Mathematical Interpretations of Keynes’s General Theory

IntroductionMany changes had occurred in the last century in every science. Economics was not the exception and a transformation into the theoretical approach took place in the 30s. In 1936 Keynes published â€Å"The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money†. Its main ideas set the foundations of macroeconomics and had influenced economics since.Unfortunately, Keynes had (and has) a bad reputation as a writer, because of this there has been constant analysis and interpretations of what he meant. Economists affirmed that Keynes’s innovating work, as any new approach, had some â€Å"inconsistencies†. Further, the book had small use of mathematics and, thus, had small proof of what it stated. Therefore, these ideas need interpretation and testing into the â€Å"real world†.Keynes Main IdeasKriesler and Nevile (2000) define the book’s main points as follows:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"†¦in a capitalist economy employment, and hence unemployment, is determin ed by effective demand [†¦] decisions about production and investment are made on the basis of expectations†, and â€Å"monetary variables influence real variables such as output and employment and real variables, in turn, influence monetary ones.†One of the most daunting tasks was to set up a mathematical foundation of the cited Keynes’s works. The most important economists who performed this job were, in a â€Å"crossed fertilization process† as Heller (2000) points it, Roy Harrod, James Meade and mainly John Hicks. In fact, in 1937 Hicks published an influential article, â€Å"Mr. Keynes and the Classics: A suggested interpretation† that rapidly became the standard of Keynesian economics theory.Mathematical FoundationsThe Keynes’s ideas stated in the paragraphs above turned â€Å"into simple mathematical models of the macro-economy; [and] the most long-lived and flexible, the â€Å"IS-LM model†, came from John R. Hicks† (Morgan 2001). Despite that, some authors suggest that Harrod and Meade had inspired the IS-LM model proposed by Hicks (Young, qt. in Heller, 2002)[1]. Others suggest that Champernowne and Reddaway also had some contribution into the model’s formalization (Barens 1998, qt in Heller, 2002)Besides the multiple interpretations of Keynes’s work, Hicks’ one remains as one of the most important.As pointed by Heller (2000), the models proposed as explanations had similar expressions which are systems of simultaneous equations. And the mathematical formulation’s success of Keynes’s General Theory is because of the â€Å"mathematical elegance† and the exact nature of systems of simultaneous equations, which many consider alike; and particularly to Hicks who was the only one in representing the theory through diagrams. (Heller, 2002)As pointed, Harrod was another economist who performed a mathematical foundation for Keynes’s work. According to him, Keynes system corrects the traditional theory; allowing the Income level to be not given, the price level does not depend on the money, and money demand is divided in two. Due to all of this Harrod states that Keynes system is better than the traditional one. Keynes had a very positive view of Harrod’s development of his own work, which Harrods presented in the same conference where Hicks did. Hence, Keynes thought that Harrod works interpreted correctly his own ideas.But these authors’ success in interpreting Keynes’s ideas is not free of detractors. Kriesler and Nevile (2000) made a clear stand of this: economists reject the â€Å"IS-LM framework as being neither a valid simplification of the arguments in the General Theory nor a reliable model for analyzing macroeconomic issues.† Economists think the IS-LM model ignores expectations and it is not useful to analyze a particular economy beside the static equilibrium[2]. They also affirm that Hicks t ook Keynesian macroeconomics to another direction from the one intended by the work’s author.   The same authors assert that Keynes’s own vision on Hicks model â€Å"did have the faults that post Keynesians typically ascribe to IS-LM.†[3]ConclusionKeynes’s work and the posterior mathematical development gave, to governments and to economists, answers that can be easily explained and understood by everyone only using analytical tools as diagrams or simple mathematics. What is more, those ideas were beyond the economic â€Å"common sense† of the time: governments can spend during depressions.  Affirming if these formalizations of the model are what Keynes’s work pointed might be intimidating. Regardless of this and the different views, Hicks simplification and formalization of the model is useful, and catches the spirit of the work. As any first interpretation improvements were (and still are) made but the first task was accomplished.Refer encesHeller, Claudia, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money According to Brian Reddaway Economia em Revista, Vol. 10, pp. 15-32, 2002Heller, Claudia, The ‘General Theory' Synthesis According to Roy Harrod in ‘Mr. Keynes and Traditional Theory’, Revista de Economia (Curitiba), Vol. 23, pp. 27-49, 2000Keynes, John Maynard, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (New York: Prometheus Books, 1997).Morgan, Mary, The formation of â€Å"Modern† Economics: Engineering and Ideology, Department of Economic History, London School of Economics, May 2001, Available at ;http://www.lse.ac.uk/economicHistory/home.aspx;[1] Young proposed that to call it the â€Å"IS-LM Harrod-Meade† model. [2] It is important to make clear that many have pointed rational expectations as one of the inconsistencies in Keynes’s work. [3] Post Keynesian economists main critic to the IS-LM model is its static equilibrium nature, thus has no means to de al economy’s path of adjustment.

Main Types of New Year’s Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions Apart from the endless cups of tea with Christmas sweets, the great fun and the inmense blissfulness that we experience by the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, the New Year is also the traditional time to make resolutions, which are plans to improve oneself. Resolutions are basically promises to oneself, and like promises, you either keep them or break them. That is to say, you are either successful in keeping your plans, or you are not and you go back to your old habits. The vast majority of people think that they need a new lifestyle, a change, or a recommitment as an individual. The aim of most resolutions is to turn over a new leaf. That is, to make yourself better by changing your routines and habits. It is like making a fresh, new start in your life. Generally there are two main types of resolutions: give up or take up. A lot of people say that their New Year’s Resolutions are to give up a bad habit or to take up a new hobby. Personally, I think that what I would just like to do is carry on working hard; carry on being happy and healthy. I plan to keep on studying, keep on exercising ( I wish I could do it quite often in 2012), keep on eating well and keep on sleeping well, keep on getting on well with my family and friends. And that’s about it, there is nothing else. Nothing too big, nothing too heavy, because experience tells me that if you try to ask yourself to do too much stuff, it will eventually not happen.

Older Adult Interview

I had the privilege of interviewing a 60 year old gentlemen who I will identify as Mr. E to protect his privacy for this assignment. The goal of my interview was to gain insight on aging from an older adult. I interviewed Mr. E in his home on a weekday evening. He expressed appreciation and was surprised that he was the focus of an interview in which his life story and thoughts would be recorded. Mr. E was born in a ranch in Guadalajara, Mexico. He is the youngest son of nine children. His father passed away when he was 1 – year old. He was privileged to attend elementary school from the 1st grade to the 4th grade.Mr. E had the responsibility of helping support the family as there were only two male children in the family and the remaining siblings were female. At 13 years of age he went to the neighboring state of Tepic, Nayarit to work in agriculture. He was 15- years old when he immigrated to the United States by himself. Mr. E lived with friends who helped him find a job 3 weeks after he moved to the United States. He worked as a busboy at a restaurant for 3 months. He left that job to work in the garment industry making jeans, shirts and blouses for 3 years. I was the only man working there at that time† (E. Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). Mr. E observed that years later he saw more males seeking employment in the garment factories because word spread that any undocumented individual could work making clothing regardless of gender. He financially supported   two infant children on those wages. He then worked in a fabric for 7 years making electrical parts for cars. After that he worked as a gardener and left the business to his son when he retired. He was married at the age of 18 and had his first child at the age of 21.Two years later he had a daughter. He became a U. S. Citizen and has helped many family members also obtain their citizenships in the past decades. He is a grandfather of 5 and looks forward to seeing grea t grandchildren in the future. I asked Mr. E (2012) what he best enjoyed about being an older adult. You are a person that sees things for what they are. As if you walked a path and see what you could of done but didn’t. How could you have lived and not lived. You see your errors. Like when you are on a cliff looking down or on the clouds and looking down.When asked about challenges to getting older (2012) Mr. E felt that accepting the challenges and just living the best you can is all you can do. Try to live in peace and love what is on earth. When you think of death you have to accept it. Why fight it you are going in that direction. You have to make a decision. He told me a story of a friend he had who had cancer and she made the choice to stop the chemotherapy. Her arms had scabs and she decided enough was enough. She knew she wasn’t going to get better. She talked about death as if she were going to a party.He described how she appeared to be at peace because she lived a fulfilling life. Mr. E felt that she encouraged and motivated him more than he to her. Mr. E felt that the greatest joys of getting older were family and seeing it grow. He also felt that being loved and having others think highly of you were great achievements. Looking back on his life Mr. E felt that the only thing he could have done differently was to be more patient, smarter, more humane and not make as many mistakes. â€Å"You look back and think that you were not able to see things that are obvious† (E.Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). When asked about fears of getting older Mr. E stated that living with diseases and not being able to pay for medications and hospitalizations was a concern for him. Although, he has insurance he stated it is very expensive and he is worried he might not always be able to pay the high amount. He stated that he worried about leaving family members behind that may not be emotionally and financially stable. ?The fina l thoughts Mr. E left me with were some positive things that he anticipate as getting older. Seeing the world as a paradise, enjoying spending time with horses and seeing family grow older and expand†(E. Privacy, personal communication, October 10, 2012). ?Throughout the interview themes such as family and time arose over and over again. His emphasis on missed opportunities with family has taught me that if I am not careful I will also have the same concerns when I am an older adult. He didn’t mention business as a regret even though when he talked about his personal history the majority of that conversation was on job history.During the interview I was on the edge of my seat because he had a lot of wisdom to share and I knew that I was lucky to get advice from somebody who has lived longer than I have. My perceptions of older adults has not changed as I have always felt that they have bigger wealth of information greater than Google. My new perceptions of aging are tha t healthcare is one of the biggest concerns for older adults. I need to hurry up and start planning for my own health care as I have not really given it priority in my life. This interview has confirmed my desire to work with older adults.

