Youth Involvement in Sports Essay Example for Free

Youth Involvement in Sports Essay Parents have been involved in youth sport for quite some time now, and they always will. Help from parents is essential, but sometimes parent’s involvement can be a bit too much. Fast growing team sports like hockey and soccer traditionally have a lot of parent involvement because they can be expensive, scholarship opportunities seem to be everywhere, and way too many parents think their little one will be the next big superstar athlete. Violence, controlling behavior and abusive behavior towards officials, athletes, coaches and spectators has a lot of youth organizations second guessing the role of parents in youth sport. Mandatory training classes for parents on sportsmanship and behavioral conduct are becoming more popular, because a lot of parents just do not know how to act. The involvement of parents in youth sport is essential because some one has to get little Johnny to and from games and practices. Plus expensive league fees and equipment do not pay for themselves, but should this be looked at as an investment or a recreational expense. (Especially at the youth level) The parents of today are investing huge amounts of time and money into the development of children, when the children should just be focusing on fun and friends. This over involvement of parents can negatively affect the child’s feelings towards sport because fun and enjoyment is taken out of the equation as business, skill development, and financial return is emphasized. Parents just need to support their child’s involvement in sport as it relates to participation and enjoyment. What happens in a lot of cases is the parents try to live through their kids and when the parents take control the fun goes out the window. So why do children participate in sport? That is the million dollar question. Well a recent study was taken on what the most popular reason for youth sport participation was. The number one reason for youth participating in sport is to have fun. It is not about winning and bring home a huge trophy and having championship medals, kids just want to have fun. New skills, to be with friends and the thrill of competition were the next on the list. (Winning was not one of the most popular reasons) Parents need to focus on emotional and financial support of their children during their sporting experience. Children will experience a lot of ups and downs while participating in sports, wins losses cheaters as long as verbal encouragement is shown and support is given things should go pretty well. When parents get emotionally involved things usually start going down hill and kids tend to lose their interest. The two most visible types of parents in youth sport are excitable and fanatical. Excitable parents are usually supportive, but they tend to get caught up in the moment. They have good intensions, but at the end of the day they probably create more bad then good. Excitable parents can be embarrassing and the children of excitable parents usually do not want their parents involved in competition, or practices. Fanatical parents put a lot of pressure on their kids and are constantly creating scenes with officials and coaches. The kids of these parents do not show a lot of excitement towards games and practices, and chances are they will drop out of sports completely. Fanatical parents are way too focused on winning and losing. The fanatical parents are the parents who are living through their children and who push them way too much on a consistent basis. These parents do not recognize the ability levels of their kids and they believe their kid will become the next superstar athlete. Parent orientation meeting are becoming more popular in youth sports. I believe they are a great way to start off the season. The meetings are planned to create a connection between the coach and the parents. The meeting helps everyone get on the same page, and it gives the coach a chance to lay down the laws and it give parents a chance to answer questions. Coaches will get a chance to introduce themselves and explain their philosophy. Safety procedures, schedules, parent responsibilities and league rules can be explained. Playing time and disciplinary actions will also be covered. I believe if parents let coaches coach, ref’s ref and kids play everything will be alright. At the end of the day everyone just wants to have fun, and the youth sport experience can be improved when everyone is supportive of one another. Winning should never be the priority when it comes to youth sports. Of course winning is fun, but at the end of the day it is not the most important thing in the world. If parents let their kids make the decisions about when, where and why they want to play sports then everything will be alright, but if parents get too involved things will go down hill and youth participation levels will follow.

Dividend Policy of Pakistans Oil Sector

Dividend Policy of Pakistans Oil Sector INTRODUCTION Corporate dividend policy is one of the most debated topics in corporate finance. Many researchers have devised theories and provided empirical evidence regarding the determinants of a firms dividend policy. The dividend policy issue, however, remains still unresolved as due to the fact that there are so many variables depending upon the type of company, its financial conditions, its industry etc that no single formula could be applicable. Clear guidelines for an optimal payout policy have not yet emerged despite the voluminous literature. We still do not have an acceptable explanation for the observed dividend behavior of companies. During the last fifty years several theoretical and empirical studies have been done leading to mainly three outcomes: The increase in dividend payout affects the market value of the firm. The decrease dividend payout adversely affects the market value of the firm. The dividend policy of the firm does not affect the firm value at all. However, we can say that empirical evidence on the determinants of dividend policy is unfortunately very complex. Basis on which corporations pay out dividends to the share holders is still an unresolved puzzle. First prominent study that appeared in the literature of finance regarding dividend policy was that of Miller and Modigliani (1961) where they state that there are no deception in a perfect and a rational economic environment. This was the starting point for other researchers to explore dividend payout policy phenomena. Almost all researches that followed referred back to Miller and Modigliani (1961). Various researches were carried out by many researchers to explore the determinants of dividend payout policy, some of them focused on profitability, some on size of the firms, some on growth rate of the firm while others on agency costs. For example researches carried out by Nissim et el (2001), Brook et el (1998), Bernheim et el (1995), Kao et el (1994), and Healy et el (1988) found out a positive association between increase in dividend payout and future profitability. Kalay et el (1986) and Asquith et el (1983) found out that stock returns is positively associated with dividend changes. Sasson et el (1976) conclude that the payout ratio is positive association with average rates of return. On the