Monday, October 21, 2013

Social Engineering in Education

Education is a field in which objective data are frequently lost in subjective debate.The philosophy of liberalism with its, values of choice, individualism and empiricism, is fundamental for educational decision-makers in western countries. But within this philosophy there are two sides: what divides them is their attitude towards objectivism or, in other words, their view of the real world.

Objectivists hold a world-view that can be traced back at least to Thomas Hobbes, by way of John Stuart Mill, both of whom sought to establish truth through clear definition, rational argument and the test of experience. In particular, Mill considered that the world consisted of uniformities that could be discovered through what is now called the scientific method: laws of cause and effect could be formulated by noting parallel cases.What happend once would, under a sufficient degree of similarity of circumstances, happen again.

Objectivists in education are likely to assume that goals can be agreed, and that costs and effects can be identified and measured. If all this is possible, then cost-effective education systems can be distinguished from those that are not. The former can be replicated, the latter discontinued or modified. It can be expected that casuality will be established beyond resonable doubt. Everything will be explicit, usually through atomistic analysis and often through quantification.
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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Modern Education Methods


Movie Initiatives Every Tutor Must Look at:


Generating college class videos has got less difficult seeing that cellphones, tablets and also other gadgets feature movie functions which are premium quality and also simple to operate. As well as enjoyably, we’ve found that will college students like to work with video—it’s a new format that they comprehend understanding that leads to their imagination. Listed below are 10 suggestions to attempt in your college class nowadays.

1. Come up with a EBook Movie trailer: Difficult task college students to development a new movie-style truck that will excites their classmates in regards to must-read novel or perhaps nonfiction book.

2. Look at Electronic Storytelling: Electronic storytelling is a superb format for college students to talk about additional about their day-to-day lives or to present in regards to man or woman in history.

3. Video a new Appreciate it Take note: If you wish to thank a new targeted visitor for your category or perhaps an amazing parent offer, attempt filming instead of publishing a new thanks notice. Your students’ laughs has to be memorable symbol regarding appreciation!

4. Some Preserve Moms and dads Advised: Have got tiny teams take turns publishing a short summation regarding that which you mastered with a every week or perhaps month to month time frame after which it filming the item, announcement report-style, to talk about having family members.

5. Come up with a How-To Movie: Receive young children to practice their helpful publishing skills by generating small movies that will clarify the way to prepare a new meal, experience a new skateboard or perhaps blast a new little league objective.

6. Have a Stay: If your college students are enthusiastic about an issue at the university (like the size of their transferring durations, for example), ask them to make movies sharing their ideas and/or trying for transform.

7. Repeat popular Report: Being a category, movie your personal edition regarding “Chrysanthemum” or perhaps “The Account regarding Despereaux”—it’s a great way to process key reading skills just like outlining and also comprehension.

8. Come up with a Commercial: Advertisements are convincing publishing on their majority of distilled—have college students make just one for one’s university playground or maybe a nearby appeal.

9. Look at Stop-Action: Stop-action videos undoubtedly are an enjoyable method to file a new research, no matter if its cell phone meiosis or perhaps growing a new bean develop inside a document goblet.

10. Trip Your Classes: Some sort of student-led expedition of one's university, from your cafeteria for the stockpile for the front workplace, is a pleasant resource for sharing having completely new college students and also readers



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Fundamentals of Educational Planning

The modern conception of educational planning has attracted specialists from many disciplines. Each of them tends to see planning rather differently. The purpose of some of the booklets is to help these people explain their particular point of view to one another and to the younger men and women who are being trained to replace them some day. But behind this diversity there is a new and growing unity. Specialists and administrators in developing countries are coming to accept certain basic principles and practices that owe something to the separate disciplines but are yet a unique contribution to knowledge by a body of pioneers who have had to attack together educational problems more urgent and difficult than any the world had ever known. So other booklets in the series represent their common experience, and provide in short compass some of the best available ideas and experience concerning selected aspects of educational planning.

Although the series, under the general editorship of Dr. C.E Beeby, has been planned on a definite pattern, no attempt has been made to avoid differences, or even contradiction. It would be premature, in the Institute's view, to lay down a neat and tidy official doctrine in this new and rapidly evolving field of knowledge and practice. UNESCO or the Institute, they are believed to warrent attention in the international market place of ideas. In short, this seems the appropriate moment to make visible a cross-section of the different opinions whose combined experience covers many disciplines and a high proportion of countries of the world.
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Education and Development

