Informal Caregiving

Caregiving Policies and Programs Aleesha M. Mullen University of Louisiana at Monroe Proposed Reference List & Outline: Topic: Care giving: The study of Informal Caregiving Outline: The Social Framework: Who are the Informal Caregivers? How does Caregiving affect their lives? The Ideological Framework: The Meaning of Informal Caregiving The Social Policy Options for Caregivers The values of Informal Caregiving Introduction This text will be exploring the profile of caregivers in today’s society.The profile of a caregiver ranges from the working mother to the wife with three children. There are no boundaries that can fit into this profile. Along with this, the text will explain the ways in which informal caregiving will change a person’s life and how it affects them personally. The different programs and policies that contribute the caregivers in our society will be discussed in dept. These will include private sectors and government sectors that offer support to caregiv ers. There are always good reasons on why informal caregiving should be focused on as an important task.For example, these caregivers come from a diverse demographic background, and their cultures, financial situations, and other aspects play a big role in how they provide care. This is why support should always be offered and administered to make sure the best value and quality of care is given. Therefore, in conclusion this text will be completed by expressing the values of informal caregiving and the changes that could be produced to help improve this line of work. The Profile of In Informal CaregivingThe term caregiver refers to anyone who provides assistance to someone else, who is, to some degree, handicapped, and unable to care for themselves. This could include persons providing care for: a husband or wife who has suffered a stroke, a spouse with Parkinson’s disease, a father-in law with cancer, a grandparent with Alzheimer’s disease, a loved one who is sufferi ng from a traumatic brain injury, a friend with acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS, a child dealing with muscular dystrophy, an elder who is very frail. All of these can demonstrate as a caregiver.Many caregivers are unpaid individuals involved with assisting others who are u unable to perform certain normal activities. The caregivers range in gender, and age. The caregivers in our society today are majority women. There are an estimated 66% of caregivers who are female. Out of this percent, one-third takes care of two or more people, and the average age of a female caregiver is about forty-eight. (â€Å"Selected Caregiver Statistics†, n. d. para. 3). The interesting fact is there are usually more women who are caregivers and when a caregiver is thought of they think about an older female.According to Gary Lee, Jeffery Dwyer, and Raymond Coward, â€Å"Analyses show that adult children are more likely to provide care to a parent of the same gender, and infirm elders are more likely to receive care from a child of the same gender. Because the substantial majority of elderly parents requiring care from children are mothers, this tendency toward gender consistency in the caregiving relationship partially accounts for the fact that daughters are more likely than sons to be involved in parent care. † (Lee, Dwyer, Coward,. 1993). The tasks that are detailed in caregiving include bathing, toileting, and dressing.Among the caregivers, majority of the women population have to handle these most difficult tasks. It can be difficult for caregivers to think about their selves as they have to spend time thinking about another person. Female caregivers are more likely to endure more stress than the male caregivers. Caregivers also have to provide a stressing number of hours to the needy, and this can play a large role on they deal with other issues of life. According to the graph presented below provided by, â€Å"Partnership for Solution†, shows the average number of hours caregivers provide, can range from about fifteen hours to thirty-five hours.The ages range from fifteen years old to seventy-five years or older. Caregiving can affect and change a person’s life in a vast way. The act of providing care to an older family member is a highly personal activity. This is more than likely conducted in the privacy of a family’s home. Informal caregivers go about rescheduling their lives and daily activities to make sure that their loved ones receive the best care they possibly can. There are some caregivers who will go as far as quitting their jobs, or picking up a part-time job to take full advantage of the care they provide.There are people at all points in their life that give and receive informal care. The most common type of relationship is the one between the child and the elderly parent. Along with this relationship, the young caregivers are the ones who are more likely to care for the other family members such as; aunts, and uncles. Takamura and Williams(1998) states, â€Å"Caregiving to other relatives declines through middle age as other familial responsibilities take hold, but increases in the late fifties and early sixties.Over the age of 60, women frequently report providing care to a sibling† (Takamura & Williams, 1998. P. 7). During the middle age years there are usually life altering events that occur. For example, some women may have to deal with the natural act of menopause, and some male caregivers may have midlife crises. Middle age years are the times when the children are growing up or grandchildren are being born, and the immediate family needs the most attention. Although these are all factors that may yield a caregiver to give quality care to a loved one, there are other situations that might occur.For example, there may be an ill child, or disabled child that a parent or loved one will have to provide care to. All ethnic groups have a certain way and culturis t style of providing care. Both black and White Americans share equal amounts of time providing care, although, black women are more likely to be caregivers than white women. Black women may be also more likely to provide care to a disable relative other than an immediate family member than are white women. (Takamura & Williams, 1998. P. 8).Caregiving affects many groups in many different ways and varies by marital status. Caregivers also tend to be a little healthier than the general population. This could be because they are more aware of the health of the people around them and they try to focus on their selves as much as they can. Being a caregiver makes a person more conscious about health. Even though, states early that many caregivers have less time to care for their selves, their consciousness of health is higher. Providing informal care to disabled or ill family or friend is an important normative experience.Most Americans will become a caregiver as point of their life and many will provide informal care at multiple times in their live. Policies and Programs to Support Informal Caregivers Many of all of the types of carers previously listed are in the group of informal caregivers. It is true that these caregivers are not paid, but some are able to receive some sort of assistance from government agencies in different areas of our country. For example, Sweden is a country that focused on the informal caregivers and the things they need to provide quality care for their loved ones (Wacker & Roberto, p. 28). Wacker and Roberto also state, â€Å"Families provide direct and informal care to their elderly relatives, but the government also supports family caregivers through services that help carers directly and by providing compensation to carers†(Wacker. & Roberto p. 228). For example, there is a program entitled, Family and Informal Caregiver Support Program in Maryland, and Hawii. It was a developed explicity for innovative and evidence-based comm unity projects that help friend and family care for chronically ill or disabled and moderate income older adults. (Jeanett Weinberg Foundation, 2012).This is a great example to see how different areas of the world and of our society to offering the much needed support, even around the globe. In figure 1, it explains that Sweden focuses largly on the informal cargivers. Other countries are more focused on the government sectors of formal cargivng mainly due to the fact that a profit is involved. The Sweden government gives what is called, Carer’s allowance,to family who provide informal care to elderly recipient. These are what the Sweden’s government call, voluntary and nonprofit. As you can see in the figure as well the overnment of Sweden does provide help to the universal and local delivery of services for cargiving. It is always great to see the informal caregivers have a part in this government funding a well. Caregivers have to have some kind of support to be abl e to provide quality care. The question is, how do they receive this support and from where do they get it from? Service-based forms of support for carers help offer a large and import form of care. Service-based forms of support are typically emphasized on services that are available in all or most localities, or mainstream services.However, there are certain policies that are referenced based on innovatory or special needs because this is the form that is more widely needed. When looking at service-based forms of support for carers, it is always important to understand the definition of what is meant by a service for carers (Twigg, 1992, p. 60). Twigg says that carers reside in an ambiguous position within the field of social care, being neither patients nor clients. The help that come from carers does so from services aimed primarily at the person they look after.Therefore, the service provided is based on the personal need of the family member or person in need of care. Due to t he close relationship between the cared-for person and the carer, there care needed for the care-for person is relevant to the carer. This means that what counts as a service for carers need to be foreseen widely. There are two main forms of service for carers (Twigg, 1992). The first is specific carer services. These are services that are unequivocally provided to carers, for example respite care and support groups. The second form of service is carer allocations.Carers also receive help from some services that are aimed primarily at the person they look after. Sometimes the allocation is open, for example when a day care place is provided for the cared-for person with the intention of relieving the carer. Sometimes it happens less overtly, as a by-product of assistance to the cared-for person (Twigg, 1992, pp. 60-61). Both forms of service will be included when looking at service-based forms of support for carers. The research of this informal caregiving diffidently shapes policy and how programs are conformed for caregivers and the cared-for person.The respite form of care is one that was developed due to the fact there was research completed. The conclusion for informal caregivers who have jobs, children and other daily activities to be completed, is respite care. This is the most important form of support and specifically for carers. This is a form that can be defined as ‘an interval of relief’ (Tinker et al. , 1998). Of course this can come in a number of forms, although the most commonly available are day care and short-term breaks. Other types of home care relief services and sitting are available, although not in all areas (Tinker et al. 1998). In addition to specific carer services, home care service and community nursing services are aimed primarily at the person that is being looked after. These are both forms of in-home assistance, and they cover a help with in housework, nursing task and personal care. Every service has to be evaluat ed annually or in intervals of time. Many evaluations of services are based on aces to services, the views of carers and the outcomes for the carer. The purpose of the evaluations of services is to draw some conclusions from the details about each service and examining the services as a whole.Historically carers have had problems in being able to access community services. Community social services have been focused primarily on unsupported elderly people who live at home alone. This was a finding that was borne out by a number of studies undertaken during the late nineties. Davies et al. described this as reducing the ‘horizontal target efficiency’ of the service in that it reduced the proportion of people in high priority groups who received services (Davies et al. , 1990). Figure 1: Figure 2: References: Davies, B. , Ferlie E. , Hughes, M. and Twigg, J. (1990). Resources, Needs and Outcomes in Community-Based Care.A comparative study of the production of welfare for elderly people in ten local authorities in England and Wales. PSSRU, University of Kent at Canterbury, Avebury. Lee, G. R,. Dwyer, J. W. , Coward, R. T. , (1993). Gender Differences in Parent Care: Demographic Factors and Same-Gender Preferences. Retieved from http://geronj. oxfordjournals. org/content/48/1/S9. short Partner for Solutions. (2004). Chronic Conditons: Making the Case for Ongoing Care. John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. (2004). Retrieved from http://www. caregiver. org/caregiver/jsp/content_node. jsp? nodeid=401 Roberto, K. amp; Wacker, R. (2011). Aging Social Policies: An International Perspective. SAGE Publication, Inc. , Thousand Oaks, CA. Takamura, J. , Williams, B. , (1998). Informal Caregiving: Compassion in Action. Retrieved from http://aspe. hhs. gov/daltcp/reports/carebro2. pdf Tinker, A. , Wright, F. , McCreadie, C. , Askham J. , Hancock, R. and Holmans, A. (1998). Alternative Models of Care for Elderly People. Age Concern Institute of Gerontology. Twigg , J. (1992). ‘Carers in the service system’. In Twigg, J. (ed. ). Carers: Research and Practice. London, HMSO. Loading†¦ Loading†¦ Loading†¦ Loading†¦

