Wednesday, December 25, 2019
What Makes A Lasting Marriage - 877 Words
Where there is love, pain will always follow not too far behind. At times, those words are forgotten, especially as we experience heart-breaking moments in a marriage. The horrible moments always seem to outlive the wonderful ones nowadays. Even if more than half of all marriages are likely to fail, that doesnââ¬â¢t mean it s impossible to having a lasting marriage in today s society. All it takes is both member having faith. It begins when the married couple has a spiritual connection and faith in something, or someone higher than themselves, like God. If couples have that, nothing will break their marriage. For example, it had been shown that those with a strong religious faith tend to have a lasting relationship than those who haven t found that faith. Faith canââ¬â¢t be learned or taught, itââ¬â¢s something thatââ¬â¢s acquired when learning there more to life than just what we want or believe. However, believing in the words of God can lead a person to have faith in l ifeââ¬â¢s blessing, as other before had. Faith inspires unconditional love and selfless acts. We learn to replace ââ¬Å"what I wantâ⬠in a marriage, and turns it into ââ¬Å"what you or we both need.â⬠However, those actââ¬â¢s of kindness cannot be done alone. There needs a two way commitment to truly have faith in one another. The next important step to maintaining a marriage is opening up to your partner. A marriage without communication will not last very long. Itââ¬â¢s normal for people to keep feelings to themselves or a close friend.Show MoreRelatedThe Ideal Mate Essay574 Words à |à 3 Pageshappy and lasting life together. Many young adults are facing challenges when selecting a suitable mate who they would hope to enjoy marital success. A perfect spouse is impossible to find, but an ideal one may be easier. The guidelines I will use to select my mate are I would look for someone who is honest, committed, respectful, loving and well-educated person becau se these qualities are vital for me. These qualities are important for a lifetime relationship and that will be a lasting marriage. WhenRead MoreTaking a Look at Divorce1420 Words à |à 6 Pagesis due to experiences, what others have said, or looking at studies that are not always accurate. However, not everyone can have the same views about marriage ending in divorce. In the article, ââ¬Å"No Easy Answers: Why the Popular View of Divorce Is Wrongâ⬠by Constance Ahrons she shows her view on divorce. Ahrons believes that divorce does not have long-lasting damaging effects on children (65). Divorce can affect children in the family but the way the decisions are made is what will change the way theRead MoreSame Sex Marriage and Politics in the U.S. Essay800 Words à |à 4 PagesSex Marriage has become a major issue in the United States. There are variations in opinions concerning the topic. The main concern is should same sex marriage be allowed or declared unconstitutional. Plenty of conservatives are completely against gay marriage and many of liberals are fighting for equal treatment. Many controversie s and arguments have developed from this issue. There are many reasons why gay marriage should be legal or illegal. The people who oppose same sex marriage or alsoRead MoreI Am A Male, Black, Asian, Upper Class, Lower Class1473 Words à |à 6 Pageswe all have our share of traits that we would like for our mate to possess. Do we really know what we want? Are we bias because of what society portrays or do we focus on what our culture has shown us. It has become common today to dismiss what our feelings and emotions tell us as it relates to love and marriage and go off of what society portrays. When it comes to the topic of mate choice/marriage and who we want to spend our life with or even have sex with, most of us would readily agree thatRead MoreEssay On Arranged Marriage1339 Words à |à 6 Pages Marriage is considered to be an institution in which people commit to spend a lifetime together. People across the world can seek love through arranged marriages or through love marriages but the concept of spending a lifetime with your companion remains the same in each. There are different customs and traditions that are followed in different societal set-ups. For instance, arranged marriages is a common practice done in Japan. Parents feel as if their child have no consent in deciding who theyRead MoreNot So Happily Ever After968 Words à |à 4 Pagesin the institution of marriage to make the commitment real. All these arguments have been seen in the way that society has progressed into this way of thinking. However, living together before marriage does not appear to be the way to have a safe and stable relationship that builds into a marriage or a lasting relationship. Living together before marriage will not get you to your happily ever after. One cause of living together as not being the best solution to have a lasting relationship can beRead MoreShould We Live Together1601 Words à |à 7 PagesShould We Live Together? 1 Should We Live Together? What Young Adults Need to Know about Cohabitation Alita Lyon Utilizing Information, COM 125 Professor Verdi June 17, 2007 Should We Live Together? 2 Should We Live Together? A Review of the Literature Cohabitation is replacing marriage as the first living together experience for young men and women. When brides walk down the aisle over half have already lived together with a boyfriend. For today s young adultsRead Moremarriage963 Words à |à 4 Pagesï » ¿Marriage The most important quality of a married couple is love. In a marriage important issues such as attitudes, responsibilities, religion, finances, career, and whether or not to have children should be discussed so that the couple can learn each otherââ¬â¢s views regarding the issues to determine compatibility. Building a happy marriage is the result of conscious effort on the part of a husband, and wife. A lifelong union that people bound together by a bond of love, which is spiritual as wellRead MoreCohabitation Between Cohabitation And Marriage1559 Words à |à 7 PagesIn todayââ¬â¢s society cohabitation before marriage has become more prominent than it was in past decades. Cohabitation simply means two individuals are living together unmarried. There are several agreements that support and oppose this topic because of the individualsââ¬â¢ different religion, ethic, and morality. Growing up, I frequently heard living together before marriage often leads to higher risks o f divorce later on. As society changes, I believe that people have a different opinion of this beliefRead MoreMarriage Is The Most Important Role969 Words à |à 4 Pages Marriage is the most valued human relationship and a central goal in our life. Most people want for themselves and their children a good and lasting marriage, because marriage plays an important role in them to find meaning, happiness and fulfillment in life. These presentations provide guidance on how to achieve a healthy marriage. Marriage seals our most central destination, that is to find the meaning and value of life and love. Naturally, marriage has social, economic and biological functions
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research - 1625 Words
In the Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells, the Pontifical Academy for Life presents the field of stem cell research with a statement regarding the official Roman Catholic position on the moral aspects of acquiring and using human embryonic stem cells. They have declared that it is not morally legitimate to produce or use human embryos as a source of stem cells, nor is it acceptable to use stem cells from cell lines already established. Thus, bringing up the conflicting topic concerned with the point in time in which a human embryo becomes more than a simple mass of cells, but a human individual with a well defined identity. Gerard Magil and William B. Neaves, in their paper Ontological and Ethical Implications of Direct Nuclear Reprogramming has conflicted the Academyââ¬â¢s position on stem cell research with an alternative understanding of adult stem cells. In what follows, I will argue that the Academy does not adeq uately defend the Churchââ¬â¢s standpoint on stem cell research. However, I will also suggest that even if the Churchââ¬â¢s position were accepted, this would not provide an adequate solution to the ethical question revolving around stem cell research. In order to rightly investigate the position defined in the Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells a summary must first be presented. The Academy outlines and endorses the Roman Catholic Churchââ¬â¢sShow MoreRelatedHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research2490 Words à |à 10 PagesFederal Government to fund stem cell research through the National Institute of Health. There are various types of stem cells, but the policy issue mainly covers human embryonic stem cells. This policy revokes President George W. Bush s executive order 13435 which put heavy limitations on federal funding for stem cell research. Although this policy has already taken effect, there are still bans and immense regulation on particular methods of human embryonic stem cell extraction that involve theRead MoreHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research1901 Words à |à 8 Pages Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Stem cells are cells that have not yet differentiated, or will divide into other cells that will then differentiate. These cells have the ability to develop into any type of cell that the body requires during development and growth. The value of stem cells for research comes from the ability to develop into specialized cells, a process known as differentiation, under experimental conditions. Naturally, stem cells regularly repair or replace damaged tissues. ScientificallyRead MoreHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research992 Words à |à 4 PagesThe liver is known in the medical community as a miracle organ because is it the only known organ in the human body that can regenerate itself if half of it is cut out. Tissue regeneration has always been a desirable fantasy, but now it is almost a possibility. Human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells that, although unspecialized, can differentiate into various specialized cells, such as nerves, muscle, skin, or even blood. Sadly, controver sy surrounds this relatively new scientific conceptRead MoreHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research1313 Words à |à 6 PagesJessica Rogers Kendra Gallos English III Honors 18 April 2016 Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, or HES cell research, is a very controversial ethical debate. This issues is a dilemma for scientist, religious activist, and many more. HES cell research is being disputed because the practice is morally wrong. The other side of the issue stands with many scientist, being that they see the potential lives it could save in the long run. Religious activist, andRead More Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Essay4185 Words à |à 17 PagesHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research Many scientists believe that research on human embryonic stem cells, components of human embryos created in laboratories, will eventually yield cures to a number of devastating human conditions including juvenile diabetes, Parkinsonââ¬â¢s disease and spinal cord injuries. On August 9, 2001, President George W. Bush announced he would permit federally funded research on existing stem cells lines derived from human embryos. He prohibited the federal funding of researchRead MoreHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Research Essay1276 Words à |à 6 PagesStem Cells are the centre point for all growth and development. The centre point of life. Without them, there would not be humans, animals or even germs. Thanks to them, we can modify and enhance the human body when in its foetal form. The fear that a child will be born with hereditary disease, mutations and disabilities haunts the dreams of people today more than ever. But what if we could guarantee our children could be born disease free an d disability free? What if we could remove the gene thatRead MoreHuman Stem Cell Research : Ethical Dilemmas With The Utility Of Embryonic Stem Cells1879 Words à |à 8 PagesTrevor McCarthy Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) research possesses ethical dilemmas with the utility of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from human blastocyst, one of the earliest stages of embryonic development. Embryonic stem cell derivation is controversial because there are different opinions and beliefs on when an embryo is deserving of full moral status, equal to the moral respect, rights and treatment to that of a human being. ESCs extracted from a blastocyst will undergo experimentationRead MoreBiomedical Engineering: Stem Cells Essay1584 Words à |à 7 Pagesadvances and research that stem from biomedical engineers can solve problems that would have never have been able to be solved before. Engineers have been working on new technology that will utilize stem cells in order to save lives and treat diseases. The stem cells that are used for treatment are called embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are formed from five-day old human embryos that the embryos are essentially human b eings (In Stem-cell Researchâ⬠Para. 3). The usage of such stem cells has causedRead MoreThe Use Of Embryonic Stem Cells In Medicine1472 Words à |à 6 Pagescure a disease? Embryonic Stem Cells can be used to treat many different diseases, but some people have their opinion that using these stem cells in medicine is unethical because they are coming from a human embryo. There are countries that have banned the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine, and in America there are people arguing that it should be banned here. But what about all of the lives that these stem cells are saving, what if research continues and these embryonic stem cells end up beingRead MoreEssay on Stem Cells: The Cure for Uncontrollable Diseases of the Past1246 Words à |à 5 PagesGehrigââ¬â¢s disease, Sickle Cell Anemia, Alzheimerââ¬â¢s. This world is plague by countless diseases and there existed a time where, after many failed research attempts, scientists began to believe that people would always suffer from these diseases. However, with the introduction of stem cell research those past notions were dismissed. Upon their introduction, stem cellââ¬â¢s provided a new hope to the world and it proved itself to be an invaluable asset. Through stem cell research, a multitude of cures have
