Cause and Effects of Stress in Children Essay Example for Free

Cause and Effects of Stress in Children Essay Stress is a response to a factor or situation that negatively affects the physical, emotional, or psychological existence of a person. Stress is good in small quantities as it motivates a person making him/her more productive. However, too much stress is detrimental to a person. Stress can interfere with the general life of a person. Most people assume that stress only affects adults. However, statistics indicate that stress also affects children. Children face intense pressure from their environment. Continuous stress in children is harmful to their activities, health, and development. There are a number of causes and effects of toxic stress in children. Stress can be caused by both negative and positive situations. Children living in abusive environments, both physical and emotional, experience stress. Arnold wrote that children who are bullied are in continuous state of depression. They, therefore, alienate themselves from their colleagues. Parents who constantly beat their children are also causes of stress. The fear that is manifested in children disorients them. They will not be able to talk about what they feel to anybody but rather keep to themselves. Events such as accidents, loss of loved ones, and rejection are also causes of stress in children. Social change patterns in children cause many stressful situations. Children at puberty yearn for freedom. This creates tension between them and the parents, who are constantly monitoring and regulating their activities. In the same stage, children will constantly be in need of money. Lack of money causes stress in children as they are not always able to buy whatever they may need. They will compare themselves with other children who are in comfortable financial positions. Such children are always anxious and worried of where and how they will get money. Stress in children is not only caused by what happens in their own lives but also by what happens in their parents’ lives. The greatest effects of stress are experienced by the brain. The brain controls all the stress mechanism in the body making it the primary stress organ. Johnson stated that the vulnerability of children’s brain is caused  by the fact that they are constantly growing and developing. Constant stress in children disrupts brain development and compromises its normal function. Research has indicated that children experiencing stress have smaller brains. Toxic stress impairs the connection of brain circuits resulting in development of a smaller brain. Prolonged period of stress in children affects their nervous and immune system. Stress hormones are released when a child is exposed to stress. Cortisol hormones, which are released as a result of stress, suppress the body immune system. This leaves a person vulnerable to diseases and infections. Depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, and chronic diseases are also linked to childhood stress. Psychological effects of stress include changes in personality, aggressiveness, and irritability. Children under stress are likely to experience frustrations and isolation from friends and family. They spend more time on their own and lack motivation. Children may also have difficulty in concentration thereby affecting their academic performance. Children under extreme stress exhibit change in behavior. They may be more disobedient, fight often, stutter, and cry often. In conclusion, stress in children has many causes and effects. The notion that stress only affects adults is wrong. Too much stress, often referred to as toxic stress, is detrimental to the life of a child. Toxic stress affects the physical, emotional, psychological, and social aspects of a child. Even though every child reacts differently under stress, it is clear that stress affects the neural system and the health of a child. Children under stress tend to develop negative characteristics like irritability and disobedience. Research has indicated that there are number of causes of childhood stress which are interrelated. Social change patterns, abusive environment, and stress in parents are just some of the cause of childhood stress.

How does macroeconomics factors affect smes in tanzania

How does macroeconomics factors affect smes in tanzania Essay one talked about how macroeconomics factors such as inflation, monetary policy, taxation and international trade affect the economy of Tanzania as a whole. As stated in essay one, this essay will discuss about how these microeconomics factors affect the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or occasionally known as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Tanzania. In Tanzania (SME Development Policy, 2002), it is at present increasingly recognized that SMEs play an important job in employment contribution, income generation and stimulation of growth in both rural and urban sectors. SMEs can easily be set up given that their requirements in terms of capital, technology, management, etc. are not as demanding compared to large enterprises. SME Development Policy (2002) wrote different countries use different measures of size according to their development level. In the perspective of Tanzania, micro enterprises are those employing up to 4 employees or utilizing capital amounting up to Tshs.5 million. Small enterprises are those that are employing between 5 and 49 employees or with capital investment amounting from Tshs.5 million to Tshs.200 million. Medium enterprises are those employing between 50 and 99 employees or utilize capital investment amounting from Tshs.200 million to Tshs.800 million. The above information can be summarized using the table below: In 2002, the Government of Tanzania (quoted by Aikaeli, 2007) stated that it is estimated that about a third of the GDP originates from the SME sector and employs approximately 20% of the Tanzanian work force. This data shows that SME sector plays a significant role in the economy. According to Morwa (2006), following the privatization drive and the civil and public service reforms which began to take place in the early 1990s in Tanzania, the country observed a considerable increase in the number of SMEs over the last one decade. SME Development Policy (2002) argued that due to the existence of a number of restrictions hindering the development of Tanzania SME sector such as unfavorable legal and regulatory framework, undeveloped infrastructure, poor business development services, limited access of SMEs to finance, ineffective and poorly coordinated institutional support framework etc., the full potential