Abortion :: essays papers

Abortion Effects of RU-486 Women who become pregnant and do not wish to have the child now have a new option, RU-486. When the abortion pill is taken, it has some effects on the female body, the main one being the end of the pregency, and some women have negative physical aspects, and finally some psychological ones also. RU-486 (abortion pill) is suppose to end the pregnecy and this is how it works. The first pill when taken works by blocking the progesterone, the female hormone made by the ovary. Progesterone is required to maintain life for the fetus. When they are blocked, the developing baby dies. Next pill prostaglandin that causes uterine contractions pushes the baby out (Giovanna 191-197). Although the pill may sound like a good idea, it does have some bad effects as well. Some of the dangers of RU-486 are severe bleeding, cramps, and diarrhea. The main effect that causes the most damage to the female body is severe bleeding. It has been noted that the average bleeding for most women is ten days. In some instances the patient had to be given a blood transfusion. In rare situations there have been two heart attacks and one death (RU 486 DANGERS AND RISKS 1-2). The abortion pill is not perfect. Sometimes it doesn’t work and if the unborn child is carried to term it can be born with severe disabilities. Therefore women who received RU-486 and it did not work have to have the surgical abortion (RU-486: A DEADLY DRUG 1-3). The psychological effects of RU-486 can be hard on women also. At first when the pill came around to Europe in 1991 women who received the people were sent home to deliver their dead fetus. Can you imagine what this could do to a woman? I asked one woman, what she thought about it and she said, â€Å"It would have torn me apart and that’s gross† (Masters, Amanda, interview, 7 November 2000). Most women are reluctant to get an abortion anyway and to be put though such emotional turmoil. Maybe this is why only six-percent of women in England use this method of abortion. The RU-486 abortion pill is now an option that pregnant women have.

Epic of Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

The poem begins with a brief genealogy of the Danes. Scyld Shefing was the first great king of the Danes, known for his ability to conquer enemies. Scyld becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes during the events of Beowulf. Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called Heorot. Once the hall is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast. The revelry attracts the attentions of the monster Grendel, who decides to attack during the night. In the morning, Hrothgar and his thanes discover the bloodshed and mourn the lost warriors. This begins Grendel's assault upon the Danes. Twelve years pass. Eventually the news of Grendel's aggression on the Danes reaches the Geats, another tribe. A Geat thane, Beowulf, decides to help the Danes; he sails to the land of the Danes with his best warriors. Upon their arrival, Hrothgar's thane Wulfgar judges the Geats worthy enough to speak with Hrothgar. Hrothgar remembers when he helped Beowulf's father Ecgtheow settle a feud; thus, he welcomes Beowulf's help gladly. Heorot is filled once again for a large feast in honor of Beowulf. During the feast, a thane named Unferth tries to get into a boasting match with Beowulf by accusing him of losing a swimming contest. Beowulf tells the story of his heroic victory in the contest, and the company celebrates his courage. During the height of the celebration, the Danish queen Wealhtheow comes forth, bearing the mead-cup. She presents it first to Hrothgar, then to the rest of the hall, and finally to Beowulf. As he receives the cup, Beowulf tells Wealhtheow that he will kill Grendel or be killed in Heorot. This simple declaration moves Wealhtheow and the Danes, and the revelry continues. Finally, everyone retires. Before he leaves, Hrothgar promises to give Beowulf everything if he can defeat Grendel. Beowulf says that he will leave God to judge the outcome. He and his thanes sleep in the hall as they wait for Grendel. Eventually Grendel arrives at Heorot as usual, hungry for flesh. Beowulf watches carefully as Grendel eats one of his men. When Grendel reaches for Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm and doesn't let go. Grendel writhes about in pain as Beowulf grips him. He thrashes about, causing the hall to nearly collapse. Soon Grendel tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf's grasp.

Penelope, the Odyssey

Penelope, Loyal Wife of Lord Odysseus While Penelope is not the principal character in Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’ perception of her is optimal. The relationship between them is not based on loyalty, we, the audience, have the privilege to understand his genuine feelings towards her. Throughout Odysseus’ journey, Homer assures us that he loves Penelope regardless of the fact that he has his episodes of infidelity. Homer also insinuates that Odysseus, although maybe not immediately, acknowledges the sacrifices that she makes for him.He also elaborates that Penelope is dedicated to Odysseus by constantly reminding us of how she refuses to give up on her marriage and settle with one of the many suitors that plague her estate. Penelope proved herself to be a strong individual in The Odyssey. For years during Odysseus’ absence from his kingdom, unable to return home, there were men who contended against one another hoping that they would be able to take Odys seus’ place on his throne.However, Penelope continued to wait for her husband to come home regardless of how unlikely it was that Odysseus would reclaim his title of king, all while allowing the possible replacements to believe that they have a chance as Antinous describes to Odysseus and Penelope’s only son: â€Å"So high and mighty, Telemachus—such unbridled rage! Well now, fling your accusations at us? Think to pin the blame on us? You think again. It’s not the suitors here who deserve the blame, it’s your own dear mother, the matchless queen of cunning.Look here. For three years now, getting on to four, she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes– dangling promises, dropping hints to each– but all the while with something else in mind. (Book 2:90-100) This suggests that women of the society in Ancient Greece would be devoted and dependent on their husbands, but were also given optio ns to pave their own paths. If tragedy were to strike, women would be able to do what they wanted to, in terms of choosing a new husband.Throughout the epic poem, Penelope can be viewed as either active or passive—active, in the sense that she is content with being independent and not allowing the suitors to sway her mind towards choosing them, and passive, because she allows the same suitors to eat away at her possessions and also that she remains submissive as a loyal wife. However, the only constant that is guaranteed is that she does love and is loyal to Odysseus, as she reveals to a stranger, oblivious to the fact that it is her husband, in fact, in disguise: â€Å"No, no, stranger,† wise Penelope demurred, â€Å"whatever form and feature I Had, what praise I’d won, he deathless gods destroyed that day the Achaeans sailed away to Troy, my husband in their ships, Odysseus—if he could return to tend my life the renown I had would only grow in glory. N ow my life is torment . . . look at the griefs some god has loosed against me! All the nobles who rule the islands round about, Dulichion, Same, and wooded Zacynthus too, and all who lord it in sunny Ithaca itself– they court me against my will, they lay waste my house. So I pay no heed to strangers, suppliants at my door, not even heralds out on their public errands here– I yearn for Odysseus, always, my heart pines away. Book 19:138-51) It was also made clear to the suitors, even though they were being led on, that they understood that Penelope had no interest in substituting Odysseus, as explained by one of the murdered suitors: â€Å"Famous Atrides! † Amphimedon’s ghost called back. â€Å"Lord of men, Agamemnon, I remember it all, your majesty, as you say, and I will tell you, start to finish now, the story of our death, the brutal end contrived to take us off. We were courting the wife of Odysseus, gone so long. She neither spurned nor embraced a ma rriage she despised, no, she simply planned our death, our black doom!This was her latest masterpiece of guile: she set up a great loom in the royal halls and she began to wave, and the weaving finespun, the yarns endless, and she would lead us on: ‘Young men, my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more, go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, until I can finish off this web . . . so my weaving won’t all fray and come to nothing. This is a shroud for old lord Laertes, for that day when the deadly fate that lays us out at last will take him down. I dread the shame my countrywomen would heap upon me, yes, if a man of such wealth should lie in state without a shroud for cover. Her very words, and despite our pride and passion we believed her. So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web– by night, by the light of torches set beside her, she would unravel all she’d done. Three whole years she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme . . . (Book 24:130-57) While Penelope can be deemed mischievous by those whom she had deceived, the result was that she was truly faithful to her husband, despite the amount of time she had to wait for him and aside from his lack of fidelity towards her. Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York, 1996