The Rule of Saint Benedict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Rule of Saint Benedict - Essay Example One of the reasons why it was and remains so popular is its objectivity, which makes it much more sustainable than related precepts especially because it allows for a moderate line between the zeal of individual devotion and institutionalism1. The rule was essentially designed to create an environment in which the needs of monks in communities could be provided to foster a deeper understanding into human nature, providing spiritual mentorship, support the monk’s ascetic endeavors and develop spiritual growth. This paper will endeavor to analyze the text by primarily focusing on; the historical context in which the Rule emerged, the factors that drove Saint Benedict to write it, his secondary sources of information and the role the rules played and continue to play in religious and non-religious discourse. For as long as it has existed, the rule has been used by Benedictine monks and to many scholars, saint Benedict is considered to be the originator of western monasticism alth ough historians had suggested that he probably had no outward intention of starting a religious order. Among the many advantages of these rules is that they allow of communities of monks to be autonomous and thus operate without outside influence or direct co-operation. Consequently, communities that apply these rules have enjoyed a variety of benefits from the accruing independence such as the development of close internal bonds and more contemplative lifestyles without outside distraction. While the book is quite explicit on some of it requirements, it is not iron clad and it allows the Abbott to use his discretion when circumstances demand it.2 The lessons, according to Benedict were not meant to dictate but provide a guide of those wishing to spend their lives in holy contemplation especially beginners. Overview The rule has seventy-three chapters and these are divided into edicts about the duties of the abbot, regulation of worshiping God, chastisement and consequences for brea king rules, the core management of the monastery and miscellaneous rules. It prologues with a hortary preface through which Saint Benedict lays down the basic tenets of the religious life and the renunciation of an individual’s will to take up a life of Christ In his summation, the rules will serve as the foundation for the formation of a school in which salvation shall the taught as a science. Through their perseverance in the monastery for the duration of their natural lives, monks will be deemed as qualified to be partakers of the kingdom of Christ Owing to the scope of the rules, it is not possible to summarize it explicitly by the chapter since that would require an entire paper of considerable length. Nevertheless, several of the rules, which have a bearing on the historical context to the text, will be briefly discussed herein. Benedict makes it clear that the rule is only relevant to two classes of monks, those are the Cenobites, Hermits, and it precludes the Gyrovagi and Sarabites who did not follow any specific code and were, in Benedict’s opinion a disgrace to the monastic profession. He emphasizes on the authority of the abbot who all the monks must obey without question and in the selfsame way requires the abbot is an honorable and godly individual. Concerning the personal lives of the monk, the rules demand that they must live frugally and what little they have such as extra clothes should be

Public Service Broadcasters in the United Kingdom Thesis Proposal

Public Service Broadcasters in the United Kingdom - Thesis Proposal Example The outcome of the research paper will reveal the requirement for both political independence and political accountability of public service broadcasters in the U.K., the part played by regulators in ensuring these partially conflicting aims, and whether they have been able to achieve their objectives. A comparative perspective will be provided by comparing and contrasting the U.K. experience with that of another country. There are over ten statutory and self-regulatory bodies for media and communications in the UK (Collins and Murroni 1996). To support policy making with specific aims and techniques, meaningful rationales for regulatory interventions have to be determined (Harcourt 2005). There is a requirement for content regulation by Ofcom’s â€Å"Content Board† established by the 2003 Act (Open Society Institute 2009), and for economic regulation of public service broadcasting because of technological The main goal of public broadcasting is to engage viewers and listeners in a dialogue about public life. General characterization of the audiences (Freedman 2008), and a need for Independent of government or vested interests, public broadcasting aims to develop the concept of a shared public life correlating with national or regional communities. Broadcasters committed to quality and creativity contribute to social healing and provide information as well as enjoyment. A profoundly democratic phenomenon through which public opinion is expressed and established (Tracey 1998). Hutchison (1999) emphasizes the function of media policy towards maintaining broadcasting freedom, democracy, the enlightenment of the public, as well protecting the state, the citizen and the society. Various critiques about public service broadcasting include the fact that because of independent television, the BBC is unable to get the audience it requires to justify its license fee monopoly (Franklin 2001).  

Chapter 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chapter 5 - Essay Example 2. The LMX theory provides predictions in terms of stages of relationship development. With each individual, both leader and subordinate, there is a phase in which both assess each other’s potential. The potential is defined as each person’s motivations, attitude and respect for one another. Provided this is established, there is a development of trust, loyalty and greater respect. At the final stage of this progress, self-interest becomes intertwined in the commitment of both leader and subordinate in mission objectives. In vases of low-exchange relationships, the consequences of this are lower compliance with the terms of each mission, particularly if the subordinate in a low-exchange relationship feels that he is being less favored than other subordinates are. This will cause the team to become antagonistic instead of welcoming of work together. It is imperative that the leader create a feeling of respect, trust and loyalty among all subordinates, while treating each as an individual respecting their needs and wants as well. 3.

Arab Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arab Nationalism - Essay Example Quite simply stated, the Arab conquest of the region gave birth to the Arab World, to the notion of Arab unity and to the Arab peoples themselves. It took a diverse group of people and gave them a common language, culture, religion and, over time, a common identity. It is, thus, that the Arab conquest of the region stands out as one of the most significant turning points in the history of the Middle East and, indeed, the roots of Arab Nationalism can be directly traced to it (Hitti, 1943). Arab nationalism, tracing its roots to the Moslem conquest of north Africa and the Levantine, has survived over the millennia due to a complex set of historical and political circumstances. The concept of the Arab nation and of Arab nationalism is based on historical circumstances which have a strong psychological appeal. As argued by Karsh (2001) in "Misunderstanding Arab Nationalism," this concept represents the historical successes, and power that the Arabs had achieved when they were united as a single empire from the eleventh to the nineteenth century. Since the collapse of that Empire, however, the Arabs have achieved little and have, indeed, devolved into twenty-two third world nations which have little, if any, political and economic influence over world affairs (Karsh, 2001). Indeed, until recently, there was hardly a country in the Arab World which was not colonized and whose sovereignty was not in question. Even today, and despite the supposed collapse of colonialism, many of the Arab countries remain under the political, economic and military domination of Western powers. Iraq is occupied; Sudan suffers political and economic sanctions; parts of Lebanon and Syria are occupied by Israel and, most of Palestine has been lost, and the remainder is under Israeli occupation. As Baram (2003) contends, as they look at their present, the Arab people increasingly realise the extent of their weakness and tend to connect their present situation to their division, even as they relate their past glory to their historic unity. Comparisons between their past and present maintain the dream of Arab unity and ensure that the concept of Arab nationalism remains alive. Hence, if Arab nationalism is rooted in history, it also has its roots in the current reality of the Arab nations and populations. The psychological appeal and popularity of Arab nationalism are reflected in the ideologies that emerged from the Arab World following the collapse of colonialism. These ideologies, such as Baathism and Nasserism, were based upon the concept of pan-Arabism and Arab Unity. Baathism, developed in Syria in the 1930s as a specific response to the weakness of the Arab nation and their status as colonized countries (Baram, 2003). Baathism was based on the argument that the Arabs shared a common language, history, and culture making them one people. Accordingly, the natural condition for the Arabs was unity and strength and the unnatural condition was division and weakness (Baram, 2003). The significant point about Baathism is not just that it became the official ideology of Arab countries like Syria and Iraq, but that it was extremely popular among the Arab masses. Another popular ideology in the Arab World, Nasserism, emerged in the 1950s and similarly argued that Arab unity was the goal that all Arab countries should work to reach. As a matter of fact, it is possible to argue that the

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 218

Essay Example In addition to this, the book offers the guidance that is helpful to the students involved in academic writing for the purposes of the summary of the ideas and facts in a book (Gerald, Birkenstein, and Russel, 117). An academic writer will in this instance be able to sharpen his or her ideas. Bright ideas will make him or her learn the ways that can enable him or her express him or herself before others by using the original ideas from his or her mind. As a result, the academic writer, in this case, will develop a paper that is free from plagiarism (Gerald, Birkenstein, and Russel, 128). Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein consider academic writing as a recent research that outlines the processes used in writing through use of short chapters and understandable languages. In this way, the authors argue that academic writing will publish quality materials through use of these elements (Gerald, Birkenstein, and Russel, 145) Since the implementation of the Manitoba’s education policies in the Canadian education system, performance of the science and math’s related subjects has the worst record that also still continues to deteriorate as time continues to elapse (Behiels, 69). The results take place despite Manitoba spending on each K-12 student than any province in the country apart from Alberta (Levin, 74). Even the average student today can’t handle these subjects as was before since the introduction of the policies in the curriculum of the Canadian education. In this instance, the education authorities in the country exercised the mediocrity of the highest order in implementing the Manitoba education policies (Behiels, 87). The reason for this explanation of their level of mediocrity is that they implemented the policies without evaluating their impacts on the children. In addition to this, the officials also seem that received some bribery to ensure the implementation of the wro ng education policies in the system of Canadian education. As a result, it

