Reflection on Today’s Society Essay

Online education has evolved over the last ten years as much as the cell phone. Given this, what have been some of the major improvements and changes in the digital classroom? Online education has come a very long way to where we were 10 years ago. Now you can achieve your whole degree online without ever going to a classroom. Online education now days let’s everyone work at their own pace. This is a very good system for the people that have a full-time job and have a family to take care of when they get off work. Once your able to get all your work and family time done you are able to sit in front of your computer and work as much as you want on your school work. Online education has helped so many people achieve their goal of receiving their degree that weren’t able to do it due to â€Å"not having time†. Cyber bullying is a serious issue in today’s schools and business. If everyone adopted and educated people on netiquette guidelines would this issue be solved? Explain. Cyber bullying is and has been an issue now days due to the technology and the fact that kids are more on computers in social website such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. If more people were educated on cyber bullying and the effects that it has on the people being bullied, it would make a difference and there will be less cyber bullying. Too many people’s self-esteem are lowered and even lowered so much it will eventually lead to a suicide. It is sad that somebody could have an effect on somebody to drive them to take their own life. Cyber bullying needs to be educated to all people of all ages. It will make a big difference and make people open their eyes and realize how severe the situation can be. If I post a poem on my Facebook site and someone cuts and pastes it on their site is that a case for stealing my intellectual property? If you do post a poem or anything on Facebook that become visible to everyone out there. Even though you have created a poem that will not stop anybody from taking it and using it as their own. I can understand if you have copyrights to your work but if you do not than anybody is able to use it without any consequences. Granted it is morally wrong to use anybody else’s work without their permission or not giving them the credit they deserve. What that person did was wrong by taking somebody else’s work, but you at the same time need to be aware and safe about what you post on Facebook. To answer the question, Yes, it would be consider stealing intellectual property but like I said if  there are no copyright’s than there is nothing you can do about it.

Academic performance Essay

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction Learning performance talks about how do the student is accomplishing his or her duties,responsibilities and studies. There are some factors that determine the status and the rate of students. Learning performanceis what you have shown you can do in a certain subject. Ability is a talent,skills or proficiency in a particular area. It is what you can do, given ideal circumtance.You can think of it as being internal and hidden untilyou show what what you can do with your performance. Performance is the execution of an action,something accomplished. It is external and what people see. For example,someone that freaks out when they have graded recitation may bomb it and have poor performance, even though they knew the material and had the ability to do the graded recitation if they hadn’t been so nervous. The term â€Å"Learning† is given a range of meaning. In everyday talk, media and television it is rarely used. When it is, it usually implies â€Å"being taught†. In the world of education learning may be used a lot, but on closer inspection the term can be standing in for distinctly different processes such as teaching, producing,performing according to certain criteria, and so on. And in classroom it is rarely heard. Learning achievement or learning performance is the outcome of education, the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has acchieved their education goals. Learning achievement is commonly measured by examinations or continuous assesment but there is no general agreement on how it is best tested on which aspect are most impotant procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts. Learning performance refers to how student deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers. It is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate your knowledge verbally or down on paper. *According to researh,a review of devlopments across the 20th century highlighted that learning is now seen as change in knowledge occuring through a process of knowledge construction in which the social context of learning is important 1.Learner differences and contextual differences are both shown to be influential. Studies of the social context of learning have helped us see that understanding is a shared phenomenon that learning may usefully be seen as joining a knowledge community, and that much learning remains very  specific to the social situation in which it was originally learned2. In every school and every classroom, views of learning are present, even if they remain implicit. The long standing culture of classroom is : teaching is telling, learning is listening. Knowledge is subject matter taught by teachers and found in books3.This does not accord with evidence from research. But it will inhabit classroom life unless there is clear action to counter it. And there is important research showing that classroom can create a better view.In the meaning held by learners themselves, views of learning have become a key focus of research. Studies of adult students have identified a range of learning: Increasing one’s knowledge memorizing and reproducing applying, general rules to particulars understanding, making sense changing the peson4 Effective learners are likely to have a rich conception of learning, along with strengths in what researchers have identified as metacognition, self-monitoring and self-regulation. There are several thing that effect the learning performance of the office administration student. First is financial problem wherein the students are financial capable in supporting their studies and needs. The student don’t have enough money to pay their tuition fees, school projects, photo copies, assignment, and other needs in school.Second is family problems. Family has a big part in students life. It affects their learning performance to catch up the lessons according to their daily lives. Crisis in family is one of the major problem why does the students fail to focus or give their 100% to understand the lessons. Then time management. Most of the students are having difficulties in dividing their time of their academic and non-academic activities, rackets or partime job. This may result to the student a bad performance in school. There times that they missed the classes because of their partime job and other activities.Followed by the student habits, some of tha students don’t read their books and lectures after school hours and didn’t listen in class discuccion because of inproper used of gadgets like cellphones, tablets and ipads so they didn’t understand much the lessons. Next is the student discipline. Some of the students didn’t obey the school policies, rules and  regulations, educational norms and school traditions. Then problem with the professors. Some students don’t want to attend or don’t want to listen to their professors because he or she is boring so that the student become not interested in the lessons, also when the professors are ve ry terror and stressful the student’s vission they found it hard to give their full focus in learning because of the way their professors discipline them. Peer pressure. There are some students skip classes because their friends or classmates influence to just go to malls, playing computer games, drink alcoholic beveranges and other gimmics instead of attending classes. Romantic relationship. The students can’t concentrate studying because they keep on thinking about their problems. The latter sometimes didn’t attend class because of the heartache caused by their boyfriend or girlfriend. They didn’t know how to handle such situations that bring them to fail their subjects. Second to the last thing are facilities and equipments. Most of the equipment and facilities such as rooms, laboratories, chairs, typewritters and computers are not suitable or limited for the population we have in our university. The students can’t concentrate studying because of the noise outside the classroom that usually came from the school quadrangle. They may not acquire the actual knowledge and skills they need. Lastly is educational psychology. It is the study of how the student learnin educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and social psychology of schools as oganizations. Every individual has differences in learning. There are some students who easily underrstand the topic discussed inside the classroom and there are also students who can’t understand the lessons that easy as others can and the problem is they don’t even asking so they totally don’t know what are the lessons discussed. The study of learning performance is for better improvement f office management student performance gaining knowledge. It can enhance the self-esteem of the students to perform well. and enridh their studies. A focus on learning can enhance perfomance, whereas a focus on perfomance (alone) can depress performance. The effects of performance orientation include greater helplessness, reduced help-seeking, less strategy use, more maladaptive strategies and a greater focus on grade feedback. There is an increase strategic behaviour rather than learning behaviour, a focus on looking good rather than learning well, and a tendency  to perceive education as a process of jumping through hoops, rather than something more transferable and lasting. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This part presents the conceptual framework and problem analysis of the study. The main research question is the thing that are affecting the gaining knowledge performance of the students. Sub topic research question such as financial problems, family problems, time management, problem with the professors, peer pressure, study habits, romantic relationship, student discipline, facilities and equipment and educational psychology have been found to have an effect on student’s learning performance. It affects student learning performance in terms of time demanded and the psychological state they may cause.

Global Warmning

Mandi Kinsey 10th Writing Persuasive essay 5/18/11 Word count: 602 Global Warming What happens to all the exhaust that comes out of the back of vehicles on the road? What are all the thick black clouds coming from factories that define a city’s skyline? What effect is all this smoke and smut going to do to the Earth? Some scientists have a theory called â€Å"Global Warming. † Scientist along with the followers of this theory believe that carbon dioxide or CO2 from mankind’s use of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas is building up in the atmosphere.As these gases go up into our air, they get trapped in our ozone layer creating a blanket of gas that does not allow the heat from the earth to disseminate. Theorists believe that this â€Å"blanket† of gasses leads to increased temperatures in the Earth’s atmosphere. Now this leaves us with the question what is global wormig and is it harmful? When it comes to the issues of pollution, all human s are affected since all humans benefit from the Earth’s resources. I am not convinced of that global warming is caused by humans. I do believe that all the pollution caused by humankind is doing horrible things to the environment.Although, I do not believe that the Earth’s temperature is rising as a result of human pollution. Nor do I believe that â€Å"Global Warming† will bring catastrophic repercussions as many theorists will have society believe. The retention of heat around the Earth’s atmosphere caused from gases is called the greenhouse effect. This is because, like a green house that a gardner uses to grow plants, the sun comes in through glass heats up the room and is not allowed to leave because the glass keeps it in. The Earths greenhouse the glass is the CO2 blanket that does not allow heat to escape from our Ozone layer.So why is this important, a little extra heat further from the equator would surely please many? Some of the fear driven co nsequences that some theorists have told include; Rising sea levels, leading to more coastal erosion, flooding during storms, and permanent inundation, Increased drought and increased incidence of wildfires, Severe stress on many forests, wetlands, alpine regions, and other natural ecosystems and impacts on human health as mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects and rodents spread diseases over larger geographical regions.I not only believe that humans are not the cause of global warming but i believe that the Earth is continually changing and that humans give themselves to much credit thinking they are that much of an influence on the Earth. Where does the truth lie with global warming? Are we all going to pay for the decades of pollution to the earth or are the skeptics correct in suggesting that this is all blown out of proportion through the media and extremists? I do not know the for sure answer to these question, no one does. This idea of humans causing â€Å"global war ming† is simply that an idea, a theory.But as with any good theory it demands that people take its warnings serious and research and prepare for possible findings. I believe that society does need to lower their pollution and think of ways to â€Å"go green† but not from fear or false theories. I think society needs to care about the environment for the animals, themselves and the future generations. In the end the correct choice is to continue studying the issue and if it turns out to be nothing we would still have been winners for educating millions and cleaning up the environment.

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth - Case Study Example The information system configured for Mrs. Fields’ Cookies was actually based on the ‘fit’ between the organizational structure, culture and the organizational goals. It was built distinctively for the operations of Mrs. Field’s Cookies within a given business market (fresh baked cookies) and it addressed the needs and requirements of the firm in forecasting demand, anticipating sales, allocating resources, tracking sales records and measuring the performance of each of the different outlets. Apart from these, the information management system was also equipped with ‘strategic intelligence’ in assisting managers (regional or store managers) making decisions fast without wasting time dealing with paperwork or any bureaucratic procedures. In general, the information system management approach undertaken by Mrs. Field’s Cookies was very enhancing and facilitated the growth and expansion of the firm as it enabled Debbi and Randy to maintain control on the one hand through centralization of operations and management. At the same time, however, employees were left to do work that was essential for business growth and which involved primarily the promotion of sales. The Acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie Within the expansion strategy of Mrs. Cookies Fields’, diversification was attempted through the acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie (LPB). Randy and Debbi show that acquisition as an excellent way of leveraging marketing opportunities by capitalizing on their brand name (according to the case study â€Å"the Mrs. Fields' name was demographically well established, and Randy believed whatever they put it on would sell†) and by extending the concept of a simple cookie store to diversifying into a ‘combination’ store (sit-down cafe). In undertaking LPB, Randy and Debbi sought to further stimulate the growth of the firm by diversifying its initial business and offerings. Their aspirations were ba sically driven by two factors: the first factor relates to the fact that Mrs. Field’s Cookies was a growth-oriented company and therefore opportunities offered were quickly grasped (despite the fact that in the early years Debbi was rather reluctant in growth because of her perceived control loss). In addition to that, Mrs. Fields’ Cookies had already acquired other firms in the past (within the expansion strategy program) and had managed to successfully incorporate them into the business structure, philosophy, and culture of the company (as in the case of the Famous Chocolate Chip Company).  

