Five Types of Organization Structures

Every organization, to be effective, must have a structure. An organization structure is the setup that determines the hierarchy and reporting structure in an organization. It is often represented by a drawing known as an organizational chart. There are different types of organizational structures that companies follow, depending on a variety of factors like leadership style, type of organization, geographical regions, work flow and hierarchy. Organizations may choose from a number of common operating structures. One popular structure is the functional organization, where the company is divided into separate units based on role, such as accounting, marketing, research and development or distribution. The functional structure offers a number of potential advantages as well as disadvantages. An advantage of a functional organizational structure is that it offers a high level of specialization. Each unit operates as a type of self-contained mini-company, charged with carrying out its specific role. A worker who is an expert in his functional area can perform tasks with a high level of speed and efficiency, which enhances productivity. While specialized units within the functional structure often perform with a high level of efficiency, they may have difficulty working well with other units. Another potential disadvantage of the functional organization structure is that it can pose a challenge for top management to maintain control as the organization expands. If the company expands into new geographic areas, maintaining control of and managing the separate functions can be even more of a challenge. Kenexa, an IBM Company, provides employment and retention solutions to assist organizations in hiring and keeping workers. Kenexa is a SAAS, software as a service company, and utilizes a functional structure. Market structure is used to group employees on the basis of the specific market the company sells in. A company could have five different markets they use and according to this structure, each would be a separate division. Some merits of this structure are that employees can communicate with customers in the local language and they are available for the customers, if need is felt. Demerits include intense competition among the employees; decision-making can cause conflicts and difficulty to determining the productivity and efficiency of employees. Product-based structures allow companies to remain flexible in the business environment. This allows the company to add or remove structure sections as necessary. However, it can prohibit companies from achieving company-wide goals since each unit operates on its own. A successful company that uses a Market organizational structure as well as a Product-based structure is Microsoft. Farber, 2013) One advantage of a Matrix structure is better coordination and control: – this structure is very much suitable to coordinate and control the functional activities and project activities. Most importantly, employees from various functional areas work under the spirit of team and make the project successful. Team effort is made. On the other hand, Matrix organizational structure involves huge overhead cost, has problems of overspecialization and is difficult to balance. GE is an example of a company that uses the matrix structure approach. In a geographic structure, large organizations have offices at different places, for example, there could be a north zone, south zone, west zone and east zone. Advantages are better communication among the employees at the same location and locals are familiar with the local business environment and can cater to geographical and cultural differences. A successful company with this structure is Ports America, headquartered in the NE with operations throughout both coasts and segmented regionally. References: Farber, D. (2013, July 12). Steve Ballmer remakes Microsoft one more time. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57593289-75/steve-ballmer-remakes-microsoft-one-more-time/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj= (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kenexa.com/ (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.portsamerica.com/about.html http://www.ge.com/pdf/company/ge_organization_chart.pdf Hill, C. (n.d.). Strategic management theory.

Art for Heart’s Sake

The text under consideration isâ€Å"Art for heart's Sake† written by an American sculptor, cartoonist and writer, Reuben Lucius Goldberg . He worked a lot as a cartoonist and some of his cartoons became highly popular, among his best works are Is there Doctor in the house? (1929), Rede Goldberg's Guide to Europe(1954) and I Made my Bed (1960) . The story is about an old sick man, about Mr. Ellsworth. He is very capricious and everybody are tired of his behavior. Once his doctor decides to employ a young promising artist who will teach him painting. Mr.Ellsworth is bad in painting but one of his picture is accepted for the Lathrop show and awarded 1000$. And finally this old man says that Art is nothing and he has bought the gallery where he won such prize. According to the change of the number of participants the text can be dievided in to 4 parts: The first is â€Å"Pineapple juice for Mr. Ellsworth†. When the male nurse Koppel persuades pineapple juice to Mr. Ellswor th, but he refuses to drink it. The second â€Å"Proposition for Mr. Ellsworth from his doctor†. In this part doctor Caswell comes to see Mr.Ellsworth and made him proposition to take up art. The third â€Å"Art lessons for Mr. Ellsworth from young and promising artist† This part about teaching Mr. Ellsworth drawing by Frank Swain- eighteen years old promising student. The fourth â€Å"First Landscape prize for Mr. Ellsworth† When the Lathrop Gallery prized 1,000$ Mr. Ellsworth for his masterpiece â€Å"Trees Dressed in White† The atmosphere of the text is ironical and sometimes it is humorous. For example when doctor Caswell said with supreme effort: â€Å"Congratulations, Mister Ellsworth†. Here we see how Caswell tells it without sincerity.Author shows that everything is a joke or a play for Mr. Ellsworth and also he shows , that money can do everything and he makes fun of it: if you have money you can do and get everything you want, for example prize of the Lathrop Gallery, maybe he needn’t money he just wants to proof that he is God . Mr. Ellsworth doesn't respect others, he spits on someone's opinions. Finally Mr. Ellsworth is prized with 1000$ by the gallery because he bought it. According to the narrative technique of the text. It is narration intercepted with dialogue and description.We can see here a chain of actions and some dialogues during the text, and also there is describing Mr. Ellsworth and some things such as bowl of fruit. Speaking about vocabulary level we can see high level vocabulary. Everybody and Mr. Ellsworth is well-educated and very smart. Everybody talk to Mr. Ellsworth very respectively, but Mr. Ellsworth doesn't respect them and he uses a lot of colloquial words and slang such as Nope, Rot, by gum. It shows us that old man spit on everything. Speaking about the syntax we can see here many long compound sentences, respective addresses to Mr.Ellswoth with word â€Å"Sir† (Not bad, si r; Yes, sir;) it means that everyone afraid of Mr. Ellswoth and it means they have respect for him. And also there are some short answers from him. For example: Bosh! ; Nope! ; By gum. All of this shows us the degree of education of every participant but it doesn't mean that Mr. Ellswoth is not well educated he just doesn't care about anything. Speaking about stylistic devices we can see here gradation shows that his behavior is awful for example â€Å"He won't take his pineapple juice. He doesn't want me to read to him.He doesn't like anything! From these phrases we see that the old man is very capricious, he drinks when he wants, he listens what he wants. He has much money and he thinks that everybody obliged to him. There is also a metaphor such as â€Å"god-awful smudge† which shows us that he is layman in art. And also Mr. Ellswoth uses such metonymy as â€Å"an old pineapple juice† it shows us disrespect and attitude to his nurse. There are some repetitions show ing doctor Caswell's astonishment â€Å"Fine, fine†¦ See, see†¦ †. We can see here 3 main characters.Doctor Caswell is well educated person he knows what he do and he is smart. Young Frank Swain he is a promising student but doesn't have long-live experience, but hi is smart too. And of course Mr. Ellswoth he is educated person but he doesn't show it. He is old man he has money and he thinks that he is above everybody, that is why he doesn't respect others. This text was interesting for me; there are many rich and fool people in the world such as Mr. Ellsworth and the author showed us his life and made fun of such behavior, it is funny and interesting.Livin ‘ (Spanish) ? , ? : ? ? ? , ojitos ? , : [:] , Sh?s livin ‘, Y , Sh?s livin ‘ ? ? City ? ? besabe ? , ? ? ojitos ? , Sh?s livin ‘ , ? , ,

