Terms of Address Strategies 329

Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences
Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2012
Rome, Italy 2012

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Copyright  2012 MCSER – Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research
ISSN 2039-9340 (print) ISSN 2039-2117 (online)
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3
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Abuja-Nigeria Sodienye A. Abere
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Adriana Vizental Eddie Blass
University Aurel Vlaicu, Romania Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
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University Aurel Vlaicu, Romania Tel Aviv University, Jerusalem-Israel
Bassey Ubong Raphael C. Njoku
Federal College of Education (Technical), University of Louisville, USA
Omoku-Nigeria Ali Simek
Jani Sota Anadolu University, Turkey
Aleksander Moisiu University, Albania Austin N. Nosike
A. C. Nwokocha The Granada Management Institute, Spain
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Gerhard Berchtold
Umudike-Umuahia, Nigeria Universidad Azteca, Mexico
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Federal College of Education (Technical), University of Khartoum, Sudan
Omoku-Nigeria Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi
Femi Quadri University of Abuja, Abuja-Nigeria
Federal College of Education (Technical), Oby C. Okonkwor
Omoku-Nigeria Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka-Nigeria
Abraham I. Oba Ridvan Peshkopia
Niger Delta Development Commission, Nigeria American Unievrsity of Tirana, Albania
Tutku Akter Murthy CSHN
Girne American University, Northern Cyprus Tezpur University Napaam Assam India
Fouzia Naeem Khan George Aspridis
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Technological Educational Institute (T.E.I.) of
Science and Technology, Pakistan Larissa
Marcel Pikhart Talat Islam
University Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Transfer of Persian Language Speech Acts into English Language 11

Maryam Pakzadian, Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi
Idiomatic Expressions of Number in Persian and English 19
Vahid Parvaresh, Banafsheh Ghafel
Social Classes vs Professional Stereotypes in Greece. A View to a Fogy Social Construction 27
Argyris Kyridis, Vasiliki Bassiou, Christos Zagkos, Paraskevi Golia, Nikos Fotopoulos, Nikos Papadakis
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigerian Educational System 41
Agbetuyi, P. A., Oluwatayo, J. A.
Repositioning the Teaching Profession to Meet Developmental Challenges in Nigeria 47
J. B. Ayodele, B. K. Oyewole
Occupational Stress, Burnout and Job Satisfaction among Supervisors in North Cyprus 53
Suleyman Davut Göker
Mobbing At Elementary Schools In Turkey 61
Asiye Toker Gökçe
The Impacts of Cooperative Learning on Oral Proficiency 75
Farima Talebi, Atefe Sobhani
Psychological Trait and Situation Affecting through Inspiration of Public Mind
to Energy Conservation Behavior of Undergraduate Student 81
Paitoon Pimdee, Nongnapas Thiengkamol, Tanarat Thiengkamol
Breaking Barriers and Overcoming the Odds Confronting Intergenerational Communication
Barriers to Adolescent Sexuality Education in Southwestern, Nigeria 89
Ola Tolulope Monisola
Oriental Policies and Investment Prospects Increasing the Economic
Development Capacity in Republic of Kosovo 95
Alba Dumi, Ilirjana Kiser, Avni Karakushi
Ideology at Work: Language as Performative Discourse 101
Abdelghani Nait-Brahim
A Hedonic Model for Apartment Rentals in Ikeja Area of Lagos Metropolis 109
G.K. Babawale, H. A. Koleoso, C.A. Otegbulu
A Participatory Development Strategy for Sugar Palm Plantation Community 121
Chaiyan Kong-at, Suphawan Vongkamjan, Anurak Panyanuwat, Thassanupan Gusolsatit
Ethno Religious Conflict and Settlement Pattern in Northern Nigeria 129
Y.L. Gambo, M.M. Omirin
Beckett's Metatheatrical Philosophy: A postmodern Tendency Regarding
Waiting for Godot and Endgame 137
Marzieh Keshavarz
Real Exchange Rate and Inflation: An Empirical Assessment of the Nigerian Experience 145
Victor E. Oriavwote, Samuel J. Eshenake
7

Teaching French as a Foreign Language to Iranian Adult Learners: Problems and Solutions 155
Nazita Azimi Meibodi, Zohreh Gharaei
Combating Human Trafficking in Nigeria: An Evaluation of State Policies and Programmes 161
Emmanuel Joseph Chukwuma Duru, Ogbonnaya, Ufiem Maurice
The Impact of Rising Food Prices on the Households in a Low Income Township in South Africa 165
Tshediso Joseph Sekhampu, Dorah Dubihlela
Role of Body Members in Constructing Metaphors in Persian Political Texts 171
Shahla Sharifi, Ailin Firoozian Pooresfahani, Aida Firoozian Pooresfahani
Apprenticeship Culture among Traditional Tailors in Atiba Local
Government Area in Oyo State, South-Western, Nigeria 179
Jubril Olayiwola Jawando, Oluranti Samuel, Bolawale Odunaike
Strategic Model for Development Planning of Subdistrict Administrative Organization 187
Thanakrit Sawasdee, Suphawan Vongkamjan, Boonsaen Teawnukultham
Telephone Conversation Opening in Iran: Males and Females in Focus 193
Azizollah Dabaghi, Akram Khadem
Primary SchoolStudents’ Perception of Inspectors and Inspection Period in Turkey 199
Asiye Toker Gökçe, Züleyha Ertan Kantos
Anomie and Honor in the Albanian Society 203
Miranda Rira
The Relationships of Learning Styles, Learning Motivation and Academic
Success in EFL Learning Context 211
Napaporn Srichanyachon
Paradigm Shift in Investment Property Valuation Theory and Practice:
Nigerian Practitioners’ Response. 217
G.K Babawale
Fidelity vs. Infidelity: An Investigation of the Ideational and Illocutionary Strategies
Used in the Two Persian Renderings of Shakespeare's Macbeth 229
Elaheh Jamshidian, Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi
Constructed Identity and Community Self-Expression to Perceive Human Security;
Case Study of Klity Village, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand 239
Passanan Assavarak
Albania Between Italy and the First Balkan Conference 1930 247
Anduana Shahini (Kërtalli)
The Influences of Foreign Direct Investments, the Economic Advantages
Offering in Macedonian Economy. An overview of foreign organizations activities 251
Alba Dumi, Florina Memeti, Jeton Qazimi
Experienced versus Inexperienced EFL Teachers` Beliefs of Self-Efficacy:
The Case of Public and Private Sectors 257
Ehsan Alijanian
Primary School Teachers’ and Administrators’ Opinions About Success
of “E-School” Application in Turkey 263
Hakan Akar, Mehmet Arslan, Zehra Nur Ersozlu
Gender Undertone in Occupational Competence of University Workers.
An Application of Holand’s Theory (1959) 271
Amos. E. Arijesuyo, Adodo Sunday Olufemi
8

Multicultural Education Curriculum Development in Turkey 277

Hasan Aydin
Promoting Culture and Tourism in Nigeria Through Calabar Festival and Carnival Calabar 287
Esekong H. Andrew, Ibok Ekpenyong
The Impact of Macroeconomic Variables on Stock Prices: An Empirical Analysis of Karachi Stock Exchange 295
Muhammad Mubashir Hussain, Muhammad Aamir, Nosheen Rasool, Maleeha Fayyaz, Maryam Mumtaz
Troop Deployment and Effective Peace Operations in Africa:
African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS) (2004-2006) 313
Dodeye Uduak Williams
Approaches and Differences on the Ratio Between History and Sociology 323
Jani Sota
Translation of Terms of Address from English to Persian: Strategies in Focus 329
Bahareh Lotfollahi, Azizollah Dabbaghi
The Impact of Level of Education of Pregnant Women on Nutritional Adherence 335
Bada, Festus Olatunji, Falana, Bernard Akinlabi
An Overview of Eqrem Cabej’s Literary Thought 341
Edlira Dhima
A Study of Cosmetic Brand Name Translation in Iran 345
Zeinab Khalilian, Abbas Eslami Rasekh
Politeness Principle in 2008 Presidential Debates between Mc Cain and Obama 351
Maryam Pakzadian
Manipulation through Legal and Judicial Translation Process 359
Anila Bilero
Social Pathology of Trust in Car Written Manuscripts 363
Farhad Divsalar, Azadeh Nemati
Formation of new Words with the Suffix in the Albanian Language Today 373
Aida Bado
Assessment of Development Indices in Nigeria’s Bitumen Communities 381
Adekunle Olatumile
Symbolism and Domain of Numbers in English and Persian Metaphorical Expressions
in the Light of Al-Hasnawi's Cognitive Model 387
Banafsheh Ghafel, Abbass Eslami Rasekh
Exchange Rate Volatility and Economic Growth In Nigeria 399
Oyovwi O. Dickson
The Participation of Human Reseources in Albanian Local Governance Obligates 409
Zhyljen Papajorgji, Alba Dumi, Irma Gjika
The Fundamental Aspects of the Cham Issue 415
Sokol Pacukaj
A Fourty-One Year Review of Deaths from Motor Accidents in Lagos State, Nigeria (1970-2010) 421
Atubi, Augustus .O.
The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Social Phobia Based on Meta-Cognitive Variables 429
Zahra Lak, Mahmoud Golzari, Ahmad Borj'ali, Ma'soumeh Sedaghat
Stock Market Prices and Performance of Textile Industry of Pakistan
in Last Five Years – An Evidence of EMH 437
Muhammad Aamir, Kanwal Iqbal Khan, Muhammad Farooq Rehan
9

Socio-Economic Determinants of Household Food Expenditurein a Low

Income Township in South Africa 449
Tshediso Joseph. Sekhampu
Market Research Applicability Among Nigerian Estate Surveyors
and Valuers in Project Appraisal 455
Y. L. Gambo, A. C. Otegbulu, M. M. Omirin, J. U. Osagie
Inter Religious Tolerance Among the People of Elbasan 463
Nuredin Çeçi
Analysis of Housing Condition and Neighbourhood Quality of Residential Core of Akure, Nigeria 471
Owoeye, J.O, Omole, F.K
A Sociological Analysis of the Space of Popular Music Production in Iran 483
Reza Samim, Vahid Ghasemi, Sasan Fatemi
Students Perception of the Relative Causes of Human Trafficking In Nigeria 493
Oyeleke Oluniyi
Genetic Diversity Among Puntius Sophore Complex Using Restriction
Fragment Length Polymorphism 499
Smitha Balaraj
A Communicative Approach to Meaning Discrimination in Bilingual Passive Dictionaries 505
Zohreh Gharaei, Ahmad Moinzadeh
Translation of Movie Titles from English to Persian: Strategies and Effects 511
Bahareh Lotfollahi, Ahmad Moinzadeh
Impact of Rocky Topography on Settlement Pattern and Housing Development in Idanre, Nigeria 517
Omole, F.K, Owoeye, J.O
Brian Moore’s Fergus: A Baudrillardian Reading 525
Atefeh Salehnia, Hossein Pirnajmuddin
Performance of Rental Values of Residential Properties in Selected areas
in Akure, Nigeria between 2001 and 2011 531
Bello Victoria Amietsenwu
Gibran’s Opus The Prophet: Valuable Lessons for Better Life 537
Abul Mobrur Mohammad Hamed Hassan
Identification of Health and Safety Performance Improvement Indicators for Small and
Medium Construction Enterprises: A Delphi Consensus Study 545
Justus N. Agumba, Theo C. Haupt
The Effect of Communal Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Over Addiction Potential and
Addiction Tendency of Students Suffering from Social Phobia 559
Zahra Lak, Masoumeh Sedaghat, Zahra Ahmadvand
The Impact of Keyword Technique on the Students’ Vocabulary Retention Ability in an EFL Class 565
Win Jenpattarakul
Challenges at the Beginning of the XX Century for the Albanian Nation, Literature and Culture 575
Ledri Kurti
10
ISSN 2039‐2117 Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 3 (3) September 2012
The Transfer of Persian Language Speech Acts into English Language
Maryam Pakzadian
Dr. Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi
University of Isfahan, Iran

E-mail: maryam.pakzadian2011@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p11
Abstract This paper investigates socio-pragmatic transfer of speech acts from Persian language into English language. The researcher
compares the data gathered from Persian speakers of English and American native English in five different service situations. Persian
speakers of English have different semantic interpretations from native American speakers, they conform to different sociolinguistic
norms. So when Persian speakers want to speak English they consider their own cultural and social norms and transfer them in to
English. Misunderstanding and break downs in conversations are due to this socio-pragmatic transfer. Adhering to different speaking
rules and models of accepted behavior can cause different cultural perceptions about the L2 speakers, some of which are not true
perceptions of course. So we should be careful about false cultural perceptions naming stereotypes without having knowledge about L2
speakers' cultural and social backgrounds.
Keywords: speech act; transfer; cultural stereotypes; Persian, English;
1. Introduction
Cultures vary in terms of communication strategies, the type of language, the functions of various speech acts, and all the
other dimensions of interpersonal communication that are considered as appropriate in given context.(see Blum- Kulka et
all.1989). Speakers of different languages when interact, are quite aware of different sounds and structures; but at the
same time they are unaware of socio-cultural norms that play a crucial role in their interpersonal communication. Native
speakers are likely to misinterpret the intentions of nonnative speakers that will result in "mutual negative stereotyping''.
(Tannen, 1989).
Second language learners are not consciously aware of rules of speaking which are mostly culture-specific, and as a
result they cannot learn socio-cultural rules automatically. (Hall, 1977; Thomas, 1983).
Seelye (1997, page.64) suggests that stereotypes pose an interesting paradox in that while stereotypes are often
terribly out-of-date or dangerously derogatory, they often capture the characteristics attributed to a particular culture.
When non natives participate in communicative situations with native speakers are judged by the norms of target
language culture and native speakers rarely attribute misunderstandings to non natives' adherence to different rules of
speaking. Our cultural knowledge acts as a filter through which we interpret the behaviors of others. As speakers from
other cultures tend to behave based on socio-cultural norms of their native language, they will behave more similar to
each other than native speakers of target language and this can give rise to cultural perceptions and attitudes attached to
them or cultural stereotypes. In the same way that native speakers recognize foreigners' accents (e.g. She speaks with
Mexican accent, or he has Chinese accent so do native speakers attach certain behaviors to certain people and cultures
and come to identify certain behaviors as Arab-like, Latino- like, etc.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of pragmatic or socio-cultural transfer and the role this
type of transfer may play in having specific perceptions and attitudes toward people from specific culture namely
stereotypes. Specifically the researcher will address the question of pragmatic transfer into English by native speakers of
Persian within the speech act of complaints. In this study how native speakers of Persian complain in service settings in
Persian, their native language, and in English, their second language, and how both these sets of data compare to data
produced by native speakers of American English in same settings.
11
2. Literature review
2.1 Pragmatic transfer
Kasper (1992) defines pragmatic transfer as "the influence exerted by learners' pragmatic knowledge of languages and
cultures other than L 2 on their comprehension and production and learning of L2 pragmatic information" (Kasper, 1992,
p. 207). She subsumes studies in this area under a sub-discipline of second language acquisition (SLA) research known
as inter-language pragmatics. In an earlier work, Kasper and DahI (1991) offered a narrower definition of inter-language
pragmatics as the study of "the nonnative speakers' (NNSs') comprehension and production of speech acts, and how
their L2-related speech act knowledge is acquired" (Kasper, 1991, p. 216).
Pragmatic transfer occurs when L2 learners apply the socially appropriate rules of their native language to target
language situation either because they are unaware of target language routines and norms or because they are
psychologically unable to violate their L1 internalized accepted norms of speech behavior. Misunderstandings and
misinterpretations are the results are such socio-pragmatic transfer. The recurrent happening of such misunderstandings
and misinterpretations may give rise to wrong perceptions and attitudes toward people from different cultures.
In an attempt to account for the reasons underlying pragmatic transfer several proposals have been made, namely,
learners' lack of linguistic proficiency, their perception of speech act use as governed by universal (versus language-
specific) factors, or their perception of similarities between their native language culture and that of target language one,
and the psycholinguistic processes of overgeneralization, simplification or reduction of new sociolinguistic knowledge.
Kasper (1979) and Blum-Kulka (1982) conclude that "even fairly advanced language learners' communicative acts
regularly contain pragmatic errors, or deficits, in that they fail to convey or comprehend the intended illocutionary force or
politeness value."(Blum-Kulka et al.1989:10)
Misunderstanding of illocutionary force of an utterance leads to ' Pragmatic failure', while making incorrect social
judgments about the appropriate and thus expected behavior in a given context results in 'socio-pragmatic failure'.
(Thomas, 1983).Pragmatic failure stems from lack of familiarity with' the linguistic resources which a given language
provides for conveying particular illocutions. (Leech, 1983:11).
According to Canale (1983) Socio pragmatic failure , on the other hand, involves lack of awareness of the
conventions and the sociocultural norms of the target language, such as not knowing the appropriate registers, and topics
or taboos governing the target language community ( i.e., not knowing when it is when it is appropriate to perform a
speech act.
When second language learners in L2 communicative situations. They are judged by the socio-cultural norms of
target language culture but not with norms of their own native culture.
Americans usually characterize Middle East people and specially Iranians as terrorist, aggressive, hating Americans, etc.
Americans stereotyping Iranian women as "uneducated homemakers," and Iranian men as being "sexually and
emotionally aggressive" toward women. Although Iranians usually characterize Americans as meek, cool, having a lovely
accent, and a wide range of Iranian students are likely to follow English with an American accent.
As Asghar Farhady, Iranian director of the masterpiece ' a Separation', in Oscar 2012 presented on the stage: "Our
people are truly peace loving people."
3. Research methodology
3.1 Participants
The data for this study were gathered from 80 subjects: 40 native speakers of Persian and 40 native speakers of
American English. The subjects ranged in age from 18 to 25. Persian subjects provided two sets of data: responses in
Persian and responses in English. These subjects were asked first to complete written discourse completion
questionnaires in English and then to complete another set in Persian. The subjects were purposefully asked to complete
the questionnaires in order to minimize covert encouragement of transfer from their native language into their second
language.
The Iranians
The subjects were the undergraduate students from different majors, studying at University of Isfahan. They had all
studied English for 5-6 years .None of the subjects had ever lived abroad although some of them had traveled to English -
speaking countries on vacation. The data collection was through sending questionnaires to their Email addresses.
12
The Americans
The Americans were college students, who were members of a chat room for American College Students .The subjects
came primarily from New York. None of the participants had ever lived overseas and none spoke any language other
than English.
3.2 Data collection procedures
The instrument used in the present study is a discourse completion questionnaire. This instrument is an efficient means
of collecting information which allows the researchers to gather a large amount of data quickly, and allowing them to
obtain important background data such as socioeconomic status, educational background, and geographic place of
residence. It also permits the researcher to gather data on speech acts in specific settings. This type of data collection
also allows non native speakers to prepare a good response. Second language learners often become nervous and
unsure while being tested orally (Bodman, 1986). Thus a written format of data collection removes the element of anxiety
and more closely reflect what the nonnative speakers would really produce in spoken interactions.( see ,e.g., Cohen
,1986; Rose ,1992; Kasper, 1993 for further information on the use of written discourse questionnaires ) .
3.3 Materials and procedures
The data collection instrument used in this study was a discourse completion questionnaire with 5 situations. These five
situations were designed to elicit complaints from respondents without actually using the word "complain". In order to
control status and familiarity variables to some degree all the situation involved service relationships, that is an interaction
between a customer or a client and a server. The same situations were used in both the English and in Persian versions
of the questionnaires.
The first situation involves a customer who finds that he/she had bought rotten cheese after checking expire date at
home, now he/she goes back to super market to have it changed. In the second situation a customer goes to a hair salon
to have a haircut, at last the customer finds his/her hair too short! In the third situation a client is kept waiting in a law
office for 2 hours! The fourth situation involves a student who receives C while he thinks that he/she answered all the
questions thoroughly. And the last situation consists of an angry neighbor who calls 911 for the second time reporting an
annoying neighbor always partying with loud music. Subjects were provided a brief description of the situation, a brief
introductory turn by the subject's imaginary hearer, and then blank lines for the subjects' written responses:
You are in a law office now, you had an appointment with a lawyer at 2:00 but now this is 4:00. The receptionist looks
cool and it seems nothing happened at all! You are very annoyed and you go to the receptionist.
Receptionist: "Yes?"
You:……………………………………………
………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….
The first conversational turn which is taken by the subjects' imaginary interlocutor was purposefully kept brief. In the
example above the reader will note that the receptionist or the person in charge says only "yes" as the initial turn. The
purpose of keeping the imaginary interlocutors' responses brief and nearly identical was to avoid unduly influencing
subjects' responses. As is evident from the example, at no time are subjects actually instructed to complain; rather
subjects are forced to produce this speech act by the nature of situation.
4. Findings and discussion
The tabulated data from all the respondents discuss four semantic categories that have the most relevance to our
investigation into pragmatic transfer and cultural stereotypes: requests for repair, demands for repair, justifications, and
criticisms. My focus on only these four of the semantic categories is because of their higher chance of occurrence in
comparison to others. ( For further information see DeCapua 1985, 1986, 1987)
4.1 Requests for repair and demands for repair
Requests for repairs are questions (and at times statements) that ask the hearer to remediate or redress the problem in
13
some way. In the data from the American respondents, requests for repair were frequently questions or pleas
incorporating modal verbs such as 'can', 'could', or 'would'. Note that these forms are standard forms used in both English
and Persian to make requests which indirectly function as directives but yet appear polite by virtue of the verb form which
is marked for indirectness and hence politeness as in:
(1a) Can you either get me in to see the lawyer or make me another appointment?
(1b) Could I get another cheese pocket?
The Persian respondents produced questions or pleas incorporating modals primarily in the supermarket where the
customer wants to change rotten cheese with a new one. This was true in both their English and their Persian responses.
More common in the two sets of data produced by the Persians across all the situations was the use of a structure not
found at all in the American English data, namely "‫ " ﻟﻄﻔﺎ‬please' plus the command form of the verb:
2) ‫ﻟﻄﻔﺎ رﺳﻴﺪﮔﯽ ﮐﻨﻴﺪ ﺗﺎ ﻣﺸﮑﻞ هﺮ ﭼﻪ زودﺗﺮ ﺣﻞ ﺷﻮد‬
Please see to it that you fix this as soon as possible.
Table 1 shows that the Persians responding in Persian produced the most requests for repair (70%). The Persians
responding in English and the American subjects produced almost the same percent of requests for repair, in 60% and
42% of the situations respectively.
Table 1: Incidents as % of total subjects/situations
Requests for Repair Demands for Repair

Persian NSs 70 20
Persian EFL 60 24
American NSs 42 24
NS=Native Speaker ESL=English as a Second Language
In this table we see that demand for repair , in contrast to requests for repair, more demands for repair in their English
responses than they did in their Persian responses. When they did make their demands for repair in English, the Persian
respondents generally made much stronger or direct demands for repair than they did when responding in Persian or
than did the American English speakers.
I suggest two reasons for this; first what the Persians may have intended to convey in English and what they actually
conveyed may well not have been the same. Second language learners simply do not have the same ability to
manipulate the target language that native speakers do. As such these learners are likely to err in the actual intended
pragmatic force of their utterances( Cohen& Olshtain,1981; Beebe,et al.1990; Blum-kukla'1982; Bodman ,1993)
A second reason for the difference in directness lies, I maintain , in pragmatic transfer; namely the Persian modal ‫ﺑﺎﻳﺪ‬
, Which technically compares to the English modal 'must' or 'have to' , encompasses a somewhat different semantic field
and hence carries a different illocutionary or pragmatic force than does either English counterpart. As these Persian and
English modals are not exactly interchangeable in all situations, Persians speaking in English and using 'must' or 'have to
' where Americans except 'should' or some other, less direct means expression may intentionally come across as
sounding unusually demanding or even commanding to native speakers.
Let me elaborate on this point .In several instances the Persian respondents used ‫' ﺑﺎﻳﺪ‬must/ have to ' where American
English speakers prefer 'should'. This at times had the effect that that the Persian subjects conveyed much stronger or
more direct demands for repair than they probably intended to in their English responses.
Consider for instance:
(3a) ….You must pay for a new one.
(3b)…..I think you have to give me a new appointment.
In both (3a) and (3b) American speakers would have phrased their demands somewhat differently; e.g., substituting
'should' where the Persian used 'must' or ' have to':
(3c)…You should pay for a new one.
(3d) ….I think you should give me a new appointment.
For Americans 'should' softens the pragmatic force of a demand whereas 'must/have to' act as intensifiers that
increase demands to command status. Although all the examples in (3) are demands for repair , there is a difference in
the pragmatic force; the intensity or directness of the semantic content of the phrases is not identical. In American English
'must' when used in the sense of obligation ( and to a somewhat lesser extent 'have to ') ,is a very strong modal auxiliary
14
which conveys the idea of law or order. It implies that there is no possible or permissible alternative (Frank ,1972). In
Persian '‫ 'ﺑﺎﻳﺪ‬also carries this meaning of obligation; in addition, however, it encompasses the notion of a milder obligation
, that is, one in which there are other alternatives possible. This latter sense of Persian ‫ ﺑﺎﻳﺪ‬is in English conveyed more
appropriate by 'should'.
Thus in American English when native speakers wish to express the idea of obligation with reference to responsibility
or duty, they prefer to use 'should' and when they wish to express the idea of obligation with reference to an order to law,
they use 'must' with 'have to' functioning as a sort of halfway point between 'should' and 'must' they are exercising their
authority vis a vis the hearer (Quirk et al.'1985). in short, in English a demand phrased with 'must' in significantly stronger
and direct than one phrased with 'should'.
In Persian both of these meanings are part or the semantics fields encompassed by ‫ﺑﺎﻳﺪ‬. L2 learners' pragmatic
knowledge or understanding of the functional equivalence of target language and native language norms is often
incomplete( Blum-Kulka,1983; S.Takahashi'1996). It is therefore not surprising that Persians, when speaking in English
,will often use 'must' incorrectly and thereby impart a greater sense of directness or bluntness than they actually intended.
As these speakers unintentionally violate American rules of speaking, their verbal actions provide impetus for cultural
stereotyping of Persian as aggressive and commandeering.
4.2 Justifications
Justifications I define here as statements or phrases produced by respondents to defend, vindicate or lend support to
their statement of problem and/or request or demand for repair. Overall ,the Persian respondents produced more
justifications in both their English and Persian responses than did the american respondents as shown in table 2.
Table 2: Incidence of Justifications as % of Subjects
Sit1 Sit2 Sit3 Sit4 Sit5

Iranian NSs 15% 17% 46% 19% 46%
Iranian EFL 20% 19% 29% 14% 41%
American NSs 0% 0% 18% 11% 33%

Sit1=customer returns back to store reporting he/she had received a rotten cheese
Sit2=customer finds his/her hair too short after getting a hair cut in a hair salon
Sit3=customer has been waiting 2 hours at law office
Sit4=a student receives C ,but he/she asserts that it's definitely a mistake!
Sit5=an angry neighbor calls 911 for the second time reporting a noisy neighbor
Of more interest and relevancy to our inquiry into pragmatic transfer is the difference in the types of justification rather
than a comparison of the actual number of justifications produced by either group. The way in which Persians defended
or vindicated their complains was rather clearly related to a different set of sociocultural norms than typical American
norms(Althen,1988;). The clearest example of this occurred in the situation where the hair stylist cut the hair of customer
too short. Here the justification in the Persian's English and Persian responses were related to the customer's
expectations that a hairstylist should know how to handle cutting properly as in (4):
(4) Native speakers of Persian
(a) (English) …. But I thought you are professional!
(b) (English) ….. You must be trained for that!
(c) (Persian) ….. ‫ﮐﻪ ﻣﻄﻤﺌﻦ ﺑﺸﻴﺪ ﻣﺸﺘﺮﻳﺘﻮن ﭼﻪ ﻣﺪﻟﯽ و ﭼﻪ اﻧﺪازﻩ ﻣﯽ ﺧﻮاد ﻣﻮهﺎﺷﻮ ﮐﻮﺗﺎﻩ ﮐﻨﻪ‬
To ensure that you know what is your customer's desired size and
Model of haircut!
(d) (Persian)… ..‫ﭼﻮن ﻣﻦ ﻓﮑﺮﺷﻢ ﻧﻤﯽ ﮐﺮدم ﻣﻮهﺎﻣﻮ اﻳﻨﻘﺪر ﮐﻮﺗﺎﻩ ﮐﻨﻴﺪ ﺑﺪون اﻳﻨﮑﻪ ﺣﺘﯽ ﻳﮏ ﺳﻮاﻟﯽ ﺑﭙﺮﺳﯽ‬
Because I couldn’t even imagine that you go for just cutting all my hair too short even without asking a
question!
These types of justifications by the Persian respondents probably have their roots in Persian societal expectations: Iran is
a culture in which everyone has duties and obligations and is ( more or less) expected to comply with them . A cleaner ,
15
by virtue of his/her profession ,should know how to handle clothing properly; accordingly, those Persian respondents who
chose to justify their complains did so by pointing out the failure of the cleaner in his/her professional capacity. The fact
that the American respondents did not produce any justifications at all in this situation is similarly rooted in different
societal expectations. Duty and obligation, although certainly valued in American society ,are not valued in American
society , are not valued in the same way as Persian society; as such Americans generally may not feel a need to remind
others, particularly those in service positions, of their accountability to social roles or to appeal to their hearers' own and
most likely shared preferences( Althen,1988) when Americans do make such references or appeals ,it is only in the most
serous of situations.
In short the differences in the type of justifications between the two groups of respondents illustrate another instance
where pragmatic transfer may act in the creation and maintenance of cultural stereotyping. Since American speakers do
not expect justifications, and certainly not justifications that appeal to duty or responsibility in these types of complaint
situations, their reaction is most likely to be negative when speakers of Persians do furnish such justifications in such
settings as English. Indeed an informal survey of native speakers of American English indicated to me that they almost
uniformly interpreted such justifications as criticism, and inappropriately strong criticism at that. It seems that here we see
again an example of how pragmatic transfer underlies native speaker perceptions that Persian speakers are more
accusatory than is appropriate.
4.3. Criticisms
The last category I will discuss is criticisms, namely sentences or phrases that offer an evaluation of the problem or
situation, as in:
(5a) You've ruined my hair!
(5b) It's 4:00 and I'm waiting here for 2 hours! You should have told me if there was going to be a problem and I
would have come back another time. (Criticism bolded).
The important element for a sentence or phrase to be labeled as 'criticism' is the element of reprobation or
disapproval. A criticism is intrinsically a subjective (and negative) statement about the topic at hand. By its very nature a
criticism is a face-threatening act, and in social interaction is expressed in a variety of ways depending upon the
sociocultural norms governing criticism, as well as the goals and temperament of the speaker.
Table 3: Incidence of Criticism as % of Subjects
Sit1 Sit2 Sit3 Sit4 Sit5

Persian NS 12 38 35 30 36
Persian EFL 9 44 29 24 32
American NSs 6 30 32 12 29

Sit1=customer returns back to store reporting he/she had received a rotten cheese
Sit2=customer finds his/her hair too short after getting a hair cut in a hair salon
Sit3=customer has been waiting 2 hours at law office
Sit4=a student receives C ,but he/she asserts that it's definitely a mistake!
Sit5=an angry neighbor calls 911 for the second time reporting a noisy neighbor
In comparing the Persian and English data from the Persian respondents with the English data from the Americans, we
find a qualitative difference in the tone and style of the criticisms. Compare for instance:
(6.1) Native speakers of Persian responding in Persian (criticisms bolded)
(a) .‫ﭼﻄﻮرﯼ اﻳﻦ ﻃﻮرﯼ ﺷﺪﻩ؟ ﺷﻤﺎ ﺑﺎﻳﺪ دﺳﺖ ﮐﻢ ﻳﮏ ﺳﻮاﻟﯽ ﻣﯽ ﭘﺮﺳﻴﺪﯼ ﭼﻪ ﺳﺎﻳﺰ و ﭼﻪ ﻣﺪﻟﯽ ﻣﯽ ﺧﻮام‬
How could this have happened? After all, you're supposed to ask me about the desired size and model.
(b) ‫اﺻﻼ ﻧﻤﯽ ﺷﻪ ﺁدم ﺧﻮدﺷﻮ ﺑﺴﭙﺮﻩ دﺳﺖ ﺷﻤﺎ ﺁراﻳﺸﮕﺮا! ﺣﺎﻻ ﺑﺎﻳﺪ ﮐﻠﯽ ﺻﺒﺮ ﮐﻨﻢ ﺗﺎ ﺑﺎز ﻣﻮهﺎم ﺑﻠﻨﺪ ﺑﺸﻪ‬
Nobody can trust you! I should wait a long time to have long hair again!
(6.2.) Native speakers of Persian responding in English
(c) I'm sitting here for two hours and I could not see the lawyer and I think that's really annoying!
(d) I'm sorry, but have you seen the expire date on this pocket? This cheese is rotten! I think you are not responsible
enough in your job.
16
(6.3.) I've reported the case of my noisy neighbor several times! You still haven't Handled it.
Here we don’t want to say Americans are more polite and conservative or Iranians are aggressive or blunt but we
want to say due to having different semantic interpretations of words they may seem so. By the same token, different
semantic fields encompassing modal choices and ways of expressing oneself in Persian can also prompt Persian
learners of English to sound more direct, more accusatory or blunter than is usually acceptable to Americans. Thus in
communicative interactions between Americans and Persian speakers of English ,Americans are likely to misinterpret
Persian speakers of English , Americans are likely to misinterpret Persian verbal behavior at times because each group
of speakers is operating under different ( and at times because each group of speakers is operating under different ( and
at times conflicting) rules of discourse. As such at least some of cultural stereotypes have their origins in pragmatic
transfer.
5. Concluding remarks
In this paper I have attempted to explore whether the source of at least some cultural stereotyping lies in pragmatic
transfer. In other words, do differing socio-cultural norms of communicative interaction between native speakers and
same language groups of nonnative speakers influence cultural misunderstandings that then give rise to stereotypes?
Specifically I examined how native speakers of Persian complain in service settings in English and in Persian, and
compared these data with data from native speakers of American English. I focused on four semantic categories:
requests and demands for repair, justifications and criticisms. The preliminary results indicate that the type and tone of
the Persian responses differed from those of the American responses, such that cultural misunderstandings as to the
directness and intent of the speakers are likely to result. As I have attempted to illustrate here, these cultural
misunderstandings, when they occur consistently among groups of same language nonnative speakers, can give rise to
cultural stereotypes.
The data in this study indicate that Persians in English are generally more direct, that is, more aggressive and blunt
than are Americans in similar situations. Some of the specific semantic response categories that they are likely to transfer
are the more frequent use of strong criticisms, more justifications, and more direct requests. In considering the complaint
response set, the data produced by the Persians in Iran indicate that they tend to prefer more direct and stronger types of
utterances than do American speakers.
Many of these differences in directness may be due to different cultural perceptions as to the roles of speaker and
hearer in service situations in Persian and American society. In Persian society, especially nowadays youngsters
consider being blunt as fashionable and showing self confidence. Although Iranians are known for compliment and
indirectness but this is due to previous generations. Young people and especially teenagers feel more confident using
direct speech, being blunt and sometimes to the excess even rude! Parents try to teach their children to be blunt, to have
the art of saying NO and not to suppress their demands and needs. Parents want their children to stand up for their right,
something that they themselves didn’t have the chance for that. Iranian culture for many years appreciated being indirect,
keeping calm even if others especially older people offend or ignore their rights. But at the other side of this excess
youngster today are blunt and confident but not aggressive. The types of complaints produced by the Persian subjects in
the five service situations investigated here reaffirm these Persian societal attitudes. It is not only the fact that there is a
problem that requires remedy, but it is as though the speaker is morally offended and morally obligated to point out to the
hearer that the person has failed in doing his/her duty.
In American society, by contrast, there is more emphasis on the individual and appeal to the individual rather than to
societal norms (Althen, 1988). A problem is not an offense against one's societal role or duty, but rather an offense
against a person's individual rights; e.g., of property, or of time.
Further research, however, is needed to confirm these findings; the subjects were within a limited age group, and
only five controlled complaint situations and only written data were examined. Further studies should combine a variety of
elicited and ethnographic data collection methods in order to probe the role of pragmatic transfer in cultural stereotyping.
References
Althen, G. (1988). American ways. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press.

