Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries

1. Introduction. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are growing at an alarming rate. This growth can be attributed to a number of factors including globalisation, financial liberalisation which has led to an increase in cross-border capital flows, technological developments and the internet. These countries are forecast to witness tremendous growth in the years ahead. The alarming growth of BRIC countries has attracted investors in search of suitable environments for portfolio diversification to consider BRIC countries as potential destinations for diversifying their portfolios. This paper presents a proposal to study the link between business cycles and momentum trading in the BRIC stock markets. The paper aims at understanding how business cycle risk affects momentum profits in BRIC countries. The study also seeks to provide an understanding of how momentum profits are affected by firm specific characteristics such as firm size and book-to-market ratios in BRIC countries. 2. Objectives of the study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of business cycle risk on momentum profits and thus momentum trading in BRIC countries. Research Questions The study aims at answering the following questions: Are there momentum profits in the stock markets of BRIC countries If so, what is the impact of Business Cycle risk on these profits What are the regulatory implications of momentum profits in BRIC countries Significance of the Study The study is significant to market regulators in that it will enable them design regulatory requirements aimed at reducing inefficiencies in BRIC stock markets thereby increasing their ability to attract capital. The study will also help foreign investors to gain more confidence in BRIC countries. Finally, the study will serve as a reference point for future researchers interested in conducting research on momentum profits. 5. Literature Review. A momentum trading strategy is a trading strategy that is designed based on past performance. The trading strategy is based on the assumption that â€Å"history will repeat itself†. A momentum trading strategy is therefore a strategy, which assumes that the return performance will persist in the medium term (Signos and Chelley, 1994). Momentum profits were first observed by Jegadeesh and Titman (1993). Accordingly, the study observed that stocks that performed well in a previous period also performed well in the current period, while those that performed poorly in the previous period also performed poorly in the current period. This means that a trading strategy that went long on previous winners while shorting previous losers would result in positive abnormal returns. In particular Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) observed the realisation of positive abnormal returns of 1 percent with the momentum strategy. In addition, a number of other studies have observed significant positive abnormal returns with the momentum trading strategy (e.g., Moskowitz and Grinblatt, 1999; Jegadeesh and Titman, 2001; Liu et al. (1999), Hong and Tonks, 2003; Gregory et al., 2001; Griffin et al., 2003; Gregory et al. 2001; Rouwenhorst 1998). The implication of the existence of such a Band Wagon (money making strategy) is that markets were not efficient. According to the weak- and semi-strong form efficient market hypotheses, all information available to the general public is already reflected in stock prices. This means that investors cannot realise superior risk adjusted returns by adopting a particular trading strategy such as the one proposed by momentum trading (Ross et al., 1999; Bodie et al., 2007). Attempts to attribute this finding to inefficient markets have been opposed by Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) who argued that observing momentum profits cannot be attributed to inefficient capital markets. Rather the single factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM) has been criticised for not being able to properly explain the variability of the cross-section of stock returns. This model suggests that stock market returns depend on a single factor (i.e., the return on the market portfolio). However, Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) contest this view and argue instead that stock returns could be explained by additional factors such as the book-to-market ratio and firm size. A three factor model is therefore proposed which takes into account the impact of size and book-to-market ratio and is found to perform better than the single factor CAPM (Fama and French, 1993, 1995, 1996). In addition, the three factor model was extended to a four-factor model to include a momentum factor w hich measures the difference between the return on portfolios of stocks that performed well in the previous period and the return on portfolios of stocks that performed poorly. Including a momentum factor in the three-factor model thus making it a four-factor model enabled the model to be able to explain the momentum profits observed in Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) and the other studies identified in the Literature. In summary, Fama and French argue that anomalies such as those observed in momentum trading cannot be attributed to inefficiencies in capital markets. Rather they should be attributed to inadequacies in the models that are used in explaining the cross-section of stock returns. Other explanations have been offered for the observation of momentum profits. According to behavioural finance theorist, momentum profits are a result of slow movement of information. Behavioural finance theorists are against market efficiency theorists who argue that information is rapidly reflected in stock prices. Among behavioural theorists, Hong and Stein (1999) argue that momentum profits can be attributed to slow diffusion of information across interested investors. This means that some investors receive information about stock prices earlier than others and as such appropriate action faster than others. By so doing, investors who have quick access to information are capable of making superior abnormal returns while those who do not have quick access to information tend not to make superior risk-adjusted returns by using such information as a basis of trading. Barberis et al. (1998) argues that momentum profits can be attributed to overreaction or underreaction of stock prices to news. The explanation from behavioural theorists conflict with those of Fama and French because behavioural theorists also suggest that there is nothing like an efficient market. Given the conflict between behavioural theorists and proponents of market efficiency, alternative explanations have been provided by recent studies. These studies argue that momentum profits are influenced by business cycle variables (e.g., Antoniou et al., 2007; Liew and Vassalou, 1999). Contrary to this view Griffen et al. (2002) in a study examining the link between business cycle variables and momentum profits across many countries argue that momentum profits are not a function of business cycle variables. While many studies have investigated the relationship between business cycle variables, most of these studies focus on developed markets with very little attention paid to emerging markets such as those of BRIC countries. Given the increasing role that BRIC countries play in the global economy, it is important to understand whether there are momentum profits in these countries as well as the role that business cycle risk has on momentum profits. This study is therefore a positive step toward contributing to the literature on momentum profits and business cycle risk by extending previous studies to stock markets in BRIC countries. 5. Research Methods This study will employ an econometric model to study the relationship between momentum profits and three sets of variables: (i) business cycle variables; (ii) firm specific variables (iii); and behavioural finance variables. The relationship between momentum profits and these variables can be represented using the following econometric model: (1) Where is a measure of the momentum profit of country i at in year t; is a vector of firm specific variables; is a vector of the past cumulative raw returns; and are the sensitivities of the momentum profits to changes in firm-specific variables and past cumulative returns respectively. The magnitude of the effect of these variables will be determined by testing the significance of the parameters at the 5% level of significance. In order to study business cycle variables, a model was developed by Chordia and Shivakumar (2002) and later extended by Antoniou et al. (2007). The model is an econometric model which establishes the relationship between momentum profits and business cycle variables. The model can be stated as follows: Where is the return (inclusive of dividends) of firm i in month t, BC is a vector of j (j=1-6) macroeconomic variables representing business cycle variables (DY, Rf, TERM, DEF, FX, and GDP), and is the error term of stock i in month t. DY is the dividend yield; Rf is the risk-free interest rate; DEF is the premium for default risk premium which is estimated as the difference between the yield on long-term corporate bonds and the yield on long-term government bonds; The term spread (TERM) is the difference between the yield on long-term government securities minus the yield on short-term government securities; FX is the foreign exchange rate; and GDP is the change in GDP (Antoniou et al., 2007). As earlier mentioned, stock returns depend on two factors: market factors and firm-specific factors. There is a trade-off relationship between the manner in which each group of factors affect stock returns. That is the higher the impact of firm-specific factors, the lower will be the impact of market factors and vice versa (Antoniou et al., 2007). To estimate equation (1) equations 3 has to be estimated and its parameters used as inputs to equation (2). After estimating equation (2) its parameters can then be used as inputs to equation (1). In this study, both time-series and cross-sectional regressions are used. Cross-sectional regressions are preferred over time series regressions because they help to avoid data-snooping biases which tend to occur in time-series regressions. In the time-series regressions, individual stocks are used which help to reduce the degree of loss of information that tends to occur when portfolios are used. Using first-pass time series regression, which allows the parameters to also fluctuate with firm-specific variables. The firm-specific factors include firm size and book-to-market ratio. The first-pass time-series regression can be stated as follows; is the return on firm i at time t, BC is a the vector of business cycle risk variables identified earlier, FF (Fama and French factors) are the firm-specific variables. Once equation (3) has been estimated, the parameters will be used as inputs to the second pass regression equation (4) below: Where is the output of equation (3). It is the unexplained variation from equation (3). These include the intercept coefficient and the residual term (+) of the regression equation (3); is a vector of firm characteristics, which include firm size and book-to-market ratio for security i at time t. represent the three sets of past cumulative raw returns (for m=1-3) over the second through third (RET 2-3), fourth through sixth (RET 4-6) and seventh through twelfth (RET 7-12) months prior to the current month t. (Antoniou et al. 2007). 6. Data Stock price data for stocks in the BRIC countries will be retrieved from the Thomson Financial Datastream Database. Data on dividend yields will also be retrieved from this database. The database also reports data on exchange rates. GDP, interest rate and exchange rate data will be retrieved from the IMF International Financial Statistics (IFS) database. Stock price data will be used to calculate the monthly return for each stock over the 60 monthly holding periods from January 2007 to December 2011. The returns will be used as inputs to the first-pass regression. References Griffin, John M., Martin, J. Spencer and Ji, Susan, â€Å"Momentum Investing and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from Pole to Pole† (March 18, 2002). AFA 2003 Washington, DC Meetings; EFA 2002 Berlin Meetings Presented Paper. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=291225 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.291225 Antoniou A., Lam H. Y.T., Paudyal K. (2007). Profitability of momentum strategies in international markets: The role of business cycle variables and behavioural biases. Journal of Banking & Finance volume 31, issue 3, pp. 955-972. Liew, Jimmy K.yung Soo and Vassalou, Maria, (1999). â€Å"Can Book-to-Market, Size, and Momentum Be Risk Factors That Predict Economic Growth?† Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=159293 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.159293 Rouwenhorst, K.G. (1998). International momentum strategies, Journal of Finance 53, pp. 267–284. Wu, X. (2002). A conditional multifactor analysis of return momentum, Journal of Banking and Finance 26 (2002), pp. 1675–1696 Jegadeesh N., Titman S. (1998). Returns to buying winners and selling losers: Implications for market efficiency, Journal of Finance 48, pp. 65–91. Barberis N., Shleifer A., Vishny R.W.(1998). A model of investor sentiment, Journal of Financial Economics 49, pp. 307–343. Fama E.F., French K.R. (1996). Multifactor explanations of asset pricing anomalies, Journal of Finance 51 (1996), pp. 55–84. Hong H., Stein J.C. (1999). A Unified Theory of Undereaction, Momentum Trading, and Overreaction in Asset Markets. Journal of Finance. Vol. 6, pp 2143-2184 Chelley-Steeley, Patricia and Siganos, Antonios, (2004). â€Å"Momentum Profits in Alternative Stock Market Structures†. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=624583

