Validity and Reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire

52 SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 Validity and reliability of the job content questionnaire in formal and informal jobs in Brazil by Tania Maria de Araujo, PhD,1 Robert Karasek, PhD 2 de Araujo TM, Karasek R. Validity and reliability of the job content questionnaire in formal and informal jobs in Brazil. SJWEH Suppl. 2008;(6):52–59. Objectives This study evaluated the job content questionnaire (JCQ) in measuring work psychology aspects with respect to formal and informal jobs in Brazilian occupational groups.Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out in a random sample of 1311 ? 15-year-old residents in the urban area of the city of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. The Portuguese JCQ version included the recommended 49-item of the original version. The JCQ performance evaluation included descriptive analysis, discriminant analysis, internal consistency, and construct validity. Results Averages of the JCQ scales were similar for the formal and informal workers, except for decision authority (formal job: c=31. ; informal jobs: c=34. 5). The averages of the Portuguese JCQ scales did not differ substantially from those obtained in other European, North American, and Japanese studies, albeit they were slightly lower in the Brazilian case. In general, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients revealed performance similar to other large-sample studies, showing acceptable internal consistency. The coefficients were relatively similar for formal and informal jobs. Factor analysis revealed high consistency with the theoretical model.Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate JCQ performance comparing formal and informal jobs in a developing country. The job content questionnaire presented a good global performance, and it did not differ substantially from those observed in other studies. These findings suggest that the job content questionnaire can be used in studies carried out in developing countries and in situations in which informal jobs are common. Key terms de cision latitude; demand–control model; occupational stress; psychological demand; psychological distress. Health Department, State University of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. 2 Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. Reprint requests to: Dr TM de Araujo, KM 03, BR 116 Campus Universitario, Feira de Santana, BA, Brazil, 40110 180. [E-mail: araujo. [email  protected] br ] There is a significant amount of scientific literature on the psychosocial aspects of work in developed countries. However, research addressing the measurement of these aspects in developing countries is recent and scarce.In developing countries, work organization aspects are usually considered to be a less relevant problem than other crucial problems, such as unemployment, accidents, and other occupational hazards that threaten life and put worker’s physical health at risk. Moreover, there is an assumption that instruments used t o measure psychosocial aspects in developed countries are not applicable in developing countries because of different cultural contexts. However, these arguments have been criticized because f, at least, the following three factors: (i) the globalization process—many multinational companies have been operating in developing countries under job standards and technologies that are similar to those used in developed countries (1), (ii) social and economic structural heterogeneity in developing societies—which include, in the same region, areas with a high level of development (industrialized areas) and very poor areas, and (iii) the increasing rates of occupational diseases and disabilities related to work organization conditions shown by some developing countries.These three processes, acting together, reveal that psychosocial aspects at work are a relevant problem in different social and economic contexts. The impacts on mental and physical health are already visible in developing contexts (2, 3), and they indicate the importance of investigating work psychology aspects in both developed and developing countries. Some models have aimed at evaluating psychosocial characteristics at work and their effects on worker health.The demand–control model has worldwide use and is a strong influence on this research field (4, 5). It focuses on two crucial work dimensions, decision latitude and psychological demands. Decision latitude SJWEH Suppl 2008;(6):52–59 SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 53 de Araujo & Karasek refers to the ability to make decisions about one’s work and the possibility of being creative and using or developing new skills. It includes two dimensions, skill discretion (opportunity to use skills) and decision authority (opportunity to make decisions).Psychological demand refers to workload, mental requirements, organizational constraints put on the worker, and conflicting demands. The job content questionnaire (JCQ) is a standard ized instrument proposed to measure the dimensions of the demand–control model (6). In the last two decades, the job content questionnaire has been intensively used in developed countries, and its performance has been tested in populations from these countries (7–15). However, performance on the job content questionnaire in developing countries remains a less studied issue.In our literature review we identified only three studies conducted in â€Å"developing† countries to evaluate performance on the job content questionnaire, carried out in Mexico (16), Taiwan (17) and China (18). Specific occupational groups were studied: in Taiwan, workers from four companies, including men and women; in Mexico only women from two maquiladora microelectronic plants; in China, male and female health care workers. In Brazil, the Swedish version of the job content questionnaire (17 questions) was tested in a sample of the technical and administrative staff of a Brazilian univers ity.The global performance of the scales for decision latitude, psychological demand, and social support was good (3). The main objective of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the job content questionnaire in measuring work psychosocial characteristics for workers in formal and informal jobs in Brazil. Study population and methods Study design A cross-sectional study was carried out in a random sample of workers 15 years or older from the city of Feira de Santana in 2002.It is the second largest city in the State of Bahia, in the northeast region of Brazil, with around half a million inhabitants. Definition of formal and informal jobs In Brazil, the Labor Ministry has adopted an instrument to define formal and informal jobs: the Job Card (â€Å"Carteira de Trabalho†). This card establishes the job contract between employees and employers. It is regulated by national laws and provides all kinds of benefits, including placing the worker in a social securit y system. The job card establishes a formal job for the worker.Informal jobs are not regulated by law; there is no social security system, nor any other kind of social or economic rights. Among different kinds of informal jobs, selling products in the street is the most common type. Another type that has increased, as a result of the unemployment situation, is the family store (stores that are constructed in the living room of a person’s own home). Study population The study areas were selected using random procedures, based on population data from the national census.The sampling procedures were conducted using the following steps: (i) selection of the sectors within each subdistrict, by a random procedure, (ii) random selection of streets within each selected sector, (iii) visitation of all houses on the selected streets, and (iv) interview of all people 15 years or older by well-trained interviewers using standard procedures. The use of a field manual helped to standardize procedures in the interview and avoid biases in the data collection. Up to three visits were made to a person’s residence, in an effort to perform an interview.We visited 1479 residences and interviewed 3190 people. To evaluate JCQ performance, we analyzed information only from people who were working at the time of the interview. Altogether 1311 workers were included in this study. Sixty-six percent of the target population worked in an informal job. The percentage of formal and informal jobs was similar according to gender (49. 1% for the women and 50. 4% for the men). No relevant differences were found across the age groups in the informal jobs.However, in the formal jobs, the proportion of workers increased from the beginning of worklife to the middle of it, but it decreased sharply after 40 years of age (from 46. 7% among the workers 26–34 years of age to 25. 5% among the workers ? 41 years of age). The workers in formal jobs had a higher education than those in informal jobs. Workers at the graduate level were 3. 1 times more likely to be in formal jobs than in informal jobs. Commercial activity (retail sales) employed the highest number of workers (38. 8%), followed by services in general (27. %), private household services (11. 2%), education (6. 9%), manufacturing (6. 6%), transportation (4. 3%), and construction (4. 1%). The composition according to formal and informal jobs showed clear job insecurity in some specific sectors. Among the workers employed in the construction sector, 87. 0% had an informal job; for private household services the proportion was 86. 5%; and it was 70% for commercial activity, 64. 2% for transportation workers, and 62% for the workers in general services. On the other hand, 67. % of the people working in education and 57. 1% of those in manufacturing had formal jobs. 54 SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 Job content questionnaire in jobs in Brazil Considering the place where people worked, we observed more variety for i nformal jobs. The highest proportion of informal workers was found for working on the street (23. 6%), followed by company (22. 8%), another person’s home (20. 8%), and in their own house (18. 3%). Among the formal workers, 66. 8% worked in companies (private enterprise), and 21. 9% were employed in public buildings.Portuguese translation process for the job content questionnaire The translation process took into account aspects like conceptual equivalence, item equivalence, semantic equivalence, operational equivalence, measurement equivalence, and functional equivalence (19) . The recommended procedures to build a cross-cultural translation of the job content questionnaire were followed. First, the questionnaire was translated independently into Portuguese by two Brazilian translators. Specific instructions were clarified to guide the translation process.According to these instructions, the emphasis in the translation was given to the meaning of the terms rather than to lit eral translation, reinforcing the item meaning in the Brazilian occupational context. The translation, produced in this first step, was discussed in meetings with the research team and translators until a consensual version was drawn up. This consensual Portuguese version was translated back into English (back translation) by two other translators, who were native English speakers and also fluent in Portuguese. The Portuguese version of the job content questionnaire and the back translation ere sent to the JCQ Center to be evaluated by the Center researchers. After this evaluation, some modifications were suggested for the first translation, and they were promptly accounted for. A pretest was conducted to test the clarity of question formulation, problems found in answering specific questions, and conceptual equivalence between both languages (English and Portuguese). Based on the pretest results, a new version was clarified (including a new back translation). The JCQ Center approve d the final version in December 2001. Scales and subscales of the job content questionnaireThe Portuguese version of the job content questionnaire included the following recommended format (6): 49 questions (scales of decision latitude—skill discretion and decision authority, psychological demand, physical demand, social support—supervisor and coworker support, and job insecurity). In order to build indicators, for each scale of the questionnaire, a sum of the weighted item score was calculated according to the user’s guide of the job content questionnaire (6). Statistical analysis All of the analyses were conducted separately for the formal and informal workers.Mean values and standard deviations were calculated for each scale and subscale. The performance analysis included a discriminant analysis, internal consistency (reliability indicators), and construct validity (factor analysis). Discriminant analysis. This study included workers from different job sector s. Discriminant validity was analyzed by comparing the means of the scales and subscales of the job content questionnaires gathered from workers in each sector. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare the observed differences. Internal consistency.Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to assess the internal consistency or homogeneity of the questions aimed at measuring the same construct. Alpha values above 0. 65 were considered acceptable (12, 14). Construct validity (factor analysis). The analysis was developed in three steps. First, an exploratory analysis using a correlation matrix for all of the variables was computed. In the second step, a principal component method was used to extract the factors (eigenvalues ? 