Children Of Divorced Parents Essay

The idea that children of divorced parents would be the ones who would suffer, was seen as conservative thinking and many scoffed at this notion in the 1970?s. What child would want to be part of a family that constantly fought? With the accepted idea of couples counselling a few years away many saw divorce as their only option. Because of this attitude, today there are fewer and fewer people under the age of 30 who are getting married than at any other time in history. The mistakes of the past generation are well documented and most people have a rudimentary knowledge of what divorce does to people. If not from first hand experiences than from witnessing aunt’s, uncles or cousins endure though a divorce. This has made an impact on many young people and has made them a bit wary about the institution. Their apprehension can be attributed to the rising number of people that divorced in the 1970?s and the effect it had on the attitude of their children towards marriage in the 199 0?s. The Divorce Act of 1968 [a law that allowed couples to divorce because of cruelty, adultery or if they have been living apart for three years] was seen by many people living in the 1970?s as a second chance for happiness, consequently the divorce rate nearly tripled. By 1970 the divorce rate stood at nearly 150 divorces per 100,000 persons, up from 55 divorces per 100,000 persons in 1965 (Canadian Dept of Justice). In 1985 when the Divorce Act was amended there was a spike of 25% in the divorce rate [see appendix 1]. Many people were waiting to for the changes the Canadian government was going to make to the Divorce Act. After the changes became law many people who had been waiting to officially divorce now could after only one year (Cameron 1). This spike can then be directly attributed to the amendments. By comparison the divorce rate today stands at 240 divorces per 100,000 persons and although this is a much higher number than in 1970 the divorce rate has been dropping steadily for the past 5 years, [with the exception of 1998 when it rose slightly (2.5%) over the previous year] (Canadian Dept of Justice). The wide spread belief of the early 1970?s was that children in an unhappy home would suffer and that staying in a marriage where the parental unit was always arguing and fighting a lot was not fair to the children. This led some people to walk away from their marriages at the first sign of trouble because they believed it was in the best interest for their  children. A happy mother and father, even if they were not living under the same roof was suppose to be better than a parental unit that was fighting, and there was a lot of heated debates going on in the 1970?s. Not only was the no fault Divorce Act of 1968 a new idea, but a couple of revolutions were also going on at this time as well. The sexual revolution, (with the invention of the birth control pill) and the gender revolution, (which was a struggle for equal rights for women as well as gays and lesbians) both these revolutions helped educate women and helped bond women together to issues that concerned women. But many of these ideas were far from the so-called accepted social norm of the time. Many couples could not deal with all the new changes that were going on and so a lot of couples divorced. â€Å"If divorce could make one or both parents happier, then it was likely to improve the well-being of children as well† explains American social historian Barbara Dafoe Whitehead in her book, The Divorce Culture (Driedger 1). If anyone needed a place to go to see just how fulfilling life could be outside of wedlock all they had to do was to turn on their television sets. The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Mary and Rhoda were full of single female role models, all having careers. The infamous line in the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore Show â€Å"You?re going to make it after all†, seemed to sum up the mood of women in the 1970?s (Cameron 2). Now, the children of this generation are grown up and a very significant percentage of them are not thinking about marriage. The 1996 Census report shows just how wary young people today are about this formal institution; 67 percent of men age 25-29 have never been married compared to 35 percent in 1951 (Cameron 13). And it is not just men who are steering clear of marriage, 51 percent of women age 25-29 have not walked down the isle, where as only 21 percent of women in 1951 did not. It would seem that there are more important matters in the lives of today?s youth that are taking them away from marriage. An article written in MacLean?s magazine in May of 2000 entitled I am Single, asked a number of Canadians about being single and what their attitude is towards marriage. Christine Ryan, 22, is a first year human relations  student at Montreal?s Concordia University and has worked as a counsellor for low-income adults. She admits that she would love to, â€Å"have kids, live in a two-income household and raise [her] children with the love and affection of a mother and a father, [but] she really doubts that scenario is possible because she has seen too much infidelity, unhappiness and divorce among friends, family and through her previous job as a counsellor? (Cameron 14). Right now she is focusing on acquiring a career and then raising children by herself. † I think marriage is a fantasy, I think being able to live with someone for 50 years and not want to be with someone else along the way is a big myth† states Ryan. Another article that was published in the Toronto Star in October of 2000 it also explored this issue. In this article Marco Moniz, age 23, a musician and forklift operator was interviewed. † He says he has no desire to get married, especially since he doesn?t yet trust his intuition to choose the right women; I?m not sure being in love always measures up to a good marriage, because sometimes being in love might not be understood truly†. He also states; † Before I get married in any traditional fashion, I?d have to already be married in my heart.† (Royce-Roll) Marco and Christine are not alone with this attitude; the percentage of one-person households in Canada in 1996 was at 24.2 percent. This number has nearly doubled since 1971 when it was 13.4 percent. (Canadian Dept of Justice) Young women have learned from watching their mothers who went through a divorce and suffered financial hardships and are now making sure that they have a good job before even considering marriage. Some additional evidence for this argument is in the amount of women who are registering for university today. [See appendix 2] Compared to 1976 the amount of women enrolled in a Canadian university in 1998 has nearly doubled, up from 19,000 to 35,000 (E-STAT). York University professor Harold Minden predicts that the divorce rate for Generation X will climb to 60 or 70 per cent because, â€Å"Children havent  learned anything positive†. (Royce-Roll) Research done by Ed Spruijt and Martijn Goede, two sociology researchers in the Netherlands seem to support Harold Minden?s prediction. Ed Spruijt and Martijn Goede followed a total of 3,525 different households and analyzed data they collected from 2,517 youths aged 15 to 24. These households had a variety of family structures, single parent, step families and the traditional family unit. The results concerning single parent families were a bit shocking. â€Å"Youngsters from single-parent families and step families have more experience in the breaking up of relationships (or love pangs) than do others; in particular, they have more experience than do youngsters from stable families. With regards to relational problems, there is a significant difference in the indicators of relational well being only between the youngsters from single parent families and all the other youngsters. Youngsters from single-parent families report more conflicts with their partners (thinking of splitting up) and have more divorce experience of their own, as compared with youngsters from the other family types. Many children have grown up with out adults to model a happy marriage for them or even a marriage for them so they don?t have the skills they need to form a healthy and happy long-term relationship.’ (Goede 9) What is said here is simple, children need to witness their parents in a loving long term relationship if the children are to have a chance at developing a long term relationship of there own. ?In terms of having their own relationships, children of divorced parents, do not have a template with which to gauge their choices† (Kinsella 2). Today the mainstream opinion is that love and marriage do not necessarily go hand in hand. With the invention of the birth control pill ideas about premarital sex were altered and with the inception of Canada?s Divorce Act the phrase,† till death us do part†, has little if any meaning to a lot of people. Divorced parents have shown their children that if things get too tough they could just walk away! But young people today are looking at their parents’ relationships and at the relationships they see portrayed on television. They are wondering, what works? They are looking to their parents for advice and they have little to offer to help their children  build a long lasting bond with another human being. It seems that every couple of months there is an article in a magazine or newspaper, or a television expose’ on the effects that divorce has had on children and no one today wants to be responsible for causing any children harm. The actions of the past generation has portrayed a negative view on how a lot of people behave towards marriage, but it seems that the positive side to this situation is that this generation is better informed and wiser. The lessons of the past seem to have been learned, and not everyone is in a hurry to make the same mistakes. Symbolic interactionalist would look at the labels people are ascribed with and look at the change in attitude and relationship changes that are due to these ascribed labels. Divorce was once a very taboo subject even to talk about. People who had the misfortune of being divorced were label as an â€Å"divorce'†. With the Divorce Act of 1968 and the subsequent rise in divorces, attitudes changed and so to did the label. Divorce became a symbol of freedom, and of a second chance at happiness. Now it seems to me that divorce means financial and emotional instability. The emotional damage that children suffer when their parents divorce is well documented, and many labels have been created to describe these children. From the broken home children to the hero children and everything in between. The focus of couples who are divorcing has shifted from the couples to the children of that union. The culture that divorce created has shown children who grew up immersed in this environment [particularly women who’s parents divorced] that financial independence is very important. It is a safe guard against poverty in the case that a women finds herself separated or divorced and in need of housing, clothing, food etc. Witnessing what their mother’s went through or friends mother endured after a divorce has taught many women to seek out careers that will enable hem to have security rather than relying on a man to provide for them. Financial independence today means post-secondary education and that means a lot of time spent in school. This time spent in school pushes back the age in which young women choose to get married as is seen in the statistics provided in paragraph five. Although not all history lessons have been learned yet. Relationships require listening skills, time management, mutual respect and a commitment not only to one another but to a future together. The relationships children of divorced parents develop often fail because the skills necessary to achieved and maintain relationships were never modeled for them. The skills needed to nurture a relationship to maturity aren?t learned. The children repeat the same mistakes and divorce more often than children who grow up in a two parent family because the children only know the model of divorce. Although this model is dysfunctional, to the children of divorce it can become their accepted method of dealing with marital problems. What everyone failed to see in the 1970’s is that for children, divorce is an accumulative process. It is not just a shot to the psyche that will get better in time; there are skills that children learn from a parental unit that cannot be learned by just having one parent around. Twenty-five years later, countless surveys, opinion polls, research and a lot of public money later it has been shown that the attitude of the 1970?s was misguided. The stress on children in a family break-up was longer lasting than first anticipated and has had repercussions on the generation now at an age to start lives of their own. BIBLIOGRAPHY Canadian Dept of Justice. Statistics Canada. â€Å"Selected statistics on Canadian families and law.† Ottawa. 1997. Cameron, Chan, Demont and McClelland,. â€Å"I am single.† Maclean’s. May 8, 2000. Driedger, Sharon Doyle. â€Å"Canada: Children of divorced parents.† Maclean’s. Apr, 20, 1998. Vol. 111, Issue 16, p38. Kinsella, Bridget. â€Å"Parents Split; Kids Can?t Commit† Publisher Weekly. Aug 14, 2000. Vol. 247, Issue 33, p201-202. O’Neil, Terry. â€Å"Unhappily ever after: a new 25 year study destroys the myth that children really bounce back from divorce.† Report Magazine. Oct 9, 2000. Vol. 27, p52-52. Royce-Roll, Heather. â€Å"The negative spin-off of split-ups.† The Toronto Star. Oct 28, 2000. Goede, Ed and Martijn de Goede. â€Å"Transitions in family structure and adolescent well-being†. eLibrary PLUS. 1997. Witchel, Riobert I. Dealing with Students from Dysfunctional Families. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass INC, 1991.

