Development Stages

Child development studies is an interdisciplinary field, which studies the development of a child from conception to childhood through adolescence and emerging adulthood. Child development is divided into three broad domains – physical, cognitive, and emotional and social. Some experts state that child development is a continuous process while others argue that it follows discontinuous stages.Recent theories on child development include information processing, which views the mind as a complex computer; ethology, which emphasizes the evolutionary origins and adaptive behavior; Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory that focuses on understanding cultural influences; ecological systems theory where environment is believed to play a role in development; and dynamic systems perspective according to which changes in physical or social systems account for a child’s behavior (Chapter 1). The characteristics of each individual depend on their genotypes and environment.Chromosom es, which contain genes determine our hereditary characteristics. The child inherits two genes on each chromosome from its parents. The dominant gene is responsible for inherited characteristics. Chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, occur due to errors at the time of meiosis. Genetic counseling helps parents avoid the risk of giving birth to children with genetic defects. The child’s family, economic status, neighborhood, school, and favorable public policies play an important influence in shaping his or her personality (Chapter 2).More couples are choosing to remain childless, using birth control measures, and delaying their birth ages today compared to previous times. Children with low birth weight are more prone to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes in adulthood and high birth weight are more prone to breast cancer in adulthood. Factors such as teratogens; usage of certain prescription drugs, such as thalidomide; illegal drugs; tobacco; alcohol; exposure to r adiation; environmental pollution, infectious diseases; nutrition; emotional stress; and maternal age shape prenatal development (Chapter 3).The Apgar score determines a newborn child’s physical condition at birth. Natural childbirth involves preparing an expectant mother about childbirth. Various medical interventions, such as fetal monitors, forceps, and cesarean delivery assist during childbirth complications. Complications at birth might cause conditions like cerebral palsy in a newborn. Brazelton's Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale is used to assess the behavior of the newborn (Chapter 4). References Chapter 1: History, Theory, and Research Strategies, pp. 1-76. Chapter 2: Biological and Environmental Foundations, pp. 1-67 Chapter 3: Prenatal Development, pp. 1-39. Chapter 4: Birth and the Newborn Baby, pp. 1-48.

Advertising in Schools: in Public Education System Essay

Throughout the United States, the faltering economy has drastically affected the employment and income of its citizens, consequently resulting in the deterioration of public education system. In our San Diego Unified district alone, it is estimated that the budget deficit will reach $80 million (â€Å"VoiceofSanDiego†). The lack of funding towards public schools could possibly hinder the attendants’ ability to learn and advertising from corporate sponsorships could provide the necessary revenue to close the schools budget gaps. According to the National Education Association it is estimated that 100,000 schoolteachers nationwide lost their jobs preceding the start of the school year, to protect the employment of our districts schoolteachers drastic modifications must be implemented. Plausible solutions are to mirror the example of Minnesota’s St. Francis School District who under economic hardships gained $230,000 from the selling of ad space thus protecting the jobs of their employees. See more: The stages of consumer buying decision process essay However, critics argued the advertisements might impede a child’s learning, this problem can be solved with ease by promoting brand names in our yearbooks or scoreboards that have little affect on the education of the students and would still bring substantial profit to our school. The selling of ad space in school buses can also offset the daunting costs of educational equipment and vital school programs. Our schools transportation system has recently made cut-backs due to lack of funds, however by displaying local sponsors, the profits can be incorporated back to the schools budget. Being that the target audience is passing spectators, the ads have no negative affect on the students and â€Å"School districts say it’s practically free money and advertisers love the captive audience school buses provide,† quoted ABC News. Averaging a rate of $230 per month, one meager school bus advertisement stands to make $2,300 in the school year where a majority of the reven ue goes directly to the school district. Sponsored advertising could benefit the financial shortcomings of our schools on all aspects; yet, criticizers continue to repudiate the progress because the advertisements easily captivate a highly susceptible audience. This detrimental factor can be used to the advantage of faculty and parents with constructive advertising. Endorsements that promote a healthy lifestyle and diet rather than sugary sweets can aid in the development of our minors. Similarly, ads such as publishing associations could pay to endorse books and other didactic apparatuses in libraries or classrooms that would encourage learning for schoolchildren. For these reason corporate advertising can be accepted into our schools without the apprehension of children being negatively influenced. These economic problems pertain especially to our district and plausible solutions should be exercised. Scripps Ranch High School can adopt these techniques to ease the budget deficit; envision our school advocating a sponsor s uch as KPBS in our library or even our sports teams exhibiting sponsored attire of Puma for the sale of ad space. Our school does not have to brave this recession with only cut backs it is time to raise our commission for a change, for the sole benefit of our school. Nationwide, the current economic downturn has forced schools to employ budget cuts and teacher terminations. Advertising in our schools could become an efficient means of alleviating the budget deficit and the extra revenue would go towards preserving the jobs teachers and other school programs. This source of unrestricted revenue is difficult to deny and our school can hardly afford to surrender more extracurricular activities. To protect the sanctity of Scripps Ranch High’s superb educational system additional income must be utilized and with minimal effects, corporate advertising is an unparalleled example of a money generator.

Analysis Of Elizabeth Bishops The Fish English Literature Essay

Analysis Of Elizabeth Bishops The Fish English Literature Essay â€Å"The Fish† was written by Elizabeth Bishop who lived from 1911- 1979. The title â€Å"The Fish† gives the reader an idea of what the poem will be about. You can’t tell the happenings in the poem from the title, but you can tell that it will include a fish in one way or another. The title is also very simple, and when the poem the structure used and the story itself is also simple. To keep with the free flowing feel of the poem there are no rigid rhyme schemes. The poem uses point of view to help explain the theme of the story: it is possible for a person to tell someone, or something’s, life by the way they carry themselves and the scars they have. After getting a glimpse into the fish’s life, the poem ends when the fisherman lets the fish go. The reason the fisherman let the fish go can be for several reasons. Most likely the fisherman felt that it was an honor to catch the fish and it would be dishonorable to keep a fish that the fisherman s ees as a fellow warrior in the rough waters. The fisherman’s feelings are the most evident when he thinks, â€Å"I stared and stared / and victory filled up / the little rented boat† (Bishop 66-68).The main character in this story is the fish, but the narrator is the fisherman. The whole poem is the fisherman’s actions and thoughts, therefore; there is no dialogue in the poem. The fisher’s actions show the fact that the fisher has been touched by the sight of the fish. The poem is made up of seventy- six lines. The lines are not separated into stanzas but arranged in a continuous free form. There is no discerning rhyme scheme to try and figure out, and there is no rigid structure. The poem does not have words or sounds words that continue to repeat themselves. The only thing that is continually referred to is the fish. The free form of the poem can be seen as a foreshadowing that the fisherman sets the fish free at the end of the story. There is symbolism , metaphors, and personification in the poem though. Symbolism can be found several times in the poem. For instance the rainbow that appears in the water right before the fisher lets the fish go. The rainbow can be seen as a symbol that represents the compassionate feelings that prompts the fisher to release the fish. Another time is when the fisher says that the hooks caught in the fish’s jaw are, â€Å"Like medals with their ribbons / frayed and wavering† (Bishop 61-62). We are able to determine that the fisher has begun to respect the fish and his past endeavors. A great metaphor in the story is â€Å"his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper† The metaphor in this line refers to the skin of the fish and how it looked liked old wallpaper. The fish is being personified throughout the whole poem. When the fish is first caught it is just a fish. By the end of the poem the fish is transformed from a normal fish to a noble veteran of the waters. The fi sher stopped seeing the fish as just an animal, but the fish becomes almost human like. The fish’s personification begins when the fisherman looks into the fish’s eyes, at this moment the fisher begins to sympathize with the fish. The personification continues as the fisherman looks at the fish more. The end result is the fisher having the feeling that the fish has been through a lot and should be treated with dignity and respect.

Experimental Communities, Schools, Organizations Essay

Experimental Communities, Schools, Organizations - Essay Example Their capacities to understand themselves increases and if they are wrong in taking any decisions they would never commit the mistake again. The children in their childhood at the tender age are highly humiliated and scolded like hell for not scoring good marks in their academics. The students of Utopian schools do not face such a humiliation. Education must wipe away sorrows and humiliation but should not bring fever and pain and tension to the little hearts. In these Utopian schools happiness boosts their primary strength to pursue their goals. The students here gain self-respect by accommodating and giving place to their thoughts opinions and decisions. Their creativity comes to light and they prove how competent they are. There are some negative points because which the theory could be sidelined or is not appealing and that points are, in these theory based schools the family values are given least important. Children are the dreams of their parents and they wish to play a very important and active role in the upbringing of their offspring. If parents too give them freedom and in school to get freedom, then there is an over dosage of freedom which may cause damage to their attitude at times. The children without the fear of anybody may turn out to be a daredevil. Another quality that is missing is self-discipline, which is needed by good citizen and the nation too which the Utopian students lack in them. Time is not always favorable and what if they fail in their attempts, will they turn violent and rapacious. Are they controllable by any one Will they have patience All these aspects are discussed and mentioned anywhere. Are all the children so perfect in their persona who never does any crime If some of them doesn't have any special skill or talent then whatAnother minus point is education. Personal skills and talents are given importance but education is not a must. If they neglect education with the play mood what then, If the children doesn't know about the place they stand, from where they have come, and the country witnessed, the struggles and sacrifices of their ancestors, they will not have any words in their mouth when their country is ridiculously criticized. It is like a child looses all his memory due to some accident after he or she has grown up. Who knows nothing about the past Knowing our ancient history is like paying homage to the brave and great ancestors. Also to u nderstand the political scenario of the nation, that is civics to understand the topography of the country, that is geography are necessary. In my opinion basic minimum education about all the subjects is a must for any well-groomed person. Is the life so precious that one cannot spend small part of life with the books It is the book that makes the man from a wild homo sapiens to a civilized man. Devoid education man is a beast. Some theories are not realistic because the real life doesn't match with the imaginary world. The life is the mixture of all sorts of emotions and feelings. A man cannot be happy always or in a same state or mood whole of the life, this is not philosophy it is the way of the world. For any one the pleasure and the pain are in equal amounts, otherwise, he may turn dull, sick or boring if the weather is same all the time and thus the things may not look that interesting as they were when

Case Study Write up (Don't have any topic) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Write up (Don't have any topic) - Case Study Example The business owners need to create a variety of fresh content for their social media every week. Furthermore, owners should use a variety of social media platforms such as: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Previously, owners mainly used word of mouth to promote their products. Using social media platforms has its disadvantages including: the owner needs to change content regularly so as to keep the consumers interested, and they also have to focus on a single media platform since using several shall confuse the consumers. The advantage of using social media platforms is that the business owner can increase participation in offline activities. The information in the social media platform can be updated from time to time. If the business is in a van, the consumers can easily know your new location and this ensures that you maintain a loyal customer base. Using television ads: Televisions are a common feature in almost every modern household. This means that business owners can reach a wide range of consumers with this form of marketing. This form of marketing is extremely expensive and time consuming since the commercial has to be acted out by professional performers. Word-of-mouth: This form of advertising involves telling people about your business by speaking to people. This is an extremely cheap means of marketing since all that is needed are some sweet words and charisma. However, this form of marketing is quite tedious since one must walk around stopping complete strangers and convince them to come buy their product. Using placards: This form of advertising is good for a small business since it provides a detailed summary about the business. The only disadvantage is on illiterate people who will not be able to decipher the information. Using radio ads: Radios are the most widespread electronic communication device in rural areas. This form of marketing means that the small business owner can reach

Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Criminal Justice - Essay Example Prior to the arrest, a magistrate who has no interest in the case has to have given permission for the warrant to be issued. This ensures that the arrest is supported on a legal foundation. The next step after the arrest is booking the suspect. In this process, the individual is fingerprinted, photographed, and expected to provide personal information. In cases where th charges include the abuse of alcoholic substances, the suspect can be allowed to enroll in a suitable diversionary program like that of alcohol rehabilitation (Spano, Freilich, & Bolland, 2008). In such cases, the suspect has to abide by the regulations of the program or continue to the following criminal justice system stage for the continuation of the process of booking. After booking, the suspected person will be given a definite date on which he or she I scheduled to appear before a judge in court. Usually, this will happen in a couple of hours after the arrest. During this process, the suspect is informed of his or her right to be released, prior to the trial date, on his or her individual recognizance. A suspect could also be released when he or she posts bail. It is up to the judge to determine the amount that will be requested in the bail. This decision is often based on the brutality of the crime as well as the suspect’s potential to escape. The judge also considers the criminal background of the suspect before deciding on the amount for bail. In cases where bail is posted, the suspect will be required to provide the court with his or her passport. In the next stage, there is an arraignment hearing in which a judge will determine if a crime was actually carried out and if the accused person could be responsible for it. If it is found that the accused could have committed the crime, there will be an indictment (Spano, Freilich, & Bolland, 2008). On his or her next arraignment in court, the suspect has to enter a no contest, guilty, or not guilty plea. In cases where

