The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Essay Example The paper "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" explores the Fashion Show of Victoria Secret. People who are always attracted to Victoria's Secret Fashion Show are the middle class. One of the reasons as to why it is believed that Victoria's Secret Fashion Show can target both is that they are always entertaining. Victoria’s Secret knows exactly how they can be able to attract both men and women to their fashion shows. Aspects such as sparkling runway, unique fashion creations, and performances by artists are ways through which these fashion shows have been able to become irresistible to men. While men go to the show to watch the gorgeous models, women would go with the aim of catching up with some of the trends in fashion. The main objective of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is to market products that are produced by Victoria’s Secrets. The company is well aware of the fact that the targeted market is always keen on fashion, fashion show is a way through which they can be able to showcase women of their new products so that they can enhance awareness or individual products and the brand at large. Through the use of some of the popular fashion models, the company is able to enhance the demand or their products. This is a more interactive way of advertising products as it has been observed to enhance brand loyalty. Even the men who are not always keen on fashion, especially women fashion can be introduced to the world of lingerie and nightwear because they will definitely be exposed some products.

Effect of Corporate Governance on Attracting Investors

Effect of Corporate Governance on Attracting Investors Corporate governance is the way of corporation being directed which is involves a relationship between the manager , the shareholders , and other stakeholders of the company. The use of corporate governance is to provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set. In adopting a good corporate governance, companies should be transparent of the financial reports. Now adays most company around the world have adopt good corporate governance system , but some of the countries have not adopt the system. In this project , it will contain a research of the corporate governance status in Indonesia. Wether most of company in Indonesia have adopted a good corporate governance or not. Inside this project, there are two research question which is using different type of statical analysis. The first research question was made to found out wether is it true that a good corporate governance will attract more investors to the company. The second research question was made to know have most company in Indonesia have issue their corporate governance report according to the standard and transparency. And the result of the research is that there are some correlation between the corporate governance and performance of company. The other finding is that some of the company in Indonesia still not transparent in disclosing the corporate governance report. Chapter 1 Introduction Research background Corporate governance is one of the important factors that should be maintain inside the company. Now adays a lot of investors not only looking for financial reports of the company but they are also looking for the corporate governance status of the company. Since the financial crisis in 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. Indonesia facing some diffculties in the economic factors. Alot of company were collapse , because many directors made a wrong decision. From that moment the economic and political condition in Indonesia is not stable. This problems will effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. But by creating a good corporate governance structure they are some benefit from it. A good corporate governance system will help directors, corporate managers , and owner to better governing the company. Many international investors hesitate to invest their money if the corporate governance structure does not so good. They want to know how well the is the directors can manage the company. There are some important key role of the corporate governance which are a transparency of the company financial and non-financial reportings , independent commisioner , and audit committee of the company. Investors want to know clearly the way of company leaders directing their company in achiving the goal. Investors will not invest their money if the company does not have a clear structure of the company. That is why adopting a good corporate governance may have some advantages, it will be easier to obtain capital and increasing share price. Using the data of corporate governance it can also effects the performance of the company.The corporate governance report will shows all the activity of the leaders inside the company. In governing a company there are rules for the directors , managers, and shareholders that must be follow. Such as a Annual General Meetings, most of the leaders of the company must attend this meetings at lease twice a year. If they are not fullfil their job as a leader of the company, it will be reported in the corporate governance report. 1.2 Research Objectives 1.2.1 Primary Research Objectives The primary objectives of this project is to give some information about the latest situation of coporate governance in Indonesia using the latest data which is taken from the year 2009 and also a questioner which is from the year 2010. Many people believes that a good corporate governance system can attract more investors to the company, so inside this project it will tested wether that statement is true or not. And this project also want to know wether most of company in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance reporting transparently. 1.2.2 Secondary Research Objectives The secondary objective of this project are : From the research it will shows the advancement of corporate governance system in Indonesia. Showing the effectiveness of corporate governance reporting for the company Take some feedback from the employee in Indonesia about the corporate governance situation in the company where they are working. Chapter 2 Literature Review A good corporate governance is important for a company around the world. Instead of financial data of the company, investors also looking at the corporate governance disclosure data before they are deciding in which company that should they invest in. From the data it will show the management situation of that company. Some of the country around the world still very low in conducting a good corporate governance. Conducting a good corporate governance will make the company more profitable , it will attract more shareholders to invest in our company. Lawrence D. Brown and Marcus L. Caylor (2004) using a sample of 2,327 companies and based on 51 corporate governance provisions which is provided by Institutional Investor Services (ISS) they found out that companies which are better governed relatively got a better income or more profitable and most of the shareholders got more dividend from the company. Based on a data which is taken from Institutional Shareholder Service , they create b road measure of corporate governance and they create Gov- score. The Gov-score was measured of 51 factors which is encompassing eight categories of the corporate goverenance which is : board of directors , auditors , characters by laws , executive and director compensation , ownership , progressive practices , and state of incorporation. Financial problem now adays become the major topic globally , it effects a lot of firms around the world. PaquitaY. Davis , Li Li Eng , and Chao-Shin Liu (2006) they were investigate the role of corporate governance mechanisms and accounting system in four different countries in Asia which is Indonesia , Korea , Malaysia , and Thailand. Those countries were effected by Asian financial crisis. They found out that it is depends on the corporate governance mechanisms and accounting system in effecting the book value of equity and it is also determining the relation between the accounting information and stock prices during the economy-wide financial crisis. Results of their finding is the earnings in Thailand and Indonesia was reduced during the Asian financial crisis and increased in book of value. In Korea , neither earnings nor book of value was impacted by the crisis. And the last one which is in Malaysia both book of value and earnings was decreased during the Asian financial crisi s. Bernard S. Black , Woochan Kim , Hasung Jang , and Kyung-Suh Park (2009) conduct a research in KCGI (Korea Corporate Governance Index). They try to find the relation between level of corporate governance and the effects the firm market value. And the findings of their research that overall firms that are better governed got a some competitive advantage than other company. From the research , overall firms who got higher KCGI will get higher dividends , got a lower capital expenditures ( because of Korea firms that are overinvest) but the investment is more sensitive to profitability , lagged board structure predicts higher profit , the related party transactions will reduce adverse for firm value. Robert W.McGee (2010) Indonesia need to develop the structure of the corporate governance. By developing a good corporate governance he found out that it will helps increasing the share prices and it will be easier to obtain capital. And from his research information which is from the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bank ROSC report about rights of shareholders , equitable treatment of shareholders , role of stakeholders in corporate governance , disclosure and transparancy , and responsibility of the boards from the scale one to five , Indonesia overall score is 2.83% which conclude from his research that corporate governance in Indonesia is need to be develop. From the research he suggested that companies in Indonesia need to strenghten shareholder access to the information of the company , in treating the shareholders must be equally , and company must fully adopt the International Financial Accounting Standards (IFRS) and also International Standards of Auditing. Meidyah Indreswari (2006) identified Indonesia corporate governance status which was turn bad because of the tragedy of economic crisis in 1997. From the research the writters found out there are several factors that make corporate governance fail in that year. Firstly, using agency theory to explain the relation between the agent and the principal was more problematic in ISOEs than the private enterprise. Secondly, the