‘Of Mice and Men’ †novel and film comparison Essay

This is a comparison between Steinbeck’s original novel Of Mice and Men and the 1992 film version. I will be comparing the two beginnings, the presentation of Curley’s wife, and the treatment of a powerful scene. Of Mice and Men is one of those classic stories about friendship, loyalty, sacrifice and broken dreams. The 1992 film was directed by Gary Sinise, who also played the part of George Milton. This film was in fact the first film he had ever directed and I believe it to be very successful. The film follows the overall content of the novel, however, there are some key differences: The introduction to the film has two complete differences, the presentation of Curley’s wife, and also the treatment of a powerful scene, which will be focused on the ending. In the beginning of the Novel, it is set in Soledad. Steinbeck creates a very tranquil opening and gives the impression that it hasn’t been disrupted by human interference. ‘’On the sand bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them’’. However, even before the reader is introduced to the two protagonists, Steinbeck includes that this peaceful, animal inhabited area is frequently interrupted my humans. ‘’a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water.’’ This quote shows that this has been a place humans have to for a long time. The use of the word’s ‘beaten hard’ is associated with a path which has been walked on for many years. This tells the reader that however peaceful the area may be, it has always been trespassed by humans. The animals react in fear due to the sound of footsteps mentioned again. This also suggests that the animals are not used to humans entering their little world and thus they hide away. ‘’The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down river. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool.’’ The description of George and Lennie’s entrance indicates that George appears to be in change. ‘’They had walked single file down the path, and even in the open, one stayed behind the other.’’ This shows the reader that there isn’t a close bond of friendship, but more of a leader and a follower, i.e. George being the leader, and Lennie the follower. The description of George and Lennie gives the reader a sense of their characters immediately. ‘’The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.’’ This shows the reader that George is a man of intelligence and means business. Lennie’s description on the other hand is described as someone who is quite the opposite. ‘’Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely.’’ Lennie is described physically with a great use of animal imagery. This adds to the fact that Lennie does lack intelligence. In his description he indicates that Lennie is also someone in need of guidance and cannot think on his own accords which could conclude why George is with him. The beginning of the film is very different compared to the novel. It isn’t shown as peaceful at all. In fact the music used gives a great feeling of intensity and panic. When the piano is included with the rhythm of the violin, it adds a sense of hopelessness. There are notes played on a higher scale of the piano which insist a sense of innocence, however, nothing is suggesting happiness. The opening scene begins on a train with George sitting alone looking very strong in the darkness of the carriage. Although the train is very dark, beams of light shine through from gaps in the wooden walls. The scene is then changed to a much brighter atmosphere with a young woman running in a field in Weed – George and Lennie’s home town. However, music is still very fast and tense which prepares the audience again that this is a sad story. George and Lennie are being chased by men with guns on horseback. It is clear to the audience that George is in charge just by seeing that he is leading the way and telling Lennie what to do. We then see George and Lennie escape, sneaking onto the train and we hear the first convocation between George and Lennie which again indicates that George is in charge as he merely tells him to ‘’shh’’ and ‘’Go to sleep’’. Lennie responds with simple use of the English language which again shows the audience that he has some kind of disability. It’s quite ironic really because Lennie is in a very big character although he cries and depends on George for the majority of things. The incident in Weed is not running in a chronologically compared to the novel as we are introduced to the incident before we actually meet the characters. At the very beginning when we first see George, it is as if the incident in Weed is his memory and he is pondering on it as him and Lennie travel to their destination on the farm in Soledad. In the novel, the readers are introduced to the incident in Weed later on in the novel when George and Slim have a conversation on the Ranch. In the film, the audience is introduced to the Ranch with very country-like music which is fairly happy and uplifting compared to the musical piece the audience are introduced to at the very beginning. In the novel, Curley’s Wife is first mentioned through a conversation with George and Candy. Candy makes it seem like Curley’s Wife is a bit of a flirt before the reader is even introduced to her by saying that even though she is married she’s ‘got the eye’. However, although she isn’t exactly happy being with Curley, she just wants some attention. When the reader is introduced to her she is described wearing very a rather lot of makeup. ‘’She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red.’’ Curley’s Wife wears a lot of red. Red is seen as the most intense colours and is very noticeable. The fact that she wears a lot of red indicates that she wants to be noticed. ‘’She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.’’ As she lives on a farm, she is not really dressed appropriately for the wife of a rancher. However, Curley ignores Curley’s Wife so it is of no surprise that she is wearing things to attract the other men on the farm. Her body language insists that she is very provocative as if she is tempting the men to go after her. ‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward.’ Lennie is very much attracted to her although George and the other men are not. This kind of suggests that Lennie will have something to with her although not in a sense of sexual nature, but similar to the same incidence in Weed where Lennie was accused of attempting rape towards the girl running away when he was only caught up in stroking her dress that he would not let go. In section four of the novel, there is a part where Curley’s Wife enters looking for Curley although in the film this was left out. Perhaps to ensure that Curley’s Wife was wanted to be seen by Gary Sinise as someone who needed sympathy from the audience. During this part of the novel, Curley’s Wife describes her relationship with Curley. ‘’Sure I gotta husban’. You all seen him. Swell guy, aint he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guts he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody. Think I’m gonna stay in that two-by-four house and listen how Curley’s gonna lead with his left twice and then bring in the ol’ right cross?’’ This creates a lot of sympathy towards Curley’s Wife as she is obviously rejected by Curley to the point where she isn’t even properly included. The fact that as the reader, we don’t even know her name also suggests that she is unimportant towards Curley and the other characters. Crooks quickly turns on Curley’s Wife insisting that she leaves, however, she has a lot of power over him considering she’s white and back then, black people were simply just slaves and were resented by a lot of people. Knowing that, Crooks backs down almost to a point where he is leaning against the wall. ‘’Listen Nigger/ You know what I can do to you if you open your trap? †¦ Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’’ This is practically the only time that Curley’s Wife has some kind of power over someone, and because he is treated no better than an animal as he lives next to the barn where all the animals are and not even in a properly built home, more of a shed, suggests that Curley’s Wife only really has power, or a chance to step in on her own accords is towards Crooks. Section five is where Curley’s Wife initially dies due to her trust, and lack of self control in Lennie. Steinbeck has been implying that Curley’s Wife was just really an innocent young woman and all the makeup was just an act for attention. ‘’the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.’’ Again the amount of makeup she had on makes her look as if she were still alive ‘’Now her roughed cheeks and her reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly.’’ In the film, the audience are introduced to her again like in the novel looking for Curley. She is dressed in a pink floral dress unlike in the novel where she is wearing mostly red. However she is wearing red lipstick although her eyes are not heavily made up but it is noticeable that she is wearing eye makeup. It is clear that she is not wearing heels because the sounds of her foot steps are quite bold. Compared to the book she is a lot less provocative but the way she speaks to the men on the farm is very flirtatious and her body language is very suggestive, for example she pushes her chest forward and places her hands on her hips which could insinuate her wanting more than just somebody to talk to, although we know she just wants somebody to talk to. When Curley’s Wife leaves, George’s immediate response is towards Lennie is for him to stay away from her due to the incident in Weed. There are three added scenes featured in the film. These were most likely included to show the audience how Curley’s Wife has no sympathy or consideration from the other men at the barn and how Curley himself treats his wife with little consideration. The barn scene, being the first added scene is where we see George taking a tired out horse back to the barn where he also encounters Curley’s Wife. The way she talks to George is very flirtatious and almost as if she is leading him on, however she then goes on about how she wants somebody to talk to her because Curley himself doesn‘t give her any attention and is undoubtedly trying to better himself compared to the other men, thus why he picks on Lennie, who is a lot taller than him and certainly much more stronger. The second added scene is The Speed Ball Scene where we see Curley punching away at the speed ball. This could have been added to enhance the audiences awareness that he is constantly aggressive and obsessed with fighting. Curley’s Wife is sat levelled above Curley with no body around and is clearly very lonely and extremely bored. With all the men working on the farm in the background, and Curley, although not working himself, is still not giving his wife a second thought. This is a clear indication that Curley’s Wife is isolated on the ranch and I think it emphasises the description given about her dead body in section 5 of the novel where underneath all of the makeup and desperate attempts for some attention, she was merely just a sweet, innocent and lonely girl. The final added scene in the film is The Broken Record Scene. She is wearing no makeup and obviously had been crying and is completely on her own. She vents about what had happened – Curley got aggressive and smashed all of her four records therefore not being able to play them which reminds the audience of Curley‘s violent nature. The reaction is pitiful and it is obvious that nobody taking any consideration for her. Curley’s Wife then runs off saying that if she ran away no one would miss her etc which could be suggesting her death. All of the added scenes help to enhance the audience’s awareness from the beginning of the film that Curley’s Wife should be seen in a very sympathetic perspective and this is not clear in the novel until Steinbeck’s description of her dead body. A very good example of a powerful scene would be the very ending of both the novel and the film. In the novel, Steinbeck sets the scene for the ending which takes place in Salinas River. He describes the surroundings beautifully and authentically just like in the beginning of the novel which creates a very peaceful image for the reader. ‘’The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun.’’ Nevertheless, the peaceful scene is spoiled even before the arrival of Lennie as Steinbeck creates an image that suggests death and readies the reader for what is about to unfold. ‘’A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically.’’ As Lennie arrives he begins to have two hallucinations which are not shown in the film. The first hallucination is of his Aunt Clara and through the conversation brought about by Lennie’s imagination, his greatest fears are revealed. George’s reaction to what Lennie has done and the fact that Lennie has no real understanding of the seriousness of what he has done, which enhances his guilt feeling because he knows that he has disappointed George. The conversation then leads on to Aunt Clara making him feel even more guilty because George has done so much for Lennie and all he does is give him grief when George could do so much more without him. Lennie’s second hallucination is of a rabbit. This is could be a symbol of Lennie’s childlike nature and how the only real bad thing he can think of is how George will not allow him to look after the rabbits and the fact that he will now leave him. The conversation with the rabbit could also show how Lennie is very naà ¯ve and is convinced George will not leave him or get mad. The novel and the film are very similar as far as the conversation between George and Lennie are concerned. In the novel, it is prolonged to gradually build up tension for the reader when they realise that George is going to shoot Lennie. When he finally does, it is clear that this has traumatised George and is a very dreadful thing for George to undergo. ‘’George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.’’ George is comforted by Slim and is taken for a drink. However, the reader is reminded of the ignorance by society as they are blinded by what George has just had to go through, which ends the novel. Then ending of the film is very sad. Lennie is found and comforted by George’s voice and soon by ‘The American Dream’ which is referred to several times throughout the film. The audience are unaware of what is about to happen as when George finally shoots Lennie it is very sudden. The music, played at the beginning of the film is again brought back, which is very touching and adds for a great effect to what has just occurred. Instead of the hallucinations Lennie’s fears are brought into the convocation between him and George and are much shorter than in the novel. In the novel, it begins and ends at the Salinas River where as in the film it begins and ends with George sat on the train. Just like at the beginning, there are flash backs, but this time of George and Lennie together. This indicates that George has spent the majority of his time with Lennie and they had a very brotherly relationship. The flash backs could imply George being deeply upset due to t he fact he has killed his best friend.

Finc2011 Major Assignment Essay

Executive summary Woolworths Limited (WOW), which is one of the listed companies in Australian Security Exchange (ASX) (ASX 200), is the largest supermarket in Australia (Kruger 2013), it specializes in the groceries, food and retailing (WOOLWORTHS LIMITED (WOW) 2013). The aim of this report is to estimate and determine the dividend growth rate, stock return and current share price of Woolworths. Methods used for the estimation include dividend growth model, Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Gordon’s Growth Model. The results of the estimation indicate that the dividend payments will continuous increasing in the future, the return on the company’s assets is reasonable and its share price is expected to rise. In addition, recommendations associated with the investment decision will be provided to the public investors regarding to the risks in the market by comparing with companies within the same industry. However, there are still a number of limitations of the report such as a few assumptions are made for calculations and limitations due to the difference of risk free rate. Calculation of Growth Rate: The approach used to estimate the growth rate (g) for dividend payments of Woolworths is: g = Ploughback Ratio x Return on Equity (ROE) Ploughback Ratio = 1 – Payout Ratio In which, payout ratio refers to the ratio of dividends to earnings per share (EPS) (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011). Souce: http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/annualreport/2012/pdf/WW_AR12_Full.pdf Based on the figures above, the growth rate (g) for the 2012 should be: g = (1 – 0.8528) x 0.2722 = 4.01% In order to figure out a more accurate growth rate, the average should be taken from 2008 to 2012. As it is shown in the table, the average g = 7.68%. According to Woolworth’s annual report (2012), the payout ratio is quite stable, despite there is a sudden increase in 2012; hence, we could assume that the dividend payout ratio is constant. Meanwhile, although Woolworths’ Return on Equity (ROE) shows a slight decrease from 2008 to 2012, it is still fairly steady – close to 28%. Since both of two assumptions – constant dividend payout and return on equity – are satisfied (Mellare 2013), g = Ploughback x ROE is suppose to be an appropriate method to estimate the dividend growth rate for Woolworths. Calculation of required return using CAPM Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a method used to measure the risk and return of an asset, which describes that each expected risk premium of an asset should rise in proportion to its beta (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011): In which, ri refers to the return on asset, rf refers to the risk free rate of return, beta is the covariance and (rm-rf) is the market risk premium (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011). To begin with, risk free rate (rf) should be determined. Generally, 10 years government bonds rate is considered to be risk free rate as it is commonly believed that a government would be unlikely to default on its obligations (McNickle 2011). However, it does not mean that government bonds face no risks, it still encounter inflation and interest rate risk (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011). Source: http://www.rba.gov.asu/statistics/tables/xls/f02d.xls?accessed=2013-05-22-21-18-20 According to the Capital Market Yields – 10 years Government Bonds provided by Reserve Bank of Australia (2013), the 10-year government bond rates in 21th May 2013 is 3.26%, which should be used as the risk free rate (rf) for the calculation of CAPM. Source: http://www.ato.gov.au/super/content.