Marriage must be banned Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marriage must be banned - Research Paper Example 71). Moreover, according to the "Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law", "Marriage is the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a legal, consensual, and contractual relationship recognized and sanctioned by and dissolvable only by law" (Marriage). In any case, marriage is a partnership or covenant between a male and female which starts normally when at the youth period and ends only at the death of either of the partners. The concept of marriage is getting decreased popularity at present among teenagers or youths because of the changing life styles and life principles. According to National vital statistics reports of 2009, "Number of marriages is 2,077,000. Marriage rate is 6.8 per 1,000 total populations. Divorce rate is 3.4 per 1,000 populations (44 reporting States and D.C.)" (Tejada & Sutton). Current generation perceive marriage as a burden rather than a necessity. In their opinion, whatever the purpose fulfilled though marriage can be obtain ed even without a marital life. Staying together is the new life concept which is substituting marriage. The advantage of staying together over marriage is that if any of the partners face problems in adjusting his or her life with the partner, he/she can put an end to that relationship easily and look for other options. It is difficult for the couples to get a divorce, if they tied their relationship through a marriage. In this paper, I argue that marriage should be banned considering burden it creates to human life. Forced marriage and arranged marriage create lot of problems in the life of people. â€Å"The only reason for the couple to be together is the pressure of the two families and of the society as a whole. They are concerned to keep the marriage going no matter whether it is successful or not† (Opponent’s Views on Arranged Marriages). Neither the male nor the female gets any opportunity to know each other in the case of an arranged marriage. Parents usually arrange the marriages of their children based on their own perceptions about life. However, life is changing rapidly and it is not necessary that the parents have the right knowledge about the necessities of modern life. Parents arrange the marriage based on the knowledge they acquired in their life. Their intention is always to secure the life of their children. So, in most of the cases, the parents will look to the financial aspects of the marriage first before finalizing the marriage. Dowry system is prevailing among many cultures and the marriage is decided based on the amount of dowry the bridegroom is getting. In other words, the choices of the youths get least preferences in arranged marriages. Marriage is a convention. From a thousand years ago to today, people get married by the strong force. â€Å"Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: â€Å"Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses† (C onvention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages). However, many of the youths try to engage in marital relationships, to keep the tradition intact. They might have learned that marriage is an essential thing which makes human different from animals. They are getting long lectures about the importance of keeping traditions from their school, colleges, and churches. Even if they have different opinions, the pressure from family and society force them to engage in a

Intelligence of the heart Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Intelligence of the heart - Term Paper Example The artist, Rene Schwaller de Lubicz argued that civilization in Egypt is much older than the orthodox Egyptologist suggests it. However, this claim has of recent been disputed by the recently unveiled work of the Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval arguing that Rene might have been unfounded in their artwork research. Despite the opposing views, Rene Schwaller de Lubicz presented that the Egyptian antiquity could not be used as enough proof to place the dissenting voices beyond reproach. He further argued that the study of the Egyptian history could be the basis of insightful thinking with reference to the laws of creation, which was critically fundamental by then. With all care and considerations of Egyptian culture and civilization ranging from the construction of the pyramids, which took the shape of beer mugs, Rene claimed central metaphysical vision to be his source of motivation. This form of motivation could be directed towards the nature of the cosmic harmony and this took cons ideration towards awareness creation of the place of the humanity in the constantly evolving world full of consciousness (Buhner, Stephen & Harrod 2004). Form the remarks of his able translator Deborah, Rene’s studies about Egypt are constituent parts of his widely spread Philosophical and metaphysical pieces of art work. Brief Historical perspective Rene was born in Alsace-Lorraine, which was then part of Germany, he grew up in a polyglot surrounding. Through a Lithunian poet and diplomat, Lubicz Milosz Rene attained the name â€Å"de Lubicz†. This was in recognition of his efforts after the negative impacts of the Second World War in a Lithuania. His city of birth turbulently shifted power between the French and the Germans alternately and this took place right from Rene’s birth (Buhner, Stephen & Harrod 2004). The writer lent a lot of his work in the curious characteristics of his work. Some of the artists associating with Rene suggested that the writer was g ifted in a way that he could think in German and write in French. In addition, he was also gifted with the inherent difficulty of expressing non-linear issues. Such combinations ranged from â€Å"living† to â€Å"dead† linear languages, which presented an uphill task before the previous readers. As suggested in his work, insights of the apropos with regards to functional consciousness, he describes that nature presents a hip or a great mountain which is wound up with a peak of immaculate whiteness which he could not be able to made understand the way towards (Mookerjee & Ajit 2004). In a nutshell, for functional consciousness to be achieved it is vital that a clear roadmap be established showing the procedures towards achieving such objectives. We may be interested in adopting Schwaller’s insights as upcoming artists, the only challenge is that whenever we try doing this, we find ourselves in a very difficult situations given the turbulences facing his works. De spite such concerns, Rene was not actually touched as he argued that it is in the interest of the persons concerned to find their way out. Schwaller believed that knowledge was only a right to those who were willing to make the effort to get the

