Which reflections of Islam are in the tale of Maruf the Cobbler Essay - 1

Which reflections of Islam are in the tale of Maruf the Cobbler - Essay Example One of the most important Islamic teaching that the story entails is the trait of being steadfast and patient, which in Islam every person is supposed to practice, as it is a characteristic loved by God. Ma’aruf is a humble man, who is constantly tormented by his wife and taken advantage of his meek nature. However, despite the problems and hardships that he is put through, he continues to remain steadfast and patient. As a matter of fact, he shows great strength of his moral character, which is reflected when his wife commands him to get a vermicelli cake drenched in bee honey and Ma’aruf is unable to earn enough money to get her what she desires. Despite the turmoil he is in, Ma’aruf continues to pray to Allah and eventually he was given help after one of his neighboring shop owner decides to give him food and the cake for free. Therefore, this event reinforces the belief that regardless of what calamity that may afflict a person, he is supposed to stay patient and ask Allah for help. (Kritzeck 1964, p. 299) This aspect of the Islamic faith is demonstrated and reinforced through several incidents within the story. Even to the extent that it is implied that after Ma’aruf invokes God for help, he even get it through supernatural entities like djinns (Kritzeck 1964, p. 302, 318). Moreover, Ma’aruf is often known for giving alms to the poor and needy, and helping others out which is another fundamental Islamic practice that pleases God and gets his protection granted to the individual. Therefore, Ma’aruf was always protected, even when there was a serious threat to his life, he was able to get away with the help of the people and even supernatural beings. Various aspects of Ma’aruf’s life is also reminiscent and takes heavy inspirations from the life of the Prophet Muhammad. For instance, when Ma’aruf is completely tired of his wife’s trickery and retreats to a cave

US Foreign Policy with Russia Essay Example for Free

US Foreign Policy with Russia Essay If the United States needed to get rid of Russia form inside out then it could have come up with a more strategic policy than the so called â€Å"strategic relationship/partnership† From several aggressive foreign policies to miss leaded advice and undemocratic pressure pending, the US government has brought in some fraction of the so called â€Å"cold war†. Restraint remains fundamental to the United States policy with Russia. For instance on the foreign policy with Russia, restraint Lite is comprised of three major efforts to cut off Russia from Europe, from it neighboring countries and most fundamental from the international community at large (MacLean, G. A. 2006). The geopolitical pluralism policy which came in with the Clinton’s administration was meant to reinforce Russia’s key neighbors i. e. Kazakhstan and Ukraine has lead to the loosening of the confederation of the post-Soviet states. So as to deepen the split which separates Russia from the rest of Europe and to enhance the creation of a new steel curtain down in the midst of Eurasia, the US is pushing ahead wildly the expansion of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) by not consulting Russia in several foreign policies e. g. the bombing of Iraq and the similar policy on Yugoslavia. Washington has tried to maneuver Moscow to a diplomatic backdrop through which it can only have a small influence globally. Part of the so called â€Å"soft† containment policy of United States is meant to get rid of Russia’s last state of superpower status and its nuclear weapon store without giving enough funding for mothballing the arms and also without matching the US stock supplies. By implementing the missile shield defense system, the US has jeopardize several arm treaties through opposing major sales of the Russian’s military technology, by arguing that the sale of these arms may lead to proliferation of arms while the US itself continues selling these arms thus applying double standards. Through a largest increase in the military budget since the ending of the cold war, the Clinton’s government started 1999 with a clear indication that Russians decline will have very little effects to the pentagon. While implementing Russian’s initial market reforms, Yeltsin foresaw that good times were coming, that was back in 1992. These good times that Yeltsin foresaw retreated more and more into the distance (mostly after the catastrophe of the August 1998 when the fragments went to free drop which led to Moscow defaulting on its capital debts (MacLean, G. A. 2006). Today, Russia’s GDP is half what it used to be a decade ago. The economy is suffocating with $150 billion in overseas debt. Employees are paid in-kind if they are paid at all, The degree of Poverty is rampant, Life expectancy is worsening, the population is diminishing, and Russia is sinking to a third world class (Hearst, D. 2008). Economic change in Russia has not only been unsuccessful, it has been extremely undemocratic. By collaborating almost entirely with Boris Yeltsin and his hand-picked strategists and circumventing Russia’s generally elected administration, the Duma the Clinton government placed expediency, transparency, over accountability and the checks and balances of a real democratic system. International community invested billions of dollars into Russia, funds that didn’t filter down but was instead sidetracked into the pockets of a few selected people. Under its cold war restraint policy, the United States relied on hostile rhetoric and military power to confront the influential Soviet Union. By dissimilarity, today’s restraint Lite takes advantage of Russia’s military and economic weakness, at first glimpse, has depended more on carrots than sticks. In actuality, however, the United States has wielded these carrots to a great extent like cudgels. Washington’s investments and aid expert advice, and high-profile seminars are designed to decrease the diplomatic and military reach of its former superpower opponent and to remake the Russian wealth in the neoliberal image in spite of of the social costs. prod by these carrots, Russia is stirring towards a path that has led to fiscal chaos and escalating hatred. The Clinton government was acutely aware of the danger of a Russian implosion. Yet the government came up with policies that are relentlessly leading to the realization of its own most horrible fears. The Roots of U. S. Policies In the 20th century, U. S. policy with Russia fluctuated between hostile confrontation and concise attempts at detente. During these particular eras, Reagan and Truman were twisted on containing Russia and, if possible, undulating its influence in the third world countries and Eastern Europe. President Nixon, without compromising his anticommunism, was able to ease the tension West and East in the 1970s with a combination of arms control procedures and modest openings in the East for Western trade. During the cold war period, confrontation and engagement frequently followed one another with little inhalation room, as in Kennedy’s near-apocalyptic face-off with Khrushchev over Cuba in 1962 which was followed by the negotiation of the first main arms control accord with the Soviet Union in 1963. Whether in altercation or detente mode, whichever, successive U. S. government sought (often unsuccessfully) to limit Soviet power in the world and blunt the impact of socialism/communism. Starting in 1985, when the Russia started a complex dance of reforms and decline, the Bush and Reagan governments did a little to encourage the former and much to make haste the latter. Washington gradually came around to supporting perestroika and glasnost rhetorically. But during this time, the U. S. largely suspended economic support for perestroika while at the same time continuing to maintain high levels of armed forces spending and provoking rhetoric. From the year 1989-1991(the Soviet’s terminal stage) Washington switched to break control mode in order to pressure the Soviet Union to support German, protect the newly independent states of Eastern Europe, unification, and prevent a clash from flaring up due to the secession of the Baltic States ( MacLean, G. A. 2006). In the year 1992, after the official crumple of the Soviet Union, the new Russian President Boris Yeltsin brought in a honeymoon time with the United States. Yeltsin and those in support of Western foreign minister, Andrei Kozyrev, went on to follow the U. S. economic reform, lead on arms control and universal politics. The other presidents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) such as Georgia’s Eduard Shevardnadze, Ukraine’s Leonid Kravchuk, and Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbaev—also followed suit, each contending for the favors and affections of the United States. In return, the U. S. promised to assist Russia and the other CIS states integrate into the international economy and later, through the joint venture for Peace, into European security status. The honeymoon period did not take long. Russia never acknowledged the Marshall Plan it had anticipated for. Nor did the U. S. administration make room at the world’s platform for the new Russian body. This resulted to the pro-Western division in the Russian foreign policy founding, lost influence and Russian national attention became the new organizing principle for the Yeltsin team. The devastating 1994 invasion of Chechnya, the refusal to sanction the latest strategic arms reduction agreement, and the enriching of relations with, Iran, Iraq and Serbia signified a change in Russian policy. For its part, the US government maintained support for Yeltsin personally, but slowly withdrew from close bilateral associations. Washington strengthened dealings with the other CIS nations to balance Russian power in the region and to cover its bets. As Sergei Rogov, who was the head of Moscow’s, Canada and U. S Institute, remarked that the U. S. administration’s rhetoric toward Russia has changed from intentional partnership to pragmatic partnership to rational partnership to just plain pragmatism aimed at minimizing the impact of Russia’s economic and military fallout on the world at large. The relationship is gone, and the change in rhetoric is reflected very concretely in a range of issues from security aspects to economics and to politics. There was a time when Russia was the worry of U. S. foreign policy intelligence agencies and analysts. Since the 1950s, the Soviet Union underwrote ant colonial revolts all over the third world and provided essential aid to countries such as Cuba, Angola, Syria and India. Today, Russia’s magnitude has dwindled significantly. It no longer plays a role in the third world countries. It has little influence in Eastern Europe. Closer to home, it has kept certain ambitions such as maintaining the integrity of its own region and to keep its influence in its neighboring countries such as, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Georgia. Russia’s ambitions outstrip its ability, as seen in the losses in Chechnya and peacekeeping downfall in the neighboring countries. Sources have reveled that the Russian armed forces is in dire state the number of its soldiers has reduced by a quarter in 1998, its weapons systems are in a worsening condition, and few finances available to acquire new weapons. Research reveal that it was estimated that by the year 2005 only 5-7% of equipments used by Russians armed forces will be new and the US State Departments admit that the Russian military combat promptness is in bad shape. The drive of the army is even worse now than at the era of the Chechen campaign. As for Russia’s capability to project force past its borders, little Estonia in recent times declared that its Russian neighbor was no longer a military risk Even its nuclear weapon store, the single card that maintain Russia in the game, is weakening rapidly. The U. S. mainly through NATO expansion is making gains of this weakness. NATO was intended to deter the expansion of Soviet into Europe. The Soviet Union is no longer there, and Russia badly wants to join Europe and not invade it. Up till now even without an enemy in prospect, NATO is heading right up to Russia’s door. In April 1999, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary joined NATO and became NATO’s first new members ever since Spain in 1982. There are fifteen countries which now belong to the Partnership for Peace program, which is a halfway entry house for NATO aspirants who need help in modernizing their armed forces. Almost every country in the former Soviet Union bloc supports the expansion of NATO, partially because of NATO’s own hard line public relations campaign and partially as an initial step toward joining the EU (European Union). Throughout the ups and downs of Russian U. S. associations in the 1990s, Russia has measured NATO expansion as a purposeful provocation, particularly when extension has potentially included the Baltic States and the Ukraine. The responses that the U. S. gave Russia were of two initiatives. First, it extended relationship to Russia in the PFP program. Then, promising a unique relationship, NATO concluded an agreement with Moscow in May 1997 that recognized various mechanisms of talks. The agreement doesn’t give either party the right to sanction the actions of the other. But via the Permanent Joint Council, the two sides at least meet often. Another task to the future and current reductions in strategic arms is the US government’s desire to modify or even scuttle the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) accord in order to give way to a new national missile security system. The US administration favors adjustment, but opponents such as influential US Senators have called for scrapping the accord. The Pentagon apparently offered Moscow a worrying quid pro quo on the ABM treaty: if the Russians look the other way as the U. S. develops a missile defense shield system, then Washington will permit Russia to deploy new deliberate missiles with three warheads. While at peace with each other, the two countries are ironically moving away from the control of arms and toward arms expansion. In the meantime, the lion’s share of the U. S. support to Russia is aimed towards the control and dismantling of its arms, much of it via the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. This means that a cash-strapped Russia must pay for its own humbling, and the disarmament process is regrettably slowed (Hearst, D. 2008). References Gorodetsky, G. (2003). Russia Between East and West. Moscow: Routledge. Hearst, D. (2008). US foreign policy on Russia has vacillated wildly, from indulgence to overt aggression. Will Obama get Russia right? Gurdian , 26-33. International, C. E. (2000).U. S. -Russian Relations at the Turn of the Century. Moscow: Carnegie Endowment. MacLean, G. A. (2006). Clintons Foreign Policy in Russia. Florida: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Marsden, L. (2005). Lessons from Russia. Michigan: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Russia and U. S. Foreign Policy, Available from http://tcarter. blogspot. com/2004/12/russia-and-us-foreign-policy. html (Retrieved 26th November 26, 2008) US Foreign Policy with Russia, Available from http://www. fpif. org/papers/russia/index. html (Retrieved 26th November 26, 2008)