Problems Faceing Susu Collectors in the Bantama Sub-Metro

CHAPTER ONE Introduction Background to the study Personal saving may be voluntary; it can also be contractual through insurance policies by insurance companies and also contributory if through the traditional social security system or â€Å"susuâ€Å". â€Å"Susu† is a traditional form of saving where an individual saves a fixed amount per day with a â€Å"susu† collector for a specified period, say one month. At the end of the month, the Individual collects his or her total savings less one day’s installment, which the â€Å"susu† collector deducts as commission. The higher the umber of clients of a â€Å"susu† collector, the higher the level of that collectors commission at the end of each calendar month. â€Å"Susu† is the popular name given to the rotating savings club in Ghana. It is said to be of Yoruba origin, which is an adulteration of â€Å"esusu†. The term is believed to have been introduced into Ghana by migrant Ibo trade rs before independence in 1957, when formal banking had not caught up well with people especially the indigenous illiterates folks who were mainly traders. With the Alien’s Compliance Order in 1969 coming into force, these aliens left this legacy. Then came quite a number of Ghanaians entering into the business as a result. A few unscrupulous persons also crept in and some actually bolted away with their clients saving. (Aryeetey and Gockel, 1991) In response to the increased cases of fraudulent practices of some â€Å"susu† collectors in the late 1980’s, Ghana Co-operative â€Å"Susu† Collectors Association was formed in 1990 in an attempt to regulate and supervise the activities of the â€Å"susu† collectors. This association serves as the mouthpiece for all â€Å"susu† co-operatives in Ghana. It is the agent that collects taxes on behalf of the commissioner of internal evenue services and external credit facilities for its regional or district societies. (Aryeetey, 2000) and Ardner (1964) echo an informal confirmation that â€Å"susu† was an ancient institution prior to the introduction of the British currency. â€Å"Susu† was practiced by Nigerian traders in Makola number (t wo) market in Accra. Apart from the term â€Å"susu†, the rotating saving club is known by other names in different parts of Ghana. The Ewe’s generally refer to the clubs as â€Å"edzodzo† or â€Å"eso dzodzo†. Whist among the Kotokole’s in the northern part of the Volta region, it is known as â€Å"edeso† (I. P. C, 1988). In some quarters in Laura town the club is known as â€Å"lekseque†. Statement of the problem People have realized the importance of â€Å"susu† scheme yet â€Å"susu† collectors faces a lot of problems mobilizing contributors to participate in the scheme. A lot of contributors have lost interest or back out of the scheme because of the bad perception about â€Å"susu† collectors. Collectors find themselves wanting as sometimes the group in which they join collapse as a result of embezzlement by the group leaders. Some contributors also end up collecting their share of the money contributed and refuse to contribute again. Banks that are involved in the saving scheme also faces documentation problems with their clients. Unfortunately the large amount of research on informal savings has not investigated the problems facing the â€Å"susu† collectors. In pursuit of this research, however, an attempt has been made to find the antecedent facts that leave the â€Å"indigenous savings scheme† incapable of living up to expectation as far as mobilisation, administration and management of funds are concerned. Purpose of the study General Objective: The general purpose of this study was to discover the problems facing â€Å"susu† collectors. The specific objectives of the study are; Specific Objectives: 1. To examine some silent points in the administration and management of â€Å"susu† schemes. 2. To identify how â€Å"susu† saving scheme is organized and operated by individuals and other financial institutions. 3. To find out why people engage in â€Å"susu† schemes. Research questions The researcher posed the following questions to the respondent. 1. What problems exist in the administration of â€Å"susu† scheme? 2. What measures do collectors adopt to ensure the safety of the contributions? 3. Who are those involved in the â€Å"susu† collection? . What problems do collectors face with their clients? 5. How does the scheme operate? 6. Why do people engage in â€Å"susu†? Significance of the study. This study may be useful to â€Å"susu† collectors, financial institutions that take part in the scheme, Ghana Co-operative â€Å"Susu† Collectors Association (G. C. S. C. A), â€Å"susu† contributors and the general public. The management of â€Å"susu† schemes will be able to solve the problems facing their collectors as well as management and administration problems. This may be possible after knowing the problems that exist in the operation of the scheme. The study provides feedback to the Ghana Co-operative â€Å"Susu† Collectors Association (G. C. S. C. A) as to what actually goes on with the operation of the scheme. The study will contribute to the general understanding of â€Å"susu† operations to the advantage of the â€Å"susu† contributor and the general public. Limitaions to the study The study was not obviously without shortcomings. The researcher was faced with some problems. Books written on the susu scheme were a little source of information. The method of sampling used by the researcher was not the appropriate technique but was the cheapest. Other problems were the refusal of some people to grant interview on the topic and the questionnaires. However, with all the problems, it is the hope and wish of the researcher that all information gathered are valid and beneficial to the interested parties especially people of Bantama sub metro. Delimitation of the study In other to get reliable records and information, the research was centered on â€Å"susu† collectors. The researcher contacted garden city savings and loans Bantama branch and â€Å"Gye nyame susu† center at Suntreso south and their members, collectors in their offices and homes. The conclusions and generation therefore were not applicable to all â€Å"susu† schemes. Organization The study consists of five chapters. Chapter one of this study deals with the introduction. It covers the background to the study and sets out the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, the research questions, the significance of the study, the limitations of the study, delimitation of the study, the organization, and definition of terms. Chapter two covers the review of significant or related literature to the study review. Chapter three also talk about the methodology and the procedure for the research. It looks at the various instruments used in collecting the data of the study. Chapter four deals with the presentation of data analysis of information gathered from the survey and interpretation of results. Chapter five also deals with the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations. Definition of Term SUSU: An alteration of ‘,esusu,’ a yuroba word given to the rotating savings club in Ghana. CHAPTER TWO Literature review Introduction Informal financial savings have been an important part of local financial resource mobilisation in Ghana and other countries since the introduction of money as medium of xchange. Through these savings most trader and dwellers are able to raise capital for their business and other commercial activities. This involves element of credit union and the insurance scheme. In Ghana, the traditional societies are called by the name â€Å"susu† societies and â€Å"susu† clubs. A lot of authors, researchers and scholars have addr essed the issue of â€Å"susu†. Problems Howard et, al (2000) contended that â€Å"susu† collectors are unused in having an apex organization to represent them. In the North, eight hundred and fifty (850) are registered ith this; though it is estimated that a further one hundred and fifty (150) unregistered members operate in the North. They run the business from kiosk located in the market place and act as mobile bankers deposits, often of low but regular value, are usually taken on daily basis over the course of the month. Ghana-vision 2020 Program Of Action for the first medium-term development plan (June 1998-2000) stated that though voluntary informal savings groups (â€Å"susu†) provide most of the working capital of small and medium scale enterprises, these â€Å"susu† groups nd other non-banking financial institutions are at present not geared towards long-term investment financing. This has been a major problem with â€Å"susu’ groups in Ghana. However there is strong possibility for â€Å"susu† to form the basis for the establishment of mutual funds and co-operative savings scheme. According to the report of Financial Accountability and management (August 2004), it is inevitable that the development of credit unions does not conform to a single universal blueprint. In the context of worldwide movement, three major differences in the development of particular credit union industries. Credit union movements in specific locations will potentially move from birth, through adolescence to full development as a consequence of the growth in assets and a direct bearing on accountability. Again to the extent that homogeneity does not pertain, significant variability in accountability between credit unions may exist. Safety of contributions According to Aryeetey (2000) most ‘informal savings mobilizers’ (including â€Å"susu† collectors) use bank facilities for deposits. This implies that a substantial part of rural financial savings end up in banks. At Bonwire and Efiduase in rural Asante, â€Å"susu† ollectors were able to collect ? 8. 8 million and ? 8. 6 million per month, respectively, which they saved in commercial banks in Kumasi, the regional capital (ROSCA survey, 1999). But while informally mobilized savings are to enhance the lending operations of formal banks both this study and the study by Aryeetey (2000) indicates that such lending is skewed towards urban areas. These â€Å"susu† collectors use the banking facilities extensively to safeguard their funds. People involved in the scheme Ndeh (1998) in presenting a paper on the informal savings added that women specially those in the rural population faces considerable obstacles in their access to institutional source of funding. For instance some bank managers would like to â€Å"sleep† with them before they are given loans. Because they do not want to fall victims of circumstances they decide to form groups to save funds in order to aid them in their finances. To add to his comment Ndeh talked about the situation in the Philippines where traders especially women who are married cannot contract loan from the bank without the consent of their husbands. They therefore involve themselves in informal financing here they can get easy access to credit. Ndeh also said that less than 28% of Cameroon women traders get access to formal credit. He also commen ted that this kind of situation in Cameroon might also affect traders in other developing countries. According to Ardener and Burnan (1995) the rotating â€Å"susu† club continue to play a dynamic role in helping to meet the cash needs of women traders and farmers. It is found on principles of mutual trust, obligatory relations and homogeneity. Most â€Å"susu† collectors were Women. This shows that women are mostly involved in the â€Å"susu† scheme. According to Caselli. F (1998), the â€Å"susu† collectors provide savings facilities to individuals involved in a wide variety of informal income generating activities, traders, cart pushers, apprentices, mechanism drivers, and sometimes farmers and fishermen. Operation of the scheme According to Adjetey (1998), a variant of the â€Å"susu† scheme in popularly known as â€Å"olu† savings scheme, sometimes described in the literature as mobile banking. In the scheme, the â€Å"olus† or â€Å"susu† collectors go to markets and hawkers to collect daily savings. The saver chooses the amount he or she can deposit each day, and the collector ecords this amount on a card, indicating some personal information about the depositor. No formal agreement exists between the saver and the collector. The scheme