Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A Sad Love Story

A sad Love Story.. A boy proposed his girlfriend for marriage, Girl: Tell me.. Who do you love most in this world? Boy: You, of course ! Girl: What am I to you? Boy: The boy thought for a moment and looked intently in her eyes and said â€Å"u r missing part of my heart † She smiled, and she accepted his proposal. ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ After their wedding , the couple had a sweet and happy life for a while . However ,the youthful couple began to drift apart due to the busy schedule of life and the never-ending worries of aily problems and soon after their life became difficult . ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦::  ¦ : : All the challenges posed by the harsh realities of life began to drift away their dreams and love for each other . .. The couple began to have more quarrels and each quarrel became make their relation more worst. One day , after the quarrel , the girl ran out of the house.. ..At the opposite side of the road , she shouted,† You don' t love me †¦ !† The boy hated her childishness and out of impulse, said ,†May be, it was a mistake for us to e together ..! You were never da missing part of my  ¦ †¦ !† Suddenly, she turned quiet and stood there for a long while .. .. He regretted what he said but wordsspoken cant be taken back. With tears in her eyes, she went home to pack her things and Before leaving the house,she left a note for him: â€Å"If I ‘m really not da missing part of ur  ¦, let me go.. n search for sum 1 whu is. .. It is less painful thisway†¦ let us go on our separate ways and search for our own partners .. .† ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦::  ¦ : : Five years went by. .. He never remarried but he had tried to find out about her life indirectly .. †¦ . She had left the country and was living her dreams. He use to regret on what he did but never tried to bring her back. . In the dark and l onely night , he lit his cigarette and felt the lingering ache in his heart. He couldn' t bring himself to admit that he was missing her . †¦. One day , they finally met†¦ . At the airport , He was going away on a business trip . He saw her, She was standing there alone, with just the security door separating them.She smiled at him gently . Boy: How are you ? Girl: I' m fine. How about you.. . Have you found your heart ‘ s missing part.. .? Boy: No . Girl: I' ll be flying to New York in the next flight . Boy: I ‘ll be back in 2 weeks time . Give me a call when you are back †¦ You know my number †¦ . Nothing has changed . With a smile , she turned around and waved good- bye .. â€Å"Good-bye . . . † Same evening he heard of a plane crash which was headed to New York . He tried to know about her and found that,She died . Midnight. †¦ Once again , he lit his cigarette. †¦ . And like before, he felt the lingering ache in his heart. †¦ He finally knew , she was that missing part that he had carelessly broken . . . Sometimes, people say things out of moments of fury†¦ .. We take outour 99% frustrations at our loved ones. †¦ And even though we knowthat we ought to†think twice and act wisely†, we actually dont do it. Things happen each day , many of which are beyond our control . Try not to hurt ur loved once, bcz amoment of anger cud b a lifetym punishment †¦ u

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Personal Use As Teachers Education Essay

In the personal usage as instructors, we will be researching the Howard Gardner theory and the differences usages it can hold and its importance in kids ‘s acquisition procedure. In this undertaking you can see the definition and information of The Multiple Intelligences Theory of Howard Gardner and the impact it has in the learning procedure of the pupils in the schoolroom. This research undertaking will besides concentrate in how this theory aims to spread out and do the acquisition procedure of the pupil wider and easier, learning the pupil the stuff piece at the same clip doing usage of his abilities and accomplishments to do this procedure faster and efficient. This theory explains that in the schoolroom we will happen, as future pedagogues, a diverseness of pupils with different types of intelligences and abilities that will impact the manner they learn and get cognition. This theory helps each pupil have the same chance to develop their intelligences. This theory can be applied by the instructor in the schoolroom in different ways. For illustration: by cognizing that each pupil learns in different ways, the instructor can integrate what he is learning with each pupil intelligences ; for illustration, allow ‘s state in the Spanish category the instructor have to discourse a narrative, than if some pupils are good at larning through music, he can unite singing with the narrative narrative, or if the pupil is good at logic, he can give them logical exercisings including narrative elements. We hope you enjoy this research undertaking every bit much as we did! Approach Theory This theory state us about the difference intelligence people posses, the public-service corporation and importance it has in the schoolroom and pupil larning procedure. The theory of the Multiple Intelligence that Howard Gardner proposes, is about how each individual learn in different manner by including the intelligence they posses with what they are been taught. There are eight different intelligences that had been officially identify and recognized, these are: lingual ( â€Å" word smart † ) , logical-mathematical ( â€Å" number/reasoning smart † ) , spacial ( â€Å" image smart † ) , bodily-kinesthetic ( â€Å" organic structure smart † ) , musical ( â€Å" music smart † ) , interpersonal ( â€Å" people smart † ) , intrapersonal ( â€Å" self smart † ) , naturalist ( â€Å" nature smart † ) . In other words we can state multiple Intelligences are eight different ways to show rational ability. The theory of multiple intelligences proposes a major transmutation in the manner our schools are run. It suggests that instructors be trained to show their lessons in a broad assortment of ways utilizing music, concerted acquisition, art activities, function drama, multimedia, field trips, interior contemplation, and much more. The theory of multiple intelligences has strong deductions for grownup acquisition and development. Many grownups find themselves in occupations that do non do optimum usage of their most extremely developed intelligences ( for illustration, the extremely bodily-kinesthetic person who is stuck in a lingual or logical desk-job when he or she would be much happier in a occupation where they could travel about, The theory of multiple intelligences gives grownups a whole new manner to look at their lives, analyzing potencies that they left buttocks in their childhood. Here are the different intelligences, a brief description and the accomplishments each of them: AAThe pupils with the visual/spatial intelligence have the ability to comprehend the ocular. These scholars tend to believe in images and need to make graphic mental images to retain information. They enjoy looking at maps, charts, images, pictures, and films. The accomplishments they have ( which instructors should hold in head when learning them ) are: mystifier edifice, reading, composing, understanding charts and graphs, and many more. Students with the verbal/linguistic intelligence have abilities that include the usage of words and linguistic communication. These scholars have extremely developed auditory accomplishments and are by and large elegant talkers. They think in words instead than images. Their accomplishments include: hearing, speech production, composing, narrative relation, explicating, instruction, utilizing wit, etc.A Peoples with the logical/mathematical intelligence have the ability to utilize ground, logic and Numberss. These scholars think conceptually in logical and numerical forms doing connexions between pieces of information. Always funny about the universe around them, these learner ask tonss of inquiries and like to make experiments. Their accomplishments include: job resolution, sorting and categorising information, working with abstract constructs to calculate out the relationship of each to the other, etc. Learners with the bodily/kinesthetic intelligence have the ability to command organic structure motions and handle objects skilfully. These scholars express themselves through motion. They have a good sense of balance and eye-hand co-ordination. ( e.g. ball drama, equilibrating beams ) . Through interacting with the infinite around them, they are able to retrieve and treat information. Their accomplishments include: dance, physical co-ordination, athleticss, custodies on experimentation, utilizing organic structure linguistic communication, trades, moving, miming, utilizing their custodies to make or construct, showing emotions through the organic structure. Students with the musical/rhythmic intelligence have the ability to bring forth and appreciate music. These musically inclined scholars think in sounds, beat and forms. They instantly respond to music either appreciating or knocking what they hear. Many of these scholars are highly sensitive to environmental sounds ( e.g. crickets, bells, dripping lights-outs ) . Their accomplishments include: vocalizing, whistling, playing musical instruments, acknowledging tonic forms, composing music, retrieving tunes, understanding the construction and beat of music. Those who possess the interpersonal intelligence have the ability to associate and understand others. These scholars try to see things from other people ‘s point of position in order to understand how they think and feel. Their accomplishments include: seeing things from other positions ( dual-perspective ) , listening, utilizing empathy, understanding other people ‘s tempers and feelings, reding, co-operating with groups, detecting people ‘s tempers, A and many more. Having the intrapersonal intelligence will give you the ability to self-reflect and be cognizant of one ‘s interior province of being. These scholars try to understand their interior feelings, dreams, relationships with others, and strengths and failings. Their accomplishments include: Acknowledging their ain strengths and failings, reflecting and analysing themselves, consciousness of their interior feelings, desires and dreams, measuring their thought forms, concluding with themselves, understanding their function in relationship to others. The pupils with the realistic smart being able to touch, experience, keep, and seek practical hands-on experiences, but by and large out-of-doorss within the environment, nature and animate beings. Being Naturalistic agencies you are really interested and funny of your surroundings.A These scholars enjoy playing out and traveling on trips to larn about the environment and the animate beings. And likely maintain or like pets, and dislike pollution and people that litter. Their accomplishments include: May be really interested in species, or in the environment and the Earth, may hold a strong affinity to the outside universe or to animate beings, they may bask topics like biological science, vegetation, geology, weather forecasting, astronomy fauna, or palaeontology. Design ( Classroom usage )AThe instructor ( utilizing wholly this theory ) aims to learn the assigned stuff in a different manner for each group of pupils that posses the same intelligence. For this, the instructor has to place by giving a trials to the pupils, how many of them belong to a peculiar intelligence group. Once all the pupils intelligence had been identify they are divided and grouped together merely with the pupils they portion the same intelligence. The pupils that possess the lingual intelligence acquire together in a side of the schoolroom, while the pupils with the musical intelligence acquire together in a different side, same applies to every other intelligence. After all the pupils are in groups with the pupils that posses the same intelligence as them, the instructor will learn the exact same category stuff to each group but otherwise to each of them. If the instructor is learning about animate beings who eat merely veggies, the group of pupils possessing the lin gual intelligence can read about it, the group of pupils possessing the logical-mathematical intelligence could utilize mathematical expressions to show it, pupils with the visual-spatial intelligence can analyze a in writing chart that illustrates the rule ; like this illustrations, the remainder of the groups will larn and be taught the same stuff but in a different manner. By learning to a pupil ‘s intelligences and by leting them to show themselves utilizing their preferable intelligences the full schoolroom can be enriched. Students will research the Multiple Intelligences theories and larn to plan lesson programs that appeal to assorted intelligences. But, apart of separately utilizing a different method for each pupils, another signifier of utilizing the Multiple Intelligences Theory would be for all the pupils, no affair which intelligence they are portion of, to be taught with every other intelligence method, this will affect everyone in the schoolroom into a better acquisition experience in my sentiment and I think is really the one most instructors use now yearss. For illustration: Teachers should construction the presentation of stuff in a manner which engages most or all of the intelligences. For illustration, when learning about the radical war, a instructor can demo pupils conflict maps, play radical war vocals, form a function drama of the sign language of the Declaration of Independence, and have the pupils read a novel about life during that period. This sort of presentation non merely excites pupils about acquisition, but it besides allows a instructor to reenforce the same stuff in a assortment of ways. By triping a broad mixture of intelligences, learning in this mode can ease a deeper apprehension of the capable stuff. When sing multiple intelligences in the schoolroom, a instructor should avoid the impulse to label kids as holding merely one such type. Many kids will hold strengths and failings in more than one of these countries. All kids in the schoolroom should be encouraged to seek new things and research every construct through a broad assortment of experiences. Showing stuff in assorted ways allows instructors to make more pupils, potentially extinguishing the defeat when some merely do n't look to â€Å" acquire it. † The benefits of integrating the Multiple Intelligences Theory in the schoolroom would be: Provide reliable experiences for pupils based on single demands. Longer storage of memory because activities are meaningful and connect to personal experiences. Activities/performances may increase parent engagement in the schoolroom and school. Students able to show and portion strength. Students to derive self assurance because they are demoing off their country of strength. Decision Once we finish our Research Paper Project we notice that there exists some theory elements form the Multiple Intelligence Theory that we did n't know.A When we began our research, we found some different information. In some resources at that place appear seven intelligences but in others appear eight.A Finally we can reason that there are eight different types of intelligences. Thankss to this research we learn about diverse and different instruction techniques and schemes that the instructor may utilize in the classroom.A We like being working and look intoing because we had learn different techniques that we can utilize to affect our pupils in class.A This theory is really utile for teachers.A We think that every instructor should incorporate this theory in their categories in order to introduce and make interesting categories for their pupils.