Leadership and Organizational Performance

Leadership and Organizational Performance Kelley, R. C. , Thornton,  B. , & Daugherty, R. (2005). Relationships between measures of leadership and school climate. Education,  126(1),  17-25. Retrieved November 5, 2007, from Research Library  database. (Document ID:  901917061). This article was a research study that examined the relationship school leaders has on the school’s climate and the effectiveness of the school. The study will be extremely beneficial to the pending research because it specifically examined the effectiveness of the elementary school principal’s leadership styles and reported how their individual leadership style affected school climate. This research is pivotal because it will add additional literature to assist my understanding of leadership styles of elementary school principals. The authors argue that there exists a correlation of an effective school with strong leadership, a climate of expectation, an organized atmosphere, and efficient communication. This research was interesting and in striking contrast to other similar research topics because Kelley, Thornton,  and Daugherty’s research excluded large schools that had both a principal and an assistant principal. In excluding large schools, the study was free to isolate the leadership style of only one school administrator, which was free of the influence of the assistant principal. Lee, Y. Y. (2005). Teachers' perceptions of principals' transformational leadership and teachers' job satisfaction and school commitment. Unpublished doctorial dissertation, Fordham University, New York. Retrieved December 5, 2007, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (Publication No. AAT 3178858). This unpublished doctorial dissertation examined teachers’ perception of transformational leadership behaviors in their school principal. More specifically, the study was conducted to determine if the behaviors of the school principal enhanced the levels of teachers’ motivation and commitment to school reform. Lee’s research used the theoretical construct of Bass and Avolio’s theory of transformational leadership. Similar to other literature within this paper, Lee admits that the quintessence fundamental nature of leadership is engulfed and immersed in the relationships between leaders and follows. The study also claimed that there are also others involved in leader-follow process. Lee demonstrated that there does indeed exist a correlation between transformational leadership behaviors and job satisfactions among teachers. This dissertation is of particular interest to the research I will conduct because, akin to Lee, I will be examining the leadership style of elementary school principals and the impact that leadership style has on teacher motivation. Leonard, L. J. , ; Leonard, P. E. (1999). Reculturing for collaboration and leadership. The Journal of Educational Research. 92(4), 237-42. Retrieved December 27, 2007, from EducationAbs database. Leonard and Leonard conducted research seeking to analyze the primary motivators by which three selected schools were reported as professional learning communities for teacher collaboration. Among the many keywords used in the paper, changing organizational environments was constant. Within a changing organizational environment, Leonard and Leonard implied that the school principals’ may exhibit transformational leadership. The authors further suggested that within that leadership style, six dimensions of quality exists: â€Å"articulation and sharing a vision, fostering group goals, individual support to subordinates, intellectual stimulation, appropriate behavior modeling, and high performance expectations† (p. 2). The research was conducted at three different schools, one high-school and two elementary schools. The research method was a survey questionnaire. Among the questions, teachers were asked to indicate the person whom they felt was the most influential source of change. The responses while varied among each school, the principal, as the researches expected, was the most widely identified as the person with the most influential source of change. Lucks, H. J. (2002). Transformational leadership and teacher motivation across New York City public schools. Unpublished doctorial dissertation, St. John's University, New York. Retrieved December 2, 2007, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations database. (Publication No. AAT 3058275). Lucks’ dissertation research defined transformational leadership from the prospective of noteworthy authors (Arolio & Base, 1988; Burns, 1978; Caldwell, 1997; Hackman & Oldman, 1997; Leithwood, 1999; Ozga & Walker, 1995; Pounder, 1996; Seabring & Bryk, 2000; Sergiovanni, 1987, 1990, 1999; and Yuki, 1998;). This literature is critical to my research topic because it captures wide views of transformational leadership and the contributions made as a result of employing this style of leadership. In contrast to similar literature research, Lucks exposed an opposing view of transactional leadership through the prospective of Avolio and Bass who argue that transactional leadership merely adds value and does not necessarily stimulate change within an organization. Lucks demonstrated there does not exist a relationship between transformational leadership style and teacher motivation. Additionally, Lucks research contained rich, noteworthy and revered literature that expressed a variety of views on relationships between leaders and followers. This research will serve to add information and clarity to my understanding of transactional leadership that will ultimately assist in strengthening the dissertation. Nir, A. E. , & Kranot, N. (2006). School principal's leadership style and teachers' self-efficacy. Planning and Changing,  37(3/4),  205-218. Retrieved November 5, 2007, from Research Library  database via FirstSearch. Document ID:  1224424331). Authors Nir and Kranot conducted research to examine two hypotheses. One, whether personal teacher efficacy varied across different principal leadership styles and two, to examine what the added value of the various principal’s leadership style for personal teacher efficacy when related job factors were statistically controlled. The researchers demonstrated an understanding and clear knowledge of teacher s elf-efficacy and supported the various assertions they made with rich literature. The hypothesis of Nir and Kranot was that there does not exist a link between teacher’s general teacher efficacy and leadership styles and that the leadership style of the transformational leader was likely to be positively correlated with personal teacher efficacy. The research highlights and emphasizes the importance and potential contribution transformational leadership style has for shaping positive job experiences for teachers but does not identify it as a major source of causing personal teacher efficacy or general teacher efficacy. Sergiovanni, T. J. (2005). Strengthening the heartbeat: Leading and learning together in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sergiovanni’s book aims to offer a fresh perspective to the importance, dynamic, and success sustaining issues of school leadership. The content of the book is organized around eight chapters which clearly demonstrate that today’s school leaders need a new understanding of leadership, how it operates, the nature of its relationship to learning and why school leaders need to practice both leadership and learning together within the schools. Sergiovanni emphasized that value-added leadership can be the catalyst for building teacher capacity, building a learning community and developing a culture of collaboration among all stakeholders involved with the school. He explored the qualities of successful school leaders and used Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, as an example of how principals can turn visions into action statements through effective school leadership. This book is important to my dissertation research because it is a premier source of information on theory and practice of successful school leadership.

Accounting Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Accounting - Thesis Example The accounting standard deals with the disclosure of important accounting rules followed in presenting and preparing financial statements. In the early years, this activity was recommendatory in nature. Throughout this period, this was recommended for utilization by business firms listed on a familiar stock exchange, and other huge industrial, commercial and business enterprises in the private and public sectors. This accounting standard is accounting for fixed assets. In various enterprises these assets are grouped into different groups, for instance buildings, land, plant and machinery, furniture and fittings, vehicles, goodwill, patents, trade marks and designs. â€Å"This Standard deals with accounting for government grants. Government grants are sometimes called by other names such as subsidies, cash incentives, duty drawbacks, etc† (Accounting Standard (AS) 12: Accounting for Government Grants 125). FASB Statements and Standards. ICAEW: Library & Information Service. 2012. Web. 08 February 2012. < http://www.icaew.com/en/library/subject-gateways/accounting-standards/us-accounting-standards/fasb-statements-and-standards

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 13

Personal Statement Example I joined the Likie Fashion College to learn the basics about fashion and got an opportunity to express myself creatively. My sole ambition now is to become a professional pattern designer and set the fashion trends in motion. I wish to take a degree on the subject of pattern designer, as I think creating patterns is the backbone of the industry that sets in motion the subsequent activities for the final product. By now I have a clear understanding about pattern designing, and have developed the ability to identify and forecast the trends for the coming 18-24 months. I have good communication skills to explain the intricacies of my patterns to the prospective buying houses and I am sure to impress them to deal with me on an ongoing basis. I keep myself up-to-date about the latest fashion trends by extensive study on the subject of fashions. I have the skills to critically assess the products of the competitors, their strengths and weaknesses. Your College has the sterling facilities for the ambitious pattern designer students with your latest cutting edge design studio. I would like to take benefit of the facilities by being a regular student of your

