Micro Economics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Micro Economics - Assignment Example c) If the economy is using the resources as stated in the question then it is underutilizing the resource availability. In this case it would violate the assumption of full employment. d) This is an unrealistic situation and can be attained only in presence of foreign trade. In order to produce beyond the possibility level, the economy must be able to realize the increase in the availability of resources. Question 2 Answer: Opportunity cost is referred to as the cost of an activity which in measured in regards to the next best alternative foregone. The condition of shortage is the root cause of opportunity cost. If shortage is absent there will be no reason to sacrifice one thing to achieve another. The opportunity cost is likely to be higher for New York City. The reason being the alternative uses for the block are of more value than the block of the suburban city. Question 3 Total Profits = Total Cost – Total Revenue Total Cost = P resource * Q resource and Total Revenue = P rice * Q sold Total Cost = ($40 * 5 units of labor) + ($60 * 7 units of land) + ($60 * 2 units of capital) + ($20 * 1 unit of entrepreneurial ability) = $200 + $420 + $120 + $20 = $760. Total Revenue = $2 * 400 loaves of banana bread = $800. Total Profits = $800 - $760 = $40. The firm will continue to produce as it is earning economic profits. If this firm is typical of the banana bread industry, more resources will flow toward banana bread as other potential firms are attracted to the economic profits in the industry. Question 4 a) For this condition the price will rise while the quantity will fall. b) For this condition the price will fall while the quantity will fall as well. c) For this condition the price will fall while the quantity will rise. d) For this condition the price is indeterminate but the quantity will rise. e) For this condition the price will rise as well as the quantity. f) For this condition the price will fall but it is not possible to determine the demand. g) For this condition the price will rise but it is not possible to determine the quantity. h) For this condition the price will remain indeterminate but the quantity will fall. Question 5 Price falls and demand is inelastic: The total revenue will decrease in this case as demand being inelastic a price fall will bring loss of revenue for the producers. Price rises and supply is elastic: The total revenue will increase in this case as supply being elastic a rise in price will lead to increase in total revenue conditions. Price rises and supply is inelastic: The total revenue will rise in this case as well as this is the opposite case as the above question. Supply being inelastic a price rise will lead to increase in demand conditions and therefore total revenue. Price rises and demand is inelastic: The total revenue will rise in this case. Demand being inelastic a rise in prices will lead to rise in demand and total revenue will rise. Price falls and demand is elastic: The total revenu e will rise in this case. As demand is elastic a fall in price will lead to increase in demand and total revenue will rise. Price falls and demand is unit elastic: In this case the total revenue will remain the same because a fall in price will bring no change in demand conditions and therefore total revenue will remain unaffected. Question 6 Answer: A ceiling on price that is set below the price level at

Reading Text Commentary - New Internationalist Magazine Essay Example for Free

Reading Text Commentary New Internationalist Magazine Essay This reading text has been written for an adult audience for some form of magazine such as the new internationalist (www.newint.org) that is focused on worldwide concerns. This text does have a similarly to the listening text, as this reading text has been written to inform on a political issue however this text attempts to achieve this by a written format. This text aims to inform the audience of the Liberty and Livelihood march and for those who are unaware of why rural Britain is having such a problem, to them see reason for their outcry. The main challenge of this text is that as this text is written to inform, the reader cannot hear the tone of voice and various features that a speech would have and would have to re-create the situation themselves. This would mean that key points of the text are not quite obvious. Images from this march have been included in an attempt to let the reader understand the atmosphere of the Liberty and Livelihood march. As the images used were taken by me, there would be no problem with copyright legislations. Although this text does produce a challenge of attempting to highlight key issues, I have attempted to combat this by highlighting quotes as often done in newspapers and other articles. Tony Blair cannot just bat an eyelid This not only catches readers at first glance, it also brings out key issues and in this case the key issue is view of Tony Blairs ignorance of the public opinion. To bring these key issues to attention, I have changed the font size, alignment of the text and made the text bold to catch the readers eye. Another replication of newspaper articles that is used in this text is the use of images and the pun used for the title. The images used are relatively powerful images are they show the live action of the protest. The second picture used is of the anti-hunting group. This picture has been used as it shows the other side of the story and adds more depth and validity to the text. For further replication, I have used powerful words in the text to create an emotive text that would make the text stick in the minds of those who read it. Whoever is right, the steady haemorrhaging of the countrysides vitality and distinctiveness is set to continue whatever the fate of the hounds quarry. This sentence is a prime example of how I have attempted to use powerful language in this text. The general tone of this text is formal as this text is attempting to inform the reader of what happened then and why there was so much interest. This was done by using 3rd person sentence structures that direct the attention to the protestors and not the person reading it. By doing this the reader can attempt to understand why there was such a huge protest that would show that rural Britain does have a voice. This texts target audience would be 16+ who had the knowledge to fully understand what the text was suggesting and how important it shows another example of the neglect for public opinion. Several audiences, mainly being friends and family members, read this text and gave a critical response about this text. The general reaction of this text was that it contained a lot of thought provoking material and strong use of words that made them think about the future of Britains agriculture. The main criticism that I found with my first draft was that it could have been longer, I then added to this text in attempts to make it longer When presenting this text for a final time to an audience, it was found that the audience enjoyed reading this text and that it was an informative text. I had added a considerable amount more to the text to hopefully give more information to the audience as I found that the main problem found when receiving feedback from my initial audience was that they did not know enough about the subject as all they knew was what they saw on the news. When observing the final audience reading this text I observed various features of non-verbal communication that indicated that they were enjoying the read and found it informative and useful text. This was an excellent response as the aim of this text was to inform the audience of the problems of Britains agriculture faced that people who lived predominantly in the city were previously unaware of.

Bilingual Education: Building Bridges Essay example -- Education

Bilingual education, as an educational program, was initially promoted by educators in the seventies (Hunger of Memory 26) and since then has been a topic of many debates in America. Some argue that bilingual education only serves as a detriment to American culture. Others argue that bilingual education is beneficial to those who come to live in America and want to become a part of the culture, but lack proficiency in the English language. Two authors, who have each taken opposite sides of the debate on bilingual education in America, are: Richard Rodriguez and Ariel Dorfman. Richard Rodriguez believes that bilingual education creates a feeling of separateness between foreign language speakers and American society; therefore, bilingual education delays the formation of a public identity. In contrast, Ariel Dorfman argues that bilingualism in America will be a bridge to better understanding other cultures. I assume the position of being neither, against or entirely in favor of bilingu al education. I am in favor of bilingual education because it can be an effective segue to learning the English language and I believe it is very important to remain connected with our family’s language and culture. However, I also recognize the negative feeling of separateness from the larger public that bilingual education can have on foreign language speaking families, which hinders my ability to fully embrace bilingual education. Ariel Dorfman is an Argentinian author who struggled throughout his life to find a balance between the Spanish and English languages. As a result of Dorfman’s â€Å"bilingual journey† (Heading South 25), he argues that bilingual education is beneficial to American society. Dorfman believes that bilingualism will serve as a ... .... ---. Heading South, Looking North. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. Print Garcia, Maria E., Ofelia Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove Torres-Guzman. Imagining Multilingual Schools: Language in Education and Globalization. Clevdon, GBR: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Hadi-Tabassum, Samina. Language, Space and Power : A Critical Look at Bilingual Education. Clevdon, GBR: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. Rodriguez, Richard. â€Å"Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood.† Conversations: Reading for Writing. Ed.Gack Selzer. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. 153-166. Print. ---. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. New York: Bantam Dell, 1983. Print Salomone, Rosemary C. True American: Language, Identity, and the Education of Immigrant Children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

