Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Est 310.2.1-05 (Company Q)

EST1 – Ethical Situations in Business A small local grocery stores disadvantages in a metropolitan areas EST1 Task 1 Being a small, local grocery store chain in a major metropolitan area does not come without its challenges. National and regional chains are frequently forcing small and locally owned stores to close their doors.For this reason, as well as the huge obligations to the social responsibilities required by their communities and customers alike pushes both the small business owner as well as the larger corporations to be able to adjust their organizations goals and objectives to balance not only their goal to be profit driven but to also be socially and ethically perceptive with the way they conduct business and operate their stores. Recently Company Q has chosen to close two store locations that operated in areas where crime rates were statistically higher within the city.The store closures are being driven by consistent losses the stores experienced year over year. If the stores have consistently lost money year over year, we need to analyze the reasons as to why. To take the social responsible approach at analyzing this question; we would first need to understand our customer demographic for each of the geographical locations. For example, if one of our stores is located in a highly populated Hispanic neighborhood and we are promoting Ethnic Asian foods, we could not expect these foods to sell at the same rate as we would handmade corn tortillas.Taking an ethical and cultural marketing approach to sell foods that are Hispanic-centric strongly supports the business and ethical approach that would be needed for our store to successfully show a profit. When we stop to understand our customer demographics and their communities in which they live, we then can recognize what is needed for our business to prosper within the community. After many years of customer requests Company Q, began offering a limited selection of health conscience and organi c products in their stores.Offering organic and environmentally friendly products in response to our customers’ requests is a large step in forming a social contract with our customers instead of merely offering then what we feel they need. Soliciting feedback from our customers provides us with the means to understand what they want and what they need. Offering a high end products to our customers that neither have the financial ability to afford the high costs that accompany high end products, nor do they have the desire to purchase these products to help Company Q’s bottom line.In fact it will actually drive our results in the opposite direction. Our product choices must be targets to the consumer within our communities. Ethnic foods must be customary to the neighborhoods in which they are being offered. The marketing of our stores in cultural or racially specific communities must be stocked with the products that meet the needs of our customers in those communities . It takes very minimal effort to understand our customers, but that minimal effort makes the difference between a store being successful or failing.There are multiple sources that can be used to help us understand our customer’s cultural and social desires. To gain a simple understanding of the cultural needs for a Hispanic – centric neighborhood can begin with a simple Google search on Hispanic Market Research. For example when preforming the following Google search we learned. â€Å"Market Research Hispanics† â€Å"According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the terms Hispanic (and Latino) refer to people â€Å"whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Caribbean, or those identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, etc.Origin can be viewed as ancestry, nationality, or country of birth of the person or person’s parents or ancestors prior to their arrival in the United States. † His panics can be of any race. There are more than 48 million Hispanics in the United States. Latinos now account for 16% of the American population. The 32 million Latinos of Mexican origin account for around 66% of the Hispanic population. Hispanics accounted for more than half of all of the growth in the U. S. population that occurred between 2000 and 2009.Latinos also are expected to be responsible for more than half of the growth in the U. S. population between 2010 and 2015. With an estimated buying power of $616 billion, Latinos of Mexican heritage represent the single most influential segment of the Hispanic market. Mexicans in the United States account for 59% of all Hispanic buying power. On a per capita basis, however, Cubans are the most affluent of the major Hispanic population segments. Their per capita buying power is substantially higher than that of Mexicans ($32,724 vs. $19, 426).The vast majority (92%) of Hispanics under 18 were born in the United States as were about 47% of those 18 and over. Mexicans are most likely to be U. S. -born. More education leads to higher-paying jobs and increasing affluence among high-acculturation Latinos. High-acculturation Hispanics are more likely than their low-acculturation counterparts to work as managers and professionals (19% vs. 6%). They are twice as likely to have a household income of $75,000 or more (37% vs. 19%) and are much more likely to own their home (62% vs. 40%) (Census Bureau, 2012 www. marketresearch. om ). † Preforming a simple marketing search on the Hispanic cultural give us insight as to how we can begin to market and set ourselves apart in the marketplace. How we can currently target and begin to build a marketing strategy that will ensure the future growth and the economic sustainability of our stores within a Hispanic – centric neighborhood. Currently Company Q operates under the policy of disposing of day-old products, this a perfect example where our management team is mi ssing out on a great public relations and corporate social responsibility opportunity.When approach by the area’s food bank to donate day-old products that would otherwise been thrown away, our management team declined. Management being more focused on the possible loss of revenue due to the potential increase in fraud and stealing that could be done its employees who could claim that that they were donating the food. One thing that we need to understand it the actual cost associated with and or the actual / perceived benefits. Our company will write –off any product that needs to be disposed of due to the shelf life expiration date.The products are disposed if in a dumpster and therefore currently ends the usefulness of the product from the company’s perspective. If we are paying for the products by weight or volume, we will incur a greater disposal rates from the waste removal company for the disposal of those unsellable products instead of donating them to a local food bank. This concern of a possible increase in expenses does not begin to look at the tax benefits that could be received by the donating of the product to a local food bank as well as other possible economic impacts that this policy can have on the economy of our community.Another concern that we need to be aware of is the impact that our policy to throw away on day-old products will have on employees moral. If we’ve communicated to our employees that we will not be socially contentious to our local communities, then what is the message that we are delivering to our employees since they are part of our communities. How will they relate that to how valued they feel as an employee for Company Q? In our technology and media driven society it would e foolish not to except a socially aware employee or customer to film the disposal of the food that we may have not been able to sell, but it could easily be donated to our local food banks to help those in need. The potentia l of the negative publicity and feedback from such an event would be devastating to a small chain stores such as ours. The above mention concerns addressed not only some of the potential financial impacts but also the possible social capital losses that we could face in our current position.Thankfully, we do not need to pay out much financially or in employee efforts to make a substantial difference in our stores and neighborhood communities. One delivery van can be used at the end of each day to deliver the products that would have otherwise been thrown away to our local food bank. The food can be unloaded by the food bank staff while the food bank manager shares with the Manager or Supervisor of our company the impacts that this donation will have on the community. This same information can be taken back and share with the store employees.The minimal time spent delivering and unloading the products daily at the local food banks in a minor change in the daily operations for the sto re, but will have an overall impact to the community that will consistently strengthen our relationship within in the local communities, our relationships with our employees as well as enhancing our brand across our chain of stores. References * Census Bureau (2012). Hispanic Market: market research reports. Marketresearch. com. Retrieved from http://www. marketresearch. com/Marketing-Market-Research-c70/Demographics-c81/Hispanic-Market-c1692/