Predicitve Analytics

A secondary research paper on Predictive analytics; which is a mix of tools and techniques that support organizations to identify probability in data that can be used find out the future outcomes. The scope this study Is to identify the potential of predictive analytics to leverage advertising, marketing campaign and business development Initiatives thereby understanding the customer behavior. Customer preferences, change, attitudes, purchase behaviors and attaining a high degree of inference in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment, as potential moves have been â€Å"pre-tested. † effective Marketing Satellites + Higher Conversions = More Revenue = Growth & Success! In a tough competitive global marketplace, to have desired return on the marketing initiatives bib organizations are looking forward to have new avenues which could help them to make a better understand about their customer preferences, change, attitudes, purchase behaviors.Earlier the rese arch was archeological, looking at past customer choices and behavior. With the advent f a third-generation approach called predictive segmentation; BIB markets are able to resolve the challenges and take a competitive advantage. It Is a mix of tools and find out the future outcomes. It helps to tune insights about exactly which elements of the service or product offer actually drive customer behavior and thereby giving a high degree of confidence in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment, because potential moves have been â€Å"pre-tested. Predictive analytics technology Incorporates data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment capabilities, and drives the entire segmentation process, room gathering customer information at every interaction to analyzing the data and providing specific, real-time recommendations on the best action to take at a particular time, with a particular customer. The result is more effective customer relationship management st rategies, including advertising and marketing campaigns; upsets and cross-sell Annihilates; and long-term customer loyalty, retention and rewards programs.Current market situation Most BIB companies which tries to get deeper customer understanding and move segmentation beyond traditional way using selects from Industry, size, anemographic views of customers Is not reaching up to the standard. In a top business marketers in the United States, themes pressing concern identified by respondents was â€Å"finding a better way to expand understanding's their customer needs, market segments, and the key drivers of customer value. Companies which have traditionally relied on technological innovation to attain competitive advantage have come to realize that new technology or new product features are not good enough to attract more customers or increase revenues from existing customers. Major challenges 1 . Sales cycles are long and complex offerings. 2. Competitor's offerings and strategies shift so quickly that managers cannot reliably compare the impact of changes in a given marketing 3.Customer relationship management systems cannot easily capture the decisions and actions that led to success or failure with any particular account, because such information is largely anecdotal, not quantitative. The following table represents some examples of the types of challenges solved by predictive marketing for different types of digital marketers: Benefits or Strategic objectives Attained through Predictive Analysis The predictive approach not only produces forward-looking segments; it also gives users a high degree of confidence in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment.By scientifically testing how customers might respond to future offerings, channels, and pricing; companies know how to reach the right customer with the right offer at the right time, through the right channel. 1. Compete – Secure the Most Powerful and Unique Competitive Strong hold A predictive model distinguishes the micro segments of customers who choose your company from those who defer or defect to a competitor. In this way, your organization identifies exactly where your competitor falls short, its weakness. 2.Grow – Increase Sales and Retain Customers Competitively Each customer is scored for their behaviors like purchases, responses, churn and clicks. These scores drive the enterprise operations across marketing, sales, and customer and help the organization to have competitive advantage Aberdeen group in August 2011 (Predictive Analytics for Sales and Marketing: Seeing Around Corners) found that companies using predictive analytics enjoyed a 75% higher click through rate and a 73% higher sales lift than companies that did not SE this technology. Figure below shows the details of the research conducted among 160 test audiences. Source from:- Aberdeen group in August 2011 -Predictive Analytics for Sales and Marketing: Seeing Around Corners) r anking transactions with a predictive model dramatically boosts fraud detection. 4. Improve – Advance Your Core Business Capacity Competitively Whether offering a service or a product, enterprise's central function is to produce and deliver with increasing effectiveness and efficiency. By way of greater efficiency would be able to overproduces/services at cheaper prices. . Satisfy – Meet Today's Escalating Consumer Expectations By offering very targeted offers that have more probability of acceptance.Companies are able to accomplish their marketing objectives and set the customer expectation without increasing their marketing staff or budget. Business application of predictive analytics Most of the organization applies predictive analytics to automate operational decisions, across marketing, sales areas and beyond. Choosing the business application of predictive analytics depends on strategic question or type of decision companies choose to automate. Companies run vari ety of campaigns to accomplish specific goals, such as acquisition, cross-selling, and retention.Predictive analytics creates a range of models, parallel to their business application; table below shows some of the business application and the predictions that companies look forward. Business application: Predictions Customer retention customer defection/churn/attrition Direct marketing customer response Product recommendations what each customer wants/likes Behavior-based advertising which ad customer will click on Email targeting which message customer will respond to Credit scoring debtor risk Insurance pricing and selection applicant response, insured risk Supply chain optimization 1 .Supply chain visibility and cost to serve 2. Demand forecasting Optimization 3. Network optimization: is about analyzing total cost of ownership of a company's supply chain network. 4. Predictive asset maintenance: improving up times, performance and availability of manufacturing assets by predicti ng when maintenance or when a new part is required in order to avoid unplanned down time. 5. Spend analytics: understanding how much a company is spending on different recruitment categories, with which suppliers, and how a company can optimize their spending across all those categories. Invitational campaign approach In traditional campaign approach markets typically use a few basic selections to identify customer behavior while creating a campaign. It was mainly based on internal company processes, rather than focusing on the needs and preferences of its customers. Response to these types of conventional campaigns is generally low often less than one or two percent. Optimizing campaigns with Predetermination In order to optimize marketing campaigns, companies need to be able to answer the four crucial questions like Who should I contact?What should I offer? When should I make the offer? How should I make the offer? Predictive Marketing enables marketers to find the answers quickly , and to create and execute campaigns around this simple but effective process. First, marketing analysts create predictive models; as we have discussed earlier creating models depends on the business application or strategic question in hand companies. These models helps to efficiently find appropriate customers and discover the best timing,channel, and message for each customer.Then, arresters add business information such as contact restrictions, budget guidelines, and campaign objectives. Before sending the campaigns, they verify the projected size and cost of each campaign, as well as the expected response and revenue on each campaign. Finally, the marketers execute the approved campaigns. Select the right audience Using the model campaigner decides the right customer segments to send out the campaign; deciding the target segment using the model typically reduces campaign costs by 25 to 40 percent, while maintaining or even increasing response rate. Select the right channelAt t his stage of the campaign process, marketers determine how best to contact each customer. By using each customer's preferred channel, (based on channel preferences and predicted response) companies increase response rates. Select the right time Consumers today have many choices for meeting their needs. That's why it's critical to reach customers in a timely manner when their behavior indicates an unmet need or a risk of defection or attrition. Predictive Marketing continually scans customer databases for Just such events, and triggers specific campaigns when a need or risk is detected.Some companies increase the frequency of campaigns to improve the chances of reaching customers at an ideal time. These campaigns target fewer customers, but the customers they do target have a high likelihood of response. When the campaigns are finished, they use Predictive Marketing to compare actual results to the projections, and incorporate information that can improve the effectiveness of future campaigns. This process is accomplished in Predictive Marketing two main modules, the Analytic Center and the Interaction Center anticipate the needs and preferences of individual customers.The Interaction Center s used to create, optimize, and execute campaigns based on the customer needs predicted by models created in the Analytic Center. Together, the Analytic Center and the Interaction center enable companies to answer the â€Å"who, what, when, and how' of successful campaign marketing. Marketing analysts create predictive models of customer behaviors and preferences in the Analytic Center. The models are then used by marketers to create and optimize campaigns in the Interaction Center. New interaction data is sent back to the Analytic Center to refine and enhance the predictive models. Select the right offerWhen companies increase the number of campaigns they run, they risk alienating their customers by overloading them with offers. Conventional campaign management tools are not designed to address the potential overlap. Predictive Marketing, however, reduces this risk through a comprehensive campaign optimization process. Predictive Marketing evaluates all of the available campaigns and selects the one that best balances the customer's likelihood to respond with the profit potential of the campaigns. It also takes into account suppressions and contact restrictions, such as â€Å"do not call† or â€Å"do not contact more Han once every two months. This customer focus, combined with the ability to optimize campaigns around restrictions and preferences, has enabled companies to report a profit increase of between 25 and 50 percent. As companies transition from large, unfocused marketing campaigns to highly targeted, event- based campaigns across multiple channels, their marketing departments go through several stages Predictive Marketing enables companies to run more effective campaigns at each stage of the transition. Stage 1: Right customer 2: R ight channel 3: Right time 4: Right offer 1 . ObjectiveSelect the targeted customers For each campaign Select the best channel for each customer Contact each customer at right time Select the best offers for each customer 2. Enabling technology Predictive analytics Channel optimization Event marketing Campaign optimization 3. Strategy Predict who is likely to respond to a campaign and balance that information with against expected revenue Balance each customers channel preference against triggers to select customers Balance the customers likelihood to respond against the profit potential of each campaign 4.Benefit 25 – 40% reduction in direct marketing cost Decreased cost of Interaction Up to double the response to marketing campaigns 25 – 50% profit increase Assessing the impact of campaign decisions After marketers create campaigns, Predictive Marketing eliminates the guesswork of determining which ones to run. This helps marketers know in advance which campaigns are likely to be the most successful at reaching a specific goal, such as retaining at-risk customers or selling a particular product. It also shows which campaigns are not likely to be profitable.By running only the campaigns that have the greatest potential for success, companies achieve positive financial results. Monitoring and improving campaigns Feedback from campaigns enables the marketing department to measure the actual results of campaigns, as well as adjust in-progress campaigns when the initial results are not as positive as expected. Predictive Marketing stores all campaign interaction information, such as the offer made, the campaign used to make the offer, and the models used in the campaign.This enables users to monitor: Campaign-level performance, such as actual response versus expected response, so users can see which segments and groups performed well Customer performance, such as customer profitability, cross-sell ratios, and attrition risk Channel performance, such as expected load on a channel versus planned load, and channel effectiveness for each campaign Predictive model performance, assess which models to continue to use and which to revise or refine.Predictive Marketing uses data from recent campaigns to further refine its models. By tracking the performance of models and campaigns, companies create a â€Å"feedback loop† of information and refinement that enables them to create even more effective campaigns and achieve progressively better results. Integrating with social media Companies are making a transition from a method of listing to engaging in order to capture more value from social media.Among the wide network of customers, predictive analysis helps business to plan it strategically to maximize the value of their social media interaction. Using techniques from data mining and text mining, predictive analytics lets you analyses at historical patterns and make predictions about future behavior for specific individuals. By taking customer data that you hold internally and adding what people have said and done, you can map out what people are likely to do and engage them accordingly.Enhance social media efforts with predictive analytics If you've got a social media game plan for monitoring feedback and engaging customers, consider adding predictive analytics to help you respond to customers in more proactive, targeted ways. As an example, by classifying sentiment (customer's opinion, comments, suggestions or thoughts about the product) in social media data and tying that to customer data, you can predict people who are likely to be favorable prospects with special messages or offers.Here's one way you can get started: 1 . Capture 1,000 comments in the social media sites you monitor. You'll need to determine who to respond to, and how. 2. As its not feasible to respond to all comments, you can use text mining to classify sentiment, and based on the results; follow a 3-pronged response strategy: Send tha nk yoga's to positive comments – reinforce the relationship. Ignore comments with negative sentiment below a certain threshold – in some cases; it's more effective to focus on more receptive customers.For those in between, send an invitation to engage via one-on-one social interaction with a support or sales representative. You can engage customers â€Å"in social† through outworks such as Twitter, Linked or direct them to your online email portal or phone bank. 3. Next, you'll want to measure the effectiveness of your response strategy. After planning your responses, test different messages (A/B testing) for each response type to gauge effectiveness, analyze and understand response rates, and refine your messaging. This testing will inform the engagement strategy you deploy going forward.Adding predictive analytics to your social media efforts lets you capture more value sand ultimately, it can help you gain a deeper understanding of your customers o more effec tively engage them, increasing retention and loyalty A Microscopic and Telescopic View of Your Data Predictive analytics employs both a microscopic and telescopic view of data allowing organizations to see and analyze the minute details of a business, and to peer into the future. Traditional Bal was limited only to create assumptions and find statistical patterns to those assumptions.Predictive analytics go beyond those assumptions to discover previously unknown data; it then looks for patterns and associations anywhere and everywhere between seemingly disparate information. Predictive Analytics-The Future Business Intelligence The market is witnessing an unprecedented shift in business intelligence (81), largely because of technological innovation and increasing business needs. The latest shift in the Bal market is the move from traditional analytics to predictive analytics. Although predictive analytics belongs to the Bal family, it is emerging as a distinct new software sector.An alytical tools enable greater transparency, and can find and analyze past and present trends, as well as the hidden nature of data. However, past and present insight and trend information are not enough to be nominative in business. Business organizations need to know more about the future, and in particular, about future trends, patterns, and customer behavior in order to predictive analytics to forecast future trends in customer behavior, buying patterns, and who is coming into and leaving the market and why.Traditional analytical tools claim to have a real 3600 view of the enterprise or business, but they analyze only historical data, data about what has already happened. Traditional analytics help gain insight for what was right and what went wrong in decision-making. Today's tools merely provide rear view analysis. However, one cannot change the past, but one can prepare better for the future and decision makers want to see the predictable future, control it, and take actions t oday to attain tomorrow's goals.Case study Let's use the example of a credit card company operating a customer loyalty program to describe the application of predictive analytics. Credit card companies try to retain their existing customers through loyalty programs. The challenge is predicting the loss of customer. In an ideal world, a company can look into the future and take appropriate action before customers switch to competitor companies. In this case, one can build a predictive model employing three predictors: frequency of use, personal financial situations, and lower annual percentage rate (PAR) offered by competitors.The combination of these predictors creates a predictive model, which works to find patterns and associations. This predictive model can be applied to customers who are would be using their cards less frequently. Predictive analytics would classify these less frequent users differently than the regular users. It would then find the pattern of card usage for thi s group and predict a probable outcome. The predictive model could identify patterns between card usage; changes in one's personal financial situation; and the lower PAR offered by competitors.In this situation, the predictive analytics model can help the company to identify who are those unsatisfied customers. As a result, companies can respond in a timely manner to keep those clients loyal by offering them attractive promotional services to sway them away from switching to a competitor. Predictive analytics could also help organizations, such as government agencies, banks, immigration departments, video clubs etc. Achieve their business aims by using internal and external data.Conclusion It was found that with the help of predictive analysis, organization were able to resolve one of greatest challenge faced in business organization (to find out the customer expectation, needs, key drivers of customer value and market segments) by way of analyzing transactional and other data to pr edict the likelihood that customer segments will respond to marketing messages. Predictive analytics enables marketers to understand the key factors that drive customer value and loyalty, and attract more customers.