of this sector has yet to be tapped. The anticipated result is to have a considerably increased contribution of the SME sector to economic development of Tanzania. Monetary policy and its contribution to the SMEs in Tanzania: As described in essay one, the Bank of Tanzania is the central bank of Tanzania and in 1995, according to Wikipedia (2010) the bank had one single main objective, which was monetary policy. One of the problems that SMEs in Tanzania face is limited access to finance. The government decided to set up the following schemes to tackle with this problem: Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Scheme (SME-CGS): According to BOT (2010), this scheme was set up by the government during the financial year 2004/5. It is executed by the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) in alliance with Financial Institutions. SME-CGS is devised to promote and support SMEs by building up an enabling environment for expansion and making possible access to financial resources, thus speeding up economic growth and job creation. Economic Empowerment Programme (J.K. Fund): In the financial year 2006/7, the government kept aside about Tshs.21 billion. Mkukuta (2008) stated that the motive of the fund is to offer special consideration loans through normal banking practices to empower SMEs, and especially those that are in the rural and urban areas. The execution of the programme is categorized into two phases. The first phase was assigned Tshs.10.5 billion, which were issued under Credit Guarantee Scheme. The CRDB and NMB banks were selected to partake in the first phase. The second phase was also assigned with Tshs.10.5 billion, which were issued to banks and non-bank financial institutions to offer loans mostly to districts that CRDB and NMB banks were not able to cover during the first phase. According to Mkukuta (2008), as of 30th September 2008, loans worth of Tshs.39 billion were issued from the first phase allocation, whereby the CRDB bank issued about Tshs.22.8 billion and 26,384 entrepreneurs profited from this. NMB bank issued about Tshs.16.2 billion and 21,955 entrepreneurs profited from this. In total, the number of entrepreneurs that profited was 48,370. Mwananchi Empowerment Fund: This scheme was commenced in January 2008. According to Mkukuta (2008), since it was launched with limited capital resources of about Tshs.400 million, the government decided to launch the scheme in five regions in the first phase and carry on with other regions subject to the availability of funds. The first phase regions included Lindi, Mtwara, Manyara, Singida and Rukwa. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the CRDB Bank and the National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC), whereby NEEC had agreed to deposit about Tshs.400 million to the CRDB Bank as cash guarantee. The scheme seeks to empower Tanzania citizens to access capital and loans and take part in the economic activities of the country. The following are the objectives of the Fund as given by Mkukuta (2008): Widen investment knowledge among Tanzanians Enhance employment opportunities Offer a connection among institutions, companies and corporations that are registered under the Economic Empowerment Act by bringing coordination in their activities, counseling and developing them Offer loans to private individuals, corporations and institutions under credit guarantee scheme or non-guarantee scheme. Mkukuta (2008) concluded that until 30th September 2008, a total loan worth Tshs.143,770,000 has been issued to two of the first phase regions; Lindi and Mtwara. CRDB BANK LTD TANZANIA: Masuke (2010) stated in his presentation that CRDB Bank is a private commercial bank that was set up in July 1996. CRDB Bank is one of the banks in Tanzania that cannot escape doing and expanding business with the SMEs sector. This is because of the intense competition for the small corporate market. Because of this predicament, CRDB Bank has been compelled to adjust their traditional banking philosophy and practice and seek out methodologies of dealing with the crisis built-in in financing of SMEs in Tanzania. According to CRDB Bank (Masuke, 2010), SMEs are those with: Number of staff between 1 and 100 in the midst of them are relatives of the entrepreneur Capital investment of between Tshs.5 million to Tshs.800 million Requirement of businesses loan amounting Tshs.1 million to Tshs.100 million Annual sales turnover of Tshs.20 million to Tshs.500 million One of the problems faced by SMEs is getting finance from banks. CRDB Bank carried out a survey to uncover what was hampering SMEs from accessing finance. Masuke (2010) wrote that the following were the results: SMEs sector is viewed as a high risk and costly to finance SMEs have poor auditing and accounting framework Lack of enough guarantee schemes to back-up financing SMEs Inadequate knowledge of business operations Failure of borrowers to organize and present applications/business plan that meets the banks requirements. Failure of SMEs to fulfill collateral requirements. According to Masuke (2010), the following are the initiatives that CRDB Bank took to support SMEs: Devise modified products for SMEs: The bank developed two credit products for SMEs: working capital loan and investment loan. The repayment style developed is by installments. In working capital loan, the minimum repayment period was developed to be 3months and the maximum 12months while in investment loan, the minimum repayment period is 12months and the maximum 60months. Capacity building for CRDB staff and SME customers: In building capacity for CRDB staff, the bank had to hire new staffs who specially deal with SMEs. Furthermore, all employed staffs had to go through an intensive training. In building capacity for SMEs, the bank offers free business and loan management training to SMEs. In addition, after training the trainees are provided with booklet called SME Toolkit, which can be used as a reference. Increase the range of collaterals accepted by the bank: Before CRDB Bank implemented the SMEs concept, it used to call for just traditional collateral. But now, the bank has broadened the range of acceptable collaterals to include non-traditional collaterals e.g. Residential License, properties with offer letters, used motor vehicles and machines etc. Introduction of customer relationship concept at branch level: The bank extended the relationship concept to branch level, which can allow the bank to build a strong relationship with its SMEs. The SME concept was executed as a project in 2005. Since then, the project has been a hit with remarkable growth in terms of