Is The Criminal Justice System Fit For Purpose Criminology Essay

Is The Criminal Justice System Fit For Purpose Criminology Essay This essay will an examination of the aims and objectives of the criminal justice system, looking at how effective it is with regards to the punishment and rehabilitation of offenders, the public opinion on its effectiveness using statistics and reports, and specifically targeting the issue of flaws within the prison and parole services, also a brief look at where we are today in comparison to many years ago in the earliest period of Crime and Investigation. We know from a great many sources and from history that the Criminal Justice System, in one form or another, goes back many thousands of years, in this essay we will also look at the history of Criminal Justice in order to determine whether, through time, it has become more effective or less effective or if the system itself has been consistently effective since it was first put into practice. The first sign of a Criminal Justice System came many thousands of years ago in Ancient China, the name of the system at the time was not Criminal Justice it was actually the Prefecture system, this system was developed in both the Chu and the Jin Kingdoms of Ancient China. Perhaps more relevant or similar to the Criminal Justice System we know today, would be the systems used in Pre-Modern Europe. In Pre-Modern Europe many thousands of years ago crime in Ancient Greece and Rome for example was very much viewed as a private matter, it was the prerogative of the victims family members to exact some form of justice. Vendettas and private wars were common place as a means of protecting themselves against criminality. The first sign of a government instigating policing of the people came from the Ancient Greeks and the Romans, in Athens a group of 300 Scythian slaves were assigned to guard public meetings to keep order and for crowd control, they also assisted in dealing with criminals, manhandling prisoners and making arrests. Other cases associated with policing including investigating crimes were left to the citizens themselves. The Roman Empire had a pretty effective law enforcement system until the decline of the empire, though there was never an actual police force per-say in the city of Rome. When Rome was under the reign of Augustus the capital had grown to a population of almost one million inhabitants, Augustus created fourteen wards each protected by a garrison of one thousand men who could call for the assistance of the Praetorian Guard if necessary. Then in the beginning of the 5th century, Policing became the duties of the clan chiefs and heads of state. During the middle Ages, crime and punishment were dealt with through blood feuds (or trial by ordeal) between the peoples involved. Payment to the victim or family, which was known as a wergild, was another common punishment, this included violent crimes. For those who could not afford to buy their wa y out of punishment, harsher penalties included various forms of corporal punishment. Such as mutilation, whipping, branding, and flogging, the most severe of these was execution. The primary form of state-administered punishment during ancient times and the middle Ages was banishment or exile. Though a prison was in existence as early as the 14th century in Florence, incarceration or long term detainment was not widely used until the 19th century. The Anglo-Saxon system of maintaining public order was a private system consisting of separate tithings, and since the Norman conquest, which was based on a social obligation for the good conduct of the others; more common was that local lords and nobles were responsible to maintain order in their lands, and often appointed a constable, often unpaid, to enforce the law. The Ancient Romans also played a huge role in the criminal justice system. Even the toga symbolizes the wig a magistrate wears in the legal system that exists today. So when we look at the assignment of those to a position of public order, were they more, or less effective than cases being handled solely by the people, this is difficult to determine as the first officially recorded crime statistics were the BCS or British Crime Survey in 1982, however we can look back and see a far more effective level of justice since the appointment of law officials and crime investigators. The British Crime Survey 1982 present looks at the publics experiences of crime (in the earlier dates asking about crimes experienced in the year before) weather these crimes were reported or not, this determined the important alternative crimes to the more commonly known and reported, for the police records. The questions asked covered the victims of crime, the circumstances to which incidents occurred and the behaviour of the offenders committing the crimes. Through these enquiries the survey provides information to inform crime reduction measures and to gauge their effectiveness. Through this the BCS was able to determine peoples attitudes regarding the criminal justice system, police and courts system. These actions have given the Public a relatively balanced and reasonable amount of information regarding crime/criminal behaviour. In order to determine how effective the criminal justice system is given that we know all the facts (from the BCS), we need to identify what measures to use, to measure the effectiveness. For Example looking at the public confidence in criminal justice agencies, public confidence in other government agencies, public fear of crime, proportion of taxes/national expenditure going to justice agencies, the crime rate, the proportion of the population who are criminals and the number of cases of infringement of human rights by justice agencies (Lewis 2003). The methods or processes countries have to tackle the issue of making the Criminal Justice system fit for purpose. There are government and voluntary organisations who take up the role of drawing attention to poor or unfit justice processes, local managerial structures designed for justice agencies and local government to build effectiveness ensuring that there is a level of quality control, and government funded inspection processes. The projected plans or ideas of these is that the public in general knows very well whether or not the justice process works. The public will slowly a ccept and deal with certain levels of crime and public surveillance but not so much so that it inspires paranoia, they are also likely expect the police and courts to be tough and yet turn a blind eye to some practices which may be an infringement of human rights. But only up to a certain limit as there is only so much the public can cope with. Interestingly in most countries even those that are well funded and governed there is a rather low general knowledge of the Criminal Justice System. There are many countries where the justice agencies are in effect independent to the political parties, so changing politicians will not make a great deal of difference. This is certainly the case in England and Wales today, where