Pinoy Youth’s Preference for Kpop Music

Pinoy Youth’s Preference for KPOP (Korean Pop) music: How does it affect their taste for OPM (Original Pilipino Music)? CHAPTER IV RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This particular research study aims to determine the Pinoy Youth’s Preference for Korean Pop Music and how does it affect their taste for Original Pilipino Music (OPM).Regarding this, the researchers will seek to know whether factors like rhythm and music composition of Korean Popular Music really affect the Pinoy teenagers’ preference towards Original Pilipino Music In addition, the researchers want to distinguish the respondents (female residents of the University of the Philippines Cebu College Dormitory and other chosen students in UPVCC) view toward Korean Pop music as well as their outlook in the Original Pilipino Music (OPM).Moreover, this study would identify if the students’ music preference would affect their sense of nationalism. In doing this, the researchers gathered information which will help in achieving the goal of the researchers. This would serve as support to the current research study. RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT This study will be conducted at the University of the Philippines Cebu College (UPVCC). The location will be the University of the Philippines Campus in Gorordo Avenue Lahug Cebu City. The place is accessible to the researchers for they would not spend much time travelling.The researchers choose the locale since one of the researchers is currently residing in the dormitory and because it is more accessible in terms of distributing the survey questionnaires. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS The major concern of choosing respondents would be the residents staying in the UP dormitory which consists of 9 rooms with 53 student residents but the researchers respondents are on to chosen female dormers only. On the other hand, there will also be some respondents who do not stay in the dormitory but still female students in the University of the Philippines Cebu College.RESEARCH IN STRUMENT Simple random sampling was done for the sample selection. This sampling method is conducted where each member of a population has an equal opportunity to become part of the sample. As all members of the population have an equal chance of becoming a research participant, this is said to be the most efficient sampling procedure. The researchers will list down all the names of the female respondents. After that, the researchers will use the fishbowl technique and will randomly pick 15 out of these 32 respondents including the chosen respondents not staying in the dormitory.The researchers decided to use this fishbowl technique since all the respondents are females and would only choose by means of â€Å"draw by lots†. This method involves the selection of the sample at random from the sampling frame through the use of random number tables (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2003). Numbers were assigned for each respondent in the master list. These numbers were written on piec es of paper and drawn from a box; the process was repeated until the sample size was reached. This research study will use a survey questionnaire as a research tool.The survey will be arranged basing on the factors that affect the respondents’ preference toward Korean Pop Music and how it affects their taste to Original Pilipino Music (OPM). There are 4 factors that the researchers consider. These are the respondents’ outlook towards the performers of the Korean Pop Music and Original Pilipino Music, the rhythm of music that K-pop and OPM music brings, as well as music’s composition and the message being delivered by both K-pop and OPM music. Every factor will be stated in a form of table.The researchers prepared an introductory part for survey consisting of 3 questions involving whether the respondents’ are into K-pop music or OPM Music. One of the questions determines what music does the respondent like from the two choices, the Korean Pop Music or the Original Pilipino Music. The second question is just related to a supporting answer to question number one in which the choices pertains to the time that the respondents often listens to her preferred music. Below the introductory question will be 2 tables, one for K-pop music and the other one is for OPM music. The two tables are divided into 5 columns.These columns would serve as the respondents’ ratings from 1 to 5 and 5 as the most appreciated towards K-pop and OPM Music. Each factor consists of 3 phrases related to the factor revealed. As mentioned earlier, one factor that affects the respondents’ preference toward music is the performers. The second factor involves the pattern of beats that the music contains. The third one relates to the lyrics of the music and how the message is being delivered to the listeners or audience. The researchers provide a survey questionnaire with a letter of permission to the chosen respondents.If the respondents approved the letter , they would answer the questionnaire automatically. If not, the researchers would pick another respondent and will answer directly to the survey questionnaire after approval. The respondents would just directly answer the questions with no time limit. After the respondents have completed answering the questions, the questionnaire will be collected. DATA ANALYSIS The researchers would then tally the results obtained. The results will then be tabulated. After that, thorough analysis should be done and the results would then be interpreted.This will be done by calculating the results using the Chi-Square Test for Independence. The researchers decided to use this type of test for it is applicable whether there is a relationship between two variables. In this study, the relationship between Pinoy Youths’ Preference towards K-pop Music and OPM Music is being described. This type of test actually involves statistics. As said earlier, the chi-square test is used to determine whether there is a â€Å"significant difference between the normal frequencies and the experimental frequencies in one or more categories.The Chi-Square statistic compares the tallies or counts of categorical responses between two or more independent groups†(Maben, 2009). In so doing, the researchers would be helped by the Chi-Square test in determining Pinoy Youth’s Preference for Korean Pop Music and how does it affect their taste for Original Pilipino Music (OPM). CHAPTER III THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Several theories have been gathered and analyzed in this research study to help determine the factors causing an individual to affect his/her attitude due to the type of music he/she prefers.A theory of Rudolf Radocy and David Boyle (2003) contends that musical preference is â€Å"more than an interaction of inherent musical characteristics and individual psychological and social variables† (p. 371). They cite the work of Abeles (1980) who, after a thorough review of the p ertinent literature, concluded that personality factors and emotional states were related to preference, but not in a clear cut aspect. Moreover, Radocy and Boyle (2003) stress out that music preference might be influenced by the factors of environment such as institutions, experiences, group gatherings, self-concept, mass media and among other things.Another theorist, Warren Prince (1972) developed a paradigm for music listening with a major premise that â€Å"a listener is capable of more than one response pattern and more than one type of listening experience† (p. 446). His paradigm is proposed as an initial effort to build â€Å"a framework based on crucial decisions on what variables and what relationships between variables are to be investigated† (p. 446). In addition, his paradigm gives a graphic representation of the variables in the listening process.Prince’s paradigm has three categories; the listener variables, response patterns and a group of learnin g process variables. The variables in these three categories are interrelated indicating causal relationships. Below is the diagram interpreting his paradigm. Figure 1. 5 Figure 1. 5 shows the flow of Prince’s Music Listening Paradigm with the (1) listener variables that are located at the top which are directed through the listener’s general state of attention, (2) response patterns at the center and the learning process variables are located at the bottom, and mostly has the function of feedback into the responses.Moreover, the reason why the listener variable is located on the top is that, it determines its behavior according to the influence that the environment is causing it. From here, these listeners can be able to provide their own response patterns (e. g. music materials) from what they get from the environment’s influence. This then makes the learning process variables take place giving the outcome and effect from what the listeners prefer. Another mus ic listening preference theory was developed by Albert LeBlanc (1982). LeBlanc’s theory conceptualizes musical judgment as a hierarchical process.LeBlanc’s music listening preference theory covers a whole system of input information. He explains that a person’s decision on music listening preference must follow â€Å"unavoidable time sequence. † He asserts that music is differently processed at different levels, which one involves personality characteristics. When Prince built his music listening theory, he considered his theory as an initial paradigm. He mentioned that â€Å"an initial paradigm represents theoretical considerations not yet confirmed even though they may be supported strongly by research evidence. A later paradigm or theoretical schema may emerge as a result of many studies based on the initial paradigm. † (p. 446) LeBlanc (1991) stated that his model has a different focus (music listening preference) from that of Prince (music lis tening). However, LeBlanc’s music listening preference theory can be classified as a later paradigm of a more specifically developed theoretical model for music listening paradigm. The theory developed by Robert Walker (1980) similarly characterizes musical preference as only indirectly related to personality and/or attitude factors.Walker asserts that liking is directly influence by musical complexity. He point out the idea that preference is modeled by a â€Å"bell-curve† which means that there is an â€Å"optimal level of complexity that is most enjoyable. Both very low complexity and very high complexity are less enjoyable† (p. 105). â€Å"Individuals have particular optimal complexity levels, with deviations in either direction decreasing liking. Simplistic music might produce boredom while overly complex music requires extensive processing that can decrease the likelihood that an individual will continue attending to the music. (Perkins, p. 5) Walker†™s idea stresses out the fact and/or assertion that an individual, when introduced to a new kind of music will probably like and abandon the previous preference or he/she would have the same level of likeness to the both; previous and new kind of music. This, then leads to the point where the individual’s personality and/or attitude is greatly affected and influenced by the preference he/she chooses resulting to the creation of different views of the individual. Below is the diagram of the Theoretical Framework:Conceptual Framework: Base on the ideas of the theories that were combined, the researcher came up with the above conceptualized framework. The music environment variables which include the institutions, experiences, group gatherings, self-concept and mass media are located at the top of the framework, followed by the second variable—students that become affected by the music environment. From this, the second variable could experience the exposure of the thir d variable which is considered to be the various types of music materials and response patterns.Then, they can assess their response patterns by weighing the dominance of the dominant music which becomes the fourth variable in the framework. Upon weighing the dominance, the students will learn to choose and prefer the more dominant kind of music which then, formulates their views on it and the effect comes after. The variables in this framework are considered the specified factors following the points and ideas from the theories mentioned. In addition, the framework’s flow is also based on the things that the theories pointed out. Below is the diagram of the Conceptual Framework:Operational Framework: The variables featured on the operational framework as showed below are the most specified factors that become a background flow of the research study. Home, UP Grounds, television, pals—variables found at the top of the framework are part of music environment which funct ions as the ones mainly influencing the second variable—the selected UP Female Students. This student variable now becomes the dependent variable in a way that its reactions depend on a certain situation due to the process that takes place in the music environment.In reacting to the environment variable, students tend to enumerate in their minds the response patterns—KPOP’s beat, rhythm, composition, styles and performers—that they get from the influence of the music environment. Having the response patterns settled, students will have a selection of one type of music leaving the other type. Appearing in the framework, the dominance of KPOP music on the preference of Pinoy Youth becomes the outcome gained from the response patterns.The dominance of KPOP music can possibly be assessed that Pinoy Youth will end up selecting and/or preferring KPOP music over OPM (original Pilipino music), which is another variable based on the framework. The effect of select ing Kpop over OPM by the Pinoy Youth will probably lead to the effect on their personality and/or attitude questioning now their sense of nationalism. In accordance with these analyses, the specific flow of ideas showed in the framework is only based on the points pondered by several theories provided in the previous pages having the views of the theorists, respectively.Below is the diagram of the Operational Framework: CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE The new generation today has been exposed already to the different kinds and genres of music. From time to time music has been improved and made more entertaining than before. This has evolved from the native type of music to the modern kind of music in which most of the teenagers at present seems to like and appreciate. Most of the music nowadays are already been mixed up.Some music are from other countries that become popular and known to other neighboring countries and is still getting much popularity worldwide. Butler (2006 ) defines music as â€Å"an art of arranging across time†. Music is part of almost every culture on Earth but it varies widely among cultures in means and structure. Music is a language of human figure of communication with well developed rules of structure much like a form of sentence structure. An individual through music would be making interpretations based upon speech patterns like loud or soft rapid and bitten off, slow or smooth.According to Greeks (20th century), the beginning of music can be solved by thought where ancient people make up chants of religion, war, love and death through direct organization of words with the combination of body movements. Greek philosophers assumed that listening to music based on certain modes in use at that time was beneficial to the enhancement of the young person’s character. With music, an individual can develop one’s potential and positive outlooks in life (Butler (2006). Music is â€Å"a mode of thought, a way of t hinking in tones†. In addition, the usical mode of thought is a complex means of â€Å"expressing a thought for the suggestion of ideas of beauty and emotions† (Ferguson, 1959). With the help of rhythm, the message in music is delivered conveniently for rhythm contains everything that pertains to the forward movement of music in time. Rhythm is the pattern of beats in a piece of music. Mayol (1990) stated that â€Å"music has existed from time immemorial: archaeologists have unearthed traces of music in the most ancient society, ethnomusicologists have found it in even the most primitive tribal culture and scientists have claimed it present in space.Yet, no one has been able to established precisely when, where, why or how music originated. Mayol (1990) also claimed that there are recent theories proposing that in all cultures, music originated in a similar manner which was from a universal source (monogenesis) (p. 3). Ordinary people became uninterested with its begin ning that for them it is a nonsense and worthless. But as time pass by, its implication and origin have brought sensation to their lives.And so, this made them vary their preferences towards the different kinds of music leading to other individuals conducting research and other related studies regarding with these behavior and choices. At present, there are already many types of music known to be famous. One of which is the popular music. Popular music pertains to a kind of music that is produced for a broader audience. This includes jazz, rock, rap music and many more. Popular music has three of the most important elements and these are language, beat and tune.This popular music originated in America in the year 1850-1950 (Yudkin,1996). In addition, popular music is typically vocal where everybody can sing more or less, and it has no formal training because it is intended to appeal to the widest possible audience. Until now, this particular music is still being acknowledged and app reciated worldwide including Philippines as well as other European countries. (Yudkin,1996). Regarding this popular music, Korean Pop or known as K-Pop is one of today’s hits and famous music worldwide.Korean pop music is the well kind of music in the country of South Korea today. K-pop music is just similar to western music. The only difference is their lyrics which are in the form of Korean. Hallyu is the word that means Korean wave. Part of the Korean wave is their overwhelming success not just in music but as well as in South Korean dramas and movies. The term Korean pop music does not only pertains to music but with accompaniment of movement that makes South Korea popular in Asia and neighboring countries from 1990’s until present (Villano,2010).According to Hicap (2010), the making of Korean pop music also involves attractive young stars and their unique moves in dancing accompanied with how they dress up. One of the newest and most famous is Rain, the male singe r who became artist after his shooting in the Korean Drama Full House with the actress Song Hye Kyo. BoA is one of Korea’s top female singers who has topped the charts in Korea, then Japan and released an album in US. BoA worked in partnership with western artists and was cited as an influential artist in the 2004 MTV Asia awards.Others are bands and groups which are today’s most known. One of them is the female group 2nel having a member who became famous in the Philippines before she reached her fame in Korea. Her name is Sandara Park. The next known group is the Wonder Girls, also a female group who was famous for their popular hit â€Å"Nobody† which was loved by many Filipinos. Other group includes SS501, a male group that become famous after the inclusion of some of their songs in the soundtrack of the popular Boys Over Flowers and having their member Kim Hyun Jung.Todays’ known female group, the Girls Generation who were trained in various aspects of the performing arts, has its own TV Series and they endorse products in Korea. There are still many known groups and artists that contributed to the success of the Korean Pop Music such as the Super Junior and Shinee group. These bands and groups made Korean Pop music be known (Hicap, 2010). Younger Korean musicians have already gained reputation, much popularity and appreciation as top performers in both concert and entertainment fields.In relation to this, youth around Asia especially Filipino youths have been affected by the outstanding effect not just to the K-pop music but also to other music from other countries (Kim,1985). A study by Fritzie Joy J. Dungog (1997) distinguishes the influence of Pinoy alternative music to the attitude of students towards local government officials. Dungog used a three part questionnaire that asked questions pertaining to personal data, exposure questions and an attitudinal test. The questionnaire was distributed to 284 respondents.Based on th e questionnaires she gave to the 284 respondents, the researcher found out that the respondents showed a high level of exposure to Pinoy Alternative Music and that the majority of respondents exhibited a positive approach towards their city government officials. The study also revealed that â€Å"there were no significant relationship between the attitudes of respondents toward their city local government officials and the frequency exposure to Pinoy Alternative Music†(Dungog, (1997)). Dino Arnaldo A.Karganilla (1994) determines the effect of exposure to foreign music in FM stations on the perception of high school students towards Filipino music. The study covered a sample size of 111 fourth year U. P. College High School attendees through a two-page questionnaire which were given to those 111 respondents. The instrument that Karganilla used in his study was a two paged questionnaire composed of three sections with an additional information part. The researcher discovered th at the respondents had a low level of exposure to foreign music and that the respondents had a favorable insight towards Original Pilipino Muisc (OPM).There was no connection between the respondents’ sexual category and rank of exposure that could influence their view towards Original Pinoy Music (OPM) and in turn, the exposure to foreign local FM stations did not bear a negative impact of the respondents toward Original Pilipino Music (OPM). A supplementary research study by Jessica Servande Losorata (2008) verifies whether Cebu local rock music airplay on Monster Radio BT 105. 9 has either a positive or a negative impact on selected rock bands that have played for Harakiri Mosh Production. â€Å"A Focused Group Discussion (FGD) with selected ock bands that have played for Harakiri Mosh Production was the main method in gathering the data. A separate Focused Group Discussion (FGD) with Monster Radio BT 105. 9 listeners and online interviews with the station’s manager and a representative of Harakiri Mosh Production were also conducted to gather additional information† (Losorata, (2008)). The researcher found out that the respondents were not devoted clients of radio. They had a low level of exposure to radio but their consciousness of its Cebu local rock music airplay was positive.The results of the study was been supported after the researcher interviewed Paolo Valera, known as Paolo Walker, the station manager of Monster Radio BT 105. 9 together with Shanette G. Mancao, one of the founder of Harakiri Mosh Production. For the respondents, the interviews and interactions were done through internet because of the interviewees schedule and activities. Another study by R. S. Holganza (1987) was all about the relationship between the exposure to foreign music in FM stations and the attitude of fourth year high school University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) students towards Original Pilipino Music (OPM).This particular research was conducted to determine if there is a connection between the exposure to foreign music in local FM stations and the attitude of fourth year USJ-R students toward OPM. The research was conducted inside the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) High School campus using 100 fourth year male and female respondents from the different economic levels. The respondents exposure to foreign music was determined by the number of hours spent listening to FM stations while the respondents attitude was measured by four OPM-related statements.The respondents in this specific study belonged to the same age level which was 16 to 17 with same educational attainment (fourth year high school). The researcher found out that the respondents were exposed to local FM stations whose programming was more on foreign music but the playing of foreign songs in FM stations seems not to decrease or slow down the popularity of the Original Pilipino Music (OPM). The amount of exposure to FM stations influenced the responden ts’ liking of Filipino songs and the respondents over-all choice of song as verified by the results of the chi-square test was the Original Pilipino Music (OPM).A related study was conducted by Minni K. Ang and Miranda P. Yeoh (year) concerning the music preferences of Malaysian students and KBSM Curriculum implications (explain). Ang and Yeoh organized this by preparing ten selection of ethnic-based Malaysian music and twenty selection of non ethnic related music consisting of ten popular music selections and ten western art music selections were used. Ratings of preferences, familiarity and musical training were gathered from 139 randomly selected teenage students of two public schools in Serdang, Malaysia.The researchers discovered that the respondents preferred non-ethnic related music especially popular music. In addition, the interpreted results proved that the main factor affecting their preference for both ethnic-based Malaysian music and non ethnic-related music was their familiarity of the music (M. K. &Yeoh, 2002). These past studies serve as a basic foundation to this recent research which determines if factors like rhythm and music composition of Korean Popular Music really affect the Pinoy teenagers’ preference towards Original Pilipino Music and if this would affect their sense of nationalism.According to Malm (1977), there are explanations about the behavior observed with regards to the preference of Filipino youth. Malm said that early in the history back to the time where Philippines was colonized, the Filipino music traditions were mixed with Spanish-type of music which was distributed into the country. â€Å"The Spanish influence becomes even stronger as one move toward Philippine urban culture† Malm (1977). Malm (1977) claimed that Filipino possesses an attitude which comes from the experience of colonization, wherein it has adapted many music cultures from different neighboring countries in the history.Through this fa ct, it can now be related to the issue of choice of music that Filipino youth is experiencing with interest, specifically its fascination towards Korean pop music. Additionally, they ought to love the unfamiliar type of music with amazement and astonishment to that kind of music. Regarding this concept, the popularity of the native music will declined slowly until it will no longer be known. According to Mayol (1990), the shifting of the Youth’s musical preference is due to the music’s influential power that serves as a â€Å"shaping force in determining the nature of the moral character of the populace.The power of music affecting a person was derived from its structure. The above mentioned cases and studies have shown that there is an effect or impact regarding the preference of Pinoy teenagers toward music. And the above researches would aid the current researchers to accomplish their study about the Pinoy Youth’s Preference for Korean Pop Music and how does it affect their taste for Original Pilipino Music (OPM). This would serve as guiding principles in this latest study. Bibliography Books: Hoffer, C. R. (1989). The Understanding of Music (sixth edition): Personal Preference in Music.United States of America. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc. Kim, E. (1985). Facts About Korea: Music and Dance. Seoul, Korea Malm, W. (1997). Music Cultures of the Pacific, the Near East and Asia (second edition): Philippines. Eaglewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Mayol, P. (1990). The Development of Western Music: Heritage from Antiquity. United States of America. Wm C. Brown Publishers Yudkin, J. (1996). Understanding Music: Popular Music. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Unpublished Materials: Ang, M. K. & Yeoh, M. P. 2002). Music Preferences of Malaysian Students and KBSM (Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah or Integrated Secondary School Curriculum) Implications. Serdang, Malaysia. Retrieved December 2, 2010 f rom http://www. musicmall-asia. com/minni/Educ/2002. pdf Dungog, F. J. J. (1997). Influence of Alternative Music on Students’ Attitude Towards Local Government Officials. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis. University of the Philippines Cebu College Holganza, R. S. (1987). The Relationship Between the Exposure to Foreign Music in FM Stations. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis.University of the Philippines Cebu College Karganilla, D. A. A. (1994). Relationship Between the Exposure to Foreign Music and the Perception of Fourth Year UP High School Students Towards Filipino Music. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis. University of the Philippines Cebu College Losorata, J. S. (2008). The Impact of Cebu Local Rock Music Airplay on Monster Radio BT 105. 9 on Cebu Rock Bands. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis. University of the Philippines Cebu College Online Periodicals: Hicap, J. (2010). Filipinos Get Hooked on Kpop Craze. Korea Times.Retrieved December 7,2010 from http://koreatimes. co. kr. /www/news/nation/2009/09/117_51347. html Villano, A. (2010). The Korean Pop Invasion. The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 12, 2010 form http://dancepinoy. com/forum/music-lifestyle/k-pop-invasion-in-the-philippines-2 Internet Sources: ______. (2006). Kpop: History and Globalization. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from http://encyclopedia. thefreedictionary. com/korean+pop ______. (2007). Music of Korea. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from http://encyclopedia. thefreedictionary. com/korean+music ______. (2008). Kpop’s History and Definition.Retrieved November 27, 2010 from http://www. asiafinest. com/review/kpop. htm ______. (2007). Korean Music Popularity. Retrieved November 27, 2010 from http://www. chinatownconnection. com/korean-music-popularity. htm ______. (2009). Korean Pop (K-pop). Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www. 123helpme. com/preview. asp? id=35074 Xiong, Y. & Li, S. (2007). Effect of South Korean Pop Culture on the Potential Tourists from Chinese Mainl and. Retrieved December 16, 2010 from http://www. docstoc. com/docs/19647133/ effect-of-south-korean-pop-culture-on-the-potential-tourists-from.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Roaring 20s

