Reliable Source

Associate Level Material Appendix J Reliable Sources Worksheet Locate two sources in the University Library on a topic of your choice. Provide the required information for both sources. Source 1 †¢ Author: Kaylin , Lucy †¢ Date: Dec2011 †¢ Title: The Family Man †¢ Publication: Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: †¢ Is the source reliable? How do you know? Yes, the source is reliable it explains exactly what your looking for as in the topic. The information provides tell you what’s it focus as The Family Man.In short detail the abstract get directly to the point on what the source of information will be about. What he does as a family man and how he is consider as The Family Man. He is not a father but he does support a small family of orphaned children and his intentions for them are good. †¢ Is the information relevant to the topic? Yes, the available information is relevant to the topic, while reading the abstra ct of the back it gives you a brief summary on what it is about. The Family Man is a man that is not a father but who supports a small family of orphaned children.He doesn’t get emotionally attached to the kids for what ever reason I don’t know but as a man he does support them and have good intentions for them but he just doesn’t express his emotions to them. This is a typical man at times. So yes The Family Man abstract does have relevant connections to the topic. †¢ Does the information reflect a bias on the author’s part? If so, what is the bias? With this source no this is information doesn’t reflect a bias on the author’s part. No one is against or being treated unfair. Source 2 †¢ Author: Kriesberg, Louis †¢ Date: May67 Title: Rearing Children for educational achievements in fatherless families. †¢ Publication: Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: †¢ Is the source reliable? How do you know? Yes, this source is reliable it gives you accurate information about the topic and leads you to honestly of why married and husbandless mothers are compared to assess how certain concomitants of fatherless families may be related to attitudes and behaviors relevant for their children’s educational achievement. †¢ Is the information relevant to the topic? Yes, the available information is relevant to the topic.While reading the abstract of the back it gives you a brief summary on what it is about. Rearing children for educational achievement in fatherless families is basically explaining about the students that doesn’t have a father are not focused into the educational achievement and seem to me their always getting compared to the kids that has fathers and that’s focus into the educational achievement. †¢ Does the information reflect a bias on the author’s part? If so, what is the bias? Yes, this information is a reflection of bias on the author’s part being that the children with father’s always getting compared to the children with no father.

Counseling Techniques

The choice of the counseling technique to be used in a counseling session differs from the preference of a counselor to counselor but there are certain factors that influence the choice of counseling technique, a counselor is likely to apply in a given counseling situation.However the following factors influence the choice of the technique; suitability for the counseling technique to the prevailing needs of the client, the effectiveness of the counseling technique which is determined by the recorded success rate of the past use of the counseling resource as well as the situation of the counseling which is an important factor that needs to be considered before moving to the counseling. Creative counseling technique involves the use of dialogue, behaviour change as well as communication, movement and the sense of touch.Under the creative approach, the counselors’ use writings, the sense of touch artwork and speech to cause improvement to a patient’s mental health and inca ses or organizations or groups of people, the creative approach is aimed at improving relationships between individuals such as members of a family (Jacobs, 1992). Creative technique in counseling is easy to understand and apply as it depends on the use of resources locally available which both the patient and the counsellor can relate with.Creative counseling technique allows further use of visual aids, sense of movement that leads people to connect with each other easily. Conclusion A creative counseling technique is an effective method in that it allows for the utilization of many approaches which combine to yield lots of benefits to those who receive the counseling. Creative counseling is also important in that it can be widely applied in different contexts such as family, individual and teams. Reference Jacobs, E. (1992): Creative Counselling Techniques:An illustrated guide. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Abortion Should Stay Legal

