Reflection On Taking The Elementary Education Program Essay

After taking EDUC 417 and completing level 1 of the elementary education program, I have definitely learned that children’s literature matters and is a necessity in the classroom. Children are never to young to be read to and never to old to stop being read to. Reading aloud to students at all ages, but especially to young and developing readers is an essential tool in order for children to become successful in school. Children’s literature is endless and I have truly learned about the diverse collection of books that are available for student’s to read. It is essential as a teacher to provide students with access to a diverse  collection of books because students’ can learn endlessly from different genres, reading levels, and cultural perspectives. It is key to provide a diverse source of literature in the classroom for students to be exposed to. When children are young readers, one of the most important jobs of the teacher is to help students not only learn to read but develop a love for reading. Not only is reading important in developing skills and succeeding in school, but it is valuable for other important reasons as well. Children’s literature is vital because it allows students to respond  to literature and appreciate their own culture, as well as others. It allows students to grow creatively and develops student’s personalities and social skills. It is crucial for students to learn about their culture as well as others, and literature is an amazing source for students to learn this. It is critical to find books that are unbiased and depict culture as an important piece of society. My eyes have opened after reading a large selection of books with different genres, reading levels, and cultural perspectives this semester. The more contact students have  with books, the better readers they become. Teachers can promote this by reading every day and providing children the opportunity for students to interact with books daily. Providing time for reading in the classroom and having conversations about reading helps children foster a love for reading. Children learn to read by reading, which is why literature matters and it is important to read and use in the classroom. 2. Three important learning’s from this semester are multicultural literature, reading logs, and genre sharing. Multicultural literature has been a key aspect of learning this semester. Before taking EDUC 417, I was unaware of the vast collection of books that represent diverse cultures. Through the books read in class and the two text sets I created, I have learned the significance of multicultural children’s literature and the value it can have on students. Through these books, children can learn to respect not only their own cultural groups, but also the cultural groups of others. Children’s books can be a mirror of their on lives or a window into the world around them. Multicultural literature helps students understand that despite the differences around us, all people share  common feelings and experiences. I have also learned the importance of choosing good multicultural books that represent specific cultures in realistic and unbiased ways. It is important for the books to challenge stereotypes and have a realistic glimpse of the lives of the culture portrayed in the book. Books that provide an accurate representation of diverse cultural groups allow students to learn to identify stereotypes and biases in their lives. Reading logs have been another important learning from this semester. The website, LibraryThing has been an amazing tool in creating my own reading  log. I have been able to create a list of all of the books I have read this semester with specific details like tags, reading level, genre, rating, and review. The reading log I created is a source I am able to look back on for years to come. Creating my own reading log has taught me organization and time management skills, but has also given me the opportunity to reflect on the books I have read. Since I am going to be a teacher with my own classroom, my reading log has helped me start creating a source in order to create a successful and beneficial classroom library  in the future. Being able to look back on the books I loved and didn’t like will help me create the best classroom library for my students. Genre sharing was the third learning from this semester that was significant to me. I believe this was very important because I learned a huge amount of information about different genres present in children’s literature. Before taking EDUC 417, I was unaware of the collection of genres present within children’s literature. From genre and book sharing this semester, I have learned about seven different genres and the key points, history, reader  connections, and evaluation criteria of each genre. This has been very beneficial because I have learned the importance of introducing students to all different genres and how to find books that represent each genre in the most successful way. 3. Three specific ways that I am committed to using children’s literature in my classroom are through a classroom library, reading aloud, and literature centers. All three of these ways I will use children’s literature in my classroom are critical to my teaching in different ways. A classroom library is essential and  critical to my teaching because it provides students with the opportunity to read daily. I will provide students with time to read daily and self-choice of books. My classroom library is critical to my teaching because it will expose students to books, reading, and help foster their love of reading. Reading aloud is another way I will commit to using children’s literature in my classroom. Reading aloud is such an essential tool in the classroom and exposes students to language, different text types, critical thinking, and books that students normally would not be able to read on their own. Children who are read aloud to usually become the best readers and eventually writers as well. Reading aloud will be critical to my teaching because I am able to read a huge variety of books with different genres and cultural perspectives. Reading aloud gives me the opportunity to expose my students to a vast diversity of books. If time allows it, I would love to read aloud to my students daily as a key way of commitment to using children’s literature in my classroom. Lastly, I will be committed to using children’s literature in my classroom through literature circles. There is an abundance of ways to read within the classroom and literature circles allow students to read in multiple different ways. Students can read independently, through shared reading, and guided reading. Literature circles also give the teacher the opportunity to split students up by reading level. During literature circles, teachers are able to work with students on a more personal level in order to help them grow as readers. Literature circles will be critical to my teaching because they provide a place for cooperative learning, social experiences, choice, structure, and differentiated instruction.

The Evolution of Courtship

CHAPTER 1I. IntroductionA. DefinitionCourtship is the process or period of courting. Through the years, it is evident that there has been a significant change in the way courtship is done. Especially in the Philippines, where culture is dynamic and ever-changing, it has to the researcher’s attention that there has been great changes in the way courtship is done between Filipino males and females. With this, the researcher would like to interpret the evolution of courtship. The landscape of male and female interaction has changed over the past 100 years, revealing a very sharp contrast in shape and form.One significant area where this is clearly seen is in the area of courtship and dating. In 1896, the word â€Å"dating† was known to be lower-class slang in reference to prostitution. Basically, going on a date was an understatement for paid sex. By the 1900s, the word â€Å"Calling† (or courtship) was introduced into households. Calling was the process of a man, t he suitor, coming into the home of a young woman to meet her and get to know her and get to know her better and eventually end up marrying her.This was highly preferred by parents since the meeting between the man and young woman was highly supervised – everything from the length of the meeting to what food they would eat (Discroll, 2009). Furthermore, it gave parents a sense of safety since it protected adolescents from any kind of danger like rape, and involved the maximum participation of family members. In this, however, the process of courtship was not always perfect. It was seen that it only placed itself in the households of the rich and not the lower-class (hence the lower class slang).It would seem that courtship was too expensive an activity for the lower-class. They simply could not affor the luxury of fine dining in a parlour and/or traveling to meet with their sweetheart (Discroll, 2009). In this, the progression and seeming perfect balance did not last long. As population, poverty, technology, economy, and innovation grew, change in the lower and higher classes rose. Because of this, they had to find more adaptive solutions as to how they would interact and meet with the opposite sex; a great change was seen throughout the years effectively changing the landscape of courtship.Today, technology has made easy interaction even more possible. With the dawn of the internet, men and women no longer need to be with each other physically or in the woman’s home to interact; it can all be done with a simple click of a few buttons. Now taken into the context of the Philippine setting, changing trends and patterns are not so much different from their western counterparts. Over the past decades, Filipinos have taken a more practical approach towards the relationships involved in their lives due to the increased use and innovation of technology and change in social landscape (Ogena, 1999).So like their western counterparts, no longer do men apply the idea of Chaperonage or Panliligaw (courtship) with the opposite sex. And as patterns have changed, the main influencers – parents – have found the style of dating more acceptable (Ogena, 1999). A study done by UPPL & DRPF called the YAFS (Young Adult Fertility and Sexual Study) for the Philippines showed that there was a significant number of adolescents going on dates.Another significant YAFS data shows that from 1982 to 1994, a majority of the youth (40.4%) group dated but later split to single dates (39. 7%) which enabled more intimate encounters with each other, with Filipino teens engaging in sexual activities (9. 7% for males and 2. 9% for females). As dating became a more regular activity among the youth, intimacies heightened. This resulted in an increase in the corresponding proportions of the youth engaging in petting and sexual intercourse, 16. 3% and 8. 1%, respectively (De Guzman,1997).B. Significance/ RelevanceIt is clear that Filipinos have changed the way they see courtship. Especially that technology has affected lives of teenagers today that it is now easy to communicate with anyone. It is then the researcher’s privilege to show the evolution of courtship. The study will also be beneficial to the general public to make them aware of how courtship worked then and now. The study will serve as a reference on the processes, style, and evolution of courtship.C. Research ObjectivesThis research paper aims to answer the question: 1. How has courtship evolved throughout the years? To answer the question/ problem, the researcher will investigate the following sub-questions: 1. What was the courtship process then? 2. What is the courtship process now? 3. How did courtship evolve throughout the years in terms of: a. Process of Courting b. Socialization c. CommunicationCHAPTER 2I. Review of Related LiteratureA. Local LiteratureCourtship is known in the local language as Panliligaw or Ligawan and is also synonymous to pandidiga o r digahan from some of the Tagalog-speaking regions in the Philippines. It has rooted from the Spanish word ‘diga’ which means to ‘to say, express. ’ The term manliligaw refers to a man who tries to court a woman and pursue her for marriage. On the other hand, the term nililigawan refers to the woman who is being pursued, hence, the one being courted.Courtship in the Philippines is known to be moderate and to ba taken under control unlike those of the western cultures. Traditionally, it has been done with the first step of the man visiting the woman’s house and presents himself to her parents in an official manner. It is generally unacceptable to most Filipino families to court the woman without knowledge of her family. The most usual trend to be acceptable to the woman’s family is from the saying â€Å"courting a Filipina means courting her family too† (Business World, 2002).Courtship in the Philippines involves the suitor working hard for his love even if he has to go through a long time of courtship. Traditional courtship would entail men serenading (harana) the â€Å"women at night and sing songs of love and affection† (Business World, 2002). Others would give love notes to express their feelings. It would also entail going to the woman’s house to bring her flowers and other sorts of gifts. And in some cases, men are shown to be courting the woman’s parents to get their acceptance before he could actually court the woman.Courtship allows women to enjoy the attention they get from men by being treated in a special way and receiving gifts from them. Because of this, some women even delay their marriage so that they have more time to experience what it’s like to be showered with attention and affection. (Molina, 1983 as cited in Courtship in the Philippines Today) Parents and family members are very much involved in courtship because of the Filipino viewpoint that marriage doesnâ€℠¢t just involve a man and woman, but their families as well.It became important for a person to choose well to enhance his or her family’s image. Dating as an activity in courtship, has become very popular, as it was an influence from the western culture. But even before people were influenced and dating became popular, the Philippines already had come up with its own courting practices. These practices were passes on by their families to use when entering into courtship. (Medina, 2005 as cited in Courtship in the Philippines Today)B. Local StudiesIn a 2012 study entitled â€Å"E-Courtship: A Descriptive Study† by Pamela Concepcion Panganiban, she explained that when two human beings start developing emotional attachments to one another, the relationship often tirns from simple friendship to a romantic kind (Tucker, 2008) and once feelings are established between the two parties, the individual then pursues the person his or her interest (Tucker, 2008). It is therefore appropriate to say that when an individual, much like a male, pursues a female, it signifies the act of courtship (Akiteng, N. D. ).Courtship often precedes itself as the stage where a male signifies his interest for an established romantic committed relationship with another person or before each can call themselves â€Å"official. † The study of Brinas, Ramirez, and Ty on â€Å"Ang Proseso ng Pagliligawan† (1996) mentioned that there are many reasons why men court women. Aside from the usual reason of preparing for marriage, a man courts a woman because first, he could be physically attracted to her. Men are visual creatures; that is why the physical appearance of a woman may be a big deal for them.Another reason is he wants to feel loved. A man courts a woman so that he could show love and at the same time, hopes that he receives that kind of love from the woman as well. The next reason is that a man wants to have someone to be with all the time because men treasur e companionship. He wants to have someone to be with because this makes him happy, especially during special moments in his life. A man courts a woman also for his own satisfaction. For a man, a woman seems to be like a reward or a challenge to him. So courting a woman – and eventually getting her makes him satisfied.These reasons vary, depending on the person. Looks and physical appearance may be a major factor for some men, but for others, this might just be a bonus. A common reason for a man to court a woman is because he is pressured by his friends and family to get a girlfriend. There are also some men who only want to court women who are attractive to show them off to the people around them. This is not an ideal reason to court a woman, but this happens especially when the man isn’t that mature yet as a person. The last reason is because a man simply has feelings for a woman.(Continuado, Marcos, and Renton, 2007) A 2009 study entitles â€Å"Courtship Among Emerg ing Adults in the Philippines: Definition, Activities, Influences and Motivations (Fabic, Feliciano, & Nery, 2009),† focused on the difference of understanding of the middle and lower class Filipinos about courtship. They conducted surveys from middle class groups and lower class groups living in the slum areas. But according to the results of the study for both male and female, the difference is not that big among the two different groups with their ideas of courtship.Most of them defined courtship as a process of knowing someone and â€Å"showing a girl how a guy feels towards her. † Proving Social Cognitive Theory’s assumption of having different factors (personal and environmental factor) affect that way people behave, act or think towards courtship, the said study found out that the topmost factors in their idea of courtship are â€Å"friends, media, family, and culture. † These factors are what motivates them and influences them if they will court so meone or if they want to be courted.There is no major difference with the activities done on courtship with those in the middle class and lower class group. Both classes agreed that â€Å"spending time with the other person, giving gifts, and basically just putting one’s best foot forward† are the most evident things to be done in the courtship stage. (pp. 78-78) The 2012 study entitled â€Å"Mix & Match: A Descriptive Study of Filipinos’ Ideals in Social Relationships (Olalia and Ylagan, 2012)† also proved how different factors influence a person’s behaviour or point of view towards courtship and marriage.Although the study focused on â€Å"ideals,† they concluded that â€Å"a number of informants shared that they patterned their ideal boyfriends or girlfriends and husband or wives from their parents. † One male respondent, 27, shared that because he grew up in an environment where his mother is more strong-willed than his father, he also wanted a girlfriend who is more strong-willed than him, which is true to his current girlfriend. Another informant (Ellaine, 22) shared that she wants someone who is like her brothers or her father.C. Foreign LiteratureIn the book â€Å"Boy Meets Girl,† Joshua Harris defines courtship as â€Å"dating with a purpose† and a â€Å"relationship between a man and a woman that has a purpose of being actively and intentionally together to consider marriage. † It is a process that has a direction and a purpose and involves knowing a person better to see if they are right for each other, and eventually, if they are, leads to marriage. A courtship can be considered successful when the man and woman find out if they are right for each other or not.They pursue marriage when they find out that they are for each other, and they end the courtship if they see that they are not right for each other. When a man and a woman understand the purpose of courtship, it is much eas ier for both of them to move on when their relationship doesn’t work out. Courtship is like a new season of friendship. It is something that should be entered into when a man or woman is ready for marriage. According to Joshua Harris, courtship is a relationship guided by the principle that â€Å"the joy of intimacy is the reward of commitment.† (Harris, 2005)Before courtship actually commences, a man and woman must have a deeper level of friendship than that of just an acquaintance. Normally, the second phase, or the actual courting stage will be initiated by the man asking permission from the woman’s father to begin courtship with his daughter, and the man’s obvious reason is to know if they both want to get married to each other in the future. The father usually acts as the initial â€Å"protective screening test. † Both the man’s and the woman’s families must be involved.â€Å"They ought to understand, through experience, each pa rt of the other person’s life as much as possible. † Instead of interrupting each one’s daily routines to make way for their alone time, couples in the courtship stage will most likely try to involve each one in their daily routines. It is important for a man and a woman who enter into courtship to have good communication to be able to know where they are in their relationship and how they feel towards each other. If everything is going well, they can spend more time alone together and take on activities like watching movies and concerts, going to the mall or having dinner alone.When men court women, they are usually romantic, and they buy flowers or cards to make the women feel special. When the man gets the blessing of the woman’s father, he then proposes to her. When the woman accepts the proposal, they would get married and live together as husband and wife. (Gianforte, 2008) Back then, it involved the control of women because it’s the men who g o to their homes to get to know them better.But as courtship evolved into a more free and liberated type, it has now been occurring outside the home, which means it’s now more of the man’s control because he is the one paying for the date. Since women started working and had more time to spend with men outside the house, new rules of engagement were formed where the men were able to take women out on dates. â€Å"The entire romantic system moved out from under the parent’s supervision, and like an eloping couple, it never wanted to go back.† (Gianforte, 2008)In Joushua Harris’ book â€Å"I Kisses Dating Goodbye,† he described dating as an act of a man and a woman going out to have a good time, nothing more, nothing less. He even added that people date because they want to be able to enjoy the physical and emotional benefits of being intimate without the need to be In a real commitment. This generation’s pursuit of fulfilment in relati onships, especially in dating, is that they want intimacy without the responsibility, sex with no expectations, and love without hard work and sacrifice.  (Harris, 2004)Today, the intent of dating ranges from getting to know the person to wanting to marry the person. (Gianforte, 2008) But because of the western influence today, courtship has been delivered to be vanishing. Contrary to that, the said study by Fabic, Feliciano, and Nery (2009), also found out that courting is still manifested in the local society. Depending on the respondent’s point of view, the definition of courtship will vary but will still lead to a common idea â€Å"which is the process of a guy expressing how he feels towards a girl by pleasing her, so that in return, the girl will like him back.†Prominent among the results is the idea that courtship is still initiated by the men. What varies now is the way men do their courtship especially because the use of technology is already inevitable toda y. This is what most people refer to now as â€Å"modern courtship† just as revealed in â€Å"an Asia-wide survey that was conducted during 2002, not only that the Filipinos say I love you through text messaging (Ellwood Clayton, 2006 as cited to court a woman through electronic devices. † (pp. 69-70)D. Foreign StudiesEven with the emergence of technology that makes it easier for young people to connect with other people, they still prefer the traditional style of courtship. Even if they use technology in communicating with their loves, they still prefer face to face communication and interaction rather than just texting or meeting online.Internet video started with a little film called â€Å"The Spot† by a filmmaker Scott Zzakarin in 1995 (Letizia, 2011). â€Å"The spot† was a simple film and into a two-inch two-inch screen and attributed to it were lol quality images at the same time were not equipped to handle the flop of Zakarin’s project, it i s considered today one o the first web or â€Å"webisodes† to hit the internet.