1 criterion). A rotation varimax (orthogonal) was conducted to make the factors more interpretable (20).Factors loading values of >40 were considered indicators of significant factorial contribution (10). Measurement of mental health outco me. To evaluate performance on the job content questionnaire in identifying work conditions involving a risk to mental health, we evaluated the prevalence of psychological distress according to the demand–control model. The self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20), a structured instrument designed by the World Health Organization to measure psychological distress in developing countries, was used. The scales for decision latitude and psychological demand were dichotomized.The mean values were used to dichotomize both scales. Based on the combination between the levels of demand and control, four categories were established for the demand–control model. A multiple logistic regression was performed to adjust for potential confounders. Results The means and standard deviations of the scales of the job content questionnaire were similar for the formal and SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 55 de Araujo & Karasek informal jobs (table 1). The most important difference was observed for â₠¬Å"decision authority† in that there was a higher mean for informal jobs (34. 6) than for formal jobs (31. 99). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were relatively similar for the formal and informal jobs, even though the coefficients were higher for the formal jobs—the coefficients ranged from 0. 65 to 0. 79. The internal consistency for psychological demand was low for the informal jobs (0. 55). The subscale â€Å"conflicting demands† presented poor consistency with the other subscales; its correlation coefficient was lower than 0. 10. For skill discretion, the internal consistency was also relatively low for informal jobs (0. 6029).The subscale â€Å"variety† showed low consistency with the other subscales, the correlation coefficient with the other items being 0. 19. For the job insecurity scale, the performance was poor for both types of jobs (but better for informal jobs). The analysis of the means of the scales of the job content questionnaire according to sector of activity showed some significant differences. Table 2 shows the subscale means of the questionnaire according to sectors. The mean for skill discretion was lower for private household services (formal jobs: c=29. 18; informal jobs: c=32. 12) than for education (formal jobs: c=35. 3; informal jobs: c=34. 08). Similar differences were observed for decision authority (note the high means for education for both formal and informal jobs). Psychological demand revealed a similar pattern across all of the sectors. The means for physical demand were higher for construction (formal jobs: c=12. 50; informal jobs: c=14. 30) and manufacturing (formal jobs: c=13. 45; informal jobs: c=12. 66) and lower for education (formal jobs: c=11. 84; informal jobs: c=11. 71), as expected. The highest job insecurity means were observed for the construction sector (formal jobs: c=7. 0; informal jobs: c=9. 78). Correlation coefficient by sector No correlation was found between decision l atitude and psychological demand (formal workers: 0. 057; informal workers: 0. 010). This finding supports the hypothesis of relative independence between these two factors, as theoretically postulated. For almost all of the scales of the job content questionnaire, the correlation coefficients showed a similar pattern for the sectors. The pattern was similar by sector with respect to the formal and informal jobs, following the predicted direction, as proposed by Karasek’s demand–control model.Some small differences were observed in the coefficient magnitude, but not in the direction of the coefficients. However, a substantial difference was observed between the two dimensions of decision latitude. In the sectors of education, manufacturing, private household services, construction, and general services, a positive correlation between skill discretion (SD) and decision authority (DA) was observed—as expected. For the sectors of commercial activity and transportat ion, we observed no correlation between skill discretion and decision authority, 0. 068 and 0. 077, respectively.Construct validity The factor analysis loaded eight factors for formal and informal jobs (tables 3 and 4). Similar patterns were observed for both types of jobs. There was high Table 1. Means, standard deviations (SD), and Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients for the scales and subscales of the job content questionnaire according to formal and informal jobs. Scales Range Formal jobs Informal jobs Mean SD a Mean SD a Decision latitude 24–96 64. 76 8. 44 0. 6576 65. 91 7. 84 0. 6211 Skill discretion 12–48 32. 76 4. 25 0. 6500 31. 39 4. 06 0. 6029 Decision authority 12–48 31. 9 6. 20 0. 6869 34. 46 6. 01 0. 7194 Psychological demand 12–48 30. 07 3. 63 0. 6627 29. 89 3. 29 0. 5588 Social support 8–32 23. 07 2. 09 0. 7103 23. 20 2. 01 0. 6588 Coworker support 4–16 11. 75 1. 16 0. 6901 11. 97 1. 25 0. 7009 Supervisory suppor t 4–16 11. 28 1. 47 0. 7900 11. 38 1. 30 0. 6515 Physical demand 5–20 12. 30 2. 14 0. 7584 12. 53 2. 25 0. 7615 Job insecurity a 3–12 5. 25 1. 15 0. 3613 5. 90 1. 83 0. 5540 Age 15–82 33. 93 11. 59 – 34. 94 13. 93 – a Means for job insecurity (4 items): formal jobs: 6. 47 (SD 1. 44); informal jobs: 7. 44 (SD 2. 47). Table 2.Means of the subscales of the job content questionnaire according to sector of activity for the formal and informal jobs. (SD = skill discretion, DA = decision authority, DL = decision latitude, PD = psychological demand, PhyD = physical demand, JI = job insecurity) Sector SD DA DL PD PhyD JI Formal jobs Construction 31. 67 33. 84 65. 71 28. 67 12. 50 7. 00 Manufacturing 33. 09 31. 91 65. 07 31. 45 13. 45 6. 32 Commerce (retail activity) 32. 80 31. 54 64. 28 30. 47 12. 45 6. 23 Transportation 31. 78 29. 68 61. 33 29. 28 12. 74 6. 20 Education 35. 06 35. 33 70. 56 30. 02 11. 4 4. 87 General services 32. 13 32. 44 64. 79 30 . 11 12. 29 5. 44 Private household services 30. 47 29. 18 59. 65 29. 50 12. 13 5. 50 Informal jobs Construction 31. 40 32. 41 63. 95 30. 78 14. 30 9. 78 Manufacturing 33. 10 33. 25 66. 26 31. 03 12. 66 7. 61 Commerce (retail activity) 31. 40 35. 66 67. 13 30. 01 12. 36 7. 00 Transportation 30. 94 36. 25 67. 25 31. 03 13. 35 6. 38 Education 35. 28 34. 08 69. 36 29. 44 11. 71 6. 30 General Services 31. 94 34. 60 66. 64 29. 66 12. 50 7. 07 Private household services 29. 12 32. 12 61. 34 28. 98 12. 07 6. 58 56 SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6Job content questionnaire in jobs in Brazil consistency with the theoretical model for the scales for supervisory support, coworker support, skill discretion, decision authority, and physical demand. The subscales related to psychological demand loaded on different factors. The subscale â€Å"conflicting demands† did not load on the psychological demand scale, as expected. For both the formal and informal jobs, it loaded on one separate factor (factor 8). For the skill discretion scale, the subscale â€Å"variety† loaded on the factor related to the psychological demand Table 4.Factor (F) analysis using the principal component extraction method and varimax rotation with the informal jobs. Scale Informal job (N=780) F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 Skill discretion Learn new things  ·  ·  · 0. 661  ·  ·  ·  · Repetitive work a  ·  ·  · 0. 480  ·  ·  ·  · Requires creativity  ·  ·  · 0. 587  ·  ·  ·  · High skill level  ·  ·  · 0. 644  ·  ·  ·  · Variety  ·  ·  · b 0. 502 Develop own abilities 0. 724  ·  ·  ·  · Decision authority Allows own decisions  ·  · 0. 809  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Little decision freedom a  ·  · 0. 822  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Opinions influential  ·  · 0. 690  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Psychological demand Work fast  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 430  ·  ·Work hard  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 479  ·  · Excessive work a  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 686  ·  · Insufficient time a  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 599  ·  · Conflicting demands a  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 774 Social support Supervisor is concerned  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 760  ·  ·  · Supervisor pays attention  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 718  ·  ·  · Helpful supervisor  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 417  ·  ·  · Supervisor good organizer  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 774  ·  ·  · Coworker support Coworkers competent 0. 722  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Coworker interest in me 0. 710  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Friendly coworkers 0. 652  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Coworkers helpful 0. 714  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Physical demand Much physical effort  · 0. 706  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Lift heavy loads  · 0. 59  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Rapid physical activity  · 0. 756  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Awkward body position  · b  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 874  · Awkward arm–head p osition  · b  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 855  · Variance explained (after rotation) (%) 12. 3 10. 3 7. 39 7. 06 6. 17 4. 90 4. 23 3. 89 Total variance explained (%) 56. 3  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · a Item formulated in a negative direction; the score was reversed before the factor analysis. b Item loaded on a different factor. Table 3. Factor (F) analysis using the principal component extraction method and varimax rotation with the formal jobs. Scale Formal job (N=403) F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 Skill discretionLearn new things  ·  · 0. 639  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Repetitive work a  ·  · b –0. 481 Requires creativity  ·  · 0. 687  ·  ·  ·  ·  · High skill level  ·  · 0. 650  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Variety  · 0. 577 b  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Develop own abilities 0. 653  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Decision authority Allows own decisions  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 780 Little decision freedom a  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 674 Opinions i nfluential  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 737 Psychological demand Work fast  · 0. 477  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Work hard  · 0. 687  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Excessive work a  · 0. 614  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Insufficient time a  · 0. 673  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Conflicting demands a  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 802 Social support Supervisor is concerned 0. 16  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Supervisor pays attention 0. 674  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Helpful supervisor 0. 744  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Supervisor good organizer 0. 717  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · Coworker support Coworkers competent  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 432  ·  ·  · Coworker interest in me  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 757  ·  ·  · Friendly coworkers  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 746  ·  ·  · Coworkers helpful  ·  ·  ·  · 0. 730  ·  ·  · Physical demand Much physical effort  ·  ·  · 0. 747  ·  ·  ·  · Lift heavy loads  ·  ·  · 0. 482  ·  ·  ·  · Rapid physical activity  ·  ·  · 0. 837  ·  ·  ·  · Awkward body position  ·  ·  · b  · 0. 891  ·  · Awkward arm–head position  ·  ·  · b  · 0. 881  ·  · Variance explained (after rotation)(%) 8. 43 8. 19 7. 1 7. 79 7. 54 6. 96 6. 37 4. 48 Total variance explained (%) 62. 4  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  ·  · a Item formulated in a negative direction; the score was reversed before the factor analysis. b Item loaded on a different factor. SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 57 de Araujo & Karasek scale, and it was not related to the scale for skill discretion, as expected. Physical demand loaded on two different factors, revealing two different types of physical workloads, type 1 including â€Å"much physical effort†, â€Å"lift heavy loads†, and â€Å"rapid physical activity† and type 2 including â€Å"awkward body position† and â€Å"awkward arm and head positions†.Capability of the job content questionnaire to identify different work situations as risks to mental health Relevant differences in the prevalence of psychological distress were observed according to the job strain quadrants. The high-strain quadrant had the highest psychological distress prevalence (table 5). Similar results were found for the formal and informal jobs. The low-strain situation had the lowest psychological distress prevalence. A difference was found in the quadrants of diagonal B (passive and active). In formal jobs, the prevalence of psychological distress was higher for the active job quadrant.For the informal jobs, the prevalence of psychological distress was higher in the passive job quadrant (1. 