United States Governmental Issues During The Late 19Th Century Essays

United States Governmental Issues During The Late 19Th Century Thesis: Although the American Government failed to take effective actions to solve the major concerns of the late 19th century, many attempts were taken to solve such controversal conflicts. The young divided nation that had just reconstructed itself from the debts of a civil war now stood as a whole to deal with even more domestic issues. Problems concerning civil service, regulation of railraods, Native Americans, expansion and overgrowing of big businesses, and immigration were the issues that grouped american individuals seperately according to their views on each issue. Although the American Government failed to take effective actions to solve the major concerns of the late 19th century, many attempts were taken to solve such controversal conflicts. The young divided nation that had just reconstructed itself from the debts of a civil war now stood as a whole to deal with even more domestic issues. Problems concerning civil service, regulation of railraods, Native Americans, expansion and overgrowing of big businesses, and immigration were the issues that grouped american individuals seperately according to their views on each issue. In 1881, shortly after President Garfields inauguration, a derange office seekser shot a fatal bullet in the Presidents back. This event once again shocked the americans, who were once horrified by the assasination of former President Lincoln in1865. Following this event, bitter americans coerced the federal government to reform its policy of hiring governmental officials. In respond to the publics outrage over the cause of this assasination, Congress was pushed to remove certain government jobs from the control of party patronage. They passed the new act known as the Pendleton Act of 1881, which set up the Civil Service Commission declaring that federal employees were to be hired on basis of merit. This new law was applied to 10% of federal employees at that time; presently it effected more than 90% of governmental employees. When Harrison was elected President a few years after the Pendelton Act, he followed Congresss earlier tradition of reforming the civil service system to earn his fellow citizens support. On dealing with the issues of veterans, he passed the Pension Act of 1890, which provided that all widows of veterans, and veterans incapable of manual labor may receive a pension. This was a reformation of former President Clevelands policy that only veterans directly wounded in battle may receive a pension. Although these new Acts granted more democracy towards part of the working class, it failed to submit to the majority of the working class. As the depression worsened and the number of jobless people grew, the nation feared class war between capital and labor. They were especially alarmed by Coxeys Army, a march to Washington by thousands of the unemployed led by Populist Joacod A. Coxey. Coxey demanded that the government spend half a billion dollars on public works programs to create jobs. Coxey himself and other protest leaders were arrested, while the rest of the army had to leave for home. The arrest of Coxey proved that the government is not a t all sympathetic towards the majority of the unemployed working class. The number of jobless americans grew more everyday, for space available for jobs could not match the mass number of immigrants pouring into America every hour. The population of the United states more than tripled in the last half of the 19th century, resulting in 76.2 million people by the time the new century arrived. Out of these, 16.2 million belonged to the class of the unemployed immigrants. the year 1882 shocked the americans when it was calculated that over 2000 Europeans immigrants were received by the united states per day. In an attempt to decrease the mass immigration number, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1892, prohibiting immigrants from China. Even so, immigrants from European countries continued to accumulate. The General Immigration Act was another attempt to regulate the various immigrants. This act refuse to admit to the United States prostitutes, alcoholics, and insanes. However, America was unable to put this act into effect, for it was hard to determine what disguises those europeans had taken. As a result of the governments failure to restrict its own

Netball skills Essays

Netball skills Essays Netball skills Essay Netball skills Essay As you can see from the set of scores above I have improved in all areas. Some only slightly but I am pleased that the areas I have worked on for my netball skills have improved.  As you can see from the graph above I have improved in all areas from my first attempt. Although I havent reached the blue print 100% in all areas I am still pleased that I have improved. This means the five week programme I took out has made an affect. As you may notice on the speed and agility the scores have gone down. This is actually an improvement because it means I have completed the task in a faster time. Also on some of the scores I have past the 100% mark such as the speed, and on the co-ordination, endurance and power I have reached the target of 100%. Looking at the graph above I am very pleased with my results. Evalution When comparing my first set of scores to my second I can point out that I have improved on my weak areas that consisted of speed, endurance and the most important one I needed to work on was strength. I have also improved on the other areas this was because of following a personal exercise programme for five weeks in the school fitness suite.  