other hand, studies of Benartzi et el (1997) and DeAngelo et el (1996) find no support for the relationship between future profitability and dividend changes. On Other side most debated factor affecting dividend policy arguably is agency costs. Jensen (1986). Agency cost argument suggests that cost is reducing by dividend payments and cash flow Rozeff (1982). Researches carried out by Jensen et el (1992), and Lang et el (1989) supported this agency cost hypothesis, while others such as Lie (2000), Yoon et el (1995) and Denis et el (1994) found no support for this hypothesis. Size of the firm is another factor which seems to have an impact of dividend payout policy. Firms larger in size are considered to have more ability to payout dividends to its share holders. Lloyd et el (1985), and Vogt (1994) pointed that firm size plays a role in clarifying the dividend-payout ratio of firms. They argued that because larger firms are mature and have easy access to capital markets thus they are not really much dependant on internally generated funding which enables them to payout higher dividends. The purpose of this research is to investigate the dynamics and determinants of dividend policy of oil gas sector firms in Pakistan. The independent variables selected from the literature include: market capitalization, profitability and annual rate of growth of total assets. Analysis of these variables should reveal there exist an impact of these variables on dividend payout policy of the firms and very nature of the relationship. The remaining part of this thesis is organized as follows. In section 2 brief reviews of theories about the dividend will be presented. In section 3 this thesis discusses the data and possible variables that can act as proxy for different influences for analysis .In section 4 this thesis will establish the model. Section 5 will provide details of methodology used. In section 6 thesis will establish analysis and interpretations and section 7 will present results and draw a conclusion. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW There are various theories which provide insight on how a firm pays the dividends. 2.1 Miller and Modigliani theory According to Miller and Modigliani (of Merton Miller, Franco) (1961) dividend do not affect firms value in perfect market. Shareholders are not concerned to receiving their cash flows as dividend or in shape of capital gain, as far as firms doesnt change the investment policies. In this type of situation firms dividend payout ratio affect their residual free cash flows, when the free cash flow is positive firms decide to pay dividend and if negative firms decide to issue shares. They also conclude that change in dividend may be conveying the information to the market about firms future earnings. Example: Its a common believe that dividend policy is created by shareholder himself for example if a person has 10,000 PKR and wants income of 3,000 PKR a year from that portfolio, simply 3000 PKR money value can be sold by a person this amount as dividend income does not accept by him. This theory says, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Who is anxious about dividends?à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? MM explains that under certain assumptions including rational investors and a perfect capital market, the market value of a firm is independent of its dividend policy. Smirlock Marshall, (1983) stated that relationship between the Dividend and Investment Decisions indicates that no causality between the dividend and investment decisions of the firm. The fact that the firm-specific data conclusively supported the separation principle is particularly convincing. This is the first application of causality tests to a large sample of firms. 2.2 The bird in the hand theory Investors always prefer cash in hand rather then a future promise of capital gain due to minimizing risk Gordon (1963). Gordon believes that he is anxious about investing in dividends and dividend stocks. Gordon say that when he is paid hard cash by the company, he knows that the company is not just telling him that it is making money but the fact it that it is really making money . This is the idea that cash payment is valued by the investors in their hands over the hope of future profits. 2.3 The agency theory Traditionally, corporate dividend policy has been examined under the assumptions that the firm is one homogenous unit and that the managements objective is to maximize its value as a whole. The agency cost approach differs from the traditional approach mainly in this way that it explicitly recognizes the firm as a collection of groups of individuals with conflicting interests and self-seeking motives. According to the agency theory, these behavioral implications cause individuals to maximize their own utility instead of maximizing the firms wealth. The agency theory of Jensen and Meckling (1976) is based on the conflict between managers and shareholder and the percentage of equity controlled by sponsor ownership should influence the dividend policy. The theory focuses on the relationship between an agent of the principal (companys managers) and a principal (shareholder) . Jensen and Meckling (1976) in corporations, agency problem arise from external debt and external equity. Jensen and Meckling (1976) analyzed that how firm value is affected by the distribution of ownership between inside shareholders and outside shareholders who can consume perquisites, and who cannot. Within this framework, increased managerial ownership of equity alleviates agency difficulties by reducing incentives to consume perquisites and expropriate shareholder wealth. Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that equity agency costs would be lower in firms with larger proportions of inside ownership. Managers are better understanding their interest with stockholders when they increase the shareholders ownership of the firm. Dividends are believed to play an important role in reducing conflicts between managers and stockholders. Any dividend policy should be designed to minimize the sum of capital, agency and taxation costs. According to Bathala (1990), in the agency costs and dividends, two lines of thought can be found explaining cross-sectional variations in payout ratios. First view Holds that a firms optimal payout ratio is the results of a trade-off between a reduction in the agency costs of external equity and an increase in the transaction costs related with external financing resulting from dividend payments as the payout ratio increases. Second view Argues that inside ownership and external debt are substitute mechanisms in mitigating agency costs in a firm. Basic study for the first line of thought is based on Rozeffs (1982) propositions. He suggests that dividend payout ratios may be explained by reduced agency costs when the firm increases its dividend payout and by increased more expensive external capital. Easterbrook (1984) gives further explanation regarding agency cost problem and says that there are two forms of agency costs; one is the cost monitoring and other is cost of risk aversion on the part of directors or managers. The agency theory is related with resolving two issues that can be held in an agency relationship. PROBLEMS: The desire of