Change is an inevitable part of life. With new ideas, opinions, and morals came a new way of life. No time period in American history felt a more drastic change than the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties embraced a new culture that focused on enjoyment, art and innovations. The style of clothing, especially for women, went completely against that of the previous generation. Many people were offended by and opposed to the new style of the ‘20s which was epitomized by the flapper. 4 Women’s clothing, which was loose fitting, complimented their efforts to make their chests appear flatter. Cloche style hats were very popular and were tight around the head before flipping out at the base of the neck. 6 Year by year, the length of skirts and dresses grew noticeable shorter until it reached halfway up the knee. 7 Short, flowing skirts made dancing to the new forms of music easier. Music and dance became an important aspect in the lives of Americans. The Harlem Renaissance embraced th e new American music, Jazz. Harlem came with a culture all its own. 8 Dances such as the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Charleston, and Lindy Hop were performed to jazz, blues, and ragtime music. These quick, energetic dances were seen as scandalous to older generations because of the physical contact they involved. From school to church, dance was involved in every part of life. 10 Entertainment fostered a sense of happiness in Americans after World War I. Movies and sports were two of the most popular pastimes during the 1920s. Silent films could be understood by all and brought happiness and laughter to their viewers. In 1923 the first â€Å"talkie† was created which eventually replaced the silent film. 14 Sportswere enjoyed not only by those who played them but also by those who watched. Among the popular sports of football, boxing, tennis, and golf, baseball remained the fan favorite. In 1927 Babe Ruth hit his record 60 home runs. Thanks to him and others like him, such as Lou Gehrig, baseball became America’s sport. 15 Interestin activities created a sense of unity in Americans. Many fads became the obsession of many Americans. Crossword puzzles became very popular. People would work on them whenever they had a free moment, and soon, contests were being held to see who could complete the puzzles the fastest. Mah-Jongg, and ancient Chinese game, became a national obsession. It replaced the game of bridge, and clubs, even, were opened for players. Many Americans participated in stunts. Flagpole sitters literally sat on flag poles to gain money or attention. Barnstormers performed stunts in airplanes while wing-walkers performed their own tricks on the plane’s wings. 16 Thesecrazes swept across the nation during the 1920s. Many innovations came about during the Roaring Twenties. Henry Ford’s affordable automobile redefined Americans’ way of life. 17 Peoplecould travel farther and faster with a car than with a horse. Vacationing became popular which caused motels and service stations to be established along popular routes. 18 In1927 Ford introduced the Model A which quickly became the most popular car in America. The new innovations of the 1920s were accompanied by new ways of thinking. New medical and scientific discoveries were made during this time. In 1920, Frederick Banting created insulin to treat diabetes. It was the first hope patients with diabetes had of living a normal life, and it even help some of those near deathmake miraculous recoveries. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered the possibilities of penicillin in fighting bacteria. It wouldn’t be until several years later, however, that it would be used to save lives. 19 Theconflict between evolution and creation caused much tension. In 1925, John Scopes taught the theory of evolution to his class and was arrested. Eventually, evolution was taught in most science classes. 20 These new ways of thinking changed life in American. The Roaring Twenties is characterized as a positive and optimistic time,however, it did have its negatives. With the manufacture of alcohol made illegal by Prohibition, many people turned to speakeasies and bootlegging to get their alcohol. 21 Prohibition was supposed to lower the crime rate, but more corruption and organized crime emerged. 22 The murder rate in 118 cities was higher that one in every 100,000 in 1927. 23 Despite this problem, the positives of the Roaring Twenties outweigh the negatives. The Roaring Twenties was characterized by a lifestyle of enjoyment, art, and innovations. The 1920s focused on optimism. After World War I, Americans sought happiness in music, dancing, movies, and sports. New inventions made life easier, and all appeared well. But every up has its down, and the Roaring Twenties was no exception. Notes Feinstein, Stephen. The 1920s. (Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. , 2001), 26 Scott, Robert. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties: A Historical Snapshot of Life in the 1920s†. available from http://www. 1920-1930. com; Internet; accessed 15 April 2009. Feinstein, The_ 1920s, _25. Langley, Susan. Roaring ‘20s Fashion: Jazz. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2005), 95. Laubner, Fashions of the Roaring ‘20s, 47. Kallen, Stuart A. The Harlem Jazz Era. (Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books. 2004), 24. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s_, 7. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _ 32. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _21. F einstein, The_ 1920s. _9. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Scott, â€Å"The Roaring Twenties†. Feinstein, The_ 1920s. _11. Frederick Hoffman, â€Å"The Spectator,† The Literary Digest, (2 July 1927). Bibliography Feinstein, Stephen. The 1920s. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. , 2001. Kallen, Stuart A. The Harlem Jazz Era. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books. 2004. Langley, Susan. Roaring ‘20s Fashion: Jazz. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2005. Laubner, Ellie. Fashions of the Roaring ‘20s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 1996. Scott, Robert. â€Å"The Roaring Twenties: A Historical Snapshot of Life in the 1920s,† Available from http://www. 1920-1930. com. Internet; accessed 15 April 2009.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Using antibiotics on dairy herds. Im going in favor of this process Research Paper