Multinational Perspective Essay

Multinational corporations originated from the need for substantial capital and limited risks for large industrial or commercial consortiums for overseas trade. The modern concept of multinational corporations came into being during the 17th and 18th centuries and a good example of such a venture is the British East India Company in South Asia and the Dutch East India Company in South East Asia’s Indo-Chinese Peninsula. With the current communications and management technologies available, more companies are able to make the most out of international trade liberalization.  Ã‚   Today, multinational corporations are expanding themselves to increase their markets, increase brand presence and image and benefit from inexpensive raw materials and labor (Chang, 2003). Scenario for Multinational Corporations Currently, there is an estimated 40,000 multinational corporation’s world wide in and approximately 250,000 overseas collaborations running cross-continental operations. Most multinational corporations are from the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. By 1995, the top 200 multinational corporations alone had collective revenues reaching of $7.1 Trillion which is equivalent to 28.3 percent of the gross domestic product globally (Bernal, Kaukab, and Yu, 2005). The operations of multinational corporations are governed by the policies of The World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. Though the traditional view of multinational corporations is that of big manufacturers, current trends and developments in technology have also given rise to â€Å"micro-multinationals†[1] as well business process outsourcing (BPO) ventures (Ewing, 2005). Among the countries being targeted for multination expansion, China and India are the current top favorites of multinational companies (McKinsey Global Institute [MGI], 2004). Globalization has allowed access to markets via technology and has reduced distribution, lower internal coordination costs.   It has also allowed for networking of specialized services and products in support of corporate functions through BPO’s whether within the companies internal operations or its external activities (Ewing, 2005). Entry to Developing Markets   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though the scenario of multinational expansion has changed, the methods of entry remain traditional in most developing countries (Hoos, 2000; Tubbs and Schulz, 2006). Strategies to enter new markets for multinational corporations are by mergers or direct acquisition, sequential market entry and through joint ventures Mergers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merger or direct acquisition of existing companies is the forthright entry to a market. This is the strategy usually employed by large multinational corporations. It maximizes the economies of scale advantage to overcome barriers to entry (Ewing, 2005; Multinational Corporations, 2006). Considered as foreign direct investments (FDI), they are subject to not only commercial regulation but are also direct affected by fiscal and investment policies by the host country, and related international trade policies (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], 2005). Beginning in 2004, it has been identified as a critical in developing countries and studies have been commissioned to quantify their impact of the economies of developing countries (UNCTAD, 2004). The first ranked for FDI is India and was followed closely by China (Kearney, 2004). Though India has been able to outrank China and Mexico, China actually acquires more FDI significantly either country since 2002 (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, 2005; MGI, 2004). Sequential Market Entry Sequential market entry involves foreign direct investment and getting hold of a sector if the market related to the parent’s companies core line of business, usually its key product or competency. It is different from a merger that it that the parent company does not bring in all of products, services or operations into a host country (Multinational Corporations, 2006). This method is the preferred by smaller companies and conservative business to begin their multinational operations (Kearney, 2004). Sony, in its initial expansion to the United States first limited its operations to manufacturing televisions but eventually expanded its operations to the production of magnetic tape and eventually to the production of audio in the 1970’s. Today, Sony’s operations in the United States include semiconductors and personal communications. Sony’s United States operation used its expertise and leadership in manufacturing television to establish itself in the industry and its local competition and then used this it as leverage to expand its products in the United States (Multinational Corporations, 2006). Another development in multinational operations is that outsourcing of operations or services to other countries. According to both UNCTAD 2004 and 2005 reports, BPO is one of fastest growing industries globally. Joint Ventures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joint ventures are operational or service partnerships with companies already existing or operating in the host country. This method of entry is limits is not as liberal as mergers or sequential market entry but is effective when entering heavily regulated markets. The method has been in particular use in entering the markets of China, the Soviet Union and that of Eastern Europe (Multinational Corporations, 2006). The issue of limited control for parent companies is the usually critique of this method and has raised issues regarding liberalization issues (Bernal, Kaukab, and Yu, 2005). Host countries and venture partners significantly benefit from the transfer of technology and management while parent companies are able to enter otherwise restrictive market. The concern for multinational companies however is the development of conflicts with joint venture partners who can become competitors (Multinational Corporations, 2006). Another concern for most multinational corporations regarding entering into joint ventures is that local policies, which their joint venture partners are subject to, are easily changeable. The creation of stable industry policies that may affect joint ventures and similar partnerships is one of the major focuses of developing countries trying to attract more investments (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, 2005). This move has been supported by the current agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the United Nations (UNCTAD, 2004). Multinational Corporations in Developing Countries   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Entering into s developing market requires the recognition and creation of strategies to deal with poor economic conditions, low educational levels, technological barriers or lack of existing channels and infrastructures for the distribution of the product and service (UNCTAD, 2005). Globalization and Trade Liberalization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A major reason for multinational expansion is accessing a wider market. This coincides with the international agenda of globalization and trade liberalization. The Asian Financial Crisis may still be a haunting scenario for many investors (Bernal, Kaukab, and Yu, 2005), but the current trends in Asia, particularly China and India, is creating renewed interest in expanding to developing countries (MGI, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The efforts of developing countries to liberalize trade and industries have also been encouraging. Recent trends have allowed the return of Coca-Cola to India (Nayak, 2006), the ranking of Asia as the most attractive FDI region (Kearney, 2006) and the growing success on BPO’s in India and the Philippines (UNCTAD, 2005).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The operations of multinational corporations have been constructive in the development of markets, the introduction of new products and the development of industries as a whole. Investments of these companies have helped stressed local economies space and opportunity to expand. The technology and management knowledge that multinational companies bring in has helped local research and development to improve standard practices and policies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Multinational companies have been able to benefit from reduced labor, materials or overall operation costs. A significant benefit of going global is establishing brand and product presence. Many companies have also benefited from the variated market that globalization has provided them increasing product efficiency and marketability. Global Trend and Scenario   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though multinational corporations significantly contribute to international trade and development have not enjoyed acclaim. Their presence and nature if operations is said to be more detrimental to local economies than beneficial (Baitu, 2006; Tubbs and Schulz, 2006, Chang, 2003). Studies have also shown the negative effects of the operation of multinational corporations prompted some governments to take a protectionist approach which ahs deterred not only these corporations but trade liberalization in general (Wysocki, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the UNCTAD report regarding multinational corporations in least developed countries (UNCTAD, 2002), the â€Å"highly centralized nature of these corporations† is the main apprehension against them. Though multinational corporations contribute significantly to local economies in the form of investment, technology and commerce, there is very little barrier to exit from the local industry in case of a national economic downturn (Hoos, 2000). They have been said to have contributed to the aggravation of labor conditions, environmental degradation, and degeneration of social conditions, declined local industries and livelihood, and raised inflation levels (Tubbs and Schulz, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Furthermore, the mobility of multinational corporations leaves host countries with less bargaining power and allows them significant leverage over countries that are highly disadvantaged and needy of the jobs and investment they provide (UNCTAD, 2002). Current Issues and Concerns for Multinational Operations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In an international environment, a company’s concerns will have to consider more external factors. International trade laws, liberalization and globalization are the obvious concerns that emerging multinational have to face. More importantly, companies have to orient themselves to local markets, governments and policies that may they may not be familiar with (Wysocki, 2006). Exploring international markets also increases competition not just with traditional competitors but also for new business developments such as micro-multinationals (Ewing, 2005). The risks and challenges of becoming a multinational company need strategies that consider the company’s goals, international market scenarios and effective local marketing approaches. Recommendations In general, there should be further quantitative and qualitative studies on multinational corporations’ actual impact to host countries from individual to industry levels especially for the least developed countries that host them (UNCTAD, 2002).   Multinational companies nowadays are not just commercial ventures; they also serve as highways of liberalization. Some multinational companies have greater assets than the poorest of developing countries leaving these nations with limited bargaining power. The need to attract investments by multinational companies must not undermine the focus on welfare, health and social life (Baitu, 2006). The following considerations are framed UNDTAD’s World Investment Report for 2004 and 2005, the 2002 Report Multinational Corporations in Least Developed Countries; and Bernal, Kaukab and Yu’s The World Development Report 2005 for the WTO:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Host countries must focus on creating industry competencies that do not just cater to the current needs of multinational companies operating in the country. Developing countries must not become dependent on multinational companies and focus on boosting domestic growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Developing countries should be liberally cautious in accepting FDI to the country so as to ensure the survival of its local industries. It should not take a protectionist approach creating false security in its local industries but only to alleviate the pressures of advantage that multinationals have by reasons of economies of scale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Closer coordination with trade associations and international liberalization agencies will allows for developing countries support and knowledge in dealing with multinational corporations. At the same time, multinational corporations can benefit form the standardization of commerce and industry, decreasing speculation and uncertainty for their ventures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consideration of social issues can help multinational companies have a better local feel for the host country’s markets. Pubic relations in smaller countries become crucial in building brand and product awareness, purchase and loyalty. It also allows for the feasibility of introducing product extensions and even non-related ventures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Involving multinational corporations in the host country’s environment, community, research and development can establish a more meaningful relationship. Multinational corporations can benefit form having greater involvement in factors that affect its operations. Fears of multinational corporations being insensitive to local concerns can also be alleviated. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Multinational expansion is but one of the key indications of globalization. Liberalization signifies a country’s acceptance of globalization. Together, multinational corporations and liberalization act as vehicles for development and cooperation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As in all relationships, work must be put in to make it work. Multinationals grow when local economies grow through the development of labor, resources and market expansion. Host countries benefit from the investment, technology transfer and the development of its emerging industries. New multinational companies in particular could prosper and establish themselves well in developing economies where competition may not as stiff and industries not as crowded as they would be in developed countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The key is in finding a balance between multinational investment and local industry growth and in creating  Ã‚   a relationship between multinational corporations and host countries that are based on mutual development.          References Baitu, J. (2006) Globalisation for the Common Good and Social Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa [Online]. Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Bergsten, C. F. (2000) The Global Trading System and the Developing Countries in 2000 [Online]. Working Paper 99-6 Institute for International Economics. Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Bernal, L. E., Kaukab, R. S., and Yu, V. P. B. III (2005).The World Development Report 2005: An Unbalanced Message on Investment Liberalization. WTO Institutional Governance and Dispute Settlement, of the Trade and Development Programme: Geneva, Switzerland. Brown, A. G. and Stern, R. M. (2005) Concepts of Fairness in the Global Trading System. Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, The University of Michigan: Michigan, USA. Chang, H. (2003) Foreign Investment Regulation in Historical Perspective: Lessons for the Proposed WTO Investment Agreement [Online]. Available from: [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (2005) Foreign Direct Investment-Policy & Procedures. New Delhi: Government of India. Available from: [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Ewing, R. (2005) The New Multinational: Lilliputian, Not Leviathan [Online]. Speaking Freely – Asia Times Online. Available from: [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Hoos, J. (2000) Globalization, Multinational Corporations and Economics. Kiado: Budapest. Kearney, A.T. (2004) China and India Jockey for the Top Most Attractive Foreign Direct Investment Destination Globally While the U.S. Is Challenged by These Rapidly Evolving Economies: Global executives see the best business environment since 2000, yet a return to positive global FDI flows could be complicated by a new mix of operational risksâ€Å". A.T. Kearney:   London, United Kingdom. Nayak , A. K. J. R. (2006) Globalization of Foreign Direct Investment in India: 1900s–2000 [online]. Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. McKinsey Global Institute (2004). China and India: The Race to Growth [Online]. McKinsey Quarterly . Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Multinational Corporations (2006) Encyclopedia of Management, Volume Mar-No. Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. Tubbs, S. L. and Schulz, E. (2006) Exploring a Taxonomy of Global Leadership Competencies and Meta-competencies. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Volume 8, Number 2, March   2006, Dissertation Paper presented at the Eastern Michigan University. Eastern Michigan University: Michigan. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2002) Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Least Developed Countries (LDC’s). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2004) World Investment Report 2004. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2005) World Investment Report 2005. Wysocki, B. Jr.(2006) Symbol Over Substance [Online]. Original Article printed in The Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2000. Available from [Accessed 12 September 2006]. [1] Micro-multinational are companies who have small manpower and overall scale unlike the traditional multinational corporations. An example is Navin Communications who have engineering operations in Mumbai, India and headquarters in Mountain View, California (Multinational Corporations, 2006).