Monday, December 9, 2019
Integrated Brand Management Consumer Behavior
Question: Discuss about theIntegrated Brand Managementfor Consumer Behavior. Answer: Introduction Advertisement creates a visual impression about the product in our mind. After watching an advertisement in the television about any new brand or new product, the first thing that comes in the mind is the usage of the item in our daily life. Necessity plays an important role in buying decision. Brand is a term, name, symbol, design or sign that are identified with the product or service they provide. A particular brand differentiates their product from their competitors through providing any unique feature. If we need any product for the first time, we gather information about the product from the advertisement shown in television, published in newspaper or through online services. Advertisement plays crucial role in creating first impression about the product. We never buy that product for which the advertisement was not impressive or could not find a place in our mind. The usage of any products leaves their affects in our lifestyle (Solomon 2014). As per my personal experience, when I decided to buy my first car, I did not have much idea about the specifications regarding safety and security, comfort level and space availability of a car. After watching the advertisement of a well known brand, I got some specific ideas about the car. Next, I visited their website to make the final decision about purchasing. Therefore, the advertisement played an important role in making my purchase decision. One of the most important frame works of brand is emotional benefit. Emotional benefits are the sentiments attached with the brand and create loyalty among the consumer. Emotional benefits linked to the product are: Better service provided by the salesman of the store, better after sales service or good amount of discount (Kardes, Cronley and Cline 2014). If the customer is using a particular brand for long time, he may not be willing to shift to another company even if that offers better services. A nationally promoted product has strong power in the marketplace as it generates an emotional association with the consumer. A brand is nothing but the mental demonstration of the product in the mind of the consumer. The greater the emotional substance of a brands mental demonstration, the more likely the consumer will be loyal to the brand (Koenig-Lewis et al. 2014). References: Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T., 2014.Consumer behavior. Cengage Learning. Koenig-Lewis, N., Palmer, A., Dermody, J. and Urbye, A., 2014. Consumers' evaluations of ecological packagingRational and emotional approaches.Journal of Environmental Psychology,37, pp.94-105. Solomon, M.R., 2014.Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being(Vol. 10). Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
The Little Girl and the Wolf Essay Example
The Little Girl and the Wolf Essay James Thurbers story, The Little Girl and the Wolf starts off with, One afternoon a big wolf waited in a dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. (Elements of Literature, p.203) This first sentence tells us quite clearly that neither the situation nor the little girl are very safe; in other words, something terrible is waiting to happen.The little girl comes along and runs into the wolf, who asks her for directions to her grandmothers house. After receiving the directions the wolf takes off. Although its not mentioned in the story, the reader automatically knows that the wolf is headed for the grandmothers house, and that even more danger awaits the little girl.The little girl reaches her grandmothers house sometime later and walks in. She notices someone in the bed and quite calmy and humorously (or possibly even sarcastically) comes to the conclusion that the person in the bed is not her grandmother. Without any emotion or expression she pulls a gun out of her basket and kills the wolf.The story ends with the moral: It is not so easy to fool little girls nowadays as it used to be. (Elements of Literature, p. 203) This may be true enough to justify the unusual change of events in the story.At the beginning of James Thurburs other story, The Princess and the Tin Box, the princesss beauty and wealth are described in detail, giving the reader a picture of the life that she has in the palace. Her beautiful features are compared to a cornflower, hyacinth and a swan. Her toys were all made of gold or platinum or diamonds or emeralds. (Elements of Literature, p. 204) She was pampered with the best of gifts and pleasures at all times.On the princesss 18th birthday, her father sent a message to five neighboring kings telling them he would give his daughters hand in marriage to the prince that brought her the gift she liked most.The first prince brought her an enormous golden apple; the second arrived with a nightingale o f a thousand diamonds; the third presented her with a jewel box made of platinum and sapphire, and the fourth gave her a heart made of rubies and pierced by an emerald arrow. The fifth prince was handsome but quite poor and had nothing of great value to give the princess. He brought her a small tin box filled with ordinary rocks. The other princes laughed at him, but the princess was quite delighted at the sight of something that she was never allowed to see or play with before.The gifts were set on a long table, and the princess chose the gift she liked best the jewel box given to her by the third prince. Her explanation for her choice was that since she was to get married, she would be meeting many admirers who would bring her many gifts; therefore she needed the jewel box to keep all these gifts in. She married the third prince that same day and had a lovely wedding.Evidently the princess had been raised exactly as her father had wanted, with no taste for ordinary things (althou gh she did seem interested in them earlier). If this story were like every other fairy tale, the princess would have married the fifth prince and lived happily ever after. Thurber, however, has a way of turning sweet fairy tales into writings with hints of sarcasm in them. The ending of this story was no surprise after reading Thurbers first story. In modern days, no girl in her right mind would choose the fifth prince, no matter what. Thurber has shown this characteristic in an old-fashioned setting, making it seem ironic and unusual whereas it wouldnt be at all unusual to people nowadays.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Essay on Nationalism Essay Example
Essay on Nationalism Essay Example Essay on Nationalism Essay Essay on Nationalism Essay Nationalism is a popular sentiment that places the existence and well-being of the nation highest in the scale of political loyalties. In political terms, it signifies a persons willingness to work for the nation against foreign domination, whether political, economic, or cultural. Nationalism also implies a groups consciousness of shared history, language, race, and values. Its significance lies in its role in supplying the ties that make the nation-state a cohesive viable entity. Nationalism belongs to the modern world. Before the 18th century, people gave their loyalty to their communities, tribes, feudal lords, princes, religious groups, or other universal principles. Borders could thus be changed without popular outcry against the violation of national integrity. For example, when Louis XIV of France seized the free imperial city of Strasbourg on the Rhine in 1681, the people of the city accepted him as their king. By the 19th century, however, nationalist sentiments were stron g. When Germany annexed Strasbourg (and the rest of Alsace-Lorraine) in 1871, its citizens felt bitter resentment at the dismemberment of the French nation. Among thefirst modern manifestations of nationalism was the French Revolution (1789). Starting as a crusade for liberty, equality, and fraternity, the French Revolution turned into a war of the French people against foreign aggressors. When Napoleon took power and began to create a French empire, other nations fought back. From Spain to Russia, peoples rose in defense of their nations against French imperialism. The German philosopher Johann Gottlieb FICHTE delivered his Addresses to the German Nation (1807-08) specifically against Napoleon. After Napoleons fall, nationalism continued to develop. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), Belgium was given to the Netherlands, but 15 years later the Belgians revolted and gained their national independence. There were several different forms of nationalism that existed in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. The most obvious of these being to have extreme pride in ones country, another being to oppress others considered inferior. Pride in ones country was a major form of nationalism throughout Europe. The desire to have an independent government was characteristic in places such as the Balkans. Groups such as the Black Hand, who wanted Serbia to be independent and then united all Balkan Slavs, forced these beliefs about nationalism. The superiority of the group culture over other groups is one of the properties of oppression of other countries. This has been displayed in the arms race between Germany and Britain, whom were fighting for military and naval superiority in the early 1900s. Increased nationalism in Europe was a major cause of the First World War. Yet other factors contributed such as colonial and trade rivalry, militarism and the system of alliances. Colonial and trade rivalry played a considerable part in the buildup to World War One. Yet without the aid of nationalism, this rivalry would not have been such a major factor. Towards the turn of the 1900s all of the European Powers were determined to gain colonies to build their empires. Disputes between several Powers over various colonies created visible tension within Europe. As a result of this rivalry, many colonies soon adopted nationalistic, almost imperialistic beliefs, wishing to have self-domination. An example of this was the way Serbia rose against Austria-Hungary towards the end of the 1800s, fighting for independence. Militarism was another prominent factor that led to World War One, yet cannot be solely responsible. In the early 1900s major countries, including all Powers, in Europe began spending increasing amounts of money on the expansion of military and naval forces.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
College Recommendation Letter Dos and Donts