rules of board director and management is really important for the company. Government should reduce their intervention in ISOEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operating system in order to make the boards of the company to work more effective. Thirdly, findings of the research shows that the corporate governance in Indonesia was not effective due to unclear information about role of corporate governance and also a unclear programmes of the company. These problems can create the lack of commitment of the employee to the company which lead to failling of the corporate governance. La stly, other factors that lead into fail corporate governance are culture , public governance , and law enforcement. In order to fix those factors, there should be a joint efforts from the public sectore is needed to ensure a good corporate governance will be occure. A study also conducted by Maria Andersson and Manal Daoud (2005) using the agency theory to test the factors that influence the corporate governance disclosure information in Swedish listed corporations. Using 41 listed companies in Swedish as an example , according to they research it found out that factors that influence the corporations are the parents company it self and the size of the corporation in disclose the corporate governance information. They also find out that agency theory is not a proper theory to find the influence of corporations in disclose information about corporate governance. Zheng Fan , Liyan Wang , Jidong Zhang (2008) they conduct a research about the relation of company motivation in voluntary disclosure will effect the earning quallity of the company. The research information was taken from the Chinese capital market in 2004-2006 period. And the results of their result is that the company disclosure data and corporate governance of the company will not effects the earning quality of the company. There are many companies in different countries that already adopted a good corporate governance. When a lot company have adopted a good corporate governance and shows the transparency of the company performance, it will be easier for the investors to choose in which country they will invest in. But in some countries such as Indonesia there are still some difficulties in adopting a good corporate governce. Benny Simon Tabalujan (2002) studied factors that made the corporate governance in Indonesia failed. Since the financial crisis in Indonesia which is around 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s there are a lot of trouble that effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. The most influence factors that he found out were the legal culture and the law. According to his research Indonesia had so much law that must be follow , the law will make some difficulties for the company to perform. He was suggested that Indonesia need to less down those law and regulation for the company so company can perform well in the future. Dudi M. Kurniawan and Nur Indiriantoro (2000) did a research about the status of corporate governance in Indonesia. And the findings of the study were divided into 5 different parts which are factors that influence the corporate governance status in a company. The first part of his research was about the ownership structure in Indonesia companies. And he found out that Indonesia had two boards in corporate governance system which is not effective for the company. The second part of his research was about the efforts to develop the corporate governance in Indonesia , and he found out that Indonesia corporate governance still need a help from the international countries. The third part of his research was about the accounting standards in Indonesia which should be written according to the basic of International Accounting Standards. The fourth part of his research tell us about audit standards and the audit profession in Indonesia. He suggested that Indonesian auditors need to pay atte ntion to the standards in Indonesia. It is because according to his research a lot of Indonesian auditors look for USA auditors standards and forgeting the standards in his country. This will be a crucial effects for the company. And according to his research the cause of Indonesian financial crisis in 1997 was the auditors in Indonesia miss ditection of fraud that happened in most of companies in Indonesia. This fraud make a lot of company in Indonesia collapse.The fifth parts of his research found out the disclosure data of corporate Indonesia still need to be more transparancy to the public. So from his research conclude that there are a lot of challenges in conducting a good corporate governance in Indonesia but those challenges can be minimize if there is an efforts to conducting a good corporate governance from inside the company. Werner R. Murhadi (2009) did a research using some information from the Indonesia Stock exchange in period 2005-2007 specializes in manufacture companies to test the performance of the corporate governance in Indonesia. He was using five good corporate governance indicators which are independent commisioner , CEO duality , audit committee , top share , and shareholders coalition to investigate rather it will effects the earning management practices. The findings of the research was a good corporate governance will effect earning management practices which done by the company. Another thing that he found out from the research was a lot of companies in Indonesia do EM ( Earning Management ) with negative leans. The purpose of the company do that is to make their revenue look smaller which can help the company to avoiding tax. Sanjeev Bhojraj and Partha Sengupta (2001) they conducted research about the effect of corporate governance to the bond ratings and yield. They found out that corporate governance mechanisms will reduce conflicts of interest between the directors and the providers by monitoring to their actions. And they were also found out that company which have a greater institutional ownership and got influence by the external control of the board will have a lower bond yields and high ratings for the new bond issues. From the research they are suggested that company that are facing stronger external monitoring from the governance mechanisms are rewarded with low yields and high bond ratings. Monitoring the situation of the company should be maintain so it will stabilize the firm value of the company. Sridhar Arcot and Valentina G. Bruno (2009) studied about the different type of corporate governance will effects the firm performance. Their studied the effects of law in a country to the corporate governance mechanism. Since law and regulation is different from one country to the others, according Sridar and Valentina company must adjust to that law especially for the multinational firms. Disclosing corporate governance report is one of the important factor because they found out some of the governance report was uninformative which mean it was not clear. The impact of the weak corporate governace was it shows the the inefficient use of the firms resources which can lead to the poor operating income. Benny Simon Tabalujan (2002) studied factors that made the corporate governance in Indonesia failed. Since the financial crisis in Indonesia which is around 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s there are a lot of trouble that effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. The most influence factors that he found out were the legal culture and the law. According to his research Indonesia had so much law that must be follow , the law will make some difficulties for the company to perform. He was suggested that Indonesia need to less down those law and regulation for the company so company can perform well in the future. Siti Nuryanah (2009) said there are still a problem in Indonesia corporate governance specially in audit committee. The problems in audit committee in Indonesia is that they holding a double positions in other companies, which it make the audit committee is not efficient in doing the works. And also , there are some company that does not have an audit committee. By not having an audit committee will become a problem for the board of committe in taking a decision. The research found out that 30 % from the JSX (Jakarta Stock Exchange) public listed companies does not have independent commisioners. Although that kind of problem occure , from her results it was found out that most of the companies in Indonesia have complied with the regulation of corporate governance. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Data The data of this project was taken from annual report in Indonesia stock exchange, IICD (Indonesia Institute for Corporate Directorship) reports which is the latest report, and 100 questioners which is given to the working people in Indonesia. The questioner was translating into Indonesia Language. 3.2 Methodology In this project there are two-research question that can lead to the answer of this research project. Each of the research questions will be tested in different type of statistical analysis test. The two-research questions of this project are: First: Is it true that adopting good corporate governance will attract more investors? Second: Using some factors in corporate governance reports, does most company in Indonesia have report their corporate governance data transparently? By using these research questions, several questions in the questionnaire had been made to gather answers from the respondents which then it will be linked back to answer the research questions. Inside the questioner there are divided into two section. The first section of the questioner is basic question about the corporate governance and the employee posisition in a company which they are working. The second section of the questioner is the important answer for this project which is contain all information that will be used to analyze. As for the following questions in the questionnaires, respondents will be asked about questions which are mostly related to the research questions 3.2.1 Research Question 1 Is it true that adopting good corporate governance will increse the company performance ? Hypothesis: H1: good corporate governance will give a significant effect to the company performance H0: good corporate governance will not give a significant effect to the company perfirmance From the research that was conducted by Lawrence D. Brown and Marcus L. Caylor (2004) said that there were some advantages in adopting a good corporate governance. He was using a sample of 2,327 companies and based on 51 corporate governance provisions that are provided by Institutional Investor Services (ISS). And found out that company that are better governed are relatively got a better income or more profitable and most of the shareholders got more dividend from the company. Another people that argued about corporate governance mechanisms were Sanjev Bhojraj and Partha Sengupta they found out corporate governance mechanism can reduce a conflicts of interest between the directors. And also a company should monitoring inside the company so the goodness performance of the company can be maintain. From this type of question, from the statement above I would like to test whether companies that have a good corporate governance will have a lot of investors in it and also is it will attract more investors to the company. Using the survey question, it will guide to the answer of this question which are : How effective is the corporate governance report being used in your company? In your opinion, does good corporate governance will attract more investor? H0: à ? = 0 (There is no correlation between corporate governance and number of investors) H1: à ? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (There is a correlation between corporate governance and number of investors) Sample correlation coefficient, commonly denoted  r, is calculated as following: Where X and Y are the sample means. T-test for correlation formula: 3.2.2 Research Question 2 Does most company in Indonesia have reported their corporate governance activity data transparently and disclosed it to the public on time ? Hypothesis: H1: All of the companies in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance activity transparently and on time H0: Not all of the companies in Indonesia have not disclose their corporate governance activity transparently and on time Werner R. Murhadi (2009) explored some information period 2005-2007 in Indonesia Stock Exchange specializes in manufacture companies to test the performance of the corporate governance in Indonesia. One of the result from his research was, he found out a lot of companies in Indonesia still not develop transparency in reporting data of the company. A lot of companies want to avoid tax by creating an incorrect data, which is making the revenue of the company looks smaller. Another researcher were Zheng Fan , Liyan Wang , Jidong Zhang (2008) they are argued that the company disclosure data and corporate governance of the company will not effects the earning quality of the company I would like to test whether most of the companies in Indonesia have disclosed their coporate governance data transparently. Because a good corporate governance will show a transparency data, all the performance of the companies which is bad or good must be inform to the public. One à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Way Anova (Parametric Test) From using this type of test , data that used to this test will be from question number 7, question number 8, question number 9 and question number 10 , the question from the survey have been desing will be in a way that respondents are asked to rate . This test is used to test the equality of 3 or more means by using the variances. H0:  µ1=  µ2=  µ3=  µ4 ( Most companies in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance activity transparently and on time) H1:  µ1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ3à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ4 ( Not all of the companies in Indonesia have not disclose their corporate governance activity transparently and on time) The formulas for the various sums of squares are as follows: SSE = SST à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" SSA X = sample value ith item in the jth sample n = total sample size Xj = sample value of jth sample nj = size of the jth sample We will get the respective variances if we divide the sum of squares of SSA and SSE which are as follows: F-test formula: P-value: Degrees of freedom = k-1 Degrees of freedom = n-k These two values will be used to find the critical values for the F statistic and helps us to know whether the p-value is less than or more than the significance level. Conclusion: A null hypothesis will be rejected when the significant value from the test is lower than 5 percent 3.2.3 Limitations In this project there are some limitations in it. This project only representing a small objectives of coporate governance practices in Indonesia. Moreover, the data collected from this study are limited which is only from the Indonesia Institute of Corporate directorship and 100 questioners that had been given the working people in Indonesia. Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 4.1 Data Statistic of Questioner Section 1 4.1.1 Statistics Questioner that was Given To the Respondent N Valid 100 Missing Total Respond 7 93 From the table 4.1.1, It shows that there are 100 valid questioner that have been produced but the respond that can be used only 93 because the other 7 questioner are missing or cannot be use. 4.1.2 Number of respondent that know corporate governance Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Yes 71 76.3 76.3 76.3 No 22 23.7 23.7 100.0 Total 93 100.0 100.0 4.1.3 Respondent Knowledge Of Corporate Governance Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Very Bad 5 7.0 7.0 7.0 Bad 17 23.9 23.9 31.0 Neutral 19 26.8 26.8 57.7 Good 19 26.8 26.8 84.5 Very Good 11 15.5 15.5 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.1.4 Respondent Status In Company Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Director 19 26.8 26.8 26.8 Manager 11 15.5 15.5 42.3 Supervisor 13 18.3 18.3 60.6 Non-Supervisor 28 39.4 39.4 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.1.5 Relationship Of Directors and Shareholders in Respondent Company Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Very Bad 7 9.9 9.9 9.9 Bad 18 25.4 25.4 35.2 Neutral 13 18.3 18.3 53.5 Good 26 36.6 36.6 90.1 Very Good 7 9.9 9.9 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.2 Data Statistic of Questioner Section 2 Using pearson 4.2.1 Correlations between corporate governance and Shareholders Performance CG effectiveness Shareholders Performance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 .219 Sig. (2-tailed) .066 N 71 71 ShareholdersPerformance Pearson Correlation .219 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .066 N 71 71 4.2.2 Correlations between Corporate governance and Commisioners Performance CG effectiveness Commisioners Performance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 -.019 Sig. (2-tailed) .875 N 71 71 CommisionersPerformance Pearson Correlation -.019 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .875 N 71 71 4.2.3 Correlations between Corporate governance and Directors Performance CGeffectiveness DirectorsPerformance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 .396** Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 71 71 DirectorsPerformance Pearson Correlation .396** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 71 71 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). IICD ( Indonesia Institute of Corporate Directorship) have made a report about the corporate governance status in Indonesia. Since the corporate governance report 2009 have not been come out yet, I am using the data from the year 2008 which is issued in 2009 by the IICD institute. Corporate Governance Performance by SOEs, Bank, and Overall Category Mean Score of Corporate Governance Performance (%) 2008 Study Previous Study SOEs 76.80 74.63 Banking 75.55 71.11 Overall 61.26 67.29 The table above shows the performance of corporate governance in Indonesia Listed company. The data show in two different categories which are State Owned Enterprises sector and Banking sector. There were difference in Corporate governance performance between the SOEs variable and Banking variable. The SOEs performance was 75.20 %, while Banking was only 56.50 %. However, there are some improvement of corporate covernance practices in both of the group. There were around four percent of increasement for those top quartile and bottom quartile respectively. It is still challenging tasks facing Indonesian corporations, regulatory bodies, and other governance-related institutions how to enhance the commitment of these bottom quartile companies to good corporate governance practices as well as those companies with corporate governace performance between the top and the bottom quartile. This does not mean that attention to those top quartile firms is not necessary. In the meantime, empiric al evidence shows that corporate governance is significantly correlated to companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance, although the correlation is weak. OECD Principles Mean Score (%) 2008 Study Previous Study Rights of Shareholders 50.37 51.23 Equitable Treatment of Shareholders 86.35 83.02 Role of Stakeholders 63.64 58.76 Disclosure and Transparency 70.81 66.64 Responsibilities of the Board 59.02 52.36 Overall Mean Score 64.96 61.26 Using the instrument from OECD ( Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) the IICD institute has conducted a survey which was given to the 314 public listed company in Indonesia. Inside the survey they are consisting 5 principles of OECD which are : Rights of Shareholders , Equitable Treatment of Shareholders , Role of Stakeholders , Disclosure and Transparency , and Responsibilities of the board. From the survey the IICD institute analyze the status of corporate governance in Indonesia in the year 2008. The results of research shows there are deflation in rights of shareholders in the year 2008 which is 50.37 % and from the previous study it shows that 51.23 %. But others factors for corporate governance in Indonesia had been increase in 2008, such as equitable treatment of shareholders in the year 2008 was 86.35% which is shows an advancement comparing to the previous study only 83.02 %. The role of stakeholders percentage also rise up in the year 2008 which is 63.64 % comparing to the previous study which in only 58.76%. Other factors that have been changing which is disclosure and transparency of the company, in the year 2008 it reach 70.81 % and the previous study only reach 52.36 %. The last factors that upsurged was responsibilities of the board, in the year 2008 in achieve 59.02 % and the previous study only 52.36 %. The overall mean score of the year 2008 was 64.96 % and the previous study was 61.26 %. The data shows that by using the OECD principles , the situation of corporate governance in Indonesia is getting better. Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendatio Effect of Corporate Governance on Attracting Investors Effect of Corporate Governance on Attracting Investors Corporate governance is the way of corporation being directed which is involves a relationship between the manager , the shareholders , and other stakeholders of the company. The use of corporate governance is to provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set. In adopting a good corporate governance, companies should be transparent of the financial reports. Now adays most company around the world have adopt good corporate governance system , but some of the countries have not adopt the system. In this project , it will contain a research of the corporate governance status in Indonesia. Wether most of company in Indonesia have adopted a good corporate governance or not. Inside this project, there are two research question which is using different type of statical analysis. The first research question was made to found out wether is it true that a good corporate governance will attract more investors to the company. The second research question was made to know have most company in Indonesia have issue their corporate governance report according to the standard and transparency. And the result of the research is that there are some correlation between the corporate governance and performance of company. The other finding is that some of the company in Indonesia still not transparent in disclosing the corporate governance report. Chapter 1 Introduction Research background Corporate governance is one of the important factors that should be maintain inside the company. Now adays a lot of investors not only looking for financial reports of the company but they are also looking for the corporate governance status of the company. Since the financial crisis in 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s. Indonesia facing some diffculties in the economic factors. Alot of company were collapse , because many directors made a wrong decision. From that moment the economic and political condition in Indonesia is not stable. This problems will effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. But by creating a good corporate governance structure they are some benefit from it. A good corporate governance system will help directors, corporate managers , and owner to better governing the company. Many international investors hesitate to invest their money if the corporate governance structure does not so good. They want to know how well the is the directors can manage the company. There are some important key role of the corporate governance which are a transparency of the company financial and non-financial reportings , independent commisioner , and audit committee of the company. Investors want to know clearly the way of company leaders directing their company in achiving the goal. Investors will not invest their money if the company does not have a clear structure of the company. That is why adopting a good corporate governance may have some advantages, it will be easier to obtain capital and increasing share price. Using the data of corporate governance it can also effects the performance of the company.The corporate governance report will shows all the activity of the leaders inside the company. In governing a company there are rules for the directors , managers, and shareholders that must be follow. Such as a Annual General Meetings, most of the leaders of the company must attend this meetings at lease twice a year. If they are not fullfil their job as a leader of the company, it will be reported in the corporate governance report. 1.2 Research Objectives 1.2.1 Primary Research Objectives The primary objectives of this project is to give some information about the latest situation of coporate governance in Indonesia using the latest data which is taken from the year 2009 and also a questioner which is from the year 2010. Many people believes that a good corporate governance system can attract more investors to the company, so inside this project it will tested wether that statement is true or not. And this project also want to know wether most of company in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance reporting transparently. 1.2.2 Secondary Research Objectives The secondary objective of this project are : From the research it will shows the advancement of corporate governance system in Indonesia. Showing the effectiveness of corporate governance reporting for the company Take some feedback from the employee in Indonesia about the corporate governance situation in the company where they are working. Chapter 2 Literature Review A good corporate governance is important for a company around the world. Instead of financial data of the company, investors also looking at the corporate governance disclosure data before they are deciding in which company that should they invest in. From the data it will show the management situation of that company. Some of the country around the world still very low in conducting a good corporate governance. Conducting a good corporate governance will make the company more profitable , it will attract more shareholders to invest in our company. Lawrence D. Brown and Marcus L. Caylor (2004) using a sample of 2,327 companies and based on 51 corporate governance provisions which is provided by Institutional Investor Services (ISS) they found out that companies which are better governed relatively got a better income or more profitable and most of the shareholders got more dividend from the company. Based on a data which is taken from Institutional Shareholder Service , they create b road measure of corporate governance and they create Gov- score. The Gov-score was measured of 51 factors which is encompassing eight categories of the corporate goverenance which is : board of directors , auditors , characters by laws , executive and director compensation , ownership , progressive practices , and state of incorporation. Financial problem now adays become the major topic globally , it effects a lot of firms around the world. PaquitaY. Davis , Li Li Eng , and Chao-Shin Liu (2006) they were investigate the role of corporate governance mechanisms and accounting system in four different countries in Asia which is Indonesia , Korea , Malaysia , and Thailand. Those countries were effected by Asian financial crisis. They found out that it is depends on the corporate governance mechanisms and accounting system in effecting the book value of equity and it is also determining the relation between the accounting information and stock prices during the economy-wide financial crisis. Results of their finding is the earnings in Thailand and Indonesia was reduced during the Asian financial crisis and increased in book of value. In Korea , neither earnings nor book of value was impacted by the crisis. And the last one which is in Malaysia both book of value and earnings was decreased during the Asian financial crisi s. Bernard S. Black , Woochan Kim , Hasung Jang , and Kyung-Suh Park (2009) conduct a research in KCGI (Korea Corporate Governance Index). They try to find the relation between level of corporate governance and the effects the firm market value. And the findings of their research that overall firms that are better governed got a some competitive advantage than other company. From the research , overall firms who got higher KCGI will get higher dividends , got a lower capital expenditures ( because of Korea firms that are overinvest) but the investment is more sensitive to profitability , lagged board structure predicts higher profit , the related party transactions will reduce adverse for firm value. Robert W.McGee (2010) Indonesia need to develop the structure of the corporate governance. By developing a good corporate governance he found out that it will helps increasing the share prices and it will be easier to obtain capital. And from his research information which is from the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bank ROSC report about rights of shareholders , equitable treatment of shareholders , role of stakeholders in corporate governance , disclosure and transparancy , and responsibility of the boards from the scale one to five , Indonesia overall score is 2.83% which conclude from his research that corporate governance in Indonesia is need to be develop. From the research he suggested that companies in Indonesia need to strenghten shareholder access to the information of the company , in treating the shareholders must be equally , and company must fully adopt the International Financial Accounting Standards (IFRS) and also International Standards of Auditing. Meidyah Indreswari (2006) identified Indonesia corporate governance status which was turn bad because of the tragedy of economic crisis in 1997. From the research the writters found out there are several factors that make corporate governance fail in that year. Firstly, using agency theory to explain the relation between the agent and the principal was more problematic in ISOEs than the private enterprise. Secondly, the rules of board director and management is really important for the company. Government should reduce their intervention in ISOEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s operating system in order to make the boards of the company to work more effective. Thirdly, findings of the research shows that the corporate governance in Indonesia was not effective due to unclear information about role of corporate governance and also a unclear programmes of the company. These problems can create the lack of commitment of the employee to the company which lead to failling of the corporate governance. La stly, other factors that lead into fail corporate governance are culture , public governance , and law enforcement. In order to fix those factors, there should be a joint efforts from the public sectore is needed to ensure a good corporate governance will be occure. A study also conducted by Maria Andersson and Manal Daoud (2005) using the agency theory to test the factors that influence the corporate governance disclosure information in Swedish listed corporations. Using 41 listed companies in Swedish as an example , according to they research it found out that factors that influence the corporations are the parents company it self and the size of the corporation in disclose the corporate governance information. They also find out that agency theory is not a proper theory to find the influence of corporations in disclose information about corporate governance. Zheng Fan , Liyan Wang , Jidong Zhang (2008) they conduct a research about the relation of company motivation in voluntary disclosure will effect the earning quallity of the company. The research information