the Labour government has chosen simply to continue most of the policies of the previous Tory government, with the prison population inevitably continuing to grow. The Governments criminal justice system is not fit for purpose (Moses 2010), Colin Moses a high ranking me mber of the Prison Officers Association felt that prisons are being placed in a position that forces them to cut their budgets at a time when England and Wales are holding a record high number of prisoners. And now the Government is being forced to pay out compensation to offenders. This compensation is brought about by prisoners taking cases to the London High Court regarding the delay of Parole Hearings, with some prisoners finding the delay was in breach of their human rights and said that the delay was generally speaking totally unacceptable. One individual added that, with pressure ever growing on the Parole Board as a result of new legislation and the introduction of indeterminate sentences, it was actually the obligation of the Government to have provided the necessary resources for what was clearly a predictable and indeed inevitable increase in the workload (Collins 2010). This would be a terrific blow to the Criminal Justice System being regarded by the public to be fit fo r purpose, as Legal experts have made claims that in past cases, compensation has been approximately one hundred pounds for each day an inmate is wrongly detained. This is a considerable amount as the average delay in holding parole hearings is five months. The shadow justice secretary, said: It is appalling that public money should be wasted like this (Herbert 2010). This large amount of the tax payers money could quite easily have paid for secure accommodation required to hold or detain prisoners so that violent offenders are not released early onto the streets of England and Wales. When Gordon Brown was chancellor he refused to provide sufficient prison capacity and has subsequently overloaded the prison and probation services, and re-offending has continued to rise excessively. The firm Bhatt Murphy, which a present has more than twenty compensation claims pending, had stated that the Parole Board has accepted, privately, that it is in breach of the law and is having to cope wit h the Governments continuous failures to think through logically all of the relevant policies. With an ever growing case load, the Parole Board is finding it difficult to the extreme to assemble the judges, psychologists and probation officers who are required to assess each case within the given time. Parole Hearings are held specifically for all types of violent and sex offenders. Given this information the public must not be reassured of the Criminal Justice Systems effectiveness and worse still is a statement made later by the head of the Parole Board. Christine Glen had admitted to the constitutional affairs select committee that the backlog of cases involving parole for prisoners was completely unacceptable and she even stated that it was likely to worsen (Harper 2007). This does not inspire a great deal of confidence in the Criminal Justice System and its ability to be fit for purpose. Another public relations spokesman for the Parole Board had stated that in spite of the gov ernment putting considerable efforts into addressing all of these problems, the deferral rate is still so high it is deemed unacceptable. The single largest contributing factor remains to be the sixty per cent of cases received late from prisons and a further ten per cent of cases not actually received at all before the date the hearings were meant to take place. Also stated was that they are aware that there are unacceptable delays in hearing cases and that this raises the possibility of breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights and subsequent compensation claims from prisoners who are kept in custody longer than necessary. All this scandal is the latest controversy to hit the criminal justice system. In June 2007, it was revealed that inmates released early would receive almost two hundred pounds to compensate them for eighteen days of lost prison space. These actions were an attempt to reduce overcrowding. The ever growing issue of overcrowding has pushed the Prison Service to have to spend more than six million pounds to house six hundred convicts in police cells. In spite of the fact that thousand were walking free early, the prison population stood at 80,229 inmates in 2007, forcing dozens of inmates back into police cells. This is all clear evidence that the Criminal Justice System has tremendous flaws. Lord Phillips said in an interview with The Independent: The reasons for the rise in the prison population are quite complex but there is no doubt it has been steadily growing and the forecast is that this trend will continue. Certainly some criminal legislation dealing with sentencing has had the effect of imposing longer sentences or sentences which keep people in prison until they demonstrate they are no longer dangerous. (Phillips 2010). One subject of particular concern was the new indeterminate sentence for public protection or as its also known the IPP, which was brought in four years prior. Recently the Prison Governors Association and the Liberal Democrats stated that hundreds of convicts who could be released were being detained in prisons because the Government had failed to pay for the necessary drug treatment and rehabilitation courses for the offenders. Lord Phillips also said he had reservations about the IPP sentence which includes a minimum term, after which the prisoner has to show that he or she is suitable for release and no longer a danger to society (Verkaik 2009). The judge involved had stated that he knew the legislation had been changed to meet some of the concerns but that he was not clear about the latest figures regarding prisoners detained beyond their minimum required sentence. The Government says a further three million pounds was made available to aid with resourcing IPPs. When I was involved it was apparent there was a resource problem when dealing with IPP prisoners in relation to giving them the rehabilitation that they needed in order to be in a position to demonstrate they were no longer a danger, and also there was a problem with the resources of the parole board in considering whether or not they ought to be released (Phillips 2009). He also added that Prisons must be provided for individuals judges send to prison. And that what governs the overall prison population is a complicated question and legislation dealing with sentencing can then increase or decrease a prison population. He explained however that he had always been in favor of alternatives to custody although that would be down to the discretion of the judge. So in conclusion, there are many flaws in the Criminal Justice System but what ciaos could the nation be experiencing without the Criminal Justice System as we know it today, and to what extent would crime exist if there were a different system. No the Criminal Justice System is fit for Purpose.