College Recommendation Letter Dos and Donts Recommendation lettersà provide collegeà admission committeesà with information that may or may not be found in your application, including academic andà work achievements,à character references, and personal details that set you apart from other applicants. Essentially, a recommendation letter is aà personal referenceà that explains why the school should recognize you, your achievements, and your character. Good vs. Bad Recommendation Letters A good recommendation letter is a must for any school application. During admissions, most colleges and universities- whether theyre reviewing the applications of undergraduate or graduate students- expect to see at least one, and often two or three, recommendation letters for each applicant. Just as aà good recommendation letterà can be an asset, aà bad recommendation letterà can be a hindrance. Bad letters dont do anything to supplement your application, and they may even make the difference between a well-rounded application and one that doesnt quite stand out among the droves of people who are applying to the same school. Recommendation Letter Dos Here are some dos to keep in mind when securing your recommendation letters: Do choose someone who likes you and knows you well enough to write you a strong recommendation.Do get recommendations from employers, professors, school administrators, and anyone else who is familiar with your work ethic.Do ask for the recommendation in person rather than sending an email (unless this is not possible).Do tell the letter writer why you need the recommendation letter. You dont want to end up with a work reference rather than an academic reference.Do mention specific things that you would like to see included. If you want the letter to focus on your extensive leadership experience, you should say so.Do proofread the letter; you dont want to submit a reference that is riddled with spelling or punctuation errors.à Do send a thank you note afterward. This is a nice, thoughtful, and classy touch and will be remembered by your recommender.Do keep multiple copies of the letter. You may need to use it again in the future, and you dont want to rely on your recommender to kee p a copy. Recommendation Letter Donts There are also some big mistakes you should try to avoid when securing your recommendation letters: Dont wait until the last minute. It takes time for a recommender to craft a strong letter.à Secure letters of recommendation as soon as possible.Dont ask someone to lie; you should aim for a truthful reference.Dont ever forge signatures. Your recommendation letter must be genuine.Dont choose someone only because of their title. Its more important to pick a recommender who knows you and your work well.Dont choose someone who is a poor writer. Letter writing is a lost art; not everyone is good at expressing themselves in the written word.Dont hesitate to get as many recommendation letters as possible. Choose the ones that show you in the best light.Dont be surprised if the person you are asking for a recommendation letter asks you to write a letter that they will later modify and sign. This is a common practice.Dont forget to say please and thank you. No one is entitled to a letter of recommendation; if you receive one, you should be grateful.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Police System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Police System - Essay Example The conclusion of this research detailed that without law enforcement there would be many unfavourable consequences for those in British society. The role of the police officer is concluded as being one of the most essential and crucial in a societal atmosphere within the country of Britain. From a historical perspective and dating back to 1962, the role of 1British police officers has been that of a civil, and peace keeping community official more so than anything else. The police are in the communities for a number of reasons and their purposes are so numerous that there really is no way to define just one of their roles. It is best known that the police have developed a well-meaning and defined relationship with the generalized public due to the fact that they are always readily available to assist when needed, even if it is for a minute reason. Furthermore, from a political standpoint, foreigners who have had the opportunity to visit the country of Britain have commented on the quality of the police force as well, making note that they provide some of the most proficient and high quality services in maintaining social control throughout the world. Although the British police force is not unique in their ability to maintain social order, they have been found to be on e of the main legal forces that have developed and expanded throughout the decades. The main differences in Britain's policing system in comparison to other countries are the fact that their legal remedies stem from common law practices that have been passed down through history. The philosophy of the British police force is in allowing for a "2community policing itself", and for police presence to be in the communities when it is needed. This ideal has not changed that much in the past decades but indeed, there have been many reforms in the British police force that have developed it into becoming what it is today. Due to globalization and the entering of other ethnicities into the country of Britain, the British police force has had to learn how to police specific cultural areas. This is due to many cultural beliefs and various ideas having unique qualities about them and therefore policing can not be handled in the same way with all cultures. An example of how the police have ada pted to this idea is evidenced in how effective they have been since the mid 1950's when they first were exposed to having to police the communal society of Sri Lanka3 Firstly, when a new ethnicity is intertwined with another culture within a country there is the issue of safety and trust that comes into play. It has been found that some cultures attempt to use the idea of discrimination against the police in order to try and detract from correct policing in a minority community, such as like Sri Lanka. However, British
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Women, Violence and Mental Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Women, Violence and Mental Illness - Essay Example The continued exclusion of women as equal to women has become one of the primary factors that have contributed to womenââ¬â¢s experience of violence in the home (Sokoloff and Dupont, 2005). Although there is already a rising awareness of violence against women, fact remains that almost a 12.9 million of women have experienced domestic violence in UK (Walby and Allen, 2004). In addition, 44% of victim of domestic violence are involved in more than just one (Dodd et al, 2004) and that women are assaulted by men they know (Walby and Allen, 2004). These data only represent the reported violence committed against women. It is assumed there are still more cases left undocumented because violence is generally perceived as underreported (Flink, Paavilainen, and stedt-Kurki, 2005). In this scenario, the continued experience of violence against women is an attestation of the unremitting struggle of women for inclusion in the public sphere (e.g. Jaggar & Young 2000; Tong 2000). In this conte xt, this study will attempt to address the issue of how socio-political factors influence mental health. Several identified socio-political factors affect mental health.... Intimate partner violence includes physical and sexual violence, threats of violence and psychological and emotional abuse. The perpetrator may be a current or former spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, or dating partner (Watts and Zimmerman, 2002). Numerous studies have shown that women abused by partners or by other perpetrators are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, headache, gynaecological and sexual problems, PTSD, eating and digestive disorders, infections, musculoskeletal disorders, and chronic pain; they are more likely to attempt suicide, to abuse alcohol and legal and illegal drugs (Campbell, 2002; Koss et al., 2003; Krug et al., 2002). Battered women or women suffering from violence are also women subjected to psychological illness or distress. In this situation, women become the ââ¬Å"embodiment of a ââ¬Å"problemâ⬠which must be resolved or eliminatedâ⬠(Tremain, 2008, p 102). Gender as a factor that affects mental illness increases the stigma of menta l illness, widens, and deepens the experience of discrimination and injustice, if it is experience by a woman. As such, women become more isolated and left voiceless because socio-political factors have become the instruments that perpetuate her continued oppression and dehumanisation as she suffers from. It is a triple burden that women carry alone and in isolation for, they have become ââ¬Å"the deviant Other which in turn eliminates the possibility of mutuality (Stocker, 2001, p 49). The Womanââ¬â¢s Voiceless Call The life of a woman is permeated by concerns associated with psychiatric disorders, from her menstruation, through her pregnancy, in her post-partum period until her menopause (Kornstein and Clayton 2002). Prejudice and stereotyping are typically associated and created base on the gender
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Interpersonal Communication Skills Essay Example for Free
Interpersonal Communication Skills Essay Emotion: The word emotion includes a wide range of observable behaviors, expressed feelings, and changes in the body state. Emotions are feelings. Emotional communication, then, refers to the act of communicating your feelings. This is also known as emotional intelligence or social intelligence. There are six principles of emotion and emotional messages. 1. Emotions may be primary or blended: A primary emotion is a basic emotion. These would be the eight basic emotions: joy, acceptance, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger and anticipation. Emotions that are close to each other on this wheel are also to close to each other in meanings. In this model there are also blends. These blended are the combinations of primary emotions. They are noted at the outside the wheel. For example, according to this model, love is a blend of joy and acceptance, whereas remorse is a blend of disgust and sadness. 2. Emotions are influenced by body, mind, and culture: Emotions involve at least three parts: bodily reactions, mental evaluation and interpretations and cultural rules and beliefs. Bodily reactions to emotions are pretty obvious and include things like blushing when youre embarrassed, nervous habits, or sweaty palms. The mental and cognitive part of emotion experiences involves the evaluation and interpretations you make on the basis of what you experiences. For example, you may feel angry if someone is rude or insensitive to you on purpose. Culture also dictates how we should express and interpret our emotions as well. For example, Chinese students show respect by being quiet and passive. Asking questions would imply that the teacher was not clear on the lecture. 3. Emotions may be adaptive and maladaptive: Emotions are often adaptive that is, they can help you adjustà appropriately to situation. For example, if youre worried you wont do well in something, youll work harder to prepare for that situation. Emotions may be maladaptive and may get in the way of your accomplishing your goals. For example, if you are so anxious about a situation that you dont prepare for it. In other ways emotions can create problems is in a tendency that some theorists have cleverly called catastrophizing ââ¬Å"taking a problem even a minor one and make it in to a catastrophe. 4. Emotions are communicated verbally and nonverbally: According to DeVito (2009), Theorists do not agree over whether you can choose the emotions you feel. Some argue that you can; others argue that you cannot. You are, however, in control of the ways in which you express your emotions. In some instances you determine whether you want to express your emotions in full, but with other times you censor your emotions. 5. Emotional expression is governed by display rules: Weve talked about display rules before, but to refresh your mind it is what is and is not appropriate to do. The differences we see are in the emotional expression. Men and women also have gender display rules for what is and isnt appropriate to express within his or her culture. For example, its appropriate in our culture for women to divulge a lot of their emotions and feelings; however, it is not seen in the same light when men divulge all of their emotions to other men. 6. Emotions are contagious: Emotions can be contagious. If you think of a time where one person starts laughing, and then the people around start laughing, you can see this theory working. Emotional contagion is defined as emotions passing from one person to another. Another form of emotional contagion deals with persuasions utilizing emotional appeals.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
The Personality of Macbeth :: Macbeth essays
