Financial Inclusion Essays

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

Volunteering with Hancock Christian Clearing House (HCCH) Essay

Volunteering with Hancock Christian Clearing House (HCCH) - Essay Example HCCH is a cooperative effort involving 42 Churches in Hancock County with a mission to help those who, under ordinary circumstances, may not qualify for the assistance from regular charitable and other social organizations. HCCH is mostly run by the volunteers like me who interact with the clients in order to determine their needs and assist them in finding proper solution for their needs. HCCH also provides training to its volunteers who need it. The main sources of funding for HCCH come in the shape of donations and contributions made by the members of the Churches and other individuals. According to one estimate, approximately $13000 is disbursed monthly to those in need. These funds are disbursed in terms of fulfilling the needs of needy for their housing rentals, medical aid, food support, transportation as well as fulfilling other needs. HCCH is a small organization but its efforts and endeavors are much bigger in their scope and impact on those who are rejected or refused help . My volunteer work with HCCH was based on different assignments which were given to me, or which I believed I could do to the best of my abilities and with highest efficiency. I participated in preparing a dinner at HCCH as a part of its efforts to provide food to its clients. I almost participated in every activity. First of all, I started with arranging the tables for dinner so that food when ready can be readily served to the people coming for dinner. After that I helped prepared the cakes which were going to be served besides helping other volunteers to label the cakes made by me and others. After the dinner was finished, I helped other volunteers to clean the tables as well as throwing the garbage also. Further, I helped the senile people, who came to dinner, to carry their dinner dishes so that a positive and healthy attitude can be developed in them. I also helped other staff members by

Affordable Health Care Act without sovereignty to native Americans Essay

Affordable Health Care Act without sovereignty to native Americans - Essay Example But as the Act is remarked by experts to be rigid with concern to the citizens’ need, it is ought to face different consequences (ProCon.org, 2010). This paper reviews the difficulties faced by the act as well as the citizens of the U.S. with respect to the implementation of the act. Literature Review On October 29 2009, the Affordable Health Care Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives. Through the implementation of this act, the government intended to serve the citizens of Native American nations with efficient healthcare services and that too in a minimum expense. But the implementation of health care act has provided for various contradictions to itself which has been stated by various authors (H. R. 3962, 2009). First (2005) states that inconsistency practices in US health care system are a result of insufficient consideration to the quality systems which also caused other disadvantages related to its sole purpose. One of the major reasons for the drawback is that the policies concerning healthcare system in US was tangled with issues faced in the early experiences. The practices in relation to health inconsistencies involve the social and the technical facts as significant aspects. It is very essential to identify the problems associated with the implementation of the Act by the authority responsible, so that the outcome delivers the sole purpose widely concerned on the health securities of the citizens without or with minimum social or economic consequences. So, the U.S. government’s effort should be on eliminating the drawbacks and it should also focus on improving the quality of care provided to the patients (First, 2005). Background of the Act It has been depicted in the article of Health Policy Brief (2011) that approximately 30 lawsuits have been filed by private citizens, law makers, organizations and the state governments challenging the features of the Affordable Care Act 2009 (Health Policy Brief, 2011). In the article, it has been mentioned that sec 1501 of the Affordable Care Act identifies the ‘individual responsibility requirement’, also known as Individual Mandate. By the year 2014, the provision specifies that US citizens and nationals need to maintain ‘minimum essential health insurance coverage’ or else are required to pay a penalty allotted. Coverage can be available through an employer or individuals or even through public programmes such as Medicaid and Medicare among others. This policy measure, as mentioned in the Act, can be of adverse affect as the penalty has been sanctioned. Citizens who are below the poverty line are forced to purchase the health care policy which might result into difficult prospective. Therefore, the healthcare act should not be entitled to penalise rather the act should be implemented with great care as it is a need rather than demand (Health Policy Brief, 2011). A dilemma has often aroused regarding Health Care Act. For instance the action of federal government to impose the Act was argued to be subjected to their limitations to participate in such social development issues. Danner (2011) opposes the provision mentioned in the Act, i.e. the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which states the Individual Mandate. The policy of Individual Mandate states that each and every American must buy the Health Insurance or else will be penalised. According to Danner (2011), this is overextending usage of government power. Providing the health care by violating the freedom of the citizen is of no good and is also unconstitutional (Danner, 2011). Complaints by the associated states The Attorney Generals