Slave Trade to America. Effects on Economies, Societies, and People Research Paper

Slave Trade to America. Effects on Economies, Societies, and People - Research Paper Example Thus, by 1610, very few colonialists were remaining due to the shortage of food and water. Precisely, only 60 of the first 214 were alive. (Littlejohn, 2003, P. 5) Despite this setback, the English colonialists were still convinced they could make Virginia prosperous. And thus the group of colonialists that followed was certain that there were unexplored metals and precious stones in the land. They therefore, aimed at identifying these precious minerals in Virginia. However, with time it became clear that Virginia did not have any minerals or metals. And therefore, the settlers had to identify some other means of survival. With other parts of America successfully dealing in Agricultural crops, the English colonialists also sought to try the same in Virginia. Tobacco farming was then started in the land and indeed it became a success to the Virginia Company. With the activity being so labor intensive, there was hence the need for more workers in the farms. The Englishmen offered to wo rk as indentured servants for a period of four to seven years in exchange for food, clothing and shipment to the New World. (Littlejohn, 2003, P. 6) Though the system of indentured servitude clearly exploited the workers, the white servants still accepted it in the hope for freedom and citizenship on completion of their contracts. With time, the system was not only being used in the farms, but also in construction, clearing of roads and timber cutting. Women could also secure jobs in households as domestic servants, but still under the same system. According to Rodriguez, (2007, P.87), the system of indentured servitude in America was to some extent a kind of slavery. This is because the servants were exploited by their masters and also faced many hardships during the contract period. Most of them were physically and sexually abused until they opted to run away. Running away would however, lead to severe consequences once captured. They would be beaten, branded and even jailed. Star t of Slave trade in America Then, in the year 1619 slave trade began in Virginia when a Dutch slave trader exchanged twenty African slaves for food. The Africans were taken as indentured servants at first but would later become slaves since even after the end of the contract they could not return to their home in Africa. By the 1920s, it became clear that the slave trade would be only option for the English tobacco farmers due to the high labor demand. (Wood, 2005, P. 4) This was due to the fact that the African slaves were much cheaper and easy to acquire as compared to the indentured servants. The slaves would only be provided with food water and shelter with no freedom promised as was the case in the indentured servitude. (Rodriguez, 2007, P.87) By this time, the transatlantic trade, which had started early in the century was booming, and thus English colonies did not have to suffer in search of a market for slaves. The demand for more slaves thus acted as a fuel to the slave tra de. The factors that promoted the slave trade of Africans in Virginia included: Availability or ready market: as mentioned above, the farmers did not have to travel all the way to Africa to purchase slaves; they could get them at the transatlantic slave trade. Racial differences also made the Africans more

ANALYSIS PAPERS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ANALYSIS PAPERS - Essay Example The moral ground on which the imperialists base their stand is founded on the unequivocal assumption of U.S. racial superiority. The Filipinos are considered to be â€Å"a race which civilization demands shall be improved† (Beveridge, Paragraph 6). It is therefore the moral duty of America to â€Å"uplift and civilize and Christianize them† (McKinley). This so-called moral duty, connoted to be â€Å"the White Man’s Burden† by Kipling, does not stand scrutiny, especially in the light of the letters from the soldiers fighting in the Philippines, which confirm U.S. atrocities, such as arbitrary executions, torture, a scorched earth campaign and the establishment of concentration camps. As James L. Blair rightly asserts, the moral responsibility cited by the imperialists is based on the â€Å"very tenuous assumption† (P. 12) that U.S. withdrawal would inevitably lead to anarchy. The anti-imperialists’ stand that moral duty requires the U.S. to fr ee the Filipinos is more convincing than the imperialist’s mantel of racial superiority. Legally, the imperialists justify their stand on the presumption that the Filipinos â€Å"are not capable of self-government† (Beveridge, P. 16). Lack of experience in government, Spanish misrule and, yet again, the assumed inferiority of Orientals, are cited as reasons for circumventing the â€Å"consent of the governed,† which the American Declaration of Independence holds to be mandatory. According to the imperialists, as the Filipinos are too uncivilized to understand the concept of government, their consent is not legally required. The anti-imperialists question the constitutional right of the U.S. to forcibly annex any territory and caution that the constitutional guarantee of citizenship and the vote will lead to future legal complexities. Soldiers Davis and Fetterly reiterate the Filipinos right to independence, and the

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Essay

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Thematic Area Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing - Essay Example The article argues that human beings and their humanity are as a result a result of both nature and nurture and thus none can be successful without the other. In this case nature is in reference to the genetic components that make up heir system while nurture is in reference to the various experiences that they go through while growing up at the various stages of their lives (Perry, 2002). The argument is that these two factors are essential in the development of a human being thus it ca n be said that both genes as well as experience are interdependent of one another. The understanding that I received from this article is that there is a need for both genetic development as well as experience for an individual to grow into a well rounded figure and a lack of any of these factors or a provision of negative ones will in turn deprive the person from forming into a well adjusted individual when they are in the adult stages of their lives (Perry, 2002). The article also explains that the earlier stages of an individuals lives (that is, from infancy to around their years as a toddler) are the more vital parts of an individuals life when the experiences that they undergo will have a vital effect on them and their psychological and emotional development (Perry, 2002). This is clearly seen in an example whereby a child who is not touched during their early stages as a baby is likely to suffer more and such an experience have an adverse effect as compared to a child who has reached puberty undergoing the same experience. This example also exhibits that dif ferent experiences are vital during different stages of one’s life and do not really play a large role after that stage in life has already been passed. The article has also argued that the neurodevelopment of an individual is highly influenced not only by the genetic transformations that take place,

The Dividend Growth Model and Capital Asset Pricing Model Assignment

The Dividend Growth Model and Capital Asset Pricing Model - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that the CAPM model can be used to calculate the possibilities of the growth of investment. CAPM takes into account the risk involved in the marketplace as well as the risk bored by the company that issued the stock. Dividend-growth model is a model that is used in the valuation of a company’s stock. Essentially, the Dividend growth model is a model of stock valuation that primarily deals with the dividends and their consequent growth discounted to present day. The models are divided into two as; Gordon growth model commonly referred to as the dividend discount model is a method that is used to calculate the intrinsic value of stocks. However, the model is based on the assumption that the dividend growth rate is constant. The formula employed by this model is as follows; Multi-stage dividend discount model is a dividend growth model that can take any pattern of the future expected dividends; that is to mean that dividends are not expected to grow at a co nstant rate. The investor is therefore expected to evaluate dividends separately for each year while putting into consideration each year’s expected dividend growth rate. This model is given by the formula; Capital asset pricing model or CAPM is a model that specifies the relationship between risk and required rate of return on assets held by an investor in a well-diversified portfolio. The required rate of return obtained using the CAPM formula is used as the cost of equity of the company. The model has several basic assumptions; first, investors are assumed to be rational in the sense that they choose among alternative portfolios on the basis of the expected return and standard deviation of the portfolio held. Secondly, CAPM model also assumes that investors have homogeneous expectations with regard to asset return.

Movie Review Essay Example for Free

Movie Review Essay The famous, well known writer and director Meera Syal has written a breathtaking movie Anita and Me. Meera Syal is a best selling novelist and has sold thousands of her fantastic stories one of which is called, Anita and Me all over the country. Syal puts a lot of herself in her work and also she is a British born woman; however she still has her Indian origin which revolves in her storys and movies. Her movies have been compared to the following Bend it Like Beckham and East is East. These movies all have an Indian culture behind them as well as a fun and laughter side. Its also has its own culture in the movie while being surrounded by the British society, and also one which a young girl wants very much to be a part of, although the dominant culture doesnt mean it is going to be all peachy, if that is what you are thinking, that is what made it the most amusing and most incredible movie of the year. The story of Anita and Me basically revolves round Meena when she was living in a little village called Tollington. Meena is a young Indian girl who was born in Britain. She wants to be like all the other British people in her neighbourhood, eating fish finger instead of chapattis, having colourful flowers in her garden instead of crop and also have a normal life were you could go out whenever you wanted to with your mates, but instead Meena has to spend more time with her family. To be honest Meena wants to be English! See Meena is Punjabi and she cannot speak a word of Punjabi, however her midlands ascent is stronger than most of the families which have been living there for generations. Her parents brought Meena to England to have a better quality of life for their daughter, but Meena is having a difficult time adjusting to her surroundings. However trouble rides up in town when a girl gang known as the wenches, who very much enjoy teasing young boys and thieve from their local sweets shop, unfortunately for Meena, the gang leader was her next door neighbour and soon became her future best friend. Meena and Anita eventually formed an unlikely bond, and become like blood sisters, vowing to be there for each other through thick and thin. However, Meena was facing her secondary school entrance exam and during that time she had suffered domestic abuse by Anitas mother and toured the two girls apart. Meena wants to be like Anita, a blond, light-headed British girl who is 14 years old. Meena admires Anita for her charm, good looks and her independence, and in so many different ways Meena wants to be like her. The story took place in year 1972. Political correctness has not yet been invented. The called dark skins in English villages are as rare as black footballers in the First Division. Life me be quite old fashioned, but its also racist. For example:  Meenas friend Anitas mum comes home one day with a cuddly black poodle pup.  Whats it called? Anitas little sister asks. Nigger, she is told. And no-one blinks an eye. In the movie some of the British characters refer to Meena and her family as wogs and darkies. A member of Meenas family was beaten up and was killed for being Indian. Meena then finds out that Anita and her boyfriend Sam went Paki bashing (go of to kill the Indians). This starts to ring a bells and Meena then realize that it was Sam who killed her uncle. The film finally ends with English music being played in the background. The whole family starts to dance to the music and then Meenas Dad begins to sing in Punjabi along with the music. This shows that the two cultures are eventually beginning to mix and become friends. From racism to the repairs to the local church this movie covers most of the areas of life. In the movie Meena becomes more independent and begins to make her own decision towards her life, whereas before her parents used to make them all. There has been some high and low points in Meenas family life and eventually they get what they want in the end and the neighbourhood becomes more peaceful. Meena passed in her entrance exam for the Grammar School and so the family can move to a better neighbourhood. Meena found out that she couldnt please the whole world even if that did mean her racist neighbourhood because she was meant to Indian. When Meena moved away to live closer to her new school, she had left behind a chapter of her life, and had matured enough to have realized that Anita was never a real friend. I personal think that this movie a perfect example of what Indians where put through back in the days in England. The English had discriminated the Indians and the Asians just because of their skin colour, however this doesnt only happen in England, it happens all over the world. This movie is also show a culture side of the story and a bit of history about Indian, such as the independents when India and Pakistan was split into to different countries. The movie Anita and Me was amusing and enjoyable to watch and was fast moving. Anita and Me is a unique vision of the British childhood in the early seventies, a childhood caught between two cultures, each on the edge of enormous change. For these points I would rate this movie 4 star.