Monday, July 29, 2019

A Study Of A Caucasian Preschool Student

however, they spell Cherokee as Tsalagi. Tsalagi was an Iroquoian language invented by a Native American Scholar. Moreover, a scholar named Lizette Peter published a scholarly journal article called â€Å"Our Beloved Cherokee: A Naturalistic Study of Cherokee Preschool Language Immersion.† In this article, she mentioned how and why the Cherokee language speakers have decreased over the years. â€Å"Since sustained contact with the British in about 1700, Cherokee people have struggled with social, political†¦ dieting to technology to study habits. The following literature review will take a look at four surveys that were taken place on college campuses to see what is needed to properly collect data. In spring of 2009 between April and May, The Project Information Literary team decided put out a survey to further understand the usage of Wikipedia among college students and here is how they did it. First they had to create the question on the survey. They did this by creating an 11 student focus groups across†¦ David S. Kreiner. â€Å"Student Perceptions of Study Time.† Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research 19.1 (2014). Google Scholar. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. The first part of the research focuses on the difference between perceived study time and actual study time as well as how this affects students’ progress. A few interesting hypotheses were brought up in the research. Basically, they state that students overestimate the time needed to complete arbitrary academic tasks and that students, who practice time†¦ read to your child. What are your personal biases? (if you feel uncomfortable mentioning a few, just let me know by stating that) †¢ I would say before reading this book that I had similar biases that were stated in the book. That young non-Caucasian students struggle greatly in school. This book helped me realize and see how important my teaching and other teachers teaching really is! †¢ Last year, when I got stuck in Freshman Seminar as a 24-year old and already college graduate, I definitely†¦ Data This research study takes place in a private preschool that is located in the middle of a semi-rural area. The town that the preschool resides is home to less than three thousand residents (By Type, 2016). In the county the school is placed in, there are just under three-hundred thousand residents (By Type, 2016). Of all whom reside in the county, there are over one-hundred thousand unemployed persons, and less than twelve-hundred students are enrolled in a private preschool (By Type, 2016). The†¦ are two different groups of participants in the study who were chosen for the study arbitrarily. The goal of the study was to find the best way to help students learn better. The researcher chose to use quizzes that were given on a weekly basis. Since the quizzes are only a very small part of the students ' final grade, it is more logical to conclude that the investigator would use the exams that were given to the students as a better measure of student learning than their marks on the weekly quizzes†¦ As an international student study abroad, everyone will face lots of challenges when we came to the United States. We should overcome the language problem, loneliness, suit for the local food and etc. Now I have been the United States near two years, and I am going to give some suggestions for freshman to solve these challenges. The language challenge is the most common problem, it include daily talking and academic language. It was really hard for me when I arrived the United States, I cannot†¦ of the Social Studies class. This will be done by a more creative, pro-active, attentive, participating matter. Teacher should be able to observe the difference of students participating, successfully identifying amendments within the first 10 and comparing/contrast each. They will assist making sure students is on task, and actively socializing among peers. This is called terminal performance objective. Basically is describing what the target goals and intentions of what students have learned toward†¦ How Should Students Study? Learning is a challenging process and learning habits have always been an intriguing topic for researchers, but this topic is the greatest concern to us, the students. Students learn a variety of things in a limited time, and they would benefit from the so-called learning strategies. It appears that how information is presented not only changes what we have learned but also affects how well we have acquired it. Thus, I am going to talk about two learning strategies – the†¦ Measurement of this performance will be ascertained by separating students into two diverse classrooms. This study will examine the effects of child-directed play, teacher-directed play, and strenuous physical activity on the achievement of preschool students. For the first test, Classroom A will remain as a control group and receive a standard lesson with no activity. Classroom B will receive this same lesson after a period of child-directed play. A second lesson will be taught, but the control†¦

The role of unstable political structures on the effects of Essay

The role of unstable political structures on the effects of deregulation on competition - Essay Example This literature looks in detail the effects of political instability in the region in attracting foreign investment in the region. The telecommunication industry in UAE has shown incredible progress, this has been propelled by the government's effort intended at the deregulation of telecommunication market and bringing in competition. This has been an initiative of Telecommunication regulatory authority (TRA) which aims at enhancing competition in UAE telecommunication market. The literature looks in depth the flourishing telecom sector in UAE and gives an insight of market trends dominating telecommunication market (Jones; 46; 2006). Political willpower in UAE has also been criticized due to its failure to create conducive environment for economic players to venture in its market. Corruption in Middle East has also been a major hindrance in creating a fair play environment for investors. The literature focuses specifically on UAE liberalization of its telecommunication industry. It looks in detail effects of deregulation in UAE telecommunication market in bringing competition (Ritchie; 123; 1994). United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation made up of seven self-governing states. UAE was declared independent in 1971 from Britain. In November 2004 president Sheikh Zavid Ibn Sultan Al Nuhayyan died ending 33 years of power since independence. His son Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayid Al Nuhayyan who had been prince of Abu Dhabi succeeded his father in a smooth transition. UAE has enjoyed political stability through combination of a unique political system, which is made up of a mixture of traditional and modern administrative structures. There are no democratically chosen political parties as well as institutions. The UAE government has been under criticism by human rights group for restricting freedom of speech and that of press. The Media does not criticize its government directly also freedom of speech and religion has also been curtailed in the Islamic run country. The government has put in place a law that allows ministry of information to approve the selected editors and to license all publications. The law also controls press content and press is expected to practice self censorship (WTO; 2009). Those who comment negatively against Islam, ruling families and the government risk life imprisonment. All imported materials are reviewed by ministry of information and culture before it is distributed. Membership in the professional body of journalists (Association of journalists) is restricted to those who only work for the government run media companies. UAE telecom is one of the most developed markets with highly technological advanced infrastructure in Middle East. However until 2007 UAE's telecommunication industry had been dominated by one company, Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat).Another company by name Emirates Integrated Telecommunication company (EITC) running by brand "du" was installed to manage telecom services in UAE (Frauke; 139; 2004). Conceptual issues: Political instability

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Human Digestion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Digestion - Essay Example The wall of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is composed of muscular layers which allow two types of movements: the mixing movements and the propelling movements. Mixing movements are found in small tracts of the GIT and allow rhythmic contraction of the wall while the propulsive movements are wavelike and are also called peristalsis, pushing the mass of food into the next part of the GIT (Boland, Golding, & Singh, 2014). Mouth is the first place of food digestion and breaks food into smaller protions. Saliva also contains the enzyme salivary amylase which breaks the food starch into smaller molecules. In the oral cavity, lingual lipase is also secreted which has a very small impact on fat digestion. Saliva mixes with the food adding mucus to it forming the food bolus. The food bolus is transferred into the esophagus, which propels the bolus through persitaltic movements into the stomach. The stomach produces hydrochloric acid which is important to kill several pathogenic organisms in the food and also aids in protein digestion by converting pepsingen into pepsin. Pepsin breaks the protein into smaller chains so that they can be absorbed. Gastrin is also a part of the stomach secretions and aids in stmach motility and also stimulates the secretion of other gastric secretions. Intrinsic factor is key component in the absorption of vitamin B12, which basically ocurrs in the small intestine, terminal il leum. Without intrinsic factor, absorbtion of vitmain B12 will not be possible (Insel, Ross, McMahon, & Bernstein, 2014). Most of the digestion in the small intestine occurs in the duodenum which receives the secretions from the gall bladder, pancreas and also from the intrinsic duodenum glands. Pancreas secretes major enzymes for the digestion of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Pancreas also secretes bicarbonate secretions to aid in digestion. The presence of bile

Saturday, July 27, 2019

The influence of China Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The influence of China - Assignment Example As a young boy growing up in China, I was not concerned with my identity and aspects of diversity. However, as I grew up through my teenage years, I started to become more aware of myself as a person and my surrounding environment and it is through this way that I realised diversity. However, there is one major way through which I became aware of the aspect of my identity that relates to my country of origin. This was when I left China for the first time to stay in a different country, and in this case the United States. Here, I met people from different walks of life even as the U.S. is a highly multicultural nation. What hit me most is that during introductions with the new people I met, everyone was interested in what Asian country I was from. Therefore, I found myself introducing myself to people and mentioning repeatedly that I was from China. Thus, I had to identify myself with my country of origin more. Back in China, I did not find myself in such a situation since I was home. Â  The fact that my country of origin is China has had different implications in my academic life. For instance, academically, my colleagues who were from other countries and not China, thought of me as a mathematics and science genius. Therefore, they expected me to excel in any test or problem involving mathematics or science. In addition, most of them that were faced with different challenges tackling a mathematics problem would rush to me for assistance. People have a notion that the Chinese people are good in math and science.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Personality Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personality Disorders - Essay Example The paper reviews how chaotic lifestyles coupled with chronic life interruptions, frayed identities, and fractured support systems influence characteristics of individuals suffering from personality disorders. Not everyone finds it easy to relate with others according to the society’s expectations. In a manual by the American Psychiatric Association (2000), such manifested deviance is referred to as a personality disorder. An individual may find him or herself incapable of relating with others in conformity with accepted societal modes. Mental health disorders are categorized using a multidimensional approach envisaged in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders by assessing clinical syndromes, developmental and personality disorders, physical conditions, psychosocial sensors, and highest level of functioning. Psychology professionals often encounter various challenges in assigning accurate diagnoses of personality disorders due to the complexity of diagnosis. In the said case study, the patient does not recognize that he has a personality disorder. Judging from the age of his mother, he is a middle aged man who feels no need to associate with other human be ings and spends his time playing video games. As described by American Psychiatric Association (2000), the first axis offers descriptions of clinical symptoms that cause considerable consequences in the client’s behavior and personality. The disorders are categorized into disorders of adjustment, anxiety and pervasive development. The case study patient seems to be suffering from adjustment disorders with depressed moods. The patient, who is in his middle age, seems to suffer from the effects of his father refusing him playtime with his age mates when he was a boy. He recalls instances of his father chasing away his playmates and cites this as reason why he stays indoors playing

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Constructed Textiles for Fashion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Constructed Textiles for Fashion - Coursework Example From this paper it is clear that  there are numerous innovations   those has been made in the interior decorations such as   carpet designing, curtains designing as well as several other clothing fields by utilizing textiles designing. Currently, textile-designing clothing is gaining huge popularity among people throughout the world. Besides, textile designing is noted as one of the most important job role for a fashion designer, as it require higher level of creativity as well as specialist skills.This essay discusses that  with the advent of globalization in business domain, it has also influenced fashion industry to adopt various changes in the fashion line. People belonging to different age groups have varied and dynamic preferences regarding apparels, which need to be satisfied by the modern fashion industry. Besides, the recent changes in the clothing style have also influenced the fashion industry to apply new techniques for meeting the current requirements of designer clothes. Therefore, in the global retail industry, the demands for creative designer has also been raising in a rapid manner.  Haider Ackermann is a well-known fashion designer. Haider Ackermann is a specialist designer, who designs clothing considering the recent market demands of ready-to wear cloths. Recently, the increasing demand of the creative clothing has influenced Ackermann to launch a new trend of creative designing.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