Comparing Schools Essay

This report provides advice on the collection and reporting of information about the performances of Australian schools. The focus is on the collection of nationally comparable data. Two purposes are envisaged: use by education authorities and governments to monitor school performances and, in particular, to identify schools that are performing unusually well or unusually poorly given their circumstances; and use by parents/caregivers and the public to make informed judgements about, and meaningful comparisons of, schools and their offerings. Our advice is based on a review of recent Australian and international research and experience in reporting on the performances of schools. This is an area of educational practice in which there have been many recent developments, much debate and a growing body of relevant research. Our work is framed by recent agreements of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), in particular, at its meeting on 29 November 2008: C OAG agreed that the new Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority will be supplied with the information necessary to enable it to publish relevant, nationally-comparable information on all schools to support accountability, school evaluation, collaborative policy development and resource allocation. The Authority will provide the public with information on each school in Australia that includes data on each school’s performance, including national testing results and school attainment rates, the indicators relevant to the needs of the student population and the school’s capacity including the numbers and qualifications of its teaching staff and its resources. The publication of this information will allow comparison of like schools (that is, schools with similar student populations across the nation) and comparison of a school with other schools in their local community. (COAG Meeting Outcomes) Our work also has been framed by the recently endorsed MCEETYA Principles for Reporting Information on Schooling (see Section 1. 4). Before summarising our specific recommendations, there are some general conclusions that we have reached from our review of international research and experience. The specific recommendations that follow are best understood in the context of these general conclusions: †¢ Vigilance is required to ensure that nationally comparable data on individual schools does not have the unintended consequence of focusing attention on some aspects of the purposes of schooling at the expense of other outcomes that are as important but not as easily measurable. Parents/caregivers and the public are interested in a broad range of information about schools, and nationally comparable data should be reported in the context of this broader information. †¢ Although it has become popular in education systems in some other parts of the world to use statistical models to develop ‘measures’ of school performance and to report these measures publicly in league tables, we believe that there are very v Reporting and Comparing School Performances  sound technical and educational reasons why school measures of this kind should not be used for public reporting and school comparisons. †¢ Related to this point, we are not convinced of the value of reporting ‘adjusted’ measures of student outcomes publicly. Measures of student outcomes should be reported without adjustment. †¢ To enable the comparison of unadjusted student outcomes across schools, we believe that a ‘like-schools’ methodology should be used. This methodology would allow parents/caregivers, the public, and education systems to compare outcomes for schools in similar circumstances. †¢ While point-in-time measures of student outcomes often are useful, it is difficult to establish the contributions that teachers and schools make to point-in-time outcomes. In general, measures of student gain/growth across the years of school provide a more useful basis for making judgements about the value that schools are adding. †¢ Measures of gain/growth are most appropriately based on measurement scales that can be used to monitor student progress across the years of school. The NAPLAN measurement scales are an example and provide educational data superior to that available in most other countries. Consideration should be given to developing national measurement scales for early literacy learning and in some subjects of the national curriculum. †¢ Initially reporting should build on the understandings that parents and the public have already developed. For example a school’s NAPLAN results should be reported in forms that are consistent with current NAPLAN reports for students. Although much work needs to be done in defining the most appropriate measures, the principle should be to build on the representations of data that are already familiar to people. Recommendations Our report makes the following specific recommendations: student outcome measures †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the literacy and numeracy skills of students in each school, using NAPLAN (Years 3, 5, 7 and 9). †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the tertiary entrance results of students in each senior secondary school. These data could be reported as the percentage of students achieving tertiary entrance ranks of 60 or above, 70 or above, 80 or above, and 90 or above (calculated as a percentage of the students achieving tertiary entrance ranks). †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the percentage of students in each senior secondary school completing Year 12 or equivalent; the percentage of students applying to all forms of post-school education; and the percentage of students completing VET studies. vi Reporting and Comparing School Performances †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the achievements of students in core national curriculum subjects (English, mathematics, science and history), beginning in 2010. National assessments could be developed initially at Year 10. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the early literacy learning of children in each primary school. These assessments will need to be developed and should be administered upon entry to school and used as a baseline for monitoring progress across the first few years of school. physical and human resources †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected about sources and amounts of funding received by each school, including all income to the school from State and Commonwealth governments, as well as details of fees payable by parents, including those that are mandatory and any voluntary levies that parents are expected to pay. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the numbers and qualifications of teaching staff in each school. Basic data would include academic qualifications, details of pre-service teacher education, and details of any advanced certification (eg, Advanced Skills Teacher; Level 3 Teacher). student intake characteristics †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the socio-economic backgrounds of students in each school. Data should be based on information collected at the individual student level, using at least parental occupation and, possibly, parental education levels, under the agreed MCEETYA definitions. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the percentage of students in each school of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background under the agreed MCEETYA definition. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the percentage of students in each school identified as having a language background other than English (LBOTE) under the agreed MCEETYA definition. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the geo-location of each school using a 3-category scale: metropolitan, provincial, and remote. †¢ Nationally comparable data should be collected on the percentage of students in each school with special educational needs. A nationally agreed definition of this category will need to be developed. like-school comparisons †¢ In reporting student outcome data for a school, data for like-schools should be provided as a point of comparison. Like-schools will be schools in similar circumstances and facing similar challenges. †¢ In determining ‘like-schools’, account should be taken of the percentage of students with Indigenous backgrounds, the socio-economic backgrounds of the students in the school, and the percentage of students from language backgrounds other than English. vii Reporting and Comparing School Performances †¢ For each school separately, like-schools should be identified as the schools most similar to that school on the above characteristics (rather than pre-defining a limited number of like-school categories). †¢ Work should commence as soon as possible on the development of an appropriate like-schools methodology. public reporting †¢ For the purpose of providing public information about schools, a common national website should be used to provide parents/caregivers and the public with access to rich information about individual schools. †¢ The national website should provide information about each school’s programs, philosophies, values and purposes, provided by the school itself, as well as nationally comparable data, provided centrally. †¢ Nationally comparable student outcome data should, wherever possible, provide information about current levels of attainment (ie, status), gain/growth across the years of school, and improvement in a school over time. †¢ The complete database for each state/territory should be made available to the relevant state/territory departments of education and other employing authorities, enabling them to interrogate data for their schools and to make judgments about school performances using aggregated data and national summary statistics. We believe that almost all nationally comparable data collected centrally could be reported publicly. The exceptions would arise when the public reporting of data may have negative and unintended consequences for schools. For example, we can envisage negative consequences arising from the reporting of the socio-economic backgrounds of students in a school, or of the financial circumstances of struggling, small schools (both government and non-government). We also believe that data reported publicly should be factual data about a school, and not the results of secondary analyses and interpretations that are open to debate (eg, value-added measures). viii Reporting and Comparing School Performances 1. INTRODUCTION In education, good decision making is facilitated by access to relevant, reliable and timely information. Dependable information is required at all levels of educational decision making to identify areas of deficiency and special need, to monitor progress towards goals, to evaluate the effectiveness of special interventions and initiatives, and to make decisions in the best interests of individual learners. The focus of this  paper is on the provision and use of information about individual schools. The starting point is the observation that relevant and reliable information about schools is required by a range of decision makers – including parents and caregivers, school principals and school leadership teams, system managers and governments, and the general public – all of whom require dependable information that they can use to maximise opportunities and outcomes for students. 1. 1 Audiences and Purposes  Parents and caregivers require valid and reliable information to evaluate the quality of the education their children are receiving, to make informed decisions in the best interests of individual students, and to become active partners in their children’s learning. They require dependable information about the progress individuals have made (the knowledge, skills and understandings developed through instruction), about teachers’ plans for future learning, and about what they can do to assist. There is also considerable evidence that parents and caregivers want information about how their children are performing in comparison with other children of the same age. And, if they are to make judgements about the quality of the education their children are receiving, they require information that enables meaningful comparisons across schools. School leaders require reliable information on student and school performances for effective school management. Research into factors underpinning school  effectiveness highlights the importance of the school leader’s role in establishing an environment in which student learning is accorded a central focus, and goals for improved performance are developed collaboratively by staff with a commitment to achieving them. School managers require dependable pictures of how well students in a school are performing, both with respect to school goals for improvement and with respect to past achievements and achievements in other, comparable schools. Governments and system managers require dependable information on the performance and progress of individual schools if they are to exercise their responsibilities for the delivery of quality education to all students. Effective management depends on an ability to monitor system-wide and school performances over time, to gauge the effectiveness of special programs and targeted resource allocations, to monitor the impact of policies, and to evaluate the success of initiatives aimed at traditionally disadvantaged and underachieving sections of the student population. Accurate, reliable information allows system managers to measure progress against past performances, to identify schools and issues requiring special attention, to target resources appropriately, and to set goals for future improvement. 1 Reporting and Comparing School Performances 1. 2 Forms of Information Because there are multiple audiences and purposes for information about schools, the forms of information required for effective decision making are different for different stakeholders. Parents and caregivers require a wide range of information, including information relating to their immediate needs (eg, Is the school easily accessible by public transport? Does it have an after-school program? What fees and/or levies does it charge? ); the ethos of the school (eg, What evidence is there of bullying/harassment? What are the espoused values of the school? Do students wear uniforms? What level of discipline is imposed? Who is the principal? ); their child’s likely educational experience (eg, Who will be my child’s teacher next year? Will they be in a composite class? How large will the class be? Does the school have a literacy intervention program? What extra-curricular activities are provided? ); and the school’s educational results (eg, Does the school achieve outstanding Year 12 results? ). School leaders require other forms of information, including information relating to staffing and resources (eg, What resources are available for music next year? How many beginning children have special learning needs? ); the effectiveness of initiatives (eg, Is there any evidence that the extra class time allocated to literacy this year made a difference?); and academic results (eg, How many Year 5 students did not meet the minimum performance standard in Reading? Have our results improved since last year? Are we still below the state average? How did last year’s Year 12 results compare with those of the neighbouring school? ). System managers and governments require still other forms of information, including information to monitor system-wide trends over time, to evaluate the effectiveness of attempts to raise standards and close gaps, and to identify schools that are performing unusually well or unusually poorly given their circumstances. In general, the schoollevel information required by system managers and governments is less fine-grained than the information required by parents, teachers and school leaders. Figure 1 displays schematically various forms of information that could be made available about a school, either publicly or to specific audiences (eg, system managers). The forms of evidence represented in Figure 1 are: A: student outcome measures that a school could choose to report Most schools report a wide range of information about the achievements of their students to their school communities. This information is reported in school newsletters, local and community newspapers, school websites, and at school events. The information includes details of Year 12 results, analyses of postschool destinations, results in national mathematics and science competitions, language certificates, awards, prizes, extra-curricular achievements, community recognition, and so on. Most schools take every opportunity to celebrate the achievements of their students and to announce these achievements publicly. 