers, but the borrowers must have a small account with the bank known as group fund which acts as an insurance in case of an emergency. Women account for 97% of the microcredit client of Grameen bank and this help to empower women as they get access to resources and have a say in decision making since they become micro entrepreneurs. Grameen bank has records of 98% repayment rate from women which is in contradiction with Wall street Journal which says that there is one fifth of the total loan of the bank is overdue but Grameen bank claims in turn that the standard of living of the poor has increased that is they are respecting the 16 decisions of the bank and are able to make a repayment of around 4USD per week. Empirical review of microcredit Grameen bank develop several program for the poor of which one of them is the struggling members program in 2003 which is different from the 5 group member borrowing it consists of distributing interest free loans to beggars in Bangladesh where the banking rules do not apply and where the repayment period is arbitrary for USD1.5 about 3.4 US cents and if they borrower default they are already covered under an insurance paid by the bank itself. This type of loan encouraged the beggars to generate an income by the sales of cheap items, there is a record shown in the microfinance summit 2006 that loans taken by beggars are about USD 833,150 and the repayment is USD 496,900 that is 59.64% repayment rate which according to me is quite encouraging since it is more half of the money loaned. Certain developed countries such as in Canada have try to used the Grameen model but the project has failed due to certain factors such as the risk profile of clients, no taste for joint liability that is the no solidarity between the borrowers, high overhead costs therefore the project does not stand without subsidies in Canada which is contrary to the USA where microcredit has been successful. Sometimes microcredit is subjected to problem such as opportunism and asymmetric information. The first Grameen branch has made a loan of $1.5 million in the USA among which was 600 women and the repayment was very high up to 99%. People took the loan to sell items such as flowers, jewelry clothes and Grameen bank remains unshaken while others collapsed during crisis. Despite the global recession, The President Barack Obama announced the creation of $100 million funds to lend as microcredit to the western hemisphere. Micro Saving Apart from microcredit the need of financial users is increasing, there is demand from 19 million potential savers to have access to micro saving services. They need services that are flexible and adapted to them. Traditionally savings is done by people at home or by normal banks at a high cost which was not encouraging to the poor. Microfinance has brought services such as savings to poor people. Savings help people to feel safer and more stable, and help poor people to manage their money conveniently. Micro saving consists of small deposits, terms and interest rate that is flexible to clients at the same time banks used the money to make loans to poor people. Credit Insurance In 2002 opportunity organization started to give micro insurance services. Its subsidiary MicroEnsure was the first institution offering micro insurance services and provide protection against many risks for the poor. Stakeholders and local insurance worked in collaboration with MicroEnsure to develop and match the needs of the poor. The insurance provided were affordable, they offered agricultural, medical, property and life policy providing a safety net in case of disasters with average premium of USD 1.5 for family with 5members. Medical policies covered even people already suffering from diseases and even those suffering from HIV viruses. Actually MicroEnsure is offering insurance in 5 countries to over 1million poor people and was one of the runner-ups of financial times in June 5 for sustainability award and receives a grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to expand itself in other countries. Microcredit transfer Microcredit Summit The first microcredit summit was held at Washington D.C. on the 24 February 1997, 137 countries were present at the summit with 2900 participants. In the summit they launch a campaign to reach 100 million poorest families that is those people living below the poverty line, with those living with less than USD1.25 a day adjusted to the purchasing power parity (based on 2005 prices) all around the world within nine years especially to empower women as micro entrepreneurs. The objective was nearly achieved in 2005 and in November 2006 the campaign re-launched to 2015 with two new objectives was ensured that 175 millions poorest families especially women are obtaining credit for self employment and for business and financial services. The second objective is to ensure that 100 millions poorest familys worldwide increase to USD1 a day adjusted to the purchasing power parity from 1990 to 2015. The microcredit campaign is the project of the Educational fund from the USA an organization committed to end hunger and poverty around the world. The campaign group together people such as microcredit practitioners, donor agencies, international financial institutions, non -governmental