Explain How Groups Can Influence People in Positive and Negative Ways Essay

Being part of a group can give an individual a sense of security, a boost to their self-esteem and a feeling of belonging. They may see themselves as being part of an ‘in-group’. Being part of a group that is seen as being better than others (an ‘in-group’), can create a bond between the members. People of different races or religions, or rival gangs, would be seen as being the ‘out-group’. The sense of security and bonding with the other members can come from having people around you that are working with you, and knowing that you have somebody looking out for you if and when things go wrong. Having people depending on you in a leadership role can give boost an individual’s self esteem. There are many negatives that can come with being part of a group also. Peer pressure and the feeling of having to conform in ways in which may seem inappropriate, could cause members to go along with decisions and behaviour made, so that they fit in even though they know the outcomes won’t possibly be the best ones. The pressure to conform in front of other members of a group was apparent in an experiment carried out by Solomon Asch in the 1950s. It showed how members of a group will go along with decisions that others make even though they know that it’s not necessarily the correct choice. A small group were shown a picture of a line and then asked out of three other lines, which one was the same length. Several members of the group deliberately gave the wrong answer. They had been influenced by the experimenters. The results showed that the level of conformity grew when the answers were said out loud. The level of conformity decreased when the participants were asked to write down their answers in private. The members (not in on the experiment) clearly felt that they needed to conform with the rest of the group, whether it was because they didn’t want to seem stupid or they just felt pressured into agreeing a nd not being the odd one out. During the 1950s and 1960s an experiment carried out by Muzafer Sherif et al (1961) took a group of boys from a summer camp and divided them into two groups. The boys interacted well at first, working together and behaving in ways that would be expected, until they set up a tournament type competition. The behaviour between the groups very quickly turned negative with name calling, hostility and aggression. Within the groups though, the level of solidarity was extremely high between the boys. Once the experimenters intervened and introduced activities that encouraged the groups to work together again, the boys were able to cooperate well and any bad feelings were forgotten. This experiment shows how peer pressure clearly had quite an influence on the boys’ behaviour as the aggression felt towards the other group clearly wasn’t personal as the negative behaviour was quickly forgotten once the experimenters took control. It seems more so that one member, possibly the boy seen as the ‘leader’, made a move, quickly the rest of the group’s behaviour changed one by one escalating to such hostilities. The members of the individual groups would have felt as though they were the à ¢â‚¬Ëœin-groups’ and probably felt a sense of security in that they had others working with them and the self esteem of the ‘leader’ would have risen significantly. Another example of how being part of a group can have it’s negatives and positives is the story of Dorinne Kondo (1990). She was a Japanese American woman who, having lived all her life in America, goes to Japan to study. There, she stays with a Japanese family, the Sakamotos. Kondo finds it hard to conform from the start of her visit and she feels she is being judged for looking Japanese but not acting in the correct manner or being able to properly communicate as she didn’t speak the language. After spending time and helping out with the family she is staying with, Kondo gradually learns the way to do things to suit the Japanese culture. After she gets praise from Mr Sakamoto himself for greeting him with a bow in the traditional manner and when her teacher praises her flawless performance at the tea ceremony, Kondo will no doubt have had a boost to her self esteem and possibly a bonding with the Japanese women. The negatives seem to out-weigh the positives during Kon do’s time in Japan though as she struggled with the fact that women are seen as being below the males and having to bow down (literally) to them. She felt obliged to take on the ‘daughter’ role during her stay and a feeling of peer pressure to perform as a Japanese woman, even though it wasn’t necessarily the way she would act in her life in America. In conclusion being in a social group (the boys from the Robbers Cave experiment) there seemed to be more positives as the boys felt they had others on their side and lots of back up when things turned bad. Their self esteem would have been pretty high and the bond between them all would of grown as the time went on. Kondos story, which showed more of a cultural group, had more negatives as she really felt the pressure to conform to suit her cultural group and setting.

Community South Medical Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Community South Medical Center - Essay Example Currently, the issues confronting the Community South Medical Center are shortage of clinical staff, non-interfacing information technology, antiquated facilities and infrastructure, decline in T.J.C. compliance, and a shift in financial mix. These issues correlate either directly or indirectly with the need we have identified. The shortage of staffs is what makes the organization to improve its technology so that it can improve the efficiency of the existing staffs. Non-interfacing information technology and antiquated facilities and infrastructure are what make addressing of this need to be more difficult. Decline in T.J.C compliance is because of failure of the organization to change according to the changes experience in the medical sector. Advancement in technology is one of the most recent changes in this sector in which the organization has not been able to comply fully. Shift in financial mix is what makes the organization to have a challenge of financing programs to address the identified need. Strategic mission and plan have not been revised in the past three years. This might be the reason why the organization has not been able to advance its information technology in the past three years. Therefore, this is the most appropriate time for revising the strategic mission and plan. If this is done, then the process of addressing issues confronting Community South Medical Center will be much easier. The CEO should address these issues now since the magnitude is likely to increase if the issues are left for another year before they are solved

Insurance and Economic Development & Insurance companies' Finances Research Paper

Insurance and Economic Development & Insurance companies' Finances - Research Paper Example The way the insurance company makes payments more easy and convenient to the insured is that it pools in the risks of various customers of different individual risks and invest in relevant financial assets such as bonds, stocks, real estate, mutual funds etc. This enables the insurance company to establish a suitable correlation of risks and returns so as to reduce the overall risk. Considering the nature of the service provided by insurance companies, they ensure financial protection for individual investors who then are ready to invest in their willing ventures without any fear of liquidation or insolvency. This aspect fosters entrepreneurial attitude that is creation of new businesses takes place and innovation is triggered in the market by those who are insured. This ultimately accelerates investment in the economy which in turn enhances economic development as the productive capacity of the firms and the economy as a whole increase. This further enhances living standards of peop le and per capita income also rises. The entrepreneurs are willing to take risk as they get protected financially with the help of insurance companies which pool in risk of versatile clients. ... Uninsured companies, on the other hand, are not able to reap out the benefits of innovation and tapping into new markets. This is because they have not created a framework for risk mitigation which is present when a firm is insured. Uninsured companies invest less of their earnings in innovation and so they participate less in domestic as well as global markets leading to less acclaimed market share. 2. Insurance and its contribution to consumption and economic stability Consumption is the spending of resources particularly money to acquire something. In financial terms, it is discussed alongside savings as they are two totally opposite concepts. Savings means to save money for the future; this concept is tried to being implemented in almost every country as this leads to benefits for the economy. Consumption trends vary between people and between their life stages. These two imperative concepts make up the standard of living of people in an economy. To produce an optimal standard of living, there should be a balance between consumption and saving patterns. Consumption patterns are one of the igniters of economic development, growth and the wellbeing of the dwellers of a country. Insurance is a helping tool for people to smoothen their consumption throughout their lives. Regardless of any insurance type, this service works as a security border for households as it provides financial protection; with its help they can stabilize their consumption throughout their life time. The added advantage of this is that in times of income fluctuations, consumption remains unwavering. Property or home and damage insurance shield the status of clients in unfavorable

Critique of Articles on Opiates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique of Articles on Opiates - Essay Example NIDA/NIH also states that â€Å"opiates used without a doctor’s prescription or in ways other than how they are prescribed, can be dangerous and addictive.† Additional information has also been provided on how opiates act on the brain and nervous system in giving feelings of pleasure, relaxation and contentment; acting as an automatic response mechanisms and how it acts on the spinal cord to reduce pain. The article also provides information on how persons can become addicted to opiates which acts on brain stems that controls the automatic response mechanism of the body.. Goodnough’s article entitled â€Å"Abuse of Xanax Leads a Clinic to Halt Supply† points to widespread abuse of the opiate Xanax. It looks at preventative measures that have been taken at the Seven Counties and other Health Centers in the United States to prevent the abuse of opiates like Xanax. Goodnough indicates that: â€Å"The experiment will be closely watched in a State that has wre stled with widespread prescription drug abuse for more than a decade†. The article points to serious repercussions since its withdrawal such as the killing of a doctor by a patient demanding a prescription for the drug. Patients who have been taken off the drugs have complained of increased anxiety since the change as the alternative drugs are not as effective. However, doctors have indicated that there are other ways to treat panic and anxiety disorders. In fact Dr. Hedges (qtd in Goodnough 2011) indicates that â€Å"the risk to the community, if we continue to use this medication is very high†. The article also points out that contrary to popular thinking, the misuse and abuse of Xanax knows no class boundary as people from all walks of life use the drug for various reasons. 3. Comparison and Critique Both articles take a different approach in controlling the use of opiates. NIDA/NIH focuses on opiates in general and mentions a gives a few examples while Goodnough dea ls specifically with Xanax. Both use pictures to give the articles prominence but NIDA/NIH article was more prominent than that of Goodnough. The one picture used by Goodnough was over-bearing and does not really serve any useful purpose in terms of assisting readers in understanding the article. A reader has to really take a second or a third look to really connect the picture to the article. NIH/NIDA on the other hand used several pictures to explain how opiates work, the effects they have on certain parts of the body and how people become addicted to these kinds of drugs. The pictures compel the reader to read the article by drawing attention to it and are useful for a better understanding and appreciation of the article. The use of a variety of colors in the text also added meaning to the NIH/NIDA article. While both articles state some disadvantages of taking the drugs pointing to the effects that it can have on persons who abuse it, NIDA/NIH focuses on how it affects certain p arts of the body. Goodnough focuses on what is being done to control the use of a specific Opiate Xanax in order to prevent its abuse. Goodnough also suggests ways in which misuse and abuse can be prevented. The article looks at the transition process in getting patients off the opiate to another the drug. NIH

Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Response - Essay Example And it may not contain any worthy information of meaning. Moreover, many citizens complain about graffiti and ask the government to clean the streets, which takes pretty much money. But on the other hand, graffiti is a positive phenomenon. According to Kiai, it is â€Å"a legitimate and powerful form of social, economic and political protest†. The information from graffiti often appears to be more trustworthy than media news. The author points out the question, why we should ban this form of expression and at the same time put up with legitimate forms of protest, such as billboards, banners and slogans. In my opinion, graffiti as not vandalism. It may even require more talent than some works of modern art. Possible solution offered by Kiai is to invest money into painting lessons, rather than waste them on constant cleaning of the walls. This will improve the quality of graffiti. I believe it is a proper decision. The idea of this article is to show the role of rap music in contemporary Arab world. It is interesting to observe the transformation of rap. Being initially an American style, mainly perceived as brutal and cruel music, rap has evolved into something much bigger. According to Fernandes, it plays â€Å"a critical role in articulating citizen discontent over poverty, rising food prices, blackouts, unemployment, police repression and political corruption†. Rap performers tell about significant problems in their songs, accusing government and presidents openly. Rap music accumulates national consciousness and helps people to protest against illegitimate government and dictatorial regime. I have never thought about rap music in such a way before, but now I think, it is an effective way to bring about considerable changes. The subject of discussion in this article is also hip-hop music. It somehow corresponds to the previous article, describing the relationship between rap and government.