was taken from the Chinese capital market in 2004-2006 period. And the results of their result is that the company disclosure data and corporate governance of the company will not effects the earning quality of the company. There are many companies in different countries that already adopted a good corporate governance. When a lot company have adopted a good corporate governance and shows the transparency of the company performance, it will be easier for the investors to choose in which country they will invest in. But in some countries such as Indonesia there are still some difficulties in adopting a good corporate governce. Benny Simon Tabalujan (2002) studied factors that made the corporate governance in Indonesia failed. Since the financial crisis in Indonesia which is around 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s there are a lot of trouble that effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. The most influence factors that he found out were the legal culture and the law. According to his research Indonesia had so much law that must be follow , the law will make some difficulties for the company to perform. He was suggested that Indonesia need to less down those law and regulation for the company so company can perform well in the future. Dudi M. Kurniawan and Nur Indiriantoro (2000) did a research about the status of corporate governance in Indonesia. And the findings of the study were divided into 5 different parts which are factors that influence the corporate governance status in a company. The first part of his research was about the ownership structure in Indonesia companies. And he found out that Indonesia had two boards in corporate governance system which is not effective for the company. The second part of his research was about the efforts to develop the corporate governance in Indonesia , and he found out that Indonesia corporate governance still need a help from the international countries. The third part of his research was about the accounting standards in Indonesia which should be written according to the basic of International Accounting Standards. The fourth part of his research tell us about audit standards and the audit profession in Indonesia. He suggested that Indonesian auditors need to pay atte ntion to the standards in Indonesia. It is because according to his research a lot of Indonesian auditors look for USA auditors standards and forgeting the standards in his country. This will be a crucial effects for the company. And according to his research the cause of Indonesian financial crisis in 1997 was the auditors in Indonesia miss ditection of fraud that happened in most of companies in Indonesia. This fraud make a lot of company in Indonesia collapse.The fifth parts of his research found out the disclosure data of corporate Indonesia still need to be more transparancy to the public. So from his research conclude that there are a lot of challenges in conducting a good corporate governance in Indonesia but those challenges can be minimize if there is an efforts to conducting a good corporate governance from inside the company. Werner R. Murhadi (2009) did a research using some information from the Indonesia Stock exchange in period 2005-2007 specializes in manufacture companies to test the performance of the corporate governance in Indonesia. He was using five good corporate governance indicators which are independent commisioner , CEO duality , audit committee , top share , and shareholders coalition to investigate rather it will effects the earning management practices. The findings of the research was a good corporate governance will effect earning management practices which done by the company. Another thing that he found out from the research was a lot of companies in Indonesia do EM ( Earning Management ) with negative leans. The purpose of the company do that is to make their revenue look smaller which can help the company to avoiding tax. Sanjeev Bhojraj and Partha Sengupta (2001) they conducted research about the effect of corporate governance to the bond ratings and yield. They found out that corporate governance mechanisms will reduce conflicts of interest between the directors and the providers by monitoring to their actions. And they were also found out that company which have a greater institutional ownership and got influence by the external control of the board will have a lower bond yields and high ratings for the new bond issues. From the research they are suggested that company that are facing stronger external monitoring from the governance mechanisms are rewarded with low yields and high bond ratings. Monitoring the situation of the company should be maintain so it will stabilize the firm value of the company. Sridhar Arcot and Valentina G. Bruno (2009) studied about the different type of corporate governance will effects the firm performance. Their studied the effects of law in a country to the corporate governance mechanism. Since law and regulation is different from one country to the others, according Sridar and Valentina company must adjust to that law especially for the multinational firms. Disclosing corporate governance report is one of the important factor because they found out some of the governance report was uninformative which mean it was not clear. The impact of the weak corporate governace was it shows the the inefficient use of the firms resources which can lead to the poor operating income. Benny Simon Tabalujan (2002) studied factors that made the corporate governance in Indonesia failed. Since the financial crisis in Indonesia which is around 1990à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s there are a lot of trouble that effects the corporate governance system in Indonesia. The most influence factors that he found out were the legal culture and the law. According to his research Indonesia had so much law that must be follow , the law will make some difficulties for the company to perform. He was suggested that Indonesia need to less down those law and regulation for the company so company can perform well in the future. Siti Nuryanah (2009) said there are still a problem in Indonesia corporate governance specially in audit committee. The problems in audit committee in Indonesia is that they holding a double positions in other companies, which it make the audit committee is not efficient in doing the works. And also , there are some company that does not have an audit committee. By not having an audit committee will become a problem for the board of committe in taking a decision. The research found out that 30 % from the JSX (Jakarta Stock Exchange) public listed companies does not have independent commisioners. Although that kind of problem occure , from her results it was found out that most of the companies in Indonesia have complied with the regulation of corporate governance. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Data The data of this project was taken from annual report in Indonesia stock exchange, IICD (Indonesia Institute for Corporate Directorship) reports which is the latest report, and 100 questioners which is given to the working people in Indonesia. The questioner was translating into Indonesia Language. 3.2 Methodology In this project there are two-research question that can lead to the answer of this research project. Each of the research questions will be tested in different type of statistical analysis test. The two-research questions of this project are: First: Is it true that adopting good corporate governance will attract more investors? Second: Using some factors in corporate governance reports, does most company in Indonesia have report their corporate governance data transparently? By using these research questions, several questions in the questionnaire had been made to gather answers from the respondents which then it will be linked back to answer the research questions. Inside the questioner there are divided into two section. The first section of the questioner is basic question about the corporate governance and the employee posisition in a company which they are working. The second section of the questioner is the important answer for this project which is contain all information that will be used to analyze. As for the following questions in the questionnaires, respondents will be asked about questions which are mostly related to the research questions 3.2.1 Research Question 1 Is it true that adopting good corporate governance will increse the company performance ? Hypothesis: H1: good corporate governance will give a significant effect to the company performance H0: good corporate governance will not give a significant effect to the company perfirmance From the research that was conducted by Lawrence D. Brown and Marcus L. Caylor (2004) said that there were some advantages in adopting a good corporate governance. He was using a sample of 2,327 companies and based on 51 corporate governance provisions that are provided by Institutional Investor Services (ISS). And found out that company that are better governed are relatively got a better income or more profitable and most of the shareholders got more dividend from the company. Another people that argued about corporate governance mechanisms were Sanjev Bhojraj and Partha Sengupta they found out corporate governance mechanism can reduce a conflicts of interest between the directors. And also a company should monitoring inside the company so the goodness performance of the company can be maintain. From this type of question, from the statement above I would like to test whether companies that have a good corporate governance will have a lot of investors in it and also is it will attract more investors to the company. Using the survey question, it will guide to the answer of this question which are : How effective is the corporate governance report being used in your company? In your opinion, does good corporate governance will attract more investor? H0: à ? = 0 (There is no correlation between corporate governance and number of investors) H1: à ? à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (There is a correlation between corporate governance and number of investors) Sample correlation coefficient, commonly denoted  r, is calculated as following: Where X and Y are the sample means. T-test for correlation formula: 3.2.2 Research Question 2 Does most company in Indonesia have reported their corporate governance activity data transparently and disclosed it to the public on time ? Hypothesis: H1: All of the companies in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance activity transparently and on time H0: Not all of the companies in