organizations, advocates, and other people involved with microcredit for effective and efficient practices. In August 2008 the World Bank claim that approximately 280 million families live below the poverty line with less than USD1.25 daily. The four core themes of the summit are reaching the poorest, empowering women, building self sufficient and sustainable MFIs, ensuring that microfinance has a positive impact on the lives of the poor The forthcoming Microfinance Summit 2011 will be held in Valladolid, Spain, the summit is believed to improve the microfinance sector and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. A hundred countries and over 2000 participants are expected in the summit. In the agenda there will be the presentation of new products, job creation with microfinance and best practices among other issues will addressed. Poverty It has been proved that microfinance is the tool to help poor family moved out of poverty and to contribute to the economy of a country. Studies have shown with the microcredit provided by Grameen bank in Bangladesh 48% of the families below the poverty line have exit from poverty. According to some studies with microcredit 5% of the poor could exit the poverty line each year as it is an investment in human capital and improve peoples life. Microcredit is an opportunity for the poor to realize their dreams. Employment Generation Microcredit helps in the generation of employment; therefore it helps in economic development and in a sustainable means of income. With the microcredit poor people are able to earn a living by selling low priced items or to even expand their businesses at the same time they become sustainable and create employment for other people .Microfinance is a mean of creating employment and improving the life of poor people. Women Microfinance more specifically microcredit is an instrument used for the empowerment of women it increase social welfare and enhances gender equity. Microcredit helps women to become economic actors in power. We have heard a lot about the role of women in microfinance, 94% of the borrowers of Grameen bank are women and 97% of the borrowers are owners in the equity of the bank, according to Rankin (2002) the reason behind this is because women invest more in the family than men because of their nurturing instincts and are more devoted towards their families. Women play a crucial role in the economic growth of a country by first improving their family life, their communities and countries. In the microfinance summit provisions are made for the poorest families around but especially for women as they form an important part of microfinance. Women are targeted because they are the one in the family to up bring the children and poverty of the women results in illiteracy of their chil dren and other social problems. Mohhamud Yunus (1999) explains that women are more willing to work harder to raise their children and to move their families out of poverty, whereas when a destitute father earns an income his priorities will more around himself than for his family. In 2005 Kofi Anan promote the year as the UN microfinance year for empowerment of women. Studies have shown that women are good income earner and that women have a high repayment rate. In Nepal with the Women empowerment program 68 % of the women are able to cater for the needs of the family by sending their children to school, buying and selling properties which normally was the duty of the husband. Access to microcredit has increase from 7.6 million in 1997 to 26.8 million in 2001 among which are 21 million women the access to loans enabled them to make economic decisions , to buy assets and resources and to become more independent. . We will look at two among many microcredit stories of women the first one is that of Janet Deval from Haiti who was an illiterate women with a hearing problem she had five children, her husband refused to pay the school fees but she knew that education was important for the children. Janet sold goods in Hinche and pay for her children schools on her own. She started to take literacy classes at Fonkoze a microcredit institution in Haiti. Afterwards Janet knew how to write her name and could things that she couldnt do before since she was never sent to school. Later she took a loan from Fonkoze to be able to expand her business at the market to be able to continue to send her children to school, without the microfinance institution Janet would have been unable to read and write and to even expand her business therefore she would have been able to educate her children. The second case is that of Anastacia Abella from the Philippines, she lived as a squatter in Manila, she lived with her four children in a shelter made from scrap, the village have frequent blackout therefore she decided to search for jar in the garbage to make lamps, after decorating the lamps, she sell 150 of them each day and make a small profit. She took a loan at Opportunity international and she was to make 300 lamps a day, the loan allows her to make greater profit and be able to improve her standard of living. Empirical review Social capital is an important component of microcredit it is used as a tool in development programmes. Social A study was carried out by Forbes Marshall Co .Ltd a well known company in