Cultural Landscape Essay

A cultural landscape is a piece of land that possesses natural and cultural resources related to an historic event, person, or group of people. They are usually man-made lexis of relationships with the nature and/or society or culture. These can include grand estates, public gardens and parks, educational institutions, cemeteries, highways, and industrial sites. Cultural landscapes are also humanist works of art, texts and narratives of cultures that express regional and cultural identity. They also present relationship to their ecological perspective. Human activities have turned out to be a major cause of shaping most cultivated landscapes on the surface of Earth. Human, animal and machine labor expended in using the land can create outstanding cultural landscapes with high aesthetic, cultural and ecological value such as the paddy-field rice terraces of south-east Asia, but may as well result in land degradation as is the case in some regions in the Mediterranean. The distribution of landforms such as steep slopes, fertile plains, inundated valleys in a landscape sets the frame for land use by determining factors such as accessibility, water and nutrient availability, but may over long periods of time also be changed through land use. On the other hand, land use serves distinct socio-economic purposes: land may supply materials and energy through hunting, agriculture or forestry, it may host infrastructure, or it may be needed to absorb waste and emissions (Haberl et al. , 2004). Landscapes can be seen as the contingent and historically variable outcome of this interplay between socio-economic and biophysical forces. During the evolution of cultural landscapes throughout the world, humans have developed adaptive land-use techniques and created specific patterns of fields, farmsteads, remnant woodlots and the like that depended on both natural and socio-economic conditions. In European agricultural landscapes, the long history of land transformation has led to regionally distinct regular patterns of geometrically arranged landscape elements, reflecting the historical and cultural background of the prevailing land-use system of a region (Bell, 1999). The spatial distribution of ecotopes, the so-called landscape structure, has therefore often been regarded as a mosaic of ‘frozen processes’; i. e. landscape structure assumedly mirrors the processes which had been going on in a landscape. This perception has even become a central paradigm in modern landscape ecology. While many ecosystem processes are difficult to observe directly, landscape structure can be derived from mapping as well as from remote-sensing data; therefore, landscape structure was often not only used to evaluate the ecological value of landscapes, but also to judge ecological aspects of the sustainability of land-use patterns (Wrbka et al. , 1999b). The Influence Of Land Form On The Intensity Of Land Use Cultural landscapes have, in contrast to natural and semi-natural landscapes, special characteristics. The disturbance regime as well as the major material and energy fluxes in these transformed landscapes is controlled to a large extent by humans. This is done by the different land-use practices applied for meadows, arable land or forests. Decisions about land use are made according to the local agro-ecological characteristics which are nested in a hierarchy of social, economical and technical constraints. Cultural landscapes can thus only be understood by analyzing the interplay between biophysical and socioeconomic patterns and processes. Landscape Structure And Intensity Of Land Use Odum and Turner (1989) found that the landscape elements of the Georgia landscape in the early 1930s had a higher fractal dimension than the elements of the same region in the 1980s. During the same period of time the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals increased dramatically. This illustrates that the growing human impact on the land may result in a landscape with decreasing geometrical complexity. Human activities introduce rectangularity and rectilinearity into landscapes, producing regular shapes with straight borders (Forman, 1999; Forman and Moore, 1992). Various studies suggest that the rate of landscape transformation is a function of land-use intensity (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Hietala-Koivu, 1999; Mander et al. , 1999; Odum and Turner, 1989), and that the geometric complexity of a landscape in particular decreases with increasing land-use intensity accompanied by a decrease of habitat heterogeneity and an increase of production units. Applying the thermodynamic laws to landscape structure, Forman and Moore (1992) suggested that the concentrated input of energy (e. g. , by tractor ploughing, plant production, wildfire) decreases the entropy of patches compared to adjacent areas and produces straight and abrupt boundaries. In other words, energy is required to convert natural curvilinear boundaries into straight lines and energy is required to maintain them. The reduction of the energy input increases entropy and revegetation convolutes and softens landscape boundaries. This means that the ‘landscape structure’, in the sense of Forman and Godron (1986), can be regarded as ‘frozen processes’. Landscape Structure And Biodiversity Many surveys show that species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes normally decreases with land-use intensity (Luoto, 2000; Mander et al. , 1999; Zechmeister and Moser, 2001; Zechmeister et al. , 2003). As the link between landscape structure and land-use intensity could be established, shape complexity as a measure of land-use intensity seems to be also a good predictor of species richness (Moser et al. , 2002; Wrbka et al. , 1999a). Accordingly, higher species richness in areas with high LD and richness values can be expected. The use of shape complexity indices as indicators for plant species richness is based on an assumed correlation between geometric landscape complexity and biodiversity (Moser et al. , 2002). Obviously, this correlation is not mechanistic but it is supposed to be due to congruent effects of land-use intensity on landscape shape complexity and species richness. Moser et al. (2002) gives a good literature overview about the driving factors responsible for the decrease of landscape complexity with increasing land-use intensity, which resulted in the following key findings: * The majority of landscape elements in agricultural landscapes are designed by humans as rectangles with straight and distinct boundaries (Forman, 1999). * Outside boundaries of semi-natural or natural patches are straightened by neighboring cultivated areas (). * Increasing land-use intensity is accompanied by a decrease of semi-natural and natural areas (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Mander et al. , 1999), resulting in a decrease of natural curvilinear boundaries. * Intensification in agriculture tends to increase the size of production units (Alard and Poudevigne, 1999; Hietala-Koivu, 1999). In addition to that intensification of land use on the production unit, e. g. , by fertilizing or increased mowing intensity, also leads to a dramatic decrease of the species richness (Zechmeister et al. , 2003). The description of the degradation of semi-natural and agricultural landscapes shows clearly the interdependence of biodiversity and landscape heterogeneity, induced by closely interwoven ecological, demographical, socio-economic and cultural factors. For an effective conservation management of biodiversity and landscape eco-diversity, a clear understanding of the ecological and cultural processes and their perturbations is essential. Intermediate disturbance levels lead to a highly complex and diverse cultural landscape which can host many plant and animal species. Landscapes, with ‘eco-diversity hotspots’, can be regarded as hint for ‘biodiversity hotspots’. Landscape pattern indicators therefore play an important role for landscape conservation planning. The understanding of landscape processes is crucial for the conservation of both, landscape eco-diversity and biodiversity. Conclusions From a conservation biology point of view, the ongoing process of genetic erosion and biodiversity loss as well as the replacement of specific recognizable cultural landscapes by monotonous ubiquistic production sites will continue. The biophysical characteristics and natural constraints of the investigated landscapes are interwoven with the regional historic and socio-economical development. This interplay is the background for the development of a variety of cultural landscapes which have their own specific characteristics. Geo-ecological land-units provide one solution. This is of special importance when the relationship of landscape patterns and underlying processes is under investigation. Works Cited Alard, D. , Poudevigne, I. Factors controlling plant diversity in rural landscapes: a functional approach. Landscape and Urban Planning, 1999: 46, 29–39 Bell, S. , Landscape—Pattern, Perception and Process. E. &F. N. Spon, London, 1999 Forman, R. T. T. , & Godron, M. Landscape Ecology. Wiley, New York, 1986. Forman, R. T. T. , & Moore, P. N. Theoretical foundations for understanding boundaries in landscape mosaics. In: Hansen, F. J. , Castri, F. (Eds. ), Landscape Boundaries. Consequences for Biotic Diversity and Ecological Flows. Springer, New York, 1992, pp. 236–258. Forman, R. T. T. Horizontal processes, roads, suburbs, societal objectives in landscape ecology. In: Klopatek, M. , Gardner, R. H. (Eds. ), Landscape Ecological Analysis: Issues and Applications. Springer, New York, 1999, pp. 35–53. Haberl, H. , Wackernagel, M. , Krausmann, F. , Erb, K. -H. , Monfreda, C. Ecological footprints and human appropriation of net primary production: A comparison. Land Use Policy, doi:10. 1016/ j. landusepol. 2003. 10. 008. , 2004 Hietala-Koivu, R. Agricultural landscape change: a case study in Y lane, Southwest Finland. Landscape and Urban Planning , 1999: 46, 103–108. Luoto, M.. Modelling of rare plant species richness by landscape variables in an agriculture area in Finland. Plant Ecology , 2000: 149, 157–168. Mander, U. , Mikk, M. , Ku. lvik, M.. Ecological and low intensity agriculture as contributors to landscape and biological diversity. Landscape and Urban Planning , 1999: 46, 169–177.

Not so Good Literature Essay

Almost half of the population of young people have read and have heard about Stephenie Meyer’s book â€Å"Twilight,† a story about Bella Swan, an average girl borne of a broken marriage and who fell in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. The book enjoyed much hype among young school girls and some boys as well, especially those in high school. It has provided young hearts and minds with ideals of fairytale love stories and superficial view of love and sacrifice. Twilight has received much popularity, but the question of whether it is a good piece of literature or not has not been given much attention amidst all this hype. Well, let me give you the answer for this: the Twilight books are bad literature, or to fulfill the requirement of the essay, they are not good for literary study. By literature, we mean, â€Å"the class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres† (Brainymedia. com). Thus, bad literature means not passing the standards of literature from its definition which provides mentions it as â€Å"a class of writings distinguished for its beauty of style or expression† (Brainymedia. com). This paper would justify why Twilight is not good literature on the level of its form: the plot, style, characters, and content: the morals and lessons in life that it can give us. Good literature presents to the readers a complex and realistic plot, a certain literary style employing good use of figurative language and imagery and non-typical original characters. These elements define literary standards which distinguish literature from other forms of written works that claim themselves to be Literature. It adds to the enjoyment of reading and upliftment of the human soul. A good book must then enlighten us with lessons that are useful for us to grow in all aspects, with characters that are positive for us all to emulate. The oldest literary critics have told us to learn how to â€Å"teach and delight† (Plato). Literature is not only there to entertain but also to enlighten human minds about the workings of this life. Books that pass up these criteria can also be shelved with the likes of Charles Dickens, Khalil Gibran, Anne Rice, C. S. Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and Pablo Neruda, to name a few (Pearl). Twilight Does not do Away with the Form Let me go over the form of the novel. That novel did not do much when it comes to plot. It is too obvious and simple: a girl meets a guy. Both belong to different worlds, and both learn to accept each other and come up with sort of a stereotyped â€Å"love against all odds† kind of a relationship. There is nothing new in this kind of story. Next, the literary style used by the author can pass up for an amateur writer’s story book. About three things I was absolutely positive: First, Edward was a vampire; Second, there was a part of him — and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be — that thirsted for my blood; And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ) This is a quote from Bella’s narration of Twilight. This would sound more of a giggling girl’s journal entry than that of a respected literary disciple. It is too explicit and superfluous. There are other ways to depict these thoughts. It could be by using images or situations and the like. Another alarming fact here is that Meyer had the inclination to distort archetypes in a not so refined manner. Let us take Edward Cullen as an example. He took off the typical human blood-hungry image of a vampire. It could be credited as a good idea. However, the way Meyer has transformed him into a teenybopper boy-next-door type of character is definitely out of the question. Moreover, it is somehow impossible that an inhuman character like himself can go through the process of falling in love without much justification or establishment that yes, a vampire can also love a human being. In Yahoo answers, one of the members said that â€Å"Edward just tells Bella love lines and [stares] at her, blah. † Twilight Possess Content that Does Not Hit Off to Belong to the Average Thinking Person What lesson can we learn from Twilight? Twilight raucously presents us with the concept that infatuation mistaken for love should be the center of our universe. Bella has met Edward for only quite a time, and they cannot just say that they would want to live with each other forever. It seemed that the love story has been sped up to have itself called a real love story. Bella cannot just walk up to Edward and say that she loves him given the fact that they only had little to no interaction at all when Bella arrived at Forks. What can we learn from Bella? She became a stereotyped damsel in distress who would need to depend upon Edward with her life. I am appalled at how Bella reacts especially on the thought that she will be separated from Edward. Even a Twilight fan made mention of how she did not like this portrayal of Bella as a damsel in distress, and that Bella’s character is also a bad influence among young women (Lichens). It is just a stereotyped fairytale love story. There is nothing much that we can learn from it in both love and life. Khalil Gibran speaks much about love and relationships as thus: But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow. (Gibran) Love is standing strong together and not being together all the time. It is a concept too far away from what Bella Swan and Edward Cullen shared with each other. The book basically entertains with a limited readership of first-time book readers. Not everyone can take these words with ease. The book was able to deceive not a few fans but a large multitude. You can actually locate not a few but many quotes from the novel which you think might disprove my claim that the book lacks good use of figurative language, one of which is indicated right here. Nevertheless, the timeliness or relevance of these quotes was not well-established, and aside from being cliche, they seemed to have been inserted to untimely situations in the novel, and they do not seem so natural anymore. Take this quote for example: â€Å"When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, is it not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end? † (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ); or this: â€Å"I’ll be back so soon you won’t have time to miss me. Look after my heart – I’ve left it with you† (Meyer qtd. in Goodreads Inc. ). One may also claim that Twilight teaches us good lessons such as being selfless and being willing to sacrifice for love. Let us throw this question back: are the sacrifices that they have made necessary? We cannot expect that the public possesses considerable amount of literariness. Even people present in literary circles hail it as the very best. First-time readers might appreciate it, but there is a strong need to reeducate and process them that there are far more useful books than Twilight. There are books that can follow literary standards and are more substantial. Let us just see how long this book can withstand the test of time and the criticisms of people in the mainstream. Works Cited BrainyMedia. com. â€Å"Definition of Literature. † BrainyQuote. com. 2009. 1 April 2009 . Gibran, Khalil. â€Å"Chapter 3: Marriage. † The Prophet. n. d. Cypress Online: The Psychic Digest. 1 April 2009 . Goodreads Inc. â€Å"Quotes by Stephenie Meyer. † Good Reads. 2009. 1 April 2009 . Lichens, S. â€Å"A Unique Book in the Trilogy — In All A Mix Between [Vastly] Disappointing and [Tragically] Romantic. † Rev. of Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer. Amazon. com. 13 August 2007. 1 April 2009 . Plato. The Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. South Australia: University of Adelaide, 2005. 1 April 2009 . Pearl, Nancy. â€Å"Book Lust. † USA: Sasquatch Books, 2003.