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Term paper - Essay Example In the 1990s, there was a call to understand and address the issue of teacher turnover in the United States. In the 15 years since this call, the turnover rate of teachers is still a central theme in many discussions regarding the teachers, yet there is now a better understanding about this phenomena. For instance, teacher turnover now encompasses several definitions, including teachers exiting the profession, teachers changing fields, or teachers changing schools (citation). Additionally there is now information regarding the reasons that teachers turnover. XXXX (XXX) reported that new teachers leave the teaching field because they fail to cope with the complications that can accompany teaching. Others may quit or move because of disruptive behavior amongst children, issues with the administration or parents, or lack of resources (XXXX, XXXX). Most of the studies surrounding turnover pertain to beginning teachers in general. That is, most reports report teacher attrition and mobility among all teachers, and then by current teaching position. In doing these analyses, large samples are quantitatively described and implications are made about various groups of teachers. While these analyses are important, there is a need to understand reasons for teacher attrition and mobility that are specific to science teachers. This type of analysis should take into account the nuances of the science teaching. Laboratory instruction is one area that is unique to science teachers. For science teachers, they need supplies to demonstrate phenomena and to have students explore basic phenomena in the laboratory. Another area that is unique to science teachers pertains to teaching out of field. Most science teachers are certified in one area, but often teach in different disciplines. A middle school science teacher, for example, who has a degr ee in life science and teaches a general science course, may

Business Formation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Formation - Coursework Example The entrepreneurs are required to make judgments based on their knowledge, understanding and size of the business. A small business with less capital may be established as a sole proprietor rather than a partnership or a company. Similarly, a company with high capital requirements and extended future expected growth may be established as a company/corporation. The advantages and disadvantages related to each of these business forms should be given appropriate consideration before making a decision. These advantages and disadvantages are discussed below to aid your judgment in the decision making process regarding the types of business formation structures available. Sole Proprietorship Sole Proprietorship is a form of business which is usually preferred by single owners to manage their small-sized businesses. Sole proprietorship is a form whereby the whole authority of managing the daily activities of the business, its management and decision making is limited to the owner of the bus iness. The owners, under sole proprietorship, are the sole holders of any gains or losses generated by the business. They are solely and entirely accountable for the liabilities and rightful holders of the assets that business owns. The legal phenomenon is that business and the owner are equal or the same when it comes to any charge against or for the business. The business’s liability may be termed as the liability of the owners. There are a number of benefits that sole proprietorship brings for the business and the owners. These advantages distinguish this form from other legal forms of businesses. The first and foremost advantage of this kind of a business is the least complex structure of the business. The simplicity of the structure keeps the costs of starting the business and managing it to the minimal. Hence, it may be termed as a cheaper way of establishing a business. Since sole proprietors are the owners of the business with full authority to make decisions and chan ges in the business, this form provides an autonomous position to the owners. They have the authority to change suppliers, the way activities are performed and even the proportion of income which is to be reinvested and so on without any external opposition or conflict. In simple words, we can say that this form brings an independent authority to the proprietors for strategic and managerial decision making without any disagreement from any other party. Moreover, the advantage of enjoying the business profits alone is yet another charm for the proprietors to go for this option (Boone & Kurtz 2008). They are free to reinvest the whole profit that business generates or withdraw it wholly without any need to justify their decisions. In addition to all these benefits, sole proprietorship is also beneficial when the business is required to be dissolved. The simple structure helps in uncomplicated closure of the business. Regardless of the benefits this form of business brings, the disadva ntages must be kept in view when making a decision regarding the expansion of your business. The autonomy that sole proprietorship brings is accompanied with the risk of losing all business and personal assets in case of any liability against the business.  

Should Stem Cell Research be Unbound Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Should Stem Cell be Unbound - Research Proposal Example Spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease are two examples that have been championed by high-profile media personalities (for instance, Christopher Reeve and Michael J. Fox). The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research estimates that stem cell research shows promise to develop cures and/or new treatments for 100 million Americans who currently suffer from a wide variety of diseases and disorders. There are several types of issues to consider as we reflect upon stem cell research. ... Many frame the debate about stem cell research around the question of "when life begins," although the issue is not when life begins, but when personhood begins and ends. Human life began millions of years ago when our ancestors reached a stage of evolutionary development that permitted the separate species, Homo sapiens to arise. Human life will end when our species becomes extinct. Stem cell research is a controversial issue in America as, with the present state of technology, the creation of a human embryonic stem cell line requires the destruction of a human embryo. Stem cell debates have motivated and reinvigorated the pro-life movement. There has been a deep and bitter dispute over the conduct of this research; many pro-lifers, for instance, Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants, have opposed this research. According to them, the embryos from which these stem cells are extracted are actually individual entities and have a soul to them. Since the embryos are killed when the stem cells are removed, or stored for long periods of time, long past their viable storage life, pro-lifers view the extraction procedure as murder. In the United States alone, there have been estimates of at least 400,000 such embryos. However, not everyone is opposed to stem cell research. Many groups that even protest it are comfortable with certain forms of cell research. Plent y of experiments and tests have been carried out to determine improved and more efficient ways of saving lives and replacing organs, without having to kill â€Å"pre-embryos.†

The Story of Amy Tan Essay Example for Free

The Story of Amy Tan Essay The story about Amy Tans mothers effort to converse in effective English with people in spite of her broken or fractured English is in fact very common. I think many immigrants face this problem. As they come from a different background their way of thinking results into different Englishes. America has the most number of Englishes of the world as you can find people from all over the world here. I have seen people who dont take other people seriously who speak Broken English or in a certain accent. People use different Englishes everywhere; Spanish people have Spanglish, which is a combination of Spanish and English, Indian people have Hinglish, which is combination of English with Hindi the native language of India and so on. English is a universal language it is spoken slightly different everywhere which causes people to have a tint of background in their English. Why shouldnt people have their own tint of background in their English? People from different countries have different culture, way of thinking and even accents which adds the tint of background in their English. There is no doubt English is going to be spoken differently around the world. English is not only spoken but also written in some cases differently around the world. Such as the word Color Asians and British would spell it as Colour. As a matter of fact, even the MS Word Spell Check has it highlighted it as this is an American Software and Americans dont spell it like that. The word Schedule is pronounced as Sheadule. If everyone was speaking the same English there wouldnt be any difference if you are from England, China or any other part of the world. Everyone would sound the same and would have the same ideology. The diversity in English is in fact a good thing it shows ones cultural background and adds uniqueness to every country. So its fine to have tint of background in your English. These tints in English develop different accents all over the world. Not only all over the world but also in America. There are different accents such as the people from Southern states have different accent than people from the Northern. Not matter the accent English is still communicable and can avoid language conflicts. Language conflicts occur when there is no common language of communication or in other words when there are people speaking different languages and not everyone is aware of each others language. My friends family is very secular it consists of Hindus, Muslims and Portuguese. There are about three different spoken languages. To avoid any language conflicts they use a common language such as English so that everyone can understand each other. There are some people who get affected by difference in English; they are usually students from other countries studying in American Schools. These students often struggle with grades in English in American Schools, which is due to different Englishes. Amy Tan talks about how she struggled with grades in English and got by easily in Math and Science. This is true in the case of Asians as they have natural inclination towards technical subjects. The worlds leading Electronic and IT companies are loaded with Asians due to their natural ability. Asians in American Schools are usually steered away from writing towards Math and Science, which is why there arent many Asians Americans representing American literature. Amy Tan was a victim of such steering towards math and science. Amy Tan was told by her former boss that English writing was not her best skill and she should hone her talents towards account management. But she took all of the disproving assumptions that people made of her in a rebellious way and she over came it and succeeded. Its very annoying when people judge you by your background. As in the case of Amy Tan having Chinese background she was steered towards math and science in spite of her liking towards English writing. My following story is similar in a sense that I was also judged by my background rather than my capabilities. I had just moved from India to Canada and was hit with some irrelevant judgments that people made of me due to my background. The first impression that I got from Canadians was that they werent aware that Indians were able to converse in fluent English as they can. I saw that people were trying to talk to me in a way that I would understand them as if I didnt know English. I immediately informed them I can very well converse in the same English that they speak. I was shocked due to peoples lack of knowledge about third world countries. Its just said that English is our second language, but as a matter of fact English was taught to us before than our own language. Although we lea rned our own language since birth, but we really started reading and writing our own language from grade 3. Whereas we started reading and writing English from Kindergarten level. My classmates in Canada used to ask me whether we do Computer Programming in our own language since English is not our first language to which I replied; Absolutely not, we use the same English as you do, it might be a little different the way we use it but its the same language. I was truly amazed by the lack of awareness that people have about countries where the first language is not English. I had to prove a point that people can be well acquainted with English even if their first language is not English. Like Amy Tan I didnt exactly have any kind of shame in my story, as she feels a sense of shame and pride in her story. She feels shame because of her mothers broken English and pride as its because of her she is a renowned writer; its because of her she became rebellious in her life, wanting to accomplish something, prove something! And she succeeded in her life she achieved what she wanted to achieve. Although, I did have some pride in my story as I managed to change lot of peoples opinion and made good friends for life and had one of the greatest time of my life in Canada. I would conclude by saying that although English is diversified around the world due to language attitudes, difference in accent, background, Englishes or even unawareness to some extent, Its still the most communicable or reachable language in the world. I feel English is more or less like cooking; the taste of the same food differs from region to region and every region adds its own flavor to it.

Why I Study Biology Essay Example for Free

Why I Study Biology Essay Biology is fascinating in itself. It teaches us all the ways of life not just from a mankind perspective but through all living things, whether, human species, plants etc. I personally study biology because I want to discover the creation and functions of all living things in the world. Being a Psychology major means studying the mind and in order to better understand the human mind, you have to know the basics in the ways of life and how to incorporate the science of human nature into why people react to life differently, culture, religion, politics, etc. All of these factors are taken into consideration into Biology. This semester was extremely challenging for me, and there were a lot of factors that contributed to my inability to study as hard as I know I am cable of. Had my first child this year, was abandoned by my son’s father to raise my son by myself. To make matters worse, I had some medical complications with my health. I was diagnosed with a Pulmonary Embolism. This news was devastating to me. I was hospitalize for a long time and was so depressed. With all of my problems at hand I had to go to work and work 40 hours a week just so I could support me and my son. With all of these devastating experiences in my life, studying seemed impossible to accomplish the way I wanted to. I was constantly in and out of the hospital, worried about my health and trying to get well. Today I am still recovering and believing that God will bring me peace and happiness in me and my son’s life. Some things I could have done better in studying would be that I could have taken my studies to work with me and studied on my lunch. I never did this because I only had an hour to get lunch and eat and I always thought that if I did this I would end of being late coming back from lunch. Another thing I believe would have helped me study better this semester is a strong support team. I did not have many people to help me like I needed. If I had someone to assist me while I studied I could have been a lot more successful. Instead I had to study and care for my son and that was difficult. Finally, when I think about my future in continuing with my courses, I know that I have to study even when I am tired. One bad habit that I had was when my son was sound asleep; I would try to get a few hours asleep as well so that I could be rested for work the next day. One thing I could have done to help me be more successful is to push myself just a little harder, and I ultimately believe I did not push myself to the max because I was so concerned about my health and stress was a trigger for me to feel sickly and I was so overwhelmed with everything going on in my life. What I hope to accomplish in the future is to be successful in my studies and to obtain my BA in Psychology and get my master’s as well. I have learned one thing through everything that I have been through. I reasoned with life from this analogy, life is like a game of baseball, anything that life pitches at you, it is you that have to ready to swing at any time. Whether it’s a fast ball, trick ball or curve ball, you have to prepare yourself for victory. If your just focus getting a home run, whether you struggle getting there or not, what matters is that you give your best to win.

