Any current computer technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Any current computer technology - Research Paper Example fers to a new class of network-based computing involving utility computing that comprises of a collection of networked and integrated software and internet facility known a platform. The technology uses internet for transport and communication. It also provides software, hardware and networking services to clients mainly through internet. According to National Institute of Standards and Technology (2011), cloud computing is a form of computing where groups of remote servers are networked in order to enhance centralized online access to resources or computer services and data storage. Cloud computing is a computing technology that enables large network servers such as large organizations to access various technological infrastructure resources from other companies without purchasing computing infrastructure. Cloud computing exhibits a number of characteristics. Some of these characteristics exhibited by cloud computing include virtualization, advanced security, service orientation, low-cost software, massive scale, resilient computing and wide geographical distribution of computing services. Essential characteristics of cloud computing include broad network access to clients, rapid elasticity, measured services and resource pooling. According to these characteristics, cloud computing is an appropriate technology that is highly beneficial to users through enhancement of access and support of computer infrastructure. In conclusion, cloud computing has a wide range of benefits to users. First, clients or users can reduce their computer cost by using cloud computing. Organizations do not require high-powered or high-priced computers to run cloud computing web-based applications. Secondly, there is improved performance through the use of cloud computing. Improved performance arises from low usage of computers memory since there are few programs and processes loading in the computer memory. Other advantages include improved document format compatibility, reduced

The History of Nokia Essay Example for Free

The History of Nokia Essay The predecessors of the modern Nokia were the Nokia Company (Nokia Aktiebolag), Finnish Rubber Works Ltd (Suomen Gummitehdas Oy) and Finnish Cable Works Ltd (Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy). [13] Nokias history started in 1865 when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established a groundwood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids in the town of Tampere, in southwestern Finland in the Russian Empire and started manufacturing paper. [14] In 1868, Idestam built a second mill near the town of Nokia, fifteen kilometres (nine miles) west of Tampere by the Nokianvirta river, which had better resources for hydropower production. 15] In 1871, Idestam, with the help of his close friend statesman Leo Mechelin, renamed and transformed his firm into a share company, thereby founding the Nokia Company, the name it is still known by today. [15] Toward the end of the 19th century, Mechelins wishes to expand into the electricity business were at first thwarted by Idestams opposition. However, Idestams retirement from the management of the company in 1896 allowed Mechelin to become the companys chairman (from 1898 until 1914) and sell most shareholders on his plans, thus realizing his vision. 15] In 1902, Nokia added electricity generation to its business activities. [14] Networking equipment A Nokia P30 In the 1970s, Nokia became more involved in the telecommunications industry by developing the Nokia DX 200, a digital switch for telephone exchanges. The DX 200 became the workhorse of the network equipment division. Its modular and flexible architecture enabled it to be developed into various switching products. [25] In 1984, development of a version of the exchange for the Nordic Mobile Telephony network was started. 26] For a while in the 1970s, Nokias network equipment production was separated into Telefenno, a company jointly owned by the parent corporation and by a company owned by the Finnish state. In 1987, the state sold its shares to Nokia and in 1992 the name was changed to Nokia Telecommunications. In the 1970s and 1980s, Nokia developed the Sanomalaitejarjestelma (Message device system), a digital, portable and encrypted text-based communications device for the Finnish Defence Forces. [27] The current main unit used by the Defence Forces is the Sanomalaite M/90 (SANLA M/90). 28] In 1998, Check Point established a partnership with Nokia, which bundled Check Points Software with Nokias computer Network Security Appliances. [29] Involvement in GSM Nokia was one of the key developers of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications),[35] the second-generation mobile technology which could carry data as well as voice traffic. NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony), the worlds first mobile telephony standard that enabled international roaming, provided valuable experience for Nokia for its close participation in developing GSM, which was adopted in 1987 as the new European standard for digital mobile technology. 36][37] Nokia delivered its first GSM network to the Finnish operator Radiolinja in 1989. [38] The worlds first commercial GSM call was made on 1 July 1991 in Helsinki, Finland over a Nokia-supplied network, by then Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri, using a prototype Nokia GSM phone. [38] In 1992, the first GSM phone, the Nokia 1011, was launched. [38][39] The model number refers to its launch date, 10 November. [39] The Nokia 1011 did not yet employ Nokias characteristic ringtone, the Nokia tune. It was introduced as a ringtone in 1994 with the Nokia 2100 series. 40] GSMs high-quality voice calls, easy international roaming and support for new services like text messaging (SMS) laid the foundations for a worldwide boom in mobile phone use. [38] GSM came to dominate the world of mobile telephony in the 1990s, in mid-2008 accounting for about three billion mobile telephone subscribers in the world, with more than 700 mobile operators across 218 countries and territories. New connection s are added at the rate of 15 per second, or 1. 3 million per day. [41] Challenges of growth  The Nokia House, Nokias head office located by the Gulf of Finland in Keilaniemi, Espoo, was constructed between 1995 and 1997. It is the workplace of more than 1,000 Nokia employees. [21] In the 1980s, during the era of its CEO Kari Kairamo, Nokia expanded into new fields, mostly by acquisitions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the corporation ran into serious financial problems, a major reason being its heavy losses by the television manufacturing division and businesses that were just too diverse. [49] These problems, and a suspected total burnout, probably contributed to Kairamo taking his own life in 1988. After Kairamos death, Simo Vuorilehto became Nokias Chairman and CEO. In 1990–1993, Finland underwent severe economic depression,[50] which also struck Nokia. Under Vuorilehtos management, Nokia was severely overhauled. The company responded by streamlining its telecommunications divisions, and by divesting itself of the television and PC divisions. [51] Probably the most important strategic change in Nokias history was made in 1992, however, when the new CEO Jorma Ollila made a crucial strategic decision to concentrate solely on telecommunications. 23] Thus, during the rest of the 1990s, the rubber, cable and consumer electronics divisions were gradually sold as Nokia continued to divest itself of all of its non-telecommunications businesses. [23] As late as 1991, more than a quarter of Nokias turnover still came from sales in Finland. However, after the strategic change of 1992, Nokia saw a huge increase in sales to North America, South America and Asia. [52] The exploding worldwide popularity of mobile telephones, beyond even Nokias most optimistic predictions, caused a logistics crisis in the mid-1990s. 53] This prompted Nokia to overhaul its entire logistics operation. [54] By 1998, Nokias focus on telecommunications and its early investment in GSM technologies had made the company the worlds largest mobile phone manufacturer,[52] a position it would hold for the next 14 consecutive years until 2012. Between 1996 and 2001, Nokias turnover increased almost fivefold from 6. 5 billion euros to 31 billion euros. [52] Logistics continues to be one of Nokias major advantages over its rivals, along with greater economies of scale. [55][56] 2000 to present Product releases The Nokia 3310 sold between 2000 and 2003, is arguably one of the most well known mobile phones. Reduction in size of Nokia mobile phones Nokia launched its Nokia 1100 handset in 2003,[30] with over 200 million units shipped, was the best-selling mobile phone of all time and the worlds top-selling consumer electronics product. [57] Nokia was one of the first players in the mobile space to recognize that there was a market opportunity in combining a game console and a mobile phone (both of which many gamers were carrying in 2003) into the N-Gage. The N-Gage was a mobile phone and game console meant to lure gamers away from the Game Boy Advance, though it cost twice as much. [58] The N-Gage was not a success, and from 2007 and 2008, Nokia started to offer an N-Gage service on existing Symbian S60 smartphones to play games. Nokia Productions was the first ever mobile filmmaking project directed by Spike Lee. Work began in April 2008, and the film premiered in October 2008. [59] In 2009, the company announced a high-end Windows-based netbook called the Nokia Booklet 3G. 48] On 2 September 2009, Nokia launched two new music and social networking phones, the X6 and X3. [60] The Nokia X6 featured 32GB of on-board memory with a 3. 2 finger touch interface and comes with a music playback time of 35 hours. The Nokia X3 was the first series 40 Ovi Store-enabled device. The X3 was a music device that comes with stereo speakers, built-in FM radio, and a 3. 2 megapixel camera. In 2009, Nokia also unveiled the 7705 Twist, a phone sporting a square shape that swiveled open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad, featuring a 3 megapixel camera, web browsing, voice commands and weighting around 3. 4 ounces (98 g). [61] On 9 August 2012, Nokia launched for the Indian market two new Asha range of handsets equipped with cloud accelerated Nokia browser, helping users browse the Internet faster and lower their spend on data charges. [62] Symbian Symbian was Nokias main smartphone OS until 2011. In Q4 2004, Nokia released its first touch screen phone, the Nokia 7710. In September 2006, Nokia announced the Nokia N95, a Symbian-powered slider smartphone. It was released in February 2007 as the first phone with a 5-megapixel camera. It became hugely popular. A 8GB variant was released in October 2007. In November 2007, Nokia announced and released the Nokia N82, its first Nseries phone with Xenon flash. At the Nokia World conference in December 2007, Nokia announced their Comes With Music program: Nokia device buyers are to receive a year of complimentary access to music downloads. [63] The service became commercially available in the second half of 2008. The first Nseries device, the N90, utilised the older Symbian OS 8. 1 mobile operating system, as did the N70. Subsequently Nokia switched to using SymbianOS 9 for all later Nseries devices (except the N72, which was based on the N70). Newer Nseries devices incorporate newer revisions of SymbianOS 9 that include Feature Packs. The N800, N810, N900, N9 and N950 are as of April 2012 the only Nseries devices (therefore excluding Lumia devices) to not use Symbian OS. They use the Linux-based Maemo, except the N9, which uses MeeGo. [64] In 2008, Nokia released the Nokia E71 which was marketed to directly compete with the other BlackBerry-type devices offering a full qwerty keyboard and cheaper prices. Nokia stated that Maemo would be developed alongside Symbian. Maemo had since (Maemo 6 and beyond) merged with Intels Moblin, and became MeeGo. MeeGo was later canceled and a development is now continued under name Sailfish OS. [65] The Nokia N8, from September 2010, is the first device to function on the Symbian^3 mobile operating system. Nokia revealed that the N8 will be the last device in its flagship N-series devices to ship with Symbian OS. [66][67] Alliance with Microsoft The Nokia Lumia 920, Nokias current flagship device. On 11 February 2011, Nokias CEO Stephen Elop, a former head of Microsoft business division, unveiled a new strategic alliance with Microsoft, and announced it would replace Symbian and MeeGo with Microsofts Windows Phone operating system[69][70] except for mid-to-low-end devices, which would continue to run under Symbian. Nokia was also to invest into the Series 40 platform and release a single MeeGo product in 2011. [71] As part of the restructuring plan, Nokia planned to reduce spending on research and development, instead customising and enhancing the software line for Windows Phone 7. 72] Nokias applications and content store (Ovi) becomes integrated into the Windows Phone Store, and Nokia Maps is at the heart of Microsofts Bing and AdCenter. Microsoft provides developer tools to Nokia to replace the Qt framework, which is not supported by Windows Phone 7 devices. [73] Symbian became described by Elop as a franchise platform with Nokia planning to sell 150 million Symbian devices after the alliance was set up. MeeGo emphasis was on longer-term exploration, with plans to ship a MeeGo-related product later in 2012. Microsofts search engine, Bing was to become the search engine for all Nokia phones. Nokia also intended to get some level of customisation on WP7. [74] After this announcement, Nokias share price fell about 14%, its biggest drop since July 2009. [75] As Nokia was the largest mobile phone and smartphone manufacturer worldwide at the time,[76] it was suggested the alliance would make Microsofts Windows Phone 7 a stronger contender against Android and iOS. [73] Because previously increasing sales of Symbian smartphones began to fall rapidly in the beginning of 2011, Nokia was overtaken by Apple as the worlds biggest smartphone maker by volume in June 2011. 77] [78] In August 2011 Chris Weber, head of Nokias subsidiary in the U. S. , stated The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesnt matter what we do (elsewhere). He further added North America is a priority for Nokia ( ) because it is a key market for Microsoft. . [79] Nokia reported well above 1 million sales for its Lumia line up to 26 January 2012,[80][81] 2 million sales for the first quarter of 2012,[82] and 4 million for the second quarter of 2012. 83] In this quarter, Nokia only sold 600,000 smartphones (Symbian and Windows Phone 7) in North America. [84] For comparison, Nokia sold more than 30 million Symbian devices world-wide still in Q4 2010[85] and the Nokia N8 alone sold almost 4 million in its first quarter of sale. In Q2 2012, 26 million iPhones and 105 million Android phones have been shipped, but only 6. 8 million devices with Symbian and 5. 4 million with Windows Phone[86] While announcing an alliance with Groupon, Elop declared The competition is no t with other device manufacturers, its with Google. [87] European carriers have stated that Nokia Windows phones are not good enough to compete with Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phones, that they are overpriced for what is not an innovative product and that No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone. [88] In June 2012, Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa told journalists that Nokia had a back-up plan in the eventuality that Windows Phone failed to be sufficiently successful in the market. [89][90] On October 29, 2012, Nokia said its high-end Lumia 820 and 920 phones, which will run on Microsofts Windows Phone 8 software, will each first operators and retail outlets in some European markets including France and Britain and later in Russia and Germany as well as other select markets. [91] On December 5, 2012, Nokia introduced two new smartphones, the Lumia 620 and Lumia 920T. The 620 was released in January 2013. In January 2013, Nokia reported 6. 6 million smartphone sales for Q4 2012 consisting of 2. 2 million Symbian and 4. 4 million sales of Lumia devices (Windows Phone 7 and 8). [92] In North America, only 700,000 mobile phones have been sold including smartphones. In May 2013 Nokia released the Asha platform for its low-end borderline smartphone devices