Using antibiotics on dairy herds. Im going in favor of this process - Research Paper Example About 1.3 million human clinical salmonellosis case and more than 500deaths that are associated with this salmonella may occur annually in the US alone. Therefore there is a need to use antibiotics in daily herds to control these strains most of which are drug resistant to reduce these effects from the daily products to humans. The use of antibiotics has over the time portrays success in controlling diseases and other pathogens from the daily herds to humans. A study by Church et al, (4220) concerning the treatment of intra mammary infections that were infected by minor pathogens such as Corynebacteruium boris portrayed that that though dry milk periods aided in milk production, there were no considerable effects on milk production related to udder health in short dry period and long dry period, treatment of the intramammary infections could only be treated using antibiotics. The use of antibiotics has therefe been considered and found to be the most effective methods through which bacterial infection in both daily and other herds can be approached with due to the growing resistance of some bacterial strains. These strains continually develop resistance to major drugs in the market. Hartzell et al (763) explain that the Escherichia coli 0157:H7 was first recognized as a food borne pathogen in 1982. This or ganism has spread over time and is highly virulent and can lead to debilitating and deadly disease that include hemolytic uremic syndrome (Relay et al 1983 as quoted in Hartzell et al, 763). This organism does not have an effect on cattle though it colonizes the intestinal tract of cattle. Such organisms are passed to humans though fecal matter, ground beef, raw milk, lettuce spinach and other related plants that cow dung may be used as a fertilizer. Sanderson et al (781) argues that Salmonella causes gastrointestinal illness in both livestock and humans. This is another

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Nutrigenetics the relation between Genes and nutrition APOA2 Dissertation

Nutrigenetics the relation between Genes and nutrition APOA2 concerning cardiovescular diseases - Dissertation Example Within the nutrition-related disorder context, the variations in genetics underline the varying risks of the diseases, in response to interventions or treatments, as well as in the successful prevention chances. In addition to knowledge of the specific responsible genes, nutrigenetics provides an explanation on how and to which level the nutrition-related disorders and traits are determined by the variations in genetics. Therefore, the major concern in this is the need to answer the question of which particular genes are responsible for a trait, as well as the particular variation in functional identity by which individuals exhibit differences for trait, and the ideal way through which the gained knowledge can be beneficial to the population. Nutrigenetics refers to the effect of variations in genetics on an individual’s optimal dietary requirements. Therefore, nutrigenetics can be regarded as the retrospective study of how variations in genetics, which include single nucleoti de polymorphisms (SNPs) in individuals, result in varied responses to particular nutrients. Researchers have always defined the candidate genes for a given disorder or trait and eventually went ahead to search for the variation in genes, and the approach has been referred to as ‘hypothesis-driven’ method, since the gene selection is done based on their respective functions, just like the lipoprotein genes is regarded as candidates for obesity disorder; whereas the genes for signaling insulin are considered to be candidates for diabetes.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

With reference to the film Vertigo how is it's director Alfred Essay

With reference to the film Vertigo how is it's director Alfred Hitchcock might be classified as an auteur - Essay Example When the subject of Auteur Theory arises in film circles many people name him as one of the first people to use this technique. The question becomes, is this befitting of his style? The answer for this essay is that he definitely is an auteur. According to several sources Auteur Theory discusses the way that a director uses style, vision, recurring themes, how they control their production and "controls the artistic statement, takes credit for the film and is responsible for attracting the audience" ("Hitchcock"). Within any movie by Hitchcock the audience knows they will be entertained and that they will have to watch every moment to keep up with what is going on. He begins every movie at the end of the story and then builds it to the point of the beginning then finally gives the ending. Sometimes the endings seem predictable but they are not always the way the audience thinks they will end. Central to his movies is the idea that there is something morally wrong that needs to be set right. As an example, in "The Birds" the moral issue was about mans inhumanity to nature. As Hitchcock states, "birds had suffered a lot from humans. They are eaten and killed so one day nature will have enough and come back at humans. The message is dont mess around with nature" (American Film Institute, 2006). A common theme for Hitchcock is shown in "Vertigo" -- the guilt, human failing, obsession and then redemption. This is a common theme that goes throughout many of his movies and the audience went through these changes as they were presented during the movie. As an example, the obsession that Stewart develops with Judy (the second character played by Kim Novak) suggests to the audience that he unconsciously knows this is Madeleine but his mind cannot quite make this leap because he witnessed the death of Madeleine. His obsession leads him to an understanding of this but in making Judy relive the last moments of the other womans death it

Friday, July 26, 2019

Essay 3 and Module 8 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

3 and Module 8 - Essay Example ccording to Aristotle, "Tragedy, then, is an imitation of a noble and complete action, having the proper magnitude; it employs language that has been artistically enhanced . . . ; it is presented in dramatic, not narrative form, and achieves, through the representation of pitiable and fearful incidents, the catharsis of such incidents" (Aristotle 11). With this definition, Aristotle in none of the way implies an unfortunate or a deadly conclusion to a certain drama. I think it is the perspective with which the audience looks at it, rather than the end itself. Taking the example of Oedipus the King, the king, hero himself faces a death, but this is viewed positively as an end to a suffered life; A happy ending to an unhappy life. One characteristic common to the times of the tragedies of Aristotle was its depiction to the lives of the highly placed kings and queens, or the kingly of that time. But Arthur Miller believed that tragedy and drama is apt for the common man too; since a common man is similarly involved in emotional situations as these royals. A commoner traverses through the same mental and developmental process as these richly. According to Arthur Miller, tragedy is all the drama an individual engages in for securing his personal dignity, which might require lying down in life. But, for his position as an individual should be rightly accepted by the society. This is not so simple; all this unrolls from a sequence of events, which are entwined in wounds caused by indignation. This tragedy in unfolded from the individual, who is characterized as a hero. This hero in his way of living is not a flawless and neither a perfect character, nor he is designed to portray pure weakness. This weakness is depicted to build around a story, where the hero plays a passive character to maintain his image and safeguard his dignity. For Aristotle, the rank and the nobility of the tragic character was of utmost importance, for him tragedy represented actions of person

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Let's Be Lefties for a Day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Let's Be Lefties for a Day - Essay Example However, there are also many people that differ from others in some way – either because of disabilities or of some outstanding abilities. Some disabilities are permanent, other could be only temporal, e.g., immigrants might have difficulties speaking language of their new country, and they would have other cultural differences which will be overcome in time. Often times these differences are becoming a reason of being discriminated in some way. Some differences people learn to overcome; other peculiarities make life significantly more difficult. And there are times when it is not a diversity in itself that puts a person in the position of being discriminated and disadvantaged. Often it is the case of institutional discrimination, caused by stereotypes and institutional organization. The disadvantages may be caused by physical, cultural, ethnic, or gender differences. However, if these diversities are recognized, taken into consideration and thought through, it might turn out that many disadvantages can be used for the benefit. The experiment of being a â€Å"lefty† was very educational and made me think a lot. Undoubtedly, any trivial task became very difficult to perform. It seemed that the whole world turned up-side-down. Whatever I had to do, it took a long time; it was not performed as perfectly and it was also frustrating and drowning emotionally.