The Personality of Macbeth Macbeth is first presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity, and enjoying an enviable reputation. One must not conclude that all Macbeth's actions are predictable. Macbeth's character is made out of potentialities and the environment, and no one, not even Macbeth, can know all of his inordinate self-love. Macbeth is determined by a desire for temporal and mutable good. Macbeth is driven in his conduct by an inordinate desire for worldly honors; his self emulation lies in buying golden opinions from all sorts of people. One must not deny Macbeth a human complexity of motives. For example, his fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous. Macbeth also rejoices in the success that crown his efforts in battle. Macbeth's services are also for his own glory. Macbeth says, "The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself." While Macbeth destroys Duncan's enemies, such motive work but are obscured in his consciousness by more vigorous urges. Macbeth by nature violently demands rewards. Macbeth fights courageously so he may be reported as a "valor's minion" and "Bellona's bridegroom." Macbeth values success because it brings fame, new titles, and royal favor. As long as these mutable goods fulfill his desires, which is the case until he covets the kingship, Macbeth is an honorable gentleman. Once Macbeth's self-love demands a satis faction that cannot be honorably obtained, he employs dishonorable tactics to gain his selfish desires. As Macbeth returns victoriously from battle, his self-love demands recognition of his greatness. The demonic forces of evil that drive Macbeth, symbolized by the witches, suggest to him to obtain the greatest mutable good he has ever desired, the kingdom. The witches observe Macbeth's expressions to understand the passions that are driving his dark desires he is so valiantly attempting to suppress. The witches predict Macbeth will be king. The witches can not compel Macbeth to do evil deeds, but they can use Macbeth's desire to become king to pervert his judgment of reason to corral him to choose temporal good. Macbeth's imagination and passions are so vivid under these evil impulses that "nothing is but what is not." Macbeth's reason becomes so impede that he judges, "These soliciting cannot be evil, cannot be good." Still Macbeth is provided with so much natural good that he is able to control his imagination and decide not to attempt any act that involves criminal actions.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Koyal – a Multi-Purpose Expert System – Md-Cob-Coa Knowledge Representation Using Prolog in J2Se
Koyal ââ¬â A Multi-purpose Expert System ââ¬â MD-CoB-CoA Knowledge Representation Using PROLOG in J2SE Prof. Sreedhar Babu Department of Electrical Engineering Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [emailà protected] com Archana, Vineeth & Veena Department of Computer Science & Applications Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham Amritapuri, Kerala [emailà protected] com Abstractââ¬â Expert systems are AI? s greatest commercial success. It is a research-oriented application area of AI. An expert system uses knowledge specific to a problem domain to provide ââ¬Å"expert qualityâ⬠performance. Predicate logic is being used for knowledge representation which is further programmed using PROLOG inference engine for deriving intelligent conclusions. The current research paper introduces a rule-based expert system that provides a medical diagnosis for determining the health problems and classification of birds and animals. The user has to have some knowledge about these topics so that he can query the system. Three knowledge bases are provided for each domain. The specialized computer language PROLOG embedded into J2SE is used to develop this system. Keywords-component: Expert System; Knowledge-base; Medical Diagnosis, Rule-based ES, Knowledge representation PROLOG; J2SE. 1. INTRODUCTION : THE KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM The current paper of Koyal has mainly two modules: 1. 1. Knowledge Base 1. 2. User Interface 1. 1 Knowledge Base [1 & 2] Mainly, three knowledge bases are required for the system. They are bird? s knowledge base for identifying a bird, animal knowledge base for identifying an animal and a disease knowledge base for medical diagnose. The system uses this knowledge base for finding solutions. Knowledge is represented in rule-based format. The rule of the system is in the form of: IF first premise and second premise, and â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦. THEN conclusion This is semantically same as a Prolog rule: conclusion:first_ premise, second_ premise, â⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ ¦ Premises are written as attribute-value pair. The attribute is represented as a predicate and the value as the argument to the predicate. Each knowledge base will have to have a high-level goal, which calls the sub goals to be satisfied. When all the premises are satisfied, then the final conclusion is obtained. . 2. User Interface The user interface is the Prolog interpreter? s interface, and the input data is stored directly in the program. It is implemented in Java by loading the prolog inference engine into the java program. The prolog program itself will provide a user interface. The predicate ask and menuask will provide these functions. The ask is responsible is for getting the information from t he user and remembering the user? s response. The ask predicate will have to determine from the user whether or not a given attribute-value pair is true. The ask prompts the user with the requested attribute and value and seeks confirmation or denial of the proposed information. The ask is represented as object-attribute-value triples where the attribute values are tied to various objects in the system. The menuask will further improve the user interface by adding a menu capability which gives the user a list of possible values for an attribute. The main precondition of our Koyal System is that a common user who has no knowledge about the specialized ââ¬Å¾domain? annot interact with the system and in such a situation the output accuracy will depend on the user inputs. 2. Description of the System Flow The system flow chart represented in the figure 2 displays the flow of the information from one process to another . We can say that it is a detailed representation of the structured chart in the Fig. 2. 1. 2. 1. User The user will enter the text and this text is passed to the inference engine. 2. 2. Inference Engine A rule-based syste m requires some kind of program to manipulate the rules ââ¬â for example to decide which ones are ready to fire. (i. . which ones have conditions that match the contents of working memory). The program that does this is called an inference engine, because in many rule-based systems, the task of the system is to infer something from knowledge base. This inference engine will prove or disprove the goal/rules in the knowledge base and used to derive conclusions. e. g. a diagnosis, from the data using the rules. 2. 3. Knowledge base The knowledge base contains rules which describe general knowledge about a particular problem domain. 2. 4. User Interface The User Interface will interact with the user i. e. it will query the user for getting information to satisfy goals inside knowledge base. The predicates ask and menuask works here to gather information from user. 2. 5. Working Memory The working memory of a rule-based system is a store of information used by the system to decide wh ich of the condition-action rules in the knowledge base is able to be fire. It might be used to store intermediate conclusions i. e. the satisfied goals and any other information inferred by the system from the data (using the condition-action rules). Finally the inference engine will infer the working memory more solution. . Knowledge Representation Using PL [4 & 5] Since Predicate Logic is one of the oldest and most important logistical approach for reasoning, primarily developed and used in the area of mathematics by logicians as a means of formal reasoning and now it is vastly being used by the programmers for expert systems for its flexibility of accurate natural language representation, this paper also includes the various methods of knowledge representation supported by Predicate Logic that can be conveniently programmed with the PROLOG programming language. The major predicates that are being used in the paper include: The following symbols will be used for logical connectives. ~ not or negation & and or conjunction V or or disjunction ? if â⬠¦ then or implication ? If and only if or double implication Valid statements or sentences in PL are determined according to the rules of propositional syntax. For the estimated validity of uncertainties, heuristics based on either fuzzy or neural network or neuro-fuzzy can be implemented. Let the predicate function B(X) be a bird with a particular name X, then the composite predicate B(X) which needs various functional variables to be satisfied type of family, color, head, voice, flight type, throat, type of food it eats, country, region, tail, size etc. â⬠¦ Fig. 3. 1 represents the associate network for the classification of birds. For X = albatross, the functional variables are family type, color, size etc. are indicated, i. e. , if N1(F), N3(C) and N9(S) are the predicate functions with variables, family type, color and size of birds etc. , then the w. f. f. (well-formed formulae) can be written as follows, E1: ? X BIRD(X) E2: B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) E3: B (N1 (albatross) & N2 (tubenose) & N4 (external_tubular) & N5(at_sea) & N6(hooked) & N9(large) & N10(long_narrow) & N3(white) ) E1 > E2 The various predicates for E2 are defined in E3 ? X B(X) > E3 resulting in X = laysan_albatross The various functional predicates of the composite predicate expression E1 specified in E2 as B (N1(F) & N2(O) & N4(N) & N5 (L) & N6(Bi) & N9(S) & N10(W) & N3(C) ) where F indicated family, O indicates order, N indicates nostrils, L indicates live at, Bi indicates bill, S indicates size, W indicates wings, C indicates color . . Working of the System: [6] â⬠¢ User enters the problem which he wants to know about the particular domain. â⬠¢ The entered query is analyzed and a keyword is extracted depending on the ââ¬Å"domainsâ⬠. â⬠¢ The keyword is passed to the inference engine. â⬠¢ The inference engine will call the high level goal of the knowledge base that starts the program. â⬠¢ ask/2 and menuask/3 predicate will poses questions to the users and get enough information which is used to satisfy the sub-goals. â⬠¢ Known/3 predicate is used to remember the answer entered by the user. The built-in predicate ââ¬Å¾asserta? stores the satisfied goals dynamically in the working memory. â⬠¢ Another built-in predicate retractall/1 is used to delete clauses dynamically from the prolog internal database during the execution of a goal thus backtracking can be avoided. â⬠¢ Finally the inference engine will retrieve the final goal from the working memory and provide solution to the user problem. Fig 4. 2 describes the various major predicate functions implemented in Koyal J2SE with PROLOG as supportive declarative language. 5. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING [3 & 7] 5. Introduction to System Implementation Implementation is the stage of project. When the theoretical design is turned into a working system. At this stage the main work load, the greatest upheaval and the major impact on the existing practices shifts to the user department. Prolog files include knowledge base and user interface. The size of the knowledge depends on the awareness of the creator about the domain. By referring theses knowledge base the system will derive solution for the problems. Knowledge base is one factor which determines the expertness of a system. It defines a common vocabulary for researchers who need to share information about the domain. It includes machine-interpretable definitions of basic concepts in the domain and relationship among them. 5. 3 TESTING Testing methodologies are adopted in the course of any system development. Any systems performance is based on testing that it follows. Some of the most prominent methods are: â⬠¢ White Box â⬠¢ Black Box 5. 3. 1 White Box Under white box testing the modules were tested individually and all the bugs were eliminated. This testing method has been of little influence to the whole project since most of the modules have to be integrated for well functioning. 5. 3. 2 Black Box The core testing was undertaken under this testing. Once all the modules were integrated the whole system was tested to ensure that it matches with the specification. 