Risk Management In Takaful Insurance Policies Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4804 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and TakÃÆ'„ ful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÃÆ'„ «ah principles. This research paper attempts to identify various types of risks involved in TakÃÆ'„ ful business that affect operational and investment functions of TakÃÆ'„ ful operators across the globe and finds the ways to manage those risks effectively. However, takÃÆ'„ ful operators often face difficulty in managing market and credit risks as SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliant nature of TakÃÆ'„ ful contract does not allow TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives that have been unanimously considered repugnant to SharÃÆ'„ «ah by Islamic jurists. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Risk Management In Takaful Insurance Policies Finance Essay" essay for you Create order This research identifies Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment that aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing and can be used as an alternative to conventional derivatives. The research paper attempts to provide a framework to enhance risk management culture among TakÃÆ'„ ful operators. It also discusses the challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices among TakÃÆ'„ ful operators. Key Words: Risk management, Underwriting Risk, Operational Risk, Credit Risk, Market Risk, Liquidity Risk, TakÃÆ'„ ful, SharÃÆ'„ «ah, Financial derivatives, Interest rate. INTRODUCTION Many Muslims misunderstand the concept of fate. For some Muslims believe that the future is in the hand of Allah, where they are facing with fatalistic mentality by putting themselves in the doctrine, whether one is rich or poor, happy or sad, it is fated by Allah. It is a good dealing with luck. In fact, efforts and prayers should precede this kind of belief (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). For a long time, same misconceptions have been associated with insurance. Muslim scholars and Islamic jurists have treated insurance illegal, haram and repugnant to SharÃÆ'„ «ah without providing an alternative solution to Muslim Ummah. As a result of these prevalent misconceptions, any effort or risk management strategy to insure the assets or life has been considered against the fate and will of Allah. In Islamic financial planning, TakÃÆ'„ ful is a way to reduce the financial risk of loss due to accident and misfortunes (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). As a matter of fact, TakÃÆ'„ ful plan is an alternative to the insurance in the conventional financial planning. In TakÃÆ'„ ful plan, the participant would pay particular amount of money as contribution (known as the premium) partly to ris k fund (the participants special account) using the concept of tabbaru (donation) and partly to another party (known as TakÃÆ'„ ful company) with a mutual agreement that, the kafiil (TakÃÆ'„ ful company) is under a legal responsibility to provide for the participant a financial protection against unexpected loss, should it happen within the agreed period. The focus of this research paper is to identify various types of risks associated with TakÃÆ'„ ful business and devise criteria for managing risks and enhancing risk management culture among TakÃÆ'„ ful companies. It also discusses challenges to risk management in TakÃÆ'„ ful. RISK MANAGEMENT Risk is the chance of happening of something that will have an impact upon our objectives. It is measured in terms of likelihood and consequences (GOWA, 2002). Traditionally, concept of risk has been associated with uncertainty of events in future. Higher the u ncertainty of events, higher is the risk. In insurance, risk is the amount of loss associated with property or life. Risk to property can be a loss or damage to car, building, house, etc. Risk to life can be described as poor health, premature death, bodily injuries as a result of accident etc. (Rejda, 2006; p.23). Risk management is a process that identifies loss exposures faced by an organization and selects the most appropriate techniques for treating such exposures (Rejda, 2006; p. 63). According to New Zealand standard of Risk Management, It is the culture, processes and structures that are directed towards the effective management of potential opportunities and adverse effects. In fact, risk management is an ongoing process that encompasses all aspects of our life. RISK MANAGEMENT UNDER SHARIAH Risk traditionally means possibility of meeting danger or suffering, harm or loss (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). Risk is an element of life in this world for being ignorant of the future. It is also factor of investing that one should take time to understand prior to selecting any specific investment instruments or any new adventures. Muslims are asked to work hard in order to be able to change their conditions as obvious in the verse of Holy Quran, ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ (Quran 3:11). However, it is true that only Allah knows ones future and fate, Muslims should strive to achieve the goodness in this world and the hereafter. Submission to Allah, of course, has a positive effect on human behavior. For it will lead to peace and contentment. Undoubtedly, one has to submit every single thing to Allah, but it supposes to be after his hands stretch out to do the best effort as he can, to change himself, so that he would be able to manage and to cope with unforeseen calamities or misfortune. Prophet Muhammad pe ace be upon him once asked a Bedouin who had left his camel untied, Why do not tie your camel? the Bedouin answered, I put my trust in Allah the prophet then said, tie up your camel first then put your trust in Allah( Sunan al -Tirmizi, vol.4, No. 2517, p. 668). This conversation depicts not only how should Muslims accept their fate but it also indicates how do Muslims reduce the risk of loss and calamities. Quran has presented stories of the previous prophets so that Muslims can take the lessons from their experiences. The story of the prophet Joseph, for instance, tells us about financial planning. The story of Prophet Yaqub, Josephs father, tells us about the management of risks as Yaqub commanded his sons to enter Egypt from different gates. Quran states, Further he said: O my sons! Enter not all by one gate: enter ye by different gates. Not that I can profit you aught against Allah (with my advice): None can command except Allah: On Him do I put my trust: and let all that t rust put their trust on Him (Quran 12:67). The history of the prophets migration to Madinah gives us other lessons on how the Prophet (SAW) managed the risk. The Prophet reduced the risk of getting killed by asking Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to sleep in his bed during the night of emigration. It was reported that as night advanced, the Quraish posted assassins around the Prophets house. Thus they kept vigil all night long, waiting to kill him the moment he left his house early in the morning, peeping