Verdi Requiem Essay Example for Free

Verdi Requiem Essay All but one of Guiseppe Verdis masterworks are operas. This poses a problem for those of us who arent opera buffs. Fortunately, though, that one exception is his stunning Requiem, into which he poured the same vibrant emotion that thrills opera fans, but without the trite plots, simplistic characters and dull narrative stretches that tend to alienate others. Indeed, more than a few critics have hailed the Requiem as Verdis finest opera. Verdis inspiration was neither religious, egotistical nor fiscal. Rather, his gesture was one of national pride. He considered the opera composer Gioacchino Rossini one of the two greatest Italian artists of his time. Four days after Rossinis death on November 13, 1868, Verdi wrote his publisher Ricordi to propose a requiem mass to be given one year later in Rossinis heartland of Bologna. Each of the twelve sections was to be written by an Italian composer, so that the result would compensate for any lack of unity with a variety of universal veneration. Verdi himself would supply the concluding section. There was to be no foreign hand, nor hand foreign to art, no matter how powerful, to help us. To avoid petty vanity, all composers and performers were to contribute their services. To avoid exploitation, the score was to be sealed in the city archives and presented only on subsequent anniversaries of Rossinis death. While all the assignments were completed in ample time, the performance never materialized, the organizing committee was disbanded, Verdi refused to allow publication or performance of his portion, and in 1873 his score was returned. He soon found another appropriate use for it. Verdis other idol was Alessandro Manzoni. Although Manzoni had written only a single novel, I promessi sposi (The Betrothed), it was so popular that the author became the leading Italian literary figure of the century. A sprawling historical tale of peasant lovers buffeted by and triumphing over the repression of society, religion and injustice, it emerged as the driving literary force of the Risorgimento movement for Italian unification. Originally published in 1827, in 1840 Manzoni rewrote it in Tuscan, which he considered the pure indigenous Italian language. William Manning notes that beneath its plot and characters, it served as a kind of stylebook of the  language of a country which though politically united was linguistically chaotic. Alessandro Manzoni (1785-1873) As a teenager, Verdi had read the book following its initial publication and came to view it as serving two complementary and ideal uses of art for social ends not only did it transcend politics to rally people by appealing to their collective roots, but its popularity served as a cultural emissary to attract the worlds attention and admiration. When he finally met Manzoni in 1868, Verdi revered him as a saint. Although Manzonis death in his 89th year was hardly unexpected, Verdi was deeply grieved. The next day he wrote to his publisher Ricordi that although he wouldnt attend the funeral, I will come in a little while to visit his tomb, alone and without being seen, and perhaps (after further meditation and after having gauged my strength) to suggest something to honor his memory. The next week Verdi made his pilgrimage, condemned the many published tributes as superficial and resolved to write a requiem, but this time without the political snags and bickering that had thwarted his Rossini project. His proposal – to write the entire mass himself if Milan would fund its first performance. Despite opposition from the city council which already had funded a lavish funeral, the mayor accepted, the San Marco church in Venice was selected as the venue for its acoustics, the convention of using a priest to recite liturgy between musical numbers was bypassed, and the Archbishop gave special permission to use female performers on condition that they be veiled, dressed