The Effect Of Financial Constraints On Small And Medium Enterprises Finance Essay

The Effect Of Financial Constraints On Small And Medium Enterprises Finance Essay CHAPTER 1 Introduction The relation between financial constraints and the survival and growth of the SME has been document across Africa and world. The researcher will look at the economy of Kenya and make evident of the financial constraints that are facing the small and medium enterprise hence affecting the survival and growth of small and medium size enterprises. There is a need to research in this field since the SME are the backbone of the Kenyan economy. In fact with the growing inflation, not to mention the difficulties the SME have in accessing the financial aids they are barely making it to the second birthday. Overview of the Context Kenyan is a developing country in Africa. The increasing role of the SME sector is confirmed by the recently completed Kenya 2003 Economic Survey, According to the survey, total employment recorded in the informal sector increased from 3.7 employees in 1999 to 5.1 million in 2002, while the formal sector increased only from 1.74 million to 1.76 million employees during the same period. However, the growth of the informal sector in number of employees does not necessarily reflect growth and high productivity of the enterprise itself, as the number of informal sector companies grew largely because of the depressed formal economy and under employment in the formal firms. Having said that, the SME in Kenya faces a lot of challenges and one of them is the financial constrains which really inhibits its growth and survival. Hence the call for this research paper. The researcher will use the research methodologies to extract evidence that really financial constraints is a major factor that affect the growth and survival of the SME in Kenya. Statement of the problem. In Kenya, SME have little access to finance, which thus hampers their emergence and eventual growth and survival. Financial constraint remains a major challenge facing SME in Kenya Wanjohi and Mugure (2008) and this will be evidence in this research paper. Their main sources of capital are their retained earnings and informal savings and loan associations, which are unpredictable and not very secure. SME can rarely meet the conditions set by financial institutions, which see them as a risk because of poor guarantees and lack of information about their ability to repay loans. The financial system in most of Africa is under-developed however and so provides few financial instruments. The researcher has come up with some of the reasons why SME find it hard to access finance in Kenya: High interest rates by the financial institutions Delay in the loan processing due to lack of securities and other requirements by the financial institutions. Some of the SME do not have a good track records hence most of the local banks fear to give them the unsecured loans. Banks are particularly nervous of smaller businesses due to a perception that they represent a greater credit risk. Kariukis (1995) study of bank credit access in Kenya illustrates this point further. A survey of 89 small and medium-scale firms in manufacturing and service industries, combined with secondary information from commercial banks, found that from 1985 to 1990 the average real volume of credit for the sample firms fell, except for the year 1986 which showed a marginal increase of 1.5 per cent. Small scale borrowers were found to be faced with higher nominal interest rates at higher inflation rates in the latter half of the 1980s. Moreover, the explicit transactions costs of borrowing were found to be high in relation to interest costs. Because the information is not available in other ways, SME will have to provide it when they seek finance. They will need to give a business plan, list of the company assets, details of the experience of directors and managers and demonstrate how they can give providers of finance some security for amounts provided. The researcher recognized that in the current context of the most severe financial and economic crisis in decades, various factors such as increased risk aversion, decreased liquidity, bleak prospects for economic growth, etc. are having or are expected to have a highly negative effect on SME and entrepreneurs access to short and long term financing. Small firms are particularly vulnerable because: It is more difficult for them to downsize since they are already small. They are individually less diversified in their activities. They have weaker financial structures or lower capitalization. They have lower or no credit ratings. They are heavily dependent on credit. They have fewer options for finance, especially in financial markets. With this in view, the measures that most governments are taking or planning to take to counteract the effects of the crisis and stimulate their economies should include easing SME and entrepreneurship access to finance. Numerous money lenders in the name of Pyramid schemes comes up, promising hope among the SME that they can make it to the financial freedom through soft borrowing. The rationale behind turning to these schemes among a good number of entrepreneurs is mainly to seek alternatives and soft credit with low interest rates while making profits. Objectives The general objective of the research is to establish the effects that the financial constraints have on the survival and growth of the small and medium enterprises in Kenya. Some of the specific objective that the researcher will bare in the study will evolve around the small and medium sized enterprises in Kenya. To establish effect of economic activities on the survival and growth of the SME in Kenya. To assess the impact of high interest rates by local commercial banks on the survival and growth of the small and medium sized enterprises in Kenya. To establish the effect of commercial banks lending policies and access to credit on the growth and financial performance of SME in Kenya. To establish the effect of the firm capital structure on the growth and survival of the small and medium enterprises in Kenya. To establish the impact of government policies in Kenya on the economic growth on the survival and growth of the small and medium business. 1.5 Research Questions How do high interest rates affect the survival and growth of the firm in Kenya? What effect do the banks lending policies and access to credit have on the growth and survival of the SME in Kenya? How do the government policies in Kenya on the economic growth affect the survival and growth of the small and medium sized business? What effect do the external borrowings have on the survival and growth of the small business enterprises in Kenya? How the economic activities affect the growth and survival of the firm in Kenya? 