Education in a broad sense has been a process of preparing an individual to know his enviroment and adjust himself to it. A conjecture of a stone age life would  show you a father teaching his son, the arts of tool making, hunting, and self defence; about his enviroment, animals, plants, seasons and his fellow-men, friends and foes. With the advance of civilization the responsibilities and enviroment of man also expanded. The world which be inhabited in stone age disappeared and he had to live in a world which was larger and extremely complex. It was due to be a member of and responsible for a hierarchy of social organizations-family, community and the nation in which he had to assume a role which was very complex as compared with earlier ages of human civilization.
As it is true to any organization, its coming into existense is the manifestation of the fact that a group of individuals organize themselves voluntarily or perforce, with the purpose of achieving certain goals attainment of which would not be possible otherwise. As a member, each individual has to piay his definite role in the organization and contribute to the atainment of the goals for which it came into existance. Depending upon his contribution his place-high or low-is determine in the organization. Same is true to a man's being a member of society or a nation. The only difference which we see between a small organization-a big organization for intance-and a society or a nation is that roles of individuals in a small organization are synonymized in a nation by occupations, profession and institutions.
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Cost-effectiveness in education

Judgments about cost effectiveness are based upon scrutiny of the relationship between costs and effects.

In education, judgements about cost-effectiveness are likely to err because costs and effects cannot be easily measured. Indeed, it is not clear precisely which costs and effects should be included in attempts to make these judgements, as many writers over the past twenty years have commented (e.g. Benson, 1961; Vaizey, 1962). With so much uncertainty surrounding both costs and effects, it is hardly surprising that educational cost-effectiveness is regarded as difficult to judge. In turn, changes in cost effectiveness after the introduction of new educational media may be hard to measure.

Consider first the costs of formal education conducted in traditional institutions such as schools and colleges. Sheultz(1963) recommends that analysis should include not only direct costs (e.g teachers, salaries, materials, supplies, maintenance costs) but also imputed costs (e.g value of tax exemption on school buildings, value of services, such as fire protection, provided free by government and, in some circumstances, even the value of earnings forgone by. students). In fact, few studies in a forth- coming Johns Hopkins volume (perraton, inpress) sometimes mention such costs but usually do not attempt to assess or include them.

Similarly, opinions differ regarding costs of non-formal education conducted outside traditional institutions. Adults participating in a voluntary information technology education project may well have widely varying levels of education and of knowledge of IT. Should these variations, be taken into account in determining costs? A project using radio to teach people in rural areas may be costed without reference to the cost of the transmission network or of the time of local unpaid animators.
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Technology in Educational Planning

The educational planning process has more often then not failed to utilize data to inform decision-making. This is essentially because of the lack of an education management information system capable of delivering valid and reliable data in a timely fashion for the use of educational planners and administrators. This does not mean that data are unavailable: rather. That they cannot be easily retrieved and analyzed. With the advent of micro-computers it is not possible to improve the efficiency of information retrieval  Analysis, and communication throughout the education complex.


Problems of validity and reliability of data will disappear. These are features inherent in most data collection activates. Furthermore, the use of micro-computers can also help to reduce dramatically planning lead time and to facilitate the de concentration and decentralization of the planning and management processes. Computerization cannot of course legitimate the planning process, in so much as planning cannot legitimate decision-making. A functional assumption is that most planning is a process of rationalizing decision-making of a political nature. The use of computer technology is viewed as an instrument for promoting dialogue as well as an attempt to marginally increase the amount of rationality that informs the political decision-making process.
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Accidental & Health Insurance

Our own crash insurance merchandise offer you just one a lesser amount of point in order to be worried about, should the impossible come about. Types of selections in your Crash & Health insurance Prepare “Life Shield”, you can choose to get the best mix of advantages pertaining to your household which might be the following:

1. Lifestyle Defend (Lump total Package deal): having lump total advantages in the event of ND, Advertising, Debbie & PTD, AMR, IH-A, AWI.

2. Only two Lifestyle Defend (Life Moment Profits Package) having advantages ND and every month profit in the event of Advertising, Debbie & PTD.

3. Lifestyle Defend (Put together Package deal): having advantages in the event of ND, Advertising, Debbie & PTD, AMR, IH-A, AWI.

4. Some Lifestyle Defend (Crash & Disease with – Medical Profits Package deal): having advantages in the event of ND, Advertising, Debbie & PTD, AMR, IH-A & Utes, A new & Utes with – Medical operative expense.

Advantages Particulars:

Natural Death (ND):
This specific profit helps to ensure that your household offers the simple profits safeguard any time dying.Accidental Death, Dismemberment and Lasting Complete incapability mishaps are classified as the major factors behind dying and disability. Serious disabilities additionally price the family far more with regards to stress about financial situation. This specific Gain supplies a lump total check associated with cash to shield your household from this critical and likely harmful possibility.

Accidental Health-related Reimbursement (AHR):
Mishaps come about and come about generally. Luckily nearly all are trivial which enable it to possibly be handled at a centre. This specific Gain supplies safeguard even up against the nearly all trivial associated with incidents. We all are going to pay to your health-related costs, should you require these people handled with just about any hospital.