Costs and Benefits of Globalization and Localization Essay example -- G

"Globalization is unstoppable. Even though it may be only in its early stages, it is already intrinsic to the world economy. We have to live with it, recognize its advantages and learn to manage it," said Maria Livanos Cattaui in her article, The global economy - an opportunity to be seized (Business World, 1997). Many authorities agree that as the world enters into the twenty-first century, many economic, political, and cultural changes will take place due to what some people are simply calling the latest buzzword. The fact that globalization exists is not necessarily the important issue here. Rather, the world's eyes must focus on costs and benefits of both globalization and localization, and how countries are affected by both of these opposite tendencies of international politics. James N. Rosenau, in his article, The Complexities and Contradictions of Globalization, defines globalization as "'something' that is changing humankind's preoccupation with territoriality and the traditional arrangements of the state system." In other words, globalization is causing countries to break their territorial boundaries economically, politically, and socially, and in doing so, open themselves up to outside international influences. Such worldwide influence has proven to have many benefits throughout the world. Through globalization, the world has seen a significant expansion of economic, social, and political benefits. Particularly, globalization has expanded investments, trade, and production far beyond any individual country?s boarders. According to the article, The Global Economy, by Maria Livanos Cattaui, " International trade in goods and services now stands at more than US$ 6000 billion per year [while] the accumulated stock of ... ...of globalization are much more uniformly widespread than the social or political benefits. Therefore, in determining whether the things gained by globalization are more fundamentally important to people?s lives than the things gained by localization, I would argue on the basis of sustained economic growth due to globalization, that yes, they are. Works Cited Cattaui, Maria Livanos. "Global Economy." Business World, Internet. Available: http://www.iccwbo.org/html/globalec.htm Rosenau, James N. "The Complexities and Contradictions of Globalization." World Politics 98/99. Connecticut: Dushkin/McGraw Hill. Sanger, David E. "After a Year, No Letup in Asia?s Economic Crisis." New York Times. 6 July 1998. Sutherland, Peter D., and John W. Sewell. The Challenges of Globalization. Internet. Available: http://www.odc.org/ges.html

Dementia: Forgotten Memories Essay -- Dementia Condition and Symptoms

While the average life expectancy of the world’s population has increased, the number of detected dementia cases has commensurately risen to astonishing levels. Along with improved discovery of this disorder, new causes and treatments have been found, from which many innovative techniques have been developed towards the prevention of future incidences and reduction of the effects of this condition; however, the quest for these solutions have raised more questions than it has answered. Why do some develop this disorder, while others do not? Can early detection be achieved to reverse the processes or limit its effects? Further specifics on these topics have been categorized into three main sections, which include: 1. Dementia – Condition and Symptoms 2. Causes of this Disorder 3. Treatments and Cures Dementia – Condition and Symptoms â€Å"Dementia is the progressive deterioration in cognitive function - the ability to process thought† (Nordqvist, 2009, para. 1) and can be separated into two main categories: cortical and subcortical, physically speaking; for example, Alzheimer’s disease is a type of cordical dimentia, while Parkinson’s disease is classified as subcortical in nature. Many of the people suffering from these afflictions, which are usually middle-aged and older, appear to lose the ability to recall particular events, time of day, or in more advanced stages, the identity of their friends and family. Other symptoms of this condition have been reported as difficulty with speech, depression, balance issues and general disorientation. Causes of this Disorder Although Alzheimer’s disease appears to be the most common cause of dementia, â€Å"more than 50 conditions are associated with dementia, including degenerative ... ...g conditions that mimic the outward signatures of dementia, which were thought to be reserved for Alzheimer’s disease, or other mind altering conditioned patients. It has been shown that depression, while treatable and not directly related to dementia, can exhibit the very same signs and should be carefully examined and studied before rushing to judgement. References Michaels, A. (2007, April 22). Drug Treatment for Dementia Sufferers. Article Directory. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from Articlesbase database. Nordqvist, C. (2009, March 19). What is Dementia? What Causes Dementia? Symptoms of Dementia. Medical News Today. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/142214.php Swirzewski, S. (2000, Jan 02). Dementia Causes. Neurology Channel. Retrieved June 17, 2010, from http://www.neurologychannel.com/dementia/causes.shtml