4 higher than in the low-strain situation). Discussion This is the first study to evaluate performance of the job content questionnaire by comparing formal and informal jobs in a developing country. Performance of the questionnaire was tested in a poor region of northeast Brazil, where general living conditions are precarious and the educational level is low; the worker’s qualification levels were, in general, very low. Despite the cultural nd economic differences from developed country contexts, the job content questionnaire has good global performance. Our means and standard deviations were similar to results from the job stress absenteeism and coronary heart disease European cooperative study (the JACE study) (9), including eight samples from five European countries. Some differences occurred as expected, such as higher means for physical demand and job insecurity in our study (formal and informal jobs) and higher decision latitude for the JACE study. It is notable that, for decision authority, the means for the informal jobs and the JACE study were similar.This similarity indicates a significant freedom for the workers to decide how to do their own work in informal jobs but also pointed out that, among these workers, the possibility to make decis ions was not combined with the use or development of skills. For example, in the sectors of commercial activity and transportation, the workers seemed to be free to decide how to do their work, but the same did not apply to the development of new skills and abilities. The means for decision authority were higher than the means for skill discretion in these sectors.Within these sectors, the proportion of people working on the streets was high, a fact that could partially explain this result In general, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients revealed a performance similar to that found with other large-sample studies, conducted in developed countries, even though they were slightly lower in our study. The estimated coefficients indicated acceptable levels of internal consistency for almost all of the scales of the job content questionnaire. The psychological demand scale, with five questions, showed poor internal consistency.The reliability was acceptable for the formal jobs but low for the informal jobs. This finding has been observed also in other studies. For example, in the JACE study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was relatively low for the men (Netherlands 0. 57, Canada–Quebec 0. 59, Japan 0. 61) and for the women (Netherlands 0. 51 and US–QES 0. 62). These results revealed a general imprecision of the job content questionnaire in measuring psychological demand. Karasek et al (9) have argued that different meanings of psychological demand by population groups could explain part of these results.These differences in meaning are related to the actual stage of area development. Until now, there has been no agreement about the exact meaning of psychological Table 5. Prevalence rates for psychological distress—the prevalence ratio (PR) and the respective confidence intervals (95% CI) according to the job strain model for formal and informal jobs adjusted for age, educational level, gender, social support, time in this position ( results from the multiple logistic regression analysis). Job strain model a Prevalence PR b 95% CI (%) Formal jobs Low strain (^ decision latitude v psychological demand) 11. 5 – –Passive job (v decision latitude v psychological demand) 15. 5 1. 35 0. 64–2. 84 Active job (^ decision latitude ^ psychological demand) 23. 8 2. 07 1. 05–4. 08 High strain (^ decision latitude ^ psychological demand) 26. 7 2. 32 1. 18–4. 56 Informal jobs Low strain (^ decision latitude v psychological demand) 20. 0 – Passive job (v decision latitude v psychological demand) 24. 5 1. 23 0. 91–1. 66 Active job (^ decision latitude ^ psychological demand) 24. 1 1. 20 0. 90–1. 61 High strain (v decision latitude ^ psychological demand) 33. 1 1. 65 1. 26–2. 18 a Reference group: decision latitude and psychological demand. The delta method was used to convert odds ratios to prevalence ratios. 58 SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 Job content questionnaire in job s in Brazil demand in our social and cultural contexts. It remains an important question for future studies. In addition, to make this concept and correspondent scale more reliable, a clear distinction between â€Å"qualitative† and â€Å"quantitative† psychological demands has been proposed. Suggestions to include emotional demand as a job dimension has also been noted in the literature (21). High internal consistency was observed for decision authority among the formal and informal workers.The items used to evaluate the measure of worker opportunity to make decisions in both highly structured and unstructured settings performed well, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha. It is important to note that, when these two job-control subscales are taken as a single scale—decision latitude—the reliability is acceptable for both formal and informal jobs. The subscales for coworker support and supervisory support showed the highest consistency with the demandà ¢â‚¬â€œcontrol model theory. The high consistency of these scales had been observed earlier in other studies of the validity and reliability of the job content questionnaire (14, 17) .The physical demand scale also showed good reliability for groups in formal and informal jobs. This scale has also been observed to perform well in other studies (9, 12). The factor analysis showed a structure that is consistent with the theoretical presumptions of the job strain model. Our study produced eight factors, almost all of them in an expected way. The scales for decision authority, supervisory support, coworker support, physical demand, and skill discretion were consistent with the proposed scales of the job content questionnaire, as observed in other studies (22).However, some findings of our study need to be more carefully analyzed. For example, aspects related to the physical demand scale loaded on two types of factors, showing that the job content questionnaire measured two different phy sical workloads. Although the questionnaire establishes only a scale for physical demand, Karasek & Theorell (23) assumed that two specific types of physical demand were involved in job tasks (physical exertion and physical isometric load). In fact, it is acceptable that the questionnaire includes at least two different kinds of physical demands, as observed in our study.Indeed, this result reinforces the ability of the questionnaire to measure and identify specific characteristics of the work environment. With this perspective, future improvements in the questionnaire should consider the evaluation of these two dimensions separately, instead of only one, as currently suggested. One item of the skill discretion scale was also critical. The subscale â€Å"variety† (â€Å"I get to do a variety of different things in my job†), in both the formal and informal groups, was more related to psychological demand aspects than to the skill discretion scale, as expected.The data s uggested that doing different things was not related to job enrichment in the studied population in Brazil. In fact, it represents an increase in workload. Moreover, translation difficulties could be considered a potential explanation for these specific results (cultural differences). One item related to psychological demand, â€Å"conflicting demands†, loaded on a separate factor for both the formal and informal jobs. It revealed a low correlation of this subscale with other subscales related to psychological demand, which duplicated rather precisely a problem found in studies in other countries (8, 9, 12) for this question.Our results also showed relevant problems with this subscale, reinforcing the hypothesis that changes in this item structure are needed to improve the performance of the psychological demand measurement. For the formal jobs, the item â€Å"repetitive work† did not load on the skill discretion factor, as expected. Similar results were found in studi es in other countries (7, 12, 24, 25). The low consistency of this item with the skill discretion subscale could be related to a nonnormal distribution of this aspect. Usually, repetitive work is much more frequent for the lowest skill (9) . The Portuguese version of the job content questionnaire howed a high capability to identify risk to mental health. As predicted by the control–demand model, work with high strain consistently has the highest negative effect on mental health for both formal and informal jobs, albeit more strongly for formal jobs. It supports an association between psychological distress and job strain, as pointed out in other studies on mental health (25). In conclusion, the validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the job content questionnaire is good, and it is performed similarly among workers with formal or informal jobs in Brazil. Future research should address a detailed evaluation f the decision-latitude dimensions in informal jobs, esp ecially in relation to skill discretion, which performed regularly among informal workers and in new investigations of psychological demand indicators and their performance. Gender differences form another important aspect to be explored in future studies. Acknowledgments This study was funded by CAPES—Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil, and partially supported by grant D43TW005749, â€Å"Work and Health in Brazil and Mexico† from the John E Fogarty Internationl Center of the US National Institutes of Health.SJWEH Suppl 2008, no 6 59 de Araujo & Karasek References 1. Siqueira E. Depend convergence—the struggle to control petrochemical hazards in Brazil and the United States. New York (NY): Baywood; 2003. 2. Araujo TM, Aquino E, Menezes G, Santos CO, Aguiar L. Work psychosocial aspects and psychological distress among nurses Rev Saude Publica. 2003;37:424–33. 3. Alves MGM, Chor D, Faerstein E, Lopes CS, Werneck GL. Short version of the â€Å"Job Stress Scale: Portuguese-language adaptation. Rev Saude Publica. 2004;38:164–71. 4. Karasek R. Job demand, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign.Adm Sci Q. 1979;24:285–308. 5. Rick J, Briner RB, Daniels K, Perryman S, Guppy A. A critical review of psychological hazard measures. Sudbury (United Kingdom): HSE Books; 2001. Contract research report 356. 6. Karasek RA. Job Content Questionnaire and User’s Guide. Lowell (MA): University of Massachusetts; 1985. 7. Kawakami N, Kobayashi F, Araki S, Haratani T, Furui H. Assessment of job stress dimensions based on the job demands- control model of employees of telecommunication and electric power companies in Japan: reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire. Int J Behav Med. 995;2:358–75. 8. Kawakami N, Fujigaki Y. Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire: replication and ex tension in computer company employees. Ind Health. 1996;34:295–306. 9. Karasek RA, Kawakami N, Brisson C, Houtman I, Bongers P, Amick B. The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessment of psychosocial job characteristics. J Occup Health Psychol. 1998;3:322–55. 10. Brisson B, Blanchette C, Guimont C, Dion G, Moisan J, Vezina M. Reliability and validity of the French version of the 18-item Karasek Job Content Questionnaire.Work Stress. 1998;12:322–36. 11. Ostry AS, Marion SA, Demers PA, Hershler R, Kelly S, Teschke K, Hertzman C. Measuring psychosocial job strain with the Job Content Questionnaire using experienced job evaluators. American J Ind Med 2001; 39: 397–401. 12. Niedhammer I. Psychometric properties of the French version of the Karasek Job Content Questionnaire: a study of the scales of decision latitude, psychological demands, social support, and physical demands in the GAZEL cohort. Int Arch Occup En viron Health. 2002,75:129–44. 13. Landsbergis P, Schnall PL, Pickering TG, Schwartz JE.Validity and reliability of a work history questionnaire derived from the Job Content Questionnaire. J Occup Environ Med. 2002;44:1037–47. 14. Pelfrene E, Clays E, Moreau M, Mak R, Vlerick P, Kornitzer M, et al. The Job Content Questionnaire: methodological considerations and challenges for future research. Arch Public Health. 2003;61:53–74. 15. Ferrario M, Fornari C, Borchini R, Merluzzi F, Cesana G. Job stress in the service industry—evaluation of the Italian version of the Job Content Questionnaire. Med Lav. 2005;96:191–9. 16. Cedillo BL.Psychosocial risk factors among women workers in the maquiladora industry in Mexico. Lowell (MA): University of Massachusetts; 1999. 17. Cheng Y, Luh W-M, Guo Y-L. Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Job Content Questionnaire in Taiwanese workers. Int J Behav Med. 2003;10:15–30. 18. Li J, Yang W, Liu O, Xu Z, Cho SI. Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese (mainland) version of the Job Content Questionnaire: a study in university hospitals. Ind Health. 2004;42:260–7. 19. Herdman M, Fox-Rushby J, Badia X. A model of equivalence in the cultural adaptation of he HRQol instruments: the universalist approach.Qual Life Res. 1998;7:323–35. 20. Kline P. An easy guide to factors analysis. London, New York (NY): Routledge: Taylor and Francis; 1994. 21. Soderfeldt B, Soderfeldt M, Jones K, O’Campo P, Muntaner C, Ohlson C, et al. Does organization matter? : a multilevel analysis of the Demand-Control Model applied to human services. Soc Sci Med. 1997,44:527–34. 22. Pelfrene E, Vlerick P, Mak RP, Smets P, Kornitzer M, Backer G. Scale reliability of the Karasek’ Job Demand-Control-Support model in the Belstress. Work Stress. 2001;15(4):297–313. 23. Karasek RA, Theorell T.Healthy work-stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. New Yor k (NY): Basic Books; 1990. 24. Schreurs PJG, Taris TW. Construct validity of the demand-control: a double cross-validation approach. Work Stress. 1998;12:66–84. 25. De Jonge J, Reuvers MM, Houtman I, Bongers PM, Kompier MAJ. A critical examination of the demand-control-support model from a work psychological perspective. Int J Stress Manag. 1977;4:235–58. 26. Van der Doef M, Maes S. The Job Demand-Control (-Support) Model and psychological well-being: a review of 20 years of empirical research. Work Stress. 1999;13:87–114.