Abortion Should Stay Legal By Ariam Abraham Professor Maria Mollinedo English 102 9 December 2011 Abstract The topic of abortion is one of the most controversial of our times. It discusses human interaction where ethics, emotions and law come together. There are different points of views towards abortion. These views can be broken down into two categories, Pro-life and Pro-choice. Everyone has their own views and opinions; despite what several people may believe, abortion is neither right nor wrong. A pro-lifer is against abortion.Pro-lifers believe that from the moment of conception, the embryo is alive and this life imposes a moral obligation to preserve it. It has a brain and a heart; therefore it also has a right to life. Religion plays a big role on pro-life. Abortion is against the Bible and most  religious people  don’t believe in it either. On the other hand  a pro-choicer would feel that the decision to abort a pregnancy is that of the mothers’; and the s tate has no right to interfere. Abortion is a women’s  own right hand choice. Women should  not be forced to have babies they don’t want or aren’t ready for.They must be able to decide what happens to them and have a safe plus legal way of doing so. Women are in control of their own bodies and lives. Legislators have no right to interfere. Abortion allows us to choose what we want for ourselves, and it also helps us to follow family planning. We have every right to choose whether we want to have an abortion or not. Religious people don’t support it but since it is their belief and decision they should not force other people to be like them. It has been proven above that all their arguments were not fully true.The reasons why women have abortions vary. It may be a case of rape,  physical or psychological condition. A choice must need to be available  to prevent the birth of unwanted children, to avoid damage to the child as  well as to safeguard the emotional and physical health of women. Abortion is a tough choice and the decision  should be a personal one, without interference of government or special  interest groups. Outline I. Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably for many years to come.A. Abortion is the destruction of a fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother’s womb. B. Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973 C. There are two sides to abortion, the pro-life and prochoice. a. Pro-life are people who are against abortion. b. Pro-choice are people who support abortion. II. Religion and philosophy thinking shouldn’t affect the law of abortion. A. A fetus is not a person. B.Pro-life people shouldn’t push other people to believe their religion. C. The pro-life’s arguments against abortion are p rovn to be false. a. Women having an abortion have been decreasing since 1973. III. Abortion playes a big role in some cases. A. A pregnancy from rape is better to be avoided. B. Incest children face a lot of difficulties in being accepted by their society. C. Woman should have an abortion if her pregnancy is uncompitible with her health IV. Abortion has allowed us to choose what we want for ourselves, and it also helps us to follow family planning. A.New  laws  that are being developed make it harder and harder for women to  deal  with the problems of pregnancies. Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably for many years to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? Before we get to the answer, let’s first define the word abortion. According to Tom Head â€Å"Abortion is the international terminology of a pregnancy after conception. It allows women to put an end to their pregnan cies, but involves killing the undeveloped embryo or fetus† (1).This destruction of a fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother’s womb can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to even to abortionist by clinics set up especially for this purpose. Since abortion involves killing a fetus, it is considered as a sensitive subject to discuss, because every person around the world have a different view and opinion about it. As history tells us â€Å"Abortion in the United States has been legal in every state since the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973† (Lewis 1).Since then, there have been many debates among the citizens whether the law is right or wrong. There are two sides to this abortion topic the pro-life, which are those who are against abortion, and the pro-choice are those who believe it is the woman’s right to choose if she wants to have an abortion or not. These two groups offer diffe rent solutions to a problem. The pro-life solution is to have the child and basically live with it. They believe abortion is not an answer. The pro-choice solution is abortion because of reasons they feel are appropriate.Although abortion is morally and ethically wrong, should it be legal for victims of rape or incest who have no other alternative? To see the Americans view on abortion, a popular TV channel in the United States did a survey on over 1133 people over the age of 18 in 2004. Generally, 57 percent in this ABCNEWS poll say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 43 percent voted against it. I will point out the argumentative reasons for abortion to stay legalized through out the paper.Many famous and respected people have talked about abortion, like  Mother Teresa who was the winner of Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. She argues, â€Å"If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people to not kill each other? Any country tha t accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want† (Barbier and Goree 98). Since Mother Teresa was very religious women what she said make sense but I totally disagree with what she said. Killing a fetus is not the same as killing a person.The word â€Å"murder† is often used by pro-lifers to describe abortion. Murder means  deliberate and unjustified killing of another person   containing intent. How can anybody see an evil intent in a woman's decision  to interrupt pregnancy if it is a result of rape or incest? A woman cannot  bear the thought of having a child that would be a constant reminder of  what had happened on such and such a day, such and such number of years ago. She doesn't want to kill a baby; she wants to interrupt the growth of an  embryo so that it will not become a baby. She interrupts potential life. But potential life is just that, potential.There's an argument until these days that a fe tus is a person that is indistinguishable from the rest of us and that it deserves rights equal to women's. On this question there is a tremendous spectrum of religious, philosophical, scientific, and medical opinion. It's been argued for centuries. Fortunately, our society has recognized that each woman must be able to make this decision, based on her own conscience. To impose a law defining a fetus as a person, granting it rights equal to or superior to a woman’s thinking, feeling, conscious human being is arrogant and absurd.It only serves to diminish women. A fetus is like a body part in women’s body not an individual person and can only be recognized as a person since the day it is born. It is not registered as a citizen in the government’s book and is not even considered as existing person. So killing a fetus can be called as getting rid of a body part. And, it is not the government’s duty to teach the citizens how to love. People learn about love f rom their parents, from their religion and relatives and society. Government cant build a law based on how it is going to affect the behavior of the citizens.It is like we can’t have a war because it is not nice to kill people. What if another country attacks us? Are we going to sit and wait until we die? We should protect out country and our selves and the same goes with abortion, we have to protect ourselves if we see harm is coming to us. On the other hand, Abortion is a difficult issue when it is viewed from a religious point  of view. On one hand there is the Commandment against murder, which begs  the question of whether a fetus is a human or not. There is a passage in  the Bible, which deals specifically with the act of causing   woman to  abort a pregnancy. In Exodus 21:22-25 we read:   † And if men struggle and  strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no  further injury, he shall be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him,  and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury,  then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for  tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise  for bruise†( New Revised Standard Version, Exodus 21:22). In this passage we find a woman losing her child by being stuck by men who are fighting.Rather than it being a capital offense,  however it is looked as a civil matter, with the father – to – be taking  the participants to court for a settlement. But, as we read on, if the  woman is killed, a â€Å"life for a life,† then the men who killed her shall be  killed. Some have claimed that the life for a life part is talking about  the baby, but in this passage we also read, â€Å"Tooth for a tooth†. Fetuses/babies do not have teeth when they are born. Thus we can see that  if the baby is lost, it does not require a death sentence – it is not  considered murder. But if the woman is lost, it is considered murder and  is punished by death.I do not want to say that abortion is Biblical, but I  just want to show that there can be arguments on both sides and a judgment  against people in God's name should be stopped. As we have seen above every individual have their own opinion on abortion, depending on their religion and beliefs. If the pro- life group doesn’t support abortion they don’t have to do it. The law doesn’t force you to have abortion in any case. So people against abortion due to their religions or beliefs shouldn’t protest against abortion because it is their personal preference. Religious ideology is no foundation for any law.Freedom of religion is guaranteed to any citizen in the United States, so why would the beliefs and values of one religion mandate actual laws for all citizens? It would be unfair, unjust and  immoral. We do not have laws against eating fish, nor do we have laws that declare it is legal to sell one’s daughter, rape someone, or keep a person as slave -all things that are promoted in religious text. There are also few pro-life people that claim women are using abortion as a birth control. By that they mean women are going to be irresponsible and will have unprotected sex since abortion is legal.This is proven to be untrue by Ms Heather Boonstra. She is a Senior Public Policy Associate in the Guttmacher Institute's Washington, DC. On the article Abortion in Women’s Lives that she published in 2006 she states, â€Å"from time to time the number of women having abortion is decreasing † (3). Here is here summarized graph. [pic] As we can see in the graph the number of women having abortion has been going down since 1981, which proves that women are using abortion in special cases not as birth control. Other than that, abortion plays a big role in some special cases.We don’t hear it that often but t here is sexual intercourse between two people called incest. In definition â€Å"Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close ‘blood relationship’; members of the same household; step relatives related by adoption or marriage; and members of the same clan or lineage† (Stritof). Even though it is between families it can be taken as sexual harassment if it is between an adult and an under age.It is not accepted in out society. People consider it as the nastiest thing that human being would do. If by any chance someone becomes a victim of incest, their family and friends will isolate them for their rest of their lives. Likewise, when a girl is raped, she feels dreadful. The trauma of being raped could break her down and make her depressed and that is only the beginning. After she gets raped, in her own eyes, she has no respect or self-esteem for herself and then comes the embarrassment. Her reputation in the society will be damaged permanently and everyone will look down upon her.Even her own family's reputation will be tainted. If she is forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy, the result is unwanted children. After the unwanted baby is born, the childhood that he will get will not be the best one because of how it was originated. At home, the raped woman would not be a good mother and would be cruel to the baby. Therefore, because of this abnormal type of childhood, when the child grows up and becomes a teenager, he will often turn to crime and be involved in gangs and drugs. For example, 40% of African-American kids grow up by a single mother due to unplanned sex or poverty.And 20% of those kids drop out in middle school (Hanson 141). Once a kid stops going to school he or she have a high chance of doing illegal things in order to get money. They are among society's mo st tragic cases, often uncared-for, unloved, brutalized, and abandoned. Those children have a very strong chance of getting hurt or getting arrested or in a worse case scenario, be killed. All this could be prevented if the mother was allowed to get an abortion early on and she would not have to face all the shame and embarrassment for herself and her family. This is not good for children, for families, or for the country.Children need love and families who want and will care for them. Therefore, women who are raped or victims of incest should not be forced to carry out a pregnancy. Odds are that 1 in 3 women will be victims of sexual violence in her lifetime (Mahkorn and Dolan182). Does that mean that 33% of all women should be forced to carry out a pregnancy from this violation? Those people always don’t tell that they have been in that situation until the woman becomes pregnant and all her relatives find out. The baby they have is going to go through a lot since he is born between two family members.Isolation, bulling, and it is most possible that he will involve in illegal medicines or drags just to put himself in the mood since he is most of the time unhappy. These are few of the bad things the child will face, as he got older. This poor baby will have a lot of problems just because of his parents made a mistake. Why would their child take the punishment for what his parents did? Abortion is the only choice here. Many would argue that these women could endure the pregnancy, spending nearly a year of her life simply re-living the rape and its effects over and over again, to give up a baby at the end of it for adoption.However, we all are aware of the fact that there are millions of unwanted children awaiting adoption as we speak who remain unclaimed; in fact, UNICEF estimates that there are 210 million orphans in the world right now. If they have no one willing to be their parent or guardian, why would another baby have a better chance? In other wor d abortion will help in decreasing world’s population. Similarly, World health organization posted an interesting article about women and pregnancy saying, â€Å"Every minute, at least one woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth – that means 529 000 women a year.In addition, for every woman who dies in childbirth, around 20 more suffer injury, infection or disease – approximately 10 million women each year† (10). It is shocking that a lot of women die during pregnancy. People against abortion think that a woman must have