1.6 The significance of the study. Small and medium sized enterprises are the backbone of virtually all economies in the world. However, the process has long been constrained by the limited availability and accessibility of financial resources to meet a variety of operational and investment needs within the SME sectors. SME and entrepreneurs play a significant role in all economies and are key agents of employment, innovation and growth. A significant number of entrepreneurs and SME could use funds productively if they were available, but are often denied access to financing, thus impeding their creation, survival and growth. Although SME form a broad spectrum as far as their relative size, sector of activity, seniority, location and performance are concerned; there is a vital need for innovative solutions for their financing in particular for innovative and high- growth SME in a globalised knowledge-based economy. The researcher however will be interested to know how does this financial constraints really affect the growth and survival of SME and she will undertake the study t establish the necessary fact that make the growth of SME restrained in Kenya. 1.7 The scope of the study. The Kenya government is commitment to foster the growth of SME emerged as one of the key strategies in the 1986 report Economic Management for Renewed Growth. It was reinforced as a priority in the 1989 report, The Strategy for Small Enterprise Development in Kenya a document that set out the mechanisms for removing constraints to growth of the SME sector. In 1992, the government published the SME policy report, Sessional Paper No. 2, Small Enterprises and Jua Kali Development in Kenya. This report was reviewed in 2002, leading to a new policy framework that provides a balanced focus to SME development in line with the national goals of fostering growth, employment creation, income generation, poverty reduction and industrialization SME in Kenya have not seen much development since Kenyan independence due to financial constraints and other factors that are not going to be discussed on this research paper. Small enterprises have a potentiality of boosting a kenya economy. Although they are faced by many challenges, they still have opportunities to grow. These include linkage with multinational companies, networks with other businesses, diversification of market and products, enabling environment and franchising opportunities which is geatly being encouraged the coalition government that is currently running the government of Kenya although the impact has yet to felt on the small and medium enterpeises due to its size and limied resources. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction. Kenya being a developing country, the researcher will borrow some of empirical research done by experts in other developed and developing countries. A large number of empirical studies have addressed the issue of financial constraints, mainly in order to study the relation between the firms investments and the availability of internal and external funds. Under perfect capital markets, internal and external sources of financial funds are perfectly substitutable Modigliani and Miller (1958), so that the availability of internal funds should not affect investment decisions. Small firms cannot exploit economies of scale in the same way as large firms can they face more financial constraints. Since young companies have not accumulated sufficient cash flow and are unable to rely on bank financing, they have to depend on the equity investments. The analysis of the effects of financial constraints on the firm survival and growth therefore is important. 2.2 Theoretical account of financial constraints The financing constraint literature has been the first to recognize that partitioning firms helps to provide important insights into their behaviors. The pioneers in this field have undoubtedly been Fazzari, Hubbard and Petersen (1988) who point out the fact that firms are definitely not homogeneous. They classify firms according to their dividend payout ratio. Their main aim in doing this is to show that firms that have different dividend payout ratios and therefore belong to different categories, have differential access to finance. Some firms are financially constrained while others are not. Following Fazzari, Hubbard and Petersen (1988), a number of studies have tried to distinguish between various categories of firms. For instance, Whited (1992) uses measures of indebtedness, interest coverage, and whether or not a firm has a bond rating to discriminate among firms. Kaplan and Zingales (1997) use both quantitative and qualitative data to distinguish among firms.Bond et al (1999) classify firms according to whether a firm operates in a bank-based or market-based system.Cleary (1999) uses a financial constraint index to differentiate between firms, which takes into account a number of factors such as firm liquidity, leverage, profitability, and growth. Carpenter and Guariglia (2003) use the number of employees to distinguish between large and small firms. However, the factor common to all these studies is that they have tried to discriminate only within firms that have access to capital markets. A high percentage of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises remains in the informal sector with limited opportunities for growth. Africa has one of the largest informal sectors in the world, World Bank, (2006). In Kenya the availability of finance tends to be extremely limited and difficulty to get external financing as researcher came to find out on this quest on the Kenya town and from the SME managers. The SME financial resources are usually restricted to equity capital and bank debt to those who are able to access it. As the business establishes itself, however, it gains access to resources from its own productive activity and sources of external finance. According to Aghion (2007), access to external finance improves market selection by allowing small firms to be more competitive. Additionally, financial accessibility significantly facilitates the growth of firms. Unlike large firms, SME are restricted in their funding options. Therefore, a new hierarchy of sources of finance for SM E can be defined. In this new hierarchy of sources of finance for SME there are three sources of finance, internal finance, debt finance and new capital contributions. Large firms that have access to capital markets are able to issue equity; however, SME do not normally have access to this form of finance of new capital contributions Cost of new debt financing Cost of internal finance 2.3 The Financial constraint variables According to many studies, small firms do not even recognize their own growth potential Scott Rosa (1996).This is more evident in the research since most of the managers of the small and medium size enterprises are more concerned about the survival of the firm rather than the growth of the firm in most Kenya region. This research however will look at some of the variables that help to clarify this phrase in the Kenyan market. 2.3.1 The effect of government policies. Similar evidence regarding the lack of importance given by small scale enterprises to tax policies is also found in Southern Africa, including Niger, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zimbabwe Mead (1994). Studies for these locations found little concern for government regulations, except from those enterprises concentrated in targeted locations and specific sectors such as food processing. Instead the greatest concern for the majority of those surveyed was the lack of access to working capital, credit and finance. 