Static Channel Versus Dynamic Channel Allocation Systems Computer Science Essay

Static Channel Versus Dynamic Channel Allocation Systems Computer Science Essay Abstract- Channel Allocation Schemes have always held a vital role in achieving better performance of wireless networks. This paper has studied the comparison between two of the most known techniques of channel allocation namely: Static Channel Allocation and Dynamic Channel Allocation. The comparison is made over two types of networks single radio network, in which each of wireless node is equipped with only one radio interface, and multi radio network, in which each of the node is equipped with at least two transceivers. This paper presents the detail survey of all the existing comparison made between these two schemes. Keywords- Channel Allocation Scheme, Dynamic Channel Allocation, Static Channel Allocation, Single radio network, Multi-radio network Introduction Growth in the customers of the wireless networks, let it be cellular systems or any other Wireless network, has amplified the need to have the networks which can have more capacity and accommodate more and more users. Enlargement of wireless market has made capacity of the wireless network a scarce resource. Methods to improve effective capacity utilization of the wireless network are under consideration and in [4], it is realized that these methods involve source coding schemes, power control, better modulation schemes, improved antennas. Other then these methods capacity of wireless system can be improved by installing more bas stations i.e increasing number of transmitting equipment or improving hardware equipment of current system. Using better channel allocation schemes is also one of the methods to improve capacity utilization of wireless network. The aim of this paper is to focus on channel allocation schemes. These channel allocation schemes are not much of importance in the wired networks because their topology is stable and they do not offer any mobility to the users/nodes. But in the wireless networks, channel allocation of key importance. The vital role of the wireless networks is that they offer mobility to users hence, the channel allocation algorithm has to assign channels to ports and portables so that best trade-off between the quality of service and system performance is maintained [3]. A given spectrum of frequency, can be divided into several independent sets, these independent sets are completely disjoint with each other. Hence even if they are used simultaneously, they will not interfere with each other. So splitting the frequency spectrum into independent channels and then using all the channels for communication simultaneously present improvement in the capacity utilization [6]. The channel allocation strategy is considered to be the core of mobile networks because it not only affects the quality and the availability of the channels to the user but changes the distribution of the traffic and hence, overall shapes the capacity of the network [3]. Two of the most common channel allocation schemes are considered in this paper namely, FCA- Fixed Channel Assignment or Fixed Channel Allocation and DCA- Dynamic Channel Allocation. Fixed Channel Allocation (FCA) Fixed Channel Allocation is also known as Static Channel Allocation. It is known as Fixed or Static because once the channel is allocated to a port or a user it does not change for the entire course of operation. It is used in all TDMA/FDMA digital cellular mobile networks [5] as number of frequency carriers in each cell stays fixed and does not depend on traffic load. It is a time insensitive solution, as with the passage of time allocation of the channels to nodes does not change. Although in real-time, traffic load in a cell varies, there are peak hours when the traffic load reaches to almost 100% and then there are quiet hours in a cell when traffic load is very low. This limitation dispirits the use of the FCA. But if a static condition is considered there is most likely a chance to get good performance with this channel allocation algorithm [3]. In a cellular system based on the FCA, channels are partitioned among the cells permanently so that if all the cells use all the channels assigned to them simultaneously, there will be no interference [1]. Figure cell pattern for Static Channel Allocation with N = 7 With more complex systems other channel strategies can achieve higher efficiency but they require processors with more memory. But it is an essential sacrifice to make as in [4] it is discussed that in each cell there are no static conditions, space traffic imbalance varies from 10% to 70%, and this imbalance in the traffic depends on the size of the cell or service area and type of the environment, whether its urban, suburban or rural area [4]. Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA) In DCA, frequency channels are not fixed for any node or user. Depending upon knowledge of the environment, channels are assigned to the user. The distribution of the frequency carriers in a cell depends upon distribution of the users/nodes in the cell and also on offered traffic load. DCA is currently supported by the GSM [5]. In Dynamic Channel Allocation Scheme all the channels which are available for a system, are kept in a queue or a spool. These channels are allocated to any cell temporarily. The only constraint is to fulfil the distance criteria, so that interference can be minimized [2]. The existing schemes for the Dynamic Channel Allocation can be categorized into three main types: IA-DCA (Interference Adaptive Dynamic Channel Allocation), LA-DCA (Location Adaptive Dynamic Channel Allocation) and TA-DCA (Traffic Adaptive Dynamic Channel Allocation), these schemes are based on the type of network dynamics they consider while making decision [4]. All DCA schemes basically evaluate the cost of using each available channel and opts the channel which introduces lowest cost [2]. For most accurate and good decision for channel allocation, the algorithm should have accurate knowledge of the environment [3]. The main algorithms which are considered under the study of Dynamic Channel Allocation are: DCET, Bellcore and Segregation DCA [3]. In DCET and Bellcore DCA algorithms, the decision of channel allocation is based on only single measurement of channel dynamics, while in the Segregation DCA, a radio interface acquires the channel depending upon its learning through past experience of channel usage. With the past knowledge, channel which has highest probability of success is chosen for operation. Although this algorithm requires processors with memory yet as decision is more meaningful so its performance is better than the DCET and Bellcore DCA algorithms [3]. In figure 2, in [7] results of performance of different type of DCA schemes are compared. Figure Performance of Different DCA methods Section II of the paper compares both of the channel allocation schemes in a single radio network and Section III shares the comparison done of channel allocation schemes in multi-radio network. Section IV shares the identified regions in which future work can be done and Section V concludes the paper. Comparison of DCA and FCA in Single Radio Network A single radio network a network in which all of the nodes of the wireless network consist of maximum of one radio interface and this single radio interface is used for the communication purposes. In this section the comparison of the DCA and FCA in single radio network is presented. Figure Algorithms for Dynamic Channel Allocation In a given cell, if a node requests a call, it will be served only and only if the cell has an unused channel available, which fulfils the reuse criteria, otherwise the call will be blocked [1]. Such is the case with Static Channel Allocation Scheme. But this is not the case with the Dynamic Channel Allocation Schemes, as for each of the call that is to be served; channel is taken from the overall pool that holds all the channels available for wireless system. In any channel allocation strategy, main aim is to find the best possible way to reuse the channels to maximize the systems capacity, while keeping interference in the system at minimum and provide quality of service to the user [4]. From another view, for allocating channel, the objective is taken as to allocate the channel to a call so that number of blocked calls is minimized and the number of dropped calls is also minimized. In the end, the channel allocation scheme finds the best trade-off between these two objectives because generally priority is given to minimize the number of dropped calls, as having a call dropped is more undesirable then not having the call connected at all [1]. Both schemes for channel allocation FCA and DCA are compared under the assumption that the call arrival distribution is Poisson [5]. For the purpose of modelling in FCA it is considered that there are z numbers of channels per frequency carrier and y is the number of control channels. In a given cell i, let total number of frequency carrier be Ci and the total number of channels in the cell, which will be used to serve a call will be ci. The expression for ci is given as: (1) While this will not be the case for DCA, as frequency carriers are not permanently assigned to any of the cell. As the channel assignment depends on environment so, if we take n as the number of active calls in any cell, then frequency carriers allocated to that cell will be: (2) Total number of channels required, for any cell should be equal to the number of active calls and the control channels. But the number of frequency carriers which has z number of channels each should be either more or equal than actually required [5]. In equation (2), shows that value is always taken equal or greater than a [5]. For the first simulation, the arrival rate of the calls is set at the overload value; this means that the overload period is considered where the numbers of calls initiated per minute are more than the actual capacity of the system. The observation made over here is that, under heavy traffic load, efficiency of the network or the channel utilization and capacity of the network does not improve by using DCA instead of FCA. Although it was considered as the fact that DCA will always perform better than FCA. Figure Effect of the handover on FCA and DCA In figure 4, the phenomenon observed is known as phenomenon of low capacity island [5]. Under heavy load, no benefit is achieved by using DCA, as in such a scenario both of the schemes will be utilizing capacity to the full extent. Rather DCA may perform worse than FCA. The reason is that due to dynamic channel allocation, a cell may borrow some of the frequency channels form the neighbouring cells during the low traffic period and the neighbouring cell does not get the channel back. The cell which has obtained the channel is let us say known as the lucky cell, and the cell which donated the channel and in the end, was unable to get it back is known as unlucky cell [5]. Now during the high load traffic period, if lucky cell wants to handover the call to a neighbouring unlucky cell. But as the unlucky cell would already be out of available channels to be able to serve the call, call will be dropped. Hence under such a scenario the drop out probability of dynamic channel allocation sch eme would be higher than static channel allocation algorithm. Other simulation is to find out the effect of the arrival rate on call blocking probability. Arrival rate is the number of calls initiated per minute. Through simulation, it is concluded that DCA performed better if the traffic load is within the range 0.6 to 0.9 Erlang/BS/Channel. (figure 5) Figure Analysis of DCA and FCA, call blocking ratio with respect to the arrival rate of the calls During the next case it was considered that arrival rate is Poisson and the other parameters like handover rate and call holding time etc are evenly distributed all over the cell. From the figure 6 it is clear that as probability of call blocking increases with the increase in the arrival rate of calls. Which is fairly obvious, more are the number of the users which are to be served, there is more likely a chance that some of them may not be able to get a free channel. Figure Performance analysis of FCA and DCA, Arrival rate of calls with respect to the over all blocking probability Under such consideration as can be observed from the figure 6, DCA performs better than FCA, as in case of congestion in a cell, DCA can borrow channels from the neighbouring cells but in case of FCA, the scheme has no option but to reject the oncoming calls in case of congestion. Figure 7 shows the amount of traffic carried by FCA and DCA according to the traffic load. Figure comparison between FCA and DCA with respect to the carried traffic under the traffic load Figure 8 shows the performance of the channel allocation schemes when traffic imbalance is considered. It is observed that network capacity to carry data, in case of FCA, reduces significantly when data imbalance is considered. But in case of DCA, there is no significant degradation in networks capacity to carry the data. There is also significant increase in the number of calls blocked by FCA, because of the increase in the traffic imbalance. But as the carried capacity does not decrease much in case of the DCA, there is not much of the increment in number of the blocked calls. Figure FCA Vs. DCA, effect of the traffic imbalance on the both channel allocation techniques Comparison of DCA and FCA in Multi Radio Network A multi radio network is the type of the network where each node is equipped with at least two or more than two transceivers. Fixed Channel Allocation in Multi-radio network It is pointed out in [14], throughput and overall performance of wireless networks decreases with increased density of radios, but major reason for this problem is that these radios do not transmit the data simultaneously as the nodes are generally configured with single radios only and this factor basically limits the forwarding capacity of the network. In [15], the authors have emphasized that with the introduction of more than one NIC (Network interface cards) in wireless networks, performance of the system can be improved 6 to 7 times, instead of just doubling the performance. The same phenomenon has been confirmed in [16]. There has been much work done, in which the performance gain in wireless mesh networks with multiple interfaces is discussed as compared to single radio interface network. In [13], capacity gain between single radio, dual radio and multi-radio wireless mesh networks is compared and realistically the gain achieved by having multiple radio interfaces in the network has been discussed. Apart from that, in [17], authors have proposed that with implementation of multi-radio Diversity approximately 2.3 times performance gain is measured in the single radio network. Under the multi-radio scenario, one important factor is to consider proper channel assignment. Each of the radios should be tuned to a frequency through which the throughput of the whole network is maximized. The introduction of multiple radios is not without the trade off of increased complexity of channel assignment schemes and the traffic allocation methods [20] and apart from that, more work is done in this domain. In [10], [8], [19], the authors have proposed some approaches to get maximum possible throughput by different channel assignment algorithms. The concept of the Static Channel Allocation in this section is extended to Wireless Mesh Networks, as before the start of the operation in the wireless mesh networks the channels are properly allocated and then till the end of the operation, the channel assignment does not change. In this section, multi-radio wireless mesh network is considered and it is observed that how by having multiple radio interfaces the performance of the network improves. Figure Performance of the FCA algorithms with 3 channels Figure 9 shows the impact of the different algorithms for the channel allocation in the three channel scheme [8]. Figure performance of the FCA algorithms with 12 channels Figure 10 shows the impact of the different algorithms for the channel allocation in the twelve channel scheme [8]. Figure 11 shows that with different channel allocation algorithms, how the increment in number of interfaces per node impacts the performance of network. In all algorithms it is observed that with the increase in number of radio interfaces per node, throughput of wireless networks improves [9]. Figure FCA algorithm comparison with different number of radio interfaces per node Figure effect of increased number of interfaces per node on the over all normalized broadcast latency In figure 12, it is shown that with different channel allocation schemes for multi-interface wireless mesh network, normalized latency for broadcast decreases with the increase in number of radio interfaces per node [9]. In figure 13, it is simulated that with the increase in the number of interfaces per node, there is not an unlimited increment in capacity utilization. Multi radios are used so that in a network there could be as many concurrent transmissions as possible. But even this has a limit to it. In [10], it is shown that after achieving the maximum level of capacity utilization, even after by adding more number of radio interfaces in a network, no advantage is gained. Figure capacity degradation with increase in the number of radio interfaces per node Figure Effect of the number of channels and multiple radio interfaces on the throughput In figure 14, it is shown that as long as the number of the available channels in a cell; are more than the number of interfaces per node, with increase in number of radios per node, throughput of the network will increase [11]. Figure throughput increment of a network by increased number of the interfaces per node In figure 15, it is shown that under a proper channel assignment and routing method, with more number of interfaces per node, the throughput of the system improves considerably [12]. In [13], as shown in figure 16 and 17, performance of fixed channel allocation scheme is compared in detail with respect to single radio network and the multi-radio network. Figure overall network capacity increment with more number of radio interfaces present at each node In figure 16, it is proved that the capacity of the overall system improves with the usage of multiple radios per node. Figure capacity of each AP with multiple interfaces per node Comparison between single radio to the multiple radios In figure 17, per Access Point capacity is simulated to have comparison between multi-radio interface per node and single radio interface per node. Dynamic Channel Allocation in Multi-radio Network: There has been little work which proves the introduction of multiple interfaces while using the Dynamic Channel Allocation provides any performance up-gradation. Analytically it is assumed that, as the introduction of multi-interfaces in wireless mesh networks improves performance, similarly the performance of networks using Dynamic Channel Allocation can be improved by introducing more than one interface on a single node. Some of the analysed parameters, which show the relative improvement in performance, are listed below: Parameter I: Improvement in the throughput of the system: In a single radio cognitive network, as shown in figure 18, the node D has two data packets of equal size in its internal queue, one for node C and one for node. Nodes E and C are at the equal distance d from the node D but are tuned at different channels. In this particular case each packet will take time t to reach the destination. Even if we neglect the switching time, cognitive radio present at D will take to switch from one channel to the other channel, the time taken to completely transmit both of the packets will be t+t = 2t. Figure Single Radio Network Now even if the same network topology is considered but now consider that each of the nodes is equipped with two interfaces (figure 19). Node D will be able to transmit both of the packets simultaneously to node C and node E, considering that interface 1 is tuned to the channel on which communication with node E is possible and interface 2 is tuned to the frequency over which communication with node C is possible. In this case there will be no delay caused by the switching of the channel. Figure Multi-interface radio network Figure Effect of channel switching Conclusion: The transmission time is decreased with the factor of N, where N is the number of interface each of the node will have. Throughput is improved with the factor of N. Parameter II: Latency of the network will decrease: With the introduction of the multiple interfaces in the cognitive radio network, latency of the network will decrease. Figure Multi-hop Single interface Wireless Network Initially considering the multi-hop scenario, considering an intermediate node, it has to receive an incoming transmission on channel 1 and then it has to tune its radio to the channel 2 to be able transmit the received transmission to the destination node. Latency of such network will consist of: Transmitting time of packet over channel 1 from source node to intermediate node: t1 Transmitting time of packet over channel 2 from intermediate node to destination node: t2 Switching time required for the interface on intermediate node to switch from channel 1 to channel 2: t3 Hence the total latency of such a system will be: t1+ t2+ t3 Figure Multi-hop Multi interface Wireless Network Now comparing the previous scenario with the one in which each of the node is equipped with at least two interfaces. Now on the intermediate node interface 1 will be tuned to channel 1 and interface 2 will be tuned to channel 2. If there is an incoming transmission on channel 1 and it is to be transmitted to the channel 2, the total latency will be: Transmitting time of packet over channel 1 from source node to intermediate node: t1 Transmitting time of packet over channel 2 from intermediate node to destination node: t2 Hence the total latency of such a system will be: t1+ t2 The switching time will not be considered over here; hence comparatively the latency is decreased with the introduction of another interface on the cognitive radio node. Conclusion: The latency factor is dependent on switching time of the cognitive radio. This factor comes into effect with more dominance with increase in the number of hops in the multi-hop network. Latency can be greatly reduced with the introduction of multi interfaces on the cognitive radio network. Parameter III: Connectivity of the network will improve: The probability of isolation of any node in a network will be reduced with the introduction of the multi-interfaces in the cognitive radio network. Figure Single interface node with the available channels Considering the scenario, in figure 23, where a secondary network has four channels available for its utilization, now for a given condition, all radio interfaces are tuned to either one of the channel 1, 2 or 3. If a single interface chooses channel 4, it will be isolated from the rest of the network. Assuming that the probability of opting for such a channel is p then the overall probability of getting a node isolated from the rest of the network will be p. Figure Multi-Interface node with the available channels Now for multiple interfaces, a node will only be separated if both the interfaces of a single node choose channel 4. A node will be isolated if and only if: Interface 1 chooses channel 4 AND interface 2 chooses channel 4 P2 As according to the probability rules p Conclusion: The probability of isolating a node, is decreased with the factor of N [N is the number of radios] as compared to the probability of node isolation in case of single interface cognitive radio networks. Here mutual independence among the DCA algorithms running on both of the radio interfaces is considered, but this is not generally the case. The performance of a cognitive radio network is strictly dependent on the number of cognitive radios present in its vicinity [21]. Figure Improvement in throughput using multiple radios Figure Improvement in throughput of the network with multiple radio using different number of available channels Figure 25 and 26 shows the throughput improvement gained by the introduction of multiple radios as compared to a single radio and in both of the figures different number of available channels are considered [24]. Comparison: Up till so far, none of the research has been carried out to find out whether any advantage is gained by deploying Dynamic Channel Allocation scheme in the multi-radio wireless network domain as compared to the implementation of the Fixed Channel Assignment algorithm. Considering the study made regarding the performance improvement gained by fixed channel allocation scheme and dynamic channel allocation scheme in multi-radio wireless network, there could be several hypotheses made. The complexity of implementation of Dynamic Channel Allocation algorithm will be more than that of Fixed Channel Allocation algorithm. Although the same is true in case of single radio network, but in case of the Multi-radio network, the complexity increment will be more significant. The reason can be taken as if the spectrum view of a single interface of a node changes in multi-radio network, for the similar node the situation changes for the other interfaces as well [21]. The performance improvement obtained by implementation of the Dynamic Channel Allocation algorithm as compared to the Fixed Channel Allocation in the multi-radio will have similar effects as it has in the Single radio network. The same effect on the throughput of the system, data carrying capacity and the effect of the traffic load and traffic imbalance will be observed. Another important factor that can be predicted because of the observation made via simulation figures is as the performance of the wireless network depends upon the density of the nodes in a network. As compared to the Fixed Channel Allocation Scheme, Dynamic Channel Allocation Algorithms will be more sensitive to the density of the network [23]. There will be no matter of connectivity in case the Fixed Channel Assignment Scheme is deployed on the wireless network. As before the point of operation with FCA, it is made sure that all of the nodes are connected and none of the node is left isolated. With the Dynamic Channel Allocation there will still be a small probability that a node can get isolated from the rest of the network. In the Fixed Channel Allocation for the multi-radio wireless network the distribution of radio interfaces do not matter for the performance. But in case of the DCA, better performance can be improved if radio interface distribution on the nodes is not uniform. DCA will perform better if the first hop nodes have more number of radio interfaces than rest of the network nodes [22]. Future Work The points raised, during this study are just concluded through observation and analytically studying the response of the Fixed Channel Allocation Algorithm in the Multi-Radio network and Dynamic Channel Allocation Algorithm in Multi-Radio Network. These observations can be further improved by using proper simulating tools. Conclusion In the single radio wireless network, DCA exhibits better performance than FCA. The same behaviour is predicted for the multi-radio wireless network, but with the increased complexity. And much better performance can be achieved by taking care of the distribution of the radios in the network. Still it should be considered that there will not be infinite performance gain obtained by using multi-radio network and DCA. The limitation imposed is that number of channels available to a cell should always be greater than the number of interfaces per node has.

