Now even your chair is going to scold you for being too lazy!

Image Source "Angry Chair" Photo. Conspiretheatre.com. October 8th, 2010. http://www.conspiretheatre.wordpress.com

Yes, folks. As if, parents, friends, co-workers etc. were not reprimanding you enough, now even you chair has new found authority! It can tell you when you are not seated right, or need to get up and move that lazy derriere of yours and get some much needed excercise. "Move it, shake it! NOW!"

I swear, I'm not making this up. A German company has manufactured an "intelli" chair (they might as well have called it "Yo Mama") that serves just that purpose. A chair that calls you out on being lazy, what next...a TV that tells you to stop being a bum and go get a job!

Read the full article @ http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6954PI20101006

The Simpsons take on Microfinance

Image Source: Bryan Johnson. "Simpsons Indian Style." Photo. Spiralpocus.com. July 13th, 2009. October 4th, 2010. http://www.spiralpocus.com/?p=2524

It was quite a surprise to see Microfinance being the topic of the new episode "Loan-a-Lisa" on The Simpsons. Lisa inherits a $50 from her ailing grandfather, and makes the decision to loan the money to a microfinance organization.

An introduction to the concept of Microfinance is made by a talking goat in a rural part of India, who explains how her owner (a peasant) is not eligible for a loan through a traditional bank, and needs a microlender instead.

Apart from the amusement of watching an intelligent and articulate talking goat (in a British/Indian cocktail accent), the creators of the show even include a brief cameo with a cartoon version of Muhammad Yunus (the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and the founder of the Grameen Bank) whose nose you have to succesfully click on to make a donation! Well, it is a cartoon show after all.

Of course the show took a domestic turn, when Lisa decides to finance Nelson her classmate from Springfield. Overall, I found the show amusing. However, beyond a brief introduction the show did not really focus much microfinance it's implications for poverty and development in countries.

I felt the idea was to briefly introduce a new concept for American viewers and then deal with some issues close to home such as dropping out of school, brand name recognition, and customer policies of stores in the US. I make that sound intellectual, but in reality, it's really not all that cerebral...it's really just meant to be entertaining.

Microfinance in new directions...

Just read an article in The Economist on the new ventures of microfinance, now aimed at assisting poor students in emerging economies. India, China and certain countries in Latin America are already on board.

I think the idea is quite interesting and perhaps noble with the underlying purpose of helping deserving students in desperate need of financing, though the primary challenge seemes to be accountability or the fear of default.

The predominant method of ensuring timely payback in tradiationl microfinance ventures stems from the peer-pressure strategies evident in microfinance self help groups. However, in the case of students from rural regions, the article raises the concern of how such peer pressure strategies would be ineffective, in the case of students that have virtually nothing to lose by not paying back their loans.

Certain strategies adopted by these microfinance firms (Vittana in India and Xacback in China) to circumvent the problems of accountabality involve, loaning to children of existing microfinance clients and limiting loans to second year or final year students who have some record of attendance.

Again the sustainability and longevity of this venture largely depends on the effective implementation of enforceable contracts.

It's worth looking at the long run success rate of these microfinance for students program.

See full article @ http://www.economist.com/node/16996791?story_id=16996791&fsrc=rss