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/60489.htm&page=36&H36 However, those may argue that based on the historical data from Australian Taxation Office (2013) – the table above, the average of risk free rate from 2003 to 2012 is calculated to be 5.34%, which should be the risk free rate for the calculation instead of 3.26%. Nevertheless, since the risk free rate is always changing, in order to estimate the return for asset more accurately, the current risk free rate 3.26% is supposed to be taken for the estimation. In this stage, the risky required return (rm), the same as market return, should be calculated. Stock market index is an approach to evaluate the value of stock market and S&P/ASX 200 is the most significant stock market index which tracks the performance of two hundred big Australian corporations (Australia Stock Market (S&P/ASX 200) 2013). Currently, S&P/ASX 200 is a primary share market index in Australia which replaced the All Ordinaries in April 2000 and has become the benchmark for investment for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) (ASX 200 2013). Therefore, S&P/ASX 200 is the best indicator of the market return and used to determine the market return. Source: https://blackboard.econ.usyd.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-636137-dt-content-rid-201558_2/courses/FINC2011_SEM1_2013/All%20Ords%20Accumulation%20Indices.xls Based on the data from S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation index (daily), which is provided by Mellare (2013), the yearly index could be calculated by averaging all of the daily indexes for that year. Yearly market return (rm) can be determined by: In which, old market index refers to the index for year t and new index is the index for year (t+1). A table for the calculation of market return will be created in a similar way with the S&P/ ASX200 table (see Appendix – 1) for the periods of 10 years in order to comply with ASX. Due to the prices in 2013 is not completed, the market return for financial year (FY) 2012 cannot be estimated reliably. Importantly, averaging rm for 10 years from FY 2002 to FY 2011 is significant for the purpose of determining a more accurate figure. As a result, rm = 8.31%. Because rm is the sum of the risk free interest rate (rf) and a premium for risk (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011), the risk premium, as a part of CAPM equation, can be calculated through: rm = rf + risk premium risk premium = rm – rf Based on the previous analysis, rf = 3.26% and rm = 8.31%, risk premium = 8.31% – 3.26% = 5.09%. According to the report from last year, the market risk premium is estimated to be 6.0% in October (Michael, Blake and Zolotic 2012), the estimated value of 5.09% is reasonable. According to the financial information from Reuters (2013), Woolworths’ beta (ÃŽ ²) = 0.34. Therefore, by applying CAPM: Calculation of Next Dividend Payment The next dividend payment should be determined by using: In which, d0 is the current dividend payment, d1 is the dividend for the next financial year and g is the growth rate. Souce:http://datanalysis.morningstar.com.au.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/af/company/dividendhistory?ASXCode=WOW&xtm-licensee=dat The table above shows the dividend history of Woolworths (Morningstar 2013). Since, the total dividend payment in 2012 is $67+59 = $126 cents/$1.26 per share, which should be d0, and the growth rate is estimated to be 7.68% in the previous calculations, d1 = 1.26*(1+7.68%) = $1.36, which is the total dividend payment for 2013. As the interim dividend for 2013 has already paid on 26/04/2013, the final dividend for 2013 which is the next dividend payment should be: $1.36–0.62=$0.74 per share. Determination of Expected Current Share Price The constant divident growth model, which is Gordon’s Growth Model, is used for estimating the current share price: In which, P0 refers to the current share price, d1 is the divident payment for the next year, re is the required rate of return and g is the growth rate. In order to calculate the current price P0, firstly, d1 need be calculated which should be the dividend for the next year – 2014. Hence, d1 = 1.36*(1+7.68%) = $ 1.46 As required rate of return (re) consists of both capital gains and dividend yields (Mellare 2013) and capital gains is the same as g (Mathis 2001), re = capital gains (g) + dividend yields. Souce: http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/annualreport/2012/pdf/WW_AR12_Full.pdf According to the historical data from annural report of Woolworth (2012), taking the average of all of the dividend yields for the last five years – from 2008 to 2012, the dividend yield = 3.8808%. Therefore, re = 7.68% + 3.88% = 11.56% Lastly, the expected current share price in 2013 is: P0 = 1.46/(11.56%-7.68%) = $ 37.63 Recommodation and Discussion Investment decisions are rely on the return and risk associated with a security. According to CAPM, actural returns are measured by beta, which is defined as a security’s sencitivity relative to the changes in the value of the market portfolio (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011), over the long run. Beta of Woolworths Limited is 0.34 (Reuters 2013), which is a good sign as it indicates that the company is insensitive to the market risk. Comparing it with other companies, Wesfarmers Limited (WES), the Perth-based conglomerate which selling food to customers (Greenblat 2013), has same situation with Woolworths in terms of growing trend of dividend payment and  sharing market risk as they operates within the same industry – food industriy. Beta of Wesfarmers is 0.96 (Reuters 2013),which means that Wesfarmers is more risky than Woolworths as it is as risky as the market porfolio (Brealey, Myers and Allen 2011). As well, beta of Goodman Fielder (GFF), another food company, is 0.98 (Reuters 2013), which means it shares almost the same risk with the market porfolio (Mellare 2013) – realtively in the same situation with Wesfarmers. Therefore, when concerning with the risks, it is recommended to invest in Woolworths. However, under CAPM, high-beta securities will result in high return: ri = rf + ÃŽ ²*(rm – rf) As all of these three companies are in the same market, they share the same market risk but the proportion is different based on their beta. Although, securities of Wesfarmers and Goodman Fielder are more risky than Woolworths due to higher beta, they provide higher return to investors. Since investment decisions are depend on personal interests (Mellare 2013), it cannot be denied that there are a few investors prefer higher returns with higher risks. Moreover, the higher returns compensate investors for higher risk, hence, it is unlikely to determine whether invest in Woolworths is a better option. Nevertheless, investing in Woolworth is still recommended. Investing in low-risk securities provides constant and stable returns. Investing in Woolworths is worthwhile not only because Woolworths provides quite constant returns, but also its potential to growth due to its strong profitability and cash flows (WOW – Woolworths Limited 2012). Overall, it is recommended to invest in Woolworths. It is important to notice that there are a number of limitations for this report. Firstly, the method used for calculating dividend growth is based on the assumptions – constant dividend payout and return on equity, but in reality, both dividend payout and return on equity are unlikely to be constant. Consequently, the calculation of g may not be accurate. As well, since the 10-year government bond rate, which is considered as risk free

Belonging: An Individual’s Interaction with Others

Social interaction is an essential part of any relationship; it is the determining factor for one’s perceptions of the society around them and their own identity. Relationships are initially built upon mutual interests and acceptance and this is closely linked with one’s innate desire to be able to affiliate with a group or another individual. Both these ideas are explored in the ‘Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri and the picture book: ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan. Lahiri explores the importance of shared values and experiences in a relationship for it to prosper rather than the need for social interaction. This notion is shown through the relationship Ashoke and Ashima forge throughout their life. Despite having an arranged marriage, without having known each other beforehand, Ashoke and Ashima form a powerful emotional bond during their married life. Throughout the book, the interaction between Ashima and Ashoke is somewhat limited in speech but their bond is shown through emotive passages instead. An example of this is when Ashima tries on Ashoke’s shoes; this action is a symbolic harbinger of how well they both ‘fit’ together over the years. Furthermore, the quote: â€Å"Eight thousand miles away in Cambridge she has come to know him† illustrates how the challenges of being migrants together and the mutual experiences in America and in India serve to strengthen their conjugal ties. Their