Impact of Information and Communication Technology Policy on Firms Essay

Impact of Information and Communication Technology Policy on Firms worldwide Operations - Essay Example Please continue to update the olders ones, "A good study should use approximately 100 + peer reviewed references with 80 to 85% being published within the last 3 – 5 years." Please review my comments below: Abstract [Impact of Information and Communication Technology Policy on Firm’s worldwide Operations] By Nisrine Hammache DBA, Walden University, 2010 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2011 Abstract In the contemporary world, information and communication technology is being rated as one of the basic requirements for the success of a business organization. Lately, it has been observed that even after implementing well dedicated architecture of information and communication technology, businesses have still failed. This has created a spur in the minds of small business owners on whether it is worth undertaking such a huge investment. The research paper is div ided into three sections. The first section provides a general overview about the importance of the discipline of information and communication technology; it offers the background, purpose and nature of the study. The hypothesis and the assumptions along with the implications of the social change are clearly stated in this section. The second section deals with the particular project. This comprises the narration and analysis of data, as well as the reliability and the validity of the process and output. Section three encapsulates the presentation of the study and the application of the frame work of information and communication technology in terms of professional practices. The section also comprises the implications of social change, as well as the recommendations and the reflection. In the reading of the subsequent chapters, the essence of information and communication technology increases profitability; better management of international operations is increasingly substantiate d and so the hypothesis is proved in due course. [Impact of Information and Communication Technology Policy on Firm’s Worldwide Operations] by Nisrine Hammache DBA, Walden University, 2010 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University December 2011 Dedication Acknowledgments Table of Contents List of Figures 9 Section 1: Foundation of the Study 10 Background of the Problem 10 Purpose Statement 12 Nature of the Study 13 Research Question 13 Assumptions 15 Reduction of Gaps 17 Implications for Social Change 18 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature 19 Transition and Summary 20 List of Figures Fig 1 – Page 15 Fig 2 – Page 16 Fig 3 – Page 17 Fig 4 – Page 18 Fig 5 – Page 19 Fig 6 – Page 20 Fig 7 – Page 21 Fig 8 – Page 22 Fig 9 – Page 23 Fig 10 – Page 24 Section 1: Foundation of the Study An official script w ritten to resolve an immediate business predicament by addressing an existing gap in business practice is referred to as a DBA Doctoral Study. This study will focus on the impact that information and Communication technology policies have on firm’s worldwide operations. In overall, the study comprises three main segments: foundation of the study, the project and application to professional practice, and implications for change. Background of the Problem In every sphere of life change is inevitable, and the information and c

Culture Theory and Popular Culture Essay Example for Free

Culture Theory and Popular Culture Essay The study of culture has, over the last few years, been quite dramatically transformed as questions of modernity and post-modernity have replaced the more familiar concepts of ideology and hegemony which, from the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s, anchored cultural analysis firmly within the neo-Marxist field mapped out by Althusser and Gramsci. Modernity and post-modernity have also moved far beyond the academic fields of media or cultural studies. Hardly one branch of the arts, humanities or social sciences has remained untouched by the debates which have accompanied their presence. They have also found their way into the quality press and on to TV, and of course they have entered the art school studios informing and giving shape to the way in which art practitioners including architects, painters and film-makers define and execute their work. Good or bad, to be welcomed or reviled, these terms have corresponded to some sea-change in the way in which cultural intellectuals and practitioners experience and seek to understand the world in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Storey claimed that â€Å"postmodernism has disturbed many of the old certainties surrounding questions of cultural value. † This work will consider the issues of postmodernism versus modernism mostly from the perspective of the critics of postmodernism with reference to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste. Post-modern cultural movements first emerged in the 1960s in painting, architecture, and literary criticism. Pop art challenged modernist art by experimenting with new cultural forms and contents that embraced everyday life, radical eclecticism, subcultures, mass media, and consumerism. Sociologist Daniel Bell was one of the first to take up the challenge of postmodernism. In The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976) he identified a moral crisis in Western society bound up with the decline of Puritan bourgeois culture and the ascendence of a post-modern culture that he described in terms of an aesthetic relativism and a hedonistic individualism. Yet the most formidable critic of postmodernism and defender of modernity has been German philosopher and heir to the Frankfurt School tradition of critical theory — Jurgen Habermas. There are two problems with postmodernism. The first problem comes into focus around the meaning of the term fragmentation. This is a word which, through over-usage in recent cultural debates, has become shorn of meaning. Post-modernity has been associated by Fredric Jameson (1984) with the emergence of a broken, fractured shadow of a man. The tinny shallowness of mass culture is, he argues, directly reflected in the schizophrenic subject of contemporary mass consciousness. Against Jameson, Stuart Hall (1981) has recently said that it is just this decentring of consciousness which allows him, as a black person, to emerge, divided, yes, but now fully foregrounded on the post-modern stage. So one of the fascinating things about this discussion is to find myself centred at last. Now that, in the postmodern age, you all feel so dispersed I become centred. What Ive thought of as dispersed and fragmented comes, paradoxically, to be the representative modern condition! This is coming home with a vengeance (34). These are, then, two perspectives on the problem of postmodern fragmentation. There is Jameson, who looks back nostalgically to the notion of unity or totality and who sees in this a kind of prerequisite for radical politics, a goal to be striven for. And there is Hall, who sees in fragmentation something more reflective of the ongoing and historical condition of subaltern groups. Jamesons unified man could be taken to be a preFreudian, Enlightenment subject, and thus be discredited by those who have paid attention to Lacans notion of the fragmented subject. But the endorsement of post-modern fragmentation is equally not without its own problems. Have we become more fragmented than before? Can we specifically name a time and a place for the moment of fragmentation? Is fragmentation the other of humanity? Or is the representation of fragmentation coincidental with political empowerment and liberation? Christopher Norris (1990) has argued that post-modernity (and postmodern fragmentation) stands at the end of the long line of intellectual inquiry which starts with Saussure, works its way through post-structuralism and Lacanian psychoanalysis and ends with Baudrillard. In Norriss terms fragmentation is to be understood as marking an absolute and irreparable break with the unified subject, a break which is now writ large in culture. Present-day fragmented subjectivity is captured and expressed in post-modern cultural forms, a kind of superficial pick-and-mix of styles. According to Jameson, however, unfragmented subjectivity, by contrast, produced great works of uncluttered heroic modernism. There is a degree of slippage in the connections being made here. The problem lies, at least partly, in the imprecise use of the word fragmentation. There is a vacillation between the high psychoanalytical use of Lacan and a much looser notion, one which seems to sum up unsatisfactory aspects of contemporary cultural experience. Modernists, however, also felt confused and fragmented. Fragmentation, as a kind of structure of feeling, is by no means the sole property of those living under the shadow of the post-modern condition. Bewilderment, anxiety, panic: such expressions can be attributed to any historical moment as it is transposed into cultural and artistic expression over the last a hundred and fifty years. The category of fragmentation seems to have become either too technical to be of general use (i. e. in Lacans work) or too vague to mean anything more than torn apart. The second question which might be asked of neo-Marxist critics of postmodernity, concerns determination, and the return to a form of economic reductionism in cultural theory. Fredric Jameson argues that postmodernism is the cultural logic of capital, but his argument, as Paul Hirst writing about trends in both New Times and post-modern writing, has suggested, slips from a rigid causal determinism into casual metaphor (45). Jameson, going back to Mandels Late Capitalism, has argued that the kinds of cultural phenomena which might be described as post-modern form part of the logic of advanced or late capitalism. This does away, at a sweep, with the difficult issue of explaining the precise nature of the social and ideological relationships which mediate between the economy and the sphere of culture and it simultaneously restores a rather old-fashioned notion of determination to that place it had occupied prior to Althussers relative autonomy and his idea of determination in the last instance (67). Quoting Lyotard, Harvey (1989) takes up the notion of the temporary contract as the hallmark of post-modern social relations. What he sees prevailing in production, in the guise of new forms of work, he also sees prevailing in emotional life and in culture, in the temporary contract of love and sexuality. Like Jameson he decries this state and looks forward to something more robust and more reliable, something from which a less fractured sense of self and community might emerge. He views postmodern culture disparagingly, as aesthetic rather than ethical, reflecting an avoidance of politics rather than a rising to the challenge of a politics posed by new or changing conditions of production. Despite their sweeping rejection of post-modern writing, both Jameson and Harvey take advantage of the conceptual and methodological breadth found in these theories to circumvent (or short-circuit) the key problems which have arisen in cultural studies in the attempt to specify and under-stand the social relations which connect culture to the conditions of its production. Their conceptual leap into a critique of postmodernism allows these writers to avoid confronting more directly the place of Marxism in cultural studies from the late 1980s into the 1990s, a moment at which Marxism cannot be seen in terms other than those of eclipse or decline. Postmodernism exists, therefore, as something of a convenient bete noire. It allows for the evasion of the logic of cultural studies, if we take that logic to be the problematizing of the relations between culture and the economy and between culture and politics, in an age where the field of culture appears to be increasingly expansive and where both politics and economics might even be seen, at one level, as being conducted in and through culture. Structuralism has replaced old orthodoxies with new ones. This is apparent in its rereading of texts highly placed within an already existing literary or aesthetic hierarchy. Elsewhere it constructs a new hierarchy, with Hollywood classics at the top, followed by selected advertising images, and girls and womens magazines rounding it off. Other forms of representation, particularly music and dance, are missing altogether. Andreas Huyssen in his 1984 introduction to postmodernism draws attention to this high structuralist preference for the works of high modernism, especially the writing of James Joyce or Mallarme. There is no doubt that centre stage in critical theory is held by the classical modernists: Flaubert†¦in Barthes†¦Mallarme and Artaud in Derrida, Magritte†¦ in Foucault†¦Joyce and Artaud in Kristeva†¦and so on ad infinitum (Huyssen, 1984:39). He argues that this reproduces unhelpfully the old distinction between the high arts and the low, less serious, popular arts. He goes on to comment: Pop in the broadest sense was the context in which a notion of the post-modern first took shape†¦and the most significant trends within postmodernism have challenged modernisms relentless hostility to mass culture. High theory was simply not equipped to deal with multilayered pop. Nor did it ever show much enthusiasm about this set of forms, perhaps because pop has never signified within one discrete discourse, but instead combines images with performance, music with film or video, and pin-ups with the magazine form itself’ (Huyssen, 1984:16). In recent article, where Hebdige (1988) engages directly with the question of postmodernism, he disavows the playful elements in Subculture†¦and, more manifestly, in the new fashion and style magazines. In contrast with what he sees now as an excess of style, a celebration of artifice and a strong cultural preference for pastiche, Hebdige seeks out the reassuringly real. He suggests that the slick joky tone of postmodernism, especially that found on the pages of The Face, represents a disengagement with the real, and an evasion of social responsibility. He therefore insists on a return to the world of hunger, exploitation and oppression and with it a resurrection of unfragmented, recognizable subjectivity. He fleetingly engages with an important characteristic of the post-modern condition, that is, the death of subjectivity and the emergence, in its place, of widespread social schizophrenia. Hebdige seems to be saying that if this rupturing of identity is what postmodernism is about, then he would rather turn his back on it. The position of Clement Greenberg in his 1980 lecture entitled The Notion of the Post-Modern could be summarized in the following terms: modernism in painting has been, since its inception with Manet and the impressionists, a heroic struggle against the encroachment of bad taste or kitsch in the domain of art; postmodernism is only the latest name under which commercial bad taste, masquerading as sophisticated â€Å"advancedness,† challenges the integrity of art. Any deviation from modernism, then, involves a betrayal or corruption of aesthetic standards. Seen from this vantage point, the â€Å"post-modern† cannot be much more than a renewed â€Å"urge to relax,† particularly pervasive after the advent of pop art, with its deleterious effects on the art world. This type of argument (modernisms self-conscious mission, to exorcise bad taste from the domain of high art, is today as urgent as it ever was) appears in a variety of forms and shapes in the writings of the defenders of modernist purity against the infiltrations of commercialism and fashion. This realized art, however, is not in a harmonious universal style as Mondrian was envisaging. It consists mostly in forms of art considered banal, sentimental, and in bad taste by most in the Fine Art artworld. Further, because so many people have no interest in Fine Art, it is often thought that visual art has somehow lost its relevance and potency. People ask what the point of art is, and whether it is worthwhile spending public money on art. When people think of art, they think of Fine Art, and the influence of Fine Art seems to be in decline. However, although Fine Art seems to be in decline as a cultural force, visual art has more power in culture now than it ever had. Visual art is not all Fine Art. There is a diversity of kinds of art in contemporary culture. Besides Fine Art, there is also Popular Art, Design Art, and advertising. What Fine Art does for us is just a small part of the total cultural value we get from art. As traditional culture recedes from memory, and technology changes our lifestyles, people look for new values and lifestyles. These new values and lifestyles are carried by the art broadcast over the mass media and on the products we buy. The mass-media arts define our heroes and tell us about the good. Advertisements define pleasure and lifestyle. With mass-market goods we dress our bodies and houses in art, thus using art to define who we are. These contemporary visual arts play a large part in shaping our values, fantasies, and lifestyles. However, conventional art histories tend not to treat the other powerful visual arts of our own time beyond Fine Art, namely, Popular Art, Design Art, and advertising. Advertising is not considered â€Å"art† because it is not functionless beyond being aesthetic. Also, the advertising does not typically show personal expressive creativity. So, the Design Arts are typically considered mere decoration. Popular Art is thought of as in bad taste, banal, sentimental, and so not worthy of consideration either. Since art histories are only looking at â€Å"good† art, they tend not to consider these other arts. Standing as they most often do within the Fine Art art world, art historians use the ideology and sense of artistic value of Fine Art to evaluate all art. From the perspective of the contemporary art world, Popular Art is thought of as a kind of Fine Art; that is, bad Fine Art or Fine Art in bad taste. It seems hackneyed and banal to the Fine Art art world. From their perspective, popular taste is bad taste. For example, Osvaldo Yero, an artist who emerged in the 1990s, has based his work on the technique and poetics of the plaster figures. These figures, mostly decorations, but also religious images, were perhaps considered the last gasp of bad taste. They constituted the epitome of â€Å"uncultivated† appropriation of icons from the â€Å"high† culture as well as from mass culture, done in a poor and artificial material par excellence, worked clumsily in a semi-industrial technique and polychromed with pretentious attempts at elegance. They symbolized the triumph of â€Å"vulgarity, † the failure of the â€Å"aesthetic education of the masses† proposed by socialism. By the 1920s business and advertising agencies had realized that putting style and color choices into the products they made increased consumption. Through the use of advertising and by designing stylistic variety into their products, manufacturers elevated things into the category of fashion goods that had before just been utility goods, like towels, bedding, and bathroom fixtures. Previously these items did not have any style component, but now designers added decoration to their functional design. This meant that now consumers could choose products not just for function, but also for style. People could now have pink sheets, green toilets, and blue phones. There is a tension in design style between aesthetic formalist styles like the international style, and design styles that are figurative. Those favoring figurative design tend to think of products as coming in a great variety and designed to appeal to the various tastes of consumers. Here the style of the products are not dictated by function, but by market pressures. This is a further development of design for sales. This gave rise to what is known as niche marketing, where the styling is targeted to a smaller, more specific group than mass marketing is. Thus, they shun the idea of a unified worldwide machine aesthetic. For example, a razor can be pink with flowers on it to target it to female users, and black with blue accent lines to target it to male users. The razor is the same, but the razor is packaged with different styling to sell the product to different markets. In designing for niche markets, the styling reflects the class, age group, profession, and aspirations of the target group. This goes hand in hand with advertising, and requires a great deal of research to discover what these values are and what styling motifs succeed in communicating them. The exemplary text or the single, richly coded image gives way to the textual thickness and the visual density of everyday life, as though the slow, even languid look of the semiologist is, by the 1980s, out of tempo with the times. The field of postmodernism certainly expresses a frustration, not merely with this seemingly languid pace, but with its increasing inability to make tangible connections between the general conditions of life today and the practice of cultural analysis. Structuralism has also replaced old orthodoxies with new ones. This is apparent in its rereading of texts highly placed within an already existing literary or aesthetic hierarchy. Elsewhere it constructs a new hierarchy, with Hollywood classics at the top, followed by selected advertising images, and girls and womens magazines rounding it off. Other forms of representation, particularly music and dance, are missing altogether. Huyssen argues that â€Å"Pop in the broadest sense was the context in which a notion of the post-modern first took shape, and the most significant trends within postmodernism have challenged modernisms relentless hostility to mass culture. High theory was simply not equipped to deal with multilayered pop. † References Bell, Daniel. (1976). The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. New York: Basic Books. C. Norris, Lost in the funhouse: Baudrillard and the politics of postmodernism, in R. Boyne and A. Rattansi (eds) Postmodernism and Society, London, Macmillan, 1990. Hall, Stuart, Connell, Ian and Curti, Lidia (1981). The unity of current affairs television, in T. Bennett et al. (eds) Popular Television and Film, London: BFI. Harvey, David (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity, Oxford: Blackwell. Hebdige, Dick (1979). Subculture: The Meaning of Style, London: Routledge. Huyssen, A. (1984). Mapping the postmodern, New German Critique 33. Jameson, Fredric (1984). Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism, New Left Review 146.

