Undecided Audience Outcome

Nikki Westerman En1420 Unit 2 assignment 1 Chapter review and trace 1. What are the five elements in the rhetorical situation? Use trace to help you remember. Answer: Text, Reader, author, constraints, Exigency. 2. How can a reader use the rhetorical situation to analyze an argument essay? The targeted readers are other students who have had or could have similar experiences. The author expects the students to identify with him and agree that such policies should be abolished.Other readers might include professors and administrators who would probably be less likely to agree with the author how a viewer cans use the rhetorical situation to analyze an image? The targeted viewers are people in the United States, but also in other parts of the world, who read this newspaper either online or in print. The photographer expects the audience to be interested in what is going on in Haiti in general, but also to show an interest in natural disasters of this sort.The photograph would expect a sympathetic audience who shares his humanitarian values. How can a writer use the rhetorical situation during the planning phase of writing a paper? As a writer you can use the rhetorical situation to help you think critically and make decisions about your own writing. 3. Why is the audience important in argument? T0 help give critical opinions what types of positions might an audience initially hold?A friendly audience, an undecided audience, a neutral audience, a hostile resistant audience an unfamiliar audience a linked audience. What possible outcomes are associated with arguments directed to each of these audiences the planned outcome is to confirm these audiences’ beliefs and strengthen their commitment. An undecided audience outcome can have final agreement with you anew interest in the issue and a commitment to work out a position on it. . What is discourse community? Audience’s affiliations. To what discourse communities do you belong? None how does a discours e community help establish common ground for its members? Monthly meetings 5. What is the universal audience? One who agrees on everything? What are the special qualities of the audience? There is none Why is it a useful idea? I didn’t find anything on this.

Computerised Environmental Control and Plant Management Systems

For the new modern state of the art green houses there is the ability to run a computerised plant control system which controls the heat and ventilation of the greenhouse. It is likely that there will be different requirements for the system through the year. Alteration on the computer programme will allow the greenhouse environment to be adjusted which will help the growth of certain plants. Building a state of the art greenhouse with a computerised environmental control system will enable Progress Plants to create the best possible conditions for the plants. There is an array of climate condition which the Ventilation control creates. Moreover a computerised environmental control system helps towards greater savings of energy. And additionally help the progress of growth and plant management through a computerised control system. Additionally it will allow them to offer unusual plants at unusual times as they can create a season for the plants which can become an attraction if they bring in foreign plants which otherwise cannot be grown in the UK. The staff in the nursery as well as the head gardener will have more time on their hands as the Computerised environmental control system will water and add nutrients to the plants and create a perfect environment for the growth of the plants, as well as the fact staff won’t be needed to do regular checks on the plants so this means hours of staff can be cut down which leads to lower salary rates or some staff maybe made redundant or they could be given additional jobs within Progress Plants which reduces the number of staff needed and the current staff feel more important due to playing a bigger role within the business which helps productivity. Staff training may be needed to run the computerised plant control system so to save the business time and money they can be trained while the business is installing the system moreover it means that Progress Plants will not have to hire specialist staff which will cost more money and time. These changes will have to be made effectively and looked into as it can cause problems if they do not tackle the issues effectively. Due to using a computerised system to take over human roles there will be fewer mistakes made and there will be no need to motivate it as it is a machine which will constantly run saving the business money and time by giving plants heat and water when necessary. But the computer may break down which means that it will not be able to look after the plants, moreover it will cost a lot of money to fix and repair as well as set up and there will be distractions of moving the plants into a suitable place of storage and can be unhealthy which will be bad for the clients. Overall, the computerised control system for the greenhouses if affectively installed, run and developed will create a huge advantage for Progress Plants. Using this technology will lead to an increase in sales and profit which will benefit Progress Plants. Also the plants will be healthier than normal and increase sales with the benefit of being able to offer an unusual variety of plants. Additionally it will create a bigger marketing opportunity for Progress Plants.

Speech on Beauty Myths

The great philosopher Confucius once said, ‘everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it’ but why? Why do we not all see the beauty surrounding us? Why is outward appearance so important? Why are our heads filled with beauty myths? Beauty myths are beliefs about qualities, which constitute beauty or attractiveness. We tend to think of our attraction toward certain physical qualities to be natural but they are learnt proven by the conceptions of beauty varying between cultures and across time, with media to blame.As society we assume that images we see in media that are highlighted and common are beautiful such as the tall, skinny, toned, ‘flawless’ models why else would they put them there? If a certain characteristic isn’t common in media then it can’t be beautiful. Media teaches us what beauty supposedly is and closes our eyes to beauty not physically shown. There are 3 main functions of media to provide news and information, entertain and educate. Presently our society depends on the media for information and communication and as part of our daily routine.Most of the decisions we make are based on what we know as fact our assumptions and our experiences such as work where we know what to do because we have studied it and from our own experiences however in routine life and household chores we rely on media to keep us updated on news and facts, on what is important and what we need in order to get through our day and be accepted in society. We put so much trust in media but by doing so are we putting ourselves in harms way? On average a person is exposed to over 1,500 advertisements a day. 1,500 ads we are led to believe are factual and real because we have put so much trust in the media.We start to believe that we need that cream to have flawless skin like that girl in the ad and we need that perfume to be as amazing as the next Marc Jacobs model. But the fact is that 100% of photos in professional magazines have be en retouched whether by changing the lighting in order to improve the quality and definitions of models or even giving a model a whole new head. What we see is not reality. Beauty is something that is looked at differently throughout the world for example if you look at the culture of Australians compared to the cultures of Saharan people there are vast differences in their ideals throughout.Each has it’s own concept of ideal beauty. Some things that come to mind would be weight, fashion, and tone of skin. Though each culture has its own specific parts and body shapes they prefer its like we have been trained to think a certain way from a young age all pertaining to which culture we are apart of. Research shows that some Asian woman after moving to Australia take on body image and dieting not common in their own countries. Media has people changing themselves and their idea of beauty in order to fit in. Not only has the media an effect on beauty across nations but also across time.From corsets to bikinis, from fair skinned and voluptuous to tanned and toned and frightfully frail. Our perception of beauty is learnt and changes due to what we see in the media and shown as fashionable but is media changing this for the better? 20 years ago models weighed 6% less than the average woman now models weigh a huge 23% less than the average woman with only 5% of woman actually able to obtain this weight naturally. How is this positively effecting woman and young girls? Its not. 45% of woman that are a perfectly healthy weight think they are overweight and 20% of woman that are underweight are dieting.Media is killing us with these perceptions of beauty and it’s taking over our minds, our ability to perceive what is right and healthy and the ability to say, â€Å"No, how I am is fine†. Everyone is different. Our idea of perfection and absolute beauty that we learn and which is portrayed in magazines and advertisements is generally unattainable but we still strive to look like these people that only 5% of our society actually look like. This small minority is said to be beautiful by the media leaving the rest of us in shame of how we look because we cant be beautiful if we don’t look like them.Isn’t true beauty found on the inside you could be the most ‘beautiful’ girl in the world according to the beauty media teaches us but if you are the nastiest most wicked girl as well are you still beautiful? We are all thinking no but if you saw this person I bet we would be jealous of her we would want to look like her and be as beautiful as her†¦ that’s disheartening that the most wicked girl can still be classed as ‘beautiful’. This is what media is teaching us about beauty that it is all about the outside and nothing to do with our nature and personality. `Though we are taught what beauty is research has been done to show that humans are attracted to people with more symmetry feature s and that this something that we are born with not that we learn so the media is not solely responsible for beauty myths. Woman being attracted to masculine men is something that goes back to to medieval times where the more masculine the man the more strength and ability to look after and protect a family males are attracted to young woman as they show fertility and as a reproducing species this is important as older woman are unable to conceive.There has been research to show we are born attracted to certain features but majority are still learnt as we grow up in a certain society. Media should portray fact not transform reality so that beauty is categorized. Do this by portraying models realistically, all different shapes and sizes cultures and races so that our perception of beauty isn’t all the same and showing that differences are beautiful and stopping the beauty myth that what we perceive physically attractive and beautiful is not natural it’s learnt.