Orphaned And Vulnerable Children In Africa Education Essay

Orphaned And Vulnerable Children In Africa Education Essay Introduction During the course Education Development in Diverse Societies we learned about the main educational theories and other (inter)disciplinary approaches to study educational issues in developing countries. We analysed educational reforms and innovations from an interdisciplinary and multilevel perspective, and examined their theoretical basis, the practical implications, the strengths and weaknesses, and how they respond to the learning needs of children with a diverse background.  [1]  In this paper I will apply the knowledge and understanding that I gained by writing about the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for children at risk.  [2]   The AIDS epidemic has become a global crisis currently threatening the lives of millions of people and devastating entire societies. Education systems have an essential role to play in fighting this epidemic, because of their capacity to reach very large numbers of young people with life-saving information and skills. A completed primary education can reduce the risk of HIV infection for young people; and in fact, basic education has such a powerful preventative effect, that it has been described as the social vaccine (Boler Carroll 2003). As the epidemic gathers pace, however, it poses increasing risks to education itself, threatening to stop children from enrolling, teachers from teaching and schools from functioning. This threatens the Right to Education, and the objective of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to achieve primary universal education. Particularly, orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), face a lot of challenges in the provision of q uality education.  [3]   In this paper, I therefore focus on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for orphans and vulnerable children in Sub Saharan Africa in order to improve and increase their access to quality education, skills development and other social services. Since I am going to conduct research in Zambia on a related topic, I focus particularly on the impact of HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education in Zambia. The research questions of this paper therefore state: What is the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Zambia? What can be done to increase their access, progression and educational outcomes? Part one of this paper deals with the more general literature about HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa. This includes the impact of HIV/AIDS, leading to many different educational consequences. In part two I focus on Zambia as a case study, whereby I explain the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia, the impact it has on OVCs and the educational system. Part three discusses the possibilities of redressing the harmful consequences within the educational system, whereby I focus on community schools. In conclusion, I answer the research question and I will give recommendations for further research. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub Saharan Africa Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV/AIDS live in Sub Saharan Africa, although this region includes little more than 10% of the worlds population (UNAIDS 2008; Foster Williamson 2000: 275; Barnett Whiteside 2006: 210-19). HIV/AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the continent. The most obvious effect of this crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been confined to the health sector. Households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been badly affected. Since the beginning of the epidemic more than 15 million Africans have died from AIDS (UNAIDS 2008). In the previous year 2008, an estimated 1.4 million adults and children died as a result of AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa (UNAIDS 2008). Besides, a growing number of children in Sub Saharan Africa have been orphaned by AIDS (Robson Sylvester 2007: 260). However, detailed information on the numbers of children directly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic is very limited in most countries in Sub Saharan Africa (Bennell 2005: 468). A major part of the problem is that it is often difficult to establish whether a child, parent or carer is ill or has died as a result of an AIDS-related disease. Another complicating factor is that there is no standard definition of an orphan. Definitions of orphans vary across different cultures and studies. In general, an orphan due to AIDS is defined as a child who has lost at least one parent dead from AIDS or AIDS related diseases. However, UNICEF and UNAIDS have a more specific definition. They define an orphan as a child under 15 years of age: a single orphan has lost one parent, while a double orphan has lost both parents (Foster Williamson 2000; Brennell 2005; Barnett Whiteside 2006: 213). For the purpose of this paper, and in line with working definitions in Zambia, an orphan is defined as a child below the age of 18 who has lost one or both parents (Robson Sylvester 2007: 262). The toll of HIV/AIDS on households can be very severe. Although the whole population is affected by HIV/AIDS, it are often the poorest areas of society that are most exposed to the epidemic and for whom the consequences are most severe. In many cases, the presence of AIDS causes the household to break up, as parents die and children are sent to relatives for care and upbringing. Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic has affected many aspects of social and economic development, this paper focuses on the affect on educational development. The relationship between AIDS and the education sector is circular as the epidemic worsens, the education sector is damaged, which in turn is likely to increase the incidence of HIV transmission. There are numerous ways in which AIDS can affect education, but equally there are many ways in which education can help the fight against AIDS and generates hope (Kelly 1999: 6-7).  [4]  The extent to which schools and other educational institutions are able to continue functioning will influence how well societies eventually recover from the epidemic. Or as the director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, explained it: Without education, AIDS will continue its rampant spread. With AIDS out of control, education will be out of reach (World Bank et al. 2002). OVCs are less likely to have proper schooling. The death of a prime-age adult in a household will reduce a childs attendance at school (World Bank 1997: 225 in Barnett Whiteside 2006: 220).  [5]  The household may be less able to pay for schooling. An orphaned child may have to take on household or income-earning work. Sick adults may have reduced expectations of the returns of investing in childrens education as they do not expect to live long enough to recoup the investment. When a child goes to another household after his or his parents death, the obstacles become greater as the child is not their own (Barnett Whiteside 2006: 220). Finally, a reason why it is important to focus on children is that the impact of HIV/AIDS will linger for decades after the epidemic begins to wane (Foster Williamson 2000: 275). However, for a diversity of reasons, little attention has been paid to the situation and experience of individual children affected by HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, greater understanding of the impact of HIV/AIDS on childrens education is essential in the design and evaluation of programmes to support children living under difficult conditions. HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia Zambia, in southern Africa, has been severely affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and can be seen as the mirror of Sub Saharan Africa. Statistics emphasize that one in five adults is infected with HIV (Kayanta 2004 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 259-60). Additionally, more than 70% of the population lives in poverty (CSO 2003 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 260). However, the country is active to implement the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), to achieve the EFA and the MDGs, by eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, to promote gender equality and empower women and to achieve universal primary education.  [6]  Besides, the country adopted a number of poverty reduction objectives (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 19). Almost 50% of Zambias population is under 15 years old, 71% of children live in poverty, and one in four children are orphaned. In other words, the HIV epidemic has devastated the country and it is estimated that by 2010 there will be 1,328,000 AIDS orphans (UNAIDS 2008). These children are vulnerable to neglect, sexual abuse and early marriages, forced child labour and can have serious health and nutrition problems. As a result OVCs are less likely to have access to school and to complete quality basic education. Social protection measures put in place by the government are hampered by inadequate resources, and OVCs lack of awareness of their rights. The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Zambian education system The AIDS epidemic affects the supply of and demands for education in a variety of ways, especially in a high HIV prevalence country like Zambia (Bennell 2005: 467). HIV/AIDS has multiple effects on education through ten different mechanisms: reduction in demand, reduction in supply, reduction in availability of resources, adjustments in response to the special needs of an increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children, adaptation to new interactions both within schools and between schools and communities, curriculum modification, altered roles that have to be adopted by teachers and the education system, the ways in which schools and the education system are organised, the planning and management of the system, and donor support for education (Kelly 1999: 1). More and more research is carried out on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia. However, little research has been undertaken in basic schools themselves, to examine the experiences of poverty and AIDS-affected children. Therefore, Robson and Sylvester emphasize that  ´it is timely to explore the perceptions of education personnel and students regarding the adequacy of responses within the educational sector and to identify the unmet needs ´ (Robson Sylvester 2007: 262). Impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on education for pupils There are three groups of schoolchildren whose lives are most directly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and whose education is, therefore, potentially at maximum risk: children who are HIV positive, children living in households with sick family members, and children whose parents or caretakers have died of HIV/AIDS. The scope to which the education of these children is negatively affected depends deeply on the level of physical and emotional support they get from the extended family, the school, the community and the local government (Bennell 2005: 468). However, like I explained in the introduction, it is difficult to indicate the number of directly affected children by the epidemic. Besides, schools rarely keep accurate and up-to-date records on the number of affected children and their parents. Nonetheless, we do know that the number of children that is HIV positive because the mother passed the virus on to her child is relatively small, since over 90 per cent of these children die before they are old enough to attend school. It is therefore estimated that a small number of schoolchildren is infected or has AIDS related sicknesses (Brennell 2005: 469). This is also the reason why mortality rates at primary schools are low. It is commonly believed that the education of children who are most directly affected by the epidemic is adversely affected in a number of ways. The main argument is that given very difficult home situations, both orphans and children in AIDS-affected households are often forced to drop out of school altogether with little likelihood of ever returning to school (Brennell 2005: 473). The growth in the number of orphans [and other directly affected children] is taxing the coping strategies of families and society at large. In many cases, the extended family find it extremely difficult to cope economically and psychologically with the numbers it is required to absorb. Few orphans [and other children in AIDS-affected households] are able to pay their school or training fees. Many others have to care for others in the homes where they live. Many have to work to support themselves or younger siblings dependent on them (Kelly 2000: 57 in Brennell 2005: 473). Pupils whose parents die or are ill often drop out of school due to different factors such as, economic stresses on households, changes in the family structure, responsibilities to look after the sick, the elderly or siblings and loss of parental supervision (Foster Williamson 2000: 278,81). The way school attendance, performance and school completion are effected generally depends on levels of risks and vulnerability due to social, economic and cultural circumstances (Robson Sylvester 2007: 265). It is important to mention that the financial burden on families, for example when parents die, prevents many children from attending school despite the provision of free basic education because of the extra school costs, like textbooks, contribution to school funds and examination costs (Brennell 2005: 475; Barnett Whiteside 2006: 220). Other reasons for children to drop out of school or to perform badly are that poor children are frequently ill because of poor living conditions, which seriously affects their education. Besides, AIDS-related stigmas and discrimination increase the chance that children are not going to school (Foster Williamson 2000: 281-82; Bennell 2005: 473). Children, especially whose parents are known or suspected to have died of HIV/AIDS face the risk of being stigmatised or discriminated. This can also result in bullying of these children. Stigma and discrimination in schools violates the principles of inclusive education and education for all (Robson Sylvester 2007: 266). Research in Zambia showed that the number of children attending primary school is decreasing. The decline in school participation rates was thought to result from poverty, inability to pay the rising costs of schooling, and increasing parental disillusion with the low quality of education. This is linked to HIV/AIDS and its affects on poverty, levels of employment, and the quality of school provision (Kelly 2000: 12 in Barnett Whiteside 2006: 220). Noteworthy is that proportionately more orphans than non-orphans were not attending school according to this research. Although it is important to focus on enrolment rates and participation, it is also important to pay attention to the quality of learning as well. Children, for example, might be hungry, or are unable to concentrate due to tensions or anxiety at home. Vulnerable children tend to be more malnourished or to have received insufficient health care. This negatively affects school enrolment, attendance and performance (Robson Sylvester 2007: 266; Barnett Whiteside 2006: 221). Orphans and other vulnerable children often have to do a lot of household tasks before and after school. This indicates that obstacles to school achievement are strongly connected with poverty and its related tensions. Besides, the curriculum of the school often not adapts to the vocational, emotional and life skills needs of HIV/AIDS affected-pupils. Whats more, HIV/AIDS has resulted in increasing teacher absenteeism and a significant decline in the number of teachers. This affects the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and diverted resources away from schools. The remaining teachers face problems because the burden on their shoulders increases since they have to manage progressively larger class sizes with poor resources (Kelly 1999: 3; Carr-Hill 2002 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 261, 265; Barnett Whiteside 2006: 220). Sometimes pupils are also sent home because of a lack of teachers. All together, this affects the quality of teaching and learning for the pupils. Overall, we can say that poor pupils attending and performance is the result of a myriad of factors including irregular attendance and generally poor quality of schooling (Brennell 2005: 475). Studies also show that HIV/AIDS should not be excessively blamed for problems achieving Universal Primary Education. Problems with school enrolment, attendance and completion are also related to poverty or problems inherent to the school system, such as the quality of education (Barnett Whiteside 2006: 222). Redressing the harmful consequences within the educational system In Zambia most of the initiatives within the education sector in relation to tackling HIV/AIDS and poverty are situated within educational reform programmes, such as the Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme (BESSIP). The aim of this programme is to increase and improve the access, quality of basic education by the year 2015 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 19). Besides, the Ministry of Education made the goal of equitable access to relevant education a right for all Zambians and it removed the school fees in 2003 (Robson Sylvester 2007: 260). HIV/AIDS prevention strategies tend to focus mainly on preventive community-based initiatives to improve access to health education. However, there are various barriers to learning and participation. This is linked to the fact that many teachers lack the knowledge or the skills to implement effective HIV/AIDS and life skills programmes (Obura Sinclear 2005 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 260). Therefore, the challenge for the Zambian Ministry of Education (MoE) and the international community is not only to provide the right to basic education, but also strengthen schools as inclusive and supportive communities. For the pupils, this might focus on provision of alternative and more opportunities for participation and learning, access to health, life skills, suitable counselling and support in order to cope with the harmful consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For teachers, it is important to concentrate on professional development opportunities in order to support the management of large scale and curriculum development e.g. in the areas of life skills and vocational skills (Robson Sylvester 2007: 259-60). In Zambia, community schools have a significant position in redressing the harmful consequences of HIV/AIDS within the education system. Community schools try to differentiate the learning needs of OVCs by designing and delivering a relevant and meaningful curriculum that assist these children to develop income-generating skills, personal, health, emotional and social skills, and critical learning skills (Kelly 1999: 4). Most community school use the four-year curriculum: Skills, Participation, Access and Relevant Knowledge (SPRAK). This curriculum offers pupils a fast track to official grade 7 examinations (Chondoka 2004; Robson Sylvester 2007: 267). In the following part of this paper I will first explain the main features of community schools in Zambia. Secondly, I will discuss why community schools and especially the SPARK curriculum could be a solution for the educational development of OVCs affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Community Schools One of the main characteristics of the Zambian education system is the central role played by community schools. Community schools emerged as a response to the unmet demand for school places among the poor and other marginalised groups in Zambia who are not in formal schools (USAID 2006 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 262; Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 52). In many instances, these schools are run by parents and volunteer teachers, though increasingly they receive support from the government, non-governmental organisations, faith based organizations or private initiatives. In other words, there is an enormous variation between community schools, more than between government schools or private schools, in how they are supported and managed (Destefano 2006). Besides, the school buildings and provisions vary greatly. A large number of these schools have wattle-and-daub constructions and temporary provisions (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 52, 56).  [7]  Classrooms and water and sa nitation facilities are often of poor quality. Teaching and learning materials are generally inadequate. Pupils often sit on the floor. Uniforms are often not a school requirement. Finally, the vast majority of teachers are unqualified (Chondoka 2006: 7). Adversely, reasons why these community schools increase in popularity are that community schools are less expensive, close to home, less demanding in entry requirements and are managed by local communities. Most community schools serve children aged between 9-16 years who are either drop-outs or who have never been to school. The concept of a community school was not entirely new to Zambia. The European missionaries had already established similar schools and called them village schools or bush schools (Chondoka 2006). Around 1995, more community schools began to appear in areas without government schools, where parents could not meet the expense of the high school fees that were charged, where the distance to the nearest government school was to far or where the government schools were considered overcrowded. Since 1998, the Zambian government officially recognises community schools. The Zambian government acknowledges the positive effect of community schools in redressing the harmful consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since 1998, the number of community schools has enlarged exponentially, although the school fees for government schools were banned in 2002 with the introduction of free basic education. However, it is important to mention that in general, community schools are relatively small. In 200 0, they accounted for 17% of the basic schools and 8% of the pupils in basic schools; in 2006 these figures had increased to 34% and 16%, respectively (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 54-55). In 2005 the MoE distributed 30% of their budget to community schools (Robson Sylvester 2007: 262). This made it possible for community schools to receive school grants, textbooks, professional guidance and sometimes a government funded teacher. However, most community schools started without prior information of the MoE and are severely underfunded. While the majority of the community schools receive an inadequate amount of MoE support, many other schools not even receive a school grant. Despite the fact that the MoE supports community schools, its practical interest seems to be somewhat limited. Actual support depends on the specific policy of the particular district boards (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 54, 56). Community schools can be found in both rural an urban areas. A recent study shows that the main reason determining the location of rural community schools is distance to the nearest government school (Chondoka 2006: 7). In urban areas, these schools are set up in locations with large concentrations of children who are unable to get access to a public school due to costs or other factors (Destefano 2006). Pupils in community schools usually belong to the poorest and most vulnerable social strata (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 54). Less than one third of community school families live in stable structures, compared to 46% of public schools families (Destefano 2006). Most community schools are attended by a relatively large number of orphans. In 2005, about one in three pupils in community schools had lost his or her mother. In government schools this ratio is one in five. Most of the orphans lack sufficient parental support. According to a study in Central Province, many orphans not succeed to come to school regularly, while many of them are to hungry to concentrate in class when they do come (Chondoka 2006: 9). Due to their restricted size, many of the community schools make use of multi-grade teaching, especially in rural areas. Instead of using the normal curriculum, they most of the times use the SPARK curriculum, which provides primary education in four years. The SPARK curriculum has been designed to meet the particular needs of community school children, who are usually older (between 9 and 16 years) and who are often directly hit by the HIV/AIDS epidmic. It follows the government curriculum and focuses on the relevant topics within English, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Social Studies, Physical Education and Zambian languages, with a life skills component integrated through all the subject areas. The SPARK curriculum places health education, with a strong focus on AIDS/HIV prevention, at the heart of the primary circle. It prioritizes literacy, numeracy and life skills which are recognized as having to serve a nation in crisis due to the young people who will have to survive an d assume early responsibility of heading a family due to HIV/AIDS (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008: 56). As this part of the paper tried to make clear, community schools are able to reach the most vulnerable and marginalized groups within Zambia, such as orphans. By using the SPRARK curriculum, that assist these children to develop knowledge and skills, it is possible to adapt to the needs of OVCs who face a lot of challenges because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, it also clear that there is an enormous variation between community schools. It is therefore important that the MoE not only recognises the community school, but also that the MoE support is more fairly distributed between the different (types) of community schools. After all, it is important to work together with the different types of school to achieve EFA goals and the MDGs and to guarantee that all children have the right to education. Conclusion One of the most dramatic impacts of HIV/AIDS epidemic is the threat they constitute to the well-being of children and young people. The already high prevalence of poverty, coupled with the possible impacts of the AIDS epidemic can have long-term educational, emotional and social consequences (Khin-Sand Lwin et al 2001; Kanyata 2004; UNICEF-Zambia 2004 in Robson Sylvester 2007: 268). It is estimated that the majority of children having lost one or both parents due to AIDS is living in Sub Saharan Africa. Children affected by HIV, as well as children living with HIV, often suffer from stigma and discrimination. The opportunity of these children to continue their education successfully may be reduced if their impoverished family or caretakers cannot pay the fees or the extra school costs. By giving a case study of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Zambia, this paper showed that relationship between the epidemic and the education sector is circular. There are various ways in which the epidemic effects the education for OVCs, but there are also several ways in which education can generate hope for these children. Schools, teachers and the Zambian government therefore need to be made more responsive to the needs of OVCs. Providing education to these children is not only a human rights imperative, it is also vital to break the vicious cycle of poverty and to promote security and public health. Basic education should, therefore, be free and target support to meet essential schooling costs (provision of lunches, books and pencils, examination fees). Besides, basic education should be provided for needy children as part of a wide-ranging package of support and it could help prevent absence or dropout (Brennell 2005: 487). To my opinion the Skills, Participation, Access and Relevant Knowledge (SPARK) curriculum, which is used at most community schools, is a step forward to overcome most obstacles to achievement of education. SPARK is a special curriculum that was written for community schools. This four-year curriculum follows the government curriculum with a life skills component integrated through all subject areas and offers pupils a fast track to official grade 7 examinations. However, more drastic curriculum and pedagogical review and teacher professional development are necessary to improve the quality and relevance of the educational experience. This also requires further research of what pupils are learning, and differentiated responses to their particular needs (Robson Sylvester 2007: 269). Literature Barnett, T. and Whiteside, A. 2006 AIDS in the Twenty-First Century. Disease and Globalisation. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Bennell, P. 2005 The impact of the AIDS epidemic on the schooling of orphans and other directly affected children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Development Studies 41 (3): 467-488. Boler, T. and Carroll, K. 2003 Addressing the educational needs of orphans and vulnerable children. UK Working group on HIV/AIDS and Education. Policy Research: issue 2. Chondoka, Y. A. and Subulwa, C. 2004 Evaluation of the SPARK curriculum in community schools in Zambia 2002-2004, Lusaka: University of Zambia Chondoka, Y. A. 2006 Situation analysis of Community Schools in Central Province of Zambia. Lusaka, University of Zambia. Destefano, J. 2006 Meeting EFA: Zambia Community Schools. Lusaka: USAID. Foster, G. and Williamson, J. 2000 A review of current literature of the impact of HIV/AIDS on children in sub-Saharan Africa AIDS 14 (3):275-284. Kelly, M. J. 1999 What HIV/AIDS Can Do to Education, and What Education Can Do to HIV/AIDS? School of Education, University of Zambia Lusaka. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the Netherlands), 2008 Primary Education Zambia. IOB Impact Evaluation. No. 312 April 2008. Robson, S. and Sylvester, K. B. Orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia: the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on basic education for children at risk. Educational Research 49 (3): 259-272. Skinner, D. et al. Defining orphaned and vulnerable children. Cape Town: HRSC Publishers. UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/GlobalReport/2008/ (last viewed on 2 January 2010) World Bank/ UNESCO/ UNAIDS 2002 In turning the tide against HIV/AIDS, education is key. Press release (October 18). http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=7195URL_DO=DO_TOPICURL_SECTION=201.html (last viewed on 2 January 2010)

