Contemporary Issue on Chit Funds -“The Invincible”

An contemporary issue report on CHIT FUNDS â€Å"THE INVICIBLE† 2013-2014 Made by : Fakhruddin Badshah PREFACE This document sketches the the meaning, introduction, overview,its working,online chit funds, I threw some light on latest news about this sector and also tried to cover the latest upsteram and downsteam aspects of this sector (chit fund companies). My aim of writing on this issue is who will going to stop the fraudulant activities being done by this companies. I chose this segemnt for my contemporay because this is going very common among the people in today’s time.So I thought lets give away the the detail of this segment to the people. With the help of this document people will come to know what exactly going on in this domain. This sector is expanding rapidly like anything. This developments has become a catalyst for the growth of vigourous chit fund companies in all over India. So what provisions should be made to curb the alleged false practices done by t hese companies or segment. Thus it is the to think and act on it to protect the interest of small investors and their hard earned incomes. Index Introduction| 5-7| Overview of chit fund| 8|How chit fund works| 9-11| 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund| 12-13| Who will stop chit funds? | 14-18| Report of MCA| 18-21| Benefits| 21-22| Drawbacks| 23| Safety from Chit funds| 24| CHIT FUNDS – â€Å"The Invincible† Introduction: A chit fund is a type of savings scheme practiced in India, besides other forms of savings scheme offered by various public and private sector banks, post offices, insurance corporations etc. Chit Funds are indigenous financial institutions in India that cater to the financial needs of the low-income households, which have been excluded from the formal financial system. Chit†, in the legal purview, means a transaction whether called chit, chit fund, chitty, kuri or by any other name by or under which a person enters into an agreement with a specified number of persons that every one of them shall subscribe a certain sum of money (or a certain quantity of grain instead in the case of villages) by way of periodical installments over a definite period and that each such subscriber shall, in his turn, as determined by lot or by auction or by tender or in such other manner as may be specified in the chit agreement, be entitled to the prize amount.In simple words, A chit fund is a savings-borrowing scheme, in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute fixed amounts periodically, for a specified period of time. The amount so collected (or the chit value) is distributed among each of the persons in turns, which is determined by way of lots or an auction. Chit funds provide an opportunity to save excess cash on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and give an easy access to it in case of emergency. Chit funds are the Indian equivalent of the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) that are famous thr oughout the world.ROSCAs are a means to â€Å"save and borrow† simultaneously. It is considered one of the best instruments to cater to the needs of the poor. It enables poor people to convert their small savings into lump sums. The concept of chit funds originated more than 1000 years ago. Initially it was in the form of an informal association of traders and households within communities, wherein the members contributed some money in return for an accumulated sum at the end of the tenure. Participation in Chit funds was mainly for the purpose of purchasing some property or, in other words, for â€Å"consumption† purposes.However, in recent times, there have been tremendous alterations in the constitution and functioning of Chit funds. While in most places ROSCAs are user-owned and organized informally, in India, chit funds have been formally institutionalized as well. Legally recognized firms provide a variety of chit schemes. A Chit Fund can either be legally regist ered or unregistered. Registered Chit Funds, as the name suggests are being regulated under the various Chit Fund acts. While unregistered Chit Funds are unorganized and mostly run by the close friends, relatives or family members of the investor.Unregistered Chit Funds which exceed 100 ($2) in value are illegal in India, although it is very well known that unregistered Chit Fund industry is very popular in India, mainly in the rural and semi-urban area, where people have very little access to the banking services and where financial illiteracy is more. The regulation of the Chit Fund industry was put in place by the Government of India to address the problem of misuse of informal Chit Funds by unscrupulous promoters and founders running away with the participant’s funds, leaving the members with little recourse to retrieve their money back.Chit funds in India are governed by various state or central laws. Organized chit fund schemes are required to register with the Registra r or Firms, Societies and Chits. Various Chit Fund Acts governing the industry in India are as under: * Union Government – Chit Funds Act 1982 (Except the State of Jammu and Kashmir) * Kerala – Kerala Chitties Act 1975 * Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu Chit Funds Act, 1961 * Karnataka: The Chit Funds (Karnataka) Rules, 1983 * Andhra Pradesh – The Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971 * New Delhi- The Chit Funds Act,1982 and Delhi Chit Funds Rules, 2007 * Maharashtra – Maharashtra Chit Fund Act 1975 Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1975 * Goa, Daman & Diu: The Goa, Daman and Diu Chit Funds Act, 1973 * Pudducherry/Pondicherry: The Pondicherry Chit Funds Act, 1966. An overview of chit funds: The economic development of a country depends upon the availability of resources. The main activities that contribute to the growth are production and employment. Production depends upon the inputs of the factors such as finance, raw materials, labor etc. The mo st important here bring finance, which is the chief mobilized of all the factors of production.In a money economy, finance for development initially comes from private savings. These private savings give to the secondary deposits; this is where the financial institutions come into picture. Financial institutions occupy a central place in mobilizing savings from the people and make it available to the trade, commerce and industries either as a capital or loans. The non banking sector comprises of money lenders, indigenous bankers, pawn brokers, nidhis, â€Å"chit funds† etc.The origin of chit funds can be traced way back to the 17th century when the economic wizards of state of Malabar (now known as the state of Kerala) started this activity. Those were the people who actually founded this financial institution. It became so popular and numerous that people started adopting this activity as a profession by the 18th century all over. As the chit industry grew the number of peop le involved in this industry also grew. This gave rise to many misconceptions, frauds, mismanagement etc. , in this industry.To prevent this State Government of Travancore took the first initiative and introduced the first Chit Fund Regulation being the Chit Fund Act 1914. One important regulation introduced by this act was that of a commission payable to the foreman. The Act brought about a ceiling limit on the commission payable to the foreman that is 5% maximum which is still the same even to this date. How chit funds works: Chit funds which are popular from a very long time but still some people don’t know how exactly this chit fund works and invest their money illogically.This can be understood by the following procedure: Let’s say there are 20 people who come together and form a group. Each one will contribute Rs 1,000 per month and this will continue for next 20 months (equal to number of people in the group). In this group there will be one organizer, who will take the pain of fixing the meetings, collecting money from each other and then doing other procedures. So each month all these 20 people will meet on a particular day and deposit Rs 1,000 each. That will make a total of Rs 20,000 every month.Now there will be a bid on who will take this money. Naturally there will be few people who are in need of big amount because of some reason like some big expenses, liquidity crunch, business problem, Beti ki Shaadi etc etc Out of all the people who are in need of money, someone will bid the lowest amount, depending on how desperate he is for this money. The person who bids for the lowest amount wins the bid. Suppose out of total 3 people who bid for 18,000, 17,000 and Rs 16,000, the one who bids the lowest will win.In this case it’s the person who has bid Rs 16,000. There will also be â€Å"organizer charges† which are around 5% (standard) of the total amount, so in this case its 5% of Rs 20,000, which is Rs 1,000. So out of the total 16,000 which this winner was going to get, Rs 1,000 will be deducted and the winner will get only Rs 15,000, Rs 1,000 will be organizer charges and Rs 4,000 is the profit, which will be shared by each and every member (all 20 people), it comes out to be Rs 200 per person, and it will be given back to all 20 members.So here you can see that the main winner took a big loss because of his desperate need of getting the money and others benefitted by it. So each person actually paid just 800, not 1,000 in this case (they got 200 back). Note that when a person takes the money after bidding, he can’t bid from next time, only 19 people will be eligible for bidding. Now next month the same thing happens and suppose the best bid was Rs 18,000 , then winner will get 17,000 (after deducting the organizer fees) and the rest 2,000 will be divided back to people (Rs 100 each) . So each person is paying effectively Rs 900.This way each month all the people contribute the money, someone takes the money by bidding lowest, organizer gets his charges and the rest money is divided back to members. You will realize that the person who takes the money at the end will get all the money except organizer fee, as there is no one else to bid now. So the person will get around Rs 19,000 in the end, if you try to find out the returns which he got out of the whole deal, it will depend on two things, how much lower bids were each month and the fees paid to organizer, if bids and charges are very low, then a person will make more money at the cost of other situations.So this is pretty much how a chit fund works, there are various versions of chit funds and how they work , but the idea was to communicate the basic model and how it works. | Online Chit Funds is also running with pace of E-commerce With the advent of ecommerce in India, Chit funds have also started going online. Online chit funds conduct auctions online and subscribers can pay their monthly dues and receive prize am ount online through online transactions including electronic fund transfers. Each member will have an online account through which they can manage their chit funds. 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund: . Cunning strict approaches adopted by RBI to protect the investors from delusive acts of chit fund companies. 2. Last year in the month of December, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned all the state governments about the mushrooming of chit funds and also written to them to take appropriate actions against them for duping depositors. 3. RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said, â€Å"The responsibility for checking the chit funds and for prosecuting the violation of law is of the state government. We have written to all the state governments to be vigilant about this and to take appropriate action†. . D Subbarao also called for greater awareness among police and the general public for checking the proliferation of the chit funds in the country. 5. On 6th December 2012, Min ister of State for Corporate Affairs RPN Singh said that 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulation in the garb of multi-level marketing. The Registrar of Companies (RoC) and its Regional Directors have been asked to scrutinize the balance sheets and inspect the books of accounts and other records of these 87 companies. . India's market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had banned companies such as Rose Valley and MPS Greenery Developers from accepting deposits from the public. 7. The former chief minister also pointed it out that small savings through post offices and co-operatives has suffered a lot as many people are depositing their money to these chit funds expecting huge return. 