Methods Used by Elementary Teachers in Managing Misbehavior in the Classroom Essay

Introduction In today’s society, teachers at all grade levels face a growing number of students whose behavior challenges the success of daily classroom instruction. Managing misbehavior in the classroom remains one of the persistent difficulties of teaching. Whether it is in the elementary or secondary and tertiary education, the management of the pupil’s conduct remains to be a vital part of the daily equation of effective teaching. A large part of everything students do in school is geared toward forming good habits and discipline falls right in line with this. Discipline is concerned with the development of internal behavior that enables the students to manage themselves. Every school is required by our government to maintain discipline and to issue disciplinary rules for strict compliance. They are designed to develop among students the highest standard of decency, morality and good behavior. If there’s no discipline early, there’ll likely be no discipline as an a dult, which affects job performance, family relations, among other aspects of a student’s life. The aim of discipline is to set limits restricting certain behaviors or attitudes that are seen as harmful or going against school policies, educational norms, school traditions, among others. Concrete, reasonable and fair discipline is the foundation of an effective and efficient institution. Fortunately, teachers usually are able to rely on these disciplinary rules and standard strategies for addressing classroom misbehavior, either independently or with the support of colleagues, and they are able to find a successful solution to the problem however these tactics may still fail to produce the desired outcome because of the varying degrees of differences in the attitude of teachers and students and other societal factors. While there have been gains in terms of school’s responses and significant programs and policies have already been made to lessen the occurrence of misbehaving, and improve the behavior of the students, such efforts have not been enough to cater to this rap idly growing number of cases. On the other hand, while these set of strategies are in place, enforcement remains weak. Challenges still remain in terms of translating these rules into concrete and doable actions that will address the underlying cause that bring about misbehavior in schools. It is therefore imperative to develop a stronger and comprehensive platform on treating this phenomenon that includes a wide  array of possible intervening factors, existing opportunities and limitations. Teachers must be able to work within school guidelines, connect with the students and communicate these difficulties with parents for effective teaching best takes place in a classroom with few disruptions for misbehavior. Moreover, the government, the school, the parents, and the children themselves should share responsibilities. This paper is therefore addressed to concerned professionals, agencies, and the public school administrators and teachers who are presently working hard in alignment towards eliminating the negative effects of misbehavior from public schools such as Catbalogan I Central Elementary Sch ool to other public and private institutions in the whole country. Statement of the Problem Nowadays, Filipino teachers face the spread of behavioral problems that threaten the educational system in most schools. These problems have direct influence on the learning process and the overall teaching/learning experience. Thus, more and more models of strategies are utilized by schools to combat the increasing problems. To deliberately rank the most effective means to overcome misbehavior on a more basic and intrinsic spectrum as vital and basic as public elementary schools, the study will explain and analyze the different strategies that have facilitated Catbalogan 1 Elementary School teachers in dealing with the misbehavior of Grade 5 and 6 students and how effective have they been in managing misbehavior in the classroom during the school year 2013-2014. Research Questions: 1. What are the general theories explaining the occurrence of misbehavior among children in general? * Why do students misbehave? * What are the indicators of misbehavior? * When and how could we assess if the student is already misbehaving? * Compare respondent’s approach to classroom management with Dreikurs’s approach and determine which of Dreikurs’s approaches were incorporated into the respondents’ approach. How do they incorporate them? * 2. What basic proper standards of behavior does the teacher implement in addition to the existing school behavior policies and programs in dealing with students misbehavior? 3. Which of these disciplinary methods, techniques and strategies is the most effective in the reduction and prevention of misbehavior of students in class? Thesis Statement The research intends to study the administration of discipline towards misbehavior cases in Grade 5 and 6 classes of Catbalogan 1 Central Elementary School. The study affirms that the management of existing policies and strategies used by the teachers in dealing with the problem of misbehavior still face greater challenge that it remains inadequate in the implementation because these rules and their consequences are not equally and consistently enforced. A comprehensive school behavior policy program is indispensable in meeting the needs of each school in curbing down misbehavior towards effective teaching and also in providing a positive learning experience for children. Hypotheses 1. The strategies that will be utilized greatly depend on the ability of the teachers to provide a comprehensive set of the proper standards of behavior or a behavior policy in the class. 2. Societal factors have a significant effect in properly addressing the issues of misbehavior in the classroom. 3. Teachers’ lack of awareness of the rules which requires their functions to discipline, safeguard and promote the welfare of the children has a negative effect on the behavior of the students. Student’s behavior on the other hand is directly affected by the teachers’ attitude towards them. Theoretical framework Effective teachers know that in order to truly help a student to change an inappropriate behavior, they have to get to the root causes and consider the core of the problem. When there is misbehavior, we have to stress out several external consequences of several interdependent conditions. Therefore, in order for us to identify, plan, and implement and compare the most effective strategies of intervention, it is necessary to define it in  the context of its different causes and structural features. The researcher through the examination of theories available in the literature will use the Social Discipline Model by the social psychologist, Rudolf Dreikurs. Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, renowned educator, developed these four behavioral goals in the 1930s. He was a student and colleague of Alfred Adler, who believed that â€Å"all behavior has a purpose.† Dreikurs has written many articles and books on student behavior and much of his work can be purchased on the internet. His theories on behavior have had an enormous impact on the raising of children and classroom management models. His model is based on the four basic premises of Adler’s social theory which are: 1. Humans are social beings and their basic motivation is to belong 2. All behavior has a purpose 3. Humans are decision-making organisms 4. Humans only perceive reality and this perception may be mistaken or biased Dreikurs’ educational philosophy is â€Å"based on the philosophy of democracy, with its implied principle of human equality, and on the socio-teleological approach of the psychology of Alfred Adler. In this frame of reference, man is recognized as a social being, his actions as purposive and directed toward a goal, his personality as a unique and indivisible entity†. (Dreikurs,1968). A socio-teleological approach implies the existence of God, a higher purpose, and a natural order of things. Dreikurs believed it was possible to understand children’s misbehaviors by recognizing the four main purposes or goals of the child. The four goals of misbehavior are attention getting, the contest for power, seeking revenge, and displaying inadequacy. Dreikurs promoted the use of encouragement and logical (and natural) consequences rather than reward and punishment. Essentially, every action of the child is grounded in the idea that he is seeking his place in the group. A well-adjusted child will conform to the requirements of the group by making valuable contributions. A child who misbehaves, on the other hand, will defy the needs of the group situation in order to maintain social status. Whichever of the aforementioned goals he chooses to employ, the child believes that this is the only way he can function within the group dynamic successfully. Dreikurs states that â€Å"his goal may occasionally vary with the circumstances: he may act to attract attention at one moment, and assert his power or seek revenge at another† (Dreikurs, 1968, p.27). Regardless if the child is well-adjusted or is misbehaving, his main purpose will be social acceptance. The following are techniques that can be used to address the four goals of misbehavior Attention Getting Some students strive to be the center of attention. They do almost anything to be noticed from being argumentative to being funny. There is a lack of concern about following accepted procedure to gain recognition. Teachers and classmates find behavior by this student annoying and at times rude and unacceptable. The attention seekers may be disciplined for: disrespect, teasing, disturbing the class, being uncooperative, swearing, talking, being out of his seat, and making fun of others. Dreikurs said most students start misbehaving by seeking attention, and when this fails, they move on to more problematic goal-seeking behaviors, such as power. This is why it is important to find a thoughtful intervention in the first phase of misbehavior: attention seeking. (http://www.metu.edu.tr) Dreikurs believed that over 90% of all misbehavior is for attention. Technique towards attention Getting Behavior: 1. Minimize the Attention – Ignore the behavior, stand close by, write a note 2. Legitimize the Behavior – Create a lesson out of the behavior, have the class join in the behaviors 3. Do the Unexpected – Turn out the lights, play a musical instrument, talk to the wall 4. Distract the Student – Ask a question or a favor, change the activity 5. Recognize Appropriate Behavior – Thanks students, give a written note of congratulations 6. Move the Student – Ask the student to sit at another seat, send the student to a â€Å"thinking chair† Seeking Power and Control Wanting to be in charge or in control provides the motivation for some student misbehavior. Students with this agenda simply want their way. They don’t hesitate to take a stand on matters important to them and are often disruptive and confrontational in reaching their goal. The teacher may feel provoked, threatened or challenged by this student. The following reasons may be the basis for a referral to the office for a student who struggles for power: disobeying, disrespect, not cooperating, talking back and  disturbing the class. Often power-seeking students don’t act out until they’re assured of an audience. And from the teacher’s perspective, this is probably the worst possible time. 1. Make a Graceful Exit – Acknowledge student’s power, remove audience, table matter for later discussion, 2. Use a Time-Out 3. Apply the Consequence Seeking Revenge Lashing out or getting even is how some students compensate for real or imagined hurt feelings. The target of the revenge may be the teacher, other students, or both. Revenge may come in the form of a physical and/or psychological attack. Bullies often use revenge as their excuse for shoving or pushing, teasing, causing embarrassment and excluding others. Displaying Inadequacy Wanting to avoid repeated failure, some students appear to be discouraged and helpless. They falsely believe that they can’t live up to expectations, either their own or those of others. To compensate for this belief, they don’t attempt anything that might result in failure. They hope that others will forget about them and not hold them responsible for anything. These students may be disciplined for: not paying attention, not being prepared, being dishonest and wasting time. This phenomenon, decribed as â€Å"learned helplessness† by psychologists, is characteristic of students who fail needlessly because they do not invest their best efforts. 1. Modify Instructional Methods 2. Use Concrete Learning Materials and Computer-Enhanced Instruction 3. Teach One Step at a Time (or break instruction into smaller parts) 4. Provide Tutoring 5. Teach Positive Self-Talk and Speech 6. Teach that Mistakes are Okay 7. Build Student’s Confidence 8. Focus on Past Successes 9. Make Learning Tangible 10. Recognize Achievement No matter what the reason is for a student’s misbehavior, we are forced to respond. Some responses produce better results than others. Below is a list of both positive and negative responses by educators. Responses that usually get negative results include: 1. Reacting emotionally by being angry or making hollow threats 2. Handing out a punishment that is out of proportion to the offense 3. Reacting to misbehavior publicly 4. Reacting to a small incidence that often resolves itself 5. Making an accusation without the facts to back it up Responses that tend to get positive results include: 1. Describing the unacceptable behavior to the student 2. Pointing out how his behavior negatively impacts him and others 3. Talking with the students about what could have been a better behavior choice and why 4. Asking the student to write a goal that will help him improve his actions 5. Showing confidence in the student that his behavior goals are achievable 6. Positively reinforcing behavior that relates to student goals Dreikurs believes the best way to correct misbehavior is with logical consequences. For example, if a student doesn’t finish his homework, he stays after school to complete it. This helps the student make an association between the misbehavior and the consequences. The environmental-sociological-cultural are those theories that see the primary contributing factors to misbehavior from the immediate environment, society, or culture. Balanon also classified this model as the â€Å"environment factor† which includes physical, social, cultural and economic factors. This includes 1) environmental stress model, 2) social learning model 3) social-psychological and 4) psychosocial systems. (Rodriguez, 2006) The family systems approach by Peter Reder, Duncan Sylvia, and Gray Moira, which put significance in the relationship between family and others as relevant to the problem and analysis. It provided a framework that focuses in interpersonal, group, and institutional functioning. It is said that the concept of circularity in the systemic model emphasizes mutual influence between two or more people and the role and meaning that each person has for others must be modified and their relationship renegotiated. Family systems focus on patterns of interaction within families with particular emphasis on  communication and a psychological role adopted by family members and the view of casualty is circular involving family members. According to Rozsbaszky in Understanding the â€Å"Misbehavior† of Children Through the Theory and Research on Ego Development,(1980) , the theory of â€Å"ego development† by Jane Loevinger is a major theory of personality. According to the theory, it is a major determinant of personality characteristics in each individual whether child or adult is his or her level of ego development. Some personality characteristics are believed to be manifestations of an individual’s ego level. Personality characteristics may actually be markers or milestone traits for a particular ego level. As the child matures, he or she passes through the invariant sequence of stages of ego development, each greater cognitive and interpersonal complexity than the precedi ng stages. FIGURE 1 : Conceptual Framework of the Study Conceptual Framework Explained The figure shows a base frame which contains the respondents and the research environment which this study will be conducted. The respondents of this study are the Grade V and VI teachers of CAtbalogan I Elementary School. At the top of the base frame is a bigger frame which contains the variates as well as the process by which this study will be conducted. The study will determine the relationship shown by the double headed arrow connecting the two frames, between the Teacher’s Profile, Student’s Profile, Class Profile as to size and performance, Government Intervention, Support Groups, Family Values, Behavior of teachers towards students, behavior of students towards teachers other societal, psychological, economic, environment factors shown by the box at the right of the bigger frame, and the strategies and techniques of Grade V and VI teachers in dealing with misbehavior among students with existing school behavioral policy and legislation and programs on misbehavio r shown by the box at the left inside the bigger frame. The result of this study and the corresponding recommendations made, seen as the third frame, will serve as basis for the desired result shown in the uppermost broken lined sphere which is Positive Classromm Environment and successful and effective teaching and improved well-being of students. The desired effect depends on the independent variables which are strategies and  techniques used by Teacher-respondents, existing school behavioral policies and implementing laws regarding misbehavior. Effective implementation of these strategies and policies in schools with the cooperation and intervention of societal factors such as the family as the primary unit of society, next is the educational system, the variety of social networks, serves as important factors to attain an improved system on managing misbehavior in schools. However, this would also be measured among other intervening factors such as the profile of teachers, students and the class as to size and performance, government interventions, support groups, the values of the family of students, the behavior of teachers towards the class, the behavior of student towards teachers and other societal, psychological, economic, and environment setbacks. They include the complexity of social relationships with kin, neighbo rs, and friends, who may be sources of stress as well as support, and who may fail to reduce misbehavior even when they are trying to be emotionally supportive. Consequently above relationships of the boxes inside the bigger frame, a desired outcome is total awareness of Effective Methods towards Successful Management of Students’ Misbehavior in Catbalogan 1 thus will result to positive classroom environment and improved well being of the students. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study is intended to study the occurrence of misbehavior among students, its causes and the many ways to lessen its occurrence through professional responses and strategies implemented. It also represents the active struggles of teachers in dealing with the problems of behavior towards their students. The researcher hopes that this study will serve school principals to identify the behavioral problems that faced teachers in the classroom, in order to find solutions to decrease the effect of these problems on the level of teacher participation and student achievement. It also serves the educational administrations specifically the Department of Education (DepEd) to make decision to face the classroom problems through teacher training programs and useful laws. They will also know whether a certain program has already attained certain objectives. To the teachers, it will serve as a useful guide in understanding the student’s attitude and the many causes of misbehavior. Consequently, they will gain insights on which of the several  strategies is the most effective in eradicating problems of behavior among students. They could also benefit from the study through expanding their ways of improving their methods by the recommendations brought about by this study. For the students, they will increase awareness of the need to follow the standards imposed by the teachers and adapt their behaviors accordingly to the standards of proper discipline. The school administrators will also benefit from the study through acquiring ideas thus being able to lobby for policy adjustments in order to improve the current behavior policy of the school. For future researchers, this will provide a thorough and comprehensive literature for them to be able to conduct similar studies and furthermore inspire the readers to do more studies of an all encompassing discipline such as teaching and the effects of a new framework in solving misbehavior and other academic problems wh ich are much challenging and worth experimenting. Scope and Limitations This study will determine the effective strategies used by Grade 5 and 6 Teachers of Catbalogan I Central Elementary Schools in dealing with the problem of misbehavior using the descriptive – cross sectional design approach. The respondents are the Grade 5 and 6 teachers in Catbalogan I Central Elementary School, Catbalogan City. Descriptive as well as inferential statistical tools will be used in this study. This research paper is consisted of 7 parts. The first part covered the overview, objectives of the study, the methodology, frameworks applicable and review of related literature. The next part assessed the complexity of misbehavior in the classroom and the root causes root causes and effects of misbehavior. The third part examined the existing conventional strategies, theories and practices management such as â€Å"Dreikurs’s approach, which are commonly used by a majority of schools in dealing with misbehavior in comparison torespondent’s approach in the classroom. The next chapter tackled on the set of policies and programs of the Catbalogan I central Elementary School and is subsequently followed by the chapter on the best strategies the respondents perceive to be the most effective. The next part  was delved on the analysis of findings by presentation of the date gathered from the questionnaires and relevant information from Catbalogan I Central Elementary School and finally followed by the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation. DEFINITION OF TERMS For better understanding, the following terms are hereby defined conceptually and operationally. BEHAVIOR It is the way a person behaves or acts; conducts; manners. In this study behavior mostly refer to the perception, attitude and general feeling and well being of an individual DISCIPLINE It is imparting knowledge and skill, in other words to teach. Discipline is used by teachers or parents to teach their children about expectations, guidelines and principles. Children need to be given regular discipline to be taught right from wrong and to be maintained safe SCHOOL DISCIPLINE It is the system of rules, punishments, and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children or adolescents and the maintenance of order in schools. Its aim is to control the students’ actions and behavior MISBEHAVIOR Misbehavior is a deliberate action, contrary to adult rules when a child fully understands those rules, and has the capacity to obey them mentally, emotionally, and physically. (http://www.4cforkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/misbehavior_poster.pdf) SCHOOL BEHAVIORAL POLICY It is the general principles and standards of behavior expected of pupils at the school and how that standard will be achieved, the school rules, any disciplinary penalties for breaking the rules and rewards for good behavior. BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES Strategies can help a teacher to manage behavior in a classroom