Food for Education Improves Girls’ Education the Pakistan Essay

In the last decade, access to primary education has improved significantly in many parts of the world (World Bank, 2006). Yet, 77 million children of primary school-age, are not in school and 57 percent of them are girls. Despite overall advances in primary enrolment, significant gender disparities remain particularly in certain regions, notably the Arab States, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond the primary level, the gender inequalities in education are even more significant. In secondary education, only one-third of countries have reached gender parity and women account for 64 percent of the world’s illiterate adults – a figure, which has not progressed during the last decade (UNESCO, 2007). Girls’ education is affected by a variety of factors relating both to the demand and supply side of schooling: gender-stereotyped curricula and teaching practices, school infrastructure not adapted to the needs of girls (lack of separate toilets, school fencing, girls boarding facilities, etc. ) risks for girls’ safety on the way to and at school (girls being abducted, at risk of rape at school) or negative socio-cultural practices (early marriage, low value given to education of girls). One of the most significant obstacles to girls’ education is the direct and opportunity cost of schooling, which affects girls disproportionately. Girls from poor households register very low levels of school completion in many countries (Bruns, Mingat, and Rakotomalala 2003). In India, for example, a study found that, amongst poor girls, less than 10 percent had completed elementary education (grade 8), compared to 85 percent of rich boys (15-19 years age group). Educational attainment of girls was consistently lower than for boys across all income groups (Filmer 1999). Research from Guinea concluded that â€Å"Family income or wealth is a key variable that explains differences in educational opportunities and attainment between families. †¦ Poverty in a family will have a more detrimental effect upon the decision to enrol a girl in school than boys (Tembon and Al-Samarrai 1997). This is linked to the fact that girls spend a significant amount of their time on work, particularly domestic chores and agricultural labour. Their ‘child work benefit’ for parents, and thus the opportunity costs of their schooling, are thus greater than for boys. A survey in northern India found that girls’ responsibility for domestic labour and for sibling care was by far the most important reason for not sending them to school or for their dropping out (The PROBE team 1999). A study from Bangladesh came to the following conclusion: â€Å"Normally, a rural Bangladeshi woman works 10-14 hours a day, though most of this work is not visible or reflected in national statistics. †¦ The need to perform domestic chores to help their mothers impedes girls’ participation in formal education, forcing them into irregular attendance and/or to leave school† (UNESCO 1998). In addition, there is evidence that direct educational costs are higher for girls than for boys, for example because girls need safe transport to school or better school clothing to â€Å"look decent† (Herz and Sperling 2004). Where women and girls have low societal status, poor parents are often more reluctant to invest their meagre resources into the education of girls rather than that of their sons. Food for Education (FFE) programmes – school feeding (school meals or snacks) and, particularly, the provision of take-home food rations (THRs) – have proven to be an effective means of addressing these obstacles, enrolling more girls in school, keeping them enrolled, and enhancing their adulthood wellbeing and productivity as a result. In this paper we review the rationale behind FFE, particularly of THRs in supporting access to education  for girls and summarise the findings on the effectiveness of THR programmes available in the published literature. We then complement the evidence with a case study on a FFE programme in Pakistan designed to support girls’ education. Cost-effectiveness is central to policy-making on achieving gender equality in education; to date, however, there are very few studies that assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of FFE programmes. The Pakistan case study attempts to fill this gap by analysing the costs and benefits of the girls’ education programme. 2 Programme Description FFE programmes are widespread in developing and higher income countries. In 2005 the UN World Food Programme supported FFE programmes in 74 countries, benefiting almost 22 million students of whom 48 percent girls. Some 3 million girls received dry, take-home food rations in support of their education. Take-home food rations typically consist of food commodities that are of high value to families and part of their standard food basket, such as cereals or vegetable oil. They are distributed monthly or quarterly; sometimes, the distribution time is also targeted to the agricultural lean season, when family food supplies are lowest and little food available on the local markets. Receipt of the food ration is conditional upon the student’s regular attendance; in the case of WFP-supported FFE programmes, for example, a minimum of 80 percent monthly attendance rate is required. This helps to ensure that students don’t just enrol but actually attend school regularly. FFE interventions are generally designed to improve school participation amongst poor, vulnerable, food insecure populations and target areas where access to school and school completion are weak, particularly for girls. The risk of not accessing and/or completing primary school, a form of â€Å"educational vulnerability† anchored within a context of poverty and food insecurity, may be used to describe the common characteristic shared by the children targeted by FFE. This idea reflects the reality that household choices regarding education are often a result of complex decision processes, where poverty and hunger play an important role in determining the schooling outcomes (Dreze and Kingdon, 2001). As we have seen above, these factors are particularly significant in the case of girls’ education.. In a general model of FFE (WFP, 2007), the initial outcome that drives increased school participation is the incentive to the household to send children to school. Generally, the incentive is achieved by way of an income transfer to the family of the student and also through an enhancement of the services provided at school (Bergeron & Del Rosso, 2001). FFE also has an incentive effect on pupils actually wanting to go to school to receive some food, rather than staying at home and missing out. Both of these effects will contribute to shift, in the short-term, a households’ decision towards increased schooling. The effects are most significant amongst poorest populations and where education, including girls’ education, is not well established. Figure 1 summarises the main impact theory for THRs and traces the causal links between inputs and the desired educational outcome of increased access, promotion and completion for primary school children, particularly girls. Food for Education (FFE) programmes providing take-home rations are more suitable to target individual students such as girls and less complex to implement than conventional school meal programmes that require substantial investments both in terms of infrastructure and community inputs. For instance, THRs in the form of 4 litre vegetable oil cans are fairly easy to store and distribute, and THR distributions take place only once per month or less. More important, however, take-home food rations provide a more direct, higher value income transfer to families than school meals, which in turn provide the incentive for increased school participation. From this perspective, THRs provide an immediate, income based benefit, and another long-term benefit stemming from the returns to increased education, serving as both protective and promotive social protection (Devereux and Sabates-Wheeler, 2004). On the other hand, THR are not suitable to address nutritional and health issues affecting school children and their education, particularly cognitive capacity, which is a well established outcome of school meals (Kristjansson et al. , 2007). 3 MDG 2&3 Improved attendance Food Take-home rations distributed on condition of pupils’ regular attendance Targeted HHs received THRs on condition of their children’s regular attendance Incentive for HHs reduced drop-out Increased enrolment Better academic performance Changing parents’ attitude regarding schooling. Figure 1: Food for Education impact theory for take-home rations Impact of FFE programmes on girls’ education Evaluations of FFE programmes (see Adelman et al. , 2006) have shown that FFE programmes lead to increased enrolment and attendance, of girls in particular, reduced dropout particularly in the lower primary school grades, and for on-site meals or snacks programmes improved student learning capacity. Literature databases were searched to identify relevant studies on the physical and social benefits of FFE programmes to girls. The educational outcomes considered included school participation (including enrolment, attendance and drop-out). Primary school age children were the primary subjects of all the studies considered. Only one study was found on the impact of THR programmes highlighting the gap in evidence on this topic. Another paper was found on the comparative effects of the different modalities of FFE including THRs. One field-oriented evaluation of a WFP FFE programme was also identified in Pakistan and this is included in the main body of this paper as a case study. In Bangladesh, IFPRI and the World Bank evaluated the impact of a Government FFE programme (Ahmed and Del Ninno, 2002) that covered over 2 million children in 2000. The enrolment in FFE programme schools was found to have increased by 35 percent over the two year period between the programme start and after its first year. This increase was driven by a remarkable 44 percent increase in girl’s enrolment and by a 28 percent increase for boys. In non-programme schools enrolment increased by 2. 5 percent (5. 4 for girls and 0. 1 for boys) during the same period. Attendance in FFE assisted schools was found to be 12 points higher than in non-assisted schools (70 percent compared to 58 percent respectively). Drop-out rates were also found to be 9 points lower in FFE assisted schools than in non-assisted schools (6 percent compared to 15 percent respectively). The overall programme costs were reported to be US$0. 10 per child per day, though no analysis of the costs was provided. Another study analysed the comparative effects of the different modalities of FFE, including onsite meals combined with THRs (Gelli, Meir and Espejo, 2007). The results of this study of WFP monitoring and evaluation data showed that the provision of the FFE programme contributed to increasing absolute enrollment in WFP-assisted schools by 28 percent for girls and 22 percent for boys in the first year. Enrollment patterns after the first year varied according to the type of FFE program. Where provision of take-home rations for girls was combined with on-site feeding for all pupils, the increase in girls’ absolute enrollment was Increased access, promotion & completion, particularly for girls 4 sustained at 30 percent after the first year. However, in schools providing on-site feeding alone, the rate of increase in absolute enrollment after the first year reverted to the rates of increase found in the year prior to FFE implementation. The provision of take-home rations also appeared to reduce the dropout rate of female students, particularly in the higher grades. In addition, an analysis of WFP project expenditures in 2005 (Gelli, Al-Shaiba and Espejo, 2007) showed that the average cost of WFP THR programmes was US$29. 94 per child per year, the most expensive of FFE modalities. However, the cost driver for THR was mostly the large volume of food provided (72 percent of total programme costs, compared to 58 percent for school meal programmes). A study by Dreze and Kingdon from 2001 examined the effects of a wide range of determinants of school participation in rural northern India, focusing on school participation as a household decision. Amongst the school quality determinants, it was found that female school participation was about 15 percentage points higher when the local school provided a mid-day meal (MDM). Mid-day meals also were found to have a major positive effect on girls’ grade attainment; chances of completing primary education were 30 percentage points higher for girls living in a village with MDM. However, the MDM did not affect the enrolment of boys. The study confirmed that female schooling is far more influenced by household economic status than boys’ schooling: â€Å"parents are not generally opposed to female education but they are reluctant to pay for it. School meals could make a big difference here by reducing the private costs of schooling. † An earlier study found that the noon meal programme in Tamil Nadu in India attracted more girls to attend school and improved the attendance of those already in school (Devadas, 1983). The Pakistan Girls’ Education Programme Data on women’s participation in education in Pakistan shows low girls’ primary school net enrolment (59 percent) and female adult literacy rates (35 percent). Although female enrolment is increasing rapidly in all regions, girls’ participation rates at all levels are lower than that of boys and gender gaps persist, particularly in rural areas (WFP Pakistan, 2005). Since 1995, WFP has been providing food assistance to support the efforts of the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to improve access, retention and completion of girls’ primary education in 28 selected food-insecure districts of Pakistan, including seven districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The seven districts within the NWFP of Pakistan were identified by a WFP vulnerability analysis and mapping (VAM) study as being amongst the most food insecure areas in the country. Women and girls in these areas face huge barriers in terms of access to education. At the time when the project started, female literacy in rural areas was only around 10 percent and the primary participation rate of girls less than 30 percent. As a result, a take-home rations programme was introduced within these seven districts with the objective of increasing enrolment, retention and completion at girls’ primary schools. In 2005, THRs were provided monthly to 326,784 girls in 2,697 schools in vulnerable areas within 28 districts in the 5 provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and NWFP. Ration distribution was condition to regular school attendance. The monthly THRs consisted of a 4 litre tin of vegetable oil fortified with vitamin-A, and had an estimated value on the local market of US$5. Implementation Process Under the Country Programme agreement signed by the GoP and WFP, WFP is responsible for providing the commodities for the FFE programme to the port of Karachi. The GoP is responsible for the food distribution to the 28 districts, as well as the management of the timely delivery of the food in good condition from all the district warehouses to the assisted schools. Project Implementation Units (PIUs) were set up by the GoP in each assisted province to run the FFE programme. WFP provided a small truck for each district at the beginning of the project to facilitate the logistics and implementation. However, because of the very difficult terrain in the targeted low profile districts of NWFP, ensuring a timely 5 supply of the THRS to the schools has been challenging. As a result, many schools received the oil supply every second month or even later. Only two oil tins at the most, are distributed to a student to cover