Toddler Observation Interview

Toddler Observation Interview After spending 60 minutes observing a toddler room in Ciudad Child Care Centre in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico the following observations were made on the children. Individual differences Some children were afraid to communicate with others while others did communicate freely. Most boys were reserved whereas girls communicated more easily and frequently. However, boys were more aggressive when it came to playing ball, riding tricycles, and climbing sandboxes. The girls enjoyed swinging and playing ball. Types of plays observed Sensory motor plays Some 2-3 year old kids could compete in running, other could be seen kicking and throwing the ball overhead. Majority seemed excited to pedal tricycles, swinging and climbing sandboxes, yet other were hopping and jumping around the play ground. Some of them crowded around a music system and danced as some tried to sing along. However, a few of them seemed to be withdrawn and uninterested with everything. Symbolic plays Some children were seen with bottle tops and plastic containers giving their friends urging them to take as milk along with blocks of wood to eat as bread. The recipients took and acted as though they were really eating. There was this group of children where one of them assumed a doctors role and was holding a piece of stick which he used as the syringe. The other kids acted as patients and would come one by one and be injected by the â€Å"doctor.† Another group took there toy cars to a â€Å"garage† where there was a group of mechanics. Initiative plays These involved children using their imaginative abilities and skills to come up with something creative. Some children were able to construct a vehicle by arranging boxes on top of others using varied box sizes. Others could be seen preoccupied with the building of block towers. The â€Å"mine† phenomenon among toddlers Most toddlers appeared to be very self-centered and displayed a strong possessiveness with objects and toys, claiming them to be theirs. They could be heard crying, â€Å"mine†, â€Å"my car†, â€Å"my baby†, etc† every time he/she saw other kids with their toys or toys which were identical to theirs. At times they would utter a bitter â€Å"no† to others if their friends requested to use their toys. On the other hand some of the children who were using toys belonging to others would respond with the same cry and did everything to ensure that they retained the toys to themselves. Majority of children tended to be more violent and some even bit the owners of the toys, pinched them or even poked their nose or eyes. In case the owners of toys were overcome, they would cry out for help from the caregiver. The caregiver seemed to be aware of every conflict and in this case she took all the toys away and she introduced some songs of which the children sang and danced together. In the processes the animosity which had built among the kids over the toys subsided. However, some children showed sympathy and were willing to let others using their toys as long as those lend to would return after some time or whenever the owner wanted. Empathy and Prosocial behavior Some children were seen taking side with those who seemed rejected or withdrawn and would offer to play with them or even share with them their toys and other objects. They would offer protection to their weaker friends. There was this incident when a 1 ½ year old was snatched her toy by an aggressive 2 ½ year boy. Another 3 year boy went straight to the other boy and grabbed the toy from him and gave it back to the little girl. This second boy and the little girl stayed together for the rest of the session playing together. Self-control There are those children who tried to exercise self-control whereas others were totally unable. Majority exercised restraint for a few seconds when their toys or objects were handed over to other to use. However much the caregiver would persuade them to let others use their toys they found it not easy to take back their toys/objects. The most aggressive toddlers would not accept any form of persuasion and would take what belongs to them by force. Most breakdown in the control of impulse seemed to be aggravated by the feeling of possessiveness and selfishness. INTERVIEW WITH THE PARENTS OF TODDLERS The interview with the parents of older toddlers (aged between 2 and 3), on the reflection of the differences between their child as an infant and a toddler involved asking them the following questions to which they responded accordingly as indicated below: In general, how is he/she different at age 2, compared with age 69 months? Responses: the child had increased in weight and height, he/she can walk, they run, kick and throw a ball, he/she can speak, can ride a tricycle, construct block towers, bully others, there is decreased appetite, etc. How has your relationship with him/her changed during the past 1-1  ½ years? Response: He/she wants to be independent at times but would still need parental care just as a baby. He/she seems very excited being in the company of the age-mates. He/she is very close to the mother than the father and would easily detect the absence of the mother. He/she is somehow obedient to what the parent says but at times reacts in defiance. What do you recall about him/her during the 3-4 months immediately after he/she learned to walk? Response: He/she would occasionally pick up objects, carry them or throw them away and then run after them and move around pulling a toy behind him/her. He/she is all over the house, running and jumping in places, climbing up and down the furniture, bed and stairs. How has his/her ability to communicate changed? How has her new ability to understand and use words changed your relationship? Response: He/she is able to communicate most of the things and easily follows instruction. It is very easier if the child is sick where he/she is feeling pain, he/she can say when he/she hungry or can express his demands more easily. The child would try singing to the parent or would request the parent to sing him/her a song. Do you find it easier or harder (or perhaps some of each) to parent a toddler, compared with an infant? Response: It a bit easier to parent a toddler especially the one who can communicate in word other than an infant who communicate through crying. Communicating in words is easier to comprehend as contrasted to a cry which could imply anything ranging from hunger, pain, change of diaper, or sickness. References: Ariganjoye, R. Daigneault, R. (2008). Early Childhood Development. Retrieved April 2008, from Your Totalhealth-A service of NBC and iVillage. Web site: http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/early-childhood-development.html?pageNum=8 Rose, D. A. D Kovach, B. A. (1998). Interaction that Promote Socialization. Retrieved April 2008, from Childhood Education..

The Cardiac Cycle :: Papers

The Cardiac Cycle The cardiac cycle is the sequence of events that occur when the heart beats. There are two phases of this cycle: * Diastole - Ventricles are relaxed. * Systole - Ventricles contract. During the diastole phase the atria and ventricles are relaxed and the atrioventricular valves are open. De-oxygenated blood from the superior and inferior vena cava flows into the right atrium. The open atrioventricular valves allow blood to pass through to the ventricles. The SA node contracts triggering the atria to contract. The right atrium empties its contents into the right ventricle. The tricuspid valve prevents the blood from flowing back into the right atrium. During the systole phase the right ventricle receives impulses from the Purkinje fibers and contracts. The atrioventricular valves close and the semilunar valves open. The de-oxygenated blood is pumped into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary valve prevents the blood from flowing back into the right ventricle. The pulmonary artery carries the blood to the lungs. There the blood picks up oxygen and is returned to the left atrium of the heart by the pulmonary veins. In the next diastole period, the semilunar valves close and the atrioventricular valves open. Blood from the pulmonary veins fills the left atrium. (Blood from the vena cava is also filling the right atrium.) The SA node contracts again triggering the atria to contract. The left atrium empties its contents into the left ventricle. The mitral valve prevents the oxygenated blood from flowing back into the left atrium. During the systole phase the atrioventricular valves close and the semilunar valves open. The left ventricle receives impulses from the Purkinje fibers and contracts. Oxygenated blood is pumped into the aorta. The aortic valve prevents the oxygenated blood from flowing back into the left ventricle. The aorta branches out to provide oxygenated blood to all parts of the body. The oxygen depleted blood is returned to the heart via the vena cava. Atrial systole Ventricular systole Ventricular Diastole

Maf 640

C)What would you do if you were Datin Timah? * Be innovative, go for incremental & radical innovations, be creative, think out of the box, invent, innovate, imitate. SHOW & TELL US WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO. If we were Datin Timah given the option whether to take up the Guardian’s offer or just sell off the business to the Watson, we will take up the Guardian’s offer rather than sell off to the Watson. This is due to the profit betterment. If we take up Watson’s offer, we can only get the short term profit and we cannot longer be in the industry.However, if we take up the Guardian’s offer, we can have the long term profit and we can sustain in the industry since the Guardian will help us in supplying our product to end customer. Furthermore, Guardian will not interfere in the management of Orang Kampung since their focused only to the product. Beside, they are willing to assist Orang Kampung in Research & Development and also production because they have the exp ertise. We can say that was the golden opportunity for the Orang Kampung to expand their market and target market.To sustain in the market, one product need to move together with the time, therefore, if before this Orang Kampung not concerned about how they package their product, now, they need to concerned since attractive packaging one of the important marketing strategy that able to catch up the customer and able to compete with other competitor’s product. Datin Timah is very conservative and holds to traditional way in making the product, so, she does not believe in revamping traditional medicine into modern pills and capsules, because according to her the purity of the traditional medicine will be contaminated with the toxic-chemicals.From our point of view, we believe that research and development team have a way how to maintain the traditional taste and benefit of the traditional medicine but still can modernized it so that it can compete with other modern medicine. Ho wever, if Datin Timah still doesn’t have faith with the team we suggest that she open an outlet in where she herself serves the product in traditional way where we believe that the traditional way is by boil the herbs and roots.