8. In Bhubneshwar, The crime branch told that they are making a short documentary to sensitize people about illegal non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).The film will feature a host of financial manage ment companies like Seashore, Ashore and Saffex, whose irregularities were exposed recently. The Economic offences wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has registered at least 30 cases against several fraud companies in the past six months for embezzling public deposits after giving them false promise of high return. Senior functionaries (Head) of the companies were arrested and their bank accounts being ceased. 9. EOW also making plan to start a toll free number to protect people from fraudulent activities done by chit fund companies. 10.Government making steps towards the projection of model; rules to check chit fund and MLM (Multi-level Marketing) frauds. The central government will soon make stringent provisions in place, like hefty financial penalty, jail terms, de-listing from the registrar of companies (RoC) roster, among others. Who will stop chit funds In October 2012, a women and her elder daughter were running a chit fund, committed suicide by consuming acid in Puthur in Trichy as they were unable to repay their investors. These women had started a Diwali chit fund in the year 2011 and attracted around 300 investors in the area.They had collected around `9lakh from the investors. As per norms, the chit fund company should have repaid the money with interest or given assured gifts to the investors before Diwali of the year 2012. When the investors pressurize the women, they decided to end their lives and consumed poison. Investors are helpless. This is not the only case there are numerous. Most chit fund investors are the rural poor and or small investors. Neither the victimized investors nor the police bring to book the persons responsible. Only the poor agents remain in place from whom the money cannot be recovered.According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), there are 4256 listed or registered chit fund companies which are running their business in the country while India chit-fund association estimates that the country has in total 15000 (register ed and unregistered) companies which manage billions of rupees worth of funds. ShriRam Capital, one of the largest players, operates in four southern states and manages over USD 800 million. Some hope that recent hiccups in India’s once-booming microfinance sector, whose rise was led by microcredit, could bring even more business their way.One can imagine how big the business is all over India. Too many regulators could not stop irregularities in chit funds. Everybody agrees that irregularities need to be stopped because these are causing harm to a lot of small investors. But the question is; who will stop it? In 1978, when the RBI banned chit funds, it came under the ministry of corporate affairs as a collective investment scheme. Another way these companies work is through private placement of the non-convertible debentures or collective investment scheme. In this case, SEBI has the power to regulate it.Sahara and many other big names are in on it. Any debenture or private placement cannot be done by more than 50 people. In contrast, these kinds of companies collect money from thousands of investors. If the number of investors of share and debenture is more than 50, it needs to be registered in the market and the SEBI would control it. RBI wants the state government to take steps: In this context, RBI has a different take. Subbarao, Governor, RBI, has advised the state governments to make their law stronger to save common investors from the chit fund trap.It has written letters to the states to develop a definite action plan to take step against these multi levels marketing player. Subbarao explained that RBI has no power to regulate chit funds. So, it has asked state government to take the initiative to prevent the mushrooming of money market agencies. RBI can train police and other legal bodies about chit funds but cannot instruct the police to do so. It is a state subject to plan and executes the prevention process of chit funds. Corporate Affairs ministry looking into it:Union corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot has said that the central government is looking into the issue of some chit funds and the Ponzi scheme that allegedly dupe small investors by using legal loopholes. It would also encourage state government to take necessary action against these firms. These firms are now misusing the loopholes, pilot added. Furthermore he added, â€Å"Our main objective is to protect small investors from these companies, who are taking their (investors) hard earned money. † As many as 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulations.Minister of State for corporate Affairs R. P. N. Singh has informed the Rajya Sabha that the directions have been issued on the basis of specific complaints received by the ministry against these companies, which are â€Å"alleged to be carrying on activities related to prize chit fund and money circulation in the garb of m ulti-level marketing. Legislative hodgepodge: Singh further said that SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) has recommended setting up of a specific central regulatory agency for the implementation of the prize chit and money circulation scheme (Banning) act, 1978.The act is administered by the Department of Financial services (DFS) which has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group consisting of representatives from DFS, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), RBI, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Consumer Affairs and Central. Report of Ministry of Corporate Affairs: List of Companies not registered but found doing Chit Business Beware of these Companies. Never join them. M/s. P. V. R. Chits (P) Ltd. , B-50, Flatted Factories, Okhla Phase-III, N. Delhi-20. | M/s. Narmal Chits (P) Ltd. , 1427, Gurudwara Road, Kotla Mubarakpur,N.Delhi-3. | M/s. Sahara Chits (P) Ltd. , WZ/A-49, Krishna Park Extension, N. Delhi-18. | M/s. Twenty Second Century Chit Fund (P) Ltd . , 4205-4206, Sant Nagar, Main Road, Rani Bagh, Delhi-34. | M/s. Skylla Chits (P) Ltd. , D-223/115, Laxmi Chambers, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92. | M/s. Hari Vimal Chits (P) Ltd. , Shop No. 8, M. R. Market, Rangpuri, N. Delhi-70. | M/s. Merchant Chits (P) Ltd. , CA-24/2, Tagore Garden, N. Delhi-27. | M/s. Mehar Chits (P) Ltd. , IIIrd Floor, 528, Krishna Gali, Katra Neel, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6| M/s. Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 170-E, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7. | M/s.Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 272, Hakikat Nagar, Mall Road, Delhi-9. | M/s. Well King Chits (P) Ltd. , C-47, Acharya Niketan, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I,Delhi-91. | M/s. Aegis Chit Fund (P) Ltd. , E-484, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi-48. | List of Companies which have been debarred from doing any Chit Fund business in Delhi   NAME| ADDRESS| A. G. CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | ARJIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | BHAGMAL CHITS PVT. LTD. | | CHOJI PRITAM CHITS PVT. LTD. | | DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Ajay Pandon| DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Sudarshan Kapoor| EK-ONKAAR CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | EROS FIN. ; CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | GIRDHAR CHITS PVT. LTD. | | GOLDEN BENEFIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | J. KRISHNA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | J. V. CHITS PVT. LTD. | | KADS CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | KHAJANA CHITSPVT. LTD. | | LEAN CHITS PVT. LTD. | | MINCO CHITS PVT. LTD. | | NIKETAN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVATI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVEEN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | POMA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PROSPER CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RITESH CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROHTGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROYAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RUHANI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | S. T. S. CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | SAFAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SATSANGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SIMPLICITY CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SUBHASH NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | TRI NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | VEDANTA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | YOG MAYA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | PARVARISH LEASING ; FIN. (P) LTD| Shop No. 6, Mafare Garden, New Delhi| M. V. A. CHIT FUND (P) LTD. | Shop No. 10, Krishna Mkt. ,Lajpat Nagar,N. Delhi. | HONOUR CHITS (P) LTD. | 2352, Sevak Bhawan,IIIrd Floor, Shop No. 9,Beadon Pura,Karol Bagh, N. Delhi. | * Source Ministry of corporate AffairsBenefits of Chit funds: Chit Fund is an attractive Investment Option which caters to people from all walks of life. It is specifically beneficial to the Salaried Class, Professionals, Businessmen and Self Employed. The uniqueness of Chit Fund as a method of Financial Planning stems from the fact that, it is both a tool for saving and borrowing. In other words, it serves the dual purpose of being an investment for your savings and in times of need the Subscriber can bid for the Prize Amount in order to meet any unexpected expenditure. The benefits of Investing in Chit Fund are numerous. You can choose how much you want to save per month. Chit funds companies offers chits of various denominations and monthly subscriptions amount ranges from Rs 2500/=(Chit value Rs 1 lakh) to monthly subscription of Rs 1,25,000. * The rate of return is very high compared to other Investment Options and it is also secure form of Investment. * Your Monthly payments will be the Chit Subscription Amount minus the Dividend. The details of the Dividend entitled for Deduction and the Balance Amount payable shall be informed every month, which is mandatory. It inculcates the habit of saving and setting apart a particular amount every month towards investment for a rainy day. * It is good for the Housewife to keep or save their small savings in Chit funds as they will get the money at the time of utmost financial need for household purposes. * It is generally used by housewives, employees of same company, peer groups, friends, and family members or some associations. * If it is used in proper or genuine way then it is makes a worth to invest in chit funds (Organized or unorganized). Drawbacks: Chit-funds do not offer any pre-determined or fixed returns. * Higher returns are earned when there are more nu mber of members in the group or if the duration of the scheme is longer. * One would earn more, when more members need emergency funds. Thus returns cannot be calculated and decided when one joins the scheme. * No security in unregistered chit fund companies. So there are more chances of getting hoax by these fraud companies. * Organizer gets benefited more from your savings. * No guarantee if fixed returns. * In chits interest earnings are lower than Fixed deposits (FD). High degree of risk is associated with chits, so relying on chit funds for saving could be more dangerous. * Chit does not make money; it is just a mechanism for liquidity and emergency funds. * Many chit fund owners are collecting huge volume of money from the common people by making false promises to them. Many poor people of our state are being allured by these chit fund owners and depositing their hard-earned money. But the people are not getting back returns for their investments How to be a Safe investor in C hit Funds:With the plethora of chit fund companies around, the safety of a chit fund lies in choosing the right one. In a registered chit fund company, under legal binding, the activities are regulated and institutionalized by the Chit Fund Act. And hence could be considered safe. However, other unregistered companies operating informally do exist. It has been also seen that depositors are being lured by chit funds companies or firms with higher returns than what banks offer them. These companies are also flourishing in the rural belts where banking penetration is low.One should carefully analyze the pros and cons before making investment in chit funds. Therefore one needs to exercise caution while choosing where he desires to invest. Chit funds definitely are an attractive option for regular saving. It inculcates a disciplined approach to financial planning. It has the added advantage of bringing a combination of savings as well as hassle free borrowing. This dual purpose investmen t tool could be a friend in need at times of unexpected financial emergencies. Thence BE SAFE AND BE SELECTIVE