Rhetorical situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical situation - Essay Example It is vital to note that the article rests on environmental knowledge and concerns. This is vital in the fact that many entities may rise to defend the same. It also expresses a wide network of interrelated environmental concepts. The audience is thus able to deduce that the river is more of an environmental concern than a developmental concern. The author utilized this context to express a dire a situation of the river. In addition, it highlights the concept that governments and citizens tend to ignore. In presenting the essays’ theme, the author highly utilizes the rhetorical strategies of ethos and logos. Logos is vital in describing the situation and its interrelated concepts. Ethos is highly utilized as a follow up strategy of logos. Ethos seeks to trigger the audience in defending their rivers. In this sense, the article is highly effective in persuading its audience. This regards the chronology of presentation and the inductive analysis that the author projects into the same. It is thus vital to provide rhetorical analysis of this paper. In terms of the rhetorical situation, it is critical to consider the context, purpose and audience. The paper exists in the context of environmental concern and ecology. This follows a pattern of showing the interaction of environmental concepts that comprise to form a particular ecology. This paper has a concern of manmade activities that contribute to destruction of the beauty and ecological benefits of the rivers Colorado and Rio Grande. In demonstration of the same, the author mentions a famed naturalist that termed Colorado as rich of fauna and flora. In this context, the author asserts that the river had rivulets that entered the Gulf of California at majestic volumes. This article is intended for ordinary citizens and entities that may rise to defend their ecology. In this sense, the author emphasizes that politicians and their affiliates may not contribute to restoration of the same. This means

The Sixth Sense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Sixth Sense - Essay Example The building sound effects greatly added to the anticipation and excitement on impending spine-tingling eventualities. Actors make up was done satisfactorily and not in exaggeration especially on the ghostly characters. Dramatic extreme close-ups on the actors presented audience the convincingly genuine emotions of the characters. Costume Designer Joanna Johnston displayed an excellent job in adding to the establishment of the principal twist of the story. It may seem inconsequential at the outset but it was a very clever detail that Dr. Crowe oddly wore the same set of clothes throughout the whole film unlike the rest of the characters. The audience would certainly fail to notice that important aspect but once you get to understand the gist of the story and get the chance to view the film once again, one will be amazed by the designer's genius. Also in the part of Kyra's wake, there was already the suggestion of the mother being the perpetrator as she was the only one wearing inappropriately bright red outfit in contrast with the somber-clad family and guests. Overall, The Sixth Sense is an outstanding film. But to truly enjoy it, it is imperative not to inquire for hints before watching the movie for it would certainly spoil the whole story.

Impact of Hub Airports on a Community or City Research Paper

Impact of Hub Airports on a Community or City - Research Paper Example The concept of the Hub-and-spokes system was to concentrate traffic to one airport- the major hub from smaller national airports (known as the spokes) or other means of transport, and then the gathered group of passengers would be transported from the major hub to another major hub.† (AviationKnowledge, 2010) In addition to commercial airline hubs, companies such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, and other major carriers of air freight & cargo services may also operate airport hubs to facilitate the efficient delivery of their parcels and goods for transport. Some airports will be integrated commercial and air freight operations, while others will be dedicated and specialized to only one mode of operation dependent on the location. Furthermore, some airport hubs will be operated by a single or limited number of carriers, while other hubs will serve multiple carriers at the same location. Along with these main characteristics, hub airports also impact the local community and cities surroundin g them through: Requiring infrastructure development – hubs are typically larger than other airports and require more land for their operation, along with the building & roads to serve the facility, placing an investment requirement on the community. Jobs and business expansion – airport hubs promote an entire ecosystem of support businesses to serve the people who work in them – these include hotels, restaurants, stores, gas stations, shopping facilities, transportation, etc. Environmental Concerns – hub airports and frequent passenger air jet travel can have significant impact on local environments, including wildlife, air, water, and sound pollution, waste disposal management problems, etc. A step by step overview of the development of a hub airport shows the degree to which the effects of the construction and operation will ripple into the community. At the first stage, there is location, architectural design, and construction of the

Informative Speech about Apple Watch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informative Speech about Apple Watch - Essay Example Apple watch work like the iPhone, it allows one communicate and connect with other people with apple watches. This watch is the best companion for people who need large print options, mono audio, and speech output among other accessibility options. Apple watch is Quadrangular in shape with curved edges. The apple watch is worn on the left wrist. The left edge has a speaker slot and across the â€Å"friends† button, the microphone slit can be seen. At the right edge, the top has a round digital crown while at the bottom an oval sided â€Å"friends† button. The top face contains a touch screen with a screen editing feature at the curved sides. The back face has a magnetic charger and sensor devices. Pin holes (two) on each side to allow detachment of bands by simply pressing on them. The apple watch is smooth and fans to wear on the wrist. It looks more of a piece of glass. The Digital interface is easy to operate, by reading the documentation one can easily set it up. Most actions are accomplished by either turning or pressing. The â€Å"friends† button is operated by pressing. Connecting the magnetic charger of other Company watches is complicated than the Apple watch. By the help of the magnet, the connection can be corrected by being moved to the required position, the sunken edge at the side helps one identify the correct charging area. The touch screen is sapphire-glass protected and has resolution features with colorful exploration making it a fashionable piece to wear while the features enable the use of gestures to communicate. I direct my talk into Apple and sport watch dimensions. The apple watch sport is much lighter and the best for outdoor. It has leather loop band and a rubber band to hold tight but smooth without causing possible injuries to your wrist during a walk out, in athletics or even in the gym. The sizes vary, 38 millimeters and 42 millimeters and one can choose what he/she feels attracted. The

Literature Search Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature Search - Research Paper Example One of the major problems a hospital administrator has to address is the possibility of the occurrence nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections). All the leaders of hospitals should aim to eradicate nosocomial infection from their institutions with the assistance of good governance and administrative policies. While aiming for better medical institutes it is also necessary to make the nursing staff knowledgeable. The National Quality Forum has made great steps in providing nurses with scholar program. The National Database of Nursing Quality examined the approach of nurses towards wounds, and they concluded that a nurse’s certification in wound car and handling would increase levels of reliability among patients. A nurse is not complete without his/her license. Apart from passing a nursing exam it is necessary for the nurse to have a license to work. The article ‘Communication Discrepancies between Physicians and Hospitalized Patients† was written by Douglas P. Olsen and Donna M. Windish in 2010. The 2 doctors researched on patient-doctor communication, and the gaps that were present in between them. The research was carried out in the space of 1 year and questionnaires were distributed among physicians and inpatients. Only 18% of the patients admitted knew the names of their doctors whereas about 77% physicians thought the patient knew their name. Most of the patients complained of miscommunication as more than half of the subjects were not briefed about the adverse effects of the drugs they were receiving. Communication between patients and their doctors is the core ingredient in treating a patient and satisfying them. Even though the collaboration is highlighted a lot but there is still a gap between patient and physicians. The results of the questionnaires pointed out difference of opinions and this is an alarmin g stat because it has effect on the health care sector (Olson and Windish, 2010). The article

Dress code Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dress code - Term Paper Example In order to achieve this, we do require you to gain full understanding of the management’s expectations from you so that you may act accordingly. Although most of you are aware of the standards maintained by ABC Institute, yet a lot of new employees have been recruited recently and the management wants to once and for all, make clear the dress code that they are obliged to follow as a requirement of their contract with the ABC Institute. Old employees should review the memo to find slight additions that have been made to the last dress code policy. Being Muslim, our standards for dress are derived from the teachings of Islam. Modesty is the principle determinant of the eligibility of dress for both men and women in the institute. Dress code for men: Dress pants (jeans are not allowed), collared shirts with full sleeves, tie, and boots (sandals are not allowed). Jersey can be worn as per the need. Dress code for women: Trousers (jeans are not allowed), knee long skirts (can be longer but not any shorter), full sleeved blouses till waist (can be longer but not any shorter), boots (sandals are not allowed), and scarf (compulsory). Half sleeved blouses can be worn by the female staff members provided that the sleeve covers the elbow. T-shirts are disallowed! Knee length skirts should cover the knees in all positions i.e. sitting and standing. It is advisable to wear a knee length skirt with full sleeved or three-quarters sleeved blouse, and a full length skirt with a half sleeved blouse. Full length trousers are to be worn in either case! ABC Institute Code of Behavior: All staff members are expected to completely comply with the ABC Institute Code of Behavior. Staff members are obliged to: Display professionalism always while representing the ABC Institute Serve as a role model for others by always showing perfect mannerism Respect the religious as well as traditional beliefs of all communities in UAE Follow the ABC Institute Dress Code at all times All mem bers of the staff should be aware of the fact that ABC Institute provides the public with full time customer service. The service continues 24 / 7 uninterruptedly. That essentially tells that many of the staff members have to work in the night shift. They are advised to adjust their schedule accordingly so that they are able to deliver their best in the night. ABC Institute requires its staff members to present themselves to the public in a getup that is expected of them in context of the Islamic teachings and the indigenous culture of UAE which accords with them. UAE maintains a multicultural society, and people from all over the world dwell here. The staff members, should never, in any way, comment on the getup of any customer. ABC Institute’s workforce is expected to always display excellent mannerism, which essentially constitutes all three areas of language, behavior and dress. Upon recruitment, all staff members are made aware of what the management expects them to disp lay with respect to each of the three areas of mannerism. While we talk of language, it essentially includes body language in addition to the verbal language. ABC Institute expects every staff member to be very formal in both kinds of languages, and make excellent use of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Smoking is strictly prohibited both within the workplace. No staff member is allowed to use cigarettes or any other kind of drugs

The Advantage and Disadvantage of Using Social Media Essay Example for Free

The Advantage and Disadvantage of Using Social Media Essay The advantages: Based on my own experiences, there are several advantages for marketers to use social media as part of their marketing communications strategies. Social media represent a revolutionary new trend in communication. More and more people begin to use social media to communicate. It is freer, more convenient, faster and cheaper than the old ways, people also can get more information what they want, what is more, people can get in touch with their friend easier. For the company, it can face to their target market precisely. Social media hold a great deal of customers’ information, through the information that people share, company can easily know customers’ hobbits and the goods they like. Social media also increase the communication between customers and marketers. Company can get lots of users’ feedback information and use that information to improve their product. It also help the organization leave a good impression in customers’ minds. One of the most important things is that social media not only can help companies advertising well but also nearly have no costs. What social media bring for the company cannot be measured but the cost of it is really low. It lowers the company’s advertisement costs. Read more:  Essay on advantages and disadvantages of social media Disadvantages: Based on my own experience, the disadvantages or risks for marketers in using social media as part of their marketing communications strategy are as follows. Company’s web page can be attacked by hackers and viruses; it may lose company’s important information, company may lose their competitive advantages. Customers can be deceived by the false information online and the extra information may let them get annoyed. The negative comments may damage companies’ image. The use of the internet may cause the reduction of production efficiency, because employees may busy use the internet to solve the problem online or update their software so that waste times. Company should learn how to handle a social media and that may waste company’s time. Because the social media is not a â€Å"face to face† communication, so it can have many incredible situations, the information may be not real, the likelihood of people been fooled are greatly increased.