in black and hidden behind a grating. Verdis project was officially titled Messa da Requiem per lanniversario della morte de Manzoni, 22 Maggio 1874 (Requiem mass for the anniversary of Manzonis death, May 22, 1874). The resulting work was indeed as dramatic as any Verdi opera. George Marek calls it a prayer for peace by a man who had devoted his music to conflict. As George Martin has noted, it is suffused with Verdis personal doubts as to the efficacy of prayer, a concern perhaps heightened by his  advancing age and fear of what lay ahead. Indeed, the Requiems very strength lies in its exploration of Verdis ambivalent views toward religion, given reign through the unparalleled sense of theatre he had developed. Guiseppi Verdi (1813 – 1901) As Cecilia Porter notes, death is a complex character in the Requiem, playing multiple roles – an object of terror, a comforter, an emancipator – fully reflecting Verdis penchant toward intensely human drama rather than a staid presentation of liturgical dogma or an intellectual effort at theological exploration (a task which Verdi, a very plain man, could never have abided). Its indeed ironic that from this simple man, with no pretension of philosophical insight, arose a work that presents a far more potent sense of sophisticated (and quite modern) theology than the religious works of most of his predecessors. Martin further notes that since a requiem is an assortment of responses and prayers without a rigidly prescribed text, and since Verdi never intended his work to be sung as part of an actual church service, he could select and emphasize portions that ran the gamut of human experience, ranging from sadness to joy, simplicity to majesty, reflection to apocalypse. As a man of the theatre, Verdi chose to fashion these disparate elements into a drama from which solos would emerge as true individuals, rather than as offshoots of the massed choir. Indeed, his use of solo voices is daringly intricate – not the decorative figures of Haydn, nor the schematic personas in Bach cantatas, but multi-faceted roles that often complicate the texture to subtly question the apparent meaning of the wording presented by the underlying choral forces. The soprano, in particular, seems to voice Verdis own ambivalent skepticism, adding emotional intensity at odds with the faith-based text and affording a wide latitude for interpretation – indeed. in their respective recordings, Elizabeth Schwartzkopf whispers the final libera me, Galina Vishnevskaya nearly chokes on those words, and Herva Nelli snarls the passage as a stern defiant demand. Of Verdis primary models, Mozart had couched his Requiem in classical order, Cherubini had dwelled on the Offeratoriums hope for deliverance and Berlioz had deployed his massive performing forces only in the intensely powerful and vivid Dies irae, Lachrymosa and Sanctus sections, projecting throughout the remaining movements a somewhat meandering overall sense of peace and contentment amid ingenious sonic effects (including quadraphonic placement of voices and brass). In contrast, Verdis score is intensely melodic, tightly focused and bristles throughout with surging passion and challenging discomfort. Why did Verdi choose a mass, rather than an oratorio of Manzonis own words, to honor his hero? After all, although severely moral, Verdi was anti-clerical and an agnostic; his wife considered him an atheist and recalled that he would laugh and call her mad when she spoke of religion. Martin suggests historical and practical motivations – masses had been used by Cherubini and Rossini to honor departed public figures and thus a work in that genre was more likely to be welcomed elsewhere. Besides, Verdi already had a large emotional investment in his contribution to the aborted Rossini venture. Perhaps on a more personal level, Verdi found an outlet in the varied text of the requiem to explore his own ambivalent faith through his inherent sense of drama.