Dialectoc Composition In Purgatorio V :: Purgatorio V Poem Poetic Essays

Dialectoc Composition In Purgatorio V In this canto there appear to be none of those cruces on which contemporary criticism often fastens as basic for the understanding of the poem's deeper meaning. It nevertheless contains some of the most vivid episodes of the journey, especially in its second part, involving the stories of three memorable characters. As is characteristic of the whole cantica, and is especially evident in the first cantos, we find that the three souls we meet here are, by the very definition of their realm, in a liminal state between two forms of existence, the earthly and the celestial. They are gradually shedding the prejudices and passions that had made them cling to the illusory goods of their earthly existence, and getting ready, through their painful purgation, for the permanent bliss to come. We shall see how, by the very progression that distinguishes them among themselves, the three main characters are increasingly detached from the worldly values and increasingly ready for the final step. In one of the more recent  «lecturae » Giambattista Salinari (1969, 311 and 313f) finds that this canto is marked by a high degree of lyricism, considering the progression of the three generic ingredients of the whole poem, namely the descriptive (or epic), the dramatic, and the lyric. He also stresses here the particularly conspicuous presence of what he calls the three types of  «contrappunto » in which Dante excels, namely the  «horizontal » (when contrasting episodes are juxtaposed for the sake of variation and emphasis), the  «vertical » (when over several characters the same situation or theme is developed through rising tonalities), and finally the  «stylistic » (when in the same episode the epic or narrative element is expressed through elegiac description, the dramatic through dialogue, and the lyric through monologue). This is, in short exposition, an interesting analytic point that concerns a striking yet little noticed feature of Dante's method o f composition, and which this writer has attempted to define and analyze under the term of  «dialectic composition ». The structure of Purgatorio V leans, as it were, backward and forward, tying in with the conclusion of the episode of the lazy in the preceding canto and then concluding the episode of the violently slain, who properly occupy this canto, in the following canto, when the same group continues to crowd around Dante in order to secure prayers on their behalf from the living.

Plato and Lockes Views on an Innate Idea Essay -- Philosophy essays

Plato and Locke's Views on an Innate Idea      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is an innate idea?   This can be defined as some idea or mental representation that is produced by outside perception or created anew by our imagination. It exists in the mind in virtue of the nature of the human mind.   According to Plato most if not all of our knowledge is innate. However, John Locke feels that we do not have any innate ideas.   Then the question arises of who is right or are they both wrong.   In this paper I will attempt to examine the conflicting views of Plato and Locke.    The problem that I will be dealing with involves the different views of Locke and Plato.   The main focus of the paper will be to deal with both sides of the view on innate ideas and determine which is plausible. I will be looking particularly at Plato's treatment of the concepts in the Meno and Locke's treatment in certain parts of the essay on human understanding.    It is very hard to determine what if anything the mind possesses.   It could possess everything we will ever know, as Plato seems to think, or the mind could possess nothing.   Both of these views will be discussed in the following paper. Plato's view on knowledge stems from Socrates and his teachings.   Socrates claimed to not know what virtues were or if they existed.   However, he develops a peculiar view of ideas and knowledge acquisition. [Meno 70-100b].   First, I will begin by setting up the background of the Meno.   Socrates has been on a quest to find if anyone knows what virtues are and who has the virtues.   While in the process of this Socrates makes many enemies.   At the beginning of the d... ...the experience at hand.   When we learn from this experience it is engraved on our minds or slates. Locke is a model empiricist.   But I also feel he should compromise on the issue of innate capacities.   This would allow for all the knowledge we gain from experience to be filtered and classified to further our learning.   Therefore, we would have no innate ideas but we would gain our knowledge from experiences.   However, we would have the innate capacities to filter our knowledge. Works Cited Brown, M. (1971). Plato's Meno. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc Chappell, V. (1994). The Cambridge Companion to Locke. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chappell, V. (1998). Locke. New York: Oxford University Press. Cooper, J.M.,(1997). Plato: Complete Works. Indianapolis, IN : Hackett Publishing Company.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual issues - HIV Positive Children Must be Allowed t

HIV Positive Children Must be Allowed to Attend School Do you remember when Ryan White tried to attend public school in the 80's? Remember the media blitz and all the panic of the community? Parents and teachers were afraid to let HIV+ children attend public school. There was a fear that children with AIDS would somehow infect their healthy classmates. The truth is, AIDS is a disease which is not transmitted by casual contact. Normal play and interaction with HIV+ children is no threat to healthy children. So in recent years, fears have subsided and the policies of many school districts have changed. In Oklahoma for example, the Putnam City School District now allows HIV+ children to attend its schools. As a result of the District's decision, the people involved in the schools are reaping life-enriching benefits. First of all, the healthy children who attend Putnam City schools experience significant benefits by routinely interacting with classmates who have AIDS. Perhaps the most important benefit healthy children gain is they learn to fear the disease itself, not persons afflicted with it. Healthy children soon realize they can not only talk to but also study beside and even play with their AIDS infected classmates without fear. On the other hand, they clearly learn to fear the disease itself, for children who are friends with HIV+ children watch their friends slowly die. Christy's experience with her friend, Mark, is a typical example. Christy had known Mark since they were in kindergarten. Mark was a hemophiliac who had contracted AIDS at the age of seven via the clotting factor medication he had to take for his condition. When he was 11, Mark developed full-blown AIDS, and AIDS claimed him when he was only 15. Christ... ... and they are included in social activities beyond the school environment, such as going to the mall, the movies, and restaurants. These opportunities help the AIDS infected young people enjoy a happier life, even if it is tragically short. It is unquestionable that Putnam City School District's policy of allowing HIV+ children to attend their schools has benefited all involved. First, parents' fears that their healthy children would be in grave danger from casual contact with AIDS infected children have been proven false. Second, healthy children have gained a respectful fear of a deadly disease, a wisdom they probably would not have gained had they just been isolated from the horrors of AIDS. And finally, HIV+ children have taught their peers and adults alike that it is people who count, that all people need friends, and that all have the right to be educated. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual issues - HIV Positive Children Must be Allowed t HIV Positive Children Must be Allowed to Attend School Do you remember when Ryan White tried to attend public school in the 80's? Remember the media blitz and all the panic of the community? Parents and teachers were afraid to let HIV+ children attend public school. There was a fear that children with AIDS would somehow infect their healthy classmates. The truth is, AIDS is a disease which is not transmitted by casual contact. Normal play and interaction with HIV+ children is no threat to healthy children. So in recent years, fears have subsided and the policies of many school districts have changed. In Oklahoma for example, the Putnam City School District now allows HIV+ children to attend its schools. As a result of the District's decision, the people involved in the schools are reaping life-enriching benefits. First of all, the healthy children who attend Putnam City schools experience significant benefits by routinely interacting with classmates who have AIDS. Perhaps the most important benefit healthy children gain is they learn to fear the disease itself, not persons afflicted with it. Healthy children soon realize they can not only talk to but also study beside and even play with their AIDS infected classmates without fear. On the other hand, they clearly learn to fear the disease itself, for children who are friends with HIV+ children watch their friends slowly die. Christy's experience with her friend, Mark, is a typical example. Christy had known Mark since they were in kindergarten. Mark was a hemophiliac who had contracted AIDS at the age of seven via the clotting factor medication he had to take for his condition. When he was 11, Mark developed full-blown AIDS, and AIDS claimed him when he was only 15. Christ... ... and they are included in social activities beyond the school environment, such as going to the mall, the movies, and restaurants. These opportunities help the AIDS infected young people enjoy a happier life, even if it is tragically short. It is unquestionable that Putnam City School District's policy of allowing HIV+ children to attend their schools has benefited all involved. First, parents' fears that their healthy children would be in grave danger from casual contact with AIDS infected children have been proven false. Second, healthy children have gained a respectful fear of a deadly disease, a wisdom they probably would not have gained had they just been isolated from the horrors of AIDS. And finally, HIV+ children have taught their peers and adults alike that it is people who count, that all people need friends, and that all have the right to be educated.