2 Reporting and Comparing School Performances Figure 1. Forms of information that could be made available about a school B:a sub-set of student outcome measures on which it is agreed to collect nationally comparable data Within the set of student outcome information that might be reported for a school, there could be a sub-set of outcomes on which it was agreed to collect nationally comparable data. A reason for identifying such a sub-set would be to ensure some common measures to facilitate school comparisons – within a local geographical area, across an entire education system, nationally, or within a group of ‘like’ schools. Inevitably, nationally comparable data would be collected for only some of the outcomes that schools, parents and communities value. Performances on common literacy and numeracy tests in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are an example of nationally comparable data currently in this category. C. physical and human resources measures that a school could choose to report Schools provide information in various forms and to various audiences about their physical and human resources. Information of this kind includes details of staff qualifications and teaching experience, staff turnover rates, school global budgets, computers and other technology, newly constructed facilities, bequests, results of fundraising drives, and so on. Some of this information may be reported to the school community; some may be kept confidential to the school, education system or government departments. D: a sub-set of physical and human resources measures on which it is agreed to collect nationally comparable data Within the set of physical and human resources measures reported for a school, there could be a sub-set of measures on which it was agreed to collect nationally comparable data. For example, there have been recent calls for greater consistency and transparency in the reporting of school funding arrangements (Dowling, 2007; 2008) and for more consistent national approaches to assessing and recognising teacher quality (Dinham, et al, 2008). 3 Reporting and Comparing School Performances E. student intake measures that a school could choose to report Most schools have considerable information about their students. For example, they may have information about students’ language backgrounds, Indigenous status, socio-economic backgrounds, learning difficulties and disabilities. This information usually is reported only within education systems or to governments and is not reported publicly, although schools sometimes provide information to their communities about the range of languages spoken by students in the school, the countries from which they come, the percentage of Indigenous students in the school and the school’s special Indigenous programs, or the number of severely disabled students and the facilities and support provided for these students. F: a sub-set of student intake measures on which it is agreed to collect nationally comparable data. Within the set of student intake characteristics reported for a school, there could be a sub-set of measures on which it was agreed to collect nationally comparable data. Some progress has been made toward nationally consistent definitions and nationally consistent data collections on student background characteristics. G. all other information that a school could choose to make available Beyond information about student outcomes, student backgrounds and their physical and human resources, schools provide a range of other information to the communities they serve. 1. 3 Nationally Comparable Data Acknowledging the many purposes and audiences for information about schools, and the various forms that this information can take, the specific focus of this paper is on the collection and reporting of nationally comparable data for the purposes of evaluating and comparing school performances. In other words, the focus is on categories B, D and F in Figure 1. We envisage three broad uses of such data: †¢ use by parents and caregivers in judging the quality of educational provision and in making informed decisions in the best interests of individual students; †¢ use by school leaders in monitoring a school’s improvement and benchmarking the school’s performance against other, comparable schools; and †¢ use by education systems and governments in identifying schools that are performing unusually well or unusually poorly given their circumstances. As noted above, these three stakeholder groups are likely to have different needs. The ways in which nationally comparable data are analysed, combined and reported may be different for different purposes. We see the process of reaching agreement on the core data that should be available about a school as a national collaborative process, and see little value in arriving at different conclusions about these data for different parts of the country. 4 Reporting and Comparing School Performances 1. 4 Principles for Reporting The Principles for Reporting Information on Schooling (see pages 6-7) adopted by the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCCETYA) provide an important point of reference for any proposed collection and use of nationally comparable data on schools. These principles recognise the multiple audiences and purposes for information about schools, the need to collect broad evidence about student and school performances, and the desirability of monitoring intended and unintended consequences of reporting information on schools. Australian governments have undertaken to ensure that data provided for the purposes of comparing schools are reliable and fair and take into account the contexts in which schools work. Governments also have undertaken not to develop simplistic league tables of school performances. 1. 5 Structure of Paper This paper first considers the kinds of nationally comparable data that might be collected about schools for the purposes outlined above. We draw on national and international research and experience, attempt to anticipate the likely requirements of different audiences, and take into account what measures currently exist and what additional measures might be desirable in the future. Each of the three data categories in Figure 1 is considered in turn: †¢ †¢ †¢ student outcome measures physical and human resources measures student intake measures (sections 2-3) (section 4) (section 5) We then consider alternative ways of evaluating and comparing school performances. Two broad methodologies are discussed: †¢ †¢ the direct comparison of student outcomes the construction of measures of school performance (section 6) (section 7) Finally, we consider issues in reporting publicly on the performances of schools: †¢ †¢ audiences and purposes for reporting options for public reporting on schools (section 8) (section 9) 5 Reporting and Comparing School Performances MCEETYA PRINCIPLES FOR REPORTING INFORMATION ON SCHOOLING There is a vast amount of information on Australian schooling and individual schools. This includes information about the educational approach of schools, their enrolment profile, staffing, facilities and programs, and the education environment they offer, as well as information on the performance of students, schools and systems. Different groups, including schools and their students, parents and families, the community and governments, have different information needs. The following principles provide guidance on requirements for information on schooling, including the types of information that should be made readily available to each of the groups noted above. These principles will be supported by an agreed set of national protocols on the access to and use of information on schooling. Good quality information on schooling is important: FOR SCHOOLS AND THEIR STUDENTS. Principle 1: Schools need reliable, rich data on the performance of their students because they have the primary accountability for improving student outcomes. Good quality data supports each school to improve outcomes for all of their students. It supports effective diagnosis of student progress and the design of quality learning programs. It also informs schools’ approaches to provision of programs, school policies, pursuit and allocation of resources, relationships with parents and partnerships with community and business. Schools should have access to: †¢ Comprehensive data on the performance of their own students that uses a broad set of indicators †¢ Data that enables each school to compare its own performance against all schools and with schools of similar characteristics †¢ Data demonstrating improvements of the school over time †¢ Data enabling the school to benchmark its own performance against that of the bestperforming schools in their jurisdiction and nationally FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES. Principle 2: Information about schooling, including data on the performance of individuals, schools and systems, helps parents and families to make informed choices and to engage with their children’s education and the school community. Parents and families should have access to: †¢ Information about the philosophy and educational approach of schools, and their staffing, facilities, programs and extra-curricular activities that enables parents and families to compare the education environment offered by schools †¢ Information about a school’s enrolment profile, taking care not to use data on student 1  characteristics in a way that may stigmatise schools or undermine social inclusion. †¢ Data on student outcomes that enables them to monitor the individual performance of their child, including what their child knows and is able to do and how this relates to what is expected for their age group, and how they can contribute to their child’s progress †¢ Information that allows them to assess a school’s performance overall and in improving student outcomes, including in relation to other schools with similar characteristics in their jurisdiction and nationally. 1 Any use or publication of information relating to a school’s enrolment profile should ensure that the privacy of individual students is protected. For example, where the small size of a school population or of a specific student cohort may enable identification of individual students, publication of this information should be avoided. 6 Reporting and Comparing School Performances FOR THE COMMUNITY. Principle 3: The community should have access to information that enables an understanding of the decisions taken by governments and the status and performance of schooling in Australia, to ensure schools are accountable for the results they achieve with the public funding they receive, and governments are accountable for the decisions they take. Students are an important part of our society and take up a variety of roles within it after leaving school. The community is therefore a direct and indirect consumer of the product of our schools, as well as providing the means of public funding. Information about schools in the public domain fulfils the requirement that schools be accountable for the results they achieve with the public funding they receive, including relative to other ‘like’ schools; it should also give the community a broad picture of school performance and a sense of confidence in our school systems. The community should have access to: †¢ Information about the philosophy and educational approach of schools, and their staffing, facilities, programs and extra-curricular activities that enables the community to compare the education environment offered by schools. †¢ Information about individual schools’ enrolment profile, taking care not to use data on student characteristics in a way that may stigmatise schools or undermine social inclusion †¢ National reporting on the performance of all schools with data that allows them to view a school’s performance overall and in improving student outcomes, including in relation to other schools with similar characteristics RESPONSIBLE PROVISION OF SCHOOLING INFORMATION Australian Governments will ensure that school-based information is published responsibly so that: †¢ any public comparisons of schools will be fair, contain accurate and verified data, contextual information and a range of indicators to provide a more reliable and complete view of performance (for example, information on income, student body characteristics, the spread of student outcomes and information on the value added by schools) †¢ governments will not devise simplistic league tables or rankings and will put in place strategies to manage the risk that third parties may seek to produce such tables or rankings, and will ensure that privacy will be protected. †¢ reports providing information on schooling for parents and families and the community will be developed based on research on what these groups want to know and the most effective ways the information can be presented and communicated. FOR GOVERNMENTS Principle 4: Governments need sound information on school performance to support ongoing improvement for students, schools and systems. Government also need to monitor and evaluate the impacts (intended and unintended) of the use and release of this information to improve its application over time. Good quality information on schooling enables governments to: †¢ analyse how well schools are performing †¢ identify schools with particular needs †¢ determine where resources are most needed to lift attainment †¢ identify best practice and innovation in high-performing schools that can be mainstreamed and used to support improvements in schools with poorer performance †¢ conduct national and international comparisons of approaches and performance †¢ develop a substantive evidence base on what works. This will enable future improvements in school performance that support the achievement of the agreed education outcomes of both the Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs and the Council of Australian Governments. 7 Reporting and Comparing School Performances 2. STUDENT OUTCOMES Information about the outcomes of a school’s efforts is key information for parents and caregivers if they are to judge the quality of educational provision; for school leaders to monitor a school’s performance and improvement; and for education systems and governments to identify schools in need of additional support. However, schools work to promote many different kinds of outcomes for their students. For some schools, an important objective is to improve school attendance rates. For others, assisting students to make successful transitions into the workforce is a high priority. Some schools are more focused than others on supporting the social, spiritual and emotional development of students. Still others measure their success in terms of entry rates into highly sought-after university courses. Decisions about the outcomes to be reported publicly for schools are important because they influence judgements about how well individual schools are performing. This is particularly true when education systems and governments attempt to construct ‘measures’ of school performance: Perverse incentives can arise when the [school] performance measure has both a large impact upon actors and focuses on an aspect of schooling that does not reflect the true or overall purpose and objectives of schools. Unfortunately, this can be common in school performance measures if the performance measure is too narrowly defined. (OECD, 2008, 26).