Beebe, L., Takahashi, T., & Uliss-Weltz, R. (1990). Pragmatic transfer in ESL refusals. In R. C. Scarcella, E. S. Anderson, & S. D.
Krashen (Eds.), Developing communicative competence in a second language (pp. 55–73). New York: Newbury House.
Blum-Kulka, S. (1982). Learning how to say what you mean in a second language: A study of the speech act performance of learners of
Hebrew as a second language. Applied Linguistics, 3, 29–59.
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Blum-Kulka, S., House, J., & Kasper, G. (Eds.). (1989). Cross-cultural pragmatics: Requests and apologies. Norwood: Ablex Publishing.
Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.),
Language and communication (pp. 2–27). London: Longman.
Cohen, A., & Olshtain, E. (1981). Developing a measure of sociolinguistic competence: The case of apology. Language Learning, 31,
113–134.
DeCapua, A. & El-Dib, M. (1985). Transfer or perception? A cross-cultural study of complaints. Paper presented at the annual New
York State TESOL Conference, Syracuse New York.
DeCapua, A. & El-Dib, M. (1986). The speech act of complaints in American English. Paper presented at the annual New York State
TESOL Conference, Fordham Univer- sity, New York City.
DeCapua, A. & El-Dib, M. (1987). Complaints: The speech act in American English. Paper presented at the annual TESOL Convention,
Miami, Florida.
Hall, E. (1977). Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Press / Doubleday.
Kasper, G. (1992). Pragmatic transfer. Second Language Research, 8, 203-231.
Leech, G. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. London: Longman.
Rose, K. (1992). Speech acts and questionnaires: The effect of hearer response. Journal of Pragmatics, 17, 49 62.
Seelye, H. Ned (Ed.) (1996). Experiential activities for intercultural learning. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Tannen, D. (1989). Talking voices; repetition, dialogue, and imagery in conversational discourse. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University
Press.
Takahashi, S. (1996). Pragmatic transferability. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 18, 189–223.
Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, 4, 91-112.
18
Idiomatic Expressions of Number in Persian and English
Vahid Parvaresh 1
University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Email: vparvaresh@gmail.com
Banafsheh Ghafel
Amin Institute of Higher Education, Isfahan, Iran
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p19
Abstract Numbers are widely used to form such metaphorical idioms as ‘at sixes and sevens’, ‘to be on cloud nine’ and ‘three sheets to
the wind’. A question arises as to how these number-related expressions acquire their metaphorical significance. Following Lakoff and
Johnson (1980) and in the light of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the present study investigates the relationship between language and
culture in the construction of idiomatic expressions of number in English and Persian. The working hypothesis in the present study is that
although numbers have similar denotations across cultures, idiomatic expressions of number may represent culture-specific concepts.
Keywords: number, Persian, culture, English, idiom, metaphorical language
1. Introduction
Human beings have the ability to count and form numbers. Viewed symbolically, numbers represent more than quantities;
they also express qualities (Zhang, 2007). Number are widely used to form idioms such as ‘at sixes and sevens’, ‘the
lesser of two evils’ and ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ in English and ‘hæšteš geroje noheše’ (his eight is pawned for his
nine; used when someone’s income fails to meet his expenditure), ‘je sær dâre væ hezâr sodâ’ (he has one head and
one thousand wishes; used for a person who is flat out for work) in Persian (see Parvaresh et al., 2012 for phonetic
transcription symbols in Persian). In these examples, the numbers have lost their surface meaning and have to be
understood non-literally.
Broadly speaking, metaphoricity is one of the main features of human languages (Goalty, 1997). Idioms are not
arbitrarily combined strings of words but rather are the products of our encyclopedic knowledge (Kovecses, 2002, 2005).
Arguably, idiomatic expressions have a relativistic nature and are culture-bound. Novel conceptions and different mental
structures may influence the creation of idioms.
Despite abundant research on idiomatic expressions, it seems that idiomatic expressions of number (hereafter
IENs) have been left underexplored in many languages, including Persian. The present study is thus an attempt to
investigate the role of symbolism in the construction of IENs. Put differently, the current study is an attempt to identify the
extent of culture-specificity in English and Persian IENs.
2. Some notes on metaphorical idioms
Metaphor is not a special use of language, but pervades all interaction (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980). Metaphor is a
conceptual phenomenon with external manifestations. Similarly, idioms are motivated by our conceptual system
(Kovecses, 2000, 2002).
Language is not only the carrier of information but also of culture. It is a mirror which reflects the society. Li (2007)
states that metaphors are closely associated with a nation’s history and culture. That is, culture plays a significant role in
the construction of metaphors. Likewise, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) insist that it is only through metaphorical language
that humans can truly convey and express themselves.

1Corresponding Author: Vahid Parvaresh, Address: English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Hezar
Jarib St., Isfahan, Iran. Postal Code: 81746-73441. Tel: +989131103487. Email: vparvaresh@gmail.com
19
The structure of language influences how speakers perform certain cognitive processes (Evans and Green, 2006;
cf. Leavitt, 2011). On this view, concepts are highly dependent on the language we speak and therefore on our cultural
background (Delschen and Fechner, 2002). Besides, there is established research proving evidence as to the mutual
relationship between language and culture (Tochon, 2009).
In this study, culture is defined as a set of shared assumptions, meanings and understandings that exist in a given
speech community. Idiomatic expressions, as a part of language, are closely associated with a nation’s history, culture
and customs.
3. Methodology and data
The present study is a qualitative endeavour in that the research question has been answered by comparing and
contrasting IENs in English and Persian. In order to collect a substantial body of data, the following English dictionaries
were examined: NTC’s American Idioms Dictionary (Spears, 2000), Idioms Dictionary (Jeffcoat, online) and McGraw-Hill's
Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (Spears, 2006). The Persian IENs were collected from Adaad dar
Adabiyat-e shafahiy-e Mardom (Jafarzadeh, 2007), Farhang-e Estelahat-e Aamiyaneh (Najafi, 1997), Amsal-o Hekam-e
Dehkhoda (Dehkhoda, 1999), and Jaygaah-e Adaad dar Farhang-e Mardom-e Iran (Hassanzadeh, 2008).
During the first phase of the study, the IENs in the aforementioned dictionaries and research studies were picked
out manually. Native speaker intuition was sought both in Persian and English to increase the validity of interpretations
and the data was categorized thus:
a) English IENs and their Persian numerical counterparts (E+Num vs. P+Num);
b) English IENs and their Persian non-numerical counterparts (E+Num vs. P-Num);
c) English culture-specific IENs (Culture-specific E+Num);
d) Persian IENs and their English numerical counterparts (P+Num vs. E+Num);
e) Persian IENs and their English non-numerical counterparts (P+Num vs. E-Num);
f) Persian culture-specific IENs (culture-specific P+Num).
Next, the numbers were examined symbolically and with reference to their cultural background. Finally, the IENs were
examined in the light of Lakoff and Johnson's Cognitive Model.
4. Analysis
Idioms are the reflection of a particular way of thinking and behaving. In what follows an attempt is made to cross-tabulate
the data and explain the characteristics of some of the most interesting IENs in both Persian and English.
4.1. E+Num vs. P+Num
As our data shows, local symbolism plays a major role in the construction of idiomatic expressions but there are also
some similarities between English and Persian. Most notably, two is the number of ‘discord and conflict’. The following
table shows English IENs and their Persian numerical counterparts:
Table 1: English IENs and their Persian numerical counterparts
IENs in English Equivalents in Persian Meaning

âdæme âgel æz je surâx do bâr gæzide nemiše
A fox is not taken twice in the It is unwise to commit the
1 (A wise man is not bitten twice from the same hole)
same snare same mistake twice.
bærgæšt sære xuneje ævæl You have failed at something
2 Back to square one (To return to the first square) and now have to go back to
the beginning.
do del budæn
You have difficulty deciding
3 In two minds (In two minds)
what to do.
bâ jek dæst nemitævân do hendevâne bærdâšt
One cannot be in two places Two things cannot be done at
4 (One cannot hold two watermelons with one hand)
at the same time a time.
20
One hand washes the other jek dæst sedâ nædâre

You need company to
5 hand and together they wash (One hand does not make a sound)
accomplish things.
the face
You should not assume that
One swallow does not make
bâ jek gol bæhâr nemiše something is true just because
6 a Summer
(One flower does not make a spring) you have seen one piece of
evidence for it.
Two cats and a mouse, two xâneji râ ke do kædbânust xâk tâ zânust When two people are
wives in one house, two (When there are two ladies in a house, your knees responsible for something,
7
dogs and a bone , never are in dust) they never agree with each
agree in one other.
Two-faced do ru budæn
8 To be hypocritical.
(To be a two-faced person)
4. 2. E+Num vs. P-Num
As our corpus shows, some English IENs seems not to have numerical equivalents in Persian. These IENs are shown in
table 2 below:
Table 2: English IENs and their Persian non-numerical counterparts
IENs in English Equivalents in Persian Meaning

čo be moqe zæni bæxije ze pâregi nedʒât
Making small repairs now is better than
1 A stitch in time saves nine dehi bæqije making major repairs later.
(If you stitch in time, you’ll save the rest.)
tu hæčæl oftâdæn
2 Behind the eight ball To be in difficult situation.
(To be in dire straits)
Said about a difficult situation in which
In the country of the blind,
mæh dær šabe tire âftab æst someone with only a few skills is in a
3 the one-eyed man is a
(In a dark night the moon is like the sun) better position than those people who
king
have none.
šâhre mordeh A small, boring town where nothing much
4 One-horse town
(The city of the dead) ever happens.
Talk nineteen to the mesle mosæsæl hærf mizæne
5 To speak non-stop.
dozen (To talk like a machine gun)
az xošhâli bâl dærâværdæn To be happy.
6 To be on cloud nine
(To grow wings)
dæsto pâ dær hæm pičidæn
7 To have two left feet To be clumsy.
(To have twisted hands and legs)
4. 3. Culture-bound E+Num
Table 3 features English IENs that seem not to have any idiomatic equivalents in Persian. These IENs are called “zero
equivalents” (Gouws, 2002):
Table 3: Culture-bound IENs in English
English Idioms with Number Meaning

To be in a state of confusion.
1 At sixes and sevens
A frustrating situation where people need to do one thing before
2 Catch twenty-two
doing the second, and they cannot do the second before the first.
3 Dressed up to the nines To wear glamorous clothes.
Something in which more than one person or other are paired in
4 It takes two to tango an inextricably-related and active manner, occasionally with
negative connotations.
5 One over the eight The final drink that renders someone drunk.
21
6 Three sheets to the wind To be drunk.

7 To be in seventh heaven To be happy.
If a group of things or people are scattered to the four winds, they
8 To be scattered to the four winds
are sent to different places which are far away from each other.
9 To feel like a million dollars To feel extremely good.
A very interesting example of culture-specificity is dressed up to the nines. According to Albert (2007), gold and silver are
never classified as 100 but 99.99 percent pure. As such, the finest metals are known as ‘the nines’. Therefore, dressed
up to the nines means wearing the finest jewelry.
4. 4. P+Num vs. E+Num
Table 4 shows Persian IENs with their English counterparts. Human beings share such experiences as embodiment,
death, and so on. Considering death, for example, Persian speakers use mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr (once death, once
grief) and English speakers use a man can only die once:
Table 4: Persian IENs and their numerical idiomatic counterparts
Persian English Meaning

1 bâ jek gol bæhâr nemiše One swallow does not Advising someone to err on the side of
(One flower does not make a spring) make a summer caution.
2 bærgæšt sære xuneje ævæl You have failed at something and now have
Back to square one
(He has returned to the first place) to go back to the beginning.
The belief that the third time something is
tâ se næše bâzi næše
3 Third time is charm attempted is more likely to succeed than the
(It does not play up to three)
previous two attempts.
tâ sæd sale dige hæm nemifæhmi
4 (You will fail to understand even in 100 Never in a million years Absolutely never.
years from now)
xâneji râ ke do kædbânust xâk tâ Two cats and a mouse, When two people are doing the same thing,
5 zânust two wives in one house, no agreement would be expected.
(When there are two ladies in a house, two dogs and a bone ,
your knees are in dust) never agree in one
6 do del budæn
If you are in two minds about something, you
(In two minds) In two minds
can't decide what to do.
do ru budæn
Two-faced To be hypocritical.
7 (To be two-faced)
se pælæšt âjæd o zæn zâjæd o
8 mehmâne æziz âjæd A situation characterized by confusing,
Three-ring circus
(Three people come; the lady delivers engrossing, or amusing activity.
the child; and the dear guest comes)
The fact of dying can only be experienced
once. This is meant to console us with the
mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr
9 A man dies only once thought that if death (i.e. a difficult situation)
(Once death, once grief)
comes now it won’t have to be experienced
later.
One hand washes the
jek dæst sedâ nædâre
10 other hand and together Cooperation leads to accomplishment.
(One hand does not make a sound)
they wash the face
4. 5. P+Num vs. E-Num
Persian IENs and their non-numerical English counterparts are presented in table 5 below. As is shown in this table,
some Persian IENs seem not have English numerical analogues:
22
Table 5: Persian IENs and their English non-numerical counterparts
Persian IENs English counterparts Meaning
If too many people try to take

âšpæz ke do tâ šod âš jâ šur miše jâ bi næmæk Too many cooks spoil the
1 charge at a task, the end product
(Two chefs make the pottage sour or insipid) broth
might be ruined.
ægær hæft doxtære kur dæšte bâšæd jek sâ?te
hæme râ šohær midehæd
2 To be smart.
(Even if he had seven blind girls, he would find a Box clever
husband for each and every of them within an hour)
dâr hæft âsemân jek setâre nædâræd He does not have a penny
3 To be poor.
(He does not have a star in all seven heavens) to bless himself with
šeš dânge hævâs râ dʒæm? kærdæn If you keep your eyes peeled, you
4 Keep your eyes peeled
(To act according to all the six parts of the brain) stay alert or watchful.
sæd tâ čâqu besâze jekiš dæste nædâre Someone who is all talk and no
(If he made one hundred knives, none of them trousers, talks about doing big,
5 All talk and no trousers
would have a handle) important things, but doesn't take
any action.
hæft xæt budæn Crooked as a dog's hind
6 (To be a person with seven approaches/tricks) leg A deceitful person.
hæmiše hæšteš gerove noheše

7 Feel the pinch To be poor.
(His eight is pawned for his nine)
jek dænde budæn To be as stubborn as a
8 A Mulish person.
(To have just one gear) mule
jeki be do kærdæn
9 At each other's throats To be in angry disagreement.
(To argue over one and two)
4. 6. Culture-bound P+Num
Some Persian IENs are based on ancient myths and cultural stereotypes. These idioms are presented in the following
table:
Table 6: Culture-specific IENs in Persian
Persian IENs Meaning
bæ?d æz si sâl noruz oftâd be šænbeh Refers to a situation when someone asks the other party
1 (After thirty years the New Year is celebrated on to do something for him/her but they reject the request
Saturday) although they can respond to the request.
hæmiše do gorto nimeš bâgist Refers to a person who expects others to respect him
2
(To demand two gulps and a half more than others) more than usual.
ræfiqe šeš dâng budæn
3
(To have all the six parts of a true friendship) To be friendly and honest.
šeš mâhe be donjâ âmædæn
4 To be impatient.
(To be born after six months)
šælvâre mærd ke do tâ šod be fekre zæne dovom
mioftæd Used when someone becomes wealthier and decides to
5
(If a man has two pants, he will be thinking about pursuing change the things he used to be happy with.
a bigamous relationship)
masnavije hæftâd mæn kâqæz æst
6 A piece of writing which is too long.
(A book which has seven pounds of paper)
morq mæn jek pâ dâre
7 To insist on something.
(My chicken has one leg)
23
hæft tâ kæfæn pusândæn

8 To be dead for many years.
(To spoil seven shrouds)
hæft xâne rostæm râ tej kærdæn
9 To solve complicated problems.
(To pass Rostam's1 seven burdens)
hæft qælæm ârâješ kærdæn
10 To use a lot of make-up.
(To put on seven kinds of cosmetics)
jek mæviz o čel gælændær A small amount of money that must be used for/with too
11
(One raisin and forty dervishes) many people.
As an example, morqe mæn jek pâ dâre (my chicken has one leg) is based on a Persian story. A merchant decided to
change an official decision for his benefit. He gave a roasted chicken to his servant and asked him to give it to the judge.
But the servant ate one of the legs. "If the judge asks me about the other leg, I will tell him that all the chickens in our
locality have one leg" he said to himself. Having seen the chicken, the judge asked "where is the other leg?" He
answered "Oh Sir! Our chickens have only one leg." The judge asked him to tell the truth but the servant repeated the
same words. Finally, the judge gave up and said "he may be telling the truth and their chickens may have only one leg,
indeed." Today, morqe mæn jek pâ dâre (my chicken has one leg) is used to refer to a person who insists on his opinion
even if it violates the truth.
5. Examining the data according to Lakoff and Johnson's model
According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), human conceptual system is metaphorically constructed. To wit, metaphors are
cultural, conceptual tools. They are, therefore, a clue to the way we perceive the world and to the way we think. A
metaphor is defined as a cross-domain mapping between the source and the target domain. The tenet of Conceptual
Metaphor Theory (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) is that metaphors are experientially motivated (Gibbs,2008). Conceptual
metaphors are also known as cognitive metaphors; they have two parts: a source domain (SD) and a target domain (TD).
The meaning of TD is understood via SD. TD is the linguistic proposition that speakers would like to address. In most
cases, TD is an abstract idea. To make an abstract idea easily conceptualized, we need a concrete object. This concrete
object is SD, which functions to help us better understand TD. Metaphorical mapping is the similarity between TD and
SD. The relationship between them is in the form of TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN. Nevertheless, no
significant relationship blossoms between SD and TD without underlying cultural assumptions (Lakoff and Johnson,
1980). The following table tentatively shows how this model may be employed to explain IENs in Persian:
Table 7: IENs in Persian
QUANTITY AS SOURCE DOMAIN(SD) EXPERIENTIAL TARGET DOMAIN(TD)
hæmiše hæšteš gerove noheše POVERTY; LOW INCOME

(His eight is pawned for his nine)
xâneji râ ke do kædbânust xâk tâ zânust
LACK OF UNITY
(When there are two ladies in a house, your knees are in dust)
šeš mâhe be donjâ âmædæn
IMPATIENCE
(To be born after six months)
ræfiqe šeš dâng budæn
FRIENDLINESS
(To have all the six parts of a true friendship)
dâr hæft âsemân jek setâre nædâræd
POVERTY
(He does not have a star in seven heavens)
gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd
STRENGTH
(A cat has seven lives)
hæft tâ kæfæn pusândæn
DEATH
(To spoil seven shrouds)
Similarly, the following table shows how this model may be used to explain IENs in English:
24
Table 8: IENs in English
QUANTITY AS SOURCE DOMAIN(SD) EXPERIENTIAL TARGET DOMAIN(TD)
A stitch in time saves nine IMMEDIATE ACTION

Two cats and a mouse, two wives in one house, two
dogs and a bone, never agree in one LACK OF UNITY/AGREEMENT
A cat has nine lives STRENGTH

To be on cloud nine HAPPINESS; EXCITEMENT
To be in seventh heaven HAPPINESS
As previously noted, some IENs are highly culture-specific. Table 9 presents some of these expressions with reference to
Lakoff and Johnson’s model:
Table 9: Culture-bound IENS in Persian
QUANTITY AS EXPERIENTIAL
SOURCE DOMAIN(SD) TARGET DOMAIN(TD)
hæmiše do qorto nimeš bâgist
THANKLESSNESS
(To demand two gulps and a half more than others)
morq mæn jek pâ dâre
PERSISTANCE
(My chicken has one leg )
hæft xæt budæn
DECEITFULLNESS
(To be a person with seven approaches/tricks)
hæft xâne rostæm râ tej kærdæn
DIFFICULTY
(To pass Rostam's seven burdens)
Finally, some culture-bound English IENs are presented in the following table:
Table 10: Culture-bound IENS in English
QUANTITY AS EXPERIENTIAL
SOURCE DOMAIN(SD) TARGET DOMAIN(TD)
Being dressed up in your nines GLAMOROUSNESS
Catch twenty-two FRUSTRATION
One over the eight DRUNKNESS
The fifth column SPIONAGE
6. Conclusion
Numbers are endowed with different cultural assumptions. As our data shows, some IENs, both in English and Persian,
are associated with specific traditions, customs, beliefs and events. Accordingly, the present study shows that IENs
cannot be understood without addressing cultural assumptions.
Given the widespread role of idiomatic expressions in successful communication, whether in listening, speaking,
reading or writing, an increasing familiarity with these cultural nuances will definitely be of help to researchers, translators
and second language learners. This study was a small step in this direction. Future research is definitely needed to shed
more light on how IENs are formed and understood. Metaphors and idioms are also frequently encountered in learning
contexts (Parvaresh, 2008); and, for this reason, they might reveal different orientations towards communication and
learning.
Notes:
1. Rostam is the symbol of power, bravery, and resistance in Shaahnaameh, a famous Persian/Iranian epic.
25
References
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Metaphor in Communication and Foreign Language Teaching, Pillipps Universität Marburg.
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Gibbs, R. (2008). The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought. New York, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goalty, A. (1997). The language of metaphors. London: Routledge.
Gouwes, R. (2002). Equivalent relations, context and co-text in bilingual dictionaries. Journal of Linguistics, 28, pp. 195-209.
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Farhange Mardome Iran, 10, 300-345.
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Kovecses, Z. (2000). Metaphor and emotion. New York, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kovecses, Z. (2002). Metaphor: A practical introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kovecess, Z. (2005). Metaphor and culture: Universality and cultural variation. New York, Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press
Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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3(9), 101-104
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Parvaresh, V. (2008). Metaphorical conceptualizations of an adult EFL learner: Where old concepts are impregnable. Novitas-
Royal: Research on Youth and Language, 2(2), 154-161.
Parvaresh, V., Tavangar, M., Eslami Rasekh, A., & Izadi, D. (2012). About his friend, how good she is, ‘and this and that’: general
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Spears, A. (2000). NTC’s American idioms dictionary. Chicago: Chicago NIC Publication Group.
Spears, A. (2006). McGraw-Hill's dictionary of American idioms and phrasal verbs. Chicago: Chicago NIC Publication Group.
Tochon, F. (2009). The key to global understanding: world languages education: Why schools need to adapt. Review of Educational
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Zhang, W. (2007).Numbers in English and Chinese language. Sino-Us English Teaching, 4(6), pp.41-44.
26
Social Classes vs Professional Stereotypes in Greece.

A View to a Fogy Social Construction
Argyris Kyridis
Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Email: akiridis@nured.auth,.gr
Vasiliki Bassiou
University of Western Macedonia, Email: vbassiou@uowm.gr
Christos Zagkos
PhD, Centre for Educational Policy Development (KANEP/GSEE
Email: zagbal2003@yahoo.gr (corresponding author)
Paraskevi Golia, PhD

University of Western Macedonia, Email: goliap@yahoo.gr
Nikos Fotopoulos
Lecturer, University of Western Macedonia, Email: nfotopoulos@uowm.gr
Nikos Papadakis
Associate Professor, University of Crete, Email: nep@pol.soc.uoc.gr
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p27
Abstract: In the context of the largest crisis that capitalism has ever faced the discussion on social class and class consciousness
seems more relevant than ever. The Greek crisis strikes as an ideal opportunity to start this debate. The phenomenal rise of the middle
class in Greece over the last four decades has shaped a very problematic framework for a deep and rational analysis of social classes in
contemporary Greek society. The policy that had enabled public servants and small businessmen to have access to social goods - that
until a few years ago was exclusive privilege of the upper class – has changed the dominant model of interpretation of social stratification
and hierarchy in modern Greek society. This study by using a mixed questionnaire (Likert scale and Content Analysis of the written texts)
investigates the class stereotypes and the class consciousness of the Greek youth, while trying to clarify the facts of class stratification in
the country in the midst of an unprecedented economic, social and political crisis.
Keywords: social class, class consciousness, university students, social stereotypes
1. Introduction
The unprecedented economic and fiscal crisis in Greece and in the entire Western world brought back to the timeliness
the academic and political debate on social class and class consciousness. The phenomenal rise of the middle class in
Greece over the last four decades has shaped a very problematic framework for a deep and rational analysis of social
classes in contemporary Greek society. The policy that had enabled public servants and small businessmen to have
access to social goods - that until a few years ago was exclusive privilege of the upper class - created a wide confusion in
the field of “legitimation”, changing the dominant model of interpretation of social stratification and hierarchy in modern
Greek society. What ultimately defines the social class in which everyone belongs? Is it the level of income? Is it the
social origin? Is it the nature of his/ her work? Is it the social status, the civic culture or the family background?
In modern societies, classes are characterized by complexity, fluidity, ambiguity of boundaries, or even their
content. Using the academic theory of conflicts, the "classic" criteria of existence and differentiation of the social classes
27
are based on factors like the possession or not of the means of production, the degree of dependency of work, the
division of labor, the level of income, the capability of consumption, the level of educational background, the social
status, the access to social goods (such as education, healthcare, leisure time etc.), the ability to gain upward social and
occupational mobility (Gurvitch, 1954).
According to Marxists, the appearance of classes is a social and historical phenomenon. Neither existed always
classes nor will always exist. The first form of social organization that appears in the history of mankind was the stage of
primitive communism, a kind of a classless society. The society was not divided into classes while the division of labor,
was based on the difference between the two sexes. The everyday life was dependent by nature while the labor
productivity was according to the people’s needs. Social subjects enjoyed the balance of nature and their activities took
part according to the circular time. So, the question arises: in what circumstances the social classes appeared? What
happened in the historical process which provoked the structure of class society?
Undoubtedly, factors such as the development of means of production or the discovery and development of
agriculture and livestock, prepared the conditions for the social division of labor. So the increasing of labor productivity led
to the creation of social surplus, promoting the emergence of private property and exploitation human by human. In that
way began the deconstruction of primitive classless scheme and appeared gradually the division of society into classes.
It is explicit that Marx predicted the polarization of classes as a consequence of capitalist development. It is also
certain that, from the Marxist’s point of view, the formation of distinct and separate classes consists one of the most
significant process in the Marxian theory and philosophy of political action. The challenge which is currently remains is to
analyse the process of formation of distinct and different social groups, taking account new criteria as well as rational
tools of understanding.
Both the legacy of Frankfurt School and Neo-Marxist writers, have overcome the traditional orthodox Marxism in the
theoretical interpretation of modern capitalist society (Jay, 2004). According to Marcuse, both the working class is not the
revolutionary subject as orthodox Marxists argued and new social categories and movements have appeared who can
play a significant role in the process of social transition.(Marcuse,1969). Additionally, intellectuals as Poulantzas,
Carchedi and Wright have tried to deal theoretically with the phenomenon of “new middle class”, concluding that the
traditional division of labour is not enough to explain the modern social and class differentiation. (Carchedi, 1977; Wright,
1976; Poulantzas, 1975).
Among non-Marxist sociologists, only Giddens (1973) has attempted to find a theoretical solution to the problem of
class formation. Building on Weber's work, he introduces the concept of 'structuration' to distinguish a few clearly defined
classes. According to Weber (1968, 46), a 'social class' makes up the totality of those class situations within which
individual and generational mobility is easy and typical. Based on this definition, Weber argues that modern capitalism is
characterized by four classes: a) the working class, b) the petty bourgeoisie, c) property less non-manual employees,
and d) large property holders. There are also some general characteristics of advanced capitalist societies which create
important divisions within the middle class as well as divisions between the middle and upper class and the middle and
working class. Giddens points out three factors, the division of labour within the enterprise, authority (control) relations
within the enterprise and the influence of distributive groupings (Stephens, 1979).
It is clear that the debate on social classes is theoretically complicated. This is illustrated to the students’ views and
it is certain that the political and sociological discussion will be continued, specifically in the era of fiscal and economic
crises which is a crucial epoch in transition.
2. Sample and methodology of the research
The research sample was comprised of 150 students, who, during the academic year 2010-11, were asked to give
spontaneous answers to a questionnaire. Data collection was based on a questionnaire, which investigated the subjects'
views about the social classes and attempted to investigate the class consciousness of Greek youth. The questionnaires
include initially some demographic questions and then open and closed questions related to social class, class
consciousness and class stereotypes. Specifically, the first three open-ended questions concerned the description of the
three main social classes, the lower class, the middle class and the upper class. Below there is a range of occupations
which should be characterized by the subjects using various adjectives and immediately following two more open-ended
questions that ask the students to tell what profession they want to do and why, and in what social class their family
belongs and why. In this piece of research we have selected the questionnaire as a research tool for the following
reasons: a) The questionnaire attracts the interest of the people questioned more easily and increases their participation
in the research procedure (Anderson, 1990; Javeau, 1988) b) The necessity of using a large sample of subjects
(Davidson, 1970), c) The questionnaire is suitable for the collection of information, such as perceptions and opinions,
28
which cannot be easily observed (Verma & Mallick, 1999; Fraise & Piaget, 1970) and d) The questionnaire is a research
tool that provides the opportunity for continuous trials and interventions, in order to be constructed in the best possible
way (Javeau, 1988) The questions/ statements had to be answered by a fixed answer on the basis of Likert's five-point
scale (1: Strongly Disagree, 2: Disagree, 3: Neither Disagree nor Agree, 4:Agree, 5: Strongly Agree). The questions with
negative implications were reversed in order to derive positive implications. The questionnaire includes 36 sentence-
statements which investigate the above mentioned issues. The corpus of data was analyzed on the basis of Factor
Analysis, which is widely applied in Social Sciences. Factor Analysis was employed with a view to investigating the social
subjects'/ students' response motif which enables interpreting a complex set of variables, reducing them to a smaller
number, each of which is equivalent to a greater number of the initial ones. In addition, Factor Analysis enables
identifying the variables, which are typical of each factor (factorial axis) and conducive to its development. Finally, the
specific analysis facilitates the identification of the groups of students, in terms of their attitudes/views to the phenomenon
of immigration. The internal consistency of the questionnaire (that is, whether the questionnaire statements investigate
the same situation, and in particular, the students' stance towards the immigrants) was estimated in terms of alpha
reliability. Alpha coefficient (Crondach's a) is the means of all the probable dichotomy reliability values for the
questionnaire and was applied because it is not dependent on the statement layout (a=0,845).
Regarding the analysis of the written answers of the subjects in questions such as: “which are the characteristics of
the lower or the upper social class?” or “What profession would you like to do and why?” we used the methodological tool
of Quantitative Content Analysis, which, as Curley (1990) states, allows (a) the combination of quantitative and qualitative
data, (b) traces and recordes the types of social interaction through discourse analysis, (c) records historic and cultural
elements, (d) records and analyzes social ideologies and (e) investigates concepts as well as the ways in which the
specific concepts are perceived by social subjects. In detail, the texts were analyzed following the principles of
Quantitative Content Analysis, as they were stated by Holsti (1969), Berelson (1971), De Sola Pool (1959), Palmquist
(1990), Weber (1990) and by French researchers (Moscovici, 1970; Mucchielli, 1988; Veron, 1981; Bardin, 1977; Grawitz,
1981) (classical thematic analysis). The “theme‟ was considered as the basic unit of analysis (Lasswell, Lerner & Sola
Pool.,1952; Lasswell & Leites, 1965). According to De Lagarde (1983), the interpretation of the results and their effect is
the responsibility of researchers, as it is characterized by the utter absence of any a priori hypotheses. In the present
research, the specific method was employed with a view to identifying the criteria for grouping the students’ views and
attitudes in terms of issues related to social classes, class self-consciousness e.t.c., identifying the interrelated factors
that affect their views, and, finally, examining the flow of information that the interrelations at issue generate. In addition,
the specific method was employed in order to identify the characteristics of each of the resulting groups. However, the
limited number of participants does not enable any generalizations and relevant conclusions; nevertheless, the analysis
can be the basis for further discussions and research into the theme of the class consciousness of Greek youngsters.
Table 1. Distribution of sample by gender
Gender N %
Male 32 21,3%
Female 118 78,7%
Total 150 100%
Table 2. Educational characteristics of the sample
School N %
Public 146 97,5%
Private 4 2,5%
Total 150 100%
Year N %
1st year 47 31,7%
2nd year 35 23,3%
3rd year 38 25%
4th year 30 20%
Total 150 100%
According to the tables provided the sample consisted of 32 boys (21.3%) and 118 girls (78.7%). Of the total sample,
97.5% completed the student's education in public school and only 2.5% in a private one. The attended university
29
departments are the Department of Primary Education with a 36.7% portion the Department of Preschool Education with
a 33.3% and the Department of Balkan Studies with 30%. Finally, the 31.7% of students are studying in the first year of
their schools, 23.3% in the third year, 25% in the second year and 20% in fourth year.
Table 3. Socioeconomic status of the family
Degree of Urbanization N %
Metropolitan urban centre (Athens/Thessaloniki) 31 20,7
Prefecture capital (major cities) 46 30,7
Small towns (up to 10.000) 32 21,3
Rural region (villages) 41 27,3
Total 150 100
Father’s profession N % Mother’s profession N %
Free lancer/Scientist 14 9,4 Free lancer/Scientist 7 4,7
Civil servant 53 35,6 Civil servant 28 18,7
Private sector servant 24 16,1 Private sector servant 26 17,3
Free lancer/Technician 26 17,4 Free lancer/Technician 7 4,7
Trader 7 4,7 Trader 6 4
Workman 5 3,4 Workman 4 2,7
Farmer 19 12,1 Farmer 5 3,3
Domestic duties 1 0,7 Domestic duties 67 44,7
Retired 1 0,7 Retired 0 0
Total 150 100% Total
100
150
Father’s education N % Mother’s education N %
Illiterate 3 2 Illiterate 6 4
Elementary school graduate 35 23,5 Elementary school graduate 37 24,7
Secondary school graduate 65 43,6 Secondary school graduate 70 46,7
Technological institution 30 20,1 Technological institution 22 14,7
graduate graduate
University graduate 14 9,4 University graduate 13 8,7
Post graduate 2 1,3 Post graduate degree 2 1,3
degree
Total 149 100 Total 150 100
According to the table 3, 30.7% of the research’s sample was born in an urban center, 27.3% in a rural area, 21.3% in
small towns and 20.7% in one of the two metropolitan cities of Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki. Referring to the
educational level of the parents of students who responded to the questionnaires we can see that regarding to the
fathers’ education, 43.6% are secondary school graduates, 23.5% are primary school graduates, 20.1% are graduates of
technological institutions, 9.4% are graduates of universities, while only 2% are illiterate and 1.3% holds a postgraduate
degree. Similarly for the education of the mother we have: 46.7% who have graduated from the secondary education,
24.7% are primary school graduates, 14.7% are graduates of technological institutions and 8.7% are graduates of
universities or polytechnic schools, while a smaller percentage of 4% are illiterate and 1.3% holds a graduate degree.
Regarding the occupations of the parents the results are as follows: for the father, 35.3% are employed as civil
servants, 17.4% as free lancers / technicians, 16,1% as private employees, 12,1% as farmers, 9.3% as free lancers/
scientists, 4.7% as traders, 3.4% as workmen, and only 2 fathers are in retirement or are responsible for the domestic
duties of their house. In the case of mother, 44.7% are homemakers, 18.7% are civil servants and 17.3% are private
employees. In a much smaller percentage mothers are employed as free lancers / technicians and free lancers /
scientists, (4.7%), traders (4%), farmers (3,3,%) or workers (2.7%).
30
3. Analysis of the results
Table 4. Distribution of characteristics of the lower/ middle and upper social class
Characteristics of the lower social class %

Low income 31,4%
Low educational level 20%
Low social education 1,7%
Poor 10%
Uneducated 4,8%
Low-income occupations 8,6%
Unemployed 8,3%
Aliens - Immigrants 2,8%
Low living standards 12,4%
Total 100%
Characteristics of the middle social class %
Average income 48,7%
Advanced education 23,2%
Sufficiency of goods 12,7%
Occupation in the public sector 15,4%
Total 100%
Characteristics of the upper social class %
High income 28%
Advanced education 21,2%
Rich 35,2%
High social status 11,4%
Exploitation of the weak social groups 4,2%
Total 100%
According to table 4, the major characteristics of the lower social class are: the low income by 31.4% and the low
educational level (20%). After that the sample characterized the lower social class to have low standard of living (12.4%),
to be poor (10%), to have low-income occupations (8.6%) and to be unemployed (8.3%). The 4.8% of the sample
believes that the lower social class is uneducated, the 2.8% states that foreigners and migrants belong to the lower
class, while the 1.7% of the sample came up to the low social education.
Regarding the middle class characteristics the 48.7% of the sample mentioned a satisfactory income and another
23.2% of the sample stated the advanced education as the main characteristic of the mid-classers. Furthermore, the
professional security of a job in the public sector (15.4%) and the adequacy of goods (12.7%) are mentioned by the
participants to the research.
Concerning the views of the sample for the main characteristics of the upper social class, the largest number of
statements represented the members of that class as “rich” (35.2%). Furthermore, high percentage of the sample
mentioned the high income (28%) and the maximum education (21.2%) as features of the culture of the upper social
class. Finally, plenty of statements stated the high social status (11.4%) and the exploitation of the weak by people
belonging to higher social class (4.2%).
Table 5. Distribution of statements by type of profession
Type of profession Ν %
Manual industrial 4 2,7%
Pneumatic/ Academic 114 76%
Artistic 12 8%
Sports 2 1,3%
Armed Forces 4 2,7%
DK/DA 14 9,3%
Total 150 100%
31
The students participated to the research were invited to answer the question: "What profession would you want to do
and why?" For the first part of the question, the most preferably answers were the intellectual professions (76%), as most
of the students would like to become teachers, professors, lawyers, doctors, etc. As a second preference the artistic
occupations were selected (8%). The Armed Forces follows (2.7%), the manual occupations (2.7%) and Sports (1.3%).
Finally, 7.3% said they have not decided or chosen profession yet, while 2% did not answer at all.
Table 6. Distribution of statements by selection criterion of profession
Selection criterion of profession Ν %

Love for the subject 81 51,9%
Professional rehabilitation 15 9,6%
Best working conditions 13 8,4%
Best financial rewards 19 12,2%
Contribution to society 28 17,9%
Total 156 100%
Regarding the main selection criteria of the profession, the first place holds the love for the subject of work (51.9%),
followed by the temper to offer to mankind and society (17.9%), the good financial rewards (12.2%) the direct vocational
rehabilitation (9.6%) and the good working conditions (8.4%)
Table 7. Distribution of the sample by social class
Social Class Ν %
Lower social class 12 8%
Middle social class 128 85,3%
Upper social class 7 4,7%
None 3 2%
Total 150 100%
Answering to the question "In which social class do you think your family belong to and why? The results were as follows:
According to the table 7, 85.3% of the sample indicates that their family belongs to the middle class, 8% states that they
belong to the lower social class, 4.7% in the upper social class and only 2% says that they do not belong anywhere,
because they believe that there is no segregation of people into social classes.
Table 8. Distribution of the statements in accordance with the reasons of self- classification in social class
Criteria of classification Social class