6. THE CONSTRAINTS OF KOYAL EXPERT SYSTEM: 1. The knowledge of the Koyal expert system is domain specific. 2 . Identification of the keyword is critical 3. The user should have some knowledge about the domain otherwise the system will respond with less accuracy. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We humbly express our gratitude to Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, the Chancellor of Amrita Visva Vidya Peettam and the fellow faculty and student members of computer science for the successful completion in the prototype design and implementation phases. REFERENCES Websites: ? ? ? ? http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Expert_system http://www. wtec. org/loyola/kb/c1_s1. htm http://www. aaai. org/aitopics/pmwiki/pmwiki. php/AIT opics/ExpertSystems http://www. paine. org/students/lectures/lect3/node7. ht ml Fig. 5. is the architectural flow diagram of Koyal for the classification of birds, animals and the medical diagnosis. If the implementation stage is not carefully planned and controlled, it can cause chaos. Implementation involves careful planning, investigation of the current system and its constraints on implementation, design of methods to achieve the changeover, training of staff in the changeover procedure and evaluation of changeover methods. This phase of implementation has allowed us to integrate various cutting edge technologies in the project which involves the implementation of Prolog and Java. Testing phase included white box testing and black box testing thought most of the testing was performed as system testing. 5. 2 IMPLEMENTATION The implementation phase of software development is concerned with the translation of the structural design specification into source code. The primary goal is to write source code and internal documentation. Testing, Debugging and modification are performed in this phase also. The first step in developing an expert system has been the creation of a Prototype model of the actual system on the basis of the reference model available. In case of an expert system each system? s knowledge is domain specific so every system has its own advantage and disadvantage. We cannot consider the system as expert in every aspect. This will require time and much effort to develop such a spool proof system. After testing the prototype further modification were incorporated in it by including extra features and implementing the knowledge base part of our system. The prototype is then tested. After the user is satisfied with the function of the prototype the actual system is developed. JPL is a library using the SWI-Prolog foreign interface and the Java jni interface providing a bidirectional interface between Java and Prolog that can be used to embed Prolog in Java as well as for embedding Java in Prolog. In both setups it provides a reentrant bidirectional interface. jpl allows the loading of prolog engine to Java. Thereby we can load the prolog files which contain knowledge regarding the domains. ? Books: http://www. primenet. com/pcai/New_Home_Page/ai_in fo/expert_systems. html A Guide to Expert Systems by Donald A. Waterman Ist Edition, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. [2] Russell, S. and P. Norvig, 2002. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Prentice Hall, Second Edition. [3] Analysis and design of information systems by V. Rajaraman, 5th print, PH [1] Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems by Dan W. Patternson, PHI Pvt. Limited, Eighth Reprint 2000. [5] Expert Systems Theoty and Practices by Jean-Louis Ermine, PHp Publications, 2007 [6] Introduction to Expert Systems by Peter Jackson, Addison-Wesley, Pearson Education Asia ltd. , Reprint 2000 [7] Foundation of Artificial Intelligences and Expert Systemsâ⬠by V S Janakiraman, K Sarukesi, P Gopalakrishnan, Macmillan Series in Computed Science, Reprint 2001. [4]
Saturday, November 9, 2019
The Need for Protecting the Environment
Environment, the word is a bit common, everything that surrounds us consist of our environment. We can say that environment is something which provides us everything. But can you think of a single thing we do for our environment ? The answer would most probably be NO. Today we humans hardly care what would be the effects of it on our environment. For thousands of years man has exploited the environment in the name is development and in return we humans defile it and pollute it. We are cutting trees at a large scale which is leading to higher levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. We kill animals for their skin and that in turn is disturbing the food web which causes unbalance in the nature. We can see that every little thing we did and we are doing is ultimately causing harm to us. Increasing levels of CO2, depletion of ozone layer, global warning, floods, droughts, earthquakes and all these things are gifted by us to our precious and priceless environment. If we go on exploiting our environment in the name of our use and needs, we are certainly inviting destruction and disasters . Be it forests, naturals resources, water, soil, rain, mountains, flora or fauna, we have destroyed it all . The point is not that how much wrong we have done and how much right we need to do now but simple actions such as planting trees can help us a lot. One does not need to be a great environmentalist or ecologist it protect our environment, it is simply human instinct.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
macro essays
macro essays Classical macroeconomics is the theory and the classical model of the economists Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Mills and Jean Baptiste Say. Below the assumptions of the classical macroeconomics are described. Competitive markets: Classical theories all make many assumptions about the markets and their competitiveness.these assumptions are that all the markets are easy to enter and exit. No monopoly elements are present in the market to prevent newcomers from entering the market or stopping the present ones from quiting the market. Pricess and wages are flexible in both upward and downward directions according to the demand and supply forces. No single seller or buyer of a product has sufficient market power to influence the industry price, nor does any supplier or purchaser of labor services have sufficient market power to influence the market wage rate. Thus all economic agents are price-takers and not price-setters. Because the markets are competitive, a disequilibrium can only exist for a short period of time which economists call the short run. The firm can not change some of its aspects of operation. So every firm has some fixed inputs while the pricess and the wages are changing a nd flexible. So, if for some reason the product market were experiencing excess demand in some industry, with quantity demanded greater than quantity supplied, prices would rise until quantity demanded once again equaled quantity supplied. The rise in price returns the market to equilibrium. On the factor side, if there were an excess supply of workers, wages would decline until equilibrium in the labor market was restored and everyone who wanted to work can find a jobwhich is called the full employment. Perfect information: In classical theory all economic decision-makers are assumed to be operating by having all the information they needed to make the best decisions. The cost of acquiring information, transactions costs are s...
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
The Safavid Empire of Persia
The Safavid Empire of Persia The Safavid Empire, based in Persia (Iran), ruled over much of southwestern Asia from 1501 to 1736. Members of the Safavid Dynasty likely were of Kurdish Persian descent and belonged to a unique order of Sufi -infused Shia Islam called Safaviyya. In fact, it was the founder of the Safavid Empire, Shah Ismail I, who forcibly converted Iran from Sunni to Shia Islam and established Shiism as the state religion. Its Massive Reach At its height, the Safavid Dynasty controlled not only the entirety of what is now Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, but also most of Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, and the Caucasus, and parts of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. As one of the powerful gunpowder empires of the age, the Safavids re-established Persias place as a key player in economics and geopolitics at the intersection of the eastern and western worlds. It ruled over the western reaches of the late Silk Road, although the overland trade routes were quickly being supplanted by ocean-going trading vessels. Sovereignty The greatest Safavid ruler was Shah Abbas I (r. 1587 - 1629), who modernized the Persian military, adding musketeers and artillery-men; moved the capital city deeper into the Persian heartland; and established a policy of tolerance towards Christians in the empire. However, Shah Abbas was fearful to the point of paranoia about the assassination and executed or blinded all of his sons to prevent them from replacing him. As a result, the empire began a long, slow slide into obscurity after his death in 1629.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Newspaper Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Newspaper Industry Analysis - Essay Example However, the effects of the internet are variant and do not affect the Indian newspaper industry and other developing economies. Table of Contents Introduction 5 Findings 6 Description and Benefits of PEST Analysis 6 PEST Analysis for the Newspaper Industry in the Developed Economies 7 Political Factors 7 Economic Factors 7 Socialà Factors 8 Technological Factors 9 The Meaning of the PEST Analysis for the Newspaper Industry 9 SWOT Analysis of the Guardian 10 Strengths 10 Weaknesses 10 Opportunities 11 Threats 11 Describe Lewinââ¬â¢s Field Force Analysis 11 Field Force Analysis for the newspaper industry in the developed world concerning the use of the internet 12 Driving Forces 12 Restraining Forces 12 Recommendations to Reduce the Strength of the Obstacles 12 The Indian Newspaper Industry 13 Conclusion 13 References 15 Introduction In the developed economies, the newspaper industry is going through a period of change. Yet whilst the industry is going through a period of change in the developed economies, in other economies such as India the story is different. The modern newspaper industry is facing structural challenges and fundamental transformations where they experience a long-term decline in circulation volume in paid titles as advertisers move to modern means of advertising. As such, newspaper publishers across the globe are facing a decline in: Newsprint prices Advertising revenues Titles Circulation Notably, the innovation and adoption of the internet derive the greatest losses to the newspapers where in developed economies circulation has been falling for a long term (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009, p. 9). However, in other countries like India, newspaper sales are rising (Mallet 2013, p. 1). Notably, most young people are spending most of their time in the internet where they get the news online instead of reading newspapers (The Economist Newspaper Limited 2006, p. 1). Although, newspapers are yet to shut down in large numbers, we can expect that in the near future, most of the largest newspapers will close business especially in America. Nevertheless, the newspaper publishers are still trying to remain afloat and reduce operational costs by: Spending less on journalism Investing in free daily papers Trying to attract younger readers Trying to create new businesses on- and offline Raising the price of their subscriptions and news-stand copies The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper, which started publishing in 1821. The Guardian has grown to a national paper that deals with a complex organisational structure and international multimedia and web presence (Guardian News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). Indeed, it is one of the world's best-selling international weekly newspapers, which provides relevant and updated information on international news, politics, entertainment, culture, and comment (Guardian News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). More than 200,000 people in over 100 countries read the Guardian Weekly (Guardi an News and Media Limited 2013, p. 1). To analyze the position of the newspaper industry in the current scenario, I will use the PEST analysis and Lewinââ¬â¢s Field Force Analysis. I will also use the SWOT analysis to analyze the British newspaper The Guardian. Findings Description and Benefits of PEST Analysis The PEST analysis will refer to the analysis of macro-environmental factors that influence the newspaper industry which include: Political Economic Social Technological analysis The PEST