Employee retention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee retention - Essay Example One of the first things a company can implement to retain employees is to offer benefits both tangible and intangible. According to the article â€Å"His job: helping employers hold on to their staff; High turnover can be costly. Consultant says its vital to offer respect, good pay, retirement plan† by Kasandra Kyle the most important thing that a potential employer can offer a new employee is good pay, respect and a retirement package . These benefits help make employees comfortable in their current position and will retain an employee sometimes even when another job offer with a more lucrative offer comes around. Another fringe benefit is the flexible work schedule. Although this is not practical in all cases, if it is at all possible it serves as an excellent retention strategy. Offering tangible and intangible benefits are essential, but it is imperative to work diligently to keep specialty trained staffers. The low turnover of maintaining skilled employees offers the benefits of low turnover and positions companies for growth. The author goes on to say that the cost of training specialty staffers can cost the company valuable time, enormous finances and slowed production (Kyle, 2008). Although it is important to offer workplace benefits at your larger companies, it is dire to offer those benefits at a small business. The article, â€Å"Workplace benefits are strategic in small business† states that recent study performed by MetLife’s annual Employee Benefits Trends study shows more than half (55%) of smaller employers, those with fewer than 500 employees say benefits play a very important role in employee retention. However, there is contradictory results as the study goes on to reveal that only 34% of workers at smaller employers say the benefits they receive are a very important reason to remain with their employer, versus 53% at larger firms. In addition, just 37% of employees at smaller corporations say they are

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Annointed Biblio Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Annointed Biblio - Annotated Bibliography Example Michael L. Ettredge, Chan Li, and Lili Sun (2006) The Impact of SOX Section 404 Internal Control Quality Assessment on Audit Delay in the SOX Era. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory: November 2006, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 1-23. Summary: The article provides us with useful information regarding the implementation of other SOX at ‘internal control quality’. Under the SOX act 404 and section 10-k filing, the internal control over financial reporting has supposedly causing more delays. The article also mentions that general weakness has been a major reason in audit delays and implementing SOX act 404 has been a reason for further delay in auditing. Hollis Ashbaugh†Skaife, Daniel W. Collins, William R. Kinney Jr., and Ryan LaFond (2008) The Effect of SOX Internal Control Deficiencies and Their Remediation on Accrual Quality. The Accounting Review: January 2008, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 217-250. Summary: Covering another aspect of the internal control on audit and accrual quality, this study provides us with facts that deficiencies and weaknesses in internal control have been the main reasons behind accrual quality. Firms with weaknesses in internal control display low quality accruals. These firms display both large negative and positive number of accruals when compared with firms that have a good internal control. This article again provides me with a different aspect of internal audit deficiencies and their effects on firm’s outcomes, its financial reports and accruals. The article would surely help me in my paper while covering the aspects of internal control in an auditing firm. Hollis Ashbaugh†Skaife, Daniel W. Collins, William R. Kinney Jr., and Ryan LaFond (2008) The Effect of SOX Internal Control Deficiencies and Their Remediation on Accrual Quality. The Accounting Review: January 2008, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 217-250. Michael L. Ettredge, Chan Li, and Lili Sun (2006) The Impact of SOX Section 404 Internal Control Quality

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Obscenity and pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Obscenity and pornography - Essay Example For her, the court can discredit the victim’s rape allegation by â€Å"finding discrepancies in the victim’s story and assuming ulterior motives for reporting the assault†; for this the court can take into account such resources as the â€Å"official reports and records, typifications of rape-relevant behavior, and knowledge of the victim’s personal life and criminal connections† (Frohmann, 1991, p. 213). Thus, the prosecutor-victim complaint filling interview acts as a n integral part of the sexual case processing. Similarly, another major method employed by the legal system to discredit sexual assault cases is by analyzing the accusers mental health records and by offering the defendant an opportunity to prove his innocence. Cases are rejected once the court gets convinced that the victim does not have a good previous mental health record. This rape shield legislation plays a dominant role in sexual assault cases. Another widespread and common met hod employed by the legal systems to reject sexual assault cases is by identifying congruencies in the charges filed by police at arrest with the charge filed by the prosecutor. When there are such evident congruencies, the court can either reject sexual assault cases or discredit victims’ allegations of sexual assault. Therefore, one should bear in mind that mere allegations can easily be rejected by the courts in the case of sexual assaults. Frohmann, Lisa. ‘Discrediting Victims Allegations of Sexual Assault: Prosecutorial Accounts of Case Rejections’. Social Problems, Vol.38, No.2, May 1991. Retrieved 24 September 2010 from:

Monday, July 22, 2019

Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Essay Example for Free

Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Essay Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care Childhood Obesity HCS/465 August 2, 2012 Donald Steacy Introduction The purpose of the paper is to show how to develop and understand methodology of the research process when pertaining to health care. The process consists of retrieving a peer-reviewed article and applying the research methodology to the article selected. The article selected for the research methodology was Childhood Obesity: A Global Public Health Crisis written by Sameera Karnik and Amar Kanekar written January 2012. Based on the information in the article will help determine the methods of defining the problem, the purpose of the study, research questions, hypothesis, study variables, conceptual model, the review of related literature and the study design of the selected article. Definition of Problem The problem addressed in the article is childhood obesity. â€Å"Childhood obesity is a major public health crisis nationally and internationally† (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012, para. 1. ) The concerns for childhood obesity have grown to a government level requiring action to help children to eat healthy and encourage physical activity. One of the causes for childhood obesity is an imbalance between calorie intake and calories utilized. Several factors such as genetics, behavioral and environmental can enhance the chances of childhood obesity. The concerns for childhood obesity have grown as well as the number of children suffering from this condition. The importance to educate parents and children on eating healthy has become vital to children’s health. The urgency to stop the epidemic of obesity is because children can develop long-term illnesses. The illnesses contracted due to childhood obesity are diabetes, heart disease, physical and social health problems. Purpose of Study The purpose of the study is to determine how to tackle childhood obesity at a population level by education, prevention, and sustainable interventions (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). Further education is required for parents and children to help promote healthy eating and provide nutritional facts. Parent education is vital to help parents understand how their practices for healthy eating may not be effective and how to improve parenting skills in nutrition. Educating parents, facilities and children is required to show how to promote healthy eating; physical activity can prevent long-term illnesses. Intervention for parents of those children currently suffering from childhood obesity is vital to help with knowing good nutrition vs. bad nutrition. Intervention will also help parents understand about how to help their children eat healthy, help with physical activity and eliminate the chances of long-term illnesses Research Questions Is childhood obesity about a matter of genetics, poor eating habits, behavioral factors or lack of physical activity? Hypothesis Why is childhood obesity a growing concern for the United States and internationally? a. Childhood obesity can be a genetic issue b. Childhood obesity exists due to lack of physical activity c. Childhood obesity can cause diabetes, heart disease, social and psychological issues d. Childhood obesity exists because of poor eating habits Study Variables The independent variable would consist of the following question: poor eating habits leads to childhood obesity? The dependent variable consists of child hood obesity can lead to diabetes, heart disease, social and psychological concerns. Conceptual Model The meaning of a conceptual model is a type of diagram, which shows the relationship between factors that impact or lead to a target condition or a diagram that shows the theoretical entities and the relationship between them. The conceptual diagram above reflects the relationship between poor eating habits, genetics and poor physical activity that leads to childhood obesity. The contributing factors listed above all contribute to childhood obesity if not properly taken into consideration by parents. Literature Review Childhood obesity has become an epidemic over the years nationally and internationally. The increasingly amount of children suffering from childhood obesity has grown over the years. One or more factors contribute to the development of childhood obesity. Such factors are genetics, behavioral (poor eating habits) and environmental (physical activity). Childhood obesity can cause physical, psychological, and social health problems (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). On the other hand, the most recent strategy used is interventions to prevent and control childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012,). The purpose of the article is to discover the factors influencing childhood obesity as well as the use of various interventions and governmental actions addressing obesity while getting an understanding of the challenges for managing the epidemic. Study Design The study design used in the article research was he historical study design. The authors of the article used scholarly articles from Medline, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) to determine the factors of childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). The authors also collected data from a time span of 1999 – 2011 to further gain details from the selected sources to draw a conclusion of analysis. The utilization of the scholarly resources was used to determine the contributing factors for the epidemic of childhood obesity. If interventions such as school based, family based, community based, play based and hospital based are an effective way to address childhood obesity (Karnik amp; Kaneka, 2012). The authors did not study a particular organization but rather used a variety of sources to further their research method. Conclusion Overall, the research process is very extensive and certain methods are used to help gather information. The process starts with retrieving a scholarly peer-reviewed article pertaining to healthcare. After determining, what topic to use it is important to use these methods gain knowledge of analysis.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Idea Of Chivalry And Double Jeopardy Criminology Essay