Lower Middle Upper
Income 9 (56,3%) 97 (76,4%) 4 (57,1%)
Unemployment 2 (12,5%)
Social status 5 (31,2%) 8 (6,3%) 1 (14,3%)
Educational level 22 (17,3%)
High standards of living 2 (28,6%)
Total 16 (100%) 127 (100%) 7 (100%)
The reasons that the subjects of the research enroll their families in the lower social class are the low income (56.3%),
the low social status (31.2%) and the unemployment (12.5%). The reasons for classifying themselves and their families to
the middle social class are the satisfactory income (76.4%), the up to average educational level (17.3%) and the good
social status as a result of their occupation (6.3%). Lastly, the high economic level (57.1%), the comfortable life (28.6%)
and prestigious occupations (14.3%) are the reasons why the subjects to believe that they belong to the upper social
class.
32
Table 9. Distribution of positive an negative characteristics by thematic category and profession

Thematic category Teacher Ship- Worker Farmer Industrialist Politician Clerk University Busines Street Plumber Builder Physician
owner professor sman sweepe
r
9
15 16 15 3 11 7 3
Social sta tus 14 (7,5 %) 22 (9,4 %) 8 (4 %) (6,5 % 8 (4,5 %) 17 (7,3 %)
(5,6 %) (7,8 %) (9,1 %) (8,1 %) (10,3 %) (3,8 %) (3,3 %)
)
105
Economic 89 3 20 6 54 25
1 (0,4 %) 70 (37,8 %) 10 (4,3 %) (75,6 6 (3,4 %)
rewards (43,4 %) (1,9 %) (18,6 %) (3,3 %) (27,3 %) (10,6 %)
%)
Skills –
Elements of 140 62 137 124 55 143 86 116 111 126 97
74 (40 %)
behavior and (52,4 %) (30,2 %) (82,5 %) (77 %) (51,4 %) (78,1 %) (36,9 %) (58,6 %) (62,5 %) (82,9 %) (41,8 %)
character
23
Nature of 50 13 9 14 20 10 49 16 38
14 (7,7 %) 8 (7,5 %) 21 (9,1 %) (16,5
occupation (18,7 %) (6,4 %) (5,4 %) (8,7 %) (10,9 %) (5,1 %) (27,4 %) (10,5 %) (16,7 %)
%)
Educational 54 10 12 1 90 1
6 (3,2 %) 4 (2 %) 51 (22 %)
level (20,3 %) (4,9 %) (11,3 %) (0,5 %) (38,6 %) (0,7 %)
2
General 15 7 6 4
7 (2,6 %) 5 (3 %) 7 (3,8 %) 1 (0,9 %) 4 (1,7 %) 6 (3 %) (1,4 % 4 (2,2 %) 4 (1,6 %)
characteristics (7,3 %) (4,3 %) (3,4 %) (2,6 %)
PositiveCharacteristics
)
139
267 205 166 161 107 183 198 177 152 232
185 (100%) (100%) (100
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
%)
24
25 22 7 12
Social sta tus 1 (2,8 %) (22,2 2 (2,1 %)
(20,2 %) (22,5 %) (8,9 %) (12,5 %)
%)
30
Economic 5 41 23 3 29
(27,8 12 (19 %) 4 (14,8 %)
rewards (23,8 %) (33 %) (20 %) (3,8 %) (30,5 %)
%)
Skills –
6
Elements of 8 76 174 31 34 48 25 6 14
5 (4 %) 8 (7 %) 73 (96,1 %) (5,6 %
behavior and (38,1 %) (93,8 %) (96,7 %) (39,2 %) (94,4 %) (84,2 %) (39,7 %) (6,3 %) (51,8 %)
)
character
31
Nature of 6 5 42 40 33 9 19 39
3 (3,9 %) 4 (2,2 %) (28,7
occupation (28,6 %) (6,2 %) (33,9 %) (34,8 %) (41,8 %) (15,8 %) (30,2 %) (41 %) 6 (22,3 %)
%)
11
Educational 8 10 7
2 (1,1 %) (10,2 3 (4,9 %)
Level (6,5 %) (8,7 %) (7,6 %)
%)
6
General 3 5 2
2 (9,5 %) 8 (7 %) 1 (2,8 %) (5,5 % 2 (3,1 %) 3 (11,1 %)
characteristics (2,4 %) (6,3 %) (2,1 %)
Negativecharacteristics
)
108
21 81 124 115 180 79 57 63 95
76 (100%) 36 (100%) (100 27 (100%)
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
%)
33
Analyzing the answers given by the interviewees regarding the annotation of various professional categories we can see
the percentage of positive characterizations that are attributed in the profession of schoolteacher rates about 92,7%,
while the negative characterizations hardly reach the percentage of 7,3%. According to table 9 therefore, the
characterizations that are related to skills - elements of behaviour and character gather the largest number of statements
with 52.4% (“patient”, “smiling”, “polite”,conscientious”,“responsible”,“sensitive”,“infectious”,“affectionate”,intelligent”, etc.).
Immediately following the characterizations referred to the educational level of the schoolteacher with 20.3% (“educated”,
“cultured”, “qualified”) and those dealing with the nature of the work with a rate of 18.7% (“useful”, “necessary”). A smaller
percentage is following with characterizations related to social status with 5.6% (“breadwinner”, “scientist”, “strong”) and
to the financial status / financial rewards of the schoolteacher (“wealthy”) with a percentage of 0.4%. In the table 9 we can
also see that the statements of negative content given for the profession of the schoolteacher have mostly to do with the
skills and the elements of behaviour and character (“ironic”, “miserable”) with a rate of 38.1%, with the nature of work with
a rate of 28.6% (“difficult”, “stagnant”, “monotonous”,) and the financial status with percentage 23.8% (“low-paid”).
Regarding the profession of ship-owner the positive characterizations given by the interviewees are reaching the
percentage of 71.1%, while the negative views are reaching a rate of 29, 9%. The positive characterizations concerning
the economic status and financial rewards assemble the greater number of statements with 43.4% (“wealthy”, “financially
independent”) and immediately after the interviewees are referred to the skills and elements of both behaviour and
character with a rate of 30.2% (“demanding”, “responsible”, “sociable”, “hardworking”, “intelligent”, “dynamic”). The social
status gathers a much lower percentage of 7.8% (“strong”, “successful”, “famous”), the nature of work a rate of 6.4%
(“profitable”, “relaxing”,) and the educational level gathers only the 4,9% of the positive statements (“educated”). On the
other hand the 93.8% of the negative characteristics for the ship-owners concerns their skills or their features of character
(“exploiter”, “arrogant”, “oppressive”, “greedy”, “cruel”), while some of the interviewees (6.2%) referred to the nature of
work to 6.2% (“difficult”, “time consuming”, “stressful”).
The positive statements referred to the profession of the worker reach a rate of 57.2%, while the percentage of the
negative characterizations is 42.8%. The majority of the statements with positive content are in the thematic category of
Skills and Elements of behaviour and character with 82.5% (“dynamic”, “inventive”, “patient”, “honest”). Following the
characterizations referred to the social status of the work with a rate of 9.1% (“breadwinner”) and the nature of the work
with 5,4% (“useful”, “creative”, “independent”) The characterizations with negative content have primarily to do with the
nature of the work (“tedious”, “painful”, “difficult”) and the economic status or the financial rewards of workers (“poor”),
with rates 33.9% and 33% respectively. Immediately after, there are the statements referred to social status with a 20.2%
(“marginalized”, “underclass”), the educational level with 6.5% (“illiterate”) and finally those referred to skills and
elements of behaviour and character with 4% (“edgy”, “tough”, “insecure”).
Concerning the profession of the farmer the positive characterizations given by the interviewees are reaching the
percentage of 58.3%, while the negative views are reaching a rate of 41. 7%. Concerning the statements with a positive
connotation, the 77% are related to skills and personality traits (“hardworking”, “patient”, “methodical”, “responsible”,
“dynamic”), the 8.7% of the positive statements referred to the nature of the job (“significant”, “efficient”, “creative”,
“profitable”), the 8.1% to the social status ( “breadwinner”), and the 1.9% to the economic status / economic returns of the
specific profession (“rich”). On the other hand the statements with negative content are related more to the nature of the
work (“tiring”, “stressful”, “difficult”, “dirty”) and the social status (“poor”, “underclass”, “outsider”), with rates of 34.8% and
reports 22.5%, respectively. Immediately after come the statements that referred to the financial status of those who work
to this profession with 20% (“poor”), the level of education with 8.7% (“uncultured”) and finally to the skills and elements
of behaviour and character with 7% (“unsociable”, “insecure”).
In terms of the profession of the industrialist the positive characterizations given by the interviewees are reaching a
percentage of 70.9%, while the negative views are reaching a rate of 29, 1%. The positive statements that are related to
skills and personality traits gather the largest number of statements with 40% (“smart”, “creative”, “responsible”,
“ambitious”). Shortly afterwards follow those that are referred to the economic status of the industrialists with 37.8%
(“rich”, “wealthy”). The nature of the work follows with a lower rate (7.7%) (“interesting”, “profitable”, “pleasant”,
“relaxing”), the social status with 7.5% (“prominent”, “successful”, “famous”, “important”) and the educational level with a
percentage of 3.2% (“well educated”). On the other hand, according to table 9 the negative statements on the profession
of the industrialist are related primarily to the skills and the elements of behaviour and character with a percentage of
96.1% (“exploiter”, “hypocritical”, “dishonest”, “arrogant”, etc.).
The positive statements referred to the profession of the politician reach a rate of 37.3%, while the percentage of
the negative characterizations is 62.7%. The 51.4% of the statements with positive content are in the thematic category
“Skills and Elements of behaviour and character” (“social”, “eager”, “industrious”, “dative”, “consistent”, “smart”). Shortly
after, are the statements related to the economic status of politicians with 18.6% (“rich”, “wealthy”), those referred to their
34
educational level with percentage 11.3% (“well educated”) and those that mentioned their social status with 10.3%
(“powerful”, “popular”, “famous”). On the other hand, the statements with negative content have primarily to do with the
skills and elements of behaviour and character of the politicians with a 96.7% percentage (“liar”, “ironic”, “hypocritical”,
“self-seeker”, “sneaker”), while a much smaller percentage (2.2%) referred to the nature of the work (“stressful”,
“difficult”).
The positive statements referred to the profession of the clerk reach a rate of 69.8%, while the percentage of the
negative characterizations is 30.2%. The 78.2% of the positive statements are related to skills and personality traits
(“hardworking”, “typical”, “conscientious”, “obedient”, “conscientious”, “helpful”), the 10.9% referred to nature of the work
(“permanent”, “easy”), the 3.8% to the social status of the clerk (“breadwinner”), the 3.3% to the financial status (“well
paid”, “well off”), and just the 0.5% of the positive characterizations referred to the educational level of the clerks (“well
educated”). On the other hand, the 41.8% of the statements with negative content referred to the nature of the work
(“stagnant”, “uncertain”, “miserable”, “dependent”, “laborious”) while the 39.2% of the negative characterizations have to
do with the skills and elements of behaviour and character (“cowardly”, “lazy”, “spineless”, “weak”), the 3.8% of the
negative statements with the financial status of the job (“low paid” and 2.2% with its social status (“wronged”).
Considering the profession of university professor, the positive characterizations given by the interviewees are
reaching the percentage of 86.6%, while the negative views are reaching a rate of 13.4%. The majority of the positive
views (38.6%) concerning the educational level of professors (“trained”, “well educated”), The 36.9% of the positive views
related to professors’ skills and personality features (“smart”, “hardworking”, “responsible”, “ambitious”, “patient”,
“transmissible”), the 9.4% of the positive views concerning the social status of that specific job (“potent” “recognizable”,
“important”, “neat”, “scientist”), the 9.1% nature of the work (“permanent”, “spiritual”, “creative”, “interesting”), and 4.3% of
the positive statements about university professors referred to their financial status (“rich”, “well paid”). Concerning the
negative views of the interviewees the great majority of the statements (94.4%) referred to professors’ skills and elements
of behaviour and character (egocentric, arrogant, domineering).
The positive statements referred to the profession of businessman reach a rate of 77.6%, while the percentage of
the negative characterizations is 22.4%. The 58.6% of the statements with positive content are in the thematic category
“Skills and Elements of behaviour and character” (“creative”, “sociable”, “intelligent”, “diplomatic”, “industrious”). Shortly
after, there are the statements related to the economic status of businessmen with 27.3% (“rich”, “wealthy”), those
referred to the nature of their work with percentage 5.1% (“profitable”, “enjoyable”, “productive”), those that mentioned
their social status with 4% (“powerful”, “popular”, “famous”) and finally those that referred to the educational level of
businessmen with a rate of 2% (“well educated”). On the other hand, the statements with negative content have primarily
to do with the skills and elements of behaviour and character of businessmen with a 84.2% percentage (“exploiter”,
“immoral”, “self-seeker”, “cunning”, “selfish”), while a much smaller percentage (18.2%) referred to the nature of the work
(“stressful”, “difficult”).
In terms of the profession of the street sweeper, the positive statements reach a rate of 56.3%, while the percentage
of the negative characterizations is 43.7%. The 75.6% of the positive statements are related to skills and personality traits
(“patient”, “hardworking”, “proud”), the 6.5% of the positive views concerning the social status of that specific job
(“hardworking” “breadwinner”), and the 16.5% concerning the nature of the work of street sweepers (“important”, “helpful”
“necessary”). On the other hand, the characterizations with negative content have primarily to do with the nature of the
work (“tedious”, “painful”, “difficult”, “dirty”) and the economic status or the financial rewards of street sweepers (“lowly
paid”), with rates 28.7% and 27.8% respectively. Immediately after come the statements referred to social status with a
22.2% (“marginalized”, “underclass”), the educational level with 10.2% (“illiterate”) and finally those referred to skills and
elements of behaviour and character with 5.6% (“spineless”, “rude”).
Concerning the profession of the plumber, the positive statements reach a rate of 73.8%, while the percentage of
the negative characterizations is 26.2%. The 62.5% of the positive statements are related to skills and personality traits
(“hardworking”, “sociable”, “responsible”, “intelligent”, “patient”), the 27.4% concerning the nature of the work of plumbers
(“important”, “helpful” “necessary”), the 4.5% of the positive views concerned the social status of that specific job
(“hardworking” “breadwinner”), while the 3.4% of the positive statements for the profession of a plumber concerned its
financial rewards (“well paid”). On the other hand, the characterizations with negative content have primarily to do with
the skills and elements of behaviour and character with 39.7% (“ sly”, “inconsistent”, “self-seeker”), the nature of the work
with 30.2%(“difficult”, “dirty”), the economic status or the financial rewards of plumbers (“lowly paid”, “poor”), with a rate
of 19%, their educational level with 4.9% (“uneducated”) and lastly the 3.1% of the negative statements referred to the
plumber’s profession concerned its social status with a percentage of 3.1%.
35
Observing the profession of the builder, the positive statements reach a rate of 61.5%, while the percentage of the
negative characterizations is 38.5%. The 82.9% of the positive statements are related to builder’s skills and personality
traits (“hardworking”, “responsible”, “intelligent”, “patient”), the 10.5% concerning the nature of the work (“important”,
“helpful” “necessary”), while the 3.3% of the positive views concerning the social status of that specific job (“hardworking”
“breadwinner”). On the other hand, the characterizations with negative content have primarily to do with the nature of the
work with 41%(“occasional, “tiring”, “dangerous”, “difficult”, dirty”), the economic status of builders (“lowly paid”, “poor”)
with 30.5%, with their social status (12.5%), their educational level with 7.6% (“uneducated”) and lastly with builders’
skills and elements of behaviour and character with 6.3% (“rude”).
Finally, concerning the profession of the physician, the positive statements reach a rate of 89.6%, while the
percentage of the negative characterizations is 10.4%. The 41.8% of the statements with positive content are in the
thematic category “Skills and Elements of behaviour and character” (“responsible”, “reliable”, “patient”, “sensitive”,
“ambitious”, “smart”, “hardworking”, “conscientious”). Shortly after, there are the statements related to physician’s
educational level with 22% (“well educated”, “well trained”), the statements concerned the nature of the work with 16.7%
(“responsible”, “safe”, “interesting”, “useful”, “necessary»,» indispensable”) the economic status with 10.6% (“rich”,
“wealthy”), and lastly those referred to the social status of their work with percentage 7.3% (“powerful”,
“famous”, “popular”, “successful”). On the other hand, the statements with negative content have primarily to do with the
skills and elements of behaviour and character of businessmen with a 51.3% percentage (“exploiter”, “immoral”, “selfish”),
while a much smaller percentage (22.3%) referred to the nature of the work (“stressful”, “difficult”).
Table 10. Degree of agreement of the subjects with the statements by thematic axis
IDENTIFICATION OF CLASSES
1 Each social class has different interests 3 8 26 78 35
(2%) (5,3%) (17,3%) (52%) (23,3%)
2 The class that someone belongs to does 12 39 60 27 12
not affect his social advancement (8%) (26%) (40%) (18%) (8%)
3 The occupations of increased social 5 11 24 77 33
status (doctors, lawyers, academics) are (3,1%) (7,1%) (16%) (51,3%) (22%)
identical with the upper social classes
4 Social class determines the lifestyle of 5 7 30 90 18
people (3,4%) (4,7%) (20%) (60%) (12%)
5 Each social class has each own 2 3 28 95 22
characteristics (1,3%) (2%) (18,7%) (63,3%) (14,7%)
6 The occupation of each person defines 9 17 54 60 10
the social class that belongs to (6%) (11,3%) (36%) (40%) (6,7%)
CLASS INEQUALITY
7 The lower social classes are carriers of 29 25 47 40 7
poor culture (19,3%) (16,7%) (31,3%) (28%) (4,7%)
8 Public servants belong to the lower social 32 75 30 12 1
class (21,3%) (50%) (20%) (8%) (0,7%)
9 The majority of Greeks belong to the 12 56 48 24 10
lower social class (8%) (37,3%) (32%) (16%) (6,7%)
10 The educational system contributes to 8 19 34 70 19
the reproduction of social classes (5,3%) (12,7%) (22,7%) (46,7%) (12,7%)
11 Social class determines the daily habits of 5 12 44 79 10
individuals (3,3%) (8%) (29,3%) (52,7%) (6,7%)
12 Social class determines 4 15 60 58 13
the general behaviour pattern of subjects (2,7%) (10%) (40%) (38,7%) (8,7%)
CLASS FORMATION
13 I know very well in which class I belong to 1 11 29 75 34
(0,7%) (7,3%) (19,3%) (50%) (22,7%)
14 I believe that I have class consciousness 8 14 29 67 32
(5,4%) (9,3%) (19,3%) (44,7%) (21,3%)
15 I belong to the same class with my parents 7 26 26 62 29
(4,7%) (17,3%) (17,3%) (41,3%) (19,3%)
16 One of my goals is to become a member of a 11 31 47 48 13
higher social class (7,3%) (20,7%) (31,3%) (32%) (8,7%)
36
17 I live my life according to the 9 32 37 60 12

characteristics of social class to which I (6%) (21,3%) (24,7%) (40%) (8%)
belong
CLASS AND STEREOTYPES
18 Social class is determined only by the 24 33 35 41 16
economic level of the individual (16%) (22,7%) (23,3%) (27,3%) (10,7%)
19 The educational level is a determinant of 9 34 57 39 11
the class where a person belongs to (6%) (22,7%) (38%) (26%) (7,4%)
20 The social class determines the 17 32 47 42 12
political / electoral choices of the individual (11,3%) (21,3%) (31,3%) (28 %) (8%)
21 The upper classes are ideologically more 14 35 51 32 18
conservative (9,3%) (23,3%) (34%) (21,3%) (12%)
22 The lower social 13 41 57 29 10
classes are ideologically connected with the (8,7%) (27,3%) (38%) (19,3%) (6,7%)
left wing parties
23 Social class is an element of social racism 14 28 28 58 22
(9,3%) (18,7%) (18,7%) (38,7%) (14,7%)
24 Social class is an inherited trait 20 44 47 36 3
(13,3%) (29,3%) (31,3%) (24%) (2%)
25 Social class is a criterion for the interaction 3 26 40 67 14
between individuals of a society (2%) (17,3%) (26,7%) (44,7%) (9,3%)
26 The outward appearance identifies the social 12 38 47 43 10
class of an individual (8%) (25,3%) (31,3%) (28,7%) (6,7%)
27 Social class is the only criterion for 35 49 47 14 5
distinguishing the individuals within a society (23,3%) (32,7%) (31,3%) (9,3%) (3,3%)
28 In any society, members of the upper 2 11 25 73 39
classes exploit the members of the lower (1,3%) (7,3%) (16,7%) (48,7%) (26%)
classes
29 The race affects an individual's inclusion in a 10 21 42 60 17
social class (6,7%) (14%) (28%) (40%) (11,3%)
DEPRECIATION OF SOCIAL CLASSES
30 Nowadays there is no class war 40 66 32 9 3
(26,7%) (44%) (21,3%) (6%) (2%)
31 There is a possibility of advancement within 1 9 28 82 30
social classes. (0,7%) (6%) (18,7%) (54,7%) (20%)
32 Nowadays there is no division of classes 52 54 30 10 4
(34,7%) (36%) (20%) (6,7%) (2,7%)
33 Nowadays there is no clear division of social 10 55 47 33 3
classes (6,7%) (36,7%) (31,3%) (23,3%) (2%)
34 The social classes are imaginary creations of 36 59 32 14 9
individuals (24%) (39,3%) (21,3%) (9,3%) (6%)
35 The social classes no longer exist 35 68 25 12 10
(23,3%) (45,3%) (16,7%) (8%) (6,9%)
36 The classless society does not exist 9 19 47 46 29
(6%) (12,7%) (31,3%) (30,7%) (19,3%)
Regarding the statements of the first thematic axis, we can see that 52% of the students believe that each class has
different interests and its own characteristics (63.3%), which define the lifestyle of individuals within a society (60%). At
the same time the interviewees believe that the increased social status professions (doctors, lawyers, and academics)
are identical with the upper social classes (51.3%) and that each person's profession determines the class he belongs to
(40%). However, the students seem not to be so sure that the class they belong to affect their social advancement (40%).
Analysing the second thematic axis, it is perceived that the statements concerning the class inequality are the main
variables that contribute to the construction of that specific axis. At a rate of 52.7% the students think that the
social class determines the individuals’ daily habits, but they are not so sure if the social class determines
the general behaviour of the subjects (40%). They believe that education contributes to the reproduction of social
classes (46.7%), but they are unsure whereas the lower social classes are carriers of low education (31.3%). Moreover,
the subjects of the research disagree with the statement that civil servants belong to a lower social class (50%) and that
the majority of Greeks belong to a lower social class (37.3%).
37
To the third thematic axis we notice the fact that 50% of the subjects stated that they are aware of what class they
belong to. The 40% of the sample lives its life according to the characteristics of social class to which it belongs and
44.7% of them have class consciousness. Also the 41.3% indicates that belongs at the same social class with its
parents and one of its main goals is to become a member of a higher social class (32%).
The fourth thematic axis refers to the stereotypes concerning the social classes. Students believe that the class is
determined only by the economic level of individuals (27.3%), while they are not certain whether the educational level of
someone is a determinant of the class where he belongs or not (38%). The subjects believe that the lower social classes
are ideologically associated with the left wing parties (38%) and that the upper social classes are ideologically
conservative (34%). However they are not absolutely sure that the social class determines the political / electoral choices
of the individual (31.3%). Students also believe that the ethnic background affects an individual's membership in
social classes (40%). They are certain that social class is an element of social racism (38.7%), but they are not
sure that social class is an inherited trait (31.3%). At a rate of 44.7% they agree that social class is criterion
for socializing among individuals of a society, but they are not so sure if the external appearance of a person is also such
a criterion (31.3%). They disagree with the statement that social class is the only criterion for distinguishing
the individuals of a society (32.7%), but they agree that in every society, members of the upper classes exploit the
members of the lower classes (48.7%).
Finally, there is a great percentage of students who disagree (44%) or strongly disagree (26.7%) with the
statements that today there is no division of classes, that social classes no longer exist ( 45.3%), that nowadays there is
no clear separation of social classes (36.7%), and that social classes are creations of people’ imagination (39.3%). They
are absolutely sure that classless society does not exist (31.3%), but they agree (54.7%) or strongly agree (20%) that
there is a possibility of advancement within social classes.
4. Discussion
The problematic of social classes is a social and historical process which is based on the differentiation of social groups.
It is no doubt that in the period of late capitalism, the hegemony of neo-liberalism shaped a false consciousness about the
role of social class, evidence which created a huge illusion that ultimately has come the end of class society. Factors
such as easy and fast wealth, sustainable growth, educational opportunities, consumption, e.tc. shaped the image of a
society where everyone can do anything he wants. On the other hand, the theoretical discussion under the ideological
domination of orthodox Marxian theory, provided a restrictive focus. As a result of this, for many years the debate
remained trapped in a narrow field of social analysis creating a huge lack of understanding. This is actually illustrated to
students’ answers proving the rise of the “affirmative culture”. As we can see, students consist of a part of this conformist
legacy because their attitudes are based on traditional social stereotypes. We can also observe that they have
assimilated the dominant ideology of social stratification and they tend to be a part of the systemic logic of status quo.
Although they believe in the upward social mobility they argue that the class stratification is the only satisfactory criterion
for rating and social classification. For instance factors such as occupation, educational level, social status, income,
nature of work e.t.c still play a significant role in ranking process. Finally they hope that everyone can change his class
position provided that he will find the appropriate circumstances.
References
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Bardin L. (1977).L' analyse de contenu. Paris: PUF.
Berelson, B. (1971). Content Analysis in Communication Research. New York: Free Press.
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Commission.
De Lagarde J. (1983). Initiation à I' analyse des données. Paris:Bordas.
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Gurvitch, G. (1954). Le concept de classes sociales de Marx à nos jours. Paris: Centre de Documentation Universitaire.
Fraise, P., Piaget, J. (1970). Traite de Psychologie Expérimentale. Paris: PUF.
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Javeau, C. (1988). L'enquete par Questionnaire. Manuel a l'usage du Praticien. Bruxelles: Universite de Bruxelles.
38
Jay, M. (1996). The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923-50,
Berkeley:University of California Press.
De Lagarde J. (1983). Initiation à I' analyse des données. Bordas, Paris.
Lasswell, H. D., Lerner, D. & Sola Pool, I.D. (1952) The Comparative Study of Symbols. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lasswell, H. D. & Leites, N. (1965). The Language of Politics: Studies in Quantitative Semantics. New York: MIT Press.
Marcuse, H. (1969). An essay on Liberation. Boston: Beacon Press.
Moscovici, S. (1970). La Psychanalyse, son image et son public. Paris: PUF.
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Palmquist, M. (1990). The lexicon of the classroom: language and learning in writing classrooms. Doctoral Dissertation. Carnegie Mellon
University.
Poulantzas, N. (1975). Classes in Contemporary Capitalism. London: New Left Books.
Sola Pool, I,D. (1959). Trends in Content Analysis. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Stephens, J. (1979). Class Formation and Class Consciousness: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Reference to Britain and
Sweden. The British Journal of Sociology, 30(4), 389-414.
Verma G.K. & Mallick K. (1999). Researching Education. London: The Falmer Press.
Veron, E. (1981).La construction des événements. Paris: Les Editions de Minuit.
Weber, M. (1968). Economy and Society. New York: Bedminster Press.
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Wright, E. (1976) Class Boundaries in Advanced Capitalist Societies, New Left Review, 98, 3-41.
39

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigerian Educational System
Agbetuyi, P. A.
Faculty of Education,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
Email:rashmond4u@yahoo.com, +234 (0) 816 830 3142
Oluwatayo, J. A.
Institute of Education,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.
Email: ayotayor@yahoo.com, +234 (0) 803 396 4547
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p41
Abstract In this present age of globalization, information and communication technology has transformed the Nigerian Educational
system positively. This paper therefore discusses the correlate existing between information and communication technology and
education and the extent to which it has affected the Nigerian system of education. The setback and obstacles to its full actualization is
also examined.
Keywords: Information technology, ICT, education system, Nigeria.
1. Introduction
The role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the 21st century education system has been
described as vital to keeping abreast with rapidly changing technologies. The development of information and
communication technology into the Nigerian educational system has come to stay; its importance has been translated
into huge potentials in terms of positive outcomes, although investments in ICTs in Nigerian’s education system have not
yielded much when compared to similar investments made in communication (Atureta, 2011).
The field of education has certainly been affected by the penetrating influence of ICT worldwide. ICT has made
impact on the quality and quantity of teaching, learning and research in the institutions using it (Kwacha, 2007). According
to Ololube, Ubogu and Ossai (2007), the introduction of ICT usage, integration and diffusion has initiated a new age in
educational methodologies, thus has radically changed traditional method of information delivery and usage patterns in
the domain as well as offering contemporary learning experience for both instructors and learners. ICT has the potential
to accelerate, enrich and deepen skills, motivate and engage students in learning; helps to relate school experiences to
work places, helps to create economic viability for tomorrow’s workers, contribute to radical changes in school,
strengthens teaching, and provides opportunities for connection between the school and the world (Davis & Tearle, 1999;
Lemke & Coughlin, 1998; cited by Yusuf, 2005).
Adomi & Kpangban (2010) described Information and communication technology (ICT) as electronic technologies
used for information storage and retrieval. According to the Online Oxford Dictionary, Information and communications
technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended
synonym for information technology (IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified
communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers,
middleware as well as necessary software, storage- and audio-visual systems, which enable users to create, access,
store, transmit, and manipulate information. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telecommunication, broadcast
media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions.
ICT as described by Scott (2002) encompasses a range of applications, communications and technologies which
aid information retrieval and research communication and administration. These include online databases, library
services and online services and fax machine. It has become a global phenomenon of great importance and concerns in
all aspects of human endeavor, spanning across education, governance, business, labour, market, shares, productivity,
trade, agriculture, commerce and others. The expression was first used in 1997 in a report by Dennis Stevenson to the
UK government and promoted by the new National Curriculum documents for the UK in 2000.
41
1.1 Integration of Information and Communication Technology into Nigerian Educational System
Nigeria as a nation has recognized the potential of ICT in her educational system. The national policy on computer
education emphasized the need for the integration of ICT into the Nigerian educational system. This dates back to the
National Policy on Computer Education (FME, 1988) which emphasized the need for primary school pupils to be
introduced to the basic computer skills, the use of the computer to facilitate learning and rudimentary use for text writing,
computation and data entry. For secondary school, they have related goals which were to be achieved at higher level.
The tertiary institutions were also required to teach computer science as a discipline and to integrate it in school
administration and instruction. However, the implementation was not effective.
The National Policy on Education (FRN) as revised in 1988 and 2004, re – emphasized the need for the integration
of ICT in the Nigerian educational system. This is an acceptance of the need to go beyond computer to the level of ICT
also the need for infrastructure. Three major objectives, among others were emphasized in the Nigerian National policy
for Information Technology (FRN, 2001). These are to empower youths with ICT skills to prepare them for
competitiveness in a global environment, integrate ICT into the mainstream of education and training and establishment
of multifaceted ICT institutions as centers of excellence of ICT. To achieve these objectives, nine major strategies were
outlined. These include
i. Making ICT compulsory at all educational institutions