Hamlets Emotions, Actions, and Importance in the Nunnery Scene Essay

Hamlet's Emotions, Actions, and Importance in the Nunnery Scene "Like sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh" Hamlet's trust is betrayed by the people who are dearest to his heart (III.i.87). The theme of betrayal takes root before the Shakespeare's tragedy begins, when Hamlet's uncle murders his father and marries his mother. These enormous betrayals, along with other pointed deceptions, justify many of Hamlet's words and actions. A striking example of the deceit Hamlet endures can be seen in act three, scene one of Hamlet: the nunnery scene. When Hamlet steps through the entryway he walks into a web of secrets, deception, and dishonesty. Determined to discover the nature of Hamlet's madness, the king and Polonius have summoned Hamlet to a place where they know he will "run into" Ophelia under their observation; the scene is a set-up. Hamlet is spied on by his stepfather and lied to by his love in this moment of cruel deceit. In Olivier's 1948 film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, the nunnery scene allows Hamlet to articulate his frustration without confronting his enemies. Hamlet enters the scene fully aware of its contrived nature, like an actor taking his place on the stage. The ensuing performance is that of a narcissistic child wining just to hear the sound of his own voice; Olivier's Hamlet has no real interaction with any of the other characters in the scene. Olivier's choice to focus on Hamlet and his feelings, rather than the action going on around him, is highlighted in the nunnery scene and evident in the entire play Branagh, on the other hand sees Hamlet as a exciting tale of courtly intrigue and deception. Branagh' s Hamlet's truly affected by the action unfolding Olivier's open and abstract nunnery... ...with the deceit of those around him. Branagh's attempt to widen the scope of his Hamlet, beyond Olivier's interpretation of the play as a look into the main character's mind, allows him to generate a Nunnery scene far more engaging than Olivier's. Though it offers interesting insight into Hamlet's mind, Olivier's Nunnery Scene offers the audience no plot advancement and little action. By sharp contrast, Branagh's rendering unfolds to reveal exciting twists in the story and riveting conflict among the characters as they actively betray Hamlet's trust. Works Cited Carr, Jay. "Full-length Å’Hamlet' still swift." The Boston Globe January 1997: C5 Hamlet. Videocassette. Dir. Laurence Olivier.1948. Hamlet. Videocassette. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. 1996. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. Norton Critical Series. 2nd Edition. New York: Norton, 1992.

Models of Health

M1- Assess the biomedical and socio- medical models of health. Models of Health The Biomedical of health reduces the number of premature mortality and morbidity numbers. The model is used to show people what parts of the body can work together to ensure we have good health. It searches for a fault and corrects it for the individual. The models looks at the body as a machine, if something is faulty then they fix it so it can work again. This is mainly used in the western area of the world.The model is popular because the treatment is cheap, it has the use of scientific methods, the knowledge from the experts is used to reach a conclusion on what the fault is of the individual and the health of the public has got better. The main focus is to find the treatment for the disease instead of finding a way to prevent the disease. The biomedical model’s view of health supports the National Health Service (NHS) via their policies and practices.Not a lot of concern is given to the enviro nmental factors and social factors that may have caused the illness. The biomedical model of health links really well with the functionalist perspective because they say illness doesn’t work well for society. The strengths of the biomedical model of health is The Socio- medical model of health focuses on the social factors that subsidize to health and wellbeing of the society like poor housing, poverty, pollution and all those things that change a person’s health.This model searches for where the problem is arising from via environment or the way the individual lives i. e poverty. The research has stated that the life expectancy has risen and death rates have fallen due to the change and improvement of sanitation, housing and free NHS treatment except Dental treatment and glasses. This model says the individual may not be the cause for the illness but their location. The socio- medical model goes well with the conflict theorists than the functionalists.

Hubris in Oedipus Essay

Oedipus the King is considered one of the greatest classical tragedies ever written. When Sophocles wrote this great play, he followed the concept of tragedy which dictated that the tragic hero should embody a tragic flaw in his character which acts as a motivation for the character’s eventual downfall. In Oedipus the King, the tragic flaw of the play’s hero, Oedipus, is centered on the concept of hubris, or excessive and destructive pride. Oedipus, through his pride, ultimately experiences the worst tragedies that can befall an individual; however, if the events of the play are examined closely, each of the tragic events can in some way be connected to Oedipus’ pride. One key example (in the myth of Oedipus which provided background for the play) is when Oedipus unknowingly murders his own father. Despite being warned by the oracle that he was destined to â€Å"shed with his own hand† his father’s blood, Oedipus quarrels with Laius on the road to Thebes over whose wagon had the right-of-way and his ultimate anger fueled by hubris led Oedipus to unwittingly murder his own father. After solving the Sphinx’s riddle and unknowingly marrying his own mother, Oedipus, as King, must face a plague which is threatening Thebes. The plague was sent as a form of revenge by the gods because of Laius’s murder. To help him find out the reason behind the plague, Oedipus consults a prophet named Tiresias, who is blind. When the prophet warns Oedipus to stop seeking the true murderer of Laius, Oedipus’s pride leads him to suspect Tiresias of treachery and dishonesty. Even though Oedipus has been warned all along about hsi destiny, he continues to try to control fate and therefore becomes further and further entangled in tragedy. It is his excessive pride that drives him to refuse to listen to the wisdom of those around him, even prophets. Eventually, Oedipus says during the play that he is superior to the gods, and this is a blatant expression of his hubris:â€Å"You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers† (Oedipus, 254). By saying this, it is clear that Oedipus considers himself even a greater power as king than the god themselves. A central part of the impact of Oedipus’s hubris is the dramatic irony which takes place in the play. The irony of Oedipus not knowing that he has murdered his own father and married his own mother and the irony that he is in fact the one responsible for the plague on Thebes and that his desire to rid the land of Laius’s murderer would lead to himself are all possible because of Oedipus’s extreme pride. He is oblivious to the possibility that the oracle’s predictions or the words of the blind prophet could indicate anything other than the elevation of his own glory and strength that his eventual tragic fall actually begins simultaneously with his rise to kingship and power, with the audience seeing the irony. The reason that Sophocles created such an ironic level of expression for the extreme hubris of Oedipus was to demonstrate to his audience that a great tragedy is always created by the inner-flaw or weakness of its main character. The Greeks regarded pride or hubris as one of the most common and dangerous of personal flaws and this play demonstrated for them and also for modern audiences the impact of excessive pride when carried to extreme levels of power and influence, although the lessons learned in the play are also applicable to common people in their everyday lives. By using irony, exaggeration, and an epic scale of symbols, Sophocles was able to present his audience with a frightening portrayal of the negative impacts of hubris or excessive pride.

The glass Menagerie By T Williams Essays

The glass Menagerie By T Williams Essays The glass Menagerie By T Williams Essay The glass Menagerie By T Williams Essay Essay Topic: Literature The Glass Menagerie The glass menagerie is a play written by Tennessee Williams in the mid 1940s and is what many consider to be his best ever work. Like many of his plays, The Glass Menagerie is set in the south of Northern America and consists of five characters. The play is said to mirror Tennessees life very closely as he was brought up with an overbearing mother, a disabled sister and devoid of a father figure in his life. The play shows the Tom characters struggle for independence and freedom from his current existence. The entire play is centred on two of the five characters, even though one of these characters, the gentleman caller, only arrives in the final scenes, and the father, who is illusive throughout the entire play but is mentioned and referred to throughout. For the performance piece, I played the character of Amanda, Toms imperious mother. The scene that we performed was directly after a scene where Tom and Amanda had had a furious argument with Amanda and Tom both saying how they truly felt about how the other one treats and acts towards them. Our scene starts with lots of stage directions that truly build up the tension between Tom and Amanda that grows and grows with the silence and the physical distance between them, and is only broken by Tom breaking this strain of characters by saying the first sorry. There is very strong sub- text to the scene that is shown more in the stage directions then in the text. The sub- text being that Amanda was truly hurt by the things that Tom had said to her and is genuinely terrified that she will once again be left another loved one, but this does not mean that she is scarred because she will miss her son solely as a mother, but because the more manipulative, self centred side of her will miss him as the provider and the bread-winner. This sub- text is apparent when she turns the conversation from Toms love of the movies to how he should completely forget about his own aspirations and dreams and concentrate more on his job, most young men find adventure in their careers. which is paying for the house which he coincidently he shares with his mother and sister. The main plot in the scene is not set and changes from Tom apologising to his mother, to her trying to talk to him about Laura, to them both ultimately arguing about what they where arguing about in the previous scene. I played the character of Amanda to demonstrate the plot and the sub-text by using the dialogue and the stage directions that are given and exaggerated them slightly as the play is that of memory and is not a realistic play. I used facial expressions to display the way I felt about the way the conversation was going and to show the way that my character was feeling, such as the look of embarrassment when she asks Tom, promise me son that you will never be a drunkard. I think that while asking Tom this Amanda has an uncomfortable look because that is how she feels, she thinks that Tom may dismiss her worries as a load of over the top dramatisation that his is so used to seeing from his mother, or because she is revealing one of her biggest fears to her son, that stems from her husband leaving her, and will also expose an extremely venerable side of her that her son has probably never seen to her before. The start of the scene is one of the most important parts, as it is the part that has the most stage directions in it. The stage directions that were given told me that I should play Amanda as a hard character, I showed this by turning away from Tom as soon as he entered the room, and saying like this throughout, until he apologised. When he did apologise I remained facing away from him because even though Amanda was crying, Tom had given her the higher status by making amends first, and I feel that Amanda is a character that would want to hold on to the higher status for as long as she could, and by turning away from Tom she is keeping him in suspense as to how she is going to react to his request for forgiveness. The staging of the scene is very simple as the entire play is a memory and is therefore very selective. The set for this scene is a small dining table and two chairs. All of the props are mimed as directed at the very beginning of the play. The audience were end on as we felt that they could then see all of the facial expressions and gestures better in this type of staging. The only entrance made is from Tom as we thought that is would be better if Amanda was already in the scene, that way the audience would be able to see the contrast between how she behaves and her body language is before Tom is in the scene, and how she is and how they are towards each other after he has entered. There is a moment at the very beginning of the play where there is no dialogue but lots of stage directions. This creates a very tense atmosphere as neither of our characters was doing a lot of movement, but because they have just had a dispute and you can see that Tom is going to make an attempt to talk or apologise to Amanda it builds and builds the tension so much that with every failed attempt Tom makes, the atmosphere is at breaking point, until Tom actually speaks and it is somewhat of an anti-climax as all of a sudden all of the dramatic tension is lost and Amanda cries. This section as an opening to the scene also shows pace as well, as the pace in the beginning is very slow and almost not moving at all, as where in the middle of the scene where Tom and Amanda have started arguing again the pace is very quick with lines overlapping. This also created a tense atmosphere between our two characters but in a different way to the start of the scene. The moment in the middle of the play where Amanda changes from the nicer Amanda back to the familiar aggressive Amanda, I made a long pause to show that a change had occurred, and also to allow time for the audience to take in what had happened in the scene and what would happen. I tried to make the change in her personality clear also by using lots of facial expressions.