The Path to Knowledge :: Philosophy Papers

The Path to Knowledge Recent ethnographies suggest that tribal cosmologies address topics of philosophical relevance and offer valuable insights into the nature of perennial philosophical problems. For example, while postmodern and feminist thought has argued that the verification of knowledge is directly related to political interests, I argue that there are other vantage points not related to such interests that serve as valuable measures for the acceptance of knowledge. Direct empirical verification of the ontological presuppositions that govern the assessment of anthropos in the context sub species aeternitatis empowers an individual to understand his or her role within culture as well. The methodological bounty described in ethnography signals for philosophers to question the categorization of transcendence merely as 'religious experience.' This paper argues that humans may have the capacity both to recognize the divine and to give objective descriptions through symbols and language which allow for t he development of methodologies in order to access that knowledge at will. Many postmodern and feminist thinkers place knowledge into the domain of politics and power. Such insights allow for the deconstruction of social realities and for postulating democratic principles in accepting multicultural philosophies. The recognition of form, however, cannot substitute for content. The educative function of politics reveals important insights into the human condition and allows one, for example, to see postmodernity in the context of historical events, such as the resourceful relationship between reason and capitalism, the transition from living law to positive law (cf. Northrop 1960), and the shaping of thought through liberalism and nihilism. An important feature of postmodern thought is its acceptance of multiplicities of viewpoints. By entertaining disparate claims for truth that originate in diverse methodological and historical origins, postmodernitsts learn to employ creative strategies to solve conceptual disjunctions much like anthropologists must learn to cope with the collapse of their worldviews when 'going native.' Such experiences, however, can be fertile ground wherein new scientific methodologies might have a chance to blossom. A recent study on tribal epistemologies (Wautischer 1998) demonstrates a type of understanding that stands outside the methodological scope of naturalistic observation. The exploration of human consciousness beyond linguistic thought will caution any philosopher to claim that behavior and intelligence can be understood by referring to deterministic principles. In this context, philosophical discourse continues to fulfill a vital role in educating humanity. It is misleading to assume that philosophical inquiry is primarily a political enterprise. Rather, a philosophical sense of wonder gives value and respect to diversity, gives empathy for other human beings, and concern for other life forms.

Free Essays - The Phony Holden of Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

The Phony Holden of Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger writes about a young man who is very distraught after World War II. In Salinger's only published novel The Catcher in the Rye he talks about a young man who does not understand society and the surroundings he lives in. He keeps referring back to how everyone and everything around him is a phony. He makes himself seem unreliable by telling the reader that he lies openly. In the novel Holden is what you would call an unreliable narrator. The definition of unreliable is - a person or thing that cannot be counted on or trusted. You cannot trust Holden if you know that he lies all the time. Since the reader knows that he is a habitual liar you may never know the difference from when he is telling the truth or when he is telling another one of his stories. Holden goes in and out of mental lapses throughout the novel that affected his mind and psychological state greatly. Holden is an unreliable narrator for many reasons. Holden tells the reader that he lies all the time and sometimes does not even notice that he is lying. Holden does not see things beneath the surface. Finally he is not mentally stable and feels very insecure about many things. Susan K. Mitchell's comments talk about how Holden is confused about the world and the people who are around him. He is an immature man who is still recovering from the effects the war had on him. He has also just failed out of school and so that has sent him into further depression. Holden sometimes contradicts his statements that he said earlier on and he doesn't realize it. "Holden is a man who does not practice what he teaches."(Mitchell 1) "You cannot believe what Holden says about his family after he has told you that he lies."(2) "Holden tells falsifications so often that he doesn't even realize whether he is lying or telling the truth."(2) Holden tells Sally he loves her, "It was a lie of course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it."(2) "Since the book is told through the eyes of the narrator our observations are biased.

Crash Movie Review

Misconception The 2004 movie Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, is a resemblance of how our society is today. It demonstrates people’s actions during their daily lives. There is a disconnection between every person and that is what makes each individual who they are. One way of depicting each person is through their actions, decisions, and the way they deal with people. Throughout the movie hate crime and hate speech was captured in the movie Crash through several characters. The one which I could easily identify was with the Persian family, Farhad the husband, Shareen the wife, and the daughter Dorri.Several incidents occurred that could be portrayed in reality. The family business store was robed at gun point and to prevent the incident from occurring again, the family decided to purchase a gun for protection. Protection of a gun was the only way that Farhad could feel safe. Often people think that having a gun is the only way to not be harmed and the movie challenges that per ception. Purchasing the gun was difficult because Farhad was from the Middle East. Dirk, the gun owner, gave the family a hard time when he denied them the right to purchase the gun.I believe the gun seller had the mentality that the Persians were Arabian and that they were planning a terroristic attack. After the 911 attack in society, most Americans judge anybody with Arabian characteristics as the â€Å"evil† people. They feel that they are in America for one purpose and that is to cause terror. The store was vandalized and graffiti of the nationality Arab was mistakenly (the family is Persian) drawn on the wall of Farhad’s store. The family was victims of hate crime and hate speech without any justice; they were being attacked because of assumptions of being Arabian.The judgment on the family’s ethnicity is something that constantly occurs around America. Personally, my family is Haitian and they speak Creole, since my family looks African American but speak another language, some people easily assume that they are African. My family has an accent and there were times when we would go to stores and people of other races would insult my family and tell them to go back to Africa because they could not understand what they were saying. My family had several situations where they had to leave a store a restaurant because of being a different ethnicity.Throughout the movie, one would think that Farhad would have better treatment toward other people because of how others treat him and his family, but he displays the same treatment given to him, to others. After the store was vandalized, the shopkeeper called a locksmith by the name of Daniel to repair the lock. The lock was repaired, but it was the door that needed to be replaced and Daniel informed Farhad of this. The cold harsh treatments of other people cause Farhad to treat others the same way.He becomes offensive and disrespects the repairman because he feels that the repairman is tryin g to rip him off. Daniel constantly told Farhad that the door needed to be replaced and Farhad did not take his words into consideration. Farhad insulted him and the repairman was so angry that he left without getting paid for his work. The door not being fixed caused Farhad to have more animosity to people outside his race. Aside from showing the animosity of foreigners, this movie also shows that Americans are not friendly people and mistreat foreigners who come to America for a better life.The Persian family has their own store and it was their most prized possession in America. The young people hated them so much that they broke into their store and vandalized it. The vandalized store caused Farhad to blame the repairman. Whenever there is problem, human beings seem to never take accountability for their actions and blame other people before blaming themselves. Farhad accused the repairman for being at fault for the destructions of his store and tried to get his insurance to cov er the damages.The insurance could not reimburse Farhad for the damages of his store because the repairman told Farhad that the door needed to be replaced. Therefore, Farahad decided to get justice on his own. He wanted to retaliate and he identified the home address of the locksmith and waited on him to come home from work. Farhad saw the locksmith approach his home so Farhad walked toward him and pointed a gun at him. The Daniel’s daughter, Laura, saw the altercation, ran and jumped up on her father to give him a hug and protect him from getting shot.Farhad pulls the trigger and nothing happens to the little girl. Farhad’s decision was selfish; he was too concerned about his shop and did not realize that killing a human being was not the right decision. Being that the shopkeeper, Farhad, is an immigrant, he was hated by Americans and it caused him to hate other nationalities as well. He wanted justice and he felt that the only way he can get it was by matching the ha tred of his, with the hatred of his ethnicity, from other people. The people who vandalized Farhad’s store were negligent and did not accept diversity.Farhad’s was tired of being hated because of his ethnicity, so he decided to take action. He was mistreated and he wanted the mistreatment to stop, he wanted to retaliate and make Daniel pay for the vandalism of his store. People in our society often feel that the only way that they can feel better about a person or situation is if they resolve it through fighting or killing. These conflicts are resolved by negative decisions of crimes and hurtful words because of being different in a society. There needs to be more peace and less violence in the world and the movie Crash exemplifies why.