ii. Developing ICT curricular for all levels of education
iii. Using ICT in distance education
iv. ICT companies’ investment in education
v. Giving study grant and scholarship on ICT
vi. Training the trainers’ scheme for youth corps services on ICT
vii. ICT capacity building at the zonal, state and local government levels
viii. Establishing private and public dedicated ICT institutions
ix. Working with international and domestic initiative to transfer ICT knowledge.
1.2 The Role of Information and Communication Technology in Nigerian Educational System
The main purpose of ICT in education means implementing of ICT equipment and tools in teaching and learning process
as a media and methodology. The purpose of ICT in education is generally to familiarize students with the use and
workings of computers, and related social and ethical issues. ICT has enabled learning through multiple intelligence as it
has introduced learning through simulation games; this enables active learning through all senses. A renowned Professor
Ajayi, G. O. of OAU, Ile Ife, Nigeria, shared the multi-purpose application of ICT as he put it “ICT is now regarded as a
Utility such as water and electricity and hence has become a major factor in socio-economic development of every nation.
ICT now plays a major role in education, learning and research in general, agriculture, health, commerce and even in
poverty alleviation by generating or creating new jobs and investment opportunities…” This declaration and indeed other
opinions shared by others point to conclusive evidence that ICT has some real and material applications for countries like
Nigeria because countries can leverage ICT to totally transform and modernize their economy.
Tinio (2002) noted that ICTs are powerful enabling tools for educational change and reform. When used
appropriately, helps expand access to education, strengthen the relevance of education to the workplace, and raise
educational quality by creating an active process connected to real life.
In Nigerian educational system, ICT has helped to increase access to and improving the relevance and the quality
of education. It greatly facilitate the acquisition and absorption of knowledge, offering developing countries
unprecedented opportunities to enhance educational systems, improve policy formulation and execution and widen the
range of opportunity for business and the poor. This new communication tends to reduce the sense of isolation, and open
access to knowledge. This is enhanced because ICT provides access anytime and anywhere by making possible
asynchronous learning. Online course materials, for example, can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ICT
based educational delivery like educational programming broadcast over radio and television also dispenses with the
need for all learners and the instructor to be in one location. In addition, certain types of ICTs such as teleconferencing
technologies enable instructions to be received simultaneously by multiple, geographically dispersed learners
(synchronous learning).
Furthermore, ICT has enhanced access to remote learning resources. Teachers and learners no longer have to rely
solely on physical media housed in libraries (and available in limited quantities) for their educational needs. With the
42
internet and world wide web, a wealth of learning materials in almost every subject and in a variety of media can now be
accessed from anywhere at any time of the day by an unlimited number of people. This is particularly significant for many
schools in developing countries and developed countries that have limited outdated library resources. ICTs also facilitate
access to resource persons all over the world.
In Nigerian educational system, one interesting thing is that ICTs are also a transformational tool that has promoted
the shift to a learner – centered environment. It has assisted in improving the quality of education and training by
increasing learners’ motivation and engagement, facilitating the acquisition of basic skills. The use of ICT tools such as
videos, television and multimedia computer software that combine text, sound and colourful moving images is used to
provide challenging and authentic content that engages the students to be more involved. More importantly, networked
computers with internet connectivity increases learners motivation as it combines the media richness and interactivity of
other ICTs with the opportunity to connect with real people and to participate in real world events.
The transmission of basic skills and concepts that forms the foundation of higher order thinking skills and creativity
in enhanced by ICT through drill and practice. Most of the early users of computers were for computer-based learning
that focused on mastery of skills and content through reinforcement and repetition.
Haddad and Draxier (2002) also indicated that ICT has contributed to effective learning through expanding access,
promoting efficiency and improving the quality of learning and improving management systems. According to Obeng
(2004), ICT is now regarded as a utility such as water and electricity and hence has become a major role in education,
learning and research in general, agriculture, and health and even in poverty alleviation by generating or creating new
jobs and investment opportunities.
David (2005) said that students become more aware about how to learn when using ICT because they must interact
with computer. ICT has also changed the relationship between students and lecturers and has made it open and intimate.
The idea of sharing knowledge and the capability of using new resources for learning are enhanced by using ICTs. It has
also helped undergraduates in better communication and access to information. This is due to the fact that there is a
national policy supporting ICT in schools. It has also helped students’ curiosity and motivation that has in turn forced the
lecturers to seek more knowledge.
The benefits derived from ICT use in education are summarized as active learning, collaborative learning, creative
learning, integrative learning and evaluative learning. By active learning, ICT-enhanced learning mobilizes tools for
examination, calculation and analysis of information, thus provides platform for students’ enquiry, analysis and
construction of new information. ICT-supported learning encourages interaction and cooperation among students,
teachers and experts regardless of where they are. Also, ICT – supported learning promotes manipulation of existing
information and creation of real – world products rather than regurgitation of received information. It has also enhanced
integrative approach to teaching and learning. This approach eliminates the artificial separation between the different
disciplines and between theory and practice that characterizes the traditional classroom approach. By evaluative learning,
ICT-enhanced learning is student – directed and diagnostic. Unlike static, text or print-based educational technologies,
ICTs allow learners to explore and discover rather than mere listening and remembering.
2. The Journey So Far
In our educational institutions, especially higher institutions, the mode of delivery of knowledge and curriculum are not
yet ICT enhanced, though with the development of a National Policy on ICT in Education, Nigeria is predictably a step in
the right direction toward improvement for the sector (Atureta, 2011). Factors militating against its full implementation are
insufficient numbers of computers, epileptic power supply, problems of internet network failure, lack of ICT
knowledge/skills, difficulty in integrating ICT to instruction, scheduling computer time, insufficient peripheral devices,
inadequate software, insufficient teaching time, inadequate access, lack of qualified ICT personnel, cost of equipment,
management attitude, there seems to be no clear and definite policy and/or curriculum for all levels of the Nigerian
education system and lack of technical assistance among others. Okwudishu (2005) indicated that unavailability of some
ICT components in schools hampers teachers’ use of it. The various challenges that have been raised have to be
addressed for Nigeria to make effective use of ICT to enhance her educational system.
Ogechukwu & Osuagwu (2009) suggest that, "ICT is still in the emerging phase in Nigerian educational system". In
their article entitled, 'ICT in Education: Achievements so far in Nigeria’, which discusses ICT dimensions, its transforming
power; status in Nigerian educational institutions, plus limitations to its infusion, both experts say the country is yet to
progress beyond the emerging phase of ICT in education which according to them, is only one of four approaches, the
goals of ICT in education embraces. These approaches are: emerging, applying, infusing, and transforming. Iloanusi &
43
Osuagwu said 90% of Nigeria's educational institutions fall within the emerging phase, 7% in the applying phase and 3%
in the infusing and transforming phase, with a few other sectors of the economy having progressed beyond this phase.
In addition, Aduwa-Ogiegbean & Iyamu, (2005) noted that many developing countries, especially in Africa, are still
low in ICT application and use. Thus, it is believed that in order to emerge beyond the first stage in the last three which
are termed the 'functional approaches', a lot of policy implementation and funding is required. Incredibly though, Nigeria is
reputed to have an advantage in this 'begging field', as there are many ICT experts of Nigerian parentage in the
diasporas, with no knowledge of any concerted effort being made to genuinely attract their potential to accelerate and
sustain ICT development in their fatherland. Though government efforts have not gone without much notice toward the
implementation of ICT in Nigerian educational institutions, the challenges are there from paucity of funds and lack of
access, to unsteady power (not all local ISPs can maintain their boosters for 24-hours without fuel which is costly); and
high cost of ownership (with the rapid increase in population and demands across the service sectors, there is the
growing realization that in this 21st century, the government of Nigeria alone can no longer fund education and its
concerns except by partnering with the private sector).
Special interventions have been made to Secondary and Higher Institutions by government, NGOs banks and
several private sector groups. The MTN Virtual Library project embarked upon in key universities in Nigeria for instance,
has enhanced research opportunities; the NUC facilitation of the setting up of Network cables, connectivity devices in
Federal Universities with free consultancy services to universities and inter-university centers on ICT; plus the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC) and Education Trust Fund (ETF) geared towards universities and polytechnics,
have enhanced learning in several ways.
3. Conclusion
The vision to make Nigeria an ICT capable country in Africa and a key player in the information society by using ICT as
an engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness is yet to be achieved; this is because ICT is at
particularly a dynamic stage in Africa and Nigeria is not left out.
Several challenges are responsible for its full actualization. These include poor IT infrastructure, inadequate ICT
manpower, epileptic power supply and high cost of ICT facilities among others.
4. Recommendations
Based on the discussion in this study, the following recommendations have been made:
1. There must be local manufacturing of ICT materials to reduce the cost of acquiring the software and hardware
components. There must be local assembly of hardware and software components with specifications for the content in
material and personnel. This will enhance the availability of ICT resources to promote efficient national development.
2. There must be capacity development. That is, at all levels of our educational system, at primary, secondary and
tertiary levels, there must be ICT training and re - training, education and usage. This will enhance the maximization of
ICT use nationwide.
3. Access to stable power supply must be put in place by the government. This will enhance universal access to ICT.
4. There must be collaboration with international organizations like African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources
(AVOIR) and among tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Universities like OAU and UNIJOS which have gone ahead in ICT
applications could be understudied towards implementation in other tertiary institutions.
5. ICT should be made compulsory at all levels of our educational system and the government should assist in acquiring
the facilities to aid its effective teaching and learning.
6. The government should promote her partnership with ICT organizations like CISCO, Microsoft Corporation, Intel
Corporation, SchoolNet to enhance its full actualization.
References
Adomi, E. E. & Kpangban, E. (2010). Application of ICTs in Nigerian secondary schools. Library Philosophy and Practice.
Aduwa-Ogiegbean, S. E. & Iyamu, E. O. S. (2005). Using information and communication technology in secondary schools in Nigeria.
Educational Technology and Society. 8(1): 104—112.
Ajayi, G. O. (2003) NITDA and ICT in Nigeria. Available: http://ejds.org/meeting/2003/ictp/papers/ajayi.pdf.
Atureta, A. (2011). Reviewing the benefits of ICTs in the Nigerian educational system.
Blurton, C. (1999). New dimension in education. UNESCO’s World Communication.
44
David, M. (2005). Three aspects of ICT in education. Retrieved January 15, 2007 from http://otec.ilerengen.Edu/ICTuo.html.
Davis, N. E. & Tearle, P. (1999). A core curriculum for telematics in teacher training. Tele-teaching 98 Conference; Vienna.
http://www.ex.ac.uk/telematics/T3/corecurr.
Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (1988). Report on National Policy on Computer Education. Lagos: NERDC Press.
Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (2004). Ministerial initiative on e – education for Nigerian educational system. Abuja: NERDC Press.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) 2004. National Policy on Education (4th ed) Lagos: NERDC Press.
Haddad, W. & Draxier, C. (2002). ICT in education: Potential and potency
Kwasha, P. Z, (2007). The imperative of information and communication technologies for teachers in Nigerian higher education. Merlot
Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 3(4).
Lemke, C. & Coughlin, E. C. (1998). Technology in American schools: Seven dimensions for gauging progress. Milken Exchange
Commission on Educational Technology. http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME158.pdf.
Obeng, T. K. (2004). The practical application of ICT in education. Results from a worldwide educational assessment. Computer and
Education; 37: 163—178.
Ogechukwu N. I. & Osuagwu, C. C. (2009). ICT in education: Achievement so far.
Okwudishu, C. H. (2005). Awareness and use of information and communication technology (ICT) among village secondary school
teachers in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, Abraka.
Ololube, N. P. M.; Ubogu, A. E. & Ossai, A. G. (2007). ICT and distance education in Nigeria: A Review of Literature and Accounts.
International Open and Distance Learning (IODL) Symposium.
Tinio, V. L. (2002). ICT in education. Available: http://www.eprimers.org.
World Bank (1998). The world development report 1998/99. New Directions of ICT use in education. Quoted in C. Blurton.
Yusuf, M. (2005). Information and communication technology and education: Analysing the Nigerian national policy for information
technology. International Educational Journal; 6(3): 316—321.
45

Repositioning the Teaching Profession to Meet Developmental Challenges in Nigeria
Dr. J. B. Ayodele
Department of Educational Foundations & Management
Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti
Email: tolayodele@yahoo.co.uk
Dr. B. K. Oyewole
Department of Educational Foundations & Management
Faculty of Education Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti
Oyewole.tope@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p47
Abstract: The issue of nation building and development is cardinal among the goals of any nation. In an attempt to meet the needs of
citizens and also be in tune with other nations in a dynamic and globalised world, Nigeria is currently grappling with a lot of challenges.
The place of the teaching profession in meeting these challenges cannot be overemphasized. This paper attempts to examine the
concept of development, developmental challenges of contemporary Nigeria, the place of the teaching profession, and recommended
strategies for repositioning the teaching profession in Nigeria. It concludes that repositioning the teaching profession to meet
developmental challenges in Nigeria should be paramount in the mind of all stakeholders. The drive towards making Nigeria one of the
top developed economies in the world by year 2020 could be realized if teaching profession is highly recognized by the government.
Keywords: Development; Nation building; Profession; Teaching; Teaching Profession.
1. Introduction
Every nation strives towards sustainable development. Thus the issue of nation building and development is cardinal
among the goals of any nation. For instance, Nigeria is a multi-tribal, multi-ethnic and multi-lingua nation. Perhaps, this
is why various sections/groups have been agitating for the meeting of their pressing and varied needs. In an attempt to
meet these multi-farious needs in a pluralistic and dynamic society, there are a lot of challenges which developing
nations, like Nigeria, have to cope with. Busari and Madueke (2004) observed that the essence of education in post
modernism is to ensure for peace, liberate oppression, fight poverty and promote industry through entrepreneurial skills.
All these are necessary ingredients for development. It is against this backdrop that this paper examined how the
teaching profession in Nigeria could be repositioned with a view to meeting emerging developmental challenges.
2. The Concept of Development
Development can be conceived as involving, not only economic growth, but conditions in which people in a country have
adequate food, job and the income inequality among them is greatly reduced. Following this logic, it is quite possible for
a country to experience rapid rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and income per capita, as well as increase in
unemployment, poverty and inequality. Thus, the indices of development should be based on such things like nutrition,
infant mortality, health, political participation etc. Perhaps, this is why Umo (1986) viewed development from the socio-
economic perspective thus:
Development is a process by which high degree of self reliant economic growth in a given society, sustained over
a long time, is associated with substantial reductions in poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Obasanjo (1990), in an article “Key to Africa’s enduring development”, in the Nigerian Tribune of 13th September
conceived development as a “process concerned with peoples’ capacity in a defined geographical area, over defined
period to manage and induce change; that is, to predict, plan, understand and monitor change”. He went further to
submit that increase in GDP/GNP is a product of change process and only serves as input for further change.
47
An examination and careful analysis of the various definitions of development in literature will reveal certain
common characteristics of the term, whether from economic, social or political perspective.
These include:
- Development focuses on both individual and society.

- Change is perennial to development as it is to modern science and technology.
- Development is human-centred and it must therefore be humanistic. That is, it must be people-based, people-
centred and people-inspired.
- The quality of life should be used as an indication of our level of development.
- The keyword in development is change, its inducement, monitoring and more importantly the ability to reject
unwanted changes.
3. Developmental Challenges of Contemporary Nigeria
In an attempt to meet the needs of citizens and also be in tune with other nations in a dynamic and globalised world,
Nigeria is currently grappling with a lot of challenges. These include:
(i) Growing urbanization and rural neglect- This has led to unprecedented rural-urban drift with its attendant problems.
(ii) Youth unemployment – This has been compounded by declining capacity utilization and unfriendly investment
environment in the country.
(iii) High incidence of Poverty-Majority of Nigerians live below the poverty line of $2 per day.
(iv) High incidence of crime and social vices-drug abuse, child abuse, kidnapping, human trafficking, prostitution etc, are
endemic in contemporary Nigeria.
(v) Terrorism and insecurity- These include the violent crimes by the Niger Delta Militants and the Boko Haram Menace,
among others.
4. The Place of the Teaching Profession
Olunike Asaolu in Sunday Punch of February, 12, 2012 (P.60) reported that “falling education system is responsible for
insecurity” in Nigeria. She added that mass failure are the causes of various crimes and challenges of insecurity facing
Nigeria.
It should be noted that a virile education system is a sine-qua-non for national development. According to Abernathy
and Coombs (1960),
Most nationalist leaders, once in power, have employed mass education in their campaign to eradicate ancient
antagonism of tribes, religion and class, and in general they regard schools and colleges as primary means of
building their nation.
Thus, the panacea to the contemporary developmental challenges in Nigeria is in a virile educational system. However,
the quality of education in Nigeria has been a source of concern to all stakeholders in recent times. Agba (2007)
observed that despite the centrality of education in national development, the Nigerian educational system is at a cross
road. The observed woe in the system has been linked with the quality of the teaching personnel. Perhaps, this is why
Olunike Asaolu (Sunday Punch, February 12, 2012, P.60) opined that manpower training should be embarked upon to
enhance teachers’ performance with a view to enhancing students’ performance and consequently address the insecurity
challenges in Nigeria.
The role of the teacher in ensuring the success of any education policy/programme cannot be overemphasized.
This fact has been recognized by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its National Policy on Education (Revised 2004),
that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. The policy further noted the need for a “highly
motivated, conscientious and effective” teaching staff at all levels of education. Teachers constitute not only a vital input
to education, but also a major drive in the production process and in the determination of the output (Oyewole, 2008).
The report of the Baguada Seminar (NERC, 1980) stated that,
teachers are the main determinant of quality in education. If they are apathetic, uncommitted, uninspired, lazy,
unmotivated, immoral, antisocial, the whole nation is doomed. If they are ignorant in their disciplines and impact
48
wrong information, they are not only useless but dangerous. The kind of teacher trained and posted to the schools
may well determined what the next generation will be.
The foregoing necessitated the need to accord the teaching profession the much desired recognition it deserves with a
view to using the profession as an instrument to face the developmental challenges in the country.
Teaching as a profession should be endowed by teaching aptitude. It includes a set of intrinsic values relating to
intelligence, interests and other abilities. A teacher is therefore a man of many parts who combines love of knowledge
with ability to impregnate others with his wealth of knowledge and skills. He is neither a fellow who manifests interest in
teaching without the intellectual skill to see it through, nor a fellow who is an intellectual giant without the necessary
communicative skills, but rather someone who imparts knowledge, skills and attitude geared towards solving societal
problems.
In the past, teaching profession has been an all comers job. Graduates who were not trained as teachers were
employed to teach in our various schools except in recent time when teaching qualification is now seen as a pre-requisite
for recruitment. However, many of the teachers in our schools are not professionally qualified and as such yet to register
as Certified Teachers with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). Anikweze (2004) noted that 49.2%
teachers are unqualified while the trained form 50.8%.
5. Recommended Strategies for Repositioning the Teaching Profession
Repositioning the teaching profession in Nigeria requires a blunt and radical change from the present practice. It is
therefore the function of the society and those involved in the trade. It includes the teacher training institutions, the
teacher, schools authorities and managers of the educational system as well as government. Therefore, the following
recommendations shall be considered noble:
Awoniyi (1979) opined that a good teacher training programme is the key to the accomplishment of educational
goals. This is perhaps because the teaching profession requires specialized knowledge to equip practitioners with the
basic mental skills and sound pedagogical foundations of the profession. This knowledge could only be acquired through
specialized intellectual study and training. Thus, adequate attention should be given to a more robust teacher preparatory
programme by various teacher training institutions. Emphasis must be on both theory and practice.
No teacher training or teacher preparation programme is complete without the teaching practice exercise (Adesina,
Fagbongbe and Talabi, 1985). Teaching practice is thus an important and indispensable part in the training and
preparation of teachers. It helps the student-teachers to learn more, put into practice what they have been taught and
imbibe the professional ethics. The current teaching practice programme of twelve (12) weeks duration should therefore
be increased to one year programme to develop the professional competencies of prospective teachers.
A profession should have laid down standards which ensure control of entry into such profession. According to
Richey (1979), the professional code contains the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of the profession. The teaching profession should
have a functional legal backing so that teachers who contravene any of the ethics could be sanctioned as appropriate.
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) should be empowered legally to play its role of regulating entry into
the teaching profession and also control ethical conducts of members.
Teacher education in Nigeria is bedeviled with a lot of challenges in the modern day technology of imparting
knowledge in the teaching-learning process. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is relatively a very new
development in Nigeria educational system. ICT plays a significant role in teaching profession to effectively surmount the
enormous task of capacity and nation building (Oyewole & Oke 2011). Adako (2006) opines that if Nigeria must catch up
with other developing countries at a very reasonable pace, the nation builders (teachers) must be abreast of all new
development around the world more so that the world is now seen as a global village. This implies that a practicing
teacher must frequently update his/her knowledge in this dynamic world to be relevant in the profession. An obsolete
teacher loses touch with realities of life and will gradually lose his/her status as a professional teacher. (Emeh and Agba,
2010). E-teaching should be promoted. The teachers must be adequately trained on how to use ICT facilities to enhance
their productivity in the classroom environment. In-service training, seminars, workshops and conferences should be
regularly organized for teachers and well funded by the government and other educational agencies to develop their
manpower and productive capacity.
It should be noted that inspite of the copious exposure to computer education as a General Studies course in
Nigerian Universities, more than 80% of Nigerian undergraduates and graduates are unable to adequately utilize
computer and more than 90% of Nigerian secondary school students are unable to use computers, while at the primary
school level, less than 5% of the total population is computer literate (Adako and Aturamu 2006).
49
The usage of ICT in facilitating teacher education is still a myriad in Nigeria as many of the teachers are not ICT
literate and those under training in Colleges of Education, Institutes of Education and Faculties of education in Nigerian
Universities are not fully exposed to the use of ICT in the acquisition of skills and practical teaching.
Before 1995, teaching profession had been an all comers job. Many of the teachers were not professionally
qualified. In 1994, out of total teachers strength of 435,210, there were 91,868 teachers in various primary schools in
Nigeria who did not possess the Grade II teachers certificate and 361,118 who did not hold the NCE, (UNESCO, 2000).
It could be observed that less than 10% of the teachers in Nigerian primary and secondary schools are computer literate.
This is a great challenge facing the effective use of ICT in teaching profession.
Today, in most developed countries, nearly every aspect of human life including education is ICT drive. The
education sector in Nigeria still lags behind in this aspect of technology. However concerted efforts are being channelled
towards this direction by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), National Commission for Colleges of
Education (NCCE) and the National Universities Commission (NUC), (Aturamu, 2006).
Busari and Madueke (2004) remarked that while team teaching seems new and experiential, it actually has a long
history dating from the time of Socratic dialogue to medieval times with special education colleagues of regular education
and/or support services. Successful team teachers are those who are united and have a true partnership in the
classroom environment. Team teaching could help to discourage rigidity among instructors as well as the students.
Collaboration helps to enhance professional growth and development. It encourages cross fertilization of ideas and
development of new approaches to new approaches to teaching and learning. Team work and partnerships should
therefore be highly encouraged. Collaborative efforts should equally be emphasized to develop creativity and exposure of
teachers to new ideas.
Hargreaves (1994) remarked that teaching as a profession had a long and difficult history. Its social and cultural
functions have never been critically challenged; nevertheless, the public has not adequately supported teaching.
Compared with other professions such as Medicine, Law, Engineering and Architecture, Teaching ranks rather low
(Fakoya, 2009). The society and teachers should therefore be re-oriented to see teaching as a prestigious vocation with
high social status/recognition. Government should make teachers one of the highest paid workers in Nigeria. Special
salary scale could be given to teachers to make the profession more attractive and highly rewarding. Recruitment of
teachers should be strictly based on professional qualification and competency.
Teachers in Nigeria have no strong and united voice because of divided interests. Teachers at all levels of
education should therefore put a common front to reposition teaching profession in Nigeria. The division in Teachers’
Union should be urgently addressed. Teachers in Nigeria must come together as a unified body, strong and reliable to
reposition the teaching profession in the country.
Recruitment of teachers should be strictly based on professional qualification and competency. In addition, the reason
for this is not far fetched. The teachers teaching these students and pupils are not skilled in computer education and
application. This calls for urgent need to address the present situation as teachers constitute a major influence on the
use of ICT in teaching and learning process.
Teachers as nation builders cannot afford to be left behind in the revolutionary approach to modern day knowledge.
It becomes highly imperative for the educational planners to be concerned with evolving effective strategies for teaching
and learning of instructions in our various schools. Modern education techniques will have to be increasingly used and
improved at all levels of the educational system.
It should be mandatory that only people with teaching qualification are appointed as Commissioners/Ministers for
Education.
6. Conclusion
Education is a vital instrument for national development. The importance of teachers in making process of education
possible and successful is inevitable. They are nation builders; hence, any national development hinges on the abilities
of the teachers to meet the challenges. The teaching profession needs to be repositioned to possess all the
attributes/characteristics of a profession. Repositioning the teaching profession to meet developmental challenges in
Nigeria should be paramount in the mind of all stakeholders. The drive towards making Nigeria one of the top 20
developed economies in the world by year 2020 could only be realized if teaching profession is highly recognized by the
government, thereby putting education in a strategic position towards the realization of the lofty goals of the government.
50
References
Abernathy, D.B. and Coombs, T. (1960). Education and Politics in developing countries. In Harvard Education Review. 33(3)
Adako, L.B. (2006). E-Teaching Profession: Prospects, Problems and Remedies. Journal of Research in Vocational and Technical
Education. 3(1). 12-16.
Adako, L.B. and Aturamu, A.O. (2006). Challenges of E-Teaching Profession and Ways forward. TRCN 2006 Summit, Ado-Ekiti,
Nigeria.
Adesina,S. Fagbongbe, E.O. & Talabi, J.K (1985) Foundation Studies in Education. Ibadan: University Press Limited.
Agba, A.M.O. (2007). External factors in industrial crisis: A case study of higher institutions in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States,
Nigeria.Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
Anikweze, C.M. (2004). Educational policies, practices and strategies for achieving reforms in Nigeria. A paper presented at a
Workshop on capacity building for lecturers in Colleges of Education, Education Tax Fund and NCCE; Adeyemi College of
Education, Ondo. 6th – 8th September.
Awoniyi, T. (1979). Principles and Practice of Education. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Busari T. & Madueke, T. (2004). Team building in handling school subjects. A paper presented at workshop on capacity building for
lecturers in Colleges of Education, Education Tax Fund and NCCE; Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. 6th – 8th September.
Eme, J.O. & Agba, A.M.O. (2010). Professionalising teaching in Nigeria for effective service delivery and national development.
European Journal of Social Sciences. 17(3). 352-359.
Fakoya, F.O. (2009), Report on teaching profession and factors inhibiting teaching profession in Nigeria.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education (Revised). Lagos: Federal Government Press.
Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing Teachers, Changing times: Teachers’ Work and Culture in the Postmodern Age. London: Cassel.
Nigerian Educational Research Council (1980). Report of the Baguada Seminar on ‘Quantities and Qualities in Nigerian Education:
Lagos: NERC.
Oyewole, B.K. (2008). Instructional supervision and job performance among secondary school teachers in Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. Adekunle Ajasin, University, Akungba-Akoko.
Oyewole, B.K. & Oke, J.O. (2011). Teacher Education and ICT: Prospect and Challenges of E-teaching profession in Nigeria. A paper
presented at 2nd International Conference on Teacher Education, University of Lagos, 17th – 21st October.
Richey, R.N. (1979). Planning of Teaching: A Production to Education. New York: McGrew Hill book Company.
51

Occupational Stress, Burnout and Job Satisfaction among Supervisors in North Cyprus
Assoc. Prof. Suleyman Davut Göker
Girne American University, Faculty of Humanities

Department of English Translation and Interpretation, North Cyprus
Email: gokersd@yahoo.com
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p53
Abstract The demands on supervisors both in and out of educational settings introduced by the recent learner-based innovations and
combined with increased work load have led many to question the levels of job satisfaction, occupational stress and burnout among
supervisors. The goal of this article was to explore the levels of occupational stress, burnout and job satisfaction among supervisors in
North Cyprus. The target population of this study was all supervisors working for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in North
Cyprus. All 34 supervisors were included in the study. Data were collected through (1) Occupational Environment Scale (Osipow &
Spokane,1983), (2) the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981b) and (3) the Minnesota Work Satisfaction Questionnaire
(Weis et al.,1967). The level of job satisfaction of supervisors was found to be high, whereas levels of their occupational stress were
found to be moderate. The levels of emotional burnout and personal accomplishment were also found to be moderate but the level of
depersonalization was found to be low among the supervisors.
Keywords Supervisors; work stress; burnout; job satisfaction
1. Introduction
During the past 25 years, researchers have paid a great interest in the phenomena of job satisfaction, stress, and
burnout. Barrick (1989) argues that the linkage between stress, job satisfaction, and the work environment is critical to the
study of burnout. Although studies of efficacy and and job satisfaction among teachers and principals provide meaningful
data on job satisfaction, little is known about job satisfaction, occupational stress and burnout among supervisors. Stress
and burnout in teaching is a worldwide phenomenon. Resarch studies conducted in Hong Kong (Hui & Chan, 1996),
Cyprus (Goker, 2011), New Zealand (Manthei, Gilmore, Tuck & Adair, 1996), the United Kingdom (Griffith, Steptoe &
Cropley, 1999), Australia (McCormick, 1997), the United States (Abel & Sewell, 1999) and elsewhere, all indicate that
teachers are suffering from some degree of occupational stress. One of the most important findings of all of these studies
is the fact that the general stress level is very similar (Kyriacou, 2000). Around 25 to 30 per cent, that is one to every four
teachers, describe the profession as very to extremely stressful (Chaplain, 1995; Manthei et al., 1996).
However, it might be misleading to assume that findings pertaining to this population can be generalized for all
people in all stakeholders in education. A satisfied teacher, with high morale, is likely to get along well with other
teachers, will be more accepting of supervisor’s directives, will be more committed to achieving organizational goals, and
consequently will be more productive.
Supervisors like teachers and principals are the group with the highest risk for burnout, role conflict and job
satisfaction. Factors and variables within the context of educational activities seem to be inexhaustible. One such factor
that attracted an investigation is 'administrative stress' as it affects supervisors (Leithwood, Begley & Cousins, 1992;
Allison, 1997; Lutton, 1988). Although supervisors also have their responsibility and expected accountability, they have
not been studied as extensively. In the few studies on the subject, burn-out was investigated in relation to performance-
based accreditation standards, and to the level of administration in education (Barrick, 1989), administration stress, and
sex-role orientation (Torelli & Gmelch 1993), to job intensity and role ambiguity (Gmelch, 1994), to stress response
(Gmelch & Chan 1995; Lutton, 1988), to external pressures, job overload, bureaucracy, and lack of management (Draper
& McMichael, 1996), and to organization stressors and human resource management (Friedman, 1997; Cheng, 1994;
Fletcher, 1988; Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987).
2. Literature Review
Results gained from the research studies indicate that job satisfaction is regarded as a positive pleasurable emotional
reaction to a person’s job experience (Russel et al., 1987; Friedman, 2000; Davis, 1981 and Dawis & Lofquist (1984)
53
argue that job satisfaction explains what makes people want to come to work and makes them happy about their job or
not to quit their jobs. The investigators also note that that job satisfaction could be fundamentally the result of effective
behavior management.It is clear that high satisfaction and morale on the part of supervisors are generally viewed as
desirable goals for efffectivess of teachers and schools.
There are a number of ways of mesauring job satisfaction. According to Stanton et al. (2002), job satisfaction has
been measured in several ways, ranging from single item measures (Kunin 1955, Scarpello & Compbell, 1983) to general
multi-item measures (Ironson, et al. 1989) to multifaceted, multi-item measures (Smith, Kendall & Hulin 1969, Vroom
1964, Warr & Routledge 1969, Weiss, et al., 1967). Several scales have been utilized to measure job satisfaction such as
The MSQ (Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire) (Weiss et al. 1967), The Need Satisfaction Questionnaire (Porter 1961),
and the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldham 1975). The MSQ has been used in this study as it has been used in
a numerous research studies so far.
The quality of supervision provided by supervisors is negatively affected by problems related to job satisfaction,
work-related stress and burnout. In terms of specific job stressors, it appears that there are also certain issues and
contextual factors in supervisors’ job that cause them more concern, stress and eventually burnout. Management of
supervisory process, time pressure, interpersonal demands, lack of professional recognition, the diversity of tasks
required by reflective learning environments (Goker, 2006a), bureaucracy, lack of support, the amount of paperwork
required and lack of resources provided (Burke, Greenglass, & Schwarzer, 1996; Chan, 1998; Pithers, 1995) could be the
sources of stress that systematically predict dimensions of burnout. Heavy work load, long daily working hours, and
perception of negative work conditions can also lead to burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1981a; Cheng, 1994; Olkinuora et
al.,1990). However, due to the recent developments on the school-based management (SBM) structures (Goker, 2006a),
work load of supervisors is not as high as it used to be. Because, schools administered under SMB implement peer
coaching programs, in which teachers carry out supervisory tasks and produce a high level of instructional effectiveness
(Goker, 2006b).
Still demands on supervisors both in and out of educational settings introduced by the recent learner-based
innovations and combined with increased work load have led many to question the levels of job satisfaction, occupational
stress and burnout among supervisors.
There is a general view that bumout may have a negative impact on the teachers and supervisor themselves
leading (Balkin, White & Bodey, 2003; Matheny, Gfroerer & Harris 2000). Bumout is defined as a chronic affective
response pattem to stressful work conditions that feature high levels of interpersonal contact. Maslach, Jackson, and
Leiter (1996) conceptualized bumout as consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal
accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion refers to the feeling of being emotionally over-extended, tired and fatigued.
Depersonalization refers to the tendency to develop negative, cynical, callous or detached attitudes towards the people
with whom one works. The third component is the loss of or reduced feeling of personal accomplishment derived from
jobs and employees often evaluate themselves negatively (Maslach, Schauefeli & Leiter, 2001).
Together with burnout, other people and factors may also have an effect on occupational stress, burnout and job
satisfaction among supervisors. Therefore, this study was carried out to explore the levels of occupational stress, burnout
and job satisfaction of supervisors who work for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in North Cyprus.
3. Method
3.1 Population and Sample
This cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out in North Cyprus between December 20, 2010 and February 27,
201. The target population of this study is all 34 supervisors working for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in
North Cyprus. 29 out of all 34 supervisors participated in the study. Before conducting the research, supervisors were
informed that their identity would be kept confidential and the information obtained would be used for scientific purposes
only. Data were collected using the folloing instruments.
3.2 Instrumentation
Instruments in their original shapes are already standardized having high validity and reliability, however, they were
translated into Turkish by the researcher. Adaptation into Turkish and validity-reliability studies were also conducted by
Ergin (1992) and Baycan (1985). The questionnaires were also subjected to a pilot run. Data collection was done
personally and through mail. The use of both procedures resulted in a response rate 85.29 %.
Occupational Stress. To measure the level of occupational stress, the “Occupational Environment Scale” developed by
54
Osipow and Spokane (1983) was used. The OEC combined subscales, each containing 5-point subjective rating scale
questions ranging from “Most of the Time” to “Rarely or Never.” The subscales were combined to create an overall
measure of occupational stress. Reliability for the overall scale was α = .83.
Burnout. The second instrument used in the study is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) with 22 items and 3 subscales,
which was developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981b) to obtain supervisors’ level of professional “emotional
exhaustion,” “depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. The MBI’s subscales are the emotional exhaustion
subscale (EE), which contains items designed to measure the feeling of being emotionally overextended or exhausted by
one’s work; the depersonalization subscale (DP), which contains items designed to measure the individual’s lack of
feeling or impersonal response to people; and the personal accomplishment (PA) subscale, which contains items
designed to measure the supervisor’s feelings of competence and successful achievements in one’s work. The scale was
reverse scored for both frequency and intensity; therefore, low scores indicated higher levels of burnout. Reliability for the
overall scale for this study was α = .80.
Job satisfaction.The third instrument used in this study is the Minnesota Work Satisfaction Questionnaire (WSQ), a 20-
item tool that elicits internal and external satisfaction factors, which was developed by Weis, Dawis, England, and
Lofquist (1967). The Minnesota WSQ is a 5-point Likert scale including general satisfaction (GS), internal satisfaction (IS)
and external satisfaction (ES) factors.
All data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v. 18.0). Descriptive statistics were
calculated for personal variables of the supervisors, each independent variable, and the dependent variable in the study.
Pearson product moment correlations were computed to describe the strength and direction of the relationships between
variables: occupational stress, burnout and, job satisfaction. One-Way ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis Variance Analysis, t test
and Mann Whitney U test were used in the evaluation of relationships between individual and work characteristics and
the tools. Cronbach’s alpha was used in the determination of reliability coefficients. A p value of <0.05 was accepted as
statistical significance.
3.3 Demographics
Participants were asked to indicate their gender, age, subject field, years of supervising and administrative experience,
education level, as well as their marital status.
4. Findings
55.2 % of the subjects are between 41-50 year-old, 51.7 % of them are male and 48.3 % of them are female. 75.9 % of
the subjects used to be primary school teachers before they became supervisors, the rest are teaching other subjects
24.1 %.
Table 1. Summary of Participants’ Profile
Particulars Variables Frequency Percent

Gender Male 15 51.7
Female 14 48.3
Age Group 31-40 years 1 3.4
41-50 years 16 55.2
51 and above 12 41.4
Subject field Primary school teaching 22 75.9
Other subject field teaching 7 24.1
Marital Status Married 29 100
Experience in Supervision 5 years or less 18 62.1
6-10 years 10 34.5
11-15 years 1 3.4
Highest Qualification B.A 15 51.7
M.A 10 34.5
PhD 4 13.8
Administrative Experience No experience 14 48.3
As school vice principal 3 34.5
As school principal 5 17.2
55
All subjects are married. 96.6 % of the subjects have less than ten-year experience. 51.7 % of them hold B.A degrees
while the rest hold postgraduate degrees. 48.3 % of them have no administrative experience and 51.7 % of them have
administrative experience as school principal or vice principal (Table 1).
Table 2 Supervisors’ Occupational Environment Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire Reliability Coefficients (N: 29)
Subscales α
Occupational Environment Scale 0.83
Maslach Burnout Inventory 0.80
Emotional exhaustion 0.89
Depersonalization 0.77
Personal accomplishment 0.74
Work Satisfaction Questionnaire
General satisfaction 0.93
Internal satisfaction 0.94
External satisfaction 0.77
As demonstrated in Table 2, the reliability coefficient for the Occupational Environment Scale for the supervisors was
found to be α = 0.83. The reliability coefficient for the Maslach Burnout Inventory was α = 0.80, and the burnout
subscales’ reliability coefficients were Emotional Exhaustion α = 0.85, Depersonalization α = 0.78, and Personal
Accomplishment α = 0.74. The reliability coefficient for the Minnesota Work Satisfaction Questionnaire’s subscales were:
general work satisfaction α = 0.93, internal satisfaction α = 0.94 and external satisfaction α = 0.77.
Table 3 Supervisors’ Occupational Environment Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Minnesota Satisfaction
Questionnaire Mean Scores (N: 29)
Subscales M SD Minimum Maximum

Occupational Environment Scale 34.9 7.43 19 63
Maslach Burnout Inventory
Emotional exhaustion 23.5 3.9 7 14
Depersonalization 16.5 1.6 3 20
Personal accomplishment 24.4 3.7 5 18
Work Satisfaction Questionnaire
General satisfaction 3.3 0.7 0.7 4.8
Internal satisfaction 3.1 0.9 0.8 4.5
External satisfaction 3.0 0.8 0.6 6.5
The supervisors’ mean occupational stress score was 34.9 ± 7.4 (at a moderate level). The mean scores for the burnout
subscales were found to be 23.5± 3.9 for emotional exhaustion (at a moderate level), 16.5 ± 1.6 for depersonalization (at
a low level), and 24.4 ± 3.7 for personal accomplishment (at a moderate level). The work satisfaction subscales’ mean
scores were found to be 3.3 ± 0.7 for general satisfaction (at a high level), 3.1 ± 0.9 for internal satisfaction (at a high
level) and 3.0 ± 0.8 for external satisfaction (at a high level) (Table 3).
Table 4 Correlation and Level of Significance of Occupational Stress, Job Satisfaction and Three Burnout Components
with Each Other
Subscales OS (r) EE (r) DP (r) PA (r) GS IS

EE 0.54 ª 1.0
DP 0.37 ª 0.65ª 1.0
PA -0.05ª -0.16ª -0.25ª 1.0
GS -0.43ª -0.37ª -0.18ª -0.04ª
IS -0.36ª -0.33ª -0.16ª -0.07 ª 0.93ª
ES -0.46ª -0.36ª -0.21ª 0.06ª 0.89ª 0.68ª
OS: occupational stress; EE: emotional exhaustion; DP: depersonalization;PA: personal accomplishment; GS: general satisfaction; IS:
internal satisfaction; ES: external satisfaction
ª Significant correlation at the level of 0.01 (p<0.01) in Pearson Correlation Analysis.
56
As displayed in Table 4, five dependent variables were found to be significantly correlated with each other. In the
correlation analysis the OES showed negative correlation with JS and PA, but positive correlation with EE and DP.
However, EE was negatively correlated with PA and JS, but positively correlated with DP. DP was negatively correlated
with PA and JS. The correlation between JS and PA was negative.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
In this study, the level of job satisfaction of supervisors was found to be high, whereas levels of their occupational stress
were found to be moderate. The levels of emotional burnout and personal accomplishment were also found to be
moderate but the level of depersonalization was found to be low among the supervisors. The Work Satisfaction Inventory
subscale levels for general work satisfaction, and internal and external satisfaction were all found to be high. Taking the
significant correlation among OES, WSQ and MBI scores into consideration, we can demonstrate a relationship between
work stress, JS and burnout. However, the specific content of such a relationship is a matter of speculation. For instance,
it is not certain whether burnout causes dissatisfaction or a drop in satisfaction leads to burnout.
Alternatively, both burnout and job dissatisfaction may be caused by other factors such as poor working conditions,
effects of relationships with other workers (Maslach, Schauefeli & Leiter, 2001). This finding supports the positions of
Olkinuora et al.1990, Burke, Greenglass, & Schwarzer (1996), and Goker (2006a) that management of supervisory
process, time pressure, interpersonal demands, lack of professional recognition, the diversity of tasks are sources of
administrative stress among supervisors.
Management of supervisory process, time pressure, interpersonal demands, lack of professional recognition, the
diversity of tasks required by reflective learning environments (Goker, 2006a), bureaucracy, lack of support, the amount
of paperwork required and lack of resources provided (Burke, Greenglass & Schwarzer, 1996; Chan, 1998; Pithers, 1995)
could be the sources of stress that systematically predict dimensions of burnout. Heavy work load, long daily working
hours, and perception of negative work conditions can also lead to burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1981a; Olkinuora et
al.,1990).
Results gained in this study also reveal that supervisors’ levels of occupational stress and emotional exhaustion,
and personal accomplishment were also found to be moderate. The most important reason for this is known to be the
effect of working with professional teachers, who really are ready to change and have the ability to make independent
decisions in their work. However, the level of depersonalization was found to be low among the supervisors. It might be
assumed that supervisors have limited possibility of changing their work assignment, which may have an effect on
depersonalization. In addition, the lack of opportunities for personal development and advancement, bureaucracy, lack of
support, the amount of paperwork required and lack of resources provided may also have effect on depersonalization,
which correlates with the results of research studies conducted by Balkin, White & Bodey (2003); Matheny, Gfroerer &
Harris (2000); Fletcher, (1988) and Matteson & Ivancevich, 1987).
However, the three burnout dimensions although empirically related, are conceptually distinct – a premise that has
been further confirmed by research findings that revealed differential correlates for each of the three components of the
construct (e.g. Kokkinos & Davazoglou, 2005; Mills & Huebner, 1998).
The supervisors in our study were found to have a high level of job satisfaction. Factors having an influence on the
supervisor who have a high level of job satisfaction in Cyprus may be that their duties and responsibilities are clear in the
law (The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Education Ministry, 1994), their work is consistent with their duties, they
can work more independently because they can arrange supervisory visits any time they wish, and their duties are not
excessively affected by work environment and conditions. This result agrees with the views of Russel et al. (1987);
Friedman, (2000); Fletcher, (1988) and Matteson & Ivancevich, (1987).
Davis (1981) and Dawis and Lofquist (1984) who believe that job satisfaction explains what makes people want to
come to work and makes them happy about their job or not to quit their jobs. The quality of supervision provided by
supervisors is also positively affected by achievements and job satisfaction. The satisfaction that supervisors receive from
their relationships with other stakeholders ensures that they receive satisfaction from their work environment. A good
relationship with other stakeholders and perceived support lessen the strain that is felt in the work environment.
57
Table 5 Comparison of Supervisors’ Work Experience with Scores
Subscales 5 years or less 6-10 years 11-15 years F P