In Swimming co-ordination is mainly hand/foot. This is used when you use your hands to pull you through the water and your feet to propel you through the water. After completing the first tests I noticed that this wasnt one of my weak areas so I didnt work on it. Although as you can see from the graph comparing results I did improve. Even though I only improved by 2 more catches this still brought me to pass the 100% mark and I am pleased with that. In my first set of tests I realised that strength was a weakness. This is needed in swimming for good strong strokes. For strength I worked on arm weight machines which included pull down and chest press. I increased my reps and weights each week of my programme and this has lead to me improving in my second attempt. Although according to the blue print scores I am still only 50% I am still happy that I have improved. To help me reach their target I am going to continue working on my arm strength in the gym. As my scores have increased this shows that my method is affective and has helped me. Speed is needed in swimming to win and move quickly through the water. As speed come out to be one of my weaknesses I worked on this on the treadmill, bike, cross trainer and the stepper. The stepper worked on the muscles in my legs leading to them becoming stronger which then lead to them being able to take more pressure. On the cardiovascular machines I pushed my self each time and increased the speed to my limit. According to my second attempt at the tests this has proven to have been a good strategy as I have improved to almost 100%. I am very pleased with my improvements in this component as it is needed almost all the time in a Swimming competition. In swimming agility is needed so that each competitor can successfully perform a tumble-turn. Agility wasnt one of the areas that I worked on in the fitness suite although as I have been working on the speed of my legs on the cross trainer this has caused me to improve. If ever in the future I feel the need to improve in this area I will take out a series of weights on my legs and some skill work with a swimming pool and other swimmers to compete. As I have improved in this area I will be more skill full in a swimming competition and be able to move quickly through the water. Power in needed in swimming so that a swimmer can quickly move through the water with speed and get a good strong jump. After I had completed the first set of tests I found out that this wasnt one of my weak areas. I didnt include this into my exercise programme. Although when looking at both sets of results I have slightly improved. It may not be shown to be much but I am still pleased that when not working on an area the other exercises I did take have lead to an improvement. I think this is a result of working on the cardiovascular machines a lot. I used the cardiovascular machines and these are good because as I have shown in my programme it can improve all areas. When I worked in the weight machines in my legs this has resulting in an improvement and this is good in swimming for when I am diving of the starting platform. Endurance is needed in swimming to keep the body going strong through out the race. When I completed the first set of results I realised that endurance did need some improving on. So in the fitness suite I pushed my body each time causing me to work longer and increasing the amount that my body could take. I worked mainly on the cardiovascular machines that were the treadmill and bike. I pushed my self each time this was to push my body to its limit. This has clearly worked as comparing the two set or results I have improved by quite an amount. On my first tests I got level 7 shuttle 7, on my second I got level 8 shuttle 4. This means I didnt just improve by one level. I also increased on my shuttle amount. I am pleased my results in this component of fitness. Overall I am pleased with my improvements. I have improved in all areas even those I didnt specifically work on. This indicates that I have become a better person and my personal exercise programme that I have taken out and completed my self has been a success. Hopefully this will go on to me being a much stronger competitor in swimming and maybe I will continue to use this plan to improve my skills even more.

The Environmental Rhetoric of the Simpsons Essay

The Environmental Rhetoric of the Simpsons - Essay Example Todd claims that the popular culture imagery in social commentary is the rhetoric of visual arguments (Todd, p. 137). Visual arguments show persuasive messages to the audience. Blair argues, â€Å"Visual argument is to use symbols to communicate and it can convince the audience (Todd, p. 138). The symbols or comical characters that might be presented through visual argument can convince people. For example, showing a visual argument about the environment and what is needed as process to protect the environment. Some visual images can be able to convince, because they might have personal or social experiences, which affect the individuals. The visual argument evidence is relevant because Todd quotes them from the argument and advocacy, which make visual arguments credible to solve problems that the affects the environment. These evidences are persuasive to the audience because they like to watch the visual arguments. Visual arguments show the environmental problems and the result if no care is followed of the process to help the environment. Todd claims that the nuclear power plant of the Simpsons represents the environmental politics of the real world. There should be visual explanations about the power plant regarding the negligence, which characterizes company standards for disposing of nuclear waste. Wastes are leaking out of the trashcan in a plant coffee room is a painful image. Watching trashcan full of waste in a coffee room and ignoring it is a sign of danger to the environment. T

Role of women in Hebrew scriptures Research Paper

