Effect of Microcredit on Household Consumption

Effect of Microcredit on Household Consumption 1. Introduction Despite the multitude of studies on microfinance, there still exits surprisingly little hard data on the effects of microcredit. This analysis focuses on the effect of microcredit specifically on household consumption, and reviews relevant literature which addresses the relation between household consumption and availability of microcredit. Traditionally Microcredit has been studied as a tool of poverty reduction through increase of consumption. A relatively recent shift in thinking has been to consider microcredit as a means to facilitate consumption smoothing and build assets to protect against risks ahead of time and cope with shocks, leading to widespread poverty alleviation but not widespread poverty reduction. The review is divided into three sections based on the approach used to study the effect of microcredit. The first section examines the works of Pitt Khandeker and Morduch which use non-experimental methods to make claims of causal identification. This is followed by a look at random evaluation studies performed and discusses their conclusions. The final section introduces â€Å"Portfolios of the Poor† by Daryl Collins et al (2009), a descriptive study of the financial activities of the poor. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Non-Randomised Approach The studies by Pitt Khandeker and Morduch are all based on the 1991-92 cross-sectional survey of nearly 1800 households in Bangladesh served by microfinance programs of the Grameen Bank, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB). The sample also includes a control group of households in areas not served by any microfinance programs. Pitt and Khandeker (1998 A) apply a quasi-experimental design to this data and use a regression-discontinuity design to estimate the marginal impacts of microcredit while distinguishing borrowing by gender. The study obtains the result that â€Å"annual household consumption expenditure increases 18 taka for every 100 additional taka borrowed by women as compared with 11 taka for men† and hence concludes that microcredit increases household consumption. A key to the identification strategy used in this study is the fact that the factors driving credit choice be exogenous. One of these factors is the eligibility of households for credit (eligible if they own less than 0.5 acre). However this factor as noted by Morduch (1998) suffers from considerable mistargeting: overall 20-30% of borrowers own more than the mandated threshold and are actually ineligible. Consequently a criticism of this paper would be that the lax implementation of program rules undermines the application of the regression-discontinuity design. Morduch (1998) uses simpler estimators as compared to Pitt and Khandeker (1998 A). The study regresses directly on the primary instruments for credit, dummies for credit choice. Morduch measures the average impact of microcredit by first performing simple difference-in-difference estimates and then adding controls. Contrary to Pitt and Khandeker (1998 A), Morduch (1998) finds no significant effect of microcredit on the level of consumption. He however finds evidence that microcredit causes a decrease in the volatility of consumption (coefficient significant at 95% confidence) and also results in a smoothing of household labour supply (coefficient significant at 90% confidence). He asserts that consumption smoothing by households is driven by income smoothing but does not substantiate this with direct evidence. The possibility of seasonal consumption smoothing by landless households (primarily engaged in agriculture) through credit is explored by another study by Pitt and Khandeker (1998 B) and is based on data from the same survey as the two papers discussed above. The premise for this investigation is that, microcredit can help smooth seasonal consumption for credit constrained households by financing a new productive activity whose income flows that do not highly covary seasonally with income from agricultural pursuits. The econometric results generated are consistent with Morduch’s assertion of consumption smoothing through income smoothing. The results strongly suggest that an important motivation for credit program participation is the need to smooth the seasonal pattern of consumption and male labour supply. For male labour supply, as with household consumption, it seems that these group-based credit programs i) have a pattern of seasonal effects that act to smooth flows over the seasons, and ii) have a pattern of self-selection in which those households with the experiencing great than average seasonal variation in flows are most likely to join the programs and borrow. A paper by Morduch and Roodman (2009) revisits the studies by Morduch (1998) and Pitt Khandekar (1998 B). A replication exercise followed by Two-Stage Least-Squares (2SLS) regression is performed for the two, the result of which casts doubt on the positive results of both. In case of the Pitt and Kandeker finding, the replication generates results with opposite sign. However rather than microcredit being harmful, specification test suggests that the instrumentation strategy fails and that omitted variable causation is driving the result. As for Morduch rebuilding the data set revealed errors regarding the labour supply variables of the original set. The changes weaken the result on consumption volatility causing the statistic to no longer be significant. The non-experimental studies discussed above face challenges in establishing causality. A chief problem is that since microfinance clients are self-selected, they are not comparable to non-clients. Also MFIs purposefully choose some villages (non- random program placement) and participants (client selection) and not others. While Difference in Difference estimates can control for fixed differences between clients and non-clients, it is likely that participants in MFIs are on different trajectories even in the absence of Microcredit, invalidating comparisons between clients and non-clients. 