while going for any chit fund schemes. Contemporary Issue on Chit Funds -â€Å"The Invincible† An contemporary issue report on CHIT FUNDS â€Å"THE INVICIBLE† 2013-2014 Made by : Fakhruddin Badshah PREFACE This document sketches the the meaning, introduction, overview,its working,online chit funds, I threw some light on latest news about this sector and also tried to cover the latest upsteram and downsteam aspects of this sector (chit fund companies). My aim of writing on this issue is who will going to stop the fraudulant activities being done by this companies. I chose this segemnt for my contemporay because this is going very common among the people in today’s time.So I thought lets give away the the detail of this segment to the people. With the help of this document people will come to know what exactly going on in this domain. This sector is expanding rapidly like anything. This developments has become a catalyst for the growth of vigourous chit fund companies in all over India. So what provisions should be made to curb the alleged false practices done by t hese companies or segment. Thus it is the to think and act on it to protect the interest of small investors and their hard earned incomes. Index Introduction| 5-7| Overview of chit fund| 8|How chit fund works| 9-11| 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund| 12-13| Who will stop chit funds? | 14-18| Report of MCA| 18-21| Benefits| 21-22| Drawbacks| 23| Safety from Chit funds| 24| CHIT FUNDS – â€Å"The Invincible† Introduction: A chit fund is a type of savings scheme practiced in India, besides other forms of savings scheme offered by various public and private sector banks, post offices, insurance corporations etc. Chit Funds are indigenous financial institutions in India that cater to the financial needs of the low-income households, which have been excluded from the formal financial system. Chit†, in the legal purview, means a transaction whether called chit, chit fund, chitty, kuri or by any other name by or under which a person enters into an agreement with a specified number of persons that every one of them shall subscribe a certain sum of money (or a certain quantity of grain instead in the case of villages) by way of periodical installments over a definite period and that each such subscriber shall, in his turn, as determined by lot or by auction or by tender or in such other manner as may be specified in the chit agreement, be entitled to the prize amount.In simple words, A chit fund is a savings-borrowing scheme, in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute fixed amounts periodically, for a specified period of time. The amount so collected (or the chit value) is distributed among each of the persons in turns, which is determined by way of lots or an auction. Chit funds provide an opportunity to save excess cash on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, and give an easy access to it in case of emergency. Chit funds are the Indian equivalent of the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) that are famous thr oughout the world.ROSCAs are a means to â€Å"save and borrow† simultaneously. It is considered one of the best instruments to cater to the needs of the poor. It enables poor people to convert their small savings into lump sums. The concept of chit funds originated more than 1000 years ago. Initially it was in the form of an informal association of traders and households within communities, wherein the members contributed some money in return for an accumulated sum at the end of the tenure. Participation in Chit funds was mainly for the purpose of purchasing some property or, in other words, for â€Å"consumption† purposes.However, in recent times, there have been tremendous alterations in the constitution and functioning of Chit funds. While in most places ROSCAs are user-owned and organized informally, in India, chit funds have been formally institutionalized as well. Legally recognized firms provide a variety of chit schemes. A Chit Fund can either be legally regist ered or unregistered. Registered Chit Funds, as the name suggests are being regulated under the various Chit Fund acts. While unregistered Chit Funds are unorganized and mostly run by the close friends, relatives or family members of the investor.Unregistered Chit Funds which exceed 100 ($2) in value are illegal in India, although it is very well known that unregistered Chit Fund industry is very popular in India, mainly in the rural and semi-urban area, where people have very little access to the banking services and where financial illiteracy is more. The regulation of the Chit Fund industry was put in place by the Government of India to address the problem of misuse of informal Chit Funds by unscrupulous promoters and founders running away with the participant’s funds, leaving the members with little recourse to retrieve their money back.Chit funds in India are governed by various state or central laws. Organized chit fund schemes are required to register with the Registra r or Firms, Societies and Chits. Various Chit Fund Acts governing the industry in India are as under: * Union Government – Chit Funds Act 1982 (Except the State of Jammu and Kashmir) * Kerala – Kerala Chitties Act 1975 * Tamil Nadu – Tamil Nadu Chit Funds Act, 1961 * Karnataka: The Chit Funds (Karnataka) Rules, 1983 * Andhra Pradesh – The Andhra Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1971 * New Delhi- The Chit Funds Act,1982 and Delhi Chit Funds Rules, 2007 * Maharashtra – Maharashtra Chit Fund Act 1975 Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chit Funds Act, 1975 * Goa, Daman & Diu: The Goa, Daman and Diu Chit Funds Act, 1973 * Pudducherry/Pondicherry: The Pondicherry Chit Funds Act, 1966. An overview of chit funds: The economic development of a country depends upon the availability of resources. The main activities that contribute to the growth are production and employment. Production depends upon the inputs of the factors such as finance, raw materials, labor etc. The mo st important here bring finance, which is the chief mobilized of all the factors of production.In a money economy, finance for development initially comes from private savings. These private savings give to the secondary deposits; this is where the financial institutions come into picture. Financial institutions occupy a central place in mobilizing savings from the people and make it available to the trade, commerce and industries either as a capital or loans. The non banking sector comprises of money lenders, indigenous bankers, pawn brokers, nidhis, â€Å"chit funds† etc.The origin of chit funds can be traced way back to the 17th century when the economic wizards of state of Malabar (now known as the state of Kerala) started this activity. Those were the people who actually founded this financial institution. It became so popular and numerous that people started adopting this activity as a profession by the 18th century all over. As the chit industry grew the number of peop le involved in this industry also grew. This gave rise to many misconceptions, frauds, mismanagement etc. , in this industry.To prevent this State Government of Travancore took the first initiative and introduced the first Chit Fund Regulation being the Chit Fund Act 1914. One important regulation introduced by this act was that of a commission payable to the foreman. The Act brought about a ceiling limit on the commission payable to the foreman that is 5% maximum which is still the same even to this date. How chit funds works: Chit funds which are popular from a very long time but still some people don’t know how exactly this chit fund works and invest their money illogically.This can be understood by the following procedure: Let’s say there are 20 people who come together and form a group. Each one will contribute Rs 1,000 per month and this will continue for next 20 months (equal to number of people in the group). In this group there will be one organizer, who will take the pain of fixing the meetings, collecting money from each other and then doing other procedures. So each month all these 20 people will meet on a particular day and deposit Rs 1,000 each. That will make a total of Rs 20,000 every month.Now there will be a bid on who will take this money. Naturally there will be few people who are in need of big amount because of some reason like some big expenses, liquidity crunch, business problem, Beti ki Shaadi etc etc Out of all the people who are in need of money, someone will bid the lowest amount, depending on how desperate he is for this money. The person who bids for the lowest amount wins the bid. Suppose out of total 3 people who bid for 18,000, 17,000 and Rs 16,000, the one who bids the lowest will win.In this case it’s the person who has bid Rs 16,000. There will also be â€Å"organizer charges† which are around 5% (standard) of the total amount, so in this case its 5% of Rs 20,000, which is Rs 1,000. So out of the total 16,000 which this winner was going to get, Rs 1,000 will be deducted and the winner will get only Rs 15,000, Rs 1,000 will be organizer charges and Rs 4,000 is the profit, which will be shared by each and every member (all 20 people), it comes out to be Rs 200 per person, and it will be given back to all 20 members.So here you can see that the main winner took a big loss because of his desperate need of getting the money and others benefitted by it. So each person actually paid just 800, not 1,000 in this case (they got 200 back). Note that when a person takes the money after bidding, he can’t bid from next time, only 19 people will be eligible for bidding. Now next month the same thing happens and suppose the best bid was Rs 18,000 , then winner will get 17,000 (after deducting the organizer fees) and the rest 2,000 will be divided back to people (Rs 100 each) . So each person is paying effectively Rs 900.This way each month all the people contribute the money, someone takes the money by bidding lowest, organizer gets his charges and the rest money is divided back to members. You will realize that the person who takes the money at the end will get all the money except organizer fee, as there is no one else to bid now. So the person will get around Rs 19,000 in the end, if you try to find out the returns which he got out of the whole deal, it will depend on two things, how much lower bids were each month and the fees paid to organizer, if bids and charges are very low, then a person will make more money at the cost of other situations.So this is pretty much how a chit fund works, there are various versions of chit funds and how they work , but the idea was to communicate the basic model and how it works. | Online Chit Funds is also running with pace of E-commerce With the advent of ecommerce in India, Chit funds have also started going online. Online chit funds conduct auctions online and subscribers can pay their monthly dues and receive prize am ount online through online transactions including electronic fund transfers. Each member will have an online account through which they can manage their chit funds. 2012-2013 Highlighted News about chit-fund: . Cunning strict approaches adopted by RBI to protect the investors from delusive acts of chit fund companies. 2. Last year in the month of December, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned all the state governments about the mushrooming of chit funds and also written to them to take appropriate actions against them for duping depositors. 3. RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said, â€Å"The responsibility for checking the chit funds and for prosecuting the violation of law is of the state government. We have written to all the state governments to be vigilant about this and to take appropriate action†. . D Subbarao also called for greater awareness among police and the general public for checking the proliferation of the chit funds in the country. 5. On 6th December 2012, Min ister of State for Corporate Affairs RPN Singh said that 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulation in the garb of multi-level marketing. The Registrar of Companies (RoC) and its Regional Directors have been asked to scrutinize the balance sheets and inspect the books of accounts and other records of these 87 companies. . India's market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had banned companies such as Rose Valley and MPS Greenery Developers from accepting deposits from the public. 7. The former chief minister also pointed it out that small savings through post offices and co-operatives has suffered a lot as many people are depositing their money to these chit funds expecting huge return. 