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY - Essay Example Just as was the case in the early 1920s when television and radios were top-of-mind in the field of advertising, face-book, twitter, and other social networks have become popular marketing and promotional sites for a number of companies (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). Finding a workable and economical marketing solution is the holy grail challenge for top markets today. Advertising lost influence and dominance of the media when internet accorded all the audience the ability and power to manage and run personalized message delivery systems. With facebook, myspace, linkerdIn, instagram, blogs, pinterest, foursquare, yelp, and twitter attracting more than 89% users, it is therefore essential for the executive markets to re-think marketing. However, as evidenced the collapse of top global companies which heavily invested in social-media marketing, the whole idea of intensive social media marketing strategy is more complex and needs to be critically examined (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65) .... ctive Media Strategies to Market Mix The â€Å"willingness and ability† to develop diverse and new relationship with our clients is the key tool in integrating social media to match sustainable traditional market mix. By closely examining the 4P’s Marking Mix Model; product, place, price, and promotion, it is noted that the success of marketing is based on the strength of connection established between the corporation and its target customers (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). This is the sole objective in marketing as it was more than a decade ago. With the increased competition in every industry, firms takes advantage of current dynamics in social marketing- the biggest step in marketing and advertising evolution as companies source for the most effective and best marketing strategy which connects them with their target audience. This raised the question on how marketing has changed over the last decade. One social media blog posted, â€Å"I believe we are in the Toddle r Phase of Social Media Marketing. Some companies will walk and talk faster than others - but we ‘ALL’ want to walk.† And not intending to â€Å"Coin a Phrase†. Some marketing consultants and managers have also recommended the phrase â€Å"Re-inventing Social Media† as a solution to social marketing and market mix challenges (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). Marketing Integration & Social Media: Toddler Categories The first group of social media marketing toddlers is those companies which integrates their social media programs to match their marketing strategies. Though these companies register gains from such operations, they also make errors in the process. Their strategy is entirely founded on the principle of ‘willingness’, hence, they are naturally described as risk lovers. This does not

Planning Function of Management in an Organization Essay

Planning Function of Management in an Organization - Essay Example Strategic planning is a process in which organizations strategies are determined, which utilizes major resources of the organization to achieve the goals. The company, EVENTIS is an event creator, organizer and manager. It has organized various events in its short history of 8 months and has come to be known as a very competent company. The company's portfolio includes organizing events such as weddings, concerts, gigs, conferences, seminars and the biggest event as yet, the Australian Cultural Festival. In this short span of time, EVENTIS has gathered a force of 400 young, talented and highly motivated employees through its friendly and goal oriented work environment. The satisfied customer base is increasing day by day and the future looks bright for EVENTIS at least for the near future. Planning is an essential process in EVENTIS, it helps the organization in achieving its goals and competing better with other and progressing in future. It consists of setting strategic objectives that define the desirable business aims to be achieved. Optimizing the strategic objectives by choosing the best considered mechanisms and to ensure the best use of organizational resources in given time is by developing operational plans. It also consists of organizing the management process in such a way that it helps in making the most effective decision and implementation plan. It also includes proper management of information that helps in support in management process by developing the communications system. This planning process is not consistent; it's changing along with the environment which governs the organization's entities. Thus the company makes sure that they monitor the environment which includes the competition, latest technology, government's rules and regulations and update their planning accordingly. [2] Impact of the following on the Management Planning in the Organization EVENTIS is an organization that deals with legal issues, ethics and corporate social responsibility very effectively as they play a very essential part in its remarkable planning management. Legal Issues EVENTIS as an event management company knows its responsibilities under law and organizes event taking special care of a variety of legal issues. It is their legal responsibility to make sure whether their event available within a particular time. EVENTIS ensures who actually owns the event as it involves various rights and liabilities and clarifies whether they can enter into a contract with the third party regarding the event. It becomes necessary in some cases to take official permission from the sanctioning body in order to host or manage events. The sanctioning is usually required for any national and international event under international rules and it ensures that the event is delivered according to the standards of the governing body. It is necessary to take license or permission before holding an event at any place and these licenses are issued by the local authorities. EVENTIS require the following licenses: Public Entertainment License - this is issued to conduct events in open air, can be for more than one occasion and issued by local

Analyze the impact of technology on a field of study of your choice Essay

Analyze the impact of technology on a field of study of your choice - Essay Example It is observed that today mobile devices proliferate in corporate environments as these devices can be easily connected to company networks. Although these devices have become an integral part of the modern life, they raise certain potential challenges to the cyber security. According to experts, it is relatively easy to hack mobile devices as compared to other computer devices. Hence, they are highly prone to data theft. In addition, today mobile devices are widely used for cyber crimes because this practice reduces the chances of being caught. Despite numerous advantages including high productivity and greater convenience, mobile devices raise severe threats to cyber security. According to a study conducted among IT professionals (as cited in Dimensional research, 2012), nearly 89% of the organizations connect mobile devices to their corporate networks. Roughly 65% participants responded that their employees used private mobile devices to access the corporate networks. The particip ants also indicated the major mobile platforms used to access corporate networks were Apple iOS (30%), BlackBerry (29%), and Android (21%). Majority of the participants (64%) argued that there has been an increase in mobile devices-related security risks to their organizations over the past two years (Dimensional research, 2012). ... For instance, it is often observed that employees connect their personal mobile devices to unprotected company networks like Wi-Fi in order to access internet. This practice increases the chances of malware attacks on the company networks and subsequently the malware-affected network may cause to lose the valuable business information stored in the company’s mobile devices. In addition, fraud employees can easily copy sensitive company information to their personal mobile devices within seconds and such issues can challenge the firm’s cyber security. Similarly, mobile devices are extremely prone to theft and loss due to their small size and high portability. If mobile devices reach the hands of third parties, they can access the data stored in it using highly advanced applications even though those devices are password-protected. Due to their small size, it is easy for external people to steal mobile devices. Evidently, data theft by individuals would more harmfully aff ect an organization than data loss due to malware attacks. In case of data theft, there might be a possibility of leaking the sensitive data to business competitors. This type of data loss or theft from mobile devices would extremely impact individuals too. Probably, people will store their family-related images and videos and other personal documents on their mobile devices. If such data are accessed by unauthorized people, this would cause great troubles to the users. Kuspriyanto and Noor (2012) point that the use of NFC (near field communication) in mobile payments systems make mobile platforms vulnerable to financially motivated cybercrimes. Evidently, such issues often cause users to suffer huge financial losses. Today,

Air Traffic Control and the operations of Airports all around the Essay

Air Traffic Control and the operations of Airports all around the world - Essay Example Nowadays these systems have been modernizing by means of latest electronic and information technologies available. Thus, the air traffic control and airport operations can provide ever better service to humanities of the world. The modernized air traffic controlling system is equipped with sophisticated instruments like radar, radio and wireless communication and computer facilities to locate the flying aircraft. Many trained personnel have been working together at the ground offices to provide better service to flying aircrafts and airports. They monitor all airborne signals and give proper instructions and guidelines as required. They can trace out the locations and speed of the aircraft on voyage. Sometimes they need to inform concerned superiors to provide expert instructions for overcoming complicated situations. Their main task is developing an environment that is very much safe for the free flying of the aircrafts. Thus, the number of aircraft carrying out the flights can be increased considerably. They are also authorized to warn aircrafts if they come closer each other. The pilots and crew of the aircrafts work closely with air traffic controllers for the proper management of the air traffic syste m. They are also capable to predict the weather conditions prevailing around airports. So according to predictions they can arrange for the safer take off and landing of airplanes. This weather information is beneficial not only to flight passengers but also to industries which mainly depends on air cargo carriers to transport their products, materials and officials. Thus, these trained personnel have become the integral part of air traffic and airport operations. The air traffic control consists of three main phases. The first phase is the rules and regulations to be followed by the pilots during flight. Second is the navigation system and instruments which work on the basis of electronics. This system and instruments

Managing Employee Relations in Contemporary Organisations Essay - 2

Managing Employee Relations in Contemporary Organisations - Essay Example 201). The modern approach to employee relations is people management. The employees to the organization were employed based on their skill and as part of a team that would meet the requirements of the organization (Kessler and Purcell, 2003, p. 28). Human management as a style that is used by the ACME organization concentrates on the skills that an individual brings into the company (Legge, 2005, p.102). Prior to securing a job with the company, it is important that what the employee brings to the table is analyzed and this is part of the enrolment (Purcell, 1987, p. 29). The company has stringent policies on which employees it employs, a fact that is expressed in different settings such as when referring to family, (Legge, 1995, p. 99), i.e. potentially some members may feel offended if they cannot get their friends/family in but so be it. We will never compromise the arrangement that we will go for the best person for the job. But with 500 people there are going to be individuals, but relatively few, we wouldn't recruit again. If one of these few recommended friends/family we would look, but look very carefully. The company has also adopted a structure that is based on personal and team responsibilities within the organization, which differ from any trade union system of operation. The organisation’s policy on performance and pay states that, If somebody is not performing they get told about it. We have annual appraisal and salary is directly linked to contribution across a number of factors, so people get a message both financially and otherwise across the table from the manager at the appraisal, if not at other times of the year, which does not include any responsibilities to any party or individual outside the organisation. The system used is analytical based on the quality an individual brings to the company (Salamom, 2000, p. 291). The approach to management takes on a modern management style that gives employees roles, responsibilities as well as a supervisor to answer to in the course of their employment. The approach means that individual contributions to the company are looked into during the running of ACME. The management considers the goals set by management, in terms of economics, finances, growth, marketing and advertising among others (Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009, p. 102). Although the system makes use of preset performance requirements, the company ensures that it appreciates the efforts put in by the employees at any one given time in every position as it is stated by the company as directly linked to a number of factors contributing to outcomes in the financial and other concepts. 2. Critically discuss why they use this approach (cite evidence from both the case study and academic literature to justify this discussion). The performance of employees in the organisation is an important goal and objective driven element of analysis. The chosen employee management style in relations allows the management to keep t rack of the growth of the organisation on an overall state as well as in the personal concept. The style emphasizes the fact that individual workers are the unit by which the ACME organisation operates. By choosing the individualistic approach to employee relations, the organisation