India-Now And Then Essays - Indian Caste System, Caste, Free Essays

India-Now And Then Essays - Indian Caste System, Caste, Free Essays India-Now and Then My report is on India. India is a place very different from ours. Not many have deeply explored this culture and yet we desire more. I hope to clear up and explain the history, religion, and culture of India. As I have researched. The history of India is a long and proud one. Though the nation in quite poor it has been able to withstand the tests of time. Then it developed the caste system. A sytem of dividing people into groups. Well, it is still around today but we will discuss that later. The country started by poeple migrating to it. Many of the old customs developed back then like you are not truly part of a family or caste until you marry and have a child still remain today. There are two major religions practiced in India. They are Buddhism and Hinduism. Yet, you are aloud to worship any god you please and are encouraged to. And this right is garaunteed under their constitution. And people mostly group and talk among one another with their own religion. Wich is sad stoping people from bonding with others of other religions. The culture of India differs very much from ours. Especially the caste system wich was explained above. There are rules that go along with being in a caste. Some are you may not eat with a person of higher or lower caste, you may not sit with a person of higher or lower caste, you may not marry a person of higher or lower caste, and you can not have a child with someone of a higher or lower caste. Also the highest caste has to be generous to the lower castes while the lower castes have to be very generous to the higher caste. In closing I hope you now explain a little more about India and it people, customs, culture, and religion.

Named Full Moons - The Twelve Named Full Moons of the Year

Named Full Moons - The Twelve Named Full Moons of the Year There are typically twelve named full moons every year,  according to the Farmer’s Almanac and many sources of folklore. These names are geared toward northern hemisphere dates for historical reasons having to do with northern hemisphere observers. The full moon is one of the phases of the Moon and is marked by a fully lit Moon in the night sky. January The first full moon of the year is called the Wolf Moon. This name comes from the time of year when the weather is cold and snowy and in some places, the wolves run in packs, prowling for food. This is also called the Moon after Yule since it occurs after the December holidays.   February This months full moon is called Snow Moon. This name was used because, in much of the north country, this month has the heaviest snowfalls. It has also been called the Full Hunger Moon because bad weather kept the hunters out of the fields and that often meant a lack of food for their populations.   March Early springtime welcomes the Worm Moon. This name recognizes that March is the month when the ground begins to warm in the northern hemisphere, and the earthworms return to the surface. Sometimes this one is called the Full Sap Moon because this is the month when people tap their maple trees to make syrup. April The first full month of northern hemisphere spring brings the Pink Moon. It salutes the return of the ground flowers and mosses and the continued warming weather. This Moon is also called the Full Fish Moon or the Full Sprouting Grass Moon.   May Since May is the month when people see more and more flowers coming, its full moon is called Flower Moon. It marks the time when farmers traditionally plant corn, which leads to Corn Planting Moon.   June June is a time of strawberries coming ripe, so this months full moon, Strawberry Moon, is named in their honor. In Europe, people also called this one the Rose Moon, for the flower that comes into full bloom this month.   July This month brings the Buck Moon, named for the time that buck deer start to sprout their new antlers. This is also the time when fishing was best. Some people also called this the Full Thunder Moon for the frequent storms.   August Late summer in the northern hemisphere brings the Fruit or Barley Moon. August is universally a time to begin the harvest north of the equator and so this months full moon commemorates that. It Some people also called this the Full Sturgeon moon, in honor of the fish.    September Harvest Moon  or Full Corn Moon is one that gets a lot of interest for farmers around the world. In the northern hemisphere, September has always marked the harvest period for some of the most important food grains. If conditions are right, the farmers can work under the light of this moon until well into the night, thus getting more food stored for the winter.   Through most of the year, the Moon rises each day about 50 minutes later than the day before. However, when the September equinox approaches (it occurs around September 22, 23, or 24th each year), the difference in  rising  times drops to about 25 to 30 minutes. Farther north, the difference is 10 to 15 minutes. This means that in September, the Full Moon that rises close to the equinox could be rising close to (or even after) sunset. Traditionally, farmers used those extra minutes of sunlight to put more work in on harvesting their crops. Thus, it gained the name Harvest Moon, and it can occur  anytime  between September 8 and October 7. Today, with advances in farming, and the use of electric lights, the extra minutes of light arent as important. Yet, we have kept the name Harvest Moon to refer to the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox. This full moon may be more important to some for religious purposes. (See   Pagan/Wiccan  and   Alternative Religions) October Hunters Moon or Blood Moon occurs this month. ​It marks the time for hunting the fattened deer, elk, moose, and other animals that can be used for food. The name harkens back to societies where hunting to stock up food for the winter was important; most notably, in North America, the various native tribes could more easily see animals in the fields and forests after the harvests were brought in and the leaves had fallen from the tree. In some places, this moon marked a special day and night of feasting.   November Beaver Moon occurs in this very late autumn month. In the past, when people hunted beaver, November was thought to be the best time for trapping these furry animals. Since the weather turns cold in November, many people often called this a Frosty Moon, too.   December Cold or Long Nights Moon comes as winter is ushered in. December marks the time of year when the nights are longest and days are shortest and coldest in the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes people have called this the Long Night Moon.   Its important to remember that these names served a useful purpose helping early people, particularly Native Americans and other cultures to survive. The names allowed tribes to keep track of the seasons by giving names to each recurring full moon. Basically, the entire month would be named after the full moon occurring that month. Although there were a few differences between the names used by different tribes, mostly, they were similar. As European settlers moved in, they began to use the names as well.   Edited and expanded by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Free Essays on Belly Dancing

Belly Dancing There have been many theories about the origin of belly dancing. Belly dancing comes from the Arab term Bella D which means native dance and native rhythm. Belly dancing is traced way back to 3500 BC from the Ferro’s. Nevertheless, belly dancing can also be found in Northern Africa, Greece, Egypt, Allegros, Morocco, Northern Turkey, Northern India and the Mediterranean. Belly dancing is also a form of communication that tells a women’s point of view and expresses emotions. The first time this type of dancing was brought into the U.S. was in 1893 at Chicago’s world fair. Then in the early 1900’s little Egypt made belly dancing popular and extended all the way to Broadway and Hollywood. There are three major types of belly dancing that is practiced and performed in the United States. One of them being American Nightclub, two-American Tribal, and three-Modern Egyptian Nightclub. More so, Oriental Dance has influenced the evolution of Modern Dance in the hands of leaders Ruth St. Denis and Isadora Duncan. The Orientalists were Europeans who visited the Middle East during the 1800’s. After their visits to Europe they returned to their homelands that intrigued them either to write or create paintings. In most cases, people used their great artistic license in their works to titillate their countrymen back home with stories about exotic, sexy, barely-clothed women. Sometimes without even seeing these belly dancers, people would use their imagination and create these fabulous paintings of an image they created on their own. However, others were just admirable of their culture and painted from their inner most spiritual feelings. There isn’t just one specific type of belly dancing that is performed around the world. There are many different types of belly dancing. Such dances include Floor work, Gypsy, Flamenco and Middle Eastern Dance, Hagallah, Snake, Trance and Veil are just some of the more familiar and tradi... Free Essays on Belly Dancing Free Essays on Belly Dancing Belly Dancing There have been many theories about the origin of belly dancing. Belly dancing comes from the Arab term Bella D which means native dance and native rhythm. Belly dancing is traced way back to 3500 BC from the Ferro’s. Nevertheless, belly dancing can also be found in Northern Africa, Greece, Egypt, Allegros, Morocco, Northern Turkey, Northern India and the Mediterranean. Belly dancing is also a form of communication that tells a women’s point of view and expresses emotions. The first time this type of dancing was brought into the U.S. was in 1893 at Chicago’s world fair. Then in the early 1900’s little Egypt made belly dancing popular and extended all the way to Broadway and Hollywood. There are three major types of belly dancing that is practiced and performed in the United States. One of them being American Nightclub, two-American Tribal, and three-Modern Egyptian Nightclub. More so, Oriental Dance has influenced the evolution of Modern Dance in the hands of leaders Ruth St. Denis and Isadora Duncan. The Orientalists were Europeans who visited the Middle East during the 1800’s. After their visits to Europe they returned to their homelands that intrigued them either to write or create paintings. In most cases, people used their great artistic license in their works to titillate their countrymen back home with stories about exotic, sexy, barely-clothed women. Sometimes without even seeing these belly dancers, people would use their imagination and create these fabulous paintings of an image they created on their own. However, others were just admirable of their culture and painted from their inner most spiritual feelings. There isn’t just one specific type of belly dancing that is performed around the world. There are many different types of belly dancing. Such dances include Floor work, Gypsy, Flamenco and Middle Eastern Dance, Hagallah, Snake, Trance and Veil are just some of the more familiar and tradi...