Skype anaylsis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Skype anaylsis - Research Paper Example Over the year, the company has experienced rapid growth with a substantial increase in the number of customers each year. While most of the services are free, the company requires customers pay for land line and mobile calls through the Skype credit card. The company leverages on the current technological development to push its product to the customers. In the era of technological revolution, communication has become an important aspect of the globalized population. The public intends to stay in contact no matter their large geographical separation. As a result, Skype creates the link to sustain communication within the world by providing an online communication platform. Since its foundation, the company has become a hot product within the market. Two years after its release, eBay announced its willingness to acquire it for $2.5 billion with other potential performance-based consideration. In 2009, eBay announced its intention to sell 65% of its Skype shares to Silver Lake for $1.9 billion (Curwen 11-23). Later in 2011Microsoft acquired Skype Communications for $8.5 billion. Microsoft established Skype as one of its division replacing the old Microsoft Live messenger. Today, the application has over 60 million users being one of th e highest preferred communication website. The Skype division is a company that now delivers all its surfaces online to the international market. Users can download applications in their hardware to acquire the platform to communicate. The company provides a wide range of service from messaging, voice and video transfer services. The company’s business model is different to other social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp that are that are majorly used in social communication (Curwen 11-23). Skype has become a favorable communication tool within the business environment due to its ability to support telecommunication services. However, there is evidence that the company is still facing competition within

The Turn of the Screw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Turn of the Screw - Essay Example Whereas a conventional fiction-writer endeavors to establish the credibility of the reality which s/he depicts in his fiction, James intentionally attempts to stir up the readers’ doubt about the credibility of the narrator’s presentation of the uncanny monstrosity of the children’s and the monstrous environment in the House. In the novel, James has employed various narrative strategies to support his assertion that nothing truly exists outside the human imagination or takes precedence over the human imagination, using the characters to defend and analyze this position. His first strategy is to instill the uncanny monstrosity in the characters of the novel. The novel does not directly tell the readers whether the Children are really monstrous or not. Rather it inspires the readers to decide whether they are monstrous. Another strategy of James is that he makes the Governess’s character unreliable. The way how the Governess tells the story necessarily provo kes the readers to think that there must be a number of different possible interpretations of the reality which she presents. In the novel, James has made a shrewd application of the uncanny to justify his comment that the fictional reality is what and how we perceive it. ... Even sometimes she herself proves to be wrong and seems that she suffers from hallucination. This uncertainty of the Governess’s storytelling provokes the readers to question whether the children are really monstrous or this monstrosity is a misperception or fabrication of the Governess. Both any possible conclusion what a reader may reach is that the horizon of a fiction is, indeed, a vast area where the writers enjoy the utmost freedom to arrange the events in a particular sequence to make the plot credible. While reading the novel, the readers’ attentions become focused on two focal points. First, they grow doubtful about whether the children, Miles and Flora, are really monstrous or not. Secondly, they question whether there is something wrong on the Governess’s part. Indeed, James’s success to divide up the readers’ attentions on two apparently contradictory focal points tends to establish his claim that, whatever the reality about the children is, the ultimate reality is how we perceive it. For example, a reader can tell for sure whether Miles and Flora maintain a secret relationship with Quint, the dead valet and Miss Jessel who is also dead now. Flora’s nocturnal movement and the discovery of her ‘too free’ intimacy with Miss Jessel, Miles’s association with the ghosts, his unexplained banishment from the school –all these events seem so supernatural and ominous. The Governess claims that she could see some ghostly associations of Miles and Flora with the dead valet and governess. Even she claims that she has encountered with their ghosts for several times. But this claim makes the readers dubious about her psychological sanity, when they once

Exam 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exam 2 - Coursework Example A targets previous cash flows are typically an accurate indicator of future cash flows, especially when the targets cash flows would have to be converted into the acquirers home currency as they are remitted to the parent. An international acquisition may be preferable to the establishment of a new subsidiary because the firm can immediately expand its international business and benefit from existing customer relationships. Assume a U.S. firm initiates direct foreign investment in the U.K. If the British pound is expected to appreciate against the dollar, the dollar value of earnings remitted to the parent should ____. The parent may request that the subsidiary ____ in order to benefit from the expectation about the pound. Consider Firm A and Firm B that both produce the same product. Firm A would more likely have more stable cash flows if its percentage of foreign sales were ____ and the number of foreign countries it sold products to was

Criticism of the play <Spring Awakening> Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criticism of the play - Essay Example The play also portrays some teenager boys on their way to learn about sexuality and experiencing frustrating thoughts and dreams. The teenagers were exposed to some information through some books and pictures that eventually instigate the desire for physical intimacy among them. The play shows their attempts to make them aware of the sexuality and physical relationship. The play is focused upon a highly sensitive but serious and important issue. The play tells about the efforts of the society to step teenage sexuality that have different types of impacts upon them. The original play contains some very bold scenes about abortion and sexuality but this musical adaptation covers all the topics in very effective and interesting manner. The play powerfully portrays the frustration, pain and joys of being young and the intricate feelings and changing emotions that the youngster experience during this phase of life. The play shows that this phase is very delicate and complex and the society and parents should take great care of the children so that they could bit be a victim of any sexual abuse. The excitements of the youth are beautifully presented through rock music in the play. The musical instruments are brilliantly used in the play to effectively describe the emotions and frustrated feelings of the adolsent. Since the issue is very sensitive and complex the words are not always enough to express and explain the desired emotions. At these places, the director has made adequate use of music to convey the ideas and thoughts to the audience in perfect manner. The musical adaptation of the play is very appealing because it involves the audiences and makes them feeling the deep emotions and feelings of the youngsters. The play received very positive response from the literary critics and general public because it allows the audiences to feel

Critical research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Critical research paper - Essay Example Creon judgment that Polyneices body was not to receive a proper burial brought out different characters of Antigone and Isemene. Polyneices body would be left unburied and be consumed by birds or animals (Heaney 2). Antigone and Isemene are different in their conduct as exposed in their character. Wolf (6) highlights that; Antigone has strong convictions and chooses to follow them. In contrast, Isemene is complacent and reluctant to act upon her convictions. Antigone believes that their brother should receive a proper burial by performing apposite burial rites. Although Polyneices was the aggressor in Thebes struggle, Antigone considers that he should be buried since he was a member of the family. Antigone’s actions are visualized as a reflection of her will because she defies the king. Greek women did not enjoy freedom as the men did. This is why Creon’s determination to defeat Antigone is motivated because she is a woman. There were societal structures accompanied by rules that defined the place of woman in Greek. Men were placed higher in hierarchy than women. Antigone perspective repels the stipulated gender roles because she is rebellious. Antigone breaks the rules of Greek culture by refusing to be passive. Isemene chooses to be compliant with the rules of Greek culture to avoid displeasing her customs. Isemene’s perspective on men is that they are superior to women and women should be submissive. Cultural viewpoint on men as superior to women makes Isemene believe that men should be obeyed. Isemene realizes the short falls of the Greek’s perspective on women as problematic. Creon sees his mistake and cannot apologize to a woman, because he would go against his cultural practice. The outstanding behavior of Antigone as a woman is that she defies the kings decree, yet she is a woman. Even though disobedience punishment is death, Antigone chooses to disobey Creon who is also a member of her family

Irish Migration in the 19th Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Irish Migration in the 19th Century - Essay Example Ireland once belonged to England as one of its oldest colonies. It became officially absorbed as part of United Kingdom after the Act of Union on January 1, 1801 (Moving Here Ireland in the 19th century, par2). English was the official language of the country. Statistics showed that the percentage of people speaking in Irish decreased to less than 15% by 1891. In terms of economy, Ireland was largely agricultural. People largely depended on potato crop as their main source of livelihood. "By 1840, it has been estimated that 3 million people depended upon the potato, sometimes supplemented by buttermilk, with an adult male consuming up to 6.3 kg (14lbs) a day." (Moving Here Agriculture, par.4). Poverty is evident in their social class- the laborers who depended on the success of their crop harvest and the unemployed who live in wretched cabins and miserable huts. The living conditions of Irish in the 19th century can be depicted in the common notion of what an Irish notion is. It was stated in an article in the website of Moving here Gallery that the miserable hut of an Irish man consists of "an unpaved clay floor below, a roof of straw and weeds, dank, and soak, and rotting overhead, miserable bed in the corner, an iron pot over a peat fire, a black and filthy sink before the door." (Moving Here Living Conditions, par.3). To say that Irish people only have a meager amount of income is an understatement. The uncertainty of their lives was similar to the uncertainty of nature where most of them depended. The potato crop failure known as the Great Famine which hit Ireland from 1845-1850 left many people starving to death. This compelled Irish to leave their country and look for their fate and luck to other countries, mostly in the United States and Canada. "It is estimated that almost one million people died, and almost the same emigrated." (Moving Here, par.3). Ireland's population dramatically decreased by 2 million which was from 8 million to 6.5 million from 1841 to 1851. "Early 19th century emigrants tended to come from the more prosperous northern and eastern countries, including Wexford and Dublin." (Moving Here Other Parts of Ireland, par1). Hence, immigration can be characterized as the people's mechanism to survive although later discussions would show that the early Irish immigrants or the early settlers experienced poverty, oppression, social injustice, and inequality. To illustrate this, an article entitled Irish Immigrants in America during the 19th Century found in the website of Kinsella indicated that "even as the boat was docking, these immigrants to America learned that life in America was going to be a battle for survival. Hundreds of runners, usually large greedy men, swarmed aboard the ship grabbing immigrants and their bags trying to force them to their favorite tenement house and then exact an outrageous fee for their services. As the poor immigrant had no means of moving on, they settled in the port of arrival. Almshouses were filled with these Irish immigrants. They begged on every street" (par.2). Early settlers in both countries experienced most of the struggles and hardships in establishing their lives in another country but their efforts paid off as their descendants became better educated and skilled. Irish migrated to prosperous countries such as the United States