How does Miller initially present Rodolpho? Essay

Miller initially presents Rodolpho through the use of description, dialogue, stage directions, structure and punctuation. Miller uses these techniques to present Rodolpho as a transgressive, ‘unsicilian’ feminine character. Miller initially presents Rodolpho as a transgressive character through the use of dialogue. Miller attempts to draw the audience’s attention towards Rodolpho’s appearance when the character Catherine states; â€Å"How come he’s so dark and you’re so light†. Miller contrasts Rodolpho’s appearance with a traditional Sicilian man, Marco, suggesting that Rodolpho is ‘an outsider’ in Sicilian culture. Miller’s notion is emphasised when Catherine, again, childishly states; â€Å"He’s practically blond!†, the repetitive physical description suggests Miller’s desire for to audience to be drawn to Rodolpho’s ‘Unsicilian’ characteristic, furthered even more by Catherine’s dramatic reaction to Rodolpho’s appearance, possibly indicating Rodolpho is the first blonde man she has seen, despite living in the overpopulated town of Red Hooke. Miller presents Rodolpho through the use of stage directions. Miller possibly compares Rodolpho’s feminine characteristic to Catherine’s when â€Å"He [Rodolpho] helps B set out the coffee]†, compared to â€Å"[Catherine] continues ladling out the plates†. In a patriarchal society, this behaviour was frowned upon, much to Eddie’s dismay. Miller could be using this comparison as prolepsis to when Eddie shouts â€Å"He’s not right† later on in the play, with the quote symbolising Rodolpho’s feminine character. Another stage direction associated with Rodolpho; â€Å"(Smiling)† suggests Miller is content with presenting Rodolpho as a feminine character, as Miller appears to present emotion with connotations of feminine behaviour, much like Rodolpho is consistently presented. Miller here utilises the technique of dramatic irony, the audience understands that Rodolpho’s feminine behaviour is frowned upon by Eddie, whilst Rodolpho himself is unaware, because of this tension builds up and one can argue that Rodolpho’s role in this play is to build tension. Whilst Rodolpho’s appearance differs from a traditional Sicilian man, Miller presents the initial impression that Rodolpho’s behaviour is indecorous; through the use of structure and stage directions. Rodolpho’s utterance length is consistently longer than Marco’s, and even the patriarch Eddie. In contrast, Marco, an example of a true Sicilian man speaks short Mono-syllabic sentences. Not only does the logorrheic Rodolpho have a long utterance length, Miller often punctuates Rodolpho’s sentences with exclamation marks .This subtle use of punctuation highlights Rodolpho’s ‘emotion’ and ‘passion’, arguably a stereotypical Italian quality but when contrasted to the emotionless â€Å"suspicious, quite-voiced† Marco, an example of transgressive behaviour. Miller confirms Rodolpho’s behaviour is indecorous in Sicilian culture when Eddies is â€Å"coming to address Marco more and more†, the patriarch of the house does not approve of Rodolpho’s behaviour but in comparison accepts the directly contrasting character, Marco. To conclude, Rodolpho is initially presented as a transgressive character through the use of dialogue, description, structure, punctuation and finally stage directions. Miller possibly choses to contrast Rodolpho with Marco to highlight the differences between American and Sicilian culture, Rodolpho’s behaviours maybe perceived as wrong in Sicilian culture but acceptable in an American society. On the other hand, Miller maybe equally trying to educate the, mainly American, audience about Sicilian culture. I think that the use of description was especially effective at indicating to the audience that Rodolpho was ‘the outsider’ and possibly the centre of any drama. I do not think that Miller’s use of punctuation and stage directions are effective for a modern day audience because in an ‘Americanised’ society, Rodolpho’s behaviour is acceptable whereas when the play was shown to its original audience, Miller’s use of stage directions would have been more effective. Overall, though, I think Miller has presented Miller initially as a transgressive character, and has done so very effectively.

Free Essays on My Grandmother

My Grandmother My grandmother’s appearance is frightful. Her hunched stature and her constant shaking would frighten any child. Her nappy black hair that lay placid in front of her pale blue eyes would at times seem to not have been washed for years. She’s a small, stocky old lady who sat lifeless at any dinner table. My grandmother appeared to me as a wretched monster. By her appearance anyone could see she was a very unkempt person. The random food stains on her ancient dresses, and her disregard for the conditions her house was in were just the beginning to her despicable state. As a child I would offer my help to clean her house when I would go see her about twice a year, but she would decline in a rudely manner, yelling,† Don’t you touch a thing, you’ll just screw everything up!† Relieved with her answer, I would walk away ignoring her insultations. I was looking forward only to the long awaited car ride home. I had a dominant distaste for my grandmother. Throughout my life I have received no love from that woman. She has never given anyone a chance to love her. Since I was little boy, I was brought up not to like my grandmother because she hated my mom for the fact that my mom married my father. As a child, I did not notice the negative actions that grownups had on other people until I was old enough to understand them. When I was six years old, I remember the whole family going to pay a visit to my grandmother. Being a kid I would have rather sat inside playing Nintendo, but really did not give much thought about going to the house of the grandmother I never saw. It was a beautiful day out and everyone seemed a false sort of happiness. As my grandmother opened the door, she seemed to tackle my father telling him how much she missed him. I remember this day so well because my grandmother didn’t even take a second to greet her daughter-in-law or her three grandchildren. That very next ... Free Essays on My Grandmother Free Essays on My Grandmother My Grandmother My grandmother’s appearance is frightful. Her hunched stature and her constant shaking would frighten any child. Her nappy black hair that lay placid in front of her pale blue eyes would at times seem to not have been washed for years. She’s a small, stocky old lady who sat lifeless at any dinner table. My grandmother appeared to me as a wretched monster. By her appearance anyone could see she was a very unkempt person. The random food stains on her ancient dresses, and her disregard for the conditions her house was in were just the beginning to her despicable state. As a child I would offer my help to clean her house when I would go see her about twice a year, but she would decline in a rudely manner, yelling,† Don’t you touch a thing, you’ll just screw everything up!† Relieved with her answer, I would walk away ignoring her insultations. I was looking forward only to the long awaited car ride home. I had a dominant distaste for my grandmother. Throughout my life I have received no love from that woman. She has never given anyone a chance to love her. Since I was little boy, I was brought up not to like my grandmother because she hated my mom for the fact that my mom married my father. As a child, I did not notice the negative actions that grownups had on other people until I was old enough to understand them. When I was six years old, I remember the whole family going to pay a visit to my grandmother. Being a kid I would have rather sat inside playing Nintendo, but really did not give much thought about going to the house of the grandmother I never saw. It was a beautiful day out and everyone seemed a false sort of happiness. As my grandmother opened the door, she seemed to tackle my father telling him how much she missed him. I remember this day so well because my grandmother didn’t even take a second to greet her daughter-in-law or her three grandchildren. That very next ...