Essay based on one care management decision the student has made in

Based on one care management decision the student has made in practice this semeester - Essay Example ing data for an analysis of the causes and consequences of the problem, exploring alternative solutions, selecting the appropriate solution, implementing the solution and evaluating the results (Judd, 2005). Patient had been admitted with the complaint of retention of urine and overnight did not pass urine leading to abdominal discomfort and pain. Providing quality care is vital not only to the patient, but to the nursing professional as well (Hakesley-Brown & Malone, 2007). Hence addressing the problem of urine retention to relieve the abdominal discomfort and pain became relevant. Assessment of condition of the patient helps in identifying the problem faced. The next step is identifying those problems that have nursing solution and the order in which the solutions need to be applied. There are some problems that can be provided with an immediate nursing solution and some that require the knowledge and skills of other professionals in the healthcare delivery system (Faulkner, A. 1996). Urine retention could be chronic or acute. In chronic urine retention the ability to pass urine in small quantities remains and the build up of urine in the bladder is slow, with pain a less frequent possibility. In the case of acute urine retention there is no urine passed and is normally accompanied with pain (Kurasawa, Kotani, Kurasawa, Takama & Orimo, 2005). This suggests that the patient has a problem of acute retention of urine (AUR). Acute retention of urine (AUR) is a common urological emergency, which is characterized by a sudden inability to pass urine associated with lower abdominal pain. There are several causes for AUR, as anything that blocks the flow of urine through the urethra can lead to AUR. Such blocks could occur as a result of the presence of stones in the bladder. Infection of the urinary tract is also a possible cause of urine retention. Nerve damage as a result of conditions like diabetes or multiple sclerosis can affect control over the bladder and

Case Study on Statutory Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study on Statutory Interpretation - Essay Example In presiding over court proceedings, they hear all evidences and witnesses presented by parties involved in particular cases; they then asses the arguments and credibility of the evidences and parties which guide them towards making a ruling on the case at hand. The judgements made by judges are based on a judge or panel of judges’ personal interpretation and interpretation of the law that relate to a particular case.2 However, to avoid subjectivity and erred judgements, judges are guided by principles and rules which they use to interpret statutes. Statutory interpretation is the process through which legislation is rendered and enforced; that is, courts interpret and apply legislation to specific cases being presided on.3 Principles and rules of interpretation of statutes are very important in ensuring that justice is administered appropriately. This is because some words in statutes are vague and ambiguous while others are plain in meaning. Therefore, different level and am ount of interpretation is needed when a case is involving a statute.4 In order to interpret and apply statutes, judges usually find meanings using various methods and means of interpreting statutes. These methods and means include the purpose of legislation, history of legislation, and the canons of interpreting statutes. In some instances, the meaning of legislation has proved to be inconsistent hence need for interpretation in order to achieve the purpose of legislation. For constituency to be achieved in the interpretation of legislation meaning, judges in the courts of law use specific principles and rules to resolve vagueness and ambiguity that appear in statutes. It is imperative to note that different principles and rules of statutory interpretation may be applied. The application of these principles and rules depend on the nature of the ambiguity and the context in which ambiguity and vagueness arises.5 Statutes are drafted by legal experts and it is the language used in the statutes leave little room for interpretation. However, experience by legal practitioners and scholars have shown that expressions and words in statutes are in some cases ambiguous hence the need to resolve the inconsistencies. They argue sometimes interpretation of legislation may differ from its construction.6 Interpretation is the process of finding out the true meaning of a given word and ascertaining the sense that the author wanted to convey. As such, a statute being a legislature edict thus its interpretation should seek the intention of its author or maker. The obligation of the judiciary, therefore, is to interpret the true intention of the Legislature in formulating the statute at hand.7 In an event that the provision of a statute is open to more than one interpretation, the court has to make a decision or an interpretation that represents the true purpose of the Legislature. It is worthy pointing out that legislation contains uncertainties due to a number of reasons ther eby necessitating interpretations. These reasons include the following: one, in the course of enactment uncertainties may be added to the statute. Two, new technologies, cultures, and unforeseen situations often make interpretation and application of laws quite difficult. Three, words can sometime be ambiguous and its meaning may change over time hence making them imperfect symbols to

Church and Baroque Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Church and Baroque Art - Essay Example Baroque is an artistic word commonly used in the 17th century describing the art movement, which occurred in the 15th and 16th century. Baroque artwork mainly focused on classism and romanticism. This style of artwork originated in Italy then moved to Europe during the period of protestant reformation and religious upheaval. At that time, money and power was common in Europe; thus, influencing baroque. These resources elaborated and created social standing of prominent luminaries in Europe. Baroque artist specialized in oil painting, sculpture, architecture and music. The main theme of the baroque period was Catholic Church because it supported, permitted and encouraged artistic works that depicted religious imagery. Before the religious upheaval of the 16th century spread across Western Europe, both music and art was common among the churches. However, religious upheaval of the 16th century had numerous impacts on the arts of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. This is because, d uring the Middle Ages, Christian art in Europe flourished. During the period, artworks dominated the churches making the popes to become the patrons of both art and architecture. After the 16th century religious upheaval, the Catholic popes continued to embrace art by encouraging most catholic churches around the world to imitate art forms. However, the protestant churches did not advocate for the cathedral buildings because they did not require huge structures for their simple religious purposes.