relationship, hence, is an intuitive one instead of one where verbal communication is needed. The ostracism experienced by one unable to interact with others is shown in ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan. The lost thing is an anomalous creature in a bureaucratic society searching for a place to fit in. However wherever it goes, it is met with an apathetic attitude from the citizens. The citizens of this society are so innately obsessed with practical outcomes that they have lost all sense of creativity and even conversation for the sake of conversation. Tan illustrates the austerity of this world by depicting it with rigid angles and an overall sepia tone. However one boy forms a relationship with the lost thing out of pity and tries to find its home. The boy provides food, shelter and care to the lost thing and these simple actions fuel their temporary feelings of belonging. Their relationship is encouraged by the need to fulfill an action; in this case-finding the lost thing its home. The brevity of their relationship is highlighted by the abrupt separation of the two: â€Å"It seemed as good a time as any to say goodbye to each other. So we did. † The objective language and the truncated sentence demonstrate the brief and conditional nature of their bond. Once the condition was fulfilled, the need to belong was abated. This shows the necessity of interaction in creating a sense of belonging; had the citizens of the society acknowledged the presence of the lost thing, the lost thing may have remained there. Lahiri also goes on to demonstrate how social interaction can lead to one’s compromise of their identity. Gogol is a prime example of this; as a child of migrants, Gogol is confronted by two different cultures and feels he must be one or the other. As Gogol’s relationship with Maxine develops, we see him conform to Maxine’s standards, hiding his Bengali identity: â€Å"She is surprised to hear certain things about his life: that all his parents’ friends are Bengali, that they had had an arranged marriage, that his mother cooks Indian food every day, that she wears saris and a bindi. .. ’But you’re so different; i never would have thought that’. He is not insulted, but he is aware a line has been drawn all the same†. To be a part of Maxine’s life, Gogol realises that he has to live her way of life; the American way. This compromise of identity led to even more confusion on Gogol’s behalf and in the end, as he starts to embrace his heritage, he rejects Maxine and her life. This shows how one’s perceptions of identity are crucial in determining and maintaining relationships with others. The need for conformity in the society of ‘The Lost Thing’ in order to gain acceptance is shown by Shaun Tan. As the boy takes the lost thing around town, it is taken to the boy’s home. There, it takes up a huge amount of space and is impossible to ignore, however the parents of the boy do not even glance at it. Another instance where this lack of acknowledgement is shown is when the lost thing stands in line of banal, grey citizens. The lost thing clearly stands out as it is big, red and round, but no one notices it. Tan uses this confining imagery as a way to effectively convey the segregation between society and the lost thing. The lost thing is unable to integrate itself into the society as it is both unable to conform to the dull criterion of the society and unable to gain acknowledgment of its presence. The shunned lost thing finds no admission into this society where the citizens do not dare stray from their quotidian routine for fear of exclusion. There is a place in this society that odds things are taken o: â€Å"The Federal Department of Odds and Ends† with the motto â€Å"sweepus underum carpatae†. At the end of the book, the lost thing does not find its home but it does find a place where its individuality is accepted. The boy even goes as far as saying â€Å"I mean, I can’t say that the thing actually belonged in the place where it ended up. In fact, none of the things there really belonged. They all seemed happy enough though, so maybe that didn’t matter . † Consequently, what is shown here is that social interaction is needed, no matter what form of interaction, to gain a feeling of acceptance. Ultimately, social interaction is inherent in all aspects of belonging. It is the basis of all relationships and also a factor for one’s self perception of identity. This complex process is vital for one’s mental and physical health as it challenges the barriers in place that one automatically establishes in a new setting. The ‘Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri and ‘The Lost Thing’ by Shaun Tan explore the ways in which social interaction can affect relationships and identity which in turn affect one’s perceptions of belonging.

Challenges Library Management System Essay Example for Free

Challenges Library Management System Essay n 1981, UNESCO published a study prepared by Jean Lunn1 from Canada, Guidelines for Legal Deposit Legislation. His study is now 30 years old since its publication. Many countries have amended or significantly rewritten their legal deposit laws (Germany, Indonesia, and Norway in 1990; France in 1992, Sweden in 1994, Canada in 1995, South Africa in 1997, Denmark in 1998 and Japan & Finland in 2000). Others are in the process of doing so (Australia, India, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom). The forms of intellectual and artistic expressions have grown in different dimensions. New published media have been developed and electronic publications are now an integral part of many national publishing heritages. UNESCO was under pressure to bring out a revised edition of the Guideline in order to review the impact of it on other countries and to incorporate new forms of publishing, such as, electronic publications. The new revised and updated edition of the Guidelines of Legal 2 Deposit Legislation (2000, UNESCO) by Jules Lariviere is found to be a useful tool. The Indian relevant act, Delivery of Books Act 1954 (rev. 1956 to include newspapers and periodicals) has been under the scanner shortly after it was put into application and over the last five decades the National Library, Kolkata and the three other recipient regional public libraries, Connemara Pubic Library, Chennai, Central Library, Town Hall, Mumbai and Delhi Public Library, Delhi, and especially the publishing world directly involved with it, expressed concern and drew attention of the Government of India, of its limitations and ineffectiveness. The National Library, Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) and several professional library organizations discussed its drawbacks and recommended revision or specific amendments of the act at various seminars, conferences and other forums. Ministry of Culture, the concerned agency of the government of India, set up several committees to deal with the National Library. The Recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission3 and its Working Group on Libraries (NKC-WGL, 2006) is completely silent on this and other national library related issues. It would be appropriate to draw attention to an article by 3. Challenges in Library Management System (CLMS 2012) Bandopadhyay (2000) former Director of the National Library, is exhaustive enough with a complete set of plan of action for the concerned Ministry to initiate the revision process at the earliest. As a follow up, the Ministry took some steps to obtain the views, of other stakeholders, including academics, library users group and senior library professionals. Based on these suggestions / recommendations a revised draft bill on this issue was prepared that is awaiting final clearance of the Ministry since 2006. Role of Legal Deposit Act: In simple terms Legal Deposit is a statutory obligation which requires that any organization, commercial or public, and any individual producing any type of documentation in multiple copies, be obliged to deposit one or more copies with some recognised national institution/s. It is important to make sure that legal deposit legislation covers all kinds of published material, that is, material generally produced in multiple copies and â€Å"offered to the public regardless of the means of transmission. † Public distribution could mean â€Å"performance† or â€Å"display† e.g. radio or television programme could be considered as â€Å"published† for legal deposit purposes when it has been broadcast. Within the electronic publications environment, it should be noted that a â€Å"one copy item† such as, a database , stored on one server, could be subject to legal deposit requirement since it is made available to the public through a technology enabling the public to read, hear or view the material. 