McCrae & Costas Five-Factor Model Essay Example for Free

McCrae Costas Five-Factor Model Essay McCrae and Costa’s Five-Factor model of personality is said to be predictive in certain behaviours such as honesty, job performance and procrastination. This Five-Factor model applies to organisational testing because personality is a crucial part in understanding the interests and abilities of an applicant within a business. There have been several criticisms of the Big Five and how accurately it can describe a person’s future performance. These criticisms will be discussed in length in this essay. The essay will also consider the usefulness of the Big Five within psychological assessments. Personality can be defined as â€Å"the dynamic organisation of systems that determine the individual’s characteristic patterns of behaviour, thought, and feeling† (Sibaya Nicholas, Personality, 2008). Simply put one can describe personality as the aspects of a person which make them unique (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Personality attributes have successfully been studied over centauries and investigators have concluded that the personality domain can be best described by five â€Å"super ordinate constructs† (Digman, 1990). A personality trait is â€Å"a durable disposition to behave in a particular way† and the five-factor model has become the dominant idea of a personality structure (Weiten, 2007). The five-factor model of personality came about as a result of Hans Eysenck’s two dimensions of personality. Eysenck’s theory comprised of neuroticism-stability and extraversion-introversion and he later added the third dimension known as psychoticism (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Eysenck’s theory also concluded that personality traits could largely be determined by genetics (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Eysenck’s theory of personality dimensions was a â€Å"precursor of the five-factor model† developed by Costa and McCrae (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). The five-factor model can be seen as the most recent approach to personality and personality traits. Costa and McCrae argue that personality traits derive from five higher order traits. These traits are now known as the â€Å"Big-Five† (Weiten, 2007). Similar to Eysenck’s view on personality traits Costa and McCrae concluded that genetics play a substantial role in personality (Digman, 1990). An example of genetics playing a role in the development in personality traits can be seen in the study of twins. Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were identical twins separated at birth in 1940 (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). These twins were later reunited and research showed that they had similar personality traits. The twins both drove the same model car; they both smoked heavily and liked the same brand of cigarettes (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). A further impact of the five-factor model is that it has shown in studies that this personality study applies across cultures and is widely identifiable in different cultures around the world (Weiten, 2007). The five-factor model states that there are five core personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These form a mnemonic, OCEAN, which is often used for remembering the personality traits (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Openness applies to the openness one would have to an experience. Openness is often associated with traits such as curiosity, imagination and flexibility (Weiten, 2007). McCrae states that openness can determine one’s political attitudes or ideologies (Weiten, 2007). Conscientiousness relates to traits involving well disciplined and well organised people and is associated with people being diligent within the workplace (Weiten, 2007). Extraversion relates to people who can be categorised as outgoing or sociable people (Weiten, 2007). Agreeableness relates to one’s ability to be sympathetic, trusting and modest (Weiten, 2007). Agreeable personality traits have been known to be associated with a constructive approach to dealing with conflict but agreeable people have also been known to be aggressive (Weiten, 2007). Neuroticism relates to people who are anxious or hostile (Weiten, 2007). People who score high in this personality trait have been known to over re-act to stressful situations (Weiten, 2007). Organisational psychology â€Å"focuses on role related behaviour, group pressure, commitment to organisations and patterns of communication† (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). In order for an organisational psychologist to determine this behaviour certain organisational testing or psychological assessments need to take place. A psychological assessment is a â€Å"standardised measure of a sample of a erson’s behaviour† (Weiten, 2007). Psychological assessment is one of the oldest and most focussed areas of industrial-organisational psychology (Weiten, 2007). Psychological assessment focuses on an individual’s difference in behaviour and their individual job performance and then develops ways in which they can measure or predict such performances. Testing enables psychologists to select people for jobs, assess one’s potential and develop people. Testing can often lead to labelling of people and selection for jobs, promotions or training has often been made in accordance to these labels. The importance of psychological assessments within the workplace is that they enable the perspective employer to have predictions about the applicant’s future performance and how that applicant may behave in the future. An example of how psychological assessments are beneficial and important can be seen in the use of a personality test. A personality test â€Å"measure various aspects of personality, including motives, interests and attitudes† (Weiten, 2007). Personality tests can be helpful because they assist in personnel selection within business and industry (Weiten, 2007). A sub-division of personality tests is ‘interest inventories’ which determine the interest of an individual in relation to the interests needed to do the job. An example of ‘interest inventories’ can be seen in the need for a sales person to have a personality type that is an extrovert. The example of the sales person can also explain the importance of psychological assessments within the work environment because without this form of testing perspective employers would be unable to employ people that are specifically suited to the position on offer, e. . an extrovert. The use of psychological assessment in business begins when the candidate is still in the selection process. The applicant for a perspective job will first consider the job analysis. A job analysis is the process of obtaining information about a job by determining what duties, tasks or activities it entails in order to perform the job successfully (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Following a job analys is the applicant would then submit an application and begin the selection process. A selection process can be described as the process of identifying who will be hired from the pool of applicants (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). The applicant will then undergo psychological assessment which involves a prediction of the applicant’s knowledge, abilities, attitudes and personality traits. The way in which these tests help with the selection process are that they are the best predictors of performance and behaviour on the job (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). Now that the selection process has been explained one can similarly link the development and promotion process to psychological assessment. With development or promotion the worker will have to undergo psychological testing to ensure that their abilities and interests fit with the promotion available. The five-factor model applies within the workplace because it enables employers to evaluate employee’s personalities and make use their personality traits to the best of their abilities. Research has indicated that the Big Five traits are able to predict specific behaviour (Weiten, 2007). The Big Five’s ability to predict this behaviour can be seen as beneficial in the workplace. An example of how the Big Five can benefit an industry can be seen in the personality trait ‘conscientiousness’ because it has been said that conscientiousness correlates with honesty, higher job performance and a lower alcohol consumption (Weiten, 2007). This being said one can understand that the Big Five traits allow a perspective employer the ability to employ conscientious workers. Many of the Big Five traits are related to career success (Weiten, 2007). The five-factor model can be used in the selection, development and promotion of employees because it allows the employer to predict what qualities the applicant has. The example used previously about the sales rep needing to be an extrovert is a perfect example of how the Big Five apply to selection, development and promotion. The five-factor model would allow the employer of such sales rep to be able to select candidates that fit the personality type that is required for the job at hand. Similar to this the employer could use the five-factor traits to determine whether an existing employee fits the personality required in a job opening and therefore the five-factor model applies to promotions within business as well. A further benefit to the Big Five is that an employer can determine an employee’s weak traits and develop them further thus improving the workforce. The use of the Big Five within occupational testing has been criticised by many psychologists and researchers as they feel nit does not adequately determine one’s ability to perform a task. A common criticism is that there is a fundamental need for more than five traits (Weiten, 2007). An example of this can be seen in recent studies that state that honesty-humility should be a sixth trait. Another criticism is that studies have shown that the five-factor model can discriminate against people. In the case of South Africa this criticism of the five-factor model only improved the outcome of the test because the discrimination led to changes in legislation which protect the rights of people and state that only valid testing may be done (Sibaya Malcolm, 2003). The legislation protecting people’s rights within organisational tests has encouraged the use of these tests in the selection of new employees. Studies have also shown that the Big Five are not necessarily a reflection of one’s personality but rather a reflection of their â€Å"test-taking skills† (Ones, Reiss, Viswesvaran, 1996). This criticism states that the results of the five-factor traits test are a reflection of one’s â€Å"cognitive ability and years of education† (Ones, Reiss, Viswesvaran, 1996). This criticism is not necessarily a negative aspect as it only ensures better use of the Big Five within organisational testing because education is an important aspect to one’s personality. There are two main criticisms of the five-factor model. These are the â€Å"frame of reference effect† and â€Å"socially desirable responding† (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). Critics argue that the five-factor model is not useful because it is too broad to be applied to psychological assessment (Schmit Ryan, 1993). The first criticism is the frame of reference effect which states that the image the average job applicant would like to convey will have an effect on the psychological assessment (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). The frame of reference effect can be explained better if one considers that a job applicant will be guided by their self-presentation (Schmit Ryan, 1993). An employee will stand to gain or lose from the results of the psychological assessment and will therefore may alter their response to be in line with what would be considered the correct response (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). This ‘altered response’ by the job applicant can be seen as a â€Å"ideal-employee† frame of reference where as the response given by a volunteer would be seen as a â€Å"stranger-description† frame of mind (Schmit Ryan, 1993). The second criticism of the five-factor model is the socially desirable response. The â€Å"socially desirable response† can be divided into two sub-groups. Firstly there is â€Å"self-deception† which is the â€Å"unconscious tendency to see oneself in a favourable light† (Schmit Ryan, 1993). Secondly, there is the theory of â€Å"impression management† where a person is consciously aware that they are putting up a false front in order to create a better impression (Schmit Ryan, 1993). The concept of socially desirable responses has undergone three studies which examined the effect of the socially desirable response. The result of these three studies found that in a test of â€Å"fake good vs. honest responses† the personality reliabilities were higher in the fake good (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). A further study was done on socially desirability consisting of three sample groups. The sample groups were the job applicant, the job incumbent and the student (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). The results of this study much like the results of other studies showed that the job applicant showed more socially desirable responses than the job incumbent (Hanges, Dickson, Smith, 2001). When defining personality some may argue with Freud’s opinion that personality is largely hidden and unknown. This definition of personality would parallel the argument that the five-factor model is a poor predictor of job success as well as suggesting that it is unethical to use the five-factor model within employment procedures (Hogan, Hogan, Roberts, 1996). This argument could stem from criticisms such as the effect of socially desirable responses, the frame of reference effect and the thought that the five-factor model is limited by only considering five traits. Although these criticisms all have a valid argument one cannot help but believe the evidence that a well-constructed personality assessment is a valid predictor of job performance and it enhances fairness in the employment process (Hogan, Hogan, Roberts, 1996).