International Financial Markets and Institutions 2 Essay

International Financial Markets and Institutions 2 - Essay Example The price at which the asset or a bond may be traded at expiration is called an exercise price or strike price. A call option is an option granting the right to buy an underlying asset. A call option on a bond would mean that the bond issuer has the option to buy back the bond at a certain price after the expiration of a certain time period. A put option is an option granting the right to sell an underlying asset. In this case, a bond investor has the right to sell back the bond at a certain price after the expiration of a certain time period. (Chance, 2009) An option is generally considered to be in-the-money when exercising the option would result in a positive cash inflow. Therefore, call options are considered to be in-the-money for the bond investor when the value of the underlying asset exceeds the exercise price. This way, if the underlying bond is bought at the exercise price, it can be sold at the market value to make positive cash inflow if delivery is term of contract and be simply a positive settlement in case cash settlement is the term of contract. A put option is considered to be in-the-money for the bond issuer when the value of the bond is lower than the exercise price. (Chance, 2009) There are three measures to calculate the yield of any bond with an attached option: yield to maturity, yield to call and yield to put. Yield to maturity measure assumes that the bond will be held to maturity and that any option on the bond will not be exercised. This means that the yield to maturity measure on a callable or putable bond is the same as the yield to maturity on a simple bond with no options. The yield to maturity is, therefore, the ‘interest rate that will make the present value of a bond’s cash flows equal to its market price plus accrued interest’. Hence, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is calculated for all the expected positive cash flows (including interest and the face value of the bond receivable at maturity) and the ne gative cash flow (purchase price of the bond). This gives us the yield to maturity. ‘A callable bond may have a call schedule. The yield to call assumes that the issuer will call a bond on some assumed call date and that the call price is the price specified in the call schedule’ (Fabozzi, 2009). You can use the yield to call concept to calculate the yield to first call or yield to next call or yield to first par call or a yield to refunding. The yield to call is calculated in the same way as any other yield. In this case we assume the call date to be the maturity date and then use the cash inflows and outflows to get the IRR and define the yield to call. The yield to put is the ‘interest rate that will make the present value of the cash flows to the first put date equal to the price plus accrued interest’ (Fabozzi, 2009). Once again, this measure assumes that the bond will be put at the first put date. Therefore, the schedule is used to identify the value of bond at the put date and calculate cash inflows and outflows. These are then used to obtain the IRR or the yield measure. Question2 You have been appointed as the Business analyst at an international fund management firm. As part of your role, you are required to prepare a report covering the following areas: a. How the Internet, and technological advances in computing power and communications affects: I. The provision of domestic and global banking products and services II. The degree of competition in the world’

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photocatalysts in Indian Medical Association Research Paper

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photocatalysts in Indian Medical Association - Research Paper Example The ability of photocatalytic substances, for example, titanium dioxide (TiO2) to disintegrate organic contaminants in the air and water has been established by Verdier et al. as one of the methods used to kill micro-organisms. Studies by Bonetta et al. have shown that the rutile and anatase forms of TiO2 have photocatalytic activity and are active against various Gram-positive & Gram-negative bacteria, yeast and green algae such as, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Chlorella Vulgaris. There are two key traits that make TiO2 ideal in the manufacture of building materials. (Rekha et al., 2010) They include photo-stimulated redox reactions of adsorbed materials and the photo-generated hydrophilic exchange of TiO2. Titanium dioxide is deemed as sedentary and safe material and has been used in many functions including the manufacture of several products such as paint, used as food additive, nutritional supplements among others.The first part of th e trial carried by the Indian Medical Association was carried in the premises whereby they tested photocatalysts efficacy of TiO2 in the Indian Scenario. The test was done as stipulated in the ISO protocol 27447:2009. The selected area of testing included the floor, door handles and table top swap of the premises. They cultured bacteria and counted the number of colonies in each sample. There was a lot of microorganism from the three selected regions. The ground floors had largest number of the organism compared to table top swap.