2.3.2 The effect of commercial bank lending rates and access to credit. According to Holmes and Kent (1991), SME are characterized by 2 factors: they cannot issue equity and are concerned about ownership and control. Small firms usually do not have the option of issuing additional equity to the public. Even if they were able to issue private equity, managers of SME would restrain from doing so as issuing equity would lead to a dilution in ownership and control. Therefore, managers of SME will usually prefer to go for debt financing, mainly comprising of bank financing. On the other hand, managers of larger firms usually consider a broader range of funding options. As Steel (1994) highlights, high transactions costs and risks associated with small loans, a lack of collateral and an historical orientation towards larger enterprises, continue to restrict small scale enterprise access to formal credit. This no different from Kenya where access to credit is really issue and Kariukis (1995) study of bank credit access in Kenya illustrates this point further. 2.3.3 The impact of government policies Data on the SME sector in Kenya is scarce, although the National SME Baseline Survey provides comprehensive and reliable information; it has not been updated since 1999 and does not contain information for medium-sized firms. The survey indicates that the contribution of the SME sector to GDP increased from 13.8 percent in 1993 to 18.4 percent in 1999.Thia shows that the government policies put in place in Kenya also do affect the growth and survival of the small and medium size enterprises. 2.3.4 The effect of internal capital structure. It should be noted that growth is not the objective of all firms. For example, when firms are faced with serious difficulties during periods of economic downturns, they may shift their objective from growth to survival waiting for better economic conditions to expand. This has been observed in crisis economies where firms downsize and try to keep their costs as low as possible until the economic situation improves. Some firms may choose to remain small if their entrepreneurial capabilities are inconsistent with large size because financial constraints force the poor to start small business, the lack of firm growth could result in social immobility where the small firms remain poor. On the other hand, if small firms have the potential of becoming large, poor firm owners could become rich as their firms expand. Moreover, firm growth in Africa, where technology is usually labour intensive, is usually associated with job creation, which in turn is the key to poverty reduction. Therefore, whether firms have potential to grow or remain small has important policy implications. Slow growth of firms in Africa has been explained as being the result of the lack of access to financial resources McCormick et al. (1997) and Biggs and Srivastava, (1996). This is particular to developing economies where financial markets are under-developed. 2.4 Conceptual Framework. The financial constrained as outlined above is a diverse business phenomena that need to be researched since its the back bone of any business growth and survival may it be a small business in the slums or a major manufacturing business. The researcher is mainly focused on the small and unquoted firms in Kenya. The local commercial banks have a role to play in all this and so is the government. The firm own capital structure also do contribute a lot to the survival and growth of the firm. In Kenya the economic activities that are carried out also influence a lot the GDP of the country hence the economic growth. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction The researcher will mainly use secondary research methodology although the tertiary methodology or the search tool will also be used for the purpose of this research. This will include books, magazines, newspapers to collect data and information regarding the topic. The researcher will also make use of the internet to obtain information about SME and other related information. Secondary data are data that have been collected for some other purpose. Secondary data can provide a useful source from which to answer the research question(s). Punch (1998) mentions several advantages of using existing data. Expenditure on obtaining data can be significantly reduced and data analysis can begin immediately, so saving time. Also, the quality of some data may be superior to anything the researcher could have created alone Thomas (2004). On the other hand, the chosen research method also has several disadvantages such as data that have been gathered by others for their own purposes can be diffic ult to interpret when they are taken out of their original context. It is also much more difficult to appreciate the weak points in data that have been obtained by others. 3.2 Research Area The propose research area is the SME in Kenya. The length of time within which to finish this project will be estimated one month since time and resources might be a major constraint. The researcher proposes to choose at least 15 major towns in Kenya since Small business are all over the country and do research in a at least 10 firms in each town, so as to capture the operation of financial reporting in the country so as to ascertain whether financial constraints are really a major constraint in the survival and growth of small and medium size business in Kenya. As a mean of testing the hypothesis of the study, the researcher will apply the methods below of data collection. 3.3 Observation To judge the effect of financial constrains on survival and growth of a small business in Kenya. The researcher will have to visit the local banks and financial institutions and find out how ones access to finance limits the growth of the business. I propose to use time-series method to judge the observation. The observation will assist me to ascertain that the formal financial sector has provided very little or no service to small business men hence they are unable to finance their small business. 3.4 Interview This will be conducted individually. Structured and unstructured questions will be used to collect information on the subject under investigation. This is to help the researcher obtain responses to questions like; in your view is business growing? How best can it be financed? ,and others. I propose to conduct the interview in such a manner that each sector will have equal probability of being selected. Interviews will enable me to do most of the qualitative part of my research, and the information gained here is usually more realistic. 3.5 Questionnaire I will prepare systematic and well organized questions that will enable me; have responses to the questions raised in the introduction and moreover test the hypothesis of the research. This is demonstrated in Chapter 1 where several questions to this effect have been formulated. 