Objectivity Of The Social Researcher

Objectivity Of The Social Researcher Before addressing the debate, the historical significance of social theory must be addressed as there is a long history regarding issues of objectivity, and value free research. Prior to World War Two, social research was dominated by the paradigm of positivism. Philosophers such as Comte (1798-1857) strongly affirmed that methods applied to the natural sciences such as physics should be applied to the study of social behaviour (Benton Craib, 2001). The positivist perspective placed great emphasis on the objectivity of social research, accepting Science as the only general form of knowledge that produces reliable social scientific knowledge that can be generated into theory applicable to social behaviour within society (Benton Craib, 2001: 23). Moreover, like the natural sciences it requires both logical and empirical support. Causal relationships can be identified and truths can be falsified thus, positivist sociology assumes that law-like generalisations can be derived from socia l research Pedraza (2002: 75). Postivism was widely accepted throughout the nineteenth centuary as science was assumed to be the highest form of knowledge, thus by applying the methodologies of the natural science to the newborn social sciences allowed for some level of acceptance. As far as objectivity is concerned, positivist methodological approaches claim that objectivity is an ideal that is attainable, as the social realtiy of society can be observed it without any antecedents. As a result, the aim of the social scientist is to be exogenously detached from the research subject. Turning to Weber (WEBERREF) changed the direction of social research claiming that although social research should be value free, obtaining completely objective research was impossible. This is simply because researchers are subjective humans. Weber coined the term value free sociology and urged that sociologists need to be unconfined by personal values if it was to make a positive contribution towards society. Weber recognised that personal values would to some extent influence research topics but encouraged objectivity in exploring a topic once chosen. For Weber, value freedom is then a non-judgemental analysis of society in its own terms. Although Weber advocated this approach to social research, it must be acknowledged that values can enter research in a variety of ways ranging from the choice of research area, formulation of the research question; methodology including data collection, analysis of data; interpretation of data and overall conclusions (Bryman, 2008). Following from Weber the epistemological position of positivism has been overtly critiqued by various theorists, particularly those who take an ontological, interpretivist stance. For example, Becker (1964: 245) argues that, there is no position from which sociological research can be done that is not biased in one way or another. Therefore, social research cannot be completely objective as researchers can unknowingly contaminate their exploration of an issue with values developed throughout their own biography. Furthermore, Becker (1964) claims that, sociologists must either write from the position of a superordinate or from that of a subordinate (Lawson, 1991: 591). In addressing this claim, Becker (1964) discusses the credibility of hierarchy which explores the notion that social groups whom are perceived to be superior within a given society are in a position of power that can define the rules of society. The exclusivity of the natural sciences within society is an example of thi s. Becker (1964: 242) goes on to surmise that sociologists challenge this rule by refusing to acknowledge the established status order in which it is surmised that the truth of knowledge is unequally distributed. Therein, Becker suggests that social research should focus on the underdog in order to reform knowledge distribution. This is similar to the view that has been taken up by feminists such has Hartstock (2004: 7) who place emphasis on relativist standpoint theories whereby knowledge is shaped by power relations, that it is socially situated. Therefore those oppressed can give the best account fo the internal workings of their group. Hartstock (2004) attains that prior to feminist sociology, research disciplines and public policy did not account for women as group with their own knowledge. For Hartsock (2004), any social research that does not address the unequal distribution of knowledge, is therefore, potentially skewed. Thus drawing upon the Marxist notion of historic materialism standpoint theorists such as Hartstock (2004) and Harding (DATE) chose to address this with the aim of exercising social research from the position or standpoint of women. It can be surmised from this perspective that it is therefore it is impossible for a social researcher to extract themselves from power relations in thei r own situation. Therefore the feminist approach strongly advocates that objectivity should not be the primary aim of a social investigation. Rather, it is important for researchers to adopt a stance and consider how their values will influence their research. In addition, it should be recognised that feminist researchers shape the results of their analyses no less than do those of sexist and androcentric researchers. The objectivist stance should be avoided as it attempts to make the researchers cultural beliefs and practices invisible, while simultaneously skewering the research objects, beliefs and practices to the display board (Harding, 1987:9). What are the arguments against this? GOULDNER Gouldner is in consensus with Becker that social research cannot be value free yet he openly criticises Beckers claiming that Becker does not address the reasons why sociologists are more inclined to take the side of the underdog. Furthermore Gouldner asserts that is not always the case, the manner which some sociologists conceive the value-free doctrine disposes them to ignore current human problems and to huddle together like old men seeking mutual warmth. This is not our job, they say, and if it were we would now know enough to do it. (Gouldner, 1973: 13) It is clear that subjectivity poses a severe limitation for the positivist objective approach to social research. For Gouldner, however, the positivist approach posed another extensive problem, it was useful to those young, or not so young, men who live off sociology rather than for it, and who think of sociology as a way of getting ahead in the world by providing them with neutral techniques that may be sold on the open market to any buyer (Gouldner, 1973: 12). In others word Gouldner saw self interest as a powerful motivator the outcome of research being affected by the context in what it is undertaken. Thus the social researcher is not necessarily on the side of the underdog. In laymen terms Lawson (1991) suggests that the crux of this debate is the question of whether sociologists are allied with the state, accepting the state as the overall authority or should they adapt a more ethical, moral role in addressing social problems of society. Ultimately social researchers are divided by this dilemma that as Gouldner suggests, depends on the social context of the researcher. What Gouldner recognises is that the attempt of sociologists to draw upon the natural sciences to obtain an objective approach does not entirely fit with social studies and that the institutions in which professional sociologists consult such as government, academia and business can have a profound effect on a researchers values. Parsonian sociologists such as Haak (1994) and Hammersely (2000) are critical on views promoted by Becker and Gouldner arguing that that the politicisation of social research is not only misguided, but inherently dangerous, and that an intelligent and sceptical commitment to the principles of objectivity and value neutrality must remain an essential feature of social research (back cover). Hamersley (2000) promotes the idea of value-free, objective social research placing emphasis on academia as the key institution to producing knowledge. Yet the University as a place for producing knowledge itself is under threat. This can be demonstrated by addressing the tragedy of the anticommons. ANTICOMMONS 300 In response to Hardings Tragedy of the Commons whereby a resource is exploited by overuse, (HellerRosenburg1998)) address the notion of the anticommons where upstream and downstream technologies are compatible for the development of a new product yet the technology is patentable and ownership is fragmented thus the price of the new product becomes high and its consumption ends up being small or there is a gridlock in the development of the products EXAMPLE OF ANTICOMMONS This is not objective research if the notion is to make profit 250 This situation can be directly perceived by examining changes within university systems. For example, in Japan, national universities that conduct public research have transitioned to University Corporations by which there is an emphasis in profiteering from any innovations it may develop (Nishijima, 2004). According to Nishijima (2004) the Japanese ministry of education has advocated universities to acquire patents of innovations and to partake in research activities with private organisations such as corporations. through establishing Technology License Office for the past few years. The transition of National University to University Corporation implies that results of basic research will suddenly change from public goods to private goods and that the anticommons problem will emerge in the product innovation where basic research and development of new products are complementary. In the case of National University, there seems no consensus (no argument so far) on how economists should formulate the objective function of national university.10 Even if we assume that national university behaves as if it maximized a particular objective function such as probability of research success subject to budget and other constraints, equilibrium variables of national university will not be far from those arbitrarily given, as long as the particular objective function is not convincing. Therefore we have no choice but to exogenously give particular values to variables Thus as Oliver (1992) ascribes, social research are sometimes forced to take sides as funding bodies are not willing to take risks and support user-controlled research. The point that Gouldner (1973) puts across is that sociology should focus on social change therefore it must take sides. Essentially, Marx emphasised the need for social research to contribute to social change, The Standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the stand point of the new is human society, or social humanity. The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it. (Eastman, 1935) like Marx, Gouldner (1973) believed that sociology should count towards human emancipation thus Gouldner became a strong believer in public sociology. REFLEXIVITY 300 The notion of reflexivity. Researchers must give an indication of the purpose of their research and how they have come to partake in such research This illustrates some of the factors that can affect social research. Namely, the need for profit. PARSONIAN SOCIOLOGY ARGUES FOR EPISTIMOLICAL RESEARCH DISCUSS!! BURAWOY PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE THAT ACT AND THOSE WHO DONT As Burawoy (2005: 324) asserts the possibility for public sociology comes from sociologys spontaneous connection to its reflexive relation with civil society. Burawoy clearly recognises that sociology in itself is a reflexive paradigm and suggests that it clearly needs to move from ideological theory to commitment to action. In a sense Burawoy (2005: 325) advocates that social research must take sides claiming like Marx and Gouldner that society should place human society or social humanity at its organising centre. 200 words Whilst this debate continues, a few conclusions can be drawn from this essay. Firstly, it is near impossible for social researchers to complete value free research. There are several factors that account for this. Namely as Gouldner asserts, the social context in which research is conducted. Secondly, It would seem that social research is clearly divided by professional and public sociology. Thus it is not a case of whether or not to take sides but more a case of which side our values empower us to choose. Those inclined towards professional sociology may attain that objectivity is not compromised whereas those inclined towards public sociology may recognise that it can be and even more so, that it is necessary to evoke humanitarian changes.

Acute Stress Disorder Rehabilitation

Acute Stress Disorder Rehabilitation â€Å"Up to 65 per cent of Australians are likely to experience or witness an event which threatens their life or safety† (19). Quite often trauma victims can recover by their own. However, with others it may have a negative reaction to a traumatic event which can then lead to an illness called Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) (16). This disorder is associated with mental and physical conditions combined thus causing reductions in a person’s quality of life and as a consequence includes economic burdens (12). (3) Due to the result of all the accumulating evidence, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – fifth edition (DSM-5) has marked and modified goals and criteria for ASD. Under new criteria, ASD diagnosis will no longer predict chronic Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It will help to identify more severely affected survivors of trauma prior a diagnosis of PTSD can be made. Furthermore, the acuity people will perhaps get benefit from earlier interventions and sho rt-term rehabilitation programs that are the great help in the recovery process. Early rehabilitation interventions, including self-care strategy, thought control strategy, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) would speed up recovery and prevent chronic longer term problems. Besides that, family members, clinicians, and social support networks play an important role in support mechanism for recovery process. Inaddition, some potential barriers are also discussed in predicting of new problems and relapse which may occur in order to manage them. Potential recovery According to (2) DSM-5 in 2013, ASD was relocated in Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders. ASD is a psychological and physical shock which usually appears in response to a traumatic event in a person’s life. The acutely traumatized person can be directly exposed to or be the witness of a traumatic events such as serious accident (21%), physical assault (19%), rape or witnessing a mass shooting (50%) or natural disaster (10%)(19). (9) Symptoms of ASD occur immediately right after the trauma, and it lasts for more than 2 days and less than 1 month (4). The victim usually suffers from anxiety, distress, intense fear, helplessness, avoidance behaviours or re-experience the event (16). (15) It has been recorded that 15% to 45% of children and adolescents directly experience to at least one traumatic event. There is no statistics of how many distressed people can fully recover due to these traumas; however in many studies it has been confirmed that ASD patients can have a full rec overy under appropriate treatments. This study strongly emphasis on ASD rehabilitation rather than attempting to predict subsequent PTSD. Due to ASD timeframe is short, many victims are usually been ignored. Particularly, children and adolescent are in high risk of developing PTSD which leads to long-term psychological sequel in their life and causes a burden on health care systems. Therefore, (15) highlighted that recognizing ASD symptoms is an important step in toward enhancing intervention in the right time and speed up the recovery process. Additionally, with a formal diagnosis, it will allow highly distressed people to claim compensations from the health care service and payment for recovery treatment (4). In order to get appropriate diagnosis and early intervention, physicians play a critical role for assessments and monitoring all physical and psychological symptoms. Recovery process Whenever a referral from a physician has been made, the traumatized patients will go through a rehabilitation process. This process needs self-care strategy, thought control strategy, and CBT to support patients’ recovery and to decrease the future incidence of PTSD. (7) With self-care strategies, it focuses on personal strengths and their own judgment. Whether any kind of psychotherapies are provided to traumatic people, they should rely on their own recovery ability first. Without their own effort, all the supports will become ineffective. Traumatic patients, then, will receive reassurance and support, such as simple information and advices on self-care to overcome the normal recovery process. However, if the person cannot scope with these extremely severe events, and express a prolonged distress, or interfere with daily activities, they will need to be referral to another level of psychotherapy. Currently, it has been found that thought control strategy is an acceptable strategy for managing trauma related distress in the short term rehabilitation. Use of thought control strategy will aim to reduce the emotional distress by sharing the traumatic stories in the unforgettable period of time (14). There are four components (worry, distraction, social element and re-appraisal) which are the most commonly used to focus on helping the patient to normalize reactions to trauma (22). The first being Worry/Stress, it is best trying to get the patient to not concentrate on the stressful thought itself. Encouraging the patient to try and replace worry or stress with other day to day concerns that may hold a more minor bearing. The second is distraction. Finding a healthy distraction could be simple as think about things that provide a positive feeling or immerse the patient in an activity that is pleasurable. This will stop the patient concentrating on the traumatic event and allow them to go about a daily routine. The third would be social elements that could help. This could be asking or speaking with friends about their thoughts and how they have dealt with such events in their lives. Asking about what worked for them or what may have helped them avoid concentrating on the stressful event. This would be discussed fully so that the patient could reflect and understand how this could apply to their situation. The fourth is re-appraisal, trying and interpreting their feelings and understanding why these things are affecting them emotionally and rationalize their reactions to these feelings. From here they should challenge the validity of their emotions and feelings in order to control positive or negative feelings. If these self-care strategy and thought control strategy still have not worked well for recovery, CBT would be the next step of treatment in rehabilitation. (12) CBT will be given in five therapy sessions this comprising prolonged exposure (PE) and cognitive restructuring (CR). (12) found that these sessions provide brief forms of treatment in reducing acute symptoms of ASD in the initial month after trauma exposure. (8) PE focuses in emotional processing of thoughts. It helps interrupt and reserve recovery process by blocking cognitive and behavioral avoidance. This is accomplished through in vivo and imaginal expose. Vivo exposure involves repeatedly activities and situations that are avoided because of trauma. Overtime, the patient can reduce distressing emotion and fear. Then, they can cope effectively through these distresses. Imaginal exposure is related to repeatedly describe the event aloud in details, then recording. After that, they listen to their record in order to help t hem to realize their coping skill. Following initial assessment, patients were informed that they would be reassessed after 6 weeks Support mechanism Besides psychotherapy in rehabilitation process and early supportive care structure being delivered is an important step which supports the recovery process. Its result last long in reductions of ASD symptoms. Supportive care deliverers are family members, physician or social support network will help the traumatic patient go though the acute phase. (17on) In most cases, family members usually ask for advices on how to help their love in stressful situation. This will let the family to be able to utilize a communal experience in order to enhance the therapeutic growths. The use of positive family members has also been shown effectively assisted their traumatic member to manage their stressful conditions. They provide support, love and reinforce coping strategy with the trauma. The individual does not feel isolated, but also they feel warm and being caring. The individual, therefore, can describe what happened and how they response though this hard time. However in some cases family sometimes is not enough to support traumatic patients. If the trauma patients and their family feel unable to cope with this traumatic event, they can seek professional help from a physician such as an Australian Psychological Society (APS) psychologist. An APS psychologist will help the severe distress people to understand and manage the symptoms associated with the trauma. An APS psychologist would develop effective coping strategies for affected individual as well as their family to support the recovery process (18). If not, traumatic people also seek help from social support network such as Beyondblue, Sane or Mental Health organizations. Beyondblue is a support service designed to support, give advice and create actions. Whatever the situation is, Beyondblue always listens to their distress stories and share their misfortune. Beyondblue members can really help patients come to terms with their illness and help them to move forward (23). Similarly, Th e Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health is a not-for-profit organization which its aim to reduce the impact of trauma causing to the victims. They connect the capability of individual’s family with their organizations within the community. Therefore, they can understand about the traumatic victims, then, help them to prevent and recover from the adverse mental health effects of trauma. Barrier : wrong diagnosis, overwhelm with treatment, comorbid psychiatric disorders Due to a shorten timeframe of ASD, there appear some barriers which prevent the recovery process such as late diagnosis, overwhelmed treatments. Besides that some will subsequently develop comorbid psychiatric disorders. In case of traumatic events happen, the victims are late identified. Then, they will receive some simple advices how to overcome that situations. They are supposed to recover on their own. However, there are still significant people who cannot go through this recovery process by themselves. They need help from physicians to be assessed in order to receive a formal diagnosis. This process somehow is taken time which lead to a late diagnosis. If this is too late for appropriate treatment of stress disorder, it will develop further into PTSD. Furthermore, without this proper diagnosis, traumatic patients will not get the benefit from standard rehabilitation treatments (4). This problem can be predicted by the role of physicians who can manage clinical judgments in order to give their patient an early diagnosis. For those patients who have received treatments within hours or days after an acute trauma incident, they sometime do not response well to treatment plan due to overwhelm of different interventions. They will present a psychosocial and environment difficulties related to problems such as agitation, emotional pain, and dissociation. Quickly treatment but also slowly explanation and monitoring the response from patients will enhance effective support to recovery process. With patients that respond positively and appear to be recovered from ASD, they sometimes sudden relapse when new event happen to their life. They suffer from fear about safety for themselves as well as their family. The relapse can be recognized by close family members who help the patients to report it to physician in order to get continual treatment (17). Treatment of ASD is usually focused on its specific symptoms. However, some subsequently develop with ASD might be appear such as depression, withdrawal, shame or drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicidal behavior (17). The comorbid psychiatric disorders occur due to the inability scoping with that such traumatic events. These occurssing will significantly affect the recovery process; therefore, it is a requirement for careful attention in both pharmacologically and psychotherapeutically. The patient at high risk of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse should be highlighted during initial assessment. It is necessary to evaluate this potential harm which gets into the treatment pathway and the recovery process. Conclusions In conclusion, (4) the criteria set for ASD in DSM-V will allow identifying the people who had negative reaction to a traumatic event. Because of the short duration, it is necessary to assess severe traumatic people as quickly as possible. Then, they can receive an appropriate diagnosis in order to get benefit from rehabilitation treatments. Having an early treatment will move towards healing and recovery process. Moreover, as a result of suffering both physical and psychological conditions, these fragile people require a high level of support from family member, physicians as well as social support network to be back to normal life.