Communication and Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication and Language - Essay Example It is always good to focus on your positive experiences (Campbell, 1957). If Thais do bring up a complaint with you, such as how polluted parts of Bangkok are, or apologize for how dirty their factory is, it is best not to agree with them directly, but simply state 'It's fine--don't worry about it.' Be careful not to give too much praise in regards to a Thai's possessions, as he or she may feel embarrassed, or obligated to give you the item in question. It is best to give general praise, such as 'You have a wonderful office.' Age is also a common question, especially if you are not yet going bald or grey! Direct replies are appreciated, but can be avoided if you don't feel comfortable replying (Campbell, 1957). 'I feel like I'm 21 again!' is a good example of an indirect response. Be aware that Thais will often state bluntly that you are either fat or fatter than the last time they saw you. Don't take offence at this and simply laugh it off and give a simple reason--usually all the delicious Thai food you have been enjoying recently. There is no need to reply with a similar comment. The Thai language uses a phonetic alphabet of 44 consonants and 32 vowels (Noochoochai, 1978). All syllables must contain a vowel sound, but may begin and/or end with a consonant sound. A syllable which ends in a vowel sound is called open, and a syllable which ends in a consonant is called closed.

Purpose and Function of Newspeak Research Paper

Purpose and Function of Newspeak - Research Paper Example This shows that the language is widely used in Europe, particularly in Germany. The contextual theme of this study is based on a focus to clarify the purpose and principles of the Newspeak. As such, the study hopes to point out that in the event that the natural human atmosphere is affected by bad politics, the result is a corruption of the language; hence, the thoughts of people. Thus, this argument presents the main concept in support of inventing Newspeak. Largely, it can be argued that the invention decision of the language was informed by a desire to fulfill the ideological needs of the English Socialism or Ingsoc that was present by then. However, this form of language has been dormant and rarely used till later years such as 1984 since no one used Newspeak as the exclusive communication means, orally or written. During these periods, leading articles such as published by Times were written in the Newspeak language but required a the services of a specialist for the tour de force to take place. The expectation was that Newspeak would act as a replacement and supersede the Oldspeak (standard English) by around 2050 (Adams 60-72) However, the language steadily gained ground as all members in political parties at this time were optimistic and eager to incorporate the Newspeak words in their speeches. This was so that they would be recognized and defined by the new grammatical constructions that accompanied their language (Moustaki 50-6 1). At around the year 1984 when the uptake of Newspeak language was at its peak, the availed dictionary for the language through the Ninth and Tenth editions were provisional; hence, largely contained archaic and superfluous words and grammatical formations that required suppressions.

Insurance Fraud and its Perpetration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Insurance Fraud and its Perpetration - Essay Example The individuals who are mostly found engaging in hard fraud include company executives, as well as employees. A corporate worker who engages in fraud will typically choose to defraud the insurance firm by taking bribes from physicians to validate false claims. Insurance agents could also participate in defrauding an insurance firm by not forwarding policyholder premiums to it, and instead of pocketing them while hoping that a claim is not filed by the policyholder. Hard fraud could also be perpetrated by con artists who create fake insurance firms and then proceed to collect premiums from gullible consumers. Such con-artists almost never pay claims. Once the numbers of claims being filed by policyholders reach a certain number, the defrauders will vanish with the company assets. Soft fraud is also referred to as opportunity fraud and takes place when a claimant overstates a genuine claim. For instance, a car owner who is involved in a minor incident where there is a ‘fender bender’ problem can exaggerate the claim (Karamouzis and Hallawell 2005). Soft fraud can also take place in the course of the underwriting process when consumers are invited to renew their coverage. In such an instance, the claimants could offer false information for the purpose of lowering the insurance premiums; thus increasing the possibility of their applications being accepted (Pontell 2005b). For instance, they could provide false information on the car’s mileage, provide a false garage location, or even add to the number of items that may have been stolen, in incidences of theft. The UK Fraud Act of 2006 actually strengthened the existing law on insurance fraud. It included the notion that people would be charged with fraud if they used fake representations, or even refrained from disclosing important information (Hoyer, Zakhariya, Sandner, and Breitner 2012).

Itlalian Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Itlalian Literature - Essay Example ThÐ µ LÐ µopÐ °rd wÐ °s pÐ °rt of Ð ° post-wÐ °r trÐ µnd Ð °mong ItÐ °liÐ °n intÐ µllÐ µctuÐ °ls to scrutinizÐ µ, if not chÐ °llÐ µngÐ µ, thÐ µ vÐ µry principlÐ µ of ItÐ °liÐ °n politicÐ °l unificÐ °tion, sÐ µtting thÐ µ stÐ °gÐ µ for ItÐ °lys nÐ µw fÐ µdÐ µrÐ °lism, Ð ° vÐ µry concrÐ µtÐ µ rÐ µÃ °lity todÐ °y. It wÐ °s this pÐ µrspÐ µctivÐ µ, morÐ µ thÐ °n thÐ µ story itsÐ µlf, which dÐ µfinÐ µd ThÐ µ LÐ µopÐ °rd Ð °s Ð ° clÐ °ssic work of ItÐ °liÐ °n (Ð °nd intÐ µrnÐ °tionÐ °l) litÐ µrÐ °turÐ µ, for othÐ µr books hÐ °d bÐ µÃ µn writtÐ µn Ð °bout thÐ µ SiciliÐ °n grÐ °ciousnÐ µss. Still, to portrÐ °y thÐ µ story of thÐ µ dÐ µclining SÐ °linÐ °s in thÐ µ 1860s Ð °s Ð ° mÐ µrÐ µ fÐ °blÐ µ for thÐ µ dÐ µclinÐ µ of thÐ µ ItÐ °liÐ °n monÐ °rchy Ð °nd socio-politicÐ °l Ð µstÐ °blishmÐ µnt in thÐ µ 1940s is to ovÐ µrlook thÐ µ novÐ µllÐ °s prÐ µvÐ °lÐ µnt Ð °ppÐ µÃ °l. It dÐ µÃ °ls with thÐ µ Church, swÐ µÃ µping sociÐ °l chÐ °ngÐ µ Ð °nd, of coursÐ µ, lovÐ µ. ThÐ µ LÐ µopÐ °rd is thÐ µ story Ð °bout Don FÐ °brizio, PrincÐ µ of SÐ °linÐ °, Ð ° guy who turnÐ µd forty Ð °nd hÐ °vÐ µ sÐ µvÐ µrÐ °l childrÐ µn. HÐ µ is Ð ° sort of compÐ °ssionÐ °tÐ µ tyrÐ °nt in his housÐ µhold, Ð ° mÐ °n of Ð ° vÐ µry old fÐ °mily, Ð °ccustomÐ µd to knowing his plÐ °cÐ µ Ð °nd to hÐ °ving people over that he actually knows. ThÐ µ PrincÐ µ is Ð °lso Ð ° mÐ °n of grÐ µÃ °t corporÐ µÃ °l Ð °ppÐ µtitÐ µs, lÐ °ckÐ °dÐ °isicÐ °l with his monÐ µy (though not wÐ °stÐ µful or lÐ °vish), politicÐ °lly wÐ µll-informÐ µd but complÐ µtÐ µly Ð °politicÐ °l in Ð °ction, Ð °nd Ð °lso Ð °n Ð °mÐ °tÐ µur Ð °stronomÐ µr of somÐ µ notÐ µ. WhÐ µn thÐ µ story opÐ µns, thÐ µ RisorgimÐ µnto is ongoing, but it is clÐ µÃ °r thÐ °t it will bÐ µ ultimÐ °tÐ µly succÐ µssful, Ð °nd thÐ °t thÐ µ Kingdom of thà  µ Two SiciliÐ µs will bÐ µ Ð °bsorbÐ µd into thÐ µ nÐ µwly unitÐ µd, somÐ µwhÐ °t morÐ µ dÐ µmocrÐ °tic, ItÐ °ly. Don FÐ °brizio nominÐ °lly supports thÐ µ old rÐ µgimÐ µ, but hÐ µ rÐ µÃ °listicÐ °lly stÐ °ys out of thÐ µ conflict. His fÐ °voritÐ µ nÐ µphÐ µw, TÐ °ncrÐ µdi, thÐ µ impovÐ µrishÐ µd but chÐ °rismÐ °tic son of his sistÐ µr, is Ð °n fÐ µrvÐ µnt supportÐ µr of GÐ °ribÐ °ldi, who Ð °t thÐ °t timÐ µ wÐ °s Ð ° lÐ µÃ °dÐ µr of thÐ µ rÐ µvolution. SÐ µvÐ µrÐ °l long