portfolio and number of customers. International trade and SMEs: Tanzanias ability to face global economic challenges depends on the stage of development of its SMEs. According to OECD Bologna conference (2000), there are four requirements for development of competitive SMEs that meet the criteria to get involved in cross-border business: Provision of effective business support services Availability of long-term finance Availability of a good state of information and communication technology infrastructure Existence of appropriate social capital The following are the strategies that SMEs can adopt when involving in international activities (Young, 1987): Exporting Foreign direct investments (FDI) Strategic alliance Joint ventures Licensing, etc. According to Saiguran (2007), some of the problems that SMEs in Tanzania face include: Lack of appropriate information, knowledge and skills Challenge of small and competitive domestic market Inadequate and inefficient infrastructural facilities Multiplicity of taxes The following are some of the initiatives that were set up in order to promote international trade in Tanzania: The Board of External Trade (BET): This scheme was set up in 1978. The scheme is responsible for: International markets searching Synchronizing foreign businesses requiring to trade in Tanzania Sorting out and helping out involvement in overseas trade fairs, exhibitions, and missions Carrying out Research and Development on external trade According to BET (2007), since the time the scheme was set up, it has been synchronizing and carrying out training programmes in all areas of international trade, holding specialized exhibitions and carrying out market research. Mini-Tiger Plan 2020: this scheme is fed into the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP). According to Aikaeli (2007), this scheme is responsible for: Promote competitiveness of Tanzanian products on the global markets Promote exports Create special economic zones. The zones that were created included: Tanzania Export Processing Zones, which was set up by the parliament Act of 2002 and Zanzibar Free Trade Economic Zones Authority (ZFTEZA), which was created in 1992 SMEs Export Credit Guarantee Scheme: this scheme was set up in 2003 by the government of Tanzania through the central bank. The aim of the scheme is to facilitate export trade. According to BOT (2006), the scheme is geared to support SMEs in line with the National SMEs Development Policy. In order to assist the mentioned above scheme in minimizing problems that are affect by SMEs in relation to international trade, the government in collaboration with private non-governmental organization (NGOs) organizes workshops and seminars to sensitize and educate people on how to cope with the existing global challenges. For example, SMEs Competitive Facility (SCF) of Tanzania organized a course with jingle Track IT, Trace IT Tanzania: Competitiveness for Tanzania. According to SCF (2006), SCF grants opportunity for businesses that desire to build up or add to their ability to trade and export. Regardless of all the problems that SMEs face in Tanzania in relation to international trade (Aikaeli, 2007), SMEs still have the potential to effectively compete and gain the benefits of the rapid expending international trade. AMKA: DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA Tomesen and Gibson (1998) stated that AMKA is a Swahili word meaning awareness or awaken. It is an NGO in Tanzania which specializes in export and marketing-oriented business development services (BDS) to Tanzania SMEs. AMKA was founded in 1994. Its main goal is to: Increase the incomes and numbers of Tanzanians (employees and/or producers) involved in exportsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [And] increase the value of agricultural output in Tanzania via exportsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (Tomesen and Gibson, 1998) In other words, Tomesen and Gibson (1998) wrote AMKAs export/market-focuses technique is to improve business performance by increasing efficiency and turnover through improved access to new markets (domestic and foreign). In quest of the goal, AMKA carries out a variety of activities that target the SME sector. These create a balancing market/export-focused portfolio of services and can basically be categorized into two groups: Training and advisory services providing training in small business development skills and business planning for export. Trade promotion and intermediary services AMKA acts as an agent between producers and customers. It offers market information on export, assist producers who need export facilities and eases the connection between the producers and alternative trade organizations, which are the customers. AMKA also helps producers and intermediary organizations to take part in trade fairs and offer ethical and quality standard audits of producers for external customers and carries out market research AMKAs key income source is the Department for International Development (DFID). In 1994, it endorsed a 4 year funding of $557,053, which was to assist in forming the organization (AMKA). Nevertheless, the awareness strategy of lessening reliance on one donor has been successful. Reliance on DFID funding has lessened from 94% in 1994/5 to 40% IN 1997/8. Important funds from other donors began to enter into the organization. The percentage of internally generated funds has risen from 5% in 1994/95 to 41% in 1997/98. According to Tomesen and Gibson (1998), AMKA successfully serves two groups of customers: SMEs in Tanzania Overseas customers These customers are mainly in two sectors: food-processing and handicraft production. The customer base is extremely different in terms of the organization structure, the number of employees, their activities and main products. The customer enterprises size ranges from 4 to 446 employees. Customer enterprises have a range of structures of ownership, which include: producer groups (groups of self-employed people), co-operative societies, privately limited companies, parastatals, and associations. Originally, AMKAs focus was to develop intermediaries (co-operatives and associations) who could, in turn, deliver services to producers. Nevertheless, AMKA has shifted deliberately towards to offering more services to producers itself directly mainly because of the weakness of these intermediaries and the complexity in increasing their ability. In general, Tomesen and Gibson (1998) concluded that it is obvious that AMKA has had a positive impact on the economy of Tanzania in general and on producers, SMEs in particular. Because of AMKA, some businesses were