The Triumph Of The Great Wall Of China Essay -- essays research papers

The Great Wall of China has been called a wonder by many who have seen it. It brings pride to the Chinese nation, and is known for being the only man made structure visible from space. The magnitude of The Great Wall is an architectural achievement as well as an example of the will power of man. Many find it hard to believe that such an amazing sight could have a history so filled with death, slavery and sadness as The Great Wall does. The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most famous architectural triumphs and has helped China throughout its history, even though its creation is marked by tragedy. There is a large dispute over how long The Great Wall of China really is. Estimates are given anywhere between 1,500 miles and 13,250 miles1. This is because many people disagree to what The Great Wall is. Many historians argue that The Great Wall is only the wall built by Qin Shin Huangdi. Others believe that The Great Wall includes all of the walls built in China including the wall started by Qin Shin Huangdi. If The Great Wall of China is all of the defensive walls built since 214 BC2, then it is impossible to talk about it as one entity. There are hundreds of separate pieces of the wall, because there was never one full encompassing Great Wall built. When Qin Shin Huangdi began to build The Great Wall for China, he had no idea the amount of manpower and supplies he would need to even come close to completing his dream. Many sources disagree as to when The Great Wall of China first began. The dates of the original construction vary from 656 BC3 to 214 BC4. This discrepancy is caused by the arguments whether the bordering walls built by the early feudal states are actually part of The Great Wall of China we know today. Th... ...this work?20 was written about the wall. Its magnitude alone inspires many people. ?Nothing stops it, nothing gets in its way, seeing it at this point, one might believe it to be eternal.?21 Despite all the tragedy that surrounds The Great Wall of China, it continues to be considered a triumph for China. The Great Wall supplied protection for the developing empire. It also allowed for the development of Chinese trade with other countries. It has helped China?s economy from the days of the Silk Road through the present as it supplies tourism for China. It revolutionized not only military communication of the time but also wall building techniques. It stands as a symbol of strength and endurance for China. The Great Wall is a tribute to all of the Chinese who worked on it. The Great Wall of China shows the magnitude of what mankind can achieve in the face of tragedy.

Qualitative Research for Instructional Technology Essay -- Qualitative

Qualitative Research Qualitative Research Defined: The simplest way to define qualitative research is to say that it is a type of research which involves interpreting nonnumerical data. The underlying belief of qualitative research is that "meaning is situated in a particular perspective or context, and, since different people and groups have different perspectives and contexts, there are many different meanings in the world, none of which is necessarily more valid or true than another" (Gay & Airasian, 1996). A qualitative researcher, therefore, believes that the world cannot be pinned down by objective meanings, but that all variables must be taken into account when conducting research, including the past experiences and personalities of the researcher. According to Peck and Secker (1999), this idea has three important implications from a research perspective: First, it follows that the purpose of research is not to establish objective facts about the social world because objective knowledge is impossible; rather, the aim is to explore how research participants understand, or make sense of, the topics in which we are interested. Second, the theories we arrive at as researchers are also inevitably our own interpretations of research participants' understandings and not simply a reflection of them. Finally, for readers and reviewers to assess qualitative research, it is necessary to present a "thick description" of the data, illustrate this with substantial extracts, and make the processes of the analysis transparent. How Qualitative Research differs from Quantitative Research: In order to gain a clearer understanding of qualitative research, it is necessary to compare its basic purpose and focus to those ... ...tative research is a valuable form of research to use in order to interpret the everyday life situations that cannot be measured through quantitative methods. References Gay, L. R., & Airasian, Peter. (1999). Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, Sixth Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Palmerino, Mark. (1999). "Take a quality approach to qualitative research". Marketing News, 33, 35-36. Peck, Edward & Secker, Jenny. (1999). "Quality criteria for qualitative research: Does context make a difference?". Qualitative Health Research, 9, 552-558. Putney, LeAnn & Green, Judith. (1999). "Evolution of qualitative research methodology: Looking beyond defense to possibilities". Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 368-377. Tema-Lyn, Laurie. (1999). "Five ways to get more out of qualitative research". Marketing News, 33, 38.

Internet - Disclosure of Personal Information On-line and Identity Thef

Disclosure of Personal Information On-line and the Occurrence of Identity Theft Introduction Identification is a critical and common process which we encounter on a regular basis as we carry out our daily activities. Companies, government agencies and institutions routinely ask individuals for personal information in order to help identify a specific individual from another. In the past, people have relied upon face-to-face exchange of information and identity verification but with the recent explosion of the Internet this system has become relatively obsolete. Personal information that had previously been stored in file cabinets in secure locations is now easily collected and stored on databases. Does this fast and efficient system violate the security of our personal information? Is our personal information and basic identifying data truly secure on the net? Irwin Winkler’s movie â€Å"The Net† illustrates the type of problems that can arise if an individual’s personal information falls into the wrong hands. Winkler’s main character, Angela Bennett, played by Sandra Bullock, fell victim to identity theft as her personal information and key identify data were stolen and used in order to exchange her identity with another.1 Although the plot of the movie seems a little far-fetched, identity theft by means of the Internet is a serious and common problem that occurs frequently in real life. How do we identify ourselves on the Internet? In the virtual realm of the Internet physical means for identification verification are relatively non-existent since it requires specific technology, such as biometrics, which is not widely used. Instead the most common methods for identity verif... ... lives an open book just waiting to be read. In order to prevent identity theft on-line we must take into account that Internet companies and the Internet, itself, play just as an important role in identity theft on-line as hackers and thieves. References 1. Winkler, I. (1995), â€Å"The Net†. 2. Noack, D. (2000), â€Å"Identity Theft Thrives in Cyberspace†, http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/2000/03/08/idtheft0308.01html 3. Marlin, A. (2000), â€Å"Online Identity Theft a Growing Concern†, http://www.europe.cnn.com/2000/tech/computing/08/16/id.theft.offline.idg/ 4. Barlow, J. (2000), â€Å"Privacy On-line: A Shattered Illusion†, http://wings.buffalo.edu/Complaw/CompLawPapers/ryan.html 5. Chaum, D. (1996), â€Å"Achieving Electronic Privacy†, in High Noon on the Electronic Frontier: Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace, edited by Peter Ludlow, pp.224-225. Internet - Disclosure of Personal Information On-line and Identity Thef Disclosure of Personal Information On-line and the Occurrence of Identity Theft Introduction Identification is a critical and common process which we encounter on a regular basis as we carry out our daily activities. Companies, government agencies and institutions routinely ask individuals for personal information in order to help identify a specific individual from another. In the past, people have relied upon face-to-face exchange of information and identity verification but with the recent explosion of the Internet this system has become relatively obsolete. Personal information that had previously been stored in file cabinets in secure locations is now easily collected and stored on databases. Does this fast and efficient system violate the security of our personal information? Is our personal information and basic identifying data truly secure on the net? Irwin Winkler’s movie â€Å"The Net† illustrates the type of problems that can arise if an individual’s personal information falls into the wrong hands. Winkler’s main character, Angela Bennett, played by Sandra Bullock, fell victim to identity theft as her personal information and key identify data were stolen and used in order to exchange her identity with another.1 Although the plot of the movie seems a little far-fetched, identity theft by means of the Internet is a serious and common problem that occurs frequently in real life. How do we identify ourselves on the Internet? In the virtual realm of the Internet physical means for identification verification are relatively non-existent since it requires specific technology, such as biometrics, which is not widely used. Instead the most common methods for identity verif... ... lives an open book just waiting to be read. In order to prevent identity theft on-line we must take into account that Internet companies and the Internet, itself, play just as an important role in identity theft on-line as hackers and thieves. References 1. Winkler, I. (1995), â€Å"The Net†. 2. Noack, D. (2000), â€Å"Identity Theft Thrives in Cyberspace†, http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/2000/03/08/idtheft0308.01html 3. Marlin, A. (2000), â€Å"Online Identity Theft a Growing Concern†, http://www.europe.cnn.com/2000/tech/computing/08/16/id.theft.offline.idg/ 4. Barlow, J. (2000), â€Å"Privacy On-line: A Shattered Illusion†, http://wings.buffalo.edu/Complaw/CompLawPapers/ryan.html 5. Chaum, D. (1996), â€Å"Achieving Electronic Privacy†, in High Noon on the Electronic Frontier: Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace, edited by Peter Ludlow, pp.224-225.