The Last Song Essay Example for Free

The Last Song Essay It has been widely accepted that textbook is an essential component of the classroom. It is the most common teaching device. A textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study. They are produced according to the demand of educational institution. This paper is a textbook evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the book to the 3rd year high school students in the reading development and if it provides the learning goals of each lesson, classified into listening, speaking, reading, grammar, writing and study skills, and values objectives as a tool for learning and living in the highly competitive world. Education demands a high-quality level of learning device or technology. In fact, the efficiency of the teaching-learning process depends on the authenticity and relevance of the instructional material. One of which is the textbook. One of the skills education demands is the skill on reading. Reading is the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message. According to Timothy Dwight, â€Å"A person who cannot read is something like a blind man walking through a pleasant meadow, where there are flowers and fruit trees; there are many pleasant things and many wise and good things printed in books, but we cannot get them unless we read†. It is the root of all wisdom. So what do you think would be the effect if a student will gather wrong information or inaccurate learning from a book? Textbook is book used in schools or colleges for the formal study of a subject. They play a big role in the learning process of every individual. They can make or break the student’s future. So it is really important to select the best book that you will use in facilitating learning. Well, selecting isn’t enough, there should always be an evaluation; for you to see the efficacy of every components of the book. This paper will present how a specific textbook satisfy the requirements to be considered an efficient book. Each part of the book will be criticized and evaluated whether they work for each other or some should be eliminated. The following parts of the paper are product of close reading of the book â€Å"Public Speaking and Speech Improvement for Filipino Students Fourth Edition† by Arsenia B. Tan. OBJECTIVES 1. To determine the effectiveness of the book to the 3rd year high school students in the reading development. 2. To value the importance of the reading book/s instead of depending everything on the internet. 3. To awaken the students that even in their simple ways, they can be a good public speaker. TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS I. Title of the book: Public Speaking and Speech Improvement for Filipino Students II. Author: Arsenia B. Tan III. Subject Area of Concentration: English IV. Curriculum used: Third Year High School (English III) V. Textbook Analysis: This book offers a practical approach to the fundamentals of speech improvement. Since speech is a communication, there are a number of factors that the reader must consider. If he wishes to be an effective communicator of his thoughts are feelings. The following premises will discuss each part of the book about their content, implication, and efficiency. A. Title Page The book is covered with a yellow- colored skin with the title pointed on it. The design used a picture at a speaker showing his conviction in public speaking. As a reader you will initially figure out that the book indeed offers a great content by simply looking on its cover page. B. Copyright Page The book displays the total information about the book’s publishing company, date, and authors. This would be beneficial to the students who aim to have a research. C. Table of Contents Based on convention, the topics of the book were presented in organized form. Each topic was specified with its page location. Each part of the book was placed on the table of contents. The teacher, student of any reader will have an easy time looking for the topics of the book. D. Preface The most precious gift that God has given to man is the power of speech. It is the power that distinguishes man from animals. Man uses speech to communicate his thoughts, feelings, desires, and aspirations to his fellow beings with to whom he interacts in continual living or in social activities. This is how the authors started her preface. It is indeed encouraging to read the preface. It gives us an efficient birds-eye-view about the goals and content of the book. If you will match it to the curriculum, it is suitable to the demands of the Language subjects of the students. The preface seems to be the author’s journal. You can read how dedicated she is to transmit the wisdom of public speaking to her readers. It is the main objective – to develop not only mastery of the communication skills but also proficiency in the transmission of ideas that this book has been prepared. For this reason, this book will serve as an individual tool to develop one’s communicative power to the outmost if he expects to become a competent and dynamic administrator or leader in his field of endeavour. E. Chapter Analysis A. Part 1: On Public Speaking Chapter 1: What public speaking involves? The chapter deals with the definition of public speaking. It also presents different definition from various authors of public speaking. Since the book is used for language subjects in secondary, the content of chapter one satisfy the demands of a newbie speaker who will read this book. The student will easily understand the ideas of chapter one because the words are clearly defined and the examples given are congruent to the reality of life the book describes. The teacher could also apply the tips presented in the chapter. Most of the explanations can be easily discussed through the use of examples provided. The chapter offers a self- evaluation on its last part. It is an oral examination which asks ‘What can you contribute to make your country a better place to live in as an individual? As a member of the community? As a professional? † See page 12. Basically, the activity is appropriate to test the effect of the tips given on the chapter. The teacher could assess whether learners is effectively learning. B. Chapter 2: Delivery as an effective medium of putting words into action. This particular chapter talks about delivery. Its process, definition, and aspects. The factors affecting delivery were also presented chronologically. The salient factors to underscore in the process of delivery were presented in detail. The student could easily understand the steps because they were narratively presented. And most of the examples are true to life. The student can easily relate with the scenarios of delivery. The teacher is the best demonstrator of the following reminders of delivery. If she will follow the steps given she’ll be effective in her discussion of the chapter. The chapter offers another self- evaluation which asks for application test. The activity can help the teacher to assess the student’s development in his delivery. C. Chapter 3: Developing a pleasing, impressive voice and using gestures effectively. The chapter discussed the definitions of voice and gestures. It also presented different techniques in developing the two. The book gave a lot of standard procedures in performing voice and gestures. The students are subjected to corrections and criticism whenever they attempt to perform such. The chapter could help the teacher in managing the voice quality of the students, even the execution of the gestures. The teacher should master every bits of information of this chapter three. She could effectively demonstrate the standard procedures. The chapter presented a voice drill and gestures drill which serves as an activity to evaluate the students’ mastery of the lesson. D. Chapter 4: Preparing the speech In this chapter the content is all about how will the student prepare a speech. There are factors that the student must consider as a speaker before making a speech. How to become an interesting and effective speaker are being underscore in this chapter. It also includes suggestions in preparing a speech to be a great public speaker. As a good speaker, every individual must know how to make a plan on how to produce or write an interesting beginning and a remarkable ending. The book suggests the ways in choosing a topic or a subject considering the audience, occasion, and the availability of the materials to be used in the speech. The activity given in this chapter assess the capability of the student’s knowledge on a certain topic and how will he react or present in the situation given. Thus, the given topic is somehow difficult for the students for the secondary level. The topic must be appropriate in their level. E. Chapter 5: Tackling the problem of listening. This chapter discussed the problems in listening. Basically, this is a very interesting topic for the readers who are experiencing problems in listening since talking is such a natural and endless activity that we perform in daily. We frequently have conversations without realizing that we are engaged in a public rather than in a private activity. Good thing about this chapter is that, it provides demonstrative examples like dialogues of native speakers as they overcome problems in listening. It also discussed different symptoms and signs about having listening problems. The students could easily relate to the lesson because students nowadays are sometimes experiencing listening problems. The chapter’s topic is a challenge to the teacher because it provides different tips to solve the listening problems. Part of which are the suggested activities see page 52- 53. F. Chapter 6: Variations in the forms of your prepared speeches. This chapter is a performance- based part. The time to speak has come! The students should have to stand before an audience and deliver their speech. This chapter asks for what kind of category of speech will the student perform on a specific purpose. The chapter provided concrete excerpts and sample speeches from different sources (see bibliography) which played a big role in transmitting the skills in speaking. There are also practical speeches to be practiced after every type of speech. A student could also use the examples to compare their speech efficiency to others. The teacher is privilege to have this part of the book because she will not have a hard time looking for resources. She could easily facilitate learning by simply using the given examples of speech on the chapter. Education- wise, the chapter also provided a practical activity on the latter part of it. It requires students to perform different types of speeches see page 66. G. Chapter 7: Speaking with a definite purpose. After discussing how to speak, this chapter aims to illustrate different purposes why we speak. The general purpose of speaking is usually to inform, to inspire, to convince, to entertain, to persuade. The student is lucky to have this part of the book, only limited books presents comprehensive details about different purpose of speeches. They could practice and inculcate in their minds the variation of speeches according to specific purpose. As expected, this chapter provided examples of speeches depending on its specific purpose of such. It presented narrative explanation of each type of purposeful speeches. A teacher can facilitate learning by using different examples given to this chapter. In fact, most activities are already given in the evaluation part of this book. H. Chapter 8: The art of audience psychology. As we observed, the topics are getting deeper and more complex. Since speeches are fundamentally built around people’s lives and are primarily directed to an audiences it is of vital importance to study the audience and to know the art of its psychology if a public speaker wishes to be successful and efficient during the moment of speech communication. This chapter, it was clearly searched that a speaker should master the audience’s psychology. In fact, it provides different factors to remember the audience’s psychology. The teacher is expected to discuss all pointers given in the chapter through the use of practical examples given in the book. In the evaluation part, it can be used in the actual discussion because it is performance- based. See page 85. I. Chapter 9: Can children and teenagers become public speakers and type of audience in a public speaking occasion. In this chapter, children and teenagers as public speakers and as an audience in a public speaking occasion. They will surely gasp with disbelief and prospect of seeing children and teenagers going to podium, standing before a microphone and getting ready to deliver a speech. This chapter deals with the other dimension to consider in public speaking. It focuses on a specific human age. These are children and teenager. Basically, childhood is the beginning of development. This chapter offers different pointers and suggestions on how to develop public speaking skill in special occasion. The teacher can use the given excerpts and literary pieces to facilitate the activities which the chapter demands. It is comprehensive because standard procedures were given to be able to perform a speech. J. Chapter 10: Getting involved with a group discussion. Today, we recognized the value of group discussions. Many changes are brought about in our social, political, and religious conditions. Religious conditions through participation of individuals in group discussions. After learning bout individual’s performances, this chapter moved to the next level which is group discussions. The student is being prepared for social interaction. It also presented the different requirements of group communication. The teacher and student can distinguish how efficient a group can be in accomplishing something that would be impossible or at least improbable for a person will depend on a large degree upon the ability of the group members to communicate effectively when they find themselves in a group situation. This chapter is a great source to read because nowadays we are dealing with a multi- cultural world wherein we are demanded to be socially competent. This chapter gave an activity see page 128. It asked the student’s to perform an activity about group communication. ’ K. Chapter 11: The campaign speech. Since speech is broad, this chapter tackles a specific kind of speech which is the campaign speech. This is beneficial to students or even teachers who are hoping to be efficient in campaign speeches. We live in an era today, where politics, economics and social event dominated and determined the outcome of people’s life and destiny. This chapter discussed the definition, importance, implication, and glamour of campaign speech. It provides different styles and techniques in a good campaign speech. Each part of the speech is discussed on how to create such and how to implement. Each part provided different exercises which can test and practice the student’s efficiency in campaign speech. The attitudes of a campaign speaker cited can be used by the teacher while discussing the topic. It serves as a motivation for them because the exercises were really challenging for the learners. L. Chapter 12: Speeches for special occasion. Public speaking is indeed multi- faceted. It appears In different forms as it evolve out many varied occasions in which a person is asked to speak publicly. There is a variety of occasions that produce special types of public speaking and though brief in nature may still require a professional mode of preparation and delivery of speech in public and may demand guidelines to help the speaker achieve his goals. A student can efficiently master these topics presented simply because life is full of special occasions, wherein these occasions requires a good speaking skills. As a beginner, this is a good source of wisdom to follow. Practical examples and guidelines on making speeches for special occasions were given. Speech for special occasions is done with the use of following steps. So each topic gives procedures on how to perform such. The teacher can use the activities provided on page 49. M. Chapter 13: Some special types of public speaking which arise from occasional, historical, or special events of the time. There are types of speeches evolves only out of the occasional, historical, or special events that happen in a country, region, city or any business on educational institutions wherein buildings are expected to commemorate a special historical events or when important persons who have dedicated their whole life to the source of a country, on a well- known business organization or an outstanding educational institution are accorded full honours for their unstinting and meritorious works or services to humanitarian causes by means of status or other sculptural works in order to perpetuate their names during and specially after their life time. It is a great chapter because the newly- invented types of speeches were presented comprehensively the standard procedures were also presented comprehensively the standard procedures were also presented orderly in detailed- manner. The chapter offers practical activities about the types of speeches presented. The speeches can be read by the students and performed inside the class. The teacher can also make different activities suggested by the book. * Chapter 13’s Appendices This is a special portion of the book because