The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt

The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt The 2nd Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt- another period of de-centralization, like the first- began when the 13th Dynasty pharaohs lost power (after Sobekhotep IV) and Asiatics or Aamu, known as Hyksos, took over. Alternatively, it was when the government center moved to Thebes following Merneferra Ay (c. 1695-1685). The 2nd Intermediate Period ended when an Egyptian monarch from Thebes, Ahmose, having driven the Hyksos from Avaris into Palestine, reunified Egypt, and established the 18th Dynasty, the start of the period known as the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt.  The 2nd Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt occurred in c. 1786-1550 or 1650-1550. There were three centers in Egypt during the second intermediate period: Itjtawy, south of Memphis (abandoned after 1685)Avaris (Tell el-Daba), in the eastern Nile DeltaThebes, Upper Egypt. Avaris, the Capital of the Hyksos There is evidence of a community of Asiatics in Avaris from the 13th Dynasty. The oldest settlement there may have been built to defend the eastern border. Contrary to Egyptian custom, area tombs were not in cemeteries beyond the residential area and the houses followed Syrian patterns. Pottery and weapons were also different from the traditional Egyptian forms. The culture was mixed Egyptian and Syrio-Palestinian. At its largest, Avaris was about 4 square kilometers. Kings claimed to rule Upper and Lower Egypt but its southern border was at Cusae. Seth was the local god, while Amun was the local god at Thebes. Rulers Based at Avaris The names of the rulers of Dynasties 14 and 15 were based in Avaris. Nehesy was an important 14th-century Nubian or Egyptian who ruled from Avaris. Aauserra Apepi ruled c.1555 B.C. Scribal tradition flourished under him and the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus was copied. Two Theban kings led campaigns against him. Cusae and Kerma Cusae is about 40 km south of the Middle Kingdoms administrative center at Hermopolis. During the 2nd Intermediate Period, travelers from the south had to pay a tax to Avaris to travel the Nile north of Cusae. However, the king of Avaris was allied with the king of Kush and so Lower Egypt and Nubia maintained trade and contact via an alternate, oasis route. Kerma was the capital of Kush, which was at its most powerful in this period. They also traded with Thebes and some Kerma Nubians fought in Kamoses army. Thebes At least one of the 16th Dynastic  kings, Iykhernefert Neferhotep, and probably more, ruled from Thebes. Neferhotep commanded the army, but it is unknown whom he fought. Nine kings of the 17th Dynasty also ruled from Thebes. The War ofAvaris and Thebes Theban king Seqenenra (​also spelled Senakhtenra) Taa quarreled with Apepi and fighting ensued. War lasted more than 30 years beginning under Seqenenra and continuing with Kamose after Seqenenra was slain with a non-Egyptian weapon. Kamose- who was likely Ahmoses elder brother- took over the fight against Aauserra Pepi. He sacked Nefrusi, north of Cusae. His gains didnt last and Ahmose had to fight against Aauserra Pepis successor, Khamudi. Ahmose sacked Avaris, but we dont know whether he slaughtered the Hyksos or evicted them. He then led campaigns to Palestine and Nubia, restoring Egyptian control of Buhen. Sources The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. by Ian Shaw. OUP 2000. Stephen G. J. Quirke Second Intermediate Period The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Donald B. Redford. OUP 2001.

Conditioning Lab essays

Conditioning Lab essays Throughout life, we, as a society, are subjected to numerous situations, where we are conditioned to react in a certain manner. In the lab session, we experienced operant conditioning where one is conditioned to a stimulus, and then reinforced based on that stimulus. There are two types of reinforcers, primary and secondary. Primary reinforcers consist of primary needs such as food and water, and it also is anything that causes harm that you can avoid. On the other hand, a secondary reinforcer is something learned, such as receiving good grades or candy. The experiment in class explored this aspect of learning, through the means of a virtual lab rat. There were two parts to the experiment, during the first part of the experiment, we had to record the number of times the rat scratched himself, licked himself, pressed the bar down, raised himself on two feet, and drank water. This section was timed for 10 minutes. Initially, this task became quite confusing because we were not sure what the actions were, and also the actions were occurring so fast, that both people watching to keep a count became quite overwhelming. Thus I read out the actions, and then my partner recorded the number of times it occurred. The majority of the actions performed by the rat were raises. The second section of the first part of the experiment comprised of keeping positively reinforcing the rat for performing a specific action of your choice. This segment was timed and allowed the experimenter to view a conditioned response to a conditioned stimulus. The stimulus we chose was the action of licking himself. Every time the rat would lick himself, I would press the space bar, thus releasing the pellet of food into his bowl. It did take a while to condition, but eventually the subject became conditioned to the specified action. The second section of the experiment was to time and record how many times he performed the actions, as in the f...

Emphasis for Epithets and Personification

Emphasis for Epithets and Personification Emphasis for Epithets and Personification Emphasis for Epithets and Personification By Mark Nichol Among the more colorful specimens of the human race you will find many who earned a sobriquet, or nickname what we word geeks call an epithet. (Epithet, among other meanings, is also a euphemism for name-calling or other uncomplimentary utterances.) From Alexander the Great to the King of Pop, memorable figures with such appellations have figured large in the public consciousness. But even these rulers have to submit to rules, so enclose any such epithet in quotation marks if it is enclosed in, or follows, the person’s actual name: â€Å"Charles ‘Lucky Lindy’ Lindbergh,† or â€Å"Lon Chaney, ‘the Man of a Thousand Faces.’† Otherwise no emphasis is needed. Informal nicknames for people who don’t appear in history books follow the same rule: Whether he’s called Chip, Kip, or Skip, quotation marks are superfluous when you write about him. Also capitalize but do not otherwise emphasize impermanent sobriquets such as â€Å"the First Lady† and collective epithets like â€Å"the Founding Fathers.† This rule is also pertinent for unnamed characters in films, plays, and the like: capitalize, but skip the quotation marks. What about inanimate objects? Our solar system’s fourth planetary body long ago earned the nickname the Red Planet. Just as with personal names, omit quotation mark, but do capitalize; it’s a name, after all, not just a simple description that distinguishes it from the blue planet and the green planet and the yellow planet. The same goes for the references to terrestrial appellations like the Golden State (California’s sobriquet) or the Seven Wonders of the World. And then there are conjectural places or entities like Memory Lane or Central Casting. Dictionaries and various style guides do not honor such terms with capitalization, but in my opinion, descriptions such as â€Å"Going back to my hometown, I took a trip down Memory Lane† and â€Å"The patrons bellied up to the bar were straight out of Central Casting† are strengthened by equating, with initial uppercase letters, the key words with real localities or institutions. (Defiant attitudes like mine are known in the editing trade as style breaks; consider this style broken here.) Objects can also be generically personified. For example, traditionally, ships and other craft have been affectionately referred to by the female pronoun not surprisingly, considering that those who perpetuated this affectation were men subjected to prolonged periods of duty aboard these vessels without the company of women. This custom is acceptable in fiction, but employ the gender-neutral pronoun in all other uses. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†Try to vs. Try andContinue and "Continue on"

Ethical Dimensions of Research Studies Term Paper

Ethical Dimensions of Research Studies - Term Paper Example This moral standard requires all researchers to conduct their activities in the course of their studies or methodical investigations in a manner that enhances the well-being of test subjects (Bulger et-al, 2012). In other words, the health, safety, and welfare of individuals involved in the study ought to be the most important aspect and consideration of the study. Results from the study elucidated the fact that exposure to this smoke had considerable health effects on the children involved as test subjects. All researchers have a duty to inform individuals involved in research as subjects on the dangers and threats posed by a particular research or study. Giving the subjects all information regarding the dangers is of significance as it helps them to make an informed decision. Before any research activities commence, it is important for the subjects to sign an informed consent form whereby they ascertain that they have made informed decisions without any intimidation of coercion on being subjects of a particular test or procedure. Signing a consent form safeguards the researcher from any legal action that could be taken against his/her by these subjects. Some research activities or studies have negative consequences and therefore individuals in charge of the research could be sued for damages. According to Fouka and Mantzorou (2011), â€Å"Informed consent seeks to incorporate the rights of autonomous individuals through self-determination. It also seeks to prevent assault on the integrity of the patient and protects personal liberty and veracity† (p. 4). In these children’s case, the researchers did not inform the subjects on the dangers and implications that could follow exposure of secondhand smoke to children. In doing so, they failed to provide them with appropriate information and facts that he could have used to make an informed decision on whether to become subjects of the study or

Healthy eating plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthy eating plan - Essay Example This paper will focus on my current eating habits, the nutritional recommendations I received from the Supertracker, and how this tool is vital for us Americans. My food groups and calories reports in the supertracker revealed that I am ‘under’ in the categories of grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and oils. I am only ‘ok’ as far as my protein intake is concerned. Although my total calorie intake is 1608 which is ‘ok’ as the total calorie limit for a person like me with a weight of 163 lbs. and 5 ‘9’ height is determined to be 2800 calories according to the supertracker. As far as grains are concerned, my intake of whole grains is below the recommended level, which is 1 ½ ounces against a recommendation of 6 ounces, though refined grains intake is over the suggested level. I consumed only 1 cup of vegetables against the recommended level of 3 ½ cups for five days and only  ¼ cup of fruits against the suggested level of 3 ½ c ups. My intake of dairy products is also much below the necessary level (1/2 cup instead of 3 cups) and oils consumption is also lower than the required level. This analysis has revealed that there is a need to increase my level of intake in all the above food categories except protein. To improvise my food and calories intake, I shall include the following in my daily diet:†¢ Intake of whole grains like wheat and reduce the level of refined grains like rice.