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Resource Based View of the Firm to Strategic Management in a Global Essay
Resource Based View of the Firm to Strategic Management in a Global Environment - Essay Example Organization refers to systems and procedures that lie outside hard assets yet add value to profitability. Globalization requires that we expand the definition of resource to include intangible assets that are not easy to measure in terms of dollars. According to Wheelen and Hungary, globalization is increasingly dependent on regional trade organizations such as NAFTA. The ability of a firm to lobby for successful legislation and work with regional trade partners is imperative for success. Regional trade groups in Asia, Europe, and North America are a step towards international standards and a firm's ability to position itself within this framework, though of great importance to profitability, is difficult to measure in terms of asset allocation. A firm's existing culture and its ability to adapt is another aspect of a firm that can be measured as a strength or weakness in globalization. A firm's ability to understand and implement business across borders is dependent on the staff's orientation towards the host country's laws, traditions, and accepted business practices. Other intangibles such as brand recognition, respect for intellectual property, and social capital can all contribute to a firm's ability to compete (Rycroft,2002) . ... nformation necessary to plan and move in a timely and profitable fashion (Yeniyurt et al, 2005) Competitor intelligence, as well as customer knowledge, can be used to measure standards or indicate the need to innovate or change strategies. Information of the global setting has the ability to turn this intangible asset into profitability. Moving into the global arena demands that we alter our traditional measures of resources and implement a strategy to quantify what has until recently been considered intangible assets. Resource allocation and the core competencies of a product or service should not be abandoned. Resources such as uniqueness, rareness, desirability, and distribution channels are as important to profitability as ever. However, the need to measure other resources that include culture, diversity, ability to network globally, and the flexibility to adapt to changing global needs are the ingredients necessary to adequately form a firm's global strategy as it relates to the resource based view. The ability to measure these seemingly elusive characteristics of a firm is imperative as we move forward from multi-national to globalization. Works Cited Fahy, J., Alan Smithee. (1999). Strategic Marketing and the Resource Based View of the Firm. Academy of marketing science review, -. Retrieved 12 Jan. 2006, from http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/amsrev/theory/fahy10-99.html#return Rycroft, R. (2002). Technology-Based Globalization Indicators: The Centrality of Innovation Network Data. Occasional paper series. Retrieved 12 Jan. 2006, from http://www.gwu.edu/cistp/PAGES/Tech-BasedGlobIndic_RWR_10.7.02.pdf Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger D. J. (2006). Strategic Management and Business Policy. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Discuss the barriers faced by firms wishing to enter an oligopolistic Essay
Discuss the barriers faced by firms wishing to enter an oligopolistic market structure - Essay Example Therefore, sellers in the oligopoly are constantly aware of competitor actions and respond accordingly in order to outperform the small volume of competition existing in the market structure. Oligopolists regularly take into consideration the strategic responses of competition, attempting to model the most likely retaliation of important market participants in order to maintain competitive edge. Even though competition is intense between the market players, there is also considerable influence in the oligopoly to prevent new competitors from entering the market. The most common barriers for new market entry include pricing, product differentiation and consumer switching costs, as well as intellectual property and patent laws. An explanation of barriers Firms operating in an oligopolistic market structure have often achieved economies of scale, which are the specific cost advantages achieved by a firm due to its size and scope of operations in which the cost of outputs continues to de crease whilst fixed costs are able to spread over a higher volume of unit outputs (Gelles and Mitchell 1996). This is achieved through better operational efficiency and productivity that also improves variable costs along the production model. Over time, as the oligopolist achieves profit maximisation, the business is able to low the cost of capital, especially as it pertains to asset procurement, thereby increasing production output whilst experiencing better cost efficiency. Economies of scale that have been achieved through continuous operation and success in sales in a market create barriers to new entrants, especially as it pertains to pricing. Businesses in the oligopoly are able to create predatory pricing structures in an effort to undercut emerging competition attempting to enter the market. Because the business competitor has achieved economies of scale and reduced the costs of capital, they are often equipped with the operational capacity to increase production without ha ving to incur significant costs in this manufacturing effort. One should consider the beer industry, one that is currently dominated by major players such as Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors which account for approximately 80 percent of the total market share in the international beer industry (New York Times 2009). If either of these oligopolists is aware that a new competitor is attempting to enter the market, thus providing competitive threat, these manufacturers are able to lower the prices of their selected products and sustain these low prices even though it would, in the short-term, reduce their quarterly profit expectations. New entrants, however, would have to invest considerable capital into the systems required to produce the product, distribute the product and market it. Oftentimes, the new competitor must establish brand recognition (a costly marketing objective) that requires, oftentimes, years of dedicated promotion in marketing simply to get consumers interested in the beverage brand. Major players such as Anheuser-Busch can theoretically cut their prices by 50% on products that are homogenous in relation to the production output of the new competitor. Sustaining these prices in an effort to drive out the new competitor is relatively simplistic when economies of scale have been achieved. Why is this so important in determining barriers to new market entry in the oligopolistic market structure? The law of demand indicates that as a price decreases, consumer demand increases when all other factors remain stable (Boyes and Melvin 2007). Therefore, market characteristics
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Impact Of Government Intervention In India
Impact Of Government Intervention In India In this study the impact of government intervention toward governance and performance of Indonesian state-owned enterprises was investigated, using 114 of total 141 enterprises from year 2006 to 2009 (456 observations) as sample. The study is cross-sectional to estimate how issues of intellectual property assignment, soft budget constraint and political embeddedness affect the economic performance of enterprises. Form of SOEs, number of ownership, government loan, capital injection, number of government officer seat in board of commissioners, as well as government assignment are assigned as government intervention proxies. On the other hand the firm performance is represented by ROA and ROE. The result shows that government ownership, government loan and government assignment have adverse impact to SOEs performance, on the other hand number of government officer on Board of Commissioner is the only intervention with favorable impact. The impact from the rest of government actions are unclear and need to be tested further. Finally, the paper concludes that the government intervention could be either good or bad depend on some other factors. The possibilities of the reasons are discussed Keywords: Government Intervention, Performance, Indonesia, State-Owned Enterprises 1.Introduction The importance of government intervention to the economy has become endless debate among the economist. In fact there is no single nation, even the most extreme among the pros and cons, pursues the pure economy with full or without government intervention. The difference is just the degree. The role of government in transition economies is undeniably critical, which is one of the common ways is through state owned enterprises (SOEs). It is widely known that SOEs throughout the globe have been suspected as ill-governed business entities signified by such as high level of corruption, lack of transparency, as well as severe inefficient. Many market based economist believe that the main reason of such weaknesses is government intervention. Therefore they actively promote liberalization trough privatization of SOEs. In many cases, it can be one of requirements stipulated by the donor institution such as IMF or World Bank in granting financial help to troubling developing countries. However, it may be not true for all cases. Some countries, such as Singapore and china, are example where government intervention doesnt mean harm SOEs performance. Manageable government intervention toward SOEs can lead to excellent performance. This paper aims to: 1) investigate the level of government intervention in Indonesian SOEs; 2) examine the relationship between the level of government intervention and the performance of state owned enterprises. The paper unfolds as follows. In Section 2 description of government intervention in Indonesian SOEs are presented. In Section 3 the theoretical review are described. Variables and hypothesis will be discussed in section 4, meanwhile section 5 will describe data and methodology. Section 6 contains a discussion of result and findings, and final section will conclude the paper. 2. Literature Review in Government Intervention In developing countries government play three roles simultaneously; first, as an economic player that supply and demand for particular services and good [1], secondly as regulator that posses the sole role to produce, to enact, as well as to enforce regulations [2], and last but not least act as the owner of state-controlled enterprises that produce some goods and services.. Previous studies have identified some benefits of possessing connection to state such as improving the legitimacy of firm [2], getting access to government controlled resources [3], being able to affect regulation formulation [4]. Some other advantages are having opportunity over privileged treatment [5][6], and from favor of having asymmetric information state policies [7]. There are three main issue of government intervention are elaborated in this paper. They are intellectual property aspect through control and ownership, budget constraint aspect, and political embeddedness issue. Each aspect is elaborated in the following paragraphs. 2.1. Intellectual Property Aspect First, In broader scope, some ownership-related issues have been addressed by previous researcher. Those issues are state-private, dispersed-concentrated, and domestic-foreign. Those previous researches mainly investigated the relationship between ownership structures with the performance. Nonetheless, most of those researches have been conducted to test hypothesis in private-owned firms. SOEs are a business institution belongs to a society as whole therefore the benefits of it should bring benefits to the society. The problem is if everyone owns it that means no one actually own as a result no one has incentive to utilize the resources effectively and efficiently. Therefore many economists suggest assigning property right by lowering the government control and ownership [8]. The problem believed related to ownership is principle-agent problem that arises when managers act not on shareholders interest. The deviating management goal often hinders the shareholders goal in maximizing their share value. Previous study reveals that efficient information and structure of incentive as a result of the existence of private ownership is believed to able to reduce agency problem [9]. Also argued in [10] that another reason why full private or semi private enterprises are said to have less agency problem is because those firms have better both external and internal governance mechanisms. External mechanisms include market for labor/manager and capital along with all regulation and their discipline and enforcement on them. In the other hand, internal governance mechanism consists of managerial ownership, reward system, and board composition. Meanwhile both mechanism are not exist for the case of SOEs [8]. Furthermore, agency problem in the SOEs sector is worse than th eir peer in the private sector since there are two agency relationships as a breakdown of owner manager, they are owners-to-politicians and politicians-to-managers [12]. However if the portion of share owned by public is dispersed big number of individual of investors and or there is no adequate provisions of protection toward minority shareholders case of partial privatized in the SOEs may not make significant difference [13]. 