Idea Of Chivalry And Double Jeopardy Criminology Essay The purpose of the Criminal Justice System is to deliver justice to all, by protecting innocent members of the society, to punish and convict criminals and to provide help to them in an attempt to stop them offending; at least that is what the society expects of the Criminal Justice System. It is supposed to deliver justice in a fair manner regardless of gender. However much is written that suggests otherwise. Chivalry, believed by Pollak (1960) is a theory which claims that women are treated in a less harsh way by the courts and prisons because of their nature as women, which then distorts criminal statistics. However, Gregory Leonard (1982/83) disregard the chivalry factor as the cause of a gender gap in crime and Heidensohn (1985 cited in Jewkes and Letherby 2002 p.180) illustrates the theory of chivalry in a case reported in the Daily Mirror in January 1978 where a mother flogged her eight-year old son with a belt, gave him cold baths and forced him to stand naked for hours at night. The mother was jailed but later allowed to go freely because the courts said she needed to look after her other child. This case is a great illustration of how women are more favoured by the courts than men. This view can be seen as ideological and unsociological as it is based on female biology. Carmen (1983 cited in Jewkes and Letherby 2002 p.183) quotes sherrifs if she is a good mother we dont want to take her away. If shes not it doesnt really matter. This shows that the sentencing of a woman is based on her nurturing nature being of good standard or otherwise. A Home office study research 170, titled Understanding the sentencing of women was a study which made an effort to address the lack of extensive research into the way women are sentenced. The main aim of the study was to establish how the Magistrates go about taking account of the substantive differences in mens and womens lives and their perceptions of justice. The study was in two parts, in part 1 a test carried out suggested that women were less likely than comparable males to receive a prison sentence but they were more likely to be discharged or sentenced to a community penalty. However it was suggested that instead of the findings being interpreted as a general policy of leniency towards women, it should rather be seen that the sentencers may be reluctant to fine a woman possibly because they may be penalising her children, rather than just herself. This may have been all well and good if it were the days when majority of women still upheld their stereotypical domestic role as mothers and keepers of the home. It is part of family ideology that a womans place is in the home, while a mans task is to out to work to earn the money to support his wife and children (Allan, G 1999, p.191). However, we now live in a society where women are now bread winners, house hold duties are also taken on by men, women divorce their husbands for one reason or the other and consequently leaving the children behind for the father to take care of them. The Criminal Justice System might not take into account when sentencing men, that some of them are actually both mother and father to the children and carry out the role of the mother. In part 2 of the study nearly 200 Magistrates were interviewed; the Magistrates said they found it difficult to compare their sentencing between men and women because they dealt with female offenders less frequently. Nonetheless, they distinguished between troubled and troublesome and tended to locate most women in the troubled category. It was par tly because women tended to be first offenders, facing less serious charges than men and because they behaved more respectfully in court. The Magistrates went on to say that because they regarding women offenders as troubled, they responded to their offending with measures (a discharge or probation) designed to assist them to lead law abiding lives rather than punishing them. In an article by Jason Bennetto in The Independent, it is said that more women are committing violent crimes, particularly street robbery, burglary and fighting, and that part of the problem believed to be causing this is the result of neglect, abuse and drug or alcohol addiction. According to a report, Crimes of Desperation 2008, a significant amount of crime committed by females is rooted in poverty. As much as poverty may be the driving force for some, others may simply be using the money they have to fund their drug and alcohol use and subsequently turning to crime to further fund their tendencies. A Survey of over 1,000 mothers in prison, appears to provide some support for this report, 54% said they had no money, 38% needed to support their children, 35% were on drugs or alcoholics, 33% had family problems and 33%had no job. Caddle and Crisp (1997 cited in Newburn, T 2007 p.809) It was argued firstly by Freda Adler and later Rita Simon that female crime rates had been increasing rapidly in the late 80s and early 1970s and that they were changing their offending patterns to more masculine styles; it was due to the growth of the modern womens movement. (Maguire, M. Morgan, R. Reiner, R. 2012) In an empirical research looking at whether men and women offend for similar reasons, it was in relation to property crime that women featured most heavily in, which led to some commentators arguing that many women became involved in criminal activity for mostly to provide for children or family in circumstances where there are limited legitimate opportunities. (Newburn, T. 2007) The point is that female delinquents are not perceived to be merely adopting behaviour more usually associated with males, they are portrayed as being chromosomally or genetically abnormal. This means that the treatment of such o ¬Ã¢â€š ¬enders becomes justi ¬Ã‚ able, the aims, intentionality and rationality of the deviant act are overlooked and the social and cultural conditions under which the act took place can be relegated to the vague status of environ- mental factors whose only role is to occasionally trigger the inherent path- ology of the deviant. Crime and delinquency can thereby be treated as an individual, not social, phenomenon Smart (n.d) An alternative view to that of chivalry is double jeopardy. Heidensohn (1985) suggesting that female offenders are subjected to double jeopardy, meaning that when they are on trial, they are not only on trial for the crime they committed but also also for their femininity. Also, if any, female offenders are penalized for their sexual misconduct, while the male counterparts are not. Therefore the courts operate a double standard for female offenders. Womens low share of recorded criminality has significant consequences for those women who do offend: they are seen to have transgressed not only social norms but gender norms as well. As a result they may, especially when informal sanctions are being taken into account, feel that they are doubly punished. (Maguire, M. Morgan, R. Reiner, R. 2012) In murder cases, women get tougher sentences than men do, because in most cases the murder is premeditated. The case of R v Ahluwalia (1992) is about a woman who was being sexually abused, bullied and violently abused by her husband. After 10 years of abuse, she decided shed had enough and she poured petrol over her husbands body and set fire to him, six days later he died. She was convicted of murder because according S.3 of the Homicide act 1957 there must be a sudden and temporary loss of self-control which she did not possess at the time she killed her husband. It was seen as pre meditated because the abuse took place over 10 years. The defendant was then sentenced to life imprisonment, but was later released. Another case is the one of Zoorah Shah who was given a life sentence for killing her boyfriend by putting arsenic in his food. The courts did not take into account the fact that she was beaten regularly and exploited by her boyfriend to be prostitute. These cases are a majo r contrast to the case of David Hampson: a man smashed the head of his wife with a hammer and killed her. His reason for the murder was that his wife had nagged him for years. The judge accepted his reason as a reasonable excuse to be provoked to kill someone. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years. Looking at these cases it shows the practicality of women being subjected to double jeopardy. It seems that these women are not only being punished for their crime but also because of their biological nature. Also, it seems to show that the courts believe that it is more acceptable for a man to lose his temper as opposed to a woman, because a womans nature is meant to be submissive, calm and rational. Some would say that women should not be aggressive as it is not in their nature. Womens nature should not be a deciding factor when sentencing, if particular sentence is rightly appropriate and deserved then it should be served. If the leniency on women offenders keeps being applied, it only means they wont learn their lesson and will not be deterred in the future to committing crime again. According to a report published in 2010 in the BBC news, statistics showed that re-offending rates by women went up by four times that for men by 16.4%, compared with 4.2%.