Financial Inclusion Essays

Financial Inclusion Essays Financial Inclusion Essay Financial Inclusion Essay CONCEPT OF FINANCIAL INCLUSION Financial inclusion denotes the provision of affordable financial services, (viz. , access to payments and remittance facilities, savings, loans and insurance services) by the formal financial system to those who tend to be excluded. The various formal financial services include credit, savings, insurance, pension and payments and remittance facilities. The most commonly understood objective of financial inclusion is to extend the scope of activities of the organized financial system of banking services mostly, to include within its ambit people with low incomes. In India the emphasis of the financial inclusion programmes at present is restricted to ensuring a bare minimum access to a savings bank account without frills, to all. Globally, financial exclusion has been observed in a much wider perspective. Merely having a current account/savings account on its own, is not regarded as an accurate indicator of financial inclusion. Narrowly, financial exclusion denotes a situation where people do not possess either a saving account or a loan account with a formal banking institution. Though this explanation is useful to recognize the unbanked individuals uickly, it does not seem to be appropriate to undertake an in depth study on the nature and drivers of financial exclusion. A more comprehensive definition of financial exclusion endeavours to relate it to the exclusion from the main stream financial system, comprising of banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies etc encompassing other ideas of financial illiteracy, financial discrimination and financial exploitation. Financial literacy tends to be associated more with numeracy skills and also the ability to understand more complicated products. : Financial awareness on the other hand would indicate a cursory nderstanding of what instruments are out there and which one can take advantage of. The low level of financial literacy is sometimes blamed on the failure of many government initiatives to increase financial inclusion. However, in many cases, the lack of information that the target beneficiaries display may be the result of lack of information or lack of financial awareness. While studies show mixed results in the long term impact of financial literacy training, lack of financial awareness should be much easier to correct. Specifically in the context of the financial inclusion drive, media reports have pointed owards the low levels of financial literacy as one of the reasons why the drive has failed. While ensuring that the entire unbanked population of India becomes financially literate seems like a formidable task, ensuring that the unbanked population hears about the drive, the benefits of a savings account and how to use one seems much more achievable. Absolute financial exclusion results in poverty and this consequently leads to social exclusion. The outcome of social exclusion is again financial exclusion and thus a vicious cycle is shaped. This also causes financial iscrimination and even worse, financial exploitation of the poorer sections of the society. At a micro level, the division between haves and have-nots keeps broadening, while at a macro level, this shakes national and economic growth. Markets exclude people on the grounds of lack of sufficient income which can be translated into purchasing power, lack of assets whether physical or financial, lack of capabilities acquired through education, training or experience which are translatable into labor, and those sections of people that have no market values such as tribal populations. In India, most authors have categorised these causes based on atterns in deifferent case studies as: 1. Most frequent including low income, nil or low savings, lack of assets, unemployment and use of inappropriate products. 2. Less frequent including psychological/disability issues, feeling of being excluded, indigenous/ethnic issues, geographical remoteness, lack of pc/internet access etc. 3. Personal factors such as cultural norms, gender, age and legal identity VARIOUS DIMENSIONS OF FINANCIAL EXCLUSION 1. Access Exclusion People may be monetarily excluded either by denying a savings account or a loan or credit account to them by the banks. Banks appear to be contented in offering saving ccount to people as it does not implicate any risk, except for verifying the identity of the customer. But, banks are very often unwilling in opening loan or credit account as they have to make some risk valuation in respect of the prospective borrower. Thus some individuals do not get access to credit account as they are expected to be assessed credit unworthy by the banks. . Condition Exclusion Sometimes certain conditions attached to financial products make improper to the disadvantaged people. The most common instance being prescribing margins and asking collateral securities, a problem that was addressed recently by the Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India by directing the banks to sanction education loans up to 4 lakhs without any collateral security. 3. Price Exclusion The prices (mainly interest rates) and service charges of selected financial products are not attractive to the prospective borrowers. If the banks are reluctant to offer these products at reasonable rates, people particularly living on low income may find themselves excluded from the conventional banking system. 4. Marketing Exclusion Since the advent of financial reforms in 1991, banks both Public Sector Banks and New Generation Private and Foreign Banks have been in a cut throat competition to ntice high worth customers. They seem to have been implementing marketing tactics for their products targeting at the high valued customers. This customer categorisation in practice excludes the poor and vulnerable from the banking system. The opening up of large number of NRI branches is enough to exemplify this issue. 5. Geographical Exclusion People living in far-flung and geographically terrain places are at the risk of being financially excluded. Bank closures in a specific geographical area may even lead to the financial desertification of that area. 6. Technological Exclusion In the recent technological era banks have undergone a transformation from the Brick mortar infrastructure staffed banks to internet and mobile banking. Such new generation banking techniques cannot be practiced by people having no basic understanding in computer related processes. Hence such people are likely to be excluded from the contemporary banking operations. Financial inclusion has many benefits. Following are some of the benefitssummed up. It paves the way for establishment of an account relationship which helps thepoor to avai a variety of savings products and loan products for housing ,consumption, etc. An inclusive financial system facilitates efficient allocation of productiveresources and thus can potentially reduce the cost of capital. This also enables the customer to remit funds at low cost. The government canutilize such bank accounts for social security services like health and calamityinsurance under various schemes for disadvantaged. From the banks point of view, having such social security cover makes the financing of such personsless risky. Reduced risk means more flow of funds at better rates. Access to approp riate financial services can significantly improve the day-to-day management of finances. For example, bills for daily utilities(municipality, water, electricity, telephone) can be more easily paid by usingcheques or through internet banking, rather than standing in the queue in theoffices of the service. Transfer of money can be done more safely and easily by using the cheque,demand draft or through internet banking. A bank account also provides a passport to a range of other financial productsand services such as short term credit facilities, overdraft facilities and creditcard. Further, a number of other financial products, such as insurance andpension products, necessarily require the ccess to a bank account Lastly, the Employment Guarantee Scheme of the Government which is beingrolled out in200 districts in the country would bring in large number of peoplethrough their savings accounts into the banking system. Cross country experience t has been estimated by Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) that about2. 5 to 3billion people around the world are still excluded from basic financialservices. The situation is particularly dire in the Least Developed countries. In mostof the developing countries like India China the extent of exclusion is in the rangeof 25%-65%. So, taking into cognizance the importance of financial inclusion, theinternational community has taken a number of measures to mitigate the hiatusbetween the financially excluded non- excluded. The following analysis describesthe extent measures taken by different countries to mitigate financial exclusion. USA In USA of total households 22% of the low income households gowithout the banks there to provide banking services to all the needy. Some stateslike New York made it mandatory for the banks to provide accounts to all citizens. U. K. Nearly 12 percent of Englands households are unbanked. Free face to face moneyadvice to targeted groups in the areas of high exclusion is in vogue. The govt has setup a Financial Inclusion fund of 120 mn pounds to support initiatives to tacklefinancial exclusion.. An enhanced legislative environment for credit unions hasbeen established, accompanied by tighter regulations to ensure greater protectionforinvestors. A Post Office Card Account (POCA) has been created for those who areunable or unwilling to access a basic bank account. The concept of a SavingsGateway has been piloted. This offers those on low-income employments El fromthe state for very El they invest, up to a maximum of E25 per month. In additionthe Community Finance Learning Initiatives (CFLls) were also introduced with aview to promoting basic financial literacy among housing association tenants. Australia Only 3% of adults lacked bank account in Australia till 2002-03. This has been theresult of continuous Joint efforts by government the banks in educating the peopleabout the benefits of financial products. France In 1984 the bank of France through Banking Act made access to bank accounts alegal right in France. In 1992 the banking industry in France signed a charter oprovide bank account to all. Bangladesh. Grameen bank of Bangladesh under the stalwartship of Md. Yunus hasrevolutionized the movement of financial inclusion. It targeted low income peopleespecially the women (97% of total borrowers) who were denied credit by othercom. Banks. It has successfully posted a recovery rate of 98. 