rescued; others, for the first time, were introduced to exports, or had export sales increased. Effects of Inflation on SMEs in Tanzania: As described in the first essay, Thompson and Vane (1979) argued that inflation can be caused by a simultaneous fall in the value of money. Inflation had continuously pressure Bank of Tanzania in the year 2009-10 due to its double digit and is expected to remain the same due to government expenditure ahead of October elections, the anticipated dry weather and the deteriorating of the shilling. The rate of inflation affects SMEs access to finance. As described in essay one, a high rate of inflation restricts SMEs from access to finance from the banks and other financial institutions while a low rate of inflation widens the SMEs chances of accessing funds. Because of this, inflation is considered as one of the factors that get in the way of the growth of SMEs in Tanzania, in a way that it puts off investors. Investors prefer to invest in countries where currencies are stable and rates of inflation are low. In order to help the SMEs sector, the central bank of Tanzania has set up a chain of strict fiscal measures to control inflation. Professor Benno Ndulu, the governor of the Bank of Tanzania (cited by Emerging Markets Business News, 2010), in an exclusive interview in Dar es Salaam said his institution was acting quickly and resolutely to turn around the rising rate of inflation. He said the bank would remain alert against the risk of higher food and fuel prices firing up the inflations upward spiral. He continued to say that increasing inflation was a worldwide happening and that the Bank was working round the clock to have power over money liquidity in the economy as one of the measures to deal with the problem. As an economics expert, Prof. Ndulu suggested that Tanzania as a nation requires to produce more food for its rapidly increasing population to trim down reliance on costly imported food products, which add up to inflationary pressures. He challenged regulators such as the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) and others to make certain that when prices of fuel at the global market dro p, such positive changes should be experienced by Tanzania too. The Bank of Tanzania also controls the growth of money in order to control inflation. According to Ballali (2004), controlling the growth of money enables the bank to have influence over the rates of inflation. In controlling the growth of money, the bank targets broad money, M2, which is currency in circulation outside banks, and total deposits detained by commercial banks, not including foreign currency deposits. BANK OF TANZANIA (BOT): The Bank of Tanzania is responsible for controlling the rate of inflation. Ballali (2004) wrote the objective of monetary policy is to attain a low and stable rate of inflation, which has a link with the key objective of the Bank of Tanzania, which is price stability. Therefore, the bank has an obligation of making sure that it sets up monetary conditions that are in agreement with low and stable inflation. According to Ballali (2004), the focus of the Bank of Tanzania is on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which it uses to determine inflation. The rate of change in the overall CPI is known as the headline inflation rate. The inflation rate, not including food prices is regularly known as the non-food inflation rate. Non-food inflation rate is used to calculate price movements, which are mostly influenced by policy factors, but can also be often affected by external factors. The Bank of Tanzania also keeps an eye on food prices and their index. This is for the reason that food prices are occasionally influenced by non-monetary factors like drought and floods, which can have an effect on inflation significantly in spite of the attitude of monetary policy. The rate of change in food price index is known as the food inflation rate. Ballali (2004) stated that by controlling the growth of money supply, Central Banks have influence over inflation. The Bank of Tanzania targets broad money, M2, which is described as currency in circulation outside banks, and total deposits detained by commercial banks, not including foreign currency deposits. M2 is selected for the reason that it is the monetary aggregate that is estimated to have closest relationship with the rate of inflation. Central Banks usually have influence over reserve money (base money, or central bank money), as stated by Ballali (2004) which is directly connected to money supply in order to control the growth of M2. Reserve money is described as the liabilities of a Central Bank, which consist of currency detained outside banks and banks reserves detained by the Central Bank. Taxation and its effect on SMEs: According to Mittah (2009), there are two classifications of SMEs: SMEs formal these are potential taxpayers who comply with the tax laws, are well structured and keeps records SMEs informal these are not well structured and have complexities in keeping records. Most of the micro taxpayers fall under informal sector There are advantages in grouping taxpayers, which according to Kimungu and Kileva (2007) include: Simple to manage. Simple to recognize. Simple to educate or counsel on taxation issues. Risk minimization. Higher compliance. The tax system is unfavorable for SMEs development. According to SME Development Policy (2002), the business community has the following perception about Tanzanias taxes: The rates of taxes are higher in relation to neighboring countries in the region Taxes are many and collected by a variety of authorities including: the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), some Central Government Ministries (e.g. Lands, Natural Resources Environment Tourism Energy and Minerals etc.) and Local government Authorities. These are some of the reasons why entrepreneurs are ignorant of tax matters and the cost of acting in agreement with tax regulations is regarded as high. While taxation of businesses is a requirement for national economic development, the current tax system inflicts a major weight on SMEs. The following are the strategies that are set up in order to promote compliances in paying tax by the SMEs: Simplify tax systems: for SMEs the tax system is considered to be complicated. Simplifying the tax system can promote voluntary compliance in paying tax. Mittah (2009) stated that Tanzania has opted for the introduction of presumptive tax system to reinstate income tax, VAT and stamp duties. Presumptive tax system was set up in July 2004 with the intention of minimizing the problems that are faced by SMEs taxpayers in