5 (Lariviere ). Most countries rely on a legal instrument of some sort in order to ensure the comprehensiveness of their national deposit collection. In all countries with legal deposit system, â€Å"published material† would naturally include books, periodicals, newspapers, microforms, sheet music, maps, brochures, pamphlets, etc. In some countries audio-visual material (sound recordings, films, videos, etc. ) is also subject to legal deposit and there are several countries where electronic publications are also included into the legislation, but they have done this in different way; some have excluded on-line electronic publications because of the numerous unsolved technical problems related to their acquisition and preservation problems related to ever changing technological scenarios. Legal deposit legislation serves a clear national public policy interest by ensuring comprehensive acquisition, recording, preservation and access of a nation’s published heritage. The role of a legal deposit system is to ensure the development of a national collection of published material in various formats. It should also support the compilation and publication of national bibliography in order to ensure bibliographic control over a comprehensive deposit collection. In addition, an effective legal deposit legislation guarantees to citizens and researchers within the country and abroad, access to research collection of  the national published material. Countries are developing many different models, but are clearly unable to keep pace with the massive changes and challenges related to the deposit of intangible publications. Department of National Heritage6, UK (1997) brought out a consultative paper on current legal deposit of publication issues based on a questionnaire which identified several pertinent issues and posed a number of specific questions to which sought responses from individuals and organizations. This document could also help Indian group and the government agencies in formulating the revised DB Act. Profile of Indian book publishing Before we deal with Indian Delivery of Books Act let us first look at the present trends in book publishing in India. Over the last four decades a large majority of English language publishing has concentrated in and around the capital, Delhi. The city is also a major centre of Hindi publishing industry. With the rapid growth of higher education from 1960s and the pressure built-up within the faculties due to UGC’s policy of ‘publish or perish’ resulted in the increase of publications of research monograph. India is one of the few countries where 4 4. Invited Lectures theses and dissertations submitted for Ph. D. and other similar higher postgraduate degrees in humanities and social sciences particularly, get published as a routine matter, whereas in science and technology this would be a rare phenomenon. There is no reliable source of annual book publishing data in India or any comprehensive list of Indian publishers in different languages. D. N. Malhotra7 (2010), former President of FIP and an established publisher in English and Hindi claimed of having 15,000 20,000 publishing houses, mostly run by individuals or as single family business. According to Vinutha Mallay8 Senior Editor of Mapin Publishing, India is the sixth largest publishing industry in the world with annual growth of 15-20%; third largest publishers of books in English, around 90,000 to 100,000 books are published annually, there are about 19,000 publishers in the country; in addition sixty per cent of global publishing outsourcing is based in India. This growth trend is noticeable only from the 70s onwards when book trade turnover increased gradually due to numerical growth of educational and research institutions at every level. As we look back a few decades, the demand of English books grew fast in libraries of newly established universities, research institutions and other academic centres. Individual buyers of books constitute only a small percentage. Bulk of the titles was imported from the English speaking countries, mostly from the UK and USA based publishing houses. This book import business is largely handled by a few Delhi based book importers and distributors. To accelerate the book supply process from the shelves and warehouses the importers / distributers devised a practice of sending books on credit to academic staff and libraries, through local vendors or jobbers (newcomers in book trade to supply books ‘on approval’ basis). They were allowed to take back books â€Å"not selected† within a credit limit of six months only. Within a few years these jobbers turned into legitimate vendors with book stock of their own which could not be returned to the wholesalers within the stipulated six months credit limit. They start bookshops with the ‘dead stock’ of their own and continue to supply books to the institutions on prevailing terms and conditions. These vendors, having direct contacts with the researchers and faculty members on day to day basis, being the actual selectors in all educational institutions, get offers to publish research monographs of academics. Many of them grabbed these offers on their own terms thereby joining the exclusive club of publishers. We now find several of these vendors are retail bookshop owners, library suppliers and also publishers, all in one. Perhaps it would not be out of place to add a few words of Iain Stevenson9 on the recent trends in British publishing keeping in mind that India is claimed to be the third largest English language publishing country. ‘Since the beginning of this century, there have been strong trends in British publishing in the increase in concentration of publishing and book selling ownership balanced by healthy specialization and the second is an increasing awareness and impact of electronic media and delivery across sectors that have created a large impact across the book trade. In 2004 over 161,000 individual book titles were published in the U.K. as compared to 119,000 in 2001 and over 2. 5 times the number in 1990. Consumers spending on books reach 2436 m. sterling pounds (in 2000 it was 2000 million) out of which 30% was from the export sales. Individual buyers comprised the largest market share, about 70% of total book sale and 20% to academic institutions and corporate bodies’. Indian Legal Deposit Legislation or Delivery of Books Act 1954 and its aftermath The act, commonly referred to as DB Act10 was amended in 1956 to include newspapers and serials under its purview. Annual publishing of books in India during 1950s was small 5. Challenges in Library Management System (CLMS 2012) and below 30,000 titles, whereas by 2010 it is claimed to have exceeded 100,000 [estimated figure obtained from FIP in the absence of any official data from any reliable source] with substantial increase in the coverage of subjects, such as, science and technology. In a recent 11 Annual Report of the Ministry of Culture the National Library claimed to have received 29,875 publications under the DB Act which happens to be only 30% of the estimated total publications as indicated by senior executives of the Library in several professional forums. It was also being pointed out in such gatherings that the other three recipient libraries under this Act, in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai received even less during the same period. It is worth noting that this was claimed to be the highest figure ever reached by the library ‘due to a special drive’12Intellectual resource (NACONAL 2006). UNESCO Statistical Yearbook is silent on the number of books published annually or the number of libraries in India over the last several decades, although India is one of the major contributors and active member of this international body. This sad state of affaire obviously reached, and continue to be, due to simple negligence of all concern. In most other countries annual publication figures were being provided by organizations declared as recipient/s under the legal deposit or copyright legislation of the country. There must be several reasons for the Library to reach in such a state and to argue, we guess, the limitations of DB Act cannot be the primary cause of it. Rigid administrative and fiscal rules and regulations adopted by the Library to operate under the guidance of the Ministry, is surely to my mind, a major factor but not the main one. The crux of the matter is National Library never received a large number of recent Indian publications under the DB Act. We do not know who all are claimed to be Indian publishers. A sizable number of them are ignorant of DB Act obligations. It is also a fact that number of ‘one time authorpublishers’ is also very high (15% – 20%) especially in vernacular languages. The National Library together with the Central Reference Library committed to bring out Indian National Bibliography(INB) based on the books received under the DB Act, similar in format of the British National Bibliography (BNB). However, neither the British Library (formerly British Museum Library) nor the Indian National Library is in any obligation under their respective legal deposit acts to bring out national bibliographies of books thus received under their respective legal deposit acts. . Bandhopadhyay13 points out,’rules and policy adopted are working smoothly for the British Library but similar regulations unexpectedly, failed to work in our case. One has to keep in mind the fact that default in U. K. is an exception rather than general rule unlike in India’. The provision of penalty for default in DB Act of Rs. 50. 00 sounds just notional. Either revise it to a figure e. g. , Rs. 1000. 