Maharashtra, India as an initiative of CSR about the impact of social capital on social empowerment carried using primary data from 217 women all members of SHG by using random sampling.15 variables were used using Likert scale to know the perceptions of women about the microfinance programs. The conclusion of the study was that the social capital created help in women empowerment but that the organization must give appropriate support and policies to the social capital such as capacity building programmes to help decision making. Islamic microfinance Critics of microfinance Microfinance in Mauritius To coordinate the activities of Grameen Foundation, we have staff based at our headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the Grameen Technology Center in Seattle, Washington and in offices in Los Angeles, Ghana and the Philippines. Overseeing the staff is a Board of Directors. Our Grameen Foundation Advisory Council and our Board Committees and Councils nurture new ideas, innovations, strategic thinking and program development. Much of Grameen Foundations work is done by our network of volunteers who are committed to our mission, some of whom have been working in partnership with us for more than ten years. Alex Counts, President CEO Alex Counts is President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on enabling the poor to escape poverty, using microfinance and technology. Counts founded Grameen Foundation and became its CEO in 1997, after having worked in microfinance and poverty reduction for 10 years. Since its modest beginnings, sparked by a $6,000 seed grant provided by Grameen Bank founder (and founding Grameen Foundation board member) Professor Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Foundation has grown to a leading international humanitarian organization with an annual budget of approximately $25 million. A Cornell University graduate, Counts commitment to poverty eradication deepened as a Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh, where he witnessed innovative poverty solutions being developed by Grameen Bank. He trained under Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, and co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Counts has propelled Grameen Foundations philosophy through his writings, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance Are Changing the World. Counts has also been published in The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Miami Herald, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. In 2007 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Horace Mann School. Counts chairs the Fonkoze USA board of directors and is the immediate past chair of Project Enterprises board. He sits on the Advisory Council of the Center for Financial Inclusion, the Advisory Board of the ThinkGlobal Arts Foundation, and he co-chairs the Microenterprise Coalition. He serves on the Board of Directors of two social businesses: Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd. and YouChange PuRong Information Advisory Co. Ltd., which promote microfinance and related efforts in the Arab World and China respectively. Before leading Grameen Foundation, Counts served as the legislative director of RESULTS and as a regional project manager for CARE-Bangladesh. He speaks fluent Bengali and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Emily, and their cat, Seymour. Top Peter Bladin, Executive Vice President, Programs and Regions Peter Bladin is Executive Vice President of Programs and Regions at Grameen Foundation, and the Founding Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center. Under his leadership, the Technology Center has led the microfinance industry in driving relevant and appropriate technology innovation, creating information and communications initiatives that benefit the worlds poorest. Peter was a founding member of the MTN-Village Phone board, the first public-private partnership to extend telecommunications access to the rural poor. He is a frequent speaker at international telecommunication and microfinance conferences, and is an Executive Board Member of the International Telecommunications Union Connect the World initiative. Peter is also actively involved with various Seattle-based non-profits, including Global Partnerships and Social Venture Partners. Before joining Grameen Foundation, Peter worked for Microsoft for more than 10 years, managing various projects and departments during his tenure. He has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Top Jennifer Meehan, CEO, Asia Region Jennifer Meehan joined Grameen Foundation in February 2005 as the founding Director of the Capital Markets Group, during which time she led the development and launch of the Growth Guarantees product. She subsequently led Grameen Foundations strategic planning process before taking on her current role in January 2009. She is based in Hong Kong. Jennifer has lived in Asia Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and China since 1996. She started her career in the formal financial sector with Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan Chase), but made the transition to microfinance following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, she worked extensively with poverty-focused MFIs throughout Asia including