Housing Finance

[pic] [pic] [pic] BY: SHALEEN BAWEJA (15946) PUROO SONI (15907) DIWAKAR ANAND (15912) MUDIT KALRA (15918) AMAN ARORA (15944) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We as a group would like to express our sincere thanks to MR. KUMAR BIJOY our FINANCIAL SERVICES faculty for helping us study the subject in depth thus giving us a wholesome experience. We also express our gratitude towards COLLEGE OF BUSINESS STUDIES for giving us the opportunity to work on the project. INDEX S. No. PARTICULARS PAGE 1. PROFILE OF NATIONAL HOUSING BANK 4 2. WHY HOUSING FINANCE IS IMPORTANT? 7 3. HOUSING & GDP 8 4. TYPES OF HOME LOANS 9 5. HOUSING FINANCE COMPANIES IN INDIA 11 6. SUMMARY OF FINANCIALS OF SELECTED HOUSING FINANCE COMPANIES 21 7. REVERSE MORTGAGE LOAN 22 8. HOUSING FINANCE- SCOPE IN INDIA 24 9. ASSESSMENTS & PROSPECTS 30 10. FUTURE EXPECTATIONS 32 11. LIMITATIONS OF HOUSING FINANCE 33 12. ANNEXURES 35 PROFILE OF THE NATIONAL HOUSING BANK The National Housing Bank (NHB) was established on 9th July 1988 under an Act of the Parliament viz. he National Housing Bank Act, 1987 to function as a principal agency to promote Housing Finance Institutions and to provide financial and other support to such institutions. The Act, inter alia, empowers NHB to: ? Issue directions to housing finance institutions to ensure their growth on sound lines ? Make loans and advances and render any other form of financial assistance to scheduled banks and housing finance institutions or to any authority established by or under any Central, State or Provincial Act and engaged in slum improvement and Formulate schemes for the purpose of mobilisation of resources and exten sion of credit for housing OBJECTIVES NHB has been established to achieve, inter alia, the following objectives: ? To promote a sound, healthy, viable and cost effective housing finance system to cater to all segments of the population and to integrate the housing finance system with the overall financial system. ? To promote a network of dedicated housing finance institutions to adequately serve various regions and different income groups. To augment resources for the sector and channelise them for housing. ? To make housing credit more affordable. ? To regulate the activities of housing finance companies based on regulatory and supervisory authority derived under the Act. ? To encourage augmentation of supply of buildable land and also building materials for housing and to upgrade the housing stock in the country. ? To encourage public agencies to emerge as facilitators and suppliers of serviced land, for housing. BUSINESS ACTIVITIES NHB, as the Apex level financial institution for the housing sector in the country, performs the following roles: ? Regulation and Supervision NHB exercises regulatory and supervisory authority over the HFCs in the matter of acceptance of deposits by them pursuant to the powers vested in it under the Act. As per the amendments to certain provisions of the Act, which came into effect from June 12, 2000, NHB is vested with powers to grant Certificate of Registration to companies for commencing/carrying on the business of a housing finance institution. Besides, NHB regulates the deposit acceptance activities in accordance with the Housing Finance Companies (NHB) Directions, 2001, amended from time to time, in the matter of ceiling on borrowings (including public deposits, rate of interest, period, liquid assets, etc). NHB has also issued Directions on prudential norms in regard to capital adequacy, asset classification, concentration of credit, income recognition, provisioning for bad and doubtful debts etc. NHB supervises the working of HFCs through on-site inspection and off-site surveillance. ? Financing NHB raises resources for the housing sector towards increasing new housing stock and provides refinance to a large set of retail lending institutions. These include scheduled commercial banks, scheduled state cooperative banks, scheduled urban cooperative banks, specialised housing finance institutions, apex co-operative housing finance societies and agriculture and rural development banks. Refinance is provided by NHB under various schemes, which are formulated taking into account, several aspects of the National Housing Policy, the constraints facing the sector etc. NHB has also a window for direct lending to Public Agencies such as, State Level Housing Boards and Area Development Authorities for large scale integrated housing projects and slum redevelopment projects. NHB is also operating a special window for extending financial assistance to the people affected by natural calamities viz. earthquake, cyclone etc. ? Resources of NHB NHB raises resources from diversified sources, both domestic and external by issuing Bonds/ debentures, borrowing from RBI and financial institutions/organisations etc. Under the Act, NHB is authorised to issue and sell Bonds with or without the guarantee of the Central Government for the purpose of carrying on its functions. ? Rural Housing NHB launched the â€Å"Swarna Jayanti Rural Housing Finance Scheme† to mark the golden jubilee of India's Independence. The Scheme seeks to provide improved access to housing loans to borrowers for construction/acquisition/ up-gradation of a house in rural areas of the country. Statistics Comparative Data on Housing Finance Disbursement Housing Finance Companies (Amt in Rs. crore) July-Sep 2003  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   July-Sep 2004 UNIT |AMT   | | 101182 |5207. 42 | |UNIT |AMT   | |104225 |6286. 15 | Why housing finance is important? Perhaps few things are more developmental than housing. Given its linkages to many sectors in the economy – including land markets, construction, and labour markets – housing finance is key to econo mic growth. It has been estimated that there are roughly 600 other industries that have links to the housing markets. A stimulus to the demand for housing will have a direct or indirect stimulatory impact on all of these industries. The availability of mortgage financing also stimulates the construction of new housing units. House construction and related industries are labour-intensive and thus provide significant employment opportunities; thus, a greater demand for housing provides a very large economic stimulus to the broader economy. There are also numerous other societal and Developmental benefits to providing decent living space to the poorer segments of society, which are our principal target markets. Productivity and employment are very often enhanced by providing a living space close to where people work. IMPORTANCE OF HOUSING SECTOR IN INDIA ? Income Generation It is estimated that the construction sector’s income multiplier is around 5, while construction related manufacturing has an income multiplier of 7. 6. ? Employment Generation Today, there are 2. 5 cr. construction workers in the country. In terms of direct, indirect and induced employment generation, the construction sector’s employment multiplier is 7. 76. ? Revenue Accruals to Government An investment of Rs. 100 generates Rs. 11. 4 as revenue to the Government in the form of sales, excise taxes and octroi. ? A basic human necessity supporting economic activities. ? Have forward and backward linkages with over 250 ancillary industries. ? Every Rupee spent on construction, an estimated 75-80 paise is added to GDP. ? Housing Industry Growth in last 5 years – Physical Terms 3. 0 % p. a. Financial Terms 30% p. a. ? Contribution of Housing in GDP is about 6%. ? Percentage of Mortgage Debt to GDP is 8. 0% (E) in 2005-06, still way below China’s (12%), Malaysia (22%), Hong-Kong (40%) and US (65%). ? An engine of equitable economic growth – Investments, Savings.. Housing and GDP Housing construction contributes approximately 1-2% to India's GDP as compared to the entire construction sector’s contribution of around 6%, which includes roads, ports, housing, dams and canals etc. The construction industry is the only industry which makes use of all oth er industries; you need ceramics, pipes, steel, cement, glass, tiles, iron, wood, cloth. Start construction and you provide employment for hundreds of labourers, you will use transport for transferring materials, so the transportation industry will get a boost, labourer's income will increase, spending will increase. Over and above, you solve the housing problem. If this is done, the contribution might go up to 10% for the construction sector and around 3-4% for the housing sector. Another way of looking at the huge potential of housing construction sector for the development of economy is through it’s impact on GDP. A 10% increase in final expenditure in the construction sector increases the GDP by 3%. TYPES OF HOME LOANS Home Purchase Loans: This is the basic home loan for the purchase of a new home. Home Construction Loans: This loan is available for the construction of a new home on a said property. The documents that are required in such a case are slightly different from the ones you submit for a normal Housing Loan. If you have purchased this plot within a period of one year before you started construction of your house, most HFCs will include the land cost as a component, to value the total cost of the property. In cases where the period from the date of purchase of land to the date of application has exceeded a year, the land cost will not be included in the total cost of property while calculating eligibility. Home Improvement Loans: These loans are given for implementing repair works and renovations in a home that has already been purchased, for external works like structural repairs, waterproofing or internal work like tiling and flooring, plumbing, electrical work, painting, etc. One can avail of such a loan facility of a home improvement loan, after obtaining the requisite approvals from the relevant building authority. Home Extension Loans: An extension loan is one which helps you to meet the expenses of any alteration to the existing building like extension/ modification of an existing home; for example addition of an extra room etc. One can avail of such a loan facility of a home extension loan, after obtaining the requisite approvals from the relevant municipal corporation. Home Conversion Loans: This is available for those who have financed the present home with a home loan and wish to purchase and move to another home for which some extra funds are required. Through a home conversion loan, the existing loan is transferred to the new home including the extra amount required, eliminating the need for pre-payment of the previous loan. Land Purchase Loans: This loan is available for purchase of land for both home construction or investment purposes Stamp Duty Loans: This loan is sanctioned to pay the stamp duty amount that needs to be paid on the purchase of property. Bridge Loans: Bridge Loans are designed for people who wish to sell the existing home and purchase another. The bridge loan helps finance the new home, until a buyer s found for the old home. Balance-Transfer Loans: Balance Transfer is the transfer of the balance of an existing home loan that you availed at a higher rate of interest (ROI) to either the same HFC or another HFC at the current ROI a lower rate of interest. Re-finance Loans: Refinance loans are taken in case when a loan for your house from a HFI at a particular ROI you have taken drops over the years and you stand to lose. In such cases you may opt to swap your loan. This could be done from either the same HFI or another HFI at the current rates of interest, which is lower. NRI Home Loans: This is tailored for the requirements of Non-Resident Indians who wish to build or buy a home or property in India. The HFCs offer attractive housing finance plans for NRI investors with suitable repayment options. HOUSING FINANCE COMPANIES IN INDIA I. BOB HOUSING FINANCE   [pic] BOB Housing Finance Limited was set up in December, 1990 by Bank of Baroda in association with National Housing Bank. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda since March 31, 2006. Purpose For purchase of land /site from Govt. statutory bodies such as housing boards, Development Authorities/CIDCO etc. Amount (Least of the following subjects to minimum of Rs. 50,000/-) 85% of the cost/purchase price of the land. Rs. 100 lacs. 42 months gross salary or 3 1/2 times of average annual income as per income tax returns last 3 years of which ever is less. . Rate of Interest :The current interest rates are as under : |FIXED RATE OPTION | |TENURE |   | | |NEW RATE | 1-5 |   |9. 00% | |6-10 |   |9. 25% | |11-20 |   |9. 75% | |VARIABLE OPTION | |TENURE |   |NEW RATE | |1-20 |   |9. 75% | †¢ Interest will be calculated on annual rest basis. †¢ Installment to commence from the next month, from the month in which loan is fully disbursed or expiry of 1 1/2 year from the date of first disbursals whichever is earlier. Pending EMI, Pre-EMI interest is to be paid on monthly basis on loan disbursed. Security †¢ Equitable mortgage of the plot of land to be purchased. †¢ Personal guarantee of one individual. II. CAN FIN HOMES [pic] Can Fin Homes Limited was set up in 1987, the â€Å"International Year for Shelter for the Homeless,† by Canara Bank in association with reputed financial institutions including HDFC and UTI. The first bank sponsored Housing Finance Company in India; Can Fin Homes has emerged as one of the leading players in the country's home loan segment. Canara Bank offers home loans for construction/purchase of house/flat and also for renovation of existing flat/house. The bank offers a maximum loan of Rs. 1,00,00,000/- depending on the borrower's repayment capacity. The loan repayment period is 5 – 10 years for site loans and 5 – 20 years for other loans. Canara Bank home loans are offered for purchase or construction of any residential house or flat. The bank also provides finance for companies or corporations or Societies for purposes of construction or purchase of residential houses or flats. Canara Bank provides loans to individuals for site purchase where the allotment of site shall be for the residential purpose by State Development Agencies, Municipal Bodies, and Associations. How much amount you get a loan Upto Rs. 1,00,00,000/- depending on your repayment capacity. Repayment capacity will be considered after assessing your income, age, qualifications, work experience, number of dependents, spouse's income, stability of income and employment, assets, liabilities, etc. You can apply for a loan upto 80% in the case of site loan and 85% of otal project cost for the remaining section depending on your repayment capacity. Your loan repayment will be †¢ 5 – 10 years for site loans, 5 – 20 years for other loans. †¢ They are payable in easy, Equated Monthly Installments III. LIC HOUSING FINANCE   [pic] LIC Housing Finance Limited is one of the leading players in the home loan segment. Incorporated on June, 19, 1989 and promoted by the Life Insurance Corporation of India, LIC Housing Finance Limited boasts of an extensive distribution network and a massive brand presence by virtue of being one of the earlier entrants in the market for housing loans. Griha Prakash Loan Amount: †¢ Min. Rs. 25,000 †¢ Max. Rs. 1,00,00,000. Loan to Property Cost : 85% of total Cost of the property including Stamp Duty and Registration Charges. Loan Term : Upto 20 Years or Retirement Age or 70 years of Age, whichever is earliest. Repayment Mode : Equated Monthly Installments(EMI) – Monthly Rest Basis Security : 1. Equitable Mortgage of House/Flat 2. One Guarantor. Risk Cover: Any existing or new policy under any acceptable plan of insurance (issued by LIC of India) on the lives of the applicants, having risk cover to the extent of loan amount. Front End Charges: 1. 00% of Loan Sanctioned. Loan for Purchase of Vacant Plots/Sites Loan Amount: Min Rs. 50,000 Max Rs. 20,00,000. Loan to Property Cost: 85% of the Cost of Plot/Site. Loan Term: Upto 15 Years or Retirement Age, or 70 years of Age, whichever is earliest. Repayment Mode: By Equated Monthly Installments (EMI) – Monthly Rest Basis. Security: 1. Equitable Mortgage of Plot/Site 2. One Guarantor. Risk Cover: Life Insurance Cover is not required but advisable in the interest of the applicants. Front End Charges: 1. 0% of Loan Sanctioned. V. SBI HOME FINANCE [pic] State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, is one of the market leaders in the home loan segment. But SBI's reputation has surely taken a hit following the collapse of the erstwhile SBI Home Finance Limited in which SBI was the largest shareholder along with other institutional promoters like HDFC and LIC. Due to continued losses and complete erosion of its net worth, the company's certificate of registration had been cancelled by the National Housing Bank. SBI offers home loans for a variety of purposes: purchase/ construction of new House/ Flat, purchase of an existing House/ Flat, purchase of a plot of land for construction of House and extension/ repair/ renovation/ alteration of an existing House/ Flat. SBI home loans come with some unique features that make them stand out in the competition: no cap on maximum loan amount for purchase/ construction of house/ flat, option to club income of one's spouse and children to compute eligible loan amount, free personal accident insurance cover and complimentary international ATM-Debit card. Besides the standard package of home loans, SBI has some customized home loan products in its kitty that address the needs of niche customer segments. ‘SBI-Flexi' Home Loans are designed to enable borrowers to hedge their Home Loan against unfavorable movement in interest rates and gives the customers a one time irrevocable option to choose one of the three customized combinations of fixed and floating interest rates. ‘SBI-Freedom' Home Loans are customized for high net worth individuals and offer benefits such as 100 per cent finance of the project and no mortgage f the property, provided the individual could show liquid securities such as LIC policies or NSCs. SBI Housing loan schemes are designed to make it simple for you to make a choice at least as far as financing goes! ‘SBI-Home Loans' Loan Amount  Applicant/ any one of the applicants are aged over 21 years and upto 45 years – 60 times Net Monthly Income (NMI) or 5 times Net Annual Income (NAI), subj ect to aggregate repayment obligations not exceeding 57. 