ERM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

ERM - Essay Example Innovation in the public sector context: In public sector context, innovation is defined as application of new ideas to produce improved outcomes. It is creating and implementing products, services or methods of delivery to improve the efficiency, the effectiveness and the quality of outcomes (Hargadon, Andrew 2003). Generally the public sector is considered as a passive receiver of innovation taking place in the private sector by the private companies, but the public institutions do innovate as well. Innovation takes place across government’s public sector entities these include policy development, different approaches for using technology, program delivery, also organizational innovation to provide new services. Every public servant should realize and appreciate the importance and diversity of innovation, and find such ways to achieve it that minimizes its risks (Mulgan & Albury 2003). Different forms and dimensions of innovation: Innovation theories show that it can take ma ny forms as some will be transformational, representing s a substantial departure from the past. Others include organizational improvements or emergent technologies. Innovation can be triggered within a sector/institution or by external influences. Different types of innovation in the public sector include the following streams. Firstly shaping policy directions; here the public sector role is to provide consultancy to government’s decision making related to policies and programs by providing objective and reasoned advices. Second type is implementation of policies and programs that is by delivering services to the country’s community efficiently and effectively. Lastly there are administrative innovations that introduce new internal processes and practices aimed at improving productivity and reducing costs (Paul Cunningham). Benefits of Innovation: There are many diverse benefits of innovation. Innovation is crucial for the enhancement of economic performance, welfare of the society, and for the stability of the environment, these benefits of innovation are widely recognized. Innovation can also drive new directions and enable better performance. It can improve an organization’s or a sector’s (public or private) efficiency as innovation would provide not only higher quality but also more timely services to citizens. It will also reduce business transaction costs. One of the major benefits of innovation is that it provides new methods of operation, and it is only innovation that helps moving from the present to future (Reilly 2013). Two Basic Drivers for Innovation: One of the main drivers for innovation specifically in public sector includes new and changing government as well as community expectations, to meet these expectations the public sector needs to innovate. The other driver for innovation in the public sector is the need for coordinated approaches, this is when there are discrepancies in the current approaches and are not sufficient for the new changing system, hence innovation is to come up with new approaches and refined processes that can fulfill the requirements (Boden & Miles 2000). Private and public sector innovation: Both the private and public sector innovation have some differences, commonalities, and synergies. Some aspects of public sector inn

Project management and the problem of project escalation Essay

Project management and the problem of project escalation - Essay Example As Keil suggested in his article, there are four factors that contribute to escalation, namely: project factors, psychological factors, social factors, and organizational factors. In this respect, effectively addressing escalation must, therefore, centre on addressing these factors.   First, it is important to complete a comprehensive cost-benefit and risk analysis at the initial planning stage in order to give project managers sufficient information with regard to decisions regarding the IT project. This will be able to address the objective factors that are caused by poor judgment on the scale of a project.Second, it is also important for the project team, preferably with the help of a professional not to the team, to establish protocols and standards to serve as indicators that will signal when a project must be abandoned, and when it is still salvageable. A separate quality analyst must also be employed to monitor these indicators and compare it with the project team’s p rogress. This will place part of the responsibility in abandoning a project on an outsider who will not be affected by the same psychological factors that plague project managers.   Third, it is also imperative to promote teamwork and a cooperative atmosphere within a project team to ensure that rivalry or any negative behavior that can affect a team’s ability to make sound decisions are not compromised. In this respect, team-building activities will be beneficial.   Fourth, in order to avoid pressure.

Disapprobation of Pornography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disapprobation of Pornography - Essay Example The stigma on pornography basically lies on the negative effect it may leave on the viewer. Indeed, one of my main concerns when it comes to porn is how sexual predators could use it to their advantage. â€Å"In 1970 the U.S. Commission on Obscenity and Pornography essentially gave nonviolent pornography a "clean bill of health," concluding that such materials did not have any demonstrated effects of a damaging personal or social nature.† (Check, 159) However, as pornography became more and more acceptable to society, the level of violence and brutality have increased. Disturbing issues have also arisen such as women’s degradation, gender/racial stereotypes, and juvenile pornography, The violence and bondage scenes in some porn movies, for instance, could send a wrong message or be perceived incorrectly. We must remember that while there is no established definitive causal link between pornography and crime like rape, one study pointed out that "if a person has relatively aggressive sexual inclinations resulting from various personal and/or cultural factors, some pornography exposure may activate and reinforce associated coercive tendencies and behaviors." (Malamuth, Addison, & Koss, 2000, p. 81) Another alarming aspect of pornography is the use of young children in pornographic materials. It scares me to think of the young lives in dysfunctional homes; how are they are taken advantage of, and how they can turn to porn for money or even attention. While there are laws in the US that impose harsh penalties on offenders in this area, the advent of technology and the internet almost render them inutile. A pimp making juvenile pornographic materials can be safely tuc ked in a country with no anti-pornographic laws and yet could make his wares available online to anybody around the world.

Shakespeare skilfully weaves political Essay Example for Free

Shakespeare skilfully weaves political Essay Shakespeares aim in Act 1 is to establish Hamlet firmly as the pivotal character in the play What do you see as the importance of Act 1? Shakespeare does use Act 1 to introduce some important political and personal issues and themes to the audience. It is important that these are established in the first act so that the audience are aware not only of the political state of Denmark but also the state of the personal affairs of the main characters of the play. There is a lot of evidence to support this first statement concerning political themes and issues. The state of Denmark is immediately established as an unhealthy political body. This is commented upon by many characters, either directly something is rotten in the state of Denmark or as part of a general feeling of unwell I am sick at heart. This theme of political malaise is also shown through the behaviour of the King and Queen. According to Hamlet, they drink so much that other countries clepe [them] drunkards. Drinking alcohol excessively is unhealthy for the body and as Claudius and Gertrude represent the body politic of Denmark, this shows another sign of malaise and weakness of Denmark politically. The actions of the King and Queen offer another political issue as Claudius is not the rightful king of Denmark. He has usurped the rightful King by murder and has therefore gone against the will of God and only tragedy and ruin can come from the rein of this immoral king. We also learn in this act that Claudius is a hypocrite, Hamlet calls him smiling damned villain, and he proves himself to be an untrustworthy king. This is also shown through the behaviour of the citizens as the audience immediately get a strong sense of mistrust and unease from the first scene as there are cries of Whos there? Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself The presence of a ghost also reflects a sense of unease as Old Hamlet is stuck in purgatory and therefore cannot rest. Not only are political themes addressed in the first act but current political issues are raised as well. Shakespeare uses Claudius speech to update the audience on what is going on in Denmark. We understand there is a threat from Fortinbras who is seeking revenge against Denmark, but whether or not this is a serious threat we cannot tell as the King is not trustworthy. He makes the threat seem small and insignificant but other characters talk of preparation that point towards what would seem to be a war or some form of military action. An imminent war also supports the theme of political unrest and uncertainty. Personal issues and themes are raised as well in the first act. The most intriguing being the issue of Hamlets personal wellbeing. From the beginning he appears to be a very troubled individual, he starts his opening soliloquy with the line o that this too too sallied flesh would melt showing an incline towards suicidal feelings and depression-not without just cause though. He exists within a dysfunctional family unit and has just suffered the loss of his father for whom only he appears to be grieving for. He says in this act I do not set my life at a pins fee showing he has no value upon his own life. This points towards self destructive behaviour and as we learn he must seek to avenge his fathers murder, we wonder to what extremes he will go to. In this act we are also introduced to a lot of different characters and the relationships they have with each other. There is the forbidden, but passionate relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. As to the nature of the relationship it appears that it is doomed as her brother and her father warn her against it. This could be because they know the intensity of it as her father talks about when the blood burns and blazes. It could be because Hamlet is a unpredictable character a puffed and reckless libertine and heir to the throne, and Ophelia is somewhat nai ve you speak like a green girl and therefore susceptible to him. It raises the issue and theme of love but at the same time tragedy as it appears doomed from the beginning. Another destructive relationship we see in Act 1 is that between Claudius and Gertrude. Together they are a pair of traitors, Hamlet calls Gertrude o most pernicious woman and Claudius is referred to, by Old Hamlet as that incestuous, that adulterous beast. Through their relationship the theme of betrayal is portrayed as they have both betrayed Old Hamlet by murdering him and through damned incest. As a result of this we learn of Hamlets broken relationship with his mother and the forced, false relationship with Claudius which reflects the on-going theme of appearance versus reality. There is also the personal issue of brotherly betrayal and going against nature, as it is described as unnatural, which is reminiscent of the biblical story of Cane and Abel. And also the devoted relationship between Hamlet and his father which is put to the test as Old Hamlet requests that Hamlet avenge his death. At first Hamlet is eager to do this Haste me to knowt that I with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love may sweep to my revenge but later views it as more of a burden The time is out of joint; O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right but nevertheless feels it is his duty to his father. A similar devotion, tinged with sadness and disappointment is the relationship between Old Hamlet and Gertrude. Although it seems Gertrude has forgotten about Old Hamlet within a month, ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left the flushing in her galled eyes, she married it seems that Old Hamlet still has affections for her. He warns Hamlet taint not thy mind nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught showing that he does not wish Hamlet to hurt or alter his attitude towards his mother is his quest for revenge. Yet his disappointment and hurt is clear as he calls her my most seeming-virtuous Queen. In support of the second statement, Shakespeare also uses Act 1 to establish Hamlet firmly as the pivotal character in the play. He is immediately established as the character who has the ability to drive the plot. He is entrusted with a mission from his dead father and the audience are left at the end of Act1, anticipating what he will do. What happens in the rest of the play largely depends on Hamlets actions. He is the only character so far that the ghost talks to, which shows that Hamlet is an important character and a pivot in the play around which the plot and characters revolve. Not only is Hamlet central to the plot of the play, Shakespeare also uses him to characterise many themes and issues as he is an intriguing character with an added depth that other characters do not have, which is created through Shakespeares use of soliloquies. In act1 alone he has two soliloquies, which permit the audience insight into his personality and innermost thoughts. Yet despite this he still unreliable as he proves to be a mentally unstable character and his actions still provoke many questions. Through this, the theme of appearance versus reality and acting are explored through the character of Hamlet. His supposed ill mental health also represents the theme of sickness and disease that has already been established as a main theme, and of course the theme of madness. Hamlet is singled out through the use of visuals as well as he is the only one on stage wearing black while Claudius is giving his uplifting, motivating speech Good Hamlet, cast thy knighted colour off. This is to reflect Hamlet as being alone in his grief and mourning for his father which also raises the issue of family relationships. The fact that he is the true heir to the throne, and the rightful King of Denmark now that his father is dead, also puts Hamlet at the forefront of the play He is automatically in the centre of many themes that surround this issue of betrayal and revenge. Many relationships centre around Hamlet as well, as depicted in the earlier argument, and sub plots arise from this, for example the forbidden love of Hamlet and Ophelia. I think the importance of Act 1 is summarised by both these statements. Political and personal themes and issues are raised and affirmed and so is the character of Hamlet. Shakespeare does this to introduce the tragic tone of the play and introduce important issues and themes. The main plot of revenge is also established in Act 1, as are the sub plots like the relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet and the threat of war or attack from Fortinbras. Characters are established and now that the audience are aware of all this, they are able to follow the action that ensues in the remainder of the play.