Meaning Of Voting Behaviour Politics Essay

Meaning Of Voting Behaviour Politics Essay Human actions, such as voting in a democratic election, are extremely complex phenomenon and depend on a variety of social and psychological factors. Voting in elections is the most obvious and direct way in which a whole population can affect government, sort of mass revolution.  [2]  Voting is the most distinguishing imperative stuff that a citizen can do to make sure that the government operates in the way it is intended; and guaranteed that their political way of life are heard by the countrys political system. Therefore, it is the main form of political participation in liberal democratic societies and the study of voting behaviour is a highly specialized sub-field within political science. Voting has become virtually a universal means by which individuals make collective decisions.  [3]   Meaning of Voting Behaviour The word voting is not a new concept. In antique Greece, voting was not much for elections to offices, which were packed on the jury principles of arbitrary selection. But it was used for decisions on propositions put before democratic assembly, on the fate of individuals.  [4]  In contemporary democratic arrangement, voting is a method of expressing the approval or disapproval of the policies, programmes and decisions of the administrative authority. Quoting Oriavwote, (2000), S.K. Balogun and P.O. Olapegba writes: Voting thus, is a means of aggregating individual preferences into collective decision in an election, the action of formally indicating ones choice of candidate or political party at an election.  [5]   Voting is the pedestal of the political pyramid in democracy, and that decisions made at the foundation have the capability to overthrow those at the top. For this reason, voting may perhaps be looked upon as the basic decision-making process in a democracy.  [6]  It may also describe the process either by which citizens choose candidates for public office or the formal recording of opinion of a group on any subject. In either sense, it is a means of transforming numerous individual opinions into a coherent and collective basis for decision. Voters tend to choose candidates whom they perceived as benefiting them the most and as having a reasonable chance of winning.  [7]  That is, voting is a good example of rational choice,  [8]  as larger part of the electorate takes their voting preference on the establishment of a judgment of how the present government or the incumbent has exaggerated the welfare of the people, and the odds that the contrasting camp would accomplish b etter. The study of voting behaviour started around the 18th century (Jenson, 1969), this early attempts made use of aggregate data analysis that is, using actual election returns by geopolitical units e.g., wards, districts etc. (Gosnell, 1930).  [9]  Of late, voting behaviour has used to describe, as Samuel J. Eldersveld writes, certain area of study and types of political phenomena which previously had either not been conceived or were considered irrelevant. It involves an analysis of individual psychological processes (perception, emotion and motivation) and their relation to political actions, as well as institutional patterns, such as the communication process and their impact on elections.  [10]  As V.O. Key, Jr., and Frank Munger have observed, most voting behaviour of the time is a continuing affirmation of pre-existing political commitments which were forged under the pressure of a major social trauma. Looked at in terms of the party system as a whole, this profound linkag e with the past often amounts to a standing decision which is only very infrequently subject to review by any decisively large part of the electorate.  [11]   In short, voting behaviour of the populace determines political power in any political system on different scales signifying the intensity of political involvement. Even if people are not aware of a personal involvement in the electoral decision, they may still be induced to vote by social pressures and inner feelings of social obligation.  [12]  Voting behaviour refers to factors that determine the manner in which a particular group of people vote for a specific political party or candidates that are up for elections. Therefore, voting behaviour as N.G.S. Kini, sums up can be regarded as:  [13]   (a) a mode of legitimizing democratic rule; (b) instancing participation in the political process involving integration into the political community; (c) instancing an act of decision-making; (d) a role-action involving definite political orientation imbedded in a particular type of political culture; or (e) a direct relation of the individual citizens to the formal government.  [14]   In fine, the notion of voting behaviour implies the study of voters preferences, alternative, programmes, ideology, etc., on which elections are fought. Among other things, voting behaviour helps to arrive to a decision which official are chosen to run our governments, the multiplicity of parties that voters have to choose from at the polls, how many citizens will turn out to vote, who will or will not be represented in our legislatures, and whether the majority will rule. It has a thoughtful consequence not only on the process of elections, but also on the degree to which a political system is fair, representative, and democratic. Therefore, it lies at the heart of democratic process and are an expression of popular will. Factors affecting Voting Behaviour Voting behaviour is rather a complex and multi-faceted subject. Diverse factors that comprise both political and non-political have an effect on it. Its determinants are vast and wide-ranging, and differ from one person to another to a substantial degree. Voting behaviour is determined by the political attitudes, assumptions, policy preferences, and partisan loyalties of individuals and the political and institutional context within which they cast their votes in an election.  [15]  Thus, there are a numbers of indicators affecting voters choice as one of the early pioneers of electoral studies in India, V.M. Sirsikar, observes, an enquiry into the process of election indicates factors other than rationality.  [16]   . The assessment of voting pattern consistently focuses on the determinants of why people vote as they do and how they arrive at the decisions they make. Most attention has been, however, to the behaviour of the mass electorate.  [17]  A variety of research on the study of voting behaviour has identified two major types of factors, which can be broadly categorized as sociological (demographic, social, and economic attributes) and psychological (politically relevant attitudes, beliefs and values).  [18]  The comparative political science literature recognizes that certain variables such as education;  [19]  income and unemployment;  [20]  importance of party support or attachment;  [21]  perception of issues;  [22]  ideology and issues;  [23]  partisanship;  [24]  evaluation of leaders or the top candidates;  [25]  etc., have generally been found to associate with voting behaviour of the electorate. Some of the selected predicators of voting behavio ur for this study are analyzed as follows: Sociological factors Gender: The analysis of sex is an important indicator of voting behaviour. Women voters tend to be more wavering about their intention to vote as also in the voting act itself than the male voters.  [26]  However, the commitment is more to candidate then to party both to males and females. Village consensus and advice of village headman work more with female voters than with male voters, while the merit of the candidates attracts more males than females.  [27]  Sex provides a base for diversity where modernism is a significant issue, since in most societies womens role are more involved in religious institutions and less in modern economic ones. Consequently, where there is a difference between the voting pattern of the two sexes, women tend to support traditionalist parties more than modernising ones.  [28]  Nonetheless, since the focus of the study is on a relatively traditionalistic attitude where gender issues still predominates,  [29]  it seemed good to retain ge nder as a determinant of voting behaviour. Kinship: Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological or cultural, or historical descent.  [30]  In a kinship based society, kinship provides many of the social relations in which a person is likely to be involved in the course of his life.  [31]  It is a strategy force determining political behaviour of the people and influencing their thought process.  [32]   Strong kinship and village loyalties affect many a choice, the family or the wife voting as father or husband suggests, and the village casting its vote according to the advice of the head-man or influential elder.  [33]   Despite the traditional claim that each voter is an individual who makes up his own mind, social groups pressures limit choices sharply, and are highly significant determinants of individual voting patterns.  [34]   Kins and clan would, of course, be used to campaign for one or the other candidate; and votes would be sought by identifying a candidate as a peasant, a worker and the like.  [35]   Age: Age has often been described as one of the leading indicators of voting behaviour, though it is difficult to treat as an independent variable. As Alan R. Ball has pointed out, age is a complex variable. In common parlance, older citizens tend to vote for conservative parties but this may be simple reflections of the historical period when the electors voting habits were being formed. Age may be less important than the strength of the voters attachment to a political party, and it is this allegiance that hardens with age.  [36]  However the relationship between age and voting is curvilinear, with a gradual increasing in the mid-age group and declining thereafter. nonetheless, it is the candidate orientation which dominates in all the age groups.  [37]   Education: Over the years, education has emerged as one of the major predicators of voting. Educations widen the political visualization and expands the horizon of ones interest in the political process. It enables the individual to develop the skill for political participation.  [38]  The electorate having more years of formal education has the greater probability of exercising their franchise in any election. Economic Factors: The economic status of the electorate is an important indicator of voting behaviour. Though it is often considered as non-existent impact on voting, economic factors play an important role in shaping voting behaviour of the electorate as Arivind Virmani points out: An improvement (or) worsening of economic conditions can increase (or) decrease the probability of voting for the party perceived to be responsible for the change. Further, the independent or floating voter is more likely to be affected by economic conditions than voters committed to a particular party for social, caste, religious and cultural reasons.  [39]   ` However, as Wolfinger and Rosenstones findings indicated, the likelihood of voting may not be a linear function of income.  [40]  The key difference seems to be the unpleasant variation among those of high-income groups and low-income groups. The most distinguishing factors in election are vote bribing which is open-secret which reflect a clash between traditional economic ties and changing cultural pressure.  [41]  Poor voters are reported to have received money offered by various candidates. Public Employment: Along with education and economic status, occupation appears to exert a great effect on voting behaviour. Public officials tend to take greater interest in voting and are usually votes for the party which is likely to address their interest. Even farmers, who are conventionally viewed as being uncommonly likely to abstain from voting,  [42]  have become much less distinctive in this regard.  [43]  Studies have also revealed that government workers of all types tend to take an unusual interest in political matters and are unlikely to vote in the election.  [44]   Psychological Factors: Interest in Public Affairs: Those voters who have interest in public affairs and who follows the news of the present day situation are likely voters in any election. This is because of the fact that such voters are very much concern with the affairs of states policies and programme. On the contrary, there are some who take minimal interest in such affairs and are unlikely voters. Many voters made explicit references to specific issue concerns, whereas others spoke in more global terms about parties, leaders or local candidates without elaborating their reasoning in any detail.  [45]   Strength and Direction of Party loyalty: Voting behaviour is more easily explained by emphasising party loyalty.  [46]  Some party men are likely to vote in elections than others as different parties may draw their members from different social base which reflects the weakness and the strength of the party. However, in India, people do not hesitate to shift their votes from one party to another as parties identities are not very strong. If party loyalty is taken as one of the key indexes of political considerations, it may be assumed that the parties play a marginal role in determining the preference of the voters.  [47]  Though party loyalty is an important indicator of voting behaviour, it is often determined by other factors like social class, economic position or ethnic affiliation.  [48]   Perceived difference between Parties: In any election, if there is a clear-cut difference of ideologies between the contesting parties, the electorates are more likely to exercise their franchise. If the parties and the candidates are same and not easy to distinguish from each other, then there will be a little point in electoral participation. As Habib and Naidu (2006) observes: Conventional wisdom suggests that workers and poorer classes in society would support parties to the left of the political spectrum, while the middle class and more affluent strata would support parties on the right. The reasons are obvious. While the former have a material interest in fundamentally changing the political and socio-economic arrangements of society, the latter prefer the status quo.  [49]   Recent research, however, has emphasized party de-alignment.  [50]  Ideology could be said to be present only in terms of accent on social justice, involving considerable overlap and neutralization among parties which vied in usurping each others ideological planks.  [51]  Therefore, people are most unlikely to vote in the election where there are no ideological differences. Charisma of the Candidate: Role of personality in influencing the electoral behaviour cannot be refuted, Charisma refers to mean a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural or exceptional powers or qualities.  [52]  Moreover it is this quality of the leader which enables him to attract a large number of people and under the influence of which the people pay reverence to the charismatic leader. Therefore, there is a strong belief that organisation of political party under a charismatic leader is a source of popular support for the party. Pubic Opinion and Mass Media: Pubic opinion and mass media has, of late, become an important indicator of voting behaviour. Public opinion refers to the attitudes of a significant number of people about public affairs, or matters of government and politics that concern the people at large. It is one not of advocacy of any particular policy, subject or topic, but of the provider of both objective and subjective information, obtained systematically and objectively, analysed dispassionately and delivered evenly.  [53]  The latter has the capacity to bring matters to the attention of the public or to conceal them. This is usually referred to as agenda setting.  [54]  While the media may ignore certain topics or exaggerate others, the public also has an enormous capacity for being highly selective in what to take interest in.  [55]   In the pages that follow, we shall examine these sociological and psychological factors on the voting behaviour of the electors in the constituency under study. Voting Behaviour in Manipur The most interesting questions about an election are not concerned with who won but with such questions as why people voted the way that they did or what the implications of the results are. These questions are not always easily answered. A glance only at the campaign events and incidents will not suffice. The unique aspects of the election must be blended with a more general understanding of electoral behavior to create a full explanation. Since the introduction of participatory democracy in Manipur under the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1948, attempts have been made to study the nature of voting behaviour in Manipur. There has been some imprecise handling of the topic in the study of electoral politics,  [56]  political participation,  [57]  social and political change,  [58]  socio-political study;  [59]  and that research on the study of voting behaviour had also been undertaken both at the state  [60]  and constituency level.  [61]  They found that party ideology, ethnicity, role of money, caste, religion, personalities of the candidates, etc., were the main factors affecting voting behaviour in Manipur. As S.K. Chaube notes that in Manipur voters not only attach importance to party levels but also to status and personalities of the candidates.  [62]  However, some scholars emphasis on caste as a factor of voting behaviour in Manipur,  [63]  though there is absence of caste system in Manipur.  [64]   In the hills, ethnic loyalties play an important role as factor in voting decision.  [65]  The tribalism and ethnicity have become more intense as a result of the introduction of adult franchise.  [66]  Electoral politics has significantly given rise to inter-group conflicts in north-east and this is also affecting the democratic values and tradition of the tribals.  [67]  In addition to ethnicity, money, promise for government jobs, candidates personalities, etc., have also been a major source of influence to the voters in the hills.  [68]   In the first and the only election held in Independent Manipur  [69]  under the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947, the voting behaviour of the electorate was influenced by ideology of the Manipur State Congress party as the party got the highest number of seats. And also the influenced of personality cult was also evident as twelve independents candidates in fray was also elected to the erstwhile Manipur Assembly.  [70]   After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union in 1948, the first democratic election was held in 1952 under the Constitution of India. In the election, the socio-political movement of the time demanding for a responsible government influenced the electoral behaviour of the voters.  [71]  In the second and third assembly election held in 1957 and 1962 also, the same factors that influenced the election of 1952 were evident. However in 1962 election as R.P. Singh points out: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in the hills areas, as there were no reserved seats for the schedule tribes, the election were fought on tribal lines. Political parties had sent up only tribals as their candidates except in Jiribam, where half of the voters were non-tribals  [72]   In 1967 assembly election of the state, the demand for a full-fledged statehood in the state influenced the voting behaviour of the people.  [73]  The electioneering was a quite brisk except in the cease-fire bound northern hills areas where it was restricted to a whisper campaign for fear of underground Nagas who boycott the elections.  [74]  After the attainment of statehood in 1972 and in the assembly election that followed, voting behaviour of the electorate was oriented toward parochial regional outlook,  [75]  as the performance of the regional political party, MPP in this election indicates. However, as a result of political instability in the state, mid-term election was held in 1974, and in that election the main determinant of voting behaviour was: inclusion of Manipur language in the Eighth Schedule, local problems and money factors.  [76]  In the assembly election of 1980, money, a strong Indira wave, and the impact of personality of the candidates  [77]   in fray played an important role in shaping the vote-choice of the electorate. Also, in the election of 1984, the vote-choice was mainly determined by a strong sympathy wave for the Congress (I) due to the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the charming personality of Rajiv Gandhi.  [78]   However, in the assembly election of 1990, voting behaviour was mainly influenced by the elders or the head of the family to vote for a particular party or candidate;  [79]  and also the influence of money was found to be associated with the vote-choice of the electorate. In the assembly election of 1995 and 2000, money as a determinant of voting behaviour was considered to be more significant than all other factors.  [80]  In the assembly election of 2002, influence of money, personality of the candidates, party loyalty, and local issues facing the state and the respective constituencies was noticed.  [81]  The assembly election of 2007 perhaps culminated in the victory of the Indian National Congress (I) and the electoral behaviour of the people was mainly influenced by the stability of the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government and the various developmental works initiated during the period. The boycott-call given by armed insurgent outfit to the INC during electio n did not hamper the electoral prospect of the party. The strong personality of the incumbent Chief Minister, Shri Okram Ibobi Singh had profound impact on the voting behaviour of the people. From the above analysis, the voting behaviour of the electorate in Manipur changes from time to time and from one election to another. Various socio-political factors had influenced the voting behaviour of the people of the state. The electors of Manipur have exercised their political franchise according to the needs and circumstance of the time for better governance. As Dr. Benjamin Gangmei, sums up: the main determinant of voting behaviour in Manipur includes: personality of the candidate, party loyalty, money power, local issues, family influence, election campaign, groupism, election feasting and insurgency.  [82]   In the light of th