8. In Bhubneshwar, The crime branch told that they are making a short documentary to sensitize people about illegal non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).The film will feature a host of financial manage ment companies like Seashore, Ashore and Saffex, whose irregularities were exposed recently. The Economic offences wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has registered at least 30 cases against several fraud companies in the past six months for embezzling public deposits after giving them false promise of high return. Senior functionaries (Head) of the companies were arrested and their bank accounts being ceased. 9. EOW also making plan to start a toll free number to protect people from fraudulent activities done by chit fund companies. 10.Government making steps towards the projection of model; rules to check chit fund and MLM (Multi-level Marketing) frauds. The central government will soon make stringent provisions in place, like hefty financial penalty, jail terms, de-listing from the registrar of companies (RoC) roster, among others. Who will stop chit funds In October 2012, a women and her elder daughter were running a chit fund, committed suicide by consuming acid in Puthur in Trichy as they were unable to repay their investors. These women had started a Diwali chit fund in the year 2011 and attracted around 300 investors in the area.They had collected around `9lakh from the investors. As per norms, the chit fund company should have repaid the money with interest or given assured gifts to the investors before Diwali of the year 2012. When the investors pressurize the women, they decided to end their lives and consumed poison. Investors are helpless. This is not the only case there are numerous. Most chit fund investors are the rural poor and or small investors. Neither the victimized investors nor the police bring to book the persons responsible. Only the poor agents remain in place from whom the money cannot be recovered.According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), there are 4256 listed or registered chit fund companies which are running their business in the country while India chit-fund association estimates that the country has in total 15000 (register ed and unregistered) companies which manage billions of rupees worth of funds. ShriRam Capital, one of the largest players, operates in four southern states and manages over USD 800 million. Some hope that recent hiccups in India’s once-booming microfinance sector, whose rise was led by microcredit, could bring even more business their way.One can imagine how big the business is all over India. Too many regulators could not stop irregularities in chit funds. Everybody agrees that irregularities need to be stopped because these are causing harm to a lot of small investors. But the question is; who will stop it? In 1978, when the RBI banned chit funds, it came under the ministry of corporate affairs as a collective investment scheme. Another way these companies work is through private placement of the non-convertible debentures or collective investment scheme. In this case, SEBI has the power to regulate it.Sahara and many other big names are in on it. Any debenture or private placement cannot be done by more than 50 people. In contrast, these kinds of companies collect money from thousands of investors. If the number of investors of share and debenture is more than 50, it needs to be registered in the market and the SEBI would control it. RBI wants the state government to take steps: In this context, RBI has a different take. Subbarao, Governor, RBI, has advised the state governments to make their law stronger to save common investors from the chit fund trap.It has written letters to the states to develop a definite action plan to take step against these multi levels marketing player. Subbarao explained that RBI has no power to regulate chit funds. So, it has asked state government to take the initiative to prevent the mushrooming of money market agencies. RBI can train police and other legal bodies about chit funds but cannot instruct the police to do so. It is a state subject to plan and executes the prevention process of chit funds. Corporate Affairs ministry looking into it:Union corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot has said that the central government is looking into the issue of some chit funds and the Ponzi scheme that allegedly dupe small investors by using legal loopholes. It would also encourage state government to take necessary action against these firms. These firms are now misusing the loopholes, pilot added. Furthermore he added, â€Å"Our main objective is to protect small investors from these companies, who are taking their (investors) hard earned money. † As many as 87 companies have come under the scanner for alleged irregularities related to chit fund schemes and money circulations.Minister of State for corporate Affairs R. P. N. Singh has informed the Rajya Sabha that the directions have been issued on the basis of specific complaints received by the ministry against these companies, which are â€Å"alleged to be carrying on activities related to prize chit fund and money circulation in the garb of m ulti-level marketing. Legislative hodgepodge: Singh further said that SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) has recommended setting up of a specific central regulatory agency for the implementation of the prize chit and money circulation scheme (Banning) act, 1978.The act is administered by the Department of Financial services (DFS) which has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Group consisting of representatives from DFS, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), RBI, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Department of Consumer Affairs and Central. Report of Ministry of Corporate Affairs: List of Companies not registered but found doing Chit Business Beware of these Companies. Never join them. M/s. P. V. R. Chits (P) Ltd. , B-50, Flatted Factories, Okhla Phase-III, N. Delhi-20. | M/s. Narmal Chits (P) Ltd. , 1427, Gurudwara Road, Kotla Mubarakpur,N.Delhi-3. | M/s. Sahara Chits (P) Ltd. , WZ/A-49, Krishna Park Extension, N. Delhi-18. | M/s. Twenty Second Century Chit Fund (P) Ltd . , 4205-4206, Sant Nagar, Main Road, Rani Bagh, Delhi-34. | M/s. Skylla Chits (P) Ltd. , D-223/115, Laxmi Chambers, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-92. | M/s. Hari Vimal Chits (P) Ltd. , Shop No. 8, M. R. Market, Rangpuri, N. Delhi-70. | M/s. Merchant Chits (P) Ltd. , CA-24/2, Tagore Garden, N. Delhi-27. | M/s. Mehar Chits (P) Ltd. , IIIrd Floor, 528, Krishna Gali, Katra Neel, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6| M/s. Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 170-E, Kamla Nagar, Delhi-7. | M/s.Vinamar Chits (P) Ltd. , 272, Hakikat Nagar, Mall Road, Delhi-9. | M/s. Well King Chits (P) Ltd. , C-47, Acharya Niketan, Mayur Vihar, Phase-I,Delhi-91. | M/s. Aegis Chit Fund (P) Ltd. , E-484, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi-48. | List of Companies which have been debarred from doing any Chit Fund business in Delhi   NAME| ADDRESS| A. G. CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | ARJIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | BHAGMAL CHITS PVT. LTD. | | CHOJI PRITAM CHITS PVT. LTD. | | DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Ajay Pandon| DISHTI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | DIRECTOR: Sh. Sudarshan Kapoor| EK-ONKAAR CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | EROS FIN. ; CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | GIRDHAR CHITS PVT. LTD. | | GOLDEN BENEFIT CHITS PVT. LTD. | | J. KRISHNA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | J. V. CHITS PVT. LTD. | | KADS CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | KHAJANA CHITSPVT. LTD. | | LEAN CHITS PVT. LTD. | | MINCO CHITS PVT. LTD. | | NIKETAN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVATI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PARVEEN CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | POMA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | PROSPER CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RITESH CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROHTGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | ROYAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | RUHANI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | S. T. S. CHIT FUND PVT.LTD. | | SAFAL CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SATSANGI CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SIMPLICITY CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | SUBHASH NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | TRI NAGAR CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. | | VEDANTA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | YOG MAYA CHIT FUND PVT. LTD. |    | PARVARISH LEASING ; FIN. (P) LTD| Shop No. 6, Mafare Garden, New Delhi| M. V. A. CHIT FUND (P) LTD. | Shop No. 10, Krishna Mkt. ,Lajpat Nagar,N. Delhi. | HONOUR CHITS (P) LTD. | 2352, Sevak Bhawan,IIIrd Floor, Shop No. 9,Beadon Pura,Karol Bagh, N. Delhi. | * Source Ministry of corporate AffairsBenefits of Chit funds: Chit Fund is an attractive Investment Option which caters to people from all walks of life. It is specifically beneficial to the Salaried Class, Professionals, Businessmen and Self Employed. The uniqueness of Chit Fund as a method of Financial Planning stems from the fact that, it is both a tool for saving and borrowing. In other words, it serves the dual purpose of being an investment for your savings and in times of need the Subscriber can bid for the Prize Amount in order to meet any unexpected expenditure. The benefits of Investing in Chit Fund are numerous. You can choose how much you want to save per month. Chit funds companies offers chits of various denominations and monthly subscriptions amount ranges from Rs 2500/=(Chit value Rs 1 lakh) to monthly subscription of Rs 1,25,000. * The rate of return is very high compared to other Investment Options and it is also secure form of Investment. * Your Monthly payments will be the Chit Subscription Amount minus the Dividend. The details of the Dividend entitled for Deduction and the Balance Amount payable shall be informed every month, which is mandatory. It inculcates the habit of saving and setting apart a particular amount every month towards investment for a rainy day. * It is good for the Housewife to keep or save their small savings in Chit funds as they will get the money at the time of utmost financial need for household purposes. * It is generally used by housewives, employees of same company, peer groups, friends, and family members or some associations. * If it is used in proper or genuine way then it is makes a worth to invest in chit funds (Organized or unorganized). Drawbacks: Chit-funds do not offer any pre-determined or fixed returns. * Higher returns are earned when there are more nu mber of members in the group or if the duration of the scheme is longer. * One would earn more, when more members need emergency funds. Thus returns cannot be calculated and decided when one joins the scheme. * No security in unregistered chit fund companies. So there are more chances of getting hoax by these fraud companies. * Organizer gets benefited more from your savings. * No guarantee if fixed returns. * In chits interest earnings are lower than Fixed deposits (FD). High degree of risk is associated with chits, so relying on chit funds for saving could be more dangerous. * Chit does not make money; it is just a mechanism for liquidity and emergency funds. * Many chit fund owners are collecting huge volume of money from the common people by making false promises to them. Many poor people of our state are being allured by these chit fund owners and depositing their hard-earned money. But the people are not getting back returns for their investments How to be a Safe investor in C hit Funds:With the plethora of chit fund companies around, the safety of a chit fund lies in choosing the right one. In a registered chit fund company, under legal binding, the activities are regulated and institutionalized by the Chit Fund Act. And hence could be considered safe. However, other unregistered companies operating informally do exist. It has been also seen that depositors are being lured by chit funds companies or firms with higher returns than what banks offer them. These companies are also flourishing in the rural belts where banking penetration is low.One should carefully analyze the pros and cons before making investment in chit funds. Therefore one needs to exercise caution while choosing where he desires to invest. Chit funds definitely are an attractive option for regular saving. It inculcates a disciplined approach to financial planning. It has the added advantage of bringing a combination of savings as well as hassle free borrowing. This dual purpose investmen t tool could be a friend in need at times of unexpected financial emergencies. Thence BE SAFE AND BE SELECTIVE while going for any chit fund schemes.