Role of women in Hebrew scriptures - Research Paper Example The scriptures record that Eve the first woman, was created as a companion of Adam (Kassian, 1992, p28). In this regard, God set forth a patriarchal society, since he created woman from man, but not the other way. From the onset, God granted man the authority to rule all creations. The appearance of Abraham, whom the Jews refer as ‘the father of nations’ affirmed the authority of men over women, and Kassian (1992, p31) notes that even today, a Jew male is referred as Abraham’s son. In the Old Testament God, commanded man to procreate and fill the earth and this placed a lot of pressure on women from the onset (Clarence, 1968, p61). In this respect, the most important role of women in Ancient Israel was getting married and bearing children to ensure posterity of Jewish race. The Old Testament prohibited relationships such as incest and adultery, which ensured that a woman could not be related to a man in more than one way. However, a man was allowed to marry a sist er to his wife even in cases where the wife was alive. Before any marriage ceremony, the groom’s family was required to pay a specified amount of dowry to the bride’s family. ... These punishments are well elaborated in the Halakhah, a collection of rules and regulations that governed the conduct of the Jewish community (Richard, 1988, p 43). Clarence (1968, p37) notes that due to the great importance attached to marriage, there were three main requirements that were necessary to validate a marriage between man and woman in ancient Israel . They included payment of bride price, acceptance by the bride to get married and the union had to be consummated through sexual intercourse. From these rituals, it is apparent that the primary role of a woman in the society was getting married and to satisfy sexual needs of their men. Girls got married at very young ages that put their ability to make sound judgment about marriage in question. Social and religious critics have questioned the symbolic significance of paying bride price for a woman before marriage in the ancient Israel society. Kassian (1992, pp45-49) argues that the dowry payment portrayed women as a proper ty, with a price tag that was owned by man. However, Clarence (1968, p43) notes that payment of the bride price was important because it indicated the groom had good intentions of marrying and that he was capable of taking care of his wife. These findings comply with polygyny practice in Israel that allowed men with adequate resources to marry more than one wife in the ancient society (Richard, 1988, p49). Bearing children was another important role of women in the ancient Jewish society. According to Richard (1988, p53), women were only supposed to have sex for procreation and to validate their marriages. According to Clarence (1968, p73) barrenness

The Evolution Of Microfinance Institutions In Nigeria Economics Essay

The Evolution Of Microfinance Institutions In Nigeria Economics Essay With the huge shortage of funds in the banking industry, failure of the established community banks and other government programs in financing microenterprises in Nigeria, gave rise to the idea of transforming existing microfinance NGOs into microfinance banks. In the past years, microfinance institutions were informal in nature. They were characterized by different mechanism such as ability of the members of these microfinance institutions to have credit support from other members which could be used in expanding their businesses mainly in the agricultural sector. For almost three decades it has been a challenge for governments to provide micro-credit to the poor people who are operating micro and medium enterprises. It is known that in every country around the world, over 90% of the businesses are micro and small businesses (Jenkins, 2009). In Nigeria, there used to be people who go round taking money from other people in their job places. These kinds of people serve like village banks, where they accept the money as deposit and save it for the people. This kind of agreement between the inhabitants of the respected area and the people going round to collect their money establishes a trust between them. Although it differs between community to community, the whole idea is the same which is deposit taking and saving, but what remains interesting here is that in some cases, these people that agree to save, form group amongst themselves, and one or two people among them borrow the money after it has been accumulated. They usually gather the money for six to twelve months. The members who collect the money usually use it to invest in their businesses but they also know that they are required to return the money back to the depositors. This way other members will also have a chance to borrow. This is one of the interesting ca ses as it gives us an insight on how the financial sector operates in Nigerian villages and towns. This process of formation of own borrowing groups was not only common in Nigeria, but it was experienced around the world. An empirical evidence in Ghana (Owusu and Tetteh, 1982), Zimbabwe (Bratton, 1986) and Dominican Republic (Desai, 1983) shows that local conditions have influenced the ideal size of membership and that below or above the ideal size of membership correlates negatively with cohesiveness and joint accountability. Anyanwu (2004) conducted a study on micro-finance institutions in Nigeria, their policy practice and potential. In this study, he analyzed at that time, the ten major micro-finance institutions in Nigeria with respect to their location. These micro-finance institutions were Farmers Development Union (FADU), in Ibadan; Community Women and Development (COWAD), in Ibadan; Country Women Association of Nigeria (COWAN), in Akure; Lift Above Poverty (LPO), in Benin; Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), in Ijebu-Ode; Women Development Initiative (WDI), in Kano; Development Education Centre (DEC ENUGU), in Enugu; Development Exchange Centre (DEC BAUCHI), in Bauchi; Outreach Foundation (OF), in Lagos; and Nsukka Area Leaders of Thought United Self-Help Organization (NLTNUSHO), in Nsukka. The result of the analysis carried out by Anyanwu in 2004 showed that most of the beneficiaries of the services provided by the