M SD M SD M SD
OES 34.9 7.9 35.6 7.6 34.9 6.4 0.97 0.37
MBI-EE 14.9 7.6 13.3 6.6 12.8 5.9 0.64 0.53
MBI-DP 14.3 4.9 16.1 3.6 13.6 2.5 0.51 0.60
MBI-PA 20.8 4.2 19.5 4.0 20.6 3.0 0.23 0.79
WSQ -GS 3.2 0.7 3.2 0.8 3.3 0.7 0.72 0.48
WSQ-IS 3.1 0.8 3.1 0.8 3.2 0.7 0.83 0.43
WSQ-ES 2.9 0.7 2.9 0.8 3.0 0.7 0.43 0.64
It was also found in our study that as the years of employment increased, the level of emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization and work-related stress decreased and personal accomplishment and job satisfaction increased. Thus,
a significant relationship was not found between length of employment and job satisfaction. Other studies have also
reported that as length of employment increases, job satisfaction also increases (Russel et al., (1987); Friedman, (2000);
Davis, (1981), and Dawis & Lofquist, (1984).
Based on the results gained through this study, it is clear that stress still constitutes an integral part of supervisors’
life and is closely interwoven with every aspect of human activity in educational setting. Within this context, The following
recommendations are suggested by the researcher.
Keeping in mind that some dosage of stress accompanies the professional activity of supervisors to challenge and
motivate the human organisation into action, a continuing education program on the subject of coping with stress could
be organized. In addition, more quantitative and qualitative studies could be conducted. Supervisors could be made
aware of the problems associated with stress and burnout and how these problems may adversely affect their
professional and personal lives. Workhops and seminars could enlighten the profession and would offer an opportunity to
share warning signs and indicators of stress and burnout. Further steps could be taken to proactively create awareness
among supervisors about personal coping resources and stress management techniques. Job satisfaction and
occupational stress levels could be monitored to prevent burnout from occurring in the profession. It should be kept in
mind that effective management of human and material resources for goal achievement in schools, which focus on
student achievement, is the responsibility of the supervisors as well as teachers and principals.
References
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Allison. D.G. (1997). Coping with stress in the principalship. Journal of EducationalAdministration, 35, 39-55.
Balkin, R. S., White, G. L., & Bodey, K.J. (2003). Do classroom behavior, access to materials, and teaching experience influence
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60
Mobbing At Elementary Schools In Turkey 1
Asiye Toker Gökçe
Assist. Prof. Dr. Kocaeli University, Faculty of Education,

Department of Educational Sciences, asi.gokce@kocaeli.edu.tr
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p61
Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of mobbing in education system in Turkey. The aims of the study were; to define negative
acts causing mobbing at schools; to assess relationships between mobbing and school type, gender, age, job experience, and teachers’
branch; and to investigate reasons for mobbing at schools. A theoretical framework based on the literature was proposed. Afterwards, an
exploratory survey was formed to gather essential data for the study. T-test and ANOVA were utilized for analyzing the data. The
findings reveal that teachers are subject to mobbing at schools. There are high correlations between mobbing and school type and
professional experience at schools. Yet there are slight relationships between mobbing, gender, and age. Both school administrators and
colleagues mob teachers. The study contributes significant information and data for further research about mobbing at schools in the
national and international level.
Keywords: Mobbing, Elementary schools, Education, teacher, Turkey
1. Introduction
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest amongst researchers on the subject of psychological pressures
surpassing stress on the workers in business life. The authors Leymann (1996), Niedl (1996), Zapt (1999), and Einarsen
(1999), investigated the expression of these psychological pressures, which can result in physical or psychological
violence and victimization. They entitle the psychological violence and victimization process as ‘mobbing’. Leymann
(1993) identified mobbing as harassing someone by hostile and unethical communication and psychologically terrorizing
at work (Schuster, 1996). Over the years, mobbing extended as a term across Europe and beyond. Then mobbing was
recognized as a real, measurable kind of harm and a destroyer of health at workplace by specialists in occupational
health, managers, union leaders, and the public at large, all across Europe (Davenport, Schwartz and Elliott, 2003).
Mobbing at work occurs when someone acts towards the other in a negative and hostile manner that pushes the
receiver into a helpless and defenseless position. It may take the form of open verbal or physical attacks as the form of
more subtle acts such as social isolation of the victim in workplace. Mobbing does not involve any physical violation.
Instead, it can cause sub-lethal results for victims mentally. Generally, it is carried out politely, and without violence at
workplace. Even without blood, the mobbing process is essentially unfriendly, hostile acts toward the target; brutal
undermining of the target's self-confidence; solidarity in-group against the target, and the exceeding delight of collective
attack, engendering the target to become a victim. Besides, it can be performed by e-mails at workplace (Leymann, 1996;
Westhues, 2002; Namie, 2003; Baruch, 2005).
People can be mobbed by colleagues, supervisors or sometimes by subordinates at workplace. While can be stated
between the inferiors and superiors mostly, mobbing can be took place amongst the colleagues and staff at the same
level at workplace too. Organizational culture, the victim’s or the perpetrators’ characteristics can trigger mobbing at
organizations. Mobbing process contains an imbalanced power relationship between perpetrators and the victim. During
the mobbing process, the mobbing victims are driven into a disadvantaged position so that they cannot defend
themselves and cope with perpetrators in that situation at workplace. Consequently, it can be stated that mobbing is
possibly the “fatal” threat for the most workers who are subjected it (Leymann, 1996; Field, 1996; Einarsen and Skogstad,
1996; Zapf, Knorz and Kulla, 1996; Vartia, 1996; Rayner, 1997; Einarsen, 2000; Zapf and Einarsen, 2001; Westhues,
2002).

1 The manuscript was generated by the author’s PhD thesis

61
There has been increasing recognition that mobbing occurs across the world for all occupations. However, it exhibits
changeable attributions according to the cultural features (Cassitto, 2003). Studies has been trying to identify mobbing at
workplace especially in Scandinavian countries by Leymann (1996), Einarsen, and Skogstad (1996), and Zapf (1999)
found out different aspects of mobbing as a phenomenon. Besides, Leymann (1996), Einarsen and Skogstad (1996),
Zapf at al (1999, 2001), and Elinoff, Chafouleas, and Sassu (2004) attempted to figure out mobbing examining its
relationship with different aspects such as gender, age, working position, and organizational culture. Consequently, the
studies have suggested methods in order to investigate mobbing in different cultures by defining it as a concept. Hubert
and Veldhoven (2001) tried to find out sectors that were prone to mobbing. They found out that people who work in
education, in industry and in service sectors were more prone to mobbing at work. Meantime, Dick and Wagner (2001)
described aggressive behaviors, which school principals have in schools. Afterwards, Waggoner (2003) inquired
resources for mobbing among educators. Besides, Hoel, Faragher, and Cooper (2004) described negative acts, which
teachers were subjected to at schools. These studies suggested that teachers were mobbed through negative acts such
as ignorance, criticizing unfairly, rumors, personal abuse, and being isolated by both school administrators and their
colleagues at schools (Dick and Wagner, 2001; Waggoner, 2003; Hoel, Faragher, and Cooper, 2004; O’Conner, 2004).
Despite recognition of mobbing across the world, there has been relatively little research regarding mobbing in
Turkey. Ertürk (2005) studied negative acts that can trigger mobbing at primary schools. Then, Aktop (2006) examined
opinions and experiences of lecturers who work at Anadolu University concerning mobbing. Aktop (2006) found
meaningful relationships between age and mobbing, between titles of lecturers and mobbing at Anadolu University.
Finally, Tuncel and Gökçe, (2007) investigated that soccer players were mobbed by their managers and coaches through
verbal aggressions in Turkey. Because of inadequate studies, describing mobbing at schools in detail was needed. Thus,
firstly, the negative acts causing mobbing at schools were identified in this study. Afterwards, relationship between
mobbing and several variables related to schools such as school type, gender, age, and work experience were examined
to describe mobbing as a phenomenon at schools in Turkish culture. The results of the study are anticipated to introduce
the concept of mobbing as a phenomenon at schools in Turkey. Outcomes of the study are expected to contribute to
researchers for further studies in respect to negative acts triggering mobbing and reasons of mobbing at schools. The aim
of the present study was to identify mobbing at schools with regard to educators’ accounts. Thus, the following research
questions were examined:
1. Which negative acts that can trigger mobbing are frequent among teachers, and what are the
frequencies of these acts?
2. Is there any difference between mobbing and school type (public or private), between mobbing and
gender, between mobbing and age, between mobbing and job experience, and between mobbing and
teachers’ branch?
3. What are the reasons for mobbing according to victims’, and observers’ perceptions?
2. Method
2.1 Sample
The study sample consists of 1189 teachers in public and private elementary schools in Turkey. The sample was chosen
through multi-phase sampling method. Since the country is composed of seven geographical regions (Mediterranean
Region, Black Sea Region, Aegean Region, Marmara Region, Central Anatolian Region, East Anatolian Region, and
South East Anatolian Region), population was divided into seven groups. Firstly, all provinces were subdivided into three
categories according to their economic conditions such as developed region, developing region, and underdeveloped
region in each region. Then, a single province was chosen from each developed and developing regions. Since the
numbers of the private schools in underdeveloped groups were less than the other groups, two provinces were chosen
from the underdeveloped regions. Therefore, four provinces per each region were selected as sample of the study.
Secondly, 1189 questionnaires were sent to the selected public and private schools in the regions. While all
questionnaires were gathered, 492 questionnaires were not suitable for any analysis. Therefore 697 teachers As Table 1
shows, the sample was comprised of 61% women, and 39% men. Majority of the educators (87%) were younger than 40,
while a small number of them (13%) were older than 40 years old. In addition, more than half of the teachers (63%) had
less than 11 years of experience. Finally, half of the educators (50%) were classroom teachers, while the others had
different branches.
62
Table 1: Background Characteristics of the Educators
Variables N %
Gender Woman 424 61

Man 273 39
Total 697 100
Age (1) 21-25 years 127 21
(2) 26-30 years 170 28
(3) 31-35 years 125 21
(4) 36-40 years 102 17
(5) 41-45 years 35 6
(6) 46-50 years 33 5
(7) 51 plus 11 2
Total 603 100
Job experience (1) 1-5 years 248 37
(2) 6-10 years 178 26
(3) 11-15 years 89 13
(4) 16-20 years 71 10
(5) 21-25 years 48 7
(6) 26 plus 46 7
Total 680 100
Branch Class teacher 291 50
Branch teacher 291 50
Total 582 100
2.2. Instrument
The author developed the questionnaire in Turkish. The questionnaire consisted of two subscales; the negative acts
subscale, and the reasons of mobbing subscale. The author reviewed the literature, and interviewed with nine teachers
who had been mobbed, to develop items for the questionnaire. The questionnaire was reviewed according to fluency by
experts during the piloting. Finally the mobbing questionnaire with 5-point Likert Scale was developed. The items loaded
<.30 were discarded through the factor analyses. The respondents were also asked for personal information (gender,
age, job experience, and branch) at the beginning of the questionnaire.
The first form, “negative acts scale” included 59 items (Cronbach’s alpha =0.99). This form is prepared using five-
point Likert Scale (answering scale: never, seldom, sometimes, often, and always). The second form, “reasons of
mobbing scale” included 26 items with five-point Likert Scale (answering scale: never, little, average, great, and highly).
The four factors named (1) personal qualifications of victim, (2) personal reasons, (3) communication related, and (4)
psychological reasons were utilized in the second scale. The Cronbach’s alphas for the each factor were .97 for 1st, .82
for 2nd, .65 for 3rd, and .81 for 4th. Perpetrators were also questioned by an open ended question in the questionnaire.
2.3. Data Collection and Analyses
The data were collected by means of the questionnaire, which was carried by the contribution of the Education Research
and Development Association (EARGED) that is under the body of Ministry of National Education in Turkey. The
EARGED supported the study by reprinting and carrying out the questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS 13
(Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Means and standard deviations were used to analyze the items involved in the
questionnaire. T-test was utilized to analyze the mean differences of gender, school type, and branch factors. Besides,
variance analysis (ANOVA) was used to analyze the mean differences of age, and professional experience. In addition,
mean differences of mobbing reasons in terms of school type were examined by t-test.
63
3. Findings
The results of the data analysis revealed that, most of the teachers seemed to be exposed to mobbing through
aggressive acts during their professional life (See Table 2).
Table 2. Negative Acts Causing Mobbing in Accordance With the School Type
Public Private t p
Negative Acts SS SS
1 Prevent you from taking effective responsibility in school events 2.02 1.18 1.74 1.01 2.74 .006
There is no permission for joining personal/professional
2 1.81 1.11 1.56 0.99 2.40 .017
improvement activities
3 Interrupt you constantly 2.47 1.20 2.15 1.14 3.21 .001
4 Shout or curse loudly you near others 2.16 1.15 1.88 1.02 2.79 .005
5 Criticize your professional performance unfairly 2.37 1.15 2.13 1.16 2.42 .016
6 Minimize your professional achievements 2.29 1.23 2.03 1.21 2.38 .018
7 Bother with phone unnecessarily 1.43 0.84 1.42 0.83 0.18 .857
8 Threat verbally 1.78 1.02 1.55 0.93 2.45 .015
9 Send written threats 1.60 0.80 1.33 0.72 0.39 .694

10 Refuse to communicate by means of slighting glances 1.93 1.17 1.82 1.10 1.07 .284
11 Not inform about others contact requests to you 1.49 0.95 1.42 0.85 0.88 .379
12 Refuse to talk with you 1.99 1.20 1.76 1.10 2.07 .039
13 Prevent me from meeting the school principle 1.31 0.79 1.37 0.75 -0.77 .444
14 Refuse to sit near you in teachers room 1.42 0.91 1.34 0.78 0.96 .337
15 Restrict from communicating with colleagues 1.45 0.95 1.35 0.74 1.12 .264
16 Insinuate when you enter the occasion 1.86 1.13 1.75 1.07 1.07 .284
17 Exclude you from meetings or social activities 1.57 1.06 1.38 0.80 1.96 .050
18 Ignore you in any situations 1.83 1.19 1.73 1.10 0.85 .393
19 Force you to carry out tasks affecting your self-reliance negatively 1.48 0.93 1.52 0.95 -0.43 .666
20 Accept your efforts as flattery 1.80 1.09 1.82 1.14 -0.14 .886
21 Question your work-related decisions 1.93 1.11 1.93 1.07 0.03 .973
22 Check all stages of your works without trusting you 1.79 1.11 1.64 1.05 1.39 .166
23 Slandering 1.61 1.00 1.52 1.00 0.99 .323
24 Spread rumors 1.81 1.09 1.68 1.11 1.32 .189
25 Imply as you are unreliable 1.53 0.95 1.57 1.09 -0.44 .657
26 Run down behind you 2.07 1.19 1.78 1.16 2.68 .008
27 Regard you as having responsible for the others’ mistakes 1.67 1.00 1.72 1.00 -0.58 .562
28 Implicate about your mate’s profession 1.46 0.95 1.42 0.91 0.35 .729
29 Mention you by humiliating names 1.40 0.90 1.32 0.88 0.96 .339
64
30 Tease your private life 1.51 1.00 1.35 0.86 1.84 .066
31 Tease your ethnicity 1.37 0.84 1.31 0.79 0.72 .471
32 Make insulting jokes 1.45 0.87 1.38 0.88 0.87 .383
33 Take the starch out of 1.85 1.80 1.52 0.91 3.49 .001
34 Imply as you are stupid 1.70 1.80 1.43 0.87 2.79 .006
Indicate as you are the authority about displeasing rules to the
35 1.60 0.98 1.49 0.92 1.16 .247
students and parents
36 Imply as you are with psychological handicap 1.73 1.14 1.52 0.94 2.10 .036
37 Make you feel as needed psychological treatment 1.43 0.89 1.32 0.75 1.36 .176
38 Charge you with being double minded 1.64 0.96 1.53 0.93 1.16 .248
39 Tease your handicap 1.37 0.86 1.27 0.75 1.29 .199
40 Tease your walking style, or voice 1.59 1.04 1.49 0.95 1.09 .276
41 Tease your religious attitudes 1.56 0.99 1.32 0.82 2.68 .008
42 Imply with your political side 1.73 1.11 1.45 0.90 2.94 .003
43 Imply with sexual 1.32 0.83 1.23 0.67 1.18 .241
44 Proposing sex 1.14 0.57 1.13 0.48 0.29 .775
45 Making sexual jokes 1.23 0.72 1.23 0.65 0.04 .968
46 Treating sexual themes 1.17 0.61 1.16 0.54 0.10 .921
47 Discriminate in rules against you 1.60 1.05 1.34 0.80 2.81 .005
48 Warn you with null reasons 1.92 1.10 1.65 1.02 2.80 .005
49 Force you to carry out tasks that no one want to do 1.77 1.09 1.67 1.11 1.04 .300
50 Give respite for hard works 1.42 0.88 1.49 0.92 -0.77 .441
51 Charge you with failure possibility tasks 1.37 0.83 1.36 0.79 0.07 .943
52 Withdraw tasks of you without informing you 1.54 1.00 1.47 0.85 0.86 .391
53 Burden you with hard tasks 1.65 1.06 1.66 1.06 -0.13 .898
54 Threaten with violence 1.26 0.72 1.27 0.74 -0.18 .857
55 Damage your goods 1.23 0.65 1.18 0.57 0.79 .430
56 Made physical environment inconvenient 1.55 1.06 1.32 0.75 2.45 .015
57 Commit violence slightly to discourage 1.23 0.69 1.15 0.53 1.35 .177
58 Collide intentionally implying it was accidentally 1.26 0.44 1.15 0.51 1.71 .087
59 Damage physically 1.18 0.60 1.21 0.70 -0.46 .647
p<.05
As Table 2 demonstrates, educators seemed to be subjected to various negative acts (59 items) several times in their
professional lives. Briefly, they were mostly mobbed by being interrupted, being judged unfairly, and being
underestimated at schools. The results showed that the teachers who worked in public schools were seemed to be
mobbed more than the others were. The results shows that, most experienced negative acts by the public school
teachers can be listed as; being prevented from taking effective responsibility at school events; being given no permission
for joining personal and professional improvement activities; being interrupted constantly; being shouted at or cursing
loudly in a crowd; being criticized about his/her performance unfairly; being minimized him/her professional
achievements; being threatened verbally; being excluded from meetings or social activities; being mocked; being imitated
his/her gait or gestures; being suspected with psychological handicap; being teased his/her religious attitudes; being
65
intimated with his/her political side; being discriminated in rules; and being warned unreasonably at p<.05 level (See
Table 2).
The teachers who work at public schools were generally kept from ‘taking effective responsibility at school events’, and
‘joining personal and professional improvement activities’ more than the teachers working for private schools. Similarly,
public school teachers were interrupted constantly, were criticized about their performance unfairly, and were minimized
by their professional achievements more frequently than the private school teachers were. Besides, these teachers were
subjected to negative acts such as “being rebuked among others”, “being threaten verbally”, “being excluded from
meetings”, “being imitated”, “being suspected to be psychologically disturbed”, “being made fun of his/her religious
attitudes”, “being intimated with his/her political side”, “being discriminated in rules”, “being warned irrationally”, and
“being put in an inconvenient position or environment ” more frequently than private school teachers were (See Table 2).
The second question of the study was the whether any difference between mobbing and school type (public or
private), between mobbing and gender, between mobbing and age, between mobbing and job experience, and between
mobbing and teachers’ branch. The results showed that there is slight difference between gender and mobbing at
schools. The results revealed that female educators were mobbed mostly through “being shouted or cursed loudly in a
crowd”, “being rejected verbally”, “being excluded”, “being questioned in relation with her work”, and “being taken
responsible for the others’ mistakes”, more than the male educators. Finally, women were seem to be mobbed by using
their social and professional life oriented behaviors, while men were mobbed by using their personal relations and were
subject to violence (See Table 3).
Table 3. Difference Between Mobbing and Gender
__
Gender
sd t p
Negative Acts N X
F 269 2.37 1.14

4 Shout or curse loudly you near others 3,80 .000
M 163 1.95 1.08
F 230 2.2 1.3
10 Refuse to communicate by means of slighting glances 3,49 .001
M 147 1.76 0.97
F 238 2.25 1.28
12 Refuse to talk with you 4,04 .000
M 150 1.75 1.05
F 228 2.17 1.29
18 Ignore you in any situations 4,10 .000
M 141 1.64 1.03
F 213 1.93 1.08
27 Regard you as having responsible for the others’ mistakes 2,67 .008
M 141 1.63 0.97
F 191 1.65 1.08
28 Implicate about your mate’s profession 2,10 .037
M 134 1.41 0.93
Indicate as you are the authority about displeasing rules to the F 215 1.75 1.05
35 2,39 .017
students and parents M 145 1.50 0.91
F 230 1.88 1.19
36 Imply as you are with psychological handicap 2,29 .023
M 150 1.61 1.00
F 213 1.70 1.10
47 Discriminate in rules against you 2,23 .027
M 142 1.45 0.91
F 256 2.09 1.17
48 Warn you with null reasons 2,67 .008
M 161 1.79 1.01
F 221 1.96 1.22
49 Force you to carry out tasks that no one want to do 2,14 .033
M 151 1.70 1.01
F 216 1.7 1.07
52 Withdraw tasks of you without informing you 2,00 .046
M 142 1.49 0.9
F 218 1.87 1.18
53 Burden you with hard tasks 2,36 .019
M 145 1.59 0.98
p<.05
66
Besides, the results indicate that there is a slight relationship between age and mobbing at schools. When the age groups
were examined, it was seen that, educators who were between 26-45 years old were mobbed by “being prevented from
taking effective responsibility in school events” more than the teachers included in 20-25 age group and 46 and elder
ones. Besides, when compared to 20-25 and 41-50 age groups, 31-35 and 46-50 age group teachers were seemed to be
threatened verbally more. On the other hand, 26-40 year old educators and 51-55year old ones were questioned about
their work. In addition, 26-30 years old educators were checked at all stages of their work without being trusted more than
46-50 age group. Finally, 31-35 years old educators were threatened physically more than 20-30 years old colleagues,
and also they were damaged physically more than 41-45 and 51-55 age groups (See Table 4).
Table 4. Difference Between Mobbing and Age
Ite __
Negative Acts Age SS Sd F p
m X
20-25 1.85 1.03
26-30 2.00 1.22
31-35 2.36 1.21
Prevent you from taking effective
1 36-40 2.05 1.24 6.362 2.228 0.040
responsibility in school events
41-45 2.52 1.27
46-50 1.75 0.97
51-55 1.60 0.55
20-25 1.92 1.08
26-30 2.22 1.16
31-35 2.27 1.12
2 Question your work-related decisions 36-40 2.07 1.16 6.339 2.153 0.047
41-45 1.69 0.70
46-50 1.50 0.83
51-55 2.25 0.96
20-25 1.62 1.03
26-30 2.08 1.25
31-35 1.91 1.19
Check all stages of your works without
22 36-40 1.84 1.11 6.306 2.498 0.022
trusting you
41-45 1.47 0.62
46-50 1.26 0.65
51-55 1.50 0.58
20-25 1.17 0.64
26-30 1.17 0.68
31-35 1.68 1.10
54 Threaten with violence 36-40 1.32 0.78 6.287 3.102 0.006
41-45 1.33 0.72
46-50 1.29 0.56
51-55 1.20 0.45
20-25 1.21 0.70
26-30 1.08 0.32
31-35 1.47 1.00
57 Damage physically 36-40 1.18 0.72 6.28 2.358 0.031
41-45 1.00 0.00
46-50 1.21 0.54
51-55 1.00 0.00
20-25 2.55 1.15
26-30 2.58 1.29
31-35 2.65 1.15
8 Threaten verbally 36-40 2.21 1.18 6.393 1.739 0.111
41-45 2.50 1.10
46-50 2.04 1.22
51-55 3.33 0.58
p<.05
67
Furthermore, according to the results, there was significant relationship between mobbing and the teachers’ professional
experience. The teachers who had 6-10 years experience were mobbed by ‘being taken the starch out of’ more than the
teachers 26 years, and plus years experienced ones. Similarly, 6-10 years experienced educators were threatened
verbally, were rumored. Besides, their works were checked without trust more than the others were. The teachers who
had 16-20 years experience were insinuated when they entered the occasion, were threatened physically, received
written threats, were implied by their mate’s profession, were implied as if they were psychologically handicapped, were
discriminated in rules, and were warned with null reasons more than the others were. In addition, 21-25 years
experienced teachers were ignored, were forced to carry out tasks affecting self-reliance negatively, were withdrawn of
tasks without being informed, were prevented from taking effective responsibility in school events, were given no
permission for joining personal and professional improvement activities, were restricted from communicating with
colleagues, were excluded from meetings or social activities. In addition, their efforts were accepted flattery, they were
run down and accused of being double minded, and were given hard tasks, which cannot be easily performed more than
the others were (See Table 5).
Table 5. Difference Between Mobbing and professional experience
Item Negative Acts Year __ SS Sd F p

X
1-5 1.89 1.09
6-10 2.29 1.24
Being prevented from taking effective 11-15 2.25 1.35
1 5.399 2.731 0.019
responsibility in school events 16-20 2.02 1.13
21-25 2.46 0.99
26 plus 1.79 1.07
1-5 1.77 1.12
6-10 2.10 1.21
Being given no permission for joining personal 11-15 1.77 1.11
2 5.335 3.024 0.011
and professional improvement activities 16-20 2.03 1.19
21-25 2.35 1.18
26 plus 1.36 0.83
1-5 1.42 0.80
6-10 1.67 1.17
Being restricted from communicating with 11-15 1.81 1.21
15 5.303 3.644 0.003
colleagues 16-20 1.40 0.91
21-25 1.95 1.03
26 plus 1.00 0.00
1-5 1.50 1.00
6-10 1.77 1.22
Being excluded you from meetings or social 11-15 1.84 1.15
17 5.309 2.618 0.025
activities 16-20 1.54 1.07
21-25 2.05 1.03
26 plus 1.13 0.34
1-5 1.75 1.06
6-10 1.78 0.99
Being run down and accused of being double 11-15 1.71 1.02
38 5.346 2.253 0.049
minded 16-20 1.33 0.83
21-25 1.96 1.00
26 plus 1.34 0.77
51 Being given hard tasks, which cannot be easily 1-5 1.25 0.64 5.315 2.631 0.024
performed more than the others were 6-10 1.55 0.87
11-15 1.58 1.00
16-20 1.60 1.14
21-25 1.76 1.22
68
26 plus 1.30 0.65

1-5 1.84 1.04
6-10 2.09 1.10
11-15 1.83 1.16
33 Being taken the starch out of 5.368 2.638 0.023
16-20 1.83 1.14
21-25 2.00 1.19
26 plus 1.30 0.79
1-5 1.67 0.99
6-10 2.06 1.08
11-15 2.07 1.23
8 Being threaten verbally 5.358 2.868 0.015
16-20 1.85 1.17
21-25 1.76 0.94
26 plus 1.41 0.73
1-5 1.23 0.57
6-10 1.55 0.97
11-15 1.64 1.02
9 Receive written threats 5.302 2.681 0.022
16-20 1.50 0.94
21-25 1.47 0.87
26 plus 1.19 0.69
1-5 1.76 1.12
6-10 2.19 1.18
Works were checked without trust more than the 11-15 2.15 1.33
22 5.34 3.137 0.009
others were 16-20 1.63 1.10
21-25 1.95 1.18
26 plus 1.46 0.84
1-5 1.92 1.17
6-10 2.05 1.20
11-15 2.47 1.31
16 Being insinuated when you entered the occasion 5.357 4.351 0.001
16-20 1.62 0.96
21-25 2.35 1.04
26 plus 1.41 0.75
1-5 1.15 0.56
6-10 1.41 0.90
11-15 1.73 1.11
54 Being threaten with violence 5.317 4.144 0.001
16-20 1.29 0.79
21-25 1.55 1.10
26 plus 1.17 0.46
1-5 1.49 1.05
6-10 1.58 0.97
11-15 1.98 1.24
28 Being implied by mate’s profession 5.307 2.577 0.027
16-20 1.31 0.72
21-25 1.75 1.06
26 plus 1.26 0.71
1-5 1.64 1.06
6-10 1.95 1.18
Being implied as if you were psychologically 11-15 2.13 1.31
36 5.361 3.754 0.003
handicapped 16-20 1.53 1.06
21-25 2.17 1.17
26 plus 1.35 0.75
47 Being discriminated in rules, and were warned 1-5 1.52 0.94 5.337 2.573 0.027
with null reasons more than the others were 6-10 1.67 1.01
11-15 2.00 1.30
16-20 1.70 1.32
69
21-25 1.62 1.12

26 plus 1.15 0.36
1-5 1.96 1.21
6-10 1.98 1.21
11-15 2.28 1.42
18 Being ignored 5.35 3.400 0.005
16-20 1.85 1.20
21-25 2.63 1.21
26 plus 1.35 0.75
1-5 1.50 0.94
6-10 1.71 1.16
Being forced to carry out tasks affecting self- 11-15 1.72 1.11
19 5.325 3.912 0.002
reliance negatively 16-20 1.46 0.80
21-25 2.32 1.25
26 plus 1.24 0.52
1-5 1.42 0.83
6-10 1.70 1.06
11-15 1.91 1.29
52 Being withdrawn of tasks without being informed 5.34 3.458 0.005
16-20 1.58 0.95
21-25 2.15 1.19
26 plus 1.50 0.86
1-5 2.04 1.20
6-10 2.04 1.16
11-15 2.24 1.30
20 Your efforts were accepted flattery 5.356 2.919 0.013
16-20 1.67 0.94
21-25 2.32 1.25
26 plus 1.41 0.82
The results showed a slight relationship between branch and mobbing. It has effect only on two acts; “being intimated
because of his/her political views” [t (308) =2.02, p<.05], and “being threaten physically” [t (271) =2.62, p<.05]. Classroom
teachers were seemed to be exposed to these acts more than the others were (See Table 6).
Table 6. Difference Between Mobbing and Branch
__
Item Negative Acts Branch SS Sd t p
X
Class 1.87 1.15
42 Being intimated because of your political view 308 2.02 .045
Branch 1.61 1.05
Class 1.45 0.95
54 Being threaten physically 271 2.62 .009
Branch 1.19 0.60
Finally, the perpetrators’ role for mobbing was studied by using an open-ended question. The data revealed that, the
school administrators mobbed the teachers mostly both at the public and private schools. The colleagues were seemed
to be inferior to the school administrators as perpetrators at schools.
The last aim of the study was finding out the reasons of mobbing according to victims and observers at schools. The
results showed that both teacher groups believe that features of victims trigger mobbing at schools mostly. T-test analysis
results are shown in Table 7.
70
Table 7. T-Test Results of Reasons of Mobbing in Accordance to the Teachers
Public Private
Reasons of Mobbing
_ __
SD SD t p
X X
1 Based on victim 21.25 12.10 21.50 11.15 -.251 .152

TEACHERS
Personal reasons 9.73 4.96 9.78 4.48 -.113 .084

2
Communication related 7.35 3.47 7.57 3.17 -.754 .198
3
4 Psychological reasons 13.52 5.95 13.27 5.85 .492 .776
As Table 7 demonstrates, most of the educators believed that psychological resources were inferior reason for mobbing
at schools. The psychological reasons include high competition, many unsolved problems, lack of job satisfaction, and
high stress at schools.
4. Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations
The most important finding of the study is the introduction of mobbing in education as a phenomenon in Turkey. This
paper presents that teachers are mobbed by school managers and by their colleagues at schools. While school type and
professional experience have significant effect on mobbing, there is slight relationship between mobbing and gender,
between mobbing and age, and between mobbing and branch at schools. Since EARGED of the MONE supported the
study by conducting the questionnaires formally, participants might have felt restrained while they were answering
questions. This prospect is the main limitation of the study. It is assumed that private school educators hesitated with
filling out the questionnaires because of their anxiety of being unemployed; because while public school teachers have
tenure, private school teachers do not have tenure in Turkey.
The findings reveal that, female educators are mobbed through their professional and personal features mostly at
schools. Besides, perpetrators mostly attack the victim’s professional qualifications, and show verbal aggression at
schools. Thus, teachers are mobbed through negative acts, which are related to their professional performance. These
findings correspond with the literature that Dick and Wagner (2001), Hoel and at al. (2004), and O’Conner (2004)
introduced that mobbing at school involves ignoring in any situations, criticizing professional performance unfairly,
rumoring, excluding him/her from activities, and personal abuse. Besides, results of the studies undertaken by Einarsen,
(1999); Leymann, (1996); Niedl, (1996); Vartia, (1996); and Zapf, Knorz and Kulla, (1996) support these outcomes
introducing four styles of mobbing as “organizational measures”, “social isolation”, “attacking victim’s private life”, and
“physical violence”. In addition, “verbal aggression” and “rumors” are claimed the main negative acts by Vartia and
Björkqvist (Zapf, Knorz and Kulla, 1996). Criticizing and humiliating are the main points of the results and these are
compatible with the literature (Rayner, 1997; Einarsen and Skogstad 1996; Davenport, Schwartz and Elliott, 2003). In
addition, because mobbing shows changeable attributions according to the cultural features (Cassitto, 2003), there is no
clear cut definition of mobbing lining of age, professional experience and so on. Besides, authors (Leymann, 1996;
Einarsen and Skogstad, 1996; Leymann and Gustafsson, 1996; Davenport, Schwartz and Elliot, 2003) claim that
mobbing cannot be bounded with clear descriptive features like age.
The findings suggest that, both school administrators and their colleagues at schools mob the teachers. These
findings are compatible with the O’Conner (2004), who claims that school administrators, and inspectors at schools mob
teachers. He also suggests that school administrators perceive ‘mobbing’ as a management style. Similarly, some school
administrators apply mobbing for management style at schools in Turkey.
It is interesting to see that, victims themselves and psychological features of schools are perceived as the main
reasons for triggering mobbing at schools. In fact, resources and reasons of mobbing are debating issues in the literature.
While Leymann and Gustafsson (1996) could not find out any evidence that personal features are the main reason of
mobbing; some researchers (Vartia, 1996; Rayner, 1997; Crawford, 1997; Zapf, 1999) claim that personality is main
reason for mobbing in their cultures. Since mobbing is a new phenomenon, there is not clear evidence revealing reasons
for mobbing in literature. Furthermore, discussions around the reasons of mobbing have been progressing. For example,
71
Leymann (1996), Vartia (1996), Zapf (1999), and Liefooghe and Davey (2001) argue that multiple causes of mobbing
have to be taken into consideration. To conclude, mobbing can be caused by more than one factor simultaneously.
Finally, these results point out importance of analyzing mobbing in different parts of education system. While some
progress is reported in this article, it is clear that, further empirical researches are needed to deepen our understanding of
mobbing, and its implications for educators. Based on the present findings, the study is expected to lead to researchers to
study mobbing in education system in other cultures. In addition, this study contributes to other sectors to investigate
mobbing at their workplace through further researches.
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73

The Impacts of Cooperative Learning on Oral Proficiency
Farima Talebi
Hakim Sabzevari University, Iran