3.6 Data Analysis I will not only rely solely on the information from the various responses from the varied sectors but, also the statistical publications from international organization in Kenya who have done a similar research on SME. I propose to make a thorough analysis of the official and unofficial data received. I will propose the use of quantitative and the qualitative analysis. REFRENCES Punch, K F. (1998), Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Kariuki N (1995) The Effects of Liberalization on Access to Bank Credit in Kenya, Small Enterprise Development, 6 (1), 15-23 Central Bureau of Statistics, International Center for Economic Growth, and K-Rep Holdings, National Micro and Small Enterprise Baseline Survey, 1999. Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Planning and National Development, Economic Survey, 2003 Wanjohi, A.M. and Mugure, A.(2008). Factors affecting the growth of MSEs in rural areas of Kenya: A case of ICT firms in Kiserian Township, Kajiado District of Kenya. Republic of Kenya (1992). Sessional Paper No. 2 on Small Enterprises and Jua Kali Development in Kenya. Government Printer, Nairobi Biggs, T. and Srivastava, P. (1996) Structural Aspects of Manufacturing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a Seven Country Enterprise survey, World Bank Discussion paper No. 346. Modigliani, F. and Miller, M. (1958), the cost of capital, corporation finance and the theory of investment. Aghion, P., Fally, T. and Scarpetta, S. (2007): Credit constraints as a barrier to the entry and post-entry growth of firms, Economic Policy, vol. 22 (52): 731-790. Savignac, F. (2008): The impact of financial constraints on innovation: what can be learned from a direct measure? Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Volume 17 (6):553-569. Petersen, M. and Rajan, R. (1994): The benefits of firm-creditor relationships: Evidence from small business data, Journal of Finance, 49, 3-38. Aghion, P., Fally, T. and Scarpetta, S. (2007): Credit constraints as a barrier to the entry and post-entry growth of firms, Economic Policy, vol. 22 (52): 731-790. World Bank. (2006) Doing Business in 2005. The World Bank. Washington D. C., USA. Scott, M. Rosa, P. (1996). Opinion: Has Firm Level Analysis Reached its Limits? Time for a rethink. International Small Business Journal 14, 4, 81-89. Mead D (1994) The legal, regulatory and tax framework and small enterprises, Small Enterprise Development, 5 (2), 10-17 Steel W (1994) Changing the institutional and policy environment for small enterprise development in Africa, Small Enterprise Development, 5 (2), 4-9 Kaplan, S. and L. Zingales (1997), Do investment-cash-flow sensitivities provide useful measures of financing constraints? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, pp169-216. Whited, T. (1992), Debt, Liquidity Constraints and Corporate Investment:Evidence from Panel Data, Journal of Finance, 4 ,pp1425-1460. Kaplan, S. and L. Zingales (1997), Do investment-cash-flow sensitivities provide useful measures of financing constraints? Quarterly Journal of Economics,112, pp169-216. Carpenter R.E and A. Guariglia (2003), Cash Flow, Investment and Investment Opportunities: New Tests using UK panel Data, Unpublished. Fazzari, S., G. Hubbard, and B. Petersen (1988), Financing Constraints and Corporate Investment, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1, pp141-95. Holmes, S. and Kent, P., (1991), An Empirical Analysis of the Financial Structure of Small and Large Australian Manufacturing Enterprises, Journal of Small Business Finance, 1 (2), pp141-154. QUESTIONNAIRES. Why did you choose to start a business in this area? Does your business follow the government policies in regard to paying taxes Yes â‚ ¬Ã‚  No â‚ ¬Ã‚  What is the number of the employees in your business? How is the business in this area affected by the economy trends preferring at the moment? Who is the highest ranking member of your business? What is the annual turnover of your business? Where does your business get the initial capital to start it up? What is your source of financing? What form of financial instruments do you have in place? Which banking or financial sectors do you operate in your business? How do the interest rates affect your business? What are some of the difficulties do you experience when getting bank access? What can you say is the reason for your business failure to grow? How is the government policies put in place in Kenya helping you achieve your financial goals? What are the major issues does your enterprise face when accessing credit facilities in the banking sectors in the Kenya? What would you say is the challenge facing the small business in Kenya in terms of finances?

Essays --

Ultrasounds also known as ultrasonography is an imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to make pictures of structures that bounce off internal body parts to create images for medical purposes. This high pitch frequency cannot be heard by the human ear. Over the years, these noninvasive procedures for the most part have replaced the invasive surgery. These procedures cause the patient less trauma and a lower risk of complications that could arise from the alternative surgery. Most ultrasound procedures are done by using a device on the outside of the body, though there are some ultrasounds that are transvaginal. A transvaginal ultrasound is a procedure that involves placing a tubular probe like stick inside the body. In a normal ultrasound procedure, the reflections of high-frequency sound waves that locate, measure and outline deep structures. The sound wave that is sent by an ultrasound Doppler transducer that will travel until it hits a boundary between tissues, wh ich get reflected back to the probe. An ultrasound procedure is also less expensive compared to the surgical procedure. Ultrasounds have become an important procedure in the medical field. These procedures allow specialist to quickly evaluate the patient’s condition, and enable doctors to treat the condition before it is out of hand. Over the years studies have researched ultrasounds and have become more popular and easier to perform, there are many types of ultrasounds such as prenatal ultrasounds, therapeutic ultrasounds, prostate ultrasounds, cardiac ultrasounds, breast ultrasounds, First, the prenatal ultrasound is the most common type of ultra sound. This ultrasound is what most mother look forward to during their pregnancy. These ultrasound sca... ...h as; gallbladder, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and spleen. These ultrasounds may be performed if the patient has pain in the abdomen, enlarged organs, gallstones, cancer, tumors, and many more conditions. Ultrasounds are used in clinical practices all over the world for many different reasons. Studies have shown that ultrasounds have substantial benefits. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association says â€Å"studies consistently reported that ultrasound has therapeutically beneficial effects on pain and functional outcomes.† (Assoc.) Ultrasounds have came a long way, and have almost replaced surgical procedures since surgeries cause so much trauma. Ultrasounds are painless procedures, and are done to provide pictures for the specialist to provide pictures to diagnosis abnormalities, help when doing procedures, and make sure unborn babies are growing normally.