Role of the State in Internet Privacy Protection Essay

Role of the State in Internet Privacy Protection - Essay Example To specify, information privacy is believed to exist if one is able to monitor the usage of personal information, its circulation, and release (Culnan 341). With the rapid growth of the web space and technology advancement, concerns of users’ about personal privacy threats are also growing. Research into the issue found that internet users today are exposed to embarrassment, stalking, cyber-bullying, blackmailing, and identity hacking due to users’ displaying lots of personal data. This has led many people believe that internet privacy does not exist at all and is impossible to control. Others believe that the issue of internet privacy is not that important and should be regulated by the market. In my view, internet privacy exists once it is protected by the law. Many people believe that maintaining privacy on the internet and particularly while visiting social networking web sites is their basic human right. So they suppose that the basic thing they need to do to prote ct their privacy is to simply adjust the privacy settings, Steven Rambam and other interested authors think that privacy does not at all exist on the internet. Rambam, a private investigator and director of Pallorium Investigative Agency, expressed these ideas in a series of talks at U.S. conferences. His basic idea is â€Å"Privacy is Dead – Get Over It†. ... in a few hours about an individual unfamiliar to him (Rambam, â€Å"Privacy is Dead – Get Over It†) At the Last HOPE Conference, Rambam discussed the process of searching for necessary information on the internet via intrusion into privacy, which as the investigator notes â€Å"is out of the bottle† (Mills, â€Å"The Internet – a Private Eye’s Best Friend†). Rambam argues that each new search through Google, every blog post, and each new photo posted online mean further losing the battle led for privacy protection. This can be explained by the fact that â€Å"anything you put on the internet will be grabbed, indexed, cataloged, and out of your control before you know it† (Mills, â€Å"The Internet – a Private Eye’s Best Friend†). Rambam specifies that every kind of information online is digitized, with older information scanned and placed online. Afterwards, this mixture gets aggregated into special databases which are later sold to government agencies, marketers, and practically anyone capable of purchasing it. Twitter, cell phones, taking photos by iPods, etc are effective tools for identifying individual’s location, preferences in buying and similar information is collected by special marketing databases that are usually bought by the government. Due to the use of the information supplied by consumer databases, individuals are tracked down by the police, different collection agencies, and the U.S. Marshall’s Service (Mills, â€Å"The Internet – a Private Eye’s Best Friend†). The question arises then: what to do about this? It seems Rambam’s advice is to just â€Å"get over† the reality that privacy is dead on the internet. Next, many researchers acknowledge that privacy is under threat on the internet and suggest how to protect it. Specifically, the

The hunger game Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The hunger game - Research Paper Example Despite the simplicity of the premise, Suzanne Collins, the author, is able to create successfully a nuanced, savage world, which is able to engross the reader Tan, Susan. "Of Bread, Blood, and  The Hunger Games:  Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy  ed. by Mary F. Pharr and Leisa A. Clark (review)."  The Lion and the Unicorn  37.1 (2013): 102-105. Print. In the book, â€Å"The hunger games† is both blistered and a high tempo read which does not let go Even with the early chapters being slow, and appearing amateurish (Tan 102), the author has been able to make the story go into override when the games begin. A description of the world of arena, which is an environment which is gigantic forested, is given in lush details, but it does not feel overdone. The characters of Collins are serviceable in their roles, even though they are somewhat stereotypical for the genre. Despite â€Å"The hunger games† which is a novel that is a riveting action, it also plays a role of biting satire of the media. Collins mocks the appetite of modern audiences for the â€Å"reality shows† in ways that many younger viewers will not be able to appreciate. The contestants of the games are to present themselves in ways that they can be able to attract sponsors since the games were aired on national television. Haymitch Abernathy says, â₠¬Å"Its a television show, and being in love with that boy might just get you sponsors which could save your damn life.† The sponsors were for air dropping some supplies that were needed inside the arena like medicine, food among others. In my recollection, I wonder doubt whether the novel is a form of irony since it is filled with audience appealing elements like children in peril, girl-against-the-odds storytelling, even as it satirizes them at the same time. According to the source, various concerns have been put up about the violence in the book, but in my view, the complaints are not

The Role of Religious Accommodation at Workplace Essay

The Role of Religious Accommodation at Workplace - Essay Example In General, people in the modern world is spending most of their life time in offices and workplace is a significant environment in their life. The modern century is functioning at a fast space and everyone wants to perform their best at their workplace in peace with his inner self. An employee who keeps his religion alive can inculcate enormous ethics, moral and social values in him. In the same way religious accommodation are essential at work place as it increases the quality of job performance and productivity among employees. As per (Laderman) â€Å"Today, "religion" can mean anything at all, from the most personal and intimate spirituality for the individual to the most diffuse cultural activity in any given society†. Religious values increases work quality First when we think about religion, the most important factor that sweeps through our mind is the serenity and satisfaction it brings to the psyche and personality of an individual. As all know ,religion is the direct ion towards God and anyone engaged in this value is at peace .It is obvious that when the self of a person is at serenity he can bring forth vitality to his thinking and personal behavior despite of the environment he is in. Work place environment is mostly stress abandoned and employees undergo much complication and emotional disturbance, when they engage in work place. So it will be greatly benefited on individual basis if the organizations allot some time to the employees for religious practice. According to (TriNet)â€Å"A Gallup poll states that 90% of American adults say that religion is either very important or fairly important in their lives. And with that, arises workplace conflicts†. Frankly speaking, religious accommodation is important in workplace as it increases the confidence and mental balance of an employee which results in quality job performance and productivity. Only a spiritually evoked employee can regulate his behavior and thoughts and give out optimum potentiality to the organization he/she is working in .In an organization, there can be present people from various religious background. However when an employee engage in his/her religious practice , he connect with God and respect all religions and treat his colleagues with respect and humility. Religion can bring about conflict at work place and time management issues Religion indeed is an essential part of every individual’s life , but as there are different religion in world , the ideology and religious culture in a work place vary immensely. This fact can give rise to conflict among employees as their habit and behavior differ according to their religious concept and beliefs. This contradicting view among employees can lead to chaos and dysfunctional situation. When employees hold vengeance and unfriendly attitude among each other, the flow of business can be interrupted and this can create low quality work and unproductive situation in workplace Generally, failure and lockouts can occur in work place and dealing with this issue can create loss of time. When the employees of an organization hold various religious beliefs then the organization can work on a not unifying nature . This is because the employees on various level look at each other as opponent and enemies and they can feel like competing with each other to prove each one’s religion as the best. Such an atmosphere can dismantle the whole unifying environment of the organization.

The Crucible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Crucible - Essay Example The Crucible explored this theme in the context of the 1692 Salem Witch trials. A man called Senator Joe McCarthy began McCarthyism, who exploited the American fears about Communism and managed to create a national campaign against Communists. McCarthy was gradually brought into disrepute and in 1954 he was removed as Chairman of the Committee after it was proved that he and his associates had been falsifying evidence. However, the witch-hunt continued for a few years and Arthur Miller himself was called in front of the committee in 1956. Miller refused to give the names of friends who might have been interested in Communism. As a result Miller was fined for contempt of Congress. Miller related McCarthyism and the witchcraft in Salem because in both circumstances, innocent people were punished. Miller is widely proclaimed as a moral writer whose aim is to bring out the good in man rather than bad. Through his play, The Crucible, he attempted with the problem of evil in the man and to provide a solution to this problem. Miller can argue in this way as he believes that all men have a basic concept of what is good in their minds. Through his play, he attempts to bring out this basic goodness in people by shocking them with evil. The writer presents most of the people in his play as being land grabbing, superstitious, vindictive, revengeful, cowardly, adulterous and downright evil. This makes the plot more of a battle between good and bad, both internal and external to man. The battle between good and evil has always been gripping to the mankind from ages. Miller uses this simple philosophy and blends it American history to create the play, The Crucible. The play, The Crucible, is divided into 4 acts, completely different from each other, yet have a realistic connection. Miller's style is very simple He uses simple sentence structure with a simple vocabulary, but makes sure that the suspense in the plot is not taken away. He makes the plot and idea interesting by foreshadowing future events. At the end of first act, two different scenes of Betty's room and the discussion of Procter and Abigail are left incomplete and make the audience guessing. At the end of second act, the good name of Procter in the society is kept at stake for the life of Elizabeth, wife of Procter. This creates the tension in the play, which is sustained at the end of third act also. Sentenced for death, Procter's character is put to the ultimate test. The tension is created in these waves. Each time the atmosphere is calm, it makes audience anticipate a climax. But at the end of each act, there is hysteria. There is no real break-through, but a twist in the story. Tension in the play is sustained by swinging the play from one end to other. Betty is lying unconscious on the bed within a few moments, the room is full of people and very soon, they are all shouting and arguing. Because there are so many people coming and going, this creates a sense of confusion. Miller does this because he wants the audience to feel a little of the same confusion as the characters in the play Miller makes the characters speak at different speeds sometimes quick, sometimes slow, which creates tension, it sounds more realistic. Miller sometimes has the characters i

Artificial intelligence will never be a safe option to substitute Essay

Artificial intelligence will never be a safe option to substitute human thinking and abilities - Essay Example The computers programs are fast and they have a very good memory compared to that of human beings whose level of intelligence is different. Human beings have an IQ that differs among different individuals while computers use programs that are well designed. This process has achieved some success but not 100% because some of the human thoughts which are basic have not yet been understood by scientists. Turing in 1947 was the first one to research artificial intelligence and discovered that it could only be attained by computer programming and not by manufacturing machines that had an inbuilt artificial intelligence. Human beings have different degrees of intelligence depending on some factors e.g. where they live and other psychological factors. Research on artificial intelligence is still in progress but much has been attained since in the current world, computers are being used to perform some tasks. Researchers have discovered that computers with multiple processors are faster than those with single processors (MacCarthy 2007). Computers are able to play games and still more progress is being made as stated by MacCarthy, the father of artificial intelligence. I strongly support artificial intelligence because it makes solving real life problems quick and easy. Once you feed the computer with the required information, the computer gives the response immediately. Doctors are able to diagnose diseases easily and fast with the use of computers (Copeland 2000). It is easy for computer literate people to use these programs when problem solving. This is because one just chooses an action from the many that are given and then the computer internalizes and gives a solution. A person doesn’t have to be present for an operation to be preformed. Computers only perform the instructed tasks. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. They cannot perform what they are not instructed to do and therefore, the user obtains the

The Crucible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Crucible - Essay Example The Crucible explored this theme in the context of the 1692 Salem Witch trials. A man called Senator Joe McCarthy began McCarthyism, who exploited the American fears about Communism and managed to create a national campaign against Communists. McCarthy was gradually brought into disrepute and in 1954 he was removed as Chairman of the Committee after it was proved that he and his associates had been falsifying evidence. However, the witch-hunt continued for a few years and Arthur Miller himself was called in front of the committee in 1956. Miller refused to give the names of friends who might have been interested in Communism. As a result Miller was fined for contempt of Congress. Miller related McCarthyism and the witchcraft in Salem because in both circumstances, innocent people were punished. Miller is widely proclaimed as a moral writer whose aim is to bring out the good in man rather than bad. Through his play, The Crucible, he attempted with the problem of evil in the man and to provide a solution to this problem. Miller can argue in this way as he believes that all men have a basic concept of what is good in their minds. Through his play, he attempts to bring out this basic goodness in people by shocking them with evil. The writer presents most of the people in his play as being land grabbing, superstitious, vindictive, revengeful, cowardly, adulterous and downright evil. This makes the plot more of a battle between good and bad, both internal and external to man. The battle between good and evil has always been gripping to the mankind from ages. Miller uses this simple philosophy and blends it American history to create the play, The Crucible. The play, The Crucible, is divided into 4 acts, completely different from each other, yet have a realistic connection. Miller's style is very simple He uses simple sentence structure with a simple vocabulary, but makes sure that the suspense in the plot is not taken away. He makes the plot and idea interesting by foreshadowing future events. At the end of first act, two different scenes of Betty's room and the discussion of Procter and Abigail are left incomplete and make the audience guessing. At the end of second act, the good name of Procter in the society is kept at stake for the life of Elizabeth, wife of Procter. This creates the tension in the play, which is sustained at the end of third act also. Sentenced for death, Procter's character is put to the ultimate test. The tension is created in these waves. Each time the atmosphere is calm, it makes audience anticipate a climax. But at the end of each act, there is hysteria. There is no real break-through, but a twist in the story. Tension in the play is sustained by swinging the play from one end to other. Betty is lying unconscious on the bed within a few moments, the room is full of people and very soon, they are all shouting and arguing. Because there are so many people coming and going, this creates a sense of confusion. Miller does this because he wants the audience to feel a little of the same confusion as the characters in the play Miller makes the characters speak at different speeds sometimes quick, sometimes slow, which creates tension, it sounds more realistic. Miller sometimes has the characters i