Promoting Family Involvement and Providing Program Management Assignment

Promoting Family Involvement and Providing Program Management - Assignment Example They can talk about what works and what does not work. Teachers working collaboratively will make preschool an enjoyable teaching and learning experience for both the children and the teachers. They are more organized and better prepared for parents, visitors, and other people who may enter the school. They are also better prepared for any emergencies that may arise. Teachers work as social workers when they deal with various ethical dilemmas. Some of the ethical problems teachers need to work through are as follows: 1. Teachers must know and be able to keep confidentiality. The provider must keep what the parents tell them in confidence. They must be trusted to listen and to help, and not to tell others. This could be a problem when dealing with possible child abuse. 2. What are your beliefs for the child and the adult. This means do you always agree with how each of you will handle different problems that arise. 3. Showing respect is one way to get reasonable behavior from people, adults and children and this is a way to make them feel they are capable of reason, of thought. 4. Listening and paying attention and showing how they decide what to report if danger could be around the corner. 5. They have to know that there are limits to being helpful. 6. Teachers have to learn about different views, values and beliefs to make a child’s life richer. 7. They also must know how much information to give pertaining to the child and the family to be able to care for them. The three of them that could pertain to children are to make sure that they listen and pay attention to what goes on around them and you. They also need to learn about showing respect for the people around them. The three that pertains to teachers could be the ones dealing with the information and knowing how much to tell when problems arise with the child or the family. Teachers need to know how to gain the confidence of the parents and must have the ability to keep

Opening remarks. President of ASO Essay Example for Free

Opening remarks. President of ASO Essay Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. First, let me warmly welcome you all to this meeting of the Associated Students Organization (ASO). I hope that my introductory remarks will help to give us all a sense of direction and a common purpose for our work within the guidelines set out in the ASO Charter of July 2005. Let me begin by briefly revisiting last year’s ARO sponsored career day: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · Over 7500 students attended 550 businesses had booths 15 distinguished speakers ( Steve Jobs, Colin Powell to name a few) All branches of services were represented 45 business development services offering workshops on starting businesses The responses last year were some of the largest we have ever seen even with this weak economy. The goal for this year is to aid our students to get hired before they leave for the day. I would like us to focus on more career planners and workshops to help these students plan for their life long career. When our students graduate, they are competing with a high unemployment rate, thus making securing the job as well as keeping it difficult. Business development can aid our business majors with the consideration of starting their own business and being their own boss, not to mention maybe if they are successful, they can hire others within their communities that need employment. Our challenges are tough, but I believe that we are successful if 80% of our graduates get hired as a result of this career day, we have been a success. Thank You.

Therapies Approaches Essay Example for Free

Therapies Approaches Essay What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the following approaches to therapy? (A) Psychoanalysis: The main goal of psychoanalysis is to resolve internal conflicts that lead to emotional suffering. Traditional psychoanalysis called for three to five therapy sessions a week, however, treatment may still go on for years for the sake of increasing the application and the accuracy of the analysis of the behavioral development of the clients attended with through the said therapy. Today through the application of the new approaches of psychology, the said therapy has already been briefed to be able to give ample and accurate solutions to issues that clients are supposed to take into consideration. This therapy is then noted for its capability to analyze the different factors that contribute to the situations that clients are primarily involved with. However, with the lengthened way of applying the process, finding solutions becomes less applicative in this manner of psychological approach. (B) Person-centered therapy: Individual-focused, this is the characteristic of this particular approach. Since it is individual, the subject becomes more concise and much easier to identify. Having to deal with the issue through the singularity of the subject actually notes the possibility of being more specific with the solutions that are formulated along the application of the therapy. However, being individually centered makes the approach less broad. (C) Behavior therapy: Behavior centered therapy incites the importance of approaching the problem through knowing who and how the person or the client is dealing with the situations that he is facing in life. Through this therapy, the examination of the situation shall be based on the ideal character of the person being dealt with. This makes the process of understanding the problem more accurate and more efficient. (D) Cognitive therapy: This therapy actually notes the process of using the attitudes and reactions of the clients to be able to create the most possible solution available for the problem to be answered. Considerably, cognitive therapy is actually an approach that estimates the specific manner by which people react to the different issues that they deal with everyday. Although effective in many ways, it is indeed noticeable how this particular therapy is subjected to some issues since people change every now and then. (E) Drug therapy: Medication may not be as effective as expected all the time. At some point, this process may even result to a more complicated problem that could be due to overdose. Although helpful, too many limitations should be considered in pursuing this particular approach in psychological therapy. References: Samuel E. Wood, Ellen Green Wood, and Denise Boyd. (2007). Mastering the World of Psychology (3rd Edition) (MyPsychLab Series). Allyn Bacon; 3 edition.

Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District

Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Abstract Public finance deals with the financial management of public entities. This paper provides an overview of the financial affairs of local government of district Multan and identifies issues faced by the systems to deliver efficiently and effectively. It also highlights areas or improvement and opportunities to fund these activities. The district government heavily relies on the provincial grants and has very limited self generated revenue. Although it is responsible to manage various institutions of social services and carry out developmental activities in the district, its reliance on provincial grants make its effort less effective. TMA on the other hand have significant revenue generation and use this to their advantage and work with autonomy. However they still rely on provincial grants for any developmental activities. The stale business process and hurdles in the legal framework also contribute significantly towards the in efficiency of the systems. There are solutions that can help turn around the situation but it needs a sincere effort on part the provincial and local government. Automation and legal reforms could cover a lot of issues. They would not only increase efficiency but would help curtail corruption at various levels. However strong political could change the scene altogether. A comprehensive process was adopted in collecting secondary data through official documents, template and meetings with officials. District Multan was chosen due to its importance specially in the current political setup and based on convenience. Introduction Despite some modest achievements, the economic and social progress in Pakistan has been far from satisfactory during the last more than five decades of independence. Average annual growth rate of 6.8, 4.8, 6.5 and 4.6% (Government of Pakistan, 2003) respectively in the decades of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is not comparable with the rapid economic progress made by South Korea, Malaysia, China and many other countries which were initially at nearly the same level of economic development (or even below) as that of Pakistan. The performance on social indicators has been gloomier. Despite average figures for economic growth, many countries like Vietnam and Cuba have been able to eradicate illiteracy and have achieved health statistics comparable with developed countries (Zaidi, 2000). Pakistan still ranks at the tail end of social development ranking. Pakistan is also a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, a landmark event showing commitment of political, corporate and civil society leadership to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty and to improve education, health, gender and environment situation through global partnerships for development. A study of the progress achieved on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that the performance of Pakistan has not been noteworthy in the decade of 90s. There has been a gradual convergence of opinion amongst all stakeholders – government, civil society as well as international development partners – that the failure in social sectors is a direct outcome of the crisis of governance and macro economic imbalances. Further, there is a broad consensus that governance cannot be improved without a meaningful devolution of authority to functional tiers and without ensuring peoples participation in decision making processes at all levels. This stakeholder consensus provided the necessary impetus for the present government to introduce its devolution reforms conceived in 2000 and launched simultaneously in all provinces of Pakistan through introduction of Local Government Ordinances in 2001. Until the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances, the elected local government tiers had a precarious existence depending upon the will of the provincial governments. Many times these would be dissolved and un-elected administrators appointed. Working under the ambit of Local government Ordinances of 1979, there were urban and rural local councils. While urban local councils consisted of Metropolitan/Municipal Corporations and Municipal/Town committees, the rural councils were called District Councils and Union Councils. Traditionally the local councils in Pakistan have performed municipal functions like water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, fire fighting, maintenance of slaughter houses, promotion of cattle markets, fairs and exhibitions and street lighting. They also had varying roles in primary and preventive health care, maternal and child health, promotion of literacy and rural infrastructure development. Devolution reforms in Pakistan, introduced by the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances of 2001 have provided a 3-tier local government system consisting of District Government (DG), Tehsil/Town Municipal Administration (TMA) and Union Administrations (UA). Working under the direction and control of elected councils and Nazims, the present local government system attempts to create institutions and mechanisms for public participation in design, management, monitoring and control of social service delivery. Many of the functions previously performed by the local offices of provincial government departments now clearly fall within the domain of DGs. These reforms are aimed to increase local governments responsibility for efficient and effective social and municipal services delivery. Municipal functions with a wider scope are being carried out by Town Municipal Administrations and City District Governments (established initially in provincial headquarters but subsequently in sele cted big cities as well). Access to adequate resources for the local governments is now considered essential. Additional fiscal space is required for enhanced allocations for the social sector as well as infrastructure development. These resources are also required to meet the social deficits that have accumulated over the past due to inadequate funding coupled with low utilisation in social sectors. Devolution reforms, as originally conceived and articulated, envisaged large scale fiscal decentralisation to follow the administrative and political decentralisation. While a fiscal relationship has been forged between the province and the districts, an extensive reorganisation of resources has not taken place and the vertical financial imbalance stays in place with the major financial collections being made at the federal (and to a lesser extent at the provincial) level. On the other hand, the service provision has fallen at the DG level where the tax base and collection potential is the lowest. Courtesy: Decentralization Support Program, Role Book: 4-day workshop for elected local leadershipResultantly, the biggest challenge facing the local councils in Pakistan (which are more empowered today and have a wider scope of functions than ever) is to ensure consistent, reliable and fool proof mechanisms of transfers from provincial governments and to expand ‘own source revenues in order to provide efficient and effective service delivery as envisaged in devolution reforms. Public Finance  is that part of finance which hovers around the central question of allocation of resources subjected to the budget constraint of the government or public entities. It is that branch of economics which identifies and appraises the means and effects of the policies of the government. Public sector finance tries to examine the effects and consequences of different types of taxation and expenditures on the economic agents (individuals, institutions, organizations, etc.) of the society and ultimately on the entire economy. Public finance also analyzes the effectiveness of the policies aimed at certain objectives and consequently to the development of procedures and techniques for increasing the effectiveness of the policy. Literature Review Much of the functional autonomy of the local governments depends upon their ability to raise the required resources from their own sources and to get the balance from the provincial/federal government through consistent and assured mechanisms. This requires not only devising institutional mechanisms for formula and criteria based fiscal transfers but also exploring revenue potentials of local own source revenues. These own source revenues can be in the form of taxes and fees for services provided. It is quite surprising that despite the significance of this, very few local studies have been carried out to examine the resource potential of the local bodies in Pakistan. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) of Pakistan, formulated after considerable debate and input from all major stakeholders, admits that the local governments depend primarily upon fiscal transfers from provincial governments and recognises the need for local revenue mobilisation as an important activity for the sustainability of local government system. Factors steeped in political economy and elite structures have influenced local revenue generation decisions. Howe and Reeb (1997) conducting a survey of the local tax system in USA since the colonial times have determined that economic and political considerations have influenced the tax systems. Bird (2000) gives the desirable characteristics of a local tax. First, the tax base should be relatively immobile so that local governments can vary the rates without losing a significant portion of the base. Second, the tax yield should be adequate to meet the local needs, increase overtime as expenditure increases, and be relatively stable and predictable. Third, the tax should be one that is not easy to export to non residents. Fourth, the tax base should be visible to ensure accountability. Fifth, the tax payers should perceive the tax to be reasonably fair. Sixth, the tax should be reasonably easy to administer. According to Bird (1999), ‘international experience tells that the most responsible and accountable local governments are those that raise their own revenues and set their own tax rates. Meaningful local autonomy and accountability can only take place if the local governments are able to set their own tax rates. In Pakistan, on the other hand, provincial government has the power to vet the tax proposal and no tax can be levied by a local council without publication in official gazette. Kitchen and Slack (2003) after a comprehensive analysis of local taxes in developed world, including Canada, are of the view that in order to meet the growing needs of municipalities, it is mandatory that new resources in addition to the traditional property tax and user fees must be explored. There is little autonomy in preparing district development and non development budgets because of inability to convey the quantum of provincial transfers and vertical programmes. There is more ‘budgetary certainty in TMAs because of increased reliance on OZT replacement tax and own source revenues. Formula based transfers to districts through Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) awards have several weaknesses. District governments have weak tax base in terms of buoyancy and potency of taxes assigned. Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) assigned to TMAs is a buoyant tax but there are administrative confusions. According to Shah et al. (1996) and World Bank (2000) the existing provincial taxes and user charges are inefficient and inequitable and are incapable of meeting significant share of provincial expenditures. Frequently changing and low yield tax instruments with poor tax records create incentives for tax evasion. Considering that agriculture contributes approximately 25% of the GDP in Pakistan, it is estimated that a properly enforced Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) could generate over Rs. 500 million in NWFP only. Presently due to collusion between revenue officials and landowners, lack of understanding, improper assessment and poor collection by the tax collectors, very little of the potential is realised. Bahl (2004) states that in the contemporary world nearly 80 countries are implementing fiscal decentralisation policies. Local government should have the power to define revenue bases, set tax rates and raise taxes. A good tax system should be administratively feasible, revenue burden should correspond to the general condition of local economy, revenue yield should be stable and it should be adequate both for payer and local government. A research study carried out by Provincial Program Support Office, DSP, Punjab ‘Tax and Non Tax Receipt Database Development – TMA Khanewal in 2005 indicates that there is substantial potential of increase in revenues without enhancing the rates. It has been observed that service delivery potential of the TMA is weak because of its inability to meet all the expenditures. The record of TMA is old; there is no practice of periodic update; and monitoring system is weak. The study also noted that revenue generation can improve dramatically by improving record keeping through maintenance of disaggregated information of taxes and tax payers in all details by the use of information technology. The study recommended computerisation of tax records, capacity building of tax/revenue staff, and increase in transparency of tax records, wider dissemination of information about tax policies, rates and procedures through establishment of people friendly frameworks. Research Methodology The paper examines the current financial situation of district Multan and identifies areas of potential improvement. It also recommends areas that need restructuring and legal reforms to bring about the change that would not only improve systems but would make it robust and ready for future economic growth of the district, keeping in mind the potential the district. Mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative tools was employed for data collection and analysis. Broadly speaking, it had the following three components. Component 1: The first component involved conducting a comprehensive literature review to see the national, regional and international trends in local resource mobilisation and issues faced by the system. The range of sources accessed and reports/publications examined is broad and includes similar studies conducted for other districts in Pakistan (e.g. Khanewal) and elsewhere. Unfortunately, to the extent of Pakistan, the Khanewal study is so far the only study available as a reference for examination of local resource enhancement in the local government. Greater reliance, therefore, had to be placed on studies conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the literature review helped in identifying the issues involved in local taxation (levy, assessment and collection) and an examination thereof in a comparative perspective. The success of local governments to raise resources locally is largely contingent on framing appropriate laws and rules in consonance with the ground realities. Therefore, an important part of the literature review exercise was to identify relevant laws, rules, regulations, notifications and circulars that in some distinct manner impinge upon the resource mobilisation at district/tehsil level. Component 2: Along with the