now and then through a hole in the door to make sure that he was still lying in his bed. All these above examples depict that risk management is in the roots of Islam. We, as a Muslims, should put our trust onto Allah only after meticulous planning and best utilization of all the available resources. NORMS OF ETHICS Obaidullah (2002, pp.2-4) has identified norms of efficiency and ethics for SharÃÆ'„ «ah based risk management in a business contract. These norms are also applicable to TakÃÆ'„ ful contract and are briefly described as follow: Each party in TakÃÆ'„ ful contract should be free to accept the terms and conditions of the contract and no coercion is imposed on any party. TakÃÆ'„ ful contract should be free from element of riba (interest) that is prohibited by Shariah. One of the major objections on the contract of conventional insurance by SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars is element of riba in its investments for which it is considered illegal and unIslamic. There should be no uncertainty or ambiguity about the nature of contract. Excessive uncertainty is not permissible in Shariah. For example, SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars disallow conventional insurance contract where no party clearly knows how and from where the insured amount is to going to be paid in case a loss or catastrophe occurs to the insured. There should not be any element of gambling in TakÃÆ'„  ful contract. It means that TakÃÆ'„ ful contract should not be aimed at getting a huge advantage at the cost of others. Rather, participants should have sincere intention of helping each other in case of loss or catastrophe from a joint fund. Contribution amount for participants should be adequate and fair and should be determined by actuaries and approved by SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars. TakÃÆ'„ ful customers (participants) should have equal access to adequate, accurate and timely market information related to TakÃÆ'„ ful products and companys performance where they want to contribute their money. Rights of any third party should not be adversely affected by TakÃÆ'„ ful contract between two parties. It means TakÃÆ'„ ful contract should not be detrimental to any third party. There should be unrestricted public interest in TakÃÆ'„ ful products and its business contract which s hould work for the benefit of people at large. TYPES OF RISKS IN TAKÃÆ'„à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬FUL BUSINESS Business industry is prone to a number of risks. Five types of risks in business (Basel, 2006; IAIS, 2004) have been identified that are relevant to TakÃÆ'„ ful business. First two types of risks (underwriting and operational risks) are directly related to operations of TakÃÆ'„ ful company while remaining three (credit, liquidity and market risks) are associated with the investment activities of the company. Underwriting Risk: Underwriting risk is pertinent to insurance and TakÃÆ'„ ful. It occurs due to adverse selection of applicants or due to re-TakÃÆ'„ ful risk as a result of inability of re-TakÃÆ'„ ful operator to meet the obligation towards ceded company under re-TakÃÆ'„ ful agreement (IAIS, 2003; pp.32-33). Adverse selection refers to the tendency of selecting applicants that result in higher than average chance of loss (Rejda, 2006; p. 45). The risk of adverse selection arises when applicants with higher than average chance of loss succeed in obtaining TakÃÆ'„ ful coverage at standard rates e.g. high risk drivers or persons with serious health problems. It results in higher claim ratio and put the firm on high liquidity constraints. Re-TakÃÆ'„ ful risk occurs as the ceded company remains liable for a portion of outstanding claim to the extent re-TakÃÆ'„ ful operator fails to provide financial protection to TakÃÆ'„ ful operator in accordance with agreed terms. Both adverse selection and re-TakÃÆ'„ ful risk hamper the firms underwriting capacity; disturb the cash flow pattern and hence affect the stability of the profits of the company. Operational Risk: Operational risk is not a well defined concept , yet Basel Report (2006, p.144) defines it as a loss that occurs as a result of inadequate or failed internal processes, people, technology or from external events. Internal processes failure occurs (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp.29-30) as a result of inaccurate processing of transactions, inefficient record keeping, violating operational control limits, non-compliance of regulations etc. people risk may occur due to incompetence of employees, fraud and failure to perform the duties. Technology risk may arise as a result of telecommunication system or computer network breakdown. Risks from external events include unenforceability of regulatory policies, legislation and regulations that affect the fulfillment of contracts and transactions in the organizations. These risks are also called legal risks and are considered a part of operational risks. Credit Risk: Credit risk occurs a result of default of counterparty when it fails to meet its obligations in time and in accordance with agreed terms (IAIS, 2004; p.14). In case of insurance, credit risk m ay be treated as default risk, migration risk, spread risk or concentration risk. Default risk occurs when TakÃÆ'„ ful operator does not receive or partially receive cash flows or assets to which it is entitled because the other party fails to meet the obligations of the contract. Migration risk occurs when probability of a future default of an obligator adversely affect the contract today. Spread risk occurs due to market perception of increased risk on either macro or micro basis. Concentration risk is the result of increased exposure to losses due to concentration of investments in a particular geographical area or economic or industrial sector. TakÃÆ'„ ful industry is also exposed to these risks. Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk is the risk resulting from TakÃÆ'„ ful companys inability to meet its obligations (i.e. claims payments and maturity price of policy) when they fall due. This risk occurs because the company has insufficie nt liquid assets or high level of liabilities (IAIS, 2004; p.18). Liquidity risk includes liquidation risk, affiliation investment risk and capital funding risk. Liquidation value risk is the risk under circumstance when assets are liquidated below their real (market) value. Affiliated investment risk is the risk that investment in an affiliated or member company might result in drain of financial or operating resources. Capital fund risk is the risk that insurance company will not be able to outsource funds in case of large claims. TakÃÆ'„ ful industry, just like conventional insurance company, faces similar types of liquidity risks. Market Risk: Market risk is the volatility of prices in instruments and assets of TakÃÆ'„ ful company in the market. It can be classified as equity price risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and commodity price risk (IAIS, 2004, p.12). Equity price risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in