Impact of Fdi in Life Insurance Sector

A Comprehensive Project ON â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in life Insurance Industry† Submitted to Gujarat Technological University IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE AWARD FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Prof. Himanshu Chauhan Submitted by Pratik PanchalEnrollment No. :117010592053 Ajay vajaEnrollment No. :117010592077 YEAR: 2011-2013 MBA SEMESTER III Affiliated to Gujarat Technological University Ahmedabad| DECLARATIONWe, Panchal PRatik and Ajay Vaja student of AHMEDABAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY hereby, declare that the Project report on â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Indian Insurance† is our original work and has not been published elsewhere. This has been undertaken for the purpose of partial fulfillment of GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY requirement for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration. (Signature) Date: __/__/2012Pratik Panchal Place: Ahmedabad Ajay Vaja Ac knowledgement Perseverance, inspiration and motivation have played a great role in the success of any venture.We are thankful to our collage for giving us the opportunity to work with such an eminent section of Indian financial sector. We are grateful to our faculty mentor Prof. Himanshu Chauhan for guiding us throughout the project and for supporting us through his constant guidance and encouragement. For their immense help in making our project fruitful. Finally, not to miss anyone, we thank all the people who have directly or indirectly helped us a lot throughout the project time period and in completion of our project successfully. Panchal Pratik P. Ajay Vaja MBA- IIIInstitute’s Certificate â€Å"Certified that this Comprehensive Project Report Titled â€Å"Impact of Foreign Direct Investment inlife Insurance Industry† is the bonafide work of Mr. Pratik Panchal (Enrollment No- 117010592053. )& Ajay Vaja (Enrollment No- 117010592077. ) who carried out the research under our supervision. We also certify further, that to the best of my knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.Signature of the Faculty Guide (Prof. Himanshu Chauhan) (Dr. NehaParashar) (Certificate is to be countersigned by the HoD) INDEX CHAPTER NO. | NAME| PAGE NO. | 1. | INTRODUCTION Introduction of Life Insurance industryIntroduction of FDIImpact of FDI in INDIA| | 2. | LITERTURE REVIEW| | 3. | RESEARCH METHODOLOGY| | | a) OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY| | | b) SCOPE OF THE STUDY:| | | C)RESEARCH DESIGN| | | c) RESEARCH SAMPLE| | | d) SOURCES OF DATA 😠 | | e) SAMPLING PLAN| | | f) DATA ANALYSIS| | | g) DATA COLLECTION 😠 | | CONCLUSION| | 4. | REFERENCES| | Life InsuranceLife insurance  was initially designed to protect the income of families, particularly young families in the  wealth accumulation  pha se, in the event of the head of household's death. Today, life insurance is used for many reasons, including  wealth preservation  and  estate tax  planning. Life insurance provides you with the opportunity to protect yourself and your family from personal risk exposures like repayment of debts after death, providing for a surviving spouse and children, fulfilling other economic goals (such as putting your kids through college), leaving a charitable legacy, paying for funeral expenses, etc.Life insurance protection is also important if you are a business owner or a key person in someone else's business, where your death (or your partner's death) might wreak financial havoc. Life insurance is a great financial planning tool, but should never be thought of as a savings vehicle. In general, there are often far better places to hold and grow your money as you get older. History of Life Insurance in India In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. It finds mention in the writ ings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharmasastra) and Kautilya (Arthasastra).The writings talk in terms of pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. This was probably a pre-cursor to modern day insurance. Ancient Indian history has preserved the earliest traces of insurance in the form of marine trade loans and carriers’ contracts. Insurance in India has evolved over time heavily drawing from other countries, England in particular. 1818 saw the advent of life insurance business in India with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. This Company however failed in 1834.In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life insurance business in the Madras Presidency. 1870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), Oriental (1874) and Empire of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era, however, was dominated by foreign insurance offices which did good business in India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe Insurance and the Indian offices were up for hard competition from the foreign companies.In 1914, the Government of India started publishing returns of Insurance Companies in India. The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act, 1912 was the first statutory measure to regulate life business. In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the Government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including provident insurance societies.In 1938, with a view to protecting the interest of the Insurance public, the earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive provisions for effective control over the activities of insurers. The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. However, there were a large number of insurance companies and the level of competition was high. There were also allegations of unfair trade practices. The Government of India, therefore, decided to nationalize insurance business. Birth of Life Insurance of IndiaAn Ordinance was issued on 19thJanuary, 1956 nationalizing the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The LIC absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. The LIC had monopoly till the late 90s when the Insurance sector was reopened to the private sector. The history of general insurance dates back to the Industrial Revolution in the west and the consequent growth of sea-faring trade and commerce in the 17th century. It came to India as a legacy of British occupation.In 1968, the Insurance Act was amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins. The Tariff Advis ory Committee was also set up then IRDA and Opening of Life Insurance Business in India This millennium has seen insurance come a full circle in a journey extending to nearly 200 years. The process of re-opening of the sector had begun in the early 1990s and the last decade and more has seen it been opened up substantially. In 1993, the Government set up a committee under the chairmanship of RN Malhotra, former Governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in the insurance sector.The objective was to complement the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein, among other things, it recommended that the private sector be permitted to enter the insurance industry. They stated that foreign companies are allowed to enter by floating Indian companies, preferably a joint venture with Indian partners. Following the recommendations of the MalhotraCommittee report, in 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) w as constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutorybody in April, 2000.The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of policyholders’ interests.Today there are 23 life insurance companies operating in the country, including LIC a public sector company and 22 other private sector life insurance companies competing with LIC for Life insurance busines s from the customers in India. Regulatory Framework for Life Insurance in India The main regulation that regulates the life insurance business is the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956. DepositsEvery insurer should, in respect of the insurance business carried on by him in India, deposit with the Reserve Bank of India (â€Å"RBI†) for and on behalf of the Central Government of India the following amounts, either in cash or in approved securities estimated at the market value of the securities on the day of deposit, or partly in cash and partly in approved securities: * In the case of life insurance business, a sum equivalent to one per cent of his total gross premium written in India in any financial year commencing after the 31 day of March, 2000, not exceeding rupees hundred million..Investments Every insurer is required to invest and keep invested cert ain amount of assets as determined under the Insurance Act. The funds of the policyholders cannot be invested (directly or indirectly) outside India.An insurer involved in the business of life insurance is required to invest and keep invested at all times assets, the value of which is not less than the sum of the amount of its liabilities to holders of life insurance policies in India on account of matured claims and the amount required to meet the liability on policies of life insurance maturing for payment in India, reduced by the amount of premiums which have fallen due to the insurer on such policies but have not been paid and the days of grace for payment of which have not expired and any amount due to the insurer for loans granted on and within the surrender values of olicies of life insurance maturing for payment in India issued by him or by an insurer whose business he has acquired and in respect of which he has assume liability. Every insurer carrying on the business of life insurance is required to invest and at all times keep invested his controlled fund (other than funds relating to pensi ons and general annuity business and unit linked life insurance business) in the following manner, free of any encumbrance, charge, hypothecation or lien:For the purposes of calculating the investments, the amount of deposits made with the RBI by the insurer in respect of his life insurance business shall be deemed to be assets invested in Government securities. In computing the assets to be invested by the insurer, any investment made with reference to the currency other than the Indian rupee which is in excess of the amount required to meet the liabilities of the insurer in India with reference to that currency to the extent of such excess and any investment made in purchase of any immovable property outside India or on account of any such property shall not be taken into account.Further, an insurer should not out of his controlled fund invest any sum in the shares or debentures of any private limited company. Where an insurer has accepted reassurance in respect of any policies of life insurance issued by another insurer and maturing for payment in India or has ceded reassurance to another insurer in respect of any such policies issued by himself, the assets to be invested by the insurer shall be increased by the amount of the liability involved in such acceptance and decreased by the amount of the liability involved in such cession.In case of an insurer incorporated or domiciled outside India or an insurer incorporated in India whose share capital to the extent of one-third is owned by, or the members of whose governing body to the extent of one-third consists of members domiciled elsewhere than in India, the assets required to be invested should, (except to the extent of any part which consists of foreign assets held outside India) be held in India by way of a trust for the discharge of the liabilities.Every Insurer shall invest and at all times keep invested his segregated fund of unit linked life insurance business as per pattern of investment offered to and approved by the policy-holders. The insurer is permitted to offer unit linked policies only where the units are linked to categories of assets that are both marketable and easily realizable. However, the total investment in other approved category of investments should at no time exceed twenty five per cent of the funds. List of Life Insurance Companies in India 1. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited . Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3. HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd 4. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd 5. ING Vysya Life Insurance Company Ltd. 6. Life Insurance Corporation of India 7. Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd 8. Met Life India Insurance Company Ltd. 9. Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited 10. SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd 11. Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited 12. Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited. 13. Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited 14. Sahara India Life Insurance Co, Ltd. 15. Shriram Life Insurance Co, Ltd. 6. Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd. 17. Future  Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited   18. IDBI Federal Life Insurance 19. Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd. 20. AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited. 21. DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd. 22. Star Union Dai-ichi Life 23. IndiaFirst  Life Insurance Company Limited 24. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Types of Life Insurance Life insurance protection comes in many forms, and not all policies are created equal, as you will soon discover.While the death benefit amounts may be the same, the costs, structure, durations, etc. vary tremendously across the types of policies. WHOLE LIFE Whole life insurance  provides guaranteed insurance protection for the entire life of the insured, otherwise known as permanent coverage. These policies carry a â€Å"cash value† component that grows tax deferred at a contractually guaranteed amount (usually a low interest rate) until the contra ct is surrendered. The  premiums  are usually level for the life of the insured and the  death benefit  is guaranteed for the insured's lifetime.With whole life payments, part of your premium is applied toward the insurance portion of your policy, another part of your premium goes toward administrative expenses and the balance of your premium goes toward the investment, or cash, portion of your policy. The interest you accumulate through the investment portion of your policy is tax-free until you withdraw it (if that is allowed under the terms of your policy). Any withdrawal you make will typically be tax free up to your basis in the policy. Your basis is the amount of premiums you have paid into the policy minus any prior dividends paid or previous withdrawals.Any amounts withdrawn above your basis may be taxed as ordinary income. As you might expect, given their permanent protection, these policies tend to have a much higher initial premium than other types of life insuran ce. But, the cash build up in the policy can be used toward premium payments, provided cash is available. This is known as a participating whole life policy, which combines the benefits of permanent life insurance protection with a savings component, and provides the policy owner some additional payment flexibility. UNIVERSAL LIFEUniversal life insurance, also known as flexible premium or adjustable life, is a variation of whole life insurance. Like whole life, it is also a permanent policy providing cash value benefits based on current interest rates. The feature that distinguishes this policy from its whole life cousin is that the premiums, cash values and level amount of protection can each be adjusted up or down during the contract term as the insured's needs change. Cash values earn an interest rate that is set periodically by the insurance company and is generally guaranteed not to drop below a certain level.VARIABLE LIFE Variable life insurance  is designed to combine the t raditional protection and savings features of whole life insurance with the growth potential of investment funds. This type of policy is comprised of two distinct components: the general account and the separate account. The general account is the reserve or liability account of the insurance provider, and is not allocated to the individual policy. The separate account is comprised of various investment funds within the insurance company's portfolio, such as an equity fund, a money market fund, a bond fund, or some combination of these.Because of this underlying investment feature, the value of the cash and  death benefit  may fluctuate, thus the name â€Å"variable life†. VARIABLE UNIVERSAL LIFE Variable universal life insurance combines the features of universal life with variable life and gives the consumer the flexibility of adjusting premiums, death benefits and the selection of investment choices. These policies are technically classified as  securities  and are therefore subject to  Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) regulation and the oversight of the state insurance commissioner.Unfortunately, all the investment risk lies with the policy owner; as a result, the death benefit value may rise or fall depending on the success of the policy's underlying investments. However, policies may provide some type of guarantee that at least a minimum death benefit will be paid to  beneficiaries. TERM LIFE One of the most commonly used policies is  term life insurance. Term insurance can help protect your beneficiaries against financial loss resulting from your death; it pays the face amount of the policy, but only provides protection for a definite, but limited, amount of time.Term policies do not build cash values and the maximum term period is usually 30 years. Term policies are useful when there is a limited time needed for protection and when the dollars available for coverage are limited. The premiums for these types of policies a re significantly lower than the costs for whole life. They also (initially) provide more insurance protection per dollar spent than any form of permanent policies. Unfortunately, the cost of premiums increases as the policy owner gets older and as the end of the specified term nears. Term polices can have some variations, including, but not limited to:Annual Renewable and Convertible Term: This policy provides protection for one year, but allows the insured to renew the policy for successive periods thereafter, but at higher premiums without having to furnish evidence of insurability. These policies may also be converted into whole life policies without any additional  underwriting. Level Term: This policy has an initial guaranteed premium level for specified periods; the longer the guarantee, the greater the cost to the buyer (but usually still far more affordable than permanent policies).These policies may be renewed after the guarantee period, but the premiums do increase as th e insured gets older. Decreasing Term: This policy has a level premium, but the amount of the death benefit decreases with time. This is often used in conjunction with mortgage debt protection. Many term life insurance policies have major features that provide additional flexibility for the insured/policyholder. A renewability feature, perhaps the most important feature associated with term policies, guarantees that the insured can renew the policy for a limited number of years (i. e. term between 5 and 30 years) based on attained age. Convertibility provisions permit the policy owner to exchange a term contract for permanent coverage within a specific time frame without providing additional evidence of insurability. Food for Thought Many insurance consumers only need to replace their income until they've reached retirement age, have accumulated a fair amount of wealth, or their dependents are old enough to take care of themselves. When evaluating life insurance policies for you and your family, you must carefully consider the purchase of temporary versus permanent coverage.As you have just read, there are many differences in how policies may be structured and how death benefits are determined. There are also vast differences in their pricing and in the duration of life insurance protection. Many consumers opt to buy term insurance as a temporary risk protection and then invest the savings (the difference between the cost of term and what they  would  have paid for permanent coverage) into an alternative investment, such as a brokerage account, mutual fund or retirement plan. Section I: Industry overviewThe insurance industry in India has come a long way since the time when businesses were tightly regulated and concentrated in the hands of a few public sector insurers. Following the passage of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act in 1999, India abandoned public sector exclusivity in the insurance industry in favor of market-driven competi tion. This shift has brought about major changes to the industry. The beginning of a new era of insurance development has seen the entry of international insurers, the proliferation of innovative products and distribution channels, as well as the raising of supervisory standards.Evolution of the industry The growing demand for insurance around the worldcontinues to have a positive effect on the insurance industryacross all economies. India, being one of the fastest-growingeconomies (even in the current global economic slowdown),has exhibited a significant increase in its GDP, and aneven larger increase in its GDP per capita and disposableincome. Increasing disposable income, coupled with the highpotential demand for insurance offerings, has opened manydoors for both domestic and foreign insurers. The followingtable briefly depicts the evolution of the insurance sectorin India.Exhibit. 1. 1. Tracing the chronological evolution of the insurance industry Year | Event| 1818| Oriental Li fe Insurance Co. was established in Calcutta. | 1870| The first insurance company, Bombay Mutual Life Insurance Society, was formed. | 1907| The Indian Mercantile Insurance Limited was formed. | 1912| * Life Insurance Companies Act and the Pension Fund Act of 1912 * Beginning of formal insurance regulations| 1928| The Indian Insurance Companies Act was passed to collect statistical data on both life and non-life. 1938| The Insurance Act of 1938 was passed; there was strict state supervision to control frauds. | 1956| * The Central Government took over 245 Indian and foreign life insurers as well as provident societies and nationalized these entities. * The LIC Act of 1956 was passed. | 1957| The code of conduct by the General Insurance Council to ensure fair conduct and ethical business practices was framed. | 1972| The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act was passed. | 1991| Beginning of economic liberalization| 1993| The Malhotra Committee was set up to complement the reforms initiated in the financial sector. 1994| Detariffication of aviation, liability, personal accidents and health and marine cargo products| 1999| The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill was passed in the Parliament. | 2000| * IRDA was incorporated as the statutory body to regulate and register private sector insurance companies. * General Insurance Corporation (GIC), along with its four subsidiaries, i. e. , National Insurance Company Ltd. , Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. , New India Assurance Company Ltd. and United India Assurance Company Ltd. , was made India’s national reinsurer. 2005| Detariffication of marine hull| 2006| Relaxation of foreign equity norms, thus facilitating the entry of new players| 2007| Detariffication of all non-life insurance products except the auto third-party liability segment| In India, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for enacting and implementing legislations for the insurance sector with the Insurance Regul atory and Development Authority (IRDA) entitled with the regulatory and developmental role. The government also owns the majority share in some major companies in both life and non-life insurance segments.Both the life and non-life insurance sectors in India, which were nationalized in the 1950s and 1960s, respectively, were liberalized in the 1990s. Since the formation of IRDA and the opening up of the insurance sector to private players in 2000, the Indian insurance sector has witnessed rapid growth. Current scenario A growing middle-class segment, rising income, increasing insurance awareness, rising investments and infrastructure spending, have laid a strong foundation to extend insurance services in India. The total premium of the insurance industry has increased at a CAGR of 24. % between FY03 and FY09 to reach INR2, 523. 9 billion in FY09. The opening up of the insurance sector for private participation/global players during the 1990s has resulted in stiff competition among t he players, with each offering better quality products. This has certainly offered consumers the choice to buy a product that best fits his or her requirements. The number of players during the decade has increased from four and eight in life and non-life insurance, respectively, in 2000 to 23 in life and 24 in non-life insurance (including 1 in reinsurance) industry as in August 2010.Most of the private players in the Indian insurance industry are a joint venture between a dominant Indian company and a foreign insurer. Life insurance industry overview The life insurance sector grew at an impressive CAGR of25. 8% between FY03 and FY09, and the number of policies issued increased at a CAGR of 12. 3% during the same period. As of August 2010, there were 23 players in the sector(1 public and 22 private). The Life Insurance Corporation ofIndia (LIC) is the only public sector player, and held almost 65% of the market share in FY10 (based on first-year premiums).To address the need for hi ghly customized products andensure prompt service, a large number of private sector players have entered the market. Innovative products, aggressive marketing and effective distribution have enabled fledgling private insurance companies to sign up Indian customers more rapidly than expected. Private sector players are expected to play an increasingly important role in the growth of the insurance sector in the near future. In a fragmented industry, new players are gnawing away the market share of larger players.The existing smaller players have aggressive plans for network expansion as their foreign partners are keen to capitalize on the enormous potential that is latent in the Indian life insurance market. ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz and SBI Life collectively account for approximately 50% of the market share in the private life insurance segment. To tap this opportunity, banks have also started entering alliances with insurance companies to develop/underwrite insurance products rather than merely distribute them. Non-life insurance industry overview Between FY03 and FY10, the non-life insurance sector grew at a CAGR of 17. 05%.Intense competition that followed the de-tariffication and pricing deregulation (which was started during FY07) decelerated the growth momentum. As of August 2010, the sector had a total of 24 players (6 public insurers, 17 private insurers and 1 re-insurer). The non-life insurance sector offers products such as auto insurance, health insurance, fire insurance and marine insurance. In FY10, the non-life insurance industry had the following product mix. Private sector players have now pivoted their focus on auto and health insurance. Out of the total non-life insurancepremiums during FY10, auto insurance accounted for 43. % of the market share. The health insurance segment hasposted the highest growth, with its share in the total non-life insurance portfolio increasing from 12. 8% in FY07 to 20. 8% in FY10. These two sectors are highl y promising, and are expected to increase their share manifold in the coming years. With the sector poised for immense growth, more players, including monocline players, are expected to emerge in the near future. The last two years has seen the emergence of companies specializing in health insurance such as Star Health & Allied Insurance and Apollo DKV.In the last decade, it was observed that most players have experienced growth by formulating aggressive growth strategies and capitalizing on their distribution network to target the retail segment. Although the players in the private and public sector largely offer similar products in the non-life insurance segment, private sector players outscore their public sector counterparts in their quality of service. Growth drivers > India’s favorable demographics help strengthen market penetration The life insurance coverage in India is very low, and many of those insured are underinsured.There is immense potential as the working popu lation (25–60 years) is expected to increase from 675. 8 million to 795. 5 million in the next 20 years (2006–2026). The projected per capita GDP is expected to increase from INR18, 280 in FY01 to INR100, 680 in FY26, which is indicative of rising disposable incomes. The demand for insurance products is expected to increase in light of the increase in purchasing power. > Health insurance attracts insurance companies The Indian health insurance industry was valued at INR51. 2 billion as of FY10. During the period FY03–10, the growth of the industry was recorded at a CAGR of 32. 9%. The share of health insurance was 20. 8% of the total non-life insurance premiums in FY10. Health insurance premiums are expected to increase to INR300 billion by 2015. Private sector insurers are more aggressive in this segment. Favorable demographics, fast progression of medical technology as well as the increasing demand for better healthcare has facilitated growth in the health ins urance sector. Life insurance companies are expected to target primarily the young population so that they can amortize the risk over the policy term. >Rising focus on the rural marketSince more than two-thirds of India’s population lives in rural areas, micro insurance is seen as the most suitable aid to reach the poor and socially disadvantaged sections of society. Poor insurance literacy and awareness, high transaction costs and inadequate understanding of client needs and expectations has restricted the demand for micro-insurance products. However, the market remains significantly underserved, creating a vast opportunity to reach a large number of customers with good value insurance, whether from the base of existing insurers or through retail distribution networks.In FY09, individuals generated new business premium worth INR365. 