Legalizing drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legalizing drugs - Essay Example ‘This means buyers and sellers cannot resolve their disputes with lawsuits, arbitration or advertising, so they resort to violence instead’ (Miron, 2009). This led Miron to controversially conclude ‘the only way to reduce violence is to legalize drugs’. I aim to discuss arguments supporting the controlled legalization drugs. ‘The legalization of drugs would massively reduce organized crime’ (Micklethwart, 1994). Legalization wouldn’t mean the existing ‘evil drug pushers’ controlling the market. Instead, official legal businesses (e.g. cigarette companies) would take control of the drug industry. ‘The number of drug related murders would fall because turf battles would be settled by law instead of gun fire and corruption/blackmail/bribes by drug dealers to judges, government officials and the police, etc would diminish’ (Micklethwart, 1994). Cussen and Block (2000) also claim that the price of drugs could fall if they are made legal due to increased competition amongst drug companies, which could reduce theft, and murder rates among addicts in order to get their next ‘fix’ because they wouldn’t need as much money to afford them. The increased availability of drugs could therefore decrease drug-related crime. Drug revenues of cartels (often international organisations which support terrorism and add to violent crime) could also diminish due to drug revenues being increasingly distributed by free-market forces (Cussen and Block, 2000). On the whole, crime figures would reduce dramatically as formerly illegal activities become ‘socially approved business transactions (Cussen and Block, 2000: 528). ... However, when prohibition ended, alcohol related crime decreased. The same scenario could happen if drugs were legalized too. The legalization of drugs could also stop the ‘potency effect’, which is best summarized with the example of prohibition. During this time, the sellers would sell alcohol with higher alcoholic concentrations (higher potency) because ‘hard liquors’ had greater value (per unit of volume) (Cussen and Block, 2000). This resulted in people drinking alcohol with higher concentrations such as vodka, which, when drunk excessively is more dangerous than beer and wine. The same ‘potency effect’ can also be applied to today’s drug trade, in which dealers carry more potent drugs (which are also the most dangerous to consume, e.g. cocaine) due to their greater monetary value. I believe the ‘potent effect’ of drugs could be reduced is they were legalized. A legalized drug trade could also save taxpayers money. For e xample, in the UK, drug related crime costs the state department ?16 billion a year. Easton (2009) estimated that a regulated drug market for cocaine and heroin would see ?7 billion worth of savings due to savings in the cost of drug crime. ‘Jails are also often overcrowded and large amounts of tax payers dollars are being spent on enforcement efforts that only aggravate the problem’ (Cussen and Block, 2000: 532). Legalizing drugs could therefore cut the costs, not only of the consequences of addicts’ habits, but also for tax payers. Legalizing drugs would also mean that they could be taxed like alcohol and cigarettes, which would provide the state with a new substantial form of revenue which could outweigh related expenditure / costs, occurred onto

Bone Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bone Disorders - Essay Example Bone problems are of different kinds. They may include osteoporosis caused by low density of bone and which makes bones weak and susceptible to breakage, osteogenesis imperfect which increases the brittleness of bones, and Paget’s bones disease which makes bones weaker. In addition to these bone disorders, bones may also develop a range of infections and cancers. There can be many reasons for the development of bone disorders. Some major causes of bone disorders include genetic factors, poor nutrition, and poor rate of rebuilding and growth of bones. The most important modulators of the process by which bones form are hormones. Optimal development and maintenance of bones depends upon parathyroid hormone, estrogen, and testosterone. Of these, the most direct impact on the cells of bone is made by estrogen which interacts with specific receptors or proteins on the surface of osteoclasts and osteoblasts (Zallone, 2006). Bones maintain their strength and integrity through a process of continuous renewal known as remodeling. Accelerated bone remodeling may cause a range of bone disorders that include but are not limited to familial expansile osteolysis (FEO), juvenile Pagets disease (JPD), Pagets disease of bone (PDB), early-onset Pagets disease of bone (EOPDB), and expansile skeletal hyperphosphatasia (ESH) (Beyens and Van Hul, 2007). Many stud ies have concluded that the main cells responsible for causing disease in these bone disorders are bone-resorbing osteoclasts. Connective tissues are unlike the parenchymal organs in that their form and function reflects the extracellular matrices of the matter they are made up of. These different compositions of matrices lend unique appearance and mechanical properties to cartilage, bone, and dense fibrous connective tissue (Teitelbaum and Bullough, 1979). Dense fibrous connective tissue is made up of collagen in the form of well-oriented collagen bundles whose main

Context of professional practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Context of professional practice - Essay Example Part One Legal principles basically refer to rules or standards of behaviour. These principles also refer to the supporting rationale for certain standards in the practice, including principles referring to their allowance or prohibition in the healthcare profession. The principles of ethical practice refer to the code of ethics for the healthcare professionals, clarifying specific elements of the practice including the ethical principles which emerge from or react to such specific elements. These principles serve as goals in managing the public health institutions (Public Health Leadership Society, 2002). Legal principles and principles of professional ethical practice refer to different aspects of the nursing practice (Royal College of Nursing, 2013). The legal principles refer to the legally mandated principles of healthcare while the principles of professional ethical practice are based on the standards of ethics which may not necessarily be mandated by legal provisions, but are still part of the minimum requisites of medical and nursing care (Dimond, 2008). Within the nursing practice, the legal principles refer to the principles laid out by the Royal College of Nursing in partnership with the Department of Health and Nursing and Midwifery Council. The ethical principles include the four basic health ethical requirements: self-determination/autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice (McElroy, 2011). These four principles may not be specifically included as legally mandated principles in the nursing practice, but violations of these ethical requirements are still punishable by the law and by the professional councils (Thompson, et.al., 2006). In applying legal principles and principles of professional codes of practice, I discovered that making judgments and decisions during the practice must be applied as independent and non-mechanistic processes. My judgment as a clinical practitioner is required under the context of complying with the minimum le gal and professional codes of the practice. I cannot follow one and ignore the other because these principles help provide essential support for the effective management of patient conditions (Fry and Johnstone, 2008). Issues of responsibility and accountability in delegating activities to others may relate to problems on improper delegation (Leathard, 2003). Where certain functions are delegated, all the essential elements of proper delegation must be complied with, including the importance of delegating the task to a person who is trained and capable of expertly carrying out the assigned task (Gillen and Graffin, 2010). Accountability may still emerge in these cases where the delegator has not secured the necessary means to ensure that the task delegated is being properly carried out by a competent individual. This would include the responsibility of following-up the delegatee, and supervising his or her work (Gillen and Graffin, 2010). Delegating the task to oneself must also com ply with the same standards of the practice, including competence. Where competence cannot be ensured, the task must not be delegated to oneself. The aspect of the nursing practice which shall be subject of this reflection is the nursing care for diabetic patients. During my care for a diabetic patient, I discovered that

Independence of Women in Marriage in the Medieval Era Essay

Independence of Women in Marriage in the Medieval Era - Essay Example Furthermore, since a man writes her prologue, we cannot help but think about why he wrote it. This imaginary character gives Chaucer a chance to address several subjects that might have been forbidden during his time. By making use of irony and wittiness, Chaucer is able to construct statements regarding women and how they are dealt with. It is ought to be noted that Chaucer was definitely seeking to embody a woman's voice. Actually, by creating the Wife of Bath, we can presume he wanted to produce a memorable personality in her. In her Prologue as part of "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Wife of Bath offers readers a complex portrait of a medieval woman. On the one hand, The Wife of Bath is shameless about her sexual exploits and the way she uses sexual power to obtain what she wishes. Alternatively, by doing precisely these things she is bearing out unconstructive stereotypes regarding women and showing that women are manipulative and deceiving. Although her performances might at first appear to be uprising against the male-dominated culture in The Canterbury Tales, and more commonly, the medieval era for women, there is very slight that she does that is in fact revolutionary or making powerful women of her time. Based even just on her introduction in "The Canterbury Ta... be seen as a parody of sorts since she embodies a number of negative female characteristics including stupidity and arrogance; deceitfulness, and lewdness. Although she is striking back at men it is not for any deeper reason other than personal profit. It appears that in this section of the prologue to the Wife of Bath's tale, Chaucer wants his readers to laugh at this character rather than admire her for her proto-feminist stances on life and marriage. If the wife character in the Wife of Bath is meant to destroy the label of women, one could visualize that she would employ in intellectual and informed discussion with some of the constituents of her party. As it positions, however, the nearest she comes to this is by presenting her twisted consideration of the Bible. Rather conceitedly she declares in one of the significant quotes from The Canterbury Tales (and The Wife of Bath's Tale particularly), "Men may divine and glosen up and down / But well woot I express withouten lie / God bad us for to wexe and multiplye / That gentil text can I wel understone" (lines 26-30). While it can be found in the Bible that humans should procreate, it is worth noting that she prefaces this statement with a few words about how men sit and interpret the Bible. In her Prologue in the "Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer, the Wife of Bath is claiming that she too is capable of doing this and that the text is not beyond her reach. Yet, the setback with this is that she is not confirming anything about her cleverness; she is simply trying to prove or defend her loose actions along with the word of God. The Wife's symbolic techniques, however unscrupulous, achieve the desired results. The spectators cannot present instantaneous counter-arguments, and if we visualize her in the dramatic condition

Literature Review Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Literature Review Assignment - Essay Example Moreover, towards the end of the minimum body temperature stage, a person will enter the ‘wake maintenance zone’ (Lack, Gradisar, Van Someren, Wright, and Lushington 309). In addition, the body’s temperature does not just affect the rhythms that people experience when engaged in the dream phase or before waking up. A person’s body temperature can also affect his or her frequency of experiencing insomnia. The onset of insomnia can be attributed to delayed rhythms of body temperature in incidences where an individual attempts to sleep in the midst of a delayed wake maintenance period. This may typically be experienced in the evening. Insomnia can also happen in the morning. Experiences of awakening insomnia in the morning may be connected to the incidence of advanced rhythm in temperature. According to Lack, Gradisar, Van Someren, Wright, and Lushington, the combination of maintenance insomnia and sleep onset is linked with the constant elevation of the temperature of the human body stimulating the continual hyper-arousal state that is characteristic of insomnia (307). Lack, Leon, Michael Gradisar, Eus Van Someren, Helen Wright and Kurt Lushington. â€Å"The relationship between insomnia and body temperatures.† Sleep Medicine Reviews 12.4(2008):307-317. Retrieved from

Cultural Identity Essay Example for Free

Cultural Identity Essay Stuart Hall beings his discussion on Cultural Identity and Diaspora with a discussion on the emerging new cinema in the Caribbean which is known as Third Cinema. This new form of cinema is considered as the visual representation of the Afro-Caribbean subjects- â€Å"blacks† of the diasporas of the west- the new post colonial subjects. Using this discussion as a starting point Hall addresses the issues of identity, cultural practices, and cultural production. There is a new cinema emerging in the Caribbean known as the Third Cinema. It is considered as the visual representation of the Afro-Caribbean in the post colonial context. In this visual medium â€Å"Blacks† are represented as the new postcolonial subjects. In the context of cultural identity hall questions regarding the identity of this emerging new subjects. From where does he speak? Very often identity is represented as a finished product. Hall argues that instead of considering cultural identity as a finished product we should think of it a production which is never complete and is always in process. He discusses two ways of reflecting on cultural identity. Firstly, identity understood as a collective, shared history among individuals affiliated by race or ethnicity that is considered to be fixed or stable. According to this understanding our cultural identity reflects the common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us as â€Å"one people.† This is known as the oneness of cultural identity, beneath the shifting divisions and changes of our actual history. From the perspective of the Caribbean’s this would be the Caribbeanness of the black experience. This is the identity the Black diaspora must discover. This understanding did play a crucial role in the Negritude movements. It was a creative mode of representing the true identity of the marginalised people. Indeed this act of rediscovery has played crucial role in the emergence of many of the important social movements of our time like feminist, ani-colonial and anti-racist. Stuart Hall also explores a second form of cultural identity that exist among the Caribbean, this is an identity understood as unstable, metamorphic, and even contradictory which signifies an identity marked by multiple points of similarities as well as differences. This cultural identity refers to â€Å"what they really are†, or rather â€Å"what they have become.† Without understanding this new identity one cannot speak of Caribbean identity as â€Å"one identity or on experience.† There are ruptures and discontinuities that constitute the Caribbean’s uniqueness. Based on this second understanding of identity as an unstable Hall discusses Caribbean cultural identity as one of heterogeneous composites. It is this second notion of identity that offers a proper understanding of the traumatic character of the colonial experience of the Caribbean people. To explain the process of identity formation, Hall uses Derridas theory ‘differance’ as support, and Hall sees the temporary positioning of identity as strategic and arbitrary. He then uses the three presencesAfrican, European, and Americanin the Caribbean to illustrate the idea of traces in our identity. A Caribbean experiences three kinds of cultural identities. Firstly, the cultural identity of the Africans which is considered as site of the repressed, secondly, the cultural identity of the Europeans which is the site of the colonialist, and thirdly, the cultural identity of the Americans which is a new world- a site of cultural confrontation. Thus the presence of these three cultural identities offers the possibility of creolization and points of new becoming. Finally, he defines the Caribbean identity as diaspora identity.