micro-finance institutions in Nigeria were women. About 97.4 per cent of the clients in the sample were women. Four of the institutions exclusively provide services to women, while five had over 90 per cent of their clients as females (Anyanwu, 2004 pp.5). This shows clearly how women have been the most important target for the micro-finance institutions which is viewed as normal because of the fact that women in Nigeria are always believed to be marginalized in terms of socio-economic matters. The study was one of the triggering factors that led to the public sector seeing the fact that almost 60 percent of the Nigerian populations which reside in the rural or remote areas do not have access to micro-credit. This gave the public sector a thinking of coming out with alternative solution to this problem. The following tables 1 to 4 summarize the ten major mic ro-finance institutions in Nigeria and their activities before 2005. As the analysis in Table 1 to 4 shows, in average all these microfinance institutions source their funds from either government grants or grants from other individual or international donors. This kind of source tells us that the microfinance institutions in Nigeria were dependent on these grants which constitute 51.2 percent of their whole source of funds. This is a very big number in respect of sustainability of the entire microfinance sector that they serve to the poor. Microfinance institutions in Nigeria should be able to have continual supply of micro-credit to the Nigerian poor and abandoned population on their own without receiving any exogenous grants or donations. Having that huge amount of external support as 51.2 percent grants or donations, gives us a hint that a more adequate and self-sustainable institution is needed in order to serve the poor on sustainable basis. So overall, self-sustainable institutions are needed to be able to tackle the poverty alleviation questio n addressed by the government through the micro-finance sector in Nigeria. With these downturns and global concern about poverty, micro-finance became a very important discussion and top priority of even international development institutions. Huge funds were set aside by these institutions to combat poverty. These institutions are membered by the world countries which made it powerful enough to deal with questions of poverty and promote consensus solution amongst themselves. With the clear international concern about the effect of poverty which the world income distribution with a Gini coefficient of around 0.85 makes it an excellent indicator of unsuccessful nature of the aggregate world economy these days. This result shows an unjust income distribution, which roughly 15 percent of worlds population receive 80 percent of the aggregate income generated, whereas almost half of the worlds population to fall under massive conditions of poverty (Birtek, 2009). Microcredit is a critical anti-poverty tool and a wise investment in human capital. Now that the nations of the world have committed themselves to reduce the number of people living on less than $1 a day by half by the year 2015, we must look even more seriously at the pivotal role that sustainable microfinance can play and is playing in reaching this Millennium Development Goal (Annan, 2006). Year 2005 was recognized by the United Nations as Year of Microfinance (Jenkins, 2009). United Nations is one of the sole organizations which foster the continual existence of micro financing in both the developed and developing countries. The millennium development goals addressed the issue of alleviating poverty not only by giving foreign aid to the less developed and under-developed countries, but also by supporting the poor to stand on their own. With all these developments that took place since early 1990s, like the other governments, the Nigerian government also reacted. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) responded in 2005 by establishing laws which will promote the establishments of better financial institutions to serve the Nigerian poor population. The microfinance policy, regulatory and supervisory framework for Nigeria entered into force in 2005. This law obligates microfinance institutions to be regulated in Nigeria. With this policy, regulatory and supervisory framework, the government addressed different issues needed to strengthen microfinance institutions in Nigeria. This law required the private sector to acquire license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The license was open to start-up a micro-finance banks or an already established microfinance institutions that wanted to convert into a micro-finance bank. The policy aimed at having adequate regulation and supervision over the microfinance sector in Nigeria. According to Jenkins (2009), one of the ways of incorporating microfinance into the financial system can be achieved through the change of microfinance NGOs into a formal regulated financial institutions. With this, adequate credit allocations to the poor could be achieved. As (white and Campion, 2002) termed it to be up scaling of microfinance institutions. Furthermore, Jenkins (2009) stated that since 1990s a large number of microfinance institutions have transformed into a regulated microfinance bank such as BancoSol, K-Rep and ACLE-DA Bank. These microfinance NGOs were all unregulated, but they later transformed into a fully regulated institution under their respective country laws. 3.2 Regulation of Micro Finance Banks in Nigeria The microfinance policy, regulatory and supervisory framework in 2005 was the first formal policy established for microfinance institutions that are becoming microfinance banks in Nigeria. Some months later, another formal text was released on regulatory and supervisory frameworks for micro-finance banks (MFBs) in Nigeria. These provisions were established in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as every member of the United Nations should respect. Analysis