it gives a lot of examples or ifferent genres of public speaking (see page 166-176). Some books don’t offer this portion. These examples can be used and implemented in the different speaking activities the teacher wish to perform. Drills for children on vowel and consonantal sounds through these action nursery rhymes and through varieties of poems. N. Chapter 14: The interview and choral verse recitation. From single performance/ speech this chapter pres ented a more complex speech type. They’re actually considered as special form of public speaking. Why? Because this special speeches requires two or more number of speakers. First on the list is the interview this will be very beneficial to the students because one of these days they will experience an interview. Another is the choral verse this is also known as â€Å"speech choir† the unity of voice and mind here is very important. The teacher can use different sources given for evaluating the acquired knowledge by the students. It provides situational activities wherein the students will be the one to decide on what to do. O. Chapter 15: Dramatic interpretation and play production. This is the last objective chapter of the books and this is another phase of public speaking. This time it tackles about drama and play production. As a public speaker being an actor is a must. The students and teachers shall deal with dramatic interpretation and play production as distinct special forms of public speaking. Principles and factors to consider in Drama were presented comprehensively. It will surely benefit for all the students. B. Part II. On Speech Improvement Students who desire to master the pronunciation of English or American vowels and consonant sounds that give them difficulties in the roduction of these sounds. This is a special part of the book wherein from lesson (1-51) are presented for the enhancement of the student’s proficiency in speaking. The students will be provided guidelines during the production of these sounds such as the position of the tongue, type of the sound, lip formation, etc. Students who wish to be proficient in the pronunciation o f the English or American show some clusters must always bear in mind that these consonant clusters are among difficult sounds for speakers of other language. A. Appendices The sources used were presented in a standard format of bibliography. It is good because the future researchers won’t have difficulty in using the book. The sources are efficient for the reader to use. B. Bibliography It is rare for textbook to have â€Å"appendices†. This part contains different excerpts and masterpieces which can be used by the students in exercising the lesson of public speaking. GENERAL FINDINGS: Fit between Student and Text 1. Content / Explanation Is the content likely to be of interest or use to the students? The book is easy to read and has a refreshing style. It has a â€Å"Speech Improvement Part† that is relevant to the book content and it captured the interest of the students because of its contents that contains oral reading and acting activities that will develop the student’s skills in reading and speaking. And also it helps the teacher to evaluate the individual progress of the students. 2. Examples Are the examples appropriate to the lives and interests of the students? Do the examples fit closely with the concepts they are supposed to be explaining? The examples in the textbook are appropriate and interesting because it helps the pupils to learn more. The textbook also provides an illustration in the example which emphasizes the real life situation where pupils will learn. 3. Exercises / Tasks Do the exercises or tasks provide enough variety to meet the needs of different kinds of learners in the class (es)? Will they be of interest to those students? The exercises or tasks provide enough variety to meet the needs of different kinds of learners in the class by means of providing activities which are systematically organized to develop reading proficiency. It meets the interest of the learners, because it includes enjoyable activities which they can relate and apply the things that they have learned. 4. Presentation / Format Does the book look right for these Students? Are the illustration and other graphical and design elements appropriate for their age and educational level? Is the printed text easy to read and appropriate for their reading level? Is the mix between print and white space balanced so that readability is enhanced and appropriate? Does the book have an index, appendices, or other sections that are usable by students? Is the book well-constructed will it last a term of hard use by students? Yes, because the illustrations, graphical designs elements and all its contents are appropriate for the student’s age and grade level. It is conducive for learning. In fact, the hierarchy of lessons is in the simple to complex form. Which is really good for the readers? ADVANTAGES OF THE TEXTBOOK 1. The reading exercises provide practice in a variety of informational skills and reading comprehension skills. 2. The important words are being emphasized by means of bolding the letters. 3. Concrete how-to procedures are given, based on actual teaching experience. TABLE I. Analysis of Content for implementation of teaching Linguistic Content| The content contributes towards addressing learning objectives of the system. It teaches pupils to be an English-educated person for it helps to develop reading English skills. Concepts and skills are presented in the most logical sequence, from reading readiness level to the highest level, to make it easier for the pupils to learn and for the teacher to teach, and also to help pupils to enhance their creative or logical thinking. Thematic Content| The book contains two (2) that has different topic, and in each unit contains different lessons. Since this is a reading and speaking book, in the first unit the topic is all about â€Å"On Public Speaking†, second unit entitled â€Å"On Speech Improvement†,The topic in each unit makes happen to students that reading is fun and interesting. By this topics It can motivate st udents to read more, since each theme are connected to the lessons to be tackled. | Table II. Analysis of Teaching Activities for Implementation in Teaching Which of the activities provided in this textbook will I do in class? Chapter 7, Activity 2. The re-enactment of a specific scenario is one of the most done in English Classes. | Which activities in the textbook will I assign as homework? | Chapter 4 (Activity 1-4) The student should prepare different tips on how to create a speech by using different sources or speakers. | Which activities in the textbook will I hold back to use for testing? | Unit 2, (Chapter 2) Mastery of the English Sounds. With this type of activities it focuses with one main goal; to evaluate whether the learners understand the topic or not. We can also identify if the information given was acquired by the learners and how long it was retained with their minds. | Which activities in the textbook can be used for review later in the term? | The activities that can be used for review are activities are Chapter 1, Activity 1. With these types of activities teachers can evaluate whether the learners are listening to the stories presented in class and how they will reason-out with the questions being asked. | Which activities in the textbook require longer periods of time to accomplish- special projects? Chapter 6, (Interview and prepare a talk about a famous TV show nowadays, in this activity learners is requiring a lot of self-confidence, Creativeness is one approach that learners could apply with this said activity. | Which activities in the textbook might require special Equipment that was to be ordered ahead of time? | Activities 6(Role playing) are the activities in the textbook that might require special equipment. The reason why it requires special equipment for the learners to see the reality of things. Having props and costumes conveys someone’s curiosity and imagination. With this role playing activities the learners can witness and experienced what’s in the book and how it was being done. | Which activities in the textbook do I not want to do at all? | Chapter 14, Activity 1. Prepare a choral verse presentation. | CONCLUSION The program of activities should follow a predictable format wherein each lesson is covered in one week. Planning that the students will know in advance what areas of development are to be taken up each day. DAY| ACTIVITY| Mondays and Tuesdays| Developmental reading skills with emphasis to comprehension. Wednesdays| Functional skills with emphasis on the materials in science, math, social studies, and other subject areas. | Thursdays| Literary appreciation skills with emphasis on reading for enjoyment and enrichment. | Fridays| Review and testing of the reading skills covered during the week, including unite test. | RECOMMENDATION Since it is for 3rd year high school students, as observed the book doesn’t have a lo t of graphics which the learners like to see and learned, especially for the gestures taught. I recommend that all pictures/illustrations must be in practical and visible design regarding with some activities, I prefer to suggest putting some rubrics for evaluation purposes. With their young age, I think this kind of activities is not truly appropriate. 3rd year high school students are in the stage of reading refinement wherein they can figure out the purpose for reading. Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies. Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory. And of course select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and interactively. Students comprehension improves and their confidence increases when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct meaning. Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed. Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures, helping them learn to use alternate and the directions to be followed or if they can’t put a glossary in the back of the book can surely help the learners if they can see the meanings of hard words they have encountered. Another thing is the book must have an index, because an index seeks to direct the reader/s to all names and subjects on which the book has information. Index can set as a guide with the learners if they are in trouble of finding their lessons.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Patterns of Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Patterns of Behaviour Essay To form a reaction the particles must collide in high speed. The faster the particles collide the more kinetic energy is produced. This produces a bigger reaction. There are five key variables that affect the rate of a reaction (in this case with a solid and a solution): Change in temperature An increase in heat energy within the particles leads to more kinetic energy. Therefore there is more collision of particles and it increases the rate of the reaction. When we decrease the amount of heat energy, this will evidently slow down the reaction. For example we slow down the process of our food rotting by placing it in a fridge or a freezer. Change in concentration The concentrations of acids are classed in molars, so 2m would quite a strong concentrated acid, 0. 5m would be a very dilute weak acid and 1m would be in between the two. Also, the more concentrated the acid, the more particles it contains, so there is more of a chance for collisions.   Change of particle size Increasing the surface area of the particles would lead to more collision. We do this by making the particles smaller. For instance peeling a large potato would not take as long as peeling four small potatoes; this is because the smaller potatoes have a larger surface area for you to peel. Pressure (for gases only) Increasing the pressure would bring particles closer together so there would be more of a chance for collision.   Catalyst A catalyst lowers the activation of energy required, consequently there being a faster reaction. The three variables we are choosing to show which effect the rate of reaction in our experiments are: Particle size Concentration   Temperature Pressure was inappropriate to use as a variable, because we were not using two gases and a catalyst was unsuitable to use for small tests like these. I think that the tests in changing the temperature will have the fastest times, as the hotter a solution is the more the particles will move and collide, thus the rate of carbon dioxide being produce will be faster. I also think that the large particles test will take the slowest amount of time because of the lack of surface area and the reverse will occur with the test with powered calcium carbonate. Plan We will be running a various number of experiments to prove what effects the rate of reaction with calcium carbonate (marble chips) and hydrochloric acid. The balanced equation for these reactants along with the products: Calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid calcium chloride + carbon dioxide + water Ca Co + 2 HCl Ca Cl + Co + H O When experimenting with the effects of the particle size we will use three sizes: large marble chips, small marble chips and powered calcium carbonate. For the tests in concentration of acid we will use 2m, 1m and 0. 5m. We will use 50cc of hydrochloric acid in each test to guarantee precise results. Finally for the experiments with the changes of temperature we will be heating the acid using a bunsen burner for two temperatures: 30i and 40i , then leaving the acid at room temperature (around 22i ). We will measure the temperature accurately using a thermometer. These will be the only three things that we are going to vary, to explain what affects the rate of reaction. We will also only be testing one variable at a time. For example, in the test for concentration we will obviously be varying the concentration of the acid (0. 5, 1 and 2m) but we will be keeping the temperature and the particle size the same (room temp. and small marble chips). To tell us what actually affects the rate of reaction we will monitoring how fast carbon dioxide is given off. To find this out we will have a plastic basin containing water. A test tube measuring 10cc filled with water will be held upside down in the basin of water and a delivery tube will be attached to the beaker holding the acid and calcium carbonate and the other end will be positioned in the test tube in the water. We will use all the same apparatus to ensure everything is fairly tested and is accurate to the equipment we are using. As the acid reacts with the calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide is released. This will travel through the delivery tube and into the test tube. The test tube will fill up with carbon dioxides and the water will pushed out. We will be timing this with a stop clock. As the water descends to 1cc we will record the time, then at 2cc, again at 3cc and so forth. At the end of each experiment we should have 10 times recorded. For each factor, instead of just performing the experiment once, we will repeat it three times to provide us with a more accurate end result. In total we will be doing 27 tests to show what effects the rate of reaction. Diagram To make certain that this method is good enough and to certify that it worked properly we will carried out a trail experiment. We used all the average variables for fair testing. So the temperature was at room (22i ) the concentration not to strong or weak (1m) and the small marble chips. Trial experiment results 1 molar room temperature small marble chips Min/sec 1cc 1:41 2cc 3:15 3cc 4:46 4cc 6:13 5cc 7:35 6cc 9:03 7cc 10:34 8cc 11:56 9cc 13:27 10cc 14:33 The carbon dioxide was released very slowly in this test. It took over fourteen and a half minutes for it to finish and this would not be practical because of the limited time been given to conduct all our experiments. It took so long, because we had only put one small marble chip in. There were no more calcium carbonate particles to react with the acid particles, so this had a dramatic effect on the time. On In each test we do we will always place more particles than the amount we need, so there is excess calcium carbonate at the end to make sure it does not run out during the test. Because this was the first time we were trying the tests out we were a bit slow placing the bung on and maybe some of the carbon dioxide had escaped. To improve our main experiments to achieve accurate results we had to place the bung on as soon as we dropped in the calcium carbonate to make sure no carbon dioxide escaped. Results Concentration 0. 5 molar room temperature small marble chips 1st 2nd 3rd Average Temperature Room temperature 1molar small marble chips 1st 2nd 3rd AverageAnalysis On the concentration graph the average of the 0. 5m results was looked very different compared to the 1m and 2m averages. Because it took the longest time to reach 10cc of carbon dioxide, the gradient of the line of best fit sloped very gently. The release of carbon dioxide started off very slow at the being. It took 1:30 minutes to reach 1cc, then the rate quickened and in 2 minutes 5cc of carbon dioxide had been given off. On the graph the gradient in those two minutes steepened. The rate slowed down after that and the release of carbon dioxide was gradual and steady.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Social Infrastructure and Economic Growth