Semiotic and Semantic Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Semiotic and Semantic Information - Essay Example This curiosity makes it possible for us to achieve such knowledge and understanding through which the form of communication would no longer be misinterpreted. In the absence of any solid and objective criteria to analyze a communicative effort, we can only ask the sender what the meaning is. This is where the study of communication rests on theories and embraces the theories and ideas of philosophy and psychology. I wish to quote Murungi (2003) who expresses the similar view on the importance of studying communication in the words as follows: In semiotics we have [a lot] of work which examines the processes of communication by way of determining, at least theoretically, how and why symbols convey meaning. On the other hand, in visual communication we have a professional and academic area which develops and puts into use the media of visual communication, i.e., the products, in the form of icons, signs, graphical symbols, illustrations, pictorial sequences and other interfaces by which information is represented and communicated visually (Murungi 2003, p. 15). But, this communication cannot be efficient and reliable unless we understand exactly what is the true information and how this information can be passed to its receivers in order to make a systematic communication. Stamper (1987) highlights this very problem in the following words: If you want to communicate then you must stand on a technical platform with the appropriate physical, empiric and syntactic properties (roughly speaking, the right hardware, communications, and software in the most general sense). Improving them can have profound effects on society. For example, science as we know it today could not be practiced on the platform of a script technology; monks copying manuscripts in penny numbers multiplied the errors because in most cases they did not really understand the text, and even less so the accompanying diagrams; so the critical examination of theories and methods, on which scientific progress depends, had no chance to proceed until printing made possible the rapid dissemination of exact multiple copies under the control of the author, for discussion and constructive criticism. Technology reduced the costs and so improved aspects of quality from which the pay-off appeared on the social level in the form of modern science. (Stamper, 1995, p. 27 3) Semantic and Semiotic Information Information is an important factor of gaining knowledge abuts things and objects in our daily life. According to Luciand Floridi (2005) "[t]he concept of information has become central in most contemporary philosophy. However, recent surveys have shown no consensus on a single, unified definition of semantic information." Information is understood and interpreted differently by every branch of knowledge. Semantics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the study of meaning. Semantics is the study of the relationships between signs and symbols and the meaning that they represent Semantics is used differently in different fields of knowledge like psychology, philosophy and more recently, in information systems. However, the main concern of semantic studies is to understand the exact meaning of an information being conveyed or received. Likewise, semiotics can

Team Analysis of Competing Values Framework Coursework

Team Analysis of Competing Values Framework - Coursework Example Every member of the team depicts effective both at personal and organizational levels. Every quadrant is represented by the values. Control is highly represented in the quadrant. Most of the team members embrace control, which involves doing things right. Create follows the control character, which involves doing things first. Besides doing things rightful, the team members embrace characters of innovation. Compete is the third dominant managerial characteristic of the team members. Competition implies undertaking managerial duties fast and at the desired pace. The least represented in the framework is collaborate. Collaboration demands togetherness when performing roles. Avoiding negative extremes in the team is a vital aspect of management. Ensuring people focus is a sure strategy to enhance effectiveness. People focus managers show compassion, are concerned and expressive. Authenticity is the second key factor to enhance effectiveness. An authentic manager is reflective, mindful, and principled. Practicality is the third important character for an effective manager. Practicality involves being factual, realistic and

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Culture - Essay Example The pregnant women are also prohibited from touching anything with glue to avoid the child being born with birthmarks (Community College, 2005). About foods, the Chinese also believe that if the expectant woman eats too much the baby will be too large making the labor harder. The mothers are advised to take coconut milk, so that the baby will have a good quality skin. On sex determination, the Chinese believe that if the belly is pointed the baby will be a boy and if rounded, it will be a girl. When the baby is finally born, it is the role of the father to give it the first bath. The placenta must be kept near the birth place so that in death, it is used as a sign of atonement and humility of the life on earth. The placenta can as well be used to make medicines cure various diseases (Simpson et al., 2008). Post-partum care involves taking of hot foods, including ginger, pig’s feet, and high protein meats, to rebuild the lost blood supply. Cold foods are believed to cause headache or arthritis in old age. To prevent complications, the mothers should avoid showering, washing hair, or exposing themselves to cold conditions. Before handling the baby, they are required to purify their hands using ginger. To increase milk production, the mothers are required to take papaya soup and fish. The first milk, colostrum, is considered dirty and should be discarded (Community College, 2005). In conclusion, Chinese people have a strong belief in their culture as long as the pregnancy is concerned. They observe the practices right from the pre-natal stage to post-partum care and the way the child is raised. Women are more inclined to the

Biographical Information Essay Example for Free

Biographical Information Essay Regarded by contemporary and recent critics as one of the most notable female poets in Western literature, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote Aurora Leigh at the height of her literary career, and the poem is deemed her masterwork in terms of poetics and narrative. Part autobiography and part social criticism, the poem traces the life of an Englishwoman and poet, Aurora Leigh, and is frequently cited as a proto-feminist treatise for its portrayal of difficulties arising for female characters from traditional values and practices of English society. Brownings innovative use of genre, self-reference, and feminine perspective make Aurora Leigh a landmark of nineteenth-century literature. Biographical Information Browning had planned to write a novel in blank verse as early as 1845, and had proposed that the subject would be a critical narrative of ordinary English life. At the time of Aurora Leighs publication in 1857, Browning, supported by her friendship and eventual marriage to Robert Browning in September of 1846, had recovered from a long period of poor health, family catastrophes, and isolation. In 1850, Sonnets from the Portuguese, written during her courtship with Browning, had been published to popular acclaim, and her reputation as a poet, especially of sentimental works, had grown. A son, Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, had been born to the couple in 1849, and this seems to have rejuvenated Brownings artistic endeavors. The Brownings began to travel extensively and became involved in politics on the Continent; Barrett Browning subsequently expressed in Aurora Leigh a concern with social issues, particularly the rights of women and the poor, and revealed her familiarity with European and classical literature as well. Aurora Leigh, published in 1857, was the most successful of Brownings works from a commercial standpoint: the book had gone through nineteen editions by 1885. Plot and Major Characters A novel in verse, as Coventry Patmore called it, Aurora Leigh follows the life of its heroine through her birth and childhood in Italy, intellectual development, literary career, and personal relationships. At a young age, Aurora Leigh resists the conventional and complacent English values imposed on her by a maiden aunt who cares for her after the death of her parents, and she discovers the pleasures of literature. Her early creative compositions stir her ambitions to support herself through a poetic career, and in time she becomes moderately successful in London literary circles. In the process of accomplishing this, Aurora rejects a marriage proposal from her cousin Romney Leigh, a wealthy philanthropist and owner of the family estate, who soon rescues a young woman named Marian Erle from poverty. The growing attachment between Romney and Marian is severed, however, by the unscrupulous Lady Waldemar, who is herself in love with Romney. Lady Waldemar contributes to Marians disappearance from London and her reappearance in a Paris brothel, where Marian is sexually assaulted and bears a child. Aurora, on her way to Italy, recognizes Marian in Paris and takes her and her child to Florence. When Romneys socialist Utopian community disastrously fails, he acknowledges the emptiness and hypocrisy of conventional methods of philanthropy, and travels to Florence. After a series of misunderstandings in which Aurora believes Romney has already wed Lady Waldemar, Romney once again asks Aurora to marry him. This she does, recognizing that art needs to be aided by love and partnership in the process of self-realization. Major Themes Browning addressed several major social issues in the narrative of Aurora Leigh—the relationship between art and individual self-fulfillment, the issue of class politics, and the issue of gender roles. The work suggests that individual freedom, regardless of class or gender, allows for inner development and the cultivation of creativity and inspiration. However, the novel-poem shows sensitivity to other aspects of the creative process, such as the background to the production of any artistic work and the source of creativity in turmoil and conflict. Furthermore, Aurora Leigh intricately weaves the political implications of Brownings own strong individualism and her emphasis on the actualization of ones lifes work into Aurora Leighs struggle to find her place, as a woman poet, in the traditional social order found in the poem. In addition, the work focuses on the institutionalized sexism and classicism of the Victorian age, and directs its severest criticism at conventional philanthropy as hypocritical and paternalistic. Also, Aurora Leigh depicts, through the character of Marian Erle, the horrific consequences of the abuse and neglect suffered by the poor—particularly poor women. The subplot of Marian and her child also censures the Victorian tendency to reject those who have been sexually attacked, and argues for greater concern for and treatment of the innocent victims. Critical Reception Despite its tremendous popular success, Aurora Leigh received mixed reactions from contemporary critics. Many, in addition to calling it immoral, found fault with its characterization, plot, and language; others, however, found the work proof of Brownings poetic genius. The poem was largely neglected by subsequent critics until the early 1930s, when Virginia Woolf s enthusiastic article on the poem was published. The emergence of feminist criticism helped spark renewed interest in the work, although Aurora Leigh is not unanimously accepted as a precursor to modern feminism. Commenting on the poems conclusion in particular, many feminist critics have regarded Auroras acceptance of marriage as the beginning of her loss of independence. Others have found in the ending a radical deviation from traditional nineteenth-century thought—instead of losing her independence through marriage, Aurora gains a rewarding and satisfying life through the blending of her artistic achievement with the love and partnership of another. According to several twentieth-century critics, this innovation is echoed in Brownings style: although contemporary reviewers criticized her unconventional poetic tendencies, more recent scholars consider her style to be innovative. Altogether, Aurora Leigh illuminates both Brownings artistic strengths and her weaknesses: she is praised for her ability to express passionate emotion, yet she is criticized for choosing such an abstract topic for Aurora Leigh as her highest convictions upon Life and Art. She is commended for her lyrical tone and innovative use of imagery, yet she is criticized for her verbose style, improbable plot, and unrealistic characters. In light of fervent endorsements of the poem by such literary figures as Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf, Aurora Leigh is generally judged to be a masterwork with noticeable flaws and remains highly significant to contemporary literary historians and critics.