Impact Of Government Intervention In India

Impact Of Government Intervention In India In this study the impact of government intervention toward governance and performance of Indonesian state-owned enterprises was investigated, using 114 of total 141 enterprises from year 2006 to 2009 (456 observations) as sample. The study is cross-sectional to estimate how issues of intellectual property assignment, soft budget constraint and political embeddedness affect the economic performance of enterprises. Form of SOEs, number of ownership, government loan, capital injection, number of government officer seat in board of commissioners, as well as government assignment are assigned as government intervention proxies. On the other hand the firm performance is represented by ROA and ROE. The result shows that government ownership, government loan and government assignment have adverse impact to SOEs performance, on the other hand number of government officer on Board of Commissioner is the only intervention with favorable impact. The impact from the rest of government actions are unclear and need to be tested further. Finally, the paper concludes that the government intervention could be either good or bad depend on some other factors. The possibilities of the reasons are discussed Keywords: Government Intervention, Performance, Indonesia, State-Owned Enterprises 1.Introduction The importance of government intervention to the economy has become endless debate among the economist. In fact there is no single nation, even the most extreme among the pros and cons, pursues the pure economy with full or without government intervention. The difference is just the degree. The role of government in transition economies is undeniably critical, which is one of the common ways is through state owned enterprises (SOEs). It is widely known that SOEs throughout the globe have been suspected as ill-governed business entities signified by such as high level of corruption, lack of transparency, as well as severe inefficient. Many market based economist believe that the main reason of such weaknesses is government intervention. Therefore they actively promote liberalization trough privatization of SOEs. In many cases, it can be one of requirements stipulated by the donor institution such as IMF or World Bank in granting financial help to troubling developing countries. However, it may be not true for all cases. Some countries, such as Singapore and china, are example where government intervention doesnt mean harm SOEs performance. Manageable government intervention toward SOEs can lead to excellent performance. This paper aims to: 1) investigate the level of government intervention in Indonesian SOEs; 2) examine the relationship between the level of government intervention and the performance of state owned enterprises. The paper unfolds as follows. In Section 2 description of government intervention in Indonesian SOEs are presented. In Section 3 the theoretical review are described. Variables and hypothesis will be discussed in section 4, meanwhile section 5 will describe data and methodology. Section 6 contains a discussion of result and findings, and final section will conclude the paper. 2. Literature Review in Government Intervention In developing countries government play three roles simultaneously; first, as an economic player that supply and demand for particular services and good [1], secondly as regulator that posses the sole role to produce, to enact, as well as to enforce regulations [2], and last but not least act as the owner of state-controlled enterprises that produce some goods and services.. Previous studies have identified some benefits of possessing connection to state such as improving the legitimacy of firm [2], getting access to government controlled resources [3], being able to affect regulation formulation [4]. Some other advantages are having opportunity over privileged treatment [5][6], and from favor of having asymmetric information state policies [7]. There are three main issue of government intervention are elaborated in this paper. They are intellectual property aspect through control and ownership, budget constraint aspect, and political embeddedness issue. Each aspect is elaborated in the following paragraphs. 2.1. Intellectual Property Aspect First, In broader scope, some ownership-related issues have been addressed by previous researcher. Those issues are state-private, dispersed-concentrated, and domestic-foreign. Those previous researches mainly investigated the relationship between ownership structures with the performance. Nonetheless, most of those researches have been conducted to test hypothesis in private-owned firms. SOEs are a business institution belongs to a society as whole therefore the benefits of it should bring benefits to the society. The problem is if everyone owns it that means no one actually own as a result no one has incentive to utilize the resources effectively and efficiently. Therefore many economists suggest assigning property right by lowering the government control and ownership [8]. The problem believed related to ownership is principle-agent problem that arises when managers act not on shareholders interest. The deviating management goal often hinders the shareholders goal in maximizing their share value. Previous study reveals that efficient information and structure of incentive as a result of the existence of private ownership is believed to able to reduce agency problem [9]. Also argued in [10] that another reason why full private or semi private enterprises are said to have less agency problem is because those firms have better both external and internal governance mechanisms. External mechanisms include market for labor/manager and capital along with all regulation and their discipline and enforcement on them. In the other hand, internal governance mechanism consists of managerial ownership, reward system, and board composition. Meanwhile both mechanism are not exist for the case of SOEs [8]. Furthermore, agency problem in the SOEs sector is worse than th eir peer in the private sector since there are two agency relationships as a breakdown of owner manager, they are owners-to-politicians and politicians-to-managers [12]. However if the portion of share owned by public is dispersed big number of individual of investors and or there is no adequate provisions of protection toward minority shareholders case of partial privatized in the SOEs may not make significant difference [13]. 2.2. Budget Constraint The template is used Another government involvement in economic activity especially in the context of SOEs is in the issue of soft budget constraint. As described in [14]: The softening of the budget constraint appears when the strict relationship between expenditure and earnings has been relaxed, because excess expenditures over earnings will be paid by some other institution, typically by the state. A further condition of softening is that the decision maker expects such external financial assistance with high probability and this probability is built into his behavior. It is also pointed out in that government in transition economies often exploit SOEs to produce public goods and services n financing the resulting social burdens on SOEs through subsidies and loan policy [15]. From several previous research, causes of soft budget constraint can be categorized into some, such as decentralized [16], paternalism [14], and public ownership in socialist economies [17], monopolistic market [18], policy burden [19]. In the context of Indonesian SOEs, two latter causes are relevant. Some particular industries have been still monopolized by one or more SOEs not because of the real competitiveness but just because the government has not liberalized the market yet, for instance seaport, airport, and defense industry. Monopoly also can rise when the industry is not lucrative enough to attract investment from private player. Normally those sectors do not give normal profit to be sustainable in the industry. Consequently, it is related to third causes, when the government wants to execute some economy or political program that may not be done unless having to involve SOE, in this case the SOEs have to shoulder political burden. It is said in [20] soft budget constraint will cause the firm become less responsive to price, technological changes, and unfavorable external condition. They all are root causes of organizational slack. In addition, another consequence of soft budget constraints is that SOEs may not efficient in utilizing their finance resources since capital market cannot discipline SOEs. to format your paper and style the text. All margins, column widths, line spaces, and text fonts are prescribed; please do not alter them. You may note peculiarities. For example, the head margin in this template measures proportionately more than is customary. This measurement and others are deliberate, using specifications that anticipate your paper as one part of the entire proceedings, and not as an independent document. Please do not revise any of the current designations. 2.3 Political Embeddedness As mentioned earlier the relationship between the state and the SOEs is more than just ownership matter. Its position as the regulator in the same time causes the situation, so-called political embeddedness that refers to technical, bureaucratic, or emotional ties to the state and its actors. It includes wide-ranging and intricate association; official and unofficial, personal and organizational ties to the state [21]. Given existence of principle-agent problem mentioned earlier, one way utilized by the shareholder to ensure the management work on owner-based interest is through supervisory board. However, it has been quiet common for the case of SOEs that the members of supervisory board mostly have been selected among bureaucrats from any departments or politicians from any political parties. As stated previously, the presence more official or politician may just deteriorates the existing agency problem because in many circumstances actually there is nothing wrong with the policy, instead the politician misbehavior. In another word, SOEs might be ideal place of rent seeking activities from the member of board of commissioner. From positive side, existence of supervisory member that represent any associated department can become an effective tool to pursue check and balance in managerial process in the company [22]. However, in the transition economy amid the absence of law enforcement toward misbehavior, the existence of more supervisory member will exacerbate the agency problem because of self-interested maximizing politicians or bureaucrats. 3. Government Intervention in Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises Established with a strong legal base, namely, on the article 33 of the countys constitution SOEs have been playing a considerably important role in Indonesian economic development reign. Operating in almost all fields of business, ranging from finance, banking, mining, transportation, high-tech technology to agro-industry, the enterprises have been contributing in several ways. More than 800 thousands workers have been employed across the SOEs. It accounted for % of employment. Then, more than IDR 150 billions of taxes and IDR 28,6 billions of dividend, both combined represented 3,8 % of Indonesian GDP, were paid to the state budget in year 2009. This amount has not been included community development fund allocated from firms profit for alleviating the poverty. However, mentioned contributions do not mean that the ISOEs are in sound governance and performance. Even though Indonesian SOEs is big in term of size, they are mostly weak in term of competitiveness. By employing more than IDR 2.000 billion total assets and IDR 525 billion total equity in year 2009, Indonesian SOEs proceeded only IDR 78 billion net income. It means SOEs accounted for less than 4% of ROA and 15 % of ROE. Compared to their competitors in each industry sector, SOEs has been outperformed. Further inquiry found that 20 SOEs accounted dominantly for almost 90% of the total in term of both net income and total assets. In addition, among those SOEs there are dozens of SOE suffering with huge loss in their financial statement. Revealed facts strengthen public stereotype toward SOEs as inefficient, bureaucratic, less responsive, lack of skillful management, lack of transparency institution. Even though all firms are regarded as state-owned firm, the degree of government involvement to the firms is different one with another. It can be seen from the types and the level of government actions imposed to each firm. Assuming that the form of enterprises and number of state ownership can be used to measure the level of government intervention, in year 2009 Indonesian SOEs comprises 14 government agencies, 111 limited company, 16 listing company. Meanwhile in term of ownership Indonesian SOEs consist of 112 wholly owned, 29 partially owned (not including 19 firms with state ownership less than 50% excluded from this study). Looking at the trend, the number of listing company has been increasing from 12 firms in year 2006 to 16 firms in year 2009. Even the number is supposed to be higher if privatization program was done well for during period of time. For many reason, there are many SOEs ended up with financial difficulties but at the same time unable or unwilling to find external financial resources. At such condition, government usually comes to rescue the troubling enterprises by endowing with capital injection or low-soft government loan. Government steadily poured the almost-bankrupt SOEs with additional capital injection in cash as much as IDR 1,9 trillions per year on average since 2005 to 2010 (accumulatively IDR 9.9 trillion at the end of year 2010). Some SOEs obtained non-cash capital injection, for instance in form of fixed assets transferred from associated ministries that purchased it by using annual the state budget. The latter case is not always advantageous to receiving SOEs, even it is frequently harmful since the transferred assets may be either not needed or not fit. Moreover, to meet SOEs need on working capital and capital expenditure, government also has been providing soft loan in the sense at very low rate and less rigid requirement in comparison with commercial credit rate. In the context of Indonesian SOEs, loan mainly consists of Investment Fund and Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA). The two types of loan principally are two step loan; foreign donor to government and then government to SOEs. The outstanding balance at the end of year 2008 is approximately IDR 49.8 trillion to 85 SOEs. Part of that amount, which is around IDR 15.5 trillion or 31%, (31 SOEs) was default at that time. Another type of government intervention is to assign some government programs to SOEs. The program is so called public service obligation (PSO). Around 10 SOEs has been involved to execute government assignment in availing food, fertilizer, energy, and transportation. In turn government transfer hundreds trillions as compensation to the SOEs which is including in it is cost of the program (acknowledge as subsidy for society) plus some percentage of margin for the SOEs. For instance in year 2009 government allocated almost IDR 180 trillion for delivering public service obligation program (PSO) with SOEs as the executor. *Identify applicable sponsor(s) here. (dispensable)4. Variables and Hypothesis To address the issue of intellectual property assignment/ownership control, two variables are employed. They are form of SOEs (FORM) and number of government ownership (OWNERSHIP). In term of