Predictability of Earnings and Reversion of Profitability

Predictability of Earnings and Reversion of Profitability 1. INTRODUCTION, RESEARCH QUESTION AND CONTRIBUTION In a competitive environment, economists say there is a mean reversion of profitability. Mean reversion of profitability infers that variation in profitability and earnings can be predicted. Although there are some literatures making an effort to find prediction in profitability and earnings, the findings somewhat cannot fully explain those variations. Early researches (Beaver 1970; Brooks and Buckmaster 1976; and Lookabill 1976) did not test the prediction formally. When there were formal tests, models were mostly time-series and identified only companies with long-earning histories (20 years). This approach causes the issue that long-term survivors might not represent all the firms. Furthermore, 20 years of data on earnings is an inaccurate estimation of the time-series model. Thus, the results found are statistically weak (Lev 1969; Freeman, Ohlson, and Penman 1982). There are some later researches attempting to identify those variations as well. Freeman et al (1982), Collins and Kothari (1989), Easton and Zmijewski (1989), Ou and Penman (1989), Elgers and Lo (1994) and Basu (1997) found that cross-sectional tests constructed more consistent evidence of predictability. However, Elgers and Lo (1994) found the unrealistic assumption that there is no correlation among companies due to changes in earnings and profitability. Moreover, most existing literatures do not investigate connection of the predictability of profitability and that of earnings. Contrastingly, like Freeman et al. (1982) and Lev (1983), this research paper is to answer the question: Is much of what is predictable about earnings due to the mean reversion of profitability? The result confirms the answer to question is yes. Those results are applicable to the real world. Therefore, the main contribution is the confirmation of economists presumption that there is a mean reversion of profitability in a competitive environment. 2. Data and methodology 2.1 A First-Pass Partial Adjustment Model for Profitability This test uses a simple cross-section partial adjustment regression in profitability changing for each year t from 1964 to 1995. This regression from t to t+1 is as followed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (1a)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   (1b) where is total book assets of firm at the end of year t,is earnings before interest,is profitability measure, is expected value of profitability measure, is profitability change from year t to t+1 and is the profitability deviation from the expected value.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The paper uses a two-step method to identify equation (1). After doing regression to investigate differences in expected profitability among companies, the fitted values from the first-step regression are used as the proxy for in the cross-section regression.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the first-stage regression, (dividends to book value of equity at the end of year t) is used as proxy for expected profitability, (dummy variable to capture nonlinear relationship of dividends and expected profitability) and (market-to-book ratio to find variation of expected profitability which cannot find by dividend determinants. In the cross-section regression, in (1) is the fitted value from the first-stage regression.   Ã‚  Ã‚   (2)   Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to the high regulation during the sample period (1964-1995), financial companies and utilities are omitted. This paper considers only the firms with more than $10 million assets and more than $5 million book equity. With these exclusions, 2,343 companies per year are taken into account. The interpretation is based on the average slopes and the time-series standard errors of the average slopes. However, with only 33 slope observation from 1964 to 1995, the estimation of autocorrelation is inaccurate. Therefore, this paper uses a less strict approach with t-statistics requirement of about 2.8 rather than the common 2.0. 2.2 A Nonlinear Partial Adjustment Model for Profitability This test is developed to investigate whether there is comparable nonlinearity in profitability characteristics with the hypothesis that the mean reversion of profitability results in the predictability of earnings. The nonlinear partial adjustment model equation is expanded from equation (1). (3)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   where is the negative deviations of profitability from expected values, is the squared negative deviations, is the squared positive deviations, is negative changes in profitability, is squared negative changes and is squared positive changes. , and are to capture the nonlinearity in the mean reversion of profitability and , and are to capture the nonlinearity in the profitability changes autocorrelation. 2.3 Predicting Earnings Freeman et al. (1982) and Lev (1983) argue that the competition causes mean reversion of profitability. This paper inspects the predictable changes in earnings and how much of the predictability brings the nonlinearity of mean reversion in profitability. The dependent variable is change in earnings, . The regression of change in earnings is (4)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   where is negative changes in earnings, is squared negative changes in earnings and is squared positive changes in earnings. , and are to capture the nonlinearity in the earning changes autocorrelation. 3. results 3.1 A First-Pass Partial Adjustment Model for Profitability The negative slope of implies that there is a nonlinear relationship of dividends and profitability. The significant positive slope of confirms the hypothesis that market-to-book ratio investigates variation of expected profitability which cannot find by dividend determinants.

The Wall and the Books :: Jorge Luis Borges

In â€Å"The Wall and the Books†, the essay which belongs to â€Å"Other Inquisitions†, Borges mentioned an interesting historical clue. The First Old China Emperor, Shih Huang Ti, burnt all antique books for abolishing the History and the past and, by other hand, he built the long China Wall for the barbarians were being taken off, when they were threatening from North. But this great first essay of this great book ende with an emotive, lightful phrase, â€Å"this inminent revealment never happen, perhaps is the aesthetical fact†.Then let ´s see the looking fancies that Borges viewed at this smart essay. If we didn ´t pay enough attention to this last phrame, perhaps we couldn ´t mean the real meaning. If we think of the aesthetical fact (that) never happen we will probably find that that never happen is because it doesn ´t have any contain as proper Borges said, and then this fact with no contains would hide something. It means the aesthetical, the aesthetic borned from weird and too familiar causes. The german word â€Å"heimlich† referrences to this both significances. That never happen is due to only rests for waiting. Waiting for a symbol or something that would rescue us from the ignorance. According to Schopenhauer the aesthetic is the saving element for reach out from the circle of the Will, for Borges, instead, the aesthetic is almost that never happen, or something we lost for ever and ever, or something that always announcing something that never will occur. For Borges the aesthetic is the dark shades system of the proper shapes, something like a crowded furious ghosts troop, and like this, the shapes nothing have to do, just to behold in the plenty eternal silent, where they nothing can ´t change at all. Then, that never happen finds some referrence. That will never come back or, we wouldn ´t recognize it or we never met each other. The aesthetical fact is an operation which serves for fading the sex and death away the main myths of Humanity. Otherwise the aesthetical fact serves to own the place and time and all things belongs to the uncertain as Todorov said, where is too easy to fork. However this wide world keeps on the same. According to Borges the aesthetical fact is used to hide, to sham the unknown bedimmed rules that conform the reality. But Borges called aesthetical in some sense, in an inversed mode. In this case the aesthetic isn ´t mere, gentle and delicate shapes.

African American Culture through Oral Tradition Essay -- Essays Papers

African American Culture through Oral Tradition African American folktales have origins rooted in West African literary and cultural forms of expression. When Africans were taken from their homeland and brought to America as slaves, they also brought with them their individual cultures, languages and customs. However, their white slaveholders suppressed this part of their heritage in them. Thus they had to find other ways of expression, mainly story telling and songs. It is incredible to see how African slaves could ever smile and laugh under the horrible and cruel circumstances, which were imposed on them by the brutal slaveholders. The whole body of folktales and spirituals arose from the experiences which slaves had on their plantations mingled with the memories and customs that they brought with them from Africa. They would tell stories using different methods such as acting, gesturing and singing. By these means they were able to elevate storytelling into an art. Most slave owners forbade their slaves from speaking their own language, and forced them to speak English. They were also forbidden from learning to read or write. In this manner slaveholders believed that they were keeping their slaves in ignorance so that they could neither rebel nor escape. They were greatly mistaken for many slaves would make use of their songs and stories to educate their people, and enlighten their minds and free their souls. For example the slave spirituals which they sang were a means with which they could communicate feelings of discontent and of homelessness and exile. However, not all their songs were of disparity and loss. They also sang songs expressing love, joy, and hope. Other than making use of lyrics as a form of expressi... ...Books, Inc; New York, 1963. Hamilton, Virginia. The People Could Fly. Knopf Publishing; New York, 1985. Jones, Gayl. Liberating Voices: Oral Tradition in African American Literature. Harvard University Press; Cambridge, 1991. Okpewho, Isidore. African Oral Literature. Indiana University Press; Bloomington, 1992. Plant, Deborah G. Every Tub Must Sit on It's Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics Of Zora Neale Hurston. University of Illinois Press; Chicago, 1995. Radin, Paul, Ed. African Folktales. Shocken Books; New York,1983. Smitherman, Geneva. Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America. Houghton Mifflin; Boston, 1977. Wright, Lee Alfred. Identity, Family and Folklore In African American Literature. Garland Publishing; New York, 1995. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ã ¿

Lesson Vocabulary

They related one Of the disease Symptoms such as memory loss to her forgetting to take out the trash. Menopause- the time of natural cessation of menstruation. On the popular television show 19 kids and counting, the mother had went to her doctors office questioning whether or not she was able to have more children. The doctor had went trough numerous questions, one of which included whether she has gone through menopause as this would indicate that her body is not able to carry any more children.Cross-sectional study-a study in which people Of different ages are compared with one another. As was listening to the radio one day, there was an advertisement looking for people aged 10-65, in order for them to compare how the brain reacts to different stimuli as the brain ages. This is an example of a cross-sectional study as there is a group of people within a large range of ages in order for them to be compared to one another. Institutional study- research on which the same people are r estudied and retested over a long period of time.A study in which children who are given medication to treat a disease, and are tested then and every five years in order to see the development with the ewe drug(whether it is working,etc) is an example of a longitudinal study as the same people are being tested for the medication and are having to be retested in order to reassure the medication is working. Adolescence- the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extended from puberty to independence.When conversing with a coworker who is above the age of twenty five and is living on their own, settled down with a family, and has a stable job, you are more than likely to consider this individual to have gone through adolescence as they are now quite independent and have had many years after starting puberty. Primary sex characteristics- the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible. If a female were to lack ovaries, she would be lacking a primary sex characteristic , as without ovaries, natural reproduction is impossible.Secondary sex characteristics- non-reproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. While working down the street, you notice a striking young man, with a trimmed beard, well dressed, and a low voice. You are attracted to his secondary sex characteristics as you like his beard, which is a secondary sex characteristic, as well as his deep voice. Social clock- the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.During the renaissance, if you were not married by the age of 15, you were considered to be a witch, as only one of the dark side would have this flaw. This can be seen as an extreme formation of a social clock as they believe one must be married by a certain age. Menarche, the first menstrual period. When a child enters the third grade many times they are asked if they would like to take a sex deed class. In this class they will disc uss numerous topics, one which may include menarche as many females will be unaware of this at this GE in order to educate the young females that it is just a sign of their bodies functionally properly.Fluid intelligence- our ability to reason speedily and abstractly. Having fluid intelligence is quite necessary as a teenager because decisions are made quickly and you must be able to sort the complications as well as the advantages Of doing an activity. Crystallized intelligence- our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills. If one were to speak of a book they read last year and discuss what occurred in the book, they are using crystallized intelligence as they are pulling information from a later date.