50% of NMI/ NAI   Applicant(s) aged over 45 years of age- 48 times NMI or 4 times NAI, subject to aggregate repayment obligations not exceeding 50%of NMI/ NAI   VII. HDFC   [pic] Both in terms of business volume and market standing, HDFC stands head and shoulder above the competition in the home loan segment. With an expertise gathered over 25 years of existence in the business, HDFC has managed to create an impressive loan portfolio that caters to varied housing finance needs. HDFC offers home loans for individuals to purchase (fresh / resale) or construct houses. HDFC finances up to 85% maximum of the cost of the property which is inclusive of agreement value, stamp duty and registration charges. HDFC lends a maximum amount of Rs 1 crore and the maximum period of repayment is 15 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. HDFC's Home Improvement Loan facilitates internal and external repairs and other structural improvements like painting, waterproofing, plumbing and electric works, tiling and flooring, grills and aluminium windows. HDFC finances up to 85% of the cost of renovation (100% for existing customers). HDFC Land Purchase Loan can be used to purchase land. HDFC finances up to 70% of the cost of the land and repayment of the loan can be done over a maximum period of 10 years. Features: Maximum loan  85% of the cost of the property (including the cost of the land) and based on the   repayment capacity of the customer. Maximum Term  20 years subject to your retirement age. Adjustable Rate Home Loan  Loan under Adjustable Rate is linked to HDFC's Retail Prime Lending Rate (RPLR). The rate on your loan will be revised every three months from the date of first disbursement, if there is a change in RPLR, the interest rate on your loan may change. However, the EMI on the home loan disbursed will not change*. If the interest rate increases, the interest component in an EMI will increase and the principal component will reduce resulting in an extension of term of the loan, and vice versa when the interest rate decreases. Fees  1% of the loan amount applied plus applicable service taxes and cess. No Charges for    Part or Full Prepayment of loan under Adjustable Rate (except in case of prepayment through a refinance from other bank or institutions prepayment charges will be applicable)    Fixed Rate – Part prepayment upto 25% of opening loan outstanding in a financial year    Replacement of cheques Income Tax Certificates Accelerated Repayment Option VIII. ICICI [pic] ICICI Bank offers home loans for purchase or construction of house and the loan amount can be up to 85% of the cost of the property. The loan must terminate before or when the borrower turns 65 years of age or before retirement, whichever is earlier. ICICI home loans come with benefits like easy interest rates, simplified documentation, doorstep service and free personal accident insurance. ICICI MaxMoney Home Loans offer the unique advantage of higher loan eligibility with a lower initial installment. One can get up to 30% higher amount against one's current income and the installment amount gets stepped up over the years. ICICI SmartFix Home Loans combine the safety of fixed rates plus the advantages of floating rates. For the first 3 years the borrower gets a fixed interest rate and the fourth year onwards, the loan gets switched to the prevailing floating interest rate. Home Improvement Loans †¢ You can get a loan for renovation /refurbishment of your home. †¢ Get the same interest rate as applicable on Home Loans †¢ Avail of loan upto Rs. 50 Lakhs Avail of loan upto 70% of cost of improvement †¢ Enjoy repayment period of upto 15 years. IX. SUNDARAM FINANCE GROUP   [pic] The south-based Sundaram Home Finance Limited was launched on July 2, 1999, by Sundaram Finance Limited with equity participation from International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington and FMO, Netherlands. After consolidating its business in the south, Sundaram Home Finance has made for ays in the Northern states as well. Sundaram home loans are offered for purchase or construction of any residential house or flat. The house/flat can be purchased from a builder or from a Statutory Authority. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 85% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The tenure of the home loan can be 20 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. Sundaram provides Home Improvement Loans to individuals for carrying out internal and external repairs to an existing home. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 70% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The term of the home loan can be 10 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. Sundaram Land Loans facilitate purchasing of land for construction of residential units. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 1 crore or 50% of the agreement value, whichever is less. The tenure of the land loan can be 15 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier. Sundaram also provides loans against existing residential properties. The maximum loan amount can be Rs. 25 lakhs or 50% of the value whichever is less. The maximum term of repayment for salaried professionals is 10 years or retirement age whichever is earlier. Maximum loan:  Rs. 1 crore or 85% of the agreement value, whichever is less, subject to repayment capacity as assessed by SHFL. Maximum term of loan: Salaried Category:  20 years or retirement age, whichever is earlier for all salaried categories of customers. For Self-employed:  15 years or 65 years, whichever is earlier. X. Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO)   [pic] Established on April 25, 1970, the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd. (HUDCO) is a fully owned organization of the Government of India. HUDCO was instituted with the objective of providing long-term finance for construction of houses, undertaking urban development programmes and infrastructure facilities. HUDCO stands out in the burgeoning housing finance industry for its focus on the social aspect of housing and utility infrastructure provision. In spite of its commercial orientation, HUDCO has adopted a policy of preferential allocation of resources to the socially disadvantaged. It continues to emphasize on sectors which are more socially relevant rather than only on commercially viable and profitable sectors. HUDCO has played a stellar role in the implementation of National Housing Policy. It has been entrusted with the implementation of the priority programmes of the Ministry like Low Cost Sanitation, Night Shelter for Footpath Dwellers, Shelter Upgradation under Nehru Rozgar Yojana, Rural housing under Minimum Needs Programme. Although commercial banks and housing finance companies are doing brisk business in the swelling housing finance sector, the housing needs of the poor and low income groups have remained unaddressed. In such a scenario, HUDCO's role has become even more significant. HUDCO's social orientation of is evident from the fact that about 92 percent of the 150. 93 lakh houses financed by HUDCO are for the benefit of Economically Weaker sections and Low Income categories. In the face of growing competition, HUDCO has adopted innovation in its lending operations. HUDCO Niwas, which was launched in 1999, is an extremely popular housing loan scheme. Under HUDCO Niwas, individual housing loans are given directly to the borrowers instead of the established practice of disbursing loans through the state governments and their housing agencies. Moreover, HUDCO has moved the government seeking permission to enter the banking and insurance sectors. Property:  Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) offers Niwas scheme. The scheme is a housing finance instrument for individual families which offers loan assistance to individuals constructing or buying a house or a flat. Similar loan assistance is also extended to extend or improve an existing house or flat. Amount:   The maximum loan amount will not exceed 85 per cent of the total cost of the housing unit, including incidental costs like stamp duty and registration. The maximum loan amount granted by HUDCO is Rs 15 lakh. Payment Term:   It is normally up to 15 years, but the period will not extend beyond the age of 65 years of applicant. However, HUDCO Niwas will endeavor to determine the repayment period to suit the convenience of the applicant. In case the applicant wishes to extend the period of repayment beyond 15 years, it can be extended up to 20 years. Howev er, in such cases, additional interest of 1 per cent per annum will be charged over and above the regular rates. Summary of Financials of Select Housing Finance Companies in 2005 |PARTICULARS |LIC Housing Finance Ltd. |Can Fin Homes Ltd. Sundaram Housing Finance Ltd |HDFC Ltd. | |Summarised Balance Sheet | |Assets | |Loans |360,115. 00 |15,292. 70 |13,105. 00 |8,165. 27 | |Investments |31,300. 40 |1,201. 80 |333. 10 |218. 03 | |Fixed Assets (Net Block) |2,948. 0 |301. 00 |35. 80 |82. 77 | |Net Current Assets/Others |10,941. 10 |766. 10 |188. 60 |341. 31 | |Total Assets |405,305. 00 |17,561. 60 |13,662. 50 |8,807. 38 | |Liabilities | |Share Capital |2,491. 0 |501. 20 |204. 90 |265. 00 | |Reserves |36,339. 80 |1,394. 70 |1,320. 70 |469. 54 | |Total Shareholders funds |38,831. 00 |1,895. 90 |1,525. 60 |734. 54 | |Loan funds |366,474. 00 |15,665. 70 |12,136. 90 |8,072. 4 | |Total Liabilities |405,305. 00 |17,561. 60 |13,662. 50 |8,807. 38 | |Summarised Profit and Loss Statement | |Tot al Income |34,100. 80 |10,687. 20 |1,273. 30 |855. 43 | |Total Expenditure |21,532. 95 |8,611. 10 |991. 20 |648. 0 | |Gross Profit |12,567. 85 |2,076. 10 |282. 10 |206. 73 | |Profit After Tax |10,365. 53 |1,437. 20 |211. 20 |167. 08 | |Other Financials | |Dividend (%) |170 |50 |20 |21 | |EPS (Rs. |41. 74 |16. 21 |5. 06 |6. 31 | |Book Value Per Share (Rs. ) |179. 00 |140. 59 |37. 83 |27. 72 | |Capital Adequacy Ratio (%) |13. 40 |15. 00 |16. 46 |15. 71 | |Debt Equity Ratio |9. 44 |8. 26 |7. 6 |10. 98 | | CALCULATION OF LOAN On receiving a loan application, financial institutions carry out the credit appraisal of the applicant/s. Credit appraisal is the step that decides the loan amount an applicant is eligible for. The objective of credit appraisal is to determine the ability and willingness of an applicant/s to repay a loan. A set of financial and non-financial techniques is used to meet this objective. Different financial institutions have different methods and norms of credit appr aisal and for calculating the loan eligibility. Usually the ability to repay is determined by analyzing information like present income, consistency of income, experience, profession, additional sources of income, assets, liabilities, amount of installments of other loans (if any), past loan repayment history, investments, educational qualification, age, number of dependents etc. The financial ratios considered during the process of credit appraisal to determine the amount of loan an applicant is eligible for include; A. Installment to Income Ratio (IIR) Expressed as percentage, this ratio is calculated as IIR = (Home loan installment amount / Monthly income) * 100 Installment to Income ratio (IIR) denotes the portion of monthly income that can be spent towards home loan repayment. It is believed that about 35% to 40% of monthly income can be comfortably allocated towards home loan repayment. Based on this broad assumption, an IIR of 35% to 40% is considered to arrive at eligible loan amount. For example, at 40% IIR, an applicant having monthly income of Rs. 40,000 can repay Rs. 16,000 as home loan installment. As mentioned, an IIR of 40% is a broad assumption and can be higher or lower based on other parameters like consistency of income, experience, profession, additional sources of income, assets, liabilities, past loan repayment history, investments, educational qualification, age, number of dependents, age of dependents etc. In case of an earning co-applicant, co-applicant's monthly income can be clubbed with applicant's monthly income to increase the loan eligibility. With your monthly income known, you can calculate your approximate home loan eligibility as explained in the example below; Monthly income:Rs40000 IRR:40% Desired Loan Tenure :20 Interest Rate :10% STEP1: AFFORDABLE LOAN INSTALLMENT=(40000*40%) = Rs. 16,000 STEP2: Determine installment amount per lack of loan for desired loan tenure. In this example, installment for a loan of Rs. 1,00,000 for 20 years at an interest rate of 10% is Rs. 965 STEP3: Eligible Loan Amount = (Affordable loan installment / installment per lack) * 1,00,000 In this example Eligible loan amount=(Rs 16000/Rs. 965)*100000=Rs. 16,58,030 B. Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) Expressed as percentage, this ratio is calculated as FOIR = (Home loan installment amount + other loans installments) / Monthly income)} * 100 Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) is calculated to determine the portion of monthly income that can be spent towards home loan installment after considering other fixed obligations like car loan, consumer durable loan, deduction towards salary advance recovery etc. Statutory deductions such as provident fund, professional tax, investment s, insurance premium are excluded from the fixed obligation component. For example, for an applicant having a monthly income of Rs. 40,000 and a car loan installment of Rs. 4,000, at 40% FOIR, can repay Rs. 2,000 towards home loan installment {(Rs. 40,000*40%) – Rs. 4,000 }. Some of the financial institutions do not consider loans outstanding with maturity less than one year as fixed obligation and installment paid towards these short terms loans is excluded from the FOIR calculation. This means, your loan eligibility can be higher despite of short term fixed obligations. It is worth checking the institution's policy on fixed obligations before finalizing the lender. With your monthly income and other fixed obligations known, you can calculate your approximate home loan eligibility as explained in the example below; Monthly Income :Rs 40000 Car Loan Installment :Rs 4000 FOIR% :40% Desired Loan Tenure :20 years Interest Rate :10% STEP 1: Affordable Loan Installments = (Rs. 40,000 * 40%) – Rs. 4,000 (OF ALL OUTSTANDING LOANS)=12000 STEP2: Determine installment amount per lack of loan for desired loan tenure. In this example, installment for a loan of Rs. 1,00,000 for 20 years at an interest rate of 10% is Rs. 965 STEP3: Eligible Loan Amount = (Affordable loan installment / installment per lack) * 1,00,000 In this example Eligible loan amount=(Rs 12000/Rs 965)* Rs 100,000 = Rs12,43,000 C. Loan to value ratio (LTV) Expressed as percentage, this ration is calculated as LTV = (loan amount / property value) * 100 Loan to value (LTV) denotes the portion of value of the property that is financed by a financial institution. Each financial institution has a cap on maximum loan amount that can be extended towards financing a property. Most of the financial institutions offer loan upto 85% of the property value. The LTV offered by a financial institution may differ in certain cases. For example, LTV may be different for an approved project from an unapproved project. Instances where loan amount computed based on income (IIR/FOIR) is different from the loan amount computed based on property value (LTV), the lower of the two is considered as the eligible loan amount. SOME IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE MENTIONED: 1. Income of salaried class people includes :income of the applicant +income of the co-aplplicants(max2)+rental income(generally 50%) 2. Income of a self employed: It is determined by the INCOME TAX RETURN of the applicant +depreciation(generally100%) 3. The IRR and FOIR can be 100% only in certain exceptional cases. 4. Another important point to note is that as the tenure of the loan decreases the loan he loan he is eligible for also decreases. Will the Installment to Income Ratio (IIR) AND Fixed Obligation to Income Ratio (FOIR) always remain the same? No, it will not always remain the same. As the income increases both IRR and FOIR also increases but it generally remains in the limits of 40% to 70%. Reverse Mortgage Loan Many senior citizens, retired from work worry about the dwindling amount in their bank accounts? Wondering how to maintain a steady cash flow to meet their daily needs? An option often thought of to deal with this problem, is to rent the existing house which seems a liability and move to a smaller house or to sell the house altogether and invest the proceeds to earn a higher monthly income. Why not turn that liability into an asset? The answer – Reverse Mortgage. Reverse mortgage is a financial product that enables senior citizens (60 +) who own a house to mortgage their property with a lender and convert part of the home equity into tax-free income without having to sell the house. Instead of you making monthly payments to a lender, as with a regular loan, the lender makes payments to you. Multiple options are available for repayment of the loan in lumpsum at the end of the loan term. Maximum period of loan is of twenty years. The loan is not required to be serviced as long as the borrower is alive and in occupation of the property. On the borrower’s death, the loan is repaid through sale of property. About 350 crore worth of Reverse Mortgage has been sanctioned. The National Housing Bank has received innumerable calls of inquiry from senior citizens wanting to know more. It is to tackle this influx of calls and give each senior citizen attention as per his/her needs, that information and counseling centres will be functional throughout the nation, at various HelpAge offices in 10 cities of India: Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Bhopal with especially trained staff. Qualifications for reverse mortgage eligibility ? Should be a Senior Citizen of India above 60 Years of age. ? Married Couples will be eligible as joint borrowers provided one of them being above 60 years of age and other not below 55 years of age. Benefits of a reverse mortgage: ? It aims at partially meeting the financial needs of senior citizens without selling the property and enables recurring funds inflows to the senior citizens during their life time. ? After the death of the senior citizen, the surviving spouse can continue to occupy the property till his/her demise ? It can also be an investment tool for youngsters who plan for a retirement solution. They can start investing in a housing property and take benefit of the same during their retirement life. They have a secured investment which has benefit of capital appreciation. In India, the Reverse Mortgage concept faces a few challenges: ? Indian culture dictates that property is bequeathed to heirs and housing property is a sign of social legacy. Indians have to work out of this mindset to adopt this novel concept. ? Also, on the legal front, handling the title transfer, possession of house, other regulation etc can be tricky. ? Last but not the least income tax treatment for money received from the HFC is also an open issue, since the loan disbursements cannot be considered as the income for senior citizens. Reportedly National Housing Board is working on the resolution of these issues and Reverse Mortgage will be introduced in a full fledged manner in India very soon. . HOUSING FINANCE-SCOPE IN INDIA [pic] Macroeconomic Background On the back of economic reforms undertaken in 1991, India has grown at an average rate of over 5% through the nineties peaking at about 8% in FY04. It is currently the fourth largest (in PPP terms) economy in the world with GDP output at USD 554 billion. India’s services led-growth strategy is well documented and is a departure from the rest of Asia’s manufacturing-led model for growth. Both domestic and global demand for India’s services remains robust with globally competitive firms emerging from the country’s historically protected private sector. With still much scope for reform, India’s healthy progress in liberalization, private sector-led development, and newly established political support (irrespective of the ruling party) for economic and structural reforms suggest that India could well be setting up the necessary conditions to support the type of long-term growth path over the next 2-3 decades. Inflation through the nineties has hovered between 7% and 13%. Demographics The population of India is over 1 billion and accounts for one sixth of the entire world’s population. The population is second only to China with one quarter of the world’s youth living in India. 54% of the Indian population is below the age of 25. In 2001 the productive population (age 25-44) was 278 million which, by 2013, will grow to 369 million; a growth of 33%. This explosive growth will result in higher demand for housing loans in the foreseeable future. According to the 2001 Census of India the total number of households in India is 191 million, up from 147 million in 1991. Much in line with world trends of falling household size, in India, the average household size has fallen from 5. 71 in 1991 to 5. 34 in 2001. This trend is expected to continue as individuals migrate to urban centres in search of work, coupled with movement away from the joint family system to single family households that is further accelerating lower household sizes. The following graphs interpret the emergence and bubble of housing finance in the country. [pic][pic] series1=housing finance series2=consumer durables series3=credit cards eries4=other personal loans Housing Finance The value of total residential mortgage debt moved up from USD 1. 