Writing Assigment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Writing Assigment - Essay Example In fact, it can be considered to be one of the most controversial topics with regard to law in a civilized society. The United States along with many countries in Asia still have laws that can sentence a person to death unlike most European nations, where this practice has been abolished. Even within country, not all states adhere to this law. Sixteen states in the country including the District of Columbia have removed death penalty as a form of punishment, but all other states still consider it lawful. In other words, a majority of the states still follow this form of punishment. This practice was accepted in the country during the time of colonization from laws that existed in the host countries of the colonizers. They then became accepted or rejected among the different states as mentioned above. There are strong proponents and dissidents with regard to capital punishment. These attitudes could be based on religious beliefs, social customs, or their personal viewpoints. Those who are for capital punishment put forth the following arguments as justification. Their primary reason is that members of the society have to be protected from criminals who commit more serious crimes like murder and capital crimes. It is the duty of the government to protect its citizens and that by providing death penalty; a capital crime will not be committed by the same person again. Their second reason is that this form of punishment will act as a warning and deterrent to other people with criminal tendencies. A death penalty risk will act as a strong deterrent and can help to prevent similar acts by other members of the society. The third argument is that the relatives and loved ones of the victims are entitled to retribution. If someone has murdered a member of the family, then the members can o nly obtain justice, if the murderer is treated in the same manner. There are strong arguments against death penalty from various

Following Approaches to the Study of Politics Essay Example for Free

Following Approaches to the Study of Politics Essay An approach is to deal with a situation or problem in a particular way. It is also the means by which something is reached. It is the angel form which one views political problems. It is a criteria for searching for the questions to ask. A criteria used to analyze political data. It can be implicit or explicit in what it explains. Some reasons why approaches are used in the study of political science is because it helps us to be more analytical and also helps suggest hypothetical relationships among political forces. The historical approach deals with political thinkers such as Machiavelli, Vico, Montesquieu, Savigny, Maine, Seeley and Freeman. It lays emphasis on the use of historical evidence for proper study of political situations. The reason for the use of this approach is that all political institutions have a long record of their rise and growth and their present form may be well understood in context of their history. This approach does not only explain the past but also enables us to draw dependable conclusions and also it provides us with basic principles for interpreting the future. Some strengths of this approach are that the value of historical approach enables us to make sound generalizations and we may also call them authentic by virtue because they are based on past evidence. Secondly the historical approach is always open to verification. Since it is based on gathered facts of history we may test the validity of conflicting ideas if needed. Lastly it gives us a sense of history than warns us against repeating blunders of the past. History becomes a lesson for the present generation .It enlarges our mental horizon, improves the perspective and builds up an attitude towards events. Some scholars have listed some problems facing the historical approach to the study of political science. Some of these scholars are James Bryce. He says the historical approach is often loaded with superficial resemblance. As such historical parallels may sometimes be illuminating, but they are also misleading in most of the cases. Also Sidgwick mentioned that political science is to determine what ought to be so far as the constitution and action of the government are concerned and this end cannot be discovered by a historical study of the form and functions of government.  The sociological approach emphasizes that social context is necessary for the understanding and explanation of political behavior of the members of a community. The sociological approach deals with the traits of individuals that are transmitted from one generation to another generation. It also deals with the culture of the people. Some strengths of this approach are that it cannot be criticized for being narrow because it is because it is a very broad approach. Due to its broad nature it cannot be ignored during empirical study. A weakness of this approach is that it is feared by most political analysts that it may convert politics to a branch of sociology. Psychological approach is an approach that came into being when political science moved close to the discipline of psychology. This was done in modern times by Graham, Wallas, Charles Merrian, Harrold Lasswell and Robert Dahl. It is the study of political science made by political writers in a way so as to deal with the role of emotions, habits, sentiments, instincts and ego that constitute essential elements of human personality. A strength of this approach is that it is the right approach enabling us to study politics with the help of psychological tool. It helps throw more light on political science. This approach is criticized as partially correct because it does not take into consideration some essential elements covered in some approaches. Secondly this approach deals with normative attributed in an empirical political theory that is it deals with b elief systems. The structural functionalist approach has proven to be very useful particularly in the comparison of political systems. This approach views political systems with the way they perform as a unit in its environment. However this approach has been criticized by Jean Blondel. He says that the approach does not enlighten one about the aims of the participants. Also he says before this approach can be effective it depends on what one accepts as a function, in view of this it is difficult to achieve complete objectivity. Even though Jean Blondel has criticized this approach it has some strengths ac an approach. This approach is quite attractive for comparative analysis of political systems this is because in most times it deals with the manageable collection of variables and produces a set of standardized categories that can be applied successfully to varied political systems. The greatest strength of this approach lies in the area of pattern maintenance of the system. The comparative approach seeks to show the similarities and  differences among political situations as a source to data of idea formation and classification. An importance of this approach is that in comparing and contrasting events, institutions, processes, experiences and expectations one gets clearer image of thing observed and shaper understanding of the meanings of the political systems being compared. A weakness of this approach is that problem with the comparative method is that research might be not objective and the researcher deliberately chooses countries to show negative or positive moments to proof his/her point of view. For example, let’s consider a hypothesis, that countries with weak trade unions are more economically successful than countries with strong trade unions. Here, trade unionists and, on opposite side, managing directors have a political point to make, so more than likely their conclusions might completely differ. So we should be aware that conclusions are not driven by someone’s motivations and values.