Estimated compensating wage differentials

( B ) Critically appraise the findings of empirical surveies that have estimated compensating pay derived functions. Compensating derived function is a term used in labour economic sciences to analyse the relation between the pay rate and the unpleasantness, hazard, or other unwanted properties of a peculiar occupation. A counterbalancing derived function, which is besides called a compensating pay derived function or an equalizing difference, is defined as the extra sum of income that a given worker must be offered in order to actuate them to accept a given unwanted occupation, comparative to other occupations that worker could execute. One can besides talk of the counterbalancing derived function for an particularly desirable occupation, or one that provides particular benefits, but in this instance the derived function would be negative: that is, a given worker would be willing to accept a lower pay for an particularly desirable occupation, comparative to other occupations. The thought of counterbalancing derived functions has been used to analyse issues such as the hazard of future unemployment, the hazard of hurt, the hazard of insecure sex, and the pecuniary value workers place on their ain lives. ( Wikipaedia ) A batch of theoretical accounts have been presented by different writers of the universe sing counterbalancing pay derived functions and a batch of surveies have been made as good. Based on these surveies, studies and analyses findings have been published in the diaries, newspapers and web sites. These publications stressed on the compensating pay derived functions non merely for the workers exposed to decease due to accidents but on the other grounds as good. The term ‘Risk Premium ‘ is besides used as an option to the compensating pay derived functions for the workers making unsafe occupations. Marin and Psacharopoulos ( 1982 ) , in the first paper utilizing British informations from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys ( OPCS ) Occupational Mortality Decennial Supplement 1970-72, find grounds of a pay premium for exposure to fatal hazard. Sandy and Elliott ( 1996 ) and Arabsheibani and Marin ( 2000 ) utilizing similar informations over the period 1979 to 1983, and Siebert and Wei ( 1994 ) utilizing Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ) information for 1986 to 1988, all find grounds of a fatal hazard premium. Another survey has been made in the Hong Kong sing counterbalancing pay derived functions giving particular accent on the hazard associated with the workplace human death. The information has been collected from the 1991 nose count and so it has been merged with the accident informations provided by the Labour Department. A theory has been presented by Thaler and Rosen in 1976. The appraisal of counterbalancing pay derived functions has been carried out with the undermentioned expression W = a0+ a1X + a2P + vitamin E Where tungsten is the pay rate, X a vector of single and occupation features, including the usual human capital variables ; P is a step of occupation hazard and vitamin E is an error term. Over the past two decennaries surveies have estimated compensating pay derived functions by utilizing this equation. The consequence usually suggests that a positive and important compensating pay derived function for the occupations with mortality hazard is found majorly in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan. Another of import factor the compensating pay derived functions has been identified as ; child punishment ‘ . The fact that female parents tend to gain less than adult females without kids seems to be good established in the economic literature and is calledkid punishmentorhousehold spread. Several research workers found natural pay spreads of about 20 % for the US, 13 % for the UK and up to 20 % for Germany. In order to look into the impact of maternity on the pick between monetary and non-pecuniary occupation features the German Socio-Economic Panel ( GSOEP ; 1984-2003 ) was used by Christina in 2006. The sample of involvement consists of adult females during their fertile period, defined as the age from 16 to 46. The dataset provides elaborate information about personal and occupation features, about monetary and in peculiar non-pecuniary 1s. Besides it reports satisfaction with the occupation what is used as a placeholder for public-service corporation and allows proving if both monetary and non-pecuniary occupation features determine jointly the satisfaction of a female parent. The longitudinal nature of the information allows detecting female parents around first birth. The dataset used is the German Socioeconomic Panel ( GSOEP ) , which is a annually repeated study of Germans and Foreigners in West and East Germany ( 1984-2003 ) . Since 1984 the GSOEP follows the members of the panel. In 2003 the GSOEP provided information about more than 12000 families dwelling of more than 24000 people In order to prove the hypothesis of the kid punishment as a compensating pay derived function, the following methodological analysis, divided in three parts, has been conducted. A first measure was to look into if motherhood truly affects the occupation features, i.e. if non merely the pecuniary but besides the non-pecuniary occupation features change after maternity and therefore the loss of pay might be compensated with an addition in comfortss. In order to gauge alterations in occupation features around and after maternity, an event survey analysis has been used which surveies the effects of first birth on a assortment of occupation features. A 2nd necessary measure was to demo if and how certain occupation characteristics enter the public-service corporation of female parents. Harmonizing to theory of counterbalancing pay derived functions both monetary and non-pecuniary features determine jointly the public-service corporation of a worker. In instance a female parent is willing to give up portion of her income in order to hold a more household friendly occupation, certain occupation features have to counterbalance for this loss in pay and therefore rais e the public-service corporation of a female parent. In order to prove this through empirical observation satisfaction arrested developments has been used. In a last measure the existent compensating pay derived function has been measured, i.e. how much of their pay female parents is willing to give up for holding a occupation with more comfortss ( less disamenities ) . Therefore as a last measure a hedonistic pay arrested development has been run including certain ( dis- ) comfortss as control variables. The decision of the above treatment reveals that the compensating pay derived functions have been surveies by many of the analysts around the Earth utilizing different methodological analysiss and statistics. These surveies helped the users understanding the tendency sing counterbalancing pay derived functions and the impact on workers.MentionsWikipaedia hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensating_wage_differential Arnaud Dupuy, Wendy Smits How Large is the Compensating Wage Differential for R & A ; D Workers hypertext transfer protocol: //ftp.iza.org/dp4194.pdf Andrea Christina Felfe 2006 The kid punishment – A compensating pay derived function hypertext transfer protocol: //www.eale.nl/conference2006/Papers % 20Friday % 2017.00 % 20- % 2019.00/add15235.pdf Joseph Lanfranchi, Henry Ohlsson, Ali Skalli Compensating Wage Derived functions And Shift Work Preferences* Evidence from France hypertext transfer protocol: //gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/bitstream/2077/2897/1/gunwpe0055.pdf Asiatic Economic Journal 1998, Vol 12 No. 2 Wage Compensation for Job Risks: The Case of Hong Kong hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/xdwei/docs/edman/wei_aej.pdf Jean Abraham, Stephanie Lluis 2008 Compensating Derived functions and Fringe Benefits: Evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1997-2004 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/03/art4full.pdf

The Presumption of Innocence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Presumption of Innocence - Essay Example Amid this reality, justice must be the grandest virtue in a democratic society and truth must be its basic attribute. The laws and institutions become nothing and insignificant if these used as an instrument for injustice. The latter will drumbeat the call for reformation and abolition of these structures if it perpetuates discrimination, human rights violation, deprivation of liberty, and if the rights of the citizenry are bargained for elitist interest. Injustice is unbearable. It dehumanizes and alienates us from our political ideals or convictions. Justice is supposed to at the core of civilization’s social contracts. Many political and social philosophers have made noble abstractions and theories about systems of governance and yet they commonly agreed that justice’s guiding principles are the foundational pillar required to safeguard free and rational persons to experience equality as they associate with the rest of the civilization. Through this, they will be abl e to specify the nature and kind of social cooperation or collaboration needed to form that kind of government for the enjoinment of their basic rights and the performance of duties. It also defines the social benefits they needed to relish therefrom. It’s also through this dream for a just society that fellows are able to establish regulations and policies to set norms for social behavior and interaction. Every person must decide with reasonable reflection on what constitutes good and that which is fair against the unjust; equitable against inequitable. True, peoples progress, develop, and change. The nature of social contract for a just society also evolves. The populace social conduct became its culture and the past became historical facts unearthed to shed understanding for the present. Those bloody wars of the past and the conflicts that espoused the evolution of society also alter the course or direction of a nation. Many of those social phenomena required application g enuine justice for social healing and to embody a nation of social cohesion.  

John Gerard Ruggie Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

John Gerard Ruggie - Article Example with Regard to Human Rights and secondly the author’s mandate on the issue of human rights that he presented as a special representative of the united nations. The norms drafted by the UN were said to be a pioneering measure to ascertain the provision of basic human rights in a business setup on an international level. Even though it was accepted by the United Nation’s Sub-Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, its parent body, the human rights commission UN failed to accept it. According to the author, this norm had several loopholes that could have resulted to this case. Firstly, the norms included all other business enterprises and not just the transnational. With 77000 transnational firms all over the world, globalization encourages them to spread its operations and supply chain all over the world. However, every country has a different and completely new system of socio political environment and a set of laws. The issue debates whether an international law binding is enough for the subsidiaries operation in different countries as a lapse on the subsidiary’s part may hold the parent company responsib le. In the general obligations section of the draft norms, the human rights laws are proposed in detail incorporating aspects like discrimination, security, even debated areas like environmental rights and indigenous community’s rights. However, it failed to propose the scope of the spheres of influence under which these need to be practiced. Neither did it mention the primary and secondary nature of state and corporate duties respectively. The author took into account these pitfalls of the draft norms and proposed in his mandate measures that incorporated existing international corporations, their practices in order to decrease the gap between human rights and corporate activities internationally. The proposed strategies by the author strengthen the draft norms by correcting the existing pitfalls. Firstly, making corporations

Apply 3 critical Perspectives to the company decision in the 1980s to Essay

Apply 3 critical Perspectives to the company decision in the 1980s to launch reformulated Coca Cola and suggest where a different approach to the loss of sales might have produced a different outcome - Essay Example Critical analysis of the essay with different aspects discussed in the perspectives section and conclusion of the essay is covering all the points of the essay. Coke was invented by Dr. Ruben Pemberton back in 1886 .Coke was a huge success over the 1980’s and a new invention achieved a very good response. There was a marketing war between two companies name Pepsi and Coke with same product nature. These two companies in a race of making their brand more popular were trying to gain and maintain their market share, on one hand Pepsi company was trying to defeat its rival coke which is far ahead from it when it comes to market share or brand power, because coke was the first company to introduce the soft drink contains flavor of coca leafs and cocoa bean so it created and maintained its product positioning successfully but when Pepsi cola came it created competition in the market and was getting closer to it through different marketing campaigns which tested the brand power of coke in the market and after intense distribution of coke when consumers had a choice they start buying Pepsi. Now Pepsi was gaining market share by target market ing and was becoming popular in the targeted market. Coke had to do something otherwise would have left behind so they thought of new product development to gain the share in doing so they failed but may be they brought they brand loyalty from their customer and unwillingly somehow succeeded in countering Pepsi and maintained their premium image of brand. Coca Cola slowly lost market shares and this was an alarming situation for the Coca Cola company and they had to something to in order to save the company’s reputation. Management of Coca cola started to look for solution or alternative way through which they could save image of the brand so re-launching of Coca Cola and by 1984 researchers came up with a new formula for Coca Cola and they

The effects of cigarette smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The effects of cigarette smoking - Essay Example The tar that sticks onto alveoli’s tender surface reduces its contact with the blood vessels. Continued tar accumulation leads to lung cancer and other problems such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. The hot smoke would cause an irritation on the tracheal and nasal passage tender linings causing throat inflammation. The over 4,000 harmful chemicals resulting from tobacco combustion clog the hair-like cilia occurring at the trachea and along the nasal passage, causing the loss of cilia’s fluidity. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC (2013), one cigarette has the potential of slowing down by 20 minutes the motion of cilia. This slowing down of cilia further inhibits the passage along of mucus which eventually clogs up along the trachea. Excessive mucus clogging causes smoker’s cough as the body tries to get rid of the mucus. Finally, the carbon monoxide released from smoking cigarettes, based on its higher affinity for hemoglobin than ox ygen, attaches to the hemoglobin in red blood cells. The increased carbon monoxide amount in the blood impairs the transfer of oxygen from the blood to cells, which could distort time perception, visualization and cognitive skills. There are alternate mechanisms of transporting carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) in the blood. Explain how smoking might lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. On leaving the lungs, oxygen attaches to the hemoglobin occurring in red blood cells so as to be transported by blood. But according to Starr (2013), carbon monoxide, produced during cigarette smoking, has about 200 to 300 greater affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen hence greatly competes with oxygen for hemoglobin. The resultant increase in carbon monoxide concentration in the blood from the alveoli during cigarette smoking reduces blood oxygen levels. Additionally, the increased carbon monoxide levels impair oxygen from being released into the cells. The reaction of this carb on monoxide with the already minimal oxygen in the blood results in the release of carbon dioxide which consequently increases in concentration in the blood. Can smoking affect other organ systems of the body? Give specific examples and briefly explain your answer. Yes, smoking affects various organ systems of the body other than the respiratory system. By constricting blood vessels, particularly the arteries, and reducing oxygen supply in the circulatory system, cigarette smoking causes the heart to work harder in a compensatory effort. The nicotine which occurs in cigarette smoke, acting as a stimulant, increases the blood pressure and heart rate which could decrease blood flow through blood vessels. This could cause smokers to develop peripheral vascular disease. Cigarette smoking has also been associated with adverse effects on the reproductive system by CDC (2013). It leads to infertility, still births, pre-term delivery, sudden infant death syndrome and low birth weights. The carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke, which has a higher affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen, inhibits oxygen flow to the brain and could thus cause cognitive complications. Cigarette smoking also affects the digestive system by triggering a spike in stomach acids thus leading to chronic heartburn and even ulcers. The skin also gets affected by cigarette smoking. The tobacco smoke released into the environment

Establishing a Healthy Work Environment by Improving Nurse and CNA Essay

Establishing a Healthy Work Environment by Improving Nurse and CNA Communication - Essay Example Nurses are exposed to a lot of pressure every day. This makes them vulnerable to living in an unhealthy work environment. Improving nurse and CNA communication regarding patient care are a perfect solution to this menace. Through the umbrella of the CAN, nurses are able to share their experiences regarding patient care. They are able to identify imminent danger and contain it in reasonable time. These would ensure the establishment of a healthy working condition for nurses comes to pass. The CNA is a union of laborers in the Nursing profession in the United States. Its members are all nurses by profession. They have practiced in the profession for varied lengths of time. Their collective knowledge is intense. Through enhancing communication between the members of the CAN, it is possible to establish a healthy working environment for all nurses. The world is currently moving towards making the work environment a safe haven. There is a race against time to see to it that the working en vironment is cozy and healthy for nurses. Literature review Nurses have for long suffered from a lot of work related mistreatment. These are the main sources of the lack of a healthy working environment in the nursing profession. Nurses are always burdened by enormous workloads. These leave them altogether fatigued and unable to give their best input in the work place. The moral of the nurses is killed entirely. They attend to their patients grudgingly. A worldwide survey indicates that the number of nurses in most health centers is particularly acute. A truly alarming number of patients are under the care of a single nurse. The nurses end up suffering from a lot of stress and burnout. They are compelled to take time off from work as a result of this. They are extremely vulnerable to falling sick not just due to the burnout but also by accidentally contracting ailments from their patients. They are constantly being nagged. This makes them unable to fully concentrate. They end up ign oring bits and pieces of the fundamental order of operation of the nursing profession. In the end, they inflict harm not just to the health of their patients, but to their own health as well. Many players in the healthcare environment have employed a lot of energy in an effort to curb problems related with the unhealthy working environment for nurses. Scholars have undertaken extensive research in trying to yield a lasting solution. So far, all these have been in vain. Change or process improvement project definition Owing to the fact that nurses have suffered for long, it is high time that a lasting solution is found for their problem. This is only achievable by establishing a resound nurse and CNA communication regarding patient care. By so doing, the nurses are able to take the load off their back. Like they say, a problem shared is a problem half solved. This applies to sharing the problem with a non professional in the field in questions. Using the proposed solution to the prob lem that the nurses are facing, they are on the contrary being poised to share their problems with professionals in the field in question. Needles to say, this will not only half solve their problems, but will actually eliminate them totally. CNA is a union of nurses in the United States of America which was established over six decades ago. It was established with the key purpose of collectively advocating for the rights of nurses in the United States. It has been hugely vibrant in calling for the registration of