Study on the Determinants of Financial Derivatives

Study on the Determinants of Financial Derivatives Introduction Our research article is Determinants of Financial Derivatives. Before moving towards the definition of main purpose and significance of our research article, we want to give a brief introduction of the core keywords of our research article which are Financial Derivatives. 1.1. Introduction A derivative is a financial instrument (or more simply, an agreement between two people/two parties) that has a value determined by the future price of something else. Derivatives can be thought of as bets on the price of something. Suppose you bet with your friend on the price of a bushel of corn. If the price in one year is less than $3 your friend pays you $1. If the price is more than $3 you pay your friend $1. Thus, the underlying in the agreement is the price of corn and the value of the agreement to you depends on that underlying.[1] So derivatives are the collective name used for a broad class of financial instruments that derive their value from other financial instruments (known as the underlying), events or conditions. Essentially, a derivative is a contract between two parties where the value of the contract is linked to the price of another financial instrument or by a specified event or condition. Derivatives are usually broadly categorized by the: Relationship between the underlying and the derivative (e.g. forward, option, swap) Type of underlying (e.g. equity derivatives, foreign exchange derivatives, interest rate derivatives, commodity derivatives or credit derivatives) Market in which they trade (e.g., exchange traded or over-the-counter) Pay-off profile (Some derivatives have non-linear payoff diagrams due to embedded optionality) Another arbitrary distinction is between: Vanilla derivatives (simple and more common) and Exotic derivatives (more complicated and specialized) There is no definitive rule for distinguishing one from the other, so the distinction is mostly a matter of custom. Derivatives are used by investors to Provide leverage or gearing, such that a small movement in the underlying value can cause a large difference in the value of the derivative Speculate and to make a profit if the value of the underlying asset moves the way they expect (e.g. moves in a given direction, stays in or out of a specified range, reaches a certain level) Hedge or mitigate risk in the underlying, by entering into a derivative contract whose value moves in the opposite direction to their underlying position and cancels part or all of it out Obtain exposure to underlying where it is not possible to trade in the underlying (e.g. weather derivatives) Create optionability where the value of the derivative is linked to a specific condition or event (e.g. the underlying reaching a specific price level) Uses Hedging Hedging is a technique that attempts to reduce risk. In this respect, derivatives can be considered a form of insurance. Derivatives allow risk about the price of the underlying asset to be transferred from one party to another. For example, a wheat farmer and a miller could sign a futures contract to exchange a specified amount of cash for a specified amount of wheat in the future. Both parties have reduced a future risk: for the wheat farmer, the uncertainty of the price, and for the miller, the availability of wheat. However, there is still the risk that no wheat will be available because of events unspecified by the contract, like the weather, or that one party will renege on the contract. Although a third party, called a clearing house, insures a futures contract, not all derivatives are insured against counter-party risk. From another perspective, the farmer and the miller both reduce a risk and acquire a risk when they sign the futures contract: The farmer reduces the risk that the price of wheat will fall below the price specified in the contract and acquires the risk that the price of wheat will rise above the price specified in the contract (thereby losing additional income that he could have earned). The miller, on the other hand, acquires the risk that the price of wheat will fall below the price specified in the contract (thereby paying more in the future than he otherwise would) and reduces the risk that the price of wheat will rise above the price specified in the contract. In this sense, one party is the insurer (risk taker) for one type of risk, and the counter-party is the insurer (risk taker) for another type of risk. Hedging also occurs when an individual or institution buys an asset (like a commodity, a bond that has coupon payments, a stock that pays dividends, and so on) and sells it using a futures contract. The individual or institution has access to the asset for a specified amount of time, and then can sell it in the future at a specified price according to the futures contract. Of course, this allows the individual or institution the benefit of holding the asset while reducing the risk that the future selling price will deviate unexpectedly from the markets current assessment of the future value of the asset. Derivatives traded at the Chicago Board of Trade. Derivatives serve a legitimate business purpose. For example, a corporation borrows a large sum of money at a specific interest rate.[2] The rate of interest on the loan resets every six months. The corporation is concerned that the rate of interest may be much higher in six months. The corporation could buy a forward rate agreement (FRA). A forward rate agreement is a contract to pay a fixed rate of interest six months after purchases on a notional sum of money.[3] If the interest rate after six months is above the contract rate the seller pays the difference to the corporation, or FRA buyer. If the rate is lower the corporation would pay the difference to the seller. The purchase of the FRA would serve to reduce the uncertainty concerning the rate increase and stabilize earnings. Speculation and arbitrage Derivatives can be used to acquire risk, rather than to insure or hedge against risk. Thus, some individuals and institutions will enter into a derivative contract to speculate on the value of the underlying asset, betting that the party seeking insurance will be wrong about the future value of the underlying asset. Speculators will want to be able to buy an asset in the future at a low price according to a derivative contract when the future market price is high, or to sell an asset in the future at a high price according to a derivative contract when the future market price is low. Individuals and institutions may also look for arbitrage opportunities, as when the current buying price of an asset falls below the price specified in a futures contract to sell the asset. Speculative trading in derivatives gained a great deal of notoriety in 1995 when Nick Leeson, a trader at Barings Bank, made poor and unauthorized investments in futures contracts. Through a combination of poor judgment, lack of oversight by the banks management and by regulators, and unfortunate events like the Kobe earthquake, Leeson incurred a $1.3 billion loss that bankrupted the centuries-old institution. Types of derivatives OTC and Exchange-traded Broadly speaking there are two distinct groups of derivative contracts, which are distinguished by the way they are traded in the market: Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives are contracts that are traded (and privately negotiated) directly between two parties, without going through an exchange or other intermediary. Products such as swaps, forward rate agreements, and exotic options are almost always traded in this way. The OTC derivative market is the largest market for derivatives, and is largely unregulated with respect to disclosure of information between the parties, since the OTC market is made up of banks and other highly sophisticated parties, such as hedge funds. Reporting of OTC amounts are difficult because trades can occur in private, without activity being visible on any exchange. According to the Bank for International Settlements, the total outstanding notional amount is $684 trillion (as of June 2008).[5] Of this total notional amount, 67% are interest rate contracts, 8% are credit default swaps (CDS), 9% are foreign exchange contracts, 2% are commodity contracts, 1% are equity contracts, and 12% are oth er. Because OTC derivatives are not traded on an exchange, there is no central counter-party. Therefore, they are subject to counter-party risk, like an ordinary contract, since each counter-party relies on the other to perform. Exchange-traded derivative contracts (ETD) are those derivatives instruments that are traded via specialized derivatives exchanges or other exchanges. A derivatives exchange is a market where individuals trade standardized contracts that have been defined by the exchange. A derivatives exchange acts as an intermediary to all related transactions, and takes Initial margin from both sides of the trade to act as a guarantee. The worlds largest derivatives exchanges (by number of transactions) are the Korea Exchange (which lists KOSPI Index Futures Options), Eurex (which lists a wide range of European products such as interest rate index products), and CME Group (made up of the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade and the 2008 acquisition of the New York Mercantile Exchange). According to BIS, the Scombined turnover in the worlds derivatives exchanges totaled USD 344 trillion during Q4 2005. Some types of derivative instruments also may trade on traditional exchanges. For instance, hybrid instruments such as convertible bonds and/or convertible preferred may be listed on stock or bond exchanges. Also, warrants (or rights) may be listed on equity exchanges. Performance Rights, Cash xPRTs and various other instruments that essentially consist of a complex set of options bundled into a simple package are routinely listed on equity exchanges. Like other derivatives, these publicly traded derivatives provide investors access to risk/reward and volatility characteristics that, while related to an underlying commodity, nonetheless are distinctive. Common derivative contract types There are three major classes of derivatives: Futures/Forwards are contracts to buy or sell an asset on or before a future date at a price specified today? A futures contract differs from a forward contract in that the futures contract is a standardized contract written by a clearing house that operates an exchange where the contract can be bought and sold, while a forward contract is a non-standardized contract written by the parties themselves. Options are contracts that give the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy (in the case of a call option) or sell (in the case of a put option) an asset. The price at which the sale takes place is known as the strike price, and is specified at the time the parties enter into the option. The option contract also specifies a maturity date. In the case of a European option, the owner has the right to require the sale to take place on (but not before) the maturity date; in the case of an American option, the owner can require the sale to take place at any time up to the maturity date. If the owner of the contract exercises this right, the counter-party has the obligation to carry out the transaction. Swaps are contracts to exchange cash (flows) on or before a specified future date based on the underlying value of currencies/exchange rates, bonds/interest rates, commodities, stocks or other assets. More complex derivatives can be created by combining the elements of these basic types. For example, the holder of a swaption has the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap on or before a specified future date. 1.2. PROBLEM STATEMENT: The problem statement on which we are doing research is as follows: What are the Determinants that define the activities towards Financial Derivatives? 1.3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The main objective of our research is that which one of this independent variable like Risk, Yield Spread etc affects the financial derivatives the most or which one of the following indicates the most involvement in financial derivative. 1.4. Limitations:- There are few limitations which are as under. The data which we are considering is only from Islamabad stock exchange. Out of numerous variables we have selected only four. 1.5. Plan:- Rest of the thesis is organized as fallows. In chapter II we have produced a literature review. In chapter III Data is collected and statistical tools are applied. In chapter IV the results are interpreted. In chapter V conclusions and recommendations are given. Chapter II Literature Review Credit derivatives and risk aversion in this article author discuss the valuation of credit derivatives in extreme regimes such as when the time-to-maturity is short, or when payoff is contingent upon a large number of defaults, as with senior trenches of collateralized debt obligations. In these cases, risk aversion may play an important role, especially when there is little liquidity, and utility-indifference valuation may apply. Specifically, we analyze how short-term yield spreads from default able bonds in a structural model may be raised due to investor risk aversion. Using derivatives to manage risk this Refers to some well-publicized failures with derivatives, and seeks explanations for these problems; points to the role of the US treasury department as a profit centre, and presents a three-phase risk management framework for the successful use of derivatives risk identification/determination of the desired risk profile, implementation (to include factors such as the role of the board in the co-ordination of resources), evaluation/feedback. Shows how three celebrated cases of derivatives fiasco failed in respect of various aspects of this framework (these being Gibson Greetings, Procter Gamble and Metallgesellschaft AG). Petersen and Thiagarajan (2000) Estimates and compares the risk exposure of two firms operating in the gold mining industry. Suggests that the difference between the two firms lies in the risks that they choose to manage and the tools that they use. It presents an extensive analysis of the building blocks underlying the effects of risk management including operating cash flows, taxable income, investment opportunities and equity risk exposure. Shows how one uses adjustments to the quality of ore extracted as a partial hedge against gold price fluctuations, whilst the other uses derivatives to reduce the fluctuations in its revenues and therefore operating cash flows. Comments on the incentives for risk reduction and their effect on the management of gold price risk, noting that compensation strategies can lead to differing managerial objectives. Argues that the use of alternative forms of risk management is a conscious choice by firms and that the use of derivatives should be seen ag ainst the alternative tools available. Alister and Mansfield (1980) states that Derivatives have been an expanding and controversial feature of the financial markets since the late 1980s. They are used by a wide range of manufacturers and investors to manage risk. This paper analyses the role and potential of financial derivatives investment property portfolio management. The limitations and problems of direct investment in commercial property are briefly discussed and the main principles and types of derivatives are analysed and explained. The potential of financial derivatives to mitigate many of the problems associated with direct property investment is examined. The management of foreign currency risk: derivatives use and the natural hedge of geographic diversification