Common Accidents Among Children

Common Accidents Among Children A person would think the safest place on earth is a family’s home. Most accidents occur in and around the home. Most of the accidents that occur could have been prevented if a few precautions have been taken. Safety measures are often overlooked when a people are in a rush however protecting loved-ones from a senseless tragedy is worth the time. Most accidents that occur with infants are the use of mobile walkers. In 1997, mobile walkers need to be made wider than 36 inches, the size of a standard door. Accidents occur when a child in a walker falls down the stairs. The accidents can happen either inside a house, outside on the ground, or when on a deck or raised surface. Although it is the law that children are to ride in car seats when under the age of six or 60 pounds not everyone follows the law. Children are injured in motor vehicle accidents when the children are not placed in the car seats, the car seats are installed improperly, or the child is not wearing a seat belt. Many times when children are injured from not being in a car seat in an accident, there is an empty car seat in the back seat of the car. Burns are very common accidents with children. Parents should make sure their thermostat on the water heater is set below 120 degrees. Burns occur from scalding hot water in the bath tub. Many children suffer burns when adult’s accidentally spills hot liquids such as coffee or tea on a child. Children can also receive burns when they grab the handles of pots cooking on the stove. Parents should always make sure they all pot handles are turned toward the back of the stove so small children cannot pull them down on top of them. Another common way children receive burns are when the children pull the cords of curling irons or irons. Children riding on bikes with their parents are often injured. Children’s feet are caught in the spokes of the bicycle. Parents should always ride in seat. Parents and children should always make sure to wear their helmets. Poisoning is another accident that can be preventable. Cleaning products, paint thinners, pesticides, and medicines need to be locked up and out of the reach of children. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco should also be kept out of reach of children, if ingested it can be harmful to children. Children can also ingest plants that are poisonous. It is a good idea for parents to keep the phone number to poison control by the telephone in case of accidental ingestion. It is also a good idea to keep a bottle of Ipecac syrup in a medicine cabinet at all times. Parents should never induce vomiting unless instructed to do so by poison control. One of the most common causes of injury or death to young children is drowning. More males are injured than females, 3:1. A common misconception is that it takes a great deal of water for a child to drown. However, a child can drown in a few inches of water. Parents should Eradicate any standing water around the home. It sounds a little silly but even installing locks on the toilet bowl lids could prevent drowning. Children drown when left unattended in the bathtub. Parents should never leave their child unattended for any length of time when filling a bathtub full of water (Neifert, M. ,2003). Swimming pools should have gates with locks and have removable ladders. Children should never be allowed to swim by themselves. To maximize the security of children around the swimming pool, some parents have installed a water alarm. The alarm will sound when something enters the water. Electrocution is another common accident. Parents should put safety plugs in all outlets. This helps so that children cannot stick their fingers or metal objects into the outlets. Electrical cords should be hidden or out of the reach of the children. Children can pull at them or chew on them. Radios, curling irons and hair dryers should always be unplugged and kept away from the bathtub. Choking is another injury which occurs to children. Children especially those who have not started to walk yet pick up small objects off the floor and put them in their mouths. Toys that have small removable parts should not be given to children. Another toy children love that should be avoided is balloons. When balloons pop, the child can put a piece into his or her mouth. Once the balloon is swallowed it is very difficult to eject the balloon out of the child’s throat. Parents should always supervise their children when they are eating. Parents should avoid giving children hard candy, grapes, hot dogs, and peanuts. Children have also been known to choke accidentally themselves on the cord to the mini-blinds. Parents should not let their children play with long strings, ribbons, or ropes. Plastic bags should be thrown away or kept out of the reach of children to prevent suffocation. Keeping children safe is a difficult job. Parents and caregivers can make it easier by taking a few helpful precautions. If a house has a flight of stairs, parents need to put safety gates at the top and bottom to help prevent children from falling (LeBlanc, 2007). Keep the stairs free from toys or clutter to prevent falls. Loose carpeting should be tacked down and area rugs should have non-slip mats on the underside. The best way to prevent tragic accidents is to be aware about home safety. Supervision is the key with children. Children are quick and accidents can occur in a few seconds. References LeBlanc, J. (2007). Making Our Homes Safe For Children. Pediatrics for Parents, 23(9), 12. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database Neifert, M. (2003). Preventing common childhood injuries. Baby Talk, 68(8), 19. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

Network Security And Its General Challenges Information Technology Essay

Network security is by and large considered as giving protection for the organisation by maintaining far from the hackers. Information security chiefly focuses on protecting the informations resource from malware onslaughts or simple errors which are done by people in administration with aid of DLP techniques. Information security means protecting information from the unauthorized users, the two footings information security and computing machine security and information confidence which are frequently used otherwise. These all Fieldss which are interrelated and portion some common ends of protecting confidentiality, unity and handiness. Governments, corporations, military, infirmaries, fiscal establishments, and some private concerns. Huge sum of confidential information about all their specific employees, merchandises, clients and research. All these information will be collected with processed and shop computing machines and besides can be transmitted across all other web.protecting confidential information is really of import in concern demand and in all instances an ethical and legal demand should be done. The cyberspace adventurer has thrall down to one and many security exposures and some of these exposures like spyware, computing machine viruses and adware are made possible by exploitable mistakes and bugs in the architecture of internet adventurer. The mistakes may be as Spyware which is installed in computing machines in which of import information will be copied without our cognition and this sort of malware is really difficult to observe. Adware as good is one of malwares which is in the signifier of advertizement on computing machine when you are downloading anything on the system.lastly Computer virus is one of the viruses which are created by computing machine itself. Software security is most of import for consumers, sellers because aggressors that create onslaughts even may do reasonably big consecutive effects and when all these onslaughts has been discovered so required package is sold for the consumers depending on the exposures. Decision: As tonss of information available at web services i.e. World Wide Web and these are successful in supplying services to all the user with the aid of web security that provides all the benefits of utilizing a safe web entree and uninterrupted informations transmittal between both the terminal devices. Machine surviving has been changed because of addition of internet population It figures out, all the relevant information sing the user at client side and hints out web sites accessed during the web session.