Accidental & Crash In-Hospital income as much as 42 weeks (IH – A new & S):
One more point you have to be worried about if you should employ a remain in a healthcare facility can be who will take care of the youngsters, your house animals, or perhaps the home. This specific Gain supplies a person you’re added in financial situation to repay anything you feel is important in your stay to help you concentrate on having properly. You need to use this pertaining to childcare, journey expenditures, and a non-public room or perhaps help in the home if you want this.

Accidental Once a week Profits (AWI):
Some other incidents may perhaps reduce a person by going to work. We all realize this specific and will substitute portion of this specific decline profits having a cash settlement to your non-permanent disability.

Accidental Death, Dismemberment and Lasting Complete Incapability (AD, Debbie & PTD) - CHILDHOOD REVENUE

Death and critical disabilities additionally price the family far more with regards to stress about financial situation. This specific profit replaces this specific loss of profits by providing monthly Profits for life occasion, having a minimum amount promise associated with two decades.

Accidental & Disease In-Hospital Surgical Bills (A & Utes In-Hospital Surgical Expenses):

Some Traumas & Disease with Medical calls for surgery. This specific profit supplies cash settlement pertaining to operative expenditures as per operative program.
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What is Life Insurance ?

Maybe a basic problem, nevertheless a great place to start – after you start out with a comprehension connected with exactly what life insurance is as well as programs, you'll be ready to make choices about which sort connected with insurance policy best complies with the wants connected with your household.

Inside most effective phrases, life insurance gives insurance in case of your own demise – making certain all your family is constantly on the have fiscal safeguard even while you are long gone. The best view connected with life insurance is to see your point you could have as well as your fiscal implies. Unique variations of insurance policies fit diverse living stages, needs, in addition to fiscal abilities. The accessibility to a variety connected with life insurance procedures causes it to be much better to uncover one who is many appropriate for a scenario.
Don't hold out! Request a free of charge life insurance price!
Kiplinger’s Individual Money supplies a short training on their internet site termed “Life Insurance coverage Manufactured Uncomplicated.” This kind of is a superb breakdown of precisely how your own need for life insurance is influenced by your living point: “starting with no need as soon as you’re fresh, moving on to be able to greater in addition to greater need while you undertake a growing number of liability, lastly beginning to abate while you grow older. ” The subsequent offers a synopsis from the stages connected with living in addition to need for life insurance:

INDIVIDUAL

At this time, mainly because a sensational scene dependents, you will have not a soul which misses your pay after you perish. Whilst insurance policies will not be absolutely essential to guard all your family financial situation, it ought to be regarded. In a young grow older, your rates is often more very affordable.

MARRIED

A small amount of life insurance is advised at this point: although you'll find not really however children present, in case of your own demise, your demise check of an insurance policy might buy mortgage/rent payments, bank card debts in addition to funeral expenses.

MARRIED WITH KIDS
Life insurance is important after children are present mainly because all your family could well be drastically relying on the foreclosure of your pay.


RETIREMENT LIVING

At this time, your kid’s no longer count on your pay therefore you are likely dwelling from your own retirement life resources. Whilst not as much life insurance is critical for this point compared to before that you saw, it really is even now considered to hide funeral expenses in addition to debts, together with to be able to complement your own surviving spouse's retirement life dollars.
Go to the Sorts of Life insurance web site intended for all of the just about all readily available kinds in addition to links to be able to much more information about every. Furthermore, you can travel to the opposite topics in Life insurance Fundamentals, which includes fee info, utilizes connected with life insurance, in addition to discussions concerning the insurance policy in addition to business evaluations.
For anyone who is completely ready for a life insurance price, request a free of charge life insurance price currently. You'll see precisely how very affordable life insurance may be.
Utilizes connected with Life insurance

The leading function connected with life insurance should be to offer fiscal safeguard for a spouse and children in case of your own demise. With no life insurance, when you perish, it's likely you'll get away from all your family having a fiscal load due to your own missing income. Outside of that, you'll find some other operates connected with life insurance. Life insurance Data examines both personal in addition to business utilizes below; look at the Innovative Life insurance Matters web site intended for more utilizes.
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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Life Insurance

Life insurance coverage

Not simply may insurance coverage look after the family’s mortgage and also support all of them keep their particular present quality lifestyle in the event of the particular loss of life involving anyone as well as your lover, additionally, it can safeguard far more specific aspects of lifestyle. Via shielding the children’s schooling to taking care of the partner’s retirement living, we’ve acquired any insurance coverage product that will help look after what’s most crucial to you personally.           
                                                                                                      