McLuhan Essay -- Art

McLuhan Author and social theorist Tom Wolfe once commented on Canadian professor Marshal McLuhan’s mantra, â€Å"the medium is the message† saying: The new technologies†¦radically alter the entire way people use their five senses, the way they react to things, and therefore, their entire lives and the entire society. It doesn’t matter what the content of a medium like t.v. is†¦ 20 hours a day of sadistic cowboys caving in peoples teeth or†¦ Pablo Casals droning away on his cello. How is it that violence and the arts are effective in the same manner? Wouldn’t the content be the most important factor in analyzing a television program? To understand Marshall McLuhan’s theories the reader must not be concerned with the symbolic content of what is being said or the cosmetic interpretation of the actual show but rather, look deeper into the whole infrastructure of the medium itself. McLuhan was prone to thinking up â€Å"clever† analogies and plays on words; and describing the content of a medium was no different. He described it as â€Å"the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.† We are the content of our media because the way we live life is largely a function of the way we process information. That information is presented and made available by way of a certain medium. In turn, each medium delivers a new message and a new form of human being, whose qualities are suited to it. The same words spoken face to face, printed on paper, or presented on television provide three different messages simply because of the different senses used to perceive it. McLuhan thought primary channels of communication change the way we look at the world around us. The dominant medium of any age governs people and reconnects modes of relationships with the world based on which sensory motor apparatus is being activated. Dominant epochs spring from the phonetic alphabet, printing press, and the telegraph, which were turning points in society because they changed the way people thought about themselves. To understand how and why people are affected by television, one must first become familiar with McLuhan’s idea of the electronic age. With the advent of television, the power of the printed word is decreased significantly. Books become â€Å"made-for-t.v.† movies and newspapers come alive with twenty-four hour a day headlines. Marshall McLuh... ...ert themselves into the story. Perhaps this is one piece of an elaborate mosaic of cultural activity that works toward a unified ideological end, whether intentional or not. With cameras and televisions enhancing our eyes, satellite dishes increasing the sensitivity of our ears, and computers and the Internet augmenting the power of our brains, the human body has finally become fully extended through communication technology. In these respects, McLuhan was on to something. Unfortunately, one could not overlook McLuhan’s often abandonment of the linearity and order that he claimed were the legacy of print technology. His truths were enigmatic and seldom woven into a comprehensive system; at times he implied that chosen words are irrelevant while other times he declared the significance of the symbols were a matter of degree. His leaps of faith were a major hindrance to taking him seriously. Near the end, he was accused of selling out by Stuart Hall, fellow media theorist. But, as Kenneth Boulding in McLuhan: Hot and Cold stated, â€Å"It is perhaps typical of very creative minds that they hit very large nails not quite on the head.† Maybe we should give Marshal McLuhan another swing.

Understanding The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essays

Understanding The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚   There are more reported cases of clinical depression in women than their are in men. There is also, generalized in western cultures, a stereotype that women are fragile and should be more dedicated to maintaining the home, doing feminine things, that they shouldn't work, and be discouraged from intellectual thinking. In the Victorian period (1837-1901) aside from women's suffragette movements the Victorian woman usually upheld this stereotype of a well behaved wife, more or less a possession then an individual. However, there were a few who defied the odds and took it to heart to let the world know about the indifference's that they went through. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, feminist, was one of these women who used her writing to express the differences and hardships women went through. One of her more famous works, the Yellow Wallpaper, is known as both a feminist piece and a depiction of Victorian life and indifferences for women. It is a piece that can have controversial me anings that can be taken to heart to why Gilman ever wrote it.    "The Yellow Wallpaper" has a simple enough story, the woman is taken to a rented house to recover from a nervous depression that she was experiencing. The depression was something common in women of the time, especially in more upper class women with little to do. The antidote " the cure" was developed by a Weir Mitchell, for psychoneurosies, in theory a women should inhibit herself from any kind of work or thinking and to get as much fresh air as possible. The heroine is subjected to this cure. Having been confined to a room in the house she starts imagining things in the wallpaper that she hates so much. However, as the story progresses it i... ...it to show that kind of diversity. She probably wanted a release, to share her life, to get back at the Wier Cure, to show the injustice brought to women of the period and to probably just be creative. In finding reviews and biographies on Gilman one does not find too many bad words written on her. She is held as a very prestigious writer. As for the yellow wallpaper it really expands the minds and makes one have to sit back and analyze what was really going on.    Works Cited    Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Why I Wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper"? http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/ daniel/amlit/wallpaper/Whywrote.html    Korb, Rena. An Overview of "The Yellow Wallpgper," in Exploring Short Stories Literature Resource Center. Gale Research, 1998.    Stone, Les. Charlotte (Anna) Perkins (Stetson) Gilman. Contemporary A uthors Online. The Gale Group, 2000.