market price of equities or other assets. Interest rate risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in interest rates that adversely affect the cash flows of the insurance company. Currency risk is the risk of loss resulting from volatility of exchange rates that adversely affect the operations of insurance company. For a TakÃÆ'„ ful company, it does not include interest rate risk, however TakÃÆ'„ ful operators are exposed to mark up price risk as avoidance of interest based transactions is distinctive feature of SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliance. MANAGING RISKS All types of risks in TakÃÆ'„ ful require specific risk management strategy and need to be managed on individual basis. Underwriting Risk Management: Underwriting risk can be managed by establishing standard selection procedure consistent with the companys objectives. Most of the TakÃÆ'„ ful operators require physical inspection or medical reports of the applicants that have serious health problems or prone to higher than average risk. Some have introduced computerized underwriting system to standardized underwriting procedure and minimizing the chance of adverse selection. For example, TakÃÆ'„ ful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia uses computerized underwriting procedure for motor TakÃÆ'„ ful where applicants who meet standard requirements are automatically selected for TakÃÆ'„ ful. Others are rejected or alternatively are offered higher contribution rates for the extra risk. To minimize re-TakÃÆ'„ ful risk, TakÃÆ'„ ful operator can evaluate the financial strength of re-TakÃÆ'„ ful operators in the region and diversify the risk geographically by making arrangements with more than one re-TakÃÆ'„ ful operator. Operational Risk Management: Management of this risk is more complex as it arises from failure of internal processes, peo ple, information system breakdown and non-compliance with regulatory standards (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp. 38-39). Senior management and board of directors of TakÃÆ'„ ful company should devise policies and develop strategies to manage and reduce operational risks. Sources of operational risk (i.e. people, processes and technology) should be handled carefully. This raises the importance of corporate governance culture in the organization. Given the newness of TakÃÆ'„ ful industry, computer software available for conventional insurance might not be appropriate for TakÃÆ'„ ful industry. This calls for recruiting talented professionals in the field of informational technology so that they could develop software to meet peculiar needs of TakÃÆ'„ ful industry. Independent external auditors can also play an important role in mitigating operational risk as they point out flaws in internal processes of the organization. This calls for p roper disclosure of activities and independent and secure reporting system. Credit Risk Management: Under conventional insurance system, credit exposure limits are established within companys investment policies to mitigate and manage default risk, migration risk, spread risk and concentration risk as discussed under credit risk. Usually, following credit exposure limits can be established for insurance company investment and credit activities (IAIS, 2004; pp.16-18). Internal and external rating of counterparties Limit on maturity of credit facility (prefer short term credit over long term credit) Limit on maximum investment amount or a certain percentage of investment exposure to a single issuer, industry, geographical region or some other risk classification. Prohibition of interest does not allow TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to investment in interest-based instruments (Chapra and Khan, 2000). Moreover, TakÃÆ'„ ful companies do not have access to credit derivatives that are considered effective instruments for credit risk mitigation. Yet Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.67-68) argues that futures and Option contracts result in losses for more than 70% of the time and hence such instruments are considered as factors of loss, not of gain. The non-availability of Islamic derivatives raises the importance of internal control mechanism for TakÃÆ'„ ful operators which ensures that credit risk exposures are maintained within limits of prudential standards defined by internal controls. Liquidity Risk Management: IAIS Report (2004, p.20) identifies two approaches in order to hedge liquidity risk that are also applicable to TakÃÆ'„ ful industry. These are: Cash flow modeling Liquidity ratios Cash flow modeling is done in order to assess the amount of deficit, surpluses or liquidation value risk in order to meet the needs of TakÃÆ'„ ful industry. TakÃÆ'„ ful oper ator should make sure that it has sufficient liquid assets in order to meet liquidity risk and unexpected liquidity requirements. Use of liquidity ratios will help TakÃÆ'„ ful operator to set the amount of liquid assets required to meet demands of liability portfolio, desired level of liquidity ratio will also help in determining TakÃÆ'„ ful operators investment policies. Capital funding risk could be mitigated by setting contingency plans and drawing cash from re-TakÃÆ'„ ful policies. This form of liquidity hedging could be recognized by knowing current level of liquid assets in hand to meet TakÃÆ'„ ful operators investment policies. In order to identify and evaluate liquidity risks, Ahmed and Khan (2001, p.38) emphasize the need of adequate internal control and proper disclosure of information in the organization. Towards this end, it is essential to have regular independent reports and internal audit function shoul d periodically review the liquidity risk management process. Market Risk Management: In conventional insurance, management of market risk includes devising strategies to manage interest rate risk, exchange rate, and commodity price risk as well as equity price fluctuations. TakÃÆ'„ ful operators are not involved in interest based transactions so they do not face this risk. However, KIBOR (Karachi Inter Bank Offered Rate) can be used as bench mark for markup in Islamic financial institutions in their financing activities. Conventional institutions manage the market risk using financial derivatives such as futures, forward, option or swap contracts (Chapra Khan, 2000; p.55). TakÃÆ'„ ful operators face difficulty in managing market risk as these financial derivatives are not compatible with SharÃÆ'„ «ah in the eyes of Islamic scholars. However, according to Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.118-126), cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual ad justment are acceptable instruments under SharÃÆ'„ «ah to mitigate currency risk and interest rate risk respectively. Additionally, TakÃÆ'„ ful operators could apply stress tests and Value at Risk (VaR) techniques to mitigate commodity price risk and equity risk. Stress testing is one of the risk management tools that can be employed to assess the vulnerability of portfolios to abnormal shocks and market conditions. Value at Risk is the probability of portfolio losses exceeding some specified proportion.  [1] ENHANCING RISK MANAGEMENT CULTURE Cultivation of risk management culture is extremely important to form a robust and resilient TakÃÆ'„ ful industry in Pakistan. This objective, however, could not be achieved without active participation and collaboration of regulatory authorities, senior management of TakÃÆ'„ ful companies and members of SharÃÆ'„ «ah Supervisory Board (SSB). Towards this end, regul arities authorities should make sure that stress testing and Value at Risk (VaR) reports as identified above are regularly produced and obtained from senior management of TakÃÆ'„ ful operators in addition to reports of TakÃÆ'„ ful risks. Regular review of these reports will greatly facilitate the regulatory authorities as well as TakÃÆ'„ ful operators to enhance risk management practices in TakÃÆ'„ ful industry.  [2] Moreover, effective implementation of internal control and corporate governance system could prove to be of vital importance to TakÃÆ'„ ful operator as well as to concerned regulatory authority. It will help the authorities in effective monitoring of TakÃÆ'„ ful activities and managing different types of risks hence enhancing the functioning of TakÃÆ'„ ful operators in the industry. Figure 1 shows the steps for effectively manage the risks in TakÃÆ'„à ‚ ful business. In the first step, possible risks in the way of TakÃÆ'„ ful business are identified. In the second step, strategies are developed to cope with and manage the risks effectively. In the third step, process of identification and strategy formulation and implementation related to each type of risk is examined through review reports and effective measures are taken to counter any flaw or discrepancy in the previous process. FIGURE 1: FLOW CHART OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN TAKÃÆ'„à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬FUL Identifying Risk in TakÃÆ'„ ful: Underwriting Risk Operational Risk Credit Risk Liquidity Risk Market Risk Managing Risk: Underwriting Risk Management Operational Risk Management Credit Risk Management Liquidity Risk Management Market Risk Management Enhancing Risk Management Culture in TakÃÆ'„ ful industry: Review of TakÃÆ'„ ful risks reports Review of Stress testing and Value at Risk (VaR) reports Implementing internal control and corporate governance systems Follow-up on internal control and corporate governance CHALLENGES TO RISK MANAGEMENT In spite of effective risk management techniques discussed above, there are certain challenges in the way of risk management for TakÃÆ'„ ful. Internal Controls: Internal controls are indispensable for recognizing and assessing risks faced by financial institutions including TakÃÆ'„ ful companies. Basel Committee (2005) and IAIS (2006a) reports have focused on the importance of internal controls for banking institutions as well as for conventional insurance companies respectively. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) found that existence of effective internal control have prevented the financial institutions from systemic crisis and enabled them to have early detection of problems and associate d risks they might face in future. These experiences highlight the importance and need of internal controls for TakÃÆ'„ ful companies. Unique nature of these companies from conventional insurance demands the fulfillment of SharÃÆ'„ «ah aspects. IFSB and IAIS joint working group (2006) maintains that to have effective internal control mechanism, TakÃÆ'„ ful companies must ensure SharÃÆ'„ «ah controls in addition to all statutory regulations. It urges the need of a regular SharÃÆ'„ «ah audit as a part of an on-going internal control system. Corporate Governance: The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities of the Board, manager, shareholders and other stakeholders (OECD Report, 1999) yet effective corporate governance ensures the independence of board of directors (BOD) who in turn devise polices and implement strategies for risk management and hold the managem ent accountable to shareholders (Psaros and Seamer, 2002; p.7). Lack of an effective corporate governance framework hampers the independence of board of directors (BOD) and hence poses a challenge to risk management. It in turn increases the operational risk which might result in failure of operations due to inability of BOD to implement unbiased and independent decisions for the best interest of all stakeholders. TakÃÆ'„ ful companies are confronted with an additional challenge related to corporate governance of SharÃÆ'„ «ah Supervisory Board (SSB). Grais and Pellegrini (2006b) identify corporate governance issues that affect their role and functioning in the organizations. It calls for a greater need to incorporate corporate governance culture to overcome related issues of TakÃÆ'„ ful industry. SharÃÆ'„ «ah Based Challenges: According to Ahmed Khan (2001), most of the risk management techniques are not applicable to Islamic financial institutions due to the requirements of SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliance. It creates SharÃÆ'„ «ah based challenges to risk management for TakÃÆ'„ ful companies as well. These challenges arise as SharÃÆ'„ «ah restricts the use certain instruments that are considered useful in conventional risk management e.g. derivatives (futures, options, swaps etc.) and sale of debts. Al-Suwailem (2006, pp.89-90) argues that SharÃÆ'„ «ah constraints to human behavior do not hinder creativity, rather these constraints are the major driving force behind the creation of innovative financial instruments. He suggests several Islamic financial instruments for risk management and concludes that SharÃÆ'„ «ah is abundant with real solutions to the present problems of gambling and speculation. It provides directions to SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars and experts of Islamic finance to explore the dimensions of Sh arÃÆ'„ «ah in order to integrate risk management practices with value creation. Financial Engineering: Financial engineering aims at designing new and innovative SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliant Islamic financial instruments for IFIs including TakÃÆ'„ ful companies. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) maintain that financial engineering has emerged as the greatest challenge faced by SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars of present time as it poses major threat to IFIs to become competitive in the contemporary business environment. Process of giving fatwÃÆ'„ s by SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars regarding the permissibility of a financial instrument is quite slow and over-conservative (Iqbal et al, 1998; pp.47-48) as SharÃÆ'„ «ah scholars and experts of modern finance have different academic backgrounds. They use technical terms related to their own field that are most of the time not easily understandable to other party. The n eed is to produce scholars with SharÃÆ'„ «ah background that also have working knowledge of modern finance to meet the acute challenge of financial engineering. Islamic Financial Market: Islamic financial market provides a secondary market for trading of Islamic financial instruments. In the absence of this market, it will be extremely difficult for TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to maintain its liquidity position to make prompt claim payments when they become due. Retaining a large portion of TakÃÆ'„ ful fund to maintain high liquidity ratio will affect the efficiency of the firm and its competitiveness as compared to conventional insurance companies that have ready access to liquid bonds and t-bills. Islamic Financial Market will greatly facilitate the TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increasing their efficiency and competitiveness while maintaining low liquidity ratio. It will also help TakÃÆ'„ ful companies in hedging market risk by providing alternative instruments to financial derivatives that are not acceptable under Shariah. Need of Private Credit Rating Agencies: Although International Islamic Rating Agency (IIRA) has been set up in Bahrain to judge the SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliance and financial strength of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) including TakÃÆ'„ ful companies, it is not be possible for IIRA to rate thousands of counterparties with whom TakÃÆ'„ ful companies deal. Consequently, it calls for the need of private credit rating agencies in each Muslim country that could provide information related to financial strengthen, fiduciary risk and credit worthiness of thousands of counterparties that privately issue financial instruments (Chapra Ahmed, 2002; pp.80-81). This information could provide great help to IIRA in rating these companies and make it readily avail able to TakÃÆ'„ ful companies and other interested parties. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and TakÃÆ'„ ful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÃÆ'„ «ah principles. Five types of risks have been identified in TakÃÆ'„ ful business that affect operational and investment functions of TakÃÆ'„ ful operator. Operational risk can be managed by enhancing corporate governance culture in the organizations. Cash flow modeling and use of liquidity ratios is quite helpful to identify liquidity constraints. TakÃÆ'„ ful operators might face difficulty in managing market and credit risks as SharÃÆ'„ «ah compliant nature of TakÃÆ'„ ful contract does not allow TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives due to their speculative nature by which they tend to benefit one party at the loss of other. On the other hand, Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing. Risks associated to TakÃÆ'„ ful have raised several challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices. Regular SharÃÆ'„ «ah audit is found to be an integral part of effective internal controls that prevent the companies from systemic crisis. Corporate governance calls for independence of BOD to devise policies for effective risk management, make unbiased decisions and resolve issues related to functioning of SSB. SharÃÆ'„ «ah based challenges call for devising innovative Islamic financial instruments as SharÃÆ'„ «ah is abundant with real solutions to present business dilemma and does not hinder creativity. Exploring those solutions will help to meet the challenge of financial engineering. Islamic financial market will greatly facilitate the task of TakÃÆ'„ ful companies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increase their efficiency and competitiveness. There is need to establish private credit rating agencies that could assist IIRA to rate thousands of counterparties for the benefit of TakÃÆ'„ ful operators.

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Running Head: Personal Project Final Personal Project Final Student: Grace Salinas BUS4012 Leadership in Organizations May 21, 2011 Instructor: Fred Knauf Table of Contents Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Leadership Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.3 Interview Findings †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦3 Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Concepts and Applications†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Relevance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..8 E xperience as an Interviewer†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 Appendix A: Interview with†¦show more content†¦The experiences that we have acquired thought out our lives will determine what we believe to be, and to distinguish right from wrong. Based on these beliefs we establish unique core values, and we use these values to influence how others perceive us. We are all driven by our core values; they give purpose to our lives and a reason to outperform ourselves and motivate others to do the same. Summary of Interview Findings – Ray Ortega Ray Ortega is a well know Private Investigator whose persistence has led him to solve many major crimes. In interviewing Mr. Ortega, I found out that he is very outspoken about having things done his way. If his investigators do things other than his way, he will unknowingly create friction and stress between him and his employees. It is not until he sees favorable results that he will seize giving his employees a hard time. He does not acknowledge or thank his employees for doing a good job or praises them for having the courage to go by their instincts to solve the cases. Mr. Ortega would, in my opinion, get more from his employees if he would encourage them to follow their instinct, as long as they report their every move to him. He does acknowledge that he needs to work on having confidence that his employees have his best interest at hand. Summary of Interview Findings – Thomas Thigpin Thomas Thigpin is the

Portrait of a Teacher Free Essays

Portrait of a Teacher A teacher is supposed to be the image a child gets of learning new things- mostly non-academic. The portrait the child has of the teacher determines how well they get to understand the concepts they are taught in class. The teacher should ensure that their activities and conduct are in accordance with the portrait of the teacher so as to improve how students perceive learning. We will write a custom essay sample on Portrait of a Teacher or any similar topic only for you Order Now One trait that the teacher is supposed to portray is that of a person who understands how to solve problems and more so how do solve them using critical thinking. This means that in a class, the students will be keen to see how the teacher solves new problems that arise. To the students this is a sign of how good their teacher is. It should be noted that problem solving and critical thinking as pertaining to this trait goes beyond the academic things. For example when a teacher is dictating letters of the alphabet in an elementary class and then a bumble bee flies in, the children will be distracted but how the teacher reacts to this distraction is a test of how well they can solve problems. In such a case, the teacher can pause what they were