literature review an exercise was also undertaken to collect data for the District Government (DG) Multan and each of the six Tehsil Municipal Administrations included in the two districts. A comprehensive template was developed to standardise data collected from various councils. It lists all major and minor sources of revenue for a local council; the legal framework (law/rule/regulation) authorising its levy; business process for assessment and collection; the amount budgeted against each tax/levy/fee/cess etc for each of the last four fiscal years 2007-10; budgetary revisions (if any) and collections actually realised. The budget documents for the last four years were used as the starting point and the amount budgeted for each source was picked from the budget documents. Component 3 A detailed analysis of receipts, expenditure, development initiatives, review of business process and relevant legal provision and their issues was carried out. Component 4: Then a series of individual interviews were held. This included meeting the Tehsil Municipal Officers, Executive District Officers (Revenue, Finance and Planning, Municipal Services), various District Officers, Excise and taxation officials, Multan Development Authority and Water and Sanitation Agency officials The suggestions and recommendations on the perspectives emanating from these interviews. Data Analysis and interpretation Overview of Public Finance (district government budget) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Actual Actual RE Non-development 2,762.80 3,912.51 4,066.98 Development 1,462.49 1,539.14 882.19 Development – tied grant 300.12 512.19 965.16 Total 4,525.41 5,963.84 5,914.34 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Opening balance 386.16 995.15 1,086.13 Provincial grants 3,780.30 3,853.29 5,172.88 Own Source revenue 201.07 149.37 140.13 Tied grants (development and non-development) 475.84 801.40 1,017.88 Total 4,853.37 5,726.64 7,417.02 Revenue of the district is of two types i.e. Own source revenue and provincial transfers. In district Multan there is a heavy reliance on funding from provincial government since district OSR is almost negligible. Efforts are needed to change the scenario and move the district towards sustainability A sharp rise of 37% in provincial grants could be noticed in the FY 2008-09 over FY 2007-08 endorsing districts dependence on these transfers. The provincial grants are transferred as per the PFC criteria which will be discussed in depth later in the chapter. Tied grants being the second highest source has been transferred for development and non development expenses of the district government. For the FY 2008-09 the tied grants are Rs. 1,018m which constitute 13.7% of the total sources. These grants are for specific expenditure and are not in districts control. The own source revenue (OSR) of the district govt. forms a very insignificant amount (2%, 2008-09), rendering the district to re ly heavily on provincial transfers. The OSR of the district has been on a decreasing trend compared to overall resource requirement. This is a major cause of concern as this not only increases dependence on provincial transfer but it also affects the autonomy of the district to make decisions. A sincere effort to revamp the taxes and their collection mechanism is required with the focus on generating more resource. In budget for FY 2009-10 there is an increase in OSR of 40% which includes estimation of arrears that are more than 3 years old. These balances are very old and have been appearing in budget estimates for over more than 3 years. However the increase is still insignificant compare to the requirement of the district. A detailed analysis of item by item sources of income was done. Issues relating to a few significant items will be highlighted in the section of recommendations. Expenditures are categorized in to two broad categories i.e. Development and Non development. The ratio of development vs. non development expenditure has changed over the years with a downward trend in development expenditure. This trend should be a cause of concern as the development projects loose priority to make way for funding ongoing activities In 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 the ratio of non developmental expenses vs. development expenses is 61% to 39%, 66% to 34% and 69% to 31% respectively. This shows the declining trend of developmental budget. The year 2008-09 saw a drop in the allocation for developmental activities out of district government resources from Rs. 1,538 m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 1,082 m in FY 2008-09. This huge reduction was somewhat compensated through increase in development expenditure through tied grants which rose from Rs. 512m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 965m in FY 2008-09. In FY 2008-09 the budget estimate for development activities other than CCB and tied gr ants stood at Rs. 558 m for ongoing activities and Rs. 742 m for new activities. The revised estimate for same expenditure came out to be Rs. 656m. Which means that not only new activities were not initiated nor ongoing expenditure targets were met. The major reasons identified during discussion is the change in political setup in the province resulting in delay tactics for funds transfer. The development budget for the district government consists of funds allocated towards Annual development program, Citizen Community board and Tied grants (provided by provincial government against specific development projects). In the FY 2009-10 the total budget for development stands at Rs. 2,749 m which is 38% of the total budget for this year. The total allocation towards ADP is Rs. 1,492 m which is 54% of the total development budget. This ADP has Rs. 966m as ongoing projects that have started in previous years. This is a large allocation and has taken up approximately 35% of the share from development budget. The new projects identified for the year are 19% of the total development budget. The ADP (ongoing and new) are mainly focused on following sectors Annual development program 2009-10 % Sectors Rs. in millions Education 214.342 14% Health 159.877 12% Dist. Govt. facilities 52.166 3% Solid waste management 26.188 2% Sports 47.14 3% General bus stand 64.259 4% Livestock and Fisheries 24.027 2% Firms to market roads 223.931 15% Roads, Building and Roundabouts 348.837 23% Others 332.034 22% Total 1492.801 The above table reflects district governments priorities for sector development. The social services such as health and education take up 26% of the share whereas the roads network takes up 38% of the allocation. Overview of Public Finance (All 6 TMAs) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Non-development 251 247 326 Development 470 449 584 Total 721 697 910 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Provincial grant 246 303 290 Own Source revenue 293 339 414 Total 540 642 704 There are 6 TMAs in the district and all of them have a reasonable amount of OSR to help them fund their activities. However there is still potential to increase their revenue specially taxes that form a major component of their OSR. Receipts of TMA consist of provincial transfer and OSR. In TMAs OSR contributes significantly. The ratio of contribution of OSR has in fact increased in FY 2008-09. This is a positive sign as far the TMAs ability to make decisions is involved. However there is still room for increase in revenue. The major source being taxes should be tapped into for more efficiency. It is worth noting, looking at the combined figures for all 6 TMAs, that the OSR in all the 3 FY under discussion has been sufficient to fund the non development activities even leaving a surplus to be spent on development activities. The development vs. non development expenses are more or less consistent at a ratio of 64:36 over the last 3 years. The above table shows the break up of development expenditure for the TMA. The allocation towards development expenditure is 64% of the total outlay. It has remained at this level over last 3 years. The allocation in FY 2008-09, which comprises of the annual development projects, CCB contribution and payment against liabilities amounts to Rs. 255m, Rs. 262m and Rs. 66 m, respectively. Payments against these liabilities were frozen by the government of Punjab and have asked the TMAs to present these liabilities as new projects under the ADP. Optimistic planning and change in political setup at the provincial level resulted in huge payment liabilities being carried forward to the next year. PFC award – This is another source of income for the DG and TMAs. The criteria for distributing the PFC grant is specified by the Punjab Government and takes into consideration the population and socio economic indicator of the district (GOP, 2009-10) The district government and the TMAs have received funds at around 5% level from the provincial allocation over last 4 years. If we take a simple benchmark of population to compare the level of funding, Multan district has 4.26% population of Punjab (GOP, Punjab Development Statistics, 2009). This reflects that district Multan has been receiving fair share of the pie. 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Resources transfer by Province to DG 90,794 96,952 99,413 108,822 TMA 13,541 14,431 15,320 15,209 Total 104,335 111,383 114,733 124,031 Allocation to DG and TMAs of Multan 4,512.56 4,885.02 6,480.43 6,108.37 % share 4.325% 4.386% 5.648% 4.925% Population Punjab 87,548 89,036 90,550 92,089 Multan 3,727 3,792 3,858 3,925 % population 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% Recommendations Business process and legal reforms In this section we will focus our discussion on business process and relevant legal reforms to help identify areas of improvement. Section 116 of PLGO 2001 empowers the council to impose, increase, reduce, abolish, suspend and/or exempt any tax mentioned in the second schedule there in. However the section also mentioned that any amendment to taxes is vetted by the provincial government. This process hampers the local governments autonomy to set their own tax rates as the provincial government plays a controlling role. If full autonomy to fix rates etc. is not to be devolved, then the issue can be resolved by providing band widths within which the DGs and the TMAs would be free to act. To address the issue of stale process it is recommend that automation of business process, a comprehensive revenues base assessment and capacity building of staff should take place. The automation of business processes would result in better accounting, efficiency in tax collection mechanism hence increasing revenue, provide up to date databases, availability of information to be used by various department and timely reporting. It has been assessed that without increasing the rates of present taxes the yield can improve dramatically by maintaining records/registers properly, regular survey and incorporation of changes in tax records, improved monitoring and inclusion of systems of rewards and punishments for tax collecting machinery. Capacity and training of staff are critical to success of any initiative for enhancement of own source revenues. Local government officials dealing with these issues (in many cases) do not have up to date information about government laws and rules. Training with respect to financial management and procurement plus IT is also critical for bringing positive change. Low yielding taxes/fees are an administrative hassle for the collecting authority and they should be done away with or their rates be revised upwards to increase revenue. Dissemination of information about process, assessments, valuation table, and fees would help curtail corruption. One of the major reason people fall in the trap of providing kick backs is lack of information. This information could be made available through IEC material, notices in newspapers, display through posters in relevant offices and media awareness campaign. The business process of all OSR items such as taxes, rents and fees and user charge in the DGs and TMAs have mostly been defined a long time ago and the current LG setup has inherited them. There has not been any significant investment in review and reform of business processes of the taxes. Our research has shown that many improvements in the system can result from identification and removal of various loopholes and weaknesses in the processes. We recommend a comprehensive effort to be made to overhaul these processes which would result in collection efficiencies and significant improvement in tax payer facilitation. A quality control mechanism should be introduced to check functioning of various departments in the district. Conclusion This study briefly discusses the financial position of District Multan. It also carries out the financial analysis of the current situation and identifies issues faced by the local government. The major issues highlighted are capacity of the local government and the will to address issues. Multan being the 5th largest city of Pakistan has the potential to grow economically. It is well geographically well positioned since it lies in the middle of the trade route connecting south with north. A major initiative to revamp the systems would result in positive outcome for the people of the district. This paper also recommends few areas of improvement. A much larger effort needs to go into this. Recommendations such as legal reforms, revamping business process, trainings and automation needs to be implemented together to bring quick change. However this whole effort needs to be financed. The financing could take place with one or all of the following options; Lists of 11 properties were identified on a pilot basis. These properties/facilities are all in prime locations inside the city and are owned by the DG. We propose to sell of these properties and either abolished these facilities or relocate them to a more economical location. Through this proposal we would be able to raise Rs. 4,682 m. This in only the tip of iceberg, a more comprehensive study would reveal a lot more properties. Another area of resource generation is the property given on rent. The DG and TMA have many shops, stores and buildings that have been rented out. One of the ways forward could be to revise the rents and bring them at market level. Another option is to sell out these properties on market value and receive a good cash inflow that could be used for major initiatives. There are many government educational institutions with city limits many of them being on prime locations. A designated education city should be developed and all these institution should be shifted. A cost benefit analysis should be carried out to assess the potential of this option. Municipal bond is a  bond  issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Municipal bonds may be general obligations of the issuer or secured by specified revenues. Interest income is received by holders of municipal bonds. Municipal securities consist of both short-term issues (often called notes, which typically mature in one year or less) and long-term issues (commonly known as bonds, which mature in more than one year). Short-term notes are used by an issuer to raise money for a variety of reasons: in anticipation of future revenues such as