would be made on the policies establishing the micro-finance banks in Nigeria. This policy was the proceeding of the National Conference on Microfinance organized between the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2000. As a result, in 2001, the Central Bank of Nigeria conducted a baseline study of the microfinance institutions in Nigeria. Some of the objectives of the study among others as indicated by Okojie, Monye-Emina, Eghafona, Osaghae Ehiakhanem (2009, pp22-23) were: Identifying the role of MFIs in financial intermediation in Nigeria, Determining the level of financial intermediation of MFIs with a view to developing a regulatory and supervisory framework to guide and enhance its operations in Nigeria, and Recommending policies that would facilitate the linkage of informal, semi-formal, and formal financial services providers to micro- and small-scale rural entrepreneurs. Also the study shows that as of third quarter of 2001, about 60 percents of commercial banks had aggregate savings of about N99.4 million about 662,666 USD and outstanding credit of N649.6 million about 4,330,666 USD, indicating huge business transactions in the sector. This clearly indicates the large size of their equity base. (Okojie, Monye-Emina, Eghafona, Osaghae and Ehiakhanem, 2009). With the above indications addressed by the study which explained the need for a proper regulatory framework, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) responded as indicated by (Anyanwu, 2004) as follows: Development of a regulatory and supervisory framework for the operations of MFIs in Nigeria Establishment of an apex regulatory institution charged with the responsibility of building capacity through the training of directors and managers of MFIs to enable them to develop an efficient information system for identifying and managing risks, and satisfying relevant data and information requirements of regulators and stakeholders, Improvement of infrastructural facilities so as to reduce the transactional costs associated with the administration of microcredit in the country. These areas above indicated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) brought about the entire regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance banks (MFBs) in Nigeria. Below will be analysis on the kinds of regulatory and supervisory issues are addressed. 3.2.1 What determines the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)s Power? The regulatory and supervisory guidelines and rules are issued by the CBN in the exercise of powers given by the provisions of section 28 subsection (1) (b) of the CBN Act 24 of 1991 (as amended) and in pursuance of the provisions of section 56-60A of the Banks and Other Financial Institution Act (BOFIA) 25 of 1991 (as amended). These guidelines were to organize and establish micro-finance banks (MFBs) that will be able to utilize deposit acceptance and savings from the public and engage in microfinance activities with their clients (CBN, 2005). This power made CBN above any other government department or parastatal in decidng regulatory and supervisory rules for these microfinance banks in Nigeria. 3.2.2 What Defines a Micro Finance Bank by law? As indicated by the policy law, a microfinance bank unless otherwise stated shall be taken to mean any kind of company licensed to carry out the business of providing microfinance services which includes such things as savings, loans, domestic funds transfer and other financial services that economically active poor, micro enterprises and small and medium enterprises need to carry out and boost their businesses as indicated by these rules and guidelines (CBN, 2005). 3.2.3 Who should be the micro-finance clients ? It is clealy indicated in the policy establishing the microfinance banks in Nigeria that who their clients should be. The policy clealy states that the main purpose is to serve the economically active poor which will be a way of empoering them to have more choices. The policy indicated that for a person to benefit from the microfinance banks, certain characteristics should be met (CBN, 2005), which includes : Having a monthly income of not more than twice the monthly per capital income of Nigeria or minimum wage, whichever is higher Having a total productive assets [inclusive of those arising from loans but excluding the cost of land] of not more than five hundred thousand Naira [N500, 000.00] only, about 3,333.33 USD. Is not a regular employee of any organization Age between 18 and 60 years. Unless if someone fall in that category, or else microfinance loan would not be granted. 3.2.4 What defines a Poor Person? A poor person as explained by the policy is one who has meager means sustenance or livelihood, and who earns a total income in a year that is less than the minimum taxable income set by the Nigerian government (CBN, 2005). 3.2.5 Which businesses are termed as micro-enterprises? It is indicated in the policy that micro enterprises are those firms that require micro credit or loans to operate and boost their businesses. These kinds of businesses are characterized of mainly sole proprietorships and are family basic in nature. Employments are provided to few which are mostly immediate family members. These micro entrepreneurs work informally and usually are engaged in activities which are primary in nature like local craft and subsistence agriculture. 3.2.6 What defines Collateral and what is the Loan Duration? Unlike the commercial bank lending where collateral is a requirement, micro loans are given to the micro entrepreneurs such as peasants, farmers, artisans, fishermen, women, senior citizens and non-salaried workers in the formal and informal sector based on their character and the cash flow of the businesses and their household (CBN, 2005). Collateral is not needed to secure any micro-credit loan due to the fact that the idea is to help the poor, low income earners and micro entrepreneurs boost their businesses as indicated by the policy (CBN, 2005). The micro-loan duration should not exceed 180 days (6 months), but in some exceptional cases where a loan is giving to micro-enterprises engaged in agricultural activities with longer gestation period, maximum of 12 months (one year) would be granted. The loan may be repaid daily, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly basis depending on the amortization schedule in the contract (CBN, 2005). 