84 billion in 1994 to USD 12. 26 billion in 2004; a CAGR of 21%. The housing finance market has recorded robust growth in the last 5 years, clocking an annual growth rate of about 40% between FY99 and FY04. Residential mortgage debt as a percentage of GDP was a mere 0. 58% in 1994 which has moved up to 2. 21% in FY04, still miniscule when c ompared to about 45% in the EU, 70% in the US and upwards of 30% in East Asian economies. Interest rates on housing loans have fallen from a peak of 17% in 1996 to 7. 5% last fiscal making owning a home more affordable. This combined with increasing loan tenures, increasing loan-to-value ratio and a rise in the installment-to-income ratio are precipitating high growth rates in the housing finance market. The organized lenders in the housing finance industry, comprising 30% of housing units constructed, are currently concentrated in the urban markets, with a greater presence in the major metros and Tier 1 cities. They are however, moving to the Tier 2 cities and smaller towns but are yet to venture into the rural markets. Also, salaried borrowers constitute the bulk of the clientele for the financier in comparison to the self-employed borrowers, who constitute a miniscule proportion. As a segment, the self-employed category is much bigger than the salaried segment, but the organized lenders have, historically, been concentrating on the salaried borrowers due to the lower risks associated with them. Traditionally housing finance was dominated by a handful of private sector institutions. These Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) commanded 70% market share in FY99, which has subsequently fallen to 50% In FY04 as a direct result of policy changes that permitted the entry of banks into this industry. Banks now control 40% of this market and continue to show explosive growth on account of government policy that categorizes this lending under priority sector lending and the low NPA levels experienced in this industry Shortage of Housing Official and updated statistics on the shortage of housing units in the entire country is not readily available. According to the National Buildings Organisation (NBO), the components of housing shortage include (a) the excess of households over houses, including homeless households, (b) congestion i. e. the number of married couples requiring a separate room, (c) replacement or upgradation of unserviceable houses and (d) obsolescence/replacement of old houses. The last official estimate on the shortage of housing units was from the NBO which estimated a total shortfall of 19. 4 million units comprising 6. 6 million units in urban areas and 12. 8 million units in rural areas. Further, over 90 percent of this shortage is for the poor and low-income category (Ministry of Urban Affairs, 1998). This, shortage however, is based on the 1991 Census figures and thus is outdated. The unofficial estimate of the housing shortage is currently pegged at over 40 million dwelling units. Despite the absence of reliable statistical information, the growing population and increasing urbanisation has resulted in rising pressure on the available housing stock. As per the Planning Commission estimates, the total requirement of urban housing during the tenth five year plan, covering the period 2002-2007, is 22. 4 million dwelling units in urban areas. This comprises two components – an urban housing backlog of 8. 89 million dwelling units estimated at the beginning of 2002 and an addition of 13. 55 million new dwelling units. As per the Census 2001, housing completions (defined as the absolute increase in housing stock during a particular period) is around 5 houses unit s per 1,000 population per annum in India. The average annual housing completion in urban areas per 1,000 population was steady at around 7 housing units during the past three decades. This however, is lower than the minimum threshold as recommended by the United Nations of 8 to 10 housing units per 1000 population for developing countries (NHB Trend and Progress Report, 2004). Table 1. 2: Addition of Census Houses per 1,000 Population |1971-81 |1981-91 |1991-01 | |Urban | |Added Census Houses (million) |11. 55 |16. 55 |19. 3 | |Added Households (million) |10. 00 |11. 64 |12. 95 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |7. 23 |7. 61 |6. 83 | |Rural | |Added Census Houses (million) |19. 25 |29. 02 |34. 56 | |Added Households (million) |15. 0 |19. 16 |25. 61 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |3. 66 |4. 62 |4. 65 | |Total | |Added Census Houses (million) |26. 53 |45. 58 |54. 08 | |Added Households (million) |25. 50 |30. 80 |38. 6 | |Annual Housing Completions/1,000 population |3. 87 |5. 39 |5. 26 | Source: Census 2001, NHB Trend and Progress Report, 2004 Rapid Urbanisation Housing needs are strongly influenced by growth in population and demogra phic changes. While in the recent period the total population growth has been slowing down, the urban population continues to grow rapidly. The urban population has increased from 20 percent in 1971 to almost to 34 percent currently (SSKI, 2006). Urbanisation is particularly concentrated in urban agglomerations or mega cities, defined as cities having a population in excess of one million people. These mega cities account for almost 40 percent of the total urban population. As per the 2001 Census, there were 35 mega cities and the polarisation of growth towards them poses a greater challenge in providing housing in these areas as the housing stock is unable to keep pace with demand (Nallathiga, 2005). This is exacerbated by the continuing trend of in-migration to urban areas. As a result, there has been a disproportionate rise of slums. For instance in Mumbai, almost 60 percent of the total population live in slums. Restrictive Laws One of the major issues constricting the addition of homes is the series of archaic laws governing the Indian housing and real estate sector. Of the over 100 laws governing various aspects of real estate, many date back to the 19th century. Significant ones are the Indian Contracts Act, 1872, the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and the Registration Act, 1908. Despite the plethora of laws, the legal framework requires a complete overhaul to make it more relevant to today’s requirements. These laws often lead to prolonged litigation and create artificial scarcity of land, thereby raising prices. In India, land is a state subject1. Thus, while the centre may make amendments and issue guidelines, the responsibility for implementing it remains optional for a state government. With 28 states and 7 union territories (areas directly managed by the central government), support for reforms has varied considerably from state to state. ANALYSIS Despite the problems alluded above much development has been made by the country in the field to promote housing finance during the past few decades. With the entrenchment of HDFC in1977, a system of specialized housing finance companies(hfc’s) discussed above, now in hundreds was bought into being. This include 25 large and stable organizations which have been approved as eligible for refinancing from NHB which was formed in 1989. The institution as mentioned earlier is the watchdog for housing finance. It egulates all the HFC’S dealing in housing finance and then sets its rules, regulations and policies binding the same. The recent developments in the field mark the effort made. The recent cut in interest rates for housing finace below 20lac clearly bring up the role played by the agencies today in countering the problem of availability of housing finance. These coups will not only help consumers (middle and lower middle class) find a shelter for themselves b ut it will also motivate infrastructure companies to invest in building low cost homes for the desired category. This in turn will lead to increase in the the capital goods, development of infrastructure therefore overall development of society, increase in job opportunities for the labour class (which will earn more=spend more savings = continuous earning and spending=increase in gdp =increase in living standard). ASSESSMENTS AND PROSPECTS The housing finance market in India has undergone unprecedented change in recent times. This evolution has been interesting, especially for developing countries looking to establish or strengthen their primary housing finance markets. From a time where HDFC established itself as the first retail housing finance company, to the next level where HDFC helped broad-base and develop the market by co-promoting three housing finance companies, GRUH Finance, Can Fin Homes and SBI Home Finance. In effect, HDFC co-promoted its own competition. The third level saw existing players having to actually re-assess the way they did business as the tide of competition rose to an almost unsustainable level with the aggressive entry of banks into the housing finance market. And finally, the present stage where there are a few dominant players with large scale operations. India today is a good example for developing countries wanting to kick off their primary housing market. The advantage of using the Indian housing finance experience is that housing finance players have been successful despite unfavourable conditions such as not having foreclosure norms for several years, difficulty in accessing long-term funding sources, lack of clear titles, no reliable statistics on housing or consumer data and an acute shortage of housing units. Rather than waiting for the government and regulators to create a favourable environment to foster a housing finance system, the market developed despite these constraints. Pre-requisites for Well Functioning Housing Finance Systems Listed below are prerequisites for a well functioning housing finance system which are universal requirements for any country: ? Sound macro-economic policies: Low mortgage interest rates triggered by sound macro economic policies are more important in developing mortgage markets than tax incentives and subsidies. ? Keep transaction costs low and mortgage registration systems efficient. Concentrate on getting the â€Å"primary market† right, e. g. transparent property rights, mortgage and credit registration, efficient mortgage collateral and repossession procedures, before creating a â€Å"secondary market† to finance those loans. ? Create transparent markets for lenders through approved valuation methods, house price indices and data on mo rtgage industry. ? Protect and inform the borrowers, for instance, by helping them compare mortgages products. ? Access to long-term funding sources and other instruments such as covered bonds, mortgage backed securities. Broad Basing the Market Need for an Independent Floating Rate Benchmark There is a need to explore the creation of an independent benchmark for adjustable rate mortgages which can be adopted by all players, thereby leading to more credibility, especially in the case of upward movements in the benchmark. Better Access to Credit History India has no easily shared method of verifying a client’s credit history or loan record. This has resulted in the housing finance industry witnessing a rising number of fraud incidents in the sector. There have been instances of clients taking out multiple mortgages on the same property from different lenders or providing fake documents for the site that do not exist. To enable access to better credit history for customers and preventing malpractices, some important steps have been initiated in the recent period. In 2005, citing increasing cases of fraud in the system, the National Housing Bank has set up a ‘Fraud Management Cell’ to collect information from housing finance companies on frauds committed. The National Housing Bank as collected this data and issued circulars detailing causative factors and suggestive remedial action. . Removal of Conflicts of Interest The National Housing Bank’s role as a promoter should be considered as successfully completed. Serving as both a regulator and equity investor in housing finance companies creates an unnecessary conflict of interest (World Bank, 2004). At the time of inception, the National Housing Bank’s mandate was to promote the housing finance sector. Today this role is not required. Thus, there is no longer any rationale for the National Housing Bank to provide equity investments, thereby creating a conflict of interest as regulator and investor. Besides, in 2005, the National Housing Bank’s investments in housing finance companies was miniscule, accounting for less than one percent of its total assets. FUTURE EXPECTATIONS High interest rates coupled with soaring property prices have only impacted the affordability of buyers, demand, however continues to persist and will become stronger and more intense in near future. Housing Sector in India to Be On a Growth Spree By 2015 Housing demand is poised to see a growth of around 80 Million for the lower-income and the lower-middle income groups. Housing Sector in India is also likely to generate around 4 Million new jobs within a decade with a whooping investment of US$ 670 Billion. It’s also expected that housing and real estate sector will undergo a revolutionary transformation to grow at around 14% annually. Presently, the contribution of Indian Housing to the country’s GDP is modest at less than one percent. In 2010 the demand would further grow to a massive volume of around 400 Million Units. This will necessitate a minimum outlay of US$ 890 Billion. There is a shortage of more than nearly 20 Million housing units in India and this is a positive sign of the untapped opportunities for this sector. LIMITATIONS OF HOUSING FINANCE The housing sector in India for several decades faced a number of set-backs, such as an unorganized market, development disparities, a compartmentalized development approach and a deterrent rent control system. There was not even a concerted attempt to understand the housing problem let alone promote it. Reforms introduced in the sector during the 1990s, however, have overturned the situation to a great extent. The designing of a shelter policy, the organization of the housing finance market, the introduction of fiscal incentives, increased public investment, legal reforms and others initiatives have brought about a number of changes in the housing sector. Interestingly, these changes have been concerned with both reducing the housing shortage and increasing the number of quality housing stock besides increased access to various other housing amenities like safe drinking water, good sanitation and household electricity. In spite of the high growth rates exhibited by the Indian housing finance industry, this sector too has its share of problems. The survey revealed the following growth constraints: 1) Limited exposure of the industry Housing finance assistance of formal institutions has been limited to the middle income and high-income groups. Companies have also not been able to penetrate the rural areas. 2) Absence of proper title deeds High down payment requirement and non-availability of title deeds in the absence of land records are some of the reasons responsible for the inability of the companies in reaching out to the vast population living in the rural areas. 3) No access to long-term funds Non-availability of long-term funds with housing finance companies and banks results in an asset liability mismatch. 4) Lack of foreclosure norms Lack of foreclosure norms for housing finance companies, which, if in place, will encourage HFCs to disburse more loans ) Regional Constraints ? Disparity and high rates of Stamp duty across the country on registration leads to the suppression of the value of property/evasion of registration. ? Imposition of stamp duty on equitable mortgages (i. e. on property used as a collateral for taking a home loan), the rate of which varies across states acts as a deterrent factor in availing ho using finance as the prime security for these loans is equitable mortgage of the property financed. This form of stamp duty is a cost to the customers and should be done away with or reduced to affordable levels. ) Constraints faced by Housing Finance Companies as against banks ? Banks have access to lower cost of funds compared to HFCs because of the following reasons: †¢ Banks have access to low cost retail funds †¢ Minimum capital adequacy ratio for banks is 10% whereas for HFCs it is 12% ? The Securitisation & Reconstruction of Financial Assets & Enforcement of Security Interest Act 2002 is applicable to banks but not to housing finance companies ANNEXURE I 2009 will be the year of affordable housing 29 Dec 2008, 0342 hrs IST, Mayur Shetty, ET Bureau |[pic] | S Sridhar | |NHB chairman & MD | National Housing Bank (NHB) — a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — was created two decades ago to regulate and promote housing finance institutions in In dia. Given the current economic environment, home finance has gained centrestage, with housing construction being the largest employment generator with linkages to 250 ancillary industries. As the apex housing finance institution, NHB has taken several initiatives to promote affordable housing. In an interview with Mayur Shetty, NHB chairman and managing director S Sridhar speaks on why he expects 2009 to be the year of affordable housing. House prices have crashed in the West. There is an expectation among buyers that prices will decline in India as well. How do you see the situation? The situation in India is quite different from that of the West. In India, the conduct of the monetary policy and regulation over banks and housing finance companies ensured that the housing bubble did not develop. Further, the actual equity component in housing is much higher than in the West. Thus, housing prices in India have fallen a bit and may fall further, but unlikely to get into a free-fall situation. What needs to be done to reduce housing shortage? I expect 2009 to be the ‘year of affordable houses’, when affordable houses will be available to the middle and lower income groups in sufficient volumes. This will happen mainly through a combination of fall in house prices and reduction in home loan interest rates. The latter has happened. I hope developers reduce prices to stimulate demand and public housing agencies will take up affordable housing in a big scale. Additional hygiene factors are reduction in transaction cost in home purchases through reduction in stamp duty and registration charges and the availability of risk mitigants such as mortgage guarantee, title insurance, credit guarantee for lower income houses. Where do you see interest rates on home loans? Is the NHB refinance rate likely to come down further? Interest rates are headed southward. Public sector banks (PSU banks) have set the pace. Others, including housing finance companies, are following suit. NHB’s refinance rates have also come down to single digit. Refinance for rural housing at concessional rate of 8% per annum for seven years has also been provided. Our PLR has been reduced to 10. 75% per annum. NHB has announced a package for the housing sector. At what interest rate will you lend to HFCs? The refinance facility of Rs 4,000 crore extended by RBI to NHB will be on-lent by NHB to housing finance companies with the following major conditions. It will be available at an interest rate of 8%, and will be available only for loans below Rs 20 lakh. The facility is available up to March 31, 2010. You have launched an index of home prices. How is the index doing? NHB’s RESIDEX, which is India’s first official property index, was launched in July 2007 for five cities — Bengaluru, Bhopal, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai — covering the period 2001-2005. It has since been updated to December 2007. The property index has been well received. It is being expanded to cover 15 cities and up to December 2008 wh