Understanding The Childhood And The State Sociology Essay

Understanding The Childhood And The State Sociology Essay The aim of this essay is to critically analyse both case studies by Virginia Morrow using arguments from the New Sociology of Childhood. The first part of the essay will discuss the concept of new sociology of childhood by explaining what it is, why it came about and what it main claims are. It will then move on to explore the findings of the above mentioned qualitative research of a group of children between 8 and 14 years of age in relation to their perspective on what they believe families to be. Children as social actors and childrens participation are key notions in what is considered as a modern day discourse. The implications discourses have in the ways in which children are portrayed and treated within society and the influence the actions taken by people and the judgement taken by them are often the subject of social constructionists. It is also well documented that different cultures can also have different perception, so can different situations and circumstances. In recent years, researchers have developed innovative methods for undertaking research with children. It has been customary to carry out research methods which have not directly involved children, for example, the study of children on a large scale and this has led to some disagreement by some sociologist because it is seen as carrying out a survey on children rather than with children. As an alternative, researchers have shifted towards the importance of giving the child a voice as social actors and being central in any research practise. It could be argued that most sociological policies and theories have in the past regarded children as being totally dependent, incapable, and dependent on their families to function successfully within a society. However, by adopting a childrens right perspective which is compatible with theoretical developments in the new sociology of childhood can mean that children have the power, skills, knowledge and resources to protect them. Children have been identified within the international framework of human rights as deserved of special consideration. As quoted by J. Eekelar à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the language of rights performs an important function. It acknowledges that there are certain things which we should provide for children, not just because adults think it would be nice if they had them, but because we are prepared to recognise that children want them, or can reasonably be assumed to want themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . (J.Eekelar Why Children? Why Rights? 2003) According to (James and Prout 1997) children are referred as active social agents and reliable informants of their own experience, who construct and shape the social structures and processes of their lives. Followers to this theory pay much attention to how children perceive the world around them and that they have their own distinctive way of looking at family life whereby the relationship is seen as a two way process with the child and the parent have a shared influence on any decisions taken. The research, by Morrow proposes that the majority of children do not want to make decision but rather would prefer to make a contribution to ther decision making process. None the less, there are some theorists who do not consider children as having sufficient protection even today. One of the sociologists is Melanie Philips who makes a case that the traditions of parenthood in the UK has broken down and that childhood simplicity has been destabilized by those with open mind which in turn could mean that children are given too many powers and rights. Other would suggest that the concept of cnew theory of childhood has become much more complicated and that there is an indication that the idea of a traditional childhood is yet again being lost. It is argued that this is not because of lack of understanding but through the lack of economic equality. Combined with the sophisticated and business-like way of living, it could be believed that childhood has somewhat been reduced as a result to the exposure to more adult information creating a child that is much more interested in everyday materialistic objects, and as such à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“expelled from the garden of childhoodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Postman, 1983) According to (Leacock 1981), within the new sociology of childhood, one of the key elements is that children should be considered as social actors, and by doing this, children are then taken from the idea of being objects, and to be studied on the basis that childrens beliefs and experiences do give insight into the meaning of childhood (Callinicos,1993). The research by Virginia Morrow (1998) was undertaken to explore two current phenomena . Firstly, that children of today experience quite varied family settings on their way to adulthood The second phenomena was in relation to the changes that have occurred in recent sociological theories whereby children should be listened to and importance given to what they have to say. The study looked at what childrens perceptions were on the family unit and how this might differ between cultures and background. It appeared that for many of the children, regardless of their ethnic background, their life revolved around their family or the extended family. One of the main findings was that childrens view in the main does not concur to what is considered as stereotypical notion of what a nuclear family is. Another key finding was that all the children included words such as care,support love and respect when describing what characteristics of family. Again this was though regardless of ethnic background, where they came from or their gender. A difference was found between children of different ages, as younger children saw having children and being in a marriage as the basis to a family and backed this up with examples from their own families. Older children were more ready to look at things outside their own domain. Many of the children referred to the term relations when describing their family and many were aware that individuals were related in different ways such as through marriage or genetically. In general, children explained that families were important to them and they saw their own family as any other family in general. When the question of who was important to them, the answer was parents, especially their mothers because they provide love and care. For some of the children, their sisters and brothers were seen as important to them. It appeared from their reactions that friendship was very important so some older children, especially girls. Finally, when asked about being listened to and being able to give their opinion, the children needed to be involved in decision making and have their say in what happens to them. Some considered that they were being listened to by their families while other did not. Some of the older children however, did mentioned that making a decision was not an easy task. On reflection therefore, the aim of this essay was to analyse the above mentioned case studies taking the new sociology of childhood into consideration. It could be said that discourses offer different and contrasting ways of thinking about children and childhood and as a consequence how they are viewed and treated by society. What this discussion serves to highlight is that there are conflicting thoughts surrounding the concept of childhood and that there is no clear right or wrong way of looking at what childhood conveys.