CASHPOR, the Asian network of Grameen Bank Replicators, on financial management, business planning and financing. She has also consulted for Calvert Social Investment Foundation, among others, and published a number of articles. She was a founding investor and, until October 2007, served on the Investment Committee of the Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University. Top Alberto Solano, CEO, Americas Alberto Solano joined Grameen Foundation in October 2009 and provides leadership and management oversight for our portfolio and activities across the Americas. He also serves as our senior representative in the region. He has more than 10 years experience in microfinance, principally in Latin America, and most recently was the Latin America Program Director for Global Partnerships. He previously worked with the Central American Bank for Economic Integrations microfinance and technical assistance programs in Honduras, and ran his own consulting company specializing in sustainable development and microfinance. Top Julia Soyars, General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary Julia Soyars joined Grameen Foundation in March 2005 and started the Grameen Foundation legal department. After working five years in energy and government contracting law and litigation at Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in Washington, Julia joined the legal department at The American National Red Cross, where she spent eleven years handling domestic and international transactions. Julia is a founding member of the Microfinance Council of Counsels and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Julia holds a JD Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University. Top Joshua Tripp, Chief Financial Officer Joshua Tripp is Grameen Foundations Chief Financial Officer. Joshua joined Grameen in 2007 after spending seven years at Community Wealth Ventures (CWV), most recently as a Vice President. In his time at CWV, Joshua worked with dozens of innovative nonprofit organizations, helping them to assess, plan and launch for-profit business ventures to increase their sustainability. He became an expert in financial planning and capitalization of social enterprises, and was a presenter at several industry conferences and seminars. Before joining CWV, Joshua was a Project Manager for GS Telecom, a start-up satellite telecommunications company in Ghana. Prior to GS Telecom, Joshua worked in the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank, where he worked on a variety of public equity financings, private placements and merger and acquisition transactions in the technology industry. Joshua has a BA in Economics from Williams College and an MBA from the George Washington University School of Busin ess. Top Sandra Adams, Vice President, External Affairs Sandra Adams brings three decades of nonprofit development, communications and event marketing experience to Grameen Foundation. Throughout her career her focus has been on improving the status of women in positions with the AAUW Educational Foundation, American Nurses Association, and National Breast Cancer Coalition and on environmental advocacy through her work with the National Parks Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society. An avid student and proponent of philanthropy, she was elected Chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals national board of directors, served as President of their Washington, DC chapter and is one of only 150 people to have achieved the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive credential. She was named Washingtons Outstanding Fund Raising Executive of the Year in 1994. Sandra has served on the boards of EarthShare and CFRE International. She holds a Bachelors degree from Mercyhurst College, a Masters from the University of Massachusetts -Amherst and a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Georgetown University. Top Camilla Nestor, Vice President of Microfinance Programs Camilla Nestor joined Grameen Foundation in August 2005 and previously served as Growth Guarantees Manager and Director of the Capital Management and Advisory Center. She was appointed Vice President for Microfinance in April 2009. She has 14 years of experience in microfinance and commercial banking. Before joining Grameen Foundation, she worked in Citigroups Structured Corporate Finance Department where she executed credit-enhanced debt financings for emerging markets firms in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining Citi, she spent five years on the ground in Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and Africa working with microfinance institutions on start-up, new product development, and capital raising. Camilla holds an MBA and a masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a bachelors degree in Political Science and International Relations from Colorado College. She speaks Bahasa Indonesia and is conversant in French. Top David Edelstein, Vice President of Technology Programs, and Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center David Edelstein is Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center and Vice President of Technology Programs at Grameen Foundation. As the leader of Grameen Foundations work in technology, he guides programs that create innovative and sustainable approaches to employing technology for the benefit of the worlds poor. This includes efforts to develop services that can be accessed on widely available mobile phones, in domains such as health and agriculture, to improve lives and livelihoods. It also encompasses efforts in technology for microfinance, including an open-source software initiative designed to accelerate the growth of microfinance institutions (Mifos) and efforts to enable the poor to transfer funds using mobile phones. Before joining Grameen Foundation, David spent three years at Microsoft, designing busine