The Impact of Family Relationships in “the Story of an Hour” & “the Yellow Wallpaper”

Family relationships, especially involving spouses can create difficulties and challenges for one or the other, in-turn could create an impact in their relationship. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† are short stories centralized on the view of two married women, the challenges they endure in their relationships and coping with their spouse. Women wanting to have freedom, having to deal with an illness and their position in the household can create such challenges for spouses. Freedom to women means to be treated as an equal to their spouse, to avoid being controlled with every aspect of their lives. In Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of and Hour and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper, both have a setting in the same era of men being dominant over their spouse. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the protagonist Mrs. Mallard kept whispering to herself upon hearing the passing of her husband; â€Å"†¦she said it over and over under her breath: Free, free, free! † (Chopin 2) and â€Å"Free! Body and soul free! † (Chopin 3). In my point of view those feelings that Mrs. Mallard felt at that moment was finally being let go from her husband’s grasp and the shackles of marriage which was an imprisonment to her. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, the narrator of the story was remained nameless is confined in a room with eccentric wallpaper, which I think seems to symbolize the complexity and confusion in her life. The narrator’s freedom in this case would be writing, which did not sit well with her husband based on this quote; â€Å"There comes John, and I must put this away – he hates to have me write a word† (Gilman 57). For those moments the narrator writes in her journal she feels to have freedom and to express herself from reality, but in secret. The way the narrator describes her room as; â€Å"it is a big, airy room, the whole floor nearly, with windows that look all ways, and air and sunshine galore†¦I should judge, for the windows, are barred for little children and there are rings and things in the walls† (Gilman 56). This portrayal of the room could be described as confinement for the narrator, and a sense feeling trapped. In both short stories, the main characters, Mrs. Mallard and the narrator have or ended up developing some sort of illness while in their marriages which can create difficulties in their relationship. In â€Å"Story of an Hour† it was stated Mrs. Mallard was â€Å"affiliated with heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death† (Chopin 1). According to the facts provided in the short story there was no hint or confirmation that she had this condition since her childhood, so objectively speaking, assumptions could be made such as Mrs. Mallard developing the illness over the course of her marriage. In â€Å"Yellow Wallpaper†, the narrator is mentally ill and with the advice of her husband, a physician advises her that nothing is wrong, according to the this quote â€Å"†¦you see, he does not believe I am sick†¦if a physician of high standing and one’s own husband assures friends and relatives that there is nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency† (Gilman 55). For that fact, the husband advises her to be confined in a room, and stating her disapproval, she would say her husband â€Å"would not hear of it† (Gilman 56). As time went by in her room, she looks to have developed fascination with the wallpaper in the room, which she also disliked, using her imagination. Every aspect of the wallpaper was analyzed with thoughts such as â€Å"This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had† (Gilman 59) and â€Å"The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out† (Gilman 63). These facts could be assumed that she was starting to get mentally unstable being imprisoned, with her spouse not willing to help her; a mental illness was present. The 18th century is known for husband’s being the dominant gender whereas their spouse is looked upon as â€Å"fragile† while their thoughts and suggestions being ignored. The husband’s duty would be that they are the income earners whereas the wife would preform her duties as what a typical wife would do during that era; run the household. Women would want to speak up but are afraid that it would show disrespect and as time goes on would eventually lead to resentment. In â€Å"Story of an Hour† Mrs. Mallard was hearing the news of her husband’s passing, upon receiving it, she would have such joy inside her which led to her death; â€Å"when the doctor’s came they said she had died of heart disease – of joy that kills† (Chopin 4). The story doesn’t elaborate the details of her marriage, only in the present, assumptions could be made how Mrs. Millard’s marriage was as a woman in the 18th century, and especially with the reaction she had upon hearing the news. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, the narrator’s husband was the main income earner with a â€Å"high standing position† (Gilman 55), while the wife was home. A quote said by the husband was â€Å"what is it little girl? He asked. Don’t go walking about like that – you’ll get cold† (Gilman 63). The fact provided in my view is that the husband doesn’t see the narrator as his wife, but as a child. As time would go it would seem like the narrator would have resentment towards the husband, even though he is doing no harm such as â€Å" he is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction† (Gilman 56). In the end, she would say â€Å"I’ve got out at last, said I, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back! † (Gilman 70). The fact would assume that she was able to free herself from him and would rip the paper off in spite of her husband, which would show hate. In conclusion, in the two short stories, â€Å"Story of an Hour† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, have two women in the same era enduring difficulties and challenges with spouses. Women wanting to have freedom, being treated as equals, developing or encountering an illness and the position in the household would lead to challenges and in can have an impact on their relationship. Chopin, K. â€Å"The Story of an Hour. † The Mercury Reader: A Custom Publication. Comp. M. Rubens. Toronto: Pearson Custom Publications, 2006. 1-4. Gilman, C. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper. † The Mercury Reader: A Custom Publication. Comp. M. Rubens. Toronto: Pearson Custom Publications, 2006. 54-70.