the principal and agent conflict and it is expensive or complicated for the principal that it cannot check that the agent has behaved appropriately. Risk sharing is a problem that occurs when the agent and principle have different behavior towards hazard. The issue here is that the principal and the agent may prefer separate actions because of the separate risk preferences. According to (Naceur, Goaied, Belanes, 2006) profitable firms with more stable earnings can pay larger dividend. Whenever they are growing very quick, dividend policy doesnt get any impact from financial leverage and ownership concentration. Also the liquidity of stock market and size negatively impacts the dividend payment. Oskar kowalewski and Ivan Stetsyukand Olesksandr Talavera (2007) study that how corporate governance determines dividend polices in Poland. They have established for the first time, quantitative measures on the quality of corporate governance for 110 non- financial listed companies. Their result suggested that large and more profitable companies have higher dividend payout ratio .Furthermore, risky and more indebted firms prefer to pay lower dividend s. The results finally, based on the period of 1998-2004, Reveals that dividend policy is quite important in the valuation process of companies, but the issues still remain scantily investigated in transition countries. A study on the determinant s of dividend policy and its association to corporate governance in a transition economy both offers an interesting subject and complements the existing corporate governance literature. The agency theory points that dividend may mitigate agency costs by distributing free cash flows that otherwise would be spent on unprofitable projects by the management. It is argued that dividends expose firms to more frequent analysis by the capital markets as dividend payout increase the likelihood that a firm has to issues new common stock. On the other hand, scrutiny by the market helps alleviate opportunistic management behavior, and thus, agency costs. Agency cost, in turn, is related to the strength of shareholders rights and they are associated with corporate governance. Furthermore, agency suggested that shareholders may prefer dividends, particularly when they fear expropriation by insider. They test the determinants of dividend policy in a multiple regression framework to control for firm specific characteristics other than governance. All the variables enter the regressions with expected signs. Size and return on assets are positively associated with variable cash divid end. Leverage is negatively associated with variable cash dividend. Their results provide evidence that in Poland listed companies where corporate governance practices are high and as a result shareholders rights are for strong payout higher dividend. Jianguo Chen and Nont Dhiensiri(2009) suggest that relationship between dividend pay-out ratio (POR) with the pro Cash flow variability (CFV), ownership dispersion, insider ownership, free cash flow, collateral stable assets, Past growth (GROW1), future growth (GROW2), stable dividend policy and imputation credit (IMP). They analyze the determinants of the corporate dividend policy using firms listed on New Zealand Stock Exchange .They examined that firms traditionally have high dividend pay-outs compared with companies in the US. They find that their is a negative relationship between dividend payout ratio and CFV, Insider, Beta ,growth and positive relationship between ownership dispersion ,free cash flow, collateral stable assets stable dividend policy and imputation credit. Their conclusion provides strong support to the agency cost theory and partially supports transaction cost and residual dividend theory. They do not have any evidence to support the dividend stability theory a nd the signaling theory. 2.4 Signaling theory The explanation about the signaling theory given by Bhattacharya (1979) and John, Kose and Williams (1985) dividends allay information symmetric between managers and shareholders by delivering inside information of firm future prospects. 2.5 Effect of tax preferences theory Miller and Scholars (1978) find that the effect of tax preferences on clientele and conclude different tax rates on dividends and capital gains lead to different clientele. Tax Preference theory Investor gave an important consideration to the taxes. This should by keep in mind that the dividends are taxed at a higher rate than the capital gains. As such, capital gains are preferred by the investors as compared to the dividends. This is known as when the investments are actually sold only then the capital gains are paid. When capital gains are realized inverses can control, but dividend payments are un controllable by them and the related company controls the dividend payment. In an estate situation, capital gains are not realized. For example: If a stock is purchased by an investor 50 years ago and is held by him until his or her death, when it is passed on to an heir after he is expired. Now that heir does not have to pay taxes on stocks appreciation. 2.6 Life Cycle Theory Life Cycle Theory and Fama and French (2001) states that the firms should follow a life cycle and reflect managements assessment of the importance of market imperfection and factors including taxes to equity holders, agency cost asymmetric information, floating cost and transaction costs. 2.7 Catering theory According to Baker and Wurgler (2004) in Catering theory suggest that the managers in order to give incentives to the investor according to their needs and wants and in this way cater the investors by paying smooth dividends when the investors by not pay when investors prefer non payers but put stock price premium on payers. 2.8 Lintners Model John Lintner (1956) initiates with his theory relies on two important things that he studied about dividend policy: 1) According to the amount of positive net-present-value (NPV) projects the companies tend to set long-run target dividends-to-earnings ratios. 2) Earnings increases are not always bearable. As a result, until managers can see that new earnings levels are bearable, dividend policy is not changed As regards the empirical literature the roots of the literature on determinants of dividend Policy is related to Lintner (1956) seminal work after this work the model is extended by The Samy ben naceur, Mohamed goaied and Amel belanesthe (2006) during the period (1996à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"2002) on the Tunisian Stock Exchange listed study the dividend policy of 48 firms. Lintners model is applied using static and dynamic panel data regressions. They examined that Tunisian firms rely more on current earnings that past dividends to fix their dividend payments in the way that dividends tend to be more sensitive to current earnings rather than prior dividends. Any inconsistency in the level of dividends is directly reflected in the earnings of the corporation. Samy ben naceur, Mohamed Goaied and Amel belanesthe (2006) focused on the relationship between dividend and ownership, liquidity, return on assets (ROA), profitability, investment, leverage ratio, size. The results indicate that highly profitable firms with more stable earnings can afford larger free cash flows and thus