3.2.7 Ownership and License of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) In Nigeria The policy framework explained that micro-finance banks can be established by a single person, group of individuals, community development associations, and domestic private and foreign investors. The policy further explained that significant diversification in ownership would continue to be encouraged in order to enhance good corporate governance of licensed MFBs. Also those universal banks that intend to create any category of MFB as their subsidiaries shall be required to satisfy all the requirements set by the law. Talking about granting license, it requires that any investor thats willing to operate a MFB in Nigeria shall put it in writing to the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). It indicated that there shall be two categories of licenses. These categories as indicated by the Micro-Finance policy were: Those Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) licensed to operate as a unit bank otherwise known as Community banks shall operate and open branches within a specified local government area [LGA]. N20 million [twenty million naira] roughly 133,333.333 USD or such amount shall be the minimum capital requirement as may be prescribed by the CBN from time to time. And Those Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) licensed to operate in a State and open branches within a specified state or Federal capital territory. N1.0 billion (one billion naira) only roughly 6,666,666.667 USD or such an amount shall be the minimum capital requirement as may be prescribed by the CBN from time to time (CBN 2005, p10). With these features mentioned above, one can see the differences between a universal bank and a micro-finance bank regulation in Nigeria. A clear demarcation can be seen in the amount of capital requirement. For a universal bank, its 25 Billion Naira about 166,666,666.7 USD, which is 25 times the minimum capital requirement for a microfinance bank licensed to operate in a state. This is a huge gap because microfinance banks in Nigeria are only restricted to given credits to the class of people that are either low income earners, aged or senior citizens. These only are allowed to receive a micro-credit loan. 3.3 Permissible acts for Microfinance Banks in Nigeria There are number of permissible acts indicated by the policy establishing microfinance banks in Nigeria. As indicated by the framework policy, a microfinance bank shall only be allowed to provide the following services to its clients (CBN, 2005 pp8-9): Acceptance of various types of deposits including savings, time, target and demand from individuals, groups and associations; except public sector deposits [government], provision of credit to its customers, including formal and informal self-help groups, individuals and associations; promotion and monitoring of loan usage among its customers by providing ancillary capacity building in areas such as record keeping and small business management; issuance of redeemable debentures to interested parties to raise funds from members of the public with approval of the CBN; collection of money or proceeds of banking instruments on behalf of its customers through correspondent banks; provision of payment services such as salary, gratuity, pension for the various tiers of government; provision of loan disbursement services for the delivery of credit programme of government, agencies, groups and individual for poverty alleviation on non-recourse basis; provision of ancillary banking services to their customers such as domestic remittance of funds and safe custody; maintenance and operation of various types of account with other banks in Nigeria; investment of surplus funds of the MFB in suitable instruments including placing such funds with correspondent banks and in Treasury Bills; pay and receive interests as may be agreed upon between them and their clients in accordance with existing guidelines; operation of micro leasing facilities, micro finance related hire purchase and arrangement of consortium lending and supervise credit schemes to ensure access of micro finance customers to inputs for their economic activities; receiving of refinancing or other funds from CBN and other sources, private or public, on terms mutually acceptable to both the provider of the funds and the recipient MFBs; provision of micro finance related guarantees for their customers to enable them have greater access to credit and other resources; buying, selling and supplying industrial and agricultural inputs, livestock , machinery and industrial raw materials to poor persons on credit and to act as agent for any association for the sale of such goods or livestock; investment in shares or equity of any body-corporate, the objective of which is to provide microfinance services to poor persons; encouragement of investment in cottage industries and income generating projects for poor persons as may be prescribed by the CBN provision of services and facilities to customers to hedge various risks relating to microfinance activities; provision of professional advice to poor persons regarding investments in small businesses; rendering managerial, marketing, technical and administrative advice to customers and assisting them in obtaining services in such fields; mobilize and provide financial and technical assistance and training to micro- enterprises provision of loans to microfinance clients for home improvement and consumer credits; and performance of non-banking functions that