2.2 Randomised Evaluation Given the complexity of the identification problem, randomised evaluations are a viable approach to study the effects of microcredit since it ensures that the difference between residents in the control areas vis-a-vis the treatment areas is the greater ease of access to microcredit. Banerjee (2010) conducts randomized evaluation of the impact of introducing microcredit in a new market. Half of 104 slums in Hyderabad, India were randomly selected for opening of an MFI branch while the remainder were not. The outcomes in both sets of areas were compared using intent to treat (ITT) estimates; that is, simple comparisons of averages in treatment and comparison areas, averaged over borrowers and non-borrowers. The results show no impact on average consumption, however the effects observed are heterogeneous and vary between households. Households who have a pre-existing business used microcredit to expand their existing ventures and show a significant increase in durable expenditure in treatment vs control areas. Households without a business but with a high propensity to start a business displayed a significant positive treatment effect on durable spending along with a decrease in non-durable spending. This reduction in nondurables spending could possibly be to facilitate a larger investment than received credit. Finally, household which didn’t have a business and are less likely to start a business showed a significantly large increase in nondurable expenses. These results are echoed in a study by Crepon et al (2011) who conducted a similar evaluation at the extensive margin to check if the effects of the programs but changed the context to a rural setting in Morocco where both credit and business opportunities are thinner in order to check if the effects of the programs would be different. As a possible explanation to no evidence of a positive impact of microcredit on consumption being found, the two studies suggest that, the households which increased durable spending may benefit from increased income and hence increased consumption in the future. In other words, the evaluation period may have been too short to capture the gains from investing in enterprise. Furthermore it would also be pertinent to observe whether households which increase non-durable spending and hence consumption continue to do so, given continued access to credit. 2.3 Financial diaries While looking at the relationship between Microcredit and consumption, a longitudinal survey on how poor households manage money and use financial services would be insightful. The book â€Å"Portfolios of the Poor† by Daryl Collins et al (2009) does this by constructing financial diaries for over 250 households, in Bangladesh, India and South Africa. To create a financial diary, a researcher visits a poor household repeatedly, say, every fortnight for a year, and gathers detailed information on transactions conducted by its members since the last visit. Through the data collection and the associated conversations the researcher has with the household, an intimate portrait of the households financial life is compiled. The book emphasises and shows evidence for the assertion that poor households faced with low and variable income look at all financial services to turn small, frequent pay-ins into occasional, large pay-outs and to smooth the mismatch between fluctuating income and steady outflows. Towards this end, MFIs by providing a reliable source of credit is of great help to the poor. However the canonical form of microcredit bears the disadvantage of being too rigid so as to address all credit needs of the poor (expenditure shocks like unexpected health expenses) and hence the household portfolios feature a diverse range of credit sources both formal and informal. Since they present an intricate picture of the transactions undertaken by the household, financial diaries, and for the purpose of this review the Grameen II financial diaries present a great opportunity to study how microcredit is actually used by the poor. The rest of this section presents a short review presented in the book, in order to give a flavour of the type of inferences which can be drawn from these types of studies. In the following table, 237 loans made by 43 households who were a part of the Grameen II financial diaries are classified into 6 main uses . Taking the first two categories to be productive use of loan, it is observed that roughly half the loans made fell into this category (48% of all loans and 53% of the loan value). This however does not mean that half of the client’s use the credit provided for productive expenses. Of the 43 households in the sample, just 6 were responsible for three quarters of the loan value in the biggest category business and also were recipients of two thirds of the loans issued in this category. These 6 