Stock Market Performance and the Real Economic Activity

Stock Market Performance and the Real Economic Activity Whether national economy is affecting the stock market or other way round? A lot of studies have done on the past what are relationship of these variables. In my work I have used cointegration and Granger Causality method to find out the relationship between the stock index price and Economic growth indicator GDP. Introduction The debate of whether stock market is associated with economic growth or the stock market can be served as the economic indicator to predict future. According to many economists stock market can be a reason for the future recession if there is a huge decrease in the stock price or vice versa. However, there are evidence of controversial issue about the ability of prediction from the stock market is not reliable if there is a situation like 1987 stock market crashed followed by the economic recession and 1997 financial crises. (Stock market and economic growth in Malaysia: causality test). The aim of the study is to find the relation between the stock market performance and the real economic activity in case of four countries The UK, The USA, Malaysia and Japan. With my limited knowledge I have tried to find out the role of financial development in stimulating economic growth. A lot of economists have different view about stock market development and the economic growth. If we focus on some related literature published on this topic one question arises: Is economic development is affected by stock market development? Even though there are lots of debate on some are saying that stock market can help the economy but the effect of stock market in the economy especially in the economy is very little. Ross Levine suggested in his paper published in 1998 that recent evidence suggested stock market can really give a boom to economic growth. (REFERENCE) It is not really possible to measure the growth by simply looking at the ups and down in the stock market indicator and by looking at the rates of growth in GDP. A lot of things can cause in the growth of stock market like changes in the banking system, foreign participation in the in the financial market may participate strongly. Apparently it seems that these developments can cause development of stock market followed by the good economic growth. But to check the accuracy one required to follow an appropriate method which would meaningfully measure whether stock price is really effecting the economic growth or not? In my work I have tried to find out the co integrating relationship between Stock price and GDP and tried to check if there is a long run and short run relationship between the stock price and GDP. The method used for the studies is Engle Granger co integration method. To do this I have used ADF (Augmented Dickey Fuller Test) to check for the stationary behaviour of the variables and then I have performed the Engle Granger Engle Granger co integration method followed by residual based error correction model. To check for the short run relationship I have used 2nd stage Engle Granger co integration method. To check the causal effect of the four countries stock market and economic growth I used Granger Causality Method. In this paper I have reviewed some studies of scholars which I have discussed on the literature review part. This paper contains five parts Part two is about the literature based on the past wok of scholars. Part Three discussed about the Data. Part four is about the methodology, Results are discussed on part five and part six is all about the summary and conclusion of the whole study. In my work I have founded there is no long run relationship between stock market and economic growth in all four countries. In addition there is no causal relation between stock index yield and the national economy growth rate. The empirical results of the thesis concludes that the possibility of seemingly abnormal relationship between the stock index and national economy of these for countries. Literature Review: Stock market contributes to economic growth in different ways either directly or indirectly. The functions of stock market are savings mobilization, Liquidity creation, and Risk diversification, keep control on disintermediation, information gaining and enhanced incentive for corporate control. The relationship between stock market and economic growth has become an issue of extensive analysis. There is always a question whether the stock market directly influence economic growth. A lot of research and results shows that there is a strong relationship between stock market and economic growth. Evidence on whether financial development causes growth help to reconcile these views. If we go back to the study of Schumpeter (1912) his studies emphasizes the positive influence on the development of a countrys financial sector on the level and the potential risk of losses caused by the adverse selection and moral hazard or transaction costs are argued by him how necessary the rate of growth argues that financial sectors provides of reallocating capital to minimize the potential losses. Empirical evidence from king and Levine (1983) show that the level of financial intermediation is good predictor of long run rates of growth, capital accumulation and productivity. Enhanced liquidity of financial market leads to financial development and investors can easily diversify their risk by creating their portfolio in different investments with higher investment. Another study from Levine and Zervos (1996) using the data of 24 countries found that a strong positive correlation between stock market development and economic growth. Their expanded study on 49 countries from 1976-1993, they used Stock Market liquidity, Economic growth rate, Capital Accumulating rate and output Growth Rate. They found that all the variables are positively correlated with each other. Demiurgic and Maksimovic (1996) have found positive causal effects of financial development on economic growth in line with the ‘supply leading hypothesis. According to his studies countries with better financial system has a smooth functioning stock market tend to grow much faster as they have access to much needed funds for financially constrained economic enterprises by the large efficient banks. Related research was done for the past three decades focusing on the role of financial development in stimulating economic growth they never considered about the stock market. An empirical study by Ming Men and Rui on Stock market index and economic growth in China suggest that possible reason of apparent abnormal relationship between the stock Index and national economy in china. Apparent abnormal relationship may be because of the following reason inconsistency of Chinese GDP with the structure of its stock market, role played by private sector in growth of GDP and disequilibrium of finance structure etc. The study was done using the cointegration method and Granger causality test, the overall finding of the study is Chinese finance market is not playing an important role in economic development. (Men M 2006 China paper). An article by Indrani Chakraborti based on the case of India presented in a seminar in kolkata in October, 2006 provides some information about the existence of long run stable relationship between stosk market capitalization, bank credit and growth rate of real GDP. She used the concept of the granger causality after using both the Engle-Granger and Johansen technique. In her study she found GDP is co-integrated with financial depth, Volatility in the stock market and GDP growth is co integrated with all the findings the paper explain that the in an overall sense, economic growth is the reson for financial development in India.(Chakraboty Indrani). Few writers from Malaysia found that stock market does help to predict future economy. Stock market is associated with economic growth play as a source for new private capital. Causal relationship between the stock market and economic growth which was done by using the formal test for causality by C.J. Granger and yearly Malaysia data for the period 1977-2006. The result from the study explain that future prediction is possible by stock market. A study focused on the relationship between stock market performance and real economic activity in Turkey. The study shows existence of a long run relationship between real economic activity and stock prices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Result from the study pointed out that economic activity increases after a shock in stock prices and then declines in Turkish market from the second quarter and a unitary (Turkish paper) An international time series analysis from 1980-1990 by By RAGHURAM G. RAJAN AND LUIGI ZINGALES shows some evidence of the relation between stock market and economic growth. This paper describes whether economic growth is facilitated by financial development. He found that financial development has strong effect on economic growth. (Rajan and Zingales, 1998) The study of Ross LEVINE AND SARA ZERVOS on finding out the long run relationship between stock market and bank suggest a positive effect both the variables has positive effect on economic growth. International integration and volatility is not properly effected by capital stock market. And private save saving rates are not at all affected by these financial indicators. The study was done on 47 countries data using cross sectional analysis. In theory the conventional literature on growth was not sufficient enough to look for the connection between financial development and economic growth and the reason is they were focused on the steady state level of capital stock per workerof productivity. And they were not really concentrated on the rate of growth. Actually the main concern was legitimated to exogenous technical progress. (Levine and Zervos 1998) Belgium Stock market study with economic development shows the positive long run relationship between both the variables. In case of Belgium the evidences are quiet strong that Economic growth is caused by the development of the stock market. It is more focused between the period 1873 and 1935; basically this period is considered as the period of rapid industrialization in Belgium. The importance of the stock market in Belgium is more pronounced after liberalization of the stock market in 1867-1873. The time varying nature of the link between stock market development and economic growth is explained by the institutional change in the stock exchange. They also tried to find out the relationship to the universal banking system. Before 1873 the economic growth was based on the banking system and after 1873 stock market took the place. (Stock Market Development and economic growth in Belgium, Stijin Van Nieuwerburg, Ludo Cuyvers, Frans Buelens July 5, 2005) Senior economist of the World Banks Policy research department Ross Levine has discussed about Stock market in his paper Stock Markets: A Spur to economic growth on the impact of development. Less risky investments are possible in liquid equity market and it attracts the savers to acquire an asset, equity. As, they can sell it quickly when they need access to their savings, and if they want to alter their portfolio. Though many long term investment is required for the profitable investment. But reluctance of the investors towards long term investment as they dont have the access to their savings easily. Permanent access to capital is raised by the companies through equity issues as they are facilitating longer term, more profitable investments and prospect of long term economic growth is enhanced as liquid market improves the allocation of capital. The empirical evidence from the study strongly suggests that greater stock markets create more liquidity or at least continue economic gr owth. (Levine. R A spur to economic Growth) A lot of research has established that future economic growth is influenced by countrys financial growth, stock market index returns are another factor of economic growth. The researcher focused to extend their study; they tie together these two strings and started analyzing the relationship between banking industry, stock returns and future economic growth. Research was done on 18 developed and 18 emerging markets and the results are positive and noteworthy relationship between future GDP and stock returns. Few important features can also be predicted such as bank-accounting-disclosure standards, banking crises, insider trading law enforcement and government ownership of banks. (Bank stock returns and economic growth q Rebel A. Cole a, Fariborz Moshirian b,*, Qiongbing Wu c a Department of Finance, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60604, USA b School of Banking and Finance, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia c Newcastle raduate School of Business, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2300, Australia Received 29 September 2006; accepted 26 July 2007Available online 21 September 2007) Another paper was focused on the linkages between financial development and economic growth using TYDL model for the empirical exercises by Purna Chandra Padhan suggests that both stock price and economic activity are integrated of order one and Johansen-Juselias Coin-integration tests for this study found one co integrating vector exists. It is proved by the spurious relation rule in this study the existence of at least one direction of causality. He described that bi-directional causality between stock price and economic growth meaning that economic activity can be enhanced by well developed stock exchange and vice-versa. ( Title:  The nexus between stock market and economic activity: an empirical analysis for India Author(s): Purna Chandra Padhan Journal: International Journal of Social Economics Year: 2007 Volume: 34 Issue: 10  Page: 741 – 753 DOI: 10.1108/03068290710816874 Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited) Chee Keong Choong (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Malaysia) Zulkornain Yusop (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Siong Hook Law (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Venus Liew Khim Sen (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Date of creation: 23 Jul 2003 Tried to find out the importance of the causal relationship of Financial development and economic growth. The findings of their study usin autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) describes about the positive long run impact on economic growth Granger causality also suggest same results. A study by Randall Filler(2000) using 70 countries data over the period 1985-1997 proves that there is a very little relationship between economic growth and stock market especially in developing countries and currency appreciation has occurred. From the result of the study we can see that an important role may be played by the stock market in an economy, and these are not essential for economic growth. However, another study on Iran by N. Shahnoushi, A.G Daneshvar, E Shori and M. Motalebi 2008 Financial development is not considered as an effective factor to the economic growth. The study was focused on the causal relationship between the financial development and economic growth. Time series data used for the study from the period 1961-2004. Granger causality shows there is no co integrating relationship between financial development and economic growth in Iran only the economical growth leads to financial development. Establishing link between savings and investment is very much important and financial market provides that. Transient or lasting growth is the ultimate affect of the financial market. Economic growth can be influenced by financial market by improving the productivity of the capital, Investment to firms can be channelled and greater capital accumulation by increasing savings. To ensure the stability of the financial market potential regulation is important due to asymmetric information, especially at the time of financial liberalization. (Economic Development and Financial Market Tosson Nabil Deabes Moderm Academy for technology aand computer sciences; MAM November 2004 Economic Development Financial Market Working Paper No. 2 ) Data: The empirical analysis was carried out using the quarterly data for The UK, The USA, Japan and Malaysia. The data were collected from the DataStream for the period 1993I to 2008III. Economic growth is measured as the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) of each country with the help of stock prices SP. For the software processing I used Eviews 6.0 for the planned regression in order to get the results. The empirical analysis is done from the quarterly data from the stock market indices and the and the GDP between the first quarter of 1993 and the fourth quarter of 2008. All the data has been extracted from the data stream and expressed in US$. The data for Japan share price is from Tokyo Stock Exchange. Malaysias Share price is form Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, UKs is from UK FT all share price index and USA share price is taken from the DOW Jones industrial share price index. The nature of the Data is series used for the time series regression. List of Variables: UGDP UK GDP USP UK Share price LUGDP Log of UK GDP LUSP Log of UK Share price USGDP USA GDP USSP USA (DOW Jones) Share price LUSGDP Log of USA GDP LUSSP Log of USA Share price MGDP Malaysia GDP MSP Malaysia Share price LMGDP Log of Malaysia GDP LMSP Log of Malaysia Share price JGDP Japan GDP JSP Japan Share Price LJGDP Log of Japan GDP LJSP Log of Japan Share price Methodology: Cointegration long term common stochastic trend between non stationary time series. If non-stationary series x and yare both integrated of same order and there is a linear combination of them that is stationary, they are called co integrated series. A common stochastic trend is shared in Cointegration. It follows that these two series will not drift apart too much, meaning that even they may deviate from each other in the short-term, they will revert to the long-run equilibrium. This fact makes cointegration a very powerful approach for the long-term analyses. Meanwhile, cointegration does not imply high correlation; two series can be co integrated and yet have very low correlations. Cointegration tests allow us to determine whether financial variables of different national markets move together over the long run, while providing for the possibility of short-run divergence. The first step in the analysis is to test each index series for the presence of unit roots, which shows whether the series are nonstationary. All the series must be nonstationarity and integrated of the same order. To do this, we apply both the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test. Once the stationarity requirements are met, we proceed Granger bivariate cointegration (1987) procedure. 