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley

Alex Haley was born on August 11, 1921 in Ithaca, New York. He was the oldest son of Simon Alexander Haley and Bertha Palmer Haley. His father was a World War I veteran, and his mother was a teacher. Until he was five years old, he lived in Henning, Tennessee with his grandmother because his father had to finish his studies. Alex was always extremely proud of his father as a young man. Alex Haley graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Alcorn A&M College (Alcorn State University) in Mississippi.He focused hard on education, just like his father. In 1939 he quit school, though, to become part of the Coast Guard. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1959, and decided to make writing part of his life. He became a freelance writer. He wrote many articles over the years and got them published, but he got very little pay. Haley can still remember working 16-hours a day for roughly $2,000 a year, surviving on not much but canned sardines. Alex Haley was the author of the R oots phenomenon.He had learned tales of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, as a child. Alex was told he was Kunta Kinte’s seventh generation descendant, and after ten years of research he discovered the truth. He went to the village of Juffure, where Kunta Kinte grew up, and listened to the true tales of a tribal historian. Alex said that the most emotional moment of his life was standing at the site in Annapolis, Maryland, where his ancestor stood in chains from Africa more than 200 years ago. Alex Haley also wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X book.His big breakthrough was in 1962 when he was asked to do an interview with the trumpeter Miles Davis in the Playboy magazine. The interview was so successful that Haley was given a contract to conduct interviews with several other African Americans. Haley interviewed Martin Luther King Jr. , Sammy Davis Jr. , Quincy Jones, and Malcolm X. After an interview with Malcolm X, Alex asked if he could write a book on Malcolm’s l ife. Two years later, The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told To Alex Haley book was published.Not only did Alex Haley write these beautiful pieces of art he showed people of color that they too should be proud of their heritage and avoid easily falling victim to the viciousness of racism. Through his writing, Alex Haley was capable of making African Americans feel strong and triumphant. He attempted to depict African Amercians for what they truly opposed to what many racists may perceive them to be. This is in my opinion, is what Alex Haley has contributed to society. If I could meet Alex Haley, I would tell him how much I admire him and his ancestor, Kunta Kinte.I watched Roots from start to finish and it honestly blew my mind. I would also ask a few questions, such as- â€Å"What was it like after you found out Kunta Kinte was your ancestor? † â€Å"How did you feel when you stood at the site where Kunta Kinte arrived? † â€Å"Did you like school? † And final ly, â€Å"Do you know how much I love Roots? † I actually did enjoy researching Alex Haley because I learned a few new things. I had been wanting to learn more about the man who directed Roots. So when I was given this project I was pretty excited.

Decentralization and Development Essay

Most developing country’s governments and multilateral institutions are increasingly concerned by the slow progress being made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and have identified new ways of strengthening the development focus of their policies and programmes. For this reason, decentralisation is receiving increasing international attention as a potential tool in the acceleration of development. Though decentralisation would not be implemented solely for the direct purpose of economic development, the ensuing changes in the institutional architecture are very likely to impact on governance, participation and the efficiency of public-service delivery, all of which are important variables for development outcomes. Decentralisation is understood as the transfer of power, responsibility, authority, functions and appropriate resources from the central to the local level. This study attempts to analyse the performance of the decentralisation policy in Zambia since a new decentralisation policy was introduced in Zambia in November 2002 following two previous failed attempts in 1968 and 1980. An effort will be made to analyse the policy design, its implementation, monitoring and evaluation concerns and how these relate to development. Specific emphasis in the study will be placed on whether power can actually been devolved by the Central Government to the Local Governments and to what extent this can have a positive impact on the delivery and management of services at district level thereby leading to development. The study intends to evaluate how the decentralisation policy is operationalised by analysing political, administrative and fiscal decentralisation and how these interface with development in Zambia. The designers of the decentralisation policy in Zambia hoped that when implemented properly, it would reduce the workload at the centre, create political and administrative accountability, promote responsiveness, and in the long run develop organizational structures tailored to local circumstances in which the payment of taxes could be linked to the provision of services. In this way, it was intended that decentralisation would contribute to democratisation, more effective development, and good governance. The problem, however, is that despite these well intentioned goals, the theory is contrary to the practice since decentralisation in Zambia is characterised by several contradictions in the way of challenges related to human resource management, procurement, financial management, and the commercialisation of the elections process which involves the use of money to bribe voters and thereby greatly undermines the ideals of individual merit. As a result, democracy in Zambia has not necessarily produced the best leaders. These contradictions have negative implications for development and this study seeks to investigate why decentralisation has not necessarily led to development in the Zambia context. Generally, the study intends to explore the impact of the decentralisation policy on the development process of the Zambian economy, in terms of effectiveness in the delivery of services. The study hopes to highlight inadequacies, which could be addressed to improve performance and lead to development. More specifically, the study aims at: * Examining the legal and institutional framework of decentralisation in Zambia. * Analysing the determinants of pro-poor decentralisation process. * Examining the role of elected leaders in development under decentralised governance. * Analysing fiscal decentralisation in relation to service delivery (development). These objectives have been critically identified to cover the four pillars of decentralisation namely, the legal framework, as well as fiscal, administrative and political decentralisation. Decentralisation as a process of transferring authority and functions from the centre to the periphery governments is intended to result in good governance. The quest for good governance in both developed and developing countries has taken centre stage. Governments design policies, which are intended to improve people’s welfare and subsequently lead to development. The decentralisation policy in Uganda is one of such policies, which intends to encourage popular participation, accountability, and therefore enhance good governance and development. It is assumed that once organisations are decentralised formally and legally, the intended results are attained. However, there have been few tests to critically compare the assumptions and the subsequent results associated with decentralisation. This study intends to fill the gap by relating the theory of decentralisation to the practice in Zambia. A new decentralisation policy was introduced in Zambia the policy covers the crucial aspects of decentralisation such as setting up of sub-district structures and clearly defined roles for the local authorities, the province and central government. Additionally it clearly states that the government is aspiring for devolution although the process will start with deconcentration of services while capacity is being developed in the local authorities. The policy also clearly states that the objective of the policy is primarily governance, i.e. giving citizens more voice in decision-making and general improvement in democratic governance where citizens will elect the mayor as opposed to the current system where this is done by councillors, and councils will have more powers and resources. This is in keeping with the fact that the government wants to introduce devolution. A decentralisation secretariat was established to spearhead the implementation and coordination of the policy. The local government administration in Zambia is large and highly complex. This complexity together with the significant differences in management between provincial and district approaches, the researchers’ geographical location and resources determined the choice of research design and method most appropriate for the study. Thus the study will be fundamentally based on an analysis of secondary data as it relates to the theoretical and practical implications of decentralisation in Zambia. Hence secondary data will be collected and analysed by means of a literature study which makes use of various sources related to the Zambian setting, including books, journal articles, and legislation.

Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies.