Essay Sample on Marriott Corporation The Marketing Research

Essay Sample on Marriott Corporation The Marketing Research Marriott functions in three main areas: lodging (Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Marriott Suites, Residence Inns, Courtyard Hotels, and Fairfield Inns), contract services (Marriott Business Food and Services, Education, Health-Care, In-Flight Services, and Host International, Inc.) and restaurants (family restaurants, Travel Plazas, and Hot Shops). It is probably best known, however, for its lodging operations. Marketing research at Marriott is done at the corporate level through the Corporate Marketing Services (CMS). CMS’s goals include providing the management of the different areas of Marriott with the information they need to better understand the market and the customer. CMS conducts many different types of research. They use quantitative and qualitative research approaches such as telephone and mail surveys, focus groups, and customer intercept to gain more information on market segmentation and sizing, product testing, price sensitivity of consumers, consumer satisfaction, and the like. The process of research at Marriott is a simple stepwise progression. The first step is to better define the problem to be addressed and the objectives of the client unit and to develop an approach to the problem. The next step is to formulate a research design and design the study. CMS must decide whether to conduct its own research or buy it from an outside organization. If the latter option is chosen, CMS must decide whether or not to use multiple firms. Once a decision is made, the research is carried out by collecting and analyzing the data. Then, CMS presents the study findings. The final step in the research process is to keep a constant dialogue between the client and the CMS. During this stage, CMS may help explain the implications of the research findings or may make suggestions for future actions. This is a sample Marketing essay written from scratch by one of our academic writers. If you want to order a custom term paper, essay, research paper, thesis or dissertation contact our company now.

Chemical Safety In Schools Environmental Sciences Essay

Chemical Safety In Schools Environmental Sciences Essay Chemistry plays an important role in human civilization. It enables us to formulate substances important for disease treatment, fertilize plants and provide fuel for transportation ( ). For many years, chemistry has been considered the central science due to its significant connections and overlap with other sciences. If a scientific discipline involves matter, chances are that chemistry plays an important role. Therefore, we will always need people who have a good knowledge of chemistry. As expressed by Beach and Stone (1988) â€Å"chemistry education without laboratory is like painting without colors and canvas or learning how to ride a bike by reading its operating manual† (Tezcan and Bilgin, 2004). The study of chemistry in schools equips students with knowledge in the classroom and skills of conducting experiments in laboratories during practical sessions that are scheduled once a week for a period of two to three hours (MOH, 2001). 2.1.2 Hazards Chemical in the School E xperiments The teaching of chemistry at secondary school includes the use of hazardous chemical, which is essential for the understanding of chemistry fundamentals. Example of hazardous chemicals that are available at school chemistry laboratory are hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, acetic acid, natrium hydroxide, hydrogen sulfate, ammonium sulfate, hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, propanol and acetone (MOH, 2000). These chemicals are classified as hazardous chemicals to health under the Malaysia Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standards of Exposure of Chemical Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000. In view of their hazardous characteristics, the government through the Department of Occupational Safety and Health regulates labelling and packaging of these chemicals. A specific law pertaining to these hazardous chemicals, the Occupational Safety and Health (Classification, Packaging John Kiesswetter et al., 1994; Medinsky et al., 1995). Malaysian Occupational Safety & Health (Ac t 514) and Occupational Safety & Health Regulation 2000 (Use and Standard of Exposure to Chemicals Hazardous to Health) specify the permissible exposure level (PEL). The PEL is the maximum time-weighted average concentration of hazardous chemicals in the air of working area that workers can be exposed without the need to wear personal protective equipment and the PEL for acetone, ethanol and formaldehyde are 1187.0, 1880.0 and 0.4 mg/m3, respectively (MDC, 2005). 2.1.3 Safety Precautions In view of the physical and health hazards of the chemicals, there is requires the implementation of safety precaution and hazard control to reduce the risk of exposure to the chemical hazards. Safety precaution differs based on the type of the chemical hazards. Safety precautions differ based on the type chemical hazards. General safety precaution is personal hygiene whereby the user as advice:

Digital Media Strategy and Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Digital Media Strategy and Implementation - Essay Example Digital companies focus on being the first to provide news to the people. Their content is different, from business related to political, entertainment and financial; they seek to find the best areas where they can capture the most customers. Speed of browsing and the user friendliness of the sites is a strategy issue too. Of equal importance however, is the provision of the content in mobile phone devices for various customers, enabling people to access them from their mobile browsers. The digital media has engaged itself in a number of issues. Most particularly however, are the businesses and the issues that the business community is facing currently. Focusing on the issues facing Sony and Netflix companies, this paper seeks to address their challenges as highlighted by the blogs. Additionally, it will focus on measures that have been put into place to address the same issues. In the recent past, Sony has made headlines after the announcement of the lunch of the PlayStation 4 game with increased features that will allow online streaming of games. Following this announcement, a series of bulletins have been published focusing on Sony as a company and the PlayStation 4 game as a product. ... The company manufactures mobile phones, home appliances, electronics machines, games and Blu-ray discs. Not only are losses a part of the company’s challenges, the company is also faced with reduced sales of its products, loosing market to competitors like Samsung and the Apple. Samsung has taken over in the smartphone business and home appliances, while Apple has an upper hand in the smartphones and tablets markets. Both companies offer features of online streaming of games, which fiercely counters Sony’s console PlayStation series (Kovach n.p.). This has seen massive losses made by Sony with its PlayStation 3 version of the game. A number of mitigating measures have been put into place by Sony to get her into the top of the business. The CEO of the corporation has decided with other top 40 managers to forgo their annual allowances in a move that will save the company operating expenses in the current financial year, 2013 (Wakabayashi n.p.). Additionally, the company h as improved the features of its intended PlayStation 4, which will allow users to stream games online and thus offer its customers a variety of games. This move is expected to help the company counter games available online such as those offered by Apple and Samsung. The company is investing into the smartphones business, with improved versions of its Sony-experia mobile phones. The company’s revenues are expected to reach at $684.8 million in the fiscal year. Sony is not the only company to receive negative publicity in the digital media due to its challenged business. Netflix, an online movie lending store has too been a center of news headlines in the recent

Question answer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Question answer - Assignment Example This, to market observers, is an aggressive strategy that has led them to court over intellectual property with Apple. Samsung pivots and launches its products quickly with each product offering different features. It studies the market needs and pushes products that are successful while killing the failures. It has differentiated itself from Apple by developing phones with larger screens, impressive features, listening to consumer demands and successful marketing. Nestle is another example of a company that regards the USA as a foreign market. Being a global organization, Nestle adopts competitive strategies when entering into new markets. Most of its products are dairy-based and for this reason, it first undertakes direct investment in the dairy and other food businesses. In terms of sales, Nestle usually attempts to maintain low risk and low growth; this ensures that its growth is steady thereby maintaining the confidence of stakeholders. In the USA, a developed market, Nestle gains economies of scale through the aforementioned strategy; foreign direct investment. This investment is directed into big companies handling both dairy and food-related products. Another strategy that is effective is entering into partnerships with large companies. The most notable partnership is the one with Coca-Cola, which enable Nestle to benefit from the worldwide bottling system of Coca-Cola. Licensing despite being a solid foreign market entry strategy it has its own risks and downsides. Licensing refers to an agreement that involves the selling of rights to the licensee to reproduce intellectual property of the licensor. First, if the licensee firm is competitive and rapidly growing it may develop into a future competitor to the licensor firm. Another risk that should be taken into consideration is the misuse of the trademarks by the licensee firm, which often leads to the violation of the licensing agreement. The licensor

An interview with Mexican immigrant student Assignment

An interview with Mexican immigrant student - Assignment Example One of the motivations was the fact that the quality of education in the U.S is excellent compared to Mexico. The seriousness and resources committed to education in the U.S is quite commendable, and this was a major motivation to pursue education in the America. When I came to the U.S, my mastery of the English language was below average. One of the conditions was to have an excellent command of the English language, and this prompted me to join the English Institute to learn the language. I had to learn, and that was quite understandable because most of the lessons are taught in English. In the event, that a student has a poor understanding of the language, failure in the class is the resultant factor, and so I had to learn the English language. There were a number of challenges experienced while learning the language. Communication was a problem because I did not understand some of the English vocabularies effectively affecting my level of comprehension. Coping with the class was a problem in the initial stages. I would say the learning process was successful and quite satisfactory. The teachers understood that I was an immigrant and gave me more attention, and this was an added advantage in so far as learning is concerned. I am by nature a reserved person and socializing with people is a problem sometimes. However, I had to learn to mingle with the rest of the students. Interacting with other students made the learning process relatively easy because I learned some of the things from them. There are a number of difficulties and challenges because one has to learn English as a prerequisite for admission. Moreover, some teachers do not recognize the immigrants as special groups effectively making learning a struggle to some extent. Americans have an excellent reading culture and so many times you find them reading either an inspirational book or story

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma - Coursework Example Since taking the course, I have begun to understand two important challenges to this Friedman idea of an 'ethics free' or 'ethics neutral' business approach. First, ethics and self interest are not necessarily at odds with one another. In other words, corporations all over the world are 'going green' or finding non-exploitive ways of extracting goods and services from the developing world. However, they are not doing so because they are singularly altruistic. Rather, they are doing so because the market is demanding this. The more consumers become more ethically aware, especially around global issues, the more they place those demands on the producers of goods and services that they consume [Asgary and Mitschow, 2002, 241]. Indeed, some individuals now consciously choose a product or service because of its ethical practices as compared with competitors for the very same service. Thus, one of the things that I have learned that really challenged some of my personal assumptions, was th e idea that profit making and being ethical could be complimentary rather than antagonistic toward one-another. The other area that was learned in this course, concerns the actual evaluation of ethics and morals. If ethics concerns the right choice to make given a particular situation, then, 'meta-ethics' concerns the right ethical model for the problem or decision in question [Megone and Robinson, 2002, 2]. As a meta-ethical issue, there are three major models of ethics – namely, deontological, consequentialist/utilitarian and virtue ethics [Trevino and Nelson, 2010, 41ff.]. While it can be said that utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number) and deontological (golden mean or will only that which can be willed universally) are both formulas and almost quantifiable models, virtue ethics is different. Virtue ethics looks at the intrinsic worth of acting morally. Rather than applying a formula to a situation (utilitarianism and deontological), virtue ethics look s at what qualifies as an ethical individual, and in turn, looks at how an ethical or virtuous individual will evaluate a situation, and in turn, how they will decide on one option over and against an other. It is interesting to note that all three models can be applied to the very same case study or ethical problem, and the result or the outcome decision can be quite different. Thus, one of the areas that I was exposed to in this course, was the area of meta-ethics. That is, the view or analysis of different and competing models for understanding and interpreting ethical decisions or moral dilemmas. ETHICAL DILEMMA: In high-school, I had a job working in a retail store which had a low hourly wage, but a decent commission. My manager at that store, basically taught me that misleading the customer would produce better results. Further, while individuals were compensated for their particular sales, there was also a capital pool where profits were shared among employees for all sales. Thus, because of the commission situation, there was a profit incentive to be misleading and manipulative. The practice of misleading customers, however, never really sat well with me or that my â€Å"guts† [Trevino and Nelson, 2010, 58] were telling me that this was wrong. My dilemma was that I was doing something I knew was wrong,