Dividend Payout Decision Making Process

Dividend Payout Decision Making Process CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background: Dividend policy is an important component of the corporate financial management policy. It is a policy used by the firm to decide as to how much cash it should reinvest in its business through expansion or share repurchases and how much to pay out to its shareholders in dividends. Dividend is a payment or return made by the firm to the shareholders, (owners of the company) out of its earnings in the form of cash. For a long time, the subject of corporate dividend policy has captivated the interests of many academicians and researchers, resulting in the emergence of a number of theoretical explanations for dividend policy. For the investors, dividend serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business, thereby companies try to maintain a stable dividend because if they reduce their dividend payments, investors may suspect that the company is facing a cash flow problem. Investors prefer steady growth of dividends every year and are reluctant to investm ent to companies with fluctuating dividend policy. Over time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of factors identified in the literature as being important to be considered in making dividend decisions. Thus, extensive studies have been done to find out various factors affecting dividend payout ratio of a firm. However, there is no single explanation that can capture the puzzling reality of corporate dividend behavior. Ocean deep judgment is involved by decision makers to resolve this issue of dividend behavior. The decision of companies to retain or pay out the earnings in form of dividends is important for the maximization of the value of the firm (Oyejide, 1976). Therefore, companies should set a constructive target dividend payout ratio, where it pays dividends to its shareholders and at the same time maintains sufficient retained earnings as to avoid having raise funds by borrowing money. A tough challenge was faced by financial practitioners and many academics, when Miller and Modigliani (MM) (1961) came with a proposition that, given perfect capital markets, the dividend decision does not affect the firm value and is, therefore, irrelevant. This proposition was greeted with surprise because at that time it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy and that a properly managed dividend policy had an impact on share prices and shareholder wealth. Since the MM study, many researchers have relaxed the assumption of perfect capital markets and stated theories about how managers should formulate dividend policy decisions. Problem Statement: Dividend policy has attracted a substantial amount of research by many researchers and theorists, who have provided theoretical as well as empirical observations, into the dividend puzzle (Black, 1976). Even though researchers and theorists have extended their studies in context to dividend decisions, the issue as to why corporations distribute a portion of their earnings as dividends is not yet resolved. The issue of dividend policy has stimulated much debate among financial analysts since Lintners (1956) seminal work. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. There are many factors that affect dividend decisions of a firm as it is very difficult to lay down an optimum dividend policy which would maximize the long-run wealth of the shareholders resulting into increase or decrease of the firms value, but the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. Miller and Modigliani (1961), DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006) gave their proposition on the dividend irrelevance, but the argument made by them was on assumptions that werent practical and in fact, the dividend payout decision does affect the shareholders value. The study focuses on identifying various determinants of dividend payout and whether these factors influence the dividend payout decision. Research Objective: There are many theories in the corporate finance literature addressing the dividend issue. The purpose of study is to understand the factors influencing the dividend decision of companies. The specific objectives of this study are: To analyze the financials of the company, to draw a framework of factors such as Retained earnings, Age of the company, Debt to Equity, Cash, Net income, Earnings per share etc. responsible for dividend declaration. To understand the criticality of a companys profitability (in terms of Earnings per share) component in declaration of dividends. To measure each factor individually on how it affects the dividend decision. Research Questions: RQ1. What is the relation between dividend payout and firms debt? RQ2. What is the relation between dividend payout and Profitability? RQ3. What is the relation between dividend payout and liquidity? RQ4. What is the relation between dividend payout and Retained Earnings? RQ5. What is the relation between dividend payout and Net Income? Contribution of the Study: Dividend decision is an important financial decision made by firms, managers, and investors. This study aims to contribute to the corporate finance literature, by looking at the Dividend puzzle. An attempt is made to make a valuable contribution in two major ways: Theoretical and Empirical approach is taken to provide a comprehensive view on the subject. The empirical Approach taken in this study will definitely leave some promising future ideas. The empirical findings and conclusions contained in this study can be used by financial managers to inform dividend decisions. Limitations of Study: The areas of concern to investigate in this study are extensive. Due to the Time constraint and accessibility of data, the research will be limited to the following: The period of study is only three years 2006 to 2008. The research has considered only those firms who pay dividends. The study is focused only on firms trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Structure of the Paper: The remaining chapters will be organized as follows: Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter discusses the different theories laid down in context to dividend policy and explains the relationship between dividend payout and its determinants as concluded by the study of different researchers and theorists. Chapter Three: Research Methodology This chapter explains the research hypothesis and gives a descriptive study of the techniques and the model used for data analysis. The application of the statistical tests used are explained thoroughly. Chapter four: Data Analysis and Findings To address the research questions, results obtained from the regression analysis will be evaluated and discussed in this chapter. Chapter five: Recommendations and Conclusion. This chapter Concludes the entire study and provides recommendations based on the findings and analysis done in the previous chapter and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Dividend remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern finance. Corporate dividend policy is an important decision area in the field of financial management hence there is an extensive literature devoted to the subject. Dividends are defined as the distribution of earnings (present or past) in real assets among the shareholders of the firm in proportion to their ownership. Dividend policy refers to managements long-term decision on how to utilize cash flows from business activities-that is, how much to plow back into the business, and how much to return to shareholders (Khan and Jain, 2005). Lintner (1956) conducted a notable study on dividend distributions, his was the first empirical study of dividend policy through his interview with managers of 28 selected companies, he stated that most companies have clear cut target payout ratios and that managers concern themselves with change in the existing dividend payout rather than the amount of the newly established payout. He also states that, Dividend policy is set first and other policies are then adjusted and the market reacts positively to dividend increase announcements and negatively to announcements of dividend decreases. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. Lintners study was expanded by Farrelly et al. (1988), who, mailed a questionnaire to 562 firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange and concluded that managers accept dividend policy to be relevant and important. Lintners view was also supported by the study results of Fama and Babiak (1968) and Fama (1974) who suggested that managers prefer a stable dividend policy, and are hesitant to increase dividends to a level that cannot be supported. Fama and Babiaks (1968) study also concludes that Net income appears to explain the dividend change decision better than a cash flow measure. The study by Adaoglu (2000), Amidu and Abor (2006) and Belans et al (2007) stated that net income shows positive and significant association with the dividend payout, therefore indicating that, the firms with the positive earnings pay more dividends. Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani (1961) made a proposition that the value of a firm is not affected by its dividend policy. Dividend policy is a way of dividing up operating cash flows among investors or just a financial decision. Financial theorists Martin, Petty, Keown, and Scott, 1991 supported this theory of irrelevance. Miller and Modiglianis conclusion on the irrelevance of dividend policy presented a tough challenge to the conventional wisdom of time up to that point, it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy as investors seem to prefer dividends over capital gains (JM Samuels, FM.Wilkes and R.E Brayshaw). Benartzi et al. (1997) conducted an extensive study and concluded that Lintners model of dividends remains the finest description of the dividend setting process available. Baker et al. (2001) conducted a survey on 630 NASDAQ-listed firms and analyzed the responses from 188 CFOs about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy, they found that the dividend decisions made by managers were consistent with Lintners (1956) survey results and model. Their results also suggest that managers pay particular attention to the dividend policy of the firm because the dividend decision can affect firm value and, in turn, the wealth of stockholders, thus dividend policy requires serious attention by the management. E.F Fama and K.R French (2001) investigated the characteristics of companies paying dividends and concluded that the top most characteristics that affect the decision to pay dividends are Firm size, Profitability, and Investment opportunities. They studied dividend payment in the United States and found that the proportion of dividend payers declined sharply from 66% in 1978 to 20.8% in 1999, and that only about a fifth of public companies paid dividends. Growth companies such as Microsoft, Cisco and Sun Microsystems were found to be non-dividend payers. They also explained that the probability that a firm would pay dividends was positively related to profitability and size and negatively related to growth. Their research concluded that larger firms are more profitable and are more likely to pay dividends, than firms with more investment opportunities. The relationship between firm size and dividend policy was studied by Jennifer J. Gaver and Kenneth M. Gaver (1993). They suggested t hat A firms dividend yield is inversely related to the extent of its growth opportunities. The inference here is that as cash flow increases, the coefficient of dividend decreases, indicating that smaller firms that have greater investment opportunities thus they tend not to make dividend payment while larger firms tend to have proactive dividends policy. Ho, H. (2003) undertook a comparative study of dividend policies in Japan and Australia. Their study revealed that dividend policies in Australia and Japan are affected by different financial factors. Dividend policies are affected positively by size in Australia and liquidity in Japan. Naceur et al (2006) examined the dividend policy of 48 firms listed on the Tunisian Stock Exchange during the period 1996-2002. His research indicated that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings could afford larger free cash flows and thus paid larger dividends. Li and Lie (2006) reported that large and profitable firms are more likely to raise their dividends if the past dividend yield, debt ratio, cash ratio are low. A study was conducted by Norhayati Mohamed, Wee Shu Hui, Mormah Hj.Omar, and Rashidah Abdul Rahman on Malaysian companies over a 3 year period from 2003-2005. The sample was taken from the top 200 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia based on market capitaliza tion as at 31December 2005. Their study concluded that bigger firms pay higher dividends. For the purpose of finding out how companies arrive at their dividend decisions, many researchers and theorists have proposed several dividend theories. Gordon and Walter (1963) presented the Bird in Hand theory which suggested that to minimize risk the investors always prefer cash in hand rather than future promise of capital gain. This theory asserts that investors value dividends and high payout firms. As said by John D. Rockefeller (an American industrialist) The one thing that gives me contentment is to see my dividend coming in. For companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder value the easiest way is to say the dividend check is in the mail. The bird-in-hand theory (a pre-Miller-Modigliani theory) asserts that dividends are valued differently to capital gains in a world of information asymmetry where due to uncertainty of future cash flow, investors will often tend to prefer dividends to retained earnings. As a result the value of the firm would be increased a s a higher payout ratio will reduce the required rate of return (see, for example Gordon, 1959). This argument has not received any strong empirical support. Dividends, paid by companies to shareholders from earnings, serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business. This explanation is known as signaling hypothesis. Signaling is an example factor for the relevance of dividends to the value of the firm. It is based on the idea of information asymmetry between managers and investors, where managers have private information about the firm that is not available to the outsiders. This theory is supported by models put forward by Miller and Rock (1985), Bhattacharya (1979), John and Williams (1985). They stated that dividends can be used as a signaling device to influence share price. The share price reacts favorably when an announcement of dividend increase is made. Few researchers found limited support for the signaling hypothesis (see Gonedes, 1978 , Watts, 1973) and there are other researchers, who supported the hypothesis, for example, in Michaely, Nissim and Ziv (2001), Pettit (1972) and Bali (2003). The tax-preference theory assumes that the market valuation of a firms stocks is increased when the dividend payout ratios is low which in turn lowers the required rate of return. Because of the relative tax liability of dividends compared to capital gains, investors need a large amount of before-tax risk adjusted return on stocks with higher dividend yields (Brennan, 1970). On one side studies by Lichtenberger and Ramaswamy (1979), Poterba and Summers, (1984), and Barclay (1987) have presented empirical evidence in support of the tax effect argument and on the other side Black and Scholes (1974), Miller and Scholes (1982), and Morgan and Thomas (1998) have either opposed such findings or provided completely different explanations. The study by Masulis and Trueman (1988) model dividend payments in form of cash as products of deferred dividend costs. Their model predicts that investors with differing tax liabilities will not be uniform in their ideal firm dividend policy. As the tax l iability on dividends increases (decreases), the dividend payment decreases (increases) while earnings reinvestment increases (decreases). According to Farrar and Selwyn (1967), in a partial equilibrium framework, individual investors choose the amount of personal and corporate leverage and also whether to receive corporate distributions as dividends or capital gains. Barclay (1987) has presented empirical evidence I support of the tax effect argument. Others, including Black and Scholes (1982), have opposed such findings or provided different explanations. Farrar and Selwyns model (1967) made an assumption that investors tend to increase their after tax income to the maximum. According to this model corporate earnings should be distributed by share repurchase rather than the use of dividends. Brennan (1970) has extended Farrar and Selwyns model into a general equilibrium framework. Under this, the expected usefulness of wealth as a system of barter is maximized. Despite being more robust both the models are similar as regards to their predictions. According to Auerbachs (1979) discrete-time, infinite-horizon model, the wealth of shareholders is maximized by the shareholders themselves and not by firm market value. If there does, infact, exist a difference between capital gains and dividends tax; firm market value maximization is no longer determined by wealth maximization. He states that the continued undervaluation of corporate capital leads to dividend distributions. The clientele effects hypothesis is another related theory. According to this theory the investors may be attracted to the types of stocks that fall in with their consumption/savings preferences. That is, investors (or clienteles) in high tax brackets may prefer non-dividend or low-dividend paying stocks if dividend income is taxed at a higher rate than capital gains. Also, certain clienteles may be created with the presence of transaction costs. There are several empirical studies on the clientele effects hypothesis but the findings are mixed. Studies by Pettit (1977), Scholz (1992), and Dhaliwal, Erickson and Trezevant (1999) presented evidence consistent with the existence of clientele effects hypothesis whereas studies by Lewellen et al. (1978), Richardson, Sefcik and Thomason (1986), Abrutyn and Turner (1990), found weak or contrary evidence. There is an assumption that the managers do not always take steps which would lead to maximizing an investors wealth. This gives rise to another favorable argument for hefty dividend payouts which shifts the reinvestment decision back on the owners. The main hitch would be the agency conflict (conflict between the principal and the agent) arising as a result of separate ownership and control. Therefore, a manager is expected to move the surplus funds from the high retained earnings into projects which are not feasible. This would be mainly due to his ill intention or his in competency. Thus, generous dividend payouts increase a firms value as it reduces the managements access to free cash flows and hence, controlling the problem of over investment. There are many more agency theories explaining how dividends can increase the value of a firm. One of them was by Easterbrook (1984); he proposed that dividend payments reduce agency problems in contrast to the transaction cost theory which is of the view that dividend payments reduce the value as it forces to raise costly finances from outside sources. His idea is that if the dividends are not paid, there is a problem of collective action that tends to lead to hap-hazard management of the firm. So, dividend payouts and raising external finance would attract auditory and regulatory measures by financial intermediaries like investment banks, respective stock exchange regulators and the potential investors as well. All this monitoring would lead to considerable reduction of agency costs and appreciate the market value of t he firm. Moreover, as defined by Jenson and Meckling (1976), Agency costs=monitoring costs+ bonding, costs+ residual loss i.e. sum of agency cost of equity and agency cost of debt. Hence, Easterbrook (1984) noted that dividend payments and raising new debt and its contract negotiations would reduce potential for wealth transfer. The realization for potential agency costs linked with separation of management and shareholders is not new. Adam Smith (1937) proposed that management of earlier companies is wayward. This problem was highly witnessed during at the time of British East Indian Companies and tracking managers was a failure due to inefficiencies and high costs of shareholder monitoring (Kindleberger, 1984). Scott (1912) and Carlos (1922) differ with this view point. They agree that although some fraud existed in the corporations, many of the activities of the managers were in line with those of the shareholders interests. An opportune and intelligent manager should always invest the surplus cash available into those opportunities