Financial Statements Paper Essay Example for Free

Financial Statements Paper Essay The statement usually includes beginning balance, net income for the current cycle, dividends disclosed in the current period and ending balance. Balance sheets detail assets and claims to assets at a distinct point in time. Claims of creditors and claims of owners are examples of claims to assets. This particular statement provides a clear outline of the financial standing of the company as a whole. The direct function of a statement of cash flow is to present financial information such as cash receipts and payments during a set point in time. This assists investors and creditors to analyze a company’s financial position.. These statements address a company’s financing, investment and operational activities. Financial statements are useful to managers as these statements are utilized to measure the performance of the organization. Sales and expenses are compared to the income statements from previous periods by management to pinpoint possible problematic areas. Major variations adjure management to thoroughly understand what the causes of those changes are. Variations in liabilities and assets are examined on the balance sheets from one cycle to the next. Any large variations need to be identified, explained and reasons established to whether the variations benefited the company, or caused a loss as consequences of problems. From this point management can make adjustments to correct any problems, or future planning, so these losses or problems do not repeat again. The benefits can be capitalized upon as well. Financial statements are useful to employees for the reason of collective bargaining, discussing compensation, and ranking. Employees also use this information as a means to determine the ability of the company to provide retirement benefits and opportunities for advancement. Financial Statements are useful to investors as they hold an interest in the profits of the company. The investors are looking for a return in the money they have invested, usually in the form of stocks, as they seek increases in stock value and profitability. Lending decisions to be made by creditors are based upon the financial statements. The creditors want to ensure that the companies they are lending the funds to have the ability to manage its finances so they are not at risk of not being able to pay back its debts. References: Kimmel, P. D. (2009). Financial Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making (5th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database..

London Street Photography Exhibition Photography Essay

London Street Photography Exhibition Photography Essay This exhibition shows images of London streets taken between 1960 and 2010, some of them come from the museum archives and was not exhibited before at such a scale. Exhibition takes place in a couple of rooms in the lower level. The main exhibition space takes two rooms to the side showing films about street photography. The images are displayed in chronological order around the room, as we go feather faded sepia images stands out to our eyes as we go along they loosing they grainy quality, the moving objects becoming less blurry and they change to black and white photographs. As we progress to the end of exhibition photographs transform into colour images. An introduction show us a short film which include a interview with Paul Trevor who took photographs of the East End between 1970s and 1980s that were a high points of the exhibition. Over 60 photographers shown their work starting with Valentine Blanchards who were born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire in 1831.His photograph taken in 1860 of Covent Garden Market where man in a hat is caught looking at vegetables while behind him world continues in its busy way. Looking at this image is giving you a feeling of turning back in time, stopping for a while and think about yourself and all those years that passed. Really calming effect I would say. There were images of Terry Spencer who shot skinheads frowning at hippies in Piccadilly Circus. Another image of couple walking down the street in anticipation, it is beautiful proof that out there somewhere it always be a moment to be caught .For example when child looks up and smiles or a person sitting alone on the bench in the park. This British capital, wrote Henry James, is the particular spot in the world which communicates the greatest sense of life; there is nothing one cant study at first hand. Roger Mayne sought to record a way of life in North Kensington before it was redeveloped in 1960s. His images often looked at the use of the streets as social space. The photograph that caught my eye is the image of two men walking down the Latimer Road caring shopping and just drifted away with their minds completely not aware of the photographer. I like that the image is in greyscale which makes it stand out more because you get that feeling of time and how the viewer perceiving the convening message. The framing and the location show us that Roger Mayne dedicated himself to describe life on London working class people and streets. Other photograph of Tom taken in Trafalgar Square in 1970 involved simplification of black and white and freezing the moment in time. Other of his picture included in exhibition is picture of children playing cricket in Notting Hill. As Roger Mayne said himself I went to South London and I saw, in the distance, a bombed building with a lot of children pl aying in it, so I thought that might be an interesting subject. So I walked towards this building and when the children saw somebody with a camera they immediately stopped this fascinating thing, whatever they were doing which intrigued me, so they all came out and wanted their photograph. You used to get this cry, please take my photo Mister. As you move around the place you witness capital developing and changing across a century. Some of the locations appears a couple of times and as you follow you can see that they are becoming more and more as they are today. Different elements pops up, the number of non white faces increase, style of clothes becoming more similar to what we are wearing today and we notice that British culture is influenced more and more by brands and trends from United States. Really interesting for me were the images of racial tensions in 1970s but the photograph of white woman kissing a black man, photograph by Charlie Phillips, seems to improve the relations between immigrants and Londoners. I noticed that photography drastically changed across the exhibition. Since the innovations in technology cameras were getting smaller and exposure faster we could notice how the photographers approach changed relating to the subject. Furthermore the subject matter also changed specially in the war period as artists changed their focus from capturing streets to highlighting the London inequalities. After that noticeably compositions approached changed due to emigrating people from Europe who brought new modernist style with them. That style moved back and forward since 1960s and which quickly were displaced. What amazed me the most were the techniques used to produce the image. The street photographer often needs to get his shoots quickly and secretly that push him to compromise in technique. We can find photographers that do this, by intentionally heighten contrast and grain, emphasizing the grittiness of that street which in my opinion did not look amusing at all. However in whole exhibition you could find beautiful pieces in deed. For example George Reids photographs shot with plate glass camera showing an amazing control of depth of field and exposure with carefully planned and examined shoot of the scene. Moving into colour which is delayed and does not become obvious after us past 1980s because people belief that greyscale images are more successful for documentary storytelling as a medium. The image taken by Bob Tapper called Two children looking out of a window in Fieldgate Mansions ;1986 draw my attention straight away because of that children they looked like they are prisoners of their own house. For a while I felt sad but then I realised that they are actually happy. I do like framing in this image and how photographer emphasizes his point of view standing up and taking picture from that level. Also the writing on the wall matches the subject matter as we do not know if they having a mum or they are orphans. The fact that window is just on the footpath level makes it more abstract how the kids looking out of a window. Further I found interesting photograph of Stephen McLaren called Dog, Big Ben taken in April 2007 .It is a shoot of a dog jumping in the air and captured next to Big Ben on beautiful cloudless sky .What makes the dog look really big almost the size of the Big Ben is the way how it was captured pushed me to think how much you could do when you actually looking around. Also how important is approaching your subject in a way how you want to display your work to the viewer. The last photograph that I will talk about that grabbed my attention was the image by Marco Fiori Metro London Street Photography winner, 2011.The image shows interesting contrast of red and black and it captured the spontaneity of a perfect moment. Overall the exhibition show how London changed around its residents to become a city as we see it today. The down side of the whole experience was queuing for an hour and allot of people shuffling around the small room briefly looking at a succession of the prints which we re A4 size or smaller. Also a short description was hanged almost at the ankle level what was real struggle to read. To summarise the exhibition provides the facts that street photography is no longer alive but its shows that is still relevant in todays world.

Begotten :: essays research papers

Emily Heiderberg never imagined anything bad would happen to her. In the novel, Begotten by W. James Richardson, she will learn to be forgiving and she teaches the people around her the same thing. There are many stories involved and they all started with the tragic incident that happened to Emily when she was at a family outing. An unforseen incident that would change the lives of the Heiderberg family, as well as the whole town of Detroit. Certainly this book is written for adults. The authour uses profanity and racial remarks, but it is necessary to tell the story in that manner. The bad language used by the characters shows their hate and anger, but also shows that some are willing to change their ways. Richardson's method of writing is kind of hard to comprehend at first. Every chapter would start off with a new character narrarating their story. You don't know who it is until a few sentences later. The chapter starts with a character, but some chapters would have two or three nararators with a couple paragraphs each character. Sometimes it would be confusing, but once I found out who was talking, I would sometimes have to reread the paragraph from the start to understand the situatiuon. Another thing that bothered, maybe it wasn't the authour's fault, was that many quotation marks were misplaced all over the book. the first few were tolerable, but after a while it got annoying. That bothered me much and like I said, I'm not sure if it was the author or the publisher. I don't really like the style, but it's what the author used to get many stories into one. One of the many stories in the book involves Emily Heiderberg. Misbegotten means unlawfully conceived, so it wouldn't be right to say that Emily is an important character in this book. Emily is a teenage girl with a bright future, but the things that happen to her dims that future. During the book she tries to overcome her fears and to become herself again. Her rape causes all certain problems to arise. Another character that is important is Hugo Heiderberg. He grew up hating all people that weren't with the idea of whites being the supreme race. He is retired Detroit police officer and a member of the Euro-Brothers Defense Society. He was part of the "Dirty Dozen", a groups of cops that were on trial for beating a black man.