pay out larger dividends. Moreover, fast-growing firms distribute larger dividends so as to demand to investors. On the other hand, ownership concentration does not have any impact on dividend payment. In fact, being closely held Tunisian firms witness less agency conflicts and shareholders do not resort to dividends in order to reduce managerial discretion and protect their interests. The liquidity of the stock market has a negative influence, which confirms that the implementation of the electronic transaction system in the TSE has facilitated the realization of capital gains, which has reduced the need for dividend payments. At last, the negative coefficient on siz e found in the full sample has disappeared when regulated firms are excluded, which reduces the strength of this factor. Researchers have proposed many different theories about the factors that affect a firms dividend policy. Kanwal Anil and Sujata Kapoor (2008) analyzed that The Determinants of Dividend Payout Ratio-A Study of Indian Information Technology Sector. The period under study is 2000-2006 as it is known that the period of 5 to 6 years covers both recession and booming of IT industry. They stated that profitability has always been considered as a primary indicator of dividend payout ratio. There are numerous other factors other than profitability also that affect dividend decisions of an organization namely cash flows, corporate tax, sales growth and market to book value ratio. They suggest that dividend payout ratio is positively related to profits, cash flows and it has inverse relationship with corporate taxes, sales growth and market to book value ratio. Statistical techniques of correlation and regression have been used to explore the relationship between key Variables. Thus, the main theme of this study is to recognize the various condition that effect the decision of dividend payout poli cy of IT firms in India. In short factors influencing the corporate dividend policy, according to them, may substantially vary from country to country because of inconsistency or variations in legal, tax and accounting policy between countries. In view of these facts, the present study aims at identifying the variables influencing corporate dividend policy in Pakistan. CHAPTER III DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Objective of this study is to determine factors that have an impact on dividend of Oil Gas Exploration and Oil Gas Marketing sector of KSE. Dividend yield is dependent variable and the three independent variable are size, profitability and growth. These variables are discussed here. 3.1 Dividend yield (DY) Arthur A Thompson in his book Crafting and Executing Strategy says that the measure of the return that shareholder receives in the form of dividend is called dividend yield (DY). A typical dividend yield is 2 -3%, the dividend yield for fast growth companies in often below 1%(may be even 0) and the dividend yield for slow-growth companies can run 4-5%. Dividend yield can measure by annual dividend per share divided by current market price per share. Samy ben naceur et el(2006)The DY (dividend yield ) as our measure of the dependent variable equals to dividend per share to price per share, payout ratio cannot be used as a measure of dependent variable because sample contains firms with negative earnings. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) and Hafeez et el (2009) also used dividend yield (DY) as the dependent variable. CHAPTER IV EXPLANATORY VARIABLES This thesis selected 3 variables used by different researchers Samy ben naceur et el (2006) and Hafeez et el (2009). 4.1 Firm Size Hafeez et el (2009) The firm size has been calculated as the total assets of the firm because a posiyive coefficient is expected from this variable as there is a very low chance of bankruptcy in large more diversified firms and it can sustain higher level of debt. Scott and martin (1975) found that the size of the firm is very important factor which can affect the firms dividend policy and debt policy. A negative impact has been found by market capitalization and size of the firms on dividend payout policy which clearly shows that the firms prefer to invest in their assets rather than pay dividends to its shareholders. The financial characteristic of size has been explained by Market capitalization and the size of the firm. According to the null hypothesis for this financial characteristic there is no relation between the market capitalization and size with dividend payout ratio but the results show that there is a inverse and significant relationship between dividend payout and MV.Hence null hypothesis is rejected. The evidence supported by the finding of Belans et al (2007), Jeong (2008) deviate from Avazian et al (2006). Samy ben naceur et el (2006) the size of the firm by total market value (LNSIZE) and it is expected to be positively correlated with dividend paid. The literature suggests that size may be inversely related to the probability of bankruptcy (Ferri and Jones 1979; Titman and Wessels 1988; Rajan and Zingales 1995). In particular, larger firms should have an easier access to external capital markets and can borrow on better terms, Moreover, larger firms tend to be more diversified and their cash flows are more regular and less volatile. Thus, larger firms should be more willing to pay out higher dividends. Even the conflicts between creditors and shareholders are more severe for smaller firms than the larger ones. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) they measure size of the firm from Log of sales. Firms dividend policy is influenced by variables such as size. There is an advantageous position for larger firms to raise external funds in the capital markets and are less dependent of internal funds. Therefore there is a negative relationship between dependence on internal financing and the size of the firm. Moreover, there is a chance of lower bankruptcy probabilities in larger firms and thus they are able to pay more dividends. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H1= Firm size is positively associated with dividend payouts. 4.2 Firm profitability Empirical research found that there is a positive relationship between dividend yield and profitability. The more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and thus are able to afford larger dividends. Some of them are as follow. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) measured profitability by earnings before interest and taxes to total assets as our surrogate for profitability. Hence a positive relationship between profitability and dividend is expected. Since the annual profits pay the dividends therefore its logical that more dividends are paid by profitable firms. Samy ben naceuret et el (2006) measure the profitability by the return on assets (ROA) net income/total assets and it is positively correlated with dividend payments. Firms with high profitability can afford larger free cash flows and hence new investment opportunities. Therefore, paying higher dividends does not disturb them. In the same vein and according to the pecking order theory, firms prefer using internal sources of financing first, then debt and finally external equity obtained by stock issues. The more profitable the firms are, the more internal financing they will have, and thus are able to afford larger dividends. Hafeez et el (2009) measured Profitability Net Earnings and Earning Per Share after tax. The net earnings show the positive relationship with the dividend yield. The net earnings after interest, depreciation and after tax have been used as the explanatory variable to examine the role of earnings to pay dividends. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H2= There is a positive relationship between a firms profitability and dividend payouts. 4.3 Firm Growth Samy ben naceur et el (2006) measure investment and growth by MBV (market value of equity/ book value of equity) and annual rate of growth of total assets. Firms anticipate higher growth, when they establish lower dividend payout ratio because growth entails higher investment expenditures. When firms retain higher proportion of earning to finance future investment need due to high cost of external financing, their dividend pay out in anticipation of future growth stands reduced. Hence, a negative relationship between dividend payout and expected growth is expected. Khamis Al-Yahyaee et el (2006) measure the growth opportunities through market-to-book ratio. A negative relationship is expected between growth opportunities and dividend. Large additions of capital are required by the firms experiencing substantial success and rapid growth. Consequently, lower dividend payout policies are expected by growth firms. Similarly, the pecking order theory predicts that more earnings are retained by the firms having a high proportion of market value followed by growth opportunities hence they are able to minimize the need to raise new equity capital. Free cash flow theory also predicts that their will be a lower free cash flow and lower dividend is paid by the firms with high growth opportunities. On the other hand Hafeez et el (2009) argued with the above researcher. According to the signaling theory the higher the firm grows, the higher they pay dividends to shareholders. The shareholders get signals from the growth of the firms having high growth opportunity. The sales growth has been used as proxy of Growth in the empirical analysis of the study and has been used as percent age change in sales annually as proxy of the growth. Whereas Kanwal Anil et el (2008), measured growth and investment by sales growth and MTBV. Hafeez Ahmed et el (2009) measures investment as SLACK = accumulated retained earnings/ total asset. Thus as per this research the hypothesis is H3= Firm growth is negatively associated with dividend payouts. Table 1 Summary of Proxy Variables and Research Hypotheses H1: Size MCAP = market capitalization Positive H2: Profitability ROA= net income/total assets Positive H3: Growth GROWTH = sales growth Negative CHAPTER V METHODOLOGY DATA COLLECTION METHOD The data is collected from Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan and the Karachi Stock Exchange. The variables of the study are calculated from the Audited Annual Accounts of 6 firms for the period of 2001 to 2008 resulting in about 240 observations for each variable and as such it is a long period enough to smooth out variable fluctuations. (Rozeff, 1982) SAMPLE Sample Size consists of six companies from oil and gas exploration and marketing sectors in Pakistan, listed on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Total of six companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). Data collected from year 2001 to year 2008. STATISTICAL TEST Linear Regression test was performed to analyze data. Dividend yield is a dependent variable and growth, size and profitability are taken as independent variable. REGRESSION MODEL This study uses multiple regression analysis. This thesis estimate that Y= X0 + X1 + X2 + X3 + e Y = Dividend yield. X0 = Intercept of the equation. X1 = Firm size. X2 = Firm profitability. X3 = Firm sale growth. e = Error Term. CHAPTER VI DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Table 2 MODEL R SQUARE F Sig. 1 .223 3.917 .015(a) Table 2 above shows F Ratio for the regression model is significant which indicates that regression model is a best fit. Total variation in the dependent variable explained by the regression model as indicated by R square is .223 i.e. 22.3% change in dividend yield is explained by these three independent variables. Table3 UNSTANDARDIZED COEFFICIENT STANDARDISECOEFFICIENT t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 0.066 0.011    5.826 0 Size -1.10E-06 0 -0.503 -2.879 0.006* Profitability 0.16 0.094 0.269 1.709 0.095** Sale growth 2.17E-07 0 0.484 3.038 0.004* *Significant at 1% **Significant at 10% Table 3 reports the ordinary least square results of the regression analysis. Results indicate that size of the firm is significant as shown in table 3 and shows that size is negatively correlated with dividend at 1% .As researcher taken in its own hypothesis that the size will present positive relation but its coefficient is negative which rejects researcher hypothesis. Since the size is also statistically significant but the hypothesis for this thesis shows that the growth is negatively related to dividend hence this hypothesis rejected. Some researcher result find out size as positive. Fama and French (2000 and 2001) concluded that more dividends are payable by large and more profitable firms. Lloyd and Jahera (1995 cited on holder 1998) concluded that those larger firms have easier access to capital markets which are more mature hence allowing for higher dividend pay-out ratios and reducing their dependence on internally generated funding. Aneel Kanwer (2002) measured size with total sale and researcher find out that size is positive related to dividend yields. Smaller company gives lower dividend as compared to larger company. Oskar kowalewki et el (2007) made a research in Poland and they measured size with total assets .they find out that size is positively related to dividends because more dividends are paid by companies which are larger in asset and size.. Some researcher result find out size as negative .The result of the research by Hafeez Ahmed et el (2009) on KSE (non financial firms) is similar to this thesis result. they measure size with natural logarithm of total assets This results indicates that the size of the firms have the negative impact on dividend payout policy which shows that the firms prefer to invest in their assets rather than pay dividends to their shareholders .. Samy Bin Naem et el (2006) made their research on the firms of the Tunisian Stock Market and They measured the size with logarithm of stock market capitalization. They concluded that there is a negative relationship between size and dividend, but the negative relationship disappeared when regulated firms are removed. Since the result of the researcher Fama and French (2000 and 2001) , Lloyd and

Privacy and The Internet: Life of Others Essay -- The Internet