saying and explain something new about the bee. The same would be expected of the teacher if an animal such as a spider, which children fear, is spotted in class. The teacher would be expected to stay on top of the situation and calm the students. Critical thinking by itself is a process that demands a person to ensure that their way of thinking is devoid of any emotional bias; and this should be the case in a teacher. In all situations they should ensure that rationale and logic prevails above emotion. At times this demand to act devoid of any emotion conflicts with what a teacher may want or is good for them. For example, when a slight earthquake shook our school while I was in eighth grade, we all ran towards the teacher and clang onto her. This by itself limited her chances of escaping in case anything happened. This example is one of the reasons why I believe that at times, the demands placed on the teacher are conflicting with what is good is for them. As a teacher I will strive to ensure that I promote a democratic environment in my classes. I will do this by ensuring that I involve the students in making decisions that affect them and in which I believe that their participation in decision making will not compromise the quality of education they get. This is necessary as it would help in making the students feel responsible and for their education and hence calling for their increased participation. For example in high school our math teacher used to ask us to set the date when we wanted to take a continuous assessment test. This was different from other teachers who set the dates for us. What happened is that we all put a lot of emphasis in studying for math as we did not want to fail for an exam we had decided when it would be given to us. This is the kind of democracy that I intend to promote in my classroom as it will help improve student performance by motivating them to take charge of their lives at an early age. This is important as most students end up finishing college while they are still looking up to their tutors to make decisions for them. So when there are no tutors around, the students end up making wrong decisions as they were not well prepared for decision making in school. What a teacher portrays is useful in determining the quality of education the student gets. I intend to portray a good image and to ensure that my students see me as a symbol of critical thinking and problem solving. I also intend to promote democracy in my classroom to ensure that my students are well motivated and also learn how to take charge of their lives. How to cite Portrait of a Teacher, Essay examples

Indoor Air Pollution In Developing Countries †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Indoor Air Pollution In Developing Countries. Answer: The principle characteristics of Environmental health promotion: The generic strategy Health promotion is giving individuals power to have control over their own health. The Ottawa Charter for health promotion states that there are five ways of promoting health. It includes devising healthy public policy, building appropriate environment for promoting health, strengthening the power of the community in fostering well-being, refining personal skills of the individuals and remodelling the health services. Environmental health refers to the practice of identifying and controlling the environmental factors that have the potential of impacting the health of generations in a negative way. It focuses on the causal effects of the environment on human health. The approach of environmental health promotion is to protect human beings by limiting their exposure to the environmental hazards such as toxic substances or microbiological contamination. Germ theory of environmental health postulates the cause and effect approach (Parkes et. al., 2003). This approach had been embraced b y John Snow who was instrumental in eradicating the 19th century cholera epidemic in London. He discovered the handle in the Broad Street pump that was the source of contamination of water. Certain social factors can also increase the susceptibility of human beings of being exposed to environmental hazards. The social approach to environmental health identifies factors such as social inequalities, psychosocial processes affecting health (Schulz and Northridge, 2004). Furthermore, an important factor in promoting environmental health is healthy and safe environment and resources such as water, food and air (BROWN et. al., 1992). Health hazards originate from an alteration in the relationship between society and environment (Parker et. al., 2004). The global environmental problems have contributed to alarming health issues. Global ecological crises such as the depletion of the ozone layer, uninhibited air and water pollution and global warming have resulted in serious health problems. In most of the developing countries, individuals are dependent on coal and biomass that appear in the form of wood, crop and dung (Fullerton et. al., 2008). They usually burn these materials with insufficient combustion. As a result, women and young people in these countries are exposed to indoor air pollution on a day-to-day basis. Consequently, they are susceptible to developing chronic illnesses such as pulmonary disease and acute respiratory infections, asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer, nasopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer (Duflo et. al., 2008). Poverty is an essential barrier that hinders people in the developing countries from using cleaner fuels (Poverty, 2001). The particles in the biomass that are hazardous to health include carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides (mainly from coal), nitrous oxides, polycyclic organic matter and formaldehyde (Pope et. al., 2010). The combustion of these materials is almost always not complete. A large amount of emissions as well as poor ventilation of the rooms make indoors extremely polluted. The impact on peoples health is also dependent on the duration of exposure to the indoor pollution. As women in developing countries engage themselves in cooking, their exposure level to the pollution is higher than men. Consequently, young children who are always with their mothers also spend many hours indoors in the exposure of toxic pollutants. People in the developing countries are usually exposed to the indoor pollution for 3-7 hours every day. Environmental health promotion initiative: An example of the strategy in action The ITDG (Intermediate Technology Development Group) Smoke and Health project 1998-2001 aims to alleviate indoor air pollution in the rural households in Kenya. It aims to work in collaboration with the communities in rural Kenya to find out solutions. 