is based entirely on personal trust and relationship. Some collectors do make credit facilities available to some of their traders. Such facilities sometimes attract interest pa yments that one made on daily basis. â€Å"Susu† collectors are entitled to the first daily contribution as commission. The money collected from various contributors are sent to the agent of the scheme which is later deposited at the bank for save keeping. Emerging system Bortei-doku and Ayeetey (1998) discuss the operation of rotating savings clubs in Ghana, shedding light on such issues as the significance of clubs within the national economy, their structural and functional characteristics, their gender composition, the attitudes and perceptions of club members about the system, and more recent changes and variations included by changes in the national macroeconomic setting. They note that while the mainstream principle of grouping together people whose common goal is to accumulate a lump sum over a specific period of time is still a respected method for obilizing savings and allocation credit, and thus a robust socioeconomic development instrument, the operationalisation of that principle had changed over time. They noted that ‘new’ institutions had emerged, but using the same principle, that is â€Å"susu† collectors and emerging savings and loan companies. Botei-doku and Aryeetey argue that despite changes in how the principl e group economic activity operationalised, the interests of men and women as differentiable savers in this informal sector activity appear to have been effected even if only moderately: thus, while women appear to be more active in accumulating the required ump-sums within the framework of the newer â€Å"susu† collector system, more men particularly at workplaces, continue to stock to rotating saving schemes. They maintain that the â€Å"susu† system remains a resilient institution, in view of the preparedness of participants to introduce operational innovations in response to changing socioeconomic conditions. Also in a report on new institutions, Aryeetey, (2000) observes â€Å"susu† companies that have emerged in Ghana only since 1985 operational principles are similar to those of individual â€Å"susu† collectors. The difference between the two is that the saver is ‘guaranteed’ credit. Rather han deposits being returned to the saver mont hly, as is the case with the â€Å"susu† collector, the company holds them for at least six months, after which depositor may withdraw the saving in addition to an equivalent amount of loan. As part of the innovation occurring among informal units, newer savings and loan companies have also emerged. These entities sometimes use commissioned agents (â€Å"susu† collectors) to mobilize deposits primarily from market women and make short-term loans available to them from time to time. Interest and collateral base Broham, John (2000) found that on the credit side, the advances made by the â€Å"susu† ollectors to their regular depositors are usually of low value, very short term ( less than one year) provided in an interest free basis without collateral and disbursed immediately if the money is at hand. The money lenders advance loans on interest higher than the banks but without collateral, and disbursed very quickly if the client is known. The world Bank (1995) in dicates that positive real interest rates are not crucial in mobilizing additional deposits and creating avenues for granting credit as evidence by the fact that the â€Å"susu’ system functions with negative nominal rates. It indicates that rural communities place a higher premium on convenience, accessibility and trust. Why people engage in â€Å"susu† Aryeetey and Gockel (1991) also stated that, the estimates of the size of informal savings suggest that about fifty percent (50%) of total financial savings in Ghana is attributable to the â€Å"susu† system. Most â€Å"susu† clubs are guided by unwritten codes of conduct. Writers like Aryeetey and Aryeetey (1996) wrote on the operations, utilizations, and changes in rotating â€Å"susu† savings in Ghana. They found out that in an economic climate where several social groups in the orkforce find that their access to informal institutions is limited due to their socio- economic handicap, informal institutions such as â€Å"susu† are bond to flourish. Aryeetey et al (1990) said besides the difficulty of operating a bank account, the distribution of bans and the low levels of literacy in Ghana especially among traders, ma kes the informal saving practical for certain categories of people. While in the large urban areas of Ghana, banking facilities may be away from them. Although â€Å"susu† collectors sometimes embezzle their money they still prefer it because the collectors ome to collect the daily contribution at their workplace. Ndeh (1998) presented a paper on the informal savings. He commented that, in developing countries, the financial institutions have utterly neglected the mobilisation of savings and deposit facilities in order to make them accessible to majority of the rural population therefore this people have resorted to informal savings to save their hard earned money. Aryeetey and aryeetey (1995) indicated that, though â€Å"susu† is popularly used to purchased small consumer goods, there a is strong evidence that, it is an important source of business capital. Opoku l. (1997) argues that ,†susu† is perhaps the best-known and oldest form of self- financing bus iness scheme in Ghana. The Sunday Hauld (1997) also argues that â€Å"susu† is perhaps the largest best known and oldest form of self financial business scheme in Ghana. Despite the growth of the banking sector, in the past few years â€Å"susu† and other non banking financial scheme have remained the back bone and lifeline for a substances proportion of workers in Ghana’s economic development especially those operating in the informal sector, which is in fact the dominant force in the country’s economy. This has shown the contribution of the cheme to national development. The World Bank (1995) also identifies several informal financial arrangements in Ghana. They include Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCA) and moneylenders. It attempts to find explanations for the existence of the informal sector and suggest that in rural areas are the banking system offer low quality services: the processing of deposit and withdrawal takes several hours, an d in some instances customers find no cash and must revisit the bank in order to make a withdrawal. This has shown that some people are interested in the scheme because of the convenience attached o the â€Å"susu† scheme. CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY Introduction To ensure the collection of reliable and accurate information or data for the research work, certain procedures and methods were adopted. This chapter deals with the methods used by the researcher in collecting data for the purpose of the research. It involves the research design, population and sampling, data collection techniques, data collection procedures and data analysis. Research Design The type of research design adopted for this study was a survey. A survey conducted on â€Å"susu† collectors to ascertain the problems they face. The survey helps find answers to research questions in order to get information needed for the research. Critically examining the research questions, it was realized that a survey was the most suitable research design for the study of information. The survey was aided by questionnaire and interview. This method gives a quantitative means of establishing relationship among variables. Population The population for the study was from â€Å"susu† collectors and â€Å"susu† co-operative members in Bantama sub-metro. This population was made up of rotating â€Å"susu† collectors, â€Å"susu† agents nd other â€Å"susu† co-operative members. Sampling The members of this study were selected through convenience and purposive sampling by relying on â€Å"susu† collectors and â€Å"susu† co-operative union members. The sample size included twenty (20) â€Å"susu† collectors and five (5) â€Å"susu co-operative members. For reasons includi ng lower cost, greater accuracy of results, greater speed of data collection and availability of population subjects, the researcher used convenience and purposive method of sampling. Though convenience sampling is the least reliable design, the researcher chose convenience ampling because it was the cheapest and easiest to conduct. The researcher had the freedom to choose whoever was found. This method of sampling was used to test ideas and even to gain ideas about the subject of interest. In this study, the researcher wanted to talk to only those directly engaged in the collection of contributions of the â€Å"susu† scheme hence purposive sampling was used. The researcher found it very useful and appropriate in the early stages of the research. In all, a total number of twenty-five (25) subjects were pulled from two (2) operating â€Å"susu† schemes in the sub-metro. This was made up of twenty (20) â€Å"susu† collectors and five (5) other â€Å"susu† co-operative union members. Data collection instruments The researcher used interview and questionnaire as instruments to gather information needed for the study. The interview approach was aimed at finding out the views of individual â€Å"susu† collectors from various â€Å"susu† groups, â€Å"susu† administrators and other members of the scheme. The issues upon which the interview schedule was based on was the administrative problems faced by â€Å"susu† collectors. In all, nine (9) items were in the interview. This interview was however unstructured. The â€Å"susu† collectors and other members of the â€Å"susu† scheme who could read answered the questionnaire. In designing the questionnaire schedule, the researcher considered the degree and form of structure imposed on the respondents. He used various response strategies; offer options that included unstructured open-ended response (the free choice of words) and structured or close response (specified alternatives provided). Free response nature of some of the questions offered the respondents the opportunity to express themselves extensively. The respondents were all literates so there were no difficulties in administering the questions. Different questions were designed for the different target groups (based on the objectives of the study in chapter one) to obtain the primary and secondary information as well as data from the field. The questionnaires designed for the respondent comprised open-ended questions and objective questions. In all Twenty- six (26) items were in the questionnaire. Data collection procedures Copies of the questionnaire were self-administered upon gaining access to participants. The questionnaire incorporated open-ended questions and was couched in simple language. With this process, a lot of data can be gotten with relative ease from different people within a shorter period. The collection of data covered a period of two weeks. The â€Å"susu† collectors were interviewed on-the-job with an interview lasting for an average of ten (10) minutes. Questionnaires were sent to â€Å"susu† collectors at their offices and on-the-job. R respondent were given two (2) weeks for the questionnaires. The questionnaires were collected personally and the rate of return of the questionnaires was 100%. Validity and Reliability of data collected. For the purpose of validity, the researcher made sure that all the information obtained from the respondents were the true answers to the interview and questionnaires designed for them. Again any form of misconstrues in the minds of the respondents concerning the understanding of the question and how to complete them were explained to clear their minds. Finally, for the benefit of validity and reliability of data, the researcher deemed it right to use convenience and purposive method of sampling to avoid high cost and errors. Data analysis The technique for analyzing data was by quantitative and qualitative techniques. The major findings were analysed in percentage points and resented in tables and charts. CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS OF THE STUDY Introduction This chapter gives the findings and analyzes the data collected for the study. This analysis involves the use of quantitative and qualitative techniques. The major findings were then presented in percentages and resented in tables and charts. Data gathered from the findings could be evaluated to come out with the shortcomings of the operations of â€Å"susu† collectors and spell ut the strategies necessary for improvement. Response from questionnaire to each area of interest. |†Susu† Group |People of interest |Questionnaire |Response | | | | |Number |Percentage | |Garden City savings and loans |†susu† collectors |10 |9 |95% | | |Members of co-operative union |3 |2 |66. % | |†Gye Nyame â€Å"susu† center |†susu† c ollectors |10 |10 |100% | | |Members of co-operative union |2 |2 |100% | Out of the sample size of twenty (20), nineteen (19) responded, representing about 95% of the â€Å"Susu† collectors from the two â€Å"susu† groups on the sub-metro. Out of the sample size of five 5), from other members of co-operative union, four (4) responded representing about 80%. In terms of â€Å"susu† groups assigned to respond, response ranges from 95% to 100% representing 95% of â€Å"susu† collectors assigned from Garden city savings and loans and 100% to â€Å"susu† collectors assigned from ‘Gye Nyame â€Å"susu† center’. With the response of members of â€Å"susu† co-operative union the percentage range was 66. 