Organizational Behavior & Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Behavior & Leadership - Essay Example One of the major concerns prevailing in the company is that there is no expert in conducting professional performance evaluation. The previous engineer was very expert in conducting the evaluation, but he has left the company due to clashing personalities. The plant manager, presuming that he or others in the company, may not be able to conduct the evaluation, is thinking to skip the annual performance review, and this seems to be another big concern in the company. What makes him think of skipping the review was that the previous engineer left the company claiming that there would be none to do annual performance evaluation. In the current evaluation form of the company, another serious concern is taking decision regarding rating the engineers. The engineer feels friendliness as superior and he therefore would give medium rating on that aspect. Moreover, giving rating on personal qualities and attitudes also will be quite difficult for the engineer. In performance evaluation, the ma nagement should evaluate an employee’s outcomes such as quantities he produced, scraps he generated etc. Management is also expected to evaluate the behaviour of employees especially when they face difficulty to evaluate and identify the contribution of each group member. The third criteria is trait whereby individual traits are to be identified and evaluated. Traits such as attitude works, confidence in completing the tasks, dependence, being busy in work, positive approach etc are therefore related to various work tasks and they are to be evaluated by the management. Advantages and disadvantages of including supervisors, peers and subordinates in the performance evaluation Out of various performance evaluation methods in place today, 360-degree feedback is getting wider popularity among organizations. 360-degree method of evaluation is a latest approach to evaluating the performance from all different customers of an employee. A customer of an employee can be any or all of the manager, supervisors, bosses, peers, friends, clients, subordinates etc. Though present engineers in the case study scenario were not experienced in performance evaluation, they are confident in conducting 360-degree evaluation and they even found that it will be an effective technique for analyzing and evaluating the performance of engineers in the company. The main aim of 360-degree evaluation method is to pool the feedback from all of the customers of an employee. His customers are top manager, other levels of managers, suppliers, subordinates, clients, peers and other department representatives. By adopting the 360-degree performance evaluation, the organization hoping to give everyone a sense of participation in reviewing and evaluation processes and this in turn helps the manager gain more accurate information about the performance of employees (Robbins and Judge, 2011, p. 567). While adopting this method, engineers in the company, for instance, may be able to gain opinion s from various groups in relation to how is the work outcomes, attitudes, behaviour and traits of a particular employee. Many organizations that adopt 360-degree evaluation don’t spend sufficient time in training and educating the parties

Explain the true-justified-belief theory of knowledge. Then make up Essay

Explain the true-justified-belief theory of knowledge. Then make up your own Gettier case and explain why it is counter-example to the analysis - Essay Example It is the efforts that would be needed for people to have knowledge. Knowledge and belief are used differently in philosophical terms. The connection between knowledge and belief is that belief is a belief is considered to be knowledge if the belief held is true and if the believer has a reasonable justification to believe it is true. According to the famous scholar Plato, knowledge can, therefore, be defined to mean Justified True Belief (JTB) also known as knowledge theory. There are three terms â€Å"truth†, â€Å"belief†, and â€Å"justification† which are very pronounced in the knowledge theory. In epistemology, belief denotes faith. It is concerned with what we believe such as traditional held believes. This includes the truth and everything we believe to be right from our cognitive point of view. What a person belief of something as true or not is not a necessity for a belief. One my belief something which is wrong but that will not disregard the belief from being true. The belief held by such a person was a mistaken belief but not that the belief was wrong. This brings the concept of truth. These conditions of truth, belief and justification must be taken together to be sufficient for JTB. The justified True Belief was strongly held in the world of philosophy but not until Gettier came in and questioned the knowledge that was held for thousands of years. In his argument, Gettier claimed that the knowledge held by someone may be justified and true, yet fail to count as knowledge. This was known as Gettier problem. Suppose I stumble on Mary, a class mate driving license which is written that she comes from Chicago. Having seen that legal document, I’m justified to belief that Mary comes from Chicago. Suppose I infer from the above case and say that someone in my class comes from Chicago. Now, Mary driving license turns to be a fake one. It seems that what I believed was wrong which even makes my second belief to be wrong. Unknown to me, I may have

Outline and explore the importance of a consumer-centric approach in Essay - 1

Outline and explore the importance of a consumer-centric approach in marketing - Essay Example As the number of customers increase, organization has a chance to increase their profits. Secondly, customer-value models play an important role in understanding the consumer behaviour which helps in design desirable products. Besides, customer based models seek to detect changes in customer behaviour patterns and hence helps the organization to adjust its business strategy. On this ground, customer-centric marketing approaches are crucial if organization have to remain profitable with the contemporary business environment. Marketing strategies within an organization has generated a lot of attention within the modern business environment. Marketing seeks to create product awareness within target markets as one way to ensure that customer understand products and are attracted to the organization distribution channels (Cheng & Dogan, 2008). Therefore, marketing ensures that companies push their products towards the customers, as one way of increasing sales within the market. Today, many organizations have appreciated that a customer-centric model is one of the best marketing strategies. A customer-centric marketing model puts customers at the heart of the business and all strategies are directed towards winning the customer (Niininen, Buhalis & March, 2007). The role of a customer within the modern market has increasing generated attention. With increase is competition within the modern markets, customers are becoming important factors while designing marketing strategies. As competition increases, the p rofits decrease and the consumer bargaining power increases in the market. Resultantly, organizations are competing for available customers to ensure that they survive the harsh market times when customers have many options to choose from. Generally, organizations that higher customer share within the market will survive while those that lose customers will eventually collapse. As such, customer based models of

Annotated Bibliography-Terence Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography-Terence - Coursework Example It is work done by McMurtrey that was published at the University of Central Arkansas. The information contained suggests that there is a difference in the use of digital data between the older generation and the young generation. In fact, the gap is widening which is such a concern to many researchers. The article provides avenues for other studies as to establish as to what criteria can be used to make them adopt the technology. The review involved past studies that enabled comparison easier while the methodology was limited to surveys that were in line with other research. It is significant on how the number of the elderly individuals is increasing, and yet the manufacturers cannot take the upcoming opportunities. Osman, Z., Poulson, D., & Nicolle, C. (2005). Introducing computers and the internet to older users: Findings from the care OnLine project. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(1), 16-23. doi:10.1007/s10209-005-0111-8 This is an article by Osman and the core. It provides various computers to selected households of the old generation and determines their experiences with the use of services on the internet and various websites. This coincided to the gaps existing on the usability of the computers by the old generation. The peer-reviewed paper nonetheless does not offer space for other studies and provides analysis based on the research findings. The literature review used case studies to provide an in-depth overview of the paper. Research methods used is interviews to determine their experiences with computers and were common to all the researchers. It is important on how persons are concerned with the elderly generation to become literate on computer usage. It is an article by Paurasama and Colby published at the research gate. The report shows how technology advancements can be used to spread the knowledge to

Explain the true-justified-belief theory of knowledge. Then make up Essay

Explain the true-justified-belief theory of knowledge. Then make up your own Gettier case and explain why it is counter-example to the analysis - Essay Example It is the efforts that would be needed for people to have knowledge. Knowledge and belief are used differently in philosophical terms. The connection between knowledge and belief is that belief is a belief is considered to be knowledge if the belief held is true and if the believer has a reasonable justification to believe it is true. According to the famous scholar Plato, knowledge can, therefore, be defined to mean Justified True Belief (JTB) also known as knowledge theory. There are three terms â€Å"truth†, â€Å"belief†, and â€Å"justification† which are very pronounced in the knowledge theory. In epistemology, belief denotes faith. It is concerned with what we believe such as traditional held believes. This includes the truth and everything we believe to be right from our cognitive point of view. What a person belief of something as true or not is not a necessity for a belief. One my belief something which is wrong but that will not disregard the belief from being true. The belief held by such a person was a mistaken belief but not that the belief was wrong. This brings the concept of truth. These conditions of truth, belief and justification must be taken together to be sufficient for JTB. The justified True Belief was strongly held in the world of philosophy but not until Gettier came in and questioned the knowledge that was held for thousands of years. In his argument, Gettier claimed that the knowledge held by someone may be justified and true, yet fail to count as knowledge. This was known as Gettier problem. Suppose I stumble on Mary, a class mate driving license which is written that she comes from Chicago. Having seen that legal document, I’m justified to belief that Mary comes from Chicago. Suppose I infer from the above case and say that someone in my class comes from Chicago. Now, Mary driving license turns to be a fake one. It seems that what I believed was wrong which even makes my second belief to be wrong. Unknown to me, I may have

Annotated Bibliography-Terence Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Annotated Bibliography-Terence - Coursework Example It is work done by McMurtrey that was published at the University of Central Arkansas. The information contained suggests that there is a difference in the use of digital data between the older generation and the young generation. In fact, the gap is widening which is such a concern to many researchers. The article provides avenues for other studies as to establish as to what criteria can be used to make them adopt the technology. The review involved past studies that enabled comparison easier while the methodology was limited to surveys that were in line with other research. It is significant on how the number of the elderly individuals is increasing, and yet the manufacturers cannot take the upcoming opportunities. Osman, Z., Poulson, D., & Nicolle, C. (2005). Introducing computers and the internet to older users: Findings from the care OnLine project. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(1), 16-23. doi:10.1007/s10209-005-0111-8 This is an article by Osman and the core. It provides various computers to selected households of the old generation and determines their experiences with the use of services on the internet and various websites. This coincided to the gaps existing on the usability of the computers by the old generation. The peer-reviewed paper nonetheless does not offer space for other studies and provides analysis based on the research findings. The literature review used case studies to provide an in-depth overview of the paper. Research methods used is interviews to determine their experiences with computers and were common to all the researchers. It is important on how persons are concerned with the elderly generation to become literate on computer usage. It is an article by Paurasama and Colby published at the research gate. The report shows how technology advancements can be used to spread the knowledge to