The Hobbit :: Free Essay Writer

The Hobbit The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is set in a fantasy world that has differences, as well as similarities, to our own world. The author has created the novel's world, Middle Earth, not only by using imagination, but by also adding details from the modern world. Realistic elements in the book enable readers to relate to the setting, yet have the ability to "imagine" exciting events and organisms not found on Earth. The majority of differences between Middle Earth and today's world are found in objects and the actions of characters that can not be carried out or created in our world. The most abundant example of this in The Hobbit is the presence of magic. Gandalf, the wizard, is able to help the adventurers out of a number of dangerous situations by using his magical powers to harm their enemies. He set Wargs afire while he was trapped in a tree and created a bolt of lightening to kill many of the Goblins who had surrounded the group in a cave. The magical ring, which was a key to helping the groups succeed in the book, allowed he who was wearing it to become invisible to others. Also, there was a black stream in Mirkwood that made he who drank out of it suddenly very drowsy and forgetful of previous events. All of these examples of happenings and objects found in Middle Earth are physically impossible in a world such as ours. Several of the organisms in the book are not known to exist on Earth. Hobbits, of course, are fictional characters, as are dwarves, elves, goblins, and trolls. Many species of animals are able to vocally communicate with humans and dwarves in the novel, which is not possible on our planet. Beorn, a human who is able to morph into other creatures at an instant, is an excellent example of such fiction. The dragon, Smaug, is the main adversary of the fourteen adventurers and is a type of creature that has long been used in fantasy writing. Although most of the characters' species are merely creations of the author, they all exhibit a sense of realism that causes them to seem almost human. There is a vast difference between Middle Earth and the modern world, but there are also several similarities. In Middle Earth, there live humans, and hobbits, which are very much similar to miniature people.