7 million under 2. 15 million policies, and the group insurance business amounted to INR2, 059. 5 million under 126 million lives. LIC contribut ed most of the business procured in this portfolio by garnering INR311. 9 million of individual premium from 1. 54 million lives and INR1,726. 9 million of group premium under 11. 1 million lives. LIC was the first player to offer specialized products with lower premium costs for the rural population. Other private players have also started focusing onthe rural market to strengthen their reach.Government tax incentive Currently, insurance products enjoy EEE benefits, giving insurance products an advantage over mutual funds. Investors are motivated to purchase insurance products to avail the nearly 30% effective tax benefit on select investments (including life insurance premiums) made every financial year. Life insurance is already the most popular financial product among Indians because of the tax benefits and income protection it offers in a country where there is very little social security. This drives more and more people to come within the insurance ambit. Emerging trendsExplo ring multiple distribution channels for insurance products: To increase market penetration, insurance companies need to expand their distribution network. In the recent past, the industry has witnessed the emergence of alternate distribution channels, which include banc assurance, direct selling agents, brokers, online distribution, corporate agents such as non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and tie-ups of parabanking companies with local corporate agencies (e. g. NGOs) in remote areas. Agencies have been the most important and effective channel of distribution hitherto.The industry is viewing the movement of intermediaries from mere agents to advisors. Product innovation With customers asking for higher levels of customization, product innovation is one of the best strategies for companies to increase their market share. This also creates greater efficiency as companies can maintain lower unit costs, offer improved services and distributors can increase flexibility to pay high er commissions and generate higher sales. The pension sector, due to its inadequate penetration (only 10% of the working population is covered) offers tremendous potential for insurance companies to be more innovative.Consolidation in future The past few years have witnessed the entry of many companies in the domestic insurance industry, attracted by the significant potential of insurance sector. However, increasing competition in easily accessible urban areas, the FDI limit of 26% and the recent downturn in equity markets have impacted the growth prospects of some small private insurance companies. Such players may have to rethink about their future growth plans. Hence, consolidation with large and established players may prove to be a better solution for such small insurers.Larger companies would also prefer to take over or merge with other companies with established networks and avoid spending money in marketing and promotion. Therefore, consolidation will result in fewer but str onger players in the country as well as generate healthy competition. Mounting focus on EV over profitability Many companies are achieving profitability by controlling expenses; releasing funds for future appropriations as well as through a strong renewal premium build up. As a few larger insurers continue to expand, most are focused on cost rationalization and the alignment of business models to ground level realities.This will better equip insurers to realize reported embedded value (EV) and generate value from future new business. In the short term, companies are likely to face challenges to achieve the desired levels of profitability. As companies are also planning to get listed and raise funds, the higher profitability will help companies to get a better valuation of shares. However, in the long term, companies would need to focus on increasing EV, as almost 70% of a company’s EV is influenced by renewal business and profitability is not as much of an indicator for valua tion.Hence, players are now focusing on increasing their EV than profitability figures. Rising capital requirements Since insurance is a capital-intensive industry, capital requirements are likely to increase in the coming period. The capital requirement in the life insurance business is a function of the three factors: (1) sum at risk; (2) policyholders’ assets; (3) new business strain and expense overruns. With new guidelines in place, capital requirements across the sector are likely to go up due to: Higher sum assured driving higher sum at risk Greater allocation to policyholders’ assets due to lower chargesBack loading of charges is resulting in high new business strain, and expense overruns due to low productivity of the newly set distribution network (and inability to recover corresponding costs upfront) For non-life insurance companies, the growing demand for health insurance products as well as motor insurance products is likely to boost the capital requiremen t. With the capital market picking up and valuations on the rise, insurance companies are exploring various ways of increasing their capital base to invest in product innovation, introducing new distribution channels, educating customers, developing the brand, etc.This is due to the following reasons: A major portion of the costs in insurance companies is fixed (though it should be variable or semi-variable in nature). Hence, the reduction in sales will not result in the lowering of operational expenses, thus adversely impacting margins. As such, reduced margins would impact profitability, and insurers would need to invest additional funds. The sustained bearishness in capital markets could further pressurize the investment margins and increase the capital strain, especially in the case of capital/return guarantee product.Besides, companies are likely to witness a slowdown in new business growth. Companies may also opt for product restructuring to lower their costs and optimally uti lize capital. According to IRDA Regulations 2000, all insurance companies are required to maintain a solvency ratio of 1. 5 at all times. But this solvency margin is not sustainable. With the growing market risks, the level of required capital will be linked to the risks inherent in the underlying business. India is likely to start implementing Solvency II norms in the next three to four years.The transition from Solvency I norms to Solvency II norms by 2012 is expected to increase the demand for actuaries and risk management professionals. The regulator has also asked insurance companies to get their risk management systems and processes audited every three years by an external auditor. Many insurance companies have started aligning themselves with the new norms and hiring professionals to meet the deadline. Contribution of the insurance sector to the economy Insurance has had a very positive impact on India’s economic development.The sector is gradually increasing its contr ibution to the country’s GDP. In addition, insurance is driving the infrastructure sector by increasing investments each year. Further, insurance has boosted the employment scenario in India by providing direct as well as indirect employment opportunities. Due to the healthy performance of the Indian economy, the share of life insurance premiums in the gross domestic savings (GDS) of the households sector has increased. The increased contribution of the insurance industry from the household GDS has been ploughed back into the economy, generating higher growth.The following factors showcase how the contribution of the insurance industry has strengthened economic growth: Contribution of insurance to FDI The importance of FDI in the development of a capital deficient country such as India cannot be undermined. This is where the high-growth sectors of an economy play an important role by attracting substantial foreign investments. Currently, the total FDI in the insurance sector, which was INR50. 3 billion at the end of FY09, is estimated to increase to approximately INR51 billion in FY10.It is difficult to estimate, but an equal amount of additional foreign investment, can roughly flow into the sector if the government increases the FDI limit from 26% to 49%. The insurance sector, by virtue of attracting long-term funds, is best placed to channelize long-term funds toward the productive sectors of the economy. Therefore, the growth in their premium collections is expected to translate into higher investments in other key sectors of the economy. Therefore, the liberalization of FDI norms for insurance would not only benefit the sector, but several other criticalsectors of the economy.Section II:Industry at cross-roadsof development Insurance industry: significantly untapped latent potential India’s insurance industry has witnessed rapid growth during the last decade. Consequently, many foreign companies have expressed their interest in investing in d omestic insurance companies, despite the Government of India’s regulation, which mandates that the foreign shareholding limit is fixed at 26% for the life as well as non-life insurance sectors. The country’s strong economic growth in recent years has helped increase penetration levels substantially. Premium income, as a percentage of GDP, increased from 3. % in FY03 to 7. 6% in FY09. However, the penetration of insurance in India still continues to be low, as compared to other developed and developing economies. The Indian life insurance sector has witnessed exponential growth, driven by innovation in product offerings and distribution owing to market entrants since the opening up of the sector in 2000. Currently, it is the fifth-largest life insurance market in Asia. The rapid expansion in the life sector coincided with a period of rising household savings and a growing middle class, backed with strong economic growth. Innovative product design (e. . launch of ULIPs) and aggressive distribution strategies (e. g. development of banc assurance) by private sector players have significantly contributed to strong premium growth. The following diagram shows the increasing premium per capita during the same period. The global economy has slowly started recovering from the economic recession. Lagging employment, coupled with declining aggregate wages, a weakened residential and commercial real estate market, tight credit and a behavioral shift on the part of consumers from consumption to savings are factors contributing to a delayed recovery.Although the global insurance industry has not been impacted by the financial crisis as much as the banks, it still has its set of issues. The leading five issues on the global insurance watch list are: * Managing risk: The most significant concern for insurance companies is risk in all its forms. Increasingly, insurance companies are adopting an enterprise-wide view of managing risks—employing a framework to address them across the organization. * Promoting compliance: The cost of regulatory compliance and the attendant reputational risk of non-compliance are on the rise. Growing globally: The expansion into new markets is expected to help drive profits, as developed economies witness slower growth in the demand for insurance. * Lack of innovation around products and delivery: Theuse of technology and emphasis on innovation will helpprovide better service and delivery. Institutions can alsostrengthen their ties with customers and differentiatethemselves from competition. * Adapting to demographic shifts: The demographicchanges in North America, Europe, Japan and other areasis starting to shift assets from equities to annuities as wellas other fixed-income products.According to Swiss Re, among the key Asian markets, India is likely to have the fastest-growing life insurance market, with life premium poised to grow at a CAGR of 15% for the next decade, slightly faster than the 14% expect ed for China. The growing consumer class, rising insurance awareness and greater infrastructure spending have made India and China the two most promising markets in Asia. Europe and the Americas represent relatively mature insurance markets. Though India’s penetration appears higher, it is not excessive, given the high level of investments in insurance policies underwritten.Nonetheless, besides India, Taiwan is the other Asian market that shares similar characteristics. Taiwan has the highest insurance penetration in Asia, largely driven by the immense popularity of ULIPs. The progress of the Indian insurance industry over the last decade has been the most crucial period in the establishment of this industry; post the formation of IRDA in 2000. The initial four to five years witnessed the entry of many private players, each trying to acquire market share.The latter part of this phase witnessed a heightened focus on the expanding product range, developing innovative products a nd building a robust distribution channel. The last one to two years have been very critical as the industry is trying to sustain its growth in light of the new regulationsbeing formulated. The Indian insurance industry is at a threshold from where it can witness the next growth wave, if presented with a favorable policy framework and an enabling distribution environment. The industry is poised to witness the emergence of new leaders who would carve a niche for themselves by using nstruments such as alternative channels of distribution, cost management and product innovation, among others. At this cross section, the role of the regulator is very significant. IRDA is in the finalization stage of most of the regulations pertaining to the industry. The regulator has introduced certain regulations to help improve disclosures, profitability, capital, consumer protection, etc. Promoting health insurance * IRDA has allowed insurance companies to offer â€Å"Health plus Life Combi Product, † a policy that would provide life cover along with health insurance to subscribers.Under the guidelines issued by the IRDA, life and non-life insurance firms can also partner in offering the healthplus- life cover. The combi products may be promoted by all life insurance and non-life insurance companies, however, a tie up is permitted between one life insurer and one nonlife insurer only. Thus, a life insurer is permitted to enter an alliance with only one non-life insurer and vice-versa. * The sale of combi products can be made through direct marketing channels, brokers and composite individual and corporate agents, common to both insurers.However, these products are not allowed to be marketed through â€Å"bank referral† arrangements. The regulator further specified that the guidelines do not apply to micro insurance products, which are governed by IRDA (Micro Insurance) Regulations, 2005. * Under the †Combi Product,† the underwriting of the respective po rtion of the risks will be underwritten by respective insurance companies, i. e. , life insurance risk will be underwritten by the life insurance