30 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics Issue 24 (2009) Series Stationary Test: In this study I have used Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) to test the stationary of variables. The unit root test is usually used to confirm stationary of a series. The ADF is test for unit root where I have checked the Unit root and strong negative numbers of unit root is being rejected by the null hypothesis (level of significance). In this study I have used Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) to check whether the series is stationary or not. ADF test is based on the estimate of the following regression: is in this case variable of interest = , is the differencing operator, t is the time trend and is the random component of zero mean and constant variance. The parameters to be estimated are { } Null and alternative hypothesis of unit root test are: , () () Here with the test we can find the estimates of are equal to zero or not. Y is said to be stationary if the cumulative distribution of the ADF statistics by showing that if the calculated ratio of the coefficient is less than the critical value according to Fuller (1976). If we accept the Ho the sequence is predicted to be having unit root and if Ho is rejected then we can say that the series doesnt have unit root. This proves that the series is stationary. The co–integration test can only be performed if both the sequences are all integrated of order I (1). Cointegration Test: Engle and Granger (1987) first established the cointegration method. It is a method of measuring long term diversification based on data. Linear combination of two non stationary series shows that they are integrated in order one I(1) that is stationary. And this is a co integrated series. Cointegration Long term common random trend between non stationary time series. The linear combination of both the non stationary series can be stationary if both the variables are integrated in same order. Cointegration is a very powerful approach in the long term analysis because a common stochastic trend is shared in cointegration that mean two series will not drift separately too much. They might deviate from each other but in the long run but eventually the will revert back in the long run. If there is very low correlation between the series still the series can be co-integrated as high correlation is not implied in cointegration. The reason for choosing the method as it will allow us to check the move between the variable in the long run even there might be a divergence in the short run. The first step in the analysis is check each index series whether the series for the presence of unit root which shows whether the series is non stationary. The method that I followed to do this is Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF). I proceed the Granger cointegration technique 1987 when the stationary requirements are met. According to Engle and Granger (1987) to check for cointegration if both the variables and are integrated with order one the proposed method for cointegration residual-based test for cointegration (Engle-Granger method). So from the above method we can find the equation By regressing with And after that and is denoted as the estimated regression coefficient vectors. After that I saved the residual from the above equation. Then, = – is representing the estimated residual vector. If the residual is integrated with order zero that means the series for the residual is stationary, and and are then co integrated and vice versa. I have checked it by performing Augmented Dickey fuller test on the residual series on level value with intercept only of each country. An in this situation (1, -) is called co-integrating vector if the series is stationary. Therefore is a co integrating equation, so, from it we can say that there is long run relationship between and. Granger causality test: Granger causality test is applied if the relationship is lagged between the two variables to determine the direction of relation in statistical term. It gives information about the short term relationship between the variables. In terms of conceptual definition causality is consist of different ideas, this concept produce a relation between caused and results were agreed upon. Aristo defines that there exist a link between causes and results and without causes these results are impossible. And this is strong relationship. Some economists believe that the idea of causality is the mix of both theoretical and explanation and statistical concept. The frontline operational definition of causality is given by some economist, but Granger is the one who provided the information to understand it correctly and completely. Granger causality approach (1969), lets think the variable y is Economic Growth (GDP) and x is Stock price index, if it is possible to predict the past values of y and x than from the lagged values of y alone. X is said to be granger caused by and y is helping in predicting it. in case of a simple bivariate model, causality can be tested between stock market growth and economic growth. Granger causality run on the basis of the following bivariate regressions of the form: (1) (2) Where GDP denotes economic growth and SP denotes the stock price index and they explain the changes in growth. Variables are expressed in logarithm form. The distribution of and are uncorrelated by assumption. From the equation one it can be said that current GDP is related to lagged values of itself and as well as that of SP. And equation 2 postulates same kind of behaviour for SP. Both the equations can be obtained by ordinary least squares (OLS). The f statistics are the Wald statistics for the joint hypothesis: and F test is carried out for the null hypothesis of no Granger causality. The formula of f statistic is Lagged term is defined here by m; number of parameter is defined as k. Test result for Unit Root: Augmented Dickey Fuller Model (ADF) is used to test the stationary of each variable. Null and alternative hypothesis describes about the investigation of unit root. If the null is accepted and alternative is rejected then the variable non stationary behaviour and vice versa is stationary. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test Japan t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -2.653258 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -2.693600   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -9.053185 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -9.003482   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level   -2.116137 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -2.203273   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference   -6.899295 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587   -6.844396   -4.090602   -3.473447 Table 01: Unit root test for stationary Japan If we have a look on the unit root test for the variables GDP and Share price to find out the stationary behaviour the Augmented Dickey Fuller Test with intercept and with intercept and trend in level and first difference. The t statistic value with trend is -2.653258 which is higher than the critical values in 1%, 5% and 10% critical value. The same applies with intercept and trend as the t statistic value -2.693600 is higher than the critical value in all the level of critical value. So from the nature of stationary behaviour we can say in level GDP shows nonstationary behaviour. And the first difference LnGDP is integrated with order one. In case of LnSP the results with intercept and with intercept trend in level are -2.116137 and -2.203273 which is higher than the critical values shows non stationary behaviour as they are higher than the critical value. The unit root test for the variables at first difference shows stationary as the t statistic value is than the critical value i n all level and they are integrated in order one. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test Malaysia t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -1.195020 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -1.933335   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -5.951843 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -5.923595   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level   -1.900406 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -1.891183   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference   -7.842122 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587   -7.779757   -4.090602   -3.473447 The unit root test result for LMGDP and LMSP values presented in natural logarithm. And the level values with intercept and with intercept and trend for LMGDP is -1.195020 and -1.93335 respectively. The values are higher than the critical value means the series has non stationary behaviour. On the other hand the 1st difference values with intercept and with intercept and trend are -5.951843 and -5.923595 respectively. The 1st difference values are integrated with order one. And in the same way I did the ADF test to check for Stationary behaviour of LMSP in level and first difference with intercept and trend. The values in level are -1.900406 and -1.891183 with intercept and trend us higher than the critical value and the series is not integrated with order one. The first difference t statistic values are -7.842122 and -7.779757 with intercept and with intercept and trend respectively are less than the critical value in both the case implies that the series is integrated with order on e. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test UK t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -0.690866 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -2.377333   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -7.474388 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -7.439027   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level -1.711599 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -1.261546   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -7.254574 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -7.391821   -4.090602   -3.473447 The results from Augmented Dickey Fuller test (ADF) for UK GDP in level with intercept and with intercept and trend is –0.690866 and -2.377333 respectively. Both the values in level are higher than the critical value and are integrated in order 0 shows non stationary behaviour. The t statistic values in 1st difference with intercept and with intercept and trend are -7.474388 and -7.439207 respectively. Which suggest that the critical values are less than the critical values in 1%, 5% and 10% level. So from the above hypothesis it can be said that it series is integrated with order one. When I performed the unit root test using the same method the series in level with intercept and with intercept and trend the values in are -1.711599 and -1.261546 respectively. The values are higher than the critical values implies that they are not integrated in order one shows non stationary behaviour. However, the 1st difference value of log natural share price is -7.254573 and -7.391821 wit h intercept and with intercept and trend respectively. So from the result we can say that the series is integrated in order one in both the cases with intercept and with intercept and trend. So the series in first difference is stationary. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test USA t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% Stock Market Performance and the Real Economic Activity Stock Market Performance and the Real Economic Activity Whether national economy is affecting the stock market or other way round? A lot of studies have done on the past what are relationship of these variables. In my work I have used cointegration and Granger Causality method to find out the relationship between the stock index price and Economic growth indicator GDP. Introduction The debate of whether stock market is associated with economic growth or the stock market can be served as the economic indicator to predict future. According to many economists stock market can be a reason for the future recession if there is a huge decrease in the stock price or vice versa. However, there are evidence of controversial issue about the ability of prediction from the stock market is not reliable if there is a situation like 1987 stock market crashed followed by the economic recession and 1997 financial crises. (Stock market and economic growth in Malaysia: causality test). The aim of the study is to find the relation between the stock market performance and the real economic activity in case of four countries The UK, The USA, Malaysia and Japan. With my limited knowledge I have tried to find out the role of financial development in stimulating economic growth. A lot of economists have different view about stock market development and the economic growth. If we focus on some related literature published on this topic one question arises: Is economic development is affected by stock market development? Even though there are lots of debate on some are saying that stock market can help the economy but the effect of stock market in the economy especially in the economy is very little. Ross Levine suggested in his paper published in 1998 that recent evidence suggested stock market can really give a boom to economic growth. (REFERENCE) It is not really possible to measure the growth by simply looking at the ups and down in the stock market indicator and by looking at the rates of growth in GDP. A lot of things can cause in the growth of stock market like changes in the banking system, foreign participation in the in the financial market may participate strongly. Apparently it seems that these developments can cause development of stock market followed by the good economic growth. But to check the accuracy one required to follow an appropriate method which would meaningfully measure whether stock price is really effecting the economic growth or not? In my work I have tried to find out the co integrating relationship between Stock price and GDP and tried to check if there is a long run and short run relationship between the stock price and GDP. The method used for the studies is Engle Granger co integration method. To do this I have used ADF (Augmented Dickey Fuller Test) to check for the stationary behaviour of the variables and then I have performed the Engle Granger Engle Granger co integration method followed by residual based error correction model. To check for the short run relationship I have used 2nd stage Engle Granger co integration method. To check the causal effect of the four countries stock market and economic growth I used Granger Causality Method. In this paper I have reviewed some studies of scholars which I have discussed on the literature review part. This paper contains five parts Part two is about the literature based on the past wok of scholars. Part Three discussed about the Data. Part four is about the methodology, Results are discussed on part five and part six is all about the summary and conclusion of the whole study. In my work I have founded there is no long run relationship between stock market and economic growth in all four countries. In addition there is no causal relation between stock index yield and the national economy growth rate. The empirical results of the thesis concludes that the possibility of seemingly abnormal relationship between the stock index and national economy of these for countries. Literature Review: Stock market contributes to economic growth in different ways either directly or indirectly. The functions of stock market are savings mobilization, Liquidity creation, and Risk diversification, keep control on disintermediation, information gaining and enhanced incentive for corporate control. The relationship between stock market and economic growth has become an issue of extensive analysis. There is always a question whether the stock market directly influence economic growth. A lot of research and results shows that there is a strong relationship between stock market and economic growth. Evidence on whether financial development causes growth help to reconcile these views. If we go back to the study of Schumpeter (1912) his studies emphasizes the positive influence on the development of a countrys financial sector on the level and the potential risk of losses caused by the adverse selection and moral hazard or transaction costs are argued by him how necessary the rate of growth argues that financial sectors provides of reallocating capital to minimize the potential losses. Empirical evidence from king and Levine (1983) show that the level of financial intermediation is good predictor of long run rates of growth, capital accumulation and productivity. Enhanced liquidity of financial market leads to financial development and investors can easily diversify their risk by creating their portfolio in different investments with higher investment. Another study from Levine and Zervos (1996) using the data of 24 countries found that a strong positive correlation between stock market development and economic growth. Their expanded study on 49 countries from 1976-1993, they used Stock Market liquidity, Economic growth rate, Capital Accumulating rate and output Growth Rate. They found that all the variables are positively correlated with each other. Demiurgic and Maksimovic (1996) have found positive causal effects of financial development on economic growth in line with the ‘supply leading hypothesis. According to his studies countries with better financial system has a smooth functioning stock market tend to grow much faster as they have access to much needed funds for financially constrained economic enterprises by the large efficient banks. Related research was done for the past three decades focusing on the role of financial development in stimulating economic growth they never considered about the stock market. An empirical study by Ming Men and Rui on Stock market index and economic growth in China suggest that possible reason of apparent abnormal relationship between the stock Index and national economy in china. Apparent abnormal relationship may be because of the following reason inconsistency of Chinese GDP with the structure of its stock market, role played by private sector in growth of GDP and disequilibrium of finance structure etc. The study was done using the cointegration method and Granger causality test, the overall finding of the study is Chinese finance market is not playing an important role in economic development. (Men M 2006 China paper). An article by Indrani Chakraborti based on the case of India presented in a seminar in kolkata in October, 2006 provides some information about the existence of long run stable relationship between stosk market capitalization, bank credit and growth rate of real GDP. She used the concept of the granger causality after using both the Engle-Granger and Johansen technique. In her study she found GDP is co-integrated with financial depth, Volatility in the stock market and GDP growth is co integrated with all the findings the paper explain that the in an overall sense, economic growth is the reson for financial development in India.