households all have established businesses and borrow to buy stock as often as they are permitted. From this brief and simple look at the financial diaries we observe that, there is a great diversity to the activities the poor use microfinance for, also there is concentration of some uses among distinct types of users. Further, while investment uses account for more than half the value of loans disbursed, it is concentrated among the relatively well placed borrowers. Finally, the claim can presumably be made that the unproductive uses of loans made by the households are being used for consumption smoothing. Conclusion Based on the literature discussed by this review, while the shift to randomised evaluations from non-randomised studies in studying the effect of microcredit is good (considering the relative advantages provided by the former). The effect of microcredit on the consumption levels of households continues to remain ambiguous based on the present academic literature available. Whereas in the case of microcredit inducing consumption smoothing, there simply has not been enough study done exploring this perspective. In order to measure both the effect on both consumption level and consumption smoothing information on money management by poor households is required for many months if not years. The needed time series data can be obtained using the time intensive financial diaries method. Moreover an optimal research portfolio should probably blend the randomised approach with the financial diaries approach. Word Count 1990 References Banerjee, A., E. Duflo, R. Glennerster and C. Kinnan (2010), â€Å"The miracle of microfinance? Evidence from a randomized evaluation.†. MIT working paper. Collins, D., J, Morduch, S. Rutherford and O Ruthven, â€Å"Portfolios of the Poor†, Book Crepon, B., F, Devoto, E Duflo, W Pariente (2011), â€Å"Impact of microcredit in rural areas of Morocco Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation†, MIT Working paper Morduch, J. (1998). .Does Microfinance Really Help the Poor? Evidence from Flagship Pro- grams in Bangladesh, Hoover Institution, Stanford U. working paper. Morduch, J. and Roodman, D. (2009),† The Impact of microcredit on the poor in Bangladesh: Revisiting the evidence, Centre for Global Development Working Paper No. 174. Pitt, Mark and Shahidur Kandker (1998 A), â€Å"The Impact of Group-Based Credit Programs on Poor Households in Bangladesh: Does the Gender of Participants Matter?† Journal of Political Economy, October. Pitt, Mark and Shahidur Kandker (1998b), â€Å"Credit Programs for the Poor and Seasonality in Rural Bangladesh,† Brown University and World Bank, draft, January 9.

Campbell Management Consulting Case Analysis

Campbell Management Consulting Case Analysis Situation Analysis In the Campbell Management Consulting case, Lauzon Automotive hopes to become more efficient. Central Engineering Manager, Peter Cole, has hired Colin Campbell to conduct a series of studies, beginning with the role of â€Å"tug operator†. The workload carried by the tug operator position has decreased in recent years due to decreases in the amount of waste generated at the plant; however, staff level of the role has remained constant over the same period. Campbell is observing and analyzing the utilization of workers in the position to determine if cutbacks would be beneficial. Campbell is met with hostility, however, on the part of the union workers who fear losing their jobs. In addition to being openly hostile towards Campbell, the workers have opted to participate in a â€Å"work-to-rule† campaign to show their dissatisfaction with the study. The campaign is a strike technique in which workers do the minimum amount of work necessary, or follow the policies and procedures so closely, that productivity is hampered or halted altogether. Since huge losses result from the shutdown of the plant, which could be a result of their work-to-rule campaign, it is wise to avoid its enactment. The root causes of the issues include job design problems, specifically with inflexibility. This narrow description has caused workers to be able to enact the work-to-rule campaign. In addition, general management of the workforce is another concern. Cole, a young manager, needs to get a better grip on the tenured union employees and enforce company policies. Issues with the union also abound; under no circumstances should a consultant be harassed, as Campbell was, by one the Lauzon employees. PROJECT TITLE: | Campbell Management Consulting| Date:| 9/13/2011| | Owner:| Michelle Crawford| Background| | Recommendations| *In 1998, Japanese automakers have 30% share of industry vs. the decreasing 60% share held by North American manufacturers. *Production rates for American automakers had dropped 2-3% in few years leading up to 1998. | | A job analysis and reformation of the job description is required to impede any future attempts at enforcing a work-to-rule or other strike tactic. The measurable will be compliance from the workforce as well as increased efficiency in the tug operator role. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Current Situation| | | *In order to remain competitive, Lauzon Automotive is looking to become more efficient. *Colin Campbell has been hired to diagnose problems and inefficiencies, beginning with the role of â€Å"tug operator†. *The workload carried by the tug loader position had decreased steadily in the past few years due to decreases in waste production, yet staff level of this role remained constant over the same period. The tug operator position is occupied by senior union employees, who are reacting negatively to the study and staging work-to-rule protests. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Plan| | | 1 – Perform job analysis on the tug operator position. Redefine the role so that it includes measurables like timeliness of deliveries as well as safety regulations. Include any duties that may have been previo usly undefined in the description. 2 – Have Peter, and perhaps a more senior employee, meet with union leaders on the hostility issues. A â€Å"no-tolerance† rule on harassment should be implemented – and offenders immediately fired. 3 – During this meeting, Peter should assure the tug operators that their jobs are not at risk. Given that most of them are within one year of retirement, Peter should allow their retirement to naturally reduce the number of workers in the role, and only hire on/promote more tug operators as necessary based on utilization calculations, which will need to include travel time between gondolas. – Peter should explain the reformation in the job description. This will be instrumental not only in preventing work-to-rule protests from employees, but will also aide when training newly hired tug operators, when the time comes. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Goal(s)| | | Effectively manage the number of workers in the tug operator position for maximum efficiencies, without causing unrest amongst the union employees and possibly causing a strike. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Analysis| | | | | | | | Utilization rate of workers per shift (assuming one refuel per shift): 180 (# of gondolas) X 5. 35 m (average service time per sample gondola) = 984. 25 m (total time to service gondolas per shift) 510 m (per shift) – 30 m (lunch) – 60 m (breaks) – 15 m (refuel) = 405 m (per worker per shift) 405 m (per worker per shift) X 5 (workers per shift) = 2025 m (total time workers available) 984. 5 / 2025 = workers operating at 48. 6% capacity. However, it should be noted that Campbell's data is incomplete because it does not include travel time between the gondolas. This would clearly effect the recommendations, so I do not think it would be acceptable for Campbell to consider cutting jobs at this time. Root causes *Job design – too narrow a definition, allowing workers to enact work-to-rule. Management of the workforce: Peter, the young manager, seems to be getting pushed around by the tenured union employees, hampering productivity *Issues with the union: ho stility and unrest that should not be tolerated | | Follow up| | | Meet with union leaders and tug operators again to discuss any issues with the new job description. Enlist their support in providing feedback to enhance the description. They should view the consulting team as their allies. Finally approve new description, and then monitor retirement dates for when to expect an increase in role productivity. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Assumptions and Missing Information The key piece of information that is missing is the travel time between one gondola and the next. Without this data, it is impossible to accurately determine the utilization of tug operators. Problem Definition The key issue in this case is the narrow job design and definition of the tug operator position, allowing for strike tactics. The secondary issue is management of the workforce and issues with the union. Development of Alternatives One alternative would be to continue the study to acquire the data necessary. Campbell could return to the floor and observe the time it takes to travel from one gondola to another, and then complete his utilization rate analysis. Evaluation of Alternatives and Recommendations If Campbell decides to complete his evaluation of the role, it might further damage the relationship between management and the union, causing more unrest and workplace disruption. I would advise against this, especially since the majority of tug operators are planning to retire within one year. In light of this, I recommend that Campbell abandon his study of utilization rate in favor of job analysis on the tug operator position. The job description should then be modified as necessary so that work-to-rule campaigns will no longer be an issue. Campbell should also advise Cole on how to handle his relationship with the union in the future. Implementation Plan The implementation timeline should look as follows: * Perform job analysis on tug operator position. * Redefine the role so that it includes measurables like timeliness of deliveries as well as safety regulations. Include any duties that may have been previously undefined in the description. * Cole should meet with union leaders on hostility issues and address strike concerns. * Assure them that their jobs are safe and that not cooperating with or expressing hostility towards Campbell will not be tolerated. Cole should also explain the changes to the job description and enlist the help of the tug operators for any future developments with it. Conclusion Narrow job descriptions can become host to numerous workplace issues, including strike protests like the one exhibited in this case. Evaluating them, and maintaining a good relationship with the workforce, is crucial to success, efficiency, and sustainability. References Cruji, Colin. Richard Ivey School of Business. (1999) Campbell M anagement Consulting.