form, SOEs are categorized into three groups of enterprises. Those are public agency, company limited, and listing company limited. The main difference among them is the primary goal and form of ownership. Public agency is the firm which its ownership has not been divided into a number of shares. Its main activity is to avail public goods or services as a part of government program. The second form of SOEs form is company limited which is the ownership of the firm has been divided into a number of shares. Although there is still possibility that the firms will become vehicle of government program, however, the main goals of firms are profit maximization. The only different with the last form of SOEs is the shares have been tradeable in capital market. In another hand, the way of strengthening pr operty right also can be done through releasing state ownership and control. It is conducted by inviting other parties such as employee, management, local government, or even public to posses SOEss share. It has been elaborated by some economist that a source of inefficiencies is state control over the firms. It is said that the government is more likely to distract the resources of the firm to attain its own political or socio-economic goals [23]. In addition, government control over enterprises is also suspected to have association with the absence of incentive and lack of monitoring for managers to perform better [24]. Moreover, different forms of state ownership are also associated with the level of government officials involvement in the process of corporate governance and it is likely to have different performance [25]. Form transformation and privatization can be regarded as one way of defining property right. Property right theory suggests that the clearer (more direct and unattenuated) the property rights to be defined, the better the way of utilizing the assets (governance) will be [26]. Hypothesis 1a : Form transformation from public agency to company limited and listing company limited will provide negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 1b : Form transformation from public agency to company limited and listing company limited will provide positive impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 2a : Decreasing number of state-ownership on SOEs will give negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 2b : Decreasing number of state-ownership on SOEs will give positive impact toward SOEs performance; With regard to soft budget constraint aspect, this study employed two independent variable, namely capital injection (CAPITAL) and government debt (GOVLOAN). In most cases, if SOEs are facing severe financial hardship the state will interfere either by providing loan or capital injection as last resort sources. In contrast to the case commercial bank loan that requires some rigid requirement in obtaining credit and of course with market rate, the government frequently releases many requirements so that the SOEs will be easier to get loan at subsidized interest rate. This government loan present financial benefit to SOEs, mainly because of lower interest rate, no collateral required and lower transaction cost. In case of capital injection the advantages enjoyed by SOEs are even bigger than government loan. Nonetheless, both types of government actions can creates disincentive for managers to govern the firm properly and efficiently including in finding needed financial resources. This may also hinder sound development of capital or financial market. Therefore following hypotheses are set: Hypothesis 3a : Government intervention to SOEs in form of government loan will give negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 3b : Government intervention to SOEs in form of government loan will give positive impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 4a : Government intervention to SOEs in form of capital injection will provide negative impact toward SOEs performance; Hypothesis 4b : Government intervention to SOEs in form of capital injection will provide positive impact toward SOEs performance; In this paper, the issue of political embeddedness is examined by employing two variables; involvement of SOEs in executing public service obligation (PSO) and number of government officers seating in the board of commissioner (OFFICERS). PSO is government program to avail the basic need of the people such as electricity, food, medicine, fuel, transportation and soon. Doing so will provide SOEs both benefit as well as cost. The appointed SOEs will financially benefit from captive revenue plus certain percentage of profit given over each particular government assignment. Nevertheless, it also implicitly grants some cost SOEs. SOEs that heavily rely on government assignment as the main source of revenue will be more likely to have unproven competitiveness compared to their private owned peers. In the long run, it also will harm financially. Moreover, too much business transaction with government and its bureaucrats may induce political rent seeking activities that undermine SOEs compet itiveness. With regard to composition of board of commissioner, most of Indonesian SOEs have active or retired officers as well politicians from ruling political parties. It also derives both benefit and cost to SOEs simultaneously. The presence official on the board can be source of legitimacy and facilitator in passing government policy to SOEs and in delivering message from SOEs in effort of influencing the policymakers that ultimately benefit SOEs [4]. Even more, this also can provide SOEs access to resources (such as government project) controlled by department or ministry which is the officials work. On the other hand, Public choice theory states that politician will maximize their interest in gaining more votes so that the firm with less political intervention will be more likely in increasing search for better governance [27]. In addition, as representative of the government, acting officials usually will act on the basis of government interest that is probably not in line with firm objective. Additionally, as argued in [28] the presences of politician exacerbate the agency problem. This means that the presence of officials on the BOC may be perceived with significant costs for the firm. The summation of benefit wrapped and cost burdened will be net impact of political embeddedness. Hypothesis 5a: Public service obligation will give negative impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 5b: Public service obligation will give positive impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 6a: Number of active or retired officers as well as politician on BOC will result negative impact toward SOEs Hypothesis 6b: Number of active or retired officers as well as politician on BOC will result positive impact toward SOEs As dependent variable, this study employs Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) as performance measures. Thanks to its simplicity in calculating as well as its explanatory power both measures were used in previous numerous researches, including for Indonesian SOEs [29]. For control variable, equity is selected as the only variable to represent the size of SOEs. 4. Data and Methodology Financial data were collected from annual report of 114 SOEs (of total 141 SOEs) for year 2006-2009 (456 observations). This sample covers almost 97% of population both in term of assets and sales. The way in giving score for independent variable as follows: SOEs is scored 1, 2, and 3 if their form is public agency, company limited, and listed company limited consecutively; Ownership (OWNERS) is represented in percentage of state ownership, range from 0 to 1; Capital injection (CAPINJ) and government loan (GOVLOAN) are dummy variables. If the SOE did NOT get additional injection in form of cash or noncash capital as well as debt to capital conversion (including debt haircut) within last five years score 0 is given and 1 otherwise for CAPINJ. Meanwhile if there is NO government long term loan balance in the SOEs balance sheet score 0 is provided and 1 otherwise for GOVLOAN; Number of officers or politician (OFFBOC) who seat on board of commissioners is expressed in the number as it is; PSO is also dummy variable which is SOEs that conduct government assignment is valued 1 and 0 otherwise; Equity value has been transformed into ln value to reduce the possibility of multicoliniarity problem; Type of industry which the SOEs operate is also valued using dummy variable, 0 for good production/manufacture and 1 for service provider. Once all data have been identified and inputted, those independent variables are tested to examine the relationship toward dependent variable using ordinary least square method. The regression equations are written as follows: ROE = ÃŽÂ ±0 + ÃŽÂ ±1FORM + ÃŽÂ ±2GOVLOAN + ÃŽÂ ±3OFFBOC + ÃŽÂ ±4PSO + ÃŽÂ ±5CAPINJ + ÃŽÂ ±6OWNERS + ÃŽÂ ±7log.EQUITY + ÃŽÂ ±8CORE (1) ROA = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ ²1FORM + ÃŽÂ ²2GOVLOAN + ÃŽÂ ²3OFFBOC + ÃŽÂ ²4PSO + ÃŽÂ ²5CAPINJ + ÃŽÂ ²6OWNERS + ÃŽÂ ²7log.EQUITY + ÃŽÂ ²8CORE (2) 5. Result and Findings Table 1 shows the descriptive statistic and correlation. Average ROE of ISOEs, 0,085, is relatively low compared to their private competitor. Meanwhile, average number of government officer and politician on board of commissioner is 3.32. Furthermore, mean of state ownership on SOEs that is 92%, partly because this study doesnt include SOEs with state-minority ownership, less than 50%, but mainly it shows that majority of SOEs are still wholly-owned by the state. With respect to form, most SOEs are in form of limited corporations. In term of core business which SOEs operate, there were more SOEs doing business in service industry compared to manufacture industry. The rest of variables are dummy variable so that the means just show the relative proportion over the observation. For instance, mean of PSO is 0.12 meaning the percentage of SOE executing special government program is around 12% of population. Table1: Descriptive statistics and correlations for ROE as dependent variable Table 2: From table 2, regression run for testing the relationship between government intervention and ROE shows that using 307 observations (after omitting some outliers) roughly 57% variability of dependent variable, ROE, can be explained by all combined independent variable, this score is acceptably high. Employing Variance In ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ation Factor (VIF) and Tolerance statistic critical scores that may signal problem with multicollinearity has not been approached by both scores [30]. Looking at the significance, except GOVLOAN and CAPINJ, the rest of independent variables have statistically significant effect toward ROE. Although FORM and PSO are not significant at 5% confidential level, however, both variables are quite significant at 10% confidential levels. Therefore, in this paper both variables are still considered as significant. Table 2: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROE as dependent variable From the second equation, which is the only difference from table 1 is that the former uses ROA as dependent variable instead of ROE. The result displayed on the table 3 shows almost similar figure. The ROA score is considerably low at 3.2%. What makes slightly difference is the number of valid observation after taking out the outliers. With regard to correlation, there is no sharp correlation among variables. It support argument that multicollinearity problem is negligible. Table 3: Descriptive statistics and correlations for ROA as dependent variable The second regression results moderately high r square, 0.450. A couple outliers were identified until reaching valid observation is 270. After considering F score, Tolerance and VIF score the model is judged statistically fit. Among predetermined independent variable only CORE was not significant. Table 3: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROA as dependent variable From the result of two different equation of regression discussed above, the impact of each aspect of government intervention can be summarized as follows: Table 4: cooefficients, t statistic, colinearity for ROA as dependent variable Independent Variable Dependent Variable ROE ROA FORM Positive Negative OWNERSHIP Negative Negative CAPINJ Negative (insignificant) Positive GOVLOAN Negative (insignificant) Negative OFFBOC Positive Positive PSO Negative Negative Ln EQUITY Positive Positive CORE Positive Negative (insignificant) Overall, comparison of the result from two different tests provide strong support for Hypotheses 2b, 5a, 6a, and reject Hypotheses 2a, 5b, and 6b. However some hypotheses are left with unclear answer due to the mixed up result. 6. Discussions From the finding described earlier form has positive impact over ROE, meaning that reducing the government control signified by transformation of SOEs form is more likely to give good impact of SOEs the performance. However, the opposite result was found for second equation which is ROA as dependent variable. The possible reason is SOEs with less control from the government will have more flexibility in raising capital either through equity capitalization (for instance, through initial public offering) or by leveraging debt. SOEs with less government control seem to finance their project using more debt rather than equity. As a result it will keep their equity low so that it can push their ROE higher. Interestingly, when performance measured by using ROA the opposite result prevails. This paper argue SOEs with less government control become less conservative in selecting project in the way that fund obtained from debt/loan have been invested in the project with low return. Not surprisingly, both equations show consistent results regarding the impact of ownership toward performance. The result show more number of government ownership will lead to poorer performance. The presence of other shareholders other than government is expected to be able to enhance governance of the firm through improvement in monitoring, transparency, responsibility, and so on. This is especially for the case of Indonesian privatized SOEs as finding of previous research [31]. With respect to capital injection, the result is mixed up. This variable is statistically significant in relation to ROA but insignificant in the case of ROE with different direction of impact. This finding need to be further investigated by employing other performance variable or by applying qualitative approach. Similarly, the impact of government loan over performance is also indecisive. It is because only one test, which ROA as dependent variable, demonstrates significant result. However, both tests show the same negative impact of such kind of government interference. It can be conclude that the cost of obtaining and optimizing government loan exceed the financial benefit that may be able to reaped. Even possible financial benefit from low interest and low transaction cost of loan acquirement may be offset by illegal transfer paid to rent seeker in bureaucracy. This finding reinforces the previous research conclusion which is soft budget constraint will create conducive environm ent for spoiled managerial behavior [20]. This managers have no incentive to run the firm efficiently, reluctant to compete fairly which will severely harm the firm competitiveness in the long run. Interestingly, the findings with respect to number of government officers occupy seats on board of commissioner appears to be different from common belief that suspect that the presence of officer on board of commissioners is likely to worsen the situation and pe