As the explosion of internet social media based companies has grown the issue of privacy has been at the forefront of many people’s mind. Privately held information can easily become available to people and be negatively used due to the digital age we are in today. Two of the leading companies in social media are Google and Facebook. This case study analysis explores both Google and Facebook’s privacy policies and issue that has stemmed from it. Google and Facebook recently have taken a lot of backlash from people and governments regarding the way they handle the information they have gathered from the consumers that use their products. Facebook in 2009 was in a dispute with the Canadian government over the use of the data collected and struck a deal with the Canadian government to change their policies. Google also has been faced with criticism that it recorded personal communication sent over unsecured in home Wi Fi networks. German federal commission called for independent investigation of Google’s practices. While both companies are getting more popular by day there is a growing concern and outcry to not use its services. Websites such as QuiteFacebookday.com is now advocating users to abandon Facebook. European leaders and American groups have voiced concerns over the privacy setting within the systems. Electronic Privacy Information Center has asked America’s Federal Trade Commission to see if Faceb ook’s approach to privacy violates the consumer protection laws. In response both Facebook and Google has changed the privacy policies. Google has even came and said that it has the most consumer centric privacy policy among all of the other online services. The privacy policy goes well beyond the social network and s... ...sed earlier in this case study, leaders within the company has make conscious effort to make the consumer’s information protected. (Hunter, 2004, p. 60) Leadership requires that we develop the essential life skills of delaying gratification and being patient, trusting in the law of the harvest and having faith that if we do our part the fruit will come. If consumer confidence in the company deteriorates then more regulations will be put in place to regulate the industry which could cause issues on its own. References Hunter, J. C. (2004). The World's most Powerful Leadership Principle (Sixth ed., p. 60). New York, NY: Crown Business. JESSICA, SILVER-GREENBERG, & SCHWARTZ, NELSON D. (n.d.). MasterCard and Visa investigate data breach. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/business/mastercard-and-visa-look-into-possible-attack.html?_r=1 Privacy and The Internet: Life of Others Essay -- The Internet As the explosion of internet social media based companies has grown the issue of privacy has been at the forefront of many people’s mind. Privately held information can easily become available to people and be negatively used due to the digital age we are in today. Two of the leading companies in social media are Google and Facebook. This case study analysis explores both Google and Facebook’s privacy policies and issue that has stemmed from it. Google and Facebook recently have taken a lot of backlash from people and governments regarding the way they handle the information they have gathered from the consumers that use their products. Facebook in 2009 was in a dispute with the Canadian government over the use of the data collected and struck a deal with the Canadian government to change their policies. Google also has been faced with criticism that it recorded personal communication sent over unsecured in home Wi Fi networks. German federal commission called for independent investigation of Google’s practices. While both companies are getting more popular by day there is a growing concern and outcry to not use its services. Websites such as QuiteFacebookday.com is now advocating users to abandon Facebook. European leaders and American groups have voiced concerns over the privacy setting within the systems. Electronic Privacy Information Center has asked America’s Federal Trade Commission to see if Faceb ook’s approach to privacy violates the consumer protection laws. In response both Facebook and Google has changed the privacy policies. Google has even came and said that it has the most consumer centric privacy policy among all of the other online services. The privacy policy goes well beyond the social network and s... ...sed earlier in this case study, leaders within the company has make conscious effort to make the consumer’s information protected. (Hunter, 2004, p. 60) Leadership requires that we develop the essential life skills of delaying gratification and being patient, trusting in the law of the harvest and having faith that if we do our part the fruit will come. If consumer confidence in the company deteriorates then more regulations will be put in place to regulate the industry which could cause issues on its own. References Hunter, J. C. (2004). The World's most Powerful Leadership Principle (Sixth ed., p. 60). New York, NY: Crown Business. JESSICA, SILVER-GREENBERG, & SCHWARTZ, NELSON D. (n.d.). MasterCard and Visa investigate data breach. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/business/mastercard-and-visa-look-into-possible-attack.html?_r=1

Essay --

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. â€Å"Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.† Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes† (NAMI). As stated by NIHM, the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 1 in every 100 people in the general population. Ten percent of the people who have first degree family members with the disorder, such as a brother, sister, or parent, also have schizophrenia. A longitudinal incidence study was conducted in the Netherlands to further study prevalence over 10 years of the general population. According to (ANNUAL INCIDENCE GALILEO), the incidence rate of schizophrenia was 12/100,000 per year. The study found that incidence rates were higher in men than in women. The results also showed that there was a peak in incidence rates between the ages of 15 and 25 with a decrease by 40% after 25 per ten years. The results also indicated that the incidence rate was higher in urban area, but found no association between incidence rates and living in deprived areas. â€Å"Although presumed to be relatively infrequent in presentation, the existence of late onset schizophrenia is now recognized by the Int ernational Consensus on Late Onset and Very Late Onset Schizophrenia Group. LOS patients tend to experience more positive and fewer negative symptoms.† (LATE ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA). The etiology of schizophrenia would the diathesis-stress model, involving both hereditary and environment... ...esn’t move or respond to others. â€Å"Catatonia is rare today, but it was more common when treatment was not available† (NIHM). â€Å"Negative symptoms refer to the absence of normal behaviors found in functional humans† (HELP GUIDE). Stated by the NIHM, negative symptoms may be harder to recognize and can be mistaken for depression. Some examples could be the flat affect, where a person’s face does not move and talk in a monotonous voice, lack of pleasure, lack of ability to start and sustain activities, and little verbal communication. One category of negative symptoms includes cognitive symptoms. Cognitive symptoms can include poor executive functioning, trouble focusing, and problems with working memory. Other than symptoms, there are also types of schizophrenia, three to be exact. There is paranoid schizophrenia, disorganized schizophrenia, and catatonic schizophrenia.