Rate Law and Activation Energy Essay

Introduction In this experiment we are analyzing the relationship between reaction rates at different concentrations and temperatures to determine the true rate constant, activation energy, reaction orders, and half-life of a reaction. The reaction of interest is the addition of a hydroxyl group to the nucleus of Crystal Violet. Crystal Violet, or hexamethylparaosaniline chloride for short, is a strongly colored purple dye with the chemical formula C25H30N3Cl and disassociates completely in solution. The relevant structure for this compound can be seen in figure 1 Figure 1 The base that is being used for the reaction is the strong base Sodium Hydroxide, or NaOH. This molecule also completely disassociates in water. Because measuring the concentrations of reactants is difficult in a simple lab setting, the reaction between Crystal Violet and Sodium Hydroxide will be measured through light absorbance. As the reaction between the chemicals takes place and the Crystal Violet receives the hydroxide the overall intensity of the purple color will decrease thus affecting the absorbance. The absorbance of the solution will be measured with a colorimeter as the reaction takes place and will be interpreted as a direct representation of concentration of Crystal Violet. After the reaction has taken place, through analysis of graphs plotting absorption vs. time, the natural log of absorption vs. time, and the inverse of absorption vs. time the reaction will be determined to be either zeroth, first, or second order with respect to crystal violet. From here the a pseudo rate constant can be determined, and using comparisons of different constants at different concentrations of NaOH solution and different temperatures, the reaction order with respect to hydroxide, the true rate constant for the reaction, and the activation energy for the reaction can all be determined with the following equations respectively. equation 1 Where k2’ is the pseudo rate constant of the reaction using twice the initial OH- concentration as is used in the k1’ reaction and n is equal to the reaction order with respect to OH-. equation 2 Where k’ is a pseudo rate constant based off of absorption and n is the reaction order with respect to OH- determined by equation 1. equation 3 Where k1 is the reaction constant at temperature T1, a is a constant that can be ignored due to the way the equation will be utilized, R is that gas constant, and Ea is the activation energy. Procedure The following materials were needed for the experiment: 4 100mL beakers 250mL beaker 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet Stock solution 0.10M NaOH Stock solution Distilled Water 10 dry plastic cuvettes and caps Stirring rod Vernier Colorimeter 50mL volumetric pipet 100 µL syringe 2 10mL vials Logger Pro software Vernier computer interface Hot plate Vernier temperature probe 1. First, 100mL of 0.10M NaOH solution was obtained using a 50mL volumetric pipet, and 0.05M was prepared using a the pipet, the stock 0.10M NaOH solution, and distilled water. 2. The Logger Pro software was engaged and both the Vernier colorimeter and temperature probe were plugged into the appropriate channels. The temperature of the room was measured and the colorimeter was calibrated by setting the 0% light and 100% light conditions. 3. The colorimeter was set to 565nm and 1mL of 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet solution was mixed with 1mL of 0.05M NaOH solution and quickly added to the colorimeter. Data correlating time, temperature, transmittance, and absorbance was then recorded for seven minutes as the reaction between the two solutions took place, and this data was saved. 4. This previous step was repeated two additional times with the 0.05M NaOH solution, and then three times with the 0.10M NaOH solution. 5. Last, two 10mL-vials of 0.05M NaOH and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet solution were prepared in a warm bath solution on the hot plate. Once the temperature reached 35ËšC and was recorded, steps BLANK through BLANK were repeated again twice with the heated solutions of Crystal Violet and 0.05M NaOH. All of the data that was collected was saved and distributed between the two lab partners and all excess solutions were disposed of properly under the fume hood. Results The following are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the third run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC. figure 2 figure 3 figure 4 These plots show that the reaction order with respect to crystal violet is clearly 1st order due to the great r2 value of the linear trend line. Since our pseudo rate constant based off of absorption is equal to the negative slope of our linear plot, our k’ in for the reaction of 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC is 0.1894. These next three plots