company and the health insurance portion of risk will be underwritten by the non-life insurance company. ImplicationsLife insurance has a much deeper penetration in India, as compared to the non-life insurance segment. This step is in sync with the government’s, regulator’s and the insurance company’s strategy to cover more people under the insurance umbrella. As insurers leverage on the marketing and operational network of their partner insurers, the proposed product innovation is expected to facilitate policy holders to select an integrated product of their choice under a single roof without shopping around the market for two different insurance coverage options from two different insurers.Therefore, insurers are expected to offer appropriate covers as an attractive proposition for the policyholders. India Foreign Di rect Investment Trends India FDI Inflows a The decade gone by would be considered as the golden year for foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. Between year 2000-11, India attracted cumulative FDI inflow of USD 237 Bn. 70% of this FDI constituted equity inflows, rest being re-invested earnings and other zcapital. Over the last decade, FDI in India grew at CAGR 23% The bull run in India FDI started in FY 2006-07 when it grew at 146% over the previous year.FDI peaked in year FY 2007-08 and only marginally declined in the following years of economic crisis. For the eight months of FY 2011-12 (Apr- Nov 2011), India has already garnered USD 33 Bn. of FDI matching the full year FDI of the previous year. Share of top five investing countries in India stood at 69%. Mauritius was the top country of origin for FDI flows into India primarily driven by the tax haven status enjoyed by Mauritius. Services sector (Financial & Non-financial) attracted the largest FDI equity flows amounting USD 3 1 Bn. (20. % share). Other high share sectors in top five were – Telecom (8%), Computer Software & Hardware (7%), Housing & Real Estate (7%) and Construction (7%). Over the years, Automatic route has become the most used entry route for FDI investments in India indicating the gradual liberalisation of FDI policy. In FY 2010-11, 64% of Equity FDI inflows in India came via â€Å"Automatic Route† almost trebling from 22% share in FY 2000-01. â€Å"Acquisition of shares† constituted 25% and â€Å"FIPB/SIA† constituted 11% of equity inflows in 2010-11.India’s FDI policy has progressively liberalised since nineties and only a few sectors, primarily in services sectornow has FDI cap on investment. India’s inward investment regime is now be considered most liberal and transparent amongst emerging economies. Financial Sector FDI Over the last decade, BFSI (Financial, Insurance & Banking services) was the most preferred destination for FDI in India. F DI in the BFSI sector accounted for over 12% of the total cumulative FDI inflows into India and over 59% of the FDI in Services sector.Between 2000-11, Services sector (BFSI and Non-Financial) attracted FDI of USD 31 Bn. With a 59% share, BFSI FDI share amounted to USD 18 Bn. The subsectors with BFSI attracted the following FDI equity inflows – Financial : USD 13 Bn. , Banking: USD 2. 9 Bn and Insurance:USD 2. 3 Bn. Cumulative Inflows Mauritius had the largest share of FDI investment at 43% amongst top countries investing in Indian Financial services sector. Singapore (14%), UK (11%), USA (8. 5%) and Cyprus (3%) were the other countries in the top five lists.Top 10 BFSI FDI Equity inflows in India over the last decade amounted USD 4. 2 Bn. Key US investors in Indian BFSI sector included Merill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon, JP Morgan, Citibank Overseas, Franklin Templeton, New York Life, Metlife, AIG, Pramerica and PE/VC firms like Warburg, Blackstone, Carlyl e, KKR & Co. and Apollo. Development of Indian capital markets (especially corporate bond markets) and further policy liberalisation in commercial banking will be the key for future investments in Indian BFSI segment.FDI Inflows from United States United States of America has been one of the top FDI investors in India. Reported cumulative FDI Equity Inflows from USA into India between 2000 –2011 were $9. 8 Bn,placing it at rank 3rd after Mauritius & Singapore. If we account for the US FDI equity inflows into India routed through tax havens, the FDI number will be considerably higher. Keeping up with overall trend, the Services sector (Financial & Non-Financial) accounted for the highest share of cumulative FDI equity inflows from USA with share of 22% amounting USD 2. Bn. USA FDI equity inflows in services sector represented 7% of the total FDI equity inflows in Indian services sector and in Financial services sector represented 8. 5% of the total FDI equity inflows from all countries amounting USD 2. 6 Bn. Following were the top FDI inflows from USA in Indian financial services: #1 Citibank Overseas Investment Corp. into E-serve International: USD 112 Mn. #2 Bank of New York Mellon into Kotak Mahindra Bank: USD 102 Mn. #3 JP Morgan International Finance into JP Morgan Securities India Ltd. : USD 75 Mn.FDI in Insurance sector Indian insurance sector got liberalised in 2001. Since then the sector has grown at 20% annually and have seen entry of 41 private insurance companies (Life: 23, General: 18) with many of them choosing to enter with a foreign joint venture partner. Investment through the FDI can be a maximum of 26%. In 2011, India was ranked 9th in life insurance business and 19th in general insurance business globally. The insurance density stood at USD 64. 4 (USD 9. 9 in 2001) and insurance penetration was 5. 2% (2. 3% in 2001).India has 49 life and general insurance companies with total investment of USD 6 Bn. as of March 2011. There are 24 comp anies operating each in the life insurance and general insurance with an investment of USD 4. 7 Bn. and USD 1. 3 Bn. respectively. One company operates in re-insurance sector. FDI in Indian insurance sector stood at USD 1. 36 Bn of which life insurance comprised USD1. 1 Bn and general insurance comprised USD 0. 2 Bn of FDI. American companies have been investing in the Indian insurance sector since it opened up in 2001.As of March 2011, there are four American insurance players operating in India as joint venture partners namely – New York Life, Metlife, AIG and Pramerica Financial. In 2011, Berkshire Hathway announced its entry into India Life insurance segment and Libery Mutual Group also got necessary approvals from IRDA for entry into general insurance business with an Indian partner. Besides insurers, US based brokers like Marsh & McLennan and Aon corp have also entered Indian markets. The total investment by American insurance companies in India is USD 315 Mn contributi ng 26% equity capital of USD 1. Bn. Share capital of the entities they were joint venture partners of. American origin FDI constituted 23% of FDI. India’s insurance industry is expected to reach USD 350-400 Bn. in premium income by 2020 making it among the top 3 life insurance markets and amongst top 15 general insurance markets. It’s estimated the Indian insurance sector would attract USD 15-20 Bn. of investments in next couple of years. Liberalization of foreign investment in insurance sector thereby permitting up to 49% FDI will accelerate this flow f investments putting Indian insurance sector on a fast track to the top of the global insurance market. FDI in Financial Inclusion Indian Financial Inclusion sector is predominantly characterized by rural retail banking, Non-Banking Financial Corporations & Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). For over a decade now, the Indianmicrofinance industry has been a posterchild of Indian Financial Inclusion. As of2010, microfinan ce institutions had a clientbase of 26 million borrowers and the totalloan outstanding was in excess of $3 Bn.The number of clients is expected toincrease to 64 million in 2012. Investments in NBFCs & MFIs not traded on the stock exchange fall under the purview of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). FIPB has set the following rules for FDI in start-up companies. From a slow start in 2006, equity investments in the Indian Microfinance sector skyrocketed in the 3 years from 2006 to 2009. The sector saw a total of 32 deals with a total invested capital of ~$230 mnbetween 2006 to 2009. Private equity investments constitute ~70% of the total investments in Indian Micro Finance sector. 0% is constituted by Microfinance focused funds and private investors. US based private equity firms, Sequoia capital, Silicon Valley Bank & Sandstone capital have invested ~$150 mn in the Indian Microfinance sector. Another area within Financial Inclusion which has attracted private equity investors is technology services for microfinance institutions. US based Private equity firms like Blackstone, Intel Capital has invested ~$50 mn in Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO), a technology services company in the Financial Inclusion sector.The large size of the unbanked population means that there is great potential for continued high growth. Although the MFI sector is currently tweaking its business model to new regulatory reality, the high growth potential holds a significant promise for the investors in years to come FDI in Capital Markets Indian bourses both securities & commodities are amongst the favorite hunting spots for foreign investors betting on India’s growth story. These businesses appeal to investors as theyhave long term horizons and signify bets onthe country’s growth.In 2004, 13% of thetotal PE investments made in the banking &financial services space were in stockexchanges. Since the beginning of 2007, 17 transactions (including consor tium deals)took place with a disclosed deal value ofmore than $1. 15 billion. Out of this, 8 dealswith disclosed value of more than $268million happened in 2010 only. In 2010, NSE had 12 foreign investors with a total foreign investment of 32% compared to BSE which had 8 foreign investors with share of 27% investments. In the same period, MCX had 22% foreign holding & NCDEX 15% foreign investments.Some of the key US investors active in Indian exchanges are NYSE group, Atlantic LLC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Northwest Venture Partners, George Soros, Argonaut ventures. Fidelity, Intel Capital, Merril Lynch, and Bessemer Capital are some of the US investors. Most of the transactions involving these exchanges have been secondary in nature. The change in regulations (restricting the single investor holding to 5%) also added to the spurt in secondary deals. The lucrative exchange space continues to attract more players who are looking to increase their market shares.India outward FDI in USA Strong economic growth and progressive liberalization has induced Indian companies toexpand their presence into new markets and USA is the largest recipient of Indian outboundinvestments. During 2004-09, India invested USD 5. 5 Bn. in US across 127 Greenfield projects. 80% ofthis investment went into five sectors – Metals, Software & IT services, Leisure &Entertainment, industrial machinery, equipment & tools and financial services. The topthree states for Indian investments were Minnesota, Virginia and Texas. 10 Indiancompanies accounted for more than 70% of the US $5. Bn invested in Greenfield initiativesin US. In the same period, Indian companiesinvested USD 21 Bn. in mergers &acquisitions in United States. 83% of M&Ainvestments from India were in thefollowing sectors – Manufacturing, IT & ITenabled services, Biotech, Chemicals &Pharmaceuticals, Automotive and Telecom. As of FY2010, US accounted for 6. 5% ofIndia’s outward FDI flows making Indiathe second largest investor in USA. As far as Indian Financial services sector investments in US goes, only a few public and private sector banks have expanded in USA by providing niche services (e. g. remittances).Indian outbound deals in the US are predominantly majority stakes paid in cash and financed with debt. In future, the nature of collaboration is likely to evolve with Indian companies seeking more alliances and transactions involving minority stakes & joint ventures rather than focusing on majority stakes. US offer Indian companies many benefits for investment notably – abundant naturalresources, large consumer markets and access to innovation. Reciprocally, India’sinvestment in this world’s largest recipient of FDI brings new skills, strengthenmanufacturing and will create jobs in the US. Literature review Dunning and Narula, 1996) Export growth in India has been much faster than GDP growth over the past few decades. Several factors appear to ha ve contributed to this phenomenon including foreign direct investment (FDI). However, despite increasing inflowsof FDI especially in recent years there has not been any attempt to assess its contribution to India's exportperformance one of the channels through which FDI influences growth. The Government of India recognizes thesignificant role played by foreign direct investment in accelerating the economic growth of the country and thusstarted a swing of economic and financial reforms in 1991.India is now initiating the second generation reformsintended for a faster integration of the Indian economy with the world economy. As a consequence of theintroduction of various policies, India has been quickly changing from a restrictive regime to a liberal one. Now FDIis also encouraged in most of the economic activities under the automatic route. Studies about Western firms propose that market size and expected growth are the most essential determinants ofFDI into the area. Political and e conomic stability is also an important factor affecting FDI.Over the past 30 years,there have been various studies done on the impact of outbound and inbound activity of multinationals on thegrowth and fiscal restructuring of the economies that they operate in. These studiessuggest that this is dependent on three main variables; the type of FDI taken on, the composition of the localresources and capabilities of the country, and the economic and organizational policies followed by governments. Firms employ FDI in order to best utilize or manage more efficiently the existing competitive advantages. (Love and Lage-Hidalgo, 2000)Labor cost which is one of the main components of the cost function also influences FDI. Some studies find verylittle or negative relationship between wages and FDI, Some studies suggest that higher wages do not alwaysdiscourage FDI in some markets and therefore there is a positive relationship between wages and FDI. As higher labour costs leads to higher produc tivity which gives better quality goods. Latelystudies are aimed towards the impact of specific policy variables on FDI in the host country. Trade, tariff, taxes andexchange rate are included in these policy variables. Asied (2002).Emphasize on policy reforms in developingcountries that act as a determinant of FDI. They state the corporate tax rates and the sincerity to foreign investmentare important determinants of FDI. Horizontal FDI is linked with market seeking behavior and is induced by lowtrade costs. Therefore high tariff barriers motivate firms to take on horizontal FDI. Thus production abroad byforei