80% of the people in sub-Saharan Africa rely on biomass (wood, crop, dung residues) as sources of domestic energy. There have been evidences of children being affected by illnesses such as pneumonia and chronic lung disease. This particular project had been launched on May 6, 1998. The primary purpose of this project is to minimise the exposure to toxic pollutants. This project worked with 50 households in rural Kenyan communities. Kajiado and two communities in West Kenya were chosen for this project. These areas are geographically and culturally different from each other. Monitoring the kitchens of these areas showed that the level of indoor air pollution is extremely high (Ballard-Tremeer and Jawurek, 1996). This project served in p romoting environmental health by aiming to achieve several goals. First of all, one of the objectives is to better the quality of life of these people and open up new avenues for further research. The project purports to conduct a baseline assessment of pollution, exposure to pollutants, fuel expenditure and structure of the houses (Thomas and Allen, 2000). Developments and installation of interventions are another objective. The affordability of the interventions is also to be tested. Another objective is also to make the inhabitants aware of the risks associated with house smoke and the ways of alleviating them. The other objective of this project was to spread the interventions internationally and ensure the implementation of the best practice in other countries in the world. Its purpose was also to develop an imitable methodology on suitable methods to alleviate indoor air pollution. As a result of this project, there was substantial reduction in the level of carbon monoxide (Al balak et. al.,2001) . The interventions of this project have also improved the ventilation of the households and helped in the passage of natural lighting in the households. Using stoves rather than three stone fires were encouraged. By consulting the community, smoke hoods were used rather than chimney stoves. Windows and eaves spaces had been used to make ventilation possible. The use of the Upesi stove in West Kenya minimised fuel use by 40 percent in contrast with the three stone fires (Abbott, 2000). The reports from the households using these stoves are positive. They have reported that the kitchens are cleaner than before after installing these stoves. Accidents of children being in close proximity of the fires were significantly reduced (Bruce et. al., 2000).. The most important invention adopted by Kajiado was the use of windows when 50 percent of the households adopted the use of smoke hoods. In West Kenya, the community was consulted about their idea of indoor air polluti on (Naeher et. al.,1996). Additionally, they had been shown the pictures of the interventions used in Kajiado to make them more enthusiastic about the implementation of the interventions. Thus, this project promoted the health of the inhabitants by taking interventions and strategies to control the environment and better the lives (WRI, World Bank 1998). Planning, evaluation, context Participation by the community had been an essential aspect of this project. It is important for the people of the community to express their own needs and identify solutions that correspond to those needs. During this project, the opinions of indigenous population especially women have been prioritised. They were made aware of the projects criteria that made them help in the process of house selection that are most suitable for the study. Participatory Technology Development (PTD) was an integral tool that had been used in the study throughout. It refers to the operational techniques and methods that accentuate the users participation in developing and implementing technology. It allows the participants to select the technology that is best suited for their purpose. This particular approach assumes that community is the essential part in decision-making. Moreover, focus group meetings were arranged to pay heed to the wishes and requirements of the indigenous population (Naeher et. a l., 2001). These meetings were also conducted in order to enlighten the population about the risk factors associated with indoor air pollution and the usefulness of the interventions for alleviating it (Mishra et. al., 1997). Exchange visits were paid. it refers to the act of paying visits to the households in which interventions have already been installed. Structured visits were particularly paid in order to disseminate the awareness (Gitonga et. al.). Because of the geographical distance between Kajiado and West Kenya, photographs were also exchanged by the local people in order to increase awareness. Although women have been particularly helpful in this project, there were certain constraints such as the distance between Kajiado and West Kenya. The project had a multi-disciplinary team including project managers, statisticians, and scientific advisors and so on. The selection of households was done keeping in mind certain paradigms. The households with children of 0 to 5 years w ere preferred as those children and their mothers were more likely to spend maximum amount of time in the kitchen (Bruce et. al., 1998). Enumerators were appropriately trained so that they are able to collect descriptive as well as numeric data. Data gathered from monitoring to find particulates and carbon monoxide showed the quantitative data of the level of indoor air pollution (Budds et. al., 2001). Questionnaires were provided to people to estimate the factors in these peoples lives that can result in increased levels of indoor air pollution. Pre-intervention meetings were held to discuss about possible interventions, the probable causes of indoor air pollution. The project team suggested the use of enlarged size of windows, smoke hoods, eaves spaces as well as installation of better cook stoves as possible interventions. Similarly, in Post-intervention West Kenya meetings, the indigenous population were made aware about the changes after installing the interventions (Parker et. al., 2004). They were also educated about the maintenance of the interventions. For example, they were made to realise that it is important to keep the windows open for them to be effective. Time activity studies were undertaken in order to estimate the changes in peoples lifestyle and behaviour after the installation of the interventions. Ottawa Charter in action The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion is the first conference on health promotion that had been held in Ottawa on 21 November 1986 (World Health Organization. 