Is Capital Punishment Necessary? Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Top

Is Capital Punishment Necessary? In 1980 Clarence Brandly, a black high school janitor, and his white co-worker found the body of a white female student. As the police interrogated them, the officers told them, "One of you is going to hang for this." As he was looking at Brandly, the officer said, "Since you're the nigger, you're elected." Brandly was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. The evidence against him was weak and the police disregarded other leads. In 1986, a volunteer group devoted to freeing wrongly convicted prisoners came to Brandly's assistance. Meanwhile evidence surfaced that another man had committed the crime that Brandly was convicted for. He wasn't released until 1990 (http://www.aclu.org/library/case_against_death.html/#eight). The death penalty is one of the most controversial topics in the world. The numbers of people who support the death penalty is diminishing for many reasons. The leading reason: discrimination. Punishment is only effective if it is constantly enforced, and capital punishment can't be enforced all the time. Third, people who commit crimes of personal violence may or may not premeditate the crime. Also, severe punishment can discourage crime, but is death better than life-long incarceration? Lastly, death is irreversible. Since 1990, in the United States, there has been an average of more than four cases each year in which an entirely innocent person was convicted of murder and sentenced to death (http://www.acle.org/library/case_against_death.html/#eight). The American public support of the death penalty is declining. Actually, the United States is the only Western industrialized country where people are still being executed.... ...ecuted. Is the death penalty really necessary? With the death penalty, there is a chance of executing an innocent person. The crime committed is not always thought out. Additionally, long-term imprisonment is enough to discourage some crime. Plus, there is no way to enforce the death penalty immediately and consistently. There is much discrimination in the court systems in the past and today. Also, the public support of the death penalty is decreasing. With all of these reasons it will make one wonder if the death penalty is needed in our society. Jesus rejected violence. His life and teachings invited people to a new style of living. Intimacy and trust, compassion and forgiveness, concern for justice and nonviolence were key aspects of this new life (http://americancatholic.org/newsletters/AFA/an1000.asp). Why can't we live like this instead?

Marines of Montford Point Essay

The book I chose to do my book report on is the marines of montford point. This is a true story of the marines of montford point, North Carolina. The first African American segment of the United States marine corps. In this book we find out the struggles they went threw because of the racial barrier as well as the political implications that were going on at the time. This was a very inspiring book and it reminds people of the cost of freedom. Nothing was easy for the black marines. All of the other service branches had allowed African Americans to serve in their ranks. In 1941 president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that prevented government agencies from refusing to hire Americans based on race, creed, or color. In 1942 recruitment activity began for the first African American marines as did the construction of their new base montford point. After seven years an order that ended discrimination in the military was signed. The black marines could finally join the white soldiers in Paris island and camp Pendleton. The story starts off talking about major general Thomas issuing an order to the marine corps recruiting districts of south to recruit over 400 African American soldiers. The men were restricted in all aspects of their lives from finding a sandwich when they arrived at Montford Point to finding a toilet when they had work detail at the all-white Camp Lejeune. George These black marines Couldn’t even get a hamburger in town. It was horrible down there. It says at bus bus station, there was a chain separating the blacks from the whites. One of the black marines mentions how prisoners of war had more privileges then they ever had. This Is More than a history book, The book gave face to face narratives with the black marines so the author had to do alot of studying of the journals, records, he had to find each man who was alive and get the story in their point of view. Most of the Montford Point Marines wanted to see combat, but they were largely disappointed since most of the black Marines served in auxiliary units and had clean-up detail after the Pacific islands were secured by white Marines. However, men in the ammunition and depot companies saw combat during the amphibious landings on the beaches of Iwo Jima, Saipan, Pelelui and Okinawa. From these experiences, the Montford Point Marines earned the respect of their white counterparts, in spite of the general notion at the time that blacks weren’t ready for combat. Even the fact that black Marines were present at the landing on Iwo Jima was suppressed. Steven Robinson comments on how the camera crews turned away when they saw black Marines. He also said we were fighting the war to liberate people who had more liberty than we had. † 60 veterans were interviewed threw out this story , so the author gets all of the experiences in their own words. we learn about their reasons for enlisting; their arrival at Montford Point and the training they received there; their lives in a segregated military. A very great bio of one of the characters was the one of Herman Darden Jr. He begins to talk about the reputation of the marines at the time which was marines were rough and ready to go. He then talks about his reason for joining which was â€Å"because marines are supposed to be the first to battle and the first ones home, so I don’t want to stay out that long†. Even though the racial barrier between the blacks and whites was big alot of these black men still found it in them to join the marines and fight with honor. Whether it was because they got drafted or because they had nothing else in life these men fought for their freedom and respect, which was eventually gained. The marines of montford point a true story of the marines of montford point, North Carolina. The first African American segment of the United States marine corps. In this book we find out the struggles they went threw because of the racial barrier as well as the political implications that were going on at the time. This was a very inspiring book and it reminds people of the cost of freedom.

Is Routine Circumcision of Infants Ethical?