Generality and Reality

To answer the aforementioned questions, the paper primarily employs a qualitative approach, although a degree of quantitative data will also be utilized. From a qualitative perspective, the paper will draw heavily on case studies and historical and contemporary examples in order to take a comparative approach in explaining and identifying the effect that refugees have on the nations that receive them. Particularly, the case study approach and the identification of the relevance to the current crisis in Lebanon and Jordan will allow for the exploration of why specific positive or negative effects may be magnified in some cases and not others. Solely focusing on discussions of this issue can cause the reader to be bogged down by generalities that, although often making intuitive sense, lack historical evidence. For example, those who might argue that an influx of refugees has a negative effect on host countries might say â€Å"refugees cause overcrowding in the host country.† While this explanation may be intuitive, it is also simplistic. I hope to examine past case studies and research in order to bridge the gap between generality and reality in order to qualitatively explain; if this is a valid point on the negative side of the argument the manner in which overcrowding manifests itself, how that affects the broader economy, whether that argument has relevance for the Lebanese case, and the potential implications for policy. These conceptual, qualitative explanations will also require a degree of quantitative backing as well. As the paper is discussing economic impact, quantitative metrics for example, GDP figures, money spent on infrastructure development, wage data, and employment data will be employed to give more clarity and evidence to conceptual claims. This quantitative component—although not at the level of sophistication of regression analysis and not primary data in nature—will be useful in both the historical and contemporary parts of the paperLiterature reviewThe modern world is one of constant change and upheaval. For many in the Global North, this change is characterized by dramatic advances in technology and progressive policy reforms. But for still many more, the story is a markedly different tale of survival. Today, the world is confronting its worst refugee crisis since World War II. Facing political turmoil, violence, and war, over 60 million people have fled their homes in search of safety and with hope for a better future (Graham 2015). As these refugees pour over the borders of Iraq and Syria, pile onto smuggling boats in Libya and Burma, and flee to neighboring lands from Yemen and Somalia, they have captured the world's attention. Currently, much of the popular and academic discourse has addressed the moral and humanitarian components of refugee crises. Accordingly, whether due to mounting international awareness and pressure or humanitarian compassion; many developed regions, such as the United States and the European Union, have boosted their capacity to receive refugees. The human rights element inherent to refugee crises is relatively more clear-cut. But a broader academic discussion has been developing around the following question: what are some of the economic effects; both positive and negative, of the sudden influx of refugees on host countries? These economic questions are particularly important to a country like Lebanon, where Syrian refugees now make up over 20 percent of the population (Richard, 2014). Before these effects can be analyzed, it is important to distinguish refugees from other types of migrants. The United Nations, via the 1951 Refugee Convention, defines a refugee as someone who â€Å"owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country. The key point here is movement out of fear and necessity, rather than, say, economic opportunity. This definition has also been expanded by many to include violence and war, famine, and natural disaster. Scholars have further delineated the difference between refugees and migrants by looking at size of the group and nation of origin. In particular, refugees are noted for typically moving as a part of a larger group of people rather than as individuals; they also generally come from relatively less developed economies. With these definitions in mind, the paper now turns to examining the economic impact that refugees have on host countries. Positive economic impacts Refugees can often bring positive economic impacts to the countries that receive them. The existing literature discusses a number of ways in which this can occur, five of which are discussed below. First, provisions designed and implemented explicitly for refugees can often lead to broader utilization by the host country's population. Specifically, schools built explicitly for refugee children have served local students, who might not otherwise go to school at all as well. The presence of refugees ensures enrollment stability, thereby helping to keep the schools open and functioning for all children; this in turn encourages continued investment and can improve the educational infrastructure of the country and boost long-term economic productivity. Aside from educational institutions, governments and international aid organizations may, because of the crisis, often invest in other infrastructure developments; such as medical clinics, housing developments, and roads to access refugee camps that can be maintained and used for the population at large when the refugee crisis subsides. These temporary structures—originally built to support refugees—can persist beyond the crisis and bolster the host country's infrastructure and development prospects. In this sense, these short-term negative economic shocks that refugees provide to the system can give way to a longer-term positive economic outcome. Second, it is also important to consider the demographics of the refugees themselves.Many of the factors that drive refugee crises; especially war or terrorism, are relatively indiscriminate to class. Because of this, refugees can often come from skilled and educated backgrounds. ResultsMost studies of the effect of unskilled migration on the wages of unskilled workers find only small negative effects. The early literature on the subject typically concluded that a 1 percent increase in the immigrant share in the population causes no decline in wages or a decline of 0.1 percent. These area studies that attempted to exploit the variation in migration incidence across countries, or more typically across localities in Lebanon and Jordan. As is most clearly seen in developing countries receiving large numbers of refugees, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, the concentration of refugees in specific localities can â€Å"crowd out† public services such as schools and hospitals, or cause the transport infrastructure to become congested. In advanced countries, where the infrastructure is well developed and the refugee inflow is much smaller relative to the native populations, these effects can be observed in specific neighborhoods, typically in low-income areas.Mitigating these concentration effects while at the same time avoiding the temptation of encouraging refugees to settle in distant locations where it is difficult to find work and people do not want to stay poses a genuine challenge to policy-makers. At the same time, it is clear that unskilled migrants can reduce the price of many market services and also reduce the cost of many public services like unskilled migrants help cleaning streets An important benefit that natives; whether they are skilled or unskilled derive from unskilled refugees, and one that until recently was largely neglected, is that they help reduce the prices of non-traded goods and services that natives use intensively. Researchers have proved that the surge in immigration in the Jordan and Lebanon since 2011 may have reduced the prices of these services by about 10 percent. By contrast, as discussed further below, the arrival of refugees can put upward pressure on housing in localities where they are concentrated. This can make low-income housing less affordable even as it represents a net wealth gain for the native population that owns housing. Since many advanced countries, most notably in Europe, experience high and persistent unemployment over many years, even when growth is near or above long-term potential, the worry that increased immigration will simply make the structural or cyclical unemployment problem worse resonates widely. Consider an economy where collective bargaining predominates in some â€Å"rigid† sectors and where the labor market is very flexible in others. They find that migration can increase unemployment in the rigid sector, while having a relatively small negative effect on wages in the rigid sector, and reduce the wage in the flexible sector where unemployment remains low by definition. In the long run, these effects tend to dissipate as investment responds. Thus, the model that assumes perfect labor markets tends to overestimate the impact of migration on average wages and to underestimate the effect on unemployment; meta-analysis of studies examining the effect of immigration on unemployment in developed countries found out that in general, an increase in immigration by 1 percent of the population leads to an increase in unemployment of no more than 0.3 percent. In contrast, studies of the Lebanon and Jordan labor markets, which are among the most flexible, have found no significant effect of immigration on employment opportunities for native workers; including low-skilled native workers. They found that, among less-educated workers, those born in the two countries tend to have jobs in manufacturing or mining, while migrants tend to have jobs in personal services and agriculture, providing an explanation for why low-skilled migration has a limited impact on employment. In fact, the share of migrants among the less-educated is strongly correlated with the extent of Jordan born worker specialization in communication tasks. In states with a heavy concentration of less-educated migrants, Lebanon born workers have shifted toward more communication-intensive occupations. Those jobs pay higher wages than manual jobs, and so such a mechanism has stimulated the productivity of workers born in the two counties and generated new employment opportunities.

Finanical Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finanical Management - Essay Example (Investing, 2005) For instance, the US government is the seller of the bonds. When you buy bonds, you become an investor, and they are practically lending money to the US government. The bond bears a promise of the seller to repay the principal amount of the loan at a specified time. When the US Treasury issues a bond, the government guarantees to pay back your principal known as the face value plus interest on maturity. When the investor buys a bond and waits until it matures, he will know exactly how much he is going to receive at the maturity period of the bond. It also called a fixed-income investment as a steady payout is given annually, or semi-annually. For example, you purchase a bond at $1,000 with a fixed rate of 6%, with 4 years of maturity, your income ($60/1000) is $60 which is payable to you every year for 4 years, then you receive the face value of the bond. The coupon rate in bond is fixed and is carried until the maturity of the bond, but the quoted price of the bonds varies because of the interest rates fluctuation. Fluctuations in interest rates values bonds higher or lower than its original value. So when an investor buys a bond and the interest falls, the value of the bond rises, and when the interest rises, the price of the bond falls. Price changes in bonds occur in choices of bonds. Longer term bond prices are more changeable than short term bond prices and more risky. Longer term bonds are more exposed to interest rate risks because the long stream of interest payments to investors does not match the current market interest rates. (AAII) Coupon interest rates vary and changes because it is caused by the fluctuation of rates of interests. Interests in bonds may be fixed, floating or payable at maturity. Interest rates vary because some sellers and buyers of bond want to have an adjustable interest rate which is related to the prevailing market rates. This is called a

The Cost of Benefiting From Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

The Cost of Benefiting From Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example Because the field is a relatively new effort by business and the effects of their actions are so far reaching, it is necessary to quantify what benefits a company derives from CSR as well as demonstrate to the public the benefit that society gains from it. The cost of CSR, sometimes met with a negative response, needs to be examined with an understanding that the benefits in some cases may be mutual and what may be good for society may also be good for business. Measuring the benefit that CSR has to a company has been complicated by the reluctance of business to embrace the concept and provide reasonable reports and audits. A forthcoming report from St. Andrews University contends that less than 4% of the world's major corporations produce CSR reports, and the results have been characterised by Rob Gray, professor from St. Andrews, as, "at best useless and at worst highly misleading" (qtd. in Edwards, 2006). There are, however, some economic indicators that can be used when comparing companies that have a strong CSR reputation to those that do not. Profits, revenues, customer loyalty, market response, worker safety, and legal liabilities can be examined for the impact they have on a business. Societal benefits that arise from worker and product safety, a clean environment, and ethical practices are readily apparent. However, more intangible benefits may not be as readily quantified, but may be reflected in better company reputation, brand l oyalty, and public perception. When measuring CSR as an overall effect on a company, there is some correlation between good company citizenship and lower profitability. Indicators that can be measured indicate an overall negative effect on top CSR companies and their annual net income growth (Laffer, Coors, & Winegarden, 2004, pg. 5). It may be misleading to infer that market leaders also have the most ambitious CSR programs, for as Laffer, Coors, and Winegarden, 2004, conclude, "It is likely, therefore, that the businesses that are inclined to engage in CSR initiatives tend to be those that are already financially successful and that can afford the added CSR overhead" (pg. 6). Short-term benefits from CSR that are realised by society may take place at the expense of a company's core mission of generating profits. However, when CSR traits are examined on an individual basis, the results may reveal benefits for both the company and society. Worker safety is a paramount consideration for a company with strong CSR traits. The demand of a safe workplace is a mainstay of worker advocates and has, in many cases, been forced upon business through increased regulation. Workers have benefited greatly from these actions as the work environment continues to improve. But has business also reaped rewards from investments in safety Or has safety had a negative effect on profit Alcoa, the world's largest aluminium producer, made a strong commitment to safety in 1987. Since then its accident rate has fallen by 90% and is 10 times better than its industry peers (Jackson & Nelson, 2004). During this same period, Alcoa has been able to outpace the industry and its nearest competitor, Alcan, in both revenue and profitability. Safety contributes to profitability through a

Describe your interest in art and film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Describe your interest in art and film - Essay Example The movies of the 1940s and the early color movies of the 1950s also capture elements of American culture and I find it fascinating to observe the way the people are different from people today. All of the visual aspects of these movies, including interior decor, costumes, and the details of street scenes conjure up a world that is gone now. Through watching these films I can imagine what it must have been like to live in those days. I I also enjoy analyzing the way the film is put together from a script and a set of many thousands of still frames with different camera angles, musical score, etc. to make a complete whole. The world of film is very commercialized, and this is something that people today have learned to accept without thinking. I find interesting to see which films are released for the mass market, and to work out why some of them are such great successes, and some of them lose a lot of money. One genre that I find fascinating is science fiction, because it allows the director and the audience to venture into a parallel universe, where the strangest things can happen.