(Chakraboty Indrani). Few writers from Malaysia found that stock market does help to predict future economy. Stock market is associated with economic growth play as a source for new private capital. Causal relationship between the stock market and economic growth which was done by using the formal test for causality by C.J. Granger and yearly Malaysia data for the period 1977-2006. The result from the study explain that future prediction is possible by stock market. A study focused on the relationship between stock market performance and real economic activity in Turkey. The study shows existence of a long run relationship between real economic activity and stock prices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Result from the study pointed out that economic activity increases after a shock in stock prices and then declines in Turkish market from the second quarter and a unitary (Turkish paper) An international time series analysis from 1980-1990 by By RAGHURAM G. RAJAN AND LUIGI ZINGALES shows some evidence of the relation between stock market and economic growth. This paper describes whether economic growth is facilitated by financial development. He found that financial development has strong effect on economic growth. (Rajan and Zingales, 1998) The study of Ross LEVINE AND SARA ZERVOS on finding out the long run relationship between stock market and bank suggest a positive effect both the variables has positive effect on economic growth. International integration and volatility is not properly effected by capital stock market. And private save saving rates are not at all affected by these financial indicators. The study was done on 47 countries data using cross sectional analysis. In theory the conventional literature on growth was not sufficient enough to look for the connection between financial development and economic growth and the reason is they were focused on the steady state level of capital stock per workerof productivity. And they were not really concentrated on the rate of growth. Actually the main concern was legitimated to exogenous technical progress. (Levine and Zervos 1998) Belgium Stock market study with economic development shows the positive long run relationship between both the variables. In case of Belgium the evidences are quiet strong that Economic growth is caused by the development of the stock market. It is more focused between the period 1873 and 1935; basically this period is considered as the period of rapid industrialization in Belgium. The importance of the stock market in Belgium is more pronounced after liberalization of the stock market in 1867-1873. The time varying nature of the link between stock market development and economic growth is explained by the institutional change in the stock exchange. They also tried to find out the relationship to the universal banking system. Before 1873 the economic growth was based on the banking system and after 1873 stock market took the place. (Stock Market Development and economic growth in Belgium, Stijin Van Nieuwerburg, Ludo Cuyvers, Frans Buelens July 5, 2005) Senior economist of the World Banks Policy research department Ross Levine has discussed about Stock market in his paper Stock Markets: A Spur to economic growth on the impact of development. Less risky investments are possible in liquid equity market and it attracts the savers to acquire an asset, equity. As, they can sell it quickly when they need access to their savings, and if they want to alter their portfolio. Though many long term investment is required for the profitable investment. But reluctance of the investors towards long term investment as they dont have the access to their savings easily. Permanent access to capital is raised by the companies through equity issues as they are facilitating longer term, more profitable investments and prospect of long term economic growth is enhanced as liquid market improves the allocation of capital. The empirical evidence from the study strongly suggests that greater stock markets create more liquidity or at least continue economic gr owth. (Levine. R A spur to economic Growth) A lot of research has established that future economic growth is influenced by countrys financial growth, stock market index returns are another factor of economic growth. The researcher focused to extend their study; they tie together these two strings and started analyzing the relationship between banking industry, stock returns and future economic growth. Research was done on 18 developed and 18 emerging markets and the results are positive and noteworthy relationship between future GDP and stock returns. Few important features can also be predicted such as bank-accounting-disclosure standards, banking crises, insider trading law enforcement and government ownership of banks. (Bank stock returns and economic growth q Rebel A. Cole a, Fariborz Moshirian b,*, Qiongbing Wu c a Department of Finance, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 60604, USA b School of Banking and Finance, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia c Newcastle raduate School of Business, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW 2300, Australia Received 29 September 2006; accepted 26 July 2007Available online 21 September 2007) Another paper was focused on the linkages between financial development and economic growth using TYDL model for the empirical exercises by Purna Chandra Padhan suggests that both stock price and economic activity are integrated of order one and Johansen-Juselias Coin-integration tests for this study found one co integrating vector exists. It is proved by the spurious relation rule in this study the existence of at least one direction of causality. He described that bi-directional causality between stock price and economic growth meaning that economic activity can be enhanced by well developed stock exchange and vice-versa. ( Title:  The nexus between stock market and economic activity: an empirical analysis for India Author(s): Purna Chandra Padhan Journal: International Journal of Social Economics Year: 2007 Volume: 34 Issue: 10  Page: 741 – 753 DOI: 10.1108/03068290710816874 Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited) Chee Keong Choong (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Malaysia) Zulkornain Yusop (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Siong Hook Law (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Venus Liew Khim Sen (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Date of creation: 23 Jul 2003 Tried to find out the importance of the causal relationship of Financial development and economic growth. The findings of their study usin autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) describes about the positive long run impact on economic growth Granger causality also suggest same results. A study by Randall Filler(2000) using 70 countries data over the period 1985-1997 proves that there is a very little relationship between economic growth and stock market especially in developing countries and currency appreciation has occurred. From the result of the study we can see that an important role may be played by the stock market in an economy, and these are not essential for economic growth. However, another study on Iran by N. Shahnoushi, A.G Daneshvar, E Shori and M. Motalebi 2008 Financial development is not considered as an effective factor to the economic growth. The study was focused on the causal relationship between the financial development and economic growth. Time series data used for the study from the period 1961-2004. Granger causality shows there is no co integrating relationship between financial development and economic growth in Iran only the economical growth leads to financial development. Establishing link between savings and investment is very much important and financial market provides that. Transient or lasting growth is the ultimate affect of the financial market. Economic growth can be influenced by financial market by improving the productivity of the capital, Investment to firms can be channelled and greater capital accumulation by increasing savings. To ensure the stability of the financial market potential regulation is important due to asymmetric information, especially at the time of financial liberalization. (Economic Development and Financial Market Tosson Nabil Deabes Moderm Academy for technology aand computer sciences; MAM November 2004 Economic Development Financial Market Working Paper No. 2 ) Data: The empirical analysis was carried out using the quarterly data for The UK, The USA, Japan and Malaysia. The data were collected from the DataStream for the period 1993I to 2008III. Economic growth is measured as the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) of each country with the help of stock prices SP. For the software processing I used Eviews 6.0 for the planned regression in order to get the results. The empirical analysis is done from the quarterly data from the stock market indices and the and the GDP between the first quarter of 1993 and the fourth quarter of 2008. All the data has been extracted from the data stream and expressed in US$. The data for Japan share price is from Tokyo Stock Exchange. Malaysias Share price is form Kuala Lumpur Composite Index, UKs is from UK FT all share price index and USA share price is taken from the DOW Jones industrial share price index. The nature of the Data is series used for the time series regression. List of Variables: UGDP UK GDP USP UK Share price LUGDP Log of UK GDP LUSP Log of UK Share price USGDP USA GDP USSP USA (DOW Jones) Share price LUSGDP Log of USA GDP LUSSP Log of USA Share price MGDP Malaysia GDP MSP Malaysia Share price LMGDP Log of Malaysia GDP LMSP Log of Malaysia Share price JGDP Japan GDP JSP Japan Share Price LJGDP Log of Japan GDP LJSP Log of Japan Share price Methodology: Cointegration long term common stochastic trend between non stationary time series. If non-stationary series x and yare both integrated of same order and there is a linear combination of them that is stationary, they are called co integrated series. A common stochastic trend is shared in Cointegration. It follows that these two series will not drift apart too much, meaning that even they may deviate from each other in the short-term, they will revert to the long-run equilibrium. This fact makes cointegration a very powerful approach for the long-term analyses. Meanwhile, cointegration does not imply high correlation; two series can be co integrated and yet have very low correlations. Cointegration tests allow us to determine whether financial variables of different national markets move together over the long run, while providing for the possibility of short-run divergence. The first step in the analysis is to test each index series for the presence of unit roots, which shows whether the series are nonstationary. All the series must be nonstationarity and integrated of the same order. To do this, we apply both the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test. Once the stationarity requirements are met, we proceed Granger bivariate cointegration (1987) procedure. 30 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics Issue 24 (2009) Series Stationary Test: In this study I have used Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) to test the stationary of variables. The unit root test is usually used to confirm stationary of a series. The ADF is test for unit root where I have checked the Unit root and strong negative numbers of unit root is being rejected by the null hypothesis (level of significance). In this study I have used Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) to check whether the series is stationary or not. ADF test is based on the estimate of the following regression: is in this case variable of interest = , is the differencing operator, t is the time trend and is the random component of zero mean and constant variance. The parameters to be estimated are { } Null and alternative hypothesis of unit root test are: , () () Here with the test we can find the estimates of are equal to zero or not. Y is said to be stationary if the cumulative distribution of the ADF statistics by showing that if the calculated ratio of the coefficient is less than the critical value according to Fuller (1976). If we accept the Ho the sequence is predicted to be having unit root and if Ho is rejected then we can say that the series doesnt have unit root. This proves that the series is stationary. The co–integration test can only be performed if both the sequences are all integrated of order I (1). Cointegration Test: Engle and Granger (1987) first established the cointegration method. It is a method of measuring long term diversification based on data. Linear combination of two non stationary series shows that they are integrated in order one I(1) that is stationary. And this is a co integrated series. Cointegration Long term common random trend between non stationary time series. The linear combination of both the non stationary series can be stationary if both the variables are integrated in same order. Cointegration is a very powerful approach in the long term analysis because a common stochastic trend is shared in cointegration that mean two series will not drift separately too much. They might deviate from each other but in the long run but eventually the will revert back in the long run. If there is very low correlation between the series still the series can be co-integrated as high correlation is not implied in cointegration. The reason for choosing the method as it will allow us to check the move between the variable in the long run even there might be a divergence in the short run. The first step in the analysis is check each index series whether the series for the presence of unit root which shows whether the series is non stationary. The method that I followed to do this is Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF). I proceed the Granger cointegration technique 1987 when the stationary requirements are met. According to Engle and Granger (1987) to check for cointegration if both the variables and are integrated with order one the proposed method for cointegration residual-based test for cointegration (Engle-Granger method). So from the above method we can find the equation By regressing with And after that and is denoted as the estimated regression coefficient vectors. After that I saved the residual from the above equation. Then, = – is representing the estimated residual vector. If the residual is integrated with order zero that means the series for the residual is stationary, and and are then co integrated and vice versa. I have checked it by performing Augmented Dickey fuller test on the residual series on level value with intercept only of each country. An in this situation (1, -) is called co-integrating vector if the series is stationary. Therefore is a co integrating equation, so, from it we can say that there is long run relationship between and. Granger causality test: Granger causality test is applied if the relationship is lagged between the two variables to determine the direction of relation in statistical term. It gives information about the short term relationship between the variables. In terms of conceptual definition causality is consist of different ideas, this concept produce a relation between caused and results were agreed upon. Aristo defines that there exist a link between causes and results and without causes these results are impossible. And this is strong relationship. Some economists believe that the idea of causality is the mix of both theoretical and explanation and statistical concept. The frontline operational definition of causality is given by some economist, but Granger is the one who provided the information to understand it correctly and completely. Granger causality approach (1969), lets think the variable y is Economic Growth (GDP) and x is Stock price index, if it is possible to predict the past values of y and x than from the lagged values of y alone. X is said to be granger caused by and y is helping in predicting it. in case of a simple bivariate model, causality can be tested between stock market growth and economic growth. Granger causality run on the basis of the following bivariate regressions of the form: (1) (2) Where GDP denotes economic growth and SP denotes the stock price index and they explain the changes in growth. Variables are expressed in logarithm form. The distribution of and are uncorrelated by assumption. From the equation one it can be said that current GDP is related to lagged values of itself and as well as that of SP. And equation 2 postulates same kind of behaviour for SP. Both the equations can be obtained by ordinary least squares (OLS). The f statistics are the Wald statistics for the joint hypothesis: and F test is carried out for the null hypothesis of no Granger causality. The formula of f statistic is Lagged term is defined here by m; number of parameter is defined as k. Test result for Unit Root: Augmented Dickey Fuller Model (ADF) is used to test the stationary of each variable. Null and alternative hypothesis describes about the investigation of unit root. If the null is accepted and alternative is rejected then the variable non stationary behaviour and vice versa is stationary. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test Japan t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -2.653258 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -2.693600   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -9.053185 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -9.003482   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level   -2.116137 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -2.203273   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference   -6.899295 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587   -6.844396   -4.090602   -3.473447 Table 01: Unit root test for stationary Japan If we have a look on the unit root test for the variables GDP and Share price to find out the stationary behaviour the Augmented Dickey Fuller Test with intercept and with intercept and trend in level and first difference. The t statistic value with trend is -2.653258 which is higher than the critical values in 1%, 5% and 10% critical value. The same applies with intercept and trend as the t statistic value -2.693600 is higher than the critical value in all the level of critical value. So from the nature of stationary behaviour we can say in level GDP shows nonstationary behaviour. And the first difference LnGDP is integrated with order one. In case of LnSP the results with intercept and with intercept trend in level are -2.116137 and -2.203273 which is higher than the critical values shows non stationary behaviour as they are higher than the critical value. The unit root test for the variables at first difference shows stationary as the t statistic value is than the critical value i n all level and they are integrated in order one. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test Malaysia t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -1.195020 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -1.933335   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -5.951843 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -5.923595   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level   -1.900406 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280   -1.891183   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference   -7.842122 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587   -7.779757   -4.090602   -3.473447 The unit root test result for LMGDP and LMSP values presented in natural logarithm. And the level values with intercept and with intercept and trend for LMGDP is -1.195020 and -1.93335 respectively. The values are higher than the critical value means the series has non stationary behaviour. On the other hand the 1st difference values with intercept and with intercept and trend are -5.951843 and -5.923595 respectively. The 1st difference values are integrated with order one. And in the same way I did the ADF test to check for Stationary behaviour of LMSP in level and first difference with intercept and trend. The values in level are -1.900406 and -1.891183 with intercept and trend us higher than the critical value and the series is not integrated with order one. The first difference t statistic values are -7.842122 and -7.779757 with intercept and with intercept and trend respectively are less than the critical value in both the case implies that the series is integrated with order on e. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test UK t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1% 5% GDP Level -0.690866 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -2.377333   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -7.474388 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -7.439027   -4.090602   -3.473447 Share Price Level -1.711599 -3.522887     -2.901779 -2.588280 -1.261546   -4.088713   -3.472558 1st Difference -7.254574 -3.524233   -2.902358 -2.588587 -7.391821   -4.090602   -3.473447 The results from Augmented Dickey Fuller test (ADF) for UK GDP in level with intercept and with intercept and trend is –0.690866 and -2.377333 respectively. Both the values in level are higher than the critical value and are integrated in order 0 shows non stationary behaviour. The t statistic values in 1st difference with intercept and with intercept and trend are -7.474388 and -7.439207 respectively. Which suggest that the critical values are less than the critical values in 1%, 5% and 10% level. So from the above hypothesis it can be said that it series is integrated with order one. When I performed the unit root test using the same method the series in level with intercept and with intercept and trend the values in are -1.711599 and -1.261546 respectively. The values are higher than the critical values implies that they are not integrated in order one shows non stationary behaviour. However, the 1st difference value of log natural share price is -7.254573 and -7.391821 wit h intercept and with intercept and trend respectively. So from the result we can say that the series is integrated in order one in both the cases with intercept and with intercept and trend. So the series in first difference is stationary. Variables level/1st Difference Augmented Dickey Fuller Statistic(ADF) test USA t statistic value With Trend t statistic value With trend and Intercept 1% 5% 10% 1%