Social Infrastructure and Economic Growth Abstract This dissertation has had a focus on the relationship and links between social infrastructure and economic growth in the context of Sub-Saharan countries. Predictability in development and growth is oftentimes linked to various endogenous conditions that can ultimately enhance or detract from the overall potential of a modern nation. The object of this research was represented by social and economic indicators in 23 Sub-Saharan countries. The aim was to find out whether the social infrastructure has a statistically significant impact on economic growth in this region. In order to reach this aim, the method of regression analysis has been implemented. The study has covered a wide range of social and economic variables observing them for a period from 1980 to 2008. The results of the study revealed that only population growth, life expectancy and savings rates are statistically significant determinants of economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. This finding has supported the assumpti on that social infrastructure is an important factor that effect economic growth and development. However, the research has been limited by the lack of information on all 33 countries in Sub-Saharan region. Therefore, the sample was reduced to 23 countries. Furthermore, some social indicators such as Gini coefficient and mortality rates were not available for some of the older years in the sample. The study ends with recommendations to policy makers and discussion of implications. Dedication and Acknowledgment This dissertation is dedicated to my parents who I love unconditionally. I would like to express my gratitude to the University staff for the knowledge they shared with me and inspiring me to think critically. Authors Declaration I declare that the research project has been independently prepared by myself and represents an original work with no plagiarism. All external ideas and quotations have been properly referenced. The full list of references is contained at the end of the dissertation. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background As economic theory has evolved over the past several decades, a variety of variables have begun to infiltrate the standard models of growth and development. Roseta-Palma et al. (2010), for example, recognise that human capital has become an increasingly important variable in growth modelling, suggesting that the force behind such capital can radically alter the shape and potential of industry and markets. However, there is an inherent expectation of support, one which is based on the conceptualisation of the social infrastructure that leads the vocal masses to expect national investment in their wellbeing. To perform within a developing nation, society must be supported. The support must include effective health care and improved educational standards. The perpetuation of economic performance within diverse marketplaces ultimately relies upon the sustainability of such practices, leveraging human capital and contributing to market development. The theoretical background of this dissertation is represented by the elements of the economic theory that explains the growth and expansion as well as the role and influence of social factors. Econometric models put forward by the UN will be of particular importance. The research project will also review the arguments of famous contemporary economists such as Stiglitz (2009) and Jones and Klenow (2010). This will serve a useful theoretical background to the wider analysis, which is required for answering the research questions. The literature review will also cover the mainstream development theories such as dependency theory and social justice theory. From a conceptual perspective, researchers such as Newman and Tomson (1989) provide a precedence of focusing on social factors in economic development. They argue that social infrastructure is an essential element in sustainable long term growth of the economy. This theory may only be accepted as valid if it is statistically supported using the case studies of the economies. The testing has previously conducted by Jones and Klenow (2010). The researchers indeed supported the theory by finding that economic growth was boosted by increasing life expectancy in many countries. However, these researchers have not found such support of the theory for African countries in Sub-Saharan region. Therefore, this dissertation will attempt to study this region in more details and find statistical dependency between the social infrastructure and economic growth. Using the method of multiple regressions, a sample of 23 countries in Sub-Saharan region will be explored. The study will cover a period from 1980 to 2009. 1.2 Aims and Objectives In African countries, economic growth is a function of a wide range of variables such as foreign aid, foreign direct investments (FDI), policy reformation and liberalisation and others. This investigation seeks to examine a link, which is frequently overlooked in this dynamic and evolving economic system: social infrastructure. There is an innate reciprocity between social infrastructure and economic growth, one which requires further definition within the context of African evolution in order to determine the true order of events. In order to limit the scope and breadth of this study, the following aims and objectives were established: †¢ To determine whether social infrastructure is a fundamental determinant of economic growth. †¢ To explore statistical significance of social infrastructure as a determinant of the economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. †¢ To recommend strategic policy implications for the transition economies in Sub-Saharan region that would help them to grow and expand. 1.3 Research Questions Based on the aforementioned aims and objectives, particular research questions were defined. They focus on investigation of the relations between the African social infrastructure and economic growth experienced by various nations within this region. It may be argued that the socio-economic aspects, which contributed to successes for many nations, remain inconsistent and non-definable today. Based on this supposition, the following research questions were defined prior to engaging in the investigative process: †¢ What are the primary threats/pitfalls associated with economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa today? †¢ Does social infrastructure have a statistically significant impact on economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries? 1.4 Chapter Layout In order to standardise the research project, it was important to create a clear structure and presentation format. The study is structured in a way that would allow for progressing from more general information regarding the Sub-Saharan countries to more specific information regarding the variables that have a direct impact on the growth of the transition economies. The rest of the research project has the following structure. †¢ Chapter 2: Literature Review. This chapter focuses on a broad range of theoretical and empirical data that has been retrieved from a variety of academic sources. This literature review explores the determinants of the social infrastructure for developing nations, focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. †¢ Chapter 3: Methodology. This chapter highlights the research methodology chosen during the collection and analysis of empirical data. Based on the precedence established by the past researchers, econometric modelling is used as the main method of the r esearch. This chapter also discussed the strategies and approached that were used with their justification. †¢ Chapter 4: Data Presentation. This chapter reveals the main findings and results of the research. The historical statistical data is presented and analysed. Correlation and regression analysis is applied to the data. The main results are summarised in tables and figures. †¢ Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis. In this section, a synthesis of academic and empirical data is presented. The discussion is focused on the original research questions and objectives. They are compared to the findings achieved by previous researchers. Similarities and differences are analysed and explained. †¢ Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations. The final chapter provides the final insight into the relations between social infrastructure and economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. Recommendations for future research are offered since the research project has encountered par ticular limitations that have to be addressed in the future. Furthermore, policy implications are recommended in this chapter. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Measuring Economic Growth While it is widely recognised that the measurement of economic growth provides an accurate picture of development and achievement in transition nations, the inherent value of such metrics has been questioned during the last decade because of several pitfalls. Hoogvvelt (2001:8) argues that in early development models, all emphasis was placed on strategic enhancement of the transition economies with impoverished nations. A traditional indicator of economic growth is represented by GDP. While conceptually indicative of growth and economic expansion, this indicator has been recently challenged as an effective measurement of sustainable national development. In fact, researchers such as Stiglitz (2002, 2007) and Collier (2007) have offered the arguments on the fact that GDP fails to represent an accurate picture of national economic welfare. It is argued to limit the identification of economic inequality and circumvent such influential social indicators as mortality rates, GNI per capita , education levels, etc. Other researchers such as Thakur (2006) have suggested that the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) should be used as an alternative measure of economic growth besides the GDP. 2.2. Growth Models The economic theory provides different growth models that explain the factors of economic growth and help to determine what cause an economy to expand. Among the well-established theories of growth are the neo-classical models suggested by Solow (1956: 65) and Ramsey (1928: 543). However, there are also alternative models that have recently been proposed. The most notable example is the endogenous growth model. 2.2.1. Neo-classical Growth Model of Solow and Ramsey The exogenous growth model has been originally presented by Solow (1956: 65). It is an extension of the previously formulated Harrod-Domar growth model. The latter suggests that the rate of economic growth is a function of the productivity of the countrys capital and the savings rates. Solow (1956: 65) has improved the Harrod-Domar growth model by differentiating between the new capital that emerged from the use of new technology and old capital. Diminishing returns started playing an important role in the exogenous growth model. Solow (1956:65) has also added labour to the determinants of the economic growth. The researcher argues that more than one factor of production should be included in the growth model. These factors are capital and labour. The researcher also emphasises the role of the technological progress in the economic growth. However, the model may be criticised for failing to provide the explanation of how and why the technology develops. In addition, the exogenous growth model may be criticised for neglecting the factor of entrepreneurship, which is argued to have a strong impact on economic growth (Braunerhjelm, 2008: 51; Audretsch et al, 2006: 119). Mathematically, the exogenous growth model may be presented as follows: Where Y is the output of the country; K is total capital (both new and old); L stands for labour; A represents technological development. The exogenous growth model is heavily reliant on the indicators estimated per capita. Hence, it places a significant emphasis on the role of the population growth in the economic growth. The capital per worker is argued to be growing only if the savings rates exceed the rate of populations growth and the level of depreciation of the capital. The exogenous growth model also suggests that the savings rate would be steady in the long run and have a positive correlation with the economic growth, i.e. the countries with higher savings rates will be expected to have higher economic growth. However, this notion was criticised by Ramsey (1928: 543) who proposed an alternative neo-classical model of growth. In his model the savings rates are assumed to be varying and not constant. The Ramsey model has changed the way the capital is modelled. Mathematically, it is represented as follows: Where k is capital; c is consumption; ÃŽ ´ is the rate of depreciation of capital; f (k) is the value of total production. Since the savings rates are not viewed as constant, the level of consumption is also considered as a varying process since it is tightly connected to savings. Since neither Ramsey nor Solow model of growth included the factor of entrepreneurship and explained technological progress as an endogenous process, an alternative model has been developed. It is called endogenous growth model (Barro and i-Martin, 2004: 205). 2.2.2. Endogenous Growth Model The previously discussed exogenous growth models suggested that a countrys GDP is a function of the savings rate and technological advances. Nonetheless, these exogenous growth models failed to show how savings are determined and how the technological changes are driven. These limitations are effectively solved by the endogenous growth model. It suggests that savings rates are simply a function of the utility maximising actions of the economic agents. Given the financial constraints, companies would aim to maximise their net income while consumers will tend to maximise their utility (Romer, 1986: 89). The endogenous growth model also explains technological progress as a result of the favourable policies from the government that do not restrict innovations and changes in the industries. It is valid to argue that in developing countries the governments may attempt to put certain restrictions on changes and innovations in order to protect the key sectors of the economy. The endogenous growth theory suggests that such actions would lead to a slowdown in the economic growth in the longer term. The theory also views company investments in the research and development as the way to technological progress and faster economic growth. Hence, the theory explains the growth of the economy with microeconomic elements (Aghion and Howitt, 1992: 323). However, the model has also been criticised in the economic literature. For example, Parente (2001: 51) argues that the endogenous growth model, even though being more complex, still fails to explain why there is a divergence in the national income per capita in emerging economies and developed countries. 2.3. The Social Factors, Economic Development and Equality A widespread academic research on social equality demonstrates that impoverished nations have traditionally failed to achieve healthy social infrastructure, which can sustain development amongst all groups of the population. Sebitosi and Pillay (2005:2045), for example, argue that poverty â€Å"is largely due to failure by society to productively deploy human resources† (Sebitosi and Pillay, 2005: 2045). The researchers argue that the governments of the countries with transition economies and policymakers cannot actively engage every individual in economic activities. In many cases, funding welfare programmes that were fiscally unsustainable has had minimal impact on the social welfare of the national inhabitants (Sebitosi and Pillay, 2005:2045). This is also illustrated by the efforts made by the African National Congress (ANC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ultimately, it is the strategic utilisation of national resources that will allow for perpetuated social stability, gradual reduction of poverty over and improvement of social infrastructure. Sebitosi and Pillay (2005:2048) argue that availability of resources and the specifics of the culture determine the social infrastructure in a country. This, in turn, plays a role in the economic growth and development. Equality is a term used for describing the gap between the rich part of the population and the poor. This term is also expanded to describe the difference in rights between males and females, young and old, native and foreign ethnic groups, etc. Researchers such as Morvaridi (2008) and Houtzager (2005) argue that the merits of equality should be used as indicators of long term sustainability and economic growth of a nation. Anderson and Cavnagh (2009) have presented empirical evidence on the existence of income inequality and gender inequality that negatively impact the economic growth and development. Other academics (e.g. Sen, 2001) suggest that innate human rights must play a fundamental role in the development discourse, emphasising deficiencies within the national infrastructure that interrupt widespread equality. Accessibility and availability of resources and the level of social equality in developing nations are frequently identified as primary indicators of social development. Researchers such as Moradi and Baten (2005) have modelled social inequality according to anthropometric data. The model is focused on the level of development of social groups over the past decade. Their evidence highlights two different phenomena that have implications for policymakers in the future. First, the authors argue that evolution of the food supply has a direct and measurable impact on the physical characteristics of the population. Second, the marked increase in the social inequality has a direct impact on the resource accessibility and, subsequently, on the growth pattern of the surveyed nations (Moradi and Baten, 2005:1254). The implications of such evidence transcend the limitations of the model itself. The researchers recommend the governments to provide favourable external conditions for redistribution of wealth and resources in order to achieve higher rates of economic growth and development. 2.4. Resources, Social Determinants of Development and Opportunities In economic analysis of national development, indicators of sustainable growth are oftentimes linked to the advancement of technology, resources, and industrial activity. From a social standpoint, it is the access to resources and provision of more advanced amenities that allow researchers to effectively measure progress. Buys (2009:1496), for example, explored a widespread diffusion of cellular phones throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, modelling competitive networks according to the population concentration and government policy measures. Their time-scale representation of progress in cell-phone usage throughout this continent suggests that strategic policy reform has provided the most significant opportunity for widespread distribution of such technologies (Buys, 2009:1497). Improved competition amongst providers led to the spread of a sustainable low cost technology across the countries. This evidence suggests that opportunities play an important role in social and economic development. These opportunities, however, should be provided by the government and policy makers. Social factors in the sustainability of economic growth can oftentimes be overlooked in academia. Researchers focus instead on more tangible variables, attempting to model economic growth using purely economic variables and neglecting social factors. Chou (2006:910) demonstrates how social capital, as a strategic resource, can have a measurable and long term impact on the growth of a nation and its economic development. Essentially, as policymakers provide the resources for social capital to develop and expand, the infrastructure will simultaneously expand, allowing individuals to use the skills they have developed in a more effective and productive way. Over the long term, Chou (2006) suggests that technology and favourable policies of the government will lead countries to sustainable economic growth and stronger social infrastructure. Other models of social infrastructure have focused on the more practical composition of this expanding network. They emphasised such factors as the progress in transportation and population movement patterns. Porter (2002:286), for example, suggests that sustained improvements in both rural and urban transportation signal development progress in African nations. In particular, the author argues that economic recession of the 1980s and 1990s in African countries was reinforced by the poor condition of roads, transport and weak infrastructure. The deterioration of the transport infrastructure would reduce transport efficiency for the exchange of goods and services, resulting in a downward spiral in commercial activities (Porter, 2002:287). Porter (2002:296) argues that one of the methods to provide sustainable economic development is to stimulate the ‘scaling up of the national economy through the installation and evolution of social institutions. So, focusing on inequity in social development and the limitations imposed on infrastructure development and sustainability, the reviewed academics demonstrate how the consequence of restrictive social development is ultimately the deterioration of economic growth. The following empirical investigation will attempt to model such occurrences in modern Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting those key variables that affect economic development. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1. Research Model Researchers such as Moradi and Baten (2005:1234) argue that anthropometric models are fundamentally beneficial in the studies of national development, providing valuable insight into particular social factors that are indicative of long term development. In their analysis of Sub-Saharan African development, the authors used such models to analyse the data on accessibility of resources (i.e. nutritional and health inputs), providing a bounding metric by which they were able to evaluate inequality in the region (Moradi and Baten, 2005:1236). In a research model that was focused on a similar issue regarding the social determinants of economic growth, Newman and Tomson (1989:464) used World Bank databases to identify particular social indicators and statistically connect them to economic development. The methods and models of this dissertation are based on the research methodology of Newman and Tomson (1989: 464) and Jones and Klenow (2010). The econometric models will be represented by several equations that start from simpler ones and progress to the more complicated, which include additional variables and dummies. The list of equations that will be used is provided below. gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÃŽ µij (1) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ÃŽ µij (2) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + ÃŽ µij (3) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummyrij + ÃŽ µij (4) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummytij + ÃŽ µij (5) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummyrij + Ï„dummytij + ÃŽ µij (6) Among these models, the best one will be selected with the Akaike information criterion. Random and fixed effects will be used in the panel regression models to investigate, for example, the impact of the geographical location on the economic growth and other factors. A general form of the panel regression model with fixed effects will be as follows: yij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Xij + uij, where the error term u is assumed to be a sum of the fixed effect and another error term: uij = ÃŽ ¼i + ÃŽ ½ij. The random effect model will be different from this one in how it explains ÃŽ ¼i and ÃŽ ½ij . These terms are assumed to be completely independent. Furthermore, they random variable effect implies that these terms are normally distributed, i.e. The choice of the methodology is consistent with the theoretical concepts of the growth models reviewed in the literature and supported by such economists as Solow (1956), Romer (1986) and Barro and i-Martin (2004). The theory of economic growth expressed by these economists mainly suggests that a countrys GDP is a function of both economic variables and social. In particular, it has been seen in the literature review that exogenous growth model connects GDP with the savings rates and technical progress. The theory of Solow (1956) and the growth theories in Barro and i-Martin (2004) also suggest that GDP is related to the population (social variable) because the latter determines the amount of capital and labour as factors of production. Hence, the core of the econometric model has been built on the exogenous growth theory proposed by Solow (1956) and explained in Barro and i-Martin (2004). However, it was found in literature review that this theory was also criticised. The models ha s been enhanced by inclusion of additional variables to make it more complicated and create a representation of social infrastructure, which is a key focus of the research. 3.2. Research Instruments, Approach and Sampling Based on the research model presented by Moradi and Baten (2005) and Newman and Tomson (1989), this investigation is focused on the changes in economic growth as a result of a number of social and economic variables that have been described. Researchers Thomas (2003) and Creswell (2009) provide models of empirical research, emphasising a unique link between both quantitative (statistical, data-driven) and qualitative (phenomenological, experience-driven) data streams. Their mixed method research approach places one of these two methods in a primary position over the other, allowing the subsequent research to serve as a validation mechanism. The data used in the dissertation is entirely based on economic development statistics within the Sub-Saharan African counties. However, the various phenomena, which contribute to such development, are of primary concern for the relevance and validity of this investigation. Therefore, a mixed method research approach was chosen for the study. Using this method, statistical findings will be achieved and later compared with various economic and social phenomena across the surveyed nations. Because there are 33 different nations currently associated with Sub-Saharan Africa, this research has chosen a sample of the top 23 countries in terms of population, attempting to retrieve data that is directly relevant to the conceptualisation of the long term sustainable growth and the impact of the social infrastructure on this process. Non-probability sampling technique has been implemented in choosing the countries. This decision may be justified by the fact that total population represented by the 33 countries in Sub-Saharan region is quite small and could be used without picking a sample. However, sampling was needed since a limited amount of data was available for the countries. Historical statistics have been gathered from Penn World Table, International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2010) and World Bank (2010) database. These sources provided information for only 23 counties in the Sub-Saharan region. 3.3. Strategy of Research While all of Africa could have provided very general information relative to the development of these nations as a conglomerate, it was important to evaluate the social infrastructure of these nations to narrow the scope of the research. The case study research strategy has been employed in order to investigate the social and economic situation in all the companies within the chosen sample. The case study strategy, which was popularised by Yin (2009), allows the researcher to extract particular data from complex problems and identify those variables, which are most significant. Furthermore, this strategy allows for effective exploration of both the statistics and context of the problem (Saunders et al, 2007, p.119). Yin (2009) presents a model of the investigative case study, suggesting that the breadth and focus of research questions will ultimately define the methods employed during the study. His validation of the case study strategy as a valuable tool within academic research is based on the depth and scope of the data generated from such investigation (Yin, 2009:14). Following such case study guidance and the mixed method approach previously discussed, this research was conducted in an effort to determine whether or not the social infrastructure has a direct and measurable impact on overall economic performance of the countries in Sub-Saharan region. The data sources were retrieved from two globally respected sources: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Economic indicators were also gathered from Penn World Table. These databases have compiled specific economic and social data on the majority of the nations in the world, providing a resource for academics and policymakers. While the World Bank (2010) remained the primary source of the data, the IMF (2010) database was used for comparative purposes and in order to identify several variables not found within the World Bank annals. All analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and Eviews 6 statistical package. 3.4. Limitations As previously mentioned, the scope of the research in this empirical case study was limited to the top 23 countries in Sub-Saharan region. This limitation arose from the lack of economic and social data for the rest ten countries in the region. World Bank (2010) provided most but not all information that was needed. Another important limitation of the research, which is worth noting, is the lack of observations for several social indicators. It was noted previously that the sample of data covers 23 countries with the time range from 1980 to 2009. While many of the economic variables such as GDP were available for this period, some social indicators such as mortality rate were available only for a period of up to 5 years. Therefore, the overall sample will have to be shrunk to run the regression with these variables that have fewer observations. This is expected to have a negative impact on the accuracy of the study and estimated statistics. Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis World Bank (2010) has provided economic and social data for twenty three countries in Sub-Saharan region. However, most of the data contained missing points. In order to avoid the problem of missing points, sixteen Sub-Saharan countries have been selected to be analysed for which more complete data was available. The data ranges from 1980 to 2008. However, some of the social indicators such as health expenditure and mortality rate were available only for a limited time period. The health expenditure indicator was available only for a period from 2003 to 2007. Mortality rate indicator was available only for a period from 1998 to 2008. Due to the differences in the time period of data several panel regressions will be run and the best model will be chosen by means of the Hausman test. Panel regression analysis has provided a number of advantages to the research project. First of all, it has allowed for gathering a large number of observations that totalled 4,250. If only time-series analysis was used, there would have been fewer observations. Similarly, in a cross sectional analysis the number of observations would solely depend on the number of countries included. Panel regression analysis has allowed for combining both time and cross sectional dimensions making the analysis more advanced. Secondly, another advantage of using the panel data analysis was higher degrees of freedom. This is a result of the more observations that the method has provided. Degr Social Infrastructure and Economic Growth Social Infrastructure and Economic Growth Abstract This dissertation has had a focus on the relationship and links between social infrastructure and economic growth in the context of Sub-Saharan countries. Predictability in development and growth is oftentimes linked to various endogenous conditions that can ultimately enhance or detract from the overall potential of a modern nation. The object of this research was represented by social and economic indicators in 23 Sub-Saharan countries. The aim was to find out whether the social infrastructure has a statistically significant impact on economic growth in this region. In order to reach this aim, the method of regression analysis has been implemented. The study has covered a wide range of social and economic variables observing them for a period from 1980 to 2008. The results of the study revealed that only population growth, life expectancy and savings rates are statistically significant determinants of economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. This finding has supported the assumpti on that social infrastructure is an important factor that effect economic growth and development. However, the research has been limited by the lack of information on all 33 countries in Sub-Saharan region. Therefore, the sample was reduced to 23 countries. Furthermore, some social indicators such as Gini coefficient and mortality rates were not available for some of the older years in the sample. The study ends with recommendations to policy makers and discussion of implications. Dedication and Acknowledgment This dissertation is dedicated to my parents who I love unconditionally. I would like to express my gratitude to the University staff for the knowledge they shared with me and inspiring me to think critically. Authors Declaration I declare that the research project has been independently prepared by myself and represents an original work with no plagiarism. All external ideas and quotations have been properly referenced. The full list of references is contained at the end of the dissertation. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background As economic theory has evolved over the past several decades, a variety of variables have begun to infiltrate the standard models of growth and development. Roseta-Palma et al. (2010), for example, recognise that human capital has become an increasingly important variable in growth modelling, suggesting that the force behind such capital can radically alter the shape and potential of industry and markets. However, there is an inherent expectation of support, one which is based on the conceptualisation of the social infrastructure that leads the vocal masses to expect national investment in their wellbeing. To perform within a developing nation, society must be supported. The support must include effective health care and improved educational standards. The perpetuation of economic performance within diverse marketplaces ultimately relies upon the sustainability of such practices, leveraging human capital and contributing to market development. The theoretical background of this dissertation is represented by the elements of the economic theory that explains the growth and expansion as well as the role and influence of social factors. Econometric models put forward by the UN will be of particular importance. The research project will also review the arguments of famous contemporary economists such as Stiglitz (2009) and Jones and Klenow (2010). This will serve a useful theoretical background to the wider analysis, which is required for answering the research questions. The literature review will also cover the mainstream development theories such as dependency theory and social justice theory. From a conceptual perspective, researchers such as Newman and Tomson (1989) provide a precedence of focusing on social factors in economic development. They argue that social infrastructure is an essential element in sustainable long term growth of the economy. This theory may only be accepted as valid if it is statistically supported using the case studies of the economies. The testing has previously conducted by Jones and Klenow (2010). The researchers indeed supported the theory by finding that economic growth was boosted by increasing life expectancy in many countries. However, these researchers have not found such support of the theory for African countries in Sub-Saharan region. Therefore, this dissertation will attempt to study this region in more details and find statistical dependency between the social infrastructure and economic growth. Using the method of multiple regressions, a sample of 23 countries in Sub-Saharan region will be explored. The study will cover a period from 1980 to 2009. 1.2 Aims and Objectives In African countries, economic growth is a function of a wide range of variables such as foreign aid, foreign direct investments (FDI), policy reformation and liberalisation and others. This investigation seeks to examine a link, which is frequently overlooked in this dynamic and evolving economic system: social infrastructure. There is an innate reciprocity between social infrastructure and economic growth, one which requires further definition within the context of African evolution in order to determine the true order of events. In order to limit the scope and breadth of this study, the following aims and objectives were established: †¢ To determine whether social infrastructure is a fundamental determinant of economic growth. †¢ To explore statistical significance of social infrastructure as a determinant of the economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. †¢ To recommend strategic policy implications for the transition economies in Sub-Saharan region that would help them to grow and expand. 1.3 Research Questions Based on the aforementioned aims and objectives, particular research questions were defined. They focus on investigation of the relations between the African social infrastructure and economic growth experienced by various nations within this region. It may be argued that the socio-economic aspects, which contributed to successes for many nations, remain inconsistent and non-definable today. Based on this supposition, the following research questions were defined prior to engaging in the investigative process: †¢ What are the primary threats/pitfalls associated with economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa today? †¢ Does social infrastructure have a statistically significant impact on economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries? 1.4 Chapter Layout In order to standardise the research project, it was important to create a clear structure and presentation format. The study is structured in a way that would allow for progressing from more general information regarding the Sub-Saharan countries to more specific information regarding the variables that have a direct impact on the growth of the transition economies. The rest of the research project has the following structure. †¢ Chapter 2: Literature Review. This chapter focuses on a broad range of theoretical and empirical data that has been retrieved from a variety of academic sources. This literature review explores the determinants of the social infrastructure for developing nations, focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. †¢ Chapter 3: Methodology. This chapter highlights the research methodology chosen during the collection and analysis of empirical data. Based on the precedence established by the past researchers, econometric modelling is used as the main method of the r esearch. This chapter also discussed the strategies and approached that were used with their justification. †¢ Chapter 4: Data Presentation. This chapter reveals the main findings and results of the research. The historical statistical data is presented and analysed. Correlation and regression analysis is applied to the data. The main results are summarised in tables and figures. †¢ Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis. In this section, a synthesis of academic and empirical data is presented. The discussion is focused on the original research questions and objectives. They are compared to the findings achieved by previous researchers. Similarities and differences are analysed and explained. †¢ Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations. The final chapter provides the final insight into the relations between social infrastructure and economic growth in Sub-Saharan countries. Recommendations for future research are offered since the research project has encountered par ticular limitations that have to be addressed in the future. Furthermore, policy implications are recommended in this chapter. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1. Measuring Economic Growth While it is widely recognised that the measurement of economic growth provides an accurate picture of development and achievement in transition nations, the inherent value of such metrics has been questioned during the last decade because of several pitfalls. Hoogvvelt (2001:8) argues that in early development models, all emphasis was placed on strategic enhancement of the transition economies with impoverished nations. A traditional indicator of economic growth is represented by GDP. While conceptually indicative of growth and economic expansion, this indicator has been recently challenged as an effective measurement of sustainable national development. In fact, researchers such as Stiglitz (2002, 2007) and Collier (2007) have offered the arguments on the fact that GDP fails to represent an accurate picture of national economic welfare. It is argued to limit the identification of economic inequality and circumvent such influential social indicators as mortality rates, GNI per capita , education levels, etc. Other researchers such as Thakur (2006) have suggested that the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) should be used as an alternative measure of economic growth besides the GDP. 2.2. Growth Models The economic theory provides different growth models that explain the factors of economic growth and help to determine what cause an economy to expand. Among the well-established theories of growth are the neo-classical models suggested by Solow (1956: 65) and Ramsey (1928: 543). However, there are also alternative models that have recently been proposed. The most notable example is the endogenous growth model. 