CFV essays

CFV essays I heard on the news the other day that something like 9 students were suspended from a college for all handing in the same paper. Look for a new feature in the coming weeks that will allow students to let other students know what school, teacher, and year they used the paper. Email me if you have any thoughts or suggestions about this. I redid the design of the page this weekend, please let me know what you think. Also, if you find any pages that don't display or have some messed up tables, please let me know, I'm hoping I got them all :) We now search over 25,000 essays with the addition of netessays.net! I have also started a new Top 50 essay sites. I know there are already too many, but the bignerds.com top 50 site has not updated in several months, and I feel that a working, quality top 50 site is needed. So, if you are a webmaster, sign up! Well, sorry about all the weird down time of the metasearch, but its back and fully functional and faster and bigger. I think I counted over 17,000 essays that it seaches... NO LIE! We've also added a search for our local essays. Thats all for now, webmasters, sign up for my new Top 50 site and enter the Top 50 contest to win a month of your banner in my rotation (click the Top 50 Sites link for details). Other than that, keep uploading essays, and add links to the Research Link Database. I've added a new feature, which I hope will take off. Its called "The Research Link Database". It purpose is to help users find information on the internet that relates to their topic. It is driven by it's users, so if you have URLs to page about a paper topic, please add those links to the database! If you don't, just head over to check it out. Reminder: this is still very new, and doesn't have much information in it yet, I will be adding info over the next couple days, and I hope some of you will too. Check it out here WOOHOO! Over 100,000 pages served! Keep em coming guys and gals! On a more serio...

Can the Militarization of Space by the United States be Justified Yes essays

Can the Militarization of Space by the United States be Justified Yes essays Background and Overview. Any introduction of weaponry into space territories must take into consideration the controlling national and international laws. According to Georg Schwarzenberger and Bin Cheng (2004), the evolution of space law can be traced to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's introduction of the concept into the United Nations in 1957 as an overall part of disarmament negotiations. After the successful launchings of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 in 1957, followed by the U.S. satellite Explorer 1 in 1958, both the United States and the Soviet Union assumed an active role in the development of international space policy. At this time, it was established that traditional laws of sovereignty that allow any nation to claim for itself uninhabited and uncivilized lands were not viable concepts for space territories; further, it was determined that individual nationals should not be allowed to extend the boundaries of their dominion indefinitely into the space regions above them; however, a claim of sovereignty has already been made by certain equatorial states over portions of the geostationary orbit, some 22,000 miles above the Earth In 1959, the path for peaceful exploration of space was established through a permanent Outer Space Committee formed for the purpose of maintaining the United Nations Charter and other international law in space. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, followed by an Outer Space Committee resolution designed to prohibit nuclear weapons testing in space. Later in 1963, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space as one of the first efforts by the international community to set up a legal regime for outer space; however, this Declaration did not specifically recognize the military possibilities of outer space (Jas...