Endowment Program
A person often can do your easiest to deal with all your family members. Yet, lifestyle can be brimming with questions. Consequently, it’s critical to ensure all your family members can be covered, really should one thing regrettable afflict anyone. That easy strategy is usually a really inexpensive way of lifestyle deal with, offering high numbers of safeguard from an inexpensive. It’s a great way to be certain your loved ones have got ongoing ease and also security.
Functions::
Your policy supplies payment on the encounter cost you the particular policy manager with the expiry on the Endowment time. Loss of life whenever you want prior to a expiry on the Endowment time ends the particular payment involving rates along with the encounter amount using gathered extra can be paid out towards the named beneficiary.
Schooling Security Program (EPP)
Schooling safeguard strategy may be the foundation in which you can assemble the child’s future and also vocation. Your son or daughter depends on PEOPLE along with the PROFITS anyone give Schooling along with other essentials involving lifestyle. You need your youngster to have degree to supply your ex a good start on this increasingly aggressive earth. This is where our EPP plans suit your needs.
Just how this plan of action operates?
You choose the period on the want to fit age your child from which you want the particular policy continues to become paid out. There exists a broad option. You possibly can pick out any kind of time via a decade to 20 several years.
In readiness:
On your survival involving youngster from readiness, Face Volume of the particular policy in addition Additional bonuses are generally paid out. The money can often buy the degree charges. Or perhaps if he has by now done Schooling, he's going to obtain the cash worthwhile inside beginning the vocation. It is for charges such as Matrimony.
In the event of Payer’s Loss of life:
a) Many future rates within the policy will probably be waived along with the policy remains 100 % power. futhermore
b) Profits regarding education and learning adequate to 1% on the encounter amount can be paid out on a monthly basis towards the youngster until the particular readiness.
c) In readiness Face Volume of the particular policy in addition additional bonuses can be paid out.
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Insurance of Bus Accident Lawyers

Tour bus Damages Insurance

Select your state to identify a bus accident law firm within your talk about as well as city or perhaps fill in the particular free case evaluation form these days. It's COST-FREE!
Accomplish to your human population surge inside Us cities along with an great increase inside road along with motorway traffic, commuters along with vacationers are using community transport for the best charge ever. As a direct consequence of the rise in use, the volume of incidents along with passing away resulting from bus incidents are at an in history substantial.

Safe practices Problems as well as Shuttle Accidents

An essential safety difficulty worries youngsters. You'll find around 450, 000 institution chartering carrying 3. 5 zillion elementary as well as supplementary institution youngsters to as well as from institution everyday in america, frequently without restraint techniques or maybe seat belts. A great remarkably large sum associated with dangerous mishaps arise, since 12, 000 of the youngsters tend to be damaged annually in institution shuttle accidents. Despite the fact that several of these injuries tend to be modest, some tend to be disastrous as well as up to 11 youngsters per year expire caused by some sort of institution shuttle incident.

Shuttle incident statistics:

You'll find on average 360 zillion shuttle guests annually
These kinds of guests travel twenty eight thousand merged voyager miles.Motor coach guests experience are the cause of 945 zillion of these miles
You'll find 25,000 professional chartering with regard to trips, charters, exclusive surgical procedures, as well as typical option companies in the us
You'll find 5,000 motor coach organizations
In between 1993 as well as 1997, 141 motor coach accidents brought on 7 deaths as well as 442 injuries In between 1987 as well as 1996, interstate motor coaches experienced the normal fatality price associated with 5. 3 voyager deaths each year.
Community and also Exclusive Susses
No matter whether an individual or even another person you understand has become damaged in the college shuttle, passenger shuttle, passenger Lorrie, or even shuttle shuttle accident, guide is usually a click on apart. Community and also individual buses also have mishaps that cause passenger incidents. If you had been damaged as being a passenger on the shuttle, you could have extra motivation to look for reparations on your incidents. Due to the fact buses usually are "common providers, inches the culpability for his or her individuals can be higher than the actual disregard obligation due from the shuttle corporation for you to individuals associated with additional cars and also pedestrians.

Accidents from a Shuttle bus Car accident

Shuttle bus accident incidents usually are disturbing ample while not having to block throughout unceasing professional medical payments and also logistical battling. You ought to have being paid on your experience seeing that speedily and also adequately as possible. Don't waste at any time, pertaining to varying law associated with limit laws and regulations (legal period constraints) may impede or even end your current scenario if too much effort passes following accident.


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Insurance policy Matters

All you often desired to be aware of insurance for the just click of the computer mouse. Regardless of whether you are looking for standard details about what's in your insurance policies, methods for lowering costs or an in-depth financial research connected with marketplace tendencies, you'll find the info you would like in numerous insurance topics below.

Precisely what is householders insurance?