the baby once she is pregnant, but that is ridiculous. There are many women in a situation that they can’t have a baby. Women have to avoid pregnancy if she has some kind of diseases that gets worse with pregnancy, because it could affect her health or the baby’s health.For example a breast cancer women-getting chemotherapy should not get pregnant because she does not know the effect of chemotherapy on the outcome for the fetus. In this case if a women gets pregnant accidentally she should think about her health first and her baby’s health second, and have an abortion before the fetus gets older. Most people now agree that if the mother's life is in danger abortion  is acceptable. It seems unreasonable to let both die when one can be saved. There are many  other situations in which abortion can be morally  justified. One thing is obvious.These pregnancies were not planned and  they are unwanted. Children born to these mothers are â€Å"biological  accidents†. In my opinion it is sinful to bring innocent and defenseless  children into the world when they  will not be cared for. All over the  globe these are children starving, being raped, dying, being beaten up  because they’re unwanted. They suffer abuses from which they never  recover. Medical researchers also show that unwanted children whose mothers  refused an abortion suffer from serious psychological disturbances  throughout their life (Morgentaler, 52).Another reason why I believe that availability of choice is vital for  women is that if a woman decides to have an abortion, she will do anything to end her pregnancy. This is the reality. There is no such thing as a one hundred-per cent effective contraceptive which of course results in  unwanted pregnancies. From the illegal days we know many ways in which  women aborted themselves. Many women would introduce caustic detergent  substances into themselves,  producing major burns of the vaginal wall and   systemic poisoning.Others would insert a tablet of potassium, which led to  serious lesions. Number of women tried to dislodge their pregnancies by  introducing knitting needles, coat hangers, or other metal or wooden  objects into their uteruses. Some women threw themselves down flights of  stairs, and some pumped air into the uterus by means of a small pump used  to blow up bicycle tires. Illegal abortions were performed by people with  no or little  medical knowledge, in back rooms, in a non-hygienic  environment. All this led to tremendous number of deaths but did not stop  the abortions.Anyone who thinks that outlawing abortion makes abortion go  away is a fool. It makes it dangerous and it makes it shameful. Women  will always get abortions. And if we are truly concerned about human life  and if this is not just a hollow slogan for us we should make abortion safe  and clean procedure instead of trying to make women feel guilty. Additionally, making abortion legal can decrease illegal abortion. Let’s look. The following chart was used on the floor of the US Senate during the tumultuous debate on abortion in 1981. It was compiled from official U. S. tatistics. As we can see on the graph, abortion was first legalized on 1967 and we can clearly see that after that year the line started to drop sharply which shows that the death of women due to illegal abortion decreased. Simply, Laws against abortion do not stop abortion; they simply make it less safe. The number of women who get abortions does not change when it goes from being legal to illegal, or vice versa. The only thing that changes is more women die. [pic] Opponents of abortion seem to think that women who choose to have  abortions typically do so thoughtlessly.They do not know that a decision  in itself is already agonizing  and a very painful thing for women. But  can you really understand the issue of abortion unless you have been in the  situation of possibly having one? What some people do not seem to  understand is that abortion is not an easy way out. This issue concerned  with badness, and if there is badness there is bitterness and worseness. Woman herself has to make a decision, on which is which. Many people try to  force their beliefs on others and judge them for their actions. These  people need to judge themselves before they start to judge others.There is a question that should be answered. Should government be involved in personal matters such as abortion? In my opinion government should not interfere with citizens personal problems. Having an abortion is the same as having a kidney surgery. Once a doctor tells you in what condition your kidney is, it is your decision to have a surgery depending on what the doctor said. Even your kidney is in the worst condition you still have a choice to stay without medication. That doesn’t consider as a suicide by the law. It also goes the same with abortion.Would you allow the government to tell you if you could have a kidney transplant or a blood transfusion? Of course not, the fact that we even consider, let alone allow, governments to regulate a medical procedure is both illogical and foolish. Depending on your health, your baby’s health, and your baby’s future you should have the right to decide weather you want to have an abortion or not. Therefore my theory is that people who spend so much time, energy, and money on anti-abortion campaigns should instead spend it on the precious children they say need saving so much—the ones who are alive and parentless.Imagine if all the funds spent on all those billboards and flyers and campaigns were instead either spent adopting or donating to places that are overrun with orphaned children, perhaps some actual credibility would be given to these people who claim to love children so much. Also, there is the fact of the matter of the more than one million homeless youth in America alone. The number one factor for a child being homeless is physical or sexual abuse at home. Perhaps these child-lovers should step in and care for these already-born children as well. If those people really want to stop abortion, they should turn to methods that  do  work.These include comprehensive sex education and safe, affordable contraceptives. Unfortunately, as illogical as it sounds, the people who are most against abortion are also often most against these preventative measures. If they truly wanted to reduce the number of abortions that occur, they would embrace these methods. Additionally, if the Supreme Court ever declared abortion illegal, only the poor will be adversely affected. The rich will purchase a round-trip ticket to one of the European Countries, have an abortion there and return. The poor, do not have enough sometimes even to ay for the bus fare to go downtown. The impact of such a law would be disproportionate. This is in fact what happened before 1973 (before Roe), when abortion was illegal. We must learn from history otherwise we are condemned to repeat it. People who oppose abortion do so usually on religious and moral grounds. They can continue with their moral standards, no one is asking them to have an abortion in the event of rape or incest or some other medical reason. We just ask to be let alone. There is nothing more private to a woman then the right to regulate her own fertility and no one has a right to tell her otherwise.Not in U. S. A. not in this land of the free which guarantees individual and constitutional rights? Choice is a constitutional right, the Supreme Court says so. Michael Monahan is the author of non-profit organization called the Heritage House and in is article â€Å"Illegal Abortion† he says, â€Å"I’d still worry that if you forbid abortion, it will just go back to back-alley but butchery and lots of mothers dying. † (1). I totally agree with him, stopping abortion will be a totally disaster and we will see more death of women due to illegal abortions.As I mentioned through out the paper, abortion should be the mother and the father choice to do, not the law or the government, because it is important when the mother can have a baby due to health problem, when the baby have no future, when a pregnancy occurs under a circumstances that is not accepted on the society ETC. N ew  laws  that are being developed make it harder and harder for women to  deal  with the problems of pregnancies. If  laws  were adapted leaving the choice up to the families of the newly conceived, it would make their lives and their choices a lot easier.My personal belief is that each woman should have a right to decide  whether she wants to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. For reasons of  women's right to self-determination, protection of their health,  adequate  care of children which are born and in order to prevent child abuse and  mental disease, easy access to abortion is a must. Most abortions occur  because contraception failed, because of a rape or because of a serious  medical condition  of the mother, which could lead to her death. In these  situations abortion is often the only way that prevents the birth of an  unwanted child or saves a mothers life.We have seen that abortion is really important to the society. It has allowed us to cho ose what we want for ourselves, and it also helps us to follow family planning. We have every right to choose whether we want to have an abortion or not. Religious people don’t support it but since it is their belief and decision they should not force other people to be like them. It has been proven above that all their arguments were not fully true. The reasons why women have abortions vary. It may be a case of rape,  physical or psychological condition.A choice must need to be available  to prevent the birth of unwanted children, to avoid damage to the child as  well as to safeguard the emotional and physical health of women. Preservation of life seems to be rather a slogan than a genuine goal of the  anti-abortion forces; what they really want is control. Control over our  behavior and power over women. Abortion is a tough choice and the decision  should be a personal one, without interference of government or special  interest groups. Losing safe and legal a bortion would mean reducing women  to childbearing vessels.It would mean turning our backs on the  technology we have, and it will also devalue women as independent human  beings. It would bring more meaningless deaths from the illegal and self-  induced abortions and more pain for women. Works Cited Barbier, Jean, and Georges Goree. Mother Teresa: The Love of Christ. New York: Harper ; Row, 1982. Print. Boonstra, Heather. Key Questions for Consideration as a New Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative is Implemented. 1st. ed. 13. Washington DC: Guttmacher Policy Review, 2010. Print. Hanson T. , McLanahan, S. and Thomson, E. (1996).Double Jeopardy: Parental Conflict and Stepfamily Outcomes for Children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58(1): 141-154. Print. Head, Tom. â€Å"What is Abortion? † Web. 10 Dec. 2011. Lewis, Jone. â€Å"Abortion History† Web. 10 Dec. 2011. Mahkorn ; Dolan, â€Å"Sexual Assault & Pregnancy. † In  New Perspectives on Human Abortion,  University Publisher of Amer. , 1981, pp. 182-199 Monhan, Michael. Illegal Abortion. Web. Morgentaler, Henry. Abortion and Contraception. 1st ed. Beaufort Books, 1982. Print. Stritof, Bob. Prohibited Marraige. Web. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version.Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print. WHO. District Planning Tool for Maternal and Newborn Health Strategy Implementation. 6-13. Print. Bibliography Barbier, Jean, and Georges Goree. Mother Teresa: The Love of Christ. New York: Harper ; Row, 1982. Print. Boonstra, Heather. Key Questions for Consideration as a New Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative is Implemented. 1st. ed. 13. Washington DC: Guttmacher Policy Review, 2010. Print. CNN – Obama: Pro-choice, Not Pro-Abortion Ad [Video]. (2008). 12 Nov. 2011 Hanson T. , McLanahan, S. and Thomson, E. (1996).Double Jeopardy: Parental Conflict and Stepfamily Outcomes fo r Children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58(1): 141-154. Print. Head, Tom. â€Å"What is Abortion? † Web. 10 Dec. 2011. Lewis, Jone. â€Å"Abortion History† Web. 10 Dec. 2011. Mahkorn ; Dolan, â€Å"Sexual Assault & Pregnancy. † In  New Perspectives on Human Abortion,  University Publisher of Amer. , 1981. Print. Monhan, Michael. Illegal Abortion. Web. Morgentaler, Henry. Abortion and Contraception. 1st ed. Beaufort Books, 1982. Print. Reagan, L. J. When Abortion was a Crime, Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973.Univ of California Pr, 1999. Print. Sproul, R. C. Abortion, a Rational Look at an Emotional Issue. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010. Print. Stritof, Bob. Prohibited Marraige. Web. 24 November 2011. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New Revised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print. WHO. District Planning Tool for Maternal and Newborn Health Strategy Implementation. 6-13. Print. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. â€Å"Abortion† Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004. Web. 10 Aug. 2011

Daisyworld Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Daisyworld - Coursework Example The surface temperature of a lifeless planet would have changed dramatically with the increase in luminosity of the sun over geological timescales; on Earth, it has remained remarkably constant around temperatures suitable for life (s Harvey, 2003). Daisyworld is a simplified model of an imaginary planet with just two species of daisies, black and white in order to demonstrate the way it happens. The growth rate of the daisies depends on their local temperature but the daisies modify this due to the differences in the way of absorbing radiation; black daisies have low albedo i.e. reflectivity and thus they heat up easily. On the other hand, white daisies with higher albedo tend to reflect the sun's radiation. The Gaia hypothesis (Lovelock, 1972, 1979, 1988) came into the scene with the problem of determining the possibilities of life on Mars1. To carry out the experiments, it was neither easy not necessary according to Hitchcock and Lovelock (1966), to go to Mars. They claimed that all that was required is determination of the composition of the atmosphere of Mars. The atmosphere of Mars should be at chemical equilibrium (which is true) in the absence of any form of life on the planet. Similarly, if the atmosphere were not at equilibrium just like Earth, then this would strongly support the possibility of life on mars. Lovelock believed that the Planet Earth should be studied as an organism due to the analysis that the general activity of the planet can effectively indicate the existence of life on it. The characteristic properties exhibited by the living things like respiration, metabolism, self-regulation, irritability and reproduction can be studied for the determination of life. To consider earth as an organism is just a matter of choice of great researchers but it certainly posses many properties similar to organisms. The key objections that have been raised to the Gaia hypothesis are based on the evolution theory. Arguments are there on the consideration of Earth as an organism believing that organism properties arise only through natural selection. There is no particular mechanism so that the Earth can maintain the favourable conditions for the biota and hence there is no need to consider the matter (Dawkins, 1982). Continuous arguments were present about the