Heritage and Identity in Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay -- Pat Barker

The presence of Jews in England has been a source of controversy for many reasons. On page 35 of Pat Barker's historical novel Regeneration, Siegfried Sassoon reveals the nature of his relationship with his father, who left home when he was five, and gives an account of his Jewish history. Though he hadn't been raised Jewish and apparently had no association with his Jewish relatives, Sassoon was subjected to the discrimination that was often seen in England before and during WWI. Through Sassoon's Jewish heritage and the other characters relation to the past, Barker exposes the need of mankind to identify with the past in order to come to terms with the present. There is much history concerning the Jewish people and their presence in England as an organized community, beginning in 1066 when Jewish merchants were encouraged to move to England. Professor Daniel J. Elazer, in summarizing an article by Aubrey Newman, states that from 1066 to 1290 the Jews suffered persecution in the form of "blood libels, mass riots, and discriminatory legislation" (4), followed by expulsion from England until 1655 when a Sephardi Rabbi was able to convince Oliver Cromwell to allow the Jews readmission. Most of the Jews coming into England were Sephardi Jews, well educated and successful businessmen from Spain and Amsterdam, until later in the seventeenth century when Jewish immigrants from Northern Europe began to arrive. These Jews were known as Ashkenazi Jews and were of a lower social class than the Sephardi (5). Anti-Jewish sentiment in England can be attributed to more than religious persecution. It includes religious, race, and social issues and is researched in depth in Anti-Semitism in British Society, 1876-1939, by Professor Colin Hol... ...ows both Rivers and Prior to embrace the present. By denying the past, many of the characters in Barker's novel struggle with the present. Many are unable to deal with the horrors of war witnessed and experienced in their recent past. Others, such as Rivers and Prior, struggle with issues from their childhood as well. Regeneration shows that by making a connection with the past and accepting it for what it is, the characters are able to continue their lives with some sense of order and purpose. Works Cited Barker, Pat. Regeneration. New York: Plume, 1993. Elazer, Daniel. "British Jewry." Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs. 14 April 2004. <http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles3/british.htm> Holmes, Colin. Anti-Semitism in British Society, 1879-1939. London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1979. Westman, Karin E. Pat Barker's Regeneration. New York: Continuum, 2001.

Eating Disorders Essay -- essays research papers fc

An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. â€Å"Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide† (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the â€Å"ideal body† that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful in life, and be perfect. Starving yourself or eating less amounts of food doesn’t help you get the â€Å"ideal body† that you desire to have. This shows that you lack self-esteem and only want to see what other people see in life. This may impinge on people who are alone and want to get attention and by doing this they want to be thin. There are many different kinds of eating disorders that people are affected with. For example, there is Anorexia Nervosa, which deals with not eating regularly or eats little amounts of food or not eating at all. There is also Bulimia Nervosa, which is when a person eats a large amount of food and then binges or purges after to get rid of the food they just put into the body. Lastly there is the Binge eating disorder. This disorder is when a person keeps a secret from everyone of their excessive eating. â€Å"Women make up more than 90 percent of people with these eating disorders† (www.4woman.gov 1).â€Å"However, young women are most vulnerable, particularly between the ages 15-25 years† (www.edauk.com 1). Women are more likely to be anorexic, because they always see other women with thin bodies and feel pressured to want to be like them. They may be alone or divorced and may need attention so they look for ways to get that attention from people. â€Å"The women suffer with feelings of self-hate, worthlessness, low self-esteem, and they usually feel that in order to be happy, they must be thin† (www.mirror-mirror.org 1). Women in the business industry feel they don’t get enough attention from people so in order to heighten their career, they put themselves out there to have the perfect body to get people’s att... ... illness. If you do not seek help you can damage your body, cause major health problems, and even death. But if you do seek help, you can increasingly build up your self-esteem that helps cope with the illness. Bibliography #1 - Thompson, Colleen. Eating Disorders. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #2 - Thompson, Colleen. Children. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #3 - Thompson, Colleen. Women. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #4 - Thompson, Colleen. Binge Eating Disorder. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #5 - Thompson, Colleen. Anorexia Nervosa. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #6 - Thompson, Colleen. Bulimia Nervosa. Internet Explorer December 9, 2002 #7 - Hendrick, Victoria Eating Disorders. Internet Explorer July 2002 #8 - Spearing, Melissa. Eating Disorders. Internet Explorer. August 6, 2002 #9 – Anonymous. EDA. What is an Eating Disorder? Internet Explorer. March 31, 2004 #10 – Anonymous. Eating Disorders Statistics. Internet Explorer. http://www.eatingdisorderinfo.org #11 - Harmon, Dan. Anorexia Nervosa Starving for Attention. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers 1999 #12 - Nardo, Dan. Eating Disorders. San Diego, California: Lucent Books, Inc. 1991