Indonesia have not disclose their corporate governance activity transparently and on time Werner R. Murhadi (2009) explored some information period 2005-2007 in Indonesia Stock Exchange specializes in manufacture companies to test the performance of the corporate governance in Indonesia. One of the result from his research was, he found out a lot of companies in Indonesia still not develop transparency in reporting data of the company. A lot of companies want to avoid tax by creating an incorrect data, which is making the revenue of the company looks smaller. Another researcher were Zheng Fan , Liyan Wang , Jidong Zhang (2008) they are argued that the company disclosure data and corporate governance of the company will not effects the earning quality of the company I would like to test whether most of the companies in Indonesia have disclosed their coporate governance data transparently. Because a good corporate governance will show a transparency data, all the performance of the companies which is bad or good must be inform to the public. One à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Way Anova (Parametric Test) From using this type of test , data that used to this test will be from question number 7, question number 8, question number 9 and question number 10 , the question from the survey have been desing will be in a way that respondents are asked to rate . This test is used to test the equality of 3 or more means by using the variances. H0:  µ1=  µ2=  µ3=  µ4 ( Most companies in Indonesia have disclosed their corporate governance activity transparently and on time) H1:  µ1à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ2à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ3à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚    µ4 ( Not all of the companies in Indonesia have not disclose their corporate governance activity transparently and on time) The formulas for the various sums of squares are as follows: SSE = SST à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" SSA X = sample value ith item in the jth sample n = total sample size Xj = sample value of jth sample nj = size of the jth sample We will get the respective variances if we divide the sum of squares of SSA and SSE which are as follows: F-test formula: P-value: Degrees of freedom = k-1 Degrees of freedom = n-k These two values will be used to find the critical values for the F statistic and helps us to know whether the p-value is less than or more than the significance level. Conclusion: A null hypothesis will be rejected when the significant value from the test is lower than 5 percent 3.2.3 Limitations In this project there are some limitations in it. This project only representing a small objectives of coporate governance practices in Indonesia. Moreover, the data collected from this study are limited which is only from the Indonesia Institute of Corporate directorship and 100 questioners that had been given the working people in Indonesia. Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis 4.1 Data Statistic of Questioner Section 1 4.1.1 Statistics Questioner that was Given To the Respondent N Valid 100 Missing Total Respond 7 93 From the table 4.1.1, It shows that there are 100 valid questioner that have been produced but the respond that can be used only 93 because the other 7 questioner are missing or cannot be use. 4.1.2 Number of respondent that know corporate governance Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Yes 71 76.3 76.3 76.3 No 22 23.7 23.7 100.0 Total 93 100.0 100.0 4.1.3 Respondent Knowledge Of Corporate Governance Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Very Bad 5 7.0 7.0 7.0 Bad 17 23.9 23.9 31.0 Neutral 19 26.8 26.8 57.7 Good 19 26.8 26.8 84.5 Very Good 11 15.5 15.5 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.1.4 Respondent Status In Company Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Director 19 26.8 26.8 26.8 Manager 11 15.5 15.5 42.3 Supervisor 13 18.3 18.3 60.6 Non-Supervisor 28 39.4 39.4 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.1.5 Relationship Of Directors and Shareholders in Respondent Company Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Very Bad 7 9.9 9.9 9.9 Bad 18 25.4 25.4 35.2 Neutral 13 18.3 18.3 53.5 Good 26 36.6 36.6 90.1 Very Good 7 9.9 9.9 100.0 Total 71 100.0 100.0 4.2 Data Statistic of Questioner Section 2 Using pearson 4.2.1 Correlations between corporate governance and Shareholders Performance CG effectiveness Shareholders Performance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 .219 Sig. (2-tailed) .066 N 71 71 ShareholdersPerformance Pearson Correlation .219 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .066 N 71 71 4.2.2 Correlations between Corporate governance and Commisioners Performance CG effectiveness Commisioners Performance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 -.019 Sig. (2-tailed) .875 N 71 71 CommisionersPerformance Pearson Correlation -.019 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .875 N 71 71 4.2.3 Correlations between Corporate governance and Directors Performance CGeffectiveness DirectorsPerformance CGeffectiveness Pearson Correlation 1 .396** Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 71 71 DirectorsPerformance Pearson Correlation .396** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 71 71 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). IICD ( Indonesia Institute of Corporate Directorship) have made a report about the corporate governance status in Indonesia. Since the corporate governance report 2009 have not been come out yet, I am using the data from the year 2008 which is issued in 2009 by the IICD institute. Corporate Governance Performance by SOEs, Bank, and Overall Category Mean Score of Corporate Governance Performance (%) 2008 Study Previous Study SOEs 76.80 74.63 Banking 75.55 71.11 Overall 61.26 67.29 The table above shows the performance of corporate governance in Indonesia Listed company. The data show in two different categories which are State Owned Enterprises sector and Banking sector. There were difference in Corporate governance performance between the SOEs variable and Banking variable. The SOEs performance was 75.20 %, while Banking was only 56.50 %. However, there are some improvement of corporate covernance practices in both of the group. There were around four percent of increasement for those top quartile and bottom quartile respectively. It is still challenging tasks facing Indonesian corporations, regulatory bodies, and other governance-related institutions how to enhance the commitment of these bottom quartile companies to good corporate governance practices as well as those companies with corporate governace performance between the top and the bottom quartile. This does not mean that attention to those top quartile firms is not necessary. In the meantime, empiric al evidence shows that corporate governance is significantly correlated to companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s economic performance, although the correlation is weak. OECD Principles Mean Score (%) 2008 Study Previous Study Rights of Shareholders 50.37 51.23 Equitable Treatment of Shareholders 86.35 83.02 Role of Stakeholders 63.64 58.76 Disclosure and Transparency 70.81 66.64 Responsibilities of the Board 59.02 52.36 Overall Mean Score 64.96 61.26 Using the instrument from OECD ( Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) the IICD institute has conducted a survey which was given to the 314 public listed company in Indonesia. Inside the survey they are consisting 5 principles of OECD which are : Rights of Shareholders , Equitable Treatment of Shareholders , Role of Stakeholders , Disclosure and Transparency , and Responsibilities of the board. From the survey the IICD institute analyze the status of corporate governance in Indonesia in the year 2008. The results of research shows there are deflation in rights of shareholders in the year 2008 which is 50.37 % and from the previous study it shows that 51.23 %. But others factors for corporate governance in Indonesia had been increase in 2008, such as equitable treatment of shareholders in the year 2008 was 86.35% which is shows an advancement comparing to the previous study only 83.02 %. The role of stakeholders percentage also rise up in the year 2008 which is 63.64 % comparing to the previous study which in only 58.76%. Other factors that have been changing which is disclosure and transparency of the company, in the year 2008 it reach 70.81 % and the previous study only reach 52.36 %. The last factors that upsurged was responsibilities of the board, in the year 2008 in achieve 59.02 % and the previous study only 52.36 %. The overall mean score of the year 2008 was 64.96 % and the previous study was 61.26 %. The data shows that by using the OECD principles , the situation of corporate governance in Indonesia is getting better. Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendatio

Free Essay on Homers Odyssey: Penelope and Odysseus :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Homer's Odyssey: Penelope and Odysseus Homer revealed the characters' inner thoughts to add to the suspense that builds up in books 19 and 20 of The Odyssey. Some question whether Odysseus was recognized by Penelope and if this helped to build up the intensity of the story. Joseph Russo mentioned this topic in "Interview and Aftermath: Dream, Fantasy and Intuition in Odyssey 19 & 20." The lies told by Odysseus also increased the excitement of The Odyssey. Russo believed that Penelope, in her subconscious, did recognize Odysseus disguised as a beggar. For example, in Book 19, Penelope revealed her innermost thoughts to Odysseus, who was disguised as the beggar. Russo suggested that unconsciously the beggar reminded Penelope of Odysseus when she invited Odysseus to her room to talk and confided in him about her dreams (14). But there is a different way to look at this part of the book. In class, Thury pointed out not only the outward signs of Penelope's encouragement of him, but also gave reasons to believe she did not think Odysseus was alive. By telling Odysseus of her dreams Penelope showed trust in him, but by scheduling the contest of the bow, Penelope showed that she believed her husband was never coming back. Russo argues that this was only a defense mechanism. If she were to believe Odysseus was alive, she would be letting her guard down, and she did not want to risk another disappointment (Russo 15). Russo and Thury agree that because of the tension between husband and wife, there is a large amount of excitement and stress in Odysseus' house after he returns. Odysseus' lies also added to the