History of Circumcision: Reviewing the history of circumcision and the many misguided reasons for its practice will help form an understanding of the multifaceted issues concerning routine infant circumcision. Some of the earliest evidence of male circumcision comes from Egypt around the year 3000 BC. However, researchers studying this practice do not understand or agree on its purpose. Some researches believe that circumcision was a form of branding for slaves while others thought it to be from the priestly class as a form of religious ritual. But when is more pertinent to this argument is that the early Greeks and Romans outlawed male circumcision believing it to be a barbaric form of mutilation of male genitalia. The first documented purpose for circumcision is in the Old Testament Scriptures (Gen 17:10) concerning the covenant between Abraham and God, representative of the relationship between Israel and Yahweh. According to the governing doctrinal resource for Catholics worldwide, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the explanation for Old Testament circumcision is in section 1150. 1150 – †¦Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. The Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant. † The circumcision of Jesus in the New Testament explains that when Jesus came, as the fulfillment of prophecy that the new covenant manifested through th e innocent blood of Jesus replaces once and for all the old covenant through Father Abraham. There is no longer a need for animal sacrifices and the early Christian community determined that baptism was to be the new sign of the covenant. â€Å"527- Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth, is the sign of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law and his deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign prefigures that â€Å"circumcision of Christ† which is Baptism. Routine infant circumcision in the United States became prevalent in the Victorian age (1840) and reached its height during the Cold War (1940) when technology, hospitals, and modern medicine sought to institutionalize the birthing process. Including more than 90% of boys, infant circumcisions became so routine that doctors performed the procedure without actually receiving consent from the parents. Parents not desiring the process for their sons were considered negligen t. Given the history and the misguided reasons for practicing routine circumcision, â€Å"Why would a parent authorize, a doctor perform, or an insurance company pay for, the routine circumcision of infants? † A. Health Reasons- certainly it would be ethical to surgically remove the penis foreskin of a male infant if in some way it presented a health risk; there is no real argument here. B. Tradition-for generations, infants have undergone various procedures under the reasoning of â€Å"tradition. From binding feet in Japan (which has been banned) to piercing ears, and stretching necks, tradition plays a large part in the decision for circumcision. Many men, who like their own fathers were circumcised as infants, think that their child in turn might as well be circumcised too. However, is there any real thinking going on here at all? I argue that just because everyone else jumps off a bridge, is that any reason for you to jump off as well. Religious Beliefs- I would have to say yes, it is ethical to have a child circumcised if you are following a true religious belief. The parent who has legal authority over their child may choose (and in fact is morally obligated to choose) to do what they believe is in the best interest of the child. Therefore, for the Jews who believe that the outward sign of circumcision establishes their child in a covenantal relationship with God; they are well within their ethical right and responsibility to have their sons circumcised. Freedom of religion is one of the building blocks of our free nation. Circumcision mentality: Today thanks in part to our mass media; modern society is ruled by prevailing mentalities. These pervasive mindsets allure us to what appears to be the benefits of circumcision, while completely obscuring any possible negative ramifications. The mentality is permeated into societal norms, which are almost impossible to resist, and are most difficult to correct. An accepted societal mentality is further driven by force of habit. Among other things, we live in a society that assumes that a male infant in the United States is routinely circumcised. Seldom are discussions of the pros and cons of the procedure brought to the attention of the parent, unless the parent specifically requests it. Even then, the doctor may say, â€Å"It is not medically necessary but if the boys father has been circumcised, then you should probably have your son circumcised as well†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦or â€Å"you wouldn’t want him to look different than his friends when he becomes a high school student in the locker room. † Medical Ethics: When looking into medical ethics, the Oath of Hippocrates standard for medical professionals since 400 BCE shed some additional light onto the situation. From the Oath: â€Å"I do solemnly swear by whatever I hold most sacred, that I will be loyal to the profession of medicine†¦that I will exercise my art, solely for the cure of my patients and the prevention of disease†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Therefore, considering the Hippocrates oath, a routine circumcision of an infant male does not fall into the category of â€Å"†¦curing a patient, and the preventing of disease†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Why then would doctors perform such an unnecessary procedure Catholic Theological Ethics: As a student of Theology, from a Roman Catholic perspective I have yet to hear a discussion concerning the morality of circumcision. However after researching the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) under the subtitle â€Å"Mutilation of body parts† section 2297 reads, â€Å"Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law. † VI. Personal Ethics: Each parent possesses the God given right to make certain decisions on behalf of their young children who cannot make these decisions themselves. A good example is immunizations; no infant has the capability to make this decision, so the parent, in the child’s best interest makes the decision to have the child immunized. I am a mother of four sons, born in the years 1983, 1985, 1991 and 1992. Although the father of the boys was circumcised however, none of our boys is circumcised. To this day, none of them has ever had trouble of any kind, nor has it been an issue in the locker room. The decision to leave the boys as they were born, uncircumcised, was based on the fact that it was not a medical necessity, that anesthetic was not used (they had just been traumatized in birth), and that there was a possibility of complications from the procedure. Parents need to take a more proactive stance in researching the pros and cons of the procedure, and should spend at least as much time and energy on this decision as they do in picking out a new car! VII. Objective – If the objective of the National Organization of Circumcision of Infants Resource Center is to reduce the number of routine circumcisions performed, I believe that to pursue this objective through legal channels alone would be fruitless. Big government has more than enough authority in dictating to families what they can and cannot do for their children. Your best bet would be to lobby the insurance companies. Perhaps you could demand coverage for an elective surgical procedure such as having your breasts enlarged and when they tell you no that it is just a cosmetic or optional procedure, sue them for discriminatory practices. The last thing an insurance company wants is a class action lawsuit. It would be simple for them to simply take routine infant circumcisions off their list of covered procedures. In addition, a non-covered expense for an unnecessary procedure may prompt parents to give this issue closer consideration. D. Moral Law: Next, one must consider which law is the governing authority in your life. The Moral Law operates under a set of religious beliefs. Found within the moral law are the Jewish Law, and the Christian Law (for the sake of brevity we will not mention other religious groups here). The Jewish Law of Circumcision establishes a covenant between God and Abraham (Gen 17:10), representative of Yahweh and Israel. The Christian Law comes into effect with the birth of Jesus. Jesus becomes the new sign of the covenant, with the Baptism of infants as the effective cause. Concerning Civil Law under which all persons are bound; it has little criteria for establishing ethical arguments. One may ask questions of the law: if allowing an un-anaesthetized circumcision is lawful, and what recourse would a child have if the procedure causes permanent damage to the male organ but these are considered civil, not ethical. Additionally, why would an insurance company pay for such an unnecessary procedure (when so many don’t pay for many true necessities)? Perhaps it should be regarded as â€Å"elective surgery† and therefore it would be a charge paid for entirely by the parent requesting the procedure, not as an â€Å"ordinary and customary† procedure paid for by the insurance companies. However, the Hebrew people alone practiced the circumcision of infants on the 8th day after birth. The child’s father, using a flint knife, preformed circumcision