79% to Garden city saving and loans and 100% to ‘Gye Nyame â€Å"susu† center’. The following are the findings: What problems exist in the Administration of â€Å"susu† scheme? The problem identified by Howard et, al (2000) was that â€Å"susu† collectors were unused in having an apex organization to represent them. Ghana-vision 2020 programme of action for the first medium-term development plan (June 1998-2000) stated that the working capital provided by â€Å"susu† groups in Ghana were not geared towards long-term investment financing. According to the report of Financial Accountability and Management (August 2004), the development of susu† credit unions does not conform to a single universal blueprint and homogeneity does not pertain. The researcher wanted to find out whether or not â€Å"susu† collectors had administrators. 100% of the response to this question was â€Å"yes†. It was further observed that most â€Å"susu† groups had the â€Å"susu† group administrator as the highest of authority on the organizational structure. Below s hows the organizational structure of most â€Å"susu† groups in Bantama sub-metro; | | |SCHEME ADMINISTRATOR | | | | | |   |   |   |   | | | | |   | | | |   | | |SCHEME MANAGER | | |SCHEME ACCOUNTANT | | | | |   |   | | | | | | |   | | | | | | | |†SUSU† AGENTS | | | | | | |   | | | | | | | |†SUSU† COLLECTORS | | | The above figure is the organizational chat which determine how people, task, technological and material resources were been grouped. This speed up working activities and enhance effective, efficient, harmonization and good co-ordination. About 53% of response to the questions 8 and 9 with which the researcher wanted to find out if â€Å"susu† collectors faced administrative problems was â€Å"yes†. Which represented ten (10) out of the nineteen (19) responses to the questions. Response to the administrative problems. |Response |Number interviewed |Percentage (%) | |Yes |10 |53 | |No |9 |47 | Some of the administrative problems stated included: Bureaucratic problems. Low salary to â€Å"susu† collectors frequent absenteeism of top management. The strict and rigidity of rules and regulation Rules and regulations. A questionnaire was designed to find out the rules and regulations used for the administration of the scheme. The response was that, the rules and regulations which serve as a form of controlling checks and balances of the scheme helps to keep the accounting books and records accordingly. The rules and regulations for keeping financial records at the various schemes were the strict use of (ATF) accounting system treasury and financial reporting guidelines. It also nvolves the reporting hierarchy of the scheme from the â€Å"lower susu collectors† up the organizational chart to the highest of the structure. About 62% of the â€Å"susu† collectors complained of the rules and regulations being so strict and made no room for changes. Salary The re searcher observed that the salary structure of â€Å"susu† collectors in Bantama sub-metro ranges from ? 400,000 to ? 700,000. â€Å"Susu† collectors in the sub-metro complained of their salary although most of them knew they had no ‘better’ qualification to earn much salary. They compare the cumulative amount deducted from their clients as commission for them with the amount given to them at the end of the month. About 70% of the â€Å"susu† collectors interview evealed this to the researcher during the interview. Budget Budget was drawn to help financial plan for a period of time. Monies allocated were used for specified purposes. The budget had been prepared annually for the scheme by the general accountant who is the head of the budget implementation team. The team according to Garden city savings and loans is made up of the scheme administrator, the general accountant, the scheme manager, and five (5) senior members of â€Å"susu† collec tors. The component of the revenue side of the budget is made up of income from â€Å"susu† contributions, interest on â€Å"susu† contributions invested into other businesses, and loans. The expenditure side of the budget onsist of spending on personnel emolument, administrative, services, and investment. The problem â€Å"susu’ collectors in Bantama sub-metro have with this budget is that, they are not usually considered in the plan. What measures do â€Å"susu† collectors adopt to ensure the safety of contributions? According to Aryeetey (2000) most informal savings schemes (including â€Å"susu† collectors) use banking facilities for deposits. The â€Å"susu† collectors use the banking facilities extensively to safeguard their funds. The researcher also found out that, to safeguard their funds, proper financial books were kept. Monies were also deposited at the banks for safekeeping. Financial books kept and their uses. Books |Uses | | | | |Cash book |For recording income and expenditure | | | | |Expenditure budget ledger |Recording expenditure against budget | | | | |Debtors ledger |Recording credit and payments made by â€Å"susu† | | | | | |contributors. | | | |Debtors control |Total of credits and payments made by all | | | | | |â€Å"susu† contributors and other creditors | To ensure the safety of contribution deposited by contributors, these books are kept in addition to depositing the amount at the bank. Almost all â€Å"susu† groups in the Bantama sub-metro keep these books; 100% of the 19 responses received revealed this to the researcher. Monitoring team The researcher found that, the schemes or â€Å"susu† groups had a strong monitoring team that is made up of personnel ranging from twelve (12) to sixteen (16). The monitoring team meets monthly. The team checks and controls financial activities. This results in effectiveness and efficiency of work in the operation of the scheme. Personal interviews were held to find out if there had been any research work on problems facing â€Å"susu† collectors in their operations and if external auditors audited their books. The responses were that, there were auditors and those were the independent auditors outside the scheme who inspects accounting books to find out if they were kept on justification and to give feedback to shareholders. They audit the books yearly to ensure the safety of the contributions. Who are those involved in the â€Å"susu† scheme? Ndeh (1998) indicated that people mostly involved in the â€Å"susu† scheme were women. Ardener and Burnan (1995) found that, women traders and farmers were mostly involved in the â€Å"susu† scheme. Most â€Å"susu† collectors in Ghana were women. Caselli . F (1998) also found that traders , cart pushers, apprentices, mechanism drivers and sometimes farmers and fishermen were mostly involved in the â€Å"susu† scheme. The researcher also found out that, about 90% of â€Å"susu† contributors were women. This was made known to the researcher when about 95% of â€Å"susu† collectors confirmed that their clients were women traders. â€Å"susu† collectors at the various â€Å"susu† group. â€Å"Susu† Group |Female |Male | | | | | |Garden City |28 |6 | | | | | |savings and loans | | | | | | | |â€Å"Gye nyame† |10 |4 | | | | | |â€Å"susu† center | | | From the table above, it could be observed that out of the to tal number of â€Å"susu† collectors from the two â€Å"susu† groups of forty-eight (48), thirty-eight (38) of these â€Å"susu† collectors are female representing 79% and ten (10) out of forty-eight (48) are male representing only 21%. This reveals that the majority of â€Å"susu† collectors in the Bantama sub-metro are females. Educational qualification of respondents. Level of Education |Number Interviewed |Percentage (%) | | | | | |Tertiary education |2 |8 | | | | | |Post secondary |8 |32 | | | | | |Technical school |5 |20 | | | | | |Vocational school |10 |40 | The observation made from the table and the pie chart indicated that as much as 40% of the â€Å"susu† collectors interviewed had vocational education, 20% had technical education, 32% had ost secondary education, and 8% had tertiary education. What problems do collectors face with their clients? Aryeetey et, al (1990) said besides the difficulty of operating a bank account, the dist ribution of banks and low levels of literacy in Ghana especially among traders, makes the informal saving practical for certain categories of people. â€Å"Susu† collectors face problems with the high illiteracy rate among the traders among the problem. This was made known to the researcher during the study. Out of the nineteen (19) responses received from â€Å"susu† collectors from the two (2) â€Å"susu† groups, eighteen (18) representing 94. 7% responded â€Å"Yes† to having problems with their clients. Some problems included documentation problems: That is the problems mostly faced with the illiterate clients. Majority of the trader-contributors do not understand the operations of the scheme and accuse â€Å"susu† collectors of being ‘fraud agents’ in times of any delays in payment of their contributed amount. How does the scheme operate? Referring to the literature review, Aryeetey (1998) found that, the â€Å"olus† or â€Å"susu† collectors go to markets and hawkers to collect daily savings. The â€Å"susu† contributor chooses the amount he or she can deposit each day, and the collector records this amount on a card, indicating some personal information about the depositor. No formal agreement exists between the saver and the collector. The scheme is based entirely on personal trust and relationship. Some collectors do make credit facilities available to some of their traders. Such facilities sometimes attract interest on the credits. â€Å"Susu† collectors were entitled to the first daily contribution as commission. The money collected from various contributors are sent to the agent of the scheme which is later deposited at the bank for save keeping. The researcher also found that, the monies collected by the rotating â€Å"susu† collectors daily are submitted to â€Å"susu† agents who are also called senior â€Å"susu† collectors to render accounts on the mount collected. â€Å"susu† agents renders accounts to the general accountant. The monies are then deposited at the bank or reinvested into businesses to earn interest. To ensure the safety of contributions , monies are invested into high interest earning business. Monies deposited to the banks are redrawn with the bureaucratic system were executives endorse the cheque. It includes the endorsement of the general accountant, scheme manager and scheme administrator. In cases where a contributor wanted to collect a contribution, the â€Å"susu† collector is informed a day before the collection. If the â€Å"susu† collector is not informed a day before the collection of the ontribution and he or she feels the amount collected from â€Å"susu† contributors are enough, the â€Å"susu† collectors pays the amount demanded. The â€Å"susu† collector collects the contribution card or book within which the â€Å"susu† collector ticks and sends it to the office of â€Å"susu† group for clearance. The researcher also observed that, depositors with â€Å"susu† collectors usually increases the amount of their deposits in November, often doubling them. They do so obviously to ensure that they are able t o save adequately towards anticipated expenditure for Christmas. Interest and collateral base Broham, John (2000) found that on the credit side, the advances made by the â€Å"susu† ollectors to their regular depositors are usually of low value, very short term ( less than one year) provided in an interest free basis without collateral and disbursed immediately if the money is at hand. The money lenders advance loans on interest higher than the banks but without collateral, and disbursed very quickly if the client is known. The researcher wanted to know how lending capital was raised and allocated. For â€Å"susu† collectors, mobilized deposits were their only lending bases. The capital base of most â€Å"susu† operations in Bantama sub-metro appeared to have grown considerably in nominal terms since their activities began. Various institutions were able to determine whether he base had grown in real terms, by how much their clientele had grown. They suggested t hat they had seen real growth over the years. †susu† collectors in Bantama sub-metro granted an average loan of ?450,000 in 2004, with a repayment schedule of one month. The longest maturity period offered by â€Å"susu† collectors was three month. Here, also the loan amounts were often about the same size as were requested by clients. Thus it would seem that â€Å"susu† collectors do not normally scale down the amount requested by clients; in fact, they indicate that their clients know what is reasonable to expect. In 2004, the largest loan amount granted by a†susu† collector was 2,500,000 and the smallest ? 