Impacts of Mothers’ Support for SEN Children

Impacts of Mothers’ Support for SEN Children CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Becoming a mother  is a wonderful, exhilarating experience. Raising children brings new meaning to every moment of your life and depth to your experience as a human being. Equally to become parents and to nurture a newborn baby is a great responsibility. â€Å"As parents, we develop hopes and dreams about who our baby will be in the world and how we will be as parents. This process of creating an internal life for our baby and ourselves is a natural part of what all parents go through. We do not expect that our baby will be born with, or develop, a disability or special need; when that happens, much of what we imagined and planned is forever changed† (Abilitypath.org, 2015). Special Educational needs and disability is a reality but much more than it to a parent, it is a huge responsibility to parents. â€Å"†¦it is not the child’s disability that handicaps and disintegrates families; it is the way they react to it and to each other† (Dickman Gordon, 1985, p. 109). The term Special Educational Needs (SEN) has a legal definition which is set out in the Education Act 1996 and the Children and Family Act 2014. It applies to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it significantly harder for them to learn or access education than most other children of their age. So Special Educational Needs could mean a child has (Find.redbridge.gov.uk, 2015): Learning difficulties- in acquiring basic skills in schools. Emotional and behavioral difficulties- making friends or relating to adults or behaving properly in school. Specific learning difficulties- with reading, writing, number work or understanding information. Sensory or physical needs- such as hearing or visual impairments, which might affect them in school. Communication problems- in expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying. Medical or health conditions- which may slow down a child’s progress and/or involves treatment that affects his or her education. Early childhood is a crucial time of development for all children, including those with special educational needs. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) â€Å"Children with special needs may have mild learning disabilities or profound cognitive impairment; food allergies or terminal illness; developmental delays that catch up quickly or remain entrenched; occasional panic attacks or serious psychiatric problems† Terri Mauro, Our Children with Special Needs Expert retrieved from http://specialchildren.about.com/od/gettingadiagnosis/p/whatare.htm. Special Educational Needs include disabilities like Autistic Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), Cerebral Palsy, Deafness/Hearing Loss, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disabilities, Visual Impairments and so on. The study focus specifically on the impacts of mothers’ support on special children in the dissertation; as acknowledged by Gilliom et al. (2002), mothers tend to be responsible for the majority of childrearing in most families. According to Dudley-Marling, â€Å"Fathers were not immune to the effects of school problems, but mothers, not fathers, talked about losing sleep worrying about their child’s schooling. Mothers, not fathers, reported that worry over school troubles frequently intruded on their lives at work. It was also a mother, not a father, who told me that she worried so much about her son’s struggles in school that she was not eating† (pp. 195). Koegel et al., (1992), study found the following: among specific concerns expressed by mothers are worries about their child’s welfare in the years ahead, the child’s ability to function independently, and the community’s acceptance of their child. Disability is a part of the human condition. Responses to disability have changed since the 1970s, prompted largely by the self-organization of people with disabilities and by the growing tendency to see disability as a human rights issue. Approximately 800 million young children worldwide are affected by biological, environmental and psychosocial conditions that can limit their cognitive development. In Europe, recent estimates place the number of children with special educational needs (SEN) at 15 million. From the MAURITIUS EDUCATION STATISTICS (2014), we came to know that as in Mauritius at March 2014, there were 59 Special Education Needs schools in the Republic of Mauritius registered with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. Twelve schools were run by Ministry, while the other 47 were run by NGOs. The number of students enrolled in the 59 special schools stood at 2,291 (of whom 63% were boys) as at March 2014 compared to 2,008 in March 2013, representing an increase of 14%. Retrieved from http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/StatsbySubj/Documents/ei1132/education.pdf. Early childhood is a crucial time of development for all children, including those with special educational needs. Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand 1990) The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (Salamanca, Spain 1994) LITERATURE REVIEW ‘‘The mother-child relationship is considered one of the long-lasting and enduring interactions in which basic human development can effectively occur.’’ (Bronfenbrenner Ceci, 1994) ‘Parental adaptation to a child’s disability is a complex, lifelong process, both for parents as well as other family members’ (Hauser-Cram et al. 2001; Seltzer Heller, 1997). From the dawn of human history, mothers have been at the heart of human development. It is mothers who help the children in developing the first basic competencies, development of trust, identity and worth. Being our first emotional and social support mechanism, our first teacher, our first health care provider, the mothers act ‘as both the protector and nurturer’. Mothers remains and will remain the most powerful force for special needs children. It is said that that parental involvement in the form of ‘at-home good parenting’ has a significant positive effect on children’s achievement. This study will focus on whether the support of the mothers can improve and have a positive impact on the special children’s overall skills such as social skills, educational field and also personal lives. Researchers have evidence for the positive effects of parent involvement on children, families, and school when schools and parents continuously support and encourage the childrens learning and development (Eccles Harold, 1993; Illinois State Board of Education, 1993). According to Henderson and Berla (1994) (p. 160), ‘the most accurate predictor of a students achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent to which that students family is able to: 1) Create a home environment that encourages learning, 2) Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their childrens achievement and future careers, 3) Become involved in their childrens education at school and in the community’. Dubois et al (1994) showed that family support and the quality of parent-child relationships significantly predicted school adjustment in a sample of 159 young US adolescents (aged 10 –12) followed in a two year longitudinal study. De Garmo et al (1999) found suppo rt for the model of parental influence on to educational achievement for young children. According to De Garmo et al, (1999, p.1233), ‘Parenting practices act as mediators of educational achievement for the children.’ There are several articles and researches that testify that maternal support do have positive impacts on their children. The mother-child relationship precedes learning opportunities outside the home in facilitating development among preschool children. (Claspi et al., 2004). Authors increasingly argue that mothers can promote preschooler’s coping ability, if they are supportive and non-punitive in how they react to negative emotions (Eisenberg, Fables, Carlo Karbon, 1992). ‘Nurturing a child early in life may help him or her develop a larger hippocampus, the brain region important for learning, memory and stress responses, a new study shows.’ by Joseph Castro, Live Science Contributor (January 30, 2012). How a Mothers Love Changes a Childs Brain. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/18196-maternal-support-child-brain.html. We can now say with confidence that the psychosocial environment has a material impact on the way the human brain develops, said by Dr. Joan Luby, the studys lead researcher and a psychiatrist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. It puts a very strong wind behind the sail of the idea that early nurturing of children positively affects their development. ‘Parental acceptance-rejection theory (PAR Theory) is an evidence-based theory of socialization and lifespan development that attempts to predict and explain major causes, consequences, and other correlates of interpersonal—especially parental—acceptance and rejection within the United States and worldwide’ (Rohner, 1986, 2004; Rohner and Rohner, 1980). Parental acceptance- rejection is commonly represented along a continuum representing the quality of the affectional bonds between parents and their children and with the physical, verbal, and symbolic behaviors that parents use to express their feeling. According to PAR Theory the need for positive response or parental acceptance not only persists throughout childhood it exerts a predictable impact on self-concept of the individual. The theory predicts the existence of positive correlation between parental acceptance rejection and seven self-concepts of children / adults: Hostility/ Aggression, Dependency, Negative Self-Esteem, Negative Self Adequacy, Emotional Unresponsiveness, Emotional Instability and Negative Worldview (Rohner 1986; Rohner, Khaleque, Cournoyer 2003a). A vast research literature shows that the quality of parent-child relationships characterized by parental acceptance (love) and rejection (lack of love) is a major predictor of psychological functioning and development for both children and adults universally (Khaleque Rohner, 2002; Rohner, 1975, 2002; Rohner Rohner, 1980). Montes Halterman (2007) reported that despite increased stress levels and diminished quality of communication, mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder reported higher level of relationship closeness with their child compared with mothers in the general United States