abiding by with the laws of tax. Introduce tax incentives to foster SMEs: tax incentives like low tax rate to those who comply with the tax laws can encourage SMEs to comply and abide by with the tax laws. The Sustainable Industrial Development Policy SIDP (1996 2020): SME Development Policy (2002) reported that this scheme was set up in order to place specific stress on encouragement of small and medium industries through the following measures: Supporting current and new promotion institutions Simplification of taxation Licensing and registration of SMEs Progress access to financial services. Persuades informal sector businesses to grow and be formalized. TANZANIA REVENUE AUTHORITY (TRA): TANZANIA TRA is one of the government companies that are responsible for the application of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to SMEs in Tanzania. VAT was set up in Tanzania on 1st July 1998. Formerly, VAT was known as Sales Tax, but it was replaced because it was unable to create adequate revenue as it was narrow-based. According to TRA (2010) in Tanzania, there are two valid rates of VAT: Standard rate, which is 20% Zero rate, which is 0%. This is generally valid to exports. TRA (2010) gave the following main reasons for setting up VAT: Widen the tax base Achieve economic neutrality Encourage exports Achieve its administrative advantages According to TRA (2010), small businesses are those with yearly taxable turnover of not more than Tshs.40 million. By 31st December 2004, Tanzania had about 355,750 businesses that were registered as small size businesses. This group contributes about 0.44% to the TRA domestic revenue collections. Medium size businesses are those with the yearly taxable turnover exceeding Tshs.40 million, but whose yearly total domestic tax payments to TRA do not go beyond Tshs.400 million. By 31st December 2004, the businesses that were registered as medium size businesses for VAT were about 6,815. This group contributes about 13.2% to TRA total domestic revenue collection. Businesses whose yearly aggregate tax payments to TRA exceed Tshs.400 million are categorized as large taxpayers. TRA has registered about 200 businesses as large taxpayers, including non VAT registered traders such as banks and insurance companies, which entirely deliver free from VAT services. This group contributes about 18% o f TRA total domestic revenue collections. From July to December 2004, about Tshs.2,015.2 million of presumptive tax was accumulated from small businesses. TRAs target was to accumulated tax amounting to Tshs.2,887.3 million, leading to a performance rate of 70%. The key reason for not accomplishing their target was caused by the administrative complicatedness of monitoring the businesses under the informal sector, who do not keep records. About Tshs.60,084.8 million was accumulated from medium size businesses during the first half of Tanzanias financial year 2004/5. TRAs target was to accumulated tax amounting to Tshs.59,212 million, leading to a performance rate of 101%. TRA (2010) stated the following were the reasons for good performance from the medium size businesses: There was close follow-up of monthly tax collections in which the estimated collections are verified by 15th of every month. Recovery of outstanding amount of tax Effective audits Close monitoring of those businesses who do not keep records Tight controls over special free of VAT and VAT repayments Staff training Carrying out of the Departmental Actions Plans The challenges facing Tanzania with respect to taxation of SMEs are in particular to those in the formal sector. Kimungu and Kileva (2007) listed the challenges as: Identification Registration Non compliance Poor of non record keeping Kimungu and Kileva (2007) stated in order to tax SMEs, the TRA has engaged in various activities: Taxpayer education and sensitization Block management system door to door survey Presumptive approach to taxation Assessment procedures Collection formalities and procedures. Conclusion: An assessment of every feature involved in macro-economy i.e. inflation affects, implications of taxation, role of monetary policy and role of international trade suggest variable results. Research has revealed that the SME sector plays a significant role in the economy of Tanzania. The results showed that a third of the GDP originates from the SME sector and employs approximately 20% of the Tanzanian work force. Research has also shown that SME sector has many challenges, which need to be addressed effectively. Given the significance of the sector and the need to transform it to a vibrant and dynamic one, it is essential to put in place strategies that will ease the elimination of those challenges so that it can achieve the desired results. One of the problems that SMEs in Tanzania face, in relation to monetary policy is limited access to finance. This problem exists because the SME sector is viewed as a high risk and costly to finance sector. In order to try eliminating this challenge, the government in collaboration with other financial institutions developed schemes such as SME-CGS, J.K. Fund, etc. which were set up with a main objective of helping the SME sector to have access finance. SMEs also face challenges with international trade. The challenge is caused by SMEs lack of knowledge, information and skills needed to effectively compete in a global environment. Apart from setting up different schemes that tackle this challenge, the government in collaboration with private non-governmental organization (NGOs) also organizes workshops and seminars to sensitize and educate people on how to cope with the existing global challenges. Inflation is considered as one of the factors that get in the way of the growth of SMEs in Tanzania, in a way that it puts off investors. Investors prefer to invest in countries where currencies are stable and rates of inflation are low. The rate of inflation also affects SMEs access to finance. A high rate of inflation restricts SMEs from access to finance while a low rate of inflation widens the SMEs chances of accessing funds. In order to help the SMEs sector, the central bank of Tanzania has set up a chain of strict fiscal measures to control inflation. The tax system is considered as being unfavorable for SMEs development. Business community perceive the rates of Tanzania taxes as being high, complicated and that taxes are many and collected by a variety of authorities. In order to tackle this problem, the tax system need to be simplified so that the SME sector can understand how the whole system works and introduction of tax incentives to foster the SME sector to comply to tax laws.