200,000 indicating the flexibility of the system. â€Å"susu† collectors cannot grant longer-term loans given the short-term nature of their deposit liabilities. Here, also, the difference in the average size of urban and rural loans was statically significant. The loan amount of a rotating â€Å"susu† group is equivalent to t he total amount contributed by its members at an agreed-upon time. The size of these cash contributions vary widely from one group to another. Members usually choose an amount that will yield a sizable enough fund for them to make ‘large’ purchases or to provide working capital for business. The appropriated size ay thus be derived from the cost of some of the goods that members wanted to buy, including household appliances and building materials. Some of the amounts being applied in the public departments of some urban areas are about 10% of the salaries of junior civil servants each month, yielding an intake (or loan amount) of ? 900,000. Most â€Å"susu’ collectors do not charge interest on their loans because all they do is advance amounts equivalent to what clients are obliged to save, less their own commission at about 3. 3% each month for the 30% of the sample who do charge interest on loans; particularly to non- depositor clients. It is obvious that when â€Å"susu† collectors decree to lend to non-clients they ehave like typical moneylenders, with the exception-that â€Å"susu† collectors intermediate funds that are mobilized through â€Å"susu† collection. However, in view of the high-risk and short-term nature of this activity, its scope is limited. In reference to collateral, â€Å"susu† collectors take security for granted in view of the nature of association. Thus, many â€Å"susu† collectors require security only when they lend to non-deposit clients (40% of the sample of collectors) and almost 70% of the cooperatives do not require security. Why do people engage in â€Å"susu†? Aryeetey (1996) found out in his research into the operations, utilizations, and changes in otating â€Å"susu† savings in Ghana that, in an economic climate where several social groups in the workforce find that their access to informal institutions is limited due to their socio-economic handicap, inf ormal institutions such as â€Å"susu† are bond to flourish. According to World Bank (1995), in areas where banking systems offer low quality services: The processing of deposit and redrawal takes several hours then â€Å"susu† is bond to flourish. Out of the four (4) â€Å"susu† contributors interviewed, three (3) representing 75% agreed to the fact that they engage in the â€Å"susu† because banks may be away from them but the â€Å"susu† collectors come to collect the daily contribution at their own convenience. All the four (4) agreed o the fact that many banking systems offer low quality services: the processing of deposits and withdrawal takes several hours and in some instances customer find no cash and must revisit the bank for withdrawal. CHAPTER FIVE Summary, conclusion and recommendations Introduction This chapter summarizes the findings in the study and draws conclusions on them. Finally it gives recommendations as to how to solve the p roblems entailed in the previous chapter and gives possible suggestions to improve on the operations of â€Å"susu† scheme by â€Å"susu† collectors. Summary The objective of this research carried on was to investigate on the problems facing â€Å"susu† collectors in the Bantama sub-metro. During the study, it was realized that â€Å"susu† groups and â€Å"susu† collectors kept good records on their activities. The majority of the â€Å"susu† collectors were females and majority of them had vocational school certificate. The â€Å"susu† groups prepared budget yearly with funds sourced from â€Å"susu† contributors re-invested into other businesses to raise enough interest to match against expenditure. Rules and regulations were set to be a guideline for book keeping at various â€Å"susu† groups. Appropriate budgetary system was conducted and financial books for various activities were kept properly and were used for different purposes except that â€Å"susu† collectors were not actively involved. A monitoring team hat checks the financial operations had been set up and external auditors audited the financial books kept strictly annually. â€Å"susu† collectors are attractive to low-income earners who need short-t erm working capital. The relatively low interest rate makes lending even more attractive, as does the possibility that repayment can be made daily in small amounts. Although the loans amounts are relatively small, their regularity enables many traders to smoothing their expenditure patterns by making immediate payments to suppliers and thus ensuring a regular flow of supplies. The small size of the loans and their very short maturity periods do not make them very useful for small and micro enterprises. Lastly a research work that was to be conducted on the improvement of operations of the â€Å"susu† scheme was yet to be done. Conclusion From the information obtained from the questionnaires and interviews, a conclusion needs to be drawn to assess the operations and problems faced by â€Å"susu† collectors in the country. The subheadings below present the conclusion: Administrative problems. Rules and regulations are set for â€Å"susu† groups with regards to the reporting guidelines and the proper action to be taken on the books kept at various â€Å"susu’ schemes. The â€Å"susu† groups were supposed to use the ATF reporting guidelines. The majority of â€Å"susu† collectors in Bantama sub-metro expressed their discomfort with this guideline stating it was so rigid and inflexible. The work of the external or independent auditors helps to prevent fraud and irregularities in the operations of the â€Å"susu† scheme. However, â€Å"susu† collectors expressed their discomfort when the external auditors are at the premises of the â€Å"susu† group stating that they distract and interrupt their daily operations and work. The daily budget drawn was to help a financial plan for a period of time. Many items of expenditure were mostly considered to match revenue for per year. â€Å"susu† collectors were not happy with the budget because they were not mostly considered in the budget as an expenditure item. Organization and operational problems As it was observed in the previous chapter, for a contribution to be redrawn by a contributor, he or she needs to inform the â€Å"susu† collector a day before the collection. â€Å"susu† contributors expressed their annoyance with the system and mistrust with this operation. This has been a problem â€Å"susu† collectors face with this operation. The â€Å"susu† groups offer jobs for the unemployed of this country and in so doing reduces the problem of high rate of unemployment. However â€Å"susu† collectors expressed their dissatisfaction with the amount they receive as salary especially during the month of November where most susu† collectors’ client and deposits per â€Å"susu† contributor increases in size. The monitoring team had not done enough study to ascertain the problems â€Å"susu† collectors face and even if they had done that. No effort was made to address these problem s. Also the various â€Å"susu† groups have personnel with varying educational background like those identified in the previous chapter. How ever the groups do not set a specific standard of qualification required. The analysis in the previous chapters reveals that â€Å"susu† collectors cannot grant longer-term loans given the short-term nature of their deposit liabilities. Also the loan amount of a rotating susu† group is equivalent to the total amount contributed by its members at an agreed-upon time. Most â€Å"susu† collectors do not charge interest on their loans because all they do is advance amounts equivalent to what clients are obliged to save, less their own commission. This reduces the profitability of â€Å"susu† groups as well as has effects on the salary of â€Å"susu† collectors. â€Å"susu† collectors require security only when they lend to non-deposit clients. â€Å"susu† collectors tend to face problems when s ome client fails to pay amount loaned to them. To conclude it all, â€Å"susu† collectors face administrative problems as well as problems in the organization and operation of the scheme. Recommendation. To improve upon the operation of the â€Å"susu† scheme in Bantama sub-metro after identifying the problems they face. The suggestions below should be taken into consideration. Rotating â€Å"susu† collectors association (ROSCA) should review the ATF guidelines regularly to ensure consistent application of the accounting standards to the accounting books kept. The budget implementation team should also ensure that, â€Å"susu† collectors problems are identified and included in the budget and ensure that funds are solely spent according to what has been budgeted. ROSCA should also set up an accounting advisory unit to update the accountant on proper books keeping and accounting which will facilitate proper planning and decision. In every institution, there must be a control mechanism in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. ROSCA should appoint internal auditors who will work permanently for â€Å"susu† groups alongside a set of rules and regulations to govern the conduct of these internal auditors. Regular research work must be encouraged by way of providing researchers with the needed information in order to determine the shortfalls of the operations of â€Å"susu† collectors. â€Å"susu† deposits should be educated on the operation of the scheme in order to avoid frequent blaming of â€Å"susu† collectors. To raise the amount of salary for â€Å"susu† collectors, a low interest should be charged to regular clients. This is to get enough funds to pay â€Å"susu† collectors. â€Å"susu† collectors should demand collateral security before loans can be advanced. This is to avoid the risk of loosing money in the operation of the scheme. The researcher supposes that, if the above suggestions recommended are carried out, it would improve upon the operations of the â€Å"susu† scheme by â€Å"susu† collectors in the Bantama sub- metro. Suggestions for further research. Research work conducted was limited to problems facing â€Å"susu† collectors in the Bantama sub-metro. The researcher therefore suggest further research work on the problems facing â€Å"susu† collectors in other sub-metros in Kumasi and Ghana at large. RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