the back-log of non-supply during the previous period. At the school level, the head teacher generally receives the oil rations and supervises the distribution to the pupils, conditional to monthly attendance rates of at least 80 percent. The entitlement of each student is checked against the school monthly attendance registers before the THR is distributed. The District Officers Education & Deputy or Assistant District Officers also pay monitoring visits to the schools and verify this aspect. Programme costs Project expenditure data was reviewed in order to estimate the costs of the FFE programme. WFP reports annually on project expenditures, alongside other project statistics, in its standard project reports (SPRs). Expenditures are broken down into commodity, transport, landside transport shipping and handling (LTSH), other direct operational costs (ODOC), direct support costs (DSC) – which added together form the direct project costs (DPC). A percentage of the DPC is then factored in as indirect support costs (ISC) to support WFP Headquarters. Table 1 presents a breakdown of total WFP expenditures in the country in 2005 alongside an estimate of the expenditure on the FFE programme, broken down by WFP cost category. Table 1: 2005 WFP total and estimated FFE expenditures in Pakistan Country Programme Total WFP Country Programme expenditures (USD) 11,667,043 970,358 0 90,856 621,934 874,879 14,225,070 Estimated school feeding expenditure (USD) 6,133,819 510,155 0 47,767 326,975 459,958 7,478,673 % FFE over total expenditures 82% 7% 0% 1% 4% 6% 100%. Commodities Transport LTSH ODOC DSC ISC Total Regarding the government contributions to the programme, the 2005 expenditures for each of the PIUs, divided into direct and indirect expenditures, are shown in Table 2Table 1. Direct expenditures have been divided into two parts i. e. (i) PIUs expenses which include staff salaries, renting of stores/warehouses, and other running expenses and (ii) the Transportation Cost incurred on the transportation of oil from Karachi to respective districts/tehsils/schools. Indirect expenditures include the expenditures (adjusted by proportion of time spent on programme activities) of other staff members of government who manage the FFE programme i. e. distribute oil, monitor its distribution and send reports to PIUs from Districts / tehsils / schools level whose salaries are not charged to PIUs. These staff members include the Executive District Officers, District Education Officers (Female), Deputy District Education Officers, Assistant Education Officers, Store keepers, School Teachers and Peons etc. These expenditures have been calculated by WFP Pakistan based on estimates following discussions with each respective PIU. As the entire FFE programme is managed by the provincial governments, PIU expenditures include all cost items required to deliver and manage the FFE programme. In 2005, school feeding activities accounted for 53 percent of food distributed in the whole WFP Country Programme. There were no further expenses incurred by the community in the running of the FFE programme. 6. Table 2: A breakdown of GoP budgeted expenses in 2004/2005 for FFE (THR) activities PIU Provinces Punjab Sindh Balochistan AJK* NWFP Total PKR 328,568 6,444,556 7,612,000 1,162,000 3,306,300 18,853,424 Direct Expenditures Transportation US$ PKR US$ 5,569 109,230 129,017 19,695 56,039 319,550 9,004,158 2,490,927 1,778,225 6,678,000 3,495,000 23,446,310 152,613 42,219 30,139 113,186 59,237 397,395 Indirect Expenditures PKR 22,984,227 23,795,400 20,183,829 25,194,939 92,158,395 US$ 389,563 403,312 342,099 427,033 1,562,007 PKR 32,316,953 32,730,883 29,574,054 7,840,000 31,996,239 134,458,129 Total US$ 547,745 554,761 501,255 132,881 542,309 2,278,951. Having collected estimates for the different costs that are associated with the FFE programme, from the procurement of food down to the distribution of the THRs to the school girls, we estimated the total cost of FFE in Pakistan for 2005. WFP and GoP contributions for 2005 total $9,757,624 USD, and dividing this by the number of beneficiaries resulted in $29. 85 USD per school-girl per year. In 2005 in Pakistan, food costs accounted for approximately 63 percent of the total cost. The share of WFP expenses over the total cost was 77 percent, with the remaining share covered by the GoP. The cost per beneficiary increases to $63 USD per child per year if we adjust for full food distribution to all the planned beneficiaries, and assume perfect attendance. Key outcomes and Impact. In 2004-2005, a set of surveys were carried out to assess educational and other socioeconomic programme outcomes (WFP Pakistan, 2005). The evaluation included the collection and analysis of detailed school-level records from all the 826 WFP-assisted schools and a set of 79 randomly selected non-assisted schools (control) in the region. A secondary study of the available literature (GoP, WFP, and other partners) and data was also undertaken, including an analysis of data from the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and in-depth interviews with various partners involved such as government, WFP officials, community members, parents, teachers and students. The evaluation showed that the programme had multiple benefits for girls’ education: †¢ The overall enrolment at sampled schools increased by 135 percent between 1998/99 and 2003/04, whereas during the same period enrolment at control school increased by only 29 percent. There was a particularly strong increase in enrolment in the first grade of primary school (Kachi class): 211 percent at programme schools, compared to 5 percent in control school. This indicates that the programme was particularly successful in stimulating enrolment of girls who, until then, had never entered a school. On average, 88 percent of students attended school for twenty or more days per month (and were thus eligible for the take-home ration). Despite the positive effects on enrolment and attendance, completion of primary school remains a problem. Out of every 100 female students enrolling in 1998/99, only 44 percent reached grade 5. Although the primary school completion rate improved to 47 percent for the cohort starting school in 1999/2000, this only reflected a national trend, and programme schools actually showed worse results than control schools. This shows that the effect of the food incentive is not sufficiently strong to ensure that girls stay in school as they get older, and older girls of the family might be replaced by their younger siblings. †¢ †¢ †¢ 7 †¢ †¢ The programme also broke new ground and increased awareness of girls’ education. Before the programme started, 48 percent of households did not send any of their daughters to school; now all parents educate at least one daughter. While 38 percent of respondents said that the food incentive was the only reason for sending their daughter to school, 29 percent they would continue educating their daughters even if the programme stopped. 27 percent said that general hostility to girls’ education in the community was no longer an issue. The food incentive was much appreciated by the families and provided them with tangible benefits. 32 percent of community members interviewed said that their income had increased, generating savings in the family budget and that they had more free time for agricultural activities or business. Costs and benefits of the FFE programme A basic framework was developed by WFP in order to evaluate the cost and benefits of the FFE intervention designed to support girls’ education (Espejo et al. , 2006). In this model, the benefits from FFE are assumed to consist of two components; the first is the monetary value of expected lifetime additional earnings after successful completion of primary school, whilst the second is the market value of a monthly take-home ration, provided on condition to a girls’ school attendance throughout the programme duration. If we apply this cost-benefit framework to the FFE programme in Pakistan the results show that every USD spent on the FFE yields approximately 1. 68 USD in benefits. An alternative to estimating the benefits of education through the monetary value of expected lifetime additional earnings after successful completion of primary school is to estimate the extra school days gained through the effect of a particular intervention aimed at increasing school participation. Comparisons of actual pupil attendance days to the perfect attendance day total can provide a single measure of school participation that encompasses enrolment, drop-out and absenteeism, the three main educational outcomes linked to FFE. A simple model developed to estimate the gain in pupil attendance days in FFE schools using averages for attendance, drop-out and enrolment resulted in an estimated 25 extra school days per child per year (WFP, 2007). This translates into approximately $240 USD per additional year of schooling for girls in Pakistan. The cost and effects of the THR programme are summarised in Table 3. Table 3: Estimated measures of cost-effectiveness of THRs in Pakistan (Source WFP Pakistan 2005, WFP SSFS 2003). Enrolment Effect (per year) Cost 22% increase Education Attendance 10% increase Drop-out 5% decrease 25 extra school days per year per pupil 30-60 USD per child per year Lessons learnt â€Å"Of all the programmes initiated in NWFP, this one has made the most visible impact. It has contributed a lot in this province† Fazle Manan, Director of Schools and Literacy from the Ministry of Education, when asked of WFP’s assistance to girls’ primary education. The FFE programme triggered a marked increase in enrolment of girls in assisted schools in Pakistan. The enrolment more than doubled during the first three years of intervention. These types of incentives and awareness campaigns are imperative to boost girls’ education, to improve female literacy and reduce the gender gap, especially in remote rural areas. However, the retention of girl students in the school system and further improvement of the participation rate is essential to achieve universal primary education. 8 As a result of the increased enrolment, the nearly empty school buildings have become more used, providing a better return of investment to the community and the government. However, the quality of education, itself a major incentive for sending children to school, has been constrained by the lack of teachers. Moreover, many of the assisted schools suffer from a want of adequate facilities, including furniture, water, sanitation, and boundary walls. This issue highlights the need to ensure that once children are in school, efforts are made to enhance the learning environment, as well as to support pupil attendance and retention. The involvement of the community and the local government has been essential to mobilise the resources necessary for improving the school infrastructure. The FFE project has raised the awareness among the assisted communities about the importance of educating girls. Even the most reluctant parents are now sending their daughters to school. This change in attitude is a remarkable achievement against the backdrop of the social and cultural taboos that had prohibited the education of girls in the past. The mothers of the girl students now get out of their homes and visit schools to enquire about the progress of their daughters. Most of the females in far-flung rural areas were previously not allowed to step outside their homes; now girls are going to schools and their elderly female relatives visit schools to enquire about the attendance, progress in studies and probable dates of supply of oil. This change in social attitude and behaviour is an important achievement of the programme. Future plans The impact of the THR programme in supporting access to education for girls in rural, food insecure areas of Pakistan has been remarkable. Though WFP was involved in the design, management and implementation the FFE intervention, the ownership of the overall programme was, through the course of the programme, handed over to the Government of Pakistan. As of 2005, project implementation units staffed with senior level Government officials took-over the full responsibility of the programme in terms of food delivery to schools, programme monitoring and reporting. Financial contributions from the Government of Pakistan have also been essential to the success of the programme to date. The successful hand-over of the programme management will be critical to ensure the sustainability of the FFE programme in the future. 9 References Adelman S, Gilligan DO, Lehrer K. (2006). A review of the economics of Food for Education programs. International Food Policy Research Institute. Ahmed AU, Del Ninno C. (2002) Food for Education program in Bangladesh: an evaluation of its impact on educational attainment and food security. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division, Discussion Paper 138. International Food Policy Research Institute Bruns B, Mingat A, Rakotomalala R. (2003) Achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015: A Chance for Every Child. Washington, D. C, World Bank. Del Rosso J. (1999) School Feeding Programmes: Improving Effectiveness and Increasing the Benefit to Education. A Guide for Programme Managers. Devadas RP. (1983). The Honorable Chief Minister’s Nutritious Meal Programme for Children of Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore, India: Sri Arinashilingam Home Service College Devereux S, Sabates-Wheeler R. (2004) Transformative Social Protection’, Working Paper 232, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies. Dreze J, Kingdon G. (2001) School Participation in Rural India. Review of Development Economics. 2001; 5 (1), 1-24. Espejo F, Gabriele A, Gelli A. and Knips V. (2006) Submitted. Evaluating Food for Education Programmes: A Pragmatic Approach. International Journal of Educational Development. Gelli A, Al-Shaiba N, Espejo F. Estimating the cost of Food for Education Interventions. 2007. Filmer D. (1999) Educational attainment and enrolment profiles: A resource book based on analysis of demographic and health survey data; Development Research Group; Washington DC, World Bank Herz B, Sperling G. (2004) What works in girls’ education: Evidence and policies from the developing world. New York, Council on Foreign Relations Kristjansson EA, Robinson M, Petticrew B, MacDonald J, Krasevec L, Janzen T, Greenhalgh G, Wells J, MacGowan A, Farmer A, Shea BJ, Mayhew A and Tugwell P (2007) School feeding for improving the physical and psychosocial health of disadvantaged elementary school children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Issue 1. Tembon M, Al-Samarrai S. (1997) Who gets primary schooling and why? Evidence of gender inequalities within families in Guinea; IDS Working Paper 85; Brighton, Institute of Development Studies The PROBE Team (1999) Public Report on Basic Education in India; New Delhi, Oxford University Press United Nations Children’s Fund, World Food Programme. The Essential Package. Twelve interventions to improve the health and nutrition of school-age children. WFP, 2005. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Education For All Global Monitoring Report. Strong Foundations. UNESCO, 2007. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The Leap to Equality. UNESCO, 2004. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation Bridging the gap between intention and action: Girls’ and women’s education in South-Asia. Bangkok, UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 1998. World Bank. From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes: An Unfinished Agenda: World Bank, 2006 World Food Programme Pakistan. Situation Analysis: WFP’s Assistance to Girl’s Primary Education in selected districts of NWFP. WFP Pakistan, 2005. World Food Programme. Food for Education works: a review of WFP FFE monitoring and evaluation 2002-2006. WFP 2007. 10.