Human Resource Management Portfolio Research Paper

Human Resource Management Portfolio - Research Paper Example A job analysis based on background study facilitated development of job description. A study of the company’s strategies facilitated job analysis. The company’s strategy map proved to be the most essential part of this exercise. In addition, differing views from literature added greater knowledge and reasoning to the process of creation of a job description. The end result emerged as a detailed job description that highlights all key responsibility areas and essential skills required for the role. Based on these details, qualifications and experience needed for the role are identified. Overall, this effort has shed much light on the significance of human resources in organizational sustenance and growth; this process clarified the strategic link between job analysis, performance management and organizational sustenance. Table of Contents Content Page Section 1. Introduction 5 1.1. Job in context: Store manager at Tesco 5 1.2. Strategic position of Store manager at Tesco 5 Section 2. Job analysis 6 2.1. Job analysis for Store manager at Tesco 6 2.2 Job analysis method: Review of background records 7 2.3. Job analysis and organizational sustenance 11 Section 3. ... Link between Job Analysis and other management functions 11 Figure 4. Job Characteristics Model 12 Figure 5. Selection process at Tesco 16 Figure 6. Link between JD and performance management 17 List of Appendices Appendix 1: Job description for Store Manager, Tesco 21 Appendix 2: Job Advert – Store Manager, Tesco 23 List of Abbreviations HRM: Human resources management HR: Human resources JD: Job description Section 1. Introduction 1.1. Job in context: Store manager at Tesco. This discussion builds a portfolio for the manager’s position in a retail supermarket. The concerned workplace is the renowned supermarket Tesco, which is one of the top 3 supermarkets in the world. Tesco is about a hundred year-old multi-dimensional business that originated in the United Kingdom as a small retail shop. Tesco has its presence in more than 10 countries and employs about half a million people across the globe. Moreover, Tesco’s growth is not limited to retail groceriesâ€℠¢ sector but has invaded numerous other business areas such as investment, information technology, communications, petrochemical products, food, clothing, consumer electronics, telecommunications etc (McLoughlin & Aaker, 2010). With such vast business, Tesco operates based on systematic and planned strategy throughout the world. Its strategies invade every aspect of its widely diverse business operations including finance, production, service, retail, learning, customer service, and logistics. This report specifically evaluates the role of a team manager in the retail sector of Tesco, which is planning to open its new branch in Vietnam. This role is mainly responsible for store operations on a day-to-day basis along with management of a team of store representatives and their supervisors. 1.2.

How Ethics Fades Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

How Ethics Fades - Essay Example To control such activities, the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) was established to put into completion rules and regulations protecting the government, investors and public alike (www.sec.gov). The story of Raj Rajaratnam is action-packed non-fiction that brings audiences to a glimpse of how the S.E.C. functions. Rajaratnam is the founder of Galleon, a multi-billion hedge fund, who hired employees illegally, who were working in potential companies to get information from them. Among these people who played important roles in the game of Rajaratnam was Anil Kumar, a senior executive of McKinsey, a consulting firm which wanted to get Rajaratnam as a client. Meeting at a charity event in 2003, the two being former classmates made a deal about how Kumar was to be paid by the billionaire as an adviser. Kumar was not the first nor the only one of Rajaratnam’s informer, though. Names like Adam Smith, Krish Panu, Kris Chellam and Rajiv Goel were in the Galleon’s hea d’s list, all Indian-born businessmen with prominent positions in large companies. Paying them a good deal of money, their services were at Rajaratnam’s command, making him escape the loss of great amounts of money or the gain of it. When his investments are at a risk, Rajaratnam was informed and he sold his shares before a company closes down. Likewise, he is advised on what to buy at very low prices in accordance with the information given to him by his ‘advisers’. Whatever occurs, he is always on the win with his dealings (Packer). Insider trading is the name of Rajaratnam’s game, getting information from insiders for his benefit, making sure he always makes money in his investments and he may not be the only one who is doing the practice but his large company just could not escape the suspicious eyes of the S.E.C. Formerly, S.E.C. was looking into Sedna Capital, a hedge fund run by Rengan Rajaratnam, the billionaire’s brother who was tipp ed off engaging in insider trading. An anonymous letter sent in 2007 about Galleon strengthened S.E.C. official’s suspicions and their investigations begun.

Marxism as a major ideology in the 21st century Essay

Marxism as a major ideology in the 21st century - Essay Example The mere fact that the beginning of the Marxism was 1848, when Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the Communist Manifesto, speaks for itself: it was a different time. And the current XXI century is not the XIX century, and, if Marxism was not to gain a foothold in the minds of people in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, then this will not happen in the twenty-first century. And such notorious Marxist terms and phrases as â€Å"the proletariat†, â€Å"Rent†, â€Å"world revolution†, â€Å"communism - a bright future for all mankind† are can not often be heard even at rallies and demonstrations organized by the Communists at the present time. We know that in the twentieth century the ideology of Marxism was adopted by the Soviet Union, some countries of Eastern Europe, China, Mongolia, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Cuba. Lots of aforementioned countries still remain the supporters of Marxism nowadays. Even in the most developed capitalist co untries there are always some Communist Parties. With all respect to certain postulates and the noble ideas of Marxist philosophy, our contemporary society can not possibly accept Marxism as a whole, so the given ideology is unlikely to return as a major ideology in the twenty first century. Let us take, for example, such a doctrine of Karl Marx, as his famous theory of surplus value. Marxists believe that under capitalism a great part of the produced surplus value is given to the capital, which inevitably leads to an increasing stratification of society and the growth of class struggle.... Marxists believe that under capitalism a great part of the produced surplus value is given to the capital, which inevitably leads to an increasing stratification of society and the growth of class struggle (â€Å"Karl Marx – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy†). In accordance with this postulate (and the inevitable growth of the class struggle), it is possible to make a conclusion that sooner or later the global economic crisis and revolution will occur. Besides, ultimately the means of production, sooner or later will move to the workers and peasants. Thereafter, in accordance with the following Marxist postulate, productivity growth will sooner or later lead to the fact that human capabilities will outstrip human needs, thus, social wealth will flow an endless stream, comes communism. Under these circumstances, the postulate that â€Å"material existence of any person ultimately determines his or her consciousness† will work. Thus, we can run to the conclusion that each person will receive material benefits according to needs. And all the people will automatically become happy. An era of universal happiness will come. That what is said about the strengthening of the class struggle in the Manifesto of Communist Party, â€Å"Over the past few decades, the history of industry and commerce was nothing but the history of the revolt of modern productive forces against modern conditions of production, against the property relations that are the conditions for the existence of the bourgeoisie and its rule. It suffices to mention the commercial crises that, coming back from time to time, call into question the existence of the entire bourgeois society ... The growing competition among the bourgeois, and the resulting commercial

The future status of English as the global language is assured Essay - 1

The future status of English as the global language is assured - Essay Example This means that it is a language that is not going to disappear anytime soon because it is deeply rooted among many cultures. The same could be said of Mandarin. However, Mandarin has historically never had the same global appeal of English due to one thing—colonization. The English language originated from England and was exported around the world the England’s colonies. Countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have all had their cultures and language shaped due to the influence of England. Mandarin was never allowed to expand like this because China never ventured far outside its own borders. In addition to England, the United States of America also became a great exporter of the English language. After the United States won independence from England, it did contribute much to world affairs. It was only after the Second World War that America started to influence many different countries around the globe. Because they speak the English language, the United States was, and still does, influence they way people talk. Over the centuries, English has long been the language of trade between countries. Although English is only the native language in a few countries, there are considerably more nations that have established English as their second language. The reason for this is simple—trade. Because many of the native English speaking countries are considered to be first world, it is advantageous for poorer nations to do business with them. To accomplish this, it makes sense to learn English in order to be able to communicate effectively with them. It would be unrealistic for an English speaker to learn a language of another country that wants to engage in trade—because the developing country wants to grow, it must learn to speak the language that will help to get them there. Although English will surely be threatened by other upcoming languages, particularly Mandarin, the future status of the English language as

Law questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law questions - Essay Example This law also applies to situations which consist of an individual entering into contracts to represent a firm which has been established under law. Applying the law to the facts, we understand that Barkley was not eligible to enter into Contract with Chetum. Along with this, Barkley is not eligible to represent the firm of his father in his absence. Therefore, looking at the overall perspective of Contractual Obligations, Barkley could not have entered into a contract with any other party. In case a contract has been entered upon between a minor and some other party, then such contract happens to not be legally binding on the parties although the work of the contract may be carried out and performed by the parties. Issue 2 Whether Knarles is criminally liable for sending a plumber whose license had not been renewed Knarles was aware that the plumber’s license had not been renewed in the current year, and in spite of that his firm had sent the plumber to Chetum’s buildi ng to do the repair work. The question which arises here right now is whether Knarles and his firm are criminally liable under the criminal jurisdiction for engaging a workman whose license had not been renewed. Under the criminal jurisprudence, there is nothing explicitly mentioned with regard to the renewal licence as a criminal liability. However, on the other hand, it is a civil liability the employer should have taken enough precaution to undergo the renewal process. IN this case, Knarles had not renewed the licence of his employee, and therefore on this point the plumber was not eligible to go and work in Chetum’s building. Whether Chetum is liable for Negligence When Barkley had sent the plumber to do the job at Chetum’s building, there were two options present for Chetum to execute: 1. To change the entire Boiler 2. To repair the Boiler When the plumber had gone there to check for the boiler, he had informed his boss Barkley that the boiler needs to be replaced and not repaired. Let us analyse the facts to get a clearer understanding. â€Å"While inspecting the non-operating boiler at Chetum’s building, the plumber notices that the boiler is one that has been recalled by the manufacturer, Housewarm, because of a defect that does not allow all the carbon monoxide produced by the boiler to vent properly. This boiler was purchased by Chetum at a salvage yard and replaced another non-operating boiler. Further, the boiler has been improperly installed, according to the plumber. The plumber notifies Barkley of the problems with the boiler and Barkley immediately notifies Chetum. Chetum tells Barkley that he does not want to purchase a new boiler. He asks if the existing boiler can be fixed to get through the winter months. Barkley calls his plumber who is still at the Chetum site and asks the plumber about a quick fix for the winter. The plumber tells Barkley he would not recommend the quick fix for the winter as this boiler is defectiv e and has been recalled.† Looking at the facts, it can be directly inferred that the boiler which was in the building was defective and should have been replaced. However, to save costs and other expenditures, Chetum did not want that to happen and therefore asked for the boiler to be repaired. It is pertinent to note that the boiler which had been installed int the building was not only improperly installed but also was defective. Therefore there was an urgent need to replace the boiler, which was concurred by the plumber but not approved by Chetum. The