Indian Stock Markets

Current Issues India's capital markets February 14, 2007 Unlocking the door to future growth India’s capital markets have experienced sweeping changes since the beginning of the last decade. Its market infrastructure has advanced while India Special corporate governance has progressed faster than in many other emerging market economies. But in contrast to several developed countries and Asian economies, India’s capital markets are still shallow, implying that further reforms are needed to make India a world-class financial centre. At nearly 40% of GDP, the size of India’s government bond segment is comparable to many other emerging market economies. Its corporate bond market, however, remains small and is dwarfed by those of the United States, South Korea and Malaysia. India boasts a dynamic equity market. The sharp rise in India’s stock markets since 2003 reflects its improving macroeconomic fundamentals. However, the large size of insider holdings and the small presence of institutional investors belie these impressive figures. Innovative products such as securitised debt and fund products based on alternative assets are starting to break ground. But an enabling environment is not yet in place and there remains an overriding need to increase domestic investors’ knowledge regarding the merits and risks of capital market investing. A vibrant, well-developed capital market has been shown to facilitate investment and economic growth. We believe that persistent reforms in the sector can support India’s already impressive growth trend in the coming years. Financial deepening beckons in India Stock and bond market capitalisation (end-2005), % of GDP Author Jennifer Asuncion-Mund +49 69 910-31714 jennifer. [email  protected] com Editor Maria L. Lanzeni Technical Assistant Bettina Giesel Deutsche Bank Research Frankfurt am Main Germany Internet: www. dbresearch. com E-mail: marketing. [email  protected] com Fax: +49 69 910-31877 Managing Director Norbert Walter China Germany Brazil Argentina Mexico Indonesia 40 60 Thailand India UK 50 0 180 Korea Japan USA Bond market 150 100 200 Malaysia 0 20 80 100 Stock market 120 140 160 Sources: Federation of World Exchanges, BIS, IMF, DB Research Current Issues Introduction India's stock markets: Scaling new highs BSE index 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 Source: Bloomberg Improving macroeconomic fundamentals, a sizeable skilled labour force and greater integration with the world economy have increased India’s global competitiveness, placing the country on the radar screens of investors the world over. The global ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch have awarded India investment grade ratings, indicating comparatively low sovereign risks. These positive dynamics have led to a sustained surge in India’s equity markets since 2003 (see chart 1), attracting sizeable capital from foreign investors. Net cumulative portfolio flows from 2003-2006 (bonds and equities) amounted to USD 35 bn. Moreover, India’s stock market has outperformed world indices in recent years. And, despite its increasing correlation with world markets in recent years (see chart 2), India still offers diversification in global portfolios. The bond market is dominated by government bonds. Government bond issuances, resulting from persistently high fiscal deficits, as well as specific regulatory requirements, have underpinned the supply and demand conditions in India’s debt capital markets. Nearly 90% of total domestic bonds outstanding are government issuances (i. e. Treasury bills, notes and bonds), squeezing out corporate and other marketable debt securities (see chart 3). Initiatives to lift the corporate bond market from its nascent stages have been slow to progress, leaving companies unable to realise their optimum capital structure as a result. And unlike the derivative instruments that are available for equities, those for fixed income instruments (e. g. options in interest rates) in the organised exchanges have failed to take off, limiting the price discovery in the secondary markets. We believe that India’s economic transformation is irreversible. Against this backdrop, greater efficiency in financial intermediation is required to support investment and growth, but this will require structural changes in India’s public finances and the dismantling of unwieldy regulations. The paper follows an analysis of supply (bonds, equities and derivatives) and demand conditions (household and institutional investors) in India’s capital markets. Some stylised facts regarding India’s capital market infrastructure and corporate governance are first presented, followed by an analysis of its fixed income, equity and derivatives markets. Later, the paper discusses the classes of investors in India’s markets and the constraints they face in optimising the risk/return objectives of their portfolios. Finally, some brief comments regarding the link between economic growth and capital markets reform conclude the paper. 1 Stock market still offer diversification benefits MSCI India and World Indices (USD) rolling correlation 0. 7 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0. 0 96 98 00 02 04 06 2 Source: Datastream Government issuance leads the local bond market Domestic bonds outstanding, % of total* Corporate bonds 3% Others 4% PSU bonds** 6% State loans 15% I. Capital markets development supported by steady infrastructure reforms Government bonds 68% 3 Treasury bills 4% *As of March 2006. ** PSU = Public Sector Undertakings. Source: National Stock Exchange India’s financial market began its transformation path in the early 1990s. The banking sector witnessed sweeping changes, including the elimination of interest rate controls, reductions in reserve and 1 liquidity requirements and an overhaul in priority sector lending . Persistent efforts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to put in place 1 Asian Development Bank Institute (2003). February 14, 2007 2 India's capital markets effective supervision and prudential norms since then have lifted the country closer to global standards. India embarked upon comprehensive financial reforms over a decade ago†¦ Around the same time, India’s capital markets also began to stage extensive changes. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was established in 1992 with a mandate to protect investors and usher improvements into the microstructure of capital markets, while the repeal of the Controller of Capital Issues (CCI) in the same year removed the administrative controls over the pricing of new equity issues. India’s financial markets also began to embrace technology. Competition in the markets increased with the establishment of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1994, leading to a significant rise in the volume of transactions and to the emergence of new important instruments in financial intermediation. A. Innovations have strengthened market infrastructure †¦ heralding improvements in its market infrastructure Market infrastructure has strengthened markedly heralded by steady reforms. The government bond and equity markets have moved to 2 T+1 and T+2 rolling settlement cycles in recent years , which significantly compressed the transfer of cash and securities to the relevant counterparties, thereby reducing settlement risks. The seamless move toward shorter settlement periods has been enabled by a number of innovations. The introduction of electronic transfer of securities brought down settlement costs markedly and ushered in greater transparency, while â€Å"dematerialisation† instituted a paper-free securities market. Together, these mechanisms eliminated forgery of share certificates. Straight-through processing automated the complete workflow (i. e. front, middle and back office and general ledger) involved in the financial transaction, thus doing away with multiple data re-entry and avoiding delays and errors. On the initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the cooperation of public and private institutions, the Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL) was established in 2001 to facilitate the clearing of trades and transactions in the foreign exchange and fixed income markets, catalysed by the extensive use of information technology. Stronger legal framework needed* Government effectiveness Regulatory quality B. Good corporate governance, but overall legal framework needs improving Continuing efforts by the SEBI to upgrade the corporate governance framework have positioned India at an above-average level against other emerging market economies, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global association of financial 3 institutions . Since March 2006, listed companies have been required to submit quarterly compliance reports to the SEBI, facilitating the valuation of companies and bringing it in line with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Notwithstanding, enforcement remains a challenge due to a still limited number of adequately trained staff to implement the rules. Nor are companies subject to substantial fines or legal sanctions, which reduce their incentives to comply. In turn, this reflects the ongoing gaps in India’s legal system, and somewhat undermines the steps to promote India’s capital markets further. Although India does have a functional legal system, the country’s law enforcement still lags behind the more advanced economies of Hong Kong and Singapore according to the World Bank (see chart 4). This implies that efforts to raise corporate governance need to be accompanied by a stronger 2 3 Rule of law Control of corruption 0 HKG 2 IND 4 SGP 6 * The 4 governance indicators are measured in units ranging from -2. 5 to 2. 5, with higher values corresponding to better governance outcomes. Data have been rescaled to 0-5. Source: World Bank Governance Index 2005 4 National Stock Exchange Fact Book (2006). Institute of International Finance (2006). 3 February 14, 2007 Current Issues Private corporate bonds outweighed by PSU bonds Distribution of issuance*, % 100 80 60 40 20 0 2004 2005 2006 Private corporate bonds PSU bonds *As of end-March of the year. Source: National Stock Exchange legal framework to bring greater stability in its capital markets and foster investor confidence. II. A sizeable but largely skewed capital market For over a century, India’s capital markets, which consist primarily of debt and equity markets, have increasingly played a significant role in mobilising funds to meet public and private entities’ financing requirements. The advent of exchange-traded derivative instruments in 2000, such as options and futures, has enabled investors to better hedge their positions and reduce risks. 5 In total, India’s debt and equity markets were equivalent to 130% of GDP at the end of 2005. This is an impressive stride, coming from just 75% in 1995, suggesting issuers’ growing confidence in marketbased financing. However, the size of the country’s capital markets relative to the United States’, Malaysia’s and South Korea’s remains low, implying a strong catch-up process for India. A wide range of instruments for investors Market segment Issuer Government Securities Central Government Instruments Zero Coupon Bonds, Coupon Bearing Bonds, Treasury Bills, STRIPS Coupon Bearing Bonds Govt. Guaranteed Bonds, Debentures A. Debt markets shaped by the public sector India’s debt markets are divided into two segments. The government bond segment is the larger and more active of the two, with issuers comprising the central government – accounting for 90% of the total – and state governments. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained its role as the government’s debt manager and regulator of government-issued papers. The corporate bond market represents the other segment, with Public Sector Undertakings (PSU), corporates, financial institutions and banks being the primary players. PSU bonds by far outweigh the size of private corporate bonds (see chart 5), reflecting a number of factors, foremost of which are the lists of regulatory requirements for private issues. Regulatory oversight of the segment falls under the purview of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Each issuer has a range of instruments available in the market (see chart 6). Since institutional investors, especially banks, have remained the primary participants in fixed income securities, India’s bond markets have predominantly been wholesale. Government bond issuances rule the roost State Governments Public Sector Bonds Government Agencies/ Statutory Bodies Public Sector Units Private Sector Bonds Corporates PSU Bonds, Debentures, Commercial Paper Debentures, Bonds, Commercial Paper, Floating Rate Bonds, Zero Coupon Bonds, Inter-Corporate Deposits Certificates of Deposits, Debentures, Bonds Banks Financial Certificates of Institutions Deposits, Bonds Source: Bombay Stock Exchange The government bond segment is the oldest and largest component of the debt market. Its size has taken off exponentially over the past decades, with the total stock of debt outstanding at roughly USD 280 4 bn as of June 2006 , increasing three and a half times since 1995. This translates to roughly 35% of GDP, in line with several large Asian economies and is not significantly lower than that of the United States (see chart 7). With growing demand from institutional investors such as insurance companies and pension funds, bonds with maturity extending to 30 years are now available, the longest in non-Japan Asia (see chart 8). 4 India’s fiscal year runs from April of the current year through March of the following year. Data are based on the BIS (2006). February 14, 2007 4 India's capital markets A sizeable government bond market % of GDP 50 2001 2005 40 30 20 10 0 Local tenors stretching out Government bond yield curves, % 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 3M 6M 1Y 2Y 3Y 5Y 10Y 15Y 20Y 30Y Indi a Malaysia Thailand Indonesia Philippines Japan South Korea Source: Bloomberg Malaysia South Korea Thailand India China USA 8 Source: BIS 7 High fiscal deficits have encouraged large public borrowings Total public deficit, % of GDP 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2000 2002 2004 2006E The contours of the government bond market began taking shape around 1992 as a result of the government’s broad-based attempts to 5 reform the financial sector. Advances in the segment benefited from a host of reforms, such as the move toward an auction-based sale of government securities, appointment of Primary Dealers, acting as market makers, and the implementation of delivery-versus-payment (DVP), mitigating the risks associated with trading and settlement. In 1997, the establishment of the Ways and Means Committee was a landmark event as it virtually ended the automatic monetisation of government deficits. In the same year, foreign institutions were permitted to invest in government-issued securities, thus broadening the institutional investor base. Zero-coupon bonds and index bonds represent novel products in the marketplace, but have so far received only tepid response from participants. Why have government bonds dominated? Sources: Reserve Bank of India, DB Research 9 India's public debt high against its peers Average of total public debt, % GDP, 2001-2005 100 80 60 40 20 0 BBB median BB median India Public sector fiscal dynamics and government regulations largely dictate the current state of affairs. That the size of the government bond market is large is not surprising due to persistently high fiscal 6 deficits and the resulting high public sector borrowing (see chart 9). Although the total public deficit has been declining since 2003, government debt has remained high, averaging 85% of GDP over the past 5 years. This places India’s public debt considerably higher than similarly rated countries (see chart 10). Banking regulations compound the problems. Banks are mandated to invest 25% of their net demand and time liabilities (i. e. eposits) in government bonds or other approved government securities, the socalled statutory liquidity reserve (SLR). The SLR has stayed at this level since it was reduced in 1991 from 38%. But in view of the (perceived) risk-free nature of these assets – requiring less provisioning in their books – banks tend to hold an even greater percentage of government bonds in their portfolios than prescribed by 7 the SLR . Large holdings o f government bonds expose banks to 8 interest rate volatility (thus affecting banks’ income) and could impact 5 Source: Standard and Poor's 10 6 7 8 The Development of Bond market in India in http://www. iimcal. ac. in/community/FinClub/dhan/dhan1/art15-bond. pdf Rawkins, Paul (2006). The IMF put the figure at roughly 41% in 2005, well in excess of the 25% SLR (IMF Article IV report, 2005). In 2004, the Reserve Bank of India allowed for a one-off reclassification of government securities to held-to-maturity from trading or available-for-sale securities in order to mitigate the losses from rising interest rates. 5 February 14, 2007 Current Issues Credit growth is surging†¦ % yoy 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 their capital adequacy in an environment of sharply increasing interest rates. This alone calls for greater diversification of income sources (such as fee-based income) aligned with more prudent credit risk assessment. Despite the super charge growth in bank credit over the past two years (see chart 11), India’s credit-to-GDP ratio remains low in contrast to other countries in Asia, implying still low penetration of bank intermediation in the country (see chart 12). Similar restrictive regulations to the SLR exist for the insurance sector and the pension fund system, thereby preventing a large portion of their capital from being channelled to other higher-yielding investment assets, which would enhance the risk/return profile of their portfolios. Insurance companies (carrying out the business of general insurance) are mandated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), the regulatory body for the insurance industry, to invest at least 25% of their total assets in government securities and 9 state government securities . Pension funds face slightly higher requirements, although in both cases, investment in government paper may well be above the statutory level to preserve the safety of their assets. Corporate bond market: A huge potential awaits In contrast to the government bond market, the size of the corporate bond market (i. e. corporate issuers plus financial institutions) remains 10 very shallow (see chart 13), amounting to just USD 16. 8 bn , or less than 2% of GDP at the end of June 2006. A well-developed corporate bond market would give companies greater flexibility to define their optimum capital structure. By the same token, investors would benefit from having a wider range of asset classes to diversify their fixed income investments. Within India’s corporate bond market, state-owned Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have persistently outstripped private corporate issuances. PSUs and private companies can raise debt capital either by private placement or public issue, with the former being the preferred method by far. The growth of private placement of debt has shown a marked increase over the past decade, rising over four-fold in fiscal year 2004/2005 to roughly USD 12. 