E-mail: Farimah_1984@yahoo.com (corresponding author)
Atefe Sobhani
Azad University of Torbat-e-Heidarieh, Iran
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p75
Abstract This study explored whether applying cooperative learning approach brings about significant improvements in English
language learners' speaking proficiency. 40 male and female students enrolled in a speaking course at IELTS Center institute in
Mashhad, Iran, were assigned randomly to two control and experimental groups. The administration of an oral interview showed that two
groups were homogeneous in terms of their oral proficiency at the entry level. While both groups received instructions in speaking three
sessions per week for one month, CL activities were employed only in the experimental group. The performance of the experimental
group on oral interview (posttest) held at the end of the course showed that the mean score of this group was significantly higher than
the control group. Hence, CL approach can effectively be implemented to improve the learners' speaking proficiency.
Keywords: Cooperative Learning, english language, education.
1. Introduction
After introduction of communicative language teaching which emphasizes the importance of group work in the language
classroom, applying cooperative learning approach in language teaching became popular (Feigenbaum, 2007).
Cooperative learning (CL) is defined as the instructional use of group activities which makes students work together and
develop their own and others' learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1981). When structured well, CL involves students in
working as team, interacting with others, and sharing goals, ideas and feedback (Murdoch & Wilson, 2004).
To benefit from cooperative learning, groups of participants must be working together, not only ''next to'' one another.
Also, it should be considered that if teacher do not have careful planning and monitoring, group works hinder learning and
decrease social interaction than promote it in classes (Woolfolk, Winne & Perry, 2003). There are some principles for
cooperative learning approach according to Freeman (2000). For example, students think cooperatively not competitively
and individualistically in this approach. In other words, they think in terms of positive interdependence. Moreover,
teachers teach social skills as asking others to contribute or keep the conversation calm. So, the teachers teach language
as well as cooperation. Also, Group work helps students to feel responsible and through which students learn how to
work with different people in different groups.
There are some advantages and disadvantages in CL group work and pair work. Group works generate interactive
language, present learner responsibility and autonomy, promote the affective climate in the classroom, increase
motivation, and individualize instruction (Arnold, 1999). Also, CL tries to promote students' critical thinking to create
classrooms in which cooperation rather than competition will be enhanced. But, it brings some disadvantages: the
teacher is no longer in central of the class, students will use their L1, Students' errors will be reinforced in small groups,
teachers can not control all groups at the same time, and also some learners prefer to work alone. Although group work
lead to cooperation, group activities, and active learners, it is not good for all learners with different levels of proficiency
(Richards & Rodgers, 2001).
In global education, educators try to develop active students in the classroom as well as active people out side of the
classroom. Students know that positive-interdependence exists between them and put this realization into action through
cooperative learning. Thus, the ability and willingness to work together outside the classroom can be increased by CL
(McCafferty, Jacobs & Christina, 2006).
The focus of cooperative language learning is on language form and function. Also, it focuses on developing
communicative competence in a language (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Ning (2011) suggested with integration of six key
elements of CL such as positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, equal participation,
75
equal opportunity for success, and group processing, the students' communicative competence would be developed.
Fostering a supportive learning atmosphere, providing more opportunities for authentic peer interaction, and generating
meaningful language input and output in a cooperative teaching team are conducive to improvement in social and
communicative skills.
According to Murdoch and Wilson (2004), the most obvious sign of cooperative learning in a classroom is that the
students meet and work together in a variety of groupings. When CL works affectively, the following features are evident:
1. groups of students work on a shared task 2. Every one is aware of their roles and responsibilities 3. Students employ
different skills such as communication, thinking, and social skills 4. Strategies and skills are assessed by teachers and
students. The researchers, also, stated that cooperative learning is only one variety of teaching approaches used in the
classroom, not a total classroom program or strategy; CL works when mix with other approaches in a classroom.
2. Empirical studies
Providing more insights into the merits of implementing cooperative learning method in language teaching, Suwantarathip
and Wichadee (2010) investigated the impact of cooperative learning approach on language proficiency and examined its
effectiveness in reducing foreign language anxiety. First of all, 40 sophomore students were given the questionnaire
“Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale”, followed by a proficiency test as pretests. Then, a 3-hour lesson was
taught through cooperative learning approach for 14 weeks. After applying CL activities in the classroom, another
proficiency test and FLCAS (posttests) were used to assess the participants' language proficiency and learning anxiety.
The obtained scores from both instruments were compared with the previous ones to reveal changes in language
proficiency and anxiety. The results indicated that the use of cooperative learning as part of the language learning led to
the students’ anxiety reduction and higher language proficiency. The researchers took the idea that the reason why the
students' anxiety reduced was probably because this learning environment provided opportunities for them to support,
encourage, and praise each other. Hence, feeling relaxed in such a learning environment, students developed their
language proficiency.
In a recent study, Aziz and Hossain (2010) aimed at comparing the effects of cooperative leaning and conventional
teaching on the learners' mathematics achievement. To reach the aim of study, the researchers divided 62 students into
experimental and control group. Then, the process of Learning Together model of CL only for the students in the
experimental group was applied. The result of this study showed a significant difference between experimental and
control group in mathematics achievement. The findings indicated that the cooperative students outperformed the
conventional students. In other words, CL can effectively be applied to improve students’ achievement in mathematics.
Similarly, Artut (2009) investigated the effects of cooperative learning on the mathematics ability of kindergarten
children and evaluated teachers' perspectives on the application of cooperative activities in the classroom. To fulfill the
aim of study, the researcher chose 34 children and divided them into experimental (n=17) and control groups (n=17).
Though the same mathematical concepts were taught for both experimental and control groups, a teaching program
based on cooperative learning approach was used for the experimental group. In this group, the children encouraged to
cooperate, share, listen to each other's idea, and fulfill their responsibilities in group works. The result of study revealed
that improvement in mathematics ability of children in the experimental group was observed after the implementation of
cooperative learning method. In addition, at the beginning of the study, the teacher indicated that she did not like group
work because children in groups become distracted easily, do not listen to the instruction, and continue to work
individually. Thus, it is obvious that the teacher had negative attitudes about group work before the course started.
However, at the end of the study, the teacher's ideas about group work changed positively. She stated that group
activities were amusing for children, improve their cooperation, and develop their cognitive and motor skills.
In a similar study, Gillies (2004) investigated the effects of cooperative learning on students as they worked on
mathematics problem-solving activities in structured and unstructured cooperative groups. Two hundred and twenty-three
students, participants of the study, were engaged in group problem-solving activities in their mathematics program. Two
observational schedules were used to compile information on students' verbal interactions and behavior states during
sessions. The study showed that providing children with the opportunity to work cooperatively together on a regular basis
in structured cooperative groups encourages students to be more willing to work with each other, to share ideas and
information, and to develop stronger perception of group cohesion and social responsibility for each other’s learning than
their peers in the unstructured groups. Furthermore, the researcher of this study declared that it was the schools that
demonstrated a high commitment to cooperative learning by establishing structured cooperative learning groups in their
classrooms and it was these groups that obtained higher learning outcomes than unstructured groups.
76
To have a more comprehensive outlook on the effects of cooperative learning in the classroom, Johnson and Johnson
(1981) investigated the impact of cooperative and individualistic learning on interpersonal attraction between
handicapped and non handicapped students. 51 students chosen on a stratified random basis, participated in one
instructional unit for 16 days. In this study, not only were the handicapped students interacted by their non handicapped
peers, but both groups of students perceived the interaction to be supportive, friendly, and facilitative of academic
achievement. The findings of this study indicated that cooperative learning compared with individualistic learning
enhances interaction between handicapped and non handicapped learners. This result was also supported by Yager,
Johnson, Johnson, and Snider (1985) that stated the continued use of cooperative learning promote interpersonal
relationship between handicapped and non handicapped students.
There has been a large body of research addressing the effects of cooperative learning from various perspectives
(Johnson & Johnson, 198; Gillies, 2004; Yager, Johnson, Johnson, & Snider, 1985). Few numbers of studies, however,
investigated the effects of cooperative learning on academic achievement (Suwantarathip & Wichadee, 2010; Aziz &
Hossain, 2010); therefore, the present study addresses the following question:
1. Will applying the CL techniques bring about any significant difference in the mean scores of control and experimental
groups on oral proficiency test
In view of the above question, the present study tries to provide empirical supports for the following hypothesis:
HO1. Applying the CL techniques will not bring about any significant difference in the mean scores of control and
experimental groups on oral proficiency test.
3. Method
3.1 Participants
The data collected from 12 sessions of six IELTS classes, with a total of 40 male and female students enrolled in the
IELTS speaking courses at IELTS Center Institution in Mashhad. Each class contained 10 students and the speaking
course was held 3 times per week lasting for a month. All participants were native speakers of Persian and their age
ranged between 20 and 33. They were divided into two groups: experimental group (n=20) in which cooperative language
learning was employed; control group (n=20) in which cooperative language learning was not applied. However, the
number of the participants was reduced as some students left the classes or were absent for the test.
4. Instruments
4.1 Oral interview
To assess the participants' speaking proficiency, an oral interview was held at the beginning and end of the course as a
pretest and posttest. IELTS sample tests (Cambridge Examinations Publishing, 2011) were used for oral interview.
Scales for evaluating the participants' speaking proficiency were taken from Farhady, Ja'fapur, and Birjandi (1994).
5. Procedure
After the researches had assigned participants into two experimental and control groups, all the participants took part in
an oral interview as a pretest which was based on IELTS speaking sample test (Cambridge Examinations Publishing,
2011). Students' speaking proficiency was evaluated according to the scales of assessment from Farhady, Ja'fapur, and
Birjandi (1994).
During one-month speaking course, the participants in the experimental group took part in twelve instructional
sessions in which the teacher employed cooperative learning techniques. For example, Think-Pair-Share was one type of
these techniques or activities in which the teacher asked a question and the students worked and thought individually
about an answer; then, all of them responded the questions, and they often tried to complete each others. Sometimes,
the teacher posed a statement to stimulate and engage students in generating their opinions, accepting, or rejecting
others. They shared what they have learned with the class. Another kind of activities was Jigsaw that students read a
77
text, given by the teacher, and summarized it. This text contained useful vocabularies, idioms and phrases for improving
speaking skills (Olsen and Kagan, 1992). However, for the control group such techniques were not employed.
At the end of the course both groups were interviewed and their speaking skill was assessed through IELTS speaking
sample test as a posttest.
6. Result
Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test analysis of oral proficiency test held as a
pretest. As it can be clearly seen, the mean score of the experimental group (3.97) is lower than the control group (4.02).
However, the independent sample t-test did not show any significant difference in the mean scores of the control and
experimental groups on the oral proficiency test (t = .13, df =38, p>.05); thus, ensured the researchers of the
homogeneity of both experimental and control groups in terms of their speaking skills at the entry level.
Table 1. The descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test analysis of oral proficiency test held as a pretest
Group N Mean Std. Std. Error T df P

Deviation Mean
Pretest Control 20 4.02 1.15 .25 .13 38 .89
experimental 20 3.97 1.21 .27 .13
Table 2 presents the results of paired sample t-test run to compare the performance of the control and experimental
groups separately on the oral proficiency pretest and posttest. According to this table, there was a significant difference
between the mean scores on oral proficiency pretest and posttest of both control and experimental groups separately
(df=19, t=5.67, p<0.05 and df=19, t=14.87, p<0.05, respectively). These results revealed that both control and
experimental groups improved regarding their speaking skills. As participants of both groups took part in speaking course,
this result seems reasonable.
Table 2. The descriptive statistics and paired sample t-test analysis of oral proficiency test held as a pretest and posttest

Deviation Mean
pretest Control 20 4.02 1.15 .25 5.67 19 .000
posttest 5.15 1.02 .22
pretest Experimental 20 3.97 1.21 .27 14.87 19 .000
posttest 6.40 .94 .21
Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test analysis of oral proficiency test held as a
posttest. As it can be seen, the mean score of the experimental group (6.40) is higher than the control group (5.15). Also,
the independent sample t-test indicated that the experimental group performed significantly higher than the control group
on the oral proficiency test (t = -4.01, df =38, p < .05). This means that the very implementation of CLL techniques helped
the experimental group speak significantly better than the control group; thus, the hypothesis that applying the CL
techniques will not bring about any significant difference in the mean scores of control and experimental groups on oral
proficiency test was disconfirmed.
Table 3. The descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test analysis of oral proficiency test held as a posttest

Deviation Mean
posttest Control 20 5.15 1.02 .22 -4.01 38 .000
Experimental 20 6.40 .94 .21
7. Conclusion
Introducing a new teaching approach is always full of challenges, so it is recommended that educators, researchers, and
teachers share their ideas, work together, plan lessons, and help each other to enhance the effectiveness of educational
78
programs (Ning, 2010).

The purpose of the current study was to examine the impacts of cooperative learning on the learners' oral proficiency.
Findings from this study indicated that the treatment strategy of CL had significant effect on students’ oral proficiency.
Prior to the treatment, the independent-sample t-test was administered to find out any significant difference in oral
interview pre-test mean scores between students in experimental and control group. The findings revealed that both
groups were equal (p> 0.05) in their performances at the beginning of the course. After the treatment, the independent-
sample t-test was done to find out any significant difference in oral interview post-test mean scores between students in
both groups. The findings indicated that students in experimental group showed significant (p< 0.05) improvement in their
oral proficiency in comparison to students in control group. This study came to a conclusion that cooperative learning can
contribute to the improvement of students’ speaking proficiency.
The findings of study nearly reflect the results gained by Suwantarathip and Wichadee (2010) which asserted that
cooperative learning approach can contribute to the improvement of students’ language proficiency. They believed the
significant improvement on the learners’ language proficiency possibly resulted from the fact that discussing, reflecting,
and thinking in a group, which are cooperative learning activities, can provide a less anxiety-producing context. The
findings of this study are also in line with the findings by Artut (2009) and Aziz and Hossain (2010).
The result of this study may encourage future studies by looking closer at the positive effects of CL on students’
achievements and to develop a more adequate explanation of the effects of cooperative learning.
References
Arnold. J. (1999). Affect in language learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Artut, P. D. (2009). Experimental evaluation of the effects of cooperative learning on kindergarten children’s mathematics ability.
International Journal of Educational Research, 48, 370–380.
Aziz, Z., & Hosain, M. A. (2010). A comparison of cooperative learning and conventional teaching on students’ achievement in
secondary mathematics. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 53-62.
Cambridge Examinations Publishing. (2011). IELTS 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Farhady, H., Ja'farpur, A., & Birjandi, P. (1994). Testing language skills: From theory to practice. Tehran: SAMT.
Feigenbaum, E. J. (2007). The role of language anxiety in teacher-fronted versus small-group interaction in Spanish as a foreign
language: How is pronunciation accuracy affected? Unpublished MA thesis, university of Pittsburgh.
Freeman, L. D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gillies, R. M. (2004). The effects of cooperative learning on junior high school students during small group learning. Learning and
Instruction, 14, 197-213.
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1981). The integration of the handicapped into the regular classroom: Effects of cooperative and
individualistic instruction Contemporary Educational Psychology, 6, 344-353.
McCafferty, S. G., Jacobs, G. M., & Christina, D. I. (2006). Cooperative learning and second language teaching. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Murdoch, K., & Wilson, J. (2004). How to succeed with cooperative learning. Australia: Curriculum Corporation
Ning, H. (2010). Adapting cooperative learning in tertiary ELT. ELT Journal, 65(1), 60-70.
Oslen, R., & Kagan, S. (1992). About cooperative learning. In C. Kessler (Ed.), Cooperative language learning: A teacher's resource
book (pp. 1-30). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suwantarathip, O., & Woolfolk, S. (2010). The impacts of cooperative learning on anxiety and proficiency in an EFL class. Journal of
College Teaching and Learning, 7(11), 51-58.
Woolfolk, A.E., Winne, P. H., & Perry, N. E. (2003). Educational psychology. Canada: Pearson Education.
Yager, S., Johnson, R. T., Johnson, D. W., & Snider, B. (1985). The effect of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences on
positive and negative cross-handicap relationships. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 10, 127-138.
79

Psychological Trait and Situation Affecting through Inspiration of Public Mind

to Energy Conservation Behavior of Undergraduate Student
Paitoon Pimdee
Department of Environmental Education

Faculty of Environmental and Resource Studies
Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham 44150, Thailand
Nongnapas Thiengkamol
Major Advisor, Department of Environmental Education
Faculty of Environmental and Resource Studies
Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham 44150, Thailand
Tanarat Thiengkamol
Co-Advisor, School of Management, Assumption University,

Hua Mak Campus, 592/3 Ramkhamhaeng 24,
Hua Mak, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p81
Abstract This research objective was to study psychological trait and situation affected to energy conservation behavior and inspiration
of public mind of undergraduate student of KMITL in the first semester of academic year 2012. The sample group of 800 students were
sampling with Multi-stage random sampling technique. Questionnaire was used as research tool that was examined for content validity
by 5 experts and it was tried out with the group that was not sample group. The reliability in aspects of psychological trait, situation,
inspiration of public mind and energy conservation behavior were 0.88, 0.83, 0.93, and 0.85 respectively. Data analysis was conducted
by Hierarchical Multiple Regression. The findings showed as followings: 1. The group of psychological trait variables was able to predict
the group of energy conservation behavior variables with 35.2%. The most important predictors were future orientation and self control,
and mental health. Moreover, it also predicted the group of inspiration of public mind variables with 35.8%. 2. The group of situation
variables was able to predict the group of energy conservation behavior variables and more than the group of psychological trait
variables with 9.3% (increased from 35.2 to 44.5%) and subgroup more than the group of psychological trait variables by increasing
between 28.2%-40.6%. The most important predictors were perception of family role model and media perception.
Key Words: Psychological Trait / Situation / Energy Conservation Behavior / Inspiration of Public Mind
1. Introduction
Human behavior has influenced to environmental quality change. The causes are the rapid growth of population and
changing of consumption behavior (Janet, et al., 2011). Electrical energy is a essential energy that it is used for serving
the primary demand of people for various daily living activities whether in terms of daily life facilitators, economic
development or production matter for industrial activity. Consequently, electrical energy is typically necessary for country
development. Thailand has gradually more extended in the population, economy, and industrial sectors in every year.
The demand of electrical energy within country for consumption is also increasing as well; therefore it is a responsibility of
governmental sector to seek electrical energy for serving the demand adequately (Department of Renewable Energy and
Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy, 2011).
Most of electrical energy in Thailand, has been transformed from natural gases with 69.20 percents, subsequences
are coal/lignite with 21.40 percents, fuel oils and diesel fuel with 0.20 percents, and the rest are other renewable energy
and other energy with 6.20 percents (Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy,
2011). It is obviously seen that the majority of the transformed energies are able to cause environmental impact and
destructive effect to human health in both direct and indirect effects whether in forms of carbon dioxide that is an
important greenhouse gases to cause global climate change. It is also essential origin seasonal change and natural
81
disasters across country or it might spread to over the world. Moreover, it also affected to social and political aspects.
Principally, it is an origin of conflict of interest between local people and governmental authority wherever electrical
generation power plant is planned to build in any location of country since most of them perceived from the problem taken
place in other prior area of country. Furthermore, the forest violation for energy plant cultivation is also currently important
problem.
Regarding to interactionism model, there are a large number of research was conducted on the cause of various
behaviors of human being. It is obvious found that any behaviors in human society there are four major important causes
that included psychological trait of actor, characteristics of present situation or cause outside people. Trait theorists are
primarily interested in the measurement of traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and
emotion including psychological health and physical health which are inherited trait from parents. There is much debate
over how much of whom we are is by nature (genetic) or nurture (environment), and both contribute significantly to our
complete expression (Kassin, 2003, Pearson, 2006). In accordance with this perspective, traits are relatively stable over
time, differ across individuals, and influence behavior. The feature of present situation or external cause included social
support in educational institute, perception of family role model for electrical energy conservation, and got experience
from electrical shortage. These might inspire or activate them to realize the important of electrical energy. Therefore, the
psychological trait interacts with situation, it can be recognized as mechanical interaction that these might affect to any
human behavior expression. The organismic interaction is a result of interaction between psychological situation and
psychological trait, consequently, the occurring of attitude to that situation or behavior expressing, anxiety along with
situation, and concern according to situation (Bhanthumnavin, 2008). In 1997 the academics in psychology, leading by
Magnusson and Endler, proposed the textbook called “Personality at the crossroads” that compiled the theories of human
behavior on integration of mind and states together (Bhanthumnavin, 2008, Magnusson, and Endler, 1997, Magnusson,
1999, Magnusson, 2001).
Accordingly, Thiengkamol pointed out on public consciousness or public mind based on inspiration from insight but
inspiration is different from motivation because inspiration needs no rewards. Inspiration of public consciousness or public
mind, especially, for natural resources and environment conservation, one doesn’t receive any reward, admiration or
complement for ones act for natural resources and environment conservation. Inspiration of public consciousness might
occur due to appreciation in a person as role model or idle, impressive events, notable situations, impressive
environment, media perceived such as movies, book, magazine, and internet. (Thiengkamol, 2009a, Thiengkamol,
2009b, Thiengkamol, 2011i, Thiengkamol, 2011j, Thiengkamol, 2012c)
However, considering on the increasing electrical energy demand in country, it is caused by two factors that are
population growth and economic progression, but deeply considering, one of cause of energy consumption is human who
lacks of knowledge and understanding, good attitude, awareness, consciousness, and value with good practice for
energy conservation. In order to solve environmental problem, the research should be studied on psychological trait and
situation that affected to environmental conservation and inspiration of public mind because if we know understand the
cause factors that influenced to results and understand relationship between causes and results, it will help us to
understand the behavior and behavior expression, therefore we can predict the occurred behavior and we can adjust
them to be better performance to solve environmental problem.
2. Objective
This research objective was to study psychological trait and situation affecting to energy conservation behavior and
inspiration of public mind of undergraduate student of KMITL.
3. Methodology
3.1 Population was 19,074 undergraduate students of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) in the
first semester of academic year 2012. Sample group of 800 undergraduate students were sampling with Multi-stage
random sampling technique (Leekitchwatana, 2011).
3.2 Questionnaire was employed as a research tool that was examined for content validity by 5 experts and it was tried
out with the 70 undergraduate students that was not sample group. The reliability in aspects of psychological trait,
situation, environmental education, inspiration of public mind and energy conservation behavior were 0.88, 0.83, 0.93,
and 0.85 respectively.
3.3 Data Analysis was conducted by Hierarchical Multiple Regression.
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4. Results
The results were illustrated as followings:
Table 1 Percentage Comparison of Prediction and Predictor of 3 Group Variables of Results of Energy Conservation
Behavior of Total group and Subgroup
Stage 1 (1, 2, 3, 4) Stage 2 (5, 6, 7)

Group No. %R2 Predictor %R2 %R2 Predictor
Beta value Beta value
Total order Change Total order
Total 800 35.2 3,2,1,4 .42,.14,.11,.10 9.3 44.5 6,7 .25,.22
Male 349 35.9 3,2,1 .44,.21,.10 9.4 45.3 6,7 .25,.22
Female 451 33.0 3,4 .50,.17 10.2 43.2 6,7 .21,.12
Low GPA 445 40.6 3,2,1,4 .42,.16,.17,.12 9.6 50.2 6,7,5 .30,.20,-.07
High GPA 355 29.8 3,2 .46,.17 8.5 38.3 7,6 .25,.18
Outside 411 35.9 3,2,1 .44,.21,.10 9.4 45.3 6,7 .25,.22
Bangkok and suburban 389 33.0 3,4 .50,.17 10.2 43.2 6,7 .27,.21
Low family income 394 32.5 3,2,1 .36,.20,.17 10.2 42.7 6,7 .28,.22
High Family income 406 38.0 3,2,4 .52,.12,.11 8.1 46.1 6,7 .22,.20
Father low education 493 35.9 3,2,1,4 .35,.14,.20,.10 7.0 42.9 6,7 .24,.17
Father high education 307 35.2 3,2 .52,.19 11.7 46.9 7,6 .27,.26
Mother low education 522 36.1 3,4,1,2 .35,.14,.19,.12 8.4 44.5 6,7 .25,.19
Mother high education 278 36.0 3,2 .52,.19 8.6 44.6 7,6 .24,.21
Education faculty 396 35.9 3,2 .52,.21 7.1 43.0 6,7 .24,.18
Other faculties 404 28.2 3,2 .43,.18 13.4 41.6 7,6 .27,.24
Group of predictors
Stage 1 1 refers locus of control, 2 refers mental health, 3 refers future orientation and self control, 4 refers achievement motive
Stage 2 5 refers social support in institution, 6 refers and perception of family role model, 7 refers media perception
Analysis with Hierarchical Multiple Regression (HMR) for predicting energy conservation behavior and inspiration of
public mind, there were 2 stages that predictor would be orderly entered. Stage 1 comprised the group of psychological
trait variables with 4 predictors included locus of control, mental health, future orientation and self control, and
achievement motive. Stage 2 comprised the group of situation variables with 3 predictors included social support in
institution, perception of family role model, and media perception. Every variable is continuous variable.
The aim of HMR analysis is to compare the amount of prediction in stage 2 that it is able to increase how much the
prediction is in both total group and 14 subgroups.
1. Prediction of variation of energy conservation behavior by using the group of psychological trait variables and the
group of situation variables as predictors.
When energy conservation behavior was analyzed by HMR with predictor in stage 1 that was the group of
psychological trait variables with 4 predictors included locus of control, mental health, future orientation and self control,
and achievement motive, can predict the group of energy conservation behavior variable with 35.2% (showed in table 1).
The predictors were ordered from most importance to less importance that were future orientation and self control, mental
health, locus of control, and achievement motive with beta value equaled to 0.42, 0.14, 0.11, and 0.10 respectively. In the
subgroup was used to classify general characteristics of undergraduate with low Grade Point Average (GPA), it can
predict 40.6% and the least was group of other faculties with 28.2%.
Stage 2, predictor was the group of situation variables with 3 predictors included social support in institution,
perception of family role model, and media perception. This group can predict the group of energy conservation behavior
variable increased from stage 1 with 9.3% (prediction in stage 1 and 2 were 35.2% and 44.5%, these showed in table 1).
The predictors were ordered from most importance to less importance that were perception of family role model, and
media perception with beta value equaled to 0.25, and 0.22 respectively. In the subgroup was used to classify general
characteristics of undergraduate for 14 subgroups, these 3 predictors can predict energy conservation behavior increased
from stage 1 with statistically significant 13.4% (stage 1 and stage 2 were 28.2% and 41.6%). In the group of other
faculties, these 3 predictors can predict increased with statistically significant at least in the group of undergraduate with
low education father with 7.0% (prediction in stage 1 and 2 were 35.9% and 42.9% respectively).
83
Table 2 Percentage Comparison of Prediction and Predictor of 3 Group Variables of Results of Inspiration of Public Mind
of Total group and Subgroup
Stage 1 (1, 2, 3, 4) Stage 2 (5, 6, 7)

Group No. %R2 Predictor %R2 %R2 Predictor
Beta value Beta value
Total order Change Total order
Total 800 35.8 1,3,2 .44,.22,-.09 11.9 47.7 5,6,7 .26,.17,.14
Male 349 38.9 1,3 .50,.19 11.6 50.5 5,6,7 .27,.18,.10
Female 451 34.3 1,3,2 .36,.27,-.18 11.5 45.8 5,7,6 .26,.15,.16
Low GPA 445 38.0 1,3 .45,.24 10.4 48.4 5,6 .30,.20
High GPA 355 32.5 1 .57 11.4 43.9 5,7,6 .25,.16,.11
Outside 411 38.9 1,3 .49,.19 11.6 50.5 5,6,7 .27,.18,.10
Bangkok and suburban 389 34.3 1,3,2 .36,.27,-.18 11.5 45.8 5,7,6 .26,.15,.16
Low family income 394 35.3 1,3 .45,.20 11.7 47.0 5,6,7 .29,.17,.13
High Family income 406 36.3 1,3,2 .44,.23,-.13 11.0 47.3 5,6,7 .26,.17,.10
Father low education 493 37.2 1,3 .51,.14 10.9 48.1 5,6,7 .28,.15,.10
Father high education 307 33.6 1,3,2 .37,.30,-.12 11.2 44.8 5,6,7 .25,.20,.13
Mother low education 522 32.8 1,3 .46,.16 13.0 45.8 5,6,7 .28,.17,.15
Mother high education 278 42.4 1,3,2 .43,.31,-.18 8.9 51.3 5,6 .28,.15
Education faculty 396 46.5 1,3 .55,.19 8.5 55.0 5,6,7 .29,.12,.08
Other faculties 404 21.1 1,3 .32,.20 13.7 34.8 5,6,7 .26,.20,.12
Group of predictors
Stage 1 1 refers locus of control, 2 refers mental health, 3 refers future orientation and self control, 4 refers achievement motive
Stage 2 5 refers social support in institution, 6 refers and perception of family role model, 7 refers media perception
1. Prediction of variation of inspiration of public mind by using the group of psychological trait variables and the group of
situation variables as predictors.
When inspiration of public mind was analyzed by HMR with predictor in stage 1 that was the group of psychological
trait variables with 4 predictors included locus of control, mental health, future orientation and self control, and
achievement motive, can predict the group inspiration of public mind variable with 35.8% (showed in table 2). The
predictors were ordered from most importance to less importance that were locus of control, future orientation and self
control, and mental health with beta value equaled to 0.44, 0.22, and -0.09 respectively. In the subgroup was used to
classify general characteristics of undergraduate for 14 subgroups, it was found that these 4 predictors can predict
inspiration of public mind at highest level in group of education faculty with 46.5% and predict at the least in the group of
other faculties with 21.2%.
Stage 2, predictor was the group of situation variables with 3 predictors included social support in institution,
perception of family role model, and media perception. This group can predict the group of inspiration of public mind
variable increased with statistically significant from stage 1 with 11.9% (prediction in stage 1 and 2 were 38.5% and
47.7%, these showed in table 2). The predictors were ordered from most importance to less importance that were social
support in institution, family role model, and media perception with beta value equaled to 0.26, 0.17, and 0.14
respectively. In the subgroup was used to classify general characteristics of undergraduate for 14 subgroups, these 3
predictors can predict inspiration of public mind increased from stage 1 with statistically significant in every group at
highest with 13.4% (stage 1 and stage 2 were 21.1% and 34.8%). In the group of other faculties, these 3 predictors can
predict increased with statistically significant at least in the group of undergraduate with low education father with 8.5%
(prediction in stage 1 and 2 were 46.4% and 55.0% respectively).
5. Discussions
5.1 The group of psychological trait predicted variable the group of energy conservation behavior variable with
35.2%, and subgroup between 28.2%-40.6% with most important predictors that were future orientation and self control,
and mental health respectively. It might due to future orientation and self control is ability to forecast and realize the event
that will occur in the future together with the ability of self control, therefore, one is able to control oneself to wait the
important thing in the future. While, the good mental health is a feature of mind and emotion expressions without feeling
of anxiety, but undergraduate would able to concentration and express his/her brave in the proper event. The
psychological trait is an important part of expression of diverse behaviors of undergraduate, there were numerous
researches revealed the relationship between psychological trait toward environmental conservation behavior such as the
group of psychological trait predicted personal electrical energy use, family electrical energy saving and public electrical
84
energy saving of undergraduate between 36.5%-39.6% with having future orientation and self control as important
predictor (Trimetsoontorn, and Pimdee, 2007). This is congruent with the study of Kittisarawanno and Pimdee, (2007)
revealed that the group of psychological trait variable predicted personal electrical energy use , family electrical energy
saving and public electrical energy saving of undergraduate between 47.0%-47.2% with having future orientation and self
control, and locus of control as important predictors. Moreover, it is in the line with Inthasuwan, et al., (2004) also found
that general self control and specific self control related to and predicted to consumption behavior with intelligence of
student. Moreover, there was a research mentioned on the relationship between mental health and environmental
conservation behavior and it was found that the mental health was an important predictor for personal electrical use of
student (Piasiri, 2002) and mental health related to resource saving behavior as whole, time saving behavior, expenditure
saving behavior of undergraduate (Sananpoo, 2001), moreover, mental health was an important predictor cooperated to
other variables to predict waste production avoidance of student with 27.8% (Suwandee, 2000).
The group of psychological trait predicted variable the group of inspiration of public mind variable with 35.8% and
subgroup between 21.1%-46.5%, with most important predictors that were locus of control, and future orientation and self
control respectively. It might be that undergraduate who has high locus of control will be a high self-confidence as well
and he thinks that he can control himself and control the outcome of action while future orientation and self control is
ability to anticipate the occurring event in future together with self control to wait for the more important thing in future. A
large number of researches were found that of psychological trait toward inspiration of public mind. Such as psychological
trait directly affected to inspiration of public mind of undergraduate with 0.67 (Thiengkamol, 2012c) and psychological trait
directly affected to inspiration of public mind of undergraduate of Mahasarakham University with 0.15 (Jumrearnsan,
2011). Moreover, future orientation and self control and other variables predicted public mind of undergraduate of
Srinakharinwirot University with 38.1% (Thongmeelue, 2007), in the line with the study of Nooroon, (2008) found that
locus of control, and future orientation and self control had positively affected to public mind of student at level 3 of
School under the control of Srinakharinwirot University.
5.2 The group of situation variables can predict the group of energy conservation behavior variable with 44.5%
(increased from psychological trait with 9.3%) and can predict subgroup between 38.3%-50.2% (increased from
psychological trait between 7.00%-13.4%). The important predictors were perception of family role model, and media
perception respectively. This might due to feature of situation or external cause of person, these might cause the
behavior change. In this study, the situations included social support in institute, perception form family role model, and
media perception; therefore these variables might stimulate and support the undergraduate to have appropriate behavior.
A large number of studies illustrated the relationship between situation variable toward environmental conservation
behavior or energy conservation behavior such as the group of situation variable was able to predict personal electrical
energy use, family electrical energy saving and public electrical energy saving of undergraduate between 36.5%-39.6%
with having future orientation and self control as important predictor (Kittisarawanno, and Pimdee, 2007). Moreover,
Thiengkamol, also found that psychological state had directly affected to behavior of global warming alleviation of
undergraduate student of Mahasarakham University with 038 38 (Thiengkamol, 2011j) and was congruent to study of
Wongphinphet and Wasuwat, on perception of appropriate model mostly influenced to environmental conservation
behavior with effect of 0.80 (Wongphinphet, and Wasuwat, 2011) and study of Pimdee, also revealed that undergraduate
in 3 situations of nurture with love support and reason use, perception of social norm, and environmental information
perception at high level would have behavior of use thing with maximization benefit (Pimdee, 2008). Particularly,
environmental information perception had positively relation with participation for electrical energy conservation in the
office building of bank officers and bank officers who perceived more energy conservation information and high locus of
control would participate in electrical energy conservation in the office building higher than the opposite group.
(Ampanukij, 2008)
The group of situation variables can predict the group of inspiration of public mind variable with 47.7% (increased
from psychological trait with 11.9%) and subgroup between 34.8%-55.0% (increased from psychological trait between
8.5% and 13.7%). The important predictors were social support in institution, family role model respectively. These
variables can stimulate and support the undergraduate to have properly behavior and it is congruent to research of
Thiengkamol, discovered that psychological state had directly affect to inspiration of public mind of undergraduate of
Mahasarakham University with effect of 0.68 (Thiengkamol, 2011j) and in the line with study of Jumrearnsan, revealed
that psychological state had directly affect to inspiration of public mind of undergraduate with effect of 0.14 (Jumrearnsan,
2011) and Meekhuamdee (2004) studied on social psychological factor involving public mind and found that perception of
self-competency and popular support positively related to public mind of police officers with 55.9%.
85
6. Conclusion
6.1 The group of psychological trait variables can predict the group of energy conservation behavior variable with 35.2%.
The most important predictors were future orientation and self control, and mental health respectively. Moreover, it can
predict the group inspiration of public mind variable with 35.8% and subgroup between 21.1%-46.5% respectively. The
most important predictors were locus of control and future orientation and self control respectively.
6.2 The group of situation variables can predict the group of energy conservation behavior variable increased from
psychological trait with 9.3% (increased from 35.2% and 44.5% and subgroup increased between 7.00%-13.4% from
psychological trait and the important predictors were perception of family role model, and media perception respectively.
And predict the group of inspiration of public mind variable increased from psychological trait with 11.9% (increased from
38.5% and 47.7%), and subgroup increased from psychological trait between 8.5%-13.7% and the important predictors of
were social support in institution, family role model, and media perception respectively.
References
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Office. Thesis of Master of Science, Applied Behavioral Science Research Program, Srinakharinwirot University.
Bhanthumnavin, D. (2008). Feature of Hypothesis and Data Analysis Providing for Utilization of Results of Development Research.
Bangkok : National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).
Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy, (2011). Statistical Report on Energy of Thailand 2010
(Basic). Bangkok : Center of Information Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, Department of Renewable Energy and
Energy Conservation.
Inthasuwan, P. et al. (2004). Research and Development Consumption Behavior with Intelligence of Youth. Bangkok: Research report of
the Behavioral Science Research Institute, Srinakharinwirot University.
Janet, S. et al. (2011). Psychology and Global Climate Change : Addressing a Multi-faceted Phenomenon and Group of Challenges, A
Report by the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate
Change.
Jumrearnsan, W. (2011). The Structural Relationship Model of Psychological Factors and Environmental Education Regarding Global
Warming at an Undergraduate Level, Mahasarakham University. Dissertation of Doctoral Philosophy of Science, Major
Environmental Education, Faculty of Environment and Resources Studies, Mahasarakham University.
Kittisarawanno, S. and Pimdee P. (2007). Factors Correlates of Electric Energy Saving Behavior of Students in Rajamangala University
of Technology, Research report of Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon.
Magnusson, D. (1999). Holistic interactionism : A perspective for research on personality development. In L.A. Pervin and O.P. John
(Eds.) Handbook of personality : Theory and Research. New York : Guilford.
Magnusson D., (2001). The holistic-Interactionistic Paradigm: Some Directions for Empirical Developmental Research. European
Psychologist, 6(3) : 153-162.
Magnusson, D. and Endler, N.S. (1997). Interactional psychology and personality. New York : John Whitey and Sons.
Meekhuamdee, K. (2004). Psychosocial Factors Related to Public Mind Behavior of the Police Officer. Thesis of Master of Science,
Applied Behavioral Science Research Program, Srinakharinwirot University.
Nooroon, J. (2008). Psychological Characteristics Affecting Public Mind of Lower Secondary School Students at Srinakharinwirot
University Prasarnmit Demonstration School (Secondary). Thesis of Master of Education, Educational Research and Statistic
Program, Srinakharinwirot University.
Pearson, H. (2006). “Genetics: what is a gene?”. Nature, 441(7092) : 398–401.
Piasiri, T. (2002). Psycho-social Correlates of Electrical Energy Saving Behavior of Students in Green School Project. Thesis of Master
of Art, Social Development Program, National Institute of Development Administration.
Pimdee, P. (2008). Factors Affecting to Friendly Environmental Consumption Behavior of Undergraduate Student, Faculty of Industrial
Education, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. Research report of Faculty of Industrial Education, King Mongkut’s
Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.
Sananpoo, A. (2001). Indicators of Social Psychology of Behavior of Resource Saving of Ratjabhat Undergraduate. Research report of
Faculty of Education, Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University.
Suwandee, L. (2000). Psycho-social Correlates of Waste Minimization Behavior of Students in Rung Arun Project’s Schools. Thesis of
Master of Art, Social Development Management Program, National Institute of Development Administration.
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Thiengkamol, N. (2009b). The Happiness and the Genius can be Created before Born. Bangkok: Prachya Publication.
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Thiengkamol, N. (2011e). Environment and Development Book1. (4th ed.).Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.
Thiengkamol, N. (2011i). Development of Model of Environmental Education and Inspiration of Public Consciousness Influencing to
Global Warming Alleviation. European Journal of Social Sciences, 25(4), 506-514.
Thiengkamol, N. (2011j). Model of Psychological State Affecting to Global Warming Alleviation. Canadian Social Science, 7(6), 89-95.
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Thiengkamol, N. (2012c). Model of Psychological Trait Affecting to Global Warming Alleviation. European Journal of Social Sciences, 30
(3), 484-492.
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Energy University Project. Research report of Faculty of Industrial Education, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang.
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Influences Quality of Life of Undergraduate, Chiang Mai Province. Journal of Behavior Science for Development. 3(1), 145-158.