Yoga and its Relation to Health Essay -- spiritual goals, health benef

Yoga has been practiced for more than 5,000 years. There is an estimated 11 million Americans enjoying the health benefits of yoga. Though few people even know why. Most people think it’s just â€Å"Stretching†, But very few ever really stops to think about the health benefits of yoga. So let’s look at a few of these shall we? Some of the most commonly talked about benefits of yoga are the all-around fitness, weight loss, Stress relief, inner peace, improved immunity, living with greater awareness, better relationships, increased energy, better flexibility and posture, better intuition, increased lubrication of the joints ligaments and tendons, massages all of the organs in the body, complete detoxification, excellent toning of the muscles, reduced heart rate and blood pressure, increased lung function, helps with conditions such as anxiety, depression and insomnia, it has also shown positive effects on levels of certain brain and blood chemicals. So Besides the spiritual goals, the asana of yoga are used to reduce or get rid of health problems reduce stress and make the spine supple. In current times yoga is also used as a complete exercise program and physical therapy routine. The focus of yoga is on calm mindfulness, controlled breathing along with physical movement bringing with it benefits with regular practice. As most people are aware of Yogis sleep better with increased energy levels, and muscle tone, release of muscle pain and stiffness, improves circulation and over all better health. But few people know the breathing aspect of yoga can benefit heart rate and blood pressure. Three main focuses of Hatha Yoga are exercise, breathing and meditation. Making it a great choice for people suffering from hea... .... Yes there is some out there that say yoga is just stretching but those people are only partially right. Yoga unites mind, body and soul so it is obvious it can be used to treat mental and physical conditions. So there for yoga is so much more than most people perceive. Personally yoga has helped me out allot I use to have depression, anxiety, sleep problems and lower back pain. Yes I know I use to be a mess lol. One day I decided to try yoga and my life has been changed ever since. I no longer have any of these problems and I thank yoga for it. Resources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11832673 http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-benefits-of-yoga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatha_Yoga#Health_benefits_ascribed_to_yogasana_practice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga#Medicine

Character of Curley Essay

Candy joined the attack with joy â€Å"Glove fulla vaseline† ; he said disgustedly I didn’t wanta; Lennie cried. I didn’t wanta hurt him. Ques : Explore how the language in this extract influences your view of Curly? The language used in the extract shows Curley to be hateful, violent and angry. The extract describes a scene where by Curley is attacking Lennie, and it begins mid-attack. From the beginning of the extract it is clear that Curley is in an angry mood from the way that he â€Å"glared† at Candy when Candy joins the attack. Steinbeck uses a simile to describe Curley – â€Å"Curley stepped over like a terrier.† This comparison to a terrier works on two levels because a terrier is both small and aggressive, and Curley’s small size and aggressive nature are theme not only in the extract, but also throughout the book. When Curley speaks to Lennie, he uses obscene language and such as â€Å"bastard† and â€Å"son-of-a-bit ch.† This further gives the reader the impression that Curley is rude and aggressive, and also that he dislikes Lennie. Curley attacks Lennie, punching him in the face and stomach, but at first Lennie does not fight back or defend himself. However, Curley continues to attack him. At this point, the reader feels sympathy for Lennie and feels that Curley is the guilty aggressor. This feeling is shared by Slim, who jumps up and calls Curley a â€Å"dirty little rat.† The language used here creates a very negative portrayal of Curley, as rats are very dirty animals But then when Lennie does finally fight back, we see a different and weaker side to Curley. Lennie is much bigger and stronger than Curley. Lennie catches Curley fist with ease and Curley is left â€Å"flopping like a fish on a line.† This use of simile shows Curley to be weak and defenceless and shows that Lennie has caught him out. There is a sudden transition from Curley being violent and aggressive (like a terrier ) to him being beaten up and defeated â€Å"Curley was white and shrunken by now†¦ He stood crying.†