2017). It presented a charter with the purpose of achieving health by 2000 and afterwards. The basic conditions for health and well-being are peace, shelter, education, food, income, social justice and equity and so on. The Ottawa Charter mentions three strategies for promoting health. Advocate: Political, social, environmental, cultural, economic, biological factors can influence health in both positive and negative ways. Health promotion aims to make these conditions conducive of maintaining health and well-being. Enable: Health promotion ensures the equality between people so that everyone can avail equal opportunities to achieve their full potential in terms of well-being. It entails ensuring the availability of a secure environment, life skills, as well as opportunities so that they are capable of making healthy choices. It also involves making sure that there is no discrimination between men and women in terms of availability of these resources. Mediate: Health promotion needs to be ensured with the help of not only the health sector but also other governmental bodies, social and economic sectors, voluntary organisations, media and local authorities. While conducting this project, all the factors were taken into consideration so that the interventions taken are effective in making a difference. To estimate the societal, environmental factors, the participatory approach had always been maintained throughout the project. Womens participation played a major role in this project. Consequently, there was no discrimination on the part of the project team. Moreover, many governmental and non-governmental bodies were immensely supportive of the project. All the principles of the Ottawa charter had been religiously maintained while conducting this project. The interventions used in this project had many social impacts. The project has helped in alleviating poverty in these areas. This project has also contributed in empowering women by making them more confident in decision-making regarding their own kitchens. The improvements in health were significant and note-worthy. Coughs, dizziness and chest pains of the population were significantl y reduced (Ezzati, Kammen, 2001). There was improved sleep and fewer headaches. Moreover, food was no longer prone to soot contamination. There were also improvements in overall environment. The visibility was better as a result of smoke removal (Young, 1994). There was fresh air circulation resulting in refreshed breathing (Ezzati and Kammen, 2001). There was increased opportunity for both the children and the adults. The adults were able to increase their income as less time was spent for ill-health. Childrens grades were also better as a result. Financial aspects also improved (Von et. al., 2002). Kerosene was not used less than before because there was less need for lighting. On the other hand, cooking was done by using daylight instead of artificial light. Food was not rotten as the environment improved. The households became safer as the smoke hoods acted like shields. Thus, the project improved all factors that can influence the health and well-being of the indigenous popula tion. References Abbott, V. (2000). Upesi project cost benefit analysis.Internal document commissioned by ITDG Kenya, July 2000. Albalak, R., Bruce, N., McCracken, J. P., Smith, K. R., De Gallardo, T. (2001). Indoor respirable particulate matter concentrations from an open fire, improved cookstove, and LPG/open fire combination in a rural Guatemalan community.Environmental science technology,35(13), 2650-2655. Ballard-Tremeer, G., Jawurek, H. H. (1996). Comparison of five rural, wood-burning cooking devices: efficiencies and emissions.Biomass and Bioenergy,11(5), 419-430. Ballard-Tremeer, G., Mathee, A. (2000). Review of interventions to reduce the exposure of women and young children to indoor air pollution in developing countries.WHO/USAID consultation on Indoor Air Pollution and Health May, 3-4. BROWN, V. A., RITCHIE, J. E., ROTEM, A. (1992). Health promotion and environmental management: a partnership for the future.Health Promotion International,7(3), 219-230. Bruce, N., Neufeld, L., Boy, E., West, C. (1998). Indoor biofuel air pollution and respiratory health: the role of confounding factors among women in highland Guatemala.International journal of epidemiology,27(3), 454-458. Bruce, N., Perez-Padilla, R., Albalak, R. (2000). Indoor air pollution in developing countries: a major environmental and public health challenge.Bulletin of the world health organization,78(9), 1078-1092. Budds, J., Biran, A., Rouse, J. (2001). What's cooking?: a review of the health impacts of indoor air pollution and technical interventions for its reduction. InWELL task(Vol. 512). LSHTM. Duflo, E., Greenstone, M., Hanna, R. (2008). Cooking stoves, indoor air pollution and respiratory health in rural Orissa.Economic and Political Weekly, 71-76. Ezzati, M., Kammen, D. M. (2001). Indoor air pollution from biomass combustion and acute respiratory infections in Kenya: an exposure-response study.The Lancet,358(9282), 619-624. Ezzati, M., Kammen, D. M. (2001). Quantifying the effects of exposure to indoor air pollution from biomass combustion on acute respiratory infections in developing countries.Environmental health perspectives,109(5), 481. Fullerton, D. G., Bruce, N., Gordon, S. B. (2008). Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel smoke is a major health concern in the developing world.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,102(9), 843-851. Gitonga, S., Nyaga, J., Owalla, H., Mathenge, M., Edward, M. L. A., Olumbo, M. P., ... Mosiany, M. Reducing indoor air pollution in rural households in Kenya. Mishra, V. K., Retherford, R. D., Smith, K. R. (1997).Effects of cooking smoke on prevalence of tuberculosis in India(No. 92). East-West Center. Naeher, L. P., Smith, K. R., Leaderer, B. P., Neufeld, L., Mage, D. T. (2001). Carbon monoxide as a tracer for assessing exposures to particulate matter in wood and gas cookstove households of highland Guatemala.Environmental science technology,35(3), 575-581. Naeher, L., Leaderer, B., Smith, K., Grajeda, R., Neufeld, L., Mage, D., Boleij, J. (1996). Indoor, outdoor and personal carbon monoxide and particulate levels in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala: characterisation of traditional, improved, and gas stoves in three test homes'.WHO/CHD, Geneva 1996. Parker, E., Baldwin, G., Israel, B., Salinas, M. (2004). Application of health promotion theories and models for environmental health. Health Education Behaviour, 31 (4), 491- 509. Parkes, M., Panelli, R., Weinstein, P. (2003). Converging paradigms for environmental health theory and practice.Environmental Health Perspectives,111(5), 669. Pope, D. P., Mishra, V., Thompson, L., Siddiqui, A. R., Rehfuess, E. A., Weber, M., Bruce, N. G. (2010). Risk of low birth weight and stillbirth associated with indoor air pollution from solid fuel use in developing countries.Epidemiologic reviews,32(1), 70-81. Poverty, A. (2001). World Development Report 2000/2001.Ravi Kanbur and Nora Lustig, Eds. Schulz, A., Northridge, M. E. (2004). Social determinants of health: implications for environmental health promotion.Health Education Behavior,31(4), 455-471. Thomas, A., Allen, T. (Eds.). (2000).Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. Oxford University. Von Schirnding, Y., Bruce, N., Smith, K., Ballard-Tremeer, G., Ezzati, M., Lvovsky, K. (2002).Addressing the Impact of Household Energy and Indoor Air Pollution on the Health of Poor: Implications for Policy Action and Intervention Measures. Geneva: World Health Organization. World Health Organization. (2017).The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2017]. WRI, U. UNDP, World Bank (1998). 1998-99 World Resources: a guide to the global environment.World Resources Institute Oxford University Press. Young, P. (1994). A breath of fresh air for smoky houses' in Boiling Point.