are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the first run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.10M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.50ËšC. figure 5 figure 6 figure 7 As expected, these results still indicate a reaction order of 1 with respect to crystal violet as demonstrated by the linear plot on the figure 6. Our k’ in for the reaction of 1mL of 0.10M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.50ËšC is 0.2993. Now that we have two pseudo reaction constants in which the OH- concentration differs by a factor of 2, we can use equation 1 to obtain the reaction order with respect to OH-. Since the reaction order must be an integer we can see that the n must be 1. It is now know that for the reaction, the reaction orders with respect to both reactants are 1. At this point, the true rate constant can be determined using equation 2, where n is 1, the initial concentration of OH- is 0.05, and the pseudo rate constant k’ is 0.1894. These next three plots are the graphs obtained from the absorption and time recordings of the first run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 36.09ËšC. figure 8 figure 9 figure 10 Once again it is apparent from the three plots that the reaction is first order with respect to crystal violet. However, the reason we performed this last kinetic run was to obtain a value for k at a different temperature. This way we have two sets of values for equation 3 with two temperatures, and two rate constants. With this information we can cut out the pre-exponential factor a and solve for the activation energy. But first k must again be calculated for the reaction at the new temperature. Doing this the same way as done in calculation 2, we obtain a reaction constant of 4.964 – a higher value, which is to be expected with the increase in temperature. Now, manipulating equation 4 we obtain that equation 4 While plugging the proper values provides which after some arithmetic leads to a calculated Ea of 15,254.67J, or 15.25467kJ. The calculation for half-lives for the different conditions is simple, and just requires the following equation. equation 5 When using the rate constant found in calculation 1, t1/2 for the kinetic run for the reaction between 1mL of 0.05M NaOH and 1mL of and 2.5Ãâ€"10-5M Crystal Violet carried out at 22.62ËšC is found to be 0.183 seconds. Error Analysis In this experiment there are several things calculated and several sources of error to take into account. Error needs to be calculated for the rate constants k, for the half-lives, and for activation energy. The errors for the pseudo-rate constants are obtained using the LLS method. Once these are obtained the next step is to calculate the error in the true rate constants. When calculating the error in true rate constant once must apply both the error in the pseudo rate constant and the error in the measurement of volume for the 100 µL syringe as it pertains to the concentration of hydroxide. The error in the syringe is 0.02mL, which for 0.05M NaOH solution leads to an error in concentration of approximately 1Ãâ€"10-3M and 2Ãâ€"10-3M for 0.10M NaOH. Equation 2 is manipulated to solve for the true rate constant. The following equation is used to solve for the error in the true rate constant. equation 6 And when the derivatives are solved is equal to equation 7 And when the numbers are plugged in for the first kinetic run looks like calculation =.08 In other words, the rate constant for the first kinetic run came out to be 3.79 ±.08. Now when calculating the error in the half-life the only thing that has to be taken into consideration is the error in the rate constant, which was just calculated above. Using the same method, equation 5 is solved for half-life, and the error is calculated like so. equation 8 Which after the derivatives are solved is equal to equation 9 And of course after the correct values for example the first kinetic run are plugged in provides calculation = .004 And last but nowhere near least, is the error analysis for the activation energy. With this the error for the true rate constant must again be taken into consideration, and the error for the temperature probe. The error for the true rate constant has already been calculated, while the error for the temperature probe is provided in the lab manual as being  ±0.03K. Taking these into consideration, a very complex process follows. The same process as above was used but involving much more complicated and lengthy derivatives. First equation 3 was manipulated to the following form. equation 10 The derivative of this equation with respect to each variable (T1, T2, K1, and K2) was then taken squared, and multiplied by the square of the respective variables uncertainty. These were added up and the square root was taken as in the above methods. The end result was a calculated error of 2 KJ for the calculated activation energy