excitement. These lies were all related to the truth about Odysseus (Thury), and stirred up the people they were told to. For example, Odysseus lied to Eumaios the swineherd. He told him he was a pirate who had lost his crew in the storm and had heard news of Odysseus (14.356). The fact that he claimed Odysseus was alive must have given the swineherd hope of his master's return, even though he denied it (14.405). Another person Odysseus lied to was Penelope. As a result Homer says she cries, "as she sat listening ... her checks were wetted by these tears she shed for her lord" (19.220-226). Even though she says she does not believe him (19.289), Penelope seems excited by thinking about Odyssseus, enough so, to have a slip of the tongue when she tells Eurykleia to bathe her master (19. Free Essay on Homer's Odyssey: Penelope and Odysseus :: Homer Odyssey Essays Homer's Odyssey: Penelope and Odysseus Homer revealed the characters' inner thoughts to add to the suspense that builds up in books 19 and 20 of The Odyssey. Some question whether Odysseus was recognized by Penelope and if this helped to build up the intensity of the story. Joseph Russo mentioned this topic in "Interview and Aftermath: Dream, Fantasy and Intuition in Odyssey 19 & 20." The lies told by Odysseus also increased the excitement of The Odyssey. Russo believed that Penelope, in her subconscious, did recognize Odysseus disguised as a beggar. For example, in Book 19, Penelope revealed her innermost thoughts to Odysseus, who was disguised as the beggar. Russo suggested that unconsciously the beggar reminded Penelope of Odysseus when she invited Odysseus to her room to talk and confided in him about her dreams (14). But there is a different way to look at this part of the book. In class, Thury pointed out not only the outward signs of Penelope's encouragement of him, but also gave reasons to believe she did not think Odysseus was alive. By telling Odysseus of her dreams Penelope showed trust in him, but by scheduling the contest of the bow, Penelope showed that she believed her husband was never coming back. Russo argues that this was only a defense mechanism. If she were to believe Odysseus was alive, she would be letting her guard down, and she did not want to risk another disappointment (Russo 15). Russo and Thury agree that because of the tension between husband and wife, there is a large amount of excitement and stress in Odysseus' house after he returns. Odysseus' lies also added to the excitement. These lies were all related to the truth about Odysseus (Thury), and stirred up the people they were told to. For example, Odysseus lied to Eumaios the swineherd. He told him he was a pirate who had lost his crew in the storm and had heard news of Odysseus (14.356). The fact that he claimed Odysseus was alive must have given the swineherd hope of his master's return, even though he denied it (14.405). Another person Odysseus lied to was Penelope. As a result Homer says she cries, "as she sat listening ... her checks were wetted by these tears she shed for her lord" (19.220-226). Even though she says she does not believe him (19.289), Penelope seems excited by thinking about Odyssseus, enough so, to have a slip of the tongue when she tells Eurykleia to bathe her master (19.

Introduction to Geography-Montessori

Introduction to Geography The world is getting smaller, we now live in a global village due to our enlarged technical skills. It is today as easy to fly from eg. Dublin to Rome as it was to travel from Dublin to Cork 150 years ago, Not to mention flights to the moon & back. Geography has turned out to be the study of man in space. Between mass media and frequent travel the child is bombarded with impressions about the planet he lives on. In today’s world the child hears random words, names of countries with upheavels and wars & they get scared. They really need to know where they are, even on a larger scale. It is better to understand that a lot of things happen far away and not in my neighbourhood. This will give them some sense of security. Geography is a science of earth annd its life- it includes a description of land, water and air. The roots of word geography are greek and it means description of the earth. When we talk about geography with 3-6 years it means planting some seeds of interest and it is not meant that we should teach so why do we have it? A child has his human tendencies for orientation; exploration and order. We also give child names, which responds to the child’s human tendencies for communication and sensitive period for language. However, the other sensitive periods also play a part and to top it all off the child also has an absorbent mind. Geography is presented as an extension of the language programme in our rooms, because it contains aural written 7 read parts. Maria Montessori called her small geography set-up â€Å"an introduction to the world’. It has an holistic approach, starting with the whole and ending in details (start with the globe, then continents†¦eventually to the place where they live). The purpose with geography is 2 fold. First you must provide the child with activities, which help him to order impressions and information. Secondly in elementary you must introduce the child to his place in the cosmos(Universe). This will ultimately end in the study of ecology. As in all fields within extended language section the world could be roughly divided into three parts. 1. One dealing with practical life, i. e pouring with land and water forms 2. The sensorial keys- the sandpaper globe and colour globe, continent map, map of Europe, map of Asia, America, Africa Ireland. 3. Language in its various stages i. e names of land and water forms, names of continents and oceans, geography folders-showing pictures from countries and people therein- oral, written and read language. As a practical life exercise the different land and water forms are presented as a pouring exercise. The models are made out of clay and put on small baking trays. The child will get a sensorial impression of what these water/land forms really are. Later the child will have picture cards/classified cards, which will show them the same thing, a lake/an island etc. there are six pairs)and even later they will return as language extensions- first with the pictures only in he pre-reading stage and then with the naming and reading in the classified reading stage and even later in reading practice with the definition stages. The materials are: 1. The globes the child of ? years experiences a peak in his visual sensitivity to form. Globes help him to form his impressions of the world and he can see it. We start out with a small globe with rough and smooth areas. This offers the child and opportunity to a. Grasp roughly what shape his planet is and . Sensorially explore by touching the land and water distribution on the surface of the planet The land is rough and water is smooth. Phrases like â€Å"as the world turns† will take on a new meaning for the child. This globe is followed by the coloured globe. It is similar in size and shape to the first globe but here the different continents are coloured in various colours- here we give the language of continent & ocean. 2. Puzzle maps The child will get to know their world. The eastern and western hemisphere allows the child to see the whole world at once, but flattened. The puzzle activity enhances the sensory perception of the continents-initially purely sensorial but when the child himself begins to ask for names they are given by a 3-period lesson. Maps of each continent is then given-they show the political partitions of the continents into countries. We always begin with the child’s own continent and then proceed by following the child, usually doing one hemisphere at a time. To be mentioned is that the knobs of the puzzle maps are placed where one finds the capital of each country- this is an indirect preparation for later work. The knobs also serve as an indirect preparation for writing, as with the geometrical forms earlier. 3. Naming At the sensorial level names are given after the forms of the puzzles are learned. However it’s not uncommon for the child in Montessori schools to know the names of all the countries and counties of the child’s own country/continent. At a later stage the child can also do a matching activity with flags ,and later (at reading stage) maps are provided with the names of the countries and capitals (pin maps). There should always be a stand with flags from the countries of the children’s own continent. They are there to give the children an idea of nations that stand for units. There are many countries in the world with many different people, but we’re all made from the same material. This is strongly brought forth in the picture folders we’ve made, which should be part of every Montessori environment. They should be colour coded, following the colours of the colour globe- with three in total for every globe. The first set shows general pictures of the continents The second set shows people, products, places and plants The third set is more culturally inclined-with architecture, foods, art, and transportation etc. The prepared environment should provide all these things mentioned and also books and stories about people of the world-to help and give the children keys to the world of geography. All the materials should be kept in a special segment of the room, on special shelves-be aware of not overloading. It is important too that the directress should make a good rapport between the child and the material. This can partly be achieved through practical life activities, which put children into practical contact with children, e. g. how to pour land and water forms, how to dry, dusting globes, dusting maps, how to carry the globes, how to take out the puzzle maps, how to put it back and how to carry them. Later the child will learn how to put pins into the pin maps and you will show the child how to hold the flag in one’s hand and carefully put it in the country where it should be and later introduce the names and main cities. You should also, in the environment, have a little box with drawers for the child at reading stage. From this they can take out names of continents and countries etc. and label them on the puzzle maps. There should also be a good atlas and if possible a large ordinary globe too. Artwork in geography could consist of making flags-using the rectangular inset of metal insets as a base for the flag( at this stage the child will be 4 – 4 ? years). The children can also draw outlines of the continents on the paper for the metal insets and colour them in, making a booklet of the continents.