relate to micro finance related business development services such as co-operatives and group formation activities, rural industrialization and other support services needed by micro enterprises. Unless otherwise stated by the CBN, no microfinance bank is allowed to spill over these permissible acts, in other words only these services can be performed and provided by microfinance banks in Nigeria. These permissible acts are subject to review by the CBN from time to time. 3.4 Prohibitive acts for Microfinance Banks in Nigeria As indicated by the policy, microfinance banks are not allowed to carry activities (CBN, 2005 pp9-10) such as : acceptance of public sector [government] deposit except for the permissible activities like provision of payment services such as salary, gratuity, pension for the various tiers of government and provision of loan disbursement services for the delivery of credit programme of government, agencies, groups and individual for poverty alleviation on non-recourse basis foreign exchange transactions, international commercial papers, international corporate finance, international electronic funds transfer, cheque clearing activities, dealing in Land for speculative purposes, real estate except for its use as office accommodation, allow any facility for speculative purposes; and enter into leasing, renting, and sale/purchase of any kind with its directors, officers, employees or persons who either individually or in concert with their family members and beneficiaries own five percent [5%] or more of the equity of the MFB, without the prior approval in writing of the Central Bank of Nigeria

Personal Narrative: My Experience Teaching versus Learning Essay

Last semester I led a ninth-grade class room through a reading of Romeo and Juliet. I had little time to prepare for this unit of study, and had never formally studied or written about the play. I worked my way through each scene, preparing prompts and discussions that seemed relevant to the content of the play, to its connections to private and public social issues (both Elizabethan and modern), and to why the play was written in poetic form, or what the poet was trying to do with language. The play is rife with paradox, oxymoron, and ambiguity, so finding a focal point or common theme to unify the various lessons was difficult. However, as we approached the final act, everything that the students and I had explored in this play seemed to me to be pointing back to a line early in Act I, "Part fools! You know not what you do." Born into a world of contradictory and opposing forces of control, authority, and traditional obligations, a young person does not have the means to make judgments but is swept along on the tide of what others say must be done. If one's heart or conscience cries out for a different course, lack of experience and of developed judgment can be fatal. Role models are required who can model the skills of weighing the pros and cons, of balancing the heart and the head, of inquiring and seeking out knowledge before a final decision is made. Friar Lawrence spoke this lesson, but cryptically, through the metaphors of poison/medicine and haste/patience, yet he did not model the exercise of inquiring, balancing, and weighing before acting. It suddenly occurred to me that the wisdom that Friar Lawrence advocates but does not exactly inspire, is exactly the sort of wisdom that we were exercising in the classroom as we... ...ts' enjoyment of reading and writing and also their desire to participate in language arts. Another experience confirmed my belief that learning and teaching is not a one-way street in the classroom. Teachers are not the privileged literati who are desperately trying to inculcate knowledge into the uneducated mass of students. Teachers need to respect the human mind in any stage of development and accept the fact that they can learn things from someone who is not an expert in the field. The teacher is a learner, and the students are teachers. The study of Romeo and Juliet during my student teaching experience was a collective effort to examine and interpret eternally recurring human achievements, failures, struggles, goals and desires. I learned a great deal through reading and discussing the writing of the students, and I hope that they learned something from me.

Prison Overcrowding Essay

Abstract This research paper is to explore the impact of prison overcrowding. The United States has a, what seems to be everlasting, prison overcrowding problem. Not only does the United States have this dilemma, but also many other countries have overcrowded prisons as well. Many issues need to be addressed; ways to reduce the prison populations and how to effectively reduce prison cost without jeopardizing community safety are major issues that need attention. Successfully rehabilitating inmates can play an important role in the fight to Prison Overcrowding There are overcrowded prisons all over the world. In 2011, the United States federal prisons housed around 219,000 inmates. In 1980, the United States federal prison population was 25,000. A total of 1,598,780 adults were incarcerated in county jails and federal and state prisons at the end of 2011, according to Urban Institute. There are many issues that need to be revisited until there is a solution. A number of impacts are the product of the overcrowded prisons. Health, safety of inmates and correctional staff, as well as, economical problems all need some solution, and quickly. Not only are prisons affected, communities are also directly and indirectly affected by prison overcrowding. Even though the government can’t just start releasing prisoners that haven’t served their full sentences to reduce the populations, the cost of incarceration, the health and safety of inmates and staff, and the affect that overcrowding has on communities are all issues that cannot be put on a back burner. With United States prisons being filled 38 percent above their capacity, some