taxes, state or Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Analysis of Economics and Finances of Multan District Abstract Public finance deals with the financial management of public entities. This paper provides an overview of the financial affairs of local government of district Multan and identifies issues faced by the systems to deliver efficiently and effectively. It also highlights areas or improvement and opportunities to fund these activities. The district government heavily relies on the provincial grants and has very limited self generated revenue. Although it is responsible to manage various institutions of social services and carry out developmental activities in the district, its reliance on provincial grants make its effort less effective. TMA on the other hand have significant revenue generation and use this to their advantage and work with autonomy. However they still rely on provincial grants for any developmental activities. The stale business process and hurdles in the legal framework also contribute significantly towards the in efficiency of the systems. There are solutions that can help turn around the situation but it needs a sincere effort on part the provincial and local government. Automation and legal reforms could cover a lot of issues. They would not only increase efficiency but would help curtail corruption at various levels. However strong political could change the scene altogether. A comprehensive process was adopted in collecting secondary data through official documents, template and meetings with officials. District Multan was chosen due to its importance specially in the current political setup and based on convenience. Introduction Despite some modest achievements, the economic and social progress in Pakistan has been far from satisfactory during the last more than five decades of independence. Average annual growth rate of 6.8, 4.8, 6.5 and 4.6% (Government of Pakistan, 2003) respectively in the decades of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is not comparable with the rapid economic progress made by South Korea, Malaysia, China and many other countries which were initially at nearly the same level of economic development (or even below) as that of Pakistan. The performance on social indicators has been gloomier. Despite average figures for economic growth, many countries like Vietnam and Cuba have been able to eradicate illiteracy and have achieved health statistics comparable with developed countries (Zaidi, 2000). Pakistan still ranks at the tail end of social development ranking. Pakistan is also a signatory to the Millennium Declaration, a landmark event showing commitment of political, corporate and civil society leadership to eliminate extreme hunger and poverty and to improve education, health, gender and environment situation through global partnerships for development. A study of the progress achieved on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that the performance of Pakistan has not been noteworthy in the decade of 90s. There has been a gradual convergence of opinion amongst all stakeholders – government, civil society as well as international development partners – that the failure in social sectors is a direct outcome of the crisis of governance and macro economic imbalances. Further, there is a broad consensus that governance cannot be improved without a meaningful devolution of authority to functional tiers and without ensuring peoples participation in decision making processes at all levels. This stakeholder consensus provided the necessary impetus for the present government to introduce its devolution reforms conceived in 2000 and launched simultaneously in all provinces of Pakistan through introduction of Local Government Ordinances in 2001. Until the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances, the elected local government tiers had a precarious existence depending upon the will of the provincial governments. Many times these would be dissolved and un-elected administrators appointed. Working under the ambit of Local government Ordinances of 1979, there were urban and rural local councils. While urban local councils consisted of Metropolitan/Municipal Corporations and Municipal/Town committees, the rural councils were called District Councils and Union Councils. Traditionally the local councils in Pakistan have performed municipal functions like water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, fire fighting, maintenance of slaughter houses, promotion of cattle markets, fairs and exhibitions and street lighting. They also had varying roles in primary and preventive health care, maternal and child health, promotion of literacy and rural infrastructure development. Devolution reforms in Pakistan, introduced by the promulgation of Local Government Ordinances of 2001 have provided a 3-tier local government system consisting of District Government (DG), Tehsil/Town Municipal Administration (TMA) and Union Administrations (UA). Working under the direction and control of elected councils and Nazims, the present local government system attempts to create institutions and mechanisms for public participation in design, management, monitoring and control of social service delivery. Many of the functions previously performed by the local offices of provincial government departments now clearly fall within the domain of DGs. These reforms are aimed to increase local governments responsibility for efficient and effective social and municipal services delivery. Municipal functions with a wider scope are being carried out by Town Municipal Administrations and City District Governments (established initially in provincial headquarters but subsequently in sele cted big cities as well). Access to adequate resources for the local governments is now considered essential. Additional fiscal space is required for enhanced allocations for the social sector as well as infrastructure development. These resources are also required to meet the social deficits that have accumulated over the past due to inadequate funding coupled with low utilisation in social sectors. Devolution reforms, as originally conceived and articulated, envisaged large scale fiscal decentralisation to follow the administrative and political decentralisation. While a fiscal relationship has been forged between the province and the districts, an extensive reorganisation of resources has not taken place and the vertical financial imbalance stays in place with the major financial collections being made at the federal (and to a lesser extent at the provincial) level. On the other hand, the service provision has fallen at the DG level where the tax base and collection potential is the lowest. Courtesy: Decentralization Support Program, Role Book: 4-day workshop for elected local leadershipResultantly, the biggest challenge facing the local councils in Pakistan (which are more empowered today and have a wider scope of functions than ever) is to ensure consistent, reliable and fool proof mechanisms of transfers from provincial governments and to expand ‘own source revenues in order to provide efficient and effective service delivery as envisaged in devolution reforms. Public Finance  is that part of finance which hovers around the central question of allocation of resources subjected to the budget constraint of the government or public entities. It is that branch of economics which identifies and appraises the means and effects of the policies of the government. Public sector finance tries to examine the effects and consequences of different types of taxation and expenditures on the economic agents (individuals, institutions, organizations, etc.) of the society and ultimately on the entire economy. Public finance also analyzes the effectiveness of the policies aimed at certain objectives and consequently to the development of procedures and techniques for increasing the effectiveness of the policy. Literature Review Much of the functional autonomy of the local governments depends upon their ability to raise the required resources from their own sources and to get the balance from the provincial/federal government through consistent and assured mechanisms. This requires not only devising institutional mechanisms for formula and criteria based fiscal transfers but also exploring revenue potentials of local own source revenues. These own source revenues can be in the form of taxes and fees for services provided. It is quite surprising that despite the significance of this, very few local studies have been carried out to examine the resource potential of the local bodies in Pakistan. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) of Pakistan, formulated after considerable debate and input from all major stakeholders, admits that the local governments depend primarily upon fiscal transfers from provincial governments and recognises the need for local revenue mobilisation as an important activity for the sustainability of local government system. Factors steeped in political economy and elite structures have influenced local revenue generation decisions. Howe and Reeb (1997) conducting a survey of the local tax system in USA since the colonial times have determined that economic and political considerations have influenced the tax systems. Bird (2000) gives the desirable characteristics of a local tax. First, the tax base should be relatively immobile so that local governments can vary the rates without losing a significant portion of the base. Second, the tax yield should be adequate to meet the local needs, increase overtime as expenditure increases, and be relatively stable and predictable. Third, the tax should be one that is not easy to export to non residents. Fourth, the tax base should be visible to ensure accountability. Fifth, the tax payers should perceive the tax to be reasonably fair. Sixth, the tax should be reasonably easy to administer. According to Bird (1999), ‘international experience tells that the most responsible and accountable local governments are those that raise their own revenues and set their own tax rates. Meaningful local autonomy and accountability can only take place if the local governments are able to set their own tax rates. In Pakistan, on the other hand, provincial government has the power to vet the tax proposal and no tax can be levied by a local council without publication in official gazette. Kitchen and Slack (2003) after a comprehensive analysis of local taxes in developed world, including Canada, are of the view that in order to meet the growing needs of municipalities, it is mandatory that new resources in addition to the traditional property tax and user fees must be explored. There is little autonomy in preparing district development and non development budgets because of inability to convey the quantum of provincial transfers and vertical programmes. There is more ‘budgetary certainty in TMAs because of increased reliance on OZT replacement tax and own source revenues. Formula based transfers to districts through Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) awards have several weaknesses. District governments have weak tax base in terms of buoyancy and potency of taxes assigned. Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) assigned to TMAs is a buoyant tax but there are administrative confusions. According to Shah et al. (1996) and World Bank (2000) the existing provincial taxes and user charges are inefficient and inequitable and are incapable of meeting significant share of provincial expenditures. Frequently changing and low yield tax instruments with poor tax records create incentives for tax evasion. Considering that agriculture contributes approximately 25% of the GDP in Pakistan, it is estimated that a properly enforced Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) could generate over Rs. 500 million in NWFP only. Presently due to collusion between revenue officials and landowners, lack of understanding, improper assessment and poor collection by the tax collectors, very little of the potential is realised. Bahl (2004) states that in the contemporary world nearly 80 countries are implementing fiscal decentralisation policies. Local government should have the power to define revenue bases, set tax rates and raise taxes. A good tax system should be administratively feasible, revenue burden should correspond to the general condition of local economy, revenue yield should be stable and it should be adequate both for payer and local government. A research study carried out by Provincial Program Support Office, DSP, Punjab ‘Tax and Non Tax Receipt Database Development – TMA Khanewal in 2005 indicates that there is substantial potential of increase in revenues without enhancing the rates. It has been observed that service delivery potential of the TMA is weak because of its inability to meet all the expenditures. The record of TMA is old; there is no practice of periodic update; and monitoring system is weak. The study also noted that revenue generation can improve dramatically by improving record keeping through maintenance of disaggregated information of taxes and tax payers in all details by the use of information technology. The study recommended computerisation of tax records, capacity building of tax/revenue staff, and increase in transparency of tax records, wider dissemination of information about tax policies, rates and procedures through establishment of people friendly frameworks. Research Methodology The paper examines the current financial situation of district Multan and identifies areas of potential improvement. It also recommends areas that need restructuring and legal reforms to bring about the change that would not only improve systems but would make it robust and ready for future economic growth of the district, keeping in mind the potential the district. Mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative tools was employed for data collection and analysis. Broadly speaking, it had the following three components. Component 1: The first component involved conducting a comprehensive literature review to see the national, regional and international trends in local resource mobilisation and issues faced by the system. The range of sources accessed and reports/publications examined is broad and includes similar studies conducted for other districts in Pakistan (e.g. Khanewal) and elsewhere. Unfortunately, to the extent of Pakistan, the Khanewal study is so far the only study available as a reference for examination of local resource enhancement in the local government. Greater reliance, therefore, had to be placed on studies conducted in other countries. Nevertheless, the literature review helped in identifying the issues involved in local taxation (levy, assessment and collection) and an examination thereof in a comparative perspective. The success of local governments to raise resources locally is largely contingent on framing appropriate laws and rules in consonance with the ground realities. Therefore, an important part of the literature review exercise was to identify relevant laws, rules, regulations, notifications and circulars that in some distinct manner impinge upon the resource mobilisation at district/tehsil level. Component 2: Along with the literature review an exercise was also undertaken to collect