population. Ainsworth others (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters Wall, 1978; Sroufe, 1985) have emphasized the role of maternal sensitivity and responsiveness in the development of secure infant attachment. The findings and researches mentioned above point toward one direction, that is maternal support do have an impact on children. If the studies advocates for the positive impacts of mother support, then the results should be same for the maternal support to special educational needs children. In a famous Reality TV show SATYAMEV JAYATE, one episode -‘Satyamev jayate- Persons with Disabilities- We Can Fly’ shed light on the lives on people with disabilities, their parents support and where they have reached today is all due to their parental love and support. For a normal person, parental or maternal support may not hold great importance but for special children, the support of parents means the world for them. Retrieved from http://www.satyamevjayate.in/persons-with-disabilities/personswithdisabilities.aspx. Among the several interviews conducted by Aamir Khan, many of the disabled persons dedicated the success of lives to their parents. The interviews not only portray the journey of the disabled persons but equally show that their parents support became their strength. A little disabled child, Shreya Chaturvedi of New Delhi said ‘Anyone loves me or not, but my mom loves me a lot†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Through the interview, the child speaks about her motherâ⠂¬â„¢s unlimited efforts and attempts. And the most moving and motivational interview was of Mr. Sai Prasad Vishwanathan from Hyderabad. He is a gold medalist from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, and has a business degree from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Throughout the interview, he talked about his parental support and its impacts on him and his future. He says ‘I do not remember my parents being upset. I do not ever recall that they were despaired. They were always telling ‘‘you must study. Because you are still very ordinary. But we are with you and together we can strive to make you an excellent because it’s the only thing that we can do for you. The rest, you must do for yourself and that they have done for me.’’ Almost all the participants in the documentary admitted that the maternal support meant a lot for them and this is what kept them going in the tou gh journey of their lives. This reality show not only portrayed the lives of disabled persons but equally showed that be it from any part of the world, India or Mauritius, parental and maternal support is the key through which special persons can shine and progress in lives just like any normal person. Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas is a world-renowned autism expert who is always trying to come up with new treatment and means to improve the lives of autistic children and their families. His Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis is based on 40 years of research and is backed by published studies showing half of children with autism who receive this intensive treatment become indistinguishable from other children on tests of cognitive and social skills by the time they completed first grade. According to 1999 report from the New York State health department ‘‘Educating Children with Autism’’ ( 2001 ), ‘parents typically are active partners in their child’s education to ensure that skills learned in the educational program transfer to the home setting and to teach their child the many behaviors that are best mastered in the home and community.’ The study of Lovaas et al., (1973), Schopler and Reichler. (1971) showed there are recognition that pare nts are partners in an educational process that requires close collaboration between home and school, which favors the fact that maternal support does indeed have a very deep and positive impact on the special child and their welfare. Ivar Lovaas equally support the fact that Parental Involvement and Home-based Treatment is better for the autistic children as it help them much more. In a study of families who had a son with autism under the age of 6 years referred to the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children) program, Bristol and colleagues (1988) found that, while fathers assumed some role in children’s care, mothers carried a much greater burden. Koegel et al. (1996) reported that teaching parents how to use pivotal response training as part of their applied behavioral analysis instruction resulted in happier parent-child interactions, more interest by the parents in the interaction, less stress, and a more positive communication style. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Disability and special needs were then, associated with shame and considered as punishment both for the disabled and special children and their families (Kofi Marfo, Sylvia Walker, and Bernard L. Charles, 1983). But it is undeniable that however the children may be, they will never be a burden on their parents as the latter love their children unconditionally. In another words, parents are the strength and prime support of the children. A family is far more than a collection of individuals starting a specific physical and psychological space. The main purpose of this study will be the impact of maternal support on special educational needs children’s welfare. There is this misconception about special educational needs children that they are useless and worthless but what they are unaware of is that with the support of parents and special educational teachers; they can perform as good as any normal children. The main focus will be on the mothers of special educational needs chi ldren as it is globally known that it the mothers who invest the most in a child’s life. As we say, education first starts at home itself. 1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to investigate on how the maternal support, help and care can help special educational needs children to learn, change and adapt to the everyday tasks and activities. Objectives of the study: To understand how mothers support their special educational needs children and its impact. To investigate the positive changes and improvements brought by the mothers’ support in their children’s lives. To identify the difficult tasks that the special children were unable to perform earlier but can now handle it with the assistance and teaching of their mothers and teachers. 1.4 RATIONALE There have been literature about the Special educational needs children and also about their parents but there have been less studies being done on the impact of maternal support on the special child. This study’s aim is to shed light on the positive improvement and changes that occurs in the special children and show the importance of maternal support on Special educational needs children. In-depth interview is used in order to grasp the essence of meaning and also to allow the mothers to narrate the improvement and changes they witnessed with their special child.

My Favorite Seasons: Summer and Winter Essay example -- Personal Narrat

If I had to choose my favorite season it would be a very difficult choice. All four seasons are unique in their own special way, such as the climate, scenery, and activities. Although I enjoy the warmer months of summer, I also enjoy the cooler months of winter. In a sense, I have narrowed my favorite seasons down to two; summer and winter. The biggest difference between summer and winter is the climate. One of the main attractions of summer is the warm weather. I like being outside on a bright sunny day, and letting the sun warm my body. I also like that we get an occasional thunder storm. The excitement fills the air when I see the thunder clouds rolling in. The sound of thunder, and the lighting shows that come from the storms are fascinating. On the other hand winter i...

Character Analysis Of The Scar :: essays research papers

Most people believe that there exists at least one person in the world who matches their personality exactly. Others believe that for every person there is an exact opposite or an evil twin so to speak. In the case of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, they fall somewhere in between these two definitions. Both were sinners, and yet the people glorified Dimmesdale and cast Hester away, only because they were misinformed. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are, at first glance totally different, however upon closer inspection, they become increasingly more similar. Lifestyle is a trait everyone shares, however the trait itself can vary from person to person. Hester lived a life of exile and seclusion. The townspeople no longer wanted her. She was representative of sin and for that she had to be â€Å"cleansed† from the great Puritan body that was Boston. Dimmesdale, however, lived the life of a hero. He was, in the opinion of the people, the closest thing anyone of them had to God. He was often showered with praise and loved by the community. They did lead similar lifestyles, in the respect that they were both living a life based on keeping secrets. Hester was keeping secret the fact that Chillingworth was her husband. Chillingworth was trying to learn the identity of Pearl’s father â€Å"under the semblance of a friend and helper, and had availed himself of the opportunities thus afford to tapering with the delicate springs or Mr. Dimmsdale’s nature" (Hawthorne 173). Dimmesdale kept secret the fact that he was Pearl’s father and Hester’s â€Å"accomplice in sin†. Keeping the secret began to degrade Dimmesdale’s health, however even at his weakest, Dimmsdale’s secret was not revealed to the public (Hawthorne 285). All people share character traits, however much like lifestyle, the traits themselves can be as varied as the colors of the rainbow. In Hester’s case, her main character trait was her submission to the punishment of the â€Å"A†, however through this submission, she became strong. After seven years of abuse, she learned to live with the shame. She wore the â€Å"A† even after there was general acceptance of her in the colony. She also became caring. She made clothes for many people and always helped the needy. Dimmesdale begins the story as a hypocritical being, and he remains so until the end of the book. He engaged in the very same sin as Hester, but he makes her the topic of every sermon, and preaches to her about the wrongnesses of evil.