Stress Essay Example for Free

Stress Essay 1.0Introduction We generally use the word stress when we feel that everything seems to have become too much, we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope with the pressures placed upon us. Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. Some stresses get you going and they are good for you, without any stress at all many say our lives would be boring and would probably feel pointless. However, when the stresses undermine both our mental and physical health they are bad. In this text we shall be focusing on stress that is bad for you. Stress is your body’s response to change. It’s a very individual thing. A situation’s that one person finds stressful may not bother someone else. For example, one person may become tense when driving; another person may find driving a source of relaxation and joy. Something that causes fear in some people, such as rock climbing, may be fun for others. There’s no way to say that one thing is bad or stressful because everyone’s different. Not all stress is bad, either. Speaking to a group or watching a close football game can be stressful, but they can be fun, too. Life would be dull without some stress. The key is to manage stress properly, because unhealthy responses to it may lead to health problems in some people. Many people experience stress as they combine busy lives and the demands of study while trying to also save time for friends and family. For some people, stress becomes almost a way of life. We all experience episodic stress, getting ready for a major exam, completing and important paper, perhaps getting ready for an important a way of life. We know that stress prolonged period of time, can have increase certain health risks, to say nothing of the way and tear that happens to relationships and general wellbeing. The simple guide use materials adapted from several college campuses with active stress reduction programs. It explores the origin of stress and provides some basic ways to assess the level of stress you may be feeling and than suggest some easy to incorporate ways to decrease the level of stress. Although we all talk about stress, it often isn’t clear what stress is really about. Many people consider stress to be something that happens to them, an event such as an injury or a job loss. Others think that stress is what happens to our body, mind, and behavior in response to an event (E.g. heart pounding, anxiety, or nail biting). While stress does involve events and our response to then, these are not the most important factors. Our thoughts about the situations in which we find ourselves are the critical factor. When something happens to us, we automatically evaluate the situation mentally. We decide if it is threatening to us, how we need to deal with the situation, and what skills we can use. If we decide that the demands of the situation outweigh the skills we have, then we label the situation as stressful and react with the classic stress response. If we decide that our coping skills outweigh the demands of the situation, then we don’t see it as stressful. Stress is not something strange to our daily life nowadays. Everybody may feel stress when they are facing bad situation. Generally, word of stress has been used in social science research since a well known medical expert; Selye pioneered the research for psychological stress in 1950’s. Cox Brockley (1984) stated that stress is a perception phenomenon which exists from a comparison between the command given and ability of a person to execute he task successfully. Unbalanced situation in this mechanism will lead into stress experience and ultimately into stress reaction. Beside that, stress is a pattern of negative (physiological, psychological) responses occurring in situations where people perceive threats to their well being which they may be unable to meet (Lazarus Folkman, 1984). Selye (1978) define individual stress as the stated of pressure or tension when the individual reacts to a stressor. 1. Background of the study 1.1.1Reading (types) Basically, stress is a state of individual in a response to the stimulus of a stressor (anything that potentially leads to change because changes are stressful for an organism) and resulting hardship (Boss, 1987). Stress is normal and neutral (neither positive nor negative) (Boss, 1988; Selye, 1956). It is a continuous outcome variable in that there are degrees of stress (Boss, 1988) as well as a categorical variable. Types of individual stress based on degrees of stress included deprived, optimal and excessive (Selye, 1956). A derived degree of stress may result in a lake of motivation while optimal stress tends to lead to motivation. Excessive stress may lead to crisis. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. Everyone sees situations differently and has different coping skills. For this reason, no two people will respond exactly the same way to a given situation. Additionally, not all situations that are labeled stressful are negative. Facing the mid-term test, completing the thesis and doing the assessments work for each subject may not be perceived as threatening. However, we may feel that situations are stressful because we don’t feel fully prepared to deal with them. Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good; it can motivate you and help you become more productive. However, too much stress, or a strong response to stress can be harmful. How we perceive a stress provoking event and how we react to it determines its impact on our health. We may be motivated and invigorated by the events in our lives, or we may see some as stressful and respond in a manner that may have a negative effect on our physical, mental, and social well-being. If we always respond in a negative way, our health and happiness may suffer. By understanding ourselves and our reaction to stress-provoking situations, we can learn to handle stress more effectively. In the most accurate meaning, stress management is not about learning how to avoid or escape the pressures and turbulence of modern living; it is about learning to appreciate how the body reacts to these pressures, and about learning how to develop skills which enhance the body’s adjustment. To learn stress management is to learn about the mind-body connection and to the degree to which we can control our health in a positive sense. Stress is believed to be caused by the various problems that exist such as problems at school, financial problems, family problems and problems in their surroundings. Teenagers also experience stress because they are sometimes trapped between making decisions which is to follow rules and orders or to be free and discover the world like they should. Teenagers in the previous days were trained for things that were suitable with their age so that they can use it to manage their lives. According to Zulkifli (1988), teenagers always face problems in adjusting. Teenagers especially those who are students always face learning problems, career management and also problems in solving personal and social matters. These are the factors that contribute to stress in life. Students are starting to shift from a life that is dependent on others to a life that needs them to release the dependency and start carrying their own responsibilities. Morris (1990) stated that teenagers always face stress in school and they compete with each other to get better grades. Levine, 1970 (in Dobson, 1980), explained that stress have a relationship with a specific situation like a learning environment in school and the inability to do work perfectly and the failure to achieve anything that is desired. The issues of students doing things like punching teachers, cursing, slandering and hurting teachers, prostitution and others calls for researchers to see the mentioned phenomena is connected to the stress situation among teenagers. Adams (1983, in Kamaruddin, 1997) stated that the biggest problem among schooling teenagers is the matters associated with their schooling. Other than that, problems that female students have to deal with are communication and family problems. For the male students, their side problems are problems with getting involved in sports, recreation and also financial problems. The many responsibilities and pressure cause stress to the teenagers like the need to achieve good academic grades, character building and also good attitude besides trying to comprehend with their personal needs. For many young adults, college is the best time of life. These critical years of adjustment can also be under minded by depression, anxiety, substance, abuse and eating disorder. Stress exists from the change in an individual’s thinking and their lifestyle nowadays. Now, individuals have changed in their perceptions and the way they interpret this life. Students in their teens are the ones who are going through the transitional phase, which is an intermediate of childhood and adulthood. During the teen years, a lot of biological, physical, mental and emotional changes are happening, as well as the changes in responsibility and role. In order to stabilize these changes, the students are always confronted with problems and conflicts (Asri, 2002). For some students who are not capable of dealing with it, the changes will create stress and tension to them. If it is not dealt with in the early stages, the student may experience mental problems (Newman, 2005). As a UiTM KBM students, study itself is potentially very stressful with many different and sometimes conflicting pressures (reading complex technical or theoretical material, writing assignments for deadlines, working part time, having a ‘successful’ social life, family demand) perhaps peaking near the exams, which themselves explicitly test your performance under pressure by setting strict time conditions and removing potential resources such as books, colleagues, notes and etc. Study can also challenge your ideas of who you are, who you think you are or who you want to be, lead you to compare yourself with others, who maybe look like they have everything under control. Any change or transition, even a welcome one is stressful and study involves lots of transitions in addition to other life events for example, moving to another country, or another part of the country, meeting new people, different expectations from lecturers, and each academic year brings changes depend s on different topics, lecturers, perhaps new housemates, which should not be underestimated.

Webster family case study

Webster family case study The Case Study: The Webster Family, A Family In Crisis? This assignment requires me to outline what model of assessment I will use when working with the Webster family. I will also give a description on how the family was referred to social services for a Section 47 (S47) investigation. There will be a strategy meeting and the details of this meeting will be outlined along with instructions given. There will be a case conference held to discuss whether the children are at risk of significant harm or the likelihood of significant harm. There will be a clear recommendation as to whether I will register these children on the child protection register, justifying my decision. Whilst working with the Webster family I will explain what legislation I used, my research into the theories involved and also I will provide details of any anti-oppressive practice and any anti-discriminatory practice whilst working with this family. Ms Webster and Mr Webster have lived together for twelve years. They have three children, Faith and Hope who are twins and are aged ten and Charity who is seven years old. Charity has Cerebral palsy, is doubly incontinent and is a wheelchair user. Mrs Webster is a teacher and Mr Webster was a probation officer who up until twelve months ago worked full time. Following an accident a work he has taken early retirement on health grounds and is now employed full time as a househusband looking after the children.   The family are not known to social services or any other welfare agencies. There have been many tensions building up within the family home since his accident and after a violent row Mr Webster left the family home. After speaking to the headmaster it appeared there had been an incident of domestic violence in front of the children and staff. Previous to this incident, the day before Charities class teacher had had reported to Mr Perry that over the last two weeks Charities appearance had deteriorated, her clothes were unclean and her nappies were soiled and Charity smelled of urine. Charity had also began being aggressive to her friends and to the staff. A staff member had also discovered pressure sores on Charity. When Charities teacher telephoned Ms Webster to tell of their concerns, Ms Webster was frosty in response. After the incident outside the school Mr Webster explained that Ms Webster had attacked him on two other occasions and these incidents again where witness by the children. On both occasions the police were called, however Mr Webster was concerned about social services and did not press charges. After the incident, later that afternoon The Education Welfare Officer (EWO) Ms Murray, went to visit Ms Webster at home but was refused entry. Ms Webster was verbally abusive. Ms Murray then tried to speak to Charity but she refused to talk to her. Ms Murray then went to visit Mr Webster where the twins were staying. The twins seemed fine but a little subdued. Mr Webster stated that he would be looking after the twins and he would like custody of all three children. Following the visit a strategy meeting was formed. A strategy discussion will take place if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm. This will involve The Local Authority Social Care, the Police and other bodies as appropriate for example, a headmaster or a teacher (Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2006).   Present in the meeting was myself (duty care social worker), Ms Gold (my team manager), WPC Bond (family protection unit), Mr Perry (headmaster) and Ms Murray (EWO). A strategy discussion is to share information regarding the situation at hand and another aspect is to plan how the S47 enquiry, if there is to be one, should be carried out. We can also agree action is required immediately to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child. The Domestic Violence Unit reported they did not refer these incidents to Social Services as they did not see the children to be at any risk, however Working Together states t hat children may suffer directly and indirectly if they live in households where there is domestic violence and domestic violence is likely to have a damaging effect on the health and development of children. It is often appropriate for such children to be regarded as children in need S17. Mckie (2005) makes some interesting observations on the terms perpetrator and victim in an analysis of domestic violence. The policies and practices connected with domestic violence become gendered in so far as women are conceptualized as those who should act. Mckie (2005). Working Together also says that children who witness domestic violence have been shown to be at risk from behavioural, emotional, physical, cognitive functioning, attitude and long term developmental problems. We do know that Charity has become aggressive and abusive. After the strategy meeting and because of the concerns regarding Charity, It was agreed after a discussion with my team manager that I would visit Ms Webster to discuss the referral from school. From this I would then make an assessment as to whether the child/children are at risk of significant harm or the likelihood of significant harm. The overall decision was that a S47 enquiry should proceed with immediate effect. Some children are in need because they are suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Concerns about maltreatment may be a reason for a referral of a family to social services. In such circumstances, the Local Authority is obliged to consider initiating enquiries to find out what is happening to a child and whether action should be taken to protect a child. This is set out in Part V S47 of The Children Act 1989 (Protection of Children). The Framework for the Assessment of Children In Need and Their Families (2000), section 1.28 states that the LA has a duty to respond to children in need to provide services to minimise the effects of disabilities, this applies to Charity. We also have to take steps to prevent neglect or ill treatment. There does appear to be in this, in relation to Charitys case. Section 17 of the Childrens Act says that services may be provided to assist a child in need. This would refer to Ms Webster if she is agreeable because the needs of parent carers are an integral part of an assessment because providing these services which meets the needs of the parents is often the most effective means of promoting the welfare of children, particularly disabled children. My role now is to recommend which route we proceed down. When I went to visit Ms Webster, She was hostile towards me. Ms Webster said she had never been violent to her husband before and denied the incident outside school. Ms Webster claimed she had no problems looking after her children but showed a negative attitude towards Charity. She spoke about Charity as if she was not there and referred to Charity as she instead of by her name. Ms Webster said Charity was hard work and was always soiling her nappies, shouting and crying. Ms Webster seemed angry as she was explaining this. Whilst we were talking, Charity did not say anything but looked as if she wanted to cry. Charitys appearance was unclean and she smelled of urine. Ms Webster was clearly upset about her husbands sexuality, more than for the safety of her children. When entering Charitys bedroom which Ms Webster had reluctantly agreed to, I found bed clothes stained with urine and stools. The en-suite and bath were both unclean. The rest of the home however was clean and tidy. I sp oke to Ms Webster about my concerns and told her that she would be entitled to help if she would accept it. This empowered Ms Webster and allowed her to feel there was help if she wanted it and she was not alone. Ms Webster did say that she thought Charity may have been affected by witnessing the recent arguments and she would make sure Charity was not further stressed that day. It was discussed that Charity had pressure sores; from this Ms Webster became frosty. Reluctantly she agreed to take Charity to see her doctor and I arranged to visit the next day. The following day on the 20th January 2008 I visited Ms Webster, but there was no answer. When I tried to telephone her there was still no answer. As a result from this, there were concerns regarding the domestic violence and the condition of Charity and it was decided that a Child Protection Case Conference was to go ahead. I will explain this model of assessment I used in this case before I go on to the case conference. The model of assessment used is The Framework for The Assessment of Children In Need and Their Families (DOH 2000) more commonly known as the assessment framework. The assessment framework will be integrated into the revised Working Together to Safeguard Children. A key principle of this framework is that it is child-centred; this means that the child is seen and kept in focus throughout the assessment. The child or children are my main priority as a child social worker. It is also rooted in child development which includes recognition of the significance of timing in a childs life. Calder, M and Hackett, S (2003). This particular assessment model is dynamic, fluid and continuous, this helps the intervention because as changes occur in a persons life, it can adapt to the changes and my care plan can also be adaptable. A criticism of this model is the timescales can force social workers towards a procedural model whereas the Exchange Model offers an empowering dialogue with parents. Smale et al (2000) identify a weakness in this model in that this approach may not work if the service user is not engaging in the process or are unable to articulate themselves.  Ã‚   It also denies that workers have a professional responsibility and can be time consuming, which may create difficulties given the time constraints of The Assessment Framework.   It also overlooks the need to adopt a procedural approach given the various questionnaires/scales utilised. Changes have appeared to have happened over the last two weeks for Ms Webster and her family. Domestic violence, with both parties blaming each other and the deteriation of Charitys appearance and her temper towards others. This leads me onto another concept of my assessment, which is parenting capacity. This is done using the assessment triangle, which includes child developmental needs, family and environmental factors. The DOH dimensions of parenting capacity has six core dimensions of parenting capacity, three of these provisions suggest that Charity is not receiving emotional warmth, Charitys needs for secure, stable and an affectionate relationship, appropriate physical contact to provide comfort and warmth and stability of attachments and basic care to provide food, drink, warmth, appropriate clothing and personal hygiene. Ms Websters capacity concerns me because of her response to Charity and her circumstances involving her cleanliness and her appearance, the way she speaks about Charity, whilst Charity can hear her mother, and her reaction to use support and accept help and the relationship between Ms Webster and Charity. Childrens chances of receiving optimal outcomes will depend on their parents capacities to respond appropriately to their needs at different stages of their lives Calder, M and Hacket, S, (2003). Some of the above factors are included in the integrated model for assessing parenting capacity. The parenting style I would suggest of Ms Webster is neglectful parenting as she is neither responsive nor demanding of Charity. Ms Webster lacks the monitoring and the supervision duties surrounding Charity at the moment. Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a childs basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the childs health or development. Working Together To Safeguard Children (1999). From my assessment I would put forward in my opinion and recommend that Charity to be put on the child protection register S47 but not her two twin sisters, but would offer support under S17. This is because of the declining condition of Charitys physical condition and appearance, due to her persistent soiled nappies, the urine smell on Charity, her dirty clothes, her pressure sores and her aggressive nature toward others. Charity has suffered some the physical neglect of because of the delay of being taken to a doctor by her mother. Charity also suffered abuse due to witnessing the domestic violence and therefore there is a h3 possibility of emotional abuse. Research shows that prolonged and/or regular exposure to domestic violence can have a serious impact on the child and/or childrens development and emotional wellbeing and can lead to serious anxiety and distress and in some cases the repetition of violent behaviour. Department of Health (2006). All these factors could lead to significant harm. These are the categories for registration. The twins will not be registered as they are not in any immediate danger as they are both cared for by their father and his partner at the moment, a police check has been carried out and neither is known, the EWO has no concerns regarding the twins. However this situation needs to be monitored and regularly reviewed to safeguard the children as this situation may change. My reasons for recommending registration are the three incidents of domestic violence over the last three months, one known to have been witnesses by the children. Ms Websters reaction outside school when she was verbally abusive, erratic and aggressive. There are neglect issues. We also need to take account of Charities additional needs. A definition of disability is children and their families whose main need for services arises out of the childrens disabilities or intrinsic condition (DOH 2000). This applies to Charity as she falls within the category and she has a medically diagnosed condition, which is Cerebral Palsy. Both parents are blaming each other for the domestic violence issues. There are concerns by school staff regarding Charitys decline in appearance and her aggression. There is also the issue of family attachments which I noted earlier in parenting capacity. After making a recommendation to register Charity an Initial Child Protection Case Conference was set for 28th January 2008. Ms Webster was informed of the decision by telephone and I arranged with her to visit and give her a copy of the notes before the meeting, this will empower Ms Webster and give her some idea of what will happen. I will also keep the family fully informed throughout, invite parents to meetings and explain procedures in an open and honest way. But I will ensure the parents are fully aware of my concerns regarding the risks towards Charity. The function of a case conference is to bring together the child (where appropriate), family members and those professionals most involved with the child and family, following a S47 enquiry. One purpose of this is to decide what future action is required to safeguard and promote the welfare of the child and how action will be taken and what the intended outcomes are. The core group members are I, Ms Webster, Mr Webster, Ms Gold (team manager), WPC Bond (family protection unit), Mr Perry (head teacher) and Ms Murray (EWO). All the above people involved will all play a part in monitoring and safeguarding the surrounding concerns for Charity. During the case conference I will be looking at recommending the following care plan: Behavioural support, some schools have these implemented by way of school mentor, this could help Charity with her aggression.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Anger management counselling for Ms Webster due to the domestic violence issues. Family Resource Centre for Ms Webster and Charity, this could help them both have contact with other families experiencing similar issues. Counselling for mum due to loss and separation and the children. Counselling for Charity to give her a chance to talk to someone about her experiences and how she feels. Charity spending quality time with her father and sisters. With the care plan identified, this can only go ahead if Ms Webster will give her consent as she has parental responsibility. The legislation I have used is Childrens Act 1989/2004 with S47-Duty to asses risk and S17-Duty to assess need. I have also used Working Together to Safeguard Children, this sets out clear guidelines for multi-agency working to protect children from abuse and neglect, this was needed in relation to Charity. I will now move on to theories and research. Neglect can have major long term effects on all aspects of a childs health, development and well-being. Maltreatment is likely to have a deeper on the childs self image and self esteem. Difficulties may lead on into adulthood and the experience of long term abuse could lead to difficulties in forming or maintaining close relationships, one of the skills needed to be an effective parent (DOH 2000). DOH 2000 also says that the child could have feelings of isolation and the feeling of being unloved. Stress could affect the parents capacity to respond to their childs needs. This relates to this case as Ms Webster is very stresses since her husband left her for another man. In relation to physical abuse and Charity witnessing this, this could be the reason as to why Charity is showing aggression towards people. Physical abuse has been linked to aggressive behaviour in children, emotional and behavioural problems (Working Together). Further research that relates to the case is the Attachment Theory because of Charitys relationship with her mum and vice versa. Bowlby believed that the primary caregiver is the mother. He said that children deprived of maternal care would nearly always be affected in some way. Bowlby (1953). However Ainsworth identified three types of attachment, securely attached, insecurely attached (avoidant) and securely attached (ambivalent). As its core, attachment theory is about the way that childhood needs are met and the long term effects of needs being met or otherwise. Ainsworth (1970). In my opinion I would say Charity is negatively attached. A criticism of Bowlby is that he says that the mother has to be the primary caregiver; this is open to much subjection. Children can have attachment figures other than them receiving it from their mother. In some cultures the childcare is shared, not only by mothers but by fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends Beckett, C, (2002). Anothe r criticism is that it is sexist, it tends to lead to maternal deprivation rather than paternal deprivation, it excuses absent fathers from any imitation of parenting skills. It ignores gender bias and how family make ups can change. This is significant in this case as Mr Webster left the family home. Theory on domestic violence is gendered natured in that, it ignores the facts that female to male violence is increasing. This is significant in this case because Mr Webster had suffered domestic violence issues with his wife. Charity also witnessed domestic violence. Helping victims and children to get protection from violence, by providing relevant practical and other assistance is one of the considerations to include when involved in a child protection case (Working Together pg 2004). There are contradictions within the legislative framework. The Children Act 1989 contravenes the Human Rights Act because S8 of the Human Rights act states that in absolute certainty children should not be removed from their family and the Children Act defines harm but not significant harm. The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families is not without contradiction. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation 1999, points out that it would be helpful to strengthen the assessment framework by stating that the responsibility of the local authority is not only to promote and safeguard the welfare of the child but also the rights of the child. Throughout my work I will continue to reflect on my practice and how my own values and assumptions may unconsciously affect my decisions.