data for the District Government (DG) Multan and each of the six Tehsil Municipal Administrations included in the two districts. A comprehensive template was developed to standardise data collected from various councils. It lists all major and minor sources of revenue for a local council; the legal framework (law/rule/regulation) authorising its levy; business process for assessment and collection; the amount budgeted against each tax/levy/fee/cess etc for each of the last four fiscal years 2007-10; budgetary revisions (if any) and collections actually realised. The budget documents for the last four years were used as the starting point and the amount budgeted for each source was picked from the budget documents. Component 3 A detailed analysis of receipts, expenditure, development initiatives, review of business process and relevant legal provision and their issues was carried out. Component 4: Then a series of individual interviews were held. This included meeting the Tehsil Municipal Officers, Executive District Officers (Revenue, Finance and Planning, Municipal Services), various District Officers, Excise and taxation officials, Multan Development Authority and Water and Sanitation Agency officials The suggestions and recommendations on the perspectives emanating from these interviews. Data Analysis and interpretation Overview of Public Finance (district government budget) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Actual Actual RE Non-development 2,762.80 3,912.51 4,066.98 Development 1,462.49 1,539.14 882.19 Development – tied grant 300.12 512.19 965.16 Total 4,525.41 5,963.84 5,914.34 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Opening balance 386.16 995.15 1,086.13 Provincial grants 3,780.30 3,853.29 5,172.88 Own Source revenue 201.07 149.37 140.13 Tied grants (development and non-development) 475.84 801.40 1,017.88 Total 4,853.37 5,726.64 7,417.02 Revenue of the district is of two types i.e. Own source revenue and provincial transfers. In district Multan there is a heavy reliance on funding from provincial government since district OSR is almost negligible. Efforts are needed to change the scenario and move the district towards sustainability A sharp rise of 37% in provincial grants could be noticed in the FY 2008-09 over FY 2007-08 endorsing districts dependence on these transfers. The provincial grants are transferred as per the PFC criteria which will be discussed in depth later in the chapter. Tied grants being the second highest source has been transferred for development and non development expenses of the district government. For the FY 2008-09 the tied grants are Rs. 1,018m which constitute 13.7% of the total sources. These grants are for specific expenditure and are not in districts control. The own source revenue (OSR) of the district govt. forms a very insignificant amount (2%, 2008-09), rendering the district to re ly heavily on provincial transfers. The OSR of the district has been on a decreasing trend compared to overall resource requirement. This is a major cause of concern as this not only increases dependence on provincial transfer but it also affects the autonomy of the district to make decisions. A sincere effort to revamp the taxes and their collection mechanism is required with the focus on generating more resource. In budget for FY 2009-10 there is an increase in OSR of 40% which includes estimation of arrears that are more than 3 years old. These balances are very old and have been appearing in budget estimates for over more than 3 years. However the increase is still insignificant compare to the requirement of the district. A detailed analysis of item by item sources of income was done. Issues relating to a few significant items will be highlighted in the section of recommendations. Expenditures are categorized in to two broad categories i.e. Development and Non development. The ratio of development vs. non development expenditure has changed over the years with a downward trend in development expenditure. This trend should be a cause of concern as the development projects loose priority to make way for funding ongoing activities In 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 the ratio of non developmental expenses vs. development expenses is 61% to 39%, 66% to 34% and 69% to 31% respectively. This shows the declining trend of developmental budget. The year 2008-09 saw a drop in the allocation for developmental activities out of district government resources from Rs. 1,538 m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 1,082 m in FY 2008-09. This huge reduction was somewhat compensated through increase in development expenditure through tied grants which rose from Rs. 512m in FY 2007-08 to Rs. 965m in FY 2008-09. In FY 2008-09 the budget estimate for development activities other than CCB and tied gr ants stood at Rs. 558 m for ongoing activities and Rs. 742 m for new activities. The revised estimate for same expenditure came out to be Rs. 656m. Which means that not only new activities were not initiated nor ongoing expenditure targets were met. The major reasons identified during discussion is the change in political setup in the province resulting in delay tactics for funds transfer. The development budget for the district government consists of funds allocated towards Annual development program, Citizen Community board and Tied grants (provided by provincial government against specific development projects). In the FY 2009-10 the total budget for development stands at Rs. 2,749 m which is 38% of the total budget for this year. The total allocation towards ADP is Rs. 1,492 m which is 54% of the total development budget. This ADP has Rs. 966m as ongoing projects that have started in previous years. This is a large allocation and has taken up approximately 35% of the share from development budget. The new projects identified for the year are 19% of the total development budget. The ADP (ongoing and new) are mainly focused on following sectors Annual development program 2009-10 % Sectors Rs. in millions Education 214.342 14% Health 159.877 12% Dist. Govt. facilities 52.166 3% Solid waste management 26.188 2% Sports 47.14 3% General bus stand 64.259 4% Livestock and Fisheries 24.027 2% Firms to market roads 223.931 15% Roads, Building and Roundabouts 348.837 23% Others 332.034 22% Total 1492.801 The above table reflects district governments priorities for sector development. The social services such as health and education take up 26% of the share whereas the roads network takes up 38% of the allocation. Overview of Public Finance (All 6 TMAs) Rs. in millions Description 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Expenditure Non-development 251 247 326 Development 470 449 584 Total 721 697 910 Source of revenue 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Provincial grant 246 303 290 Own Source revenue 293 339 414 Total 540 642 704 There are 6 TMAs in the district and all of them have a reasonable amount of OSR to help them fund their activities. However there is still potential to increase their revenue specially taxes that form a major component of their OSR. Receipts of TMA consist of provincial transfer and OSR. In TMAs OSR contributes significantly. The ratio of contribution of OSR has in fact increased in FY 2008-09. This is a positive sign as far the TMAs ability to make decisions is involved. However there is still room for increase in revenue. The major source being taxes should be tapped into for more efficiency. It is worth noting, looking at the combined figures for all 6 TMAs, that the OSR in all the 3 FY under discussion has been sufficient to fund the non development activities even leaving a surplus to be spent on development activities. The development vs. non development expenses are more or less consistent at a ratio of 64:36 over the last 3 years. The above table shows the break up of development expenditure for the TMA. The allocation towards development expenditure is 64% of the total outlay. It has remained at this level over last 3 years. The allocation in FY 2008-09, which comprises of the annual development projects, CCB contribution and payment against liabilities amounts to Rs. 255m, Rs. 262m and Rs. 66 m, respectively. Payments against these liabilities were frozen by the government of Punjab and have asked the TMAs to present these liabilities as new projects under the ADP. Optimistic planning and change in political setup at the provincial level resulted in huge payment liabilities being carried forward to the next year. PFC award – This is another source of income for the DG and TMAs. The criteria for distributing the PFC grant is specified by the Punjab Government and takes into consideration the population and socio economic indicator of the district (GOP, 2009-10) The district government and the TMAs have received funds at around 5% level from the provincial allocation over last 4 years. If we take a simple benchmark of population to compare the level of funding, Multan district has 4.26% population of Punjab (GOP, Punjab Development Statistics, 2009). This reflects that district Multan has been receiving fair share of the pie. 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Resources transfer by Province to DG 90,794 96,952 99,413 108,822 TMA 13,541 14,431 15,320 15,209 Total 104,335 111,383 114,733 124,031 Allocation to DG and TMAs of Multan 4,512.56 4,885.02 6,480.43 6,108.37 % share 4.325% 4.386% 5.648% 4.925% Population Punjab 87,548 89,036 90,550 92,089 Multan 3,727 3,792 3,858 3,925 % population 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% 4.26% Recommendations Business process and legal reforms In this section we will focus our discussion on business process and relevant legal reforms to help identify areas of improvement. Section 116 of PLGO 2001 empowers the council to impose, increase, reduce, abolish, suspend and/or exempt any tax mentioned in the second schedule there in. However the section also mentioned that any amendment to taxes is vetted by the provincial government. This process hampers the local governments autonomy to set their own tax rates as the provincial government plays a controlling role. If full autonomy to fix rates etc. is not to be devolved, then the issue can be resolved by providing band widths within which the DGs and the TMAs would be free to act. To address the issue of stale process it is recommend that automation of business process, a comprehensive revenues base assessment and capacity building of staff should take place. The automation of business processes would result in better accounting, efficiency in tax collection mechanism hence increasing revenue, provide up to date databases, availability of information to be used by various department and timely reporting. It has been assessed that without increasing the rates of present taxes the yield can improve dramatically by maintaining records/registers properly, regular survey and incorporation of changes in tax records, improved monitoring and inclusion of systems of rewards and punishments for tax collecting machinery. Capacity and training of staff are critical to success of any initiative for enhancement of own source revenues. Local government officials dealing with these issues (in many cases) do not have up to date information about government laws and rules. Training with respect to financial management and procurement plus IT is also critical for bringing positive change. Low yielding taxes/fees are an administrative hassle for the collecting authority and they should be done away with or their rates be revised upwards to increase revenue. Dissemination of information about process, assessments, valuation table, and fees would help curtail corruption. One of the major reason people fall in the trap of providing kick backs is lack of information. This information could be made available through IEC material, notices in newspapers, display through posters in relevant offices and media awareness campaign. The business process of all OSR items such as taxes, rents and fees and user charge in the DGs and TMAs have mostly been defined a long time ago and the current LG setup has inherited them. There has not been any significant investment in review and reform of business processes of the taxes. Our research has shown that many improvements in the system can result from identification and removal of various loopholes and weaknesses in the processes. We recommend a comprehensive effort to be made to overhaul these processes which would result in collection efficiencies and significant improvement in tax payer facilitation. A quality control mechanism should be introduced to check functioning of various departments in the district. Conclusion This study briefly discusses the financial position of District Multan. It also carries out the financial analysis of the current situation and identifies issues faced by the local government. The major issues highlighted are capacity of the local government and the will to address issues. Multan being the 5th largest city of Pakistan has the potential to grow economically. It is well geographically well positioned since it lies in the middle of the trade route connecting south with north. A major initiative to revamp the systems would result in positive outcome for the people of the district. This paper also recommends few areas of improvement. A much larger effort needs to go into this. Recommendations such as legal reforms, revamping business process, trainings and automation needs to be implemented together to bring quick change. However this whole effort needs to be financed. The financing could take place with one or all of the following options; Lists of 11 properties were identified on a pilot basis. These properties/facilities are all in prime locations inside the city and are owned by the DG. We propose to sell of these properties and either abolished these facilities or relocate them to a more economical location. Through this proposal we would be able to raise Rs. 4,682 m. This in only the tip of iceberg, a more comprehensive study would reveal a lot more properties. Another area of resource generation is the property given on rent. The DG and TMA have many shops, stores and buildings that have been rented out. One of the ways forward could be to revise the rents and bring them at market level. Another option is to sell out these properties on market value and receive a good cash inflow that could be used for major initiatives. There are many government educational institutions with city limits many of them being on prime locations. A designated education city should be developed and all these institution should be shifted. A cost benefit analysis should be carried out to assess the potential of this option. Municipal bond is a  bond  issued by a city or other local government, or their agencies. Municipal bonds may be general obligations of the issuer or secured by specified revenues. Interest income is received by holders of municipal bonds. Municipal securities consist of both short-term issues (often called notes, which typically mature in one year or less) and long-term issues (commonly known as bonds, which mature in more than one year). Short-term notes are used by an issuer to raise money for a variety of reasons: in anticipation of future revenues such as taxes, state or