2.2. Budget Constraint The template is used Another government involvement in economic activity especially in the context of SOEs is in the issue of soft budget constraint. As described in [14]: The softening of the budget constraint appears when the strict relationship between expenditure and earnings has been relaxed, because excess expenditures over earnings will be paid by some other institution, typically by the state. A further condition of softening is that the decision maker expects such external financial assistance with high probability and this probability is built into his behavior. It is also pointed out in that government in transition economies often exploit SOEs to produce public goods and services n financing the resulting social burdens on SOEs through subsidies and loan policy [15]. From several previous research, causes of soft budget constraint can be categorized into some, such as decentralized [16], paternalism [14], and public ownership in socialist economies [17], monopolistic market [18], policy burden [19]. In the context of Indonesian SOEs, two latter causes are relevant. Some particular industries have been still monopolized by one or more SOEs not because of the real competitiveness but just because the government has not liberalized the market yet, for instance seaport, airport, and defense industry. Monopoly also can rise when the industry is not lucrative enough to attract investment from private player. Normally those sectors do not give normal profit to be sustainable in the industry. Consequently, it is related to third causes, when the government wants to execute some economy or political program that may not be done unless having to involve SOE, in this case the SOEs have to shoulder political burden. It is said in [20] soft budget constraint will cause the firm become less responsive to price, technological changes, and unfavorable external condition. They all are root causes of organizational slack. In addition, another consequence of soft budget constraints is that SOEs may not efficient in utilizing their finance resources since capital market cannot discipline SOEs. to format your paper and style the text. All margins, column widths, line spaces, and text fonts are prescribed; please do not alter them. You may note peculiarities. For example, the head margin in this template measures proportionately more than is customary. This measurement and others are deliberate, using specifications that anticipate your paper as one part of the entire proceedings, and not as an independent document. Please do not revise any of the current designations. 2.3 Political Embeddedness As mentioned earlier the relationship between the state and the SOEs is more than just ownership matter. Its position as the regulator in the same time causes the situation, so-called political embeddedness that refers to technical, bureaucratic, or emotional ties to the state and its actors. It includes wide-ranging and intricate association; official and unofficial, personal and organizational ties to the state [21]. Given existence of principle-agent problem mentioned earlier, one way utilized by the shareholder to ensure the management work on owner-based interest is through supervisory board. However, it has been quiet common for the case of SOEs that the members of supervisory board mostly have been selected among bureaucrats from any departments or politicians from any political parties. As stated previously, the presence more official or politician may just deteriorates the existing agency problem because in many circumstances actually there is nothing wrong with the policy, instead the politician misbehavior. In another word, SOEs might be ideal place of rent seeking activities from the member of board of commissioner. From positive side, existence of supervisory member that represent any associated department can become an effective tool to pursue check and balance in managerial process in the company [22]. However, in the transition economy amid the absence of law enforcement toward misbehavior, the existence of more supervisory member will exacerbate the agency problem because of self-interested maximizing politicians or bureaucrats. 3. Government Intervention in Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises Established with a strong legal base, namely, on the article 33 of the countys constitution SOEs have been playing a considerably important role in Indonesian economic development reign. Operating in almost all fields of business, ranging from finance, banking, mining, transportation, high-tech technology to agro-industry, the enterprises have been contributing in several ways. More than 800 thousands workers have been employed across the SOEs. It accounted for % of employment. Then, more than IDR 150 billions of taxes and IDR 28,6 billions of dividend, both combined represented 3,8 % of Indonesian GDP, were paid to the state budget in year 2009. This amount has not been included community development fund allocated from firms profit for alleviating the poverty. However, mentioned contributions do not mean that the ISOEs are in sound governance and performance. Even though Indonesian SOEs is big in term of size, they are mostly weak in term of competitiveness. By employing more than IDR 2.000 billion total assets and IDR 525 billion total equity in year 2009, Indonesian SOEs proceeded only IDR 78 billion net income. It means SOEs accounted for less than 4% of ROA and 15 % of ROE. Compared to their competitors in each industry sector, SOEs has been outperformed. Further inquiry found that 20 SOEs accounted dominantly for almost 90% of the total in term of both net income and total assets. In addition, among those SOEs there are dozens of SOE suffering with huge loss in their financial statement. Revealed facts strengthen public stereotype toward SOEs as inefficient, bureaucratic, less responsive, lack of skillful management, lack of transparency institution. Even though all firms are regarded as state-owned firm, the degree of government involvement to the firms is different one with another. It can be seen from the types and the level of government actions imposed to each firm. Assuming that the form of enterprises and number of state ownership can be used to measure the level of government intervention, in year 2009 Indonesian SOEs comprises 14 government agencies, 111 limited company, 16 listing company. Meanwhile in term of ownership Indonesian SOEs consist of 112 wholly owned, 29 partially owned (not including 19 firms with state ownership less than 50% excluded from this study). Looking at the trend, the number of listing company has been increasing from 12 firms in year 2006 to 16 firms in year 2009. Even the number is supposed to be higher if privatization program was done well for during period of time. For many reason, there are many SOEs ended up with financial difficulties but at the same time unable or unwilling to find external financial resources. At such condition, government usually comes to rescue the troubling enterprises by endowing with capital injection or low-soft government loan. Government steadily poured the almost-bankrupt SOEs with additional capital injection in cash as much as IDR 1,9 trillions per year on average since 2005 to 2010 (accumulatively IDR 9.9 trillion at the end of year 2010). Some SOEs obtained non-cash capital injection, for instance in form of fixed assets transferred from associated ministries that purchased it by using annual the state budget. The latter case is not always advantageous to receiving SOEs, even it is frequently harmful since the transferred assets may be either not needed or not fit. Moreover, to meet SOEs need on working capital and capital expenditure, government also has been providing soft loan in the sense at very low rate and less rigid requirement in comparison with commercial credit rate. In the context of Indonesian SOEs, loan mainly consists of Investment Fund and Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA). The two types of loan principally are two step loan; foreign donor to government and then government to SOEs. The outstanding balance at the end of year 2008 is approximately IDR 49.8 trillion to 85 SOEs. Part of that amount, which is around IDR 15.5 trillion or 31%, (31 SOEs) was default at that time. Another type of government intervention is to assign some government programs to SOEs. The program is so called public service obligation (PSO). Around 10 SOEs has been involved to execute government assignment in availing food, fertilizer, energy, and transportation. In turn government transfer hundreds trillions as compensation to the SOEs which is including in it is cost of the program (acknowledge as subsidy for society) plus some percentage of margin for the SOEs. For instance in year 2009 government allocated almost IDR 180 trillion for delivering public service obligation program (PSO) with SOEs as the executor. *Identify applicable sponsor(s) here. (dispensable)4. Variables and Hypothesis To address the issue of intellectual property assignment/ownership control, two variables are employed. They are form of SOEs (FORM) and number of government ownership (OWNERSHIP). In term of form, SOEs are categorized into three groups of enterprises. Those are public agency, company limited, and listing company limited. The main difference among them is the primary goal and form of ownership. Public agency is the firm which its ownership has not been divided into a number of shares. Its main activity is to avail public goods or services as a part of government program. The second form of SOEs form is company limited which is the ownership of the firm has been divided into a number of shares. Although there is still possibility that the firms will become vehicle of government program, however, the main goals of firms are profit maximization. The only different with the last form of SOEs is the shares have been tradeable in capital market. In another hand, the way of strengthening pr operty right also can be done through releasing state ownership and control. It is conducted by inviting other parties such as employee, management, local government, or even public to posses SOEss share. It has been elaborated by some economist that a source of inefficiencies is state control over the firms. It is said that the government is more likely to distract the resources of the firm to attain its own political or socio-economic goals [23]. In addition, government control over enterprises is also suspected to have association with the absence of incentive and lack of monitoring for managers to perform better [24]. Moreover, different forms of state ownership are also associated with the level of government officials involvement in the process of corporate governance and it is likely to have different performance [25]. Form transformation and privatization can be regarded as one way of defining property right. Property right theory suggests that the clearer (more direct and unattenuated) the property rights to be defined, the better the way of utilizing the assets (governance) will be [26]. Hypothesis 1a : Form transformation from public agency to company limited and listing company limited will provide negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 1b : Form transformation from public agency to company limited and listing company limited will provide positive impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 2a : Decreasing number of state-ownership on SOEs will give negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 2b : Decreasing number of state-ownership on SOEs will give positive impact toward SOEs performance; With regard to soft budget constraint aspect, this study employed two independent variable, namely capital injection (CAPITAL) and government debt (GOVLOAN). In most cases, if SOEs are facing severe financial hardship the state will interfere either by providing loan or capital injection as last resort sources. In contrast to the case commercial bank loan that requires some rigid requirement in obtaining credit and of