Discuss some of the ways in which Native Americans, and the European Essay

Discuss some of the ways in which Native Americans, and the European discovery of the New World, has influenced your life - Essay Example The Native Americans have their English language being more intricate compared to the European English, as stated by Dunn (1). This has improved my use of English language in communication because their English is simple to understand. Another influence by the Native Americans relates to how the American people treat women. According to the Native American culture, family lineage is traced through the females instead of the males, according to Delgado (1). This has as well influenced my perspective towards women as I can see them as more valuable to the society which was not what I originally thought. Similarly, the types of food consumed by the Native Americans have changed my diet to great extent. While initially I was used to the spices available back home, I have come to appreciate such things as wild ginger, juniper and miners’ lettuce. I have also gradually come to prefer Native American cuisines with their subtle flavors. Native Americans have a great deal of hospitality, which has been a vital tradition among the Native Americans, according to Cadwalader (1). Guests are highly valued and are served first whether there is something else for the family or not. Thus has influenced how relate with other people and to respect others as well. The Native Americans are friendly people who are always there to help and this has greatly improved my personal relations with other people. The mode of dress is also different from my home country and this has affected me. The American people do not place much importance in fully covering their body, as stated by Reynoldson (13). With many celebrities who most people tend to imitate, the mode of dressing is very different especially during the summer. During summer, people wear lighter clothes with women covering the most private body parts and most of them wearing shorts, a mode of dressing which has really impressed me. Last but not least, the hardworking nature of the Native American people

Marketing coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing - Coursework Example Agriculture and any other economic activity such as tourism cannot thrive in a society that does not have efficient water management strategies. Challenges related to water in Ethiopia have persisted for several decades now. Management of water resources is the only way to meet the growing needs for agricultural products soas to help reduce poverty and food insecurity. Further, water can be used as an important entry point to bring development in the social environment and economy thus leading to sustainable development (Gabre-Egziabher 2007, p.67). Ethiopia is also challenged with several civil wars. Ethnic communities have been fighting each other over the scarce resources in the country. The civil wars have also been linked to poor governance because there are numerous corruption scandals affecting the delivery of services to all ethnic communities. As a result, wars between communities have emerged. This level of insecurity cannot allow the smooth flow of tourists in the country (Kiros 2006, p.212). Due to mismanagement of water resources, Ethiopia has witnessed one of the worst droughts in the world. Human beings have died due to famine which prompted the international community to intervene and save the citizens from the great famine of Ethiopia that occured in 1986. Drought cannot allow any agricultural activity to take place, which is why food prices continue to be highin the country . According to the United Nations, Ethiopia is one of the countries that depend on relief food for its population’s survival (Brems & Beken 2008, p.129). Any investment in the tourism sector needs adequate infrastructure such as good road and railway systems. In Ethiopia, there are no adequate roads that can easen the movement of tourists from one region to another. The road networks as well as the rail systems are underdeveloped. The movement of tourists from one place to another cannot be easy in such a situation. In addition, there are no adequate airports that ca n provide air transport to various tourist attraction sites in the country (Asfaw 2006, p.48). In relation to security, Ethiopia does not have the right security personnel equipped with modern technology to identify terror threats. Terrorism continues to be one of the challenges affecting tourism. Without guaranteed security, there can never be any benefit arising out of the industry. In addition, the numerous ethnic conflicts are also not suitable for tourist visits to the attraction sites (Asfaw 2006, p.48). The weak and developing justice system does not provide procedural guarantees including legal aid, an appeal system, fair trial and equity before law. Despite these issues being given priority in the constitution, their implementation is still a challenge. The unreliable justice system is not friendly to potential investors in the country. Furthermore there is a severe shortage of trained legal staff meaning that potential investors and players in the tourism sector lack confi dence in the delivery of justice (Gabre-Egziabher 2007, p.67). Political repression is a major challenge to the citizens of Ethiopia. The ruling party EPRDF has continued to trample on the rights of the citizens. Opposition leaders are not given a chance to air their grievances concerning the illegal dealings and scandals in the government. The government has punitive legislative laws aimed at the press and the civil society. The main aim of the government is to affect the

The Idea Of Multiversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Idea Of Multiversity - Essay Example Kerr has emphasized the historical evolution of the American from teaching-based to research-based. Kerr opines that the multiversity put more emphasis on research as opposed to earlier universities that focused on teaching. The transition from traditional universities to multiversity as emphasized was a massive transformation process and involved the combination of numerous models, ideas and traditional from early universities. As highlighted in the preceding paragraph, before the advent of the term and concept of multiversity, the idea and use of the university as advanced by earlier scholars was different. The following statement neatly encapsulates the meaning, vision, and idea of the university as envisioned by Cardinal Newman in the earlier centuries. â€Å"The university is the high protecting power of all knowledge and science, of fact and principle, of inquiry and discovery, of experiment and speculation; it maps out the territory of the intellect †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Kerr 2). It is easy to tell from the above expression that Newman pursued the idea of the university that was biased towards liberal knowledge. The distinctive feature of the university during the period of Newman and other scholars su ch as Plato was pursuit and transmission of fundamental truths, institutional autonomy, and instruction at an advanced level. Newman defended and propagated the faculty oriented liberal education and advanced the idea of a university to comprise of a small community of professors and students (Kerr 2). This clarifies why the eighteenth century universities were trivial and limited to predominantly disciplines and ability, the main objective of the traditional university program as suggested by Newman was knowledgeable advancement and alignment, according to Newman, the university was supposed to be an academic cloister (Kerr 1). Furthermore, other

Math Anxiety and Math Self-Efficacy Essay Example for Free

Math Anxiety and Math Self-Efficacy Essay Objective: This is a descriptive-correlational study which investigated the relationship between math anxieties, math self-efficacies and math achievements of maritime college sophomores in Iloilo, Philippines. Method: This research was conducted at the three campuses of St. Therese- MTC Colleges, namely: Tigbauan, La Fiesta, and Magdalo Sites during the first semester of academic year 2004-2005. The participants of the study consisted of 316 maritime sophomores who were chosen using proportional random sampling. The data for this study were gathered using standardized questionnaires. For mathematics achievement, the mean of their grades in mathematics subjects taken in their first year were used. Basic descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, t-test for independent samples, and Pearson-Product Moment correlation test were used to analyze data. Result: The study found out that the majority of the maritime sophomores belonged to the â€Å"terminal† case of math anxiety or was on the verge of becoming impatient, yet the majority had a high math self-efficacy level. Their math achievements, on the other hand, were generally poor. They differed significantly on their math achievement when grouped according to math anxiety and math self-efficacy. Finally, negative but significant relationship existed between math anxiety and math self-efficacy and math anxiety and math achievement while math self-efficacy and math achievement were positively and significantly related. In other words, those with low math anxiety had high math self-efficacy and consequently they performed better in math than those with high math anxiety and low math self-efficacy. Discussion: Results indicated that the higher math anxiety is the lower is math self-efficacy and math achievement. In the same manner, lower math anxiety results to high math self-efficacy which in turn results to high math achievement. This is consistent with studies done by previous researchers like Richardson and Suinn, (1972), and Suinn, et al, (1972) to name a few. Although three decades and cultural differences separated the studies, still similar results have been observed. This only implies that when it comes to factors related to math performance, time and culture have no bearing on the results. Conclusion: Generally, maritime college sophomores’ math achievements were poor. However, when they were grouped according to math anxiety and math self-efficacy, it showed that those with high self-efficacy had higher math achievement than those with low self-efficacy. Moreover, those with high math anxiety had lower math achievement compared to those with low math anxiety. The study suggests that math educators must look into building students’ confidence in mathematics to overcome their anxiety and thus, improve their overall performance in math.