Politics & Watchmen Essay

Comic books have long held the fascination of young and adult alike. Their social commentary on politics and cultural integration of societies along with their charismatic protagonists pitted against the forces of evil become a gateway into self-reflection – whether or not that self be a person or a government. In Alan Moore’s graphic novel The Watchmen such policy questions and the ambiguity of evil come to the forefront of the story. The Watchmen is a graphic novel with takes place in the United States in the 1980’s but facts about history have changed in order to give the reader a more amoral society: Nixon is still president, America won the Vietnam War and the future looks like a bright place full of peace thanks to Dr. Manhattan’s element introducing new engineering feats to even new fabrics (as seen with Rorschach’s mask that had once been a lady’s dress). All of these elements combine to enlighten the reader and to cause them to question a static government whose lines of good and evil are nonexistence in the face of progress as Moore stated in 1986, â€Å"[I] was consciously trying to do something that would make people feel uneasy. † (Stewart Synchronicity and Symmetry 1987). This paper will seek to develop an analysis of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel including commentary from other sources that will support and deny the brilliance of this novel and its social commentary on American culture. Alan Moore presents the reader with passages throughout his text which aid the reader in subplots of his story. Some sections are dedicated to Nite Owl while others are dedicated to the tragedy of a pirate shipwrecked in Tales of the Black Freighter. The point of these small diversions from the main story is to give the reader a more comprehensive look into the morals of the story at hand. Moore is giving his readers an idea about heroes and their obligations to justice paired with their personal identities as Singh states, And we meet the protagonists, each with his or her own set of personal demons – including the amoral Edward Blake/The Comedian (a character about whom I would have liked to learn more) whose death sets the plot in motion and the two erstwhile Nite Owls who meet on Saturdays to reminisce about glories past. The only character in the book who actually has supernormal powers is Dr Manhattan/Jonathan Osterman, who developed extraordinary control over matter following a laboratory accident. While the classic superhero comic might have used Dr Manhattan to great effect in action scenes, his function here is different: he serves as a dispassionate observer/commenter on human affairs. (Of course, he is also being used as a weapon by the US – a dubious move, since his very presence in the world encourages the possibility of mutually assured destruction. ) (Singh How Superheroes Fade 2006). Through Moore’s writing the reader discovers that the hero’s battle for justice is being underwritten by the government, especially with the enforcement of the Keene Act: An act which requires masked avengers to give the public their true identity. While some heroes do in fact acquiesce to this new law (i. e. the Silk Spectre/Laurie Juspeczyk, and Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt) or not (Rorschach/Walter Kovacs), or simply retire (the second Nite Owl/Daniel Dreiberg) the fact that the government is requiring for their heroes to divulge their identity and thereby become more of a target to their enemies is part of that running dialogue of government policies that serve no purpose, and definitely no good purpose that Moore was adamant about writing into his story. This idea about heroes begets the ideas about Greek and Roman culture (indeed many comic book heroes have their origins with ancient gods and goddesses) and with this connotation comes another Greek route: That of a hero’s flaw as Bradford Wright writes about Moore’s concept of the graphic novel that The Watchmen is, â€Å"Moore’s obituary for the concept of heroes in general and superheroes in particular. † (Wright 272). There is one hero in this story which allows for the bending of good into the realm of evil to play a dynamic role in the book: Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt seeks to become like Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquered the known world- and he did this in order to unite the world and thereby eliminate opposition and evil. In Adrian’s mind, in order to become a great hero he must accomplish a united world in order to have global peace. Thus, he decides to fake a global threat in the form of an alien attack toward the close of the novel. This attack succeeds in uniting the United States with Russia and other leaders (remember this was a time when the Cold War was a serious issue, and even though Moore chose to change the face of the president for his graphic novel, the impending doom of the world is something he still kept in as a fact for his story). As most heroes have flaws, Ozymandias’ flaw may be considered to be his ego – for he wants to be greater than his own personal hero Alexander the Great. Tragic heroes begin their stories with aplomb of luck, or ego, or a rosy view of the world. With literature or drama the tragedy of the unmistakable truth found in the character’s own self-realization is typically the denouement. The writer’s tragic heroes have survived in life under false pretences, thus they are doomed to suffer from their one flaw of ego as Iain Thomson writes,†developing its heroes precisely in order to deconstruct the very idea of the hero and so encouraging us to reflect upon its significance from the many different angles of the shards left lying on the ground†. (Thomson Deconstructing the Hero 101). What is different in Moore’s novel is that Ozymandias doesn’t succumb to his ego – at least not in the written pages of the novel (for Rorschach’s novel does reach the attention of the Frontiersman newspaper and the reader is left to assume its pages will be printed and the truth about the alien hoax will be publicized). Thomson goes on to state â€Å"†¦ develops its heroes precisely in order to ask us if we would not in fact be better off without heroes†¦[and the story’s deconstruction of the idea of a hero] suggests that perhaps the time for heroes has passed [which further illustrates] this postmodern work from the deconstructions of the hero in the existentialism movement. † (Thomson 111). Thus, with the hero turned bad guy (for the cause of world peace) and not being punished by the ultimate superhero of the book, Dr. Manhattan, the reader is left wondering Where is justice? It is this question which spurns on the plots and subplots of the novel. With the Keene Act masked avengers are forced to reveal their identity but The Comedian/Edward Blake does not have to do this as he is an agent for the government. His work for the government is similar to a mercenary soldier – he goes into American occupied territories and takes care of local uprisings. The part of the book dedicated to Blake’s story shows him in Vietnam with a flame thrower killing soldiers. The next scene is of Blake in a bar with a pregnant woman asking him to take of her now that the war is over. Blake laughs at her and she then grabs a bottle and breaks it then attacks him brutally slashing his face as Reynolds states of Blake’s personality, â€Å"[he is] ruthless, cynical, and nihilistic, and yet capable of deeper insights than the others into the role of the costumed hero†(Reynolds 106). The justice of the novel in this scene takes place when Blake takes out his pistol and shoots her in the stomach. The underlining commentary on this scene is further developed as the reader realizes through Blake’s dialogue with Dr. Manhattan that Manhattan could have turned the gun into anything he wanted, but he didn’t, he simply allowed events to play through. So, the characters’ amoral personalities and their ability to follow their government as soldiers and kill villagers then kill a pregnant woman, or even to allow a pregnant woman to be killed when one could have done something to prevent it, layer the story with what are the definitions of good and evil and these traits applications to men who claim to be fighting for justice. Does guilt make evil actions less amoral? This is a question which plagues through Moore’s commentary on the government. The United States government sent Dr. Manhattan to annihilate small villages in order for them to surrender to the U. S. all in under the guise of peace as Klock states, â€Å"[l]ike Alan Moore’s kenosis, [Veidt] must destroy, then reconstruct, in order to build ‘a unity which would survive him. ‘† (Klock 75). Does a government feel guilt over the thousands that die on the opposition’s side? And, if they do feel guilt, how does a feeling make recompense for the harm that is done? Indeed, Moore’s novel about ambiguous feelings gives all of the contradictions of the American government (Sabin 165). In the world of graphic novels, the cut and dry interpretation of the hero fighting side by side with its government and government agencies such as cops, it would seem then that the government would become a hero in association with the protagonists of the story. In Moore’s novel, the reader sees the development of the anti-hero in full climax with the character of The Comedian. The Comedian is a social commentary on how governments, different agencies and countries are a joke – they promise to help the people but when the government sends Blake and Dreiberg to control the rioting in the street all it takes it one person from the crowd to throw a beer bottle at the Archimedes (Nite Owl’s flying device) for Blake to go into the crowd shooting his gun at the people he’s supposed to be protecting. All throughout the novel Moore has Dave Gibbons illustrate the phrase â€Å"Who Watches The Watchmen† written in graffiti all over the city. At this pivotal scene in the novel, when the crowd disperses one lone soul is spray painting this phrase on the side of a building when Blake comes up to them. This is main theme of the graphic novel – who controls the hero when the hero becomes evil? This question comes to a climax with Ozymandias’ character along with (to an extent) Blake’s character.