House owners insurance delivers financial protection towards dilemmas. A regular coverage safeguards the home per se plus the things you keep from it.House owners insurance is often a deal coverage. This means that the idea covers the two harm to your home and your liability or culpability for virtually any traumas and also residence deterioration people or people of one's loved ones result in to be able to many people. 
For example deterioration a result of house dogs and cats.
Injury a result of most dilemmas is protected however you can find conditions. The most significant are usually deterioration a result of surges, earthquakes and also inadequate maintenance. You need to acquire a couple of different policies intended for avalanche and also earthquake insurance. Maintenance-related problems are classified as the home owners' duty.

Precisely what is vehicle insurance?

Auto insurance shields people towards financial burning in case you have an accident. This is a agreement among people plus the insurer. People say yes to shell out the particular quality plus the insurer confirms to pay ones failures seeing that defined in your coverage. Auto insurance delivers residence, liability and also medical insurance:


Home insurance will pay for harm to or fraud of one's auto mobile.
Culpability insurance will pay for ones culpability to be able to people intended for physical personal injury or residence deterioration.
Professional medical insurance will pay for the cost of the treatment of traumas, treatment and also from time to time shed income and also funeral service expenses. An auto insurance policies is composed of 6-8 varieties of insurance. The majority of says need acquire some, although not all, these insurance. For anyone who is loans an auto, ones bank might also have specifications. The majority of auto policies are usually intended for a few months into a year. Your insurer need to notify people by simply postal mail when it’s time and energy to replenish the particular coverage also to shell out ones quality.
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Branchless Banking

Mobile phone subscription has seen explosive growth in all over the world. Total subscription now reaches to 109 billion across customers in all income segment, and growth continues apace. In contrast, banking accounts are owned by approximately 125 million customers, largely belonging to high income segments. The fast mobile penetration and its continuing strong growth fuels expectations that transformational branchless banking (BB) models would prove a game-changer in improving access to finance all over the world.
Hitherto, lack of a sizable distribution network had been a major challenge in broadening access to financial services. Developing brick and mortar branches is a costly proposition. Even handling field operations from such branches has proved expensive owing to ever-increasing associated costs. As a result, a large segment of the population that lives in rural and remote areas remained deprived of banking services. An important imlication of this exclusion is that this large populace has been overwhelmingly reliant on cash-based transaction, thus causing myriad obvious negative impacts on documentation of the economy, the tax-base, efficency of economic transactions, etc.
Although Branchless Banking Regulations only allow bank-led model, it encourages multiple approaches for developing partnerships. The partnership models include one-to-one (one bank having joint venture/agency agreement with one teleco/non-bank), one-to-many (one bank with many telcos), and many-to-many (many banks with many telcos) this is aimed to create space for experimentaiotn as well as to keep prudent supervisory oversight. The permissible activities under branchless banking are opening BB account, fund transfer, cash-in and cash-out, bill payments, merchant payments, loan dusbursment/repayment etc. These activities may be offered through a variety of channels such as mobile phones, retail agents, ATMs, smart cards, and POS.
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Origins of Negotiation

The first U.S strike occurred in the late eighteenth century (the Philadelphia cordwainers), and many other "turnouts" followed during the first half of the nineteenth century. These disputes were neither preceded by nor settled by negotiation. Negotiation is a two party transaction whereby both parties intend to resolve a conflict. Employers unilaterally established a scale of wages. If the wages were unacceptable, journeymen drew up higher scale, sometimes inserting it into a Bible on which each worker swore that he or she should not work for less. The scale was presented to the employer, and if he or she did not agree, the workers "turn out" and stayed out until one side or the other caved in. There were no counter proposals, no discussions, no negotiations.
Horance Greeley, who was simultaneously a union sympathizer and an employer, found a better way. In 1850, he told a workers' mass meeting. " I do not agree that the journeymen should dictate a scale, but they should get the employers to agree to some scale." A few years later, Greeley proposed that workers come to negotiations with statistics and arguments supporting the fairness of their cause. He set the United States on the course known to the twentieth century as collective bargaining.
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COMMON STOCKS

The two traditional and well known approaches to analyzing and/or selecting common stocks are fundamental analysis and technical analysis. However the significant amount of research in recent years on the concept of efficient markets has widespread implications for the analysis and valuation of common stock.Therefore, our discussion of common stocks is built around these approaches and any implications from the efficient markets literature.
Traditionally, fundamental analysis has occupied the majority of resources devoted to the analysis of common stocks. All investors should understand the logic of, and rationale for, fundamental analysis. It deserves, and receives, careful consideration is devoted to security analysis. The other approach to security analysis, technical analysis, is also analyzed. The efficient market concept has implications for both approaches as well as for portfolio management.
The two basic approaches, technical and fundamental analysis, are followed by a consideration of efficient market concepts and implications. It includes technical analysis (the search for identifiable and recurring stock price patterns), Momentum Strategies (investing on the basis of recent movements in the price of a stock) and Fundamental Analysis (the study of a stock's value using basic data such as its earnings, sales, risk, and so forth which has an intrinsic value i.e. the estimated value of a security.
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Development of Trade Finance