The Making of a Modern Kingdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Making of a Modern Kingdom - Essay Example This is why Jordan Anne chose to study changes and globalization in Saudi Arabia. Even though globalization is a universal concept, Jordan focused on Saudi Arabia. In anthropology, a scientist cannot generalize concept because the data used must be empirical and the study must be verifiable. In her case study, Jordan portrays an anthropological overview of Saudi Arabia in the context of globalization. Readers get to understand the characteristics of anthropology by relating the cases study to the importance to the central ideas of anthropology. She describes how Saudi Arabia rose to its current state as a top world player while less than three decades ago, the country had no education system, economic systems, or infrastructure. She discusses the Arabian Peninsula culture and provides a summary of the unique history and geography of these people. Readers learn about the changes in Saudi Arabia such as the shopping malls, traffic jams, and skyscrapers. Additionally, she makes readers understand the modernization process together with its effects on the people and why modernization succeeded. She has provided these in her case study of a mini hospital in Saudi Arabia, education system and the oil industry. Those with little knowledge in anthropology are able to find realistic responses to the perceived situation in Saudi Arabia. The book also provides a multifaceted discussion of political organization, roles of religion, international politics, women positions, the oil industry and the 9/11 impacts to Saudi. The book helps readers understand the applicability of modernity to economic and political anthropology. Jordan provides a good introduction into the field of anthropology as she provides clear case studies with empirical facts to demonstrate findings. After reviewing Jordan’s study and information, it is clear that Saudi Arabia has successfully achieved the title of a modern state. A look at the country’s past economic status reveals major imp rovements. The citizen’s lives have also improved in almost all sectors. This may be attributed to the discovery of oil as the country had limited resources before then. However, Oil is not the only factor that influenced modernity in the country. The country’s formula for modernization included its crucial sectors such as education, politics and the health sector. After the discovery, almost every sector improved including the health sector, education, social and transportation sectors. In 1995, Saudi’s nominal GDP was 503 while in 2005, this increased to 1,153. GDP per capita in 1995 was SR 28,700 and the same increased to 51,000 in 2005. Within the ten year difference, the cost of living only rose by 0.1% from 0.6% to 0.7 %. This also indicates a lack of inflation in the country. These data indicate a steady rising economy, which coincides with modernization and globalization. Globalization has encouraged entrance of new products and foreign traders, which in turn strengthen the financial markets of the country. Saudi Arabia has managed to maintain a sense of confidence and stability for its citizens and external relationships (Jordan 66). These characteristics are rare in the Middle East but the stability has contributed to the country’

BMW Entrepreneurial Structure Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

BMW Entrepreneurial Structure - Case Study Example The BMW Company can attribute most of its success to the strategy and the culture of the company and its orientation towards investing in new innovations. The company is largely based in Germany where a more beauracratic corporate culture is more dominant, but the BMW Company adopts a rare and interesting philosophy for the corporate culture which revolves around entrepreneurship. The company is ready to invest in research and development projects which focus on management as well as physical innovations to support its products and its image in the market. "BMW's 106,000 employees have become a nimble network of true believers with few hierarchical barriers to hinder innovation. From the moment they set foot inside the company, workers are inculcated with a sense of place, history, and mission. Individuals from all strata of the corporation work elbow to elbow, creating informal networks where they can hatch even the most unorthodox ideas for making better Bimmers or boosting profits ." (Edmondson, 2006) Moreover the people at the BMW Company do not have all the answers to the questions, and neither do they claim to do so. Instead they are pound to mention that they work towards determining all the correct questions so that the best possible solutions can be accurately determined. In interview with Laura Mazur, the CEO of BMW Helmut Panke mentioned that "'the most important role of senior management, not just the chief executive, is to understand that the brand isn't just a label that you can put on and take off. A brand is something that has to be authentic and has to be tied into the corporate culture of an organisation,' he explained. Panke discussed the company's unremitting focus on its premium brand approach, and why nothing is allowed to dilute it. He was adamant that success derives from three points: a strong brand, products that live up to what the brand stands for, and a corporate culture that fits into both of them." (Mazur, 2003) 2. Describe the challenges that BMW face in their organisational environment. The challenges that are faced by the BMW Company in their organizational environment pertain to the establishment of the corporate culture in the different regions of operations for the company and training the new recruits and employees to develop as per the corporate culture of the company. BMW has taken significant pointers and strategies from Japanese automobile manufacturers when it comes to managing the company and establishing a kaizen and entrepreneurship based culture and business procedures at the company. The company has been successful in implementing the corporate culture highlighting innovation and entrepreneurship in Germany, but the operations of the company in the UK at oxford and in the US face discrepancies. The US automobile industry is more oriented towards bureaucracy as the beauracratic and classical theories of management derived from the industry as apparent form Henry Fayol and Ford. In such an environment operating with an entrepreneurial and innovation bas ed culture has been a problem for the BMW operations in the US as well as on the UK. Other challenges that the company

'it is more damaging to be sexually abused by a woman' PowerPoint Presentation

'it is more damaging to be sexually abused by a woman' - PowerPoint Presentation Example This article would further discuss the problem of sexual abuse with regard to both the genders. Sexual abuse is categorized into different sections such as the type of encounter one goes through while the abuse is being inflicted. The encounter could be in the terms of touch, attempts etc. The problem of sexual abuse is known to be fast spreading through out the world. It is estimated that women are more sexually abused than men are in the world (Molnar, Buka and Kessler, 2001). The basic health problems that women face after abuse are anxiety, depression, pain and mental traumas (Walker, Gelfand, Katon, Koss, Von Korff, Bernstein and Adult, 1999). A common belief among the masses is that a woman cannot sexually abuse an individual, however according to a number of researches reviewed by Russell and Finkelhor (1984) it is concluded that women account for 25 percent of the abuses in the world. Women who sexually abuse individuals belonging to their same gender (i.e. women) affect the victim greatly. These victims as conducted by a research by Goldsmith (2004) are known to suffe r through mental distresses and other psychological disorders. These psychological disorders are due to the fact that the individual was abused by its own gender.

The influence of attachment theory on my practice Essay

The influence of attachment theory on my practice - Essay Example John Bowlby suggested that attachment keeps an infant close to the mother. It is this closeness that permits the child to accept suckling and other protection mechanisms that the mother provides to increase its chances of survival (Personality Research Organization, 2011). As mentioned above, it was John Bowlby that highlighted the significance of young children establishing attachment with their significant adult. According to Bowlby, attachment is a special psychological and emotional relationship that inculcates an exchange of care, comfort and pleasure. The relationship between a child and an infant a caregiver (parent or a significant adult) created a sense of comfort, care and pleasure. The roots of Bowlby’s research stemmed from Fraud’s theories about love. He researched and shared significant psychoanalytic view that earliest experiences of a child in his early years of development have imperative effects on the child’s development and growth in later yea rs. As such, the theory claims that everyone’s daily interaction and behavior towards other people are phenomena that were established in childhood through early attachments to the caregivers (McLeod, 2012). In addition, Bowlby researched and placed forth a claim that the attachment between one and the world around him underwent evolutionary effect. Evolutionary component of the Attachment Theory enables human beings to survive in the ever dynamic world. According to the researcher, the propensity to create strong emotional bonds to particular people or person is a basic component of every human being. In the view of Bowlby, Attachment Theory displays four distinct characteristics of attachment. Foremost, there is the characteristic of Proximity Maintenance. This refers to the need to be always close to the people one is attached to. A child always misses the closeness of the significant adults they are attached to. The second characteristic is Safe Haven. This characteristic of the theory makes children return to their attachment figures for safety and comfort in the event that they fear or are faced with threats. Children always run to the people they have emotional attachment to in times of danger and grief. There is the concept of Secure Base (McLeod, 2012). As the child explores the surrounding environment and gets to learn people and issues, the attachment figure acts as the base of his security. All issues that present danger and potential harm are reported to the significant adult in a child’s life. Lastly, Attachment Theory has the characteristic of Separation Distress. In the event that the attachment figure or significant adult is absent and far from the child, a feeling of anxiety and distress sets in the child (McLeod, 2012). Bowlby’s Attachment Theory was officially published in the trilogy Attachment and Loss in 1969-82 (Personality Research Organization, 2011). However, there were preliminary papers on the progress of the p sychologist’s research efforts right from 1958. The preliminary reports included the researcher’s expanded field of study to the theory including evolution by natural selection, control systems theory, cognitive psychology, and field of ethnology, evolutionary biology and object relations theory (psychoanalysis). The final publication that was released in 1969 outlined John Bowlby’