Summer 1999 Notes the lack of evidence of large companies use of foreign exchange derivatives (FXDs), related to the geographical diversification natural hedge, an alternative method of avoiding risk. Builds a model of company behavior, sampling 309 US companies by industry, including FXD, foreign sales, a sales-based Herfindahl index, and market value. Finds a significant and positive relationship between the use of FXDs and the level of foreign exchange exposure; and a negative relationship between geographic dispersion and FXD. Shows that there are economies of scale in FXD use, and that the findings are robust to industry membership and geographic diversification. Emory presents evidence consistent with managers using derivatives and discretionary accruals as partial substitutes for smoothing earnings. Using 1994-1996 data for a sample of Fortune5 00 firms, I estimate a set of simultaneous equations that captures managers incentives to maintain a desired level of earnings volatility through hedging and accrual management. These incentives include increasing managerial compensation and wealth, reducing corporate income taxes and debt financing costs, avoiding underinvestment and earnings surprises, and mitigating volatility caused by low diversification. After controlling for such incentives, I find a significant negative association between derivatives notional amounts and proxies for the magnitude of discretionary accruals. Gay and Nam analyzed the underinvestment problem as a determinant of corporate hedging policy. We find evidence of a positive relation between a firms derivatives use and its growth opportunities, as proxied by several alternative measures. For firms with enhanced investment opportunities, derivatives use is greater when they also have relatively low cash stocks. Firms whose investment expenditures are positively correlated with internal cash flows tend to have smaller derivatives positions, which suggest potential natural hedges. Our findings support the argument that firms derivatives use may partly be driven by the need to avoid potential underinvestment problems. Patil (2008) states that the Reserve Bank of Indias Working Group on Rupee Derivatives has, interalia, recommended introduction of exchange traded derivatives to supplement OTC derivatives. But before we introduce exchange traded interest rates futures it is necessary to be fully aware of the ground realities. The basic issue is the healthy development of the market and abolition of the regulations that artificially protect the interests of a set of intermediaries whose role and functions have got significantly reduced with massive induction of IT applications into the capital and financial markets. Regulatory reforms should facilitate continuous reduction in transaction costs and up gradation of transactional efficiency across different segments of the market. A regulatory regime that ends up protecting the role of certain players merely because they played a useful role in the past in the development of some segments of the markets would be doing a disservice Hentschel and Kothari makes Public discussion about corporate use of derivatives focuses on whether firms use derivatives to reduce or increase firm risk. In contrast, empirical academic studies of corporate derivatives use take it for granted that firms hedge with derivatives. Using data from financial statements of 425 large U.S. corporations, we investigate whether firms systematically reduce or increase their riskiness with derivatives. We find that many firms manage their exposures with large derivatives positions. Nonetheless, compared to firms that do not use financial derivatives, firms that use derivatives display few, if any, measurable differences in risk that are associated with the use of derivatives. Brinson, Randolph Hood and Beebower (1986), states that in order to delineate investment responsibility and measure performance contribution, pension plan sponsors and investment managers need a clear and relevant method of attributing returns to those activities that compose the investment management process- investment policy, market timing and security selection. The authors provide a simple framework based on a passive, benchmark portfolio representing the plans long-term asset classes, weighted by their long-term allocations. Returns on this investment policy portfolio are compared with the actual returns resulting from the combination of investment policy plus market timing (over or underweighting asset classes relative to the plan benchmark) and security selection (active selection within an asset class). Data from 91 large U.S. pension plans over the 1974-83 period indicate that investment policy dominates investment strategy (market timing and security selection), explaining on average 93.6 per cent of the variation in total plan return. The actual mean average total return on the portfolio over the period was 9.01 per cent, versus 10.11 per cent for the benchmark portfolio. Active management cost the average plan 1.10 per cent per year, although its effects on individual plans varied greatly, adding as much as 3.69 per cent per year. Although investment strategy can result in significant returns, these are dwarfed by the return contribution from investment policy-the selection of asset classes and their normal weights. Markides (1995) concluded that there is increasing evidence (especially in the business press) that over the past decade, many U.S. corporations have restructured. For example, Lewis (1990: 43) estimates that nearly half of large U.S. corporations have restructured in the 1980s. Similarly, a special report on corporate restructuring published in the Wall Street Journal (1985: 1) found that out of the 850 of North Americas largest corporations, 398 (47%) of them restructured. A major problem with many of these studies on restructuring is that they do not define exactly what is meant by restructuring. Corporate actions such as share repurchasing, refocusing, alliances, consolidations and leveraged recapitalizations can all fall under the general term restructuring; therefore, a researcher needs to look at these forms of restructuring separately if any generalizations are to be made. In this study, we focus on one specific type of restructuring, namely corporate refocusing. By this we m ean the voluntary or involuntary reduction in the diversification of U.S. firms-usually, but not necessarily, achieved through major divestitures-what Bhagat, Shleifer, and Vishny (1990) call the return to corporate specialization. We focus on this type of restructuring because according to the existing evidence it is by far the most common and most beneficial form of restructuring undertaken by firms (e.g., Lewis, 1990; Wall Street Journal, 1985). According to existing evidence, a significant proportion of major diversified firms in the U.S. have reduced their diversification in the 1980s by refocusing on their core businesses (for statistical evidence, see Lichtenberg, 1990; Mark- ides, 1990; Porter, 1987; Williams, Paez and Sanders, 1988). For example, Markides (1993) reported that at least 20 percent and as many as 50 percent of the Fortune 500 firms refocused in the period 1981-87. He also found that refocusing is a 1980s phenomenon: using the Rumelt (1974) strategic categories of diversification, he reported that whereas only 1 percent of the Fortune 500 firms were refocusing in the 1960s, more than 20 percent were doing so in the 1980s. Other studies have shown that these refocusing firms are characteriz ed by high diversification and poor profitability relative to their industry counter- parts, and that refocusing is associated ex-ante with improved stockmarket value (e.g., Comment and Jarrell, 1991; Markides, 1992a,b; Montgom- ery and Wilson, 1986). Yet, as Shleifer and Vishny (1991: 54) argue, there is very little ex- post evidence that refocusing is associated with profitability improvements. Doukas and Lang In this study they present evidence that geographic diversification increases shareholder value and improves long-term performance when firms engage in core-related foreign direct (greenfield) investments. Non-core-related foreign investments are found to be associated with both short-term and long-term losses. Our results suggest that the synergy gains stemming from the internalization of markets are rooted in the core business of the firm. Geographic diversification outside the core business of the firm bears strongly against the prediction of the internalization hypothesis. The analysis also shows that, regardless of the industrial structure of the firm (that is, number of segments), foreign direct investments outside the core business of the firm are associated with a loss in shareholder value, whereas core-related (focused) foreign direct investments are found to be value increasing. Unrelated international diversification, however, is less harmful for diversifie d (multi- segment) than specialized (single-segment) firms. The larger gains to diversified firms suggest that operational and internal capital market efficiency gains are considerably greater in multi-segment than single-segment firms when both expand their core business overseas. James and Finkelshtain (1965) said the effects of multivariate risk are examined in a model of portfolio choice. The conditions under which portfolio choices are separable from consumption decisions are derived. Unless the appropriate restrictions hold on investors preferences or on the probability distribution of risks, the optimal portfolio is affected by other risks. This requires generalizing the usual measures of risk aversion. With one risky asset, matrix measures of risk aversion are used to generalize the results of Arrow (1965) and Pratt (1964) concerning the effects of risk aversion and wealth on the optimal portfolio. With two risky assets, the choices made by two investors coincide if and only if their generalized risk-aversion measures are identical. Rosss notion of stronger risk aversion is then used to characterize the effect of risk aversion on the level of investment in the riskier asset. Browne (2000) tells us that Active portfolio management is concerned with objectives related to the out performance of the return of a target benchmark portfolio. In this paper, we consider a dynamic active portfolio management problem where the objective is related to the tradeoff between the achievement of performance goals and the risk of a shortfall. Specifically, we consider an objective that relates the probability of achieving a given performance objective to the time it takes to achieve the objective. This allows a new direct quantitative analysis of the risk/return tradeoff, with risk defined directly in terms of probability of shortfall relative to the bench- mark, and return defined in terms of the expected time to reach investment goals relative to the benchmark. The resulting optimal policy is a state-dependent policy that provides new insights. As a special case, our analysis includes the case where the investor wants to minimize the expected time until a given performa nce goal is reached subject to a constraint on the shortfall probability. On the basis of this literature review we have developed the following Theoretical framework. 2.2. THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK: The importance of: Risk_ Response Index Yield Spread_ Response Index Liquidity_ Response Index Geographical Diversification_ Response Index Financial Derivatives (Swap, Option, Future and Forward Contracts) For 2.3 Hypothesis: H0:  µ H1:  µ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 3.5 If the mean respondent is 3.5 or above it means the factor is important because at the rating scale 1 is for strongly disagree and 5 is for strongly agree. Chapter III Data and Methodology 3.1. NATURE OF STUDY: This study was descriptive in nature and will describe the Risk, Yield spread, Liquidity, Geographical diversification in the term of determinants of Financial Derivatives. The study setting for this study is non-contrived in nature i.e. it was conducted in the normal work place and routine working conditions. 3.2. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION: Data for this study was collected from the participants of the Islamabad Stock Exchange. These people were working or participating in the stock exchange where the people had knowledge about risk, yield spread, liquidity and geographical diversification. That is why; it was easier for us to conduct our research in Islamabad Stock Exchange to conclude our results that which one of the following factors like risk, yield spread, liquidity, and geographical diversification shows the maximum involvement in the determining of financial derivatives. 3.3. RESPONDENTS OF RESEARCH: Data were collected from 100 participants. Participants were asked to fill the questionnaire which was helpful to lead us towards the result and conclusion of our research. All participants were asked to write down on the questionnaire their gender and age. 3.4. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT: Questionnaire is an efficient data collection mechanism where we know exactly what is required and measures the variables of interest. Questionnaires were made with enough number of questions covering all the related areas. This helped us to conclude our result by measuring the affect of determinants on financial derivatives. Questionnaires were personally handed over to the participants by us. All surveys were completed during working hours. Respondents were guaranteed that their data would remain confidential. Respondents were instructed to indicate their opinions about the questions to rate on a Likert Scale. This scale was designed to examine how strongly respondents agree or disagree with statements on a 5-points scale with the following anchors; 3.5. DATA INTERPRETATION: Statistical tools were used for the interpretation of data. These tools included t-test, correlation and descriptive statistics to find the involvement of independent variables in determining the financial derivatives. In other words, statistical tool of correlation were applied to interpret the relationship between the indexes of independent variables and t-test was used to determine the involvement of independent variable in determining the financial derivatives. The total data was divided into two halves: Participants Below median age (39 and below) Participants above median age (above 39) We have applied sample mean test at  µ=3.5. Chapter IV Findings R1: Risky nature of instrument is not a matter of concern for me. R2: Since high risk means high return therefore I will shift to the risky securities. R3: Would you shift from one stock to another to reduce risk at the cost of return? R4: It is feasible to add a percentage of low risk securities to a portfolio. L1: Is a highly liquid security attractive to an investor L2: The stocks in which you trade are relatively liquid which attracts you towards them. L3: Liquidity reflects the performance of a firm therefore for diversification it is important Y1: Yield spread helps the investor to determine which security would be the better investment. Y2: Change in demand supply of the securities effect the yield spread change therefore I shift towards low yield spread. Y3: The market is forecasting a greater risk of default which implies a slowing economy (narrowing of spreads between bonds of different risk ratings) G1: Geographical diversification increases the potential return on your investment / portfolio. G2: Geographical diversification allows combining a diversification across domestic and foreign securities. In case of G1, H0 is accepted it implies people do not conside