85%. It has also recentlyincluded the beggars within its credit network under a special program i. e. Struggling Members programmed. Approximately 81000 beggars have already beenbenefited by the programme. South Africa. More than half of the population here are below poverty line. Only 4% of otalpopulace has bank accounts 1% only avail credit from formal sources. To dealwith the situation Dakar Conference ha been organized under the banner of U. N. ln2004, UNDP UNCDF Jointly lunched a program called Building Financialsecurity in Africa. MF, U. N. World Bank have extended very good support for building an inclusivesociety in the world. U. N. has framed Blue Book in consultation with thedeveloped underdeveloped countries as a tool guide for policy makers whoseek to build inclusive financial growt Calculation of financial inclusion index Several factors have been used to determine the extent of financial inclusion in ifferent calcul ations across the globe. The most commonly accepted indicator has been the number of bank accounts (per 1000 adult persons) yet this has been regarded as not being the sole indicator in India . Some other indicators are the number of bank branches (per million people), total number of ATMs (per million people), amount of bank credit and amount of bank deposit. Banking sector outreach penetration, loan and deposit accounts per capita, loan-income and deposit-income ratios and so on. All these indicators offer significant and valuable evidence on outreach of the financial system of an economy. However, when used individually, each of these factors provide only fractional information on the inclusiveness of the financial system. A new index on financial inclusion released by ratings firm CRISIL reveals that the number of loan accounts per lakh of population in the southern States stands at 17,142. However, this healthy fgure can be easily offset by the under-penetration of formal banking facilities in most parts of the country Just one in two Indians has a savings account, and only one in seven Indians have access to banking credit! CRISIL used bank branch, credit and deposit penetration (per lakh opulation) to assign scores to each district and then arrived at a score for every State and Union Territory. RBI policy initiatives to foster financial inclusion The Indian economy switched gears in the early part of thiscentury and has been growing at a healthy pace since then. Asbehemoth in the next few years, the average level of prosperityattained by its populace and the degree of equitable distribution of wealth will, in no small measure, be determined by the scaleof inclusive growth that would have been achieved. Financial inclusion is certainly not Just a recent phenomenon. n India, the earliest effort at financial inclusion can be traced back to 1904, when the co-operative movement began in thecountry. A focal event in its evolution was the banknationalisation programme in 1969, when 14 major commercialbanks were nationalised, and the lead bank scheme was, subsequently, introduced. As a consequence, branches wereopened in large numbers across the nation, even in areas thatwere until then unreached by banks. The agenda for financial inclusion was galvanised in the early2000s in India following the publication of a spate of findings about financial exclusion and its direct correlation to overty. Varied studies have proved that xclusion from the bankingsystem results in a loss of 1 per cent to the countrys grossdomestic product (GDP). Policymakers in India are acutely aware that, in a phase of highgrowth, the ramifications of leaving a huge section of the peopleout of the development process could be disastrous and arehence designing appropriate policies for financial inclusion. Complementing the governments efforts, the Reserve Bank oflndia (RBI) has, over the years, undertaken numerous initiativessuch as introduction of priority sector lending requirements for anks, establishment of regional rural banks (RRBs), and selfhelpgroup-bank linkage programmes to augment theavailability of financial services to the poor and marginalisedsegments of society. In the last few years, RBI also initiated the requirement thatbanks provide no-frills accounts, improve the outreach ofbanking services through the business facilitator and business correspondent models, and set up the goal for banks to provideaccess to formal banking to all 74,414 villages with a populationover 2000. This target of covering villages with a population ofover 2000 was largely achieved as of end March 2012 (99. 7 percent). The goal towards financial inclusion has accordingly beenrefined in June 2012; in the next Financial unbanked villages with population of less than 2000 withbanking services. n February 2011, the Government of India and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) Jointly launched Swabhimaan, anationwide programme on financial inclusion, to bring thedeprived sections of society under the banking network, andensure that the benefits of economic growth percolate to alllevels. This programme targets facilitating opening of banks accounts, providing need-based cre dit, remittance facilities andpromoting financial literacy in rural India. Although the target groups may differ from country to country orregion to region, financial inclusion refers, in its broadest sense,to the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to allsections, including the disadvantaged and low-income groups RBI has come up a number of policy initiatives to expand financial inclusion in the country . It has focussed on four aspects of reach, access, transactions and products. It has been successful to some extent in achieveing the objective of inclusion but the result of these policy initiatives are yet to be checked on the touchstone of statistical reality. Reach a. Branch expansion in rural areas Branch authorisation has been relaxed to the extent that banks do not require prior permission to open branches in centres with population less than 1 lakh, which is subject to reporting. To further step up the opening of branches in rural areas, banks have been mandated to open at least 25 per cent of their new branches in unbanked rural cen tres. In the Annual Policy Statement for 2013-14, banks have been advised to consider frontloading (prioritizing) the opening of branches in unbanked rural centres over a three year cycle co-terminus with their FIPs. This is expected to facilitate the branch expansion in unbanked rural centres. b. Agent Banking Business Correspondent/ Business Facilitator Model In January 2006, the Reserve Bank permitted banks to utilise the services of intermediaries in providing banking services through the use of business facilitators and business correspondents. The BC model allows banks to do cash in cash out transactions at a location much closer to the rural population, thus addressing the last mile problem. c. Combination of Branch and BC Structure to deliver Financial Inclusion The idea is to ave a combination of physical branch network and BCs for extending financial inclusion, especially in geographically dispersed areas. To ensure increased banking penetration and control over operations of BCs, banks have been advised to establish low cost branches in the form of intermediate brick and mortar structures in rural centres between the present base branch and BC locations, so as to provide support to a cluster of BCs (about 8-10 BCs) at a reasonable distance of about 3-4 kilometers. II. Access a. Relaxed KYC norms Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements have been simplified to such an extent that mall accounts can be opened with self certification in the presence of bank officials. RBI has allowed Aadhaar to be used as one of the eligible documents for meeting the KYC requirement for opening a bank account. b. Roadmap for Banking Services in unbanked Villages In the first phase, banks were advised to draw up a roadmap for providing banking services in every village having a population of over 2,000 by March 2010. Banks have phase, Roadmap has been prepared for covering remaining unbanked villages i. e. with population less than 2000 in a time bound manner. About 490,000 unbanked illages with less than 2000 population across the country have been identified and allotted to various banks. The idea behind allocating villages to banks was to ensure availability of at least one banking outlet in each village. Ill. Products Bouquet of Financial services In order to ensure that all the financial needs of the customers are met, we have advised banks to offer a minimum of four basic products, viz. A savings cum overdraft account A pure savings account, ideally a recurring or variable recurring deposit A remittance product to facilitate EBT and other remittances, and Entrepreneurial redit products like a General Purpose Credit Card (GCC) or a Kisan Credit Card (KCC) V. Transactions Direct Benefit Transfer The recent introduction of direct benefit transfer, leveraging the Aadhaar platform, will help f acilitate delivery of social welfare benefits by direct credit to the bank accounts of beneficiaries. The government, in future, has plans to route all social security payments through the banking network, using the Aadhaar based platform as a unique identifier of beneficiaries. In order to ensure smooth roll out of the Governments Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) initiative, banks have been advised to: Open accounts of all eligible individuals in camp mode with the support of local Government authorities. Seed the existing and new accounts with Aadhaar numbers. Put in place an effective mechanism to monitor and review the progress in implementation of DBT. MEASURES TAKEN TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL INCLUSION Few of the factors listed above have already been addressed by the RBI and other banks. KYC Know Your Customer norms has been simplified. Credit cards are made available at an affordable price. The community-bank linkage programme has been initiated. The Indian financial system which is effectively controlled by the GOI and RBI has een reacting positively in order to solve the problems of FE. Detailed study has been conducted by various committees and they have suggested several STEPS to be taken by the RBI AND GO. These steps were RECOMMENDATIONS given by expert committees. Steps or recommendations were : BRANCH EXPANSION PROGRAMMES were given a thrust. Incentives were given to those who willingly managed RURAL BRANCES. SHG-Self Help Groups-Bank Linkage programme Support to MFI Micro Finance Institutions Establishing Kiosks in rural locations Kisan Credit Card GCC SBI has been very active in introducing tiny credit cards and other related benefits. Money Management: How to proactively manage money Debt Management: How to control debt and avoid over-indebtedness [1 5] Managing Savings: How to save regularly and in a safe location Financial Negotiations: How to strengthen clients bargaining position vis-? ¤-vis input suppliers, other household members, and financial institutions Use of Bank Services: How banks work and impose charges; How clients can maximize bank services, interact with banks, and effectively use ATMS COMMITTEES ON FINANCIAL INCLUSION 0 Dr. Nachiket Mor Committee To develop a comprehensive monitoring framework to track the progress of financial nclusion and deepening efforts on a nationwide basis 0 Sambamurthy Committee A technical committee on mobile banking to examine the options and alternatives including the feasibility of using encrypted SMS based funds transfer using an application that can run on any type of handset for expansion of mobile banking in the country. CONCLUSION 0 Drift from objective of social impact to profit maximisation 0 Rates of interest 0 No scientific evidence or statistics on strategies and products. 0 Minimal level of education required. 0 Cost of small value transactions. 0 Psychological facts still persist. The issue of financial exclusion is widespread in India. The existing financial inclusion strategies are not seemed to be effective in creating an inclusive financial system which is very important in attaining inclusive growth. Opening no frill accounts does not seem to be the only panacea for solving this problem. Measures will have to be taken by the government to economically activate the people so that the demand for financial product arises, leading to the effective financial inclusion of people. In countries with diverse social and economic profile like India, financial ducation is particularly relevant for people who have poor resources and who operate at the margin and are vulnerable to persistent downward financial pressures. With no established banking relationship, the un-banked poor are pushed towards expensive alternatives. The challenges of household cash management under difficult circumstances with few resources to fall back upon could be accentuated by the lack of skills or knowledge to make well informed financial decisions. Financial education can help them prepare ahead of time for life cycle needs and deal with unexpected emergencies without assuming unnecessary debt

Biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan, Mathematical Genius

Biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan, Mathematical Genius Srinivasa Ramanujan (born December 22, 1887 in Erode, India) was an Indian mathematician who made substantial contributions to mathematics- including results in number theory, analysis, and infinite series- despite having little formal training in math. Fast Facts: Srinivasa Ramanujan Full Name: Srinivasa Aiyangar RamanujanKnown For: Prolific mathematicianParents’ Names: K. Srinivasa Aiyangar, KomalatammalBorn: December 22, 1887 in Erode, IndiaDied: April 26, 1920 at age 32 in Kumbakonam, IndiaSpouse: JanakiammalInteresting Fact: Ramanujans life is depicted in a book published in 1991 and a 2015 biographical film, both titled The Man Who Knew Infinity. Early Life and Education Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887, in Erode, a city in southern India. His father, K. Srinivasa Aiyangar, was an accountant, and his mother Komalatammal was the daughter of a city official. Though Ramanujan’s family was of the Brahmin caste, the highest social class in India, they lived in poverty. Ramanujan began attending school at the age of 5. In 1898, he transferred to Town High School in Kumbakonam. Even at a young age, Ramanujan demonstrated extraordinary proficiency in math, impressing his teachers and upperclassmen. However, it was G.S. Carr’s book, A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure Mathematics, which reportedly spurred Ramanujan to become obsessed with the subject. Having no access to other books, Ramanujan taught himself mathematics using Carr’s book, whose topics included integral calculus and power series calculations. This concise book would have an unfortunate impact on the way Ramanujan wrote down his mathematical results later, as his writings included too few details for many people to understand how he arrived at his results. Ramanujan was so interested in studying mathematics that his formal education effectively came to a standstill. At the age of 16, Ramanujan matriculated at the Government College in Kumbakonam on a scholarship, but lost his scholarship the next year because he had neglected his other studies. He then failed the First Arts examination in 1906, which would have allowed him to matriculate at the University of Madras, passing math but failing his other subjects. Career For the next few years, Ramanujan worked independently on mathematics, writing down results in two notebooks. In 1909, he began publishing work in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, which gained him recognition for his work despite lacking a university education. Needing employment, Ramanujan became a clerk in 1912 but continued his mathematics research and gained even more recognition. Receiving encouragement from a number of people, including the mathematician Seshu Iyer, Ramanujan sent over a letter along with about 120 mathematical theorems to G. H. Hardy, a lecturer in mathematics at Cambridge University in England. Hardy, thinking that the writer could either be a mathematician who was playing a prank or a previously undiscovered genius, asked another mathematician J.E. Littlewood, to help him look at Ramanujan’s work. The two concluded that Ramanujan was indeed a genius. Hardy wrote back, noting that Ramanujan’s theorems fell into roughly three categories: results that were already known (or which could easily be deduced with known mathematical theorems); results that were new, and that were interesting but not necessarily important; and results that were both new and important. Hardy immediately began to arrange for Ramanujan to come to England, but Ramanujan refused to go at first because of religious scruples about going overseas.  However, his mother dreamed that the Goddess of Namakkal commanded her to not prevent Ramanujan from fulfilling his purpose. Ramanujan arrived in England in 1914 and began his collaboration with Hardy. In 1916, Ramanujan obtained a Bachelor of Science by Research (later called a Ph.D.) from Cambridge University. His thesis was based on highly composite numbers, which are integers that have more divisors (or numbers that they can be divided by) than do integers of smaller value. In 1917, however, Ramanujan became seriously ill, possibly from tuberculosis, and was admitted to a nursing home at Cambridge, moving to different nursing homes as he tried to regain his health. In 1919, he showed some recovery and decided to move back to India. There, his health deteriorated again and he died there the following year. Personal Life On July 14, 1909, Ramanujan married Janakiammal, a girl whom his mother had selected for him. Because she was 10 at the time of marriage, Ramanujan did not live together with her until she reached puberty at the age of 12, as was common at the time. Honors and Awards 1918, Fellow of the Royal Society1918, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University In recognition of Ramanujan’s achievements, India also celebrates Mathematics Day on December 22, Ramanjan’s birthday. Death Ramanujan died on April 26, 1920 in Kumbakonam, India, at the age of 32. His death was likely caused by an intestinal disease called hepatic amoebiasis. Legacy and Impact Ramanujan proposed many formulas and theorems during his lifetime. These results, which include solutions of problems that were previously considered to be unsolvable, would be investigated in more detail by other mathematicians, as Ramanujan relied more on his intuition rather than writing out mathematical proofs. His results include: An infinite series for Ï€, which calculates the number based on the summation of other numbers. Ramanujan’s infinite series serves as the basis for many algorithms used to calculate Ï€.The Hardy-Ramanujan asymptotic formula, which provided a formula for calculating the partition of numbers- numbers that can be written as the sum of other numbers. For example, 5 can be written as 1 4, 2 3, or other combinations.The Hardy-Ramanujan number, which Ramanujan stated was the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of cubed numbers in two different ways. Mathematically, 1729 13 123 93 103. Ramanujan did not actually discover this result, which was actually published by the French mathematician Frà ©nicle de Bessy in 1657. However, Ramanujan made the number 1729 well known.1729 is an example of a â€Å"taxicab number,† which is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of cubed numbers in n different ways. The name derives from a conversation bet ween Hardy and Ramanujan, in which Ramanujan asked Hardy the number of the taxi he had arrived in. Hardy replied that it was a boring number, 1729, to which Ramanujan replied that it was actually a very interesting number for the reasons above. Sources Kanigel, Robert. The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan. Scribner, 1991.Krishnamurthy, Mangala. â€Å"The Life and Lasting Influence of Srinivasa Ramanujan.† Science Technology Libraries, vol. 31, 2012, pp. 230–241.Miller, Julius. â€Å"Srinivasa Ramanujan: A Biographical Sketch.† School Science and Mathematics, vol. 51, no. 8, Nov. 1951, pp. 637–645.Newman, James. â€Å"Srinivasa Ramanujan.† Scientific American, vol. 178, no. 6, June 1948, pp. 54–57.OConnor, John, and Edmund Robertson. â€Å"Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan.† MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, June 1998, www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Ramanujan.html.Singh, Dharminder, et al. â€Å"Srinvasa Ramanujans Contributions in Mathematics.† IOSR Journal of Mathematics, vol. 12, no. 3, 2016, pp. 137–139.â€Å"Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan.† Ramanujan Museum Math Education Centre, M.A .T Educational Trust, www.ramanujanmuseum.org/aboutramamujan.htm.

Chinas One Child Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chinas One Child Policy - Research Paper Example   Additionally, China's compulsory one-child population law was implemented in 1980. The same law punishes parents for having more than one child. The scientists from the Ministry of Aeronautics and Astronautics Department initially proposed the China's 1980 compulsory one-child population policy. The scientists capitalized on their missile construction concepts to prove their claim that China's compulsory one-child population policy will greatly benefit the residents. The family having less than two children have fewer rearing responsibilities. The parents have fewer growing up expenses to make in terms of the children’s educational needs. Scientific experiments are based on limited evidences. The scientists base their findings on the gathered evidences during the research. The Song Jian group of scientist incorporated their missile technology expertise to come up with China's compulsory one-child population policy. The Deng Xiaoping China government leaders were convinced by the scientific research findings of Song Jian’s group.China's compulsory one-child population policy was crafted based on some missile scientists’ many years of population-based findings. The findings were based on their 1960s and 1970s researches. The current China government under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao prioritizes human rights and the value of people in enhancing the currently favorable China economy Human rights includes the right to have a second child (Chen 403).   The current China government encourages the grassroots level people to vigorously contribute to the nation’s current favorable global economic environment. The policy change was expected. The government leaders during the 1950s, 1960s were most soldiers. During Deng Xiaping’s 1980s, Chairman Deng Xiaoping persuaded China’s engineers to help in the political management of China’s growing population. Starting in 1990, the government leaders were compos ed of economics and public administration graduates. The graduates were managing China’s control of the normal Chinese citizen’s lives (Chen 403).China’s one child policy created a gender imbalance in China (Li, Hongbin, Zhang, Junsen, Yi, Junjian 1535). The one-child China population policy generated a population situation where there were 104 boys more for every 100 girls during the 1980s. The research further indicated that there were 107 boys for every 100 girls during the 1991 to 2005 era. The primary data came from China’s official statistics-based department, the China Health and Nutrition Survey. China Chairman Deng Xiaoping’s new one child policy focused on reducing the population in order because of the scarce food and other natural resources (Wong 1161). During Deng’s 1980 leadership, several China quarters opposed the one-child policy starting in 1980. The policy drastically curved the uncontrollably ballooning Chinese population . Abortions, effects of China's compulsory one-child Population Policy China's compulsory one-child population policy was implemented through forced abortions (Mosher 1558). The pregnant women were forced to abort their prohibited unborn children. The government forced the helpless women to abort their child during different stages of the mother’s pregnancy. Many women had no other recourse but to comply with the

Improving Decision making in the Public Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Improving Decision making in the Public - Essay Example This study highlights that  the instinctive portion, founded on the emotional instincts, is operational in the absence of conscious inclusion. Contrarily, rational thinking involves all situations requiring deliberative analysis. Unfortunately, the instinctive portion is comparatively stronger than its rational counterpart. As a result, people are tempted to use the instinctive portion even in situations requiring deliberate analysis. This is the reason behind the lack of capacity for individuals to make right decisions.This paper discusses that the public should be instructed by knowledge on decisions making, and use these knowledge while forming decisions. Studies show that knowledge on statistics improves the judgment of certainty and uncertainty, and it is important that this is implemented within education curriculum so that students’ decision making skills are sharpened. In addition, researchers found that exemplary numeracy skills significantly improve one’s ab ility to interpret real world situations. Decision making can be drastically improved by emphasizing these two educational approaches in educational programs, while authorities applying knowledge on decision making through improved statistical and numeracy skills.  Scientific facts rule that we are incapable of altering our selves through the integration of new knowledge and skills to make only right decisions. Never-the-less, the use of libertarian paternalism, and application of the two educational approaches can improve decision making.