Education and Economics Essay

I. Introduction: The conventional theory of human capital developed by Becker (1962) and Mincer (1974) views education and training as the major sources of human capital accumulation that, in turn, have direct and positive effect on individuals’ life time earnings. In the Mincerian earning function, the coefficient of school years indicates the returns to education, i. e. , how much addition in earnings takes place with an additional school year. There exists a wide range of literature that estimated the rates of returns to education for different countries [Pascharapoulos (1980; 1985; and 1994); Pascharapoulos and Chu Ng (1992)]1. In Pakistan, most of the nationally representative household surveys do not contain information on variables, such as, completed years of schooling, age starting school, literacy and numeracy skills, quality of schooling, and technical training. Due to the unavailability of completed school years, one can neither compute the potential experience nor observe the effect of an additional year of schooling on individual earnings. Therefore, the available literature in Pakistan is lacking in estimating the returns to education by using the Mincerian earning function2. In recent years, the government of Pakistan has started nation-wide survey, Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS), to address the imbalances in the social sector. This survey ? The authors are Senior Research Economist and Research Economist at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) Islamabad. 1 Pascharapoulos (1994) provide a comprehensive update of the estimated rates of returns to education at a global scale. He observed high social and private profitability of primary education (18%and 9% respectively) in all regions of world. The private rate of returns at this level were found highest in Asia (39%) as compared to other regions. He also noted a considerable increase in total earnings by an additional year of education in all regions of world; 13% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 10% in Asia; 12% in Europe/Middle East/North Africa; and 12% in Latin America/Caribbean. 2 At national level, only two studies are available in Pakistan that used the Mincerian earning function approach to examine the returns to education [see Shabbir and Khan (1991) and Shabbir (1994)]. However, both these studies are based on twenty years old data set. 2 provides rich information on the above mentioned variables that were missing in the earlier household surveys. This study uses the data of PIHS to examine the returns to education by using Mincerian earning function and thus aims to fill the vacuum that, due to the lack of appropriate data, exists in the literature on returns to education in Pakistan. In this paper we will first estimate the earning function with continuous school years with the assumption of uniform rate of returns for all school years. It is argued that different school years impart different skills therefore we extend our analysis to examine the addition in earning associated with extra years of schooling at different levels of education, i. e. , how much increase in earnings takes place with an extra year of schooling at different levels, such as, primary, middle, matric, intermediate, bachelors and masters. By doing so we overcome the problem that exists in the available literature in Pakistan. To our knowledge no study has yet adopted this method to examine the returns to education in Pakistan3. The impact of technical training and school quality on the earnings of fixed salaried and wage earners will be examined in this study. Based on the available data in Pakistan, most of the studies, for example, Haque (1977), Hamdani (1977), Guisinger et al (1984), Khan and Irfan (1985), Ahmad, et al (1991); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) estimated the earning functions by defining the dummy variables for different levels of education4. These studies observe low rates of returns at different levels of education as compared to other developing countries. However, a positive association between levels of education and earnings and an inverse relationship between the degree of income inequality and educational attainment has been noted. In order to examine the inter- 3 Most of the studies on returns to education in Pakistan used dummy variables for different levels of education where the rates of returns at different levels of education are computed by the estimated coefficients. 4 In Pakistan, the data on education in most of the nationally representative household surveys have been reported in discrete form that denotes the completion of different levels of education, such as, ‘primary but incomplete middle’, ‘middle and incomplete matric’, and so on. 3 provincial differentials in returns to education, Shabbir and Khan (1991) estimated the Mincerian earning function by using a nationally representative sample, drawn from the of Population, Labour Force and Migration Survey (1979) for the literate wage earners and salaried males. Later Shabbir (1994) estimated the earning function on the extended sample of the same data set. These studies found 7 to 8 percent increase in earnings with an additional year of schooling. Although the results are consistent with those of comparable LDCs but may not reflect the recent developments in Pakistan’s economy as these studies are based on the data set which are 20 years old now. Since 1979, the economy of Pakistan has passed through various changes, especially after the inception of the Structural Adjustment Programme in late 1980s. For example, the literacy rate has increased from 26 percent to 45 percent and enrolment at primary level has increased by 67 percent. Public and household expenditures on education have also increased [Economic Survey (1998-99)]. Moreover, due to the fiscal constraints, the employment opportunities in the public sector have started shrinking and the economy is moving towards more openness with stronger role of private sector in recent years. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to re-test the role of human capital as both private and public sectors are moving towards more efficiency and productivity. This study is important from three standpoints. First, in order to estimate the effect of education on earnings, the most recent and nationally representative household survey data is used which provides detailed information on the variables that were missing in previous surveys. Second, it uses the splines of education in the earning function to examine the additional earnings associated with extra school years at different levels. Third, this study investigates the role of some important factors such as, technical training, school quality, and literacy and numeracy skills on earnings for the first time. 4 The rest of the paper is organised as follows: section 2 presents an overview of the education sector. Section 3 outlines the model for empirical estimation and describes data. Section 4 reports the results. Conclusions and policy Implications are presented in the last Section. II. The Education Sector in Pakistan: An Overview: Education plays an important role in human capital formation. It raises the productivity and efficiency of individuals and thus produces skilled manpower that is capable of leading the economy towards the path of sustainable economic development. Like many other developing countries, the situation of the education sector in Pakistan is not very encouraging. The low enrolment rates at the primary level, wide disparities between regions and gender, lack of trained teachers, deficiency of proper teaching materials and poor physical infrastructure of schools indicate the poor performance of this sector. The overall literacy rate for 1997-98 was estimated at 40 percent; 51 percent for males and 28 percent for females; 60 percent in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas. These rates are still among the lowest in the world. Due to various measures in recent years, the enrolment rates have increased considerably. However, the high drop-out rate could not be controlled at primary level. Moreover, under-utilisation of the existing educational infrastructure can be seen through low student-institution ratio, (almost 18 students per class per institution) low teacher-institution ratio (2 teachers per institution) and high studentteacher ratio (46 students per teacher). The extremely low levels of public investment are the major cause of the poor performance of Pakistan’s education sector. Public expenditure on education remained less than 2 percent of GNP before 1984-85. In recent years it has increased to 2. 2 percent. In addition, the allocation of government funds is skewed towards higher education so that the benefits of public subsidy on education are largely reaped by the upper income class. Many of the highly educated 5 go abroad either for higher education or in search of better job opportunities. Most of them do not return and cause a large public loss. After mid-1980s, each government announced special programs for the improvement of the education sector. However, due to the political instability, none of these programs could achieve their targets. The Social Action Program was launched in early 1990s to address the imbalances in the social sector. This program aims to enhance education; to improve school environment by providing trained teachers, teaching aids and quality text books; and to reduce gender and regional disparities. The Phase-I of SAP (1993-96) has been completed and Phase-II is in progress. The gains from the Phase-I are still debatable because the rise in enrolment ratio has not been confirmed by the independent sources. Irrespective of this outcome, government has started work on Phase-II of SAP. In this Phase, government is paying special attention to promote technical and vocational education, expanding higher education in public as well as in the private sector, enhancing computer literacy, promoting scientific education, and improving curriculum for schools and teachers training institutions in addition to promoting primary and secondary education. Due to low levels of educational attainment and lack of technical and vocational education, Pakistan’s labour market is dominated by less educated and unskilled manpower. A considerable rise in the number of educational institutions and enrolment after 1980s is not yet reflected in Pakistan’s labour market. This might be due to the fact that most of the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes emphasise only on academic education without developing specific skills. The sluggish demand for the graduates of these programs in the job markets leads to unemployment among the educated and the job market remains dominated by the less educated. In this scenario, it becomes important to explore the role of education for the economic benefit of individuals. 6 III. Theoretical Model and Estimation Methodology: We start with the human capital model developed by Becker (1964) and Mincer (1974) where natural logarithm of monthly earnings are the linear function of completed school years, experience and its square. In mathematical form the equation can be written as: ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1 EDU i + ? 2 EXPi + ? 3 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui (1) where ln Wi stands for natural logarithm of monthly earnings, EDUi represents completed years of schooling, and EXPi is the labor market experience of ith individual. ?1 implies the marginal rate of return to schooling. A positive value of ? 2 and negative value of ? 3 reflects the concavity of the earning function with respect to experience. Ui is the error term, assumed to be normally and identically distributed. It has been argued in the literature that different school years impart different skills and hence affect earnings differently. Therefore, it is misleading to assume a uniform rate of return for all educational levels. Most of the previous studies used dummy variables to capture the effect of different levels of education. In order to examine the effect of school years at different levels of education, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) divided the years of schooling according to the school systems of Cote d’ Ivore. Similarly Khandker (1990) also used years of primary, secondary and post-secondary schooling in wage function for Peru. Both studies found significant differences in returns to education at different levels of education. Following van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989), we divide the school years into seven categories according to the education system of Pakistan. In Pakistan, the primary education consists of 5 years of schooling; middle requires 3 more years; and by completing 2 more years of schooling after middle, an individual obtains a secondary school certificate i. e., Matric. After matric , i. e. , 10 years of schooling, students have a choice between technical and formal education. Technical education 7 can be obtained from technical institutions which award diploma after 3 years of education while the certificate of intermediate can be obtained after two years of formal education. After the completion of intermediate certificate, students can enter either in the professional colleges for four years or in non-professional bachelors degree program for two years in a college. Those who choose non-professional degree can pursue their studies in a university for masters for two more years. At this stage the graduates of professional and non-professional colleges complete 16 years of education. They can now proceed to the M. Phil. or Ph. D. degrees. In order to examine the returns to education at different splines of education, we estimate the following extended earning function. ln Wi = ? 0 + ? 1Yrs Pr imi + ? 2 YrsMid i + ? 3YrsMati + ? 4 YrsInteri + ? 5 YrsBAi + (2) ? 6 Yrs Pr of i + ? 7 EXPi + ? 8 ( EXPi ) 2 + Ui where YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf are defined as: YrsPrim = D5EDUi YrsMid = D8EDUi YrsMat = D10EDUi YrsInter = D12EDUi YrsBA = D14EDUi YrsProf = D16EDUi where D5 = 1 if where D8 = 1 if where D10 = 1 if where D12 = 1 if where D14 = 1 if where D16 = 1 if 0< EDU ? 5 5< EDU ? 8 8< EDU ? 10 10< EDU ? 12 12< EDU ? 14 EDU > 14 The coefficients associated with YrsPrim, YrsMid, YrsMat YrsInter YrsBA YrsProf in equation 2 imply an increase in income with one year increase in education at respective levels. For example, the returns to five completed years of education at primary level will be 5*? 1. Similarly, the returns to for six, seven and eight of education will be 5*? 1+? 2, 5*? 1+2? 2, and 5*? 1+3? 2 respectively. On the same lines we can compute the returns to education at each level as: 8 Returns to Primary =5*? 1 Returns to Middle =5*? 1+3*? 2 Returns to Matric= 5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 Returns to Intermediate=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 Returns to Bachelor’s =5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 Returns to MA/Prof=5*? 1+3*? 2+2*? 3 +2*? 4 +2*? 5 +2*? 6 The data are drawn from the nationally representative Pakistan Integrated Household Survey 1995-96. In order to assess the performance of the Social Action Programme (SAP), the government of Pakistan has launched the series of Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys (PIHS), a collaborative nation wide data collection effort undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). So far two rounds have been completed. The first round of the PIHS is different from other round on two counts. Firstly, the information on employment and wages is available only in this round. Secondly, only 33 percent of the sample used in the first round is being repeated in the subsequent rounds. This implies that all of these rounds are independent cross-section data sets and can not be properly linked with each other to be used as panel data. Therefore, the appropriate sample can only be drawn from the first round of PIHS. This round was conducted in 1995-96, which covers 12,622 households and more than 84,000 individuals. The 1995-96 PIHS provides a detailed information on completed school years5. In addition, this survey contains information on age started school. This information is particularly important for our study to calculate the potential experience of a worker. The indicator for experience used by Mincer (1974) is a good proxy for U. S. workers as they start school at the uniform age of six years6. However, this assumption does not hold in Pakistan, as in this country there is no uniform age to start school. In urban areas, children as young as three years start going to school whereas in rural 5 This is the only nation-wide data set that provides this particular information. Similarly no other survey contains information on public and private school attendence and year starting school. 