course with market rate, the government frequently releases many requirements so that the SOEs will be easier to get loan at subsidized interest rate. This government loan present financial benefit to SOEs, mainly because of lower interest rate, no collateral required and lower transaction cost. In case of capital injection the advantages enjoyed by SOEs are even bigger than government loan. Nonetheless, both types of government actions can creates disincentive for managers to govern the firm properly and efficiently including in finding needed financial resources. This may also hinder sound development of capital or financial market. Therefore following hypotheses are set: Hypothesis 3a : Government intervention to SOEs in form of government loan will give negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 3b : Government intervention to SOEs in form of government loan will give positive impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 4a : Government intervention to SOEs in form of capital injection will provide negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 4b : Government intervention to SOEs in form of capital injection will provide positive impact toward SOEs performance; In this paper, the issue of political embeddedness is examined by employing two variables; involvement of SOEs in executing public service obligation (PSO) and number of government officers seating in the board of commissioner (OFFICERS). PSO is government program to avail the basic need of the people such as electricity, food, medicine, fuel, transportation and soon. Doing so will provide SOEs both benefit as well as cost. The appointed SOEs will financially benefit from captive revenue plus certain percentage of profit given over each particular government assignment. Nevertheless, it also implicitly grants some cost SOEs. SOEs that heavily rely on government assignment as the main source of revenue will be more likely to have unproven competitiveness compared to their private owned peers. In the long run, it also will harm financially. Moreover, too much business transaction with government and its bureaucrats may induce political rent seeking activities that undermine SOEs compet itiveness. With regard to composition of board of commissioner, most of Indonesian SOEs have active or retired officers as well politicians from ruling political parties. It also derives both benefit and cost to SOEs simultaneously. The presence official on the board can be source of legitimacy and facilitator in passing government policy to SOEs and in delivering message from SOEs in effort of influencing the policymakers that ultimately benefit SOEs [4]. Even more, this also can provide SOEs access to resources (such as government project) controlled by department or ministry which is the officials work. On the other hand, Public choice theory states that politician will maximize their interest in gaining more votes so that the firm with less political intervention will be more likely in increasing search for better governance [27]. In addition, as representative of the government, acting officials usually will act on the basis of government interest that is probably not in line with firm objective. Additionally, as argued in [28] the presences of politician exacerbate the agency problem. This means that the presence of officials on the BOC may be perceived with significant costs for the firm. The summation of benefit wrapped and cost burdened will be net impact of political embeddedness. Hypothesis 5a: Public service obligation will give negative impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 5b: Public service obligation will give positive impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 6a: Number of active or retired officers as well as politician on BOC will result negative impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 6b: Number of active or retired officers as well as politician on BOC will result positive impact toward SOEs As dependent variable, this study employs Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) as performance measures. Thanks to its simplicity in calculating as well as its explanatory power both measures were used in previous numerous researches, including for Indonesian SOEs [29]. For control variable, equity is selected as the only variable to represent the size of SOEs. 4. Data and Methodology Financial data were collected from annual report of 114 SOEs (of total 141 SOEs) for year 2006-2009 (456 observations). This sample covers almost 97% of population both in term of assets and sales. The way in giving score for independent variable as follows: SOEs is scored 1, 2, and 3 if their form is public agency, company limited, and listed company limited consecutively; Ownership (OWNERS) is represented in percentage of state ownership, range from 0 to 1; Capital injection (CAPINJ) and government loan (GOVLOAN) are dummy variables. If the SOE did NOT get additional injection in form of cash or noncash capital as well as debt to capital conversion (including debt haircut) within last five years score 0 is given and 1 otherwise for CAPINJ. Meanwhile if there is NO government long term loan balance in the SOEs balance sheet score 0 is provided and 1 otherwise for GOVLOAN; Number of officers or politician (OFFBOC) who seat on board of commissioners is expressed in the number as it is; PSO is also dummy variable which is SOEs that conduct government assignment is valued 1 and 0 otherwise; Equity value has been transformed into ln value to reduce the possibility of multicoliniarity problem; Type of industry which the SOEs operate is also valued using dummy variable, 0 for good production/manufacture and 1 for service provider. Once all data have been identified and inputted, those independent variables are tested to examine the relationship toward dependent variable using ordinary least square method. The regression equations are written as follows: ROE = ÃŽà ±0 + ÃŽà ±1FORM + ÃŽà ±2GOVLOAN + ÃŽà ±3OFFBOC + ÃŽà ±4PSO + ÃŽà ±5CAPINJ + ÃŽà ±6OWNERS + ÃŽà ±7log.EQUITY + ÃŽà ±8CORE (1) ROA = ÃŽà ²0 + ÃŽà ²1FORM + ÃŽà ²2GOVLOAN + ÃŽà ²3OFFBOC + ÃŽà ²4PSO + ÃŽà ²5CAPINJ + ÃŽà ²6OWNERS + ÃŽà ²7log.EQUITY + ÃŽà ²8CORE (2) 5. Result and Findings Table 1 shows the descriptive statistic and correlation. Average ROE of ISOEs, 0,085, is relatively low compared to their private competitor. Meanwhile, average number of government officer and politician on board of commissioner is 3.32. Furthermore, mean of state ownership on SOEs that is 92%, partly because this study doesnt include SOEs with state-minority ownership, less than 50%, but mainly it shows that majority of SOEs are still wholly-owned by the state. With respect to form, most SOEs are in form of limited corporations. In term of core business which SOEs operate, there were more SOEs doing business in service industry compared to manufacture industry. The rest of variables are dummy variable so that the means just show the relative proportion over the observation. For instance, mean of PSO is 0.12 meaning the percentage of SOE executing special government program is around 12% of population. Table1: Descriptive statistics and correlations for ROE as dependent variable Table 2: From table 2, regression run for testing the relationship between government intervention and ROE shows that using 307 observations (after omitting some outliers) roughly 57% variability of dependent variable, ROE, can be explained by all combined independent variable, this score is acceptably high. Employing Variance Inà ¬Ã¢â¬Å¡ation Factor (VIF) and Tolerance statistic critical scores that may signal problem with multicollinearity has not been approached by both scores [30]. Looking at the significance, except GOVLOAN and CAPINJ, the rest of independent variables have statistically significant effect toward ROE. Although FORM and PSO are not significant at 5% confidential level, however, both variables are quite significant at 10% confidential levels. Therefore, in this paper both variables are still considered as significant. Table 2: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROE as dependent variable From the second equation, which is the only difference from table 1 is that the former uses ROA as dependent variable instead of ROE. The result displayed on the table 3 shows almost similar figure. The ROA score is considerably low at 3.2%. What makes slightly difference is the number of valid observation after taking out the outliers. With regard to correlation, there is no sharp correlation among variables. It support argument that multicollinearity problem is negligible. Table 3: Descriptive statistics and correlations for ROA as dependent variable The second regression results moderately high r square, 0.450. A couple outliers were identified until reaching valid observation is 270. After considering F score, Tolerance and VIF score the model is judged statistically fit. Among predetermined independent variable only CORE was not significant. Table 3: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROA as dependent variable From the result of two different equation of regression discussed above, the impact of each aspect of government intervention can be summarized as follows: Table 4: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROA as dependent variable Independent Variable Dependent Variable ROE ROA FORM Positive Negative OWNERSHIP Negative Negative CAPINJ Negative (insignificant) Positive GOVLOAN Negative (insignificant) Negative OFFBOC Positive Positive PSO Negative Negative Ln EQUITY Positive Positive CORE Positive Negative (insignificant) Overall, comparison of the result from two different tests provide strong support for Hypotheses 2b, 5a, 6a, and reject Hypotheses 2a, 5b, and 6b. However some hypotheses are left with unclear answer due to the mixed up result. 6. Discussions From the finding described earlier form has positive impact over ROE, meaning that reducing the government control signified by transformation of SOEs form is more likely to give good impact of SOEs the performance. However, the opposite result was found for second equation which is ROA as dependent variable. The possible reason is SOEs with less control from the government will have more flexibility in raising capital either through equity capitalization (for instance, through initial public offering) or by leveraging debt. SOEs with less government control seem to finance their project using more debt rather than equity. As a result it will keep their equity low so that it can push their ROE higher. Interestingly, when performance measured by using ROA the opposite result prevails. This paper argue SOEs with less government control become less conservative in selecting project in the way that fund obtained from debt/loan have been invested in the project with low return. Not surprisingly, both equations show consistent results regarding the impact of ownership toward performance. The result show more number of government ownership will lead to poorer performance. The presence of other shareholders other than government is expected to be able to enhance governance of the firm through improvement in monitoring, transparency, responsibility, and so on. This is especially for the case of Indonesian privatized SOEs as finding of previous research [31]. With respect to capital injection, the result is mixed up. This variable is statistically significant in relation to ROA but insignificant in the case of ROE with different direction of impact. This finding need to be further investigated by employing other performance variable or by applying qualitative approach. Similarly, the impact of government loan over performance is also indecisive. It is because only one test, which ROA as dependent variable, demonstrates significant result. However, both tests show the same negative impact of such kind of government interference. It can be conclude that the cost of obtaining and optimizing government loan exceed the financial benefit that may be able to reaped. Even possible financial benefit from low interest and low transaction cost of loan acquirement may be offset by illegal transfer paid to rent seeker in bureaucracy. This finding reinforces the previous research conclusion which is soft budget constraint will create conducive environm ent for spoiled managerial behavior [20]. This managers have no incentive to run the firm efficiently, reluctant to compete fairly which will severely harm the firm competitiveness in the long run. Interestingly, the findings with respect to number of government officers occupy seats on board of commissioner appears to be different from common belief that suspect that the presence of officer on board of commissioners is likely to worsen the situation and pe
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