The Bluest Eye and the Contemporary American Novel :: Bluest Eye Essays

The Bluest Eye and the Contemporary American Novel There are an infinite number of possible ways to study the development of the American novel. In doing so you invariably have to read a good number of books by American authors. The problem is you can't just walk into the bookstore and pick a few writers, read their novels, and think you understand the way the American novel came about. You have to follow certain guidelines, and read from different time periods to further your understanding. The big question is what novels are worthy of being studied to define the progress of American fiction. What makes one novel more "scholarly" than the rest, and how does it help your understanding. Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye has proven to be a book capable of furthering ones education on the subject of the American novel. The reason being that this novel transcends what other writers before her time had done. It stirs emotions in people that hadn't been exposed by previous authors. Yet it reminds them of the classic writers that they have come to love, and who have already made their contributions to the world of American novels. It is from here that a new writer develops their style and continues to change the way people write and the way others think. The specifics on exactly how The Bluest Eye does these amazing things are hard to put into words. Morrison uses some different techniques to get the readers attention. The language is one object used to show the emotions of the characters and convey the message of a passage. Vulgar and slang words are part of the way in which she does things differently. The word fuck probably never appeared in any of Hawthorne's novels. The use of relatively recent forms of black vernacular speech gives the reader a sense of how recently these events have taken place, and how close to home they strike. The reader gets to know the characters pretty well, which helps them to identify with certain situations. All of these examples explain how Morrison creates a story that will be read and remembered. You can't be respected as contributing to a genres development if no one remembers what you did.

Human Gender and Mathematics Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive papers

Human Gender and Mathematics Is there a difference in the mathematical ability between men and women? Historians have no precise method of quantifying or comparing their individual accomplishments (Olsen). Not only in mathematics, but also in many other career areas in the past, women were looked upon as inferior to their male counterparts. Women were not encouraged to pursue a career in mathematics. Historically, women were seen working around the home, cleaning the house, taking care of the children, and cooking the food. Even if they did pursue a career in mathematics, their research was sometimes viewed as questionable. I will defend the fact that, "Women have the same capabilities of achieving in mathematics than men do." However, you probably have heard of more male mathematicians than female mathematicians because historically, the male is labeled to be smarter in the subject of mathematics. In many cases this is not true. Women were viewed upon as equal in mathematical ability when they began making amaz ing discoveries in mathematics, began to stick up for their rights, and began to be accepted by their male counterparts as equal. An unknown author once wrote, "To understand the development of mathematics, we must have a picture of the men who made the science"(Olsen). Like many other statements about male mathematicians, you rarely find any trace of their female counterparts. Jean Dumee, a French astronomer, stated that women are not incapable of study, if they wish to make the effort, because between the brain of a woman and that of a man there is no difference (Olsen). Women mathematicians have been around for centuries and have had amazing contributions to the field of mathematics. Women like Hypatia, Sophie Germa... ...athematics and science. If the above statement holds true, women were considered inferior to men in these areas because they weren’t schooled at a higher level. In today’s world, women are schooled at the same level as men are, which leads them to participate and excel in these fields. Lastly, female mathematicians have the same capabilities of male mathematicians because they made amazing and important discoveries in mathematics, have stuck up for their gender rights, and most important of all, were accepted by their male counterparts as equal. Works Cited Page [1] Olsen, Lynn. Women in Mathematics. New York: The MIT Press, 1974 [2] Scott, Agnes. "Biographies of Women Mathematicians." 28 Feb. 1999. Agnes Scott College. <http:/www.agnesscott.edu/Iriddle/women/women.htm> [3] Walkerdine, Valerie. Counting Girls Out. Bristol, PA: Falmer Press, 1974

barn burning :: essays research papers

Barn Burning As "Barn Burning" opens, an adolescent boy named Sartoris Snopes is in court, hoping he will not have to testify in the arson case against his father -- a charge of which Sarty knows Mr. Snopes is absolutely guilty. The judge, whom Sarty perceives as kindly, is nonetheless Sarty’s enemy because he is his father’s enemy, and Sarty has not yet separated himself from his father. Sarty’s family are itinerant farmers, but they move around even more often than is typical because of his father’s habit of burning something down every time he gets angry. Sarty realizes that there is something deeply psychologically wrong with his father, but he underestimates his father’s danger. When they arrive at the beautiful plantation of Major de Spain, therefore, Sarty feels the de Spains are safe: "People whose lives are a part of this peace and dignity are behind his touch, he no more to them than a buzzing wasp: capable of stinging for a little moment