Comparing Flauberts A Sentimental Education and Henry James’ The Portr

Comparing Flaubert's A Sentimental Education and Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady Henry James wrote of A Sentimental Education, "[Flaubert] takes Frà ©dà ©ric Moreau on the threshold of life and conducts him to the extreme of maturity without apparently suspecting for a moment either our wonder or our protest--'Why, why him?' Frà ©dà ©ric is positively too poor for his charge; and we feel with a kind of embarrassment, certainly with a kind of compassion, that it is somehow the business of a protagonist to prevent in his designer an excessive waste of faith." . He spoke harshly, but with no little authority on the subject; his own The Portrait of a Lady takes Isabel Archer from this Å’threshold' to, if not quite the Å’extreme of maturity', then to a point which serves the same novelistic purpose. As, at the end of Sentimental Education, the reader understands that Frà ©dà ©ric's novelistic life, his potential to drive a narrative, (his limited potential, as James might see it), is over, so the reader is given to understand the same of Isabel at the end of Portrait. In considering James' evaluation of Frà ©dà ©ric's worthiness as a protagonist, one cannot deny that the basis of his criticism is valid; Frà ©dà ©ric is the "abject human specimen" James says he is, and there are times in the novel when we do want to ask, "Why him?". But we must also ask whether Flaubert was not fully conscious of his hero's pathetic nature, and whether the placement of such a character at the center of his novel was not an utterly intentional, and perhaps ultimately brilliant, stroke of authorship. This question, and the comparison of two bildungsromans with two such contrasting heroes, leads to the interesting and more fundamental question of the function of a r... ... his life trying to obtain a future to align with the loftiest of his dreams; now that he is no longer at the Å’threshold' looking forward, he has no where to cast his dreaming, idealizing eyes but back, and not just into his past, but even beyond the narrative bounds of the novel. Thus excluded from the last scene, we are in a sense abandoned to Frà ©dà ©ric's fate, looking back with longing to a time that never existed. There is a way in which Sentimental Education, so utterly devoid of transcendence or redemptive spirit, chillingly effects the reader in a much deeper way, resonates in a much darker place than The Portrait of a Lady. Finally, we see that Isabel has learned what the novel had to teach her; Frà ©dà ©ric has not, and the brutal Å’sentimental education' is ours. Works Cited James, Henry. A Portrait of a Lady. 1908. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1963.

Ultimate Frisbee :: sports

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before you hear about Ultimate Frisbee, you should first know the history of the Frisbee. The Frisbie Pie Company sold their pies all over the East Coast, and it just happened that the pie tins were easy to throw around. At Yale, students began to make up games to play with the tins, and started to call them â€Å"Frisbees†. The name stuck and tossing the tins around became popular at many East Coast colleges. Several years later, an inventor decided to recreate the Frisbee tin. He wanted to make it out of plastic, which was one of the new post-war materials. He shaped his new disk like a U.F.O., complete with little windows. This was the first real Frisbee, and since then, the design hasn’t changed much. People had been tossing Frisbees around for years, but had yet to create a sport using the Frisbee disk. At Columbia High School in New Jersey, students from the school newspaper created a new sport, combining different aspects of soccer, football, basketball, team handball, and hockey, they called it Ultimate Frisbee. These students decided to write an official set of rules for Ultimate Frisbee. At first, it was only played by a few students at Columbia. The sport soon caught on at other colleges and high schools in the area. From then on, Ultimate spread rapidly throughout the United States, and was at first played only in schools. Since then many non-scholastic leagues have formed and many countries have started national teams. Not much has changed since the rules were first published, and since then, Ultimate has spread all over the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Spirit of the Game is the most important part of Ultimate Frisbee. In most sports, players purposefully foul their opponents. In Ultimate, the philosophy is that no one would ever foul an opposing player on purpose, and if a foul is to occur, it is assumed that the perpetrator fouled by accident. Players call their own fouls, and if the opposing team feels that the call was incorrect, they can contest it. Not having a referee involved means less time wasted. Another part of The Spirit of the Game is showing respect for your teammates and opponents. This â€Å"philosophy† is what makes Ultimate Frisbee different from all other sports.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once you figure out how to throw the disk, Ultimate’s a pretty easy game to learn. The game starts with both teams lining up on opposite end zones, the home team throws off to the opposing team; that starts the point.

Social Constructs :: Sociology

Social Construct influences the extent in which we are healthy and physically active. It determines how we use health services, recreational facilities and sporting opportunities to our benefits. It also guides our response to health and physical activity challenges and how an individual views health as a social construct. The advantages of viewing health of an individual through social constructs have many reasons. Some being that it supports principles of diversity and social justice. Australia is diverse in terms of multiculturalism, socio-economic status and geographic location. Socio-economic status relates how much the individuals income is, their employment status, car/home ownership or their knowledge about health. Being geographically isolated means not having access to available health services. It is taken into account so that the individual has a sense of belonging and empowerment to improve their health. The individual should have a supportive environment so that changes can occur for the better and to ensure the individual develops a sense of ownership for their health. Another advantage would be that is recognises the interrelationships between socio-cultural and environmental factors that influence social constructs. Many cultural and environmental factors impact and influence in individual?s health. Some of these may include, the climatic conditions, physical environment which influences the health of the individual and what society and culture expects of them. Climatic conditions can have a big impact of an individual?s health because of the decreasing amount of space to do physical activity. Final advantage is that it challenges the notion that health is solely an individual?s responsibility. For improvements to be made in health, the individual has to take full responsibility and to agree that they are to be blamed for their poor health levels. Through influences of social constructs the individual should make informed decisions regarding their health and should be more motivated to facilitate change.