Abstract paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abstract - Term Paper Example This doesn’t imply that understanding a speech necessarily means understanding the context in which the speech is delivered. However the author argues that it is impossible to comprehend a speech unless its context and utterance are understood. This is true of both rhetorical and non-rhetorical discourse. The author draws various analogies with a rhetorical situation. He feels that a rhetorical is analogous to a moral action. We call an act moral because it is performed in a certain situation of a certain kind. Similarly, a work is rhetorical because it is the result of a situation of a certain kind. In an imaginary world, there will only be communication as argued world over but no rhetoric. This is because exigencies will not erupt. In our own world, however, rhetorical exigencies are bound to crop up. The video that was provided to me was John Kennedy’s speech on Martin Luther King’ speech. The speech demonstrates the rhetorical situation explained by Bitzer in his article. The speech is a well used example of rhetoric in public relations. Its purpose was to make the audience feel that Americans need not worry about being discriminated on the basis of their religion, ethnic and cultural back ground. The speech is a very well placed example of a rhetorical situation as explained by Bitzer. The context of the situation demanded this speech by John F Kennedy. As explained by Bitzer exigency is a very important constituent of any rhetorical situation. An exigency is considered to be an imperfection and is ear marked by urgency. It is more or less a defeat, an obstacle, something that is waiting to be done and a thing which is other than what is should be. The situation in which Kennedy made the speech was ear-marked by an emergency. Thus is was a fitting response given the circumstances and the background under which the speech was

Marketing strategy of Fiat Grande Punto Abarth Essay

Marketing strategy of Fiat Grande Punto Abarth - Essay Example Adding the Abarth treatment will especially appeal to the youth segment of Fiat's market. The formation of a racing and rally team comes off as an attractive progression to the market when the Grand Punto Abarth S2000 won the Italian and European Rally Championships in 2006. Marketing schemes include promotional clothing and merchandise. As announced, the new Abarth division within Fiat comes off strong in experienced manpower support, "with a total of 113 experts, including 26 engineers, 43 on the manufacturing side of the business and nine dedicated purely to motorsport." The use of the scorpion emblem on the new Grande Punto shown in the recent Geneva Motor Show also is a particularly strong and visceral image that communicates well that Fiat's small car has power and "sting". Further, the marketing of the new Grande Punto Abarthe uses in full force the Abarthe legacy within Fiat that has been long relegated to the company's in-house tuning division. Absorbed by Fiat in 1971, the Abarth company founded by Carlo Abarth produced sporty versions of Fiat models. The last stand-alone Abarth model produced by Fiat was 1984 Ritmo 130 TC Abarth according to the Carblogger website. The strategy of reviving the Abarth marque within Fiat seems to be half-measure towards a full return of the Abarth model in the automaker stable of brands. The strategy is still to infuse Fiat models with the Abarth interpretation of a motorsports power and allure as it has done in the past. However, the more visual return of the marque (i.e the use of the scorpion logo) has started with the successful Grande Punto model, and Fiat has announced that the next car models to get Abarth treatment will be the Bravo and the Fiat 500. While not in itself a brand, the new marketing moves seems to communicate that this is so.And if this is so in full practice, Fiat may have created an all-new and stand-alone and modern Abarth brand that incorporates its traditional hold on motorsport glory and Fiat's known hold on the market for its pricing affordability. Instead of a piecemeal approach to allow the public to sample the Abarth treatment in every Fiat model, the company could have tested the Fiat Grande Punto Abarth market response in so far as to create an all-new market for a stand-alone Abarth brand. Thus, the marketing strategy may communicate well with existing and loyal Fiat buyers, and create even bigger demand within the captured market of Fiat, especially the young and bolder segments. However, this may not happen as effectively or as successfully to the market not yet reached by Fiat or those who have never bought Fiat cars in the past. For one, the brand is still in fact tied to "interpreting" its mark on Fiat's existing and successful car models. While marketing promotions as a communication strategy will add a notch over-all

Socrates and Crito Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates and Crito - Essay Example Crito visited Socrates before dawn and made different arrangements for smuggling Socrates from the prison. But Socrates was not willing to accept the views of Crito. Crito placed many arguments for influencing Socrates to escape from prison. Crito believed that death of Socrates would create negative impressions on him and his friends. Crito and his friends supported Socrates and loved him a lot. For this reason they wanted to save him. But if they are unable to save Socrates then people would think that Crito and his friend did nothing for their dear friend. Crito stated that Socrates should not be concerned about the financial costs and risks which his friends had to bear for saving him. Crito and his friends were willing to pay money and fines for saving Socrates’ life. They also arranged a better life for Socrates. Crito tried his best by presenting best arguments to take Socrates out from prison. Ethical issues were pointed out by Crito. He stated that if Socrates stays i n the prison then his enemies would be benefited by this. So it would be an injustice to Socrates. Moreover if Socrates accepts his execution then his sons would be left alone. They would not get the guidance of their father. But Socrates was not concerned about public opinion (Plato 67). He was interested to listen to the advices of expert people. For this reason Socrates advised Crito not to get concerned with the opinions of others.

Learning Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning Styles - Essay Example I think that everyone should know the way they learn. However, if an individual does not know how they learn they may find it a struggle to learn. They may be trying to learn the wrong way they may make them become frustrated and give up. When I was in high school I was not a good student. I received c’s and d’s. I was trying but l did not have anyone to show me how to learn so I gave up. It was not until I went to collage that I learned how to learn. Now I love to learn and I try to learn from different sources (LeFever, 2003). In taking the learning inventory I have found that there are few techniques that I have not tried; such as using graphics, tables, and spreadsheets to organize material, walk back and forth, and reading out loud. I would also like to try using things in my home and on the street to memory things. Throughout, my collage learning experiment I have learned not to give up. If I cannot learn in one way there are always ten other ways to try to learn the material (LeFever,

Giography Assignment (stateless nation) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Giography Assignment (stateless nation) - Essay Example For centuries before that date, the Jewish people basically lived as a religious group rather than one with a national homeland (Johnson, P., 2009). In Russia, the Dagestani homeland is the highland area of the Caucasus Mountains and occupies 70 percent of the Caspian Sea coastline. The Dagestan Republic has 31 official ethnic groups with over 80 nationalities. This area operates primarily on isolated clans, including its own language, cultural heritage and clan loyalties as the central focus, rather than considering itself a nation or a state (Minahan, 2002). This report covers the gypsies in several areas of the world. As a group unto themselves, there is no nation for the gypsies as they are group wanderers, settling down only for a short time before moving on. Information on the gypsies will be related to the following disciplines: physical, cultural and historical. The physical discipline will relate to places in different countries where they settled for any length of time. The cultural discipline will give an overview of how the gypsies lived their daily lives and what interactions they might have had with local populations. Finally, the historical discipline will outline how gypsies have affected national history and events while living in various countries, and how they, as an identified group, were viewed by the general population. Gypsies have always been regarded by nationals as being vagrants and somewhat unsavory because they moved around so much and did not interact with the public. Keeping to themselves and pretty much relying on the land was a principle they followed almost religiously. Townspeople were not inclined to reach out and attempt to make friends because of this negative view towards gypsies, perhaps fearing some thievery, or the possibility of catching diseases (Hoyland, 2011). Alternatively, gypsies avoided contact except in cases of great need in