Obesity: America’s Modern Day Societal Crutch

Obesity: America’s Modern Day Societal Crutch Matthew Murphy Abstract Today’s society has been faced with the never ending problem of obesity. Many would blame this problem of obesity in America to poor genetics, unhealthy eating habits, and even lack of physical fitness. After viewing this paper and reviewing these credible sources the reader will have a better understanding as to why individuals become obese. All sources in this paper have been written, reviewed, and critiqued by credible individuals.Obesity: America’s Modern Day Societal Crutch In today’s America we as citizens are faced with the ongoing crutch known as obesity. Obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent of major health issues. I view obesity as a â€Å"crutch† because it is disease that will slow the American populous down. The topic on obesity has been debated over many years as to who would take the blame of America’ s overweight problem and what that individual or group would do to prevent it.Many different state legislatures and school board committees have started to ban vending machines in school grounds. â€Å"Congress has considered a menu-labeling legislation that would force chain restaurants to list fat, sodium, and calories for each item† (Balko, 2004, p. 522). Many individuals like me believe that this is definitely the most improper approach to preventing the obesity epidemic that has plagued the United States over the last twenty years. It is not the United State government’s place to tell American citizens what they can or cannot consume.Obesity has become more and more of a problem because American citizens are executing poor dietary techniques. The next influential factor to obesity is the influence of our biological need and genetics. These factors play a large part in the obesity epidemic but the key factor to obesity is the fact that Americans are drastically dec reasing their urges for physical fitness and health. Data has been collected from many different institutions and still the debate is on to see which group will inherit the blame of our nation’s obesity problems.Although many argue who is to blame for obesity, I believe that is in the hands of the individual and their poor diet techniques, biological factors, and their willingness to perform physical fitness. Dietary Techniques Obesity has become a crutch to the American way of life in the idea that we as individuals are not executing proper dietary techniques. The groups that are mainly targeted for obesity because of poor dieting techniques are low-income families throughout the United States. Obesity is on the rise in these families because more Americans are eating outside their homes at higher rates† (Bryan, 2006 p. 98). With the families going out to eat instead of staying home they are subject to a higher calorie intake than if they were to eat at home. The nutri tional nature of fast food is unknown to many Americans because they have forfeited the need for knowledge on the matter. â€Å"Fast food restaurants and other fast food outlets are serving larger portions to consumers† (Bryan, 2006, p. 98).This creates a dilemma for a person trying to stay within his/her healthy eating when a fast food business offers more food for cheaper than healthy food. In today’s society Americans are looking at the almighty dollar instead of their dietary needs. If it cost fifteen dollars to eat healthy food and it only cost six dollars for a value meal then 9 times out of 10 the consumer is going to choose the value meal over healthy food. I also believe that high advertisement of fast food and snack foods by large businesses influence the consumer to stray from their healthy diet.Many business have began to realize that American’s are becoming more and more aware of their dietary needs and are working to provide healthy foods at their restaurant chains. Biological Needs and Genetics The next factor we need to include in the reason of individuals ourselves being responsible for our obesity is biological needs and even our genetics. â€Å"Humans are hardwired, as a survival strategy, to like foods high in sugar, fat, and calories† (Brownell & Nestle, 2006, p. 525). This may seem like it in not the individual’s problem and could be blamed on biology.This is an individual responsibility due to the fact that the human body can be controlled in a matter of survival. If one is desperate to survive and realizes that they are overweight they will cut back on excess calories. The closest example I have of survival is the urge to quit smoking because of all the scientific backing that states it can end your life. A responsible individual would quit smoking when he/she realizes they may die from the hazards. This survival response is the same with the obesity epidemic.Individuals are placed into danger when the y become obese and face many different side effects. Some of these health hazards include an array of thirty different diseases. Although there are many individuals out there that are willing to help themselves get over this epidemic, many individuals are unable to overcome obesity due to their genetic make-up. Physical Fitness and Health There are many different contributing issues that play into the obesity epidemic but the key factor is the decline of physical fitness and overall health.Physical fitness has come to an all time low since the 1960’s and the evolution of the industrial age. Research data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that over the past 50 years the relationship between activity at work and obesity has grown closer together. â€Å"In 1960, nearly half the jobs in the private sector required at least moderate physical activity, but in 2010, less than 20% demanded this much physical work† (Harvard, 2012). With industrializatio n and technology on the rise many Americans are relying on technology to get them through their lives.Do not get me wrong, I believe that the use of technology makes this country an effective machine. The advances in technology has relieved stress off a man’s back and applied it to his stomach. The health hazards that follow obesity are not just a big belly but also high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, gallstones, gout, some cancers, bladder control issues, and psychological disorders (Bryan, 2006, p. 97). The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reported an increase in the prevalence of obesity from 11. 1% in the 1970’s to 19. 3% in the early 2000’s† (Samper-Ternent & Al Snih, 2011, p. 10-19). With the concern of citizens and their health on the rise I believe that the more information we get out to the people it will be beneficial to their survival. Discussion The epidemic th at is obesity has become a modern day problem for America’s society. Some would even go as far to say that it could even be a crutch for he United States. â€Å"Increases in the prevalence of obesity have been observed in men and women, in all age groups, in all major ethnic groups, and at all educational levels† (Samper-Ternent & Al Snih, 2011, p. 10). Individuals themselves could control and take responsibility for their overweight situation which would allow them to become more active and healthy. If obesity is caught early on the individual will be more likely to overcome this hardship they have entered. We as individuals need to maintain our body and live a long, healthy life.Just like Sir Isaac Newton stated, â€Å"A body in motion stays in motion†¦ and a body at rest tend to remain at rest. † References Balko, R. (2011). Obesity: Who Is Responsible for Our Weight. In S. Barnet & H. Bedau (Authors), Current Issues and Enduring Questions (9th ed. , pp. 522-523). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's. Brownell, K. , ; Nestle, M. (2011). Are You Responsible for Your Own Weight? Con. In S. Barnet ; H. Bedau (Authors), Current Issues and Enduring Questions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (9th ed. , pp. 524-525).Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's. Bryan, M. (2006). Obesity in America & its Impact on Minorities, Women and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low-Income Groups. International Journal Of The Diversity, 6(3), 97-101. Harvard University. (2012). Obesity in America: What's Driving the Epidemic? Harvard Men's Health Watch, 5-7. Samper-Ternent, R. , & Al Snih, S. (2012). Obesity in older adults: Epidemiology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and omplications for disability and disease. Reviews in Clinical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gerontology, 22, 10-34. doi:10. 1017/S0959259811000190