Essentials for Sport and Exercise Science Essay - 1

Essentials for Sport and Exercise Science - Essay Example BMI is determining factor of fatness in the body. Age 16-25 usually have fewer fats because their cells have the stronger ability to burn down excess fats and converting that fat to energy. Within this age, the bracket is where total body activity is taking place. Allot of vigorous exercises are performed allowing multiple cell division resulting in low fat. The age bracket 25-40, it is where cell division and cell multiplication rate is almost at the bar. Due to this the fat level in the body tends to be higher considering the fact that they have minimal exercise, conversion of fat into energy is slower and reduced body activity. Age 41-55 is the most dangerous are in terms of fat accumulation. Less or no cell division and the rate of cells dying are high. Limited body exercise is experienced in this stage; conversion of fat to energy rate is no more and the aging factor. The age bracket that body fat is high. The analysis selected and made use of a number of 14 swimmers who underwent moderate training. Maximum uptake (VO2max) of the oxygen was utilized to judge the fitness of the player. The examination approach was a utility of a standard increases using a cycle ergometer. The data utilised a standard deviation for the age, mass and height to be 33.01+/-6 year, 67.2+/- 3 kg, and 167.2+/- cm respectively. The regular participation in their sports activities was also considered in selecting them. Moreover, their training frequency was put to be at 3-5 m distance covered. The reason for the present study was to discover whether execution in swimmers could be enhanced by a week of beetroot juice supplementation. Results demonstrate that beetroot juice supplementation diminished vigorous vitality expense of swimming at the submaximal workload, as indicated by the decreased AEC at anaerobic limit found in the present examination. This finding is in concurrence with past examination demonstrating that

An interview with Mexican immigrant student Assignment

An interview with Mexican immigrant student - Assignment Example One of the motivations was the fact that the quality of education in the U.S is excellent compared to Mexico. The seriousness and resources committed to education in the U.S is quite commendable, and this was a major motivation to pursue education in the America. When I came to the U.S, my mastery of the English language was below average. One of the conditions was to have an excellent command of the English language, and this prompted me to join the English Institute to learn the language. I had to learn, and that was quite understandable because most of the lessons are taught in English. In the event, that a student has a poor understanding of the language, failure in the class is the resultant factor, and so I had to learn the English language. There were a number of challenges experienced while learning the language. Communication was a problem because I did not understand some of the English vocabularies effectively affecting my level of comprehension. Coping with the class was a problem in the initial stages. I would say the learning process was successful and quite satisfactory. The teachers understood that I was an immigrant and gave me more attention, and this was an added advantage in so far as learning is concerned. I am by nature a reserved person and socializing with people is a problem sometimes. However, I had to learn to mingle with the rest of the students. Interacting with other students made the learning process relatively easy because I learned some of the things from them. There are a number of difficulties and challenges because one has to learn English as a prerequisite for admission. Moreover, some teachers do not recognize the immigrants as special groups effectively making learning a struggle to some extent. Americans have an excellent reading culture and so many times you find them reading either an inspirational book or story

Essentials for Sport and Exercise Science Essay - 1

Essentials for Sport and Exercise Science - Essay Example BMI is determining factor of fatness in the body. Age 16-25 usually have fewer fats because their cells have the stronger ability to burn down excess fats and converting that fat to energy. Within this age, the bracket is where total body activity is taking place. Allot of vigorous exercises are performed allowing multiple cell division resulting in low fat. The age bracket 25-40, it is where cell division and cell multiplication rate is almost at the bar. Due to this the fat level in the body tends to be higher considering the fact that they have minimal exercise, conversion of fat into energy is slower and reduced body activity. Age 41-55 is the most dangerous are in terms of fat accumulation. Less or no cell division and the rate of cells dying are high. Limited body exercise is experienced in this stage; conversion of fat to energy rate is no more and the aging factor. The age bracket that body fat is high. The analysis selected and made use of a number of 14 swimmers who underwent moderate training. Maximum uptake (VO2max) of the oxygen was utilized to judge the fitness of the player. The examination approach was a utility of a standard increases using a cycle ergometer. The data utilised a standard deviation for the age, mass and height to be 33.01+/-6 year, 67.2+/- 3 kg, and 167.2+/- cm respectively. The regular participation in their sports activities was also considered in selecting them. Moreover, their training frequency was put to be at 3-5 m distance covered. The reason for the present study was to discover whether execution in swimmers could be enhanced by a week of beetroot juice supplementation. Results demonstrate that beetroot juice supplementation diminished vigorous vitality expense of swimming at the submaximal workload, as indicated by the decreased AEC at anaerobic limit found in the present examination. This finding is in concurrence with past examination demonstrating that

Factors thata effect health and well-being Essay Example for Free

Factors thata effect health and well-being Essay Elizabeth is providing her body with the energy her body needs to perform well and succeed in her work through exercising. Exercise provides stimulation for the brain. Stimulation improves brain function, which will improve many things like learning new skills and concentration. Also, people who remain physically active as they age have a reduced risk of dementia. Elizabeth goes swimming every Saturday with her children. This is an example of the social benefits of exercise. This could help Elizabeth have a positive self- image and have positive self-esteem. Exercise also has many psychological and emotional benefits. When you exercise endorphins are released in the brain Endorphins are the bodys natural feel good chemicals, and when they are released through exercise, your mood is boosted naturally. As well endorphins, exercise also releases adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. All of these chemicals improve mood. Endorphins are the bodys natural painkillers. The endorphins released during exercise could help Elizabeth with the pain she gets from her Ulcerative colitis. Altogether exercise will improve Elizabeths health, mental state and provide stimulation for her brain, which will help her with many different aspects of life. Regular exercise is benefiting Elizabeths physical, intellectual, emotional and social health and well-being. It is vital that she maintains this positive factor in her life. Supportive Relationships Elizabeth has many supportive relationships in her life. She has a loving family, a good relationship with her partner and a stable group of friends. Research shows that healthy and supportive relationships can reduce stress and improve your overall health and sense of well-being. The main advantages of having supportive relationships are the psychological benefits. On average, people who have supportive relationships are less likely to have mental health problems. Elizabeth does not, and never has, suffered from any mental health problems. This may be because she has people she can talk over any worries or problems with. This will help Elizabeth cope with things like stress and feeling of depression. If Elizabeth feels she has people she can trust and confide in she will be less likely to let these sort of feeling get out of control, she will be able to confront things before they become problems. If Elizabeth did not have such supportive relationships she would be at risk of suffering form stress, which would affect her physical health in many ways. Elizabeth sufferers from Ulcerative Colitis, and although the cause of it is unknown, it is suspected that stress can increase symptoms. So Elizabeths physical well being will be benefiting from supportive relationships because it will help prevent stress causing any flare ups of her Ulcerative Colitis. Elizabeths intellectual development will benefit because she will be less likely to take time off work, and she will be more likely to take part in things that will stimulate her brain such as exercise. Conversation may also provide stimulation. Elizabeth will benefit in ever aspect of her health and well-being because she has good supportive relationships in her life.