Law as A Social Institution Essay

What does it mean to say that law is a social institution? In the light of a legal positivist view, law embodies and is contingent to the social construct within our society. Legal positivism is the notion that law depends on social fact and that its merits do not and should not reflect its intrinsic nature1. Law is simply not a set of rules and regulations that govern the way in which our society should be, but rather, an exhibition of how our society exists as it is2. That being said, a social institution is a pattern of beliefs and behaviors over time, as defined by Nicosia and Mayer as ‘a set of activities performed by specific people in specific places through time3. Therefore, law encompasses numerous social institutions such as family, homosexuals, or more specifically the Indigenous community etc. – an exhibition of how society exists as it is. The concept that law is a social institution will be discussed in the legal positivist framework particularly in close regard to homosexuality. Traditionally, homosexuality was seen as an immoral act, it was encoded under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 Section 11 that an act of ‘gross indecency’ between two males led to a term of 2 years imprisonment. In the last century same-sex relationships have been considered acceptable in society. Harsh amendments in legislation against homosexuality grew unacceptable and argument arose that it was an ‘overreach’ in criminal law concerning homosexual behaviour4. As aforementioned, a social institution is the ‘interaction among activities, people, and places over time’5. The law essentially is a product of these institution’s morals, ideas and standards. The idea that law is a social institution is illustrated by the changes in law over time and the changes in attitudes towards homosexuality that arise simultaneously. There has been a gradual acceptance and legal recognition of same-sex relationships. This is evident in the evolving attitudes towards homosexuality reflected in various cases and legislation, in which the law has responded positively to the changes in these social standards. As seen in the case of Hope & Brown v NIB (1995)6, where the couple, Andrew Hope and William Brown attested to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EQT), arguing that NIB Health Fund Ltd had denied them access to a family health insurance policy on the basis of their sexual orientation. The EQT coerced  the insurance company to recognise the couple as a family in order for them to receive insurance. It was acknowledged that the policy was in fact discriminatory. A year later, the federal government recognised homosexual couples as a family unit in the 1996 consensus7. Additionally, amendments to the Health Insurance Act 1973 were carried through to recognise same-sex couples and their children as a family. In relation to the theory of legal positivism, these social standards have molded the law, reinforcing that law is dependent on a social construct. One of the most significant legislative changes was the passing of the Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act 1999 (NSW)8, which granted rights to same-sex couples for the division of property and claiming finances, as well as access to the District Court in a relationship break down. This Act also gave same-sex couples inheritance rights in line with heterosexual couples. However, bearing in mind the theory of positivism, where law depends on social fact, there are other institutions such as religious groups, like the Australia Lobby Group that curb the acceptance of homosexuality in light of their own social standards. This is evident where the law does not encompass every aspect in the recognition and protection of same-sex couples. In addition, the Howard government passed the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 (Cwlth) consolidating that marriage in Australia is the union between man and woman only9. In effect, this governance affirmed their social institutional beliefs: opposition to same-sex marriages. Thus, demonstrating that law is a social institution because the law directly reflects the beliefs of the social institution, namely the government. We can infer that although the issue of marriage equality is shelved, it does not equate to the idea that the whole of society disapproves of marriage amongst same-sex couples, but that certain structured governances limit the extent to which these ideas are legislated. Law is based upon our morals and therefore should be an exact carbon copy of the beliefs and ideas of social institutions. However external systems, for example, law systems and governments, can limit the degree to which the law wholly represents social  institution, in this case, homosexuality. The fact that a policy may be seen as discriminatory, unjust, inefficient does not mean that policy is the law, or the fact that the policy is fair, just and efficient also does not make it law. By taking these authoritative systems out of the equation, law is intrinsically a social institution. In 2006, the Human Rights Commission published a report titled ‘Same-sex: Same Entitlements’, which found that 58 federal laws discriminated against same-sex couples in areas of financial and work-related entitlements10. This caused social upheaval amongst the homosexual community. The law responded and shaped into these morals, by means of the Family Law Amendment Act 2008 (Cwlth)11. Changes and alterations were made in federal laws to remove the provisions discriminating against homosexual couples, and thus, they were granted rights pertaining to financial matters. The theory of legal positivism is demonstrated here, where the Amendment mirrors the social fact that there is no sufficient reason for same-sex couples to be discriminated based on sexual orientation and should receive the same benefits, as heterosexual couples. Homosexuality is now a greatly accepted institution12 whereby the law embraces same-sex couples as equals with heterosexual couples. The Family Law Amendment Act 200813 and the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 200814 is significant in the sense that same-sex marriage is now the point of legislative inequality between heterosexual couples and same-sex couples15. In essence, legal positivism is a construct that gives a greater understanding of law as a social institution. It is inextricably linked to the social order of society. Homosexuality exemplifies the positivist model through the alignment of developing attitudes and legislation amendments over time. This demonstrates the notion that the morals of our society set ideals for law to abide by. The way law and social construct interconnects means that law is man-made and built upon on patterns of beliefs and behaviour over a period of time. Word Count: 1318 References: Primary Sources of law: Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matter and other Measures) Act 2008 (Cwlth) Hope & Brown v NIB Health Fund Ltd [1995] 8 ANZ Insurance Cases 61-269 Marriage Amendment Act 2004 Section 88EA Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008 Secondary Sources of law: Austin, John (1832). The Province of Jurisprudence Determined. Ed. W.E. Rumble, 1995. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Anthony, T. Sanson, M. Worswick, D (2010) Connecting with Law (2nd Edition), Chapter 1: Introduction: Overview of the Book, 4. Baker, MJ and Saren, M. (2010). Marketing Theory: A Student Text (2nd Edition). 154 Wilson, P and Brown J.W. 1973. Crime and the Community. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. Boesenberg, J, Derwent, B, Hamper, D, Hayes, M, Thiering, N. Legal Studies HSC (Third Edition), Chapter 18: Contemporary issues concerning family law. 278 -297 â€Å"Marriage Equality and Public Opinion† Fact Sheet: http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/AMEpollfactsheet@Jun11.pdf