In the presense of increased international transactions, inter country labor mobility and multinational firms, Public financeand fiscal polices need to be reformulated in order to achieve inter-country along with intra-country distributional equity and efficiency. For example, a person of one country working in any other is subject to income tax in both countries, which is against the spirit of equity. It is desireable that his tax payment in working country, must be credited to his tax-liablilityin the parent country as practiced in U.S.A Further the country where the forigners work called country of source should be entitled to retain tax revenue. Different profit tax rates and interest rates in individual countres cause movement of capital stock from one country to another. A country with low tax rate and high interest rates absorbs capital inflows. The point for thinking is to discover such a profit-tax system and interest rate system, which results at worldwide efficiency of capital.
Similarly product taxes which discriminate between indigenous and imported goods need to be integrated to reap the fruit of comparative advantage. Some efforts through GATT and IMF have already been made in this direction.
The accepted ingredients of economic development are accelerated capital formation, technological progress, distributional equity and ability to coup with any shock/bottle neck which may arise during the prosess of economic development.A properly formulated fiscal system may help achieve these targets.For example, the target rate of economic growth is achievable only with a correesponding rate of capital formation. It requires a taxatin system which induces the desirable rate of private and public savings to be invested.
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Bank Mergers and Aquisitions

Many of the mergers sweeping through U.S banking in recent decades reflect a lowering of the legal barriers that previously prohibited or severely restricted bank expansion. First, state laws forbade interstate banking in United States untill the 1980s ushered in a rash of new state laws allowing banks and bank holding companies to cross state borders, usually with reciprocity, so that existing banks in the states being entered could likewise cross state lines.

Banks in United States are mimicking their European and Asian counterparts by reaching out not only to gobble up others, smaller banks, but also security brokers and dealers, finance companies, insurance firms , credit card companies, thrift institutions and other nonbank service providers

The current merger wave in banking and among other financial services industries is unlikely to end soon, and its effects will be long lasting. The public will be confronted in the future with fewer, but larger banking organizations that will pose stronger competitionfor banks not joining the acquisition and merger trend.There are different causes and effects of mergers in banking. It has also some laws and regulations that shape bank mergers and factors that are important in selecting a bank's merger partner.
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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Storing Liquidity in Bank Assets

The principal option open to bank managers for holdings of liquid assets that can be sold when additional cash is needed are, 
Tresury Bills-direct obligation of the United States government or of foriegn governments issued at a discount and redeemed at face value when they reach to maturity; T-bills have original maturities of 3,6 and 12 months, with an active resale market through security dealers.
Fedral funds loans to other institutions-loanof bank reserves with short maturities.
Purchase of liquid securities under a repurchase agreement(RP)- using high- quality securities as collateral to secure loans from dealers and other lending institutions.
Placing of correspondent deposits with other banks-these interbank deposits can be borrowed or loaned in minutes by telephone or by wire.
Municipal bonds and notes-debt securities issued by state and local government that range in maturity from a few days to several years.
Federal agency securities-short-and long-term debt instruments sold by federally sponsored agencies such as FNMA(Fannie Mae).
Eurocurrency loans-the lending of deposits accepted by banks and bank branches located outside a particular currency's home country for periods stretching from a few days to a few months.
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Fiscal Effects on Inflation

At a time of dipression fiscal policy accelerates economic activity and increases employment and output without effecting price level significantly. It was actually happened after Great Depression and during world war-II in many countries. For example in USA, public sector promoted from 10 to 45% of GNP, output rose by 50%, unemplyment rate became negligible, and the inflation was quite low. This phenomenon continued up to late sixties when excessive government expenditures to finance Vietnam war set inflationary pressure in the economy. Inflation being a dynamic process perpetuated itself through wage-price-wage spiral. Finally it resulted at stagflation experienced in 1973.
The appropriate policy to get rid of inflation is to increase taxes or cut down govt. expenditures or decrease money supply or a mix of them. It may, however, generate cost-push inflation and unemployment. So tax penalties (irregular taxes) and bugets cuts from non-developmental expenditures are better policy tools in an inflationary period.
The fiscal system was originated to control aggregate but, somehow, it also influences factor markets and capacity output. Any increase in personal taxes may effect the work leisure battitude of the individuals depending taxes usually eat up savings and thus reduce capital formating. Discriminatory tax policy may encourage expenditures on health, education, research and training etc. which improve the quality of labour and pave the way of technological progress.
The difference between tax revenue and pure consumption expenditures is called public savings which can be utilized, partially or fully, for capital formation. A fall in tax revenue maintaining the sme level of current expenditures spares less funds for public investment.
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Revolution of e-banking

