An alternative approach to oversight: the case of the supervisory committee in Irish credit unions

The credit union supervisory committee, as a distinct model of organisational oversight, is very much invisible within corporate governance research. The focus is almost entirely on its corporate counterpart, the audit committee. This means that best practice is based almost entirely on audit committee experience, even though the audit committee model has not always prevented large-scale corporate losses. Audit committee and corporate and co-operative governance literature may benefit from the perspective of alternative models, such as that of the credit union supervisory committee. This paper explores the role of the supervisory committee in credit union governance and the structure of supervision, oversight and regulation within the Irish credit union movement. It reports the findings of a survey of credit union supervisory committees and qualitative interviews with key players in credit union supervision and development in Ireland, including the regulators of the credit union movement. A profile of the composition, activities and skills levels of supervisory committees is examined. The findings show that it is the high level of activity of the supervisory committee and its clear-cut independence that set it apart from other organisational oversight models

Meeting the credit needs of low income groups: Credit unions versus moneylenders

Although Ireland has a very well established credit union movement, moneylending continues to thrive. The purpose of this study is to estimate the extent of moneylending in a number of communities in Munster and to examine the extent to which credit unions contribute to financial inclusion. The study puts particular focus on comparing the service offered by the credit union with that of the moneylender. We estimated the extent of moneylending through a survey method and we examined the credit union service through interviews with credit union and MABS officers. We also compared the credit union service with that of the moneylenders. We interviewed a number of representatives from two of the main moneylending companies. We found that more than half (65 per cent) of those who are currently borrowing from moneylenders are also currently borrowing from other sources. Thus, it could be said that many of the people borrowing from moneylenders are not financially excluded. The financial exclusion literature tends to focus primarily on issues of ‘access’. However, as we found, more than half of the people currently borrowing from moneylenders do not have ‘access’ problems. So, why are they borrowing from moneylenders, if they have other options? We are of the view that for a significant number in Ireland, it is an issue of ‘use’ rather than ‘access’. Quinn and Ní Ghabhann’s (2004:26) study would support this, where 66 per cent of Travellers who were not credit union members cited ‘use’ factors such as ‘inability to save’ and ‘general lack of interest’ as reasons for not joining the credit union. Quinn and Ní Ghabhann indicated that many of the Travellers in their study were borrowing from legal and illegal moneylenders. While credit unions would appear to be very accessible, we highlight that they need to continue to offer small loans, promote small-scale saving and develop EFT (electronic funds transfer) services. We also highlight the need for credit unions to develop an emergency loan service, which members could access easily and quickly. In terms of ‘use’ of financial services, we highlight that credit unions must greatly improve on marketing and on the financial education of members, with particular focus on low-income groups. Financial advice and education in credit unions are of an ad-hoc nature and may only be available to those who have become indebted. One of the key principles of credit union philosophy is member education. Thus, in line with their philosophy and in their own interests and those of their members, credit unions should be more proactive in terms of providing financial education to their members and, in turn, building the members’ financial autonomy. In Ireland, we are very privileged to have a well-established and coherent money advice infrastructure in the form of MABS. MABS is currently developing a community education function, and thus will not only provide financial education to those who are indebted but will also be performing a preventative education role. From our research, we are led to believe that the increasing business of the moneylender is directly related to the decreasing financial autonomy of people. However, it would seem that for people on a low income, building financial autonomy can be very difficult. Additionally, our research would indicate that credit unions and MABS alone cannot build the financial autonomy of low-income groups and that this is a wider societal issue which requires a broad response

The potential impact of credit unions on members' financial capability: An exploratory study

This study evaluates the role of credit unions in building financial capability among members. The research found that most credit unions are engaged in some form of financial education in the community, although some are restricted to what could be described as low-commitment activities. A few individual credit unions and, to a lesser extent, networks of credit unions, have pioneered innovative schemes targeted at members of the community who are financially vulnerable due to low levels of financial capability. In a two-phase survey of new members, most individuals did not report that the credit union had a significant impact on their financial behaviour; however, they did highlight some key features of credit union business practice which help them to manage their finances. Finally, we argue that credit unions need to remain cognisant of their original goal of ensuring financial inclusion for all, particularly in the context of economic recession, which is likely to stimulate demand for financial capability-enhancing measures. However, it must be remembered that credit unions are only one element in any financial capability strategy for society and other players such as MABS, Government, regulators, banks and the educational system must also play their roles. It should also be remembered that financial capability is only one strategy, albeit an important one, to tackle the broader problem of financial exclusion. Other approaches must include regulation of the banking sector, the whole issue of income adequacy, and the removal of barriers to access for true participation in financial services starting with the development of basic bank accounts. Hence, any discussion of financial capability should sit within this broader context

Credit union restructuring: don't forget the member!