Strengths Based Model and Social Role Valorization (SRV)

Strengths Based Model and Social Role Valorization (SRV) In your own words, explain the strengths and weaknesses of each model Strength Based Model (SBM) The Strengths This model strongly focuses on the identification of people’s abilities, interests and capabilities and on their strengths and potential. This is a recovery model used in mental health rehabilitation. In New Zealand, there are a number of standardized assessments that have been developed. Since 1998, all mental health services in New Zealand have been required by government policy to use the recovery approach. It is an empowering approach as the focus is on the strengths and abilities of the person rather that deficits and problems of the person and their family. The policy has concerned the way to use of stigmatizing, labeling or blaming language. The Strength Based Model creates hope by focusing on what has worked well for them in the past. The strength base model indentifies the positive things for the person and their environment. The strength based model realized communities are seen as resources not barriers. SBM understand the needs of mental people lead to can support them in their journey. The Weaknesses Following the Ministry of Youth Deveopment, 2009 SBM has unstructured youth activities. For example: SBM does not have aim or focus for youth clubs and are associated with poor immediate and long-term outcomes for the young people involved. Social role valorization (SRV) The Strengths In 1983, SRV is formulated by Wolf Wolfensberger. SRV gives a concept of transacting human relationships and human service. The major purpose of SRV is creates and supports socially valued for people in society. Moreover, SRV is intended to be used to analyze the process and effects of societal devaluation. SRV gives people know about the right of individuals valued equally and they have opportunity to contribute meaningful for their community. SRV mentions that if people have valued roles by society than they are more likely to access the good life as in friendships, the family, education, opportunity for work†¦ SRV has 2 broads strategies for enhancing the perceived value of people. The firstly, focusing on enhancing social image. The secondly, focusing on the person’s ability to fulfill lives that are socially valued. SRV can influence assessment, planning and coordination by giving a clear idea of services needed to fulfill socially valued roles. Service is provided within the service framework so often people with disability live, work and socialize with the same people and staff. The Weaknesses SRV has existed several years. It needs time to give more complementary. SRV does not improve consciousness of guarantee concern about devalued people in society. Even though SRV affects participants, it cannot control the character of participants. SRV has several societal impacts, which confined to narrow human service fields. The people in SRV are providing the re-valorization efforts. For example, support workers are paid for their job lead to SRV is not helping for disabled person out of interpersonal motivation for example: attraction, emotional attachment or friendship, and people are well aware of this. Hence, SRV is non-genuine and unstable. Comparison includes perspectives of disabled or older people (or a specific group of people) are considered. (Disabled People) The Strength Based Model (SBM) Assessment: The assessment is necessary for disabled people and mental problem because it will collect the client’s information and the staff can understand the client’s condition. The assessment will assess about the strength, aim and preferences of client. The SBM will identify skills, resources and capacity rather than deficits. SBM will setup the goals, which are realistic and achievable. Coordination Improving the relationship between the client and the professional The service system has capacity to go to the client. The service and support not only are addressed current clinical issues but also include social, housing, employment and spiritual for intellectual disability. Planning Planning focus on the steps how to achieve the goals of client. Moreover, planning also wants to improve the commitment between staff and support workers. Each client has their own planning to recovery. The Social Role Valorization Needs assessment and service coordination This is a service model where services are provided for people who meet either MOH and DHB eligibility. The MOH contracts NASC to access people with neurological conditions that result in permanent disabilities, developmental disabilities in children and young people include physical intellectual or sensory. NASC services are also delivered for people aged over 65 who have an age related illness. The services are provide as community support services, resident care, respite care, day care, behavior support, rehabilitation services and equipment. The assessment will identify current abilities, resources, goals and needs and establish what is the most important need for person. A comprehensive package of services may be required to meet individual needs. These may be from different funded sources, community support services and residential support. Service coordination is a process that enables an individual to meet their goals. Planning Following the assessment, planning includes identifying activities to achieve the person’s goal, meet needs and promote problem solving. Family needs to involve the process of disabled people. In addition, any friend or other relatives of the client can also help for the person with disability. The needs of client need to identify in care plan for all staff know when they give care. A summary of the expected outcomes for disabled or older people (or a specific group people) The Strength Based Model (SBM) There are several expected outcomes brought from the Strength Based Model. SBM creates special feeling and make strong sense of hope and optimism. SBM can find out weaknesses and vulnerabilities and can build on strengths. The purpose of SBM is creates helping process on strengths, interest and knowledge. SBM creates good relationship as collaborative and mutual between organization, client and their family. SBM emphasizes that individuals has duty own their recovery and SBM provides caring community. The social role valorization The main goal and purpose of SRV is wants to create and support valued roles for people. If people can understand socially valued roles lead to they can receive from their society good things. For example: community support, opportunity for a better life. Conformation that there is sufficient detail in the model to cover assessment, planning and coordination Comparison accords with recommended texts Wayne Hammond, Ph.D. 2010. Principles of Strength-Based Practice. Resiliency Initiatives. John McCormack, October 2007. Recovery and Strengths Based Practice. Glasgow Association for Mental Health. Rangan Aarti, Sekar K. 2006. Strengths Perspective in Mental Health. Evidence Based Case Study Joe Osburn, 1998. An Overview of Social Role Valorization Theory. Jane Sherwin, 2007. Social Role Valorization Theory as a Resource to ‘Person Centred Planning’. Laurie Davidson, February 2005. Recovery, self management and the expert patient-changing the culture of mental health from a UK perspective