87

Breaking Barriers and Overcoming the Odds Confronting Intergenerational Communication

Barriers to Adolescent Sexuality Education in Southwestern, Nigeria
Ola Tolulope Monisola, Ph.D

Department of Sociology
Faculty of the Social Sciences,
Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria
Tel.: +2348139389466 E-mail address: tolulopeola2003@yahoo.co.uk
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p89
Abstract There is a growing need to effectively address the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents in Nigeria. Research
shows a pattern of adolescent sexual behavior indicating early sexual debut and a prevalence of premarital sex. The traditional lack of
interest in discussing sexuality at home, schools and churches creates a problem in teacher-student/ parent-child communication and
this has affected sexuality and sexuality education adversely overcoming communication barriers to sexuality education is critical to the
well-being of millions of adolescent in Nigeria today since communication barriers complicate the delivery of sexuality education both at
home, churches and in schools. This paper therefore examines the dearth and ease in effectively communicating the idea of sexuality
through the family, church and school which play major roles in socialization and ultimately, the education process. The paper concludes
by discussing the social, health and educational implications of sexuality education in Nigeria.
Keywords: Adolescent, Sexuality, Barriers, Communications, Sexuality education.
1. Introduction
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has a predominantly youthful population. One quarter (25%) of all Africans
and one-third of continents adolescent population live in Nigeria (Obono, 2010) Adolescent constitute a high risk group in
terms of sexual and reproductive health problems and this according to Population Reference Bureau (2003) has been
argued to be often overlooked or viewed through a lens of cultural values that limit care. The adolescence stage is a time
when many young people exhibit risky sexual behaviors that are life-changing such as sex initiation, multiple and
concurrent partnership, low contraceptive use and risky sexual practices. All these predispose young people to HIV and
sexually transmitted infections.
In Nigeria, more than 60% of new HIV infections occur in youths ages 15 to 25. This takes place against a
background in which on third of the country’s population of about 160 million are aged 10-24 years (NPC, 2007). Bracato
(Cited in Oborio, 2010) reported that there is minimal access to proven sexuality, family life or HIV and AIDS education
that would help them become sexually healthy adults practice safe sexual behavior, and reduce unintended pregnancy
and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV. Forman (2003) noted that here, a lack of information and a
lack of voice continue to be primary causes of infection among the worst affected groups of women and youth adolescent
and youth face multiple barriers to accessing reproductive and sexual health services and maintaining their reproductive
health. These include lack of information and education, lack of youth-specific services, concern about confidentiality
affordability and access to services social pressures and taboos (UNFPA Website).
Education programmes are recognized as an effective means of addressing the sexual and reproductive health
needs of adolescents.
Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National Policy on HIV/AIDS, which is the country’s central
blueprint on the battle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and which makes copious provisions touching on sex education
different contexts (See pp vii, 18, 27) acknowledges that a comprehensive information, education and communication
(IEC) system is central to the nation’s efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and mitigate its impact (NACA, 2003).
More effective communication about HIV/AIDS, and greater flows of information are central to the success of AIDS
strategies, and for reducing the vulnerability that flows to and from HIV infection Information and Communication are
sources of power in an epidemic characterized by its lack they confer the power to protest against infection, to influence
decision maker and to live of dignity and equality once infected. In a region often characterized by resource limitations
and fragmented infrastructures, information and communication are two of the most critical and abundant resources
89
available in the fight against HIV/AIDS. They are both the pre-requisites and enablers of an effective response (Forman,
2003)
This position conforms to the World Health Organization Strategy (WHO, 2005) regarding combating the disease,
and it has led to the initiation and implementation of various information, education and communication programmes to
improve the general public awareness about HIV/AIDS. These approach has had limited success because of barriers
which are affecting sexuality communication process and the role it plays in sexual socialization of adolescents. Thus, the
purpose of this paper is to build an understanding of the factors and processes that constrain and/or enhance
communication on sexuality education among adolescents and agents of socialization in a developing world context.
Since circle of influence on sexuality extends beyond the individual adolescent and family system, this paper besides
complimenting previous findings will fill knowledge gaps by highlighting ways of improving communication on sexuality
education between adolescents and parents, teachers and significant others. It will also help to identify other possible
research areas for further study related to information, education and communication approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention
among adolescents in Nigeria.
2. Why South West, Nigeria?
Nigeria is a West African country with a population of about 120 million and an annual growth of 2.8% spread over 350
ethnic groups and two major religions-Islam and Christianity. The country is divided into 36 states with a Federal Capital
Territory and 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). The States are grouped into six geopolitical zones as shown in the
table 1 below:
Name of Zone States within the Geopolitical Zone

South West Ekiti, Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo
South East Asia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo
South-South Akwa,- Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Rivers
North Central Benue, FCT, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau
North East Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe
North West Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Zamfara
The South West geopolitical zone comprises of six States as shown on the table and they are referred to as the Yoruba
speaking States. The Yoruba culture, according to Alaba (2004) can be defined as follows:
“The aggregate of the ways of life of the Yoruba-speaking peoples of southwestern Nigeria and their kiths and kins
elsewhere in the world. It is a continuum beginning from their subsistence, communal, agrarian life of the pre-literate and
pre-colonial times to the capitalist, individualistic, free enterprise life of the literate, colonial and post-colonial, modern
times. In other words, a continuum of the traditional and modern aspects of the Yoruba culture provides a true picture of
this concept. It is a dynamic phenomenon”.
3. The conception of adolescent sexuality in southwestern Nigeria
Sexuality is an integral part of the human personality and has biological, psychological, cultural, social and spiritual
dimensions. Adolescent sexuality refers to sexual feeling, behavior and development in adolescent and is a stage of
human sexuality. Sexuality is often a vital aspect of teenagers live (Lynn, 2000).
The sexual behavior of adolescent is, in most cases, influenced by their culture’s norms and more, their sexual
orientation, and the issues of social control such as age of consent laws (Wikipedia). The study of adolescent sexuality
can be divided into two important areas: the development of health sexuality in adolescent and the risk that are
associated with too early or unsafe sexual activity. The emerging sexuality that accompanies adolescence poses
fundamental challenges for young people. These include adjusting to the altered appearance and functioning of a to
sexually maturing body, learning to deal with sexual desires, confronting sexual attitudes and values, experimenting with
sexual behaviors and integrating these feeling, attitudes and experience into and developing sense of self (Crockett, et al,
2003) adolescents responses to these challenges are profoundly influenced by the social and cultural context in which
the live. In southwestern Nigeria, in contrast to many other developed countries, the topic of adolescent sexuality is often
a taboo. Adults are uncomfortable with frank and serious discussions about sex and adolescent sexuality. Hoffman and
Fuhermann (1996) have noted that adults often hold ambivalent attitudes towards young people, viewing them
90
simultaneously as ‘small’ adult also have difficulty acknowledging adolescents as sexual beings, and therefore adolescent
sexuality is viewed as something that must be controlled and restrained. The words of the old Cole Porter Song,
“ in olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on a something shocking, now, heaven knows, anything goes……….”
Suggest that it is not only at this stage of history that we have worried about declining sexual standard and loose morals.
The song also makes it clear that what is sexually appropriate or inappropriate change in accordance with the
atmosphere of the times (Moore and Rosenthal, 2007). It is highly imperative to examine social factors influencing
adolescent sexuality.
4. Social Factors Influencing Adolescent Sexuality
Cultural values and attitudes regarding sexuality are distilled through experience in everyday social through experienced
in everyday social contexts. There are proximal and distal social influences on adolescent sexuality.
4.1 Distal and Proximal Factors
This is factors refers to the way in which such factors affect the individual at a given point in time; distal factors indirectly
affect an adolescent whereas proximal factors may occur at both defined by a direct influence on an individuals
adaptation (Capella and Weinstein, 2001) due to the direct influence, proximal factors have on outcome, they may also
be labeled as process based because of their susceptibility to change based because of their susceptibility to change and
the influence of intervention (Caldas, 1993). Distal factors are usually contextual and include demographic descriptors,
because they are indirectly related to risk or adaptive outcomes they are regarded as unalterable. A typical proximal
factor is parents. Parents can influence adolescent sexuality through four different avenues according to Thornton and
Camburn (1987). Firstly, parental attitudes regarding adolescent sexual behaviors may influence adolescent attitudes.
Second, the marital and child-bearing behavior of parents including experiences with divorce, remarriage living
arrangements and apparent behaviors towards the opposite sex may provide and support role models for young people.
Third, the religious environment of the home may affect adolescents’ attitudes to sex and likely experience of sexual
guilty. Finally, the educational and work experience of the parents may influence attitudes and present opportunities for
sexual experience while the parents are many from home. Parents are not the only adult role models available to
adolescents. Young people have about them many models of adult lifestyles in which diverse patterns of sexual
expression are practiced
Distal factors on the other hand, is concerned with the border social content in which adolescents live and these
plays a significant role in their sexual beliefs and behavior. The nature of that context and consequently, its impact,
ranges from the overt and overwhelming world of the adolescent subculture, a world in which adolescents are bombarded
by media messages about current (and ephemeral) mores, to the less obvious influences of societal institutions such as
schools, religion and the law.
5. The concept of Sexuality Education
Sexuality education is the lifelong process of acquiring information and forming attitudes, beliefs and values about
identity, relationships and intimacy. It encompasses sexual development reproductive health, interpersonal relationship
affection, intimacy, body image and gender roles. Sexuality education addresses the biological, socio-cultural,
psychological and spiritual dimensions of sexuality from:
The Cognitive Domain

The Affective Domain
The Behavioral Domain
Including skills to communicate effectively and make responsible decisions (SIECUS, 2005) it was also defined by Alli
and Mba (2006:85) as a:
“Planned process of education that factors the acquisition of factual information, the information positive attitudes,
beliefs and values and the development of skills to cope with the biological, socio-cultural and spiritual aspects of
human society”
The four primary goals of comprehensive sexuality education are:
91
 to provide information about human sexuality, including human development, relationships, personal skills,
sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture.
 to provide an opportunity to question, explore, and assess sexual attitudes in order to develop values,
increase self-esteem, create insights concerning relationships with members of both genders, and understand
obligations and responsibilities to others.
 to help develop interpersonal skills—including communication, decision-making, assertiveness, and peer
refusal skills-and help to create satisfying relationships.
 to help create responsibility regarding sexual relationships, including addressing abstinence, resisting
pressure to become prematurely involved in sexual intercourse, and encouraging the use of contraception and
other sexual health measures.
The provision of sexuality education continued to be a sensitive issue in Nigeria because of the fear that the provision of
such education would arouse young people’s curiosity and encourage sexual activity. The Guideline for Comprehensive
Sexuality Education in Nigeria was developed by the National Guideline Task Force, which comprised 20 governmental
organizations working in the area of adolescent health, education and development in the country. The book was
developed to fill the yawning gap between the information and services young people ought to receive and what was
actually delivered to them. It served as an important step to help young people acquire accurate knowledge and develop
responsible behavior that will help reduce the present high rate of unwanted teenage pregnancy, complication from
unsafe induced abortion, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS experienced in the country today. The guidelines
provided answers to many important questions like, “What key concept should be taught in sexuality education?” and “At
what age should specific information be taught?” The framework presented in the book served as a guide to be used to
conduct sexuality education sessions for school age youths, as well as for parents and relevant communities. The
Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Nigeria had already been reviewed by over 70 national
organizations that had given written endorsements for its use for providing guidance to young people across the country
(SIECUS, 2000).
6. Theoretical Clarifications
The theoretical orientation for this paper will be focusing on two theoretical models that have direct relevance for
behavioural sciences. These are Socialisation Theory and Communication model.
6.1 Socialisation Theory
Theoretically, Socialisation Theory provides a basis for the current study of adult-adolescent sexual communication in
relation to adolescent sexual behaviour. Socialisation Theory is based on the assumption that children and adolescents
learn certain attitudes and behaviours early in life from adult role models, such as parents (Clawson & Reese-Weber,
2003). The attitudes and behaviours modelled by parents are learned by their children and portrayed in adolescence and
adulthood (Philliber, 1980).
6.2 The Rommetveit and Blakar communication model
The Rommetveit and Blakar communication model addresses many relevant issues in the communication process and is
thus adopted by this study. The model provides a dialogical perspective on communication (Blakar, 1984). The
communication process is seen as an interaction between two parties, with each having the ability to influence the other.
In the Rommetveit and Blakar communication model, there are six processes that are named as follows: (1) Production of
messages, (2) Encoding of messages, (3) Decoding of messages, (4) Processing and memory of received messages, (5)
Sender’s anticipation of receiver’s decoding, and (6) Receiver’s listening to the premises of the sender (Blakar, 1984).
According to Botchway (2004), a number of important points can be made about this conceptualisation of the
communication process. The participants must be willing and able to produce a message. For example, if adults and
adolescents consider communication on sexuality as a taboo subject not to be talked about, interaction is unlikely to
occur. It is also obvious that participants must have the ability to relay messages to each other. This requires knowledge
of the subject. In some situations this knowledge may simply be absent, such as parents’ ability to present facts on
HIV/AIDS due to their lack of knowledge. Furthermore, participants must have the mutual trust and confidence in each
other for communication to be effective (Botchway, 2004). In the parent-adolescent sex communication process,
92
adolescents may regard their parents as being judgmental, overly protective, and disrespectful of their privacy and
autonomy. Such factors may undermine the perceived trustworthiness of the parent as an information source, and the
communication will not be effective.
Communicants must also have a shared worldview. Intergenerational differences between parents and children can
cause misunderstanding. For example, parents may talk to adolescents about the dangers of unprotected sexual
intercourse. Adolescents may erroneously think of this communication as a signal that the parents think they are actually
having unprotected sex (Botchway, 2004) Nonverbal cues also affect the communication. For example, parents who
speak in high or low tones, their eye contact with the child, and their gestures could all affect the child when he/she
answers the questions. The social and situational context is also emphasised by this model. Parents may conceive of a
message, but due to cultural taboos they may employ vague language to transmit their message. This may be due partly
to the embarrassment associated with a parent and child communicating about sexuality (Botchway, 2004).
7. Conceptual scheme for sexuality education and adolescents’ behaviour
Figure 1 shows a relationship of how sexuality education may affect adolescents’ sexual behavior.
Sexuality Education
Benefit of Communication
* Sexual Values and Effect of Non-Communication Barriers to Communication
intension
* Prosocial Activities
*Risky behavior. Cultural Systems
* Reduced Sexual
* Early Sex Initiation *Religion
activities
* Lower rates of child * School drop-out * Ignorance
* Unintended /Unwanted * Generation gaps (gender and
marriage
*Lower rate of early pregnancy age difference)
and unwanted *Victims of others deliberate or * Lack of accurate
accidental behavior. * Sexual health knowledge
Lower rates of
infection of HIV/AIDS *Multiple and concurrent sexual
relationship.
and other STIs
* Perpetuation of widespread
*Improved nutritional
ignorance
status
*Improved sexual
social socialization
Adolescent Sexual Behaviour
8. Conclusion
Raising sexual and reproductive health awareness forms a cornerstone of health promotion endeavours that target
adolescents and young people in general. Parents, teachers and adults in general should provide adolescents sexuality
education frequently. It will be important to ensure that the sexuality messages adults are providing are improved, and re-
enforced through other channels like the media.
93
References
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484-494
Blakar, R. 1984. “Communication: a social perspective on clinical issues”. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Botchway, A.T. 2004. “Parent and adolescent males’ communication about sexuality in the context of HIV/AIDS – A study in the Eastern
Region of Ghana”. Unpublished Master’s thesis. University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Caldas, S.J . 1993. “A multivariate re-examination of input and process factor effects on public school achievement” Journal of
Educational Research, 86, 206, 214
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Journal of Educational Psychology” 93 (4), 758-770.
Clawson, C.L., & Reese-Weber, M. 2003. “The amount and timing of parent-adolescent sexual communication as predictors of late
adolescent sexual risk-taking behaviours”. The Journal of Sex Research, 40(3), 256-265.
Crockett, Lisa J, Raffaelli, Marcela,and Moilanen, Kristinli. 2003. “Adolescent Sexuality and Meaning” Faculty Publications, Department
of Psychology. Paper 245. http://digitalcommons.unl.edy/psychfacpub/245.
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Dimensions, Social Roots and Responses. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Moore, Susan and Rosenthal Doreen. 2007. “Sexuality in Adolescent: Current Trends” Adolescent and Society Series. Taylor and
Francis- Library, 2007
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Obono,Oka and Modupe Mohammed .2010. “The liminality of adolescent sexual and reproductive behavior in Ibadan southern Nigeria”
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Ponton, Lynn. 2000. “The sex lives of teenagers” New York: Dulton. P.2 ISBN0-0452-28260-8.
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Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States of America. 2005. “Developing Guidelines for Comprehensive
Sexuality Education” SIECUS, New York.
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education in Nigeria for Nigeria schools. Making the connection – News and Views on Sexuality: Education, Health and Rights,
1 (1). (Online). Available at: http://www.siecus.org/inter/connection/index.html
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UNFPA Website
www.Wikipedia.com
94
Oriental Policies and Investment Prospects Increasing the Economic

Development Capacity in Republic of Kosovo
Prof. Assoc. Dr. Alba Dumi

Dean of Graduated School ”Ismail Qemali” Vlora University, Management Department
Email: besi.alba@yahoo.com
Ilirjana Kiser
SEEU University, Law Faculty, Graduated in “Master in law”
E mail: ilirianakiseri85@hotmail.com
Avni Karakushi
Email: nija_01@hotmail.com
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p95
Abstract In order to develop the economy in most organized and desirable achievements outcomes is required the greatest efficiency of
the organizing institution in the investment advisory. By this context, state institutions, professional institutes and other mechanisms of
civil government should be active in the development policies orientation, as well as engaged in the design of economic investment
projects. Besides other financial resources, great investment potential and our workers are employed abroad. Hence, owners who have
a long time in Western Developed Countries, the experience gained and the financial savings budget are considerably potential that their
capital engaged in various productive activities, which will enable economic development on the one hand, to increase the financial
potential and on the other hand their financial remittances dedicated to their families, serve not only to meet the basic needs, but also to
increase business development; While those who invested in the economy at large led to the trade development ,although the
circumstances were difficult they invested in manufacturing. Today the benefits of different countries, financial institutions and the labor
force concentrated in the ”Diaspora-Immigration” Kosovo investitures that are living in developing countries, are great potential to
influence economic development in general and the development of private initiative in particular. According to these conditions should
be taken into account the importance on financial orientation of those economic activities which are long-term perspective.
Key words: Kosovo investitures, private activities, labor force, households, administrative reforms.
1. General Characteristics of Kosovo resources
Republic of Kosovo is an independent, sovereign and internationally recognized by nearly 100 different countries, located
between South-Eastern Europe and the central position occupied by Balkan Peninsula. Kosovo presents important point
of connection between Middle Europe and the Southern Adriatic Sea and Black Sea. Kosovo surface is 10.908.km ². It
dominates Middle continental climate, hot summers and winters moderately long and cold. According to the Statistical
Office of Kosovo has over 2.2 million residents and the population density is about 193 persons per km2.Territorial
organization system includes 36 municipalities operating now. (Kryeziu 2009)
In this context, the question arises is “ in which productive economic activities of different typologies in private economic
actors find themselves committed to their financial potential, especially our workers employed abroad ?”. We are giving
some proposals that we see as reasonable, actual, which affect in meeting the needs on reconstruction of Kosovo and
its economic development.
1.1 Brute domestic production in Kosovo for years 2004-2009
In economic practice and statistics there are three approaches to measure GDP, among which are: 1. Growth of
production, 2. Expenses and access 3.Incomes on public investments and debts. GDP by production approach is the
total gross value added of all resident producer units, reduced taxes plus subsidies on production, which are not included
95
in the evaluation of output.GDP by expenditure approach equals the sum of final consumption expenditure (of
households, government and nonprofit institutions, which serve households), gross capital formation (gross fixed capital
formation and changes in inventories) and expert of goods and services (exports minus imports). Much of final
consumption expenditure consists of private consumption expenditure. For calculation of household final consumption of
the economy, data from the HBS are supplemented with additional information using the commodity flow method (data
from the tax administration, the foreign trade data, data for calculating property tax expense, as well as data from
agricultural statistics).
SME
INVESTITORS
GFCF CONSTRUCTION
Tab 1 Source ROKB year 2010,The impact of GFCF on import and export data
For the calculation of final consumption expenditure of government, the main source of data is the Treasury, Ministry of
Economy and Finance. In this category are included: wages and salaries, goods and services and depreciation of fixed
capital, all reduced to sales. For the calculation of final consumption expenditure of non-profit institutions (non profit) that
serve households. Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) is based on import and export data, administrative data and
data from local production of construction materials. Changes in inventories are calculated using data from surveys of
enterprises as a structural difference between the end and beginning of the year.
Exports of goods and services consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, exchanges, gifts or grants from
residents to non-residents. Imports of goods and services consist of transactions in goods and services (purchases,
exchanges, gifts and grants) from non- -residents to residents. Source of data for exports and imports of goods are given
customs and Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), while services exports and imports data are those from the Central Bank
of Kosovo as expressed in the Balance of Payments. GDP-operation in Kosovo during the period 2004-2009 has
increased from 2,912.5 to 3,912.4 million euro.
1.1.1 Necessary institutional support and the Kosovo sectors of economy
Simultaneously, private producers have more opportunity to add their perspective on economic and financial terms to
make investments. Their first projects that are very important, is mainly well-oriented in these directions and in these
economic activities: the development of the Construction material industry, Metal industry, Wood industry, Food industry
etc
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

GDP at current prices 2.912.5 3.002.9 3.120.4 3.393.7 3.851.4 3.912.4
Final consumption expenditure 3.212.7 3.367.6 3.466.2 3.810.6 4.344.6 4.279.9
Final costs of the domestic consumption economy 2.487.6 2.638.4 2.770.8 3.145.9 3.646.7 3.584.3
Government final consumption costs 701,5 705,5 670,6 641,6 674,4 670,5
Kosovo Government 355,5 29,2 340,8 327,3 372,6 409,7
Donors (wages) 346,0 376,3 329,8 314,3 301,8 260,8
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Foreign employees 247,8 258,4 213,2 196,9 196,9 178,7

Government employees 98,2 117,9 116,6 117,4 104,9 82,1
Costs of final consumption IJPSHESH 23,5 23,7 24,8 23,1 23,6 25,0
Gross capital formation 701,2 722,2 798,3 892,5 1.093.9 1.166.5
Gross fixed capital 583,6 592,8 657,1 744,3 937,9 1.026.5
Changes in inventories 117,7 129,4 141,2 148,3 156,0 140,0
Net Exports 1,001,4 1,086,9 1,144,1 1,309,4 1,587,1 1,534,0
Exports of goods and services 310,6 332,8 441,4 512,2 569,0 611,8
Exports of goods 63,8 67,8 122,5 177,2 217,5 177,2
Exports of services 246,8 265,0 319,0 335,0 351,6 434,6
Imports of goods and services 1,312,0 1,419,7 1,585,5 1,821,7 2,156,1 2,145,8
Imports of goods 1,046,9 1,146,3 1,295,6 1,545,2 1,885,7 1,850,6
Imports of services 265,1 273,3 289,9 276,5 270,5 295,1
Population (000) 2,041,0 2,070,0 2,100,0 2,130,0 2,153,0 2,180,0
GDP per capita (EUR) 1. 427 1. 451 1. 486 1. 593 1. 789 1. 795
Tab 2 The economic and financial term in Kosovo economy, source ROKB year 2010
2. Literature Review and Hypotheses
1. Construction material industry. It is great application and the urgent need for development of investment in the
development of this sector of the economy. There is raw material to build the capacity to manufacture construction
materials of these products: brick dimensions 7x 15x 20, different blocks, bricks, moldings (tiles), production units for
manufacture of bricks with the dimensions 10 x 15 x 30 and other products for the construction sector.
2. In the metal industry It is reasonable to invest in opening the units for the production of metal products
industry. The conclusion drawn from starting if the basic equipment for destruction due to war many products lack
necessary not least our families. (Memaj & Vokshi 2003)
The creation of units for the production of different stoves for heating kitchens wooden power, wards doors
producing metal and plastic windows, fences producing various moldings, manufacture of various metal furniture etc .
3 The timber industry. Market demand, for timber products are great, so investments in this sector are necessary. In
the first place to invest in modern saws for cutting wood bodies, then the establishment of wood processing units for the
production of doors, windows, furniture, furnishings, part of the inventory for various institutions and schools.
4. In the food industry. In order to provide food, food production for internal market and for export, private initiatives
can be oriented to the development of intensive livestock farming and modern, since there are favorable conditions. In the
traditional sector of the economy advantage is that no major financial resources is required against other complex
sectors, but here are required to develop the organization system and the cooperation between economic entities.
2.1 The question is: Where are the major investments in the food industry?
In order to develop market economy, the manufacture of food products in the early financial capital can be directed to the
establishment of modern stables for the production of various livestock products, raising mini-factories in different locality
for processing milk production of different as yogurt, cheese and others. Also the food industry of meat products requires
the same attention as his flesh and assortments are charts of the food market requirements.
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Develop Market & Develop the

Economy
Processing Products Market Requirements
Tab 3.The indicators of organization and establishment productivity in Kosovo
Organization and establishment of plantations of vine fruit, for which exist very geographical and climate suitability, which
opens good prospects for strengthening capacity for processing liquids production of other products from them. In this
regard, these investments enable imports and exports reduction of these products and the fulfillment of the markets with
them, which simultaneously affects the stabilization of prices.
From what is shown above, but also from many forms of private initiatives that can be developed, the involvement of
private capital investment and utilization of existing potentials guarantees the security and long term economic
development. Such forms of organization and functioning of market economy enable to supply final products and thus
accomplishing the development of employment, where the economy and the population of Kosovo really need them.
2.2 Investment and Economic Development
The other important feature of this problem is, economic development policy, namely the investment policy orientation in
the economy, deciding on a direct financial commitment to capital investment in various sectors of production. To
undertake such steps at the beginning should be made detailed analysis as well as the business market, but considering
the prospects of investment and the possible consequences that may follow their implementation. While policy
development is mainly determined investment in the expansion of productive investment in existing entities, in order to
increase the capacity of those assortments of products.
The definition of investment on progressing economic reforms is focus in new perspective, to have great support in
the market. To have success, results of myrrh, a longer perspective and greater certainty in business investment for
development should be taken into account as the main point - of importance is the policy of economic development as
defined in its main line, to select and apply a reasoned strategy. (Bundo 2003).
This can be explained thus: With les funds committed to investing better avoid potential risks on the one hand, while
on the other side to get the best possible results for the market. The point is that new investments in subsidiaries and
guided various economic activities that best respond to market conditions and circumstances in meeting the needs for
economic development. (Harvey S. Rosen 2009)In this case let us suggest some important examples, which should be
invested in various economic fields such as agriculture priority orchards, vegetables sector, agro-industry sector,
processing industry and others.( Ciceri. B 2011)
2.3 The development policies and investment field in Kosovo
The oriented development policy, not only can be accomplished into investments, but also can more easily rely on
existing and potential resources that are abundant in Kosovo. We think that in this segment will have greater success
compared to new investments. This investment policy have also applied in other transition countries, which directed their
investments in the economy in these sectors of the economy with the prospect and have achieved better results in
business than in most other sectors also justified the Kosovo economy.
The most important fact is that in Kosovo there are good climatic conditions, abundant natural resources (above-
ground installations and underground) and human, which should be used. In addition, this enables a more rational
exploitation of these resources as well as quality in abundance. Based on this policy, the development investments in
different areas of agriculture enabled the rapid development of agro-industry, in which the economy develops on one side
to the other side of Kosovo structure by which economy improves. (Trotman-Dickinson 1996)
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With the possible addition of products in the domestic market, to meet market needs, but also for export. With such
a policy of economic development will not only enable the addition of new employment, but also will increase the income
of different family as well as the national budget, which naturally enables development of the economy. Another important
characteristic of investments and setting their policy is the orientation of the priority projects in manufacturing capabilities
in Kosovo lacks products. In this regard it is necessary to avoid imitations of competitors. (Kule, 2008)
2.4 Performance Requirements and Incentives
Albanian law generally does not establish performance requirements or detailed incentives for foreign investors. Legal
incentives include: 1.Equal treatment of foreign and domestic investors 2.Full profit and dividend repatriation (after
taxation) 3.Funds from the liquidation of a company may be repatriated 4.Bilateral agreements on the promotion and
protection of reciprocal investments Double taxation treaties One important exception concerning performance
requirements is the investment requirement relating to the purchase of commercial property by foreigners. Such a
purchase can be made only if the investor plans to improve the value of the property by three times the purchase price.
Some foreign firms operating in Albania have also complained that capital goods and raw materials, on occasion, have
been subjected to the same taxes as consumer goods.
Strategic aspect must mean the avoidance of commitment of many people about a product or similar economic
activity. Large investments have been made anywhere in the fuel pumps in swimming pools, restaurants and
more. Harmonizing development policy priorities are new investments in the economy to be directed exclusively to
improving the economy, since Kosovo's economic structure is unfavorable. Currently the economy is more oriented to
trade, symbolically in manufacturing activity. This policy and the development strategy to date of investment which has
enabled Kosovo's economy is dependent on imports. ( A. Mancellari 2002
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80
60
Kosovo
40 Albania
20 Macedonia
0
Products Agro imports exports
industryexports
Tab 4. Harmonizing development policy priorities
3. Methodology and Research Goal
The analysis of trade statistics is useful to anyone starting to search outside the home market for new trade opportunities.
Studying the general growth and direction of trade and analyzing the major trading partners will show businesspeople
where the important trading activity is. Companies enter foreign markets (exporting to and manufacturing in) to increase
sales and profits and to protect markets, sales, and profits
3.1. Fiscal reform in Republic of Kosovo
Fiscal reforms create ideal conditions for increased investment to local investors as well as foreign investors. In order to
realize economic and policy implementation in all modern states apply fiscal reforms, which flow continuously in order to
more rapid development of various economic activities. (Kryeziu 2008) In the Republic of Kosovo since the objective
function of the tax system is the construction and development of a stable system through tax instruments, then tax
reforms are a necessity of time. In (2005) is expected to change, to reform the tax system and tax rates so that the
economy of Kosovo is to be charged at the rate at which it currently operates and on the other side to fight fiscal evasion.
99
3.1.1 Capital and reforms and the economic development.
In this regard, new tax rates that will apply will be an important factor in economic development as well as the state in
fulfilling the obligations of natural persons and legal entities to finance the state budget. Through fiscal policy, economic
policy Government can help to guide in such a way that some economic activities, especially agriculture, stimulate the
making tax breaks or exemptions on taxes and on taxes, for a time. Exemption of customs duty or import for input raw
materials and equipment dedicated to the production and manufacturing process, it will have its role in stimulating long-
term economic development. Well known to us is the fact that, besides setting fiscal policy, economic, economic
segments more important as price stabilization, monetary and social policy in general.
4. Conclusions and Recommendations
While the budget that was dedicated to capital investments have reason to be invested as economic development effects
are larger and long-term regulation, projects and building schools, roads different orders and other infrastructure
projects. Therefore, in future need to change the amount and structure of budgetary means adding participation in favor
of the budget for capital investments, while reducing the amount and structure of funds for goods and services. In this
regard the reform of budgetary role will have effects not only economic development but also the method of budget
management and mode of orientation in its policy settings and strategy of economic development.
In addition to the above, through the state budget needs are met consistently and simultaneously created the
conditions for increasing the volume of state budget. By the systematic budget from one year to another the allocation are
meeting those needs.
In a way, capital investments have their own reason, but not part of the budget funds that are appropriated and
dedicated to budget expenditures of goods and services category ; the category for which funds are being spent on big
budget, of which the effects on Economic development is not observed. Thus, the effects on economic development are
small. Such investment must be to some extent and most rational course where it is necessary to be spent, where
governments need to perform their activities and daily operations. But to be more rational in this category these costs
should be analyzed further, in order to avoid budgetary funds allocated for this purpose as before.
References
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Social Challenges and Problems”. Tirana 2008
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Sabahudin Komoni, Public Finances, Prishtina, 2008.
Salam Pockets, Fiscal policy and poverty reduction in albania, September 2002.
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(28), 3 (29), 2008, Tirana
100
Ideology at Work: Language as Performative Discourse
Dr. Abdelghani Nait-Brahim