Dividend Payout Decision Making Process

Dividend Payout Decision Making Process CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background: Dividend policy is an important component of the corporate financial management policy. It is a policy used by the firm to decide as to how much cash it should reinvest in its business through expansion or share repurchases and how much to pay out to its shareholders in dividends. Dividend is a payment or return made by the firm to the shareholders, (owners of the company) out of its earnings in the form of cash. For a long time, the subject of corporate dividend policy has captivated the interests of many academicians and researchers, resulting in the emergence of a number of theoretical explanations for dividend policy. For the investors, dividend serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business, thereby companies try to maintain a stable dividend because if they reduce their dividend payments, investors may suspect that the company is facing a cash flow problem. Investors prefer steady growth of dividends every year and are reluctant to investm ent to companies with fluctuating dividend policy. Over time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of factors identified in the literature as being important to be considered in making dividend decisions. Thus, extensive studies have been done to find out various factors affecting dividend payout ratio of a firm. However, there is no single explanation that can capture the puzzling reality of corporate dividend behavior. Ocean deep judgment is involved by decision makers to resolve this issue of dividend behavior. The decision of companies to retain or pay out the earnings in form of dividends is important for the maximization of the value of the firm (Oyejide, 1976). Therefore, companies should set a constructive target dividend payout ratio, where it pays dividends to its shareholders and at the same time maintains sufficient retained earnings as to avoid having raise funds by borrowing money. A tough challenge was faced by financial practitioners and many academics, when Miller and Modigliani (MM) (1961) came with a proposition that, given perfect capital markets, the dividend decision does not affect the firm value and is, therefore, irrelevant. This proposition was greeted with surprise because at that time it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy and that a properly managed dividend policy had an impact on share prices and shareholder wealth. Since the MM study, many researchers have relaxed the assumption of perfect capital markets and stated theories about how managers should formulate dividend policy decisions. Problem Statement: Dividend policy has attracted a substantial amount of research by many researchers and theorists, who have provided theoretical as well as empirical observations, into the dividend puzzle (Black, 1976). Even though researchers and theorists have extended their studies in context to dividend decisions, the issue as to why corporations distribute a portion of their earnings as dividends is not yet resolved. The issue of dividend policy has stimulated much debate among financial analysts since Lintners (1956) seminal work. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. There are many factors that affect dividend decisions of a firm as it is very difficult to lay down an optimum dividend policy which would maximize the long-run wealth of the shareholders resulting into increase or decrease of the firms value, but the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. Miller and Modigliani (1961), DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006) gave their proposition on the dividend irrelevance, but the argument made by them was on assumptions that werent practical and in fact, the dividend payout decision does affect the shareholders value. The study focuses on identifying various determinants of dividend payout and whether these factors influence the dividend payout decision. Research Objective: There are many theories in the corporate finance literature addressing the dividend issue. The purpose of study is to understand the factors influencing the dividend decision of companies. The specific objectives of this study are: To analyze the financials of the company, to draw a framework of factors such as Retained earnings, Age of the company, Debt to Equity, Cash, Net income, Earnings per share etc. responsible for dividend declaration. To understand the criticality of a companys profitability (in terms of Earnings per share) component in declaration of dividends. To measure each factor individually on how it affects the dividend decision. Research Questions: RQ1. What is the relation between dividend payout and firms debt? RQ2. What is the relation between dividend payout and Profitability? RQ3. What is the relation between dividend payout and liquidity? RQ4. What is the relation between dividend payout and Retained Earnings? RQ5. What is the relation between dividend payout and Net Income? Contribution of the Study: Dividend decision is an important financial decision made by firms, managers, and investors. This study aims to contribute to the corporate finance literature, by looking at the Dividend puzzle. An attempt is made to make a valuable contribution in two major ways: Theoretical and Empirical approach is taken to provide a comprehensive view on the subject. The empirical Approach taken in this study will definitely leave some promising future ideas. The empirical findings and conclusions contained in this study can be used by financial managers to inform dividend decisions. Limitations of Study: The areas of concern to investigate in this study are extensive. Due to the Time constraint and accessibility of data, the research will be limited to the following: The period of study is only three years 2006 to 2008. The research has considered only those firms who pay dividends. The study is focused only on firms trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Structure of the Paper: The remaining chapters will be organized as follows: Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter discusses the different theories laid down in context to dividend policy and explains the relationship between dividend payout and its determinants as concluded by the study of different researchers and theorists. Chapter Three: Research Methodology This chapter explains the research hypothesis and gives a descriptive study of the techniques and the model used for data analysis. The application of the statistical tests used are explained thoroughly. Chapter four: Data Analysis and Findings To address the research questions, results obtained from the regression analysis will be evaluated and discussed in this chapter. Chapter five: Recommendations and Conclusion. This chapter Concludes the entire study and provides recommendations based on the findings and analysis done in the previous chapter and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Dividend remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern finance. Corporate dividend policy is an important decision area in the field of financial management hence there is an extensive literature devoted to the subject. Dividends are defined as the distribution of earnings (present or past) in real assets among the shareholders of the firm in proportion to their ownership. Dividend policy refers to managements long-term decision on how to utilize cash flows from business activities-that is, how much to plow back into the business, and how much to return to shareholders (Khan and Jain, 2005). Lintner (1956) conducted a notable study on dividend distributions, his was the first empirical study of dividend policy through his interview with managers of 28 selected companies, he stated that most companies have clear cut target payout ratios and that managers concern themselves with change in the existing dividend payout rather than the amount of the newly established payout. He also states that, Dividend policy is set first and other policies are then adjusted and the market reacts positively to dividend increase announcements and negatively to announcements of dividend decreases. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. Lintners study was expanded by Farrelly et al. (1988), who, mailed a questionnaire to 562 firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange and concluded that managers accept dividend policy to be relevant and important. Lintners view was also supported by the study results of Fama and Babiak (1968) and Fama (1974) who suggested that managers prefer a stable dividend policy, and are hesitant to increase dividends to a level that cannot be supported. Fama and Babiaks (1968) study also concludes that Net income appears to explain the dividend change decision better than a cash flow measure. The study by Adaoglu (2000), Amidu and Abor (2006) and Belans et al (2007) stated that net income shows positive and significant association with the dividend payout, therefore indicating that, the firms with the positive earnings pay more dividends. Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani (1961) made a proposition that the value of a firm is not affected by its dividend policy. Dividend policy is a way of dividing up operating cash flows among investors or just a financial decision. Financial theorists Martin, Petty, Keown, and Scott, 1991 supported this theory of irrelevance. Miller and Modiglianis conclusion on the irrelevance of dividend policy presented a tough challenge to the conventional wisdom of time up to that point, it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy as investors seem to prefer dividends over capital gains (JM Samuels, FM.Wilkes and R.E Brayshaw). Benartzi et al. (1997) conducted an extensive study and concluded that Lintners model of dividends remains the finest description of the dividend setting process available. Baker et al. (2001) conducted a survey on 630 NASDAQ-listed firms and analyzed the responses from 188 CFOs about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy, they found that the dividend decisions made by managers were consistent with Lintners (1956) survey results and model. Their results also suggest that managers pay particular attention to the dividend policy of the firm because the dividend decision can affect firm value and, in turn, the wealth of stockholders, thus dividend policy requires serious attention by the management. E.F Fama and K.R French (2001) investigated the characteristics of companies paying dividends and concluded that the top most characteristics that affect the decision to pay dividends are Firm size, Profitability, and Investment opportunities. They studied dividend payment in the United States and found that the proportion of dividend payers declined sharply from 66% in 1978 to 20.8% in 1999, and that only about a fifth of public companies paid dividends. Growth companies such as Microsoft, Cisco and Sun Microsystems were found to be non-dividend payers. They also explained that the probability that a firm would pay dividends was positively related to profitability and size and negatively related to growth. Their research concluded that larger firms are more profitable and are more likely to pay dividends, than firms with more investment opportunities. The relationship between firm size and dividend policy was studied by Jennifer J. Gaver and Kenneth M. Gaver (1993). They suggested t hat A firms dividend yield is inversely related to the extent of its growth opportunities. The inference here is that as cash flow increases, the coefficient of dividend decreases, indicating that smaller firms that have greater investment opportunities thus they tend not to make dividend payment while larger firms tend to have proactive dividends policy. Ho, H. (2003) undertook a comparative study of dividend policies in Japan and Australia. Their study revealed that dividend policies in Australia and Japan are affected by different financial factors. Dividend policies are affected positively by size in Australia and liquidity in Japan. Naceur et al (2006) examined the dividend policy of 48 firms listed on the Tunisian Stock Exchange during the period 1996-2002. His research indicated that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings could afford larger free cash flows and thus paid larger dividends. Li and Lie (2006) reported that large and profitable firms are more likely to raise their dividends if the past dividend yield, debt ratio, cash ratio are low. A study was conducted by Norhayati Mohamed, Wee Shu Hui, Mormah Hj.Omar, and Rashidah Abdul Rahman on Malaysian companies over a 3 year period from 2003-2005. The sample was taken from the top 200 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia based on market capitaliza tion as at 31December 2005. Their study concluded that bigger firms pay higher dividends. For the purpose of finding out how companies arrive at their dividend decisions, many researchers and theorists have proposed several dividend theories. Gordon and Walter (1963) presented the Bird in Hand theory which suggested that to minimize risk the investors always prefer cash in hand rather than future promise of capital gain. This theory asserts that investors value dividends and high payout firms. As said by John D. Rockefeller (an American industrialist) The one thing that gives me contentment is to see my dividend coming in. For companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder value the easiest way is to say the dividend check is in the mail. The bird-in-hand theory (a pre-Miller-Modigliani theory) asserts that dividends are valued differently to capital gains in a world of information asymmetry where due to uncertainty of future cash flow, investors will often tend to prefer dividends to retained earnings. As a result the value of the firm would be increased a s a higher payout ratio will reduce the required rate of return (see, for example Gordon, 1959). This argument has not received any strong empirical support. Dividends, paid by companies to shareholders from earnings, serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business. This explanation is known as signaling hypothesis. Signaling is an example factor for the relevance of dividends to the value of the firm. It is based on the idea of information asymmetry between managers and investors, where managers have private information about the firm that is not available to the outsiders. This theory is supported by models put forward by Miller and Rock (1985), Bhattacharya (1979), John and Williams (1985). They stated that dividends can be used as a signaling device to influence share price. The share price reacts favorably when an announcement of dividend increase is made. Few researchers found limited support for the signaling hypothesis (see Gonedes, 1978 , Watts, 1973) and there are other researchers, who supported the hypothesis, for example, in Michaely, Nissim and Ziv (2001), Pettit (1972) and Bali (2003). The tax-preference theory assumes that the market valuation of a firms stocks is increased when the dividend payout ratios is low which in turn lowers the required rate of return. Because of the relative tax liability of dividends compared to capital gains, investors need a large amount of before-tax risk adjusted return on stocks with higher dividend yields (Brennan, 1970). On one side studies by Lichtenberger and Ramaswamy (1979), Poterba and Summers, (1984), and Barclay (1987) have presented empirical evidence in support of the tax effect argument and on the other side Black and Scholes (1974), Miller and Scholes (1982), and Morgan and Thomas (1998) have either opposed such findings or provided completely different explanations. The study by Masulis and Trueman (1988) model dividend payments in form of cash as products of deferred dividend costs. Their model predicts that investors with differing tax liabilities will not be uniform in their ideal firm dividend policy. As the tax l iability on dividends increases (decreases), the dividend payment decreases (increases) while earnings reinvestment increases (decreases). According to Farrar and Selwyn (1967), in a partial equilibrium framework, individual investors choose the amount of personal and corporate leverage and also whether to receive corporate distributions as dividends or capital gains. Barclay (1987) has presented empirical evidence I support of the tax effect argument. Others, including Black and Scholes (1982), have opposed such findings or provided different explanations. Farrar and Selwyns model (1967) made an assumption that investors tend to increase their after tax income to the maximum. According to this model corporate earnings should be distributed by share repurchase rather than the use of dividends. Brennan (1970) has extended Farrar and Selwyns model into a general equilibrium framework. Under this, the expected usefulness of wealth as a system of barter is maximized. Despite being more robust both the models are similar as regards to their predictions. According to Auerbachs (1979) discrete-time, infinite-horizon model, the wealth of shareholders is maximized by the shareholders themselves and not by firm market value. If there does, infact, exist a difference between capital gains and dividends tax; firm market value maximization is no longer determined by wealth maximization. He states that the continued undervaluation of corporate capital leads to dividend distributions. The clientele effects hypothesis is another related theory. According to this theory the investors may be attracted to the types of stocks that fall in with their consumption/savings preferences. That is, investors (or clienteles) in high tax brackets may prefer non-dividend or low-dividend paying stocks if dividend income is taxed at a higher rate than capital gains. Also, certain clienteles may be created with the presence of transaction costs. There are several empirical studies on the clientele effects hypothesis but the findings are mixed. Studies by Pettit (1977), Scholz (1992), and Dhaliwal, Erickson and Trezevant (1999) presented evidence consistent with the existence of clientele effects hypothesis whereas studies by Lewellen et al. (1978), Richardson, Sefcik and Thomason (1986), Abrutyn and Turner (1990), found weak or contrary evidence. There is an assumption that the managers do not always take steps which would lead to maximizing an investors wealth. This gives rise to another favorable argument for hefty dividend payouts which shifts the reinvestment decision back on the owners. The main hitch would be the agency conflict (conflict between the principal and the agent) arising as a result of separate ownership and control. Therefore, a manager is expected to move the surplus funds from the high retained earnings into projects which are not feasible. This would be mainly due to his ill intention or his in competency. Thus, generous dividend payouts increase a firms value as it reduces the managements access to free cash flows and hence, controlling the problem of over investment. There are many more agency theories explaining how dividends can increase the value of a firm. One of them was by Easterbrook (1984); he proposed that dividend payments reduce agency problems in contrast to the transaction cost theory which is of the view that dividend payments reduce the value as it forces to raise costly finances from outside sources. His idea is that if the dividends are not paid, there is a problem of collective action that tends to lead to hap-hazard management of the firm. So, dividend payouts and raising external finance would attract auditory and regulatory measures by financial intermediaries like investment banks, respective stock exchange regulators and the potential investors as well. All this monitoring would lead to considerable reduction of agency costs and appreciate the market value of t he firm. Moreover, as defined by Jenson and Meckling (1976), Agency costs=monitoring costs+ bonding, costs+ residual loss i.e. sum of agency cost of equity and agency cost of debt. Hence, Easterbrook (1984) noted that dividend payments and raising new debt and its contract negotiations would reduce potential for wealth transfer. The realization for potential agency costs linked with separation of management and shareholders is not new. Adam Smith (1937) proposed that management of earlier companies is wayward. This problem was highly witnessed during at the time of British East Indian Companies and tracking managers was a failure due to inefficiencies and high costs of shareholder monitoring (Kindleberger, 1984). Scott (1912) and Carlos (1922) differ with this view point. They agree that although some fraud existed in the corporations, many of the activities of the managers were in line with those of the shareholders interests. An opportune and intelligent manager should always invest the surplus cash available into those opportunities which are well researched to be in the best interest