Abstract Attempts to rebalance the gender inequality that exists in society have been made for many years, yet the extent to which these have worked is unclear. Various social policies have been implemented by welfare state to protect women against inequality, though different ideas generally exist as to what is acceptable within society. Such ideas have changed considerably over time and women are no longer being discriminated against as they once were, yet gender bias is still prevalent. It remains to be seen whether this will ever be completely eradicated as different countries will continue to perceive gender inequality in a different manner. The social policies, relating to gender equality, of two countries will be examined in this study to in order to consider the extent to which these have proven effective in combating discrimination. Introduction An ideology is a set of ideas as to how society should behave and generally forms the basis of economic and political theory. Ideologies have usually been created by those who dominant society and are usually formed as a result of common interests. It cannot be said that ideology is reflective of the whole of society and instead there exists differing views and opinions as to what an ‘ideal’ world is (Eagleton, 1991: 3). However, as expressed by Kania (1988: 1) a large amount of the existing literature in this area that is devoted to Marxist thought highlights the â€Å"diversity of opinion, values and policy advocated by persons associated with that label†. Despite these differences, ideology has been considered discriminatory in nature as those who dominate it are often biased. This was recognised by Curra who pointed out that ideology only â€Å"serves the interests of one segment of a society more than all other segments† (2000: 6). It therefore seems likely in light of this assertion that one segment of society will benefit from ideology, whilst other segments will not. This is largely reflected in gender equality and family policies as many still consider the so-called nuclear family to be the norm in contemporary society (Sudha, 2000: 184). However, it cannot be said that the nuclear family does actually reflect the majority in society and so the associated ideology could be seen as outmoded (Saggers and Sims, 2009: 173). This study will compare the social policies of France and Germany in the field of gender equality and family policies in order to demonstrate the extent to which gender equality is being attained. The applicability gender equality and family policy has in France and Germany to functionalism and path dependency will also be considered. Gender Equality and Family Policy Gender inequality was first brought to the public’s attention in 1970 when the feminist movement highlighted the struggles women were being subjected to as a natural part of their everyday life (Meer 2013: 4). This was followed by the suffrage movements in the 19th and 20th centuries, whereby suffragettes pioneered for the right for women to vote (Foghlam Alba, 2012: 1). During this period, certain groups of society viewed males as being the breadwinners, whilst women were considered the homemakers. Because of this conception, a lack of financial support was provided to women by the welfare state as it was believed that women could rely on the income of their husbands (Herring: 2007; p. 262). Women were far less likely to leave their husbands as a result of this, which could be one of the main reasons why there has been a huge increase in the divorce in recent years (Benson, 2013: 1). It was apparent by many that social policy changes were needed to rectify this imbalance and thus provide women with better protection against inequality (United Nations, 2013: 1). Some feminists believed that ideology was the cause of such inequality and that unless all nation states adopt effective gender equality social policies, women will continue to be treated unfavourably in society (George and Wilding: 1985; p. 122). Some feminists argue that unless equality within family structures is addressed, women will never be completely free regardless as to what social policies’ have been implemented by the welfare state (Craven, 2005: 3). This was recognised by Fraser who was of the view that the policies of existing welfare states are based on assumptions about gender that are â€Å"increasingly out of phase with many people’s lives and self-understandings† (1994: 591). It cannot be said that women are being provided with sufficient protection within society, yet gender inequality is still one of the most important principles that is contained in the human rights law of the European Union (EU). The EU continues to make progress in the tackling of gender discrimination, as exemplified by Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights, though it cannot be said that all nation states adopt the same approach as the EU. Consequently, unless gender equality is being instilled into the frameworks of all welfare states, gender discrimination will be likely to remain. Regardless of the EU’s gender equality policies, nonetheless, women continue to be treated less favourably than men and as it has been recognised by Radacic; that despite the pronouncements of gender discrimination, inequality of still persists (2008: 841). It cannot be said that EU policy has had much of an effect in establishing complete equality between the genders, though it is questionable whether it ever will (Mill and Okin, 1988: 1). Hence, it has been pointed out that although the EU has paved the way for more equal gender rights in areas such as marriage and employment, inequality persists when it comes to domestic violence, pay and the division of labour (Pascall, 2000: 240). It seems as though the EU has made great attempts towards the attainment of gender equality, yet these have not proven sufficient. Further changes therefore need to be made to ensure that women are not being treated unfavourably to men. Gender Equality and family policies in West Germany Social policy in Germany appears largely to reflect ideological principles, in that males are considered breadwinners, whilst females are considered homemakers. The German people are generally of the view that women should not go out to work and that they should instead stay at home to look after the childrenHence, as illustrated by Peters; â€Å"Men’s stereotypical role in Germany is one of the income – earning breadwinner, who leaves the house for work in the morning and comes back in the evening† (2001: 93). Although this may be a common belief throughout Germany, it does not provide a true reflection of the gender roles. Women are frequently choosing to work as opposed to staying at home, yet the gender pay gap is also increasing. Germany’s pay gap has thus been widely criticised for being one of the largest in the EU and the EU Commission suggest that this is getting worse (European Commission, 2012: 1). Davis and Robinson believe that much of this g ender bias is caused by the policies that are being held by families and societal ideals. does seem to have some validity, and social policies still need to be reformed in Germany so that gender equality is being addressed appropriately. Arguably, if effective policies are implemented in Germany, it is likely that this will cause the policies held by families to also change (Seeleib-Kaiser, 2007: 2). This alone will not be sufficient to bring about gender equality, and attitudes will also need to change. It has been suggested by Davis and Robinson that women with employed husbands are less likely to be supported than women with unemployed husbands. This is because, husbands in employment are unlikely to be supportive of efforts to reduce gender inequality (1991: 72). This suggests that women are less likely to advance in society if they receive a lack of support from their husbands. This shows how men can impact the achievement of gender equality. The social policies that exist in Germany should therefore be amended so that gender equality can be improved. At present, women do not receive adequate support from the government (Gelb and Palley, 2009: 368), though as noted by the OECD some are of the view that if greater support is provided to women, they will be less likely to have children which will have an overall impact upon the German population (OECD, 2008: 15). Conversely, it was in fact found by the OECD that countries with policies that facilitate female employment are those with the highest fertility rates† (2008: 15). Instead of reducing the population, further support would in fact increase it which is considered integral to economic growth (OECD, 2007: 7). Arguably, the limited support for working mothers in Germany has resulted in women postponing childbearing so that they can instead enter the workforce in order to financially support themselves. This has an effect upon economic growth (WILPF International, 2013: 1), though it has been said that social policy in Germany is a work in progress and that attempts to reinforce childcare is being made (Spiegel, 2012: 1). Gender Equality and family policies in France In comparison with Germany, social policy in France does actually appear to reflect the ideas of contemporary society, and is thus more favourable to women. This was identified by Rodgers when it was noted that; â€Å"France has a more conscious, clearly defined concept of family policy, which finds expression in statutory and voluntary institutions whose primary or even sole purpose is to promote the welfare of the family† (2009: 113). Statutory benefits in France are also provided, as of right, to both parents. This demonstrates how gender equality is more adequate in France than it is in Germany (Rogers, 2009: 113). This is due to the support women receive in France by the French government and the favourable family policies that exist. Significant support for childcare is also being provided by France and their allowance system is particularly generous (European Union, 2014: 1). The support that is provided to women is thus intended to allow a work-life balance to be achie ved. This approach does appear to be working given the high fertility and employments rates of women with children (European Commission, 2014: 1). Hence, it has been argued that the high fertility rates in France is due to France’s consistent family policy and the excellent employment prospects women are said to have (Del Boca, 2008: 2). Monetary benefits are a key feature of France’s family policy (Cleiss, 2013: 1). This generosity has been considered necessary in supporting women and removing gender inequality in France. Yet not all agree with this approach and it has instead been argued that whilst women in France receive a number of different benefits such as; paid, four-month maternity leaves; tax breaks for having more children; and other family-friendly government subsidies, â€Å"their country lags behind many other nations in gender equality† (MNT, 2010: 1). This suggests that although a number of social policies have been established in France that intend to provide greater support to women, not all believe that gender inequality is eradicated and instead argued that outdated societal attitudes regarding women are still prevalent (Girling, 2002: 126). Nevertheless, France’s benefit system does appear to be a lot more generous than Germany’s, which might be suggested leads to grea ter equality between the sexes. However, it seems as though complete equality is still not being attained. There still appears to be a gender pay gap between men and women in France, and women continue to be treated differently in general (European Commission, 2013: 10). Arguably, it is clear from these findings that social policies may not actually remove the gender inequalities that persist within society and that the attitudes of individuals also need to be changed. Functionalist and path dependency to gender equality and family policies Functionalism has been described as a philosophy of mind in that a particular mental state will be dependent on the role it plays on the cognitive system in which it is a part of. In effect, functionalists view the identity of mental states as being determined by its casual relations to sensory stimulations, behaviour and other mental states (Stanford, 2004: 1). Functionalism is clearly prevalent within the approaches that are being employed in both Germany and France since functionalists view gender inequality as a product of traditional ideology within society (Isajiw, 2013: 129). Given that gender inequality is still prevalent within both Germany and France it might be though that social policies cannot change traditional ideology. Pre-existing notions of the ideal family will be likely to remain and individuals will thus conform to the roles that have been provided to them by society. Whilst gender roles have changed substantially in contemporary societies, functionalists believ e that traditional arrangements remain in force (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006: 467). This is what appears to be happening in France because although social policy has been advanced, gender inequality still exists as a result of traditional arrangements. Furthermore, whilst social policy in Germany is not as supportive of women as it is in France, the same applies here and traditional arrangements continue to prevail. Path dependency is a term that is used to describe the idea that history matters and that we are today a product of what has happened in the past (Margolis, 1996: 1). Path dependency is also reflective of gender equality in Germany and France in that past decisions influence future decisions. This is so regardless of whether the circumstances are still relevant (Arthur, 1994: 33). Historical viewpoints are therefore being maintained despite the fact that this no longer provides a true reflection of reality and as put by Skocpol; â€Å"the development trends of social modernization may face legacies of path dependent cultural and institutional organisation† (1992: 8). Gender equality is affected by this and improvements to the lives and wellbeing of women is stifled. Alexander and Welzel argue that; â€Å"path dependent processes with respect to women’s suffrage policy may affect the potential to increase gender equality in particular societies† (2014: 9). Again, this demonstrates why women continue to be paid less than men in both Germany and France. This results from the historical gender inequality practices because as stated by Bjornskov et al; â€Å"because of the path dependence of the unfolding human life, gender inequality in the early eighties might equally affect today’s opportunities, choices and aspiration levels† (2007: 2). This will continue to affect the way women are treated in the future and it is arguable whether discrimination against women will ever be eradicated. Conclusion Overall, it has been argued that ideological beliefs will continue to influence the ways women are treated in society, and regardless of the social policies that are implemented by welfare states, gender inequality will continue to persist. This is because the traditional roles of males and females will continue to be prevalent within all aspects of life as women will continue to take on the role of a homemaker, whilst men will continue to take on the role of a breadwinner in certain groups of society. Ideology is largely responsible for these inequalities and women will continue to be treated differently to men as a result. This is evidenced in both Germany and France regardless of the fact that their social policy strategies are different and demonstrates how ideology will continue to dominate contemporary society. Thus, women in Germany are treated far less favourably than the women in France, yet both countries are similar when it comes to gender inequality. An example of this ca n be seen in relation to the gender pay gaps which are widespread amongst both nation states. Nevertheless, despite the fact that gender inequality is likely to persist regardless of what policies are implemented, it is manifest that improvements can certainly be made. Further support should be provided to women in Germany, whilst the gender pay gap should be reduced in France. This is unlikely to provide complete equality because, as recognised by the functionalist and path dependency models, the traditional arrangement of gender roles will continue influence society. References Alexander, A. C. and Welzel, C. (2014) ‘Four Theories Tested on Four Different Aspects of Gender Equality’ Empowering Women, [Online] Available: http://www.democracy.uci.edu/files/democracy/docs/conferences/grad/alexander.pdf [02 April 2014]. Benson, H. (2013) ‘What is the Divorce Rate’, The Marriage Foundation, [Online] Available: http://www.marriagefoundation.org.uk/Shared/Uploads/Products/5357_MF%20-%20What%20is%20the%20divorce%20rate%20-%20060213.pdf [02 April 2014]. Bjornskov, C. Dreher, A. 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(2014) France: Significant Support for Women and High Monetary Benefits, [Online], Available: [03 April 2014]. Fraser, N. (1994) ‘After the Family Wage’ Political Theory, Volume 22, No. 4. Foghlam Alba. (2012) ‘Womens Rights and Suffragettes’ [Online] Available: [05 April 2014]. George, V., and Wilding, P., (1985). Ideology and Social Welfare. Routledge, 2nd Edition. Herring, J., (2007). Family Law, Pearson Education, 3rd Edition. Kania, R. E, (1988). Conservative Ideology in Criminology and Criminal Justice. American Journal of Criminal Justice. Volume 13, Number 1. Margolis, S. E. (1996) ‘Path Dependence’ [Online] Available: http://wwwpub.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/palgrave/palpd.html [07 April 2014]. Meer, S. 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(2001) ‘Breadwinners, Homemakers and Beasts of Burden: A Gender Perspective on Transport and Mobility’ Institute for City and Regional Planning, Sustainable Development International, 93-100. Radacic, I. (2008) ‘Critical Review of Jurisprudence: An Occasional Series: Gender Equality Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights’, European Journal of International Law, Issue 4, EJIL 2008 19 (841). Rodgers, B. N. (2009) ‘Family Policy in France’ Journal of Social Policy, Volume 4, Issue 2. Saggers, S. Dodd, J. and Wildy, H. (2009) ‘Constructing the ‘ideal’ family for family-centred practice: challenges for delivery’ Disability and Society, Volume 24, Issue 2. Seeleib, M. K. (2007) ‘Innovative ways of coping with old and new challenges: Enterprises as actors of family policy’, Family Policies in Britain and Germany, [Online] Available: http://www.socialpolicy.