Born Black, Live Brave, Die Free

Born Black, Live Brave, Die Free Essay â€Å"Id rather die my way than live yours.†- Lauren Oliver. At some point in your life you have been put down, burdened, discouraged, or even depressed. Sometimes there are certain things you can do to help ease these human issues, but sometimes these issues are opportunities to be even better than you were before; this is so in Richard Wright’s case. In the novel Black Boy Richard Wright was in a constant state of oppression, whether he was encompassed by friends or foes; he was constantly put down, even if it was those who were supposed to always love him. Because of this continuous adversity in his life, Richard Wright gradually develops into a very independent, self-reliant and strong person. Through Richard Wright’s own experiences, maybe other individuals who are in the same situations of life can learn the dexterity of persistence and liberation as well. Throughout Richard’s life, he faces the need for a loving family to help and encourage him. However, they unknowingly help to form his independence. For instance, he has to be independent regarding his negligent father, whom abandons him and the rest of his family (16). Thereafter, Richard’s mother puts the responsibility on him to buy the family’s groceries; â€Å"One evening my mother told me that thereafter I would have to do the shopping for food.† â€Å"When I reached the corner, a gang of boys grabbed me, knocked me down, snatched the basket, took the money, and sent me running home in panic.† He is repeatedly beaten and robbed by a group of boys when he goes to the corner store to buy the groceries, and complains to his mother saying, â€Å"I’m scared,† or, â€Å"They’ll beat me; they’ll beat me.† She simply reacts by giving him a stick and telling him to fight them if they bother him again, in which he does (17-18). She attempts to make Richard tenacious and independent in this particular situation because she believes this is the only way he can survive. Although he was abandoned, afraid, and discouraged he still overcame all of that, initiating the development of his independence. In this instance in Wright’s life, he is almost forced to be independent because of the irresponsibility of his father. In life, arduous situations may cause an individual to have a lot more responsibility put on them. Think about a time in your life where you had to be responsible when things didn’t turn out to your liking. Responsibility forms independence. During most of Richard’s adolescent years, he is often disciplined through the church and religion mainly because of his grandmother and Aunt Addie. For instance when Richard said, â€Å"I could not get a job that would let me rest on Granny’s holy Sabbath.†(133), it showed that strict religion was enforced upon him stripping him of freedom to do things. However, Richard did not allow that to get in his way, and he took hold of his desires whether Granny liked it or not. Also, at very few moments during this time he comes very close to being influenced by religion; â€Å"While listening to the vivid language of the sermons I was pulled towards emotional belief, but as soon as I went out of the church †¦ I knew that none of it was true and that nothing would happen.†(102). This instance, and the many other instances where his grandmother had gotten people to attempt to influence Richard religiously, shows how uneasily influenced Richard is, and does not feel the need to agree with everyone else so that he can fit in. When Richard refuses the church and religion at all, he shows his independence and that he does not have be a part of something that he is indifferent about, no matter who may be attempting to influence him. Sometimes being disciplined by someone can also cause you to be independent, because you understand the responsibility of not â€Å"overstepping† boundaries; but, sometimes you must overstep them to prove that you are your own person. Finally, as a young boy it is recognized in the novel that Richard is not like most of the other people around him. He is a passionate reader and writer, and most of the people he lives and associates himself with are skeptical and puzzled at his hunger for knowledge. In one instance Richard writes a story, The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre, and almost everyone he knows discourages his writing, except a newspaper editor (165-166). He learns to be independent from both his family and friends subjugation and discouragement of his writing. Also, when Richard joins the Communist Party they do not always except him, or the things that he does (ch.18). Once again Wright has been put down and suppressed, yet he remains the same. Sometimes being independent does not only make you responsible, disciplined, and individualistic, but a strong person altogether. If you cannot handle the adversities of life, you’ll never finish your journey and never really experience life for yourself. To conclude, Richard Wright has definitely proven through the novel Black Boy that he is a very independent individual. Wright is showing that the things that may be disguised as nothing but trouble are actually opportunities to grow into this thing we call a human being; this includes being an independent, self-reliant person. Through all of the disappointments, pain, and depressing times in his life he remained liberated and accepted the responsibilities he had to accomplish as a young man, which involved him even disciplining himself just to show his independence and maturity. Also, his independence developed who he wanted to be, and not what others wanted him to be. In the end the universal theme of this essay is that it is vitally important to be a self-sufficient, independent person and who you want to be, not who others want you to be, and knowing that adversities aren’t made to hurt you but to make you stronger. â€Å"Open your eyes look within. Are you satisfied with the life youre living?†- Bob Marley.

Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance

Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance CHAPTER IV As noted earlier, the need for corporate governance arises from the potential conflicts of interest among participants (stakeholders) in corporate structure. These are often referred as agency problems arise from two main sources. First, different participants have different goals and preferences. Second, the participants have imperfect information as to each others actions, knowledge and preferences. Berle and Means (1932) addressed these conflicts by examining the separation of ownership and control. They noted that this separation, in the absence of other corporate governance mechanisms, provide executives with the ability to act in their own self-interest rather than in the interest of shareholders. However, executives activities are potentially constrained by numerous factors that constitute and influence the governance of the corporations that they manage. These factors can be thought of as either internal control mechanisms (such as the board) or external control mechanisms (s uch as the market for corporate control). An increasingly important external control mechanism affecting governance worldwide is the emergence of institutional investors as equity owners. Although institutional investors are the predominant players in some countries financial markets and are therefore important in corporate governance, yet the ownership  structures and other governance characteristics differ across markets. These differences are attributable in part to legal and regulatory systems and in part to the manner in which the markets have evolved. These characteristics will continue to vary across countries, leading to differences in the role and influences of institutional investors in corporate governance. Previous researchers have shown that because of the costs involved, only large shareholders have the incentive to provide extensive monitoring of management. Whether institutions as large shareholders should, or will, provide such monitoring depends in part on the constraints to which they are subjected, their objectives, and their preferences for liquidity. Keeping the above into consideration, it is pertinent to examine the intricacies of institutional holdings in the governance matters of Indian corporates. Many a time, institutional holdings pre-empts good corporate governance still at other times, good corporate governance endues institutional investment in the firm. The ongoing debate as to the institutional holdings and the corporate governance is very live or interactive in the academics these days too. The results of earlier studies are inconclusive as to the deterministic value of the one or the other. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score index has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark to rate sampled firms in terms of corporate governance. The institutional holdings in terms of equity investment has been expressed in percentages to total investment and comparatively, in terms of the relative composition of the institutional equity investment. This chapter makes a detailed analysis of the dynamics of corporate governance and the institutional holdings in the following three perspectives: 4.1) Dynamics of institutional holdings and its composition 4.2) Relationship between Institutional Holdings (explanatory variable) and the Corporate Governance (dependent variable) 4.3) Relationship between the Corporate Governance (explanatory variable) and Institutional Holdings (dependent variable) The results obtained for the sampled in this regard are reported, in an analytical frame, here as under: 4.1.1) Status of Institutional Holdings: The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of institutional holdings in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in table no. 4.1 given below: Table 4.1 Institutional Holdings in the Sampled Companies Institutional Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 61 30.5 53 26.5 46 23.0 46 23.0 47 23.5 5-10 34 17.0 31 15.5 30 15.0 26 13.0 27 13.5 10-15 30 15.0 34 17.0 22 11.0 25 12.5 22 11.0 15-26 37 18.5 40 20.0 43 21.5 43 21.5 42 21.0 26-50 36 18.0 38 19.0 54 27.0 55 27.5 55 27.5 Above 50 02 1.0 04 2.0 05 2.5 05 2.5 07 3.5 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the present table reveals that the proportions of institutional holdings in the sampled companies have increased over the years. The numbers of companies with larger proportions of institutional holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with smaller proportions of holdings have been declining over the study period. As institutions have above 50 percent holdings in only 1 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 3.5 percent. Similarly, institutions have holdings from 26 to 50 percent in 18 percent companies in 2004 that rises to 27.5 percent companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies in which institutions have holdings from 15 to 26 percent. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower institutional holdings also validates it. As institutions have less than 5 percent stake in 30.5 percent companies in 2004, which reduced to only 23.5 percent companies in 2008. Similarly, institutions have holdings up to 10 percent in 17 percent companies that reduced to 13.5 percent in the last year of the study period. Thus, it is observed that institutional investors have been increasing their stake in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that institutional investors have been consistently getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. 4.1.2 Constituents of Institutional Holdings: As noted earlier, Institutional holdings have been further classified into three categories i.e., Mutual Fund, (Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies) and Foreign Institutional Investors. The results obtained for the sampled companies as regard to the status of Mutual Funds holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and to the total institutional investors in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.2 given below: Table 4.2 (a) MF Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings Mutual Fund Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 140 70.0 143 71.5 117 58.5 113 56.5 119 59.5 5-10 42 21.0 34 17.0 52 26.0 54 27.0 41 20.5 10-15 14 7.0 14 7.0 22 11.0 23 11.5 29 14.5 15-20 03 1.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 Above 20 01 0.5 02 1.0 02 1.0 03 1.5 04 2.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.2 (b) MF Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings Mutual Funds Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 96 48.0 104 52.0 100 50.0 103 51.5 101 50.5 20-40 55 27.5 38 19.0 41 20.5 50 25.0 47 23.5 40-60 22 11.0 21 10.5 24 12.0 14 7.0 23 11.5 60-80 09 4.5 18 9.0 19 9.5 16 8.0 17 8.5 Above 80 18 9.0 19 9.5 16 8.0 17 8.5 12 6.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in part (a) of the present table depict that mutual funds have increased their proportions of shareholdings in relation to the total shareholdings over the study period. The number of sampled companies with higher proportions of mutual funds holdings has been increasing over the study period. Similarly, the number of sampled companies with lower proportions of mutual funds holdings has been decreasing over the same period. As mutual funds have more than 20 percent holdings in 0.5 percent companies in 2004, which increased to 2 percent companies at the end of the study period. Similarly, Mutual Funds have holdings to the extent of 20 percent only in 1.5 percent companies in 2004 that increased to 3.5 percent companies in 2008. It is also observed that there were only 14 companies in 2004 in which mutual funds holdings were from 10 to 15 percent, which increased to more than double at the end of the study period. It is also validated by the observations of the companies in which mutual funds have lower stake. There were 70 percent companies in which mutual funds had less than 5 percent holdings and the proportion of companies with such holdings reduced to 59.5 percent in 2008. Hence, it is inferred that mutual fund companies have become more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in part (b) of the present table reveal out that there is no consistency in the investment pattern of mutual funds in the sampled companies over the study period. Mutual fund holdings in relation to total institutional holdings have remained more or less between zero and 20 percent in about 50 percent companies. On an average in 23 percent companies, mutual funds hold 20 to 40 percent shares. Mutual Funds reduced their holdings in 20 to 40 percent category in sampled companies over the study period. Where as there has not been major change in the number of companies with 40 to 60 percent mutual fund holdings. On the other hand, mutual funds have increased their stake from 60 to 80 percent in sampled companies over the study period. There are 9 companies with such holdings, which increased to 17 companies in 2008. But the number of sampled companies with mutual funds holdings more than 80 percent has gone down over the study period. As in 2004, there ar e 9 percent companies that reduced to 6 percent at the end of the study period. Hence, no inference can be drawn about the investment behaviour of mutual funds in relation to the total institutional holdings in sampled companies over the study period. The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of Banks, FIs and ICs holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and total institutional holdings in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.3 given below: Table 4.3 (a) Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings Bank, FI and IC Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 127 63.5 135 67.5 142 71.0 139 69.5 141 70.5 5-10 36 18.0 28 14.0 27 13.5 34 17.0 29 14.5 10-15 19 9.5 24 12.0 19 9.5 18 9.0 18 9.0 15-20 09 4.5 08 4.0 07 3.5 04 2.0 08 4.0 Above 20 09 4.5 05 2.5 05 2.5 05 2.5 04 2.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.3 (b) Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 70 35.0 90 45.0 103 51.5 99 49.5 99 49.5 20-40 34 17.0 34 17.0 41 20.5 41 20.5 34 17.0 40-60 29 14.5 30 15.0 16 8.0 23 11.5 37 18.5 60-80 21 10.5 13 6.5 17 8.5 15 7.5 08 4.0 Above 80 46 23.0 33 16.5 23 11.5 22 11.0 22 11.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the part (a) of the present table depicts that the proportions of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies in the sampled companies have decreased over the years. The numbers of companies with lower proportions of these holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with higher proportions of holdings have been decreasing over the study period. As in 63.5 percent companies, Banks and others hold less than 5 percent shares in 2004 while in 2008, 70.5 percent companies have the same holdings reflecting that over the study period, the above category of institutional investors have shown less interest in the sampled companies. Similarly, Banks and others hold up to 10 percent of total shareholdings in 36 companies which reduced to 27 in the year 2006 and finally to 29 companies in the year 2008. Likewise, the number of companies with more than 20 percent holdings has reduced from 4.5 percent in 2004 to 2 percent in 2008. Thus, i t is observed that Banks, FIs and ICs have withdrawn their substantial holdings in some companies while number of companies with marginal holdings has increased. Hence, it is inferred that Banks, FIs and ICs are getting less interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in the part (b) of the present table depict the results coherent with the results shown in part (a) as Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have decreased their holdings in relation to total institutional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period as well. They have more than 80 percent holdings in 23 percent companies in 2004 but in the last year of the study period, it was just in 11 percent companies. Similarly, these investors had 60 to 80 percent holdings in 21 companies in 2004, but in 2008, the number of companies with such holdings reduced to only 8 companies. The same is validated by the proportional increase in the number of companies with relatively lower holdings. Banks and others held to the limit of 20 percent shares in 70 companies in 2004 and in 2008, the number of companies with such holdings rose to 99. These investors have shown more interest in increasing their holdings from 40 percent to 60 percent in the sampled companies over the study period as they had such holdings in 14.5 percent companies in 2004 that increased to 18.5 percent in the last year of the study period. Thus, it is observed that the above-mentioned investors are gradually reducing their stakes to the lower levels in proportion to total institutional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that Banks, FIs and ICs have been loosing interest in the sampled companies. The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of FII holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and to the total institutional investors in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.4 given below: Table 4.4 (a) FII Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings FII Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 133 66.5 114 57.0 103 51.5 100 50.0 92 46.0 5-10 29 14.5 30 15.0 24 12.0 24 12.0 36 18.0 10-15 17 8.5 22 11.0 23 11.5 23 11.5 26 13.0 15-20 09 4.5 13 6.5 15 7.5 25 12.5 18 9.0 20-26 12 6.0 21 10.5 35 17.5 28 14.0 28 14.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.4 (b) FII Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings FII Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 115 57.5 83 41.5 74 37.0 69 34.5 62 31.0 20-40 20 10.0 35 17.5 33 16.5 28 14.0 39 19.5 40-60 29 14.5 36 18.0 33 16.5 34 17.0 43 21.5 60-80 23 11.5 25 12.5 35 17.5 40 20.0 33 16.5 Above 80 13 6.5 21 10.5 25 12.5 29 14.5 23 11.5 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the part (a) of the present table reveals that the proportions of FII holdings in relation to total shareholdings in the sampled companies have increased over the years. The numbers of companies with higher proportions of FII holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with smaller proportions have been decreasing over the study period. As FIIs have 20 to 26 percent holdings in only 6 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 14 percent. Similarly, FIIs have holdings from 15 to 20 percent in 9 companies in 2004 that got doubled to 18 companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies with FII holdings from 10 to 15 percent. FIIs had such holdings in 17 companies only in 2004 but in the last year of the study period, it increased to 26 companies. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower FII holdings also validates it. In nutshell, the FIIs have been consistently i ncreasing their stake in relation to the total shareholdings in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that institutional investors have been consistently getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in the part (b) of the present table also depict results consistent with the results shown for part (a). The proportion of FII holdings in relation to the institutional holdings in the sampled companies has also increased over the years. As institutions had above 80 percent holdings in only 6.5 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 11.5 percent companies. Similarly, FIIs had holdings from 60 to 80 percent in 23 companies in 2004 that increased to 33 companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies with FII holdings from 40 to 60 percent. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower FII holdings also validates it. As FIIs have less than 20 percent stake in 57.5 percent companies in 2004 which reduced to only 31 percent companies in 2008. Hence, it is inferred that FIIs have shown more interest in the sampled companies over the study period. Resume It can be observed from the result outputs of the first section that the institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the companies over the years. The number of sampled companies is consistently increasing with higher institutional holdings where as the number of companies are decreasing with lower proportions of institutional holdings. The mutual fund investors have also increased their holdings in relation to the total shareholdings over the study period. The number of companies with higher mutual fund holdings has been increasing over the years. Similarly, the number of companies with lower mutual fund holdings has been decreasing over the study period. But the results of observations of mutual fund holdings in relation to total institutional holdings state otherwise. Mutual funds have increased their proportions of holdings to the total shareholdings in the sampled companies over the study period but it is not so in relation to the total institutional ho ldings. Therefore, the investment pattern of mutual funds is not clear. Where as Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have decreased their proportional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period. There has been decline in the number of sampled companies with higher proportion of the Banks, FIs and ICs holdings. Validating the same, the numbers of companies with lower proportion of above holdings have been increasing over the study period. The results are consistent for the proportion of Banks, FIs and ICs in relation to total institutional holdings as well. To the contrary, foreign institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the sampled companies over the years. The number of companies is increasing with higher FII holdings and the number of companies is decreasing with lower proportion of FII holdings. The results are similar in relation to the total institutional holdings as well. Hence, at the end of the section it is inferr ed on the basis of result outputs that institutional investors in total and foreign institutional investors are getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. Banks, financial institutions and insurance companies are getting less interested in the same companies over the study period. And the results are inconclusive for the mutual funds. 4.2.1 Status of Corporate Governance Score in Sampled Companies: The Corporate Governance status of sampled companies is depicted in table 4.5. Total sampled of 200 companies has been divided into four quartiles of 50 companies each. The first quartile shows the company codes with highest corporate governance scores with in the range of 58 to 76 with the average score of 62.5. The second quartile shows the company codes with higher corporate governance scores with in the range of 52 to 58 with the average score of 54.3. The third quartile shows the company codes with lower corporate governance scores with in the range of 46 to 52 with the average score of 48.7. The fourth quartile shows the company codes with lowest corporate governance scores with in the range of 26 to 46 with the average score of 40.04. Table 4.5 Status of Corporate Governance in Sampled Companies Sampled Companies Number of Companies Sampled Company (Code) Range Average Governance Score Q1 50 2,5,6,11,13,15,21,26,27,28,29,37,39, 41,42,47,48,53,56,68,69,71,72,75,76,7778,79,84,86,88,91,93,96,97,98,102, 104,106,119,124,132,135,147,171,173180,189,194,198 58-76 62.5 Q2 50 10,17,18,30,31,33,34,36,38,45,46,52, 54,55,57,58,60,61,62,63,64,65,80,85, 100,101,103,108,117,118,121,125, 134,142,149,150,156,160,167,170, 175,177,179,183,184,185,186,187, 190,197 52-58 54.3 Q3 50 1,3,4,9,14,16,19,20,23,40,43,44,50, 59,66,70,73,74,82,83,92,94,99,105, 107,109,110,113,115,120,123,123, 127,129,130,137,139,151,152,154, 155,162,163,165,169,182,188,192, 196,200 46-52 48.7 Q4 50 7,8,12,22,24,25,32,35,49,51,81,87, 89,90,95,111,112,114,116,122,126, 128,131,133,136,138,140,141,143, 144,145,146,148,153,157,158,159, 161,164,166,168,172,174,176,178, 181,191,193,195,199 26-46 40.04 4.2.2 Relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance: The results obtained in this regard are reported in an analytical frame in table no. 4.6 as under: Part (a) of the present study table reveals out the (%) institutional holdings along with corporate governance score for the study period 2004-08. Part (b) of the table depicts the regression parameters as regard to institutional holdings and corporate governance score Table 4.6 (a) Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance Institutional Holdings (%) Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 N Average N Average N Average N Average N Average 0-10 95 47.84 84 47.44 76 46.74 72 47.06 74 47.42 10-25 64 53.50 70 52.79 62 52.21 63 51.44 60 51.53 25-50 39 56.51 42 56.43 57 56.32 60 56.37 59 55.80 Above50 02 50.50 04 56.00 05 55.00 05 52.60 07 54.43 200 200 200 200 200 Table 4.6 (b) Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance Institutional Holdings (%) Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Constant 47.18 46.98 46.64 46.64 47.05 b Value 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.40 SE 0.84 0.86 0.91 0.91 0.91 R2 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.16 t-value 6.75* 6.73* 6.63* 6.63* 6.21* D/W 1.825 .825 1.868 1.84 1.78 Predictor: Institutional Holdings; Dependent Variable: Corporate Governance Score *Significant at 5 percent level The information inputs reported in part (a) of the present table reveals out that the larger proportions of institutional holdings (to the level of 50 percent) have higher corporate governance score in sampled companies over the study period. Similarly, the smaller proportions of institutional holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. The sampled companies in which institutional holdings are from 25 to 50 percent have the average corporate governance score of 56.51 points in 2004, 56.32 points in 2006 and 55.80 points in 2008. These score points are highest in all the years. Where as lower governance scores are observed for lower proportions of institutional holdings. As the sampled companies in which institutional holdings are to the level of 10 percent have poor average governance scores. They are 47.84 score points in 2004, 46.74 score points in 2006 and 47.42 score points in 2008. Similarly, the sampled companies with 10 to 25 percent i nstitutional holdings have higher corporate governance scores than the companies with lower holdings and lower governance scores than the companies with higher institutional holdings over the study period. It can be inferred from the above results that there is very strong and positive relationship between institutional holdings and Corporate Governance. The statistical significance of these findings through regression analysis is reported in the part (b) of the present table. The parameters also validate the above inference, as the degree of dependence between two variables is higher over the study period. All the values are also considered significant (a=0.05) in terms of t-value over the study period. D/W value is near 2 in all the five years indicating the regression results are reliable. 4.2.3 Relationship between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance: The results obtained in this regard are reported in an analytical frame in table no. 4.7 as under: Part (a) of the present study table reveals out the (%) mutual funds holdings along with corporate governance score for the study period 2004-08. Part (b) of the table depicts the regression parameters as regard to mutual funds holdings and corporate governance score Table 4.7 (a) MF Holdings and Corporate Governance Mutual Fund Holdings Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 (%) N Average N Average N Average N Average N Average 0-5 140 50.5 143 51.0 117 50.9 113 50.6 119 50.3 5-10 42 51.8 34 50.9 52 52.0 54 52.5 41 53.6 10-15 14 55.2 14 54.2 22 51.4 23 Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance CHAPTER IV As noted earlier, the need for corporate governance arises from the potential conflicts of interest among participants (stakeholders) in corporate structure. These are often referred as agency problems arise from two main sources. First, different participants have different goals and preferences. Second, the participants have imperfect information as to each others actions, knowledge and preferences. Berle and Means (1932) addressed these conflicts by examining the separation of ownership and control. They noted that this separation, in the absence of other corporate governance mechanisms, provide executives with the ability to act in their own self-interest rather than in the interest of shareholders. However, executives activities are potentially constrained by numerous factors that constitute and influence the governance of the corporations that they manage. These factors can be thought of as either internal control mechanisms (such as the board) or external control mechanisms (s uch as the market for corporate control). An increasingly important external control mechanism affecting governance worldwide is the emergence of institutional investors as equity owners. Although institutional investors are the predominant players in some countries financial markets and are therefore important in corporate governance, yet the ownership  structures and other governance characteristics differ across markets. These differences are attributable in part to legal and regulatory systems and in part to the manner in which the markets have evolved. These characteristics will continue to vary across countries, leading to differences in the role and influences of institutional investors in corporate governance. Previous researchers have shown that because of the costs involved, only large shareholders have the incentive to provide extensive monitoring of management. Whether institutions as large shareholders should, or will, provide such monitoring depends in part on the constraints to which they are subjected, their objectives, and their preferences for liquidity. Keeping the above into consideration, it is pertinent to examine the intricacies of institutional holdings in the governance matters of Indian corporates. Many a time, institutional holdings pre-empts good corporate governance still at other times, good corporate governance endues institutional investment in the firm. The ongoing debate as to the institutional holdings and the corporate governance is very live or interactive in the academics these days too. The results of earlier studies are inconclusive as to the deterministic value of the one or the other. In the present study, Corporate Governance Score index has been developed on the basis of key characteristics of Standard and Poors Transparency and Disclosure Benchmark to rate sampled firms in terms of corporate governance. The institutional holdings in terms of equity investment has been expressed in percentages to total investment and comparatively, in terms of the relative composition of the institutional equity investment. This chapter makes a detailed analysis of the dynamics of corporate governance and the institutional holdings in the following three perspectives: 4.1) Dynamics of institutional holdings and its composition 4.2) Relationship between Institutional Holdings (explanatory variable) and the Corporate Governance (dependent variable) 4.3) Relationship between the Corporate Governance (explanatory variable) and Institutional Holdings (dependent variable) The results obtained for the sampled in this regard are reported, in an analytical frame, here as under: 4.1.1) Status of Institutional Holdings: The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of institutional holdings in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in table no. 4.1 given below: Table 4.1 Institutional Holdings in the Sampled Companies Institutional Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 61 30.5 53 26.5 46 23.0 46 23.0 47 23.5 5-10 34 17.0 31 15.5 30 15.0 26 13.0 27 13.5 10-15 30 15.0 34 17.0 22 11.0 25 12.5 22 11.0 15-26 37 18.5 40 20.0 43 21.5 43 21.5 42 21.0 26-50 36 18.0 38 19.0 54 27.0 55 27.5 55 27.5 Above 50 02 1.0 04 2.0 05 2.5 05 2.5 07 3.5 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the present table reveals that the proportions of institutional holdings in the sampled companies have increased over the years. The numbers of companies with larger proportions of institutional holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with smaller proportions of holdings have been declining over the study period. As institutions have above 50 percent holdings in only 1 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 3.5 percent. Similarly, institutions have holdings from 26 to 50 percent in 18 percent companies in 2004 that rises to 27.5 percent companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies in which institutions have holdings from 15 to 26 percent. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower institutional holdings also validates it. As institutions have less than 5 percent stake in 30.5 percent companies in 2004, which reduced to only 23.5 percent companies in 2008. Similarly, institutions have holdings up to 10 percent in 17 percent companies that reduced to 13.5 percent in the last year of the study period. Thus, it is observed that institutional investors have been increasing their stake in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that institutional investors have been consistently getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. 4.1.2 Constituents of Institutional Holdings: As noted earlier, Institutional holdings have been further classified into three categories i.e., Mutual Fund, (Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies) and Foreign Institutional Investors. The results obtained for the sampled companies as regard to the status of Mutual Funds holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and to the total institutional investors in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.2 given below: Table 4.2 (a) MF Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings Mutual Fund Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 140 70.0 143 71.5 117 58.5 113 56.5 119 59.5 5-10 42 21.0 34 17.0 52 26.0 54 27.0 41 20.5 10-15 14 7.0 14 7.0 22 11.0 23 11.5 29 14.5 15-20 03 1.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 07 3.5 Above 20 01 0.5 02 1.0 02 1.0 03 1.5 04 2.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.2 (b) MF Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings Mutual Funds Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 96 48.0 104 52.0 100 50.0 103 51.5 101 50.5 20-40 55 27.5 38 19.0 41 20.5 50 25.0 47 23.5 40-60 22 11.0 21 10.5 24 12.0 14 7.0 23 11.5 60-80 09 4.5 18 9.0 19 9.5 16 8.0 17 8.5 Above 80 18 9.0 19 9.5 16 8.0 17 8.5 12 6.