Factors Affecting the Growth of Microfinance Institutions

Factors Affecting the Growth of Microfinance Institutions CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction This chapter introduces the problem statement which the research proposes, the objectives that the research seeks to address, the questions that it seeks to answer and the scope of the research as well as the significance of the study. 1.1 Background of the Study There are many types of microfinance institutions depending on structure, function or philosophy. In many instances, the microfinance market is segmented according to the clients involved i.e. micro-enterprises, women, agriculturalists and so on. A main goal of many micro finance institutions is to provide sustainable micro finance facilities to the poor to facilitate income generation and reduce poverty (Baumann, 2001). The genesis of this is that the poor lack access to financial services, credit and savings facilities. The goal of microfinance institutions as development organizations is also to service the financial needs of unserved markets as means of meeting development objectives (Ledgerwood, 1999). The development objectives generally include reduction of poverty, empowerment of the poor and other disadvantaged groups, employment creation, development of new businesses and helping existing businesses to grow by diversifying their activities. In a world bank study of lending for small and micro enterprise projects, three objectives of microfinance institutions that were most frequently cited were, to create employment and income opportunities through the creation and expansion of micro enterprises, increase the productivity and incomes of vulnerable groups especially the poor and women, as well as reduce rural families dependence on drought prone crops through the diversification of their income generating activities (Webster et al, 1996). The microfinance revolution was introduced into the development economics arena slightly more than two decades ago. However, the widespread adoption of the microfinance model did not occur until the early 1990s. Since the mid 1990s, microfinance programmes and institutions have become an increasingly important component of strategies to promote micro-enterprise development in developing countries and specifically to reduce poverty (Colin, 2006). Microfinance was defined by the United Nation in 2005 as basic financial services, like credit, savings and insurance, which give people an opportunity to borrow, save, invest and protect their families against risk (UN, 2005). This definition was used in the context of microfinance and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was therefore observed that microfinance promotes not only credit, but also inculcates savings that accumulate assets for poor people. Besides the major attributes of microfinance, namely; credit and savings, the concept of joint or shared liability has been highlighted by other researchers. According to Harper (2003), the concept of microfinance originated in Bangladesh, around 1976 through the pioneering experiment by Dr Muhammad Yunus, who was then a Professor of Economics. The primary difference between microfinance and the conventional credit disbursal mechanism lies in the joint liability concept. Whereby a group of individuals get together to form an association of persons called Self Help Groups (SHG) of which all the members undergo a training programme on the basic loan procedures and borrowing requirements. Loans to individuals within the Self help groups are approved by the others members of the group, who are also jointly responsible for its repayment in case of default. The members of the self help group save regularly through monthly contributions to the groups fund. Formal microfinance lending has been in existence in Kenya since the 1950s through the Joint Loan Board Scheme developed by the colonial government (Hondo, 2001). After independence in 1963, the Kenyan government went on to provide subsidized rural credit programs as a development strategy. There are many organizations both informal and formal which also offer these financial services. The informal channels are characterized by lending family, friends and neighbours. Rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) are also very common. They hold regular meetings and each member contributes a fixed amount and an agreed amount is given to one member at a time (CBS et al, 1999). Commercial banks traditionally lend to medium and large enterprises which are judged to be creditworthy and tend to avoid doing business with the poor and the micro enterprises because the associated costs and risks are considered to be relatively high. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have therefore become the main source of funding for micro enterprises in Africa and in other developing regions (Anyanwu, 2004). Microfinance institutions have become an important contributor to the Kenyan economy. The sector contributes to the national objective of creating employment opportunities, training entrepreneurs, generating income and providing a source of livelihood for the majority of low income households by financing the businesses that they run. The government and its development partners have spent considerable amount of resources in crafting policies and programs to build the growth of micro finance institutions. However results to date have been largely unsatisfactory (Gichira, 1992). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Provision of microfinance services that can have a sustainable impact on clients well being and reduced vulnerability is not an easy endeavour, microfinance institutions face many risks that can adversely affect their long term growth, operational and financial sustainability (Jeyanth, 2003). With regard to sustainability and growth, a study conducted by Omondi (2005) revealed that few microfinance institutions had attained sustainability and growth and had sound financial cost control and good loan portfolios. A good number of microfinance institutions had not attained financial stability and growth and were relying on subsidies from donors. Growth in the microfinance industry may be characterized by an increase in the breadth and depth of outreach of existing microfinance institutions, heightened competition among microfinance service providers, diversification of product and service offerings, and the presence of private and commercial funds for microfinance activities. There is little information on a standard blueprint to show us how to achieve these characteristics and to ensure the growth of the microfinance industry. To a large extent, the growth should be market driven and is yet to be achieved (Amando, 2005). Tilman, (2006) highlighted that although microfinance activity has increased considerably in recent years, significant growth was lacking and microfinance institutions are still far from reaching a significant portion of the population that lacks access to formal financial services. Further, studies conducted in Kenya have shown that even though the microfinance sector has been growing over the past few years, majority of the individual institutions have not experienced much growth. Moreover much of growth of the microfinance institutions has been spontaneous (G.O.K 1997). It is therefore against this background that the aim of the study is to assess factors affecting the growth of micro-finance institutions in Kenya. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1. To assess the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions in Kenya. 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION This research seeks to answer the following question; 1. What are the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions in Kenya? 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will benefit a number of groups among them managers of microfinance institutions who will use the study to gain an insight into factors that affect the growth of their businesses and how. This will in turn help them develop modalities to mitigate those factors that adversely affect the business and enhance those that promote growth of their microfinance institutions. The government too will benefit from this study. The government will use the findings of this study to craft appropriate policies that would promote the growth and stability of the microfinance institutions. Further the findings will help the Kenya governments development partners, NGOs, Donor communities and other stakeholders to effectively and efficiently target their assistance to the microfinance sector. Moreover, microfinance strategists, policy makers, aspiring microfinance researchers, university and college students pursuing a career in entrepreneurship or microfinance spheres will also benefit. 1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY Microfinance institutions have a wide coverage in both rural and urban areas of the country. This study focuses on microfinance institutions operating in Kenya. The study therefore covers the registered institutions. CHAPTER TWO LIERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter presents a review of various literature materials related to the study. It extensively looks at the factors that affect the growth of microfinance institutions. This review also highlights past literature that relates to this study, summary of gaps to be filled by the study, previous research findings, various papers and government publications on the subject. 2.2 Growth in the microfinance industry Amando, (2005) observed that growth in the microfinance industry may be characterized by an increase in the breadth and depth of outreach of existing microfinance institutions, heightened competition among microfinance service providers, diversification of product and service offerings, and the presence of private and commercial funds for microfinance activities. Outreach and sustainability are two critical objectives for microfinance institutions (MFIs). As defined by Christen et al (1999), outreach is the ability to provide quality financial services to large numbers of people, especially the very poor. Outreach is also an indicator of the institutions social mission to scale up and provide services to as many people as possible. Sustainability, in contrast, requires operating at a level of profitability that allows sustained service delivery without dependence on subsidized inputs. This represents the institutions commercial strategy. For microfinance institutions growth is the process of balancing the objectives of outreach and sustainability; balancing the social mission and the commercial strategy. Despite the increase in number of MFIs in operation, their growth is constrained, especially in rural areas, because of their limited resource base and lack of institutional capacity to provide a wide range of financial services. MFI outreach is predominantly through group based programmes, which have limited absorptive capacity for financial resources. The focus of most microfinance institutions is lending to the informal economy MSEs (â€Å"Jua Kali) and often women who are conducting trade in small goods or providing services (Stevenson, 2007). Craig (1997) on the other hand observed that many microfinance institutions experience cycles of growth followed by periods of consolidation where they are forced to solve operational challenges such as decline in portfolio quality, client desertion, untrained and burned-out staff, and administrative challenges including loan processing and information systems. In addition, many smaller credit programs never experience growth because they lack the resources; technical and or financial and a commitment to the financial systems approach. In Tanzania, a survey of 136 small firms found that 63 per cent of them consider difficulties in accessing finance from larger financial institutions as the major constraint to their growth (Satta, 2003). Even though micro finance bodies are meant to serve those who have been left out of the formal banking system, there is a growing concern that many Kenyans still lack credit facilities. Statistics from Association of Microfinance Institutions (AMFI) indicate that over 60 percent of Kenyans lack access to formal banking services. This is because most micro-credit companies are concentrated in cities and towns. Most of the people who lack credit are in rural areas. The question now is how to facilitate growth of microfinance institutions to cover all areas (Tilman, 2006). 2.2.1 Constraints facing micro finance institutions. The microfinance sector in Kenya has faced a number of constraints that need to be addressed to enable them to improve outreach and sustainability and grow. The major impediment to the development of microfinance business in Kenya has been until recently poor legislation and set of regulations to guide the operations of the microfinance sub-sector. This has contributed to a large extent to the poor performance and eventual demise microfinance institutions because of a lack of appropriate regulatory oversight. This has also had a bearing on a number of other constraints faced by the industry, namely: wide diversity in institutional form, inadequate governance and management capacity, limited outreach, unhealthy competition, limited access to funds, unfavorable image and lack of performance standards, Poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP 1999). Providing financial services to poor people is costly, in part, because they have small amounts of money, often live in urban slums and remote rural setups, and rarely have documented credit histories. During the past decade, microfinance institutions (MFIs) started addressing this problem by developing techniques that permit safe lending in the absence of borrowers credit history. Still, MFIs usually charge relatively high interest rates to cover the administrative costs of handling small transactions for dispersed populations (Gaulum, 2006). Mutua et al (1996) highlighted that a problem facing NGOs running microfinance institutions is the ability to balance traditional welfare objectives with the goals of maintaining sustainable credit programmes. This is because when credit policies are based on humanitarian rather than financial considerations, inefficiency and ineffectiveness can follow which hampers sustainability and growth of microfinance institutions. A study by Anyanwu (2004), on Microfinance institutions policy practice and potentials in Nigeria revealed that the sub sector in Africa faces a number of challenges which include the urgent access to medium to long term sustainable sources of funding. 