The Tourism Industry In Sri Lanka Tourism Essay

The Tourism Industry In Sri Lanka Tourism Essay This report contains the results of the investigation which is done to find out how the new born peace will affect the tourism industry of Sri Lanka after defeating the LTTE leader Brabhakaran and washing out terrorism from Sri Lanka. The main areas used for the investigation are, The problems occurred in Sri Lankan tourism industry due to war. Under this area, this investigation is carried over the major problems which Sri Lankan tourism industry faced because of the war. This is mainly carried out through secondary data such as news paper articles, other articles from the websites and report published by Sri Lankan tourism development Authority. Some of the facts were gathered through the questionnaire given to the director of the Sri Lankan tourist Board, London. Affects of new born peace to Investors Under this factor the investigation runs towards the new opportunities which investors will have in the future after the war and what will be the incentives and advantages of investing in those areas. This is also mainly done through the secondary data such as newspaper articles, brochures and reports published by the Sri Lankan tourism development authority, websites. Tourists The research carried over to find out what will happen to the number of tourist arrivals in future after the war. What are the new facilities will offer by Sri Lankan tourism industry, what will be the attracting destinations developed and how will the government help in developing tourism industry. Mainly this is carried out by primary data which is collected through the questionnaire and others were gathered from the secondary data. Social life and local people In this research is on the changes, that will happen on social life and the local people with the new born peace and its affects on tourism. These information were gathered by using both primary and secondary data. Areas and regions Here the investigation is on the tourist areas which will affect the new born peace. The report contains the new developments of tourist areas will be done in Sri Lanka. The research is done using secondary data such as websites. PEST analysis SWOT analysis This research carried a PEST analysis and a Swot Analysis in order to find out how the political, economical, social and technological environments will change or adjust according to the peace affected tourism. Also an analysis for SWOT to find out the strengths opportunities that will strengthen the growth of the tourism industry and weaknesses threats which will weaken the growth of the tourism industry. For this both primary and secondary data have been used. Specially the report publishes by Sri Lanka tourism development authority. Sri Lankan tourism industry will grow in future with the developments and growth in investments, tourists, areas and regions and local people in this peaceful environment. Finally Sri Lanka will create a golden period for the tourism industry in the new born peace. INTRODUCTION Sri Lanka is a country famous for hospitality, tourism and well being people from the past. Once Marco Polo has told in 1293 A.D., this for its actual size, is better circumstanced than any other island in the world. The island produces more beautiful and valuable rubies than found in any other place in the world. In this island there is a very high mountains where the tomb of Adam, our first parent, is supposed to be found. (Ref:http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/31677-Sri-Lanka-TourismQuo-vadis- ) But since from the near past (1980s) Sri Lankan tourism industry dropped step by step, as LTTEs started their terrorism mainly from the North part of Sri Lanka and spread to East and other parts of the country later on. Fortunately now Sri Lanka is free from terrorism after about 3 decades. Therefore the country is safe to roam from North to South East to West without any double thoughts. This situation has affected on tourism industry in a positive manner. Now the tourism industry is blooming again slowly within the new born peace and has become a cause to change the Sri Lankan Economy, Political view, social life on tourism and many more. Therefore this report has investigated on How the new born peace will affect the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. This report contains, The problems occurred in Sri Lankan tourism industry due to war. The affects of new born peace to Investors in tourism industry Tourists Areas and Regions Social life of local people The opportunities due the new born peace a). PEST b). SWOT METHODOLOGY This research is done by gathering information from both primary data and secondary data. Primary Data I have used an interview and a questionnaire as the primary data in finding information for the research. Secondary data I have used mainly the latest report (National Strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism) published by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and broachers, magazines news paper articles, websites as the secondary data. THE PROBLEMS OCCURED IN SRI LANKAN TOURISM INDUSTRY DUE TO WAR Sri Lanka experienced a vastly fluctuating tourism during the past decades. (Ref: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/31677-Sri-Lanka-TourismQuo-vadis- ) As per the World Tourism Organisation figures, tourist arrivals has increased in Asian countries for the past decade. (Ref: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/31677-Sri-Lanka-TourismQuo-vadis- ) But Sri Lanka has dropped tourist arrivals. (Ref: Central Bank of Sri Lanka) While all the other foreign exchange earning sectors have increased their earnings, tourism has decreased though it is the fourth largest foreign exchange earning sector. (Ref: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/31677-Sri-Lanka-TourismQuo-vadis- ) Bombing in buses and tourist destinations caused a huge draw back in tourist arrivals. Even though Sri Lankan tourist board offers them worth packages they didnt want to visit Sri Lanka because of the safety reason. (Ref: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47983 ) Bad press releases during the war time, both internally and internationally affected vastly tourists decisions on Sri Lanka. Some were distributed only to get political gains and some were to draw a bad picture on tourists mind about Sri Lanka and get advantages. Higher insurance covers had prompted tourists to see elsewhere. Insurance covers were high because of the high risk level of security within the country. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 15) Good employees of tourism industry have gone to other countries due to poor salaries and lack of opportunities among the industry. Lack of government support in promoting the industry according to the changes in the market. AFFECTS OF NEW BORN PEACE TO INVESTORS During the past 3 decades investors for tourism industry were locked within the Southern Middle part of the country. But now they have the opportunity to invest in all over the country as they wish. Especially in North East regions which has most famous places to visit such as most beautiful beaches, temples, etc. with the end of war, tourist arrivals may increase. Therefore the government and the private sector has to be ready to welcome them with good accommodation facilities, infrastructure, transportation facilities, and many more. For that investors can invest in the new environment which is more favourable to them. Some of the favourable are, Cost of doing business has reduced due to the end of war. Freight rates, insurance, and other financial issues which added a huge cost for business has now decreased. Therefore investors can get more profits over their investments. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html ) Political stability is growing especially in areas of North East. This leads to stability in policies and rules. Therefore investors can invest in long-term projects. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/FT335.html ) The government of Sri Lanka has started providing infrastructure such as roads, power, and ports. This also again reduce investors costs in investing. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Stock market has climbed over 96% in 2009 which is the winning year of the war. Itll be more profitable in investing stock market in future. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) Interest Rates and Inflation rate are coming down. The Sri Lankan government has reduced their lending rates and has asked the private sector to reduce their lending rates. This is a very usefull and profitable information who wishes to borrow fund in Sri Lanka. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) The end of war has cleared new paths for new investment opportunities across real estate, healthcare, plantation, and infrastructure. Especially in North and East regions for about 3 decades there were no opportunities for any industry to do their work freely. What was there is only war. Therefore there are opportunities for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, plantation as this region has the most rich lands and infrastructure as all the infrastructures have been destroyed during war season. These are indirectly interconnected to tourism industry. Because tourism industry is a industry which depends on other industries other than the destinations. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) Cheap labour Investors can have cheap labour in to their businesses ass the unemployment is more in North and East. New tourist destinations. There are new and marvellous locations and places in North and East which were not allowed to visit for about three decades. These places will be more tourist attracting destinations in future. And also the ruined buildings and places due to war will be attracting sceneries for both local and foreign tourists. As the Northern and Eastern areas were banned for visitors during the war period, both local people and foreign people are willing to visit these places. Therefore the arrivals of visitors for the North and East will be more and this will lead investors to earn more from those areas by investing in accommodation facilities, infrastructure, transportation, sports activities and leisure activities. Sri Lankan government is looking for Middle eastern investors to develop the resorts as a preparation for the boost in tourism industry. (Ref: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/554986-sri-lanka-tourism-eyes-mideast-investors ) MSME will have more opportunities to develop their business with growth in tourism. There will be more ports other than Colombo to use. They are the Trincomalee port and The Hambantota port. Earlier these ports were used only for military activities but now they are open for common activities. FOR TOURISTS New born peace has given a new life for both domestic and international tourists. Specially Northern and Eastern areas are the most attracting areas of tourists these days because of the unseen destinations such as temples, beaches, ruins, etc. Also the current favourable security level has given tourists a boom. Here are some more tips for the change in tourists behaviour. New unseen locations. Tourists, both local and foreign can experience world famous and beautiful locations which are not polluted or crowded. Especially the Eastern sea and Nilavelli beach are the most attracting areas in the Eastern region. Other attracting things are whale spotting, fishing, water sports, sea rafting. Also the locations with historical value and religious value, especially in Northern area, such as Nagadeepa, Jaffna library, ruins of war, etc. Not only in North East, tourists can visit other places such as Anuradapura, Polonnaruwa, Mohinthale, Sigiriya, Sinharaja rain forest, National Parks, hill-country which is famous as little England, etc. Safety Now Sri Lanka is free from bombs, suicide bombers, and terrorism. Therefore people can visit anywhere in the country without fearing about safety from LTTE activities. This was the main reason which reduced more and more tourist arrivals. But now it is fully solved. So tourists have the opportunity to explore Sri Lanka without fear. Proper Facilities The Sri Lankan government and the private sector is building infrastructure fast to provide proper facilities for tourists such as roads, power and ports. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Also proper places for accommodation and other facilities are building up so that the tourists may feel that they are at home. More leisure and sports activities Sri Lankan sea is famous for sports activities. And now tourists have more opportunities in Eastern Sea. Because Eastern sea is known as a sea which is very calm and good for sports activities such as rafting, whale spotting. Also Sri Lanka has a unchanging whether throughout the year. Therefore tourists can come and enjoy whenever they have leisure time. Stable political environment As now Sri Lanka is bit stable in their political status due to the end of war. Therefore policies and rules in tourism especially rules in arriving will be stable. So that itll be very easy for tourists while visiting Sri Lanka especially on Visas. And there will be less political violence among the country which will create a peaceful environment for tourists. New resorts for both local and foreign tourists especially in Nothern and Eastern areas. Also in other areas as the investors are interested in investing tourism sector. Example: Kuchchaveli resort Passikudah resort Sri Lanka is not famous only for leisure tourists but also for pilgrims. Therefore Pilgrim rests are building in order to provide proper facilities especially for domestic tourists. (Ref: National Strategy For Sri Lankan Tourism- page no 61) More facilities for business tourists. Sri Lanka was famous for MICE activities in the past. But it dropped due to the poor security. Now again MICE activities are booming in Sri Lanka with the new born peace. Therefore the government is looking to provide better facilities for businessmen who come to Sri Lanka for MICE activities. Tourists will be able to arrive Sri Lanka not only by air but also by cruise ships as now Sri Lanka has 2 more ports. Trincomalee port and Hambantota port are the two new ports which has started work after war. TO AREAS AND REGIONS After the war especially the Northern and Eastern regions have started to develop fast. Also the other areas of the country are developing faster as the governments military cost has reduced. This helps in developing tourism industry. For examples, The local areas are developing as the government has already started developing infrastructure in North and East regions. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Kuchchaveli Resort This is a area about 500 acres in Trincomalee district which is inbetween the North Nilaweli beach and Kuchchaveli village. This resort contains hotels, other facilities regarding accommodation, land and water based sports and a theme park. This will help in attracting more tourists in future. (Ref: http://www.sltda.lk/eastern_region_development ) Passikudah project SLTDA has planned to restart the Passikudah resort project which was planned to start in 1983 and stopped due to war. This resort is located by the Passikudah bay and contains 500 rooms in about 150 acres. This project will also generate high tourist arrivals. (Ref: http://www.sltda.lk/passikudah_project ) Trincomalee and Hambantota ports will be busy with commercial ships and cruise ships with visitors and goods. TO SOCIAL LIFE AND LOCAL PEOPLE Peace has changed the social lives of people especially in the parts where fighting were there. Those people did not know anything about outside apart from those areas which they live. But now the situation is changed. People are free to open up to the world. Many have started to work with the tourism industry because of the huge number of tourists arrivals. People from other parts of the country are also free to live their lives without the fear of terrorism. They are more common in North and East as domestic tourists. because they were not allowed to visit those places for about 3 decades and the people from North and East are free to visit other South part of Sri Lanka after 3 decades. Here are some of the affect of the end of war to the social life and local people from the view point of tourism. Political stability is growing. so that people are able to stay wherever they want to stay and they are free to visit wherever they want. Also the rules and policies of regarding business will remain same. Therefore local people can start small scale businesses such as small hotels, guest houses, rent three-wheelers, batik, etc. especially in tourist areas. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Government has started to work with infrastructure especially in North and East areas. Therefore its be easy and fast to develop tourist oriented businesses as well as other businesses in those areas. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Interest rates and inflation is decreasing. So that people may borrow money and invest in their businesses and build their damaged properties. And this will create a beautiful eye-catching areas for tourists. also the prices of goods will decrease due to lower inflation and it will create wealth among people. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) There will be more employment opportunities with the incensement in tourist arrivals and other tourism activities in all over the country. People will have more money with them so that they will be motivated to visit places and go for day outs, picnics and trips. More fishing opportunities in North and East. Tourism police will have to be expanded to stop drug trafficking, prostitution and abuse of children with the full support of the courts, local people and politicians as the tourism industry grows. Guides, lecturers, drivers, three-wheeler entrepreneurs, will get more opportunities especially in North East as well as the other parts of Sri Lanka due to growth in tourist arrivals. Also owners of small guesthouses with one or two rooms, small hotels, restaurants, bar, tea boutiques will have a increase in their income. Arts crafts, spice gardens, batik, woodwork centres, wellness centre also will increase their sales. PEST ANALYSIS POLITICAL FACTORS Political environment has changed after the war in order to develop tourism industry. The government supports by conducting investment symposium such as BizPact invest in Sri Lanka which was held in June 2009 to attract new investments. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Political stability is growing specially in North and East regions after the war. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html) Government is aiming to welcome 700,000 to 750,000 visitors by 2011 through visit Sri Lanka programme. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) Government is looking for Middle Eastern investors to develop the resorts after the war. (Ref: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/554986-sri-lanka-tourism-eyes-mideast-investors ) Reorganised the tourist board and ministry in order to deliver a good service. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 04) Develop a 4 year strategic plan for tourism for the period of 2009-2012. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 04) The Ministry, in partnership with the provincial council are creating a series of recommended one day tours especially for domestic tourists (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 62) ECONOMICAL FACTORS Sri Lankan economy has changed vastly with the new opportunities occurred with the new peace after the war. Following are the factors which will affect Sri Lankan tourism as a result of ending war. Doing business in Sri Lanka is more economical because the cost has reduced due to reductions in fright rates, insurance and other financial issues. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html ) Stock market has increased over 96% in 2009 after war. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) Inflation and interest rates are coming down. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) The North East will contribute heavily to GDP growth in the country. (Ref: http://srilankatoday.com/content/view/2586/52/ ) People will have more money with them. Commercial ships can come to new ports such as Trincomalee and Hambantota other than Colombo. Trincomalee port is in the East and Hambantota is in South. Therefore the country is available with 3 main ports around the country. MICE trade will grow with the peaceful environment. Earlier MICE industry experienced cancellations a sharp fall in arrivals due to the security issues such as suicide bombing. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 55) SOCIAL FACTORS The new born peace has changed the lifestyles, consumer trends, ethics and religious factors and many more with the affects of tourism industry. Addition of North and East provinces to the tourism industry will boost employment opportunities as well as the developments in other part of the country will also introduce more employment opportunities. All the development activities are done by taking care of the community, environment, culture and heritage especially in tourism and hospitality industry. Northern Eastern people get fishing opportunities and also people from other areas can come to these areas for fishing. Tourism police has to be expanded to stop drug tracking, prostitution and child abusing with the development of the tourism industry. People who own small guesthouses, small hotels, restaurants, bar, tea boutiques will be able to earn more. Also people who do arts and crafts, spice gardens, batik shops, woodwork will be able to earn more with the increased number of tourists. Guides, lecturers, drivers, three-wheeler entrepreneurs will have a higher demand. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Especially the Northern and Eastern areas have started to develop technologically after the war. This has made a great issue for the development in tourism industry because many foreign tourists are from developed countries such as UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, etc. and they will be more satisfied if they have the modern technology to use while they are visiting the beauty of Sri Lanka. Mobile telecommunication industry will also boom due to the addition of North and East to the tourism industry. Travel sources such as coaches, trains, cars, taxies have to be developed to provide quality services. Working towards improving websites and online marketing (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 56) Developing internal flights from Colombo to Jaffna with new facilities. Vavuniya-jaffna rail track has started constructions. This will be a great source to increase the number of local visitors from South to North. (Ref: http://srilankatoday.com/content/view/4416/52 ) SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Cost of doing business in Sri Lanka has reduced due to decreases in freight rates, insurance and other financial issues. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html ) Political stability is growing especially in North and East regions. Therefore it will be more advantages doing business in Sri Lanka. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft335.html ) Stock market has rosed over 96% in 2009 just after the war. And it will keep climbing because of the new opportunities for business. Such as tourism and hospitality industry. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-investment-radar.html ) The entire North and east provinces will join in to the tourism industry with their values, destinations, and beauty. Addition of Trincomalee port to Sri Lankan shipping network will boost huge business visitors and employment opportunities. Worlds finest beaches for surfing, whale spotting, water sports, coastal fishing and coral reefs are now with the Sri Lanka. Earlier half of these beaches were not in a position to offer tourists. but now Sri Lanka has a treasure which many countries does not have. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 12) 4 year strategic plan for tourism from 2009-20012 which has developed 10 strategies and 8 objectives to provide a better service for tourists and tourism industry. Strategic Targets: To build a more diverse product range. To make Sri Lanka more accessible. To attract 1.5 million tourist arrivals per annum. To increase yield per tourist from US$ 80 to US$ 130 per day. To create an additional 7,000 rooms by 2016 with the right conditions. To further develop the East and North-West with the development of existing sites and cities. (resorts and new resorts) To help traditional markets grow and open up new markets. To exceed world-class service levels and hospitality. To increase domestic tourism. To help MSME sector grow. Objectives: Short-term programme Take immediate action to increase visitors, manage cost and improve services. Marketing and Communications Help the world to discover Sri Lanka through rebranding, communication and marketing. Services and Hospitality Improve the quality and scope of visitors experiences. Training Development Keep changing the Sri Lankan tourism according to world tourism through professional training. MICE Make Sri Lanka a preferred venue for MICE. Domestic Tourism Improve and expand domestic tourism. Grow the MSME sector. 10 year plan A plan which will place Sri Lanka as a highly desired experiential quality destination. For the buddhist pilgrims both domestic and international, specially there are Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa to worship which were not a safe area at the past due to war. Also Nagadeepa which is famous as a place where Lord Buddha was teaching. For Christian pilgrims there is the Madhu church which is very famous for miracles. Sri Lanka has 14 national parks with fauna and flora which are now available to offer for tourists. Able to offer one of the worlds finest fishing grounds, in the coast of the Jaffna peninsula. This creates more domestic visitors and more employment opportunities. Business travellers can get the perfect work environment with post meeting relaxation including yoga, massage and other treatments. Most of the hotels have these facilities in their separated areas or rooms as a adjustment for the tourist expectations and a way of attract tourists to their hotels again and again. Sri Lanka has More products to offer than the past. Such as more sports activities, leisure activities, expanded destinations, etc. Cruise ships are also welcome to the Sri Lankans new port Trincomalee and Hambantota port. So that tourists who wish travel by sea can visit Sri Lanka while getting experience of sea travelling (sailing) (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 21) Sri Lanka aims to promote old festivals with a new look such as Ramayana trail. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lankan Tourism- page no: 28) WEAKNESSES Lack of Tamil speaking officers to work in Northern Eastern provinces. Lack of Inspection on child sex and prostitution. Still there are undiscovered destinations in the country. Which will attract more tourists to the country. Lack of integration between agencies. Anyone who wishes to invest in tourism in Sri Lanka has to obtain permission from a number of agencies including numerous ministries, local authorities Government agents. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism- page no: 15) Lack of Infrastructure When a traveller has undertaken an exhausting 12 hour flight, they need a future 5-6 hour. Drive along poor quality roads to reach their hotel or destination. And when they reach they may get poor quality rooms. Older Cars, Taxis, mini buses and coaches minimise the standards. OPPORTUNITIES There are new investment opportunities in real estate, healthcare, plantations infrastructure sector as core-sectors in tourism industry. (Ref: http://www.srilankaequity.com/2009/12/sri-lanka-back-on-invesment-radar.html ) Kuchchaveli Resort will be a grate place to spend leisure time for both local foreign tourists which contains hotels, land water based sports and a theme park. (Ref: http://www.sltda.lk/eastern_region_development ) Passikudah resort is Another new resort which is located by the Passikudah bay it contains 500 rooms in about 150 acres. (Ref: http://www.sltda.lk/passikudah_project ) Small Miracle , is the Sri Lankan new tourism brand. This has been tested in all the key markets and has shown good results. (Ref: http://sundaytimes.lk/090628/FinancialTimes/ft328.html ) Sri Lankan government is looking for Middle Eastern to develop the resorts as a preparation for boost in tourism after the war. (Ref:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/554986-sri-lanka-tourism-eyes-mideast-investors ) Opportunities to expand the industry to new markets and to develop the nature, culture and adventure products through new Beaches Beyond strategy. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism) Cruise ships and commercial ships can come in greater numbers to new Trincomalee port beyond Colombo and Hambantota. (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism-page no:21) As the war ended Sri Lanka has headed towards new markets like Israel, Japan, Middle-East and Russia other than their usual markets (Germany, France, India UK) (Ref: National Strategy for Sri Lanka Tourism-page no:22) There will be more opportuniti