Network Simulator Essay Example for Free

Network Simulator Essay INTRODUCTION IEEE 802.11 is the de facto standard for WLANs. It specifies both the medium access control (MAC) and the physical (PHY) layers for WLANs. The MAC layer operates on top of one of several physical layers. Medium access is performed using Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance. However, simple CSMA is susceptible to the hidden node problem, especially in so called ad hoc networks where a node may communicate directly with every other node in range or using intermediate nodes as relays otherwise. Hidden nodes cause costly packet collisions and thus significantly affect network performance. In order to combat the hidden node problem, a mechanism known as Request to Send/Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) handshake is often used. RTS/CTS mechanism is supported in the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. The RTS/CTS mechanism was initially proposed in a protocol called Multiple- Access with Collision Avoidance (MACA). From a network point of view, one of the primary reasons for using the RTS/CTS mechanism is to avoid network congestion resulting from frequent packet collisions. Figure 1 depicts a conceptual â€Å"throughput versus Packet Size† curve for a network. In the presence of congestion, the throughput goes to zero as the Packet Size is increased beyond a certain value. A properly designed network, on the other hand, maintains the maximum throughput as the Packet Size goes to infinity. LITERATURE REVIEW The IEEE 802.11 standard includes an optional feature of the RTS/CTS (Request to Send/Clear to Send) function to control station access to the medium when collisions occur due to the hidden node. This option is also known as virtual carrier sensing. Through the proper use of RTS/CTS, you can fine-tune the operation of your wireless LAN since it solves the hidden node problem and provides additional protection against collisions. If you enable RTS/CTS on a particular station, it will refrain from sending a data frame until the station completes a RTS/CTS handshake with another station, such as an access point. A station initiates the process by sending a RTS frame. The access point (AP) or another station receives the RTS and responds with a CTS frame. The station must receive a CTS frame before sending the data frame. The CTS also contains a time value that alerts other stations to hold off from accessing the medium while the station initiating the RTS transmits  its data. Thus, the use of RTS/CTS reduces collisions and improves the performance of the network if hidden nodes are present. SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT We use Ns-3 as simulation tool. NS-3 is built using C++ and Python and scripting is available with both languages. The ns-3 library is wrapped to python thanks to the pybindgen library which delegates the parsing of the ns-3 C++ headers to gccxml and pygccxml to generate automatically the corresponding C++ binding glue. These automatically-generated C++ files are finally compiled into the ns-3 python module to allow users to interact with the C++ ns-3 models and core through python scripts. Graphical visualization of raw or processed data collected in a simulation is graphed using Gnuplot tool. Our experimental done in Ubuntu 11.10 with installation of all needed tools. Simulation environment based on the command below, sudo apt-get install build-essential g++ python mercurial NS-3 is available in (linux, osx, cygwin, mingw) and we deploy Development version: http://code.nsnam.org/ns-3-dev. The development version is usually stable; a lot of people use it for daily work. RESULT ANALYSIS The results analysis are based on the following factors * Enabling and disabling RTS/CTS * Protocol bases, either UDP or TCP * WLAN standards which are IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g * Variation of Throughput, Packet Loss Ratio, Delay with Packet Size and Wifi Nodes. From the graphs below result obtained through the following * Disabling and enabling RTS/CTS * UDP protocol used * IEEE 802.11b standard used * Variation of Packet Size (500-2200) Considering the second result with use of TcpTahoe, TcpNewReno, TcpReno and UDP transport protocols with the following * Disabling and enabling RTS/CTS * UDP protocol used * IEEE 802.11b standard used * Variation of Packet Size Fig. Tahoe 1 Fig. Tahoe 2 Fig. Tahoe 3 Fig. Reno 1 Fig. Reno 2 Fig. Reno 3 Fig. Newreno 1 Fig. Newreno 2 Fig. Newreno 3 Considering the third result for different IEEE802.11 standards (802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g). * Disabling and enabling RTS/CTS * TCP protocol used * IEEE 802.11a/ IEEE 802.11b/ IEEE 802.11g standard used * Variation of Wifi Nodes Fig. 802.11a (i) Fig. 802.11a (ii) Fig. 802.11a (iii) Fig. 802.11b (i) Fig. 802.11b (ii) Fig. 802.11b (iii) Fig. 802.11g (i) Fig. 802.11g (ii) Fig. 802.11g (iii) CONCLUSION From the result analysis obtained above, it is clearly seen that IEEE 802.11a has better performance compared to other wireless standards due to the following reasons; * Provides maximum data rate of about 54 Mbps. * It operates in 5GHz ISM band. * It is not subjected to interference from other products designed , * It is characterized with higher throughput * It is suited for connectivity provision over densely populated user environment Also from the result analysis above, TCP Tahoe is the best TCP variant due to the following facts; * It is characterized by fast retransmit. * It is characterized by fast recovery. * Reduce congestion window REFERENCES 1. E. Ayanoglu, S. Paul, T. F. LaPorta, K. K. Sabnani, and R. D.Gitlin, â€Å"AIRMAIL: A link-layer protocol for wireless networks,† ACMACM/Baltzer Wireless Networks J., vol. 1, pp. 47–60, Feb. 1995. 2. A. Bakre and B. R. Badrinath, â€Å"Handoff and system support for indirectTCP/IP,† in Proc. 2nd Usenix Symp. Mobile and Location-IndependentComputing, Apr. 1995. 3. S. Keshav, â€Å"REAL: A Network Simulator,† University of California at * Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA, Tech. Rep., 1988. * 4. V. Naoumov and A. Gross, â€Å"Simulation of Large Ad Hoc Networks,† In Proceedings of the 6th ACM Workshop on Modeling, Analysis, and * Simulation of Wireless and Mobile Systems, 2003.

Data Collection Plan Essay Example for Free

Data Collection Plan Essay Abstract Postoperative Pulmonary complications (PPC) such as atelectasis, impaired gas exchange, pneumonia and acute respiratory failure (ARF) are not uncommon in patients undergoing major surgery and are a leading cause of increased patient morbidity, mortality and increased length of hospital stay (Yoder, Sharma, Hollingsworth, Talavera, Rice, 2013). Healthcare professionals are now expected to give patients verifiably effective treatments by implementing current evidence based practice (EBP). In order to do so, interventions to prevent PPCs must be investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of adding incentive spirometry (IS) to traditional postoperative chest physiotherapy (CPT) and respiratory care. Eighty patients between 30 and 50 year old who had undergone surgery participated in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: the intervention group where IS was used in addition to the traditional CPT, and the control group which included only traditional CPT. The results obtained in the investigation indicated that there were significant differences between both groups at the end of the study in terms of PPCs and hospital length of stay (LOS). Conclusion: Addition of IS to postoperative care helped in controlling PPCs. Keywords: postoperative pulmonary complication, incentive spirometer, chest physiotherapy, length of Stay Research Question In postsurgical patients, how does using incentive spirometer, compared to not using incentive spirometer, affect incidence of PPCs and hospital LOS? Hypothesis Because the risk for developing PPCs is not well studied specific numbers of occurrences are difficult to predict. However, it was hypothesized that patients who incorporated IS as part of their postoperative care would have a clinically significant decrease in the occurrence of PPCs and hospital LOS compared to those who did not incorporate IS into their postoperative care. Data Collection A quasi-experimental control trial was conducted from February 1, 2014 to May 31, 2014. The lead researcher, Adrienne Hinson, collected the data personally. During the four month study, eighty patients ranging in age from 30 to 50 years old who were undergoing surgery where the abdomen or chest was opened were selected randomly from the General Surgery Department at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, SC. On sampling days, patients meeting the criteria were numbered chronologically based on their surgery time. For eighty consecutive business days, one of the patients was chosen randomly using a random numbers table created on Microsoft Excel. Patients who had recently been diagnosed with or treated for acute pulmonary complications, those who could not be instructed or supervised to assure appropriate use of the IS, and patients whose cooperation or comprehension was lacking were excluded from the study. All appropriate procedures were used to safeguard the rights of study participants. The study was externally reviewed by the hospital’s institutional review board before data collection began. Patients received verbal and written explanations of the study purpose and data collection procedures and after indicating willingness to participate in the study, voluntary informed consent was obtained (See Appendix A). Information included within the informed consent included participant status; participants were told which postoperative activities were routine, and which activities were being evaluated. Participants were informed that the data collected about them would be used for research purposes. The overall goals of the research, to evaluate to addition of IS to postoperative care, was described to patients. Participants were informed about which types of data would be collected, what procedures they would undergo, and how they were selected. The time frame of the commitment was defined as beginning on post-op day one and lasting until their follow up  visit after discharge. Information regarding funding was available to participants. All participants were educated on potential risks and benefits of participation. Finally, patients were assured that their privacy would be protected at all times and that they would be allowed to withdraw from the study at any point during their hospital stay (Polit Beck, 2012). The patients were deliberately placed into one of two experimental groups. Deliberate placement reduces confounding by ensuring the two groups were comparable when age, sex, smoking history, type of surgery and post-operative analgesia were compared. The control group consisted of 40 patients who underwent routine chest physiotherapy (CPT) postoperatively, as recommended by the Clinical Practice Guidelines set forth by The Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (2011). A physiotherapist supervised and assisted the treatment twice a day in the first two postoperative days and once a day from the third to the tenth days. During any session, the patients performed three to five deep breaths interspersed with periods of quiet breathing followed by two or three coughs or huffs with support from a pillow at least 10 times over a 15 minutes period. Additional techniques such as positioning and chest wall percussion were applied if breathing and coughing exercises alone were not effective in clearing excessive or retained pulmonary secretions. Patients were instructed to perform coughing and deep breathing exercises independently every hour while awake. The treatment group consisted of the remaining 40 patients who also followed the same Clinical Practice Guidelines but also received breathing exercise training with IS (Voldyne Volumetric manufactured by Sherwood Medical Company U.S.A.) In addition to the routine chest physiotherapy up to the tenth postoperative day. Application of breathing training with incentive spirometry was applied for five minutes, five times a day (El-Marakby et al., 2013). Monitoring began immediately postoperatively and continued until discharge. Hospital LOS was documented for each patient, along with whether or not the patient developed a PPC within 10 days of surgery. The researcher rounded on each hospitalized patient daily to ensure compliance and to update discharges and PPC diagnoses. In order to determine LOS, participant observation was used as a tool to collect data. LOS was calculated by subtracting day of admission from day of discharge. Date of admission was the date of surgery for all participants. Date of discharge was determined  by the surgical teams, who were blinded to the study and therefore measures are not likely to be influenced by reactivity (Polit Beck, 2012). PPCs were defined as any pulmonary abnormality that produced identifiable disease or dysfunction, was clinically significant, and adversely affected the postoperative clinical course (Hayden, Mayer, Stoller, 1995). Patients were monitored daily for 10 days for the diagnosis of a PPC. Given this definition, PPCs documented included atelectasis, pneumonia, acute respiratory failure, and exacerbation of COPD. Along with physical assessment and past history, biophysiological measures were used as data collection tools to aid in the diagnosis of PPCs (See Appendix C). Equipment and lab analysis were readily available and tests for biophysiological measures were completed by the appropriate staff at McLeod Regional Medical Center. Ordering tests and the interpretation of results was fulfilled solely by the healthcare providers as deemed necessary. The researchers were not responsible for diagnosing PPCs, but rather the observation and recording of data. Biophysiological measures for diagnosing acute respiratory failure include a low level of oxygen; a pulse oximetry falling below 80% saturation on room air or when arterial blood gas shows PaO2.