Corporate Governance Score and Firm Performance

Corporate Governance Score and Firm Performance Limited liability company structure is the most preferred structure for a large business. In this structure, a large number of investors provide the risk capital. They are called shareholders, the deemed owners of the company. They delegate the power to manage the company to board of directors. The board delegates the same to managers while retaining its role to monitor and control the executive management. Shareholders are viewed as the principal and the manager as their agents and this relationship is described as principal-agent relationship. The shareholders, of a widely held firm, practically do not have any control on the managers. They are only informed of the financial results on a periodical basis while the managers controls the firms assets. This structure provides an opportunity to the managers to expropriate shareholders wealth and misappropriate the funds by way of transfer of money as loans to his own companies, or sale of the company assets to themselves at a lesser pr ice or pay themselves more perks. The divergence of interest between the owners and the managers, due to the separation of ownership from control, results in the agency costs. It is not just separation of ownership and control that gives rise to the agency problem between shareholders and managers; but also the atomistic or diffused nature of corporate ownership, which is characterized by a large number of small shareholders. In such ownership structure, there is no incentive for any one owner to monitor corporate management, because the individual owner would bear the entire monitoring costs, yet all shareholders would enjoy the benefits. Thus, both the magnitude and nature of agency problems are directly related to ownership structures. The fundamental theoretical basis of corporate governance is agency costs. The core of corporate governance is designing and putting in place disclosures, monitoring, oversight and corrective systems that can align the objectives of the shareholders and managers as closely as possible and hence, minimize agency costs. It deals with conducting the affairs of a company such that there is fairness to all stakeholders and that its actions benefit the greatest number of stakeholders. There are two kinds of mechanisms to overcome the agency problem and hence, improve corporate governance viz., the internal control mechanisms and the external control mechanisms. Internal control mechanisms are internal to the functioning of a company and broadly consist of the board composition, the board size, the leadership structure and the managerial compensation. External control mechanisms are the mechanisms that are external to the functioning of the firm over which the firm has no control. An increasingly important external control mechanism affecting governance worldwide is the emergence of institutional investors as equity owners. Although the role that the institutional investors can play in the corporate governance system of a company is a controversial question and a subject of continuing debate. While some believe that the institutional investors must interfere in the corporate governance system of a company, others believe that these investors have other investment objectives to follow. The group of observers who believe that institutional investors need not play a role in the corporate governance system of a company, argue that the investment objectives and the compensation system in the institutional investing companies often discourage their active participation in the corporate governance system of the companies. Institutional investors are answerable to their investors the way the companies (in which they have invested) are answerable to their shareholders. And the shareholders do invest their funds with the institutional investors expecting higher returns. The primary responsibility of the instituti onal investors is therefore to invest the money of the investors in companies, which are expected to generate the maximum possible return rather than in companies with good corporate governance records. While the other group strongly believes that if the corporate governance system in the companies has to succeed then the institutional investors must play an active role in the entire process. By virtue of their large stockholdings, they have the opportunity, resources, and ability to monitor, discipline and influence managers, which can force them to focus more on corporate performance and less on self-serving behavior. Most of the reports on corporate governance have also emphasized the role that the institutional investors have to play in the entire system. Given the increasing presence of institutional investors in financial markets, it is not surprising that they have become more active in their role as shareholders. Activism by institutional investors has been both private and public, with the public activism being most visible in many countries. The role of institutional investors is visualized in two perspectives, the corporate governance and the firm performance. 7.2 Objectives of Study In light of the above discussion, the present study attempts to achieve the following objectives: To construct the corporate governance score To establish relationship between institutional holdings and corporate  governance score To establish relationship between institutional holdings and firm performance To establish relationship between corporate governance score and  firm performance In order to achieve the objectives stated above, the present study conceptualized the following null hypotheses for the validation of positive relationship between institutional holdings, corporate governance and firm performance 7.3 Hypotheses: H01: Institutional/its components Holdings and Corporate Governance score are  very closely related in a manner as to depict a positive relationship between  the two H02: Corporate Governance Score and Institutional/its components Holdings are  also very closely related in a manner as to depict positive relationship  between the two H03: Institutional/its components Holdings and various measures of firm  performance are very closely related in a manner as to depict  positive relationship between the two H04: Corporate Governance Score and various measures of firm performance  are very closely related in a manner as to depict positive relationship between  the two 7.4 The Sample Design and Data: To achieve the above objectives, a sample of 200 companies has been taken. The present study is based on the secondary data. It covers a period of five financial years from 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2008. Institutional holdings are further segregated into three constituents. The mutual funds being the first one. The second constituent includes various public and private sector banks, all the developmental financial institutions (like IFCI, ICICI, IDBI, SFC) and insurance companies like the LIC, GIC, and their subsidiaries. The last constituent comprise of foreign institutional investors. Data has been collected on the institutional holdings in total as well as on different constituents of institutional holdings from nseindia.com. The secondary data regarding annual reports to construct the corporate governance score have been collected from respective company websites and sebiedifar.com. . The firm performance measures have been divided into two categories, one being the accountin g measures while others are based on market returns. The accounting return measures include (%) return on networth, (%) return on capital employed, Profit After Tax, (%) Return on Assets, Net Profit Margin and Earning Per Share. Whereas, market return based measures include Tobins Q, (%) Risk Adjusted Excess Return and (%) Dividend Yield. Data for the study period on financial performance measures have been collected from Prowess Database. 7.5 Statistical Tools: Simple linear regression analysis has been used as a statistical tool to investigate the relationship between different variables. An attempt has been made to ascertain the causal effect of one variable upon another. Data has been assembled on the variables of interest and employed regression to estimate the quantitative effect of the causal variables upon the variable that they influence. The study also typically assesses the statistical significance at 5 percent level of the estimated relationships, that is, the degree of confidence that the true relationship is close to the estimated relationship. Section A 7.6 Construction of Corporate Governance Score Review of Literature Some researchers have used board characteristics as an effective measure of corporate governance as Hermalin and Weisbach (1998, 2003) have used board independence, Bhagat, Carey and Elson (1999) have used stock ownership of board members and Brickley, Coles and Jarrell (1997) have used the occupation of Chairman and CEO positions by the same or two different individuals. Whereas, Gompers, Ishii and Metrick (2003) have constructed a governance measure comprising of an equally weighted index of 24 corporate governance provisions compiled by the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), such as, poison pills, golden parachutes, classified boards, cumulative voting, and supermajority rules to approve mergers. Bebchuk, Cohen and Ferrell (BCF, 2004) created an entrenchment index comprising of six provisions – four provisions that limit Shareholder rights and two that make potential hostile takeovers more difficult. While the above noted studies use IRRC data, Brown and Caylor (2004) used Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) data to create their governance index. This index considered 51corporate governance features encompassing eight corporate governance categories: audit, board of directors, charter/bylaws, director education, executive and director compensation, ownership, progressive practices, and state of incorporation. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark. Standard and Poors provides a range of corporate governance analyses and services, the crux of which is the Corporate Governance Score. Corporate Governance Scores are based on an assessment of the qualitative aspects of corporate governance practices of a company. Information has been collected on the attributes from the latest available annual reports of sample companies. The methodology, with 98 questions in three categories and 12 sub-categories, is designed to balance the conflicting requirements of the range of issues analyzed and the tractability of the analysis. Transparency and Disclosure is evaluated by searching company annual reports for the 98  possible attributes broadly divided into the following three broad categories: Ownership structure and investor rights (28 attributes) Financial transparency and information disclosure (35 attributes) Board and management structure and process (35 attributes) Resume Various researchers have considered alternate measures of corporate governance. Some of them have used single measure, while others have used the multiple measures in the form of indices. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark because two broad instruments that reduce agency costs and hence improve corporate governance are financial and non-financial disclosures and independent oversight of management. Improving the quality of financial and non-financial disclosures not only ensures corporate transparency among a wide group of investors, analysts and the informed intelligentsia, but also persuades companies to minimize value-destroying deviant behavior. This is precisely why law insists that companies prepare their audited annual accounts, and that these be provided to all shareholders is deposited with the Registrar of Companies. This is also why a good deal o f effort in global corporate governance reform has been directed to improve the quality and frequency of disclosures. Section B Relationship between Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance: Review of Literature Coombes and Watson (2000) on the basis of a survey of more than 200 institutional investors with investments across the world showed that governance is a significant factor in their investment decision. McCahery, Sautner and Starks (2009) have relied on the survey data to investigate governance preference of 118 institutional investors in U.S. and Netherlands. The study found that the majority of institutions that responded to the survey take into account firm governance in portfolio weighting decisions and are willing to engage in activities that can improve the governance of their portfolio firms. Chung, Firth, and Kim (2002) hypothesized that there will be less opportunistic earnings management in firms with more institutional investor ownership because the institutions will either put pressure on the firms to adopt better accounting policies. Hartzell and Starks (2003) provided empirical evidence suggesting institutional investors serve a monitoring role with regard to executive compensation contracts. One implication of these results, consistent with the theoretical literature regarding the role of the large shareholder, is that institutions have greater influence when they have larger proportional stakes in firms. . Denis and Denis (1994) found no evidence to suggest that there is any relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance. They stated that if companies that create shareholders wealth are the ones with poor corporate governance practices, and then one really cannot blame the institutional investors for having invested in such companies. For, after all, a fund manager will be evaluated on the basis of stock returns he creates for the unit holders and not on the basis of the corporate governance records of the company he invests the money in. If however, one finds that companies with poor corporate governance practices are the ones, which have consistently destroyed shareholders wealth, then the contention that the institutional investors need not look at corporate governance records cannot be justified. David and Kochhar (1996) provided empirical evidence regarding impact of institutional investors on firm behaviour and performance is mixed and that no definite concl usions can be drawn. They argued that various institutional obstacles, such as barriers stemming from business relationships, the regulatory environment and information processing limitations, might prevent institutional investors from effectively exercising their corporate governance function. Almazan, Hartzell and Starks (2003) provided evidence both theoretical and empirical that the monitoring influence of institutional investors on executive compensation can depend on the current or prospective business relation between the institution and the corporation. They concluded that the monitoring influence of institutions is associated more with potentially active institutions (investment companies and pension fund managers who would be less sensitive to pressure from corporate management due to lack of potential business relations) than with potentially passive institutions (banks and insurance companies who would be more pressure-sensitive). Davis and Kim (2006) found that mutual funds with conflicts of interest (based on management of pension assets) more often vote with management in general. On the other hand, mutual funds have more incentive and power to oppose management in firms in which they have a larger stake. Marsh (1997) has argued that short-term performance measurement does work against the active monitoring by institutional investors. The performance of fund managers is evaluated over a shorter time period. Hence, they act under tremendous pressure to beat some index. So, when they find a case of bad governance, they find it economical to sell the stock rather than interfere in the functioning of the company and incur monitoring costs. Ashraf and Jayaman (2007) examined mutual funds trading behavior after the release of voting records. The study found that funds that support shareholder proposals reduce holdings after the release of voting records. Since the time of releasing voting records could be very far from the shareholder meeting date, mutual funds trading behavior after the release of voting records may be unrelated to the votes cast in the meeting. Aggarwal, Klapper and Wysocki (2003) found that U.S. mutual funds tend to invest greater amounts in countries with stronger share holder rights and legal frameworks (controlling for the countrys economic development). In addition, within the countries, the mutual funds also discriminate on the basis of governance in that they allocate more of their assets to firms with better corporate governance structures. Payne, Millar, and Glezen (1996) focussed on banks as one type of institutional investor that would be expected to have business relations with the firms in which they invest. They examined interlocking directorships and income-related relationships, and noticed that when such relations exist; banks tend to vote in favor of management anti-takeover amendment proposals. When such relations dont exist, banks tend to vote against the management proposals. Brickley, Lease and Smith (1988) found evidence supporting the hypothesis that firms with greater holdings by pressure-sensitive shareholders (banks and insurance companies) have more proxy votes cast in favor of managements recommendations. Moreover, firms with greater holdings by pressure-insensitive shareholders (pension funds and mutual funds) have more proxy votes against managements recommendations. The authors differentiated between the different types of institutional investors, noting the difference between pressure-sensitive and pressure-insensitive institutional shareholders and arguing that pressure-sensitive institutions are more likely to go along with management decisions. Dahlquist et al. (2003) analyzed foreign ownership and firm characteristics for the Swedish market. The study found that foreigners have greater presence in large firms, firms paying low dividends and in firms with large cash holdings. Haw, Hu, Hwang and Wu (2004) found that firm level factors cause information asymmetry problems to FII. It found evidence that US investment is lower in firms where managers do not have effective control. Foreign investment in firms that appear to engage in more earnings management is lower in countries with poor information framework. Choe, Kho, Stulz (2005) found that US investors do indeed hold fewer shares in firms with ownership structures that are more conducive to expropriation by controlling insiders. In companies where insiders are dominating information access and availability to the shareholders will be limited. With less information, foreign investors face an adverse selection problem. So they under invest in such stocks. Leuz, Lins, and Wa rnock (2008) found that foreign institutional investors prefer to invest in firms with better governance practices. In the present study, the analysis has been conducted in three perspectives: Dynamics of institutional holdings and its composition (2) Relationship between Institutional Holdings (explanatory variable) and the Corporate Governance Score (dependent variable) (3) Relationship between the Corporate Governance Score (explanatory variable) and Institutional Holdings (dependent variable) The major findings of the present study on the above aspects are summarized as under: The results outputs of the first segment depict that the institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the companies over the years. The number of sampled companies with higher institutional holdings has increased where as the number of companies with lower proportions of institutional holdings has decreased over the study period. Hence, institutional holdings have shown an increasing trend of investment in the sampled companies over the study period. As far as the dynamics of components of institutional investors is concerned, no specific trend is observed in investments of mutual funds. On the other hand Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have shown declining trends of investments over the same period. Where as, foreign institutional investors have shown the increasing trends of investments in line with institutional holdings. The results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance state that the larger proportions of institutional holdings have higher corporate governance scores in sampled companies and the smaller proportions of institutional holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. Thus, very strong and positive relationship is established between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Hence, H01 is accepted. The results outputs of the section analyzing the relationship between corporate governance score and institutional holdings describe that the companies with higher governance scores have larger proportions of investments from institutional investors than the companies with lower governance scores. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and institutional holdings. Hence, H02 is accepted. The inference can be drawn that institut ional holdings pre-empts good corporate governance still at other times, good corporate governance endues institutional investment in the firm. The results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between mutual funds and corporate governance reveal out that smaller proportions of mutual funds holdings have higher governance score in the sampled companies and larger proportions of mutual funds holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. Therefore, weak relationship exists between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is rejected. Alternatively, the results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between corporate governance and components of institutional holdings reveal out that the companies with lower governance scores have larger proportions of mutual funds holdings to the companies with higher governance scores over the study period. Hence, weak relationship also exists between corporate governance score and mutual funds holdings. Hence, H02 is rejected. It can be inferred from the above outcomes that mutual funds companies do not observe good governance practices in companies and simultaneously, good governed companies also do not attract higher mutual funds investments. The results outputs as to the relationship between Banks, FIs and ICs and corporate governance depict that larger proportions of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies holdings have higher governance score and smaller proportions of holdings have lower governance score in the sampled companies over the study period. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship is established between Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is accepted. Similarly, the sampled companies with higher governance scores have larger proportions of Banks, FIs and ICs holdings to the companies with lower governance scores. Thus, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and Banks, FIs and ICs holdings. Hence, H02 is also accepted. The inference can be drawn on the basis of above results that Banks, FIs and ICs consider governance practices in companies while taking investment decision and alternatively, good governed companies also attract these investments. The results outputs pertaining to the relationship between FII holdings and corporate governance reveal out that the companies in which FIIs have larger proportions of holdings have higher governance score to the companies in which FIIs have smaller proportions of holdings. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship is observed between FII holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is accepted. Likewise, the sampled companies with higher governance scores have also larger proportions of Foreign Institutional Investors holdings. Thus, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and FII holdings. Hence, H02 is accepted. It can be inferred on the basis of above result that foreign institutional investors prefer to invest in firms with better governance practices and their investment do improve the governance practices in the companies. Resume The theoretical and empirical literature provides mixed evidence as to the relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Some of the studies put forth the evidence that corporate governance is the significant factor for institutional investment decision and their significant investment improve the governance practices in companies, while the other studies state otherwise. Where as the research findings of the present study further validate, support and enrich the literature on positive association between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Likewise, the studies provide inconclusive evidence as to the relationship between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance. But the findings of present study state that neither the mutual funds care about the governance practices of companies or their presence improve them. Similarly, the empirical literature provides indeterminate evidence on the relationship between Banks, FIs and ICs and corporate governance. But the findings of present study observe very strong and positive relationship between the two. The empirical studies observe consistent results as to foreign institutional investors invest in better-governed companies but lacks evidence that their significant presence result in better governance. The findings of present study indicate that FIIs do not care for the corporate governance only, rather their higher stake ensure better governance too. Section C 7.8 Relationship between Institutional Holdings and Firm Performance: Review of Literature Pound (1988) explored the influence of institutional ownerships on firm performance and proposed three hypotheses on the relation between institutional shareholders and firm performance: efficient-monitoring hypothesis, conflict-of-interest hypothesis, and strategic-alignment hypothesis. The efficient-monitoring hypothesis says that institutional investors have greater expertise and can monitor management at lower cost than the small atomistic shareholders. Consequently, this argument predicts a positive relationship between institutional shareholding and firm performance. Holderness and Sheehan (1988) found that for a sample of 114 US firms controlled by a majority shareholder with more than 50% of shares, both Tobins Q and accounting profits are significantly lower for firms with individual majority owners than for firms with corporate majority owners. McConnell and Servaes (1990) found a strong positive relationship between the value of the firm and the fraction of shares held by institutional investors. They found that performance increases significantly with institutional ownership. Majumdar and Nagarajan (1994) found that levels of institutional investment are positively related to the current performance levels of firms. However, a less-stronger, though positive, effect is established between changes in performance levels and changes in institutional ownership. The results are based on a study investigating U.S. institutional investors investment strategy. Han and Suk (1998) found (for a sample of US firms) that stock returns are positively related to ownership by institutional investors, thus implying that these corporate owners are actively involved in the monitoring of incumbent management. Douma, Rejie and Kabir (2006) investigated the impact of foreign institutional investment on the performance of emerging market firms and found that there is positive effect of foreign ownership on firm performance. They also found impact of foreign investment on the business group affiliation of firms. Investor protection is poor in case of firms with controlling shareh olders who have ability to expropriate assets. The block shareholders affect the value of the firm and influence the private benefits they receive from the firm. Companies with such shareholders find it expensive to raise external funds. Studies examining the relationship between institutional holdings and firm performance in different countries (mainly OECD countries) have produced mixed results. Chaganti and Damanpour (1991) and Lowenstein (1991) find little evidence that institutional ownership is correlated with firm performance. Seifert, Gonenc and Wright (2005) study does not find a consistent relationship across countries. They conclude that their inconsistent results may reflect the fact that the influence of institutional investors on firm performance is location specific. The above studies generally consider institutional investors as a monolithic group. However, Shleifer and Vishnys (1986) as well as Pounds (1988) theorizations and later empirical examinations by McConnell and Servaes (1990) suggest that shareholders are differentiable and pursue different agendas. Jensen and Merkling (1976) also show that equity ownerships by different groups have different effects on the firm performance. Agrawal and Kno eber (1996), Karpoff et al. (1996), Duggal and Miller (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (2000) find no such significant relation between institutional holdings and firm performance. In the present study, the analysis has been conducted in two perspectives: Institutional Holdings and Firm performance (b) Constituents of institutional holdings and Firm performance The major findings of the present study on the above aspects are summarized as under: The results outputs of the first segment indicate that there is no conclusive evidence as to larger proportions of institutional holdings in sampled companies have higher average return on networth or average net profit margin and smaller proportions of institutional holdings in sampled companies have lower average return on networth or average net profit margin over the study period. To the contrary, strong and positive relationship is observed between institutional holdings and return on capital employed as well as institutional holdings and earning per share. As the average return on capital employed and average earning per share are higher in the sampled companies with higher proportions of institutional holdings and lower in the sampled companies with lower proportions of institutional holdings over the study period. Therefore, it is stated that institutional holdings and two accounting returns (return on capital employed and earning per share) are significantly correlated where as institutional holdings and other two accounting returns (return on networth and net profit margin) are not related. Hence, there is no clear evidence that institutional holdings and accounting returns are related. Likewise, strong and positive relationship is observed between institutional holdings and Tobins q. But on the other hand, weak relationship is observed between institutional holdings and risk adjusted excess return. Therefore, institutional holdings and one market-based return are significantly correlated while the institutional holdings and another market-based return are not. Thus, the findings depict contradictory results as to the relationship between institutional holdings and market Corporate Governance Score and Firm Performance Corporate Governance Score and Firm Performance Limited liability company structure is the most preferred structure for a large business. In this structure, a large number of investors provide the risk capital. They are called shareholders, the deemed owners of the company. They delegate the power to manage the company to board of directors. The board delegates the same to managers while retaining its role to monitor and control the executive management. Shareholders are viewed as the principal and the manager as their agents and this relationship is described as principal-agent relationship. The shareholders, of a widely held firm, practically do not have any control on the managers. They are only informed of the financial results on a periodical basis while the managers controls the firms assets. This structure provides an opportunity to the managers to expropriate shareholders wealth and misappropriate the funds by way of transfer of money as loans to his own companies, or sale of the company assets to themselves at a lesser pr ice or pay themselves more perks. The divergence of interest between the owners and the managers, due to the separation of ownership from control, results in the agency costs. It is not just separation of ownership and control that gives rise to the agency problem between shareholders and managers; but also the atomistic or diffused nature of corporate ownership, which is characterized by a large number of small shareholders. In such ownership structure, there is no incentive for any one owner to monitor corporate management, because the individual owner would bear the entire monitoring costs, yet all shareholders would enjoy the benefits. Thus, both the magnitude and nature of agency problems are directly related to ownership structures. The fundamental theoretical basis of corporate governance is agency costs. The core of corporate governance is designing and putting in place disclosures, monitoring, oversight and corrective systems that can align the objectives of the shareholders and managers as closely as possible and hence, minimize agency costs. It deals with conducting the affairs of a company such that there is fairness to all stakeholders and that its actions benefit the greatest number of stakeholders. There are two kinds of mechanisms to overcome the agency problem and hence, improve corporate governance viz., the internal control mechanisms and the external control mechanisms. Internal control mechanisms are internal to the functioning of a company and broadly consist of the board composition, the board size, the leadership structure and the managerial compensation. External control mechanisms are the mechanisms that are external to the functioning of the firm over which the firm has no control. An increasingly important external control mechanism affecting governance worldwide is the emergence of institutional investors as equity owners. Although the role that the institutional investors can play in the corporate governance system of a company is a controversial question and a subject of continuing debate. While some believe that the institutional investors must interfere in the corporate governance system of a company, others believe that these investors have other investment objectives to follow. The group of observers who believe that institutional investors need not play a role in the corporate governance system of a company, argue that the investment objectives and the compensation system in the institutional investing companies often discourage their active participation in the corporate governance system of the companies. Institutional investors are answerable to their investors the way the companies (in which they have invested) are answerable to their shareholders. And the shareholders do invest their funds with the institutional investors expecting higher returns. The primary responsibility of the instituti onal investors is therefore to invest the money of the investors in companies, which are expected to generate the maximum possible return rather than in companies with good corporate governance records. While the other group strongly believes that if the corporate governance system in the companies has to succeed then the institutional investors must play an active role in the entire process. By virtue of their large stockholdings, they have the opportunity, resources, and ability to monitor, discipline and influence managers, which can force them to focus more on corporate performance and less on self-serving behavior. Most of the reports on corporate governance have also emphasized the role that the institutional investors have to play in the entire system. Given the increasing presence of institutional investors in financial markets, it is not surprising that they have become more active in their role as shareholders. Activism by institutional investors has been both private and public, with the public activism being most visible in many countries. The role of institutional investors is visualized in two perspectives, the corporate governance and the firm performance. 7.2 Objectives of Study In light of the above discussion, the present study attempts to achieve the following objectives: To construct the corporate governance score To establish relationship between institutional holdings and corporate  governance score To establish relationship between institutional holdings and firm performance To establish relationship between corporate governance score and  firm performance In order to achieve the objectives stated above, the present study conceptualized the following null hypotheses for the validation of positive relationship between institutional holdings, corporate governance and firm performance 7.3 Hypotheses: H01: Institutional/its components Holdings and Corporate Governance score are  very closely related in a manner as to depict a positive relationship between  the two H02: Corporate Governance Score and Institutional/its components Holdings are  also very closely related in a manner as to depict positive relationship  between the two H03: Institutional/its components Holdings and various measures of firm  performance are very closely related in a manner as to depict  positive relationship between the two H04: Corporate Governance Score and various measures of firm performance  are very closely related in a manner as to depict positive relationship between  the two 7.4 The Sample Design and Data: To achieve the above objectives, a sample of 200 companies has been taken. The present study is based on the secondary data. It covers a period of five financial years from 1st April 2004 to 31st March 2008. Institutional holdings are further segregated into three constituents. The mutual funds being the first one. The second constituent includes various public and private sector banks, all the developmental financial institutions (like IFCI, ICICI, IDBI, SFC) and insurance companies like the LIC, GIC, and their subsidiaries. The last constituent comprise of foreign institutional investors. Data has been collected on the institutional holdings in total as well as on different constituents of institutional holdings from nseindia.com. The secondary data regarding annual reports to construct the corporate governance score have been collected from respective company websites and sebiedifar.com. . The firm performance measures have been divided into two categories, one being the accountin g measures while others are based on market returns. The accounting return measures include (%) return on networth, (%) return on capital employed, Profit After Tax, (%) Return on Assets, Net Profit Margin and Earning Per Share. Whereas, market return based measures include Tobins Q, (%) Risk Adjusted Excess Return and (%) Dividend Yield. Data for the study period on financial performance measures have been collected from Prowess Database. 7.5 Statistical Tools: Simple linear regression analysis has been used as a statistical tool to investigate the relationship between different variables. An attempt has been made to ascertain the causal effect of one variable upon another. Data has been assembled on the variables of interest and employed regression to estimate the quantitative effect of the causal variables upon the variable that they influence. The study also typically assesses the statistical significance at 5 percent level of the estimated relationships, that is, the degree of confidence that the true relationship is close to the estimated relationship. Section A 7.6 Construction of Corporate Governance Score Review of Literature Some researchers have used board characteristics as an effective measure of corporate governance as Hermalin and Weisbach (1998, 2003) have used board independence, Bhagat, Carey and Elson (1999) have used stock ownership of board members and Brickley, Coles and Jarrell (1997) have used the occupation of Chairman and CEO positions by the same or two different individuals. Whereas, Gompers, Ishii and Metrick (2003) have constructed a governance measure comprising of an equally weighted index of 24 corporate governance provisions compiled by the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), such as, poison pills, golden parachutes, classified boards, cumulative voting, and supermajority rules to approve mergers. Bebchuk, Cohen and Ferrell (BCF, 2004) created an entrenchment index comprising of six provisions – four provisions that limit Shareholder rights and two that make potential hostile takeovers more difficult. While the above noted studies use IRRC data, Brown and Caylor (2004) used Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) data to create their governance index. This index considered 51corporate governance features encompassing eight corporate governance categories: audit, board of directors, charter/bylaws, director education, executive and director compensation, ownership, progressive practices, and state of incorporation. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark. Standard and Poors provides a range of corporate governance analyses and services, the crux of which is the Corporate Governance Score. Corporate Governance Scores are based on an assessment of the qualitative aspects of corporate governance practices of a company. Information has been collected on the attributes from the latest available annual reports of sample companies. The methodology, with 98 questions in three categories and 12 sub-categories, is designed to balance the conflicting requirements of the range of issues analyzed and the tractability of the analysis. Transparency and Disclosure is evaluated by searching company annual reports for the 98  possible attributes broadly divided into the following three broad categories: Ownership structure and investor rights (28 attributes) Financial transparency and information disclosure (35 attributes) Board and management structure and process (35 attributes) Resume Various researchers have considered alternate measures of corporate governance. Some of them have used single measure, while others have used the multiple measures in the form of indices. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark because two broad instruments that reduce agency costs and hence improve corporate governance are financial and non-financial disclosures and independent oversight of management. Improving the quality of financial and non-financial disclosures not only ensures corporate transparency among a wide group of investors, analysts and the informed intelligentsia, but also persuades companies to minimize value-destroying deviant behavior. This is precisely why law insists that companies prepare their audited annual accounts, and that these be provided to all shareholders is deposited with the Registrar of Companies. This is also why a good deal o f effort in global corporate governance reform has been directed to improve the quality and frequency of disclosures. Section B Relationship between Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance: Review of Literature Coombes and Watson (2000) on the basis of a survey of more than 200 institutional investors with investments across the world showed that governance is a significant factor in their investment decision. McCahery, Sautner and Starks (2009) have relied on the survey data to investigate governance preference of 118 institutional investors in U.S. and Netherlands. The study found that the majority of institutions that responded to the survey take into account firm governance in portfolio weighting decisions and are willing to engage in activities that can improve the governance of their portfolio firms. Chung, Firth, and Kim (2002) hypothesized that there will be less opportunistic earnings management in firms with more institutional investor ownership because the institutions will either put pressure on the firms to adopt better accounting policies. Hartzell and Starks (2003) provided empirical evidence suggesting institutional investors serve a monitoring role with regard to executive compensation contracts. One implication of these results, consistent with the theoretical literature regarding the role of the large shareholder, is that institutions have greater influence when they have larger proportional stakes in firms. . Denis and Denis (1994) found no evidence to suggest that there is any relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance. They stated that if companies that create shareholders wealth are the ones with poor corporate governance practices, and then one really cannot blame the institutional investors for having invested in such companies. For, after all, a fund manager will be evaluated on the basis of stock returns he creates for the unit holders and not on the basis of the corporate governance records of the company he invests the money in. If however, one finds that companies with poor corporate governance practices are the ones, which have consistently destroyed shareholders wealth, then the contention that the institutional investors need not look at corporate governance records cannot be justified. David and Kochhar (1996) provided empirical evidence regarding impact of institutional investors on firm behaviour and performance is mixed and that no definite concl usions can be drawn. They argued that various institutional obstacles, such as barriers stemming from business relationships, the regulatory environment and information processing limitations, might prevent institutional investors from effectively exercising their corporate governance function. Almazan, Hartzell and Starks (2003) provided evidence both theoretical and empirical that the monitoring influence of institutional investors on executive compensation can depend on the current or prospective business relation between the institution and the corporation. They concluded that the monitoring influence of institutions is associated more with potentially active institutions (investment companies and pension fund managers who would be less sensitive to pressure from corporate management due to lack of potential business relations) than with potentially passive institutions (banks and insurance companies who would be more pressure-sensitive). Davis and Kim (2006) found that mutual funds with conflicts of interest (based on management of pension assets) more often vote with management in general. On the other hand, mutual funds have more incentive and power to oppose management in firms in which they have a larger stake. Marsh (1997) has argued that short-term performance measurement does work against the active monitoring by institutional investors. The performance of fund managers is evaluated over a shorter time period. Hence, they act under tremendous pressure to beat some index. So, when they find a case of bad governance, they find it economical to sell the stock rather than interfere in the functioning of the company and incur monitoring costs. Ashraf and Jayaman (2007) examined mutual funds trading behavior after the release of voting records. The study found that funds that support shareholder proposals reduce holdings after the release of voting records. Since the time of releasing voting records could be very far from the shareholder meeting date, mutual funds trading behavior after the release of voting records may be unrelated to the votes cast in the meeting. Aggarwal, Klapper and Wysocki (2003) found that U.S. mutual funds tend to invest greater amounts in countries with stronger share holder rights and legal frameworks (controlling for the countrys economic development). In addition, within the countries, the mutual funds also discriminate on the basis of governance in that they allocate more of their assets to firms with better corporate governance structures. Payne, Millar, and Glezen (1996) focussed on banks as one type of institutional investor that would be expected to have business relations with the firms in which they invest. They examined interlocking directorships and income-related relationships, and noticed that when such relations exist; banks tend to vote in favor of management anti-takeover amendment proposals. When such relations dont exist, banks tend to vote against the management proposals. Brickley, Lease and Smith (1988) found evidence supporting the hypothesis that firms with greater holdings by pressure-sensitive shareholders (banks and insurance companies) have more proxy votes cast in favor of managements recommendations. Moreover, firms with greater holdings by pressure-insensitive shareholders (pension funds and mutual funds) have more proxy votes against managements recommendations. The authors differentiated between the different types of institutional investors, noting the difference between pressure-sensitive and pressure-insensitive institutional shareholders and arguing that pressure-sensitive institutions are more likely to go along with management decisions. Dahlquist et al. (2003) analyzed foreign ownership and firm characteristics for the Swedish market. The study found that foreigners have greater presence in large firms, firms paying low dividends and in firms with large cash holdings. Haw, Hu, Hwang and Wu (2004) found that firm level factors cause information asymmetry problems to FII. It found evidence that US investment is lower in firms where managers do not have effective control. Foreign investment in firms that appear to engage in more earnings management is lower in countries with poor information framework. Choe, Kho, Stulz (2005) found that US investors do indeed hold fewer shares in firms with ownership structures that are more conducive to expropriation by controlling insiders. In companies where insiders are dominating information access and availability to the shareholders will be limited. With less information, foreign investors face an adverse selection problem. So they under invest in such stocks. Leuz, Lins, and Wa rnock (2008) found that foreign institutional investors prefer to invest in firms with better governance practices. In the present study, the analysis has been conducted in three perspectives: Dynamics of institutional holdings and its composition (2) Relationship between Institutional Holdings (explanatory variable) and the Corporate Governance Score (dependent variable) (3) Relationship between the Corporate Governance Score (explanatory variable) and Institutional Holdings (dependent variable) The major findings of the present study on the above aspects are summarized as under: The results outputs of the first segment depict that the institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the companies over the years. The number of sampled companies with higher institutional holdings has increased where as the number of companies with lower proportions of institutional holdings has decreased over the study period. Hence, institutional holdings have shown an increasing trend of investment in the sampled companies over the study period. As far as the dynamics of components of institutional investors is concerned, no specific trend is observed in investments of mutual funds. On the other hand Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have shown declining trends of investments over the same period. Where as, foreign institutional investors have shown the increasing trends of investments in line with institutional holdings. The results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance state that the larger proportions of institutional holdings have higher corporate governance scores in sampled companies and the smaller proportions of institutional holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. Thus, very strong and positive relationship is established between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Hence, H01 is accepted. The results outputs of the section analyzing the relationship between corporate governance score and institutional holdings describe that the companies with higher governance scores have larger proportions of investments from institutional investors than the companies with lower governance scores. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and institutional holdings. Hence, H02 is accepted. The inference can be drawn that institut ional holdings pre-empts good corporate governance still at other times, good corporate governance endues institutional investment in the firm. The results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between mutual funds and corporate governance reveal out that smaller proportions of mutual funds holdings have higher governance score in the sampled companies and larger proportions of mutual funds holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. Therefore, weak relationship exists between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is rejected. Alternatively, the results outputs pertaining to the analysis of relationship between corporate governance and components of institutional holdings reveal out that the companies with lower governance scores have larger proportions of mutual funds holdings to the companies with higher governance scores over the study period. Hence, weak relationship also exists between corporate governance score and mutual funds holdings. Hence, H02 is rejected. It can be inferred from the above outcomes that mutual funds companies do not observe good governance practices in companies and simultaneously, good governed companies also do not attract higher mutual funds investments. The results outputs as to the relationship between Banks, FIs and ICs and corporate governance depict that larger proportions of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies holdings have higher governance score and smaller proportions of holdings have lower governance score in the sampled companies over the study period. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship is established between Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is accepted. Similarly, the sampled companies with higher governance scores have larger proportions of Banks, FIs and ICs holdings to the companies with lower governance scores. Thus, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and Banks, FIs and ICs holdings. Hence, H02 is also accepted. The inference can be drawn on the basis of above results that Banks, FIs and ICs consider governance practices in companies while taking investment decision and alternatively, good governed companies also attract these investments. The results outputs pertaining to the relationship between FII holdings and corporate governance reveal out that the companies in which FIIs have larger proportions of holdings have higher governance score to the companies in which FIIs have smaller proportions of holdings. Therefore, very strong and positive relationship is observed between FII holdings and corporate governance score. Hence, H01 is accepted. Likewise, the sampled companies with higher governance scores have also larger proportions of Foreign Institutional Investors holdings. Thus, very strong and positive relationship also exists between corporate governance score and FII holdings. Hence, H02 is accepted. It can be inferred on the basis of above result that foreign institutional investors prefer to invest in firms with better governance practices and their investment do improve the governance practices in the companies. Resume The theoretical and empirical literature provides mixed evidence as to the relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Some of the studies put forth the evidence that corporate governance is the significant factor for institutional investment decision and their significant investment improve the governance practices in companies, while the other studies state otherwise. Where as the research findings of the present study further validate, support and enrich the literature on positive association between institutional holdings and corporate governance. Likewise, the studies provide inconclusive evidence as to the relationship between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance. But the findings of present study state that neither the mutual funds care about the governance practices of companies or their presence improve them. Similarly, the empirical literature provides indeterminate evidence on the relationship between Banks, FIs and ICs and corporate governance. But the findings of present study observe very strong and positive relationship between the two. The empirical studies observe consistent results as to foreign institutional investors invest in better-governed companies but lacks evidence that their significant presence result in better governance. The findings of present study indicate that FIIs do not care for the corporate governance only, rather their higher stake ensure better governance too. Section C 7.8 Relationship between Institutional Holdings and Firm Performance: Review of Literature Pound (1988) explored the influence of institutional ownerships on firm performance and proposed three hypotheses on the relation between institutional shareholders and firm performance: efficient-monitoring hypothesis, conflict-of-interest hypothesis, and strategic-alignment hypothesis. The efficient-monitoring hypothesis says that institutional investors have greater expertise and can monitor management at lower cost than the small atomistic shareholders. Consequently, this argument predicts a positive relationship between institutional shareholding and firm performance. Holderness and Sheehan (1988) found that for a sample of 114 US firms controlled by a majority shareholder with more than 50% of shares, both Tobins Q and accounting profits are significantly lower for firms with individual majority owners than for firms with corporate majority owners. McConnell and Servaes (1990) found a strong positive relationship between the value of the firm and the fraction of shares held by institutional investors. They found that performance increases significantly with institutional ownership. Majumdar and Nagarajan (1994) found that levels of institutional investment are positively related to the current performance levels of firms. However, a less-stronger, though positive, effect is established between changes in performance levels and changes in institutional ownership. The results are based on a study investigating U.S. institutional investors investment strategy. Han and Suk (1998) found (for a sample of US firms) that stock returns are positively related to ownership by institutional investors, thus implying that these corporate owners are actively involved in the monitoring of incumbent management. Douma, Rejie and Kabir (2006) investigated the impact of foreign institutional investment on the performance of emerging market firms and found that there is positive effect of foreign ownership on firm performance. They also found impact of foreign investment on the business group affiliation of firms. Investor protection is poor in case of firms with controlling shareh olders who have ability to expropriate assets. The block shareholders affect the value of the firm and influence the private benefits they receive from the firm. Companies with such shareholders find it expensive to raise external funds. Studies examining the relationship between institutional holdings and firm performance in different countries (mainly OECD countries) have produced mixed results. Chaganti and Damanpour (1991) and Lowenstein (1991) find little evidence that institutional ownership is correlated with firm performance. Seifert, Gonenc and Wright (2005) study does not find a consistent relationship across countries. They conclude that their inconsistent results may reflect the fact that the influence of institutional investors on firm performance is location specific. The above studies generally consider institutional investors as a monolithic group. However, Shleifer and Vishnys (1986) as well as Pounds (1988) theorizations and later empirical examinations by McConnell and Servaes (1990) suggest that shareholders are differentiable and pursue different agendas. Jensen and Merkling (1976) also show that equity ownerships by different groups have different effects on the firm performance. Agrawal and Kno eber (1996), Karpoff et al. (1996), Duggal and Miller (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (2000) find no such significant relation between institutional holdings and firm performance. In the present study, the analysis has been conducted in two perspectives: Institutional Holdings and Firm performance (b) Constituents of institutional holdings and Firm performance The major findings of the present study on the above aspects are summarized as under: The results outputs of the first segment indicate that there is no conclusive evidence as to larger proportions of institutional holdings in sampled companies have higher average return on networth or average net profit margin and smaller proportions of institutional holdings in sampled companies have lower average return on networth or average net profit margin over the study period. To the contrary, strong and positive relationship is observed between institutional holdings and return on capital employed as well as institutional holdings and earning per share. As the average return on capital employed and average earning per share are higher in the sampled companies with higher proportions of institutional holdings and lower in the sampled companies with lower proportions of institutional holdings over the study period. Therefore, it is stated that institutional holdings and two accounting returns (return on capital employed and earning per share) are significantly correlated where as institutional holdings and other two accounting returns (return on networth and net profit margin) are not related. Hence, there is no clear evidence that institutional holdings and accounting returns are related. Likewise, strong and positive relationship is observed between institutional holdings and Tobins q. But on the other hand, weak relationship is observed between institutional holdings and risk adjusted excess return. Therefore, institutional holdings and one market-based return are significantly correlated while the institutional holdings and another market-based return are not. Thus, the findings depict contradictory results as to the relationship between institutional holdings and market