6 Mincer defined experience as (Age-education-6). 9 areas the school starting age is higher. 7 This information enables us to construct potential experience as (age-schools years-age starting school). Although experience is still a proxy for actual experience but it is relatively better measure than age and the Mincer type potential experience. In addition to education and experience, various other factors, such as quality of schooling, technical training and quality of schooling have significant impact on earning8. It has been argued that because of the market-oriented approach adopted by the private schools, the graduates of these schools earn more as compared to the graduates of public schools9. According to Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997), the quality of education has positive, significant and substantial impact on cognitive achievements and hence on post school productivity, measured by earnings. These studies observed higher earnings of the graduates of high quality school than those who attended a low quality school. A recent study by Nasir (1999) found considerably higher earnings for the private school graduates. These schools, however, charge higher fees. â€Å"Estimates of average annual expenditure per pupil in both government and private schools indicates that the total cost of primary level in rural areas is Rs. 437 (Rs 355 for government schools and Rs. 1252 for private schools), compared with Rs. 2038 in urban areas (Rs.1315 for government and Rs. 3478 for private schools). This means that the cost of primary schooling is almost three times that of public schools in urban 7 The issue of age starting school has been highlighted by Ashraf and Ashraf (1993) and because of the nonavailability of this information, they used age as proxy for experience. 8 See Summers and Wolf (1977); Rizzuto and Wachtel (1980); Behrman and Birdsall (1983); Booissiere, Knight and Sabot (1985); Knight and Sabot (1990);Behrman, Ross, Sabot, and Tropp (1994); Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997). 9 Various studies found the effectiveness of private schools to acquire cognitive skills [Colemen, Hoffer and Kilgore (1982); and Jimenez, Lockheed, Luna and Paqueo (1989)]. For Pakistan, Sabot (1992), Behrman, Ross, Sabot and Tropp (1994), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996a), Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b), and Behrman, Khan, Ross and Sabot (1997) found a significant variation in the cognitive skills among children with same number of school years. These studies conclude that some of the differences are due to the family characteristics while some are due to the quality of schooling. 10  areas and nearly four times in rural areas. The differences in cost of schooling also reflect the degree of quality differentials in public and private schools, and between urban and rural schools. A relatively better provision of school facilities and quality of education in private schools is causing a continuous rise in school enrolment in urban areas† [Mehmood (1999) page 20]. The PIHS provides information on the type of school attended10. On the basis of this information we can identify workers according to the school they attended and therefore examine the effect of type of school on individual earnings. In order to capture the quality of education an individual received, a dummy variable is included in the model that takes the value ‘1’ if individual is a graduate of private schools and ‘0’ otherwise. The effect of post-school training on earning has been found positive and substantial in many developing countries [see Jimenez and Kugler (1987); van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989); Khandker (1990); and Nasir (1999)]. The PIHS contains information on years of technical training. This information helps us to examine the effect of technical training received on individual earnings. We use completed years of technical training as independent variable in the earning function. The existence of vast gender gap in human capital accumulation is evidenced by various studies in Pakistan11. The PIHS reports vast gender disparities in literacy and enrolment rates. The literacy rate among females is half than that of males’ literacy rate for whole Pakistan. This difference has increased to three-folds for rural areas. The gender difference is however smaller for the gross enrolment rate at primary level. For the higher levels of education, this difference 10. The coefficient of private school may also capture the effect of socio-economic background of workers. The data, however, does not contain such information, therefore we are unable to separate the effect of parental characteristics from the effect of private schools in worker’s earnings. 11 Sabot (1992); and Alderman, Behrman, Ross and Sabot (1996b); Sawada (1997); Shabbir (1993); and Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b, and 1996) 11 shows an increasing trend. Similarly vast gender gap has been observed in returns to education where males earn more than the female workers [Ashraf and Ashraf (1993a, 1993b and 1996) and Nasir (1999)]. In order to capture the effect of gender, a dummy variable is introduced in the model that takes the value ‘1’ for males and ‘0’ otherwise. The regional imbalances in the provision of limited available social services are more pronounced in Pakistan. Rural areas are not only underdeveloped in terms of physical infrastructure but also neglected in gaining basic amenities. Haq (1997) calculated the disaggregated human development index for Pakistan and its provinces. He noted that nearly 56 percent of population is deprived of basic amenities of life in Pakistan; 58 percent in rural areas and 48 percent in urban areas. According to the 1995-96 PIHS, the literacy rate in urban areas is 57 percent and in rural areas it is 31 percent. The gross enrolment rate was noted 92 percent in urban areas and 68 percent in rural areas. Because of these differences low returns to education are observed in rural areas [Shabbir (1993 and 1994) and Nasir (1999)]. To capture the effect of regional differences, a dummy variable is used that takes the value ‘1’ if individual lives in urban areas and zero otherwise. The four provinces of Pakistan exhibit different characteristics in terms of economic as well as social and cultural values. Significant provincial differentials in rates of returns to education have been noted that reflect not only the differences in market opportunities but also indicate uneven expansion of social services across provinces [Khan and Irfan (1985); Shabbir and Khan (1991); Shabbir (1993); Shabbir (1994); and Haq (1997)]. The effects of these differences are captured through the use of dummy variables for each province in the earning function, Sindh being the excluded category. 12 For the purpose of analysis we restrict our sample to wage earners and salaried persons. Our sample contains 4828 individuals. Among them, 4375 are males and 453 are females. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of some of the salient features of the important variables. According to the statistics in table 1, average age of the individuals included in the sample is 34 years with 18 years of experience. A typical worker in the sample has completed approximately 10 years of education. A majority is graduated from public schools. Most of the workers live in urban areas. On average an individual earns Rs. 3163 per month. In our sample, there are only 22 percent individuals who received technical training. The average years spent for training are less than one year. A majority of wage earners belong to Punjab, followed by Sindh and Balochistan. Table1 Mean, Standard Deviation and Brief Definitions of Important Variables Variables W Age EDU EXP RWA MALE Urban Private Training Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan Mean SD Variables Definitions 3163. 34 3397. 39 Individual’s monthly earnings in rupees consist of wages and salaries. 34. 07 12. 36 Age of an individual in years. 9. 53 4. 36 Completed years of schooling. 18. 14 11. 80 Total Years of labour market experience calculated as (age-school years-age starting school). 2. 37 1. 07 Categorical variables, contains 4 categories of literacy and numeracy. 0. 91 0. 29 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is male. 0. 60 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to urban area 0. 04 0. 19 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual is a graduate of private school 0. 35 0. 87 Completed years of technical training 0. 38 0. 49 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Punjab 0. 31 0. 46 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Sindh 0. 15 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to NWFP 0. 16 0. 36 Dichotomous variable equal to 1 if individual belongs to Balochistan 13 IV. Empirical Results The estimated results of equation 1 and equation 2 are reported in table 2. The highly significant coefficients of school years and experience indicate the applicability of human capital model for Pakistan. An additional year of schooling raises individual’s monthly income by 7. 3 percent, which is very close to the prior studies. 12 13 The coefficient of experience shows substantial increase in wages with each additional year. The concavity of age-earnings profile is evident from the negative and significant coefficient of experience squared. The results reveal that an individual with five years of experience earns 31 percent higher wages as compared to non-experience worker. The highest level of earnings is achieved with approximately 30 years of experience. These estimates are relatively low compared to prior studies14. The positive and significant coefficients of gender (0. 401) and regional dummies (0. 178) strengthens the a priori expectation that males earn more than females and earnings are higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. These estimates are consistent with earlier studies [see Arshaf and Ashraf (1993), Khan and Irfan (1985)]. Furthermore, significant inter-provincial differences in individual’s earnings can be observed in the estimated model. Many studies indicate substantial differences in earnings across school levels. For example, van der Gaag and Vijverberg (1989) noted that an increase of one year in elementary, high and university education causes an increase of 12 percent, 20 percent and 22 percent respectively in 12 The estimated coefficients of school years by Shabbir and Khan (1991), Shabbir (1991), Shabbir (1993) and Shabbir (1994) are found to be in the range of 6 percent to 9. 7 percent. 13 The returns to education are calculated by taking the anti-log of 0. 092 (estimated coefficient of completed school years) and subtracting from 1. To convert into percentage, multiply the value by 100. For details, please see Gujrati (1988) page 149. 14 The difference in the returns to experience could be due to the approach adopted by these studies. Most of the studies used age as a proxy for experience [see for example Khan and Irfan (1985); Ashraf and Ashraf (1993); and Nasir (1999)]. Shabbir (1991) used the Mincerian approach to calculate experience. The present study uses actual age of starting school and actual years of education. These information enable us to calculate total years of labor market experience. This approach is also not the perfect alternative for actual experience, as we do not have information about the starting time of the first job. But when compared with other approaches, it is more precise in measuring experience. 14 earnings. In order to examine the returns to education across different school years, we include the information on schooling according to the education system of Pakistan (equation 2). The results reported in column 3 of table 2 show a positive and significant impact of school years at each educational level on earnings. For example, an increase of one year in education at primary level increases the earnings by 3 percent. Similarly, at middle level, one year of schooling brings about an increase of 4 percent in earnings and the total returns to schooling at middle level are 27 percent. Table 2 Earning Function with and without Levels of Education Variables Coefficient s 6. 122 0. 072* 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 178* 0. 401* 0. 127* -0. 113* -0. 203* 0. 412 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 380 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 150* 0. 264* 0. 098* -0. 112* -0. 166* 0. 027** 0. 040* 0. 050* 0. 057* 0. 071* 0. 082* 0. 429 t-ratios Coefficient s 6. 342 0. 058* -0. 001* 0. 152* 0. 262* 0. 096* -0. 108* -0. 164* 0. 052* 0. 007 0. 025* 0. 038* 0. 047* 0. 063* 0. 075* 0. 429 t-ratios Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab RWA Yrs-Prim Yrs-Mid Yrs-Mat Yrs-Inter Yrs-BA Yrs-Prof Adj R2 148. 91 46. 71 26. 49 -19. 20 10. 31 13. 98 4. 94 -4. 34 -10. 21 – 92. 03 23. 85 -16. 84 7. 87 8. 15 3. 40 -4. 06 -7. 75 2. 03 5. 07 8. 69 11. 41 16. 85 21. 98 – 89. 25 23. 84 -16. 88 7. 98 8. 09 3. 32 -3. 91 -7. 63 2. 41 0. 45 2. 45 5. 02 7. 28 11. 47 15. 57 – * significant at 99 percent level. ** significant at 95 percent level. One can note higher returns of additional year of schooling for higher educational levels from this table. For example, the returns to masters and professional education (Yrs-Prof) are more than five- 15 times higher than that of primary school years (Yrs-Prim). The results exhibit a difference of 15 percent between primary graduates and illiterates, the excluded category. This category includes illiterates as well as all those who have not obtained any formal schooling but have literacy and numeracy skills15. To further explore the earning differential between primary school graduates and those who never attended school but have literacy and numeracy skills, we have constructed an index RWA that separates illiterates from those who have literacy and numeracy skills. This index takes the value ‘zero’ if individual does not have any skill; ‘1’ if individual has only one skill; ‘2’ if individual has two skills; and ‘3’ if individual has all three skills. We re-estimated equation 2 with this new variable and the results are reported in column 5 of table 2. According to our expectations, the coefficient of RWA is found not only large (0. 05) in magnitude but also statistically significant at 99 percent level. This indicates that the individuals with all three skills earn 15 percent more than those who have no skill. On the other hand, the coefficient of Yrs-Prim dropped to 0. 007 and became insignificant16. The differential in the earnings of illiterates and those having five years of primary education was 15 percent (0. 03*5=0. 15). This differential however, reduced to approximately 9 percent (0. 007*5+0. 053=8. 8) when we include those who have no formal education but have literacy and numeracy skills. These high returns to cognitive skills indicates the willingness of employer to pay higher wages to the able workers as compared to those who have five or less years of schooling but do not have these skills. Now we examine the effect of technical training and quality of schooling on earnings, first in separate equations and then in a single equation. The impact of technical training on earnings is examined by including years of apprenticeship as continuous variable in our model. The results are reported in column 1 of table 3. The results show a positive and significant impact of technical 15 There are 48 wage earners in our sample who have education less than primary but do not have any of these skill. Whereas we found 76 wage earners who do not have any formal education but have at least one of these skills. 16 This result is consistent with van der Gaag and Vijierberg (1989). 16 Table 3 Earning Functions : Impact of Technical Training and School Quality (Separate Functions) Variables Constant EDU EXP EXP2 Urban Male Balochistan NWFP Punjab Tra.