2.2.2 Importance of the microfinance sector The first attribute that distinguishes microfinance institutions from others is what has come to be called its dual mission of balancing a social agenda or social impact with its financial objectives. Most microfinance institutions (MFIs) are institutions that combine a social development mission; provision of financial services to the lowest income population possible with a financial objective that drives the institution to achieve self sufficiency and thereby accomplish sustained service delivery without dependence on subsidies (Humphrey, 2006). The government appreciates the importance of microfinance institutions in the development of SMEs. In G.O.K (2005) policy paper the government sates lack of access to credit is a major constraint inhibiting the growth of the entrepreneurs. The same paper further states that the government recognizes that access to credit and financial services is key to the growth and development of any enterprise and more so the SMEs The government therefore has its own programmes and projects targeting the sector. Some of them are the Kenya Industrial Estates, the Joint Loan board both under the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the recently established Kshs. l billion youth fund under the Ministry of Youth Affairs in the office of the Vice President. According to an evaluation study on microfinance programmes in Kenya Supported through the Dutch co-financing programme, (Hospes 2002) concludes that the impact of the financial service provision by Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) at the enterprise level is positive in many respects: Enterprise size and employment generation, both the quantitative and qualitative assessment show that the provision of loans by KWFT has helped women to keep them going even in the most difficult times, as well as contribute to providing continued employment to the women and their families, and to increase the number of employees in their business, either on temporary or permanent basis. It is now widely acknowledged that the MFIs, with their innovative program packaging, have enlarged the financial market, increased the volume of household financial savings and induced financial independence among rural families (Sajjad et al 1999). According to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of 1999, a large number of Kenyans derive their livelihood from small and micro-enterprises. Therefore, development of this sector represents an important means of creating employment, promoting growth, and reducing poverty in the long term. However, in spite of the importance of this sector, experience shows that provision and delivery of credit and other financial services to the sector by formal credit institutions, such as microfinance institutions has been below expectation. This means that it is difficult for the poor to climb out of poverty due to lack of finance for their productive activities. Therefore, new, innovative and pro-poor modes of financing low income households and SMEs based on sound operating principles need to be developed. The United Nations acknowledges microfinance as a key instrument to achieving Millennium development Goals (MDGs), which seeks to reduce poverty by 2015. They include reducing child mortality by two thirds, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, as well as combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (UN, 2005). As microfinance institutions in Kenya continue to increase in numbers, their survival in the market economy will greatly be influenced by the impact their products and services have to their recipients. This will include; the empowerment of family, generation of income and improvement of welfare, the increase in business performance, training and business skills provided to clients, terms and conditions for loan repayment and servicing among others. Microfinance institutions are critical to Africas quest for solutions to the continents development challenge. The area of their greatest potential impact, rural Africa, is not only home to the bulk of the continents population, but also the vast majority of Africas poor. MFIs with examples from Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Mali and Zimbabwe, establish a link between MFIs and both poverty eradication and the empowerment and equality of women, two of the major Millennium Development Goals (Kaoma, 2001). Anywanu, (2004) observes that microfinance institutions aim to improve the socio-economic conditions of women, especially those in the rural areas through the provision of loan assistance, skills acquisition, reproductive health care service, adult literacy and girl child education. They also aim to build community capacities for wealth creation among enterprising poor people and to promote sustainable livelihood by strengthening rural responsive banking methodology as well as eradicate poverty through the provision of microfinance and skill acquisition development for income generation. 2.2.3 Promotion of Microfinance institutions growth. As an enterprise grows, different needs arise to correspond with every stage of its development. The level of sophistication of knowledge, skill and attitude change, inputs will vary with this every stage. It should however reflect that the needs are demand driven because they can be correlated with the problems and opportunities that micro financiers face in managing the business (Murumbutsa, 1998). Oikocredit International, a social investor increasingly engaged in microfinance, expressed that channeling commercial capital to microfinance institutions is key in establishing the conditions for sustainability and for the scaling-up of microfinance institutions. Commercial capital pushes microfinance institutions to have more rigorous financial discipline and management (Amando, 2005). Microfinance institutions in Kenya need to adopt and subscribe to performance standards in their operations so as to measure and ensure growth. In the Philippines the Central Bank as a member of the National Credit Council worked very hard in finalizing a set of performance standards that can be used by microfinance institutions across the banking, non-governmental and cooperative sectors to facilitate assessment and evaluation of their performance. The standards go by the acronym P.E.S.O, which stands for Portfolio Quality, Efficiency, Sustainability and Outreach. MFI growth includes diversification, such as the introduction of new financial products, training needs to be designed to gradually provide staff with new skills, thus increasing their flexibility and productivity. Credit bureaus are useful in reducing risks in lending and in encouraging a more responsible attitude towards credit by borrowers which will ultimately lower delinquency and strengthen the credit and financial system. In addition, the presence of credit bureaus will foster lending to the previously neglected sector such as the micro, small and medium enterprises due to less reliance on collateral based credit decisions. The other necessary condition is the presence of a comprehensive credit information system. With more and more players engaged in microfinance, the problem of credit pollution and multiple borrowings is also increasing. The sharing and disseminating of credit related information will be able to address this problem (Kitabu, 2007). To be successful an organization should have special features over and above being new and small in an industry. If any developments have to take place among microfinance institutions then the rate of their growth would depend on accumulation of physical and human capital. This however would require an effective allocation of resources and ability to acquire and apply modern technology (Biggs et al, 1996) Growth of the microfinance sector however, is very much dependent on a host of factors among them, the policy and regulatory environment, which consists of broad, high level policies that affect the economic and regulatory conditions in which micro finance institutions have to operate. Such are macro-policies for the stabilization and growth of the economy. Other factors include provision of technological capabilities and skills upgrading, competition. These factors promote higher business productivity and growth through improved techniques, and the related introduction of better quality products and services that yield the institutions high added value and larger markets. The provision of financial services, technology upgrading, complements the beneficial effects of a truly enabling policy environment (Ronge, et al, 2002) The government is struggling to thrust the country into a state of economic recovery by integrating the microfinance sector into the national economic grid, by seriously looking at the potential of the microfinance institutions sectors for driving SMEs, creating employment and economic growth, further the Kenya government has taken major steps in the development of this sector by passing a regulatory framework in the form of the micro-finance bill which will enable their registration and regulation of micro finance institutions (Munguti, 2005). For a growing business to continue growing, it has to be a learning organization that monitors the market and scans the horizon looking for clues or trends. It needs to be proactive by regularly analyzing how it can do better. There may be a tendency in mature MFIs to assume that, because their current financial products are so successful, they should continue to operate the way they are and just increase the scale of their operations. Successful firms are constantly innovating and upgrading, and they spend a significant percentage of their budget on research and development. Donor organizations should consider how their resources may fund the imagination of microfinance institutions to enhance their growth (Tomasko, 1996). Businesses need to have an effective management information system in place prior to an explosive growth phase to enable it to manage growth. Most emerging firms get into trouble because the management team either does not have the information it needs to make the right decisions or chooses to ignore the information that is available. For microfinance, information is even more important than in most businesses. It is the lifeblood of an MFI. Microfinance relies an information based lending technology, as opposed to commercial banks that use a collateral-based approach. Microfinance information must focus on financial as well as non-financial indicators, such as productivity, efficiency, average loan size, and client retention. The management information system should provide information about factors and forces that need to be monitored closely as well as insights into what should be changed. This early warning system can scan the horizon for trends, and identify threats and opportun ities (Craig, 1997). 2.3 Summary and Gap From literature reviewed the information available indicates that the number of micro finance institutions in Kenya is gradually increasing and dominant market players are growing, most microfinance institutions however register slow growth and further the reasons for this with respect to Kenya are not conclusive. Despite their success so far microfinance institutions only reach a fraction of the estimated underlying demand. There is huge latent demand for micro-credit around the country. Even though micro-finance bodies are meant to serve those who have been left out of the formal banking system, there is a growing concern that many Kenyans still lack credit facilities. This is because despite the growing number of microfinance institutions in Kenya, their outreach is constrained especially in rural areas, the study therefore seeks to establish the factors affecting their growth. Most studies have focused on the small and micro enterprises growth to show how successful they have been after receiving micro-credit, few have tried to analyze the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions themselves. Although microfinance activity has grown considerably in recent years, it is still far from reaching a significant portion of the population that lacks access to formal financial services. Microfinance institutions despite their success over the past few years, have only grown to reach a fraction of the estimated underlying demand, extensive study is yet to be done on factors affecting their growth. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction This chapter discusses the research method that was applied in carrying out the study. It covers the following areas; Research design, target population, sampling design, data collection procedure and data analysis. 3.1 Research Design This study adapted a descriptive research design. The research aimed to collect data on the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions in Kenya. Descriptive research design is used when data collected describes persons, organizations, settings or phenomena. This approach was appropriate because the data collected mainly involved descriptions of the variables in the study. This descriptive research design enabled the research capture quantitative data to provide in depth information about the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions in Kenya. 3.2 Target Population The target population in this research were microfinance institutions registered and operating in Kenya. There are 56 registered microfinance institutions, this was the group of interest. Questionnaires were administered to finance managers of these microfinance institutions. 3.3 Sample Design The census method was used in this study. In this method of study, all registered microfinance institutions were surveyed. For the purposes of this study all 56 registered microfinance institutions. 3.4 Data collection methods Data was collected from microfinance institutions using structured questionnaire. Primary data was collected by use of questionnaire method in this study. Primary data are those which are collected fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character (Kothari, 2004). In this study, the research made use of a questionnaire to solicit ideas related to the research problem from respondents. The questions sought to address the research objective and question related to the study. A drop and pick method was used in administration of the questionnaire. 3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation The results obtained from data collected were summarized under common themes and presented in form of frequency tables, percentages and pie charts. According to Cochran (1989) results from research findings are often presented in these forms. Data was analyzed by frequency distribution and percentages to show the frequency of institutions citing common factors and the percentage of them identifying similar factors affecting their growth. Written explanations are provided to interpret data, to draw conclusions and make recommendations. The purpose was to measure and provide information on factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions. CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS 4.1 Introduction This chapter deals with the results and findings of the study. It presents and descriptively analyzes the data gathered from respondents and summarizes the major findings from the respondents. These responses were analyzed using excel computer package and the results summarized in form of tables, bar graphs and pie charts as appropriate. 4.2 Results and Data Analysis The primary objective of the study was to assess the factors affecting the growth of microfinance institutions in Kenya. A census was undertaken where all 56 registered microfinance institutions were presented with questionnaires, 34 of the 56 respondents returning their duly filled up questionnaires. This represented a 60.7% response rate which was deemed sufficient for derivations of conclusions covering the entire population under the study. 4.3 General Findings. 4.3.1 Years of operation On the number of years that the organizations have been in operation, the results showed that majority (55.9%) were between 10 and 15 years old since they started operating. 14.7% of the organizations were the oldest being over 15 years old, while 11.8% of the population being the youngest having being in operation for less than 5 years. The remaining 17.6% of the respondent organizations were between 5 and 10 years. 4.3.2 Customer segments. In response to the question regarding to which customer segments the organizations provide microfinance facilities to, 5.9% said they provide services to women, 11.8% indicated micro enterprises, 79.4% provide services to all segments, while 2.9% said the cater for agriculturalists. 4.3.3 Client base From this study it was established that 50% of the organizations that responded had a client base of over 10,000 clients. 32.4% of the microfinance institutions had between 5,000 and 10,000 clients and 17.6% of the respondents indicated having a client base of less than 5,000 customers. 4.3.4