but that’s all; the spell of this peace and dignity rendering even the barns and stable and cribs which belong to it impervious to the puny flames he might contrive." Sarty does not know that his father can just as easily bring down a big plantation as a cow barn. It would be easy to say that Sartoris, in the end, must make a choice between right and wrong, between the "peace and dignity" represented by the de Spains with the squalor and misery of the Snopes family, but it is more than that. At the story’s beginning, when Sarty was ready to testify that his father did not burn down that barn, he would have done it because a son’s job is to stick to his father. At the story’s end, he warns Major de Spain that his father is about to burn down his beautiful plantation, even though he knows that this will bring his family down once and for all, even though he knows that this means he will never be able to go

Deception Point Page 36

â€Å"Jesus Christ!† Norah shook the device and looked again. â€Å"Damn it! Something's got to be wrong with this refractometer!† â€Å"Saltwater?† Corky gloated. Norah frowned. â€Å"Partial. It's registering three percent brine-which is totally impossible. This glacier is a snow pack. Pure freshwater. There should be no salt.† Norah carried the sample to a nearby microscope and examined it. She groaned. â€Å"Plankton?† Tolland asked. â€Å"G. polyhedra,† she replied, her voice now sedate. â€Å"It's one of the planktons we glaciologists commonly see in the oceans under ice shelves.† She glanced over at Tolland. â€Å"They're dead now. Obviously they didn't survive long in a three percent saltwater environment.† The four of them stood in silence a moment beside the deep shaft. Rachel wondered what the ramifications of this paradox were for the overall discovery. The dilemma appeared minor when compared to the overall scope of the meteorite, and yet, as an intel analyst, Rachel had witnessed the collapse of entire theories based on smaller snags than this. â€Å"What's going on over here?† The voice was a low rumble. Everyone looked up. The bearish frame of the NASA administrator emerged from the dark. â€Å"Minor quandary with the water in the shaft,† Tolland said. â€Å"We're trying to sort it out.† Corky sounded almost gleeful. â€Å"Norah's ice data is screwed.† â€Å"Bite me twice,† Norah whispered. The administrator approached, his furry eyebrows lowering. â€Å"What's wrong with the ice data.† Tolland heaved an uncertain sigh. â€Å"We're showing a three percent saltwater mix in the meteorite shaft, which contradicts the glaciology report that the meteorite was encased in a pristine freshwater glacier.† He paused. â€Å"There's also plankton present.† Ekstrom looked almost angry. â€Å"Obviously that's impossible. There are no fissures in this glacier. The PODS scans confirmed that. This meteorite was sealed in a solid matrix of ice.† Rachel knew Ekstrom was correct. According to NASA's density scans, the ice sheet was rock solid. Hundreds of feet of frozen glacier on all sides of the meteorite. No cracks. And yet as Rachel imagined how density scans were taken, a strange thought occurred to her†¦ â€Å"In addition,† Ekstrom was saying, â€Å"Dr. Mangor's core samples confirmed the solidity of the glacier.† â€Å"Exactly!† Norah said, tossing the refractometer on a desk. â€Å"Double corroboration. No fault lines in the ice. Which leaves us no explanation whatsoever for the salt and plankton.† â€Å"Actually,† Rachel said, the boldness of her voice surprising even herself. â€Å"There is another possibility.† The brainstorm had hit her from the most unlikely of memories. Everyone was looking at her now, their skepticism obvious. Rachel smiled. â€Å"There's a perfectly sound rationale for the presence of salt and plankton.† She gave Tolland a wry look. â€Å"And frankly, Mike, I'm surprised it didn't occur to you.† 42 â€Å"Plankton frozen in the glacier?† Corky Marlinson sounded not at all sold on Rachel's explanation. â€Å"Not to rain on your parade, but usually when things freeze they die. These little buggers were flashing us, remember?† â€Å"Actually,† Tolland said, giving Rachel an impressed look, â€Å"she may have a point. There are a number of species that enter suspended animation when their environment requires it. I did an episode on that phenomenon once.† Rachel nodded. â€Å"You showed northern pike that got frozen in lakes and had to wait until the thaw to swim away. You also talked about micro-organisms called ‘waterbears' that became totally dehydrated in the desert, remained that way for decades, and then reinflated when rains returned.† Tolland chuckled. â€Å"So you really do watch my show?† Rachel gave a slightly embarrassed shrug. â€Å"What's your point, Ms. Sexton?† Norah demanded. â€Å"Her point,† Tolland said, â€Å"which should have dawned on me earlier, is that one of the species I mentioned on that program was a kind of plankton that gets frozen in the polar ice cap every winter, hibernates inside the ice, and then swims away every summer when the ice cap thins.† Tolland paused. â€Å"Granted the species I featured on the show was not the bioluminescent species we saw here, but maybe the same thing happened.† â€Å"Frozen plankton,† Rachel continued, excited to have Michael Tolland so enthusiastic about her idea, â€Å"could explain everything we're seeing here. At some point in the past, fissures could have opened in this glacier, filled with plankton-rich saltwater, and then refroze. What if there were frozen pockets of saltwater in this glacier? Frozen saltwater containing frozen plankton? Imagine if while you were raising the heated meteorite through the ice, it passed through a frozen saltwater pocket. The saltwater ice would have melted, releasing the plankton from hibernation, and giving us a small percentage of salt mixed in the freshwater.† â€Å"Oh, for the love of God!† Norah exclaimed with a hostile groan. â€Å"Suddenly everyone's a glaciologist!