It is recognised in the marketing literature that services consist of core and relational dimensions, and in a long term customer relationship, the relational dimension can give competitive advantage to a business. One of the gaps in the credit union literature is a discussion on the impact of credit unions mergers on this key competitive advantage. And when member value is discussed, it tends to be confined to the core product aspect such as increased range of services and better rates rather than relational aspects. The focus of this paper is on the interplay between core product and relational dimensions in the member preferences around the future restructuring of the movement. It was found that credit union members clearly value their relationship with the credit union and are not willing to trade the local nature of the credit union as they know it, for increased services

Shall Be Bright at Last: Reflections on Suffering and Hope in the Letters of Paul

These nine essays on suffering offer exercises in Christian hope. The contributors reveal honest and tender wounds of the many harsh realities of life in a broken world awaiting full redemption. They meditate on Paul\u27s holy words that teach us to pray with expectation and live by faith. They encourage fellow pilgrims to trust the path and stick together. Shall Be Bright at Last is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. CC BY-NC-SAhttps://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/monographs/1000/thumbnail.jp

A theoretical study of the response of vascular tumours to different types of chemotherapy

In this paper we formulate and explore a mathematical model to study continuous infusion of a vascular tumour with isolated and combined blood-borne chemotherapies. The mathematical model comprises a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that describe the evolution of the healthy (host) cells, the tumour cells and the tumour vasculature, coupled with distribution of a generic angiogenic stimulant (TAF) and blood-borne oxygen. A novel aspect of our model is the presence of blood-borne chemotherapeutic drugs which target different aspects of tumour growth (cf. proliferating cells, the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature). We run exhaustive numerical simulations in order to compare vascular tumour growth before and following therapy. Our results suggest that continuous exposure to anti-proliferative drug will result in the vascular tumour being cleared, becoming growth-arrested or growing at a reduced rate, the outcome depending on the drug’s potency and its rate of uptake. When the angiogenic stimulant or the tumour vasculature are targeted by the therapy, tumour elimination can not occur: at best vascular growth is retarded and the tumour reverts to an avascular form. Application of a combined treatment that destroys the vasculature and the TAF, yields results that resemble those achieved following successful treatment with anti-TAF or anti-vascular therapy. In contrast, combining anti-proliferative therapy with anti-TAF or antivascular therapy can eliminate the vascular tumour. In conclusion, our results suggest that tumour growth and the time of tumour clearance are highly sensitive to the specific combinations of anti-proliferative, anti-TAF and anti-vascular drugs

Necrotic tumor growth: an analytic approach

The present paper deals with a free boundary problem modeling the growth process of necrotic multi-layer tumors. We prove the existence of flat stationary solutions and determine the linearization of our model at such an equilibrium. Finally, we compute the solutions of the stationary linearized problem and comment on bifurcation.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Quantifying the Concentration of Glucose, Urea, and Lactic Acid in Mixture by Confocal Raman Microscopy

Raman spectroscopy has numerous applications in the field of biology. One such application is the simultaneously measurement of the concentration of multiple biochemical components in low volume aqueous mixtures, for example, a single drop of blood serum. Over twenty years ago, it was shown for the first time that it was possible to estimate the concentration of glucose, urea, and lactic acid in mixture by combining Raman Spectroscopy with Partial Least Squares Regression analysis. This was followed by numerous contributions in the literature designed to increase the number of components and reduce the limits of concentration that could be simultaneously measured using Raman spectroscopy, by developing various optical architectures to maximise the signal to noise ratio. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of a confocal Raman microscopy system for multicomponent analysis for the case of physiologically relevant mixtures of glucose, urea, and lactic acid

Are you sitting comfortably? The political economy of the body

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the mass production of furniture in modern industrial societies and lower back pain (LBP). The latter has proven to be a major cost to health services and private industry throughout the industrialised world and now represents a global health issue as recent WHO reports on obesity and LBP reveal. Thus far there have been few co-ordinated attempts to deal with the causes of the problem through public policy. Drawing upon a range of sources in anthropology, health studies, politics and economics, the paper argues that this a modern social problem rooted in the contingent conjuncture of natural and social causal mechanisms. The key question it raises is: what are the appropriate mechanisms for addressing this problem? This paper develops an analysis rooted in libertarian social theory and argues that both the state and the capitalist market are flawed mechanisms for resolving this problem. There remains a fundamental dilemma for libertarians, however. Whilst the state and the market may well be flawed mechanisms, they are the dominant ones shaping global political economy. To what extent can libertarians work within these structures and remain committed to libertarian goals