Little Gemini

Describe your favorite food. You should say: What it tastes like When people eat it How it is made and explain why you like it. Describe a child you know well. You should say: Where you met him/her What he/she looks like What personality he/she has and explain how you feel about him/her. Describe a close friend of yours. You should say: Who he/she is How you got to know each other what activities you do together and explain why you feel close to him or her. Describe a toy you used to play with. You should say: What it was made of How you got it What you did with it and explain whether you liked it or not and why.Describe an exciting period of your life. You should say: When it was Who was with you What you did and explain why it was exciting for you. Describe a garden/park you enjoyed visiting. You should say: Where it is What it looks like When you first visited it and explain how you enjoyed the visit. Describe a change in the past few years in your city. You should say: What the c hange was What caused the change Whether it was easy to change and explain what you think of the change. Describe a popular TV program in your country. You should say: What time it is on What is it about Who watches it and explain why it is very popular in your country.Describe a book you enjoyed reading very much. You should say: What the name of the book was When you read it What the book was about and explain why you liked it. Describe a recent news story that you heard or read about. You should say: How you heard about the news story What people, places or events were involved How you felt about the news story and explain why you found this news story particularly interesting. Describe a subject you enjoyed studying at school. You should say: When and where you started studying it What the lessons were like What made the subject different from other subjects And explain why you enjoyed the subjectDescribe an artist or entertainer you admire. You should say: Who they are and what they do How they became successful How you found out about them And explain why you admire them. Describe an important choice you had to make in your life. You should say: When you had this choice What you had to choose between Whether you made a good choice And explain how you felt when you were making this choice Describe a job you have done. You should say: How you got the job What the job involved How long the job lasted Describe how well you did the jobDescribe an area of countryside you know and like. You should say: Where it is What its special features are What you and other people do in this area And explain why you like it Describe an object you particularly like. You should say: What it is and what it looks like What it is made of What it is for And explain why it is special for you Describe a newspaper or magazine you enjoy reading. You should say: What kind of newspaper/magazine it is Which parts of it you read regularly When and where you read it Explain why you enjoy reading it Describe something healthy you enjoy doing.You should say: What you do Where you do it Who you do it with And explain why you think doing this is healthy Describe a game or sport you enjoy playing. You should say: What kind of sport it is Who you play it with Where you play it And explain why you enjoy playing it Describe someone in your family who you like. You should say: How this person is related to you What this person looks like What kind of person he/she is And explain why you like this person Describe a museum or art gallery that you have visited. You should say: Where it is Why you went there What you particularly remember about the place.Describe an enjoyable event that you experienced when you were at school. You should say: When it happened What was good about it Who was there And explain why this event has special meaning for you. Describe a song or piece of music you like. You should say: What the song or music is What kind of song or music it is Where you first heard it And explain why you like it Describe a festival that is important in your country. You should say: When the festival occurs What you did during it What you like or dislike about it And explain why this festival is important

Report on cultural analysis and its impact on International Human Essay

Report on cultural analysis and its impact on International Human Resources - Essay Example Suggestions will be made to prove the interrelation between the HR functions and organizational performance in the Swiss and Indian organizations which impact the economic well-being of a certain country. Within the last decades there have been numerous research conducted with the intention to focus on the relationship between the HR functions and organizational performance. Since human resource represents a valuable asset for organization’s ability to be achievement-oriented, it is essential for companies to be able to manage their human potential starting with such processes as staffing and selection (Lussier & Hendon, 2015). In times of changeable business environment, organizations struggle with challenges of staffing in order to increase the knowledge work, reduce labor retention, be more competitive among other companies and diversify the workforce to meet the modern requirements of business world. To solve these challenges, HR functions are called to focus more on staffing and selection (Sultana & Razi, 2012). The following paper will illustrate how HR functions of staffing (recruitment) and selection are applied by Swiss and Indian organization and what impact they hav e on the organizational performance of these two counties. Being a modern market economy, Switzerland has low unemployment rate and high skilled labor force with the GDP per capita highest in the world (Switzerland: economy, 2015). Its labor force comprises 4,697,282 people in 2012. India has the critical mass of highly skilled people who speak English and are good at science. Having the impressive diaspora, Indian creates connection between its valuable knowledge and potential for other world. The employment Source: Switzerland: economy (2015) comprises 481,235,956 in 2013. Its economic regime gives many opportunities for entrepreneurship and free enterprise, creating a strong infrastructure for private

Elements in financial services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Elements in financial services - Essay Example economy? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 How do these policy-induced changes in real interest rates †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 affect the financial institutions and the economy? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 The inflation and the monetary policy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Effect of interest rate to long term investment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Government Spending†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Where does the federal government get all the funding to support these expenditures? †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Monetary Policy in the Financial Crisis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 Work Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 I have chosen to discuss the U.S. monetary policy as it has wide effect to the economy that transcends to other countries. First, I will show the structure of the US monetary policy, its goals and tools. Second part, I will discuss how it affects the U.S. economy, particularly, the financial