An ATM (Automated Teller Machine's) combines a computer terminal, recordkeeping system, and cash vault in one unit, permitting customers to enter the bank's bookkeeping sysytem with either a plastic card containing a personal identification number (PIN) or by punching a special code number into a computer terminal linked to the bank's computerized records 24 hours a day. Once access is gained into the bank's system, cash withdrawlas may be made up to prespecified limits, and depostirs, balance inquiries, and bill paying may take place. With ATMs taking over more routine services like cashing checks, bank personnel have more time to sell other services and help those customers who have special service needs. Ther average ATM processes more than 200 transactions per day, though some handle more than 600 customer requests per day.
Where did ATMs begin? The forerunner of all the modern-day machines began operations at a branch office of Britain's Barclays Bank in 1967. This first automatic dispenser could only accommodate customer cash withdrawals, however; no other banking services were provided. Most bankers at the time expected that customers would use this pioneering automated device only when full-service offices were not open. One of the earliest visitors to Barclays new machine was the U.S. entrepreneur B.J Meredith. When Meredith's own firm showed no immediate interest in producing these new machines, he contacted his famous relative, Don Meredith, a former professional football quarterback. Together with other investors the Merediths set up a new firm, Docutel, Inc., to manufacture ATMs. The first Docutel automated teller was set up at Citizens and Southern National Bank in Atlanta. However, it was a competitor, First National Bank of Atlanta, that enjoyed the greatest success with this new technology, aggressively marketing its new machines.
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Trade Management in Action

A large number of research studies over the years have examined the top-earning banks in the industry on an effort to answer a simple question: What distinguishes a bank with above average profitability from banks that are only average performers? How did top-earning banks get that way?
Bank size is clearly one factor. The top earning banks in the industry, at least as measured by their ROA are usually small to medium-size institutions (ranging form $100 million to perhaps a few billion dollars of assets), that seem to benefit from lower overall operating costs. On the other hand, when profitability is measured by the returns to the banks owners (ROE), the largest banks in the industry often lead the pack, fueled by their greater use of financial leverage (i.e., using less equity capital and more debt to fund their assets).
Expense control stands out as the most important discriminator between top performers and the also-rans. High profit banks manage their operating expenses better, generally posting lower average interest cost, and especially lower personnel expenses and overhead. Their ratios of operting expenses to operating revenues tend to be significantly below the expense-to-revenue ratios of low-profit banks.
The deposit structure of banks also appears to influence their profit performance. Top-earning banks often hold more demand deposits than other banks; these checkable deposits pay little or no interest and carry customer service fees that help to bring in more revenues. Relatedly, many highly profitable banks hold a large volume of core deposits, smaller denomination deposits from individulas and small businesses that pay low interest rates and are more loyal to the bank than larger deposit accounts.
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Monday, October 7, 2013

Disbursement Control of Trade Market

Sometimes it makes sense for small, fast growing companies to mimic the financial practices of large corporations-and sometimes it does not.
Take controlled-disbursement accounts accounts, which large companies have been using for about a decade. "The concept is simple"' says Jim Sagner, a partner in Orange, N.J. "Banks that offer these accounts can tell corporate clients by 10 or 10:30 a.m exactly how much they will need to cover all the checks that day. Since other banks clear deposit s all day long, their corporate customers need to keep more on daily deposit in order to avoid bouncing checks."
Sounds great, right? To make these accounts even more enticing, big banks, which are battling enormous overcapacity in the marketplace, actively seek small companies as clients. But according to Sagner, controlled-disbursement account are often too pricey to make sense for most small companies. There's usually a $50 to $100 fee for account maintenance, as well as extra fees, like $20 to $ 30 for each presented check, electronic-funds-transfer charges as money moves between accounts, and so on, "he says.
A better plan for small companies, Sagner suggests, might be to "keep your costs down by arrangement between a money-market account and a checking account that are both types of services before making a decision. Many small banks are starting to tap into the small business environment, and they may offer surprisingly good deals on controlled-disbursement accounts.
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CONCENTRATION BANKING

The firm that uses a lock box network as well as the one having numerous sales outlets which receive funds over the counter have something in common. Both firms will find themselves with deposit balances at a number of regional banks. Each firm may find it advantageous to move part, or all, of these deposits to one central location, which is known as a "concentration bank". 
This process of cash concentration improves control over inflows and outflows of corporate cash. The idea is to put all of your eggs (or in this case, cash) into one basket and then to watch the basket. It reduces idle balances-that is, keeps deposit balances at regional banks no higher than necessary to meet transactions needs (or alternatively, minimum compensation balance requirements). Any excess funds would be moved to the concentration bank.
It allows for more effective investments. Pooling excess balances provides the larger cash amounts needed for some of the higher yielding, short term investment opportunities that require a larger minimum purchase. For example, some marketable securities are sold in blocks of $100,000 or more.
Concentration process is dependent upon the timely transfer of funds between financial institutions. There are three principal methods employed to move funds between banks which are depository transfer checks, electronic transfer checks through automated clearing houses, and the wire transfer.
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JUST-IN-TIME SYSTEM IN ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY

Just-in-time(JIT) is an approach to inventory management and control in which inventories are acquired and inserted in production at the exact times they are needed."