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/10108/Family_Policy_in_Britain_and_Germany_Midpoint_Conference171107.pdf [02 April 2014]. Skocpol, T. (1992) Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins in Social Policy in the United States, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stanford. (2004) ‘Functionalism’ [Online] Available: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/functionalism/ [07 April 2014]. Sudha, D. K. (2000) Gender Roles, New Delhi: APH Publishing. WILPF International. (2014) ‘Racism and Gender Inequality in Germany’ Peace & Freedom, [Online] Available: http://www.wilpfinternational.org/racism-and-gender-inequality-in-germany/ [02 April 2014]. Give a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies. Introduction Social policy is the term that is used to describe the various principles, guidelines, legislative provisions and activities that impact human welfare. Social policy has thus been defined as an analysis of societies responses to social need (Lewis, 2013: 1) and has been said to focus on certain aspects of the economy that are concerned with basic human needs. Nevertheless, different societies have developed different ways to meet social policy needs. Whilst some rely primarily upon ideological beliefs within family institutions, others rely on the actions of individuals and governmental activities (Lewis, 2013: 1). Ideology plays an important part in social policy as it is the belief that individuals should behave in a way that is consistent with the goals and expectations of the most dominant in society. There are many different views and opinions that exist in respect of ideology (Kania, 1988: 1), yet it has been considered extremely discriminatory as it only â€Å"serves the inte rests of one segment of a society more than all other segments† (Curra, 2000: 6). One particular group of people therefore benefit more than other groups, which is the case when it comes to gender equality and family policies. (Brown et al; 2010: 9). The nuclear family, which is the traditional family structure that consists of two parents and children, is still being considered the ideal in many cultural, family and social settings. This is so despite the fact that â€Å"contemporary families now comprise a diverse range of different family and so-called non family types† (Saggers and Sims, 2009: 173). Although ideals are necessary in helping people to identify right from wrong, too much reliance should not be placed on ideology as this will otherwise result in inequality. A significant amount of the gender bias that currently exists has stemmed from ideology (Bjornskov et al, 2007). This is extremely dangerous and demonstrates how important gender regimes (as policy l ogics) in welfare states are in integral to equality. For example, in domestic violence cases, women are treated unfavourably on the basis that it was previously deemed acceptable for a man to beat his wife (Brown et al, 2010). This has produced many problems over the years and is still an on-going concern for many countries, which will be identified in this study (Cleiss, 2013). Thus, a comparative, cross-national account of social policy in the field of gender equality and family policies will be considered. This will be done by comparing social policy in Germany and France and demonstrating whether gender equality is attainable. Gender Equality and Family Policy in Germany and France The 1970’s new social feminist movement was the first time gender inequality was brought to the public’s attention as domestic violence was previously considered â€Å"part of the rough and tumble of marital life† (Herring: 2007; p. 262). This gender bias not only happened in the context of domestic violence but it was also becoming a natural part of everyday life. Males were considered to be breadwinners, whilst females were the homemakers. Because females were considered totally dependent on the male breadwinner, a lack of financial and support existed for women and there was a dire need for social policy changes to be implemented in order to reduce the gender inequality women were being subjected to (Curra, 2000). Feminists believed that this gender inequality was the result of ideology and that gender equality should become a vital part of social policy across all nation states (George and Wilding: 1985; p. 122). Feminism is prevalent within different jurisdi ctions and has been considered a â€Å"diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies and aims to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations and sexuality† (EKU, 2012: 1). Feminists’ believe that individuals cannot achieve complete freedom so long as inequality continues to persist and that humanity is therefore unattainable. Regardless of this, the gender inequality that exists within family structures is still being recognised as a global issue and is prevalent both in Germany and France. This is partly due to the cultural practices of these societies as cultural relativism is still being used to condone such inequality (Craven, 2005: 3). In addition, as put by Fraser; â€Å"existing welfare states are premised on assumptions about gender that increasingly out of phase with many people’s lives and self-understandings† (1994: 591). It seems as though inadequate social protection is being provided to women in both countries, although France’s social policy regime does appear more favourable to women than Germany’s. This is evidenced by the fact that Germany holds a strong preference for the typical nuclear family ideal and continues to view males as breadwinners and females as homemakers. It is a common belief throughout Germany that women should not work and that they should instead be stay at home mums. This was identified by Peters when he pointed out that; â€Å"Men’s stereotypical role in Germany is one of the income – earning breadwinner, who leaves the house for work in the morning and comes back in the evening† (2001: 93). Because of the stereotypical role that is still being employed in Germany, women end up performing two roles. This is because contemporary women no longer stay at home to look after children and instead choose to become income earners. Furthermore, th e pay gap between men and women in Germany continues to widen and has been criticised for being much wider than other EU states, including France. The European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding presented the results from the Eurobarometer on Gender Equality in 2010 and concluded that Germany’s figures were getting much worse: â€Å"In 2007, the gap was 23 percent; in 2006, 22.7 percent† (European Commission, 2012: 1). In a study conducted by Davis and Robinson, however, it was evidenced that much of the gender bias stems from family policies and the ideals that have been created by society. Hence, it was demonstrated that well-educated males are less supportive of reducing gender inequality: â€Å"women with employed husbands are less supportive of efforts to reduce gender inequality than women without a male wage earner† (1991: 72). This prevents women from advancing within society and demonstrates how men are capable of stifling the attainment of gender equa lity in Germany. In contrast to the male dominated ideologies that exist Germany, social policies in France do actually appear to be more akin to contemporary society. This has been illustrated by Rodgers who noted that; â€Å"France has a more conscious, clearly defined concept of family policy, which finds expression in statutory and voluntary institutions whose primary or even sole purpose is to promote the welfare of the family† (2009: 113). Both parents of the nuclear family are also entitled to various statutory benefits as of right, which signifies how gender equality is better attained in France than it is in Germany (Rogers, 2009: 113). France has a significant amount of support for women and has had an extensive policy in favour of families for a very long time. A wide range of childcare services are provided in France as well as an allowance system that is deemed extremely generous (European Union, 2014: 1). Such support is intended to encourage and assist parents in finding a work life balance and is clearly working given that France has higher fertility and employments rates of women with children compared to the rest of the EU’s member states (European Commission, 2014: 1). It has been said that the high fertility rates in France largely result from the consistent family policy in France as well as the good employment prospects provided to women (Del Boca, 2008: 2). One of the key characteristics of France’s family policy is the monetary benefits, also known as family allowance. The monetary benefits that are provided to families under this system include child benefit, flat-rate allowance, family income supplement, family support allowance, birth/adoption grant, basic allowance, supplement for free choice of working time and free choice of childcare, education allowance, back-to-school allowance, daily parental attendance allowance, family housing allowance and moving allowance (Cleiss, 2013: 1). In view of the support women are provided with in France, it seems as though Germany’s social policies on gender equality should be strengthened. This is especially so in the labour market where this appears to be amongst the worst of all EU member states. Therefore, not only do women in Germany receive significantly lower pay packets to men but they also receive a lack of support from the government (Curra, 2000). There a widespread misconception in Germany that if family friendly policies are implemented to assist working women, this will lead to them having fewer children, which will decrease the population overall (Giddins and Griffiths, 2006). However, it has been evidenced that â€Å"countries with policies that facilitate female employment are those with the highest fertility rates† (OECD, 2008: 15). This resultantly increases the future supply of workers, which inevitably leads to sustained growth (OECD, 2007: 7). Furthermore, the practices being employed in Fra nce appear to discredit the view that the population will be decreased if further support is provided to women, as this has not happened here and the fertility rates in Germany are low as a result of the lack of support for working mothers. This is due to the fact that women in Germany are more likely to postpone childbearing in order to enter the workforce, which stifles economic growth in the long term (Hering, 2007). Women are thus said to be â€Å"facing difficulties to reconcile family, domestic workload and paid work† (WILPF International, 2013: 1). It has been said that the German government is working on this issue at present and has made great attempts to reinforce child daily care (Fraser, 1994), yet it is arguable whether this is proving effective given the cultural relativism that Germany is submersed with. The generosity of France is illustrative of the support that is given to contemporary families and demonstrates how France’s social family policies are workable in attaining gender equality. Not all agree with this, however, and it has instead been argued that; â€Å"although French women receive paid, four-month maternity leaves; tax breaks for having more children; and other family-friendly government subsidies, their country lags behind many other nations in gender equality† (MNT, 2010: 1). This, it has been said, is largely because of outmoded attitudes about the role of women in society (Girling, 2002: 126). Women continue to earn less than men; they are still being viewed as homemakers and also hold few positions of power European Commission, 2013: 10). This is also the case for those women that remain childless (Milj and Okin, 1988), which suggests that although France provides better support to women, gender inequality still persists. Accordingly, women continue to be treated differently to men regardless of what policies are put into practice. It is questionable whether gender equality can ever be fully attained giv en the attempts that have been made to do so over the years. EU law has made significant attempts to ensure men and women receive equal pay for equal work, though it has been difficult for this to be accomplished. Article 141 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (which amended Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome), obliges member states to ensure that men and women always receive equal pay for equal work, yet it is often difficult to demonstrate that this is not being achieved. This is because the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that, on the balance of probabilities, their comparator is doing work of equal value to theirs or like work, which is considerably difficult (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2010, p. 1). It is therefore clear from these findings that whilst France does provide greater support to women than Germany does, gender inequalities still exist. France’s social policies thereby need to be rectified so that better equality is being attained. The first step would be to close the gender pay gap, yet it remains to be seen whether this would achieve complete equality as the traditional family model will remain prevalent. Functionalism and path dependency to gender equality and family policies Functionalist’s are of the view that an individuals’ mental state is determined by the role in which they have been provided with in society. Functionalist’s therefore view gender inequality as being a product of traditional societal ideologies (Saggers et al, 2009). This is reflected by the inequality that currently exists within Germany and France. Hence, the traditional nuclear family is still being given due consideration despite the fact that modern family structures are widely diverse. Because individuals have always been taught what the traditional roles of men and women are, individuals tend to conform to such requirements. This is still happening today, whether consciously or not, and is one of the main reasons why gender equality is difficult to attain. Consequently, whilst women are provided with better support in France than they are in Germany, many of the underlying inequalities women are subjected to remain. This is because societal attitudes towar ds men and women have remained the same, regardless as to what social policies have been implemented, as is also the case in Germany. Hence, it is apparent that whilst gender roles in both societies have changed substantially, traditional arrangement remains in force (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006: 467). Social policy in France has advanced significantly over the years and is very supportive of women, yet gender inequality is still prevalent because of the traditional arrangement that remains in force. This is also the case in Germany despite the fact that less support is provided to women as some attempts to close the pay gap have been made, yet it seems impossible for gender equality to be obtained. Path dependency theoretically explains how past decisions influence future ones, regardless as to whether the circumstances are still relevant. It is therefore clear from this theory that history is an important part of the future and shapes the way individuals behave. This theory is reflective of the gender equality and family policy approach that is being adopted in Germany and France. This is because historical viewpoints are being maintained regardless of the fact that the nuclear family is no longer considered the ‘norm’ in contemporary society. As identified by Skocpol; â€Å"the development trends of social modernization may face legacies of path dependent cultural and institutional organisation† (1992: 8). This affects the advancement of gender equality and restricts the ability to improve the lives of women. Because the emergence of social policy is determined by past influences, the typical family ideal is likely to remain instilled in society. This prev ents the modernisation of social policy, which explains why the traditional family model continues to subsist within social and family policy. Furthermore, as noted by Alexander and Welzel; â€Å"path dependent processes with respect to women’s suffrage policy may affect the potential to increase gender equality in particular societies† (2014: 9). This is why women continue to be paid lower than men in Germany and France regardless of the current changes that are being made to achieve equality. This occurs because of the historical gender inequality practices that were being employed because as was pointed out; â€Å"because of the path dependence of the unfolding human life, gender inequality in the early eighties might equally affect today’s opportunities, choices and aspiration levels† (Bjornskov et al; 2007: 2). Past discrimination thereby affects the way women are viewed in society today and will continue to have an impact in the future. Gender equality is still one of the main fundamental principles the EU continually strives for (Article 14 of the European Union’s Convention on Human Rights), yet despite the various policies that have been adopted women are still being treated unfavourably to men. This was recognised by Radacic who argued that; â€Å"notwithstanding these pronouncements, inequality of women in the member states of the Council of Europe persists† (Radacic, 2008: 841). The EU has therefore been largely impotent in challenging gender discrimination and achieving gender equality and although women and men are becoming more equal over the years, â€Å"a principle of perfect equality† (Mill and Okin, 1988: 1) is still not being established in countries such as Germany and France. Adequate family and childcare policies that allow for gender equality therefore need to be implemented, which could be achieved by employing strategies that; encourage female labour market participation, rem ove the gender bias ideologies, provide adequate childcare, promote children’s education and well being and allow for flexible labour. It is unlikely that much of the gender bias that is currently in place will be removed, though there will certainly be some improvements. Germany should be more supportive of women and France should make further attempts to close the pay gap. Conclusion Overall, traditional ideological practices continue to be adopted in Germany and France when it comes to gender equality and family policy. Because of this, women continue to be treated differently to men. It is questionable whether this can ever be rectified given that gender inequality is viewed as a product of traditional societal ideologies. In Germany, women are given less support than they are in France whose social policies appear to be more akin to contemporary society. In spite of this, however, gender inequality is still prevalent throughout France. This is evidenced by the large gender pay gap and the fact that traditional ideologies are still prevalent across all social policy methods. This illustrates that regardless of what social policies welfare states implement, gender inequality will still persist. Improvements to social policy would still benefit the economy, nonetheless, and would develop gender equality further. In Germany, there is a pressing need for greater su pport to be provided to women as well as reducing the gender pay gap, whereas in France the main focus is on the latter. It is doubtful that complete equality would be achieved in light of the fact that the traditional family model remains intact, yet vast improvements could certainly be made. 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