Poverty in Egypt Essay

Food crisis, political catastrophe, societal upheavals—these are perhaps the most controversial issues that boggle the minds of the Egyptian masses nowadays. Along with the current political catastrophes that has transcribed in the contemporary milieu, Egypt is considered as a transit country for prostitution, child trafficking and a massive rise of violence (Wenger, 1987, The World Bank, 2008). War in Gaza, smuggling—these problems are said to be the manifestation of poverty, which at hand is the main culprit in swallowing the inhabitants of third world countries (Erlanger, 2008). As a matter of fact, this unprecedented communal catastrophe has long been a major concern by political parties that preventive and charitable measures are given to them each year. Thus such drive for lifting their economy is driven away by civil confrontations that those who intends to help them are hindered to fulfill their duty. Basically, this historical and contemptible country is far from letting their guard down from the hopes of reaching solitude and receiving their respective needs; as the residents themselves are working hard to get a grasp of armistice not only for the sake of keeping their lives but for the verity of achieving worldly acceptance. As a matter of fact, the Egyptian government has developed several steps in aide of helping their constituents live a bountiful life. Thus this dream shall not be made possible without the cooperation of their general public. The situation in Egypt â€Å"Reduce poverty and improve equity in the distribution of income†Ã¢â‚¬â€this is the statistical and economical strategy of their management. The reality in Egypt is known all over the world. Nutritional status and unemployment are apparently the cited â€Å"intrinsically important† fields that the residents are hoping to be resolved. The conceptual argument in this matter is that poverty is identified as â€Å"rupture† in the urbanization process combined with the problems of civil hostilities. Further, if there had been cities which have been granted with the delivery of basic services, it is only the urban areas who eventually enjoys it since that those who badly need it either turn away from the help itself, or has become bleak on the context of improving their lives. To note, there is a huge density in street-vendors and homeless families and Egypt (Development, 2008). World Bank assessed that the numbers that appeared in their data is based on the context of poverty indicators and in layman’s term, it is the multi-faceted feature of having insufficient income. Hence the battle in defeating the odds of reality is too close to call. The price for being less-fortunate With the issue in poverty in mind, scholars and statisticians were able to distinguish the effects of poverty in the community. Such are as follows: the scarcity of opportunity as there is derisory learning or education, nutrition, wellbeing and instruction, or the incapability to find a profession that can completely be in remuneration someone’s obtainable and present aptitude. Hence these are caused of susceptibility, owed to insufficient assets and resources, to impulsive prevalent fiscal distress or even personage fright such as when those who are considered as breadwinners mislay their ability to bring in money for a living (Ravallion and Chen, 2007). Overcoming the societal dilemma Even though these problems have been gradually present for quite a long time already, it should also be considered that the country has been developing in the verge of the 21st century. Their Millennium Development Goals enhanced literacy, mortality and their health status increasing every year and sufficiently, a large piece of the residents are cooperative in such dimension. Furthermore, the brackets that were considered as poor—the tenant farmers and small-scale farmer, landless laborers, unemployed youth and more specifically women—have been found to be positively improving and these are coherent to that of the development in the light of literacy. However, pursuing the dream still needs to be pressed on further and not lose hope despite the hindrances that unfolds before them to be able to sustain the momentum. Conclusions with further remarks Global systems theory is perhaps one of the many theories related to capitalism and transnational corporations. There should be emphasis that children are ‘sacred’ in a sociological sense because of the fact that childrearing and its effects on children reaffirm the belief in the importance of children. It creates a protected space of security, trust and close human connection inasmuch as it illustrates the generous and nurturing characteristic of individuals rather than being individualistic and always inclined for competition (Rudra, 2005). The limitations of quantitative measurements of well-being have long been recognized, and there is a rich tradition of anthropological and sociological work that uses a range of techniques to achieve an in-depth understanding of poverty for project work—broadening understanding of both poverty and the policy process (Lane, 2007). New pockets of poverty are undermining prosperity, making it look more tenuous. The materialist bias is part of a historical legacy, an ancient political responsibility for ensuring that citizens have roofs over their heads, larders with food to eat. While the very meaning of poverty remains the subject of debate, and differences of opinion persist in how to best study the root causes of poverty.

Ap Euro Essay Essay

AP European Essay 2-2 The First World War brought about a phenomenon known as â€Å"total war†. Total war is a war fought on all fronts. A total war has the full support of the country and all human resources, from civilians to soldiers, are considered a part of the war effort. Total war during the first world war had a direct impact on the social, political, and economic structures of the European powers. Total war saw many changes in the social structures of Europe. With millions of men at the front unheard of numbers of jobs were available to those who had become accustomed to unemployment and poverty. This type of situation was seldom seen before 1914 where unemployment and poverty had been facts of everyday life. The role of women in everyday life changed immensely with the arrival of total war. With such large number of positions that were typically worked by men opening up many women took roles in society that they had never considered before, such as police officers, mail carriers, and even industry workers. The presence of Total war also promoted social equality, blurring class lines and closing the gap between the rich and the poor. This greater social equality was very apparent in Great Britain where wartime hardships were never extreme and where the bottom one third of the population actually lived better than they had before the war. The advent of total war also brought about change in the political structure of the European powers. During the first two years of the war both soldiers and civilians supported their governments and saw their county as having a just cause for fighting in the war. European governments employed rigorous censorship and propaganda in order to control the public opinion and maintain popular support. By 1916 the stain of a total war began to wear on the people of Europe and some groups attempted to take advantage of this strain. One group who took advantage of this was the group of Irish nationalists in Dublin in who rose up against British rule in the Easter rebellion. Similar strikes and protests flared up all over Europe due to inadequate food rations. Total war not only changed the economy of Europe but also helped to bring about a war economy that would have lasting effects. When the war began Germany went about setting up the War Raw Materials Board to ration and distribute raw materials. Under the direction of Walter Rathenau every useful material from foreign oil to barnyard manure was inventoried and rationed. Food also suffered from rationing with those who worked longer, harder days being allotted more food. This rationing of all useful resources facilitated the mobilization for total war and marked the first instance of state socialism functioning realistically rather than as a utopian program. Without these drastic economic changes the total war phenomenon would have never have come to fruition. The effort of both citizen and soldier were vital in bringing about the total war phenomenon. The social, political, and economic structures of the European powers were changed in great ways due to many nations embracing the ideas that make up total war. But through all of the many changes one thing was certain; war is a vital facet in the changing of societies and countries will shape themselves around it. Not only had the lives of Europeans changed due to total war, but war had changed.