of 15kJ. Figure 11 Overall this lab was very successful in the use of absorption as a method of monitoring change in concentration. The calculated errors all seem to be about what one might expect. This lab was very analytical outside of one glaring hole. You can see in figure 9 a slight curve in the plot that isn’t found on either figure 3 or figure 6. To me this seems to be because the reactants are heated up to a temperature around 35-36ËšC, but once the chemicals are mixed and placed in the cuvette the temperature is no longer controlled as the reaction takes place for the following seven minutes. Thus, as the temperature falls the rate of the reaction slows, and the pseudo rate constant is lower than it should be. This of course leads to a rate constant lower than it should be, and then the activation energy is affected as well. If I were going to change one thing about the lab, I would try and do something to control the temperature as the reaction persisted. Aside from that, there is little room for error outside of obvious blunders. Conclusion A reasonable value for activation energy was calculated from the data collected in this experiment. There were no major mistakes made in the laboratory, and the calculations all went smoothly. This experiment demonstrated that there are creative ways around difficult problems in the laboratory, such as measuring absorption in place of concentration to follow the progress of a reaction. References- Alberty, A. A.; Silbey, R. J. Physical Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1997. Department of Chemistry. (2013, Spring). CHEMISTRY 441G Physical Chemistry Laboratory Manual. Lexington: University of Kentucky

Children of Incarcerated Parents - 1800 Words

Effects on Children of Incarcerated Fathers Most of the prisons in America are overcrowded. They are overcrowded with men, most of which are fathers and nearly half of these incarcerated fathers were living with their child or children before going to prison. The effects on these children can be detrimental. This can also cause strained relationships with the mothers or other family members doing their best to take care of these children while their father is away. There can be social as well as emotional problems, but luckily there are many states that are trying to accommodate for the parent being gone with programs and camps for these children. Many social issues occur with a child of an incarcerated father as they grow older. It is†¦show more content†¦When abruptly removing a child from their father is ignoring the emotional needs of that child/children. They end up feeling vulnerable, alone, and frightened While being a father in prison, it is still necessary to establish a parental connection with their son or daughter. It has been said that it is most beneficial to have both parents in the child’s life. They must create their own role even though they are behind bars. A study showed that most incarcerated fathers have feelings of â€Å"helplessness and difficulties in being a ‘good father (Rosenburg 2009).† There are many reasons why the fathers may feel this way. A lot of mothers refuse to bring the children to a prison or jail, but a lot of mothers may have a problem with finances, transportation, or time. There are strict rules and codes to follow when visiting a prisoner, so it would be difficult for a child to act normally with their father. Waiting times can be long, children will be frisked, and chances are it will be hot, dirty, and crowded. The caregiver may say that is emotionally scarring and the visiting can have a bad influence on the child. When a f ather is sent away, he is not sent to a prison in accordance with the family’s home. For those that are close, they are lucky, but if a person is in the state’s Department of Corrections, they can be sent anywhere in the state. When these fathers are taken away, the children receive little or no support on how to deal withShow MoreRelatedChildren of Incarcerated Parents Essay1814 Words   |  8 PagesWhen a person becomes a parent, their role in life undoubtedly changes. The person must become a teacher, a guide, and a helping hand in the life of the child. Research has shown that there is a distinct connection between how a child is raised and their overall developmental outcome. John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of the regular and sustained contact between the parent-infant or parent-child relationship (Travis Waul 2003). Yet, what happens when the only physical contactRead MoreEssay on Incarcerated Parents and Their Children2290 Wo rds   |  10 Pages The challenges of children who grow up with parents whom were incarcerated at some point in their childhood can have a major effect on their life. The incarceration of parents can at times begin to affect the child even at birth. Now with prison nurseries the impregnated mother can