2.2.1. Neo-classical Growth Model of Solow and Ramsey The exogenous growth model has been originally presented by Solow (1956: 65). It is an extension of the previously formulated Harrod-Domar growth model. The latter suggests that the rate of economic growth is a function of the productivity of the countrys capital and the savings rates. Solow (1956: 65) has improved the Harrod-Domar growth model by differentiating between the new capital that emerged from the use of new technology and old capital. Diminishing returns started playing an important role in the exogenous growth model. Solow (1956:65) has also added labour to the determinants of the economic growth. The researcher argues that more than one factor of production should be included in the growth model. These factors are capital and labour. The researcher also emphasises the role of the technological progress in the economic growth. However, the model may be criticised for failing to provide the explanation of how and why the technology develops. In addition, the exogenous growth model may be criticised for neglecting the factor of entrepreneurship, which is argued to have a strong impact on economic growth (Braunerhjelm, 2008: 51; Audretsch et al, 2006: 119). Mathematically, the exogenous growth model may be presented as follows: Where Y is the output of the country; K is total capital (both new and old); L stands for labour; A represents technological development. The exogenous growth model is heavily reliant on the indicators estimated per capita. Hence, it places a significant emphasis on the role of the population growth in the economic growth. The capital per worker is argued to be growing only if the savings rates exceed the rate of populations growth and the level of depreciation of the capital. The exogenous growth model also suggests that the savings rate would be steady in the long run and have a positive correlation with the economic growth, i.e. the countries with higher savings rates will be expected to have higher economic growth. However, this notion was criticised by Ramsey (1928: 543) who proposed an alternative neo-classical model of growth. In his model the savings rates are assumed to be varying and not constant. The Ramsey model has changed the way the capital is modelled. Mathematically, it is represented as follows: Where k is capital; c is consumption; ÃŽ ´ is the rate of depreciation of capital; f (k) is the value of total production. Since the savings rates are not viewed as constant, the level of consumption is also considered as a varying process since it is tightly connected to savings. Since neither Ramsey nor Solow model of growth included the factor of entrepreneurship and explained technological progress as an endogenous process, an alternative model has been developed. It is called endogenous growth model (Barro and i-Martin, 2004: 205). 2.2.2. Endogenous Growth Model The previously discussed exogenous growth models suggested that a countrys GDP is a function of the savings rate and technological advances. Nonetheless, these exogenous growth models failed to show how savings are determined and how the technological changes are driven. These limitations are effectively solved by the endogenous growth model. It suggests that savings rates are simply a function of the utility maximising actions of the economic agents. Given the financial constraints, companies would aim to maximise their net income while consumers will tend to maximise their utility (Romer, 1986: 89). The endogenous growth model also explains technological progress as a result of the favourable policies from the government that do not restrict innovations and changes in the industries. It is valid to argue that in developing countries the governments may attempt to put certain restrictions on changes and innovations in order to protect the key sectors of the economy. The endogenous growth theory suggests that such actions would lead to a slowdown in the economic growth in the longer term. The theory also views company investments in the research and development as the way to technological progress and faster economic growth. Hence, the theory explains the growth of the economy with microeconomic elements (Aghion and Howitt, 1992: 323). However, the model has also been criticised in the economic literature. For example, Parente (2001: 51) argues that the endogenous growth model, even though being more complex, still fails to explain why there is a divergence in the national income per capita in emerging economies and developed countries. 2.3. The Social Factors, Economic Development and Equality A widespread academic research on social equality demonstrates that impoverished nations have traditionally failed to achieve healthy social infrastructure, which can sustain development amongst all groups of the population. Sebitosi and Pillay (2005:2045), for example, argue that poverty â€Å"is largely due to failure by society to productively deploy human resources† (Sebitosi and Pillay, 2005: 2045). The researchers argue that the governments of the countries with transition economies and policymakers cannot actively engage every individual in economic activities. In many cases, funding welfare programmes that were fiscally unsustainable has had minimal impact on the social welfare of the national inhabitants (Sebitosi and Pillay, 2005:2045). This is also illustrated by the efforts made by the African National Congress (ANC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ultimately, it is the strategic utilisation of national resources that will allow for perpetuated social stability, gradual reduction of poverty over and improvement of social infrastructure. Sebitosi and Pillay (2005:2048) argue that availability of resources and the specifics of the culture determine the social infrastructure in a country. This, in turn, plays a role in the economic growth and development. Equality is a term used for describing the gap between the rich part of the population and the poor. This term is also expanded to describe the difference in rights between males and females, young and old, native and foreign ethnic groups, etc. Researchers such as Morvaridi (2008) and Houtzager (2005) argue that the merits of equality should be used as indicators of long term sustainability and economic growth of a nation. Anderson and Cavnagh (2009) have presented empirical evidence on the existence of income inequality and gender inequality that negatively impact the economic growth and development. Other academics (e.g. Sen, 2001) suggest that innate human rights must play a fundamental role in the development discourse, emphasising deficiencies within the national infrastructure that interrupt widespread equality. Accessibility and availability of resources and the level of social equality in developing nations are frequently identified as primary indicators of social development. Researchers such as Moradi and Baten (2005) have modelled social inequality according to anthropometric data. The model is focused on the level of development of social groups over the past decade. Their evidence highlights two different phenomena that have implications for policymakers in the future. First, the authors argue that evolution of the food supply has a direct and measurable impact on the physical characteristics of the population. Second, the marked increase in the social inequality has a direct impact on the resource accessibility and, subsequently, on the growth pattern of the surveyed nations (Moradi and Baten, 2005:1254). The implications of such evidence transcend the limitations of the model itself. The researchers recommend the governments to provide favourable external conditions for redistribution of wealth and resources in order to achieve higher rates of economic growth and development. 2.4. Resources, Social Determinants of Development and Opportunities In economic analysis of national development, indicators of sustainable growth are oftentimes linked to the advancement of technology, resources, and industrial activity. From a social standpoint, it is the access to resources and provision of more advanced amenities that allow researchers to effectively measure progress. Buys (2009:1496), for example, explored a widespread diffusion of cellular phones throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, modelling competitive networks according to the population concentration and government policy measures. Their time-scale representation of progress in cell-phone usage throughout this continent suggests that strategic policy reform has provided the most significant opportunity for widespread distribution of such technologies (Buys, 2009:1497). Improved competition amongst providers led to the spread of a sustainable low cost technology across the countries. This evidence suggests that opportunities play an important role in social and economic development. These opportunities, however, should be provided by the government and policy makers. Social factors in the sustainability of economic growth can oftentimes be overlooked in academia. Researchers focus instead on more tangible variables, attempting to model economic growth using purely economic variables and neglecting social factors. Chou (2006:910) demonstrates how social capital, as a strategic resource, can have a measurable and long term impact on the growth of a nation and its economic development. Essentially, as policymakers provide the resources for social capital to develop and expand, the infrastructure will simultaneously expand, allowing individuals to use the skills they have developed in a more effective and productive way. Over the long term, Chou (2006) suggests that technology and favourable policies of the government will lead countries to sustainable economic growth and stronger social infrastructure. Other models of social infrastructure have focused on the more practical composition of this expanding network. They emphasised such factors as the progress in transportation and population movement patterns. Porter (2002:286), for example, suggests that sustained improvements in both rural and urban transportation signal development progress in African nations. In particular, the author argues that economic recession of the 1980s and 1990s in African countries was reinforced by the poor condition of roads, transport and weak infrastructure. The deterioration of the transport infrastructure would reduce transport efficiency for the exchange of goods and services, resulting in a downward spiral in commercial activities (Porter, 2002:287). Porter (2002:296) argues that one of the methods to provide sustainable economic development is to stimulate the ‘scaling up of the national economy through the installation and evolution of social institutions. So, focusing on inequity in social development and the limitations imposed on infrastructure development and sustainability, the reviewed academics demonstrate how the consequence of restrictive social development is ultimately the deterioration of economic growth. The following empirical investigation will attempt to model such occurrences in modern Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting those key variables that affect economic development. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1. Research Model Researchers such as Moradi and Baten (2005:1234) argue that anthropometric models are fundamentally beneficial in the studies of national development, providing valuable insight into particular social factors that are indicative of long term development. In their analysis of Sub-Saharan African development, the authors used such models to analyse the data on accessibility of resources (i.e. nutritional and health inputs), providing a bounding metric by which they were able to evaluate inequality in the region (Moradi and Baten, 2005:1236). In a research model that was focused on a similar issue regarding the social determinants of economic growth, Newman and Tomson (1989:464) used World Bank databases to identify particular social indicators and statistically connect them to economic development. The methods and models of this dissertation are based on the research methodology of Newman and Tomson (1989: 464) and Jones and Klenow (2010). The econometric models will be represented by several equations that start from simpler ones and progress to the more complicated, which include additional variables and dummies. The list of equations that will be used is provided below. gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÃŽ µij (1) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ÃŽ µij (2) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + ÃŽ µij (3) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummyrij + ÃŽ µij (4) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummytij + ÃŽ µij (5) gdpij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²popij + ÃŽ ³pop65ij + ÃŽ »lifij + ÃŽ ´savij + ÏÆ'mortfij + ÃŽ ½mortmij + ωhexpij + Ï dummyrij + Ï„dummytij + ÃŽ µij (6) Among these models, the best one will be selected with the Akaike information criterion. Random and fixed effects will be used in the panel regression models to investigate, for example, the impact of the geographical location on the economic growth and other factors. A general form of the panel regression model with fixed effects will be as follows: yij = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Xij + uij, where the error term u is assumed to be a sum of the fixed effect and another error term: uij = ÃŽ ¼i + ÃŽ ½ij. The random effect model will be different from this one in how it explains ÃŽ ¼i and ÃŽ ½ij . These terms are assumed to be completely independent. Furthermore, they random variable effect implies that these terms are normally distributed, i.e. The choice of the methodology is consistent with the theoretical concepts of the growth models reviewed in the literature and supported by such economists as Solow (1956), Romer (1986) and Barro and i-Martin (2004). The theory of economic growth expressed by these economists mainly suggests that a countrys GDP is a function of both economic variables and social. In particular, it has been seen in the literature review that exogenous growth model connects GDP with the savings rates and technical progress. The theory of Solow (1956) and the growth theories in Barro and i-Martin (2004) also suggest that GDP is related to the population (social variable) because the latter determines the amount of capital and labour as factors of production. Hence, the core of the econometric model has been built on the exogenous growth theory proposed by Solow (1956) and explained in Barro and i-Martin (2004). However, it was found in literature review that this theory was also criticised. The models ha s been enhanced by inclusion of additional variables to make it more complicated and create a representation of social infrastructure, which is a key focus of the research. 3.2. Research Instruments, Approach and Sampling Based on the research model presented by Moradi and Baten (2005) and Newman and Tomson (1989), this investigation is focused on the changes in economic growth as a result of a number of social and economic variables that have been described. Researchers Thomas (2003) and Creswell (2009) provide models of empirical research, emphasising a unique link between both quantitative (statistical, data-driven) and qualitative (phenomenological, experience-driven) data streams. Their mixed method research approach places one of these two methods in a primary position over the other, allowing the subsequent research to serve as a validation mechanism. The data used in the dissertation is entirely based on economic development statistics within the Sub-Saharan African counties. However, the various phenomena, which contribute to such development, are of primary concern for the relevance and validity of this investigation. Therefore, a mixed method research approach was chosen for the study. Using this method, statistical findings will be achieved and later compared with various economic and social phenomena across the surveyed nations. Because there are 33 different nations currently associated with Sub-Saharan Africa, this research has chosen a sample of the top 23 countries in terms of population, attempting to retrieve data that is directly relevant to the conceptualisation of the long term sustainable growth and the impact of the social infrastructure on this process. Non-probability sampling technique has been implemented in choosing the countries. This decision may be justified by the fact that total population represented by the 33 countries in Sub-Saharan region is quite small and could be used without picking a sample. However, sampling was needed since a limited amount of data was available for the countries. Historical statistics have been gathered from Penn World Table, International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2010) and World Bank (2010) database. These sources provided information for only 23 counties in the Sub-Saharan region. 3.3. Strategy of Research While all of Africa could have provided very general information relative to the development of these nations as a conglomerate, it was important to evaluate the social infrastructure of these nations to narrow the scope of the research. The case study research strategy has been employed in order to investigate the social and economic situation in all the companies within the chosen sample. The case study strategy, which was popularised by Yin (2009), allows the researcher to extract particular data from complex problems and identify those variables, which are most significant. Furthermore, this strategy allows for effective exploration of both the statistics and context of the problem (Saunders et al, 2007, p.119). Yin (2009) presents a model of the investigative case study, suggesting that the breadth and focus of research questions will ultimately define the methods employed during the study. His validation of the case study strategy as a valuable tool within academic research is based on the depth and scope of the data generated from such investigation (Yin, 2009:14). Following such case study guidance and the mixed method approach previously discussed, this research was conducted in an effort to determine whether or not the social infrastructure has a direct and measurable impact on overall economic performance of the countries in Sub-Saharan region. The data sources were retrieved from two globally respected sources: The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Economic indicators were also gathered from Penn World Table. These databases have compiled specific economic and social data on the majority of the nations in the world, providing a resource for academics and policymakers. While the World Bank (2010) remained the primary source of the data, the IMF (2010) database was used for comparative purposes and in order to identify several variables not found within the World Bank annals. All analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and Eviews 6 statistical package. 3.4. Limitations As previously mentioned, the scope of the research in this empirical case study was limited to the top 23 countries in Sub-Saharan region. This limitation arose from the lack of economic and social data for the rest ten countries in the region. World Bank (2010) provided most but not all information that was needed. Another important limitation of the research, which is worth noting, is the lack of observations for several social indicators. It was noted previously that the sample of data covers 23 countries with the time range from 1980 to 2009. While many of the economic variables such as GDP were available for this period, some social indicators such as mortality rate were available only for a period of up to 5 years. Therefore, the overall sample will have to be shrunk to run the regression with these variables that have fewer observations. This is expected to have a negative impact on the accuracy of the study and estimated statistics. Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis World Bank (2010) has provided economic and social data for twenty three countries in Sub-Saharan region. However, most of the data contained missing points. In order to avoid the problem of missing points, sixteen Sub-Saharan countries have been selected to be analysed for which more complete data was available. The data ranges from 1980 to 2008. However, some of the social indicators such as health expenditure and mortality rate were available only for a limited time period. The health expenditure indicator was available only for a period from 2003 to 2007. Mortality rate indicator was available only for a period from 1998 to 2008. Due to the differences in the time period of data several panel regressions will be run and the best model will be chosen by means of the Hausman test. Panel regression analysis has provided a number of advantages to the research project. First of all, it has allowed for gathering a large number of observations that totalled 4,250. If only time-series analysis was used, there would have been fewer observations. Similarly, in a cross sectional analysis the number of observations would solely depend on the number of countries included. Panel regression analysis has allowed for combining both time and cross sectional dimensions making the analysis more advanced. Secondly, another advantage of using the panel data analysis was higher degrees of freedom. This is a result of the more observations that the method has provided. Degr