Instrumental Reasoning Essays -- Philosophy

Can Instrumental Reasoning Stand Alone? I. Introduction There is something appealing about ordinary instrumental or means-end reasoning. One begins with a want, a goal or a desire and considers available options as means to its satisfaction or achievement. If, among the available options, one is the best or only way to satisfy the desire or achieve the goal, one has a reason to select it. If two or more options both seem to lead to the goal, they may still differ in other ways, e.g., in the probability with which they lead to the goal – in which case (if that was the only difference) one would have reason to choose the option which led to the goal with higher probability. To consider things in the simplest form possible, consider a being with only a single desire. Suppose that this being wants nothing but to break a street-lamp. Even in so simple a case, we can begin to say what he ought to do. Any number of things may be effective. If he has no other goals – not even going unapprehended so that he can do it again with some other street-lamp – he may use a rifle, a pistol, throw rocks at it, climb the lamp-post to bash it with his fist, etc. But we can say that there are some things that, in terms of his goal, he ought not to do, for example, that he ought not to try breaking it (because he won’t succeed) by throwing feathers at it, one by one. It looks as though, even in this deliberately simplified case, means-end reasoning, combined with some knowledge of the world, is enough to tell us something about what he ought to do. This is not, to be sure, a moral ‘ought,’ but we seem to have generated a normative conclusion, an ought-judgment of a modest sort, without appealing to any mysterious non-natural properties ... ...h a person? Perhaps, a real example of an existentialist chooser would say that there is not even a reason for committing oneself rather than not; one just does (or does not). [15] This is not being offered as a solution to the central problem that Korsgaard has raised. I am, as stated earlier, only assuming that there is some solution. Rather, I am trying to show that, given the existence of some solution to that problem, though we need some further normative principle, it does not have to be one that picks out certain ends for us. In short, we can do almost what could have been done had the defenders of the autonomy of instrumental reasoning been correct. (In fact, I think we can do quite a bit more than we could if they had been correct – but that’s a topic for another paper.) [16] And I do not in any case have non-dialectical proofs that they are mistaken.

Native American Essay -- essays research papers

From as early as the time of the early European settlers, Native Americans have suffered tremendously. Native Americans during the time of the early settlers where treated very badly. Europeans did what they wanted with the Native Americans, and when a group of Native Americans would stand up for themselves, the European would quickly put them down. The Native Americans bow and arrows where no match for the Europeans guns and cannon balls. When the Europeans guns didn’t work for the Europeans, the disease they bought killed the Native Americans even more effectively. In a poem by Louise Enrich called Dear John Wayne a line from a cowboy and Indian movie states the position of many European settlers in the Americas "Everything we see belongs to us". Native Americans did not like the way they were being treated. Every generation that passes, there would be fewer and fewer Native Americans around the Americas. Native Americans were dying like flies flying around bug spray mist. If it were not a war (The French and Indian war) that were killing them off it would be European disease (Cow and Small pox). The Native Americans saw what the Europeans were doing to their lives, they wanted their old way of life, and they wanted the Europeans to go away. In the movie Smoke Signals a line that was said by a character called Arnold Joseph represents the feelings of the Native Americans "Poof! The white people are gone". The Eur...

Judaism - Role of Women :: essays research papers

Judaism – The Role of Women If there are differences among various different cultures, it’s the way they portray women. For example, the overall role of women in our society is mainly two different things – to clean the house, take care of the kids, and to be used as a ‘sex tool’. In other cultures, such as Judaism, women are viewed as more spiritual and intellectual. Today, I am going to define the way women are viewed in the Judaism culture as well as how it applies to the culture today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all, I’d like to say that the role of women in traditional Judaism has been vastly misunderstood. The modern man thinks that the Judaism culture belittles the women in their culture and are low on the chain of command; however, the role of women in halakhah, or Jewish law, whom dates back to the biblical period are in many ways better than the position of women who are under American civil law, as recent as a century ago. (Jewfaq.com) Most of the high powered feminist leaders of the twentieth century (such as Gloria Steinem) are Jewish women, and some commentators have reiterated that this is no coincidence: the respect accorded to women in Jewish tradition was also a part of their ethnic culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate, but at the same time are seen equally. Women’s obligations and duties are different from a mans, but it isn’t less important; in fact, there are some ways in which women’s responsibilities are considered more important than men’s.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The equality of men and women was first begun at the highest possible level, which was referred to as G-d. In Judaism, unlike Christian, G-d has never been viewed as exclusively as male or masculine. Judaism has always maintained that G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. G-d has no body, no genitalia, therefore the idea that G-d is either male or female is completely wrong. G-d is referred to by using masculine terms simply for convenience’s sake, because Hebrew has no neutral gender; G-d is not is no more male than a table is. (Faith.org)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One more thing about G-d: both man and woman were created in the image of this level, G-d, but according to most Jewish scholars, â€Å"man† was created in Gen. 1:27 with both men and women genitalia, whom was later separated into male and female.

Greenland Glaciers

Geological Features: glacier is commonly white and made of ice. It may appear dirty near its end due to debris that it is carried or pushed by the movement o f the glacier. Glaciers can be massive in size stretching across continents (Greenland) or m ay be small sitting atop of mountains. Landscape is ice with some formation of dirt and other land mixed in due to movement. B. The size Of a glacier may depend on if on land or broken off from land.Greenland Ocean depending on where the glacier is from and the time period, different mineral s and elements may be present in the glaciers core. 2. Process(SE): Glaciers are formed when snow builds up for several years from snowfall that exceeds snowbell. Over time, as new snow compresses the axis ting snow, the weight causes the snow underneath to turn to ice. The hardening effect is Simi liar to what happens when you pack a snowball in your hand.The pressure from addition al layers of snow builds for up to thousands of years; the ice gets compressed so much the at the air is forced out and the glacier's color appears to be blue. A. Singularly confederacies ice. B . As snow builds up, the pressure causes ice to form below c . Color may appear blue due to the force AAA Real world Example(s): Greenland and the formation of ice on top of the land.

Explore the theme of Duality in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ Essay