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in part (a) of the present table depict that mutual funds have increased their proportions of shareholdings in relation to the total shareholdings over the study period. The number of sampled companies with higher proportions of mutual funds holdings has been increasing over the study period. Similarly, the number of sampled companies with lower proportions of mutual funds holdings has been decreasing over the same period. As mutual funds have more than 20 percent holdings in 0.5 percent companies in 2004, which increased to 2 percent companies at the end of the study period. Similarly, Mutual Funds have holdings to the extent of 20 percent only in 1.5 percent companies in 2004 that increased to 3.5 percent companies in 2008. It is also observed that there were only 14 companies in 2004 in which mutual funds holdings were from 10 to 15 percent, which increased to more than double at the end of the study period. It is also validated by the observations of the companies in which mutual funds have lower stake. There were 70 percent companies in which mutual funds had less than 5 percent holdings and the proportion of companies with such holdings reduced to 59.5 percent in 2008. Hence, it is inferred that mutual fund companies have become more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in part (b) of the present table reveal out that there is no consistency in the investment pattern of mutual funds in the sampled companies over the study period. Mutual fund holdings in relation to total institutional holdings have remained more or less between zero and 20 percent in about 50 percent companies. On an average in 23 percent companies, mutual funds hold 20 to 40 percent shares. Mutual Funds reduced their holdings in 20 to 40 percent category in sampled companies over the study period. Where as there has not been major change in the number of companies with 40 to 60 percent mutual fund holdings. On the other hand, mutual funds have increased their stake from 60 to 80 percent in sampled companies over the study period. There are 9 companies with such holdings, which increased to 17 companies in 2008. But the number of sampled companies with mutual funds holdings more than 80 percent has gone down over the study period. As in 2004, there ar e 9 percent companies that reduced to 6 percent at the end of the study period. Hence, no inference can be drawn about the investment behaviour of mutual funds in relation to the total institutional holdings in sampled companies over the study period. The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of Banks, FIs and ICs holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and total institutional holdings in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.3 given below: Table 4.3 (a) Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings Bank, FI and IC Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 127 63.5 135 67.5 142 71.0 139 69.5 141 70.5 5-10 36 18.0 28 14.0 27 13.5 34 17.0 29 14.5 10-15 19 9.5 24 12.0 19 9.5 18 9.0 18 9.0 15-20 09 4.5 08 4.0 07 3.5 04 2.0 08 4.0 Above 20 09 4.5 05 2.5 05 2.5 05 2.5 04 2.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.3 (b) Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings Banks, FIs and ICs Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 70 35.0 90 45.0 103 51.5 99 49.5 99 49.5 20-40 34 17.0 34 17.0 41 20.5 41 20.5 34 17.0 40-60 29 14.5 30 15.0 16 8.0 23 11.5 37 18.5 60-80 21 10.5 13 6.5 17 8.5 15 7.5 08 4.0 Above 80 46 23.0 33 16.5 23 11.5 22 11.0 22 11.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the part (a) of the present table depicts that the proportions of Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies in the sampled companies have decreased over the years. The numbers of companies with lower proportions of these holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with higher proportions of holdings have been decreasing over the study period. As in 63.5 percent companies, Banks and others hold less than 5 percent shares in 2004 while in 2008, 70.5 percent companies have the same holdings reflecting that over the study period, the above category of institutional investors have shown less interest in the sampled companies. Similarly, Banks and others hold up to 10 percent of total shareholdings in 36 companies which reduced to 27 in the year 2006 and finally to 29 companies in the year 2008. Likewise, the number of companies with more than 20 percent holdings has reduced from 4.5 percent in 2004 to 2 percent in 2008. Thus, i t is observed that Banks, FIs and ICs have withdrawn their substantial holdings in some companies while number of companies with marginal holdings has increased. Hence, it is inferred that Banks, FIs and ICs are getting less interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in the part (b) of the present table depict the results coherent with the results shown in part (a) as Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have decreased their holdings in relation to total institutional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period as well. They have more than 80 percent holdings in 23 percent companies in 2004 but in the last year of the study period, it was just in 11 percent companies. Similarly, these investors had 60 to 80 percent holdings in 21 companies in 2004, but in 2008, the number of companies with such holdings reduced to only 8 companies. The same is validated by the proportional increase in the number of companies with relatively lower holdings. Banks and others held to the limit of 20 percent shares in 70 companies in 2004 and in 2008, the number of companies with such holdings rose to 99. These investors have shown more interest in increasing their holdings from 40 percent to 60 percent in the sampled companies over the study period as they had such holdings in 14.5 percent companies in 2004 that increased to 18.5 percent in the last year of the study period. Thus, it is observed that the above-mentioned investors are gradually reducing their stakes to the lower levels in proportion to total institutional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that Banks, FIs and ICs have been loosing interest in the sampled companies. The results obtained for sampled companies as regard to the status of FII holdings in relation to the total shareholdings and to the total institutional investors in the sampled companies during the study period 2004-08 are summarized in part (a) and part (b) of the table no. 4.4 given below: Table 4.4 (a) FII Holdings in Relation To Total Shareholdings FII Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) Below 5 133 66.5 114 57.0 103 51.5 100 50.0 92 46.0 5-10 29 14.5 30 15.0 24 12.0 24 12.0 36 18.0 10-15 17 8.5 22 11.0 23 11.5 23 11.5 26 13.0 15-20 09 4.5 13 6.5 15 7.5 25 12.5 18 9.0 20-26 12 6.0 21 10.5 35 17.5 28 14.0 28 14.0 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 Table 4.4 (b) FII Holdings in Relation to Total Institutional Holdings FII Holdings (%) Number of Companies 2004 N (%) 2005 N (%) 2006 N (%) 2007 N (%) 2008 N (%) 0-20 115 57.5 83 41.5 74 37.0 69 34.5 62 31.0 20-40 20 10.0 35 17.5 33 16.5 28 14.0 39 19.5 40-60 29 14.5 36 18.0 33 16.5 34 17.0 43 21.5 60-80 23 11.5 25 12.5 35 17.5 40 20.0 33 16.5 Above 80 13 6.5 21 10.5 25 12.5 29 14.5 23 11.5 Total 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 200 100 The information inputs reported in the part (a) of the present table reveals that the proportions of FII holdings in relation to total shareholdings in the sampled companies have increased over the years. The numbers of companies with higher proportions of FII holdings have been increasing and the numbers of companies with smaller proportions have been decreasing over the study period. As FIIs have 20 to 26 percent holdings in only 6 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 14 percent. Similarly, FIIs have holdings from 15 to 20 percent in 9 companies in 2004 that got doubled to 18 companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies with FII holdings from 10 to 15 percent. FIIs had such holdings in 17 companies only in 2004 but in the last year of the study period, it increased to 26 companies. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower FII holdings also validates it. In nutshell, the FIIs have been consistently i ncreasing their stake in relation to the total shareholdings in the sampled companies over the study period. Hence, it is inferred that institutional investors have been consistently getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. The information inputs reported in the part (b) of the present table also depict results consistent with the results shown for part (a). The proportion of FII holdings in relation to the institutional holdings in the sampled companies has also increased over the years. As institutions had above 80 percent holdings in only 6.5 percent companies in 2004, where as in the last year of the study period, it increased to 11.5 percent companies. Similarly, FIIs had holdings from 60 to 80 percent in 23 companies in 2004 that increased to 33 companies in 2008. The same trend follows for the companies with FII holdings from 40 to 60 percent. The decreasing number of companies with relatively lower FII holdings also validates it. As FIIs have less than 20 percent stake in 57.5 percent companies in 2004 which reduced to only 31 percent companies in 2008. Hence, it is inferred that FIIs have shown more interest in the sampled companies over the study period. Resume It can be observed from the result outputs of the first section that the institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the companies over the years. The number of sampled companies is consistently increasing with higher institutional holdings where as the number of companies are decreasing with lower proportions of institutional holdings. The mutual fund investors have also increased their holdings in relation to the total shareholdings over the study period. The number of companies with higher mutual fund holdings has been increasing over the years. Similarly, the number of companies with lower mutual fund holdings has been decreasing over the study period. But the results of observations of mutual fund holdings in relation to total institutional holdings state otherwise. Mutual funds have increased their proportions of holdings to the total shareholdings in the sampled companies over the study period but it is not so in relation to the total institutional ho ldings. Therefore, the investment pattern of mutual funds is not clear. Where as Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies have decreased their proportional holdings in the sampled companies over the study period. There has been decline in the number of sampled companies with higher proportion of the Banks, FIs and ICs holdings. Validating the same, the numbers of companies with lower proportion of above holdings have been increasing over the study period. The results are consistent for the proportion of Banks, FIs and ICs in relation to total institutional holdings as well. To the contrary, foreign institutional investors have increased their proportional holdings in the sampled companies over the years. The number of companies is increasing with higher FII holdings and the number of companies is decreasing with lower proportion of FII holdings. The results are similar in relation to the total institutional holdings as well. Hence, at the end of the section it is inferr ed on the basis of result outputs that institutional investors in total and foreign institutional investors are getting more interested in the sampled companies over the study period. Banks, financial institutions and insurance companies are getting less interested in the same companies over the study period. And the results are inconclusive for the mutual funds. 4.2.1 Status of Corporate Governance Score in Sampled Companies: The Corporate Governance status of sampled companies is depicted in table 4.5. Total sampled of 200 companies has been divided into four quartiles of 50 companies each. The first quartile shows the company codes with highest corporate governance scores with in the range of 58 to 76 with the average score of 62.5. The second quartile shows the company codes with higher corporate governance scores with in the range of 52 to 58 with the average score of 54.3. The third quartile shows the company codes with lower corporate governance scores with in the range of 46 to 52 with the average score of 48.7. The fourth quartile shows the company codes with lowest corporate governance scores with in the range of 26 to 46 with the average score of 40.04. Table 4.5 Status of Corporate Governance in Sampled Companies Sampled Companies Number of Companies Sampled Company (Code) Range Average Governance Score Q1 50 2,5,6,11,13,15,21,26,27,28,29,37,39, 41,42,47,48,53,56,68,69,71,72,75,76,7778,79,84,86,88,91,93,96,97,98,102, 104,106,119,124,132,135,147,171,173180,189,194,198 58-76 62.5 Q2 50 10,17,18,30,31,33,34,36,38,45,46,52, 54,55,57,58,60,61,62,63,64,65,80,85, 100,101,103,108,117,118,121,125, 134,142,149,150,156,160,167,170, 175,177,179,183,184,185,186,187, 190,197 52-58 54.3 Q3 50 1,3,4,9,14,16,19,20,23,40,43,44,50, 59,66,70,73,74,82,83,92,94,99,105, 107,109,110,113,115,120,123,123, 127,129,130,137,139,151,152,154, 155,162,163,165,169,182,188,192, 196,200 46-52 48.7 Q4 50 7,8,12,22,24,25,32,35,49,51,81,87, 89,90,95,111,112,114,116,122,126, 128,131,133,136,138,140,141,143, 144,145,146,148,153,157,158,159, 161,164,166,168,172,174,176,178, 181,191,193,195,199 26-46 40.04 4.2.2 Relationship between institutional holdings and corporate governance: The results obtained in this regard are reported in an analytical frame in table no. 4.6 as under: Part (a) of the present study table reveals out the (%) institutional holdings along with corporate governance score for the study period 2004-08. Part (b) of the table depicts the regression parameters as regard to institutional holdings and corporate governance score Table 4.6 (a) Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance Institutional Holdings (%) Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 N Average N Average N Average N Average N Average 0-10 95 47.84 84 47.44 76 46.74 72 47.06 74 47.42 10-25 64 53.50 70 52.79 62 52.21 63 51.44 60 51.53 25-50 39 56.51 42 56.43 57 56.32 60 56.37 59 55.80 Above50 02 50.50 04 56.00 05 55.00 05 52.60 07 54.43 200 200 200 200 200 Table 4.6 (b) Institutional Holdings and Corporate Governance Institutional Holdings (%) Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Constant 47.18 46.98 46.64 46.64 47.05 b Value 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.40 SE 0.84 0.86 0.91 0.91 0.91 R2 0.19 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.16 t-value 6.75* 6.73* 6.63* 6.63* 6.21* D/W 1.825 .825 1.868 1.84 1.78 Predictor: Institutional Holdings; Dependent Variable: Corporate Governance Score *Significant at 5 percent level The information inputs reported in part (a) of the present table reveals out that the larger proportions of institutional holdings (to the level of 50 percent) have higher corporate governance score in sampled companies over the study period. Similarly, the smaller proportions of institutional holdings have lower governance scores in the sampled companies over the study period. The sampled companies in which institutional holdings are from 25 to 50 percent have the average corporate governance score of 56.51 points in 2004, 56.32 points in 2006 and 55.80 points in 2008. These score points are highest in all the years. Where as lower governance scores are observed for lower proportions of institutional holdings. As the sampled companies in which institutional holdings are to the level of 10 percent have poor average governance scores. They are 47.84 score points in 2004, 46.74 score points in 2006 and 47.42 score points in 2008. Similarly, the sampled companies with 10 to 25 percent i nstitutional holdings have higher corporate governance scores than the companies with lower holdings and lower governance scores than the companies with higher institutional holdings over the study period. It can be inferred from the above results that there is very strong and positive relationship between institutional holdings and Corporate Governance. The statistical significance of these findings through regression analysis is reported in the part (b) of the present table. The parameters also validate the above inference, as the degree of dependence between two variables is higher over the study period. All the values are also considered significant (a=0.05) in terms of t-value over the study period. D/W value is near 2 in all the five years indicating the regression results are reliable. 4.2.3 Relationship between mutual funds holdings and corporate governance: The results obtained in this regard are reported in an analytical frame in table no. 4.7 as under: Part (a) of the present study table reveals out the (%) mutual funds holdings along with corporate governance score for the study period 2004-08. Part (b) of the table depicts the regression parameters as regard to mutual funds holdings and corporate governance score Table 4.7 (a) MF Holdings and Corporate Governance Mutual Fund Holdings Corporate Governance Score 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 (%) N Average N Average N Average N Average N Average 0-5 140 50.5 143 51.0 117 50.9 113 50.6 119 50.3 5-10 42 51.8 34 50.9 52 52.0 54 52.5 41 53.6 10-15 14 55.2 14 54.2 22 51.4 23