† Corky also looked skeptical. â€Å"But wouldn't PODS have spotted any brine ice pockets when it did its density scans? After all, brine ice and freshwater ice have different densities.† â€Å"Barely different,† Rachel said. â€Å"Four percent is a substantial difference,† Norah challenged. â€Å"Yes, in a lab,† Rachel replied. â€Å"But PODS takes its measurements from 120 miles up in space. Its computers were designed to differentiate between the obvious-ice and slush, granite and limestone.† She turned to the administrator. â€Å"Am I right to assume that when PODS measures densities from space, it probably lacks the resolution to distinguish brine ice from fresh ice?† The administrator nodded. â€Å"Correct. A four percent differential is below PODS's tolerance threshold. The satellite would see brine ice and fresh ice as identical.† Tolland now looked intrigued. â€Å"This would also explain the static water level in the shaft.† He looked at Norah. â€Å"You said the plankton species you saw in the extraction shaft was called-â€Å" â€Å"G. polyhedra, Norah declared. â€Å"And now you're wondering if G. polyhedra is capable of hibernating inside the ice? You'll be pleased to know the answer is yes. Absolutely. G. polyhedra is found in droves around ice shelves, it bioluminesces, and it can hibernate inside the ice. Any other questions?† Everyone exchanged looks. From Norah's tone, there was obviously some sort of â€Å"but†-and yet it seemed she had just confirmed Rachel's theory. â€Å"So,† Tolland ventured, â€Å"you're saying it's possible, right? This theory makes sense?† â€Å"Sure,† Norah said, â€Å"if you're totally retarded.† Rachel glared. â€Å"I beg your pardon?† Norah Mangor locked stares with Rachel. â€Å"I imagine in your business, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing? Well, trust me when I tell you that the same holds true for glaciology.† Norah's eyes shifted now, looking at each of the four people around her. â€Å"Let me clarify this for everyone once and for all. The frozen brine pockets that Ms. Sexton has proposed do occur. They are what glaciologists call interstices. Interstices, however, form not as pockets of saltwater but rather as highly branched networks of brine ice whose tendrils are as wide as a human hair. That meteorite would have had to pass through one hell of a dense series of interstices to release enough saltwater to create a three percent mixture in a pool that deep.†

The Role of the Individual in Matthew Arnold’s “Culture and Anarchy”

The Role of the Individual in Matthew Arnold’s â€Å"Culture and Anarchy† Culture, as defined by Matthew Arnold in his essay â€Å"Culture and Anarchy,† is the drive to attain perfection through development and growth bolstered by knowledge and appreciation of the beauty of humanity. Granted, this is an oversimplification of Arnold’s complex musings on what culture is, but this broad concept of culture, here, is useful in the discussion of the role of the individual in society.Ideally, for Arnold, those that perpetuate this idea of culture are the same people who ought to comprise a kind of rational control within the State. Arnold works to define the three classes of 19th century England (Barbarians, Philistines, and Populace), and makes it clear, following his conditions for culture, that none of the classes have the appropriate means to govern properly. Arnold says, â€Å"It seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and know n in the world current everywhere. Ostensibly, it is up to the individual to transcend their class, and nurture the State in a utilitarian fashion. However, the chasm between the maturation of the individual and the ultimate betterment of the community seems daunting. Arnold’s ideal culture originates with the individual, as it is â€Å"a study of perfection,† which is â€Å"an inward condition of the mind and spirit. † Yet, â€Å"Perfection, as culture conceives it, is not possible while the individual remains isolated,† because, it is necessary, in order to obtain a collective perfection, that there be a ready exchange of ideas and sense of commonality.How can the potential danger of isolation via individualism be curbed? Additionally, Arnold is aware that a weighty facet of individualism is that people are concerned with, and believe in, having their personal freedoms—the â€Å"right to do what [one] likes. † This assumption of personal f reedom can, according to Arnold, lead to anarchy. It looks, then, as if there must be a balance between the individual’s duty to himself, and duty to others.Indeed, Arnold contends, â€Å"the men of culture are the true apostles of equality,† at once extolling the potential of the individual, while maintaining the importance of a level society. However, these individuals cannot be ordinary, but must exemplify Arnold’s idea of the â€Å"best self,† or, the individual who is united, rather than at odds, with others. The people that can become their best self are â€Å"persons who are mainly led, not by their class spirit, but by a general humane spirit, by the love of human perfection. Here, the concept of the individual and the community can be reconciled, although the ability of one to completely transcend societal structures is idealistic. This idealism, for Arnold, is transferred to the art of his contemporaries. Regarding 19th century England, Arnold states, â€Å"Each section of the public has its own literary organ, and the mass of the public is without any suspicion that the value of these organs is relative to their being nearer a certain ideal centre of correct information, taste, and intelligence, or farther away from it. As Arnold depicts England’s current situation, it is clear that he believes that literature, like individuals—or as the product of individuals—should embody an ideal cultural universality. In looking at the literature of Victorian England, is it possible that there are any works, which would satisfy Arnold’s criteria for cultural harmony?