The Tesco Company Way of Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Tesco Company Way of Development - Essay Example Sustained competitive advantage can be gained by offering what creates value for the customers. Porter defines value as ‘what buyers are willing to pay’. Bevan and Murphy (2001) contend that firms can do this by either lowering the costs or doing something different from competitors. Tesco had initially launched their online channel Tesco Direct but today they have moved beyond online grocery retailing and offer a wide range of products. Their website www.tesco.com enables the customers to buy online from their familiar local store. The pricing and inventory system is linked directly to Tesco.com so that the customers can select the good at the prices they are used to (MÃ ¼ller-Lankenau, Klein & Wehmeyer, 2004). They charge a nominal fee as delivery charges for their online customers. Besides, Tesco had the first-mover advantages in introducing online grocery shopping but in addition, it gained its market leading position by educating and empowering its customers to take up the online channel (Tse, 2005). This created the point of differentiation which added value to its service offering, thereby giving it the competitive advantage. Another point of differentiation in its services that Tesco has created is that it is the only retailer whose site is accessible by the disabled or the impaired people. The government of UK is attempting to make improve the quality of their life so that they live as normal a life as others. Tesco has taken the step and integrated accessibility into the main stream grocery site (Mairs, 2006).

State judicial system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

State judicial system - Essay Example Jurisdiction is conferred by laws and therefore cannot be waived or subject to agreement by parties. A defendant has the right to appeal a trial court’s decision, usually once, to the next immediate appellate court. Any other appeal from the initial appeal is discretionary and may be done only through a writ of certiorari or discretionary review. The appellate courts review only the law applied by the lower courts, leaving the findings of facts intact, and no new issues can be considered. They rely solely on the trial briefs of the parties and the records of the proceedings in the trial court. A discretionary review or review via a certiorari is accepted only if the issue at hand is novel or of such general importance. The final resort that a defendant can avail of, after showing state-level exhaustion, is with the federal courts on a petition for a writ of certiorari or petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Acker & Brody 2003 pp 26-29). The lowest court level in the federal court system is the federal district court, of which every state and US territory has at least one. In addition to violation and issues of the US Constitution, federal laws, treaties, diversity of citizenship jurisdiction, these courts have jurisdiction over petitions for habeas corpus that state prisoners may file on the ground that their convictions or sentences violate the US Constitution. Moreover, there must be actual disputes and controversy for federal jurisdiction to apply. On the other hand, the US federal Courts of Appeal can entertain only appeals from federal district courts within their respective circuits as the federal district courts are divided into circuits and assigned an appeals court. Additionally, certain limits of the amounts in dispute are considered before an appeal can be had to the circuit courts. In civil cases, for example, the amount involved must be more than $50 and in admiralty $300. An appeal

Describe the technology infrastructure management activities of an Essay

Describe the technology infrastructure management activities of an organisation that is engaging in e-commerce in a substantial - Essay Example Enhancing output, falling expenditure and increasing facilities for customers have been some of significant viable components in any winning organization. In addition, geography, as well as structures of procedures is not enjoying the significance as vital factors, as medium organizations are now benefiting from the platform of internet to sell their goods and services and pierce new markets in the enormously little period. Ivy Incorporation is a company in a developing location with the populace of approximately three million. Analysis has indicated that it exists in a very minute business platform with inadequate natural assets that finished it nearly impractical to depend on such resources for its expansion (Pacey, 2000, 524-632). Encouraged by advances within internet and web, Ivy Incorporation is stepping into the IT era, where information is enjoying its status as a major force behind its viable achievement. Moreover, Ivy incorporation has recognized significance of information assets within novel financial system and need to spend in its populace to continue viable (Zack et al., 2009). With Ivy incorporation situated as the information entrance within region, company’s objective to develop into the international core is striking to a number of firms with worldwide procedures. Ivy incorporation has started ‘e-commerce plan’ (Zack et al., 2009) to encourage e-business and to persuade industry to take benefit of its infrastructure. In particular, experts have indicated that e-commerce is ‘employment of inter-networked computers to make and convert business relation. The wide definition of e-commerce is that it is dependent on digital communication and information technology’ (Estache, et al., 2002, 41-93). In this regard, one can say that e-business is expected to simplify the processes of business, while also making the business more competent to survive in the world today. The typical functions of an e-business include the online selling and purchasing of goods, services and information. ‘This business definition of e-commerce could be broader or narrower’ (Estache, et al., 2002, 41-93). E-business is one of these broader terms used to describe these in the narrow sense of the word. A narrow definition, on the other hand, states that it is a transactional feature. Basically, e-commerce is any series of transactions where goods and services are traded through computer networks. This applies to both open and congested networks. Electronic Commerce Hotbed It is the scheme to deal with vital matters related to e-commerce endorsement, as well as accomplishment. Methodology selected is to band assets of main participants of electronic commerce, for example, IT firms, traders, communications suppliers, decision makers, as well as examiners (Yoon, 2006, 351-65). Together with business allies, for example, IT organizations and financial associations, company has formed communications system to fa cilitate procedures of e-commerce, for example, ‘e-banking, e-payment services and various agent e-commerce services’ (Kunigami et al., 2010, 98-105). In particular, the hotbed of e-commerce is concerned on 7 most important elements (Shirky, 2008, 924-1023). These areas consist of: ‘

Visual Analysis and critical reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Visual Analysis and critical reflection - Essay Example 3D printing has changed the game of industries, products and buildings since the last 20 years. Students today are aware of the techniques through which 3D printing can be used. The methods, techniques, materials and designs used are all upgraded and modernized using the best of technologies. As a student of 3D designing and printing I finally chose 3D architecture as the major field. This is because of the unique methods and techniques that it uses and ends up creating an absolutely amazing building that no one could think of. It is a blend of creativity and technique which gives the architect to freely think of the most unusual look for a building. These fascinating ideas inspire me and attract me towards the 3D architecture. 3D architecture uses the process of tessellation in which many geometrical shapes whether regular or irregular are tied together without any gaps. This technique is being recently used to create real life structures and buildings in a creative way. I believe w ith the advancement in the 3D architecture, the world can see amazing new buildings for which a bunch of creative and imaginative architects are responsible. The idea of 3D designing and printing in jewelry, arts and other industrial objects has also been fascinating as I study more about it. 3D designing in jewelry making is also a unique way of presenting creative ideas. Many famous jewelry designers have adopted this technique by using their great ideas, putting them through digital technology and implying it on the materials. The 3D printing is done through digital technology and thus it is easier for the students to learn it (Kuneinen, 2012). Anyone who wants to be a 3D printing expert needs practice and creative ideas to create unusual objects. The best part about the 3D designing is that it is present in every manufacturing or constructing industry for example automotive, aerospace, jewelry, architecture, arts, medical, and electronics and so on. The diverse areas where the 3 D printing can be applied attract many students to apply it in their fields. The most important part about the 3D designing and architecture is the materials that have to be used. The 3D designing in architecture needs a variety of materials that are involved in the process. The architectural model and structure is made out of a large number of materials and lesser volume since tessellation ties it together without gaps. The 3D model is made at first which uses plastic as the core material. The 3D model allows the architects to get a picture of how the structure would look like, and also its balance can be judged. The material used for the buildings would usually be steel and glass. The tessellation involves many geometrical shapes to be tied together on a plain. These shapes are made from glass or steel at the facade of the building to give an attractive look for instance the Federation Square in Australia. 3D printing and designing has become a technology which is widely used in m any fields and industries around the world. The 3D technologies give a promising and bright future so many people are attracted towards it. These technologies are complicated thus skilled people are needed in every field to operate these machines. 3D printers today are used for rapid product prototyping. The 3D printing enables the engineers to fit the parts of the object long before that are sending for production. The 3D models also enable the architects to create detailed models and show them to the clients at low-cost (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2013). The range of uses of 3D printing is constantly increasing and the technology is catching the attention of many upcoming students. As with the 3D architecture, the study about the technology also increases the opportunities for students in the future since the future of this 3D technology is extremely bright. Currently the 3D printing is used to make the pre-production mould but in the near future the technology can be used t o make end-use products. Imagine a