Underdevelopment: The Democratic Republic Of Congo

Underdevelopment: The Democratic Republic Of Congo Most of African countries are underdeveloped, and according to theories of modernization factors such as population, traditional agrarian structure, and illiteracy, low division of labor, poor infrastructure and communication. For development to take place there has to be change in these factors for example the rate of population growth has to change, infrastructure has to be improved and so on. Countries in the world are ranked in terms of development from the most to the least developed and each country has its position. In that regard, Democratic Republic of Congo ranks among the underdeveloped countries in the world. According to Theodore, (2009) The Democratic Republic of Congo earlier known as Zaire is the biggest nation in Africa. This country is rich in valuable natural resources, which include petroleum, cobalt, diamond, and copper. Since its independence in 1960, the country knows not what true democracy is. It has been faced with prolonged civil and ethnic strife. This has led to political, economic, and social instability all over the country, making this country to remain underdeveloped despite its wealth in natural resources. Mining and exportation of diamond, copper, cobalt and other resources have greatly contributed to internal conflicts. According to Hope (2004) civil war started as early as after the independence; however, the United Nations intervened on a peacekeeping mission. The country experienced thirty-six years of conflict from 1964 to 1997 when Mobutu Sese Sekou was overthrown from presidency by the present President Kabila forces. Though the neighboring countries came, in to support restores peace in the country but this has not been a success as these countries also show interests in getting a share of the wealth got from mining of these resources. The peace deal signed in 1999 by the concerned parties did not stop the civil war (Udombana, 2000). Political situation of the country has been a major contribution to the countries underdevelopment. Countries that are developed or developing normally are good democracies. The rule of the people by the people, political stability is very critical in providing room for change in the factors that cause underdevelopment. Contrary to democratic rule, the country experienced seen a long dictatorial regime during the era of Mobutu Sese Seko. Underdevelopment was fuelled by the fact that power was concentrated to the president. The government institutions were stifled and their role was to rubber stamp orders from above. Compromising the role played by institutions is a major hindrance to the path of development. The dictatorial regime controlled all the corporations and every aspect of the administration. This contributed to the countries underdevelopment in that decisions were centralized and in a top down approach. Since the country was had one party, the dictator took advantage of his power to make sure that only those who were in support and loyal to the party become CEOs, directors and union leaders (Lubeck, 1992). This led to mismanagement of public institutions and much looting at the expense of poor citizens widening the gap between the rich and the poor. When president Kabila was elected many thought that the country was on the road to democracy. However, the regime maintained the status quo in that the president had legislative. Executive and military powers vested in him. This kind of a government structure does not give full support of development because the executive is not accountable for any omission or commission in any act regarding the country. After the assignation of Kabila in 2001, his son Kabila took over with the objective of developing the country. The transition constitution has greatly contributed in determining the structure and organization of the countrys institutions helping put them back on development track. The constitution has also caused devolution of powers between the central and provinces governments. From the economic perspective, the Democratic Republic of Congo is economically underdeveloped compared to other countries in Africa and all over the world. Democratic Republic Congo is very rich in valuable minerals and favorable climate that can spur economic growth to great height however, the country is still underdeveloped mainly due to the political instability of the country. Economic development is what causes an increase in the living standards of a countrys population. In Congo the citizens, live in poor conditions despite the presence of mining firms in the country the citizens earn very little wages, which translates into poor quality of life (Mbaku, 2004). Though there has been several economic development plans set as early as 1982 the expenditure called for in the development of infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, and light industry is never reached due to economic difficulties. One main challenge to economic development in the country is the overdependence on petroleum at the expense of other industries. The country has not succeeded in boosting those economic activities that do not mainly rely on imports. Despite the favorable climate sector such as agriculture have been neglected. Thus, the income earned in exportation of minerals is used to import food supplies. Overreliance on international aid is a major bottleneck to economic development in the country (Porter, Craig 2004). Countries such as China, Soviet Union, and France provided significant aid with France being the leading donor. Although international aid is normally given to spur economic development, countries that relies much on foreign aid face economic challenges when the donors withdraw or fail to give what such countries expected. The political instability in the country has made many donors to withdraw their pledges put strain on the Congos economy, which is a combination of industrial sector relying on petroleum mining, traditional agriculture and services. Congos economy has however, made substantial progress mainly because of the reforms. The country has taken measures to liberalize the economy through investment, hydrocarbons, and tax reforms. However, not all these reforms have succeeded some are yet to be felt by neither the common citizens on the ground nor the investors. Plans to privatize main parastatals the transportation and telecommunication monopolies, was a good one that would have helped improve unreliable and dilapidated infrastructure. Nevertheless, the plans were never implemented and the state of telecommunication and infrastructure is still very poor. To achieve economic development the country needs to make serious moves towards economic stabilization through restructuring external debt and public finances improvement. In the late 1990, the country was back on track in terms of economic development with major economic reforms. However, this later hindered by several external and internal factors that followed. For example, in 1998 the oil prices slumped put much strain on the countrys budget deficit. Armed conflict broke out in the same year straining the economic prospects, which chiefly depend on political stability (Booth, 1985). The country has to make the investment climate remains unfavorable making many investors to shy away from investing in the country. Investors especially foreign investors have in many countries contributed to spur the economic growth of these countries. Slater (1993) argues that development from the social perspective refers to qualitative changes in the society structure and functioning, in a bid to achieve the objectives better. To attain social development there has to be increased awareness that will lead to better organizations. In the Democratic Republic of Congo from the social perspective is poorly developed. The structure and functioning of the society is poor there is need to create awareness among the Congolese to help create better organizations. This will help improve their living standards, health, education and other quality life measures. Education levels and access to facilities such as hospitals in the country is still very poor (Brohman, 1996). Most of the citizens are either illiterate or only have basic education. The political instability has played a significant role in hindering human development this further deters social development. Political instability of the country has caused major social injustices; social development takes place in societies that have democratic rule and freedom. This freedom promotes creativity and invention for the betterment of a society. The social welfare in the country has for a long time been compromised, the economic gains only benefit a few who are in power. Women have over the years fallen victims of social injustices from rape especially during conflicts to discrimination in the job market. The country has failed to provide social services such as security and health care to its population. Social services are not equally distributed in the country (Harrison, 2005). Conclusion It is no doubt that The Democratic Republic of Congo is an underdeveloped country despite its wealth in valuable resources. Political instability has been the main challenge to a successful economic development strategy. The country has poor transportation networks, which is still a major challenge to economic development. The country needs major reforms be on the development track. To achieve overall development the country must not overlook any of the development perspectives (Simon, 2003). The political development is crucial for any development or growth to take place. It is through political stability and democratic rule that lead to the development of other sectors such as economic, social and technological. Fences by August Wilson: Analysis of Troy Fences by August Wilson: Analysis of Troy Unintentional Effect Around the early 1900s, racism was prominent and wasnt sugarcoated at all. African Americans had to deal with several obstacles around this period because of the discrimination in certain things they wanted to partake in. These actions effected many African Americans because it forced some of them to look at the world with hatred and it limited many of their opportunities in life. Racism is sad reality in our nation that affects all types of people and it continues to shake and alter lives. People use racism as a sort of way to detect the differences with their peers and spike bias towards a group of people. Some people go the extra mile in insulting, attacking or mentally attacking others because of racist ideals they believe in. In the play Fences by August Wilson, Troys dreams of becoming a professional baseball player got ripped away because of his racial appearance. This single experience has slowly made him look at life differently. He easily gets fooled by his inner thoughts b ecause of the past racial discrimination he endured and believes his self-created illusions. Racism has played an important role in Troys life which is evident based on the certain decisions he has made in his life. Because of these experiences in his life, Troys rash decisions in the play causes tensions and conflicts with his family. One of the rash decisions Troy does in the play is when he prevents his son from playing football. Based on the college scholarship, Cory had a bright future in playing football but Troy completely neglects that and says that Cory will not get involved in no sports. Not after what they did to me in the sports (Wilson 1053). Because of the past discrimination Troy faced in his life, Troy also assumed that Cory wouldnt get a fair shake either because of his skin color. Troy argued that because of his skin color, he was prevented from playing in the Major Leagues. Later in the story, he tells the coach that Cory isnt allowed to play football and he told the recruiter to leave and to never come back. Troy doesnt see that by pulling Cory away from achieving his dream at being a football player, he is creating tension and he is subconsciously not allowing Cory to have a better life than him. If Cory had got the opportunity and played football in college, he would have been able to get a co llege education while playing the sport he loves. Troy doesnt see that however because Troy is still effected from the denial he got when he was trying to play professional baseball. Although he cares about Cory and he thinks by preventing him from playing football is only for his own good, that decision wasnt wise because he is basically doing what society did to him which is preventing him from achieving his dreams. Troy aspires to be fighter and a survivor in life and from Roses perspective that shows through his son Cory. Troys true intentions are to show his son that nothing comes easy. The ultimate flaw however is that Troy looks at the world in his perspective. Troy is trying to prevent Cory from going through the same harsh experiences as him but he is unintentional recreating the same obstacles which are preventing Cory from becoming the full potential of himself. Throughout the play, Troy is imposing his will on Cory and he is basically preventing him from exploring the world for himself. This causes Cory to have conflicts with his dad because they dont agree completely. In the article Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilsons Fences by Susan Koprince, Susan says that Troys front yard is literally turned into a battleground during his confrontations with his younger son Cory (Koprince 354). With each argument and conflict, Cory slowly characteristics change in the story. In the begi nning of the story, he was a cheerful kid hopeful for his future. However because of the denial of pursing football and the constant back and forth between him and Tory, he becomes very bitter just like his father. This isnt a good thing because once Cory picks up his father characteristics, it forces him to see the world in a single perspective and thats not his full potential but an intentional effect from Troys reactionary decision. Like stated before Troy isnt trying to harm his family at all. Troy went through a lot in his past and he doesnt want his family to go through that same experience he went through. He felt it was his job to be a father and protect his family from his past mistakes. Troy went to jail for fifth teen years for murder. A man he tried to rob pulled a gun on him so in retaliation he stabbed him. Experiences like this Troy doesnt want any of his sons to go down that path. Lyons is Troys son from a previous relationship. While Troy was in prison, Lyons didnt have a dad growing up and he didnt really have guidance in the world. Lyons doesnt seem particularly bitter about any of this. He just seems to accept things as they come. Lyons passion is becoming a musician. Troy however doesnt see that as a serious thing. He instead sees that as a dangerous path. Troy says You living the fast lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦wanna be a musicianà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦running around in them clubs and thingsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (W ilson 1041). Although Troy sounded harsh there, this was probably the most honest and sincere thing he told Lyons. Troy views Lyons dream as a risk because hes not getting any income from this profession. Every time Troy gets paid, Lyon appears asking for a handout. This offends Troy because he never had handouts coming up. From the experiences of growing up in a white society, he believes that African Americans have to work for everything that they want. From the article, Susan writes that Instead of limitless opportunity, [Troy] has come to know racial discrimination and poverty (353). He wants Lyons to take on a safer route which is working somewhere with a structure rather than the freelance world of music. He doesnt want Lyons to get lost in that music world and result into doing the things he used to do that caused him to go to jail. Lyons doesnt see the world like Troy. Lyons isnt bitter at the world like Troy and he expresses himself through music. Lyons has the same mindset as Cory which is that they can do something special for their lives in this society full of opportunities. Troy believes that Lyons isnt aware on the harsh treatment African Americans go through and it shows clearly when his son asks him for ten dollars. This conflict shows how Troy distance himself away from Lyons. Troy doesnt feel comfortable giving out ten dollars because he feels like hes being taken advantage of. This goes back to the self-created illusions Troy creates because of the past experiences he dealt with especially with whites. Troy basically creates a barrier to Lyons because of this fear. Lyons doesnt want to take advantage of Troy but he wants a closer relationship with father. This isnt possible because Troy doesnt support Lyons career and he doesnt give Lyons the same attention he gives Cory. Sadly, Troy doesnt see that Lyons wants more attention instead he looks at Lyons as someone who is trying to take his hard-owned money. Troy later in the play makes another decision that shifts the tone of play where he commits an affair with Alberta. Troy feels trapped in a marriage where he cant display his true self. He doesnt blame Rose but from this scene he looks very unapologetic. He felt like with all the responsibilities of being a father and provider for his family, he needed a way to escape all that. This is his reasoning for committing this fatal decision. Troys selfish act shows that he wanted to break a boundary hes been limited too. Hes been limited from baseball, the status hes been in at work and his marriage. Rose was crushed hearing that the man she gave her life and identity to committed an affair with another woman. It bothered her when he said he needed an outlet from his priorities. She said Dont you think I ever wanted other things? Dont you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life (Wilson 1071)? She committed herself to the marriage and to repay her, he betrays her by having a baby wi th another woman. Because of this conflict, Troy and Roses marriage is severely jeopardized. Rose is still the mother of his children but she doesnt recognize herself as a wife to Troy. She starts to build her own characteristics and beliefs after this conflict. Rose felt like she wasted her years with Troy so she began to build a life outside of the house she felt trapped in. During the last scene of the play, she tells Cory why the marriage went down the way it did. Rose recognized that she gave up her free will for love. She wanted to have children and be at one with Troy. She accepted that this was her identity. But because of this affair, it woke her up and made her a diverse character because she became independent rather than dependent. Troys decisions distanced himself away from his family as he lost his dominance in the household. Troy Maxson went through a lot in his life. Troy has a singular perspective on the world. He has a strict demeanor because of how society viewed African Americans back in the 1950s. Troy cares a lot about his family even if he doesnt show it. Throughout his life, Racism has been a barrier for him. He was once young and he chased his own dreams but because of his skin color, several ideals got in his way. Racism caused a lot of Troys bitterness towards life. He went to jail and ultimately makes sure he doesnt fall back there. All of his decisions were very influenced by past experiences from racism. Whether it be denying Corys dreams, neglecting Lyons and breaking the barriers of his marriage with Rose. All of these decisions caused tensions around the family and ultimately fenced his family away from him. Works Cited Koprince, Susan. Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilsons Fences.. African  American Review, vol. 40, no. 2, Summer2006, pp. 349-358. EBSCOhost. Wilson, August. Fences Literature: A Portable Anthology. 4th ed. Boston:Bedford/St.Martins, 2016. 1030-1088. Print. What Is Algebra? What Is Algebra? Algebra is a branch of mathematics, as we know maths is queen of science, it plays vital role of developing and flourishing technology, we use all scopes in past and newly, the algebra is not exceptional the maths. Algebra is one of the main areas of pure mathematics that uses mathematical statements such as term, equations, or expressions to relate relationships between objects that change over time.Here is a list of names who have contributed to the specific field of algebra. Algebra is seen by much arithmetic with letters and a long historical precedent the textbooks, stretching back of the 14th century. As such it deepens upon experience and facility with arithmetic calculations. It provides student with skill to carry out algebraic manipulations .many of the which parallel arithmetic computation. At the very least ,school algebra is a collection of mathematical practices and procedure to be internalised and integrated into learners functioning ,at the very most in its tradition form its afford glimpse of a powerful tool for modelling and thus resolving problems, (page 559 jifa cai) Word Algebra The word algebra is a shortened misspelled transliteration of an Arabic titleal-jebr wal-muqabalah (circa 825) by the Persian mathematician known as al-Khwarizmi [words, p. 21]. Theal-jebrpart means reunion of broken parts, the second partal-muqabalahtranslates as to place in front of, to balance, to oppose, to set equal. Together they describe symbol manipulations common in algebra: combining like terms, moving a term to the other side of an equation, etc. In its English usage, in the 14thcentury,algebermeant bone-setting, close to its original meaning. By the 16thcentury, the formalgebraappeared in its mathematical meaning. Robert Recorde (c. 1510-1558), the inventor of the symbol= of equality, was the first to use the term in this sense. He, however, still spelled it asalgeber. The misspellers proved to be more numerous, and the current spellingalgebratook roots. Thus the original meaning ofalgebrarefers to what we today callelementary algebrawhich is mostly occupied with solving simple equations. More generally, the termalgebraencompasses nowadays many other fields of mathematics: geometric algebra, abstract algebra, Boolean algebra, Ã‚ ³-algebra,to name a few. Algebra is an ancient and one of the most basicbranch ofmathematics, invented by Muhammad Musa Al-Khwarizmi, and evolve over the centuries. The name algebra is itself of Arabic origin. It comes from the Arabic word ‘al-jebr.