Hrm Case 3 Essays

Hrm Case 3 Essays Hrm Case 3 Essay Hrm Case 3 Essay HRM Incident 3: The Controversial Job David Rhine, compensation manager for Farrington Lingerie Company, was generally relaxed and good-natured. Although he was a no-nonsense, competent executive, David was one of the most popular managers in the company. This Friday morning, however, David was not his usual self. As chairperson of the company’s job evaluation committee, he had called a late morning meeting at which several jobs were to be considered for reevaluation. The jobs had already been rated and assigned to pay grade 3. But the office manager, Ben Butler, was upset that one was not rated higher. To press the issue, Ben had taken his case to two executives who were also members of the job evaluation committee. The two executives (production manager Bill Nelson and general marketing manager Betty Anderson) then requested that the job ratings be reviewed. Bill and Betty supported Ben’s side of the dispute, and David was not looking forward to the confrontation that was almost certain to occur. The controversial job was that of receptionist. Only one receptionist position existed in the company, and Marianne Sanders held it. Marianne had been with the firm 12 years- longer than any of the committee members. She was extremely efficient, and virtually all the executives in the company, including the president, had noticed and commented on her outstanding work. Bill Nelson and Betty Anderson were particularly pleased with Marianne because of the cordial manner in which she greeted and accommodated Farrington’s customers and vendors, who frequently visited the plant. They felt that Marianne projected a positive image of the company. When the meeting began, David said, â€Å"Good morning. I know that you’re busy, so let’s get the show on the road. We have several jobs to evaluate this morning and I suggest we begin Before he could finish his sentence, Bill interrupted, â€Å"I suggest we start with Marianne. † Betty nodded in agreement. When David regained his composure, he quietly but firmly asserted, â€Å"Bill, we are not here today to evaluate Marianne. Her supervisor does that at performance appraisal time. We’re meeting to evaluate jobs based on job content. In order to do this fairly, with regard to other jobs in the company, we must leave personalities out of our evaluation. † David then proceeded to pass out copies of the receptionist job description to Bill and Betty, who were obviously very irritated. See questions below. ob can be reclassified / re-evaluated if the duties or responsibilities of an employee have significantly changed or expanded over time, and the expanded duties have remained in place for at least six months. In these cases, the same review criteria are used as with new positions. Based on the rating system, the employee may be moved to a higher pay band, and may receive retroactive pay. QUESTIONS 1. Do you feel that David was justified in insisting that the job, not the person, be evaluated? Discuss. Job evaluation is a technique used to determine the value of each job in relation to all jobs within the organization. The job evaluation and the employee evaluation are based on two entirely different scales. The job evaluation clearly identifies and describes the task, creates the basis for the job description and relates to the tasks involved with the position itself The basic purpose of job evaluation is to eliminate pay inequities which may exist because of illogical pay structures, such as might develop over time if care is not taken in how compensation is determined. Job evaluation programs are generally administered by the human resource department and are usually conducted by a committee. The jobs people have are major determinants of the amount of financial compensation they will receive, and organizations pay for the value attached to certain duties, responsibilities, and other job-related factors, such as working conditions. The relative worth of jobs is usually determined through a combination of job analysis, job descriptions, and job evaluation. The employee evaluation measures the employees overall performance of their tasks as it relates to the overall success of the company. David was asked to evaluate the job for compensation purposes, which involves the job function, not the person who is performing the job. I do feel that David was justified in insisting that the job, not the person be evaluated. 2. Do you believe that there is a maximum rate of pay for every job in an organization, regardless of how well the job is being performed? Justify your position. Employers use pay scales to calculate salaries. The rate range for a job grade consists of a minimum, midpoint, and maximum rate of pay unrelatedly to how well a job is performed. Many employers use a system job evaluation tool to rank jobs based on skill, education, experience, and duties to assess the job description. There should be a maximum rate of pay, which should be based on the individual’s job performance. The starting rate and maximum rates should be the same for all employees in the same position but, their individual rates may be different depending on their performance. However, once an employee has reached the maximum rate of pay for the position the employee should not receive any more pay raises. A job should have its maximum pay rate depending on many factors. In most cases jobs that do not require high level of education are the jobs that do not lead to a life long career. In this case, there is a limit of value that a receptionist like Beth could bring to the company. It wouldn’t make much financial sense to pay a receptionist equal to an operations manager. Even in this example where the receptionist has elevated value due to her interpersonal skills, ultimately she does not provide attainable financial betterment to the company outside of her job description. Therefore, the employee should be paid based on their quantified value as an asset to the company; and a job should have a maximum rate of pay.

Home work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Home work - Essay Example However, my dad would never miss all the big matches including the World Cup semi-finals and the finals. By then, I thought the other preliminary matchers were not generally worth much because I did not hear many people talk about them. One of my most treasured moments is when my dad bought us a ticket to go for a live match in our city. The tickets were quite rare as the date for the match neared as the fans had already taken a lot of room in the stadium. I focused on every movement in the field and liked the gusto the fans had on our national team. I had a keen interest in football from around the age of four. After about a year, I was struggling to get to bed or do my homework when a football match program was running. I actually tore players’ pictures once I saw them in the post. I would flip the newspaper looking at players’ photos, cut them off and put them all over the walls in my bedroom. I got huge piles of homework and my dad restricted me from watching football matches. To keep on my dream of watching football programs for most match played, I bought my own TV when I was 12 and started wanting to know players from different clubs. In my teenage, I started going to spur games at weekends together with my peers. Ever since then, I mark out all football season and all programs in my memory. At first, I had two clubs whose players interested me most; Tottenham and Inter Milan. I had quite a number of friends who were zealous fans for the clubs. The seasonal results lack of continuous appearance or report over the radio and the newspaper for these teams led most of my friends to opt to support other clubs that participate in the match to the end. Though I have lost most of my friends to Chelsea and Manchester United, I am determined that nothing would happen to me any sooner to change my support for Milan. Looking at the kinds of football fans and their experiences, it is convincing that football should retain a relatively small fan

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The Correctional System - Essay Example So the problem of the overcrowding should be corrected at an early date. One of the best solutions to reduce the overcrowding in the correctional system is to give age limit to the offenders to have their punishment called "Aging out of crime". This age limit should be restricted to sixty (Territo, Halsted, & Bromley, 2004). The most imperative advantage of "Aging out of crime" is to save money in the expenditure of maintenance of the aged offenders in the correctional system. This overcrowding in the prison gives nothing beneficial to the system, as they are not able to do any constructive work, which are being done by prisoners. But their maintenance has to bear by the system up to their final ride. This saved money may efficiently be used by the system in nabbing another culprits who are active in doing various offences including the drug trafficking and human trafficking. Due to the overcrowding in the system a lot of offenders are released on the spot by taking bribe by the comp etent authority.

3600 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

3600 - Essay Example Therefore, the evolution of the word clearly indicates that this branch of anthropological study actually deals with procedure pertaining to qualitative research methodology, precisely in anthropological studies or in social sciences and implies to the gathering of empirical data pertaining to human culture and science. The ethnography therefore focuses on the myriad aspects pertaining to socio-cultural milieu of a particular tribe or people residing in some of the particular geographical terrains. The ethnography by Daniel Neuman is about the music in the northern part of India known as â€Å"Hindustani Music† in the local language by the canon of musicians related with it. Music is a primitive language for communication in human civilisation. Various socio-cultural and historical perspectives of the people residing in a particular geographical area evolve through music or folklore and folk culture of that area. Likewise, â€Å"Hindustani Music† bears the typical cultural essence of North India and is an incarnation of the rich heritage and culture of the area with its myriad blend and influences. The ethnography, â€Å"The Life of Music in North India† is a journey through the history witnessing the origin and the development of ‘Hindustani Music’ and the way it nurtured in the hands of the magician musicians through ages. The ethnography is very strong as it bears the testimony and experience of these musicians who dedicated their life and passed on their legacy to the future generations even for the cause of the particular music and its development. The research content of the ethnography is based primarily on the field work which can be treated as the primary research too. The first-hand survey done by Neuman during the year 1969 to 1971 in Delhi forms the base of the ethnography. Neuman interviewed musicians during this time and he made a trip to the northern part of India, precisely the cities those are situated

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Senses and the endocrine system - Essay Example These abnormalities that occur sometimes have no effect on the systems while in other cases the effects are detrimental. One of the common seen abnormalities as people age is the formation of cataracts. Cataracts are a clouding of the lenses in the eye to where light becomes hard to pass through. As a result of the light not being able to penetrate, problems with vision occur. Cataracts can form in a person’s eyes as the result of multiple conditions. Exposure to ultraviolet light can cause proteins to denature, which can lead to the condition. Certain diseases such as diabetes have been known to cause this to occur. Eye trauma and genetic issues can also be accounted for with the development of cataracts (Goldstein, 2010). Cataracts are an abnormality that is forming which affects the visual field of the individual. This is because the lenses in eyes are biologically centered around having a clear lens that is adjusted by the retina to allow light in depending on the light le vel. Even though aging of biological components is inherent as humans age, the formation of cataracts is often caused or started by external or internal determinalistic factors that cannot be accounted for. As a result, these are biological factors, which represent an abnormality to normal human physiology.