00 or 4-5 times of the actual market price of single copy, whichever is higher or just make it voluntary, and hope for the best. The reason of suggesting the latter provision is to avoid the highly cumbersome and built-in procedural delay within our legal system. Since 1958 National Library did not take any legal action against one single defaulter till date. In UK and USA penalty clause is not mentioned as the legal deposit provision is covered under the country’s copyright acts. It is because of this factor legal deposit provision is genuinely more effective and acceptable to authors and publishers of these countries. It would be more realistic to suggest that National Library shall receive one copy of every Indian ‘publication’ and the three other regional repository libraries in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai shall have the right to claim any current publication in their respective regional languages only, delivered free of cost under the revised provisions of the DB Act. The current practice of demanding four copies of every publication to be delivered free of cost to each of 6. Invited Lectures these four libraries (including National Library) failed to meet our expectations. This is in addition to what publishers have to comply with the demands of different state central libraries under the Press and Book Registration Act of 1867. Moreover, a large volume of these books and other publications, thus received, especially language publications that are not so commonly used in some regions are usually being ‘dumped’ or just temporarily stored as these are of ‘no use’ to the library. This is a colossal wastage of national resource. On the other hand it would not be cost effective to make these so to say, ‘unused books’ (four copies of each) routinely processed, provide costly storage space as well as maintaining them for the posterity in four regional libraries. The National Library shall receive one copy for preservation and access only; create bibliographic records for the benefit of all stakeholders. There are several categories of publications e. g. in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu (EHSU) languages shall find users in other three regional libraries. Let us accept the real time scenario in terms of availability and accessibility for application of information and communication technologies (ICT) within library systems. Bibliographic data of publications received by the National Library under legal deposit legislation will be accessible to others from INB and National Library catalogue / database online. These three libraries shall buy one copy of all selected books in EHSU languages, from any local vendor / publishers. Additional fund annually spend by three libraries on this account shall be reimbursed from a special annual central government grant. The proposed module is based on the British legal deposit act where the British Library, London receives one copy of every book / publication and the other five libraries (Wales National Library, Aberystwyth, Scottish National Library, Edinburgh, Oxford University, Cambridge University and Trinity College, Dublin) obtain direct from the publishers, one copy of every book of their choice, selected from the weekly list of books received in the British Library under the legal deposit act. We made an attempt to get some estimation of the annual cost of books published under these four (EHSU) ‘common languages’ from INB and the National library that would give an idea of the total fund required for the three regional libraries under the revised provision of the Act. All the three libraries receive some annual grant from the central government. The revised provision in the act will also bring some savings in terms of time and resources, as lesser number of books are to be dealt with by the libraries. Sooner than later, it  will be a reality (within a decade or so) of making available a digital copy of an Indian publication by the National Library online, that was not originally selected or received earlier to a library or an individual from its own stock within or outside the country. The technology is already in experimental stage at various levels. Slowly and gradually a large part of Indian publications will be brought out in e-format only, which will also change our current perception of borrowing or consulting a ‘book’ from a conventional library. Till we reach that stage in India and the transitional period of overlap (20 years? ) we shall carry on with both the systems as we are now have both bullock carts as well as a BMW 7e series cars on our roads for transportation. Indian library systems shall take a longer path and time to switch over to reach this goal. Moreover, any change in our library ‘modernization’ programme shall be fully dependent on application of technological innovations resulting in inevitable 14 acceptance of a never ending process. Thomas Abhram in a recent article expressed, â€Å"ebooks will be hugely cheaper with the removal of paper and inventory costs†¦. All things taken into account, books in print format are not certainly going away ever from circulation. And e-books, from a publishing point of view, are a ‘consummation devoutly to be wished’. We in India, specially the National Library are to continue dealing with print copies of books for several decades together with information resources available in e-books and or in any other format. 7 Challenges in Library Management System (CLMS 2012) Table 1: Books in Indian Languages Received in National Library LANGUAGE 2007 08 Assamese Bengali English Gujarati Hindi Kannada Malayalam Marathi Oriya Punjabi Sanskrit Tamil Telugu Urdu Total 97 991 5756 127 2370 687 1500 1400 2661 602 112 3685 248 521 20757 NL/DB Act 2008 – 09 35 1463 5385 348 1722 600 1200 1351 52 576 287 2526 145 304 15994 337 2189 5530 476 1237 877 866 1341 750 000 111 1186 406 292 15598 300 350 450 830 INB (2010) AVERAGE COST. The figures quoted above (Table-1) under Books received by the National Library under DB Act during 2007-08 and 2008-09 and those listed in INB for 2010 (CRL) were obtained from the respective libraries on personal requests. In a paper presented at the NACONAL 2006 by Mandal & Syed Abuzar15 (2006) indicated National Library received about 20,000 books annually during 1990 2002. They claimed the Library received about 30,000 during 2005-06 due to some special drive and about similar number of volumes during 2010-11as recorded in the Annual Report of the Ministry of Culture. Unfortunately we could not get breakdown of figures under each language of 29,875 books received during 2005-06 nor of INB listed figures for 2009 and 2011. The significant gap of Oriya books received during 2007-08 and 2008-09 was due to some special efforts put by the concerned language specialist during 2007. [Note:Average cost of recently published books in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu (EHSU) languages has been worked out from a sample of books procured by University of Delhi, Central Library, Central Secretariat Library and the U. S. Library of Congress, Book Procurement Centre in Delhi. We made here an estimation of annual additional grant amount to be provided by central government to support the three regional libraries (in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai) under the proposed revised legal deposit legislation. The National Library shall receive one copy only of every Indian publication free of cost delivered by the publishers, and the three regional public libraries are to purchase one copy of any book (in EHSU languages) selected by a library from open market. The three libraries are entitled, under the law, to receive free of cost, one copy of a book published in respective regional languages. It is estimated that each library shall selectively acquire per year about 30,000 new Indian publications (10,000 EHSU + 20,000 in respective regional languages) out of about 90,000 books published annually. It means, central government shall reimburse annually the cost of 30,000 books in EHSU languages where average cost of a set of four EHSU books is Rs. 2000 or Rs. 60 million (30,000 x2000 = 60,000,000). In addition, another 10m (Rs. 10,000,000) would be required to cover annual subscription cost of EHSU periodicals and newspapers. Thus we reach an estimated figure of Rs. 70m or 7crore (add another 10% 8 Invited Lectures annually for inflation). These figures are being presented to get some idea of the extra cost we propose to pass on to the central government exchequer. ] If this revised guidelines are adopted in our legal deposit act (now under revision) by taking over the extra burden of book fund of the three regional libraries by the central exchequer then we could surely expect of getting better cooperation from the publishing fraternity in fulfilling their responsibilities towards the provisions of the revised act. Group of publishers bringing out EHSU language publications are to supply only TWO free copies, like all other publishers, one to the National Library and the other to Parliament Library. The only sensible expectation of the publishers from the CRL / National Library is to bring out a comprehensive, up to date online INB, listing all currently published titles thus received under the act and provide facilities of easy access to the readers within a reasonable time frame. Under the revised provision of the act, there is a strong opinion that Chennai based Connemara Public Library shall receive one copy free of cost, of every publication in Dravidian languages (e. g. Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu). Similarly Central Library, Mumbai shall receive books in all western Indian languages, such as Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati, etc. , and Delhi Public Library shall get publications in Punjabi, Kashmiri, etc. as commonly spoken in the three respective regions. National Library is to receive one copy of all the publications. In addition to the respective regional languages publications these three libraries shall purchase one copy of publications of their choice, in English, Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu (EHSU), from publishers / local vendors. Total annual cost of this category of publications shall be reimbursed from central exchequer. With the introduction of advanced network technologies, libraries shall be benefitted for not to process (Catalogue / classify highest cost factor) these books as relevant data can be downloaded from INB. The second alternative is to incorporate legal deposit provision within the revised copyright legislation as done in the USA and UK. It is possible to reduce the number of defaulting Indian publishers to bare minimum. Only very recently the National Library claimed to have increased intake of publications under the Act by extensive promotional work through the media and sending direct appeal to publishers that have helped it in bringing more and more publishers within the DB Act net. Secondly, if the total number of copies of each title (an average of seven copies) under both PR and DB Acts could be drastically reduced to minimum two only, there is a hope of getting full support and cooperation of Indian publishers to go by the rule book. Third and the most important factor is to make INB up to date and bring it out at regular frequency (monthly! ) with the target of putting it online within a scheduled time frame. What we need is determination and political will to make the India’s National Library the effective hub of Indian library systems. Similarly, there are several other issues, listed below, which also require attention by both the National Library and appropriate government agencies that shall help in making India proud of its National Library. Central Reference Library (CRL): In 1971 administration of the CRL was separated from the National Library by making it a subordinate office under the Department of Culture. This was an ideal opportunity we missed, for shifting the CRL to Delhi. In the middle of 1970s Central Government created a new wing of the Central Secretariat Library (CSL) and named it as Tulsi Sadan Library to collect and provide access exclusively to all Indian language (excluding English) publications, to commemorate the 400th year of Tulsidasa (of Ramcharitmanas fame). CSL could have been merged with CRL and allowed it to operate from some temporary location till a permanent ‘home’ could be found or built at the proposed site opposite to the National Museum on 9 Challenges in Library Management System (CLMS 2012) Janpath, originally proposed by Edwin Lutyens. CRL would have been the natural choice of declaring it as the fourth recipient public library in Delhi, under the DBAct (instead of making the Delhi Public Library with reluctance, during the 1970s). Ministry of Culture is now under heavy pressure for shifting the Central Secretariat Library out of Shastri Bhavan complex due to severe space crunch and security issues. It is a fact that CSL has lost its original objective of serving information needs of all central secretariat units. Today all the ministries are having their own libraries with specialized collections to cater their respective information needs. It now serves as a general reading room for Shastri Bhavan employees. Reading for pleasure is not so common with the government employees. Central Secretariat Library is administratively a subordinate office of the Ministry of Culture. A large section of its regular visitors, viz. postgraduate students and research scholars have stopped visiting the library due to overwhelming security checks involved in getting through Shastri Bhavan. Recently several thousand volumes of its rich older collections were being disposed under executive orders to make room for babus of the Ministry. It could have been easier to find a suitable location for CRL (incorporating CSL) in Delhi during 1970s. Attempts were also being made during the 1970s and 1980s to merge the CRL with the National Library but these were also stalled by staff associations of the two libraries. During this period, management of the National Library was weak as a result, library service also suffered considerably. Central government in Delhi continued to be indecisive in taking appropriate steps while local library administration in Kolkata failed to deal with the day to day issues in any effective manner. It was more of a failure of the management both at the operational as well as policy making levels. The government allowed the National Library to drift away in the absence of any suitable action plan in place to overcome the crisis. Nor there was any move or pressure from any other corner – library professionals, media or library users’ group. This long drawn uncertainty and lack of effective management control within the National Library campus directly affected services and administration of Central Reference Library thereby putting publication of INB also on the back burner. Indian National Bibliography (INB): It started in 1958 following the British National Bibliography (BNB) format. To overcome the complexity of multi-script languages it adopted Romanization of all scripts with the descriptive part of each entry in English. This has created problems for many who are not familiar with Roman script or English language. The job of printing INB monthly issues was given exclusively to the Government of India Press in Kolkata that failed to realise, from the beginning, the importance of maintaining the production and delivery schedule. After years of persuasion by CRL the Ministry allowed printing of INB through private press. Cataloguing of every title, received by the National Library under BD Act, is first to be acknowledged by the Library then sent to CRL on record, where it will be catalogued once according to INB practices and then books shall be sent back to the National Library for re-cataloguing according to its own specified rules followed by due processing for storage. This long drawn administrative procedural factors and duplication of cataloguing  process have claimed to be a major cause of delay from the date of receipt of the publication to the time its record is found in INB followed by making it available to readers of National Library This delay factor has also indirectly discouraged publishers to follow the DB Act guidelines strictly on the pretext of not finding INB to be a regular and up to date periodical either as a reliable check list of current Indian publications or a selection tool for libraries and other stakeholders; nor their publications are found in any bibliographic record of the National Library on time. National Library takes its own time, sometime nearly two years, to allow access to the books received under the DB Act. Importance of promotion and marketing of INB did never get much support from the concerned authorities. Adoption of appropriate technologies at 10 Invited Lectures different levels of administration and access to resources has been continuously lagged behind. Most national libraries of the world are having full responsibilities of preserving and allowing access to their collections by providing adequate indexing and other access tools, e.  g. national bibliographies, subject bibliographies, annotated catalogues of special collections, many of these are now accessible online on their respective websites. We must allow the National Library for setting up National Bibliographic Division with full control of bringing out INB and to provide other bibliographic services covering pan-India in appropriate standardized formats, as required from time to time. By taking full advantage of technological advances supported by a group of committed well qualified staff the Library would be able to help in both improving and widening the scope of services to individuals as well as to provide back-up services to a large number of academic and public libraries in and outside the country. For example, the day Indian libraries in general adopt the same processing format for all new titles listed in INB,India can claim to have won half the battle in modernizing our library services and systems. Without going into details one can only highlight the fact of centralized processing initiated and applied in most national libraries which have directly and indirectly helped respective library systems of these countries. We are well aware of the fact that both the CRL and INB are as if, linked with the DB Act by an umbilical cord that needs to be focused and dealt with separately for a drastic revision. Proposals l l Title of the revised act may be â€Å"Delivery of Publications (National Library) Act. Definition of Publications shall include – all printed documents, such as, books, periodicals, serials, newspapers, e-publications including audio books, CD books, DVDs and digital online publications and /or any other reformatted or original document produced for commercial distribution, e. g. microform documents. Only one copy of all publications shall be delivered free of charge, direct to the National Library of India (or at an address specified by the Library). The act shall also make adequate provision for the three regional libraries based in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai to receive on. Challenges Library Management System. (2016, Oct 11).