Terrorism Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Terrorism - Case Study Example Some of the founding members included Leroy Schweitzer, who was the head of the group, Skurdal and Daniel Petersen, and had been inspired by a former group called Posse Comitatus. Members of this group defaulted taxes and resisted the Internal Revenue Service, which auctioned most of their property to recover the taxes. However, the public feared the group and some property marked for auction remained unsold for several years (Combs, Cindy and Martin, pp. 186). The group created complicated schemes which involved filing liens worth millions of dollars against property owned by the federal or local government in Montana. This was a strategy to raise money to sustain their movement. The movement set up its own common law court and a government in Montana. The government issued arrest warrants for the members, but most of them remained in their farms, and the authorities could not arrest them. The most radical members regrouped at Clark ranch in Jordan from where they ran the movement. In 1996, the Freemen wanted to set up a radio antenna to facilitate their communication. The contracted installer was an undercover FBI agent, who lured Schweitzer and Peterson from their houses to the installation site. On reaching the site, the two Freemen were arrested by federal agents who were waiting for them. Most of the other members were arrested later and sentenced on account of several crimes. The Kurdistan Workers’ party or the PKK was founded in 1974 by Abdullah Ocalan and was initially known as the Kongra-Gel. The group, mainly composed of Turkish Kurds, began armed violence in 1984 as part of its campaign. The main objective of this movement was to establish an independent Kurdish state and government in Turkey, Northern Iraq, parts of Syria and Iran. The groups’ founder members adopted the Marxist theory as part of their liberation campaign. PKK collaborated with other militants in this region to conduct attacks against the Turkish government alongside other extremist sympathizers. The group operates in several countries and runs several training camps in Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. Their campaign involves spreading propaganda against the government, explosives and violence, sabotaging government activities, and spreading their anti-government ideologies (Balci, pp. 172). The group has been involved in several bomb attacks in Turkey, drug trafficking and kidnappings. The founder Abdullah Ocalan was arrested in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Several European countries such as France and Germany sympathize with PKK and have allowed them to open offices in their countries and offered its members support and training. The Turkish government condemns the group by referring to it as a threat to national security. Other sister organizations such as PJAK have come up and are involved in terror activities within Turkey and Iraq. PKK fighters operate from the Qandil Mountains in Iraq in a bid to limit government attacks. The Turkish government has offered the movement an opportunity to negotiate for peace, which has not been fruitful. The U.S government has been accused of giving Iraq PKK members a safe haven for the operations since the fall of Saddam Hussein (Mannes, pp. 179). The Al-Qaeda is an Islamic terror group that was founded by Osama Bin Laden in 1988. The group was founded to free Islamic countries from the profane influence of the west, especially USA and

Intergenerational Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intergenerational Care - Research Paper Example Programs designed for intergenerational care are proving to be very important considering the rapid growth occurring in the two special groups namely the preschoolers and the baby boomers. Especially in the modern context of absence of easily accessible extended families, double-income families (i.e., two working parents) and single parents, programs integrating different generations are deemed invaluable. Intergenerational programs have been defined by the National Council on Aging as â€Å"planned activities that increase cooperation and exchange between any two generations for their mutual benefit.† (James and Leon, 1992). These initiatives basically aim to bring young people and older adults together at various venues â€Å"to interact, stimulate, educate, support, and provide care for one another† (Kaplan, 2001). Currently, about two million older adults are engaged in intergenerational programs wherein they serve children, youth, and families. (http://family.jrank .org/pages/903 Intergenerational-Programming-Program-Models.html). One type of intergenerational programming, of the several in vogue, involves on-site daycare for children wherein the preschoolers interact with older adults e.g., from adult day services, assisted living or nursing home residents. The theory essentially is that the needs of toddlers and the elderly are not in opposition. The intergenerational programs provide the elders and children the opportunity to interact on a daily basis. That is, the program modules basically promote cross-generational socialization. Belonging to age groups that have limited socializing opportunuties, both older adults and young children are likely to derive the greatest benefits from such intergenerational experiences. Besides, it has also been felt especially important for preschoolers to experience the benefits of intergenerational programs to help them overcome the negative

How can a firm use social media in branding Research Paper

How can a firm use social media in branding - Research Paper Example This study looks into Apple Incorporation as a big name in the computer and electronic industry. The company is known for its continuous innovation and innovative products. Apple is famous for the different ideas and strategies in comparison to the competitors and as a result create a clear edge competitive advantage in the market. In this section, the social media marketing strategy of Apple has been evaluated along with the explanation of the consumer issues and needs. Social media marketing is gaining popularity rapidly among different organizations. It has taken important place in the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) strategies of the organizations. Social media marketing allows the organization to communicate and interact with the target market in more easy and convenient manner. Different social media sites and blogs provide the organizations with the platform to interact with the customers directly. These social media platforms also allow the customers to raise any que ry or issue related with the products of services of the organization. Owing to the high importance of social media marketing, it is being used by almost all organizations as a branding tool in order to formulate and communicate the brand image and identity. The brand image and brand identity of any organization or product is directly dependent on the perception consumers built about that particular product or organization. In this regard, the online presence of the organization contributes towards formulating consumers’ perception. ... Social media marketing allows the organization to communicate and interact with the target market in more easy and convenient manner (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Different social media sites and blogs provide the organizations with the platform to interact with the customers directly. These social media platforms also allows the customers to raise any query or issue related with the products of services of the organization. Owing to the high importance of social media marketing, it is being used by almost all organizations as a branding tool in order to formulate and communicate the brand image and identity (Chan-Olmsted, 2011). The brand image and brand identity of any organization or product is directly dependent on the perception consumers built about that particular product or organization (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2009). In this regard, the online presence of the organization contributes towards formulating consumers’ perception. Apple Incorporation has been coming up with di fferent marketing and promotional strategies in order to attract more and more customers. However, it is important to acknowledge here that the social media marketing strategy of the company has been under serious criticism by different analysts and also the customers. The management of Apple has been only focusing on maintaining the online presence through the itunes and Apple Application store. The main focus of the organization is on the different innovative and high quality electronic products (Subramanian, 2010). Apple does not have any official facebook fan page and twitter account. Although, Apple maintains some discussion forums, which are for replying to the queries and questions of the customers, but unfortunately the staff and employees at

Report of app design which is (Mnchester bus times) Essay

Report of app design which is (Mnchester bus times) - Essay Example Manchester bus time’s application has several features, which make it a favorite application for the users. The most distinguished element of the application is the route maps, which will empower all passengers on the various areas the buses, have access. The invention of route maps was to allow people to be well versed with different areas even those who may not know the area or bus network well. For this reason, route maps were a necessary feature on the application. Live information is another notable feature on the application and it entails notifying the passengers on the different undertakings of the buses. Through live information, feature passengers can have access to all the transport information they need without having to download or wait for prior schedules (Travel Manchester, pg 5, 2010). The live information feature will cut across all the modes of transportation- city buses, tram networks, and trains. In addition, the application has the feature of favorite stop s, which shows the transport networks’ regular stops. The Manchester bus time’s application has several usages the major one being provision of journey information to passengers in an accessible way. Before the invention of the application, the only accessible information concerning journeys was that from the operator’s point of view. This means that passengers could not have access to data that was relevant to their needs and had to work with the operators’ data. Since the inception of the application, passengers of public transport can now get journey data regarding different transport networks. Manchester Bus Time application has received enormous support from its users because of its ease of use. Manchester bus time application is a smart phone application, which means that passengers can have right to use all the transport information they require at the touch of a button on their smart

How to the Methods of Calculating Banks Marketing Budget Essay Example for Free

How to the Methods of Calculating Banks Marketing Budget Essay How to Decide Banks Marketing Budget? Introduction Now a day under taking marketing activities is compulsory and a key to exist in the business environment especially in the financial sector where competition is strong. In Ethiopia there are 16 private commercial banks and three public owned banks. There is strong competition among these banks to take market share and earn profit especially for those banks that enter the market recently. In addition according to the National Bank of Ethiopia Directive, all commercial bank have to reach 500 million paid up capital in the coming four years. In order to achieve this amount of capital these banks must sell new share, persuade their existing share holders to fully pay the subscribed amount and retain the earning instead of paying the dividend. These are achieved by undertaking strong marketing campaign. All the banks have marketing budget and the budget differs based on the size and depth of their capital. However, determining the size of marketing budget is not an easy task. It is big question often asked by marketers and bank executives. In Ethiopia it is common to see Television program and football events sponsored by commercial banks, advertisement of banks products and services in any time on electronics and print media especially money transfer adverts during the holiday season, distributing giveaway materials and entertaining their customers. The marketing budget for a bank generally includes expenditures for five different activities: Advertising Debub Global Bank, MPPE Department Compiled by: Behaylu Wondafrash Promotional activities Sales promotion Marketing research Sales/customer service training and Public relations: How a bank allocates its total marketing budget among various marketing activities depends largely on bank size in terms of capital and branch distribution and advertising cost (production and air time cost). Most the Banks in Ethiopia spends about 80% of their total marketing budgets on advertising. The rest activities took 20 percent of the budget. Most banks are currently using sales promotion activity like commercial bank of Ethiopia which provide awards for who save 1000 birr and above in any branch of it and promotional activities like sponsoring Ethiopian Great Run and donating to children aid. Advertising took about 80 percent of the budget. This due to the fact that time to time increasing cost of advertising rate and production cost. The lion share of the budget is goes to the Ethiopian radio and Television Agency and then to the private FM radio stations especially Fana FM and Sheger FM. Most banks also use print media like reporter and fortune news paper. But how does a bank determine how much it should spend for marketing in general and advertising in particular? There are methods of calculation. Methods of calculation According to author of Marketing Financial Services, there are different ways to calculate a banks marketing budget. Banks use at least four methods to determine what they will spend on marketing in general and on advertising in particular: Debub Global Bank, MPPE Department Compiled by: Behaylu Wondafrash The percentage method, The competitive parity method, The incremental method and The objective-and-task method. 1. Percentage method: the percentage method states banks advertising budget is 1/10th of 1 percent of a banks total assets. This percentage method has several drawbacks or flaws. First, it is based on the banks past performance rather than on objectives for the future. Second, it views assets or deposits as the cause of advertising rather than recognizing that increases in these variables might be, to some extent, the effect of advertising. Third, it discourages aggressive advertising and reduces advertising expenditures in periods of economic slowdown. Research indicates that firms that maintain or increase their advertising during periods of recession do better after the recession. 2. Competitive parity method this method is also known as follows the leader. A bank determines what its competitors are spending on advertising and simply follows their lead. This method is based on the erroneous assumption that the market responds in the same way to the same volume of birr spent by different banks. It fails to take into account the effects of variations in creativity, different uses of media, the timing of campaigns, and a banks image and recognition level in its market area. Furthermore, a banks competitors probably use no more rational a system for determining their advertising expenditures than does the bank that is following their lead. 3. Incremental Method: under this method a bank simply increases its advertising budget by a certain percentage each year. The percentage may take Debub Global Bank, MPPE Department Compiled by: Behaylu Wondafrash into account the rate of inflation or the growth rate of the bank or it may be dictated by a planner or budgeter whose primary objective is to make the bottom line show a targeted return on assets. Whatever the percentage increase, this method does not take in to account the desired objectives of advertising and the most cost effective ways to attain them. 4. Objective-and-task method. Using this method, the bank bases its advertising budget on what it will cost to meet the marketing objectives it had defined. The bank then weighs this cost against the expected net benefit of the new business to ensure that the cost of advertising will not reduce the profit margin on the newly acquired deposits or loans beyond acceptable limits. For example, Let us take Debub Global bank (DGB) and assume that a banks goal is to increase its one-year deposit volume by 100 million birr over its expected normal growth during a promotion period. It calculates that the profit margin on those funds (deposits) will be 6 percent (or 6,000,000 birr). The bank must then decide how much it is willing to invest in advertising in order to generate an extra 6,000,000 birr of income. The selected amount will vary from bank to bank. This method also has its drawbacks. While it works for specific promotions that have immediately measurable results, such as increased deposit or loan volume, it cannot be used to determine the level of advertising necessary to build awareness of the bank and to develop and maintain an image for it. A bank that advertises only when it has a specific promotion to communicate may be out of the media for considerable periods of time. Most marketers agree that some maintenance level of advertising, either product or institutional, is a necessary investment, simply to keep the banks name in front of its publics.