issues are of greater importance than others when it comes to the overcrowding of prisons. How to decrease prison populations is the main objective. California has started a program that has reduced prison populations significantly. Nonviolent, non-serious, non-sexual offenders are sentenced to local facilities like county jails  instead of state prison. The Department of Corrections has programs that alternative to incarceration and are more cost effective that have been given more funding in recent years also. The cost of incarceration, and the effect it has on the economy, in the United States is a major issue. It is very costly to house inmates in prison every year. An article in Impaired Driver Update. Show that it cost $27,000 to hold one inmate for a year, and that approximately $50 billion a year is spent on incarceration. It cost 20 times more to have an inmate incarceration than to have them on probation. Of $50 billion dollars spent on correction, $6.8 billion is spent on probation. An article published in Federal Probation in 2013 states, â€Å"recidivism rates average between 43 and 67 percent and supervision violators constitute on third of the persons admitted to state correctional facilities,† and â€Å"on, average, persons under supervision have five prior arrest; 16 percent violated a federal, state, or local community supervision, and 8 percent have a history of absconding.† Sentencing offenders to alternative programs would help cut cost and also help decrease prison overcrowding. Alternative programs for offenders in lieu of prison or inmate programs that help rehabilitate offenders and prepare them for re-entry co uld also help prison overcrowding. If inmates are able to attend programs for drug treatment, social disorders, and dealing with issues like abuse as a child the prison population could decrease. Inmates that have successfully rehabilitated have contributed to society and thus show that more money towards rehabilitation instead of incarceration could have a positive impact on population and society. In 2012, supervisees paid around $645 million in restitution, fines, and assessments. They contributed $4 million in community service. If more inmates are successfully rehabilitated an estimation in the Federal Probation shows that a savings of around $115 million could be cut of the budget with supervisees contributing by paying taxes, supporting dependents rather than on welfare, satisfying ordered financial obligations, and performing community service. The probation system cannot solve the whole overcrowding problem but could help immensely. Inmates that are released from prison that have no family, no real friends, no one to help them are really set up to fail off the top. They are given $200 and sent out to survive in what is one of the most expensive countries in the world. $200 now days will not even get you a hotel room for a week.  So many of them revert to selling drugs, stealing, or worse to manage. If there were more programs to help find them housing, employment opportunities and teach them how to be productive members of society, maybe the prison population would continue to decrease. There are also many effects of prison overcrowding on inmates and correctional staff health as well as the effects on correctional staff safety. The Corrections Manager Report in Dec/Jan 2014 reports an incident of a BOP officer killed, â€Å"while working alone in a unit housing 130 inmates.† The Urban Institute also states, â€Å"health and safety hazards from over used toilets, showers, and food service equipment,â⠂¬  are some of the many issues that need to be addressed. The Supreme Court ruled that California prisons were so bad they violated the 8th amendment and CDRC needed to reduce prison population by 30,000 inmates. Releasing inmates also has an effect on communities. When inmates are release it can affect their communities. If in the future there are more alternatives to incarceration to help reduce prison population people will be affected. Of course, not all inmates are going to follow their rehabilitation program and their offense will affect their community. They many rob, steal, or possibly assault someone in their community. They could begin to sale drugs that can also directly affect a community. There are positive ways though too that the community could be affected and the community could also positively affect the offender by participating or starting programs that help offenders start following a new path, and become successful members of society. Some communities have started outreach programs that help offenders. By having alternative programs available to offenders, who meet certain criteria it will help with the prison overcrowding problem that much of the United States continues to have a serious problem with. Prison overcrowding is a serious problem all over the world. It has economic effects. Prison overcrowding also has health risk to inmates as well as correctional staff. Safety risk for both inmates and correctional staff pose a great problem to with prisons being overcrowded. There are both pros and cons when it comes to effects on communities with this issue. Although we can’t just start releasing inmates to solve prison overcrowding, we can start focusing on ways to solve this problem. Prison overcrowding is a very complicated issue and should be given great attention by Congress, the Board of Prisons, and the Department of Justice. References Gershenhorn, Karen & Myers Ryan. 2013. Prison Math. Impaired Driver. Winter 2013. Vol. 17. Issue 1, p 5-19. Harding, Richard. 1987. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology. Australian Academic Press. Mar.1987. Vol. 20 Issue 1, p 50-62. Mobley, Alan & Owen, Barbara. 2012. Western Criminology Review. Aug. 2012. Volume 13. Issue 2. p 46-57. Rowland, Mathew. 2013. Federal Probation. Sept. 2013. Volume 77. Issue 2. p 12-12. Schiffner, Bill. 2013. Corrections Forum. July/Aug 2013. Vol. 22. Issue 4, p. 38-39