Sleep Deprivation And Its Effects On Children Essay

Richard Simmons once said, â€Å"There is no such thing as sleep deprivation, there is only caffeine deficiency.† College students everywhere have claimed this as their motto. From art majors who stay up late practicing charcoal and shading, to nursing majors who are stressing all night studying for their exams and practicums, to engineering majors who think a good night’s sleep is three or four hours, sleep has rarely been prioritised in college. Psychology Professors at the University of Hong Kong, Cheung and Chung are correct in their claim that, â€Å"insufficient sleep and irregular sleep-wake schedules among adolescents has become a major international health concern† (185). Through a personal survey taken of around 200 incoming students at George Fox University, the majority (48%) allowed for six to seven hours of sleep a night, and only three of the students claimed to hit the necessary nine of hours or more of sleep a night for functionality and growth in teenagers (Thomas). Sleep deprivation is a major dilemma among college and university students, and it has been proven to specifically impair moods and affect memory, subsequently resulting in lower grade point averages and academic participation. This cumulatively results in the deterioration of quality of learning due to stress and increased risk of academic failure. The goal of this study is to help provide the public with statistical information to raise awareness of the seriousness of sleep deprivation and sleep debtShow MoreRelatedSleep Deprivation And Its Effects On Children Essay1511 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Sleepless in America (American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2014), the documentary which co-produced by the National Geographic Channel, almost forty percent of Americans get less than five hours of sleep per night. Sleep deprivation often results in depression-like symptoms. Thus we heard suggestions that we should have at least eight hours of sleep a night. In fact, the duration of sleep affected by multiple factors, such as human has different sleep needs at the different age, and according toRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children1996 Words   |  8 Pagesleast 9 hours of sleep each night, but nearly 10 out of every 15 students get under 8 hours of sleep and 6 out of every 15 get under 6 hours of sleep. Students and teachers that get enough sleep wake up feeling confident and ready to start their day off right with good work ethic. Not getting enough sleep will cause several different physical, mental, and emotional health issues for a teen that is forced to wake up early in order to get ready for their school day. Sleep deprivation is a huge issueRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children1182 Words   |  5 PagesFor those who work long shifts; For those who try to compensate for their lack of sleep during the weekends; For those who simply like to stay up all night: lack of sleep could cause irreparable brain dam age. Deprivation of long-term sleep hours could weaken brain energy even after days of sleep recovery. And it could be a sign of permanent brain damage. The consequences of not sleeping or not sleeping enough are serious, not only for the person who is not resting enough, but also for the peopleRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children974 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction 1. My opening/attention getting material is as follows: Sleep deprivation was a factor in some of the biggest disasters for example the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon oil spill, and the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl. Sleep deprivation is affecting many Americans today especially college students. â€Å"A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that only 30 percent of students sleep at least eight hours a night, which is the average requirement forRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children1427 Words   |  6 Pagesor substances and people suffering from sleep deprivation. Effects of fatigue are thought to play a part in between 16% and 60% of road accidents and in the United states were estimated to cost in vicinity of $50 billion. This essay will argue just how dangerous driving under the influence of sleep deprivation really is. This essays argument will be supported by two major papers the first one is â€Å"Impairment of D riving Performance Caused by Sleep Deprivation or Alcohol: A Comparative Study† which wasRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children1994 Words   |  8 PagesThe Effect Of Sleep Deprivation Sleep deprivation has been an increasing problem with people of all age, specifically young adults. Many young adults in today’s society fights to stay awake and consume in cups of coffee. Sleep deprivation has not only affected many young adults life-style, but also their health. Some research shows that sleep deprivation â€Å"affect ones’ cognitive performance† (Grundgeiger et al). People with sleep deprivation performance are lower with the more resource-demanding prospectiveRead MoreThe Effects Of Lack Of Sleep Deprivation On Children1315 Words   |  6 Pages Do teens know how many problems can come with the lack of sleep? with sleep deprivation comes many long term effects on people s mental and physical health.lacking sleep is a cause of depression, obesity ,and makes it hard to function in school. School shouldn’t start as early as it does.because, it s unhealthy and lowers academic scores. Lack of sleep puts teens at risk for mental and physical issues.Less amounts of sleep put teens at a higher risk for depression,obesity,and motor-Read MoreThe Effects Of Sleep Deprivation On Children s Routine Performance And Interaction Skills979 Words   |  4 PagesSleep deprivation has likely harmed most people’s routine performance and interaction skills at least enough to alarm them of its profound impairment to their mental and physical state. Everyone knows the feeling of being short-tempered and irritable because they didn’t get enough sleep the night before, but many also know the feeling of delirium and decreased cognitive abilities associated with many frightening consequences such as surmountable drops in their ability to communicate well with othersRead MoreSleep Deprivation : Symptoms And Treatments1417 Words   |  6 Pagesexperiencing sleep deprivation or not having enough sleep will cause one to be frustrated. It is not a decent experience to have. Whenever we have sleep deprivation or have little sleep, we become less productive and not concentrated the next day. As these things happen, bosses will scold us or we will fail our tasks. While we fail, or get scolded, the mood at that moment is always annoying and unsatisfying. People who encounter with lack of sleep will know that having not enough sleep is the mainRead MoreSleep Deprivation Essay684 Words   |  3 PagesSleep Deprivation It’s seven thirty in the morning, the time that most American high schools begin class. Instead of being chipper and ready to learn, most teenagers, at this time of the morning, can barely remain awake. These puffy eyed pupils are by no means ready to learn. Sixty percent children under 18 reported being sleepy during the day, with another fifteen percent reporting that they had fallen asleep during the school day within the past year (National Sleep Foundation, Dozing)