Coca Cola Entering Chinas Market Marketing Essay

Coca Cola Entering Chinas Market Marketing Essay One way to analyze Chinas culture is to look at their Hofstede score. Hofstede is the name of a system that rates countries on a scale across five different work related values: power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long vs. short term orientation. Knowing these scored before operating in a country is very important. The power distance index describes the distance between those who are less powerful in the company, like middle and lower-management, and those who are very powerful, like the bosses and officers. The higher scores mean that it is very disrespectful to go to your boss and offer up your opinion about something, and you are suppose to just take what your boss gives you. A low power distance index means that everyone is close to a similar level, and you are allowed to and actually encouraged to offer up your opinion to your bosses. China has a high power distance index, with a rating of 80, being that the worl d average is 55. The individualistic vs. collectivistic index rates how integrated members of a company are. Individualistic countries value getting the job done yourself, and celebrates individual accomplishments. Collectivistic countries value team effort, and do not seek for individual results, and sometimes it can be very embarrassing to be singled out. In china, they have an individualistic vs. collectivistic index rating of 20, compared to the world average of 43. Masculinity, opposed to femininity, defines roles that each gender takes in an organization. Masculine countries show high levels of competitiveness and assertiveness, while feminine counties show low levels of those just described and high levels of modesty and care. A high score in the masculinity index means that the country is masculine, while lose scores mean the country is feminine. China has a masculinity rating of 50, while the world average is 50, which means China is indifferent between being masculine or feminine. Uncertainty avoidance index defines how much risk the population in general takes. Countries with a high index will take lots of risks, while a country with a low index will take little to no risks. High index countries are very comfortable with venturing to the unknown, while low score countries prefer to stay put where they are. China has a score of 60 in uncertainty avoidance, while the world average is 64. The last index is the long-term orientation. This defines how far into the future the country looks at decisions it has to make now. Countries with a high long-term orientation look to maintain steady flow in the long-run, while short-term countries looks for results now without thinking about the future. China has a score of 118, while the world average is 45. The official language of China is Chinese, though many business people speak English as well. The government is Communist run, and most people are atheist, with many different types of atheist-religions being practiced. As of May 2010, the population of China was estimated to be around 1.3 billion, which is about 20% of the worlds population. A couple notes about the behavior that are important to know when dealing with a Chinese business person is to never have personal contact, never point while speaking, point with a open palm, not with the index finger, do not put your hand in your mouth, always be on time, and do not discuss business at meals. Decision making is slow in China, and rushing them is considered very disrespectful. The culture of China is drastically different from the culture of the U.S., the home country of Coca-Cola. The Hofstede ratings for the U.S. are 91 for individualism, 62 for masculinity, 29 for long-term orientation, 40 for power-distance, and 46 for uncertainty avoidance. This means that China is more long-term oriented, has a higher power distance, and avoids uncertainty more, while the United States is more individualistic and masculine. Now that we understand Chinese culture, we can analyze Coca-Cola and their international business structure there. Marketing Plan/Strategy: Target Market: Coke can be enjoyed by anyone. Coca-Cola does not explicitly target a specific market overall, but they do have advertising campaigns that do talk to a specific group. Coca-Cola has to know the differences between the types of markets in China in order to send the right message to its intended group. One segment Coca-Cola looks at is urban and rural communities. Even though there are more potential customers in rural areas, there are more potential customers in urban areas. The economic diversity of the two groups makes it possible to separate them. The disposable income per capita in urban areas is three times more than in rural areas. There is also a difference in the province you live in. The different geographical regions of China have a difference in sales for Coke. Of the four largest cities in China, there are only 4 percent of Chinas population there, but accounted for 15 percent of sales, while all the other smaller cities and provinces had 80 percent of the population and h ad 50 percent of the sales. Age is also a segment that Coca-Cola builds on. Coca-Cola was introduced in the 1970s, and people who were born after its introduction grew up drinking Coke in their meals. Coca-Cola realized this and made all those born from their introduction on, which means everyone about 40 years are younger are a target market for Coca-Cola to advertise Coke to. 4 Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, Place) The product is called Coca-Cola, but Coke is used for short instead of saying the whole thing. It is a carbonated beverage. It was originally a patent medicine sold in a pharmacy, but along the lines it made its way to sell in a variety of places to become the number one sold drink in the world. The ingredients of Coke are carbonated water, sugar, caffeine, phosphoric acid v. caramel, and natural flavorings. The pricing of Coke is relative to other competitors in the market. The biggest competitor for Coca-Cola is Pepsi, and Coca-Cola takes account of what Pepsi prices their soft drink. Coca-Cola has an advantage though because they have a product that everyone sees as being a consistent and dependable one, so Coke is allowed to be priced 15 to 20 cents more without losing any sales to Pepsi. Promotion of Coke is very specific to the area being targeted. Coke implements pattern advertising, which keeps the video the same for countries targeted, but changes the audio, color scheme, and character selection to be similar to the area being broadcasted. Coke also does not make advertisements claiming to be better than Pepsi. In supermarkets, Cokes place is right next to all the other drinks, with no one product getting more exposure than others. Coca-Cola has at least one sales centre in cities with more than one million people. The sales centre also warehouse Cokes, and plenty of delivery trucks are there to disperse the products. Business Environment Coca-Cola expands in countries through a variety of licensing agreements and joint ventures. Coca-Cola licenses the selling of Coke out to bottlers. Coca-Cola makes the soda syrup and sends it to bottlers who mix it with carbonated water and bottle it, sending it to retailers. Bottlers are allowed to sweeten it differently depending on local tastes. Coca-Cola goes into joint ventures with other companies to come out with different types of products. Coca-Cola has joint ventures with companies like Proctor Gamble, Danone, and Nestle. Human Resources: Coca-Cola Company is not one in the same as the Coca-Cola bottlers, which are the majority of the whole business model. Coca-Cola does not have many offices world-wide for manufacturing, but do have executive offices. Coca-Cola sends expatriates out to deal with international sales. Glenn G. Jordan S. is the president of the Pacific Group for Coca-Cola, while Douglas Jackson is the President of the China Business Unit. Coca-Cola does not hire internationally for their executives and officers. For the Pacific Group, there are 2,900 executives working with 30,000 bottler employees. Coca-Cola states that people development is the stable for long-term success. One way they develop people is by sending them to Coca-Cola University, which is a virtual global university that teaches its employees everything they need to know. Coca-Cola pays its Chinese employees based on a couple of factors. First they make sure that what they are paying their employees is competitive with other consumer goods companies. Coca-Cola also offers benefits such as housing and transportation allowances, supplementary life and accidental insurance, free annual physical check-ups, free lunches and beverages, and festival allowances. They offer medical programs for the whole family. Twice a year, rewards are handed to employees who contribute significantly to the Company and the communities in which they operate. There are two ways in which Coca-Cola recruits new employees. First, they cooperate with local universities and business schools to directly go and recruit graduating students. Second, they post openings on their website to screen through hundreds of thousands of applications, which is later followed by a interview process if the resume was chosen. Finance: Since Coca-Cola licenses out the bottling and selling of Coke, they do not have to invest intensively in foreign investments. Coca-Cola has such a strong brand name that it allows them to have the freedom to invest anywhere with just about absolute assurance Coke will sell and make a profit. Coca-Cola has the leeway to introduce new products, seeing as they make such an income from Coke that it covers any potential losses. Coca-Cola has made a net income of about $6 billion for the past 3 years, so money is not an issue when investing in new products. Conclusion: Overall, Coca-Cola has been and for a long time will be a very successful company in China and the rest of the world. One of the biggest reasons for this is Coca-Colas consistency. They have a brand name with Coke that is recognized globally, and that will not go away from a long time unless they somehow hurt themselves publicly. Coca-Cola has realized that China is still a fast growing country, and has recently announced that they will open three new bottling plants in China. The new investments are set to cost $2 billion, which tops the total amount invested in now which is $1.6 billion. Coca-Cola tried to buyout Hong Kong-listed China Huiyuan Juice Group LTD, but was blocked by the Chinese government, which claimed that Coca-Cola was trying to set up a monopoly. Regardless what Coca-Colas intentions may be, they are still a very smart company and have certainly staked their claim as being the best in the nonalcoholic beverage industry. As long as Coca-Cola stays consist with their flagship product Coke, the sky is the limit for the Company.