which are well researched to be in the best interest of the shareholders. Berle and Means (1932) was the first to discover the insufficient utilization of funds which are surplus after other investment opportunities taken by the management. This thought was further promoted by Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis. This hypothesis combined market information asymmetries with the agency theory. The surplus funds left after all the valuable projects are largely responsible for creation of the conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders. Payment of dividends and interest on other debt instruments reduce the cash flow with the management to invest in marginal net present value projects and for other perquisite consumptions. Therefore, the dividend theory is better explained by the combination of both the agency and the signaling theory rather than by any o ne of these alone. On the other hand, the free cash flow hypothesis rationalizes the corporate takeover frenzy of the 1980s Myers (1987 and 1990) rather than providing a clear and comprehensive dividend policy. The study by Baker et al. (2007) reports, that firms paying dividend in Canada are significantly larger and more profitable, having greater cash flows, ownership structure and some growth opportunities. The cash flow hypothesis proposes that insiders to a firm have more information about future cash flow than the outsiders, and they have incentivized motives to leak this to outsiders. Lang and Litzenberger (1989) check the cash flow signaling and free cash flow explanations of the effect of dividend declarations on the stock prices. This difference between permanent and temporary changes is also explored in Brook, Charlton, and Hendershott (1998). However, this study is based on the hypothesis that dividend changes contain cash flow information rather than information about earnings. This is the cash flow signaling hypothesis proposing that dividend changes signal expected cash flows changes. The dividend decisions are affected by a number of factors; many researchers have contributed in determining which determinant of dividend payout is the most significant in contributing to dividend decisions. It is said that the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. According to Lintner (1956) the dividend payment pattern of a firm is influenced by the current year earnings and previous year dividends. Pruitt and Gitmans (1991) survey of financial managers of 1000 largest U.S companies about the interplay among the investment and dividend decisions in their firms reported that, current and past year profits are essential factors influencing dividend payments. The conclusion derived from Baker and Powells (2000) survey of NYSE-listed firms is that the major determinant is the anticipated level of future earnings and continuity of past dividends. The study of Aivazian, Booth, and Cleary (2003) concludes that profitability and return on equity positi vely correlate with the size of the dividend payout ratio. The study by Lv Chang-jiang and Wang Ke-min (1999) on 316 listed companies in China that paid cash dividends during 1997 and 1998 by using modified Lintner dividend model, suggested that the dividend payout ratio is due to the firms current earning level. Other researchers like Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000), Liu Shu-lian and Hu Yan-hong (2003) also concluded their research on the above stated understanding about dividend policy of listed companies in China. A survey done by Baker, Farrelly, and Edelman (1985) and Farrelly, Baker, and Edelman (1986) on 562 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) firms with normal kinds of dividend polices in 1983 suggested that the major determinants of dividend payments were the anticipated level of future earnings and the pattern of past dividends. DeAngelo et al. (2004) findings suggest that earnings do have some impact on dividend payment. He stated that the high/increasing dividend concentration may be the result of high/increasing earnings concentration. Goergen et al. (2005) study on 221 German firms shows that net earnings were the key determinants of dividend changes. Baker and Smith (2006) examined 309 sample firms exhibiting behavior consistent with a residual dividend policy and their matched counterparts to understand how they set their dividend policies. Their study showed that for the matched firms, the pattern of past dividends and desire to maintain a long-term dividend payout ratio elicit the highest level of agreement from respondents. The study by Ferris et al. (2006) found mixed results for the relation between a firms earnings and its ability to pay dividends. Kao and Wu (1994) used a time series regression analysis of 454 firms over the period of 1965 to1986, and showed that there was a positive relationshi p between unexpected dividends and earnings. Carroll (1995) used quarterly data of 854 firms over the period of 1975 to 1984, and examined whether quarterly dividend changes predicted future earnings. He found a significant positive relationship. Liquidity is also an important determinant of dividend payouts. A poor liquidity position would generate fewer dividends due to shortage of cash. Alli et.al (1993), reveal that dividend payments depend more on cash flows, which reflect the companys ability to pay dividends, than on current earnings, which are less heavily influenced by accounting practices. They claim current earnings do no really reflect the firms ability to pay dividends. A firm without the cash flow back up cannot choose to have a high dividend payout as it will ultimately have to either reduce its investment plans or turn to investors for additional debt. The study by Brook, Charlton and Hendershott (1998) states that, Firms expecting large permanent cash flow increases tend to increase their dividend. Managers do not increase dividends until they are positive that sufficient cash will flow in to pay them (Brealey-Myers-2002). Myers and Bacons (2001) study shows a negative relationship between the liquid ratio and dividend payout. For companies to enable them to enhance their dividend paying capacity, and thus, to generate higher dividend paying capacity, it is necessary to retain their earnings to finance investment in fixed assets. The study by Belans et al (2007) states that the relationship between the firms liquidity and dividend is positive which explains that firms with more market liquidity pay more dividends. Reddy (2006), Amidu and Abor (2006) find opposite evidence. Lintner (1956) posited that the level of retained earnings is a dividend decision by- product. Adaoglu (2000) study shows that the firms listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange follow unstable cash dividend policy and the main factor for determining the amount of dividend is earning of the firms. The same conclusion was drawn by Omet (2004) in case of firms listed on Amman Securities Market and he further states that the tax imposition on dividend does not have the significant impact on the dividend behavior of the listed firms. The study by Mick and Bacon (2003) concludes that future earnings are the most influential variable and that the past dividend patterns as well as current and expected levels are empirically relevant in explaining the dividend decision. Empirical support for Lintners findings, that dividends were indeed a function of current and past profit levels and were negatively correlated with the change in sales was found by Darling (1957), Fama and Babiak (1968). Benchman a nd Raaballe (2007) discovered that the propensity to pay out dividends is positively correlated to retained earnings. Also, the study by Denis and Osobov (2006) states that retained earnings are a significant dividend characteristic for non- US firms including UK, German, and French firms. One of the motives for dividend policy decision is maintaining a moderate share price as poor stock price performance mostly conveys negative information about firms reputation. An empirical research took by Zhao Chun-guang and Zhang Xue-li et al (2001) on all A shares listed companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchange, states that the more cash dividends is paid when the stock prices are high. Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000) undertook a research on all A shares listed before 1996 and paid dividend into share capital in 1997 as their sampling, and employed single-factor analysis, multifactor regression analysis to analyze the data. Their research showed a positive stock price reaction to the cash dividend, stock dividend policy. Myers and Bacon (2001) discussed that the debt to equity ratio was positively correlated to the dividend yield. Therefore firms with relatively more investment opportunities would tend to be more geared and vice versa (Ross, 2000). The study by Hu and Liu, (2005) declares that there is a positive correlation between the cash dividend the companies pay and their current earnings, and a inverse relationship between the debt to total assets and dividends. Green et al. (1993) questioned the irrelevance argument and investigated the relationship between the dividends and investment and financing decisions. Their study showed that dividend payout levels are decided along with investment and financing decisions. The study results however do not support the views of Miller and Modigliani (1961). Partington (1983) declared that firms motives for paying dividends and extent to which dividends are decided are independent of investment policy. The study by Higgins (1981) declares a direct link between growths and financing needs, rapidly growing firms have external financing needs because working capital needs normally exceed the incremental cash flows from new sales. Higgins (1972) suggests that payout ratios are negatively related to firms need top fund finance growth opportunities. Other researchers like Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et al. (1985) and Collins et al. (1996) all show significantly negative relationship between historical sales growth and dividend payout whereas D, Souza (1999) however shows a positive but insignificant relationship in the case of growth and negative but insignificant relationship in case of market to book value. Jenson and Meckling (1976) find a strong relationship between dividends and investment opportunities. They explain, in some circumstances where firms have relative uptight disposable Dividend Payout Decision Making Process Dividend Payout Decision Making Process CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background: Dividend policy is an important component of the corporate financial management policy. It is a policy used by the firm to decide as to how much cash it should reinvest in its business through expansion or share repurchases and how much to pay out to its shareholders in dividends. Dividend is a payment or return made by the firm to the shareholders, (owners of the company) out of its earnings in the form of cash. For a long time, the subject of corporate dividend policy has captivated the interests of many academicians and researchers, resulting in the emergence of a number of theoretical explanations for dividend policy. For the investors, dividend serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business, thereby companies try to maintain a stable dividend because if they reduce their dividend payments, investors may suspect that the company is facing a cash flow problem. Investors prefer steady growth of dividends every year and are reluctant to investm ent to companies with fluctuating dividend policy. Over time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of factors identified in the literature as being important to be considered in making dividend decisions. Thus, extensive studies have been done to find out various factors affecting dividend payout ratio of a firm. However, there is no single explanation that can capture the puzzling reality of corporate dividend behavior. Ocean deep judgment is involved by decision makers to resolve this issue of dividend behavior. The decision of companies to retain or pay out the earnings in form of dividends is important for the maximization of the value of the firm (Oyejide, 1976). Therefore, companies should set a constructive target dividend payout ratio, where it pays dividends to its shareholders and at the same time maintains sufficient retained earnings as to avoid having raise funds by borrowing money. A tough challenge was faced by financial practitioners and many academics, when Miller and Modigliani (MM) (1961) came with a proposition that, given perfect capital markets, the dividend decision does not affect the firm value and is, therefore, irrelevant. This proposition was greeted with surprise because at that time it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy and that a properly managed dividend policy had an impact on share prices and shareholder wealth. Since the MM study, many researchers have relaxed the assumption of perfect capital markets and stated theories about how managers should formulate dividend policy decisions. Problem Statement: Dividend policy has attracted a substantial amount of research by many researchers and theorists, who have provided theoretical as well as empirical observations, into the dividend puzzle (Black, 1976). Even though researchers and theorists have extended their studies in context to dividend decisions, the issue as to why corporations distribute a portion of their earnings as dividends is not yet resolved. The issue of dividend policy has stimulated much debate among financial analysts since Lintners (1956) seminal work. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. There are many factors that affect dividend decisions of a firm as it is very difficult to lay down an optimum dividend policy which would maximize the long-run wealth of the shareholders resulting into increase or decrease of the firms value, but the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. Miller and Modigliani (1961), DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006) gave their proposition on the dividend irrelevance, but the argument made by them was on assumptions that werent practical and in fact, the dividend payout decision does affect the shareholders value. The study focuses on identifying various determinants of dividend payout and whether these factors influence the dividend payout decision. Research Objective: There are many theories in the corporate finance literature addressing the dividend issue. The purpose of study is to understand the factors influencing the dividend decision of companies. The specific objectives of this study are: To analyze the financials of the company, to draw a framework of factors such as Retained earnings, Age of the company, Debt to Equity, Cash, Net income, Earnings per share etc. responsible for dividend declaration. To understand the criticality of a companys profitability (in terms of Earnings per share) component in declaration of dividends. To measure each factor individually on how it affects the dividend decision. Research Questions: RQ1. What is the relation between dividend payout and firms debt? RQ2. What is the relation between dividend payout and Profitability? RQ3. What is the relation between dividend payout and liquidity? RQ4. What is the relation between dividend payout and Retained Earnings? RQ5. What is the relation between dividend payout and Net Income? Contribution of the Study: Dividend decision is an important financial decision made by firms, managers, and investors. This study aims to contribute to the corporate finance literature, by looking at the Dividend puzzle. An attempt is made to make a valuable contribution in two major ways: Theoretical and Empirical approach is taken to provide a comprehensive view on the subject. The empirical Approach taken in this study will definitely leave some promising future ideas. The empirical findings and conclusions contained in this study can be used by financial managers to inform dividend decisions. Limitations of Study: The areas of concern to investigate in this study are extensive. Due to the Time constraint and accessibility of data, the research will be limited to the following: The period of study is only three years 2006 to 2008. The research has considered only those firms who pay dividends. The study is focused only on firms trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Structure of the Paper: The remaining chapters will be organized as follows: Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter discusses the different theories laid down in context to dividend policy and explains the relationship between dividend payout and its determinants as concluded by the study of different researchers and theorists. Chapter Three: Research Methodology This chapter explains the research hypothesis and gives a descriptive study of the techniques and the model used for data analysis. The application of the statistical tests used are explained thoroughly. Chapter four: Data Analysis and Findings To address the research questions, results obtained from the regression analysis will be evaluated and discussed in this chapter. Chapter five: Recommendations and Conclusion. This chapter Concludes the entire study and provides recommendations based on the findings and analysis done in the previous chapter and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Dividend remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern finance. Corporate dividend policy is an important decision area in the field of financial management hence there is an extensive literature devoted to the subject. Dividends are defined as the distribution of earnings (present or past) in real assets among the shareholders of the firm in proportion to their ownership. Dividend policy refers to managements long-term decision on how to utilize cash flows from business activities-that is, how much to plow back into the business, and how much to return to shareholders (Khan and Jain, 2005). Lintner (1956) conducted a notable study on dividend distributions, his was the first empirical study of dividend policy through his interview with managers of 28 selected companies, he stated that most companies have clear cut target payout ratios and that managers concern themselves with change in the existing dividend payout rather than the amount of the newly established payout. He also states that, Dividend policy is set first and other policies are then adjusted and the market reacts positively to dividend increase announcements and negatively to announcements of dividend decreases. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. Lintners study was expanded by Farrelly et al. (1988), who, mailed a questionnaire to 562 firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange and concluded that managers accept dividend policy to be relevant and important. Lintners view was also supported by the study results of Fama and Babiak (1968) and Fama (1974) who suggested that managers prefer a stable dividend policy, and are hesitant to increase dividends to a level that cannot be supported. Fama and Babiaks (1968) study also concludes that Net income appears to explain the dividend change decision better than a cash flow measure. The study by Adaoglu (2000), Amidu and Abor (2006) and Belans et al (2007) stated that net income shows positive and significant association with the dividend payout, therefore indicating that, the firms with the positive earnings pay more dividends. Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani (1961) made a proposition that the value of a firm is not affected by its dividend policy. Dividend policy is a way of dividing up operating cash flows among investors or just a financial decision. Financial theorists Martin, Petty, Keown, and Scott, 1991 supported this theory of irrelevance. Miller and Modiglianis conclusion on the irrelevance of dividend policy presented a tough challenge to the conventional wisdom of time up to that point, it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy as investors seem to prefer dividends over capital gains (JM Samuels, FM.Wilkes and R.E Brayshaw). Benartzi et al. (1997) conducted an extensive study and concluded that Lintners model of dividends remains the finest description of the dividend setting process available. Baker et al. (2001) conducted a survey on 630 NASDAQ-listed firms and analyzed the responses from 188 CFOs about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy, they found that the dividend decisions made by managers were consistent with Lintners (1956) survey results and model. Their results also suggest that managers pay particular attention to the dividend policy of the firm because the dividend decision can affect firm value and, in turn, the wealth of stockholders, thus dividend policy requires serious attention by the management. E.F Fama and K.R French (2001) investigated the characteristics of companies paying dividends and concluded that the top most characteristics that affect the decision to pay dividends are Firm size, Profitability, and Investment opportunities. They studied dividend payment in the United States and found that the proportion of dividend payers declined sharply from 66% in 1978 to 20.8% in 1999, and that only about a fifth of public companies paid dividends. Growth companies such as Microsoft, Cisco and Sun Microsystems were found to be non-dividend payers. They also explained that the probability that a firm would pay dividends was positively related to profitability and size and negatively related to growth. Their research concluded that larger firms are more profitable and are more likely to pay dividends, than firms with more investment opportunities. The relationship between firm size and dividend policy was studied by Jennifer J. Gaver and Kenneth M. Gaver (1993). They suggested t hat A firms dividend yield is inversely related to the extent of its growth opportunities. The inference here is that as cash flow increases, the coefficient of dividend decreases, indicating that smaller firms that have greater investment opportunities thus they tend not to make dividend payment while larger firms tend to have proactive dividends policy. Ho, H. (2003) undertook a comparative study of dividend policies in Japan and Australia. Their study revealed that dividend policies in Australia and Japan are affected by different financial factors. Dividend policies are affected positively by size in Australia and liquidity in Japan. Naceur et al (2006) examined the dividend policy of 48 firms listed on the Tunisian Stock Exchange during the period 1996-2002. His research indicated that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings could afford larger free cash flows and thus paid larger dividends. Li and Lie (2006) reported that large and profitable firms are more likely to raise their dividends if the past dividend yield, debt ratio, cash ratio are low. A study was conducted by Norhayati Mohamed, Wee Shu Hui, Mormah Hj.Omar, and Rashidah Abdul Rahman on Malaysian companies over a 3 year period from 2003-2005. The sample was taken from the top 200 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia based on market capitaliza tion as at 31December 2005. Their study concluded that bigger firms pay higher dividends. For the purpose of finding out how companies arrive at their dividend decisions, many researchers and theorists have proposed several dividend theories. Gordon and Walter (1963) presented the Bird in Hand theory which suggested that to minimize risk the investors always prefer cash in hand rather than future promise of capital gain. This theory asserts that investors value dividends and high payout firms. As said by John D. Rockefeller (an American industrialist) The one thing that gives me contentment is to see my dividend coming in. For companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder value the easiest way is to say the dividend check is in the mail. The bird-in-hand theory (a pre-Miller-Modigliani theory) asserts that dividends are valued differently to capital gains in a world of information asymmetry where due to uncertainty of future cash flow, investors will often tend to prefer dividends to retained earnings. As a result the value of the firm would be increased a s a higher payout ratio will reduce the required rate of return (see, for example Gordon, 1959). This argument has not received any strong empirical support. Dividends, paid by companies to shareholders from earnings, serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business. This explanation is known as signaling hypothesis. Signaling is an example factor for the relevance of dividends to the value of the firm. It is based on the idea of information asymmetry between managers and investors, where managers have private information about the firm that is not available to the outsiders. This theory is supported by models put forward by Miller and Rock (1985), Bhattacharya (1979), John and Williams (1985). They stated that dividends can be used as a signaling device to influence share price. The share price reacts favorably when an announcement of dividend increase is made. Few researchers found limited support for the signaling hypothesis (see Gonedes, 1978 , Watts, 1973) and there are other researchers, who supported the hypothesis, for example, in Michaely, Nissim and Ziv (2001), Pettit (1972) and Bali (2003). The tax-preference theory assumes that the market valuation of a firms stocks is increased when the dividend payout ratios is low which in turn lowers the required rate of return. Because of the relative tax liability of dividends compared to capital gains, investors need a large amount of before-tax risk adjusted return on stocks with higher dividend yields (Brennan, 1970). On one side studies by Lichtenberger and Ramaswamy (1979), Poterba and Summers, (1984), and Barclay (1987) have presented empirical evidence in support of the tax effect argument and on the other side Black and Scholes (1974), Miller and Scholes (1982), and Morgan and Thomas (1998) have either opposed such findings or provided completely different explanations. The study by Masulis and Trueman (1988) model dividend payments in form of cash as products of deferred dividend costs. Their model predicts that investors with differing tax liabilities will not be uniform in their ideal firm dividend policy. As the tax l iability on dividends increases (decreases), the dividend payment decreases (increases) while earnings reinvestment increases (decreases). According to Farrar and Selwyn (1967), in a partial equilibrium framework, individual investors choose the amount of personal and corporate leverage and also whether to receive corporate distributions as dividends or capital gains. Barclay (1987) has presented empirical evidence I support of the tax effect argument. Others, including Black and Scholes (1982), have opposed such findings or provided different explanations. Farrar and Selwyns model (1967) made an assumption that investors tend to increase their after tax income to the maximum. According to this model corporate earnings should be distributed by share repurchase rather than the use of dividends. Brennan (1970) has extended Farrar and Selwyns model into a general equilibrium framework. Under this, the expected usefulness of wealth as a system of barter is maximized. Despite being more robust both the models are similar as regards to their predictions. According to Auerbachs (1979) discrete-time, infinite-horizon model, the wealth of shareholders is maximized by the shareholders themselves and not by firm market value. If there does, infact, exist a difference between capital gains and dividends tax; firm market value maximization is no longer determined by wealth maximization. He states that the continued undervaluation of corporate capital leads to dividend distributions. The clientele effects hypothesis is another related theory. According to this theory the investors may be attracted to the types of stocks that fall in with their consumption/savings preferences. That is, investors (or clienteles) in high tax brackets may prefer non-dividend or low-dividend paying stocks if dividend income is taxed at a higher rate than capital gains. Also, certain clienteles may be created with the presence of transaction costs. There are several empirical studies on the clientele effects hypothesis but the findings are mixed. Studies by Pettit (1977), Scholz (1992), and Dhaliwal, Erickson and Trezevant (1999) presented evidence consistent with the existence of clientele effects hypothesis whereas studies by Lewellen et al. (1978), Richardson, Sefcik and Thomason (1986), Abrutyn and Turner (1990), found weak or contrary evidence. There is an assumption that the managers do not always take steps which would lead to maximizing an investors wealth. This gives rise to another favorable argument for hefty dividend payouts which shifts the reinvestment decision back on the owners. The main hitch would be the agency conflict (conflict between the principal and the agent) arising as a result of separate ownership and control. Therefore, a manager is expected to move the surplus funds from the high retained earnings into projects which are not feasible. This would be mainly due to his ill intention or his in competency. Thus, generous dividend payouts increase a firms value as it reduces the managements access to free cash flows and hence, controlling the problem of over investment. There are many more agency theories explaining how dividends can increase the value of a firm. One of them was by Easterbrook (1984); he proposed that dividend payments reduce agency problems in contrast to the transaction cost theory which is of the view that dividend payments reduce the value as it forces to raise costly finances from outside sources. His idea is that if the dividends are not paid, there is a problem of collective action that tends to lead to hap-hazard management of the firm. So, dividend payouts and raising external finance would attract auditory and regulatory measures by financial intermediaries like investment banks, respective stock exchange regulators and the potential investors as well. All this monitoring would lead to considerable reduction of agency costs and appreciate the market value of t he firm. Moreover, as defined by Jenson and Meckling (1976), Agency costs=monitoring costs+ bonding, costs+ residual loss i.e. sum of agency cost of equity and agency cost of debt. Hence, Easterbrook (1984) noted that dividend payments and raising new debt and its contract negotiations would reduce potential for wealth transfer. The realization for potential agency costs linked with separation of management and shareholders is not new. Adam Smith (1937) proposed that management of earlier companies is wayward. This problem was highly witnessed during at the time of British East Indian Companies and tracking managers was a failure due to inefficiencies and high costs of shareholder monitoring (Kindleberger, 1984). Scott (1912) and Carlos (1922) differ with this view point. They agree that although some fraud existed in the corporations, many of the activities of the managers were in line with those of the shareholders interests. An opportune and intelligent manager should always invest the surplus cash available into those opportunities which are well researched to be in the best interest of the shareholders. Berle and Means (1932) was the first to discover the insufficient utilization of funds which are surplus after other investment opportunities taken by the management. This thought was further promoted by Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis. This hypothesis combined market information asymmetries with the agency theory. The surplus funds left after all the valuable projects are largely responsible for creation of the conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders. Payment of dividends and interest on other debt instruments reduce the cash flow with the management to invest in marginal net present value projects and for other perquisite consumptions. Therefore, the dividend theory is better explained by the combination of both the agency and the signaling theory rather than by any o ne of these alone. On the other hand, the free cash flow hypothesis rationalizes the corporate takeover frenzy of the 1980s Myers (1987 and 1990) rather than providing a clear and comprehensive dividend policy. The study by Baker et al. (2007) reports, that firms paying dividend in Canada are significantly larger and more profitable, having greater cash flows, ownership structure and some growth opportunities. The cash flow hypothesis proposes that insiders to a firm have more information about future cash flow than the outsiders, and they have incentivized motives to leak this to outsiders. Lang and Litzenberger (1989) check the cash flow signaling and free cash flow explanations of the effect of dividend declarations on the stock prices. This difference between permanent and temporary changes is also explored in Brook, Charlton, and Hendershott (1998). However, this study is based on the hypothesis that dividend changes contain cash flow information rather than information about earnings. This is the cash flow signaling hypothesis proposing that dividend changes signal expected cash flows changes. The dividend decisions are affected by a number of factors; many researchers have contributed in determining which determinant of dividend payout is the most significant in contributing to dividend decisions. It is said that the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. According to Lintner (1956) the dividend payment pattern of a firm is influenced by the current year earnings and previous year dividends. Pruitt and Gitmans (1991) survey of financial managers of 1000 largest U.S companies about the interplay among the investment and dividend decisions in their firms reported that, current and past year profits are essential factors influencing dividend payments. The conclusion derived from Baker and Powells (2000) survey of NYSE-listed firms is that the major determinant is the anticipated level of future earnings and continuity of past dividends. The study of Aivazian, Booth, and Cleary (2003) concludes that profitability and return on equity positi vely correlate with the size of the dividend payout ratio. The study by Lv Chang-jiang and Wang Ke-min (1999) on 316 listed companies in China that paid cash dividends during 1997 and 1998 by using modified Lintner dividend model, suggested that the dividend payout ratio is due to the firms current earning level. Other researchers like Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000), Liu Shu-lian and Hu Yan-hong (2003) also concluded their research on the above stated understanding about dividend policy of listed companies in China. A survey done by Baker, Farrelly, and Edelman (1985) and Farrelly, Baker, and Edelman (1986) on 562 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) firms with normal kinds of dividend polices in 1983 suggested that the major determinants of dividend payments were the anticipated level of future earnings and the pattern of past dividends. DeAngelo et al. (2004) findings suggest that earnings do have some impact on dividend payment. He stated that the high/increasing dividend concentration may be the result of high/increasing earnings concentration. Goergen et al. (2005) study on 221 German firms shows that net earnings were the key determinants of dividend changes. Baker and Smith (2006) examined 309 sample firms exhibiting behavior consistent with a residual dividend policy and their matched counterparts to understand how they set their dividend policies. Their study showed that for the matched firms, the pattern of past dividends and desire to maintain a long-term dividend payout ratio elicit the highest level of agreement from respondents. The study by Ferris et al. (2006) found mixed results for the relation between a firms earnings and its ability to pay dividends. Kao and Wu (1994) used a time series regression analysis of 454 firms over the period of 1965 to1986, and showed that there was a positive relationshi p between unexpected dividends and earnings. Carroll (1995) used quarterly data of 854 firms over the period of 1975 to 1984, and examined whether quarterly dividend changes predicted future earnings. He found a significant positive relationship. Liquidity is also an important determinant of dividend payouts. A poor liquidity position would generate fewer dividends due to shortage of cash. Alli et.al (1993), reveal that dividend payments depend more on cash flows, which reflect the companys ability to pay dividends, than on current earnings, which are less heavily influenced by accounting practices. They claim current earnings do no really reflect the firms ability to pay dividends. A firm without the cash flow back up cannot choose to have a high dividend payout as it will ultimately have to either reduce its investment plans or turn to investors for additional debt. The study by Brook, Charlton and Hendershott (1998) states that, Firms expecting large permanent cash flow increases tend to increase their dividend. Managers do not increase dividends until they are positive that sufficient cash will flow in to pay them (Brealey-Myers-2002). Myers and Bacons (2001) study shows a negative relationship between the liquid ratio and dividend payout. For companies to enable them to enhance their dividend paying capacity, and thus, to generate higher dividend paying capacity, it is necessary to retain their earnings to finance investment in fixed assets. The study by Belans et al (2007) states that the relationship between the firms liquidity and dividend is positive which explains that firms with more market liquidity pay more dividends. Reddy (2006), Amidu and Abor (2006) find opposite evidence. Lintner (1956) posited that the level of retained earnings is a dividend decision by- product. Adaoglu (2000) study shows that the firms listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange follow unstable cash dividend policy and the main factor for determining the amount of dividend is earning of the firms. The same conclusion was drawn by Omet (2004) in case of firms listed on Amman Securities Market and he further states that the tax imposition on dividend does not have the significant impact on the dividend behavior of the listed firms. The study by Mick and Bacon (2003) concludes that future earnings are the most influential variable and that the past dividend patterns as well as current and expected levels are empirically relevant in explaining the dividend decision. Empirical support for Lintners findings, that dividends were indeed a function of current and past profit levels and were negatively correlated with the change in sales was found by Darling (1957), Fama and Babiak (1968). Benchman a nd Raaballe (2007) discovered that the propensity to pay out dividends is positively correlated to retained earnings. Also, the study by Denis and Osobov (2006) states that retained earnings are a significant dividend characteristic for non- US firms including UK, German, and French firms. One of the motives for dividend policy decision is maintaining a moderate share price as poor stock price performance mostly conveys negative information about firms reputation. An empirical research took by Zhao Chun-guang and Zhang Xue-li et al (2001) on all A shares listed companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchange, states that the more cash dividends is paid when the stock prices are high. Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000) undertook a research on all A shares listed before 1996 and paid dividend into share capital in 1997 as their sampling, and employed single-factor analysis, multifactor regression analysis to analyze the data. Their research showed a positive stock price reaction to the cash dividend, stock dividend policy. Myers and Bacon (2001) discussed that the debt to equity ratio was positively correlated to the dividend yield. Therefore firms with relatively more investment opportunities would tend to be more geared and vice versa (Ross, 2000). The study by Hu and Liu, (2005) declares that there is a positive correlation between the cash dividend the companies pay and their current earnings, and a inverse relationship between the debt to total assets and dividends. Green et al. (1993) questioned the irrelevance argument and investigated the relationship between the dividends and investment and financing decisions. Their study showed that dividend payout levels are decided along with investment and financing decisions. The study results however do not support the views of Miller and Modigliani (1961). Partington (1983) declared that firms motives for paying dividends and extent to which dividends are decided are independent of investment policy. The study by Higgins (1981) declares a direct link between growths and financing needs, rapidly growing firms have external financing needs because working capital needs normally exceed the incremental cash flows from new sales. Higgins (1972) suggests that payout ratios are negatively related to firms need top fund finance growth opportunities. Other researchers like Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et al. (1985) and Collins et al. (1996) all show significantly negative relationship between historical sales growth and dividend payout whereas D, Souza (1999) however shows a positive but insignificant relationship in the case of growth and negative but insignificant relationship in case of market to book value. Jenson and Meckling (1976) find a strong relationship between dividends and investment opportunities. They explain, in some circumstances where firms have relative uptight disposable