Islamc business ethics and Christina Research Paper

Islamc business ethics and Christina - Research Paper Example Islamic and Christianity have caused an increase in business ethical arguments concerning relations of firms with globalization and secularization. Religion is considered as the benchmark of moral values. It addresses morality questions of what is right and wrong in business matters. The role of faith and religious beliefs on ethical business practices in a community has been questioned. The conventional teachings of Islam and Christianity on trade ethics correlated issues such as values, legal codes of behaviour on the control of a business, the workplace and wealth attainment and use highly affect a business management. Ethical and moral issues in businesses are raised in cases involving bribery, corruption, fraud and cheating. Religion is also critical in ethical matters dealing with discrimination, injustice and rights of employees, customers and stakeholders as well as other values in business (O’Brien and Scott, 35). Islam is the only major religion in the world that was founded by a businessperson. Islam has been known to have tranquillity toward the profession of the merchant. The Quran and the Bible are integral in providing ethical and moral guidance from the faith perspective about business management. In secular civilizations, legal analysis are footed upon modern and always transient values and standards; in the Islamic community, these ideals and principles are guided by the Shari’ah and reference to other previous judgements (O’Brien and Scott, 38). For instance, Islam has provided women with enduring and unalienable privileges and has never differentiated against minorities. The Islamic law analysis underpins highlights on equity and justice. The Quran contains some details pertaining to contract law. This shows the significance of contracts as the Quran gives few laws and little legal details. The law corresponds to the accepted

Abu-Dhabi Development UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Abu-Dhabi Development UAE - Essay Example Over the last few years Abu Dhabi has diversified the economic activity through large sums of foreign and local investments in financial services and tourism. As a result Abu Dhabi has attracted a large number of people from all over the world who come and visit Abu Dhabi regularly, whereas many people stay here permanently. The development that took place in Abu Dhabi can be divided into three phases; first being the pre oil era, second phase is of the development that took place after the discovery of oil and the third phase is the recent development in construction which has attracted a large number of people from all over the world (Explorer Publishing, 2007). Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the north of the Persian Gulf and is just 250 meters away from the mainland from the nearest point. A number of bridges, most of which have been constructed recently connect the city with various parts of the country; however a large portion of the area is on the mainland which has a des ert and arid climate (Davidson, 2009). Abu Dhabi city is located on the island itself but there are many suburbs on the mainland most of them are residential schemes. The hot and arid climate of the region does not support agriculture and the number of green places in the city has been increased recently through strong efforts of the government and also through the use of technology. It is quite evident that the hot climatic conditions of Abu Dhabi are not good for agriculture and therefore agriculture does not have any role in the development of the city. The major source of income of the city over the last few decades has been the production of oil as it is the largest oil producer in United Arab Emirates and accounts for 9 percent of the total oil reserves of the world. Currently the oil production stands at 2.3 million barrels per day and the government has initiated various projects for increasing the oil production to 3 million barrels per day. The major development that took place in Abu Dhabi was based on these oil reserves, however recently the government of the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi city has decided to reduce their dependency on the oil sector and have introduced various other programs which include the promotion of real estate and tourism and also the establishment of various industrial zones. The various industrial zones which have been constructed to facilitate the establishment of industry include ICAD I, ICAD II, ICAD III, Al Ain Industrial City (I and II) and also the residential city which has been planned for the workers of these industrial zones. The various facilities which have been provided in these industrial cities include: 1. High quality infrastructure to support the industries which has been planned and constructed in accordance with the international standards and codes. 2. The provision of public utilities in the residential cities which have been established inside these industrial cities and near them. These faciliti es include cultural centers, business centers, banks, shopping malls and hospitals. 3. Various zones within these industrial cities have been specified for the various types of industries which include light goods industries, wood industries, chemical industries, engineering industries, plastic industries, textile industries, construction materials industries, oil and gas related industries etc. This classification of industries in the industrial cities has led to the formation of clusters of same type of industries within the industrial cities. 4. These industrial cities also provide the industries with various warehouses within the industrial city. These warehouses have been constru

The Social Problem of Bullying Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Social Problem of Bullying - Research Paper Example The dependent variable in the proposed research will consist of the rate of bullying evident in a variety of schools having different characteristics, expressed as a percentage.   As such the dependent variable will be a ratio-type variable, having the ability to be expressed as a measurable number of fine distinctions possible as to quantity.   The independent variables to be utilized for this study will be drawn from data provided in the Statistical Abstracts, including age-level of students (expressed as an ordinal variable measured as elementary, middle, of high school), enrollment of school (expressed as ordinal breakdowns determining the size of schools), and minority enrollment within schools (again expressed as an ordinal breakdown).   It is expected that these different independent variables will each have an impact on the rate of bullying, as they determine the developmental age of students, as well as the size and supposed social stresses and inter-community cohesion of the various school types.   The proposed relationships of the variables will be as   The basic research problem will be to discover how the age and population characteristics of a given school are associated with incident rates of bullying.It is expected that the older the student population, the more likely it will be that bullying will be prevalent, largely because the students will be more likely to be willing to use coercion and violence against their peers as they grow into their own independence. This leads to the following hypothesis. H1. The older the student population, the higher the rate of bullying that will exist. Similarly it is expected that the larger a school is the more likely bullying will be prevalent, because (1) the school community will be more difficult to govern, and (2) the larger number of students will likely include more of the personality type that is prone to violence and bullying. This results in the second hypothesis. H2. The larger the school, the higher the rate of bullying that will exist. Finally, it is expected that the higher the rate of minority students within a given school, the more likely bullying will be prevalent. It is expected that two factors will work toward this end. First, the prevalence of more diverse communities will likely result in more social cohesion problems at this developmental age. Second, it is expected that minority students will be more likely to be involved in bullying, either as its victims, or as perpetrators, as they seek to express their own independence. This leads to the third hypothesis. H3. The larger the minority enrollment, the higher the r

Definition of Budget Essay Example for Free

Definition of Budget Essay It is an estimation of the revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time. It can help to create a system when someone wants to open a shop or start investments. A budget can be made for a person, family, group of people, business, government or anything else that makes and speaks money. It can also help to establish a planned level of expenditures and it can help to maintain a budget for a company either on an accrual or a cash basis. Structured planning can make all the difference to the growth of the business, it will enable businesses to concentrate resources on improving profits, reducing cost and increasing returns on investment. Relationship Between Budgeting Management of Business When a budget is done properly, it can serve as a planning and controlling system. The company’s data, goal, performance objectives are documented in financial terms. It can help to see whether the company is profiting or not profiting. These budgeting are used throughout the year, monthly performance reports compare budgeted results with actual results. The role that effective budgeting plays in the management of business, is best understood when it is related to the fundamentals of management. Planning is essential in the management of a business. Management has certain variables that it can control. Goals are the annual planning process for every company. These goals can be termed as profit, return on investment, product leadership, market share, product diversification, or simply survival. It helps an organization set a level for clients. Advantages Of Budgeting The major strength of budgeting is that it coordinates activities across departments. It can help to calculate the amount of money needed for the month or year. Budget translates strategic plans into action. They specify the resources, revenues and activities required to carry out the strategic plan for the coming year. Budget provides and excellent record of organizational activities. It also helps to improve communication between employees. It can help with profitability review as a properly structured budget points out which aspects of a business generate cash and which ones to use. Cash allocations can be used when there is a limit to the amount of cash available to invest in fixed assets and working capital, and the budgeting process forces management to decide which assets are most worth investing in. Also, large investors may want a benchmark against which they can measure the company’s progress. Even if a company chooses not to lend much credence to its own budget, it may still be valuable to construct a conservative budget to share with investors. The same argument holds true for lenders, who may want to see a budget versus actual results comparison from time to time. Disadvantages Of Budgeting There may be inaccuracy during budgeting as it is based on assumptions based on a set of assumptions that are generally not too far distant from the operating conditions under which it was formulated. If the business environment changes to any significant degree, then the company’s revenues or cost structure may change so radically that actual results will rapidly depart from the expectations delineated in the budget. It can also be very time-consuming to create a budget, especially in a poorly-organized environment where many iterations of the budget may be required. The time involved is lower if there is a well-designed budgeting procedure in place, employees are accustomed to the process, and most of the company uses budgeting software now. The budget may prescribe that certain amounts of overhead costs be allocated to various departments, and the managers of those departments may take issue with the allocation methods used. This is a particular problem when departments are not allowed to substitute services provided from within the company for lower-cost services that are available else where. Limitations Of Budgeting Large investors may want a benchmark against which they can measure the company’s progress. Even if a company chooses not to lend much credence to its own budget, it may still be valuable to construct a conservative budget to share with investors. The same argument holds true for lenders, who may want to see a budget versus actual results comparison from time to time. Budgeting is a time consuming and costly job. The development of a budget includes many repetitive steps before the budget is finally approved. This process requires lots of negotiations between managers at different levels until a budget evolves which is acceptable to all levels (langfield smith , thorne hilton 2006). Budgets can also cause a great deal of waste and behaviourable problems. Hope and Fraser (1999) cite Jack Welch, from General Electric as claiming that making a budget is and exercise in minimalisation â€Å"you are always getting the lowest out of people, because everyone is negotiating to get t he lowest number.† People’s main goal is to meet the budgets, so they always try to negotiate to get lower targets with lower sales and higher costs, which are well-known as padding the budgets. Conclusion I disagree on having too much even thought budgeting is a major activity. While it has some useful functions for businesses and organisations, it does have many limitations. Budgets consume substantial level of time and resources, but provide little credible and useful information. They add little value but encourage dysfunctional and wasteful behaviours as well as de-motivate employees.