First published in 1886, ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was an immediate success and one of author Robert Louis Stevenson’s bestselling novels. It is a classic example of Gothic fiction and even though it may be seen as just a horror story, with accounts of violent murders and a disturbing, scientific experiment gone wrong, the book also explains the suppression of the Victorian society. Furthermore, Stevenson brought out further ideas of human psychology during the Victorian times, as the story explores the theme of duality in human nature; the idea that every person has two sides to themselves – a nicer, kind side which can also be seen as ‘artificial’ as it is displayed in social situations, whereas the sinister, darker side of man is unsuspected and hidden. This will be my main focus in the essay, analysing how Stevenson uses this theme of dual nature in his novel. ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ has another unusual twist because, after all the horrendous acts that have been committed and the unpredictable behaviour of the characters, it is only in the last chapter that the plot and the true dual nature of Henry Jekyll are revealed to the reader, through a letter that Jekyll leaves. It is in this letter that he describes in detail his theory of good and evil in one body, his scientific interests and what made him want to create such a potion that could separate his personality. Jekyll starts with an explanation of his family background and tells us how he was born to a â€Å"large fortune, endowed besides with excellent parts† showing that he had the best start in life and, even from an early age, it was clear that he had every chance of being successful in the future. This leads to the expectations of him, coming from a wealthy family with a high status in the Victorian times – Jekyll had to do what was expected of him and become a doctor or a lawyer, which he did achieve. He has all the money, respect and status and from the outside, Jekyll seems to have the perfect Victorian gentleman’s lifestyle. He lives up to this perfect life, putting on a show of having an honest nature, and maintaining good manners and respectable behaviour in public – â€Å"†¦he was now no less distinguished for religion. He was busy, he was much in the open air, he did good.† However Jekyll lives a double life, there’s more to him than the side that he displays in public. As much as he wants to be a good person and keep up his appearance, Jekyll finds it difficult to cover up his sinful side, where he feels the needs to commit bad deeds such as visiting prostitutes and going out drinking. It doesn’t clearly state what exactly it is that Jekyll wants, so it is left to the reader’s imagination. Even though it might not seem as bad to us in today’s society to drink and have sexual urges, it came across as ‘taboo’ in the Victorian times so we assume that it was in the immoral side of Jekyll’s nature to go round getting drunk and having sex. Furthermore if you had a higher status, it would be required of you to suppress these feelings so you wouldn’t be shunned upon for acting on your desires. Unfortunately it becomes more and more challenging each day for Jekyll to go on living with the two different sides within him, he â€Å"conceals his pleasures† for the reason that the position he has earned in society and his reputation, depend on it. Jekyll learns that â€Å"man is not truly one, but truly two†. Based on this theory, Jekyll researches and develops a potion that could allow him to try and split the two parts of him, so he can have two separate identities; one with a good nature and the other where he can give in to his darker desires without facing the consequences. After finally finding the right chemicals and substances, Jekyll puts together the potion and takes a sip, aware that he could be risking his life. As soon as he has taken the potion he begins to experience agonizing pains, the symptoms of which include â€Å"a grinding in the bones and deadly nausea†. However, all these pains disappear after a while and Jekyll starts to feel new, strange feelings he hasn’t felt before which he finds â€Å"incredibly sweet†. He sees â€Å"disordered sensual images† in his head and he instantly feels younger, stronger and happier. It seems as if, in a way, Jekyll has created a body to go with and represent his hidden personality and with just a gulp of the potion he has the power to transform himself into this other person, Mr Edward Hyde, whenever he wants. He realises that he now has an â€Å"unknown but not an innocent freedom of the soul† and so he knows straight away that he can let out all the feelings he has k ept repressed for so long, that he can carry out the acts he has always desired, and commit sins without feeling that he guilt that he would have, as Jekyll. At first it seems as if the discovery of this potion was to Jekyll’s advantage; now he has another identity which allows him to do everything he has dreamed of doing, without paying the consequences. However Jekyll kept his darker side restrained for such a long period of time, and now that he can release himself through another body, the feelings that were repressed are now so strong that they become violent and lead to him causing harm to the society. Edward Hyde only appears briefly throughout the novel, and is first introduced through one of the other characters, Mr Enfield, telling the story of how he witnessed Hyde carelessly trampling all over a young for no apparent reason, late at night; this is what makes Hyde automatically come across as evil from the beginning of the story, to the readers. Robert Louis Stevenson also leaves what it is that Hyde gets up to, to the readers imagination too, but Hyde’s major appearance in the novel is when he brutally kills an old man known as Sir Danvers Carew (the local MP) using a stick and like the trampling of the young girl incident, without a motive. As Sir Danvers Carew is described as â€Å"an aged and beautiful gentleman† who is said to have â€Å"bowed and accosted Hyde with a very pretty manner of politeness†, it is oblivious to us what exactly it was that provoked Hyde to engage in such a horrifying murder. The fact that Hyde breaks out in a â€Å"great flame of anger† and trampled on Sir Danvers until his bones were â€Å"audibly shattered† and also that the heavy wooden cane he used to beat Sir Danvers with was broken in half, indicates the intensity of Hyde’s anger and how malicious the murder really was. The murder case brings out the cruelty in Hyde, and furthermore, represents the savagery within him and how animal like his nature is – how could a person kill another man so viciously, without even feeling the slightest bit of remorse? Hyde’s fury is described as â€Å"apelike† and the fact that his behaviour is linked to him being a beast or a savage animal all comes down once again, to the repression of Jekyll’s feelings – the monster in him comes out roaring. Once Jekyll transforms back into himself he realises just how awful the murder he committed as Hyde is and this leaves him feeling shocked and also worried about the amount of trouble he will be in, so therefore vows to never take the potion again. On the other hand, Hyde makes it impossible for Jekyll to stick to this vow. This is for the reason that Hyde loathes Jekyll; he wants to be this free, untamed personality all the time and so the power that he has over Jekyll grows more and more until Jekyll finds himself unwillingly transforming into Hyde at random times, without even needing to drink the potion. Jekyll becomes helpless and acknowledges that the only way he will ever be able to get rid of Hyde is by ending his own life. Throughout the novel, R.L. Stevenson uses language which portrays both Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as two very different characters, both of their contrasting descriptions suggest that they are nothing alike and that they have nothing in common – they are both opposites. If it wasn’t for Jekyll’s will which shows us both characters are well acquainted, we would think that they have nothing to do with each other. As soon as Hyde is just vaguely mentioned in the novel, the other characters and the narrative descriptions use negative language directly towards him. They act as if they’ve been horrifically shocked by his facial features which makes the reader picture him as a repulsive looking creature, especially as he is said to be â€Å"pale and dwarfish† and that he â€Å"gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation†. The text even indicates that there is something so wrong with Hyde’s physical appearance that he can scare away the other characters in the book by simply looking at them – â€Å"but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running.† Also Hyde is often related to having animal-like characteristics and behaviour, linking to Darwin’s theory of evolution which was newly introduced in the Victorian times around the same period the story was set. The idea that humans had evolved from animals extremely shocked the Victorians. On one hand it was difficult for them to get their heads around the fact that humans descended from apes and that the human mind could be composed of animal element, since they strongly believed that God was the creator of the world and all the species, contradicting Darwin’s theory which challenged creation stories and religious beliefs. On the other hand it was highly disturbing for the Victorians to acknowledge that they too had descended from apes, when they thought that every individual had been uniquely made by God. It must have been especially frightening, for a Victorian to read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and discover the beastlike aspects of Hyde which suggest that he is stuck in the phase of evolving from an ape into a human. This also reflects back to Jekyll creating the potion – by attempting to split his personality, he was tampering with God’s creation and going beyond the limits as a human. Jekyll goes too far with his experiments, resulting in disasters. The two different areas in London that Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are associated with also differentiate from each other and reflect their contrasting personalities. Jekyll lives in Cavendish Square, a very wealthy area in the west end of London, symbolising the high status of the career that Jekyll has – he’s a d octor who is wealthy and respectable. Alternatively Hyde comes from Soho; one of the poorest areas in London with a bad reputation, at the time the story was set. It is described as a â€Å"dismal quarter† with â€Å"muddy ways† and â€Å"slatternly passengers† and was home to the disreputable and indecent places in the Victorian times, such as brothels and music halls – there was a â€Å"dingy street, a gin palace, a low French eating house, a shop for the retail of penny numbers† which indicates the low wealth of Soho. The â€Å"dingy streets† and cheapness of Soho makes the reader imagine dirty and grubby roads in comparison to those of Cavendish Square which are â€Å"as clean as a ball-room floor†. The quote â€Å"many ragged children huddled in the doorways† describes the poverty-stricken and deprived state of this area. Naturally this poorer area would have a higher crime rate than other areas in London, which is why it was where one might go to make dodgy deals, or where a person would be most likely to bump into criminals and beggars. Soho particularly reflects Hyde’s personality and the reader can see exactly why he would fit in so well in such a place, as he can be defined as a criminal in many occasions of the story. The theme of duality throughout the story is also reflected in other characters of the story and the setting too, as well as just Jekyll and Hyde. There are many cases where some of the characters are shown to be hypocrites and even lead double lives. For example, the policeman investigating the Carew murder case â€Å"lit up with professional ambition† when he comes to realise that it is the local MP whose death he is in looking into, and the advantages of this case for his career regardless of how brutally Sir Danvers Carew was killed. This hypocritical behaviour of the policeman clearly shows the reader his selfishness and that he cares more about what good it would do him to deal with something that would â€Å"make a deal of noise† than exposing a murderer. He knows that it would lead to his personal recognition within the community, as Sir Danvers was a gentleman who was highly looked up to so he seizes the chance. In addition to this Sir Danvers was said to be walking the street alone, late at night around the time of his murder so despite the fact that he appears to be so polite and innocent, is there no chance that he could have had another unsuspected side to him, too? Another example of a hypocrite would be the old woman at Hyde’s house, who is even said to have an â€Å"evil face, smoothed by hypocrisy†. On the hearing of Hyde being in trouble with the police, â€Å"a flash of odious joy appeared upon the woman’s face† meaning that it is to her satisfaction to hear about her master’s sins and involvement in crime when it’s her job to still be loyal and trustworthy towards him, regardless of any crime he has committed. Although there’s nothing more than a couple of sentences to these two little revelations in the novel, they reveal to the reader the true and double natures of people who we would expect better from. Even Jekyll’s house symbolises duality – firstly there are two entrances, a front door used by Jekyll and the back door used by Hyde, supporting that there are two sides to everything, and also that it seems less obvious to the reader that they are both the same person. The front section of the house consists of Jekyll’s general living space, and he commonly uses this area to throw dinner parties and gatherings. The hall is â€Å"warmed by a bright, open fire and furnished with costly cabinets of oak† which gives the impression of being very welcoming and comforting. Jekyll’s elegant home echoes a â€Å"great air of wealth and comfort† representing the character he acts as in public. The rear door which Hyde enters and leaves from is â€Å"blistered and distained† and leads to Jekyll’s laboratory and private room where Hyde is usually seen. The back rooms of the house don’t share the elegant interior and hospitable atmosphere of the front rooms making them seem as if they are not connected to each other. The laboratory is a â€Å"sinister block of building† with no windows which makes it significantly dark and depressing as there is no natural light coming in to the room. The negative language used links Hyde to the back section of the building and reflects his personality. We have already acknowledged that the theme of duality is related to the suppression of the Victorian society, as we know Jekyll’s double nature exists due to hiding his feelings. It was common for Victorians, gentlemen in particular, to suppress their feelings as status depended on reputation, making it difficult for them to give into pleasures that they des ire. An example of this is shown in Mr Utterson the lawyer, who solves the truth behind the story of Jekyll & Hyde. As his profession has a high status, he obviously has to live up to the good reputation he has – the quote â€Å"and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years† shows that he refrains from doing the things he would like to, simply concealing his emotions. Likewise, Mr Enfield subtly implies that he is also hiding something when he quotes â€Å"I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning† – as he doesn’t give any details about where he was and he was out so late, perhaps he was committing some type of sin, and giving into his suppression. The structure of the book continues to reflect the predominant theme of duality as it has a non linear narrative with a number of characters narrating the different chapters of the story. This suggests that there are more than two ways of looking at something, as the reader gets to see the same event through the eyes of different people and learn about their varying viewpoints, which backs up the author’s theory that â€Å"man is not truly one, but truly two†. Although it is effective for us to be told the story from multiple perspectives, since it creates more of a mysterious tone throughout the novel and sets the suspense, it is quite biased as the accounts we are told from the different characters are based on their individual emotions and opinions regarding the events. I believe that Stevenson succeeds in getting his belief of dual nature in humans, across to the readers throughout the novel as the overall message of the book is that the human personality can be split into several parts. There is no one person who is all pure, or all evil, each and every one of us has different personalities and people living within ourselves. At one point in life, all humans will have put on a faà §ade, pretending to be a different person in public whilst their true emotions remain hidden inside. Stevenson explores this concept in depth, and the conclusion is that there will never be just one way of looking at something; there is never just one side to a story.