[1] http://www.cut-the-knot.org/WhatIs/WhatIsAlgebra.shtml The English invented the world (Kelly 1821-1895) algebra of matrices and the research (Paul 1815-1864) may have emerged since 1854 and from this research Boolean algebra, also appeared in 1881 forms of art to illustrate the Boolean algebra, (availablhttp://www.jeddmath.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5330/15/052011). History of algebra In history, we find some following mathematicians who have great contributions in development of algebra. Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (1474 -1559) was born in Hackforth, Yorkshire, England and died in Lambeth, London, England. He was a significant royal advisor, diplomat, and administrator, and he gained two degrees with great proficiency in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. In 1522, he wrote his first printed work that was devoted to mathematics, and this arithmetic book ‘De arte supputandi libri quattuorwas based on Paciolis Suma. Robert Recorde Robert Recorde (1510-1558) was born in Tenby, Wales and died in London, England. He was a Welsh mathematician and physician and in 1557, he introduced the equals sign (=). In 1540, Recorde published the first English book of algebra ‘The Grounde of Artes. In 1557, he published another book ‘The Whetstone of Witte in which the equals sign was introduced. John Widman John Widman (1462-1498) was born in Eger, Bohemia, currently called Czech Republic and died in Leipzig, Germany. He was a German mathematician who first introduced + and signs in his arithmetic book ‘Behende und hupsche Rechnung auf Allen kauffmanschafft. Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (1560 -1621) was born in Oxford, London and died in London England. He was an astronomer and mathematician, and founder of the English school of algebra. William Oughtred William Oughtred (1575-1660) was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire, England and died in Albury, Surrey, England. He was one of the worlds great and formally trained mathematicians. Oughtred, in his book Clavis Mathematicae included Hindu-Arabic notation, decimal fractions and experimented on many new symbols such as ÃÆ'-,::, >, and John Pell John Pell (1611-1685) was born in Southwick, Sussex, England, and died in Westminster, London, England. Pells work was mostly based on number theory and algebra. Pell published many books on mathematics such as Idea of Mathematicsin 1638 and the two page A Refutation of Longomontanuss Pretended Quadrature of the Circle in 1644. Reverend John Wallis John Wallis (1616-1703) was born in Ashford, Kent, England and died in Oxford, England. In 1656, Wallis published his most famous book Arithmetica Infinitorum in which he introduced the formula /2 = (2.2.4.4.6.6.8.8.10)/ (1.3.3.5.5.7.7.9.9). In another of his works, Treatise on Algebra, Wallis gives a wealth of information on algebra. John Herschel John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) was born in Slough, England and died in Kent, England. He was a great astronomer who discovered Uranus. In 1822, he published his first work on astronomy, a small work to calculate the eclipses of the moon. In 1824, he published his first major work on double stars in the Transactions of the Royal Society. Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (1791 -1871) was born in London, England and died in London, England. In 1821, Babbage made the Difference engine to compile tables of mathematics. In 1856, he invented Analytical Engine, which is a general symbol manipulator and similar to todays computers. Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was born in Lincolnshire, England and died in London, England. He was a great physicist, mathematician, and one of the greatest scientific intellects of all time. In 1672, he published his first work on light and color in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1704, Newtons works on pure mathematics was published and in 1707, his Cambridge lectures from 1673 to 1683 were published. ( http://www.barcodesinc.com/articles/algebra-history.htm) How is Algebra used in daily life? Every day in our life and all over the world we use Algebra many places as well as finances, engineering, schools, and universities we cant do most scopes without maths.( It is actually quite common for an average person to perform simple Algebra without realizing it. For example, if you go to the grocery store and have ten dollars to spend on two dollar candy bars. This gives us the equation 2x = 10 where x is the number of candy bars you can buy. Many people dont realize that this sort of calculation is Algebra; they just do it). (http://wiki.answers.com and http://wiki.answers.com) Other Definitions Algebra is the parts of mathematics where numbers and letters are used like A B or X and Y, or other symbols are used to represent unknown or variable numbers. For examples : inA +5 = 9, A is unknown, but we can solve by subtracting 5 to both sides of the equal sign (=), like this: A+5 = 9 A+ 5 5 = 9 5 A +0 = 4 A = 4 3b+12=15 subtract both sides 12 3b+12-12=15-12 3b=3 divide both sides 3 to get the value of b which is 1 and so on 5x/5x=1 if you substitute x any number not zero the equation will be true (Algebra is branch of mathematics that substitutes letters for numbers. An algebraic equation represents a scale, what is done on one side of the scale with a number is also done to the other side of the scale. The numbers are the constants. Algebra can include real numbers, complex numbers, matrices, vectors etc. Moving from Arithmetic to Algebra will look something like this: Arithmetic: 3 + 4 = 3 + 4 in Algebra it would look like: x + y = y + ) artical http://math.about.com/cs/algebra/g/algebradef.htm Terminology used in algebra to make algebra easy or any other branches of maths, we must understand well all basic sign in all operations and use it right way, these signs are , subtractions ,division, addition ,multiplication. variable is also called an unknown and can be represented by letters from the alphabet letters. Operations in algebra are the same as in arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. An expression is a group of numbers and variables, along with operations. An equation is the equality of two expressions. (Polynomials are often written in descending order, in which the terms with the largest powers are written first (like 92- 3x + 6). If they are written with the smallest terms appearing first, this is ascending order (like 6 3x + 92). equation- An equation is a mathematical statement that contains an equal sign, like ax + b = c. exponent- An exponent is a power that a number is raised to. For example, in 23, the exponent is 3. expression- An algebraic expression consists of one or more variables, constants, and operations, like 3x-4. Each part of an expression that is added or subtracted is called atermFor example, the expression 42-2x+7 has three terms. factor- The factor of a number is a number that divides that number exactly. For example, the factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6. formula- A formula shows a mathematical relationship between expressions. fraction- A fraction is a part of a whole, like a half, a third, a quarter, etc. For example, half of an apple is a fraction of an apple. The top number in a fraction is called the numerator; the bottom number in a fraction is called the denominator. inequality- An inequality is a mathematical expression that contains an inequality symbol. The inequality symbols are : > greater than (2>1) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ less than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ greater than or equal to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   not equal to (1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚  2). integer- The integers are the numbers , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . inverse (addition)- The inverse property of addition states that for every number a, a + (-a) = 0 (zero). inverse (multiplication)- The inverse property of multiplication states that for every non-zero number a, a times (1/a) = 1. matrix- nth- operation- An operation is a rule for taking one or two numbers as inputs and producing a number as an output. Some arithmetic operations are multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. polynomial- A polynomial is a sum or difference of terms; each term is: * a constant (for example, 5) * a constant times a variable (for example, 3x) * a constant times the variable to a positive integer power (for example, 22) * a constant times the product of variables to positive integer powers (for example, 2x3y). monomial is a polynomial with only one term. A binomial is a polynomial that has two terms. A trinomial is a polynomial with three terms. prime number- A prime number is a positive number that has exactly two factors, 1 and itself. Alternatively, you can think of a prime number as a number greater than one that is not the product of smaller numbers. For example, 13 is a prime number because it can only be divided evenly by 1 and 13. For another example, 14 is not a prime number because it can be divided evenly by 1, 2, 7, and 14. The number one is not a prime number because it has only one factor, 1 itself. quadratic equation- A quadratic equation is an equation that has a second-degree term and no higher terms. A second-degree term is a variable raised to the second power, like x2, or the product of exactly two variables, like x and y. When you graph a quadratic equation in one variable, like y = ax2+ bx + c, you get a parabola, and the solutions to the quadratic equation represent the points where the parabola crosses the x-axis. quadratic formula- The quadratic formula is a formula that gives you a solution to the quadratic equation ax2+ bx + c = 0. The quadratic formula is obtained by solving the general quadratic equation. radical- A radical is a symbol à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ that is used to indicate the square root or nthroot of a number. root- An nthroot of a number is a number that, when multiplied by itself n times, results in that number. For example, the number 4 is a square root of 16 because 4 x 4 equals 16. The number 2 is a cube root of 8 because 2 x 2 x 2 equals 8. solve- When you solve an equation or a problem, you find solutions for it. square root- The square roots of a number n are the numbers s such that s2=n. For example, the square roots of 4 are 2 and -2; the square roots of 9 are 3 and -3. symbol- A symbol is a mark or sign that stands for something else. For example, the symbolà ·meansdivide. system of equations- A system of equations is two or more independent equations that are solved together. For example, the system of equations: x + y = 3 and x y = 1 has a solution of x=2 and y=1. terms- In an expression or equation, terms are numbers, variables, or numbers with variables. For example, the expression 3x has one term, the expression 42+ 7 has two terms. variable- A variable is an unknown or placeholder in an algebraic expression. For example, in the expression 2x+y, x and y are variables. +,- (www.EnchantedLearning.com) Learn algebra Symbolizes the number in the account to a group that contains that number of things, for example, No. 5, always stands for a set containing 5 things.In algebra, the symbols may be replaced by numbers, but it is possible to solve the number one or more replace one icon.To learn algebra, we must first learn how to use symbols replace the numbers.And then how to create a constraint for strings of numbers. Groups and variables.There is a relationship between the symbols in algebra and groups of numbers.It is certain that each of us has some knowledge of groups of objects, such as collections of books, collections of postage stamps, and groups of dishes.And groups of numbers are not different for these groups a lot.One way to describe sets of numbers in algebra is that we are using one of the alphabet, such as the name of her p..Then half of the numbers of this group Bhzaretha brackets of the form {}.For example, can be expressed set of numbers from 1 to 9 as follows: A = {1, 2.3, 4, 5.6, 7, 8.9}. The group of odd numbers under 20 are: B = {1.3, 5, 7.9, 11, 13.15, 17, 19}. These examples demonstrated the models of the groups used in algebra. Suppose that the age of four persons were respectively: 12, 15.20, 24. Then can be written in this age group numbers. A = {12.15, 20, 24}. How is the age of each of them after three years? One way to answer this question is that we write 12 +3.15 +3.20 +3 and 24 + 3.We note that the number 3 is repeated in each of the formulas  ¸ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ four.In algebra we can express all previous versions form a single task is m + 3 where m is any number of numbers of a group.That is, it can replace any of the numbers 12, 15, 20 or 24 m are indicated.Is called the symbol m variable, called the group a field of this variable, but No. 3 in the formula m+3 is called hard because its value is always one.Known variable in algebra as a symbol can be compensated for the number of one or more belongs to a group. We can replace any names lead to correct reports or reports the wrong variable.For example: Hungary is bordered by the State of the Black Sea Report of the wrong, as in fact can not be like this report is correct only if compensated by the variable r one of the States: Bulgaria or Romania, or Turkey.The report shall be  ¸ Turkey is a country bordered by the Black Sea for example, the right one called the compensation that makes the report and called the right roots group consisting of all roots with a solution.The solution set is the previous example. {Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey}.And in reparation for not use the names to compensate for variables, but we use the numbers. Equations known as the camel sports is equal to reflect the two formats. Phrase: Q +7 = 12 For example, an easy equation  ¸ mean the sum of the number 7 with the number equal to 12 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To solve this equation, we can do to compensate for different numbers of Q until we get a report of the equation makes the right one.If we substitute for x the equation becomes number five report is correct, and if we substitute for x any number of other reports, the equation becomes wrong.So to solve this equation set is {5}. This group contains only one root. It is possible that the equation more than one root: X  ² + 18 = 9 o. No. 2 highest first variable x means that the number of representative variable Q is the number of box, that number multiplied by itself once.See: box.In this equation, we can make up for X number 3: 3 ÃÆ'- 3 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 3 9 + 18 = 27 27 = 27 We can also compensate for X number 6: 6 ÃÆ'- 6 + 18 = 9 ÃÆ'- 6 36 + 18 = 54 54 = 54 Any other compensation for making the equation Q report wrong.Then 3 and 6 are the root of the equation.Thus, the solution set is {3.6}. There are also equations having no roots: X = + 3 If we substitute for x any number, this equation becomes a false report, and a solution is called the group of free and symbolized by the symbol {}. and some of the equations, an infinite number (for high standards) from the roots. (X + 1)  ² = x  ² + 2 x +1 In this equation if we substitute for x any number we get the right report, the Group resolved to contain all the numbers http://nabad-alkloop.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38762 What is best way to learn and teach algebra? Step-by-step equations solving is the key of teaching and learning. To find fully worked-out answers and learn how to solve math problems, one step at a time. Studying worked-out solutions is a proven method to help you retain information. Dont just look for the answer in the back of the book; There are five laws basic principles of math governing operations: multiplication addition subtract and expressing the variables and can be compensated for any number Algebra is anessential subject. Its the gateway to mathematics. Its used extensively in the sciences. And its an important skill in many careers. Many people think, it is a nightmare and causes more stress, homework tears and plain confusion than any other subject on the curriculum but that is not true. Theimportance of understanding equation Connotation and denotation on extension of a concept two opposite yet complementary aspects is clarified the extension is defined vice versa understanding the concept equation includes its connotation and denotations. This session of observed lessons will show the essential nature or the equation is consolidated by designing problem variation putting emphasis on clarifying the connotation and differentiation the boundary of the set of object in the extension. (Page 559 Jifa cai) Whats the best formula for teaching algebra? Immersing students in their course work, or easing them into learning the new skills or does a combination of the two techniques adds up to the best strategy? Researchers at the Centre for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins are aiming to find out through a federally funded study that will span 18 schools in five states this fall. The study, now in its second year of data collection, will evaluate two ways to teach algebra to ninth-graders, determining if one approach is more effective in increasing mathematics skills and performance or whether the two approaches are equally effective. Participating schools in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Utah and Virginia will be randomly assigned to one of two strategies for the 2009-2010 school year; to be eligible, students must not have previously taken Algebra I. Twenty-eight high schools were studied during the 2008-2009 school year. One strategy, called Stretch Algebra, is a yearlong course in Algebra 1 with students attending classes of 70 to 90 minutes a day for two semesters. This approach gives students a â€Å"double dose† of algebra, with time to work on fundamental mathematics skills as needed. The second strategy is a sequence of two courses, also taught in extended class periods. During the first semester, students take a course called Transition to Advanced Mathematics, followed by the districts Algebra I course in the second semester. The first-semester course was developed by researchers and curriculum writers at Johns Hopkins to fill gaps in fundamental skills, develop mathematics reasoning and build students confidence in their abilities. â€Å"The question is, Is it better for kids to get into algebra and do algebra, or to give kids the extra time so the teacher can concentrate more on concepts started in middle schools?† said Ruth Curran Neild, a research scientist at Johns Hopkins and one of the studys principal investigators. Teachers using both strategies will receive professional development. Mathematics coaches will provide weekly support to those who are teaching the two-course approach; the study will provide teacher guides and hands-on materials for students in Transition to Advanced Mathematics. Johns Hopkins researchers will be collecting data throughout the school year. Findings are expected during the 2010-2011 school year. http://gazette.jhu.edu/2009/08/17/calculating-the-best-way-for-teaching-algebra/ Learn Algebra, the easy way The key to learn and understand Mathematics is to practice more and more and Algebra is no exception. Understanding the concepts is very vital. There are several techniques that can be followed to learn Algebra the easy way. Learning algebra from the textbook can be boring. Though textbooks are necessary it doesnt always address the need for a conceptual approach. There are certain techniques that can be used to learn algebra the fun and easy way. Listed below are some of the techniques that can be used. Do some online research and you will be surprised to find a whole bunch of websites that offer a variety of fun learning methods which makes learning algebra a pleasant experience and not a nightmare. But the key is to take your time in doing a thorough research before you choose the method that is best for you, or you can do a combination of different methods if you are a person who looks for variety to boost your interest. 1. ANIMATED ALGEBRA : You can learn the basic principles of algebra through this method. Animation method teaches the students the concepts by helping them integrate both teaching methods. When the lessons are animated you actually learn more ! 2. ALGEBRA QUIZZES : You can use softwares and learn at your own pace best of all you dont need a tutor to use it. What you really need is something that can help you with your own homework, not problems it already has programmed into it that barely look like what your teacher or professor was trying to explain. You can enter in your own algebra problems, and it works with you to solve them faster make them easier to understand. 3. INTERACTIVE ALGEBRA : There are several Interactive Algebra plugins that allows the user toexploreAlgebra by changing variables and see what happens. This promotes an understanding of how you arrive at answers. There are websites that provide online algebra help and worksheets. They also provide interactive onlinegamesand practice problems and provide the algebra help needed. It is difficult to recommend better methods for studying and for learning because the best methods vary from person to person. Instead, I have provided several ideas which can be the foundation to a good study program. If you just remember all the rules and procedures without truly understanding the concepts, you will have difficulty learning algebra. (http://www.ehow.com/how_4452787_learn-algebra-easy-way.html)