keep her baby during her time in jail. With the loss of their parent the child can begin to develop behavioral problems with being obedient, temper tantrums, and the loss of simple social skills. Never learningRead MoreChildren with Incarcerated Parents Essay1835 Words   |  8 PagesJustice And The effects on Children of Incarcerated Parents Loretta R. Lynch Capstone 480 Ms. Mel Jones Abstract Today prisons are overcrowded and over two million Americans, male, and female are sitting in jail or prison, and two thirds of those people incarcerated are parents (U.S. Department of Justice). Approximately two million of these children are separated from their mom or dad because of incarceration of which these are the custodial parent. These children suffer from poverty, inconsistencyRead MoreOutcomes for Children of Incarcerated Parents1867 Words   |  8 PagesAffecting Outcomes for the Invisible Casualties of War – The Children of Incarcerated Parents On December 31, 2005, 2,320,359 people were incarcerated in the United States. Of these inmates, 107,518 were female. As of 2004, the most recent date for which statistics are available, it is estimated that there are approximately 2.8 million children of incarcerated parents. Of this number, approximately 320,000 are children of incarcerated mothers. The problem with these estimates is that atRead MoreEssay on Helping Children with Incarcerated Parents2349 Words   |  10 Pagestoday is the 2.7 million children currently being left behind with incredible pain while their parents are being placed behind bars (Maier 91). They are left behind with not only pain, but the struggles of living day to day life without the guidance of their parents, as well as having to find a new home. According to child development specialist and the founding director of the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, Denise Johnston, â€Å"there are over 10 million minor children in the Unit ed StatesRead MoreThe Center For Children of Incarcerated Parents Essay2452 Words   |  10 PagesThe social welfare program identified for the purpose of this paper is the Center for Children of Incarcerated parents. The social problem for which it was designed to address is that of the effects of parental incarceration on children and families of the incarcerated. Its’ target population, children and families of the incarcerated. This paper will explore how services are provided and its source of funding. Additionally, it will seek to provide an understanding of theRead MoreEssay on Abounding Needs: Children of Incarcerated Parents1598 Words   |  7 Pagesmillion last year. Considering higher rates of incarceration, we can easily deduce that more parents are incarcerated now than ever before. The children of these parents are undoubtedly affected. Sadly, these children are often considered a collective group with a particular set of needs-- that is, basic needs like food, clothing and shelter (Johnson and Waldfogel, 2002). However, each child of an incarcerated parent has emotional and psychological needs specific to his/her situation that must be met. MeetingRead MoreChildren With Incarcerated Parents Have Lived An Uneasy Life1432 Words   |  6 PagesChildren with incarcerated parents have lived an uneasy life. Children have watched their parents get in trouble with the law and watch them be handcuffed and taken away for arrest. Children struggle physically, mentally and emotionally when a parent is d isplaced away from the home. Children have many emotions when they see their parent going away with a police officer. Children are taught today, the police officers are there to help you but also deal with people that get in trouble and when youRead MoreThere Is A Fair Amount Of Research Surrounding Parents1522 Words   |  7 PagesThere is a fair amount of research surrounding parents being incarcerated, and the effects it can have on those they leave on the outside. Children with incarcerated parents can have quite a few factors working against them. This can cause behavioural and emotional issues (Merenstein, Tyson, Tilles, Keays, Rufffolo, 2011). There is a need for social support from adult role models. This includes caregivers, teachers and other adults in the community activities they are involved in ( Luther, 2015;Read MoreThe Impact Of Mass Incarceration On African Americans1019 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Americans make up 34% of the incarcerated population. As a resul t, a disproportionate amount of African American youth will experience a parent’s incarceration. Research has shown that children of incarcerated parents experience emotional problems, socioeconomic problems, and cognitive disturbances (Miller, 2007). In this paper, I will discuss the impact of mass incarceration in the African American community and its effect on African American children. Incidence and Prevalence Until the