In certain industries, the production process lends itself to just-in-time (JIT) inventory control. As the name implies, the idea is that inventories are acquired and interested in production at the exact times they are needed. This required a very accurate production and inventory information system, highly efficient purchasing, very reliable suppliers, and an efficient inventory-handling system. While raw-materials inventory and in-transit inventory can never be reduced to zero, the notion of "just-in-time" is one of extremely tight control so as to cut back on inventories. The goal of JIT system, however is not only to reduce inventories, but to continuously improve productivity, product quality, and manufacturing flexibility.

At first glance, it might seem that a JIT system- in which inventories would be reduced to a bare minimum and the EOQ for a particular item might approach one unit-would be in direct conflict with our EOQ model. However, it is not. A JIT system, on the other hand, rejects the notion that ordering costs(clerical, receiving, inspecting, scheduling, and/or setup costs) are necessarily fixed at their current levels. As part of a JIT system, steps are continuously taken to drive these costs down. For example,

  • Small-sized delivery trucks, with predetermined unloading sequences, are used to facilitate economies in receiving time and costs.
  • Pressure is placed on suppliers to produce raw materials with "no defects" thus reducing (or eliminating) inspection costs.
  • Products, equipment, and procedures are modified to reduce setup time and costs.
By successfully reducing these ordering-related costs, the firm is able to flatten the total ordering cost curve.


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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sinking Funds of Long Term Financing

"Fund established to periodically retire a portion of a security issue before maturity. The corporation is required to make periodic sinking-fund payments to a trustee".

The majority of corporate bond issues carry a provision for a sinking fund that requires the corporation to make periodic sinking-fund payments to a trustee in order to retire a specified face amount of bonds each period. The corporation can make a cash payment to the trustee, which in turn calls the bond for redemption at the sinking-fund call price.(This is usually lower than the regular call price of a bond, which we discuss shortly.) The bonds themselves are called on a lottery basis by their serial numbers, which are published in the wall street journal and other newspapers. The second option available to the issuing firm is to purchase bonds in the open market and to deliver a given number of bonds to the trustee.

The corporation should purchase the bonds in the open market as long as the market price is less than the sinking-fund call price. When the market price exceeds the call price, it should make cash payment to the trustee. if interest rates increase and / or credit quality deteriorates, the bond's price will decline in relation to the sinking-fund call price. As a result, the option of the corporation to deliver either cash or bonds to the trustee can have significant value. As with any option, the option feature works to the advantage of the holder-in this case the corporation- and to the disadvantage of the bond holders. The greater the volatility of interest rates and / or the volatility of the firm's value, the more valuable the option to the corporations.
Sinking-fund payments don't necessarily retire the entire bond issue.

There can be a balloon payment "(a payment on debt that is much larger than other payments. The ultimate balloon payment is the entire principal at maturity)" at final maturity.


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ENVIRONMENT POLUTION

Earth is the only planet endowed with and environment. The thin cover of air and water that surrounds the earth, known as biosphere, protects and sustains life. Biosphere is a finely balanced mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, argon and water vapour. It has been maintained and established by the life-cycle of plants, animals and bacteria. Without the biological processes that have gone on the soil for thousands of years, we could have neither coal, oil nor food crops. Without the photo-synthetic activity of green plants, there would be no oxygen to support human or animal life. Similarly, for the supplies of pure water we have to be thankful to myriads of micro-organisms in aquatic system as also to the action of plants and animals.
Man has always made use of his inventive genius to force nature to yield its secrets. He has made spectacular break-through in technology firmly believing that the sort of progress he is making is an unmixed blessing. He has seldom given thought to the fact that the air he breathes, the water he drinks, or the food he eats could be exhausted. And so would be the rich raw materials which he makes the earth yield. He has always realisation on his part that what he considers progress is seriously disturbing the ecological balance and leading to the breakdown of the life-supporting system on the earth.
Nature has been suffering for the past several hundred years but the problem did not assume serious proportion so long as the damage was containable and not beyond self-repair. These limits were exceeded with the spectacular technological break-throughs accomplished during the recent years. The highly developed nations which benefited most from these break-throughs were the first to experience the environmental diseases bred by advanced technology.
Nuclear tests during recent years have played havoc with our environment. The fall-out from these tests has increased the incidence of cancer and congenital diseases. Radiation from nuclear plants is also very dangerous for human health. The recently concluded Gulf war during which several oil wells caught fire and not only emitted dense smoke but also disturbed the temperature pattern of the region has caused great damage to our environment.
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