6 bn from USD 3 bn in fiscal year 1995/1996 (see chart 14). The preference for the private placement route arises from less onerous regulatory requirements, such as the type of disclosures and registration requisites, than those 11 for public issues . Also, the considerably higher costs associated with public issuance have deterred corporates from accessing funds through this route, in addition to the fact that private debt placements can be customised in accordance with individual issuers’ needs. Corporates are not mandated to obtain and disclose credit ratings from an approved credit rating agency, although companies themselves have increasingly sought to do so in recent years. In fiscal year 2004/2005, 93% of companies that raised bonds through 12 private placements obtained credit ratings . There is a preference to raise funds with maturities between three to five years, which suggests that companies remain cautious of borrowing over the medium-term segment, and also reflects investors’ still limited demand for longer tenors. Trading, clearing and settlement practices in the corporate bond market are less developed than in the government bond segment. 9 10 11 12 Source: Reserve Bank of India 11 but financial intermediation remains low Bank credit, % of GDP 2002 2003 2004 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 China Emerging Asia Western Europe India Source: IMF 12 Corporate bond market has yet to develop % of GDP 2001 2005 1. 6 0. 7 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Malaysia South Korea Thailand India China USA Source: BIS 13 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (2001). Bank for International Settlements (September 2006). National Stock Exchange (20 05) National Stock Exchange (2005). February 14, 2007 6 India's capital markets Private placement towers over public issuance Bond market, USD bn 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 Deals are usually conducted over the counter and are struck between counterparties. In cases wherein brokers intermediate (often by telephone), they are required to report the transaction to the exchange, which facilitates post-trade information. Corporate debt can also be traded via an electronic order book system, but this has largely been unpopular in the absence of general retail interest in 13 such securities . Moreover, the more advanced clearing and settlement infrastructure for government bonds allow repo transactions for this segment, a facility that is not accessible for corporate bonds. The large size of the government bond segment in comparison with its corporate equivalent explains its large trading activity in the secondary market, accounting for over 70% of turnover (see chart 15). By contrast, turnover in the corporate segment amounts to just 3. 6%, largely because of the limited supply owing to the preference for private placements mentioned above. In addition, large domestic institutional investors, such s pension funds and the insurance sector, are still restricted from allocating large portions of their investible funds in the corporate bond segment. Not only does this constrain the segment’s development, but it also limits investors’ ability to enhance their returns by diversifying their fixed income instruments investments. Nonetheless, the potential for the s egment to pick up is promising, judging by large corporate debt being raised in the international capital markets. And the propensities to borrow are expected to grow further, arising from companies’ reassessment of their capitalisation. Nearly 50% of their financing comes from reinvested capital, while the rest arise from external sources either by raising equity or from bank 14 and other financial institution borrowings. Shareholders’ calls for higher dividend payment and the quest to bring corporate cost of capital to optimum levels will support a rise in capital market financing in the future. At the same time, the pension fund system is moving toward defined contribution mechanism which should provide impetus to the demand for corporate bonds. Corporates seize borrowing opportunities abroad Public issues Private placements 14 Source: National Stock Exchange Government bonds remains most actively traded Turnover, % (March 2006) 3. 6 1. 6 22. 1 72. 7 Govt sec Corp bonds T-bills Others Source: National Stock Exchange 15 Indian corporates have gone on a borrowing spree abroad†¦ Corp. debt outstanding, USD bn* 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2001 2002 2003 India 2004 2005 Malaysia China A more aggressive trend in overseas borrowing by Indian corporates has recently developed (see chart 16), fuelled by fewer listing requirements, lower cost of funding and better liquidity in the secondary markets. The trend also stands in contrast to the sovereign’s absence in the international capital markets, reflecting the government’s conservative approach to external debt management as a result of the current account crisis in 1991/1992. At the end of 2005, the total amount of bonds outstanding raised by 15 corporates abroad amounted to USD 6. 7 bn , over two and a half times its size in 2001. This represents 60% of the value of corporate issuance in local markets. To put this in perspective, if this amount of issuance had been made in the domestic capital markets, the size of India’s corporate debt market would be 2. % of GDP instead of just 1. 5% of GDP. Indian companies continued to exert their presence in the international bond markets in 2006, outpacing their Asian counterparts (see chart 17). This strong appetite coincided with the still comparatively lower international interest rates (e. g. Ranbaxy’s USD 400 m 5-year convertible bond issue fetched 5% ve rsus 7. 5% for a 13 14 15 *As of December of each year. Source: BIS 16 Bank for International Settlements (2005). Handbook of Statistics (2006), Securities and Exchange Board of India. Excluding financial institutions. 7 February 14, 2007 Current Issues 6 †¦ and there's no retreat in 2006 USD bn 3 2 1 0 -1 Q3/05 China Q4/05 Q1/06 India Q2/06 Malaysia Source: BIS similar tenor in the domestic market) . It also coincided with the better valuation by foreign investors of Indian companies, indicative of their improving global competitiveness. Structured finance offers immense potential Securitisation is an attractive growth segment in India’s debt markets. The market is still in its nascent stages, where current activities primarily occur between banks, non-bank financial institutions and asset reconstruction companies through private placements. Paving the way for a secondary market is the implementation of the proposed changes to the Securities Contracts Regulation Act, which would 17 reclassify securitised debt as true marketable securities . Nevertheless, securitisation has developed robustly in recent years. Asset-backed securities (ABS) are the predominant asset class in India’s securitised segment. This should not come as a surprise given the large component of retail loans in banks’ and non-bank financial institutions’ balance sheets. The ABS market has risen exponentially since 2002, in tune with the sharp pick up in credit growth since then (see chart 18). In 2005, India’s ABS market volume was roughly USD 5 bn, making it the fourth-largest in Asia-Pacific (see chart 19). Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) volumes are just a small fraction of the ABS market. Growth so far has been slack, explained by the absence of a secondary market and the prepayment and interest rate 18 risks arising from prepayment/repricing of the underlying loans . But the growth of commercial bank credit for housing, averaging approximately 90% since 2002, suggests that mortgage-backed securities is a segment that will take off, so long as market infrastructure and regulatory provisions are firmly grounded. Other securitised assets backed by corporate loans, receivables and toll revenues have sprung recently, indicating the promising potential of the segment. As the government embarks upon modernising its infrastructure, the need to develop the structured finance segment will become crucial. Collateralised mortgage backed securities (CMBS), collateralised loan obligations (CLO) and collateralised debt obligations (CDO), which are actively traded in the United States, are innovations awaiting the Indian market in line with a maturing economy. Permitting foreign investors in the market will play a significant role in pricing and transparency. But for now, incomplete legislative and market norms may not allow the country to fully exploit the potential of securitisation activities. 17 Securitisation is picking up†¦ USD bn Volumes in ABS Volumes in MBS 5. 0 6 5 4 3 1. 8 0. 8 0. 3 0. 0 0. 3 2003 0. 7 0. 7 2 1 0 2002 2004 2005 Source: BIS 18 †¦ with India's ABS issuance a decent fourth place in Asia USD bn Korea Japan India Australia 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Source: BIS B. Vibrant equity markets The development of India’s equity capital markets has taken a more progressive trajectory than the bond market, largely reflecting the government’s laissez faire approach in the segment. At 90% of 19 GDP , its size is comparable to that of other emerging countries, although is still small relative to many developed markets (see chart 20). 19 16 17 18 19 Hindu Business Line (2006). Kothari, Vinod (2006) and Bank for International Settlements (2005). Bank for International Settlements (2005). Based on the capitalisation of the Bombay Stock Exchange as of December 2006. February 14, 2007 8 India's capital markets India's equity market comparable to other emerging markets Local market capitalisation, % of GDP (2005) 200 150 100 50 0 Mexico Malaysia Brazil India Thailand Korea EU Indonesia Japan China USA Source: IMF 20 Indian equity markets have been volatile Standard deviation of rolling two-year weekly returns, index in USD 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 96 98 00 02 04 06 21 MSCI India MSCI World Source: Datastream Of India’s 23 stock exchanges, equity trading is most active in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Since the NSE’s inception in 1994, it has caught up with the BSE in terms of capitalisation but exceeded it in turnover. The BSE boasts of over 4,000 listed companies, surpassing stock exchanges in the US. This explains its slightly higher market capitalisation over the NSE, although its lower turnover implies that inefficiencies remain due to the high proportion of untraded companies. Its share of total equity turnover is just 33% compared to 66% of its rival, the NSE. The increase in the limit for foreign direct investment in the stock exchanges to 49% announced early this year is expected to lend more dynamism to the equity capital markets. The investment limit for a single investor was set at 5%. It did not take long after the new limit was announced that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic and Softbank Asian Infrastructure Fund all acquired a 5% stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Increased foreign presence is expected to help the NSE to inch forward to the global markets, generate a wider customer and investor base and offer more innovative products. The Bombay Stock Exchange is also courting strategic investors. If it succeeds, this should help speed up the process of consolidating the thousands of inactive listed companies n the board. Moreover, the move will enhance its competitive strength against the NSE, which has diminished over the past decade. Higher volatility, improving performance Benchmarking the risk/return characteristics of India’s equity markets against the world average shows that India’s stock market has 20 historically been more volatile (see chart 21), while its returns have, until recently, underper formed. This should not come as a surprise as the past decade witnessed several political and economic uncertainties, undermining business and investor confidence. Only from 2006 has India’s stock market begun to outperform the world’s index as momentum to liberalise the economy gathered pace and investors began to take notice (see chart 22). Reflecting the recent sharp run-up in equity prices, India’s stock markets today rank among the most expensive in the world (see chart 23), raising concerns over a correction, especially if earnings disappoint. However, sustained economic growth combined with continued market-friendly capital market reforms should prove to be supportive factors for superior returns in the medium run. Indian equities returns: catching up MSCI total return index, 1994=100 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 MSCI India MSCI World Source: Datastream 22 20 Since the world index is a composite of indices and therefore, by nature, more diversified, it is expected to exhibit less volatility than the country index. 9 February 14, 2007 Current Issues Are India's equity prices stretched? Price/earnings ratio, times 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 96 98 00 02 04 06 In terms of sectoral composition in benchmark indices, India’s stock market is broad-based, putting it roughly in line with the world index (see chart 24). The higher weight of the IT sector today reflects the country’s increasing turn toward a knowledge-based economy. But this may change, with consumer discretionary and consumer staples projected to get a larger share of the pie in tandem with rising incomes and as household preferences become more discerning. The shares of financials and healthcare sectors are also expected to increase markedly as industry consolidation picks up and the door to foreign direct investment is widened. Foreign investors seize local market opportunities Reflecting India’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals, increasing corporate profitability and competitiveness, and greater integration with the world economy, foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs) participation grew steadily over the past 3 years (see chart 25). True, FII invest in local bonds and equity, but their interest has largely been on the latter. The inflow of portfolio capital continues to test new highs and in recent years has outpaced the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). India’s accounting standards, although still not in full convergence with international practices, combined with the quarterly reporting frequency mandated by the SEBI on listed companies, offer guidance in corporate valuation. Greater inflows are still to be expected, arising from international investors’ quest for higher returns and improved portfolio diversification, buttressed by ongoing structural changes in India’s economy and its financial markets. Sustained inflow of capital will not only bring greater liquidity in the market, but foreign presence will encourage further market transparency. Overseas listing inching up Domestic companies, both large- and small-cap, have been allowed to list abroad by way of American Depository Receipts and Global Depository Receipts (ADR, GDR) since 1992. Owing to global and local market conditions (e. g. global liquidity, stock market crashes, economic and financial crises), the amount raised through the ADR route since its inception has been quite volatile. Only in recent years have issuances picked up steadily, with the amount raised in fiscal year 2005/2006 exceeding USD 2. 5 bn, a level not seen in over 10 21 years (see chart 26). As one of the measures to allow greater capital account convertibility, the RBI has allowed two-way fungibility for Indian ADRs/GDRs. This allows holders of the instruments to cancel them with the depository and sell the underlying shares in the market. The company can then issue ADRs anew to the extent of the shares converted into local shares. This was not the case in the last decade, which limited companies’ ability to access capital abroad. Further room for improvement Impressive though the developments may be, India’s stock markets still have some room for improvement. For one, the shareholder pattern needs to be broadened, as ownership is concentrated in the 22 promoters and company insiders show an increasing presence. This implies that minority shareholders’ interest is minimal, which needs to be increased for the sake of an improved corporate governance. 21 MSCI India, USD MSCI World, USD MSCI India average for the period Source: Datastream 23 India's equity market composition is broad-based % 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% MSCI India MSCI World Utilities Telecommunication services Materials IT Industrials Healthcare Financials Energy Consumer staples Consumer discretionary Source: Datastream 4 Foreign investors flock to India's capital markets 15 10 5 0 01 02 03 04 05 06E 1200 800 400 0 Foreign direct investment, USD bn (left) Portfolio investment, USD bn (left) Net new number of FIIs (right) Sources: Reserve Bank of India, Deutsche Bank Research 25 22 Four of the top 25 ADR listings as of December 2005 are Infosys Technology (USD 884 m), ICIC I Bank Ltd (USD 466 m), Satyam Computer Services Ltd (USD 323 m) and HDFC Bank Ltd (USD 300 m). Data are from Citigroup Corporation (http://wwss. citissb. com/adr/www/adr_info/YE2005_DR. pdf). Promoters include family members, relatives and close associates. February 14, 2007 10 India's capital markets ADR issuance makes a strong comeback USD bn 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 The presence of institutional investors in the equity market is also low, resulting from the restrictive investment guidelines set by the government for the insurance industry, banks and pension funds. Of note, while only 18% of the listed companies in the NSE are owned by retail investors, they account for an estimated 85% of the trading 23 volume, according to a recent paper by McKinsey . This suggests that retail investors tend to speculate in the stock market rather than follow a strategy of pursuing long-term benefits. A resumption in privatisation is also key to further developing India’s equity markets. Since FY 2003/2004, privatisation activities have dwindled, driven in part by the lack of political consensus to keep it on track (see chart 27). The sluggish process prevents publicly owned companies from accessing more efficient sources of funding. It also interferes with their movement toward market-disciplined processes and better corporate governance. Source: Securities and Exchange Board India 26 C. Financial derivatives march ahead While some form of financial derivatives trading in India dates back to the 1870s, exchange traded derivative instruments started only in 2000. Then, stock index futures, with the Sensex 30 and the S CNX Nifty indices as the underlying, began trading at the BSE and NSE. Since their inception, the basket of instruments has expanded and now features individual stock futures, and options for stock index and individual stocks. Among the four asset classes, single-stock futures have the lion’s share, accounting for nearly 60% of the turnover in the NSE’s derivatives segment (see chart 28). In its relatively short life span, single-stock futures are outperforming those in other global derivatives market (see chart 29). The security largely owes its success to the timing of its introduction: it came into stream shortly after â€Å"badla†, a futures-like practice which permitted traders to carry forward sizeable net positions until the next settlement period, was 24 banned. The key difference with badla is that a clearing corporation owned by the NSE guarantees the futures transaction, thereby reducing settlement risks. The derivative instruments traded in the exchanges reflect many of the features of the underlying instruments. First, as with the wholesale debt and equities segments, the NSE has steadily outpaced the BSE in terms of trading in the derivatives segment over the years. The NSE thus reflects the market’s overall activity and sentiment. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Index futures Index options Stock futures Stock options No clear signs of commitment to privatisation INR bn 20 Privatisation proceeds Average, 1991-2005 15 10 5 0 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05 Sources: Department of Disinvestment, Ministry of Finance 27 Stock futures most popular derivatives segment Exchange-traded derivatives, % total turnover Second, equity derivatives have developed more rapidly than their fixed income counterparts. Exchange-traded derivatives for interest rates failed to take off when introduced by the NSE in 2003, largely 25 reflecting a flawed contract design. Interest rate derivatives are primarily traded over-the-counter (OTC), and although any domestic money or debt market rate may be used as a benchmark rate, the Mumbai Interbank Offered Rate (MIBOR) and Mumbai Interbank Forward Offered Rate (MIFOR) are those that are widely used. Interest rate swaps and forward rate agreements are instruments available for managing interest rate risks, although the former is by far the preferred choice. The overnight interest swap (OIS) is estimated to trade between USD 500 million and USD 1 billion per 26 day. A survey by FitchRatings of India’s derivatives market in 2004 23 24 25 26 Source: National Stock Exchange 28 Farrell, Diana et al. (2006). Gorham, Michael et al. (2005). FitchRatings (2004). FitchRatings (interview). 11 February 14, 2007 Current Issues Single-stock futures: India is world leader World ranking in terms of volumes traded 2005 National Stock Exchange Johannesburg Stock Exchange BME Spanish Exchanges Euronext Liffe Borsa Italiana OMX Athens Stock Exchange Budapest Stock Exchange Australian Stock Exchange Warsaw Stock Exchange 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2004 1 4 3 2 6 5 7 8 9 10 estimated that trading volumes at the end of the year amounted to roughly INR 30 bn, a three-fold increase from January 2004. This is expected to have picked up even further since then, spurred by sustained uncertainty over the interest rate outlook, leading market participants to hedge their exposures. Tenors up to 5 years are the most liquid in the OIS market despite the fact that the yield curve stretches out to 30 years. Fitch attributed this to the absence of counterparty lines for longer maturities and partly by the lack of risk management tools for interest rate exposures longer than 5 years. There are a number of factors, though, which mitigate the risks in OTC derivatives for interest rates. One is that the 27 majority of counterparties have ratings that are investment-grade. Another is that India as accepted International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) documentation before striking any agreement with counterparties. However, combined with banks’ and other institutional investors’ large exposures to government bonds, and the prospects of a deepening bond market in general, the need to develop exchange-traded futures and options for interest rates is evident. This will significantly reduce risks inherent in the OTC markets through centralized settleme nt, enhanced risk management and multilateral netting. Source: World Federation of Exchanges 9 Household sector the largest saver in the economy % of total savings 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 -20 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Households Public sector Private corporates Source: Reserve Bank of India III. Right mix of investors, but participation is still low A vibrant secondary market is characterised by the active participation of retail and institutional investors, underpinned by their longterm investment goals, with adjustments made in accordance with their short-term liquidity needs and in response to the business cycle. With a population of over 1 billion, India offers a large pool of potential investors. Indian households are by far the largest saver in the economy, constituting nearly 80% of the economy’s aggregate saving (see chart 30). Insurance companies, pension funds, mutual funds and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) form India’s institutional investor base. Combined, their assets account for about 25% of GDP (see chart 31). This represents a significant increase compared to the mid-1990s, prior to the opening up of many of the sectors, such as the insurance industry, to competition. But, to put it in perspective, the combined size of the Indian institutional investors sector amounts to less than half of US mutual fund assets alone. By and large, Indian investors tend to be conservative in their investment decisions, with a general preference for safe returns and capital preservation. As for large domestic institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, their investment style has largely been the result of regulation. 30 Households are ultraconservative in their investment decisions Composition of household financial savings, % (average, 2000-2005) 9. 17. 2 12. 8 42. 0 12. 5 2. 4 Currency Deposits Shares and debentures Government securities Small savings Insurance funds Provident and pension funds Sources: Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India A. Indian household investments: low risk, low return 3. 9 The lion’s share of households’ total financial savings, roughly 50%, is placed in bank deposit account s (see chart 31). The rest of the pie is 28 spread over small savings accounts , at just over 10%, and a combined 25% in insurance and pension funds. Because of these institutions’ conservative approach to investing, they appeal very strongly to households. 27 31 28 FitchRatings (2004). Small savings accounts are direct claims against the government. February 14, 2007 12 India's capital markets Over the past 5 years, households had a mere 5% of their savings invested in the stock market on average. Granted, the general aversion to riskier instruments such as equities is not only a product of the public’s preference for safe returns. India’s equity markets have experienced several candals in the past, resulting occasionally in substantial capital losses to many investors. This has essentially discouraged a considerable number of them to return to the stock markets, although in the past two years confidence has gradually regained some ground. How many households are investing in the capital markets? A joint survey by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and National Council for Applied Economics Research ( SEBI-NCAER) in March 2003 estimated that only 13 million households out of the total 177 million surveyed have investments in the capital markets. This is equivalent to a mere 7% of total Indian households. The robust economic expansion since the survey and the resulting increase in per capita GDP (see chart 32) may have widened the household investor base, but possibly not enough to considerably increase market volumes. A key ingredient to reduce households’ risk aversion is improving their understanding of long-term investment, particularly in the equity market. Regarding bonds, there is a concerted effort among the RBI and SEBI, as well as the BSE and NSE, to raise retail investors’ knowledge about the mechanics and risk/return tradeoffs of debt securities. However, the thin volumes can be expected to persist so 29 long as the government continues to provide savings schemes , which reduce incentives to invest in fixed-income instruments. India's GDP per capita steadily rising USD 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 00 01 02 03 04 05E 06F Sources: Institute of International Finance, Reserve Bank of India, DB Research 32 B. Institutional investors: Easing regulations will unlock capital market growth Nearly 25% of households’ total financial savings are allocated in insurance and pension funds, dominated by the government-owned Life Insurance Company of India (LIC) and the Employee Pension Fund (EPF). The LIC continues to hold a near monopoly of the industry, accounting for nearly 75% of the business, despite the opening up of the industry to private competition in 1999. Similarly, although mutual funds have been permitted to offer pension plans, a majority of the public retirement scheme remains under the control of the EPF. The guaranteed rate of return of 9% they offer is a strong incentive for investors to place their financial savings with the institution. Overall, just roughly 10% of the labour force is enrolled in a pension scheme. The rest of the workers rely on their families for support at old age or on their accumulated savings. Stringent asset allocation guidelines constrain returns Portfolio allocation decisions by the insurance and pension fund sector remain deeply regulated, requiring each to invest between 25 to 50% of total funds in government bonds or government-approved securities. Just over 85% of the LIC’s total investments are in public securities – most of which are of long-term maturities – and about 15% in private securities. Given India’s young labour force, it will take quite a number of years before a rush for redemption occurs, suggests that the LIC may not necessarily be optimising its portfolio returns. Portfolio managers’ tendency to follow a buy-and-hold strategy precludes efficient duration management and the opti- A small institutional investors sector Assets, % of GDP Insurance companies Pension funds Mutual funds Foreign institutional investors 0 5 10 15 Sources: Various domestic associations, IADB, author's estimates 33 29 Small savings schemes sponsored by the government offer guaranteed annual returns of 3. 5% to 9% (Reserve Bank of India). 13 February 14, 2007 Current Issues misation of the portfolio’s risk/return profile. At the same time, the underdeveloped corporate bond markets inhibit fixed income portfolio managers to exploit relative value across different segments. Suboptimal returns are also generated by the limited exposure allowed in the equity markets as a result of stringent regulation. Simply put, there is significant room to improve upon households’ long-term wealth creation, but this will call for the relaxation of portfolio asset allocation rules prescribed by the government. Greater private participation will encourage competition in the insurance and pension funds, bringing product innovations in the market that better match investor risk/return requirements. Creating more active markets with greater foreign presence Foreign institutional investors (FII) and mutual funds are accorded considerable leeway in their asset allocation decisions in contrast to the insurance and pension fund sectors. Because they can adjust their positions in response to changes in their liquidity needs or the economic environment, they tend to set the tone in market sentiment or influence prices despite their comparatively small size. FIIs can invest across a variety of instruments in the local markets but are subject to limits. Current regulations permit all FIIs combined to own no more than 24% of any Indian company’s total paid-up capital. Investments over the threshold are subject to the approval of the company’s Board of Directors. There are ongoing calls to raise the limit further, which remain in constant debate among the policymakers, due to their concerns about potential destabilising effects of sudden capital withdrawal. In 2004, maximum allowed FII investment in government securities, including Treasury bills, was raised to USD 2 bn from USD 1. 75 bn and in corporate bonds to USD 1. 5 bn from just USD 0. 5 bn. Hedging foreign currency exposures in the forward market is permitted. Assets under management of mutual funds have soared USD bn 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 09/93 09/04 09/05 09/06 Although efforts to welcome FIIs are encouraging, the total amount of investment limits accorded to them is still meagre. Easing FII controls would accelerate the deepening and broadening of the capital markets, but this would require redressing capital account regulations aimed at preserving market stability in case portfolio positions are unwound. Mutual funds are a viable long-term saving vehicle The landscape of the mutual fund industry has undergone significant changes since the establishment of the Unit Trust of India in 1964, which for decades held the monopoly. By the mid 1990s, barriers to entry were gradually dismantled, allowing domestic and foreign private institutions to enter the fray. Assets under management have grown to around USD 65 bn in September 2006 nearly 10% of GDP (see chart 34), quadrupling in value since 1993. At its current growth rate, the sector’s size will double over the next 10 years. With intense competition came the adoption of measures to improve transparency. Restrictions on investment in debt instruments and money markets were loosened. A number of different schemes 30 are now available in the market , which appeals to investors’ varying investment objectives and constraints. The listing of openended schemes allowed investors the flexibility to adjust their fund exposures, while regulations against fund managers’ use of Source: Association of Mutual Funds of India 34 30 These include assured return, balanced, floating rate, fund of funds, gilt, growth, income, liquid and money market funds. February 14, 2007 14 India's capital markets Still very low penetration of mutual funds Households' investment by type, %* 39. 2 20. 9 6. 2 44. 7 erivatives have been relaxed, allowing them to hedge their positions. Given the rapid growth of the industry in the past 3 years, can the Indian mutual fund industry be characterised as having come of age? Not when seen in the light of the low share of mutual funds in the household sector’s total investment pie (see chart 35). One promising development announced in the Budget in 2006 was the lifting of overseas investment limits by mutual funds to USD 3 bn from USD 2 bn. This will allow domestic fund managers to offer new opportunities in higher-yielding funds, such as those dedicated to emerging markets and alternative investments (e. . commodities), which are currently not available in the local market. Combined with rising per-capita income, improving awareness of capital market investing and pension fund reforms will make mutual fund investing a viable long-term investment vehicle. 27. 5 76. 2 17. 3 5. 5 UTI scheme Fixed deposits EPF/PPF Post office Others 8. 5 Mutual fund Fixed Bonds LIC IVP, NSC NCC IV. The road ahead 35 Source: Securities and Exchange Board of India Capital market liberalisation is good for GDP growth Real GDP growth per capita, % 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 India’s regulators have been active in seeking ways to develop the country’s financial markets, and a culture of introducing greater risk management is starting to set in. The main challenge ahead is to strengthen the political will to further ease regulations in the capital markets and the limits prescribed to market participants. India’s economy is expected to benefit enormously from the process of gradual capital market liberalisation. Empirical evidence has shown that emerging market economies that have heralded changes in their 31 financial markets experienced higher growth and investment (see chart 36). India is no exception, with per-capita GDP and domestic investment rising post-liberalisation. Economies which pursued deeper financial market reforms, and whose per-capita incomes were roughly similar to India’s prior to their liberalisation periods, not surprisingly experienced even greater rewards. Drawing from these countries’ experiences, India’s growth potential can experience a sustained pick-up if it stays on the path of reforming its capital markets. Full capital account convertibility no longer appears to be a pipe dream, going by the RBI’s reconsideration of the Tarapore 32 Committee’s roadmap to capital account liberalisation . Early in 2006, the conditions for full capital account convertibility have been re-examined against issues such as exchange rate management, prudential safeguards to monetary and financial stability and 33 implications of dollarisation in India . Although full convertibility is still not expected to occur overnight, the momentum towards that goal seems to have accelerated. Jennifer Asuncion-Mund (+49 69 910-31714, jennifer. [email  protected] com) Mexico Malaysia India Chile Investment growth per capita, % 6 4 2 0 -2 -4 Mexico Malaysia India Chile Thailand Pre-liberalisation average Post-liberalisation average Official liberalisation date: India, 11/92; Chile, 01/92; Mexico, 05/89; Malaysia, 12/88; Thailand, 09/87 Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Thailand 31 32 36 33 Bekaert, Geert et al (2003). A committee headed by S. S. Tarapore submitted its recommendations for full capital account convertibility in 1997, shortly before the Asian financial crisis. In the event, authorities delayed the implementation of the Committee’s prescriptions, opting for calibrated measures instead. Reserve Bank of India (2006). 15 February 14, 2007 Current Issues Bibliography Bank of International Settlements. BIS Quarterly Review (various issues). Basel. Switzerland. Bekaert, Geert, Campbell R. Harvey and Christian T. Lundblad (2003). Equity Market Liberalization in Emerging Markets. 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Have India’s Financial Market Reforms Changed Firms’ Corporate Financing Patterns? Asian Development Bank Institute. Tokyo. Japan.  © Copyright 2007. Deutsche Bank AG, DB Research, D-60262 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. All rights reserved. When quoting please cite â€Å"Deutsche Bank Research†. The above information does not constitute the provision of investment, legal or tax advice. Any views expressed reflect the current views of the author, which do not necessarily correspond to the opinions of Deutsche Bank AG or its affiliates. Opinions expressed may change without notice. Opinions expressed may differ from views set out in other documents, including research, published by Deutsche Bank. The above information is provided for informational purposes only and without any obligation, whether contractual or otherwise. No warranty or representation is made as to the correctness, completeness and accuracy of the information given or the assessments made. 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