What is the challenge in the healthcare

Improving the quality of the health care system is among one of the prevailing challenges that United States. The health care system plays a major role in the society because the lives of the people depend on it. Improvement in the standard quality of health care as well as increase in medical knowledge enables people to live a fuller lives (Bernanke, 2008). Health care involves the prevention and treatment of ailments as well as the preservation of mental and physical well-being through services offered by the health and medical profession (The Free Dictionary, 2004). The quality of health care is a very significant aspect which affects the country scientifically, socially and economically. Health care is not only confined to the prevention and treatment of sickness but it also covers the health care organizations and associations. Lack of health care access is among one of the many challenges that the health care reform must address. As of 2006, studies show that almost forty seven million Americans or sixteen percent of the population lacks insurance which means to say that they get less health care attention than those people with insurance thereby causing their health to suffer. It is a well-known fact that the quality of medical technology and research in the United States is very high, however, the highest level of effectiveness may only be achieved if there is information dissemination and consistencies in policy implementation(Bernanke, 2008). Since the quality of health care is a global concern, then the answer to the problem should be apt to encompass global barriers. Countries from around the globe should gather to surpass economic and political barriers and unite to form a strategic plan in order to overcome and address this problem.

Consumers Markets and Culture Essay

Compare and contrast the changing experiences of consumers from the year 1900 until present day. How do the theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber help to explain the changing consumer experience and the emergence of contemporary consumer society? â€Å"Until the eighteenth century the word consumption meant waste†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Williams, 1976) As consumers our experience of consumption today is exponentially different from that at the turn of the twentieth century in the recently urbanised and industrialised modern nation. Consumer culture is traditionally described in terms of the arrival of mass consumption as a counterpart to mass production as a result of the Fordist system (Miles, S). Choice is one of the biggest factors of the changing experience for consumers, during the 1950’s after the austerity years the now aging baby boomers were part of large scale changes to consumption patterns. For example as women began to enter the work place leaving less time to run the home, products were being developed to ease the burden of housework, washing machines, fridges and vacuum cleaners were among these products; the ever-growing use of hire purchase to enable consumers to afford these luxury products, combined with Fordist methods of mass production reducing the manufacturing cost of the products allowed the economy to grow strong once again. As television grew in popularity advertising was increasingly utilised by businesses to sell their products creating a far more impersonal environment while shopping for products. From this time the standard of living has been increasing up until present day (The Economist, 2008) with the aspirations of society increasing further still. Marx presents his theories as a materialist understanding of society, explaining capitalism as an unequal system based on the exploitation of the lower class (Abercrombie N et al, 2006), a system based on surplus value being extracted, the capitalist’s entire aim is to maximise the gap between value produced and value paid for (Slater D, 1997). Which a hundred years  ago meant using Fordist methods of production to bring down costs and reducing the skill required of workers which in turn reduced the compensation needed for workers. The Fordist method of production first seen around 1911 (Cohen and Kennedy, 2007), Alienated workers from the act of production. In his theory of Alienation Marx describes human essence as being realised through labour (Abercrombie et al, 2006) and working as an alien activity that offers no intrinsic satisfaction as the worker has no control over what is produced; this loss of ownership and loss of control over the workers own life due to managem ent organising and enforcing the labour. Where during the early twentieth our working classes were exploited and Alienated, now capitalists in the quest towards decreasing wages and widening the gap between value produced and value paid for are increasing looking to less economically developed countries where costs of production, epically workers are much lower. The counties known as BRIC economic group (Brazil, Russia, India and China). By indiscriminately consuming as a society, this encourages the expansion of exploitation of foreign working classes. Bauman proposes post-industrial societies are governed by ‘aesthetics of consumption’ rather than ‘ethics of production’ (Cohen & Kennedy, 2007). Organisations such as Apple, Nike and similarly Primark are guilty of this system, the former two retailing premium priced products produced at the lowest cost possible cost, by attaching symbolic meaning to the products. Primark produces clothes at the lowest cost possible which are retailed for the lowest cost possible; consumers buy into this system with no feelings of guilt, as these products allow consumers to display possessions acting as social glue possibly due in part to the increasing Alienation of workers as society is increasingly detached from production with the service based economy we ‘enjoy’ today. Durkheim’s concept of Anomie is similar to Alienation, discussing Anomic suicide due to people no knowing how they fit in with society where possessions are used as social glue allowing consumers to display their beliefs and social groups. It is harder to relate Marx’s definitions of the class system as the proximity to production is becoming increasingly distant for most of society. â€Å"Every capitalist is trying to decrease the wages and consumption of their own workers and entice everyone else’s workers to consume to their limit and  beyond.† (Slater, D 1997) Marxism, as other modern economic theories believe, that the production and consumption of products is intrinsically connected, in the sense that incomes from production and consumer buying power are two sides of the same coin.’ (Slater, D 1997). This theory is particularly relevant now due to the current economic climate. As the recession began in 2008 many workers lost their jobs or suffered significant cuts in wages this resulted in a widespread reduction in consumer spending as a result society ended up a cycle of ever decreasing demand where the government had to intervene to stimulate spending. Of the stimulus the VAT reduction had an impact by reducing the cost of products, to reduce ever growing back up of cars as they still needed to be produced to keep the workers in employment the car scrapage scheme was introduced temporarily (Lloyds, 2009). In this scheme two thousand pounds was offered if a old car was scrapped in exchange for a new car. Capitalists driven to mass production, not by greed but conditions of capitalism (Edwards T, 2000), if not competing, competitors will capture markets through lower prices. This practice discussed by Marx leads to situations like the above were supply far exceeds demand. A good example of over production can be found by searching for any random product on a supplier listings website, Alibaba.com have over 64,979 different belt buckles available. Durkheim predicted that modern industrial societies would over-emphasise the importance of individuality which would erode social stability and solidarity (Schmidt, R 2010), consumers are sold their own individuality through advertising campaigns a few examples are: Dell’s ‘Yours is here’, My Yahoo. Products are increasingly customisable, mobile phone cases are a hugely popular consumer item. ‘Durkheim argues that people can only be happy when their wants are proportionate to their means. Left to themselves, human desires are boundless†¦ together with necessarily limited recourses, creates great unhappiness or ultimately suicide’ (Abercrombie et al 2006). Society controls the problem of unattainable goals by restricting desires through values aimed at permitting only goals which have some chance of attainment. The X-Factor is currently the most popular television program (Plunkett, J 2010) as dreams of mostly unattainable goals are being realised for a lucky number of consumers. This  is a stark contrast to the 1940’s where society was based around family values, working together to repair Britain where jobs were expected for life. Anomie describes the situation when this framework breaks down, goals again outrun means and suicide rate rises (Abercrombie et al 2006). Weber predicted that society would experience unprecedented inner loneliness of the single individual (Cohen & Kennedy, 2007), this is a very accurate description of the contemporary experience, more than ever consumers are looking to the symbolic meaning of products to identify with their desired social groups and status. Social media is an interesting way to examine the inner loneliness experienced, taking facebook where consumers might have several hundred ‘friends’ who are merely acquaintances, with few solid friendships, while there is pressure to appear to have acquired huge numbers of ‘friends’ on social networks. To explore further into the loneliness of individuals, one in three households now have just one member compared with one in five in the 1970’s (BBC, 2004) this is known as the ‘meal for one’ society, more than half the meals eaten in the UK are now eaten alone. Traditional family unit is also becoming less common, with predictions indicating that in 2011 more than sixty percent of marriages will end in divorce (BBC, 2004). Weber discuses formal rationalisation of society as it becomes more industrialised and that this rationality is inevitable, the greater calculability required for rationalisation has affected greatly the consumer experie nce (Cohen & Kennedy, 2007), consumers – save for the wealthy classes, have an impersonal consumption experience. Self service check outs are a perfect example of this, once a shop keeper in the local store, would ring through and bag up your products now in the national and often multinational store, consumers ring through and bag up their own shopping. The systematic measured approach to contemporary life has created a predictable almost emotionless society, the consumption of university is a relevant example to the author, students are recognised by their identification number only, few if any university staff will know student’s names, no individuality between the students leaving students to display their personality and attachments through the conspicuous consumption of goods with symbolic meaning. Whereas the baby boomers will remember university involving debates with friendly tutors, with little care about appearances. This system creates greater efficiency, economic growth and  control of nature, the ‘iron cage’ describes this situation. However it does lead society towards the theories of Anomie and Alienation by Durkheim and Marx respectively. Calculability becomes an organising principle in the overall personality where ever more of our behaviour is informed by consistent logical expectations of human beings and of the environment. Spontaneity and surprise are experienced less and less in society, with calculability everything becomes increasingly predictable, unexpected events are planned for and avoided through policies and rules. The commoditisation of adventure is a good example of the disenchantment of society, Disneyland and all it represents takes the excitement out of spontaneity due to the ‘iron cage’ of functionalism and rationality. Weber sees class defined by income, (Cohen & Kennedy, 2007) explaining that classes form around market positions, amongst people who share similar life chances which is relevant to the differences seen in society today from that at 1900, social mobility much more fluid with government actively perusing policies pulling people up the class system. The theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber are relevant to society today; Weber the youngest of the theorists has accurate concepts relating to the bureaucracy experienced in the post-industrial age which explain well the changing experiences of consumers. Durkheim’s theories on Anomie in relation to individualism and the breakdown of society while religions stability isn’t the answer are partially interesting in explaining how society consumes conspicuously, using products as social glue to find a place in society. Marx’s idea on Alienation of workers, as Anomie explains aspects of the consumer mindset today. The globalisation of business taking the class struggle Marx discuses around the world. The current economic climate demonstrates that capitalism has failings even if the least of these is disconnecting individuals from a more intrinsic and meaningful existences within society. â€Å"Capitalism simultaneously produces more goods and less effective demand to pay for them.† (Slater, D 1997) References Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 235| Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 360| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 14| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. 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