of the shareholders. Berle and Means (1932) was the first to discover the insufficient utilization of funds which are surplus after other investment opportunities taken by the management. This thought was further promoted by Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis. This hypothesis combined market information asymmetries with the agency theory. The surplus funds left after all the valuable projects are largely responsible for creation of the conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders. Payment of dividends and interest on other debt instruments reduce the cash flow with the management to invest in marginal net present value projects and for other perquisite consumptions. Therefore, the dividend theory is better explained by the combination of both the agency and the signaling theory rather than by any o ne of these alone. On the other hand, the free cash flow hypothesis rationalizes the corporate takeover frenzy of the 1980s Myers (1987 and 1990) rather than providing a clear and comprehensive dividend policy. The study by Baker et al. (2007) reports, that firms paying dividend in Canada are significantly larger and more profitable, having greater cash flows, ownership structure and some growth opportunities. The cash flow hypothesis proposes that insiders to a firm have more information about future cash flow than the outsiders, and they have incentivized motives to leak this to outsiders. Lang and Litzenberger (1989) check the cash flow signaling and free cash flow explanations of the effect of dividend declarations on the stock prices. This difference between permanent and temporary changes is also explored in Brook, Charlton, and Hendershott (1998). However, this study is based on the hypothesis that dividend changes contain cash flow information rather than information about earnings. This is the cash flow signaling hypothesis proposing that dividend changes signal expected cash flows changes. The dividend decisions are affected by a number of factors; many researchers have contributed in determining which determinant of dividend payout is the most significant in contributing to dividend decisions. It is said that the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. According to Lintner (1956) the dividend payment pattern of a firm is influenced by the current year earnings and previous year dividends. Pruitt and Gitmans (1991) survey of financial managers of 1000 largest U.S companies about the interplay among the investment and dividend decisions in their firms reported that, current and past year profits are essential factors influencing dividend payments. The conclusion derived from Baker and Powells (2000) survey of NYSE-listed firms is that the major determinant is the anticipated level of future earnings and continuity of past dividends. The study of Aivazian, Booth, and Cleary (2003) concludes that profitability and return on equity positi vely correlate with the size of the dividend payout ratio. The study by Lv Chang-jiang and Wang Ke-min (1999) on 316 listed companies in China that paid cash dividends during 1997 and 1998 by using modified Lintner dividend model, suggested that the dividend payout ratio is due to the firms current earning level. Other researchers like Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000), Liu Shu-lian and Hu Yan-hong (2003) also concluded their research on the above stated understanding about dividend policy of listed companies in China. A survey done by Baker, Farrelly, and Edelman (1985) and Farrelly, Baker, and Edelman (1986) on 562 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) firms with normal kinds of dividend polices in 1983 suggested that the major determinants of dividend payments were the anticipated level of future earnings and the pattern of past dividends. DeAngelo et al. (2004) findings suggest that earnings do have some impact on dividend payment. He stated that the high/increasing dividend concentration may be the result of high/increasing earnings concentration. Goergen et al. (2005) study on 221 German firms shows that net earnings were the key determinants of dividend changes. Baker and Smith (2006) examined 309 sample firms exhibiting behavior consistent with a residual dividend policy and their matched counterparts to understand how they set their dividend policies. Their study showed that for the matched firms, the pattern of past dividends and desire to maintain a long-term dividend payout ratio elicit the highest level of agreement from respondents. The study by Ferris et al. (2006) found mixed results for the relation between a firms earnings and its ability to pay dividends. Kao and Wu (1994) used a time series regression analysis of 454 firms over the period of 1965 to1986, and showed that there was a positive relationshi p between unexpected dividends and earnings. Carroll (1995) used quarterly data of 854 firms over the period of 1975 to 1984, and examined whether quarterly dividend changes predicted future earnings. He found a significant positive relationship. Liquidity is also an important determinant of dividend payouts. A poor liquidity position would generate fewer dividends due to shortage of cash. Alli et.al (1993), reveal that dividend payments depend more on cash flows, which reflect the companys ability to pay dividends, than on current earnings, which are less heavily influenced by accounting practices. They claim current earnings do no really reflect the firms ability to pay dividends. A firm without the cash flow back up cannot choose to have a high dividend payout as it will ultimately have to either reduce its investment plans or turn to investors for additional debt. The study by Brook, Charlton and Hendershott (1998) states that, Firms expecting large permanent cash flow increases tend to increase their dividend. Managers do not increase dividends until they are positive that sufficient cash will flow in to pay them (Brealey-Myers-2002). Myers and Bacons (2001) study shows a negative relationship between the liquid ratio and dividend payout. For companies to enable them to enhance their dividend paying capacity, and thus, to generate higher dividend paying capacity, it is necessary to retain their earnings to finance investment in fixed assets. The study by Belans et al (2007) states that the relationship between the firms liquidity and dividend is positive which explains that firms with more market liquidity pay more dividends. Reddy (2006), Amidu and Abor (2006) find opposite evidence. Lintner (1956) posited that the level of retained earnings is a dividend decision by- product. Adaoglu (2000) study shows that the firms listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange follow unstable cash dividend policy and the main factor for determining the amount of dividend is earning of the firms. The same conclusion was drawn by Omet (2004) in case of firms listed on Amman Securities Market and he further states that the tax imposition on dividend does not have the significant impact on the dividend behavior of the listed firms. The study by Mick and Bacon (2003) concludes that future earnings are the most influential variable and that the past dividend patterns as well as current and expected levels are empirically relevant in explaining the dividend decision. Empirical support for Lintners findings, that dividends were indeed a function of current and past profit levels and were negatively correlated with the change in sales was found by Darling (1957), Fama and Babiak (1968). Benchman a nd Raaballe (2007) discovered that the propensity to pay out dividends is positively correlated to retained earnings. Also, the study by Denis and Osobov (2006) states that retained earnings are a significant dividend characteristic for non- US firms including UK, German, and French firms. One of the motives for dividend policy decision is maintaining a moderate share price as poor stock price performance mostly conveys negative information about firms reputation. An empirical research took by Zhao Chun-guang and Zhang Xue-li et al (2001) on all A shares listed companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchange, states that the more cash dividends is paid when the stock prices are high. Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000) undertook a research on all A shares listed before 1996 and paid dividend into share capital in 1997 as their sampling, and employed single-factor analysis, multifactor regression analysis to analyze the data. Their research showed a positive stock price reaction to the cash dividend, stock dividend policy. Myers and Bacon (2001) discussed that the debt to equity ratio was positively correlated to the dividend yield. Therefore firms with relatively more investment opportunities would tend to be more geared and vice versa (Ross, 2000). The study by Hu and Liu, (2005) declares that there is a positive correlation between the cash dividend the companies pay and their current earnings, and a inverse relationship between the debt to total assets and dividends. Green et al. (1993) questioned the irrelevance argument and investigated the relationship between the dividends and investment and financing decisions. Their study showed that dividend payout levels are decided along with investment and financing decisions. The study results however do not support the views of Miller and Modigliani (1961). Partington (1983) declared that firms motives for paying dividends and extent to which dividends are decided are independent of investment policy. The study by Higgins (1981) declares a direct link between growths and financing needs, rapidly growing firms have external financing needs because working capital needs normally exceed the incremental cash flows from new sales. Higgins (1972) suggests that payout ratios are negatively related to firms need top fund finance growth opportunities. Other researchers like Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et al. (1985) and Collins et al. (1996) all show significantly negative relationship between historical sales growth and dividend payout whereas D, Souza (1999) however shows a positive but insignificant relationship in the case of growth and negative but insignificant relationship in case of market to book value. Jenson and Meckling (1976) find a strong relationship between dividends and investment opportunities. They explain, in some circumstances where firms have relative uptight disposable Dividend Payout Decision Making Process Dividend Payout Decision Making Process CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background: Dividend policy is an important component of the corporate financial management policy. It is a policy used by the firm to decide as to how much cash it should reinvest in its business through expansion or share repurchases and how much to pay out to its shareholders in dividends. Dividend is a payment or return made by the firm to the shareholders, (owners of the company) out of its earnings in the form of cash. For a long time, the subject of corporate dividend policy has captivated the interests of many academicians and researchers, resulting in the emergence of a number of theoretical explanations for dividend policy. For the investors, dividend serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business, thereby companies try to maintain a stable dividend because if they reduce their dividend payments, investors may suspect that the company is facing a cash flow problem. Investors prefer steady growth of dividends every year and are reluctant to investm ent to companies with fluctuating dividend policy. Over time, there has been a substantial increase in the number of factors identified in the literature as being important to be considered in making dividend decisions. Thus, extensive studies have been done to find out various factors affecting dividend payout ratio of a firm. However, there is no single explanation that can capture the puzzling reality of corporate dividend behavior. Ocean deep judgment is involved by decision makers to resolve this issue of dividend behavior. The decision of companies to retain or pay out the earnings in form of dividends is important for the maximization of the value of the firm (Oyejide, 1976). Therefore, companies should set a constructive target dividend payout ratio, where it pays dividends to its shareholders and at the same time maintains sufficient retained earnings as to avoid having raise funds by borrowing money. A tough challenge was faced by financial practitioners and many academics, when Miller and Modigliani (MM) (1961) came with a proposition that, given perfect capital markets, the dividend decision does not affect the firm value and is, therefore, irrelevant. This proposition was greeted with surprise because at that time it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy and that a properly managed dividend policy had an impact on share prices and shareholder wealth. Since the MM study, many researchers have relaxed the assumption of perfect capital markets and stated theories about how managers should formulate dividend policy decisions. Problem Statement: Dividend policy has attracted a substantial amount of research by many researchers and theorists, who have provided theoretical as well as empirical observations, into the dividend puzzle (Black, 1976). Even though researchers and theorists have extended their studies in context to dividend decisions, the issue as to why corporations distribute a portion of their earnings as dividends is not yet resolved. The issue of dividend policy has stimulated much debate among financial analysts since Lintners (1956) seminal work. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. There are many factors that affect dividend decisions of a firm as it is very difficult to lay down an optimum dividend policy which would maximize the long-run wealth of the shareholders resulting into increase or decrease of the firms value, but the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. Miller and Modigliani (1961), DeAngelo and DeAngelo (2006) gave their proposition on the dividend irrelevance, but the argument made by them was on assumptions that werent practical and in fact, the dividend payout decision does affect the shareholders value. The study focuses on identifying various determinants of dividend payout and whether these factors influence the dividend payout decision. Research Objective: There are many theories in the corporate finance literature addressing the dividend issue. The purpose of study is to understand the factors influencing the dividend decision of companies. The specific objectives of this study are: To analyze the financials of the company, to draw a framework of factors such as Retained earnings, Age of the company, Debt to Equity, Cash, Net income, Earnings per share etc. responsible for dividend declaration. To understand the criticality of a companys profitability (in terms of Earnings per share) component in declaration of dividends. To measure each factor individually on how it affects the dividend decision. Research Questions: RQ1. What is the relation between dividend payout and firms debt? RQ2. What is the relation between dividend payout and Profitability? RQ3. What is the relation between dividend payout and liquidity? RQ4. What is the relation between dividend payout and Retained Earnings? RQ5. What is the relation between dividend payout and Net Income? Contribution of the Study: Dividend decision is an important financial decision made by firms, managers, and investors. This study aims to contribute to the corporate finance literature, by looking at the Dividend puzzle. An attempt is made to make a valuable contribution in two major ways: Theoretical and Empirical approach is taken to provide a comprehensive view on the subject. The empirical Approach taken in this study will definitely leave some promising future ideas. The empirical findings and conclusions contained in this study can be used by financial managers to inform dividend decisions. Limitations of Study: The areas of concern to investigate in this study are extensive. Due to the Time constraint and accessibility of data, the research will be limited to the following: The period of study is only three years 2006 to 2008. The research has considered only those firms who pay dividends. The study is focused only on firms trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Structure of the Paper: The remaining chapters will be organized as follows: Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter discusses the different theories laid down in context to dividend policy and explains the relationship between dividend payout and its determinants as concluded by the study of different researchers and theorists. Chapter Three: Research Methodology This chapter explains the research hypothesis and gives a descriptive study of the techniques and the model used for data analysis. The application of the statistical tests used are explained thoroughly. Chapter four: Data Analysis and Findings To address the research questions, results obtained from the regression analysis will be evaluated and discussed in this chapter. Chapter five: Recommendations and Conclusion. This chapter Concludes the entire study and provides recommendations based on the findings and analysis done in the previous chapter and recommendations for future research. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Dividend remains one of the greatest enigmas of modern finance. Corporate dividend policy is an important decision area in the field of financial management hence there is an extensive literature devoted to the subject. Dividends are defined as the distribution of earnings (present or past) in real assets among the shareholders of the firm in proportion to their ownership. Dividend policy refers to managements long-term decision on how to utilize cash flows from business activities-that is, how much to plow back into the business, and how much to return to shareholders (Khan and Jain, 2005). Lintner (1956) conducted a notable study on dividend distributions, his was the first empirical study of dividend policy through his interview with managers of 28 selected companies, he stated that most companies have clear cut target payout ratios and that managers concern themselves with change in the existing dividend payout rather than the amount of the newly established payout. He also states that, Dividend policy is set first and other policies are then adjusted and the market reacts positively to dividend increase announcements and negatively to announcements of dividend decreases. He measured major changes in earnings as the key determinant of the companies dividend decisions. Lintners study was expanded by Farrelly et al. (1988), who, mailed a questionnaire to 562 firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange and concluded that managers accept dividend policy to be relevant and important. Lintners view was also supported by the study results of Fama and Babiak (1968) and Fama (1974) who suggested that managers prefer a stable dividend policy, and are hesitant to increase dividends to a level that cannot be supported. Fama and Babiaks (1968) study also concludes that Net income appears to explain the dividend change decision better than a cash flow measure. The study by Adaoglu (2000), Amidu and Abor (2006) and Belans et al (2007) stated that net income shows positive and significant association with the dividend payout, therefore indicating that, the firms with the positive earnings pay more dividends. Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani (1961) made a proposition that the value of a firm is not affected by its dividend policy. Dividend policy is a way of dividing up operating cash flows among investors or just a financial decision. Financial theorists Martin, Petty, Keown, and Scott, 1991 supported this theory of irrelevance. Miller and Modiglianis conclusion on the irrelevance of dividend policy presented a tough challenge to the conventional wisdom of time up to that point, it was universally acknowledged by both theorists and corporate managers that the firm can enhance its business value by providing for a more generous dividend policy as investors seem to prefer dividends over capital gains (JM Samuels, FM.Wilkes and R.E Brayshaw). Benartzi et al. (1997) conducted an extensive study and concluded that Lintners model of dividends remains the finest description of the dividend setting process available. Baker et al. (2001) conducted a survey on 630 NASDAQ-listed firms and analyzed the responses from 188 CFOs about the importance of 22 different factors that influence their dividend policy, they found that the dividend decisions made by managers were consistent with Lintners (1956) survey results and model. Their results also suggest that managers pay particular attention to the dividend policy of the firm because the dividend decision can affect firm value and, in turn, the wealth of stockholders, thus dividend policy requires serious attention by the management. E.F Fama and K.R French (2001) investigated the characteristics of companies paying dividends and concluded that the top most characteristics that affect the decision to pay dividends are Firm size, Profitability, and Investment opportunities. They studied dividend payment in the United States and found that the proportion of dividend payers declined sharply from 66% in 1978 to 20.8% in 1999, and that only about a fifth of public companies paid dividends. Growth companies such as Microsoft, Cisco and Sun Microsystems were found to be non-dividend payers. They also explained that the probability that a firm would pay dividends was positively related to profitability and size and negatively related to growth. Their research concluded that larger firms are more profitable and are more likely to pay dividends, than firms with more investment opportunities. The relationship between firm size and dividend policy was studied by Jennifer J. Gaver and Kenneth M. Gaver (1993). They suggested t hat A firms dividend yield is inversely related to the extent of its growth opportunities. The inference here is that as cash flow increases, the coefficient of dividend decreases, indicating that smaller firms that have greater investment opportunities thus they tend not to make dividend payment while larger firms tend to have proactive dividends policy. Ho, H. (2003) undertook a comparative study of dividend policies in Japan and Australia. Their study revealed that dividend policies in Australia and Japan are affected by different financial factors. Dividend policies are affected positively by size in Australia and liquidity in Japan. Naceur et al (2006) examined the dividend policy of 48 firms listed on the Tunisian Stock Exchange during the period 1996-2002. His research indicated that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings could afford larger free cash flows and thus paid larger dividends. Li and Lie (2006) reported that large and profitable firms are more likely to raise their dividends if the past dividend yield, debt ratio, cash ratio are low. A study was conducted by Norhayati Mohamed, Wee Shu Hui, Mormah Hj.Omar, and Rashidah Abdul Rahman on Malaysian companies over a 3 year period from 2003-2005. The sample was taken from the top 200 companies listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia based on market capitaliza tion as at 31December 2005. Their study concluded that bigger firms pay higher dividends. For the purpose of finding out how companies arrive at their dividend decisions, many researchers and theorists have proposed several dividend theories. Gordon and Walter (1963) presented the Bird in Hand theory which suggested that to minimize risk the investors always prefer cash in hand rather than future promise of capital gain. This theory asserts that investors value dividends and high payout firms. As said by John D. Rockefeller (an American industrialist) The one thing that gives me contentment is to see my dividend coming in. For companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder value the easiest way is to say the dividend check is in the mail. The bird-in-hand theory (a pre-Miller-Modigliani theory) asserts that dividends are valued differently to capital gains in a world of information asymmetry where due to uncertainty of future cash flow, investors will often tend to prefer dividends to retained earnings. As a result the value of the firm would be increased a s a higher payout ratio will reduce the required rate of return (see, for example Gordon, 1959). This argument has not received any strong empirical support. Dividends, paid by companies to shareholders from earnings, serve as an important indicator of the strength and future prosperity of the business. This explanation is known as signaling hypothesis. Signaling is an example factor for the relevance of dividends to the value of the firm. It is based on the idea of information asymmetry between managers and investors, where managers have private information about the firm that is not available to the outsiders. This theory is supported by models put forward by Miller and Rock (1985), Bhattacharya (1979), John and Williams (1985). They stated that dividends can be used as a signaling device to influence share price. The share price reacts favorably when an announcement of dividend increase is made. Few researchers found limited support for the signaling hypothesis (see Gonedes, 1978 , Watts, 1973) and there are other researchers, who supported the hypothesis, for example, in Michaely, Nissim and Ziv (2001), Pettit (1972) and Bali (2003). The tax-preference theory assumes that the market valuation of a firms stocks is increased when the dividend payout ratios is low which in turn lowers the required rate of return. Because of the relative tax liability of dividends compared to capital gains, investors need a large amount of before-tax risk adjusted return on stocks with higher dividend yields (Brennan, 1970). On one side studies by Lichtenberger and Ramaswamy (1979), Poterba and Summers, (1984), and Barclay (1987) have presented empirical evidence in support of the tax effect argument and on the other side Black and Scholes (1974), Miller and Scholes (1982), and Morgan and Thomas (1998) have either opposed such findings or provided completely different explanations. The study by Masulis and Trueman (1988) model dividend payments in form of cash as products of deferred dividend costs. Their model predicts that investors with differing tax liabilities will not be uniform in their ideal firm dividend policy. As the tax l iability on dividends increases (decreases), the dividend payment decreases (increases) while earnings reinvestment increases (decreases). According to Farrar and Selwyn (1967), in a partial equilibrium framework, individual investors choose the amount of personal and corporate leverage and also whether to receive corporate distributions as dividends or capital gains. Barclay (1987) has presented empirical evidence I support of the tax effect argument. Others, including Black and Scholes (1982), have opposed such findings or provided different explanations. Farrar and Selwyns model (1967) made an assumption that investors tend to increase their after tax income to the maximum. According to this model corporate earnings should be distributed by share repurchase rather than the use of dividends. Brennan (1970) has extended Farrar and Selwyns model into a general equilibrium framework. Under this, the expected usefulness of wealth as a system of barter is maximized. Despite being more robust both the models are similar as regards to their predictions. According to Auerbachs (1979) discrete-time, infinite-horizon model, the wealth of shareholders is maximized by the shareholders themselves and not by firm market value. If there does, infact, exist a difference between capital gains and dividends tax; firm market value maximization is no longer determined by wealth maximization. He states that the continued undervaluation of corporate capital leads to dividend distributions. The clientele effects hypothesis is another related theory. According to this theory the investors may be attracted to the types of stocks that fall in with their consumption/savings preferences. That is, investors (or clienteles) in high tax brackets may prefer non-dividend or low-dividend paying stocks if dividend income is taxed at a higher rate than capital gains. Also, certain clienteles may be created with the presence of transaction costs. There are several empirical studies on the clientele effects hypothesis but the findings are mixed. Studies by Pettit (1977), Scholz (1992), and Dhaliwal, Erickson and Trezevant (1999) presented evidence consistent with the existence of clientele effects hypothesis whereas studies by Lewellen et al. (1978), Richardson, Sefcik and Thomason (1986), Abrutyn and Turner (1990), found weak or contrary evidence. There is an assumption that the managers do not always take steps which would lead to maximizing an investors wealth. This gives rise to another favorable argument for hefty dividend payouts which shifts the reinvestment decision back on the owners. The main hitch would be the agency conflict (conflict between the principal and the agent) arising as a result of separate ownership and control. Therefore, a manager is expected to move the surplus funds from the high retained earnings into projects which are not feasible. This would be mainly due to his ill intention or his in competency. Thus, generous dividend payouts increase a firms value as it reduces the managements access to free cash flows and hence, controlling the problem of over investment. There are many more agency theories explaining how dividends can increase the value of a firm. One of them was by Easterbrook (1984); he proposed that dividend payments reduce agency problems in contrast to the transaction cost theory which is of the view that dividend payments reduce the value as it forces to raise costly finances from outside sources. His idea is that if the dividends are not paid, there is a problem of collective action that tends to lead to hap-hazard management of the firm. So, dividend payouts and raising external finance would attract auditory and regulatory measures by financial intermediaries like investment banks, respective stock exchange regulators and the potential investors as well. All this monitoring would lead to considerable reduction of agency costs and appreciate the market value of t he firm. Moreover, as defined by Jenson and Meckling (1976), Agency costs=monitoring costs+ bonding, costs+ residual loss i.e. sum of agency cost of equity and agency cost of debt. Hence, Easterbrook (1984) noted that dividend payments and raising new debt and its contract negotiations would reduce potential for wealth transfer. The realization for potential agency costs linked with separation of management and shareholders is not new. Adam Smith (1937) proposed that management of earlier companies is wayward. This problem was highly witnessed during at the time of British East Indian Companies and tracking managers was a failure due to inefficiencies and high costs of shareholder monitoring (Kindleberger, 1984). Scott (1912) and Carlos (1922) differ with this view point. They agree that although some fraud existed in the corporations, many of the activities of the managers were in line with those of the shareholders interests. An opportune and intelligent manager should always invest the surplus cash available into those opportunities which are well researched to be in the best interest of the shareholders. Berle and Means (1932) was the first to discover the insufficient utilization of funds which are surplus after other investment opportunities taken by the management. This thought was further promoted by Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis. This hypothesis combined market information asymmetries with the agency theory. The surplus funds left after all the valuable projects are largely responsible for creation of the conflict of interest between the management and the shareholders. Payment of dividends and interest on other debt instruments reduce the cash flow with the management to invest in marginal net present value projects and for other perquisite consumptions. Therefore, the dividend theory is better explained by the combination of both the agency and the signaling theory rather than by any o ne of these alone. On the other hand, the free cash flow hypothesis rationalizes the corporate takeover frenzy of the 1980s Myers (1987 and 1990) rather than providing a clear and comprehensive dividend policy. The study by Baker et al. (2007) reports, that firms paying dividend in Canada are significantly larger and more profitable, having greater cash flows, ownership structure and some growth opportunities. The cash flow hypothesis proposes that insiders to a firm have more information about future cash flow than the outsiders, and they have incentivized motives to leak this to outsiders. Lang and Litzenberger (1989) check the cash flow signaling and free cash flow explanations of the effect of dividend declarations on the stock prices. This difference between permanent and temporary changes is also explored in Brook, Charlton, and Hendershott (1998). However, this study is based on the hypothesis that dividend changes contain cash flow information rather than information about earnings. This is the cash flow signaling hypothesis proposing that dividend changes signal expected cash flows changes. The dividend decisions are affected by a number of factors; many researchers have contributed in determining which determinant of dividend payout is the most significant in contributing to dividend decisions. It is said that the primary indicator of the firms capacity to pay dividends has been Profits. According to Lintner (1956) the dividend payment pattern of a firm is influenced by the current year earnings and previous year dividends. Pruitt and Gitmans (1991) survey of financial managers of 1000 largest U.S companies about the interplay among the investment and dividend decisions in their firms reported that, current and past year profits are essential factors influencing dividend payments. The conclusion derived from Baker and Powells (2000) survey of NYSE-listed firms is that the major determinant is the anticipated level of future earnings and continuity of past dividends. The study of Aivazian, Booth, and Cleary (2003) concludes that profitability and return on equity positi vely correlate with the size of the dividend payout ratio. The study by Lv Chang-jiang and Wang Ke-min (1999) on 316 listed companies in China that paid cash dividends during 1997 and 1998 by using modified Lintner dividend model, suggested that the dividend payout ratio is due to the firms current earning level. Other researchers like Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000), Liu Shu-lian and Hu Yan-hong (2003) also concluded their research on the above stated understanding about dividend policy of listed companies in China. A survey done by Baker, Farrelly, and Edelman (1985) and Farrelly, Baker, and Edelman (1986) on 562 New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) firms with normal kinds of dividend polices in 1983 suggested that the major determinants of dividend payments were the anticipated level of future earnings and the pattern of past dividends. DeAngelo et al. (2004) findings suggest that earnings do have some impact on dividend payment. He stated that the high/increasing dividend concentration may be the result of high/increasing earnings concentration. Goergen et al. (2005) study on 221 German firms shows that net earnings were the key determinants of dividend changes. Baker and Smith (2006) examined 309 sample firms exhibiting behavior consistent with a residual dividend policy and their matched counterparts to understand how they set their dividend policies. Their study showed that for the matched firms, the pattern of past dividends and desire to maintain a long-term dividend payout ratio elicit the highest level of agreement from respondents. The study by Ferris et al. (2006) found mixed results for the relation between a firms earnings and its ability to pay dividends. Kao and Wu (1994) used a time series regression analysis of 454 firms over the period of 1965 to1986, and showed that there was a positive relationshi p between unexpected dividends and earnings. Carroll (1995) used quarterly data of 854 firms over the period of 1975 to 1984, and examined whether quarterly dividend changes predicted future earnings. He found a significant positive relationship. Liquidity is also an important determinant of dividend payouts. A poor liquidity position would generate fewer dividends due to shortage of cash. Alli et.al (1993), reveal that dividend payments depend more on cash flows, which reflect the companys ability to pay dividends, than on current earnings, which are less heavily influenced by accounting practices. They claim current earnings do no really reflect the firms ability to pay dividends. A firm without the cash flow back up cannot choose to have a high dividend payout as it will ultimately have to either reduce its investment plans or turn to investors for additional debt. The study by Brook, Charlton and Hendershott (1998) states that, Firms expecting large permanent cash flow increases tend to increase their dividend. Managers do not increase dividends until they are positive that sufficient cash will flow in to pay them (Brealey-Myers-2002). Myers and Bacons (2001) study shows a negative relationship between the liquid ratio and dividend payout. For companies to enable them to enhance their dividend paying capacity, and thus, to generate higher dividend paying capacity, it is necessary to retain their earnings to finance investment in fixed assets. The study by Belans et al (2007) states that the relationship between the firms liquidity and dividend is positive which explains that firms with more market liquidity pay more dividends. Reddy (2006), Amidu and Abor (2006) find opposite evidence. Lintner (1956) posited that the level of retained earnings is a dividend decision by- product. Adaoglu (2000) study shows that the firms listed on Istanbul Stock Exchange follow unstable cash dividend policy and the main factor for determining the amount of dividend is earning of the firms. The same conclusion was drawn by Omet (2004) in case of firms listed on Amman Securities Market and he further states that the tax imposition on dividend does not have the significant impact on the dividend behavior of the listed firms. The study by Mick and Bacon (2003) concludes that future earnings are the most influential variable and that the past dividend patterns as well as current and expected levels are empirically relevant in explaining the dividend decision. Empirical support for Lintners findings, that dividends were indeed a function of current and past profit levels and were negatively correlated with the change in sales was found by Darling (1957), Fama and Babiak (1968). Benchman a nd Raaballe (2007) discovered that the propensity to pay out dividends is positively correlated to retained earnings. Also, the study by Denis and Osobov (2006) states that retained earnings are a significant dividend characteristic for non- US firms including UK, German, and French firms. One of the motives for dividend policy decision is maintaining a moderate share price as poor stock price performance mostly conveys negative information about firms reputation. An empirical research took by Zhao Chun-guang and Zhang Xue-li et al (2001) on all A shares listed companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchange, states that the more cash dividends is paid when the stock prices are high. Chen Guo-Hui and Zhao Chun-guang (2000) undertook a research on all A shares listed before 1996 and paid dividend into share capital in 1997 as their sampling, and employed single-factor analysis, multifactor regression analysis to analyze the data. Their research showed a positive stock price reaction to the cash dividend, stock dividend policy. Myers and Bacon (2001) discussed that the debt to equity ratio was positively correlated to the dividend yield. Therefore firms with relatively more investment opportunities would tend to be more geared and vice versa (Ross, 2000). The study by Hu and Liu, (2005) declares that there is a positive correlation between the cash dividend the companies pay and their current earnings, and a inverse relationship between the debt to total assets and dividends. Green et al. (1993) questioned the irrelevance argument and investigated the relationship between the dividends and investment and financing decisions. Their study showed that dividend payout levels are decided along with investment and financing decisions. The study results however do not support the views of Miller and Modigliani (1961). Partington (1983) declared that firms motives for paying dividends and extent to which dividends are decided are independent of investment policy. The study by Higgins (1981) declares a direct link between growths and financing needs, rapidly growing firms have external financing needs because working capital needs normally exceed the incremental cash flows from new sales. Higgins (1972) suggests that payout ratios are negatively related to firms need top fund finance growth opportunities. Other researchers like Rozeff (1982), Lloyd et al. (1985) and Collins et al. (1996) all show significantly negative relationship between historical sales growth and dividend payout whereas D, Souza (1999) however shows a positive but insignificant relationship in the case of growth and negative but insignificant relationship in case of market to book value. Jenson and Meckling (1976) find a strong relationship between dividends and investment opportunities. They explain, in some circumstances where firms have relative uptight disposable