Département des Langues, Ecole Normale Polytechnique Oran, ENP Oran, Algérie
ENP Oran, 1523 Oran El M’Naouer, Algérie. E-mail: naitbra@yahoo.fr
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p101
Abstract Language policy and practice in Algeria is subject to an extreme ideological dispute that has accompanied political, cultural
and social life since independence. In a rich linguistic arena, where four languages (standard Arabic, Algerian spoken language, Berber
and French) interact as much as they compete, political and religious ideologies, by instrumentalizing standard Arabic, have had their
share in directing policies and developing representations that serve political interests, often at the expense of a peaceful and fruitful
coexistence within a diverse linguistic market. The question raised here is the following: how does standard Arabic serve political
interests, despite the fact that its political status totally contradicts its real sociolinguistic one? With a colinguism being set as a rule for
language policy, standard Arabic, religion and politics have come to form a triad whose purpose is to maintain conditions for a
performative ideological discourse whose permanence needs the people’s consent and rallying belief in a community of believers. The
main goal of such a state is to exclude the vast majority of the population from the field of political debate and reflexion, and discard
oppositional intellectuals who do not use standard Arabic.
Keywords: language, ideological discourse, colinguism,
1. Ideology at Work: Language as Performative Discourse
Apprehending language as discourse reveals the social forces that have a vitally important foothold on the individual’s
mind when using and interpreting language, and when forming opinion and taking actions accordingly. Among these
forces is ideology which reaches the individual psyche through the manipulation of language. Ideology is therefore part
and parcel of the context of production and interpretation of language, i.e. it is organically linked to discourse. As Bakhtin
put it: “Language is not a neutral medium… it is populated – overpopulated with the intentions of others.” (Quoted in
Cazden, 1989: 122) These intentions, which are an ideology transformed into a discursive form through a particular type
of language (a speech genre), make the dialogic process that links the speaking subjects (the ideologues: politicians and
preachers) to their listeners (the people).
Ideologies always need to be integrated into the process of maturation of societies in order to be effective. When
founding myths are formed, their adoption by the people takes time through their intrusion in mainstream national culture
by means of such social institutions as the school, religion, politics, or language. Most particularly, attributing to a given
language the status of an official language, thus making thereof the language of school education and political
communication, is vital to the integration of the dominant ideology, conveyed through that language, into the process of
socialisation of young individuals such as school kids and university students. This is what Bourdieu (2001: 75)
described as the making, beside the speech or discourse community, of a “conscience community which is the cement of
the nation”, where linguistic homogenisation or unification means intellectual and cultural purification or cleansing. The
school teacher of the official language is transformed from a language teacher into a mentor (Davy, 1950: 233),
propagator of, not only an official language, but also an official ideology, who teaches pupils or students not only what to
say but also what to think.
2. Felicity conditions
Standard Arabic plays this utilitarian role in Algeria, and its maintenance in this highest political position is the safeguard
for the position of official ideology, which, because of the long association between the two, has come to be inseparable
from it. The social structure and power relations which the dominant ideology has established in Algeria, for instance, can
well be visible in standard Arabic that definitely keeps both the ideologues and the people in their respective positions.
Here lies the ideologues’ fear of the exposition of students to foreign languages as cultural products, which can, through
acculturation, rust the official ideological machine. Foreign culture is a clear and present danger to the unity of the
conscience community, as ideas are very much contagious viruses that never immigrate without damage. Language and
the other institutions function then as legitimators of the ideologues’ discourse, to which they confer a performative
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dimension, i.e. social efficiency. As Said (1995: 321) put it, discourse is systematic and cannot be made at will; it always
belongs “to the ideology and the institutions that guarantee its existence”.
Yet, there is not a natural environment favourable to the transformation of any speech into a performative discourse.
This environment has to be created. Discourse gets performative within fabricated social conditions (cultural, religious
and political) described by Bourdieu as felicity conditions, which include the speaking subject’s social position as well as
their position within the field of their intervention, the context of production and reception of discourse, the form of
discourse (speech genre) and the relation between the speaking subject and the listener.
Felicity conditions are all the more determinant of the success of ideological discourse as this discourse is more in
need of the listener’s acknowledgement of the message and of the speaking subject than of their comprehension of the
message. This is illustrated by the Algerian political or religious leaders’ speeches made in standard Arabic, and which
are incomprehensible for most of those to whom they are addressed, yet accepted by these same people. Without
favourable felicity conditions, an utterance (as a unit of discourse) is but a speech act, and not a performative act that
possesses a perlocutionary effect with “a clear pretension of possessing a given power” (Ducrot, 1977).
3. The mandated spokesperon
Part, then, of these felicity conditions, and first of all, is the statuary condition of the speaking subject (Bourdieu, 2001:
270), be they the politician or the preacher. This status is that of the mandated spokesperson for the people that confers
the right to speak to, and in the name of, the people. Once this status is attributed to a person, they become the listen-to-
person, worthy of attention, of trust, and most importantly, worthy of being followed. They are what they seem to be, or
what the majority of the group believes them to be. The epithet ‘mandated’ is of a great importance here as they are the
spokesperson as long as they are mandated by the group who believe in them by virtue of their reference to religion. The
mandated spokesperson’s discourse succeeds as long as they preach to the converted.
It is to be observed that, despite the fact that the personal qualities of an orator play a role in constructing their
charisma, it is their status of a mandated spokesperson that gives them the authority to speak and be listened to. By
virtue of their status of a mandated spokesperson, they hold the skeptron, the authority to speak. The case, for instance,
of Amr Khaled, the very successful preacher on the Arab-speaking satellite channel Iqraa is an interesting illustration.
This charismatic preacher, though he masters the speech genre (sermon) and the medium (standard Arabic), his success
is mostly due to the social conditions that have attributed to the religious discourse a privileged position, as compared to
that produced by intellectuals, mainly when the latter express themselves in a language which bears the epithet, not to
say the anathema, of foreign like French or English, as compared to the preacher who addresses people in a highly-
valued language, standard Arabic. Politicians, by making reference to religion, as inscribed in the Algerian Constitution
(“Islam is the religion of the state”), with the support of the religious institutions, also acquire the status of the mandated
spokespeople. The case of the current Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is a vivid illustration of this particular
point. In a written discourse, published in some Algerian newspapers like El-Watan (April 16th, 2006), prior to the
president’s visit to the city of Constantine (east of the country), the authors of this discourse introduced their text, meant
to welcome the president, by addressing him as the faithful and saviour, thanking God for having sent him to save the
country after a bloody decade of terrorism and civil war. This implicit analogy to the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, was
aimed to establish the status of president Bouteflika as a God-mandated spokesperson, i.e. confer to him the credit of
truth, relying on the Muslims’ religious representations based on the Koran. From the civil status of a politician in charge
of public affairs, the president is sublimated, through an excessive personality cult, to a messiah without whom his people
will fall into darkness, as illustrated by this extract from another newspaper in which the journalist recounts the popular
gathering to welcome Bouteflika on his return from his stay in hospital in Paris in December 2005: “The Algerians, I think,
fear that something terrible happen to the president. They fear that his withdrawal from the management of the country's
business might induce the total end of his programme which they consider as the only thing capable of saving them from
their unrest” (L'Echo d'Oran, January 2nd, 2006).
The mandated spokesperson’s power, the skeptron, is not to be understood as that of physical, economic strength.
It is the symbolic capital or credit (Bourdieu, 1980) that people invest in a category which is supposed to know more than
any other member of society, including real intellectuals or professionals. It is the trust based on the representative image
of the spokesperson by virtue of his sources, in this case, religion. The mandated spokesperson is right because he
invokes the word of God. Obviously, the danger here does not really lie in the status of the mandated spokesperson per
se. It is rather that transformation of this status from one of representative power into one of dictatorial power, in which
the suggestive act becomes a performative act. As observed by Bourdieu (2001: 270), once a person acquires the status
of the mandated spokesperson, whether by usurpation or consent, his discourse changes from the indicative to the
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imperative form. By means of what Bourdieu calls the oracle effect, the mandated spokesperson exercises a constraint
on the people to mutate from a representative of the group into the group itself. The group ceases to have an opinion, as
they are told what to think through suggestive ideological discourse and driven to act accordingly as this discourse is
performative. People cease to be speaking subjects, voicing their own constructed opinions to turn into mere voices of
the mandated spokespeople’s discourse. The mandated spokesperson is the being, even when they are absent, and the
people are nothingness, even when they are present.
It is noteworthy to observe that while some mandated spokespeople are aware of the illegitimacy of their status, at
least in moral terms, many others tend to cope without any remorse and sense of wrongdoing with their status, because
of the act of institution and of the people’s positive response due to the cultural brainwashing they undergo. This is what
Bourdieu (2001: 273) labels the legitimate imposture which describes a situation whereby the mandated spokesperson “is
not a cynical calculating person who consciously deceives people, but someone who sincerely thinks he is what he is
not.”
This is particularly true for many religious leaders who think it is their religious and moral duty, as knowledgeable
people, to speak for those who do not know their own good. It is also true for some nationalist leaders and intellectuals for
whom people are not aware enough to distinguish between what is good to them and what is bad. Moreover, it would be
erroneous and misleading to believe that the mandated spokesperson's interests are always material. In many cases,
these interests are not quantifiable and are part of the proselytising of ideas believed to be the sole and only truth,
especially in symbolic systems like religion, which the mandated spokesperson believes it their duty to convey to his
fellow countrymen and countrywomen. In such situations, the mandated spokespeople insist on the necessity to attribute
the most positive value to the three main components of social organisation: tradition, authority and hierarchy. With the
positivisation of these three sources of power, the regime enshrines a conservative system which automatically attributes
to anything which expresses a revolutionary idea a negative connotation, subversion. This contributes to the creation of
the most favourable felicity conditions for the acceptance of the ideological discourse and, in parallel, the worst infelicity
ones that lead to the rejection of the intellectual's discourse.
The mandated spokesperson certainly needs qualities to be entitled to this status. Their symbolic capital that
confers to them credit relies on the act of institution, but also on their own cultural capital. The act of institution is an act of
communication (Bourdieu, 2001: 180), by which an individual is publicly attributed an identity by the social institutions.
This identity is then acknowledged by the whole society which institutes that individual officially as its representative. The
title of sheikh, for instance, granted by the religious institution and confirmed by the political one (such as the Ministry of
Religious Affairs), positions its carrier as the only one who has the authority to speak about religious matters, and by
extension, about many earthly matters, to become the authority itself. The cultural capital is the sum of technical
qualifications including types of knowledge (religious or political for instance) and many other cultural acquisitions that
allow them to hold an official position like a civil servant, a minister or deputy (Bourdieu & Boltanski, 1975). Precisely,
standard Arabic is for the mandated spokesperson part of the cultural capital that offers them a substantial advantage
over any intellectual who does not master this language, and paradoxically over their listeners who do not master it, yet
are supposed to understand it.
Sanctifying standard Arabic in Algeria has also meant stigmatising the other languages, and as a consequence
stigmatising the cultures they represent. Just as the upheld linguistic correctness in standard English once led to the
moral correctness of its users and the denigration of the cultures and lifestyles of those who used other social dialects,
the cultures conveyed through languages other than standard Arabic are also viewed by some in Algeria as not worthy of
respect and consideration, not to say of existence at all.
The status of standard Arabic is central to the whole ideological enterprise of the political regime. In Algeria, it has
been given a political position which does not reflect the linguistic reality of the country, by means of political documents
and most importantly of education. This virtual position serves the whole system of power relations necessary for the
maintenance of the political status quo, since it deprives an important category of society, the oppositional intellectuals
who do not master this language and find in French the most suitable vehicle of their ‘disturbing’ ideas. For this, the
political regime makes use of a trilogy of elements:
 this language is the language of the sacred book, the Koran;
 it is a language of national identity;
 a pseudo-scientific conception of the Algerian linguistic reality in which standard Arabic is in a diglossic
relation with the other languages present in the Algerian linguistic repertoire.
The symbolic capital of standard Arabic, as the language of the Koran and an identity marker, is then turned to the
mandated spokesperson’s advantage in the construction of their symbolic capital or credit. To equip their discourse with
the necessary illocutionary force and reach the perlocutionary effect, the mandated spokesperson needs to transform
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their discourse into what Maingueneau (1993: 87) labels inscribed utterances (énoncés inscrits), i.e. utterances which are
stabilised through use by people who enjoy “a strong symbolic position for the group” (Charaudeau & Maingueneau,
2002: 204). This explains quite clearly the recourse to religion and to the people who incarnate religious rectitude, such
as the Prophet of Islam and his companions, and to the type of speech genre commonly used to speak about them or for
them, i.e. the religious sermon. The inscribed utterances found in the words of these symbolic figures are integrated in
the mandated spokesperson’s discourse in order to supplement it with the same symbolic capital. This transfer of credit
can only be achieved thanks to standard Arabic, and this justifies the religion-politics alliance where the work tool of the
former serves the latter’s interests.
4. Colinguism
With standard Arabic, and with the religious sermon as a speech genre of the political-religious discourse, the mandated
spokesperson reinforces their power by an abuse of power, through what Bourdieu (2001: 327) calls fallacy, which he
defines “not as the fact of saying the false, the mere lie, but rather the fact of saying the false with all the apparent logic of
the true.” As the language of the Koran, a book of truth according to Muslims, the language itself becomes truth. By the
mere fact of saying something in this language, it exists, without any need for the speaking subject to prove its existence.
Words and expressions such as ‫( اﻷﻤﺔ اﻹﺴﻼﻤﻴﺔ‬the Islamic Ummah) and ‫( اﻠﻗﻮﻤﻴﺔ اﻠﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬Arabic nationalism) are, for
instance, formulations that are taken as realities but which are actually fantasies.
Contrary to the linguistic rule which states that there can be no meaning without referents, the fallacy of standard
Arabic, as used by ideologists, is precisely the production of formulas without referents in reality, a case of words which
fabricate things. By extracting this language from its natural linguistic environment to transpose it, thanks to colinguism,
into the political and sacred spheres, it became a language of fallacy par excellence. In this colinguism, standard Arabic,
religion and politics form a ‘united front’ whose purpose is to maintain a solidarity which can guarantee to the ideological-
political discourse its illocutionary force and perlocutionary effect through the people’s consent and rallying belief in a
community, not of citizens, but rather of believers composed of the people and their political leader turned into a religious
leader at the same time.
Coined by Balibar (1993: 7), colinguism is defined as “the association, through education and politics, of certain
written languages in communication between legitimate partners.” This concept raises a very important aspect in
language planning, that of the act of institution of languages (Charaudeau & Maingueneau, 2002: 101). Colinguism is the
outcome of the institutionalisation of one language by attributing to it a privileged status, and thus, all the means to attain
this status, at the expense of the other languages present in the same society. The high variety or language is imposed in
this position in order to exclude categories of society from power struggle, categories which use the other varieties or
languages that consequently get the low position and, thus, have no means for their promotion. This shows again the vital
role of the political, juridical or educational institutions which have the decision making and enforcing powers.
As opposed to diglossia, where the positions and roles of languages are determined almost naturally according to
what these languages can offer to society practically and objectively, colinguism is a situation where languages are
assigned positions and roles according to what they can serve ideologically and politically, i.e. according to their relations
to the political regime. Colinguism in Algeria designates then the fact that classical Arabic, a non-native language, is
given the status of national and official language, while Berber, the Algerian spoken language and French, a second
language in Algeria, are refused the positions which their sociological reality entitles them to have. The institution of a
language as an official and national language establishes its organic link to the state and the political regime, “whether in
its genesis or its social use.” The corollary of this statement is advanced by Bourdieu (2001: 71): “It is in the process of
the constitution of the state that the conditions of constituting a unified linguistic market dominated by an official language
are created: being obligatory in official occasions and official settings (School, public administrations, political institutions,
etc.), this state language becomes the theoretical norm according to which all linguistic practices are objectively
measured.
By instituting a colinguism favourable to standard Arabic, politics protects its sword of Damocles, which is
paradoxically viewed by the people, not as an instrument of domination, or at least a mere language that belongs to their
cultural heritage, but rather as a sacred language they ought to protect and defend as the moral/religious duty of any
Muslim.
As matter of fact, colinguism in Algeria fulfils three main political objectives:
 control the shortest route to the hearts of the people through Islam whose sacred book is written in standard
Arabic;
 exclude the people from the field of politics;
104
 exclude all oppositional intellectuals who do not use this language, either because they do not have enough
competence in it, or because, within the field of their scientific competence, they have to use another
language such as French.
The exclusion of the people operates in a very precise manner. By using standard Arabic in addressing them, a language
which is obviously not mastered by a great proportion of them, politicians dissuade them from developing any interest in
politics which seems to them beyond their sphere of competence, and mostly quite far from their daily preoccupations.
The politicians’ arbitrariness and lack of competence are thus disguised by a pseudo-esoteric language imposed as the
means of ‘communication’ between the governor and the governed. Yet, without being understood (as observed above),
the spokesperson’s discourse in standard Arabic, the language of faith, is accepted as part of the pact of solidarity in the
community of believers. The dramatic paradox lies here in the fact that the people acquiesce to the alienation of their
native languages which are the only ones in which they can really express their frustrations and aspirations. By taking
part in the destruction of their most suitable means of expression, they give up one of the most cherished human rights,
the right to speak for themselves and participate in the determination of their future.
5. The speech genre
Ideological discourse is always made in a way to call upon the listener’s habitus and hexis. This is also what explains the
ideologues’ recourse to religion. The type of speech genre, for example, chosen to deliver the discourse is very much
related to the way Algerians are used to consider what a true utterance is. Their discursive habitus determines the
acceptability of the mandated spokesperson’s utterances or discourse. In practical terms, and as far as the Algerian
society is concerned, the mandated spokespeople (the politician and the preacher) have made an option for a particular
type of speech genre, the religious sermon, in order to reach discursive acceptability. The religious sermon is not handled
here as a mere communicative event part of the non-linguistic or experiential context in language use (Nunan, 1993: 7-8),
something which would not reveal its ideological substratum in the way it is instrumentalized, consciously or not, by
political and religious ideologues. It is rather understood as a speech genre in the Bakhtinian sense of the term, i.e. as a
socially-determined form of combination of language (Bakhtin 2002).
According to the Bakhtinian definition of primary and secondary speech genres, the religious sermon is a secondary
rhetorical speech genre, and the normal process of speech genre evolution is that in which primary speech genres are
handled by professional language users to transform them into secondary and sophisticated speech genres. Yet, it is
admitted here that the religious sermon, in Algeria, has taken the reverse direction and mutated from an originally
secondary speech genre into a primary one. This phenomenon occurred with its extraction from the religious field and the
generalisation of its use to other social realms, including politics, the media, and most importantly education. What
motivated this transfer is the symbolic capital and apparent credit that the religious sermon confers to its user within an
environment overwhelmed by religious culture, that is, an environment that forms the suitable felicity conditions for a
discourse that bears the hallmark of religion.
As an originally secondary speech genre, the religious sermon is characterised by all the sophistication these types
have in terms of refined style, attractive imagery and individuality. As a converted primary speech genre, it enjoys wide
diffusion and free access to general culture. The point made here is that the religious sermon has become in Algeria the
genre most discourses destined to the people are framed in. The stylistic playing on emotions in the religious sermon is
reinforced with what Bakhtin (2002: 84) calls the expressive aspect, which he defines as “the speaker’s subjective
emotional evaluation of the referentially semantic content of his utterance.” As such, the mandated spokesperson’s
discourse, made in the religious sermon form, states ideas that are emotionally evaluated by the speaker himself, by
having recourse to religious referents and justifications, emotional tone and stylistic aura. Linguistic and paralinguistic
features characterise this genre. The linguistic ones vary from lexical markers such as the use of the same recurrent
words with unique meanings to morphological markers “involving more deferential forms” (Saville-Troike, 2003: 64), such
as the use of the first person plural or the third person singular when the speaker refers to themselves. The paralinguistic
features range from the intonation, pitch, stress, yelling to kinesic, including formatted and particular body language such
as knocking on the pulpit. The ideas are then evaluated by the listeners as definitely true, thus discarding any criticism or
questioning. Emotional involvement invites adherence and commitment and rejects discussion and doubt.
With the use of the religious sermon as the speech genre to address the people in standard Arabic, this language,
made sacred and thus transformed into an exclusively religious language, is also turned, by distortion of use, into an
expressive language, not allowing rational and objective use. While words and languages “belong to nobody, and in
themselves they evaluate nothing,” as observed by Bakhtin (2002: 85), standard Arabic has paradoxically become the
propriety of the mandated spokesperson (the politician and the preacher).
105
It is not intended here to uphold a Manichean view of languages, that there are rational languages and irrational
ones. It is definitely admitted that languages are what their users make of them. Standard Arabic is by no means a
language that is inherently unfit for science and rational discourse. This language was, and still is, the vehicle of a great
literature, whether scientific or fiction, and was the instrument of a momentous civilisation that left indelible traces in
human patrimony. Yet, the ideological instrumentalization of standard Arabic, added to the fact that it does not possess a
native speaking community, have made of it an instrument which is cut off people’s reality, devoid of its human
dimension, and mainly used for political domination.
Mastery of standard Arabic is, however, not sufficient, as stated earlier, as the mastery of the speech genre is also
essential to giving the impression of the mandated spokesperson’s individuality in terms of discourse content and
consequently to the completion of their charisma. Mastery of speech genres, and in this particular case of the religious
sermon, equips the mandated spokesperson with the means to have control over their audience. This explains the
impressive success of such preachers on Arab satellite channels like Amr Khaled on Iqraa, or Mohammed Amara on
ESC. This parallels, to some extent, American Evangelist preachers, like Dr. C.A. Dollar on TBN or Bishop T.D. Jakes on
Church Channel, who attract large audiences on American evangelist TV channels, and who attempt to resolve the failure
of the Christian discourse. This failure has long been attributed to the sole demise of the people’s belief in the Church’s
interpretation of the world, in rugged competition with science. Actually, as Bourdieu noted, it is also the collapse of the
special social relationship between the clergy and the people, between the Christian believer and their mandated
spokesperson or mediator, the priest, in their relation to God. This relationship faded at the very moment it ceased to be
magical, i.e. based on the belief and trust in the mediator themselves. This clarifies perfectly the success of the Islamist
religious discourse, through such TV channels as Iqraa, as it is first based on the charisma of orators like Amr Khaled,
Abdallah Muslih, Wajdi Ghunaim and Ali al-Djafri, who have become household names, competing with movie and music
stars in the majority Arab-Islamic world.
Other illustrations can be drawn from politicians’ speeches to show how they instrumentalize religion to achieve the
status of the mandated spokesperson, by the use of standard Arabic as the language of communication and the religious
sermon as the speech genre of this communication. Probably the best examples can be found in presidential speeches,
first because the speaker holds the highest political and symbolic position in the country, and second because no other
period in Algerian modern history has witnessed such overuse or abuse of religious references in politics for ideological
considerations. A quite vivid instance is provided by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in his address to the state executives
about the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, on which the Algerian people were invited to pronounce in the
national referendum of September 29th, 2005. In the pure tradition of the religious sermon, reference to God was
systematic and reached twelve times, whether to ask for his blessing or to justify an action or idea, as this extract shows
it: “Along years, we have done our best to extinguish the inferno of the Fitna … till God's mercy helps us.”
This is a perfect example of self-proclamation as a God-mandated spokesperson by joining the pronoun ‘we’ (which
refers to the speaker) in the first clause to the word ‘God’ in the second. The direct induction is that the action of those
referred to with ‘we’ is in itself God’s mercy, and which can only expect from the listener, as a believer, to welcome.
Equally important, the use of the word fitna (which means ‘turmoil’ or ‘sedition’) in Arabic in the French version of the
address, instead of a French equivalent, is also a deliberate intention to refer the listeners back to religion, this word
standing for the worst state a community could experience according to the Koran, as this verse, very well known by most
Muslims, states it: “For Persecution [Fitna] is worse than slaughter” (Al-Baqarah S.2, A.191). As such, anyone who
contradicts this discourse is supporting the Fitna, and thus standing against God.
The monopolisation of the religious sermon as a speech genre is accordingly the first step towards the
monopolisation of power over the people. Politicians have understood this all too well as illustrated by the Islamist political
parties’ continual strive to control the mosques, by any means necessary (including physical threats against imams), in a
country where official records show that an average of more than 14 million people attends the Friday Prayer in mosques
every week (El Watan, February 20th, 2006). Thanks to the religious sermon and standard Arabic, political discourse, a
secondary speech genre in essence, has also become a primary speech genre. To diffuse its ideology, political
discourse, as a primary genre, gets full access to the largest portion of the population that does not possess the
intellectual means to understand and respond to specialised discourse used in “complex cultural communication”
(Bakhtin, 2002: 98).
106
Bibliography
Bakhtin, M. (2002). Speech Genres and Other Late Essays. Austin,Ts: University of Texas Press.
Boltanski, L. & Bourdieu, P. (1975). Le titre et le poste. Rapports entre le système de production et le système de reproduction. Actes de
la recherche en sciences sociales 1 (2), 95-107.
Bourdieu, P. (1980). Questions de sociologie. Paris : Minuit.
Bourdieu, P. (2001). Langage et pouvoir symbolique. Paris: Fayard.
Cazden, C. (1989). Contributions of the Bakhtin circle to ‘communicative competence’. Applied Linguistics 10 (2), 116-127.
Charaudeau, P. & Maingueneau, D. (2002). Dictionnaire d’analyse du discours. Paris: Seuil.
Davy, G. (1950). Eléments de sociologie. Paris : Vrin.
Ducrot, O. (1977). Illocutoire et performative. Linguistique et sémiologie 4, 17-53.
Maingueneau, D. (1993). Le Contexte de l’œuvre littéraire. Enonciation, écrivain, société. Paris: Dunod.
Nunan, D. (1993). Introducing Discourse Analysis. London: Penguin.
Said , E. W. (1995). Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London: Penguin Books.
Saville-Troike, M. (2003). The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
107

A Hedonic Model for Apartment Rentals in Ikeja Area of Lagos Metropolis
Dr. G.K. Babawale

Department of Estate Management
University of Lagos Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
Correspoding author: +2348023166473 gkbabs@yahoo.co.uk
H. A. Koleoso
Department of Estate Management, University of Lagos
Hikaban@yahoo.co.uk
Dr. C.A. Otegbulu

Department of Estate Management, University of Lagos
austin_otegbulu@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p109
Abstract The hedonic pricing model has been employed with a degree of success in housing market analysis in developed countries.
This paper demonstrates the potentials of the same technique to the study of housing markets in a developing country like Nigeria. The
paper used data from Ikeja area of Lagos state, Nigeria, to provide empirical evidence on market parameters that describe the hedonic
price structure for apartments (flats) in a typical Nigerian city. Primary data were elicited through structured questionnaire, complemented
with selective interviews and personal observations. The results revealed that number of bedrooms, condition of the property, availability
of pipe-borne water, average size of bedrooms, and numbers of bath/toilets, in that order, are the main descriptors of apartment rentals
in the study area. The results of this empirical investigation are of particular importance to investors, developers, financiers, and real
estate valuers operating in the property sub-market under consideration. Among others, adequate knowledge of issues investigated and
raised would assist developers to build to consumer tastes and preferences. The resulting model also provides an alternative to
traditional valuation techniques and affords greater flexibility in accounting for sustainability in real estate valuation.
Key Words: apartment rentals, hedonic pricing, Nigeria.
1. Introduction
The economic concept of value is not inherent in the commodity, good, or service to which it is ascribed; rather, it is
created in the minds of the individuals who make up the market (Appraisal Institute, 2008). Thus, there is no specific or
restricted meaning to the word “value” as it may mean different things to different people. Both the academia and real
estate professionals have therefore accepted behavioural research as a valid and relevant aspect of real estate market
analysis (Gallimore and Wolverton, 2002; Daly et al., 2003; Diaz, 2007; Bello and Bello, 2007).
Much work has been done on the relative impact of factors that influence house prices in the developed countries.
The different contextual and cultural settings as well as differences in property market characteristics obviously limit the
direct application of these methodologies and their findings to Nigerian situation (Bello and Bello, 2008). In Nigeria,
documented empirical studies in this area are scanty. Megbolugbe (1989), Bello and Bello (2007), Bello and Bello (2008),
Ajide and Alabi, (2010) and Omoogun (2010) are notable among the limited Nigerian empirical studies. Ajide and Alabi
(2010) assessed the most appropriate of the three standard functional forms for the hedonic analysis for an unspecified
property sub-market of Lagos State and concluded that the semi-log was the most efficient having the highest coefficient
of determination (67%). Bello and Bello (2008) assessed willingness to pay for better environmental services in a loosely
defined sub-market that apparently lack homogeneity using the two-stage hedonic model – a model that has been
criticized for its simultaneity bias (Arimah, 1996). It is required that the residential area used to model the relationship
between property values and their individual characteristics be treated as a single market for housing services, such that
home buyers are assumed willing and able to choose from among all available properties in that area. Adair et al.,(1996)
empirically demonstrated the need to limit both the extent of the spatial area studied, and the variability of the properties
109
within it, in order to produce more reliable estimates of property attributes’ values. Besides using linear regression to
measure the effects of dumpsites on property values in selected parts of Lagos metropolis, Omoogun (2010) adopted
variables that were used in previous US (the two countries have marked differences in socio-economic characteristics
including market structure and behavior) verbatim making the conclusions doubly suspect. The main shortcoming of
Megbolugbe (1988) is that the study employed rating assessment data as surrogate for market value. Though authors
have consented to using such surrogates on the grounds that what matters in hedonic modeling is consistency and not
pinpoint accuracy; however, rating valuation being statutory, is not often market-determined or based on market
transactions and therefore subject to inconsistencies inherent in non-market valuation techniques. This is particularly true
of a country like Nigeria where the correlation between valuations and transaction prices has been consistently weak
(Aluko, 1998; Ogunba, 2004; Babawale, 2008; Babawale and Ajayi, 2011).
It is apparent from the foregoing that considerable gap exists in the body of knowledge in this important aspect of
real estate research in Nigeria. This study is intended to fill part of this gap by investigating the predictive strength and
relative importance of the descriptors of apartment (flats) rentals in Ikeja area of Lagos State. This study is timely and
desirable, considering the status of Lagos metropolis as the commercial nerve centre of the country with a huge and
highly diversified property investment especially in the residential sector.
The paper is structured into five sections. The next section contains the review of literature followed by the
description of the study area. The fourth section describes the research method, while the last section covers the
conclusions and recommendations.
2. Review of Literature
Over the past three decades, the hedonic-based regression approach has been employed extensively in housing market
literature to investigate the relationship between house prices and housing characteristics. Specifically, the technique has
been employed to achieve three main goals: (i) to explain the price formation of property assets (mainly residential) by
identifying the main determinants of property prices, (ii) to isolate and quantify the impact of different physical, locational
and neighborhood characteristics on property prices, and (iii) to account for changes in the price formation process
across regions or over time (Lorenz, 2006).
The basic idea of the hedonic approach is associated with Court (1939) who employed the model for the automobile
industry. Since then, the method has been applied to other goods like cotton, computers and housing. The theoretical
foundations of the hedonic price model were laid by Lancaster (1966) and Rosen (1974). Lancaster (1966) put forward
his consumer theory otherwise referred to as Lancaster preference theory, an extension of the consumer theory of
classical economics while Rosen (1974) established the modeling foundation for the hedonic price theory by his
equilibrium model of market supply and demand based on product characteristics. Lancaster’s (1966) theory argued that
demand for a product is not based on the product itself, but on the product’s utility generating characteristics. A specific
functional relationship is therefore assumed to exist between the characteristics and the prices of commodities. Subject to
this relation and a standard budget constraint, maximization of utility gives rise to a hedonic function relating the price of a
commodity to the characteristics embodied in it (Wen et al., 2005).
The hedonic model relates the property price P to a vector x of structural, neighborhood and locational
characteristics. Then the marginal cost of an additional unit of a given characteristic xi is calculated as the partial
derivative of P(x) with respect to that characteristic, i.e.,
Parameter estimation is usually based on a multiple regression model and results in the marginal value that the consumer
is willing to pay for each of the considered characteristics. The general form of the regression model is:
Where, P denotes the vector of observed transaction prices, x the matrix of exogenous variables, β the vector of
coefficients and ε the error term. With respect to apartment rental, the hedonic function/model can therefore be expressed
as:
Where, R, is the apartment rental (actual or appraisal data); Ai, is the vector of the structural attributes – number of
bedrooms, number of toilet/baths, condition, age, floor area etc.; Li is a vector of the location attributes – distance from
CBD, school, recreation etc.; Ni is a vector of the characteristics describing the neighborhood – proximity to places of
worship, to forest, lake, traffic/airport noise, crime rate etc.
110
If this relationship is true and if the relationship is linear, for instance, the estimated regression coefficients are interpreted
as implicit or hedonic prices of each of the characteristics which determine rent or value.
3. Model Specification
(i) Hedonic variables specified

A hedonic price model involves first the specification of a housing price function which relates the observed housing
expenditure to the selected structural, neighborhood and accessibility characteristics that are considered to influence
prices in a given sub-market and then to construct price indexes (Can and Megbolugbe, 1997). Rosen (1974) viewed
housing market as consisting of implicit markets for each of the attributes of housing. That is, each housing market or
sub-market produces its own set of hedonic prices. Schnare and Struyk (1976) suggest that housing market
segmentation occurs when households’ demand for particular structural or neighborhood characteristics is highly inelastic
and the preference is shared by a relatively large number of households. Tse and Love (2000) also observed that
housing prices are determined by the demand for attributes, not only for the dwelling units themselves, but also of the
region in which the units are located. Only those tenant characteristics which affect the prices paid for housing, or the
supply prices in the surveyed sub-market are therefore included in the hedonic equation.
(ii) Functional form

The choice of functional form that most appropriately explains the relationships between the explanatory variables and
the property prices is critical in determining accurate and consistent econometric model. In particular, the problem of
heteroskedasticity can be mitigated by choosing the most appropriate functional form. There is however, no strong a
priori notion of the correct functional form. Janssen et al., (2001) observed that there is no agreement in the literature as
to what is an appropriate functional form for the effect of property attributes. Selim (2008) also observed that there is little
guidance from economic theory about the proper functional relationship between housing price and its attributes. As
neither economic theory nor previous studies provide clear guidance regarding the choice of functional form, this study
employed the three models that have been most widely used in studies of similar nature - the linear, semi-log, and the
log-linear. These three standard functions are reputed as being easily interpretable, and the estimated parameters as
possessing a direct economic meaningfulness (Maurer et al., 2004). In strictly linear model which implies constant partial
effects, the coefficients of a variable are equal to absolute prices for the unit of the respective property characteristic. In a
semi-log (log-linear/translog) model, the coefficients can be interpreted as the approximate percentage change in the
property price relative to a per-unit change in the given variable. With double-log function, the price elasticity of the
properties is displayed in terms of a relative change in the respective characteristic amounts. Parameter estimates are
therefore mostly undertaken on the basis of one or a combination of these standard functions - see appendix 1. The three
models are of the form:
P = αo + αi zi +ε (linear)………(iv)
Log P = βo+ βiZi + ε (semi – log or log-linear) ……(v)
Log P = φ i+ φilog Zi + ε (double – log)……(vi)
Some housing structural attributes exhibits diminishing marginal returns. As such, recent studies have challenged the
assumption of linearity in favor of semi-log function for housing market analysis. The law of diminishing marginal utility
states that an economic agent’s marginal utility falls when one consumes more units of the commodity, ceteris paribus.
For example, residential lot price per square meters diminishes as lot size increases. This is similarly true of floor level,
age and possession of view.
Appendix 1 contains highlights on a number of previous empirical studies on hedonic pricing model including, for
each study, the sample size and characteristics, adopted functional form and major findings, among others. In all cases,
ordinary least squares regression (OLS) is used to estimate the hedonic price function.
4. Study Area
The study area is Ikeja. Ikeja is the capital of Lagos State, South West Nigeria. In spite of the fact that the seat of Federal
Government has moved from Lagos to Abuja, Lagos metropolis has remained the nerve centre of the nation’s
commercial, industrial, and property investment activities. Lagos metropolis has the most active property market in
Nigeria with the highest average property value and stock of investment (Babawale & Koleoso, 2006). More than 90% of
the head offices of post-consolidation banks and insurance companies (notable end users of valuations) are located
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within the metropolis. Lagos population is estimated at over 17 million which confers on it the status of a mega city. Lagos
population is projected to be the third largest city in the world by the year 2015.
Originally, Ikeja area used to be predominantly residential area until the population explosion and economic boom
which followed the oil boom of the 1980s brought about a radical transformation of its economic and social characteristics
and status which in turn has affected the mix and quality of its property stock. The area under reference is dotted with a
number of notable institutional, commercial and industrial landmarks including the Murtala Mohammed International and
the Local airports, Ikeja Army Cantonment (one of Nigeria’s biggest military Barracks), the Nigerian Airforce base, Lagos
state government main secretariat at Alausa, the headquarters of the Lagos State Police Command, the computer village
and many more. Ikeja also has one of the largest industrial concentrations in Nigeria. It is also the home of leading hotels
in the country including Sheraton hotel and Towers, Protea hotel, Airport hotel, White house hotel and Lagos travel inn.
Majority of these prominent commercial, industrial, and institutional centres are located within the area’s extensive
Central Business District (CBD).
Residential uses in the area under consideration comprise of high, medium, and low density neighborhoods.
Notable residential neighborhoods include Ikeja GRA, Maryland, Ogba, Agidingbi, Opebi, Oregun, Alausa, Akiodu and
Ojodu. Apartments (flats) are to be found mainly in the medium and high density parts of the study area and constitute
the bulk of rented accommodation occupied by the upper middle and lower upper income brackets. Apartments are often
built on two or three floors. Blocks of flats on five floors are scarce. Lift is a rarity as none of the sampled blocks of flats is
provided with a lift. Flats are mainly 3-bedrooms, with limited 2- and 4-bedroom.
More recent developments have all their bedrooms en-suite bath/toilet with separate guest toilet; while older
buildings have only master bedroom en-suite bath/toilet while the remaining two bedrooms share a toilet/bath. There are
few samples of much older buildings, where the 3-bedroom flat has only one toilet/bath with or without a guest toilet.
Provision of security/perimeter fence improves a property’s identity, security and privacy besides providing a relatively
safe place for children to play and for safe parking of vehicles, among others. Although crime rate is dropping in Ikeja,
there exist “unsafe” spots where pick pockets, muggers and touts constitute nuisance and security risk. As a result of low
compliance with planning regulation generally, schools, hotels, places of worship, and even markets are cited
indiscriminately and often to the detriment of adjacent residential users. Given the downturn in the economy, poor
maintenance culture, and poor yields on property investment, property maintenance is at its lowest ebb generally so that
most houses are in dire need of both structural and decorative repairs, particularly the latter.
Comparatively, Ikeja is well served with modern off site facilities, especially road networks, overhead bridges and
telecommunications facilities and services, though most roads are in deplorable condition. Poor roads and/or absence of
culverts lead to stagnation of foul water, flooding and related environmental hazards, and traffic congestion. Less than
20% of houses in the study area are served with pipe-borne water from the public mains. House rent and overall costs of
living in the study area is above Lagos metropolis average and only lower than in areas such as Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and
some parts of Lekki.
5. Research Method
This study employs a standard hedonic model to test the hypothesis that house prices are influenced by a combination of
housing attributes. Primary data for the study is based on the sample of 250 apartments let within 12 months prior to the
survey (August 2009 to August 2010). Using purposive sampling technique, primary data were elicited through a
questionnaire survey which sought information on housing attributes and the corresponding rentals from apartment
occupiers in the study area. This is complemented with selective interviews and personal observations. The
questionnaires were administered to heads of households or their representatives who are 18 years of age or above.
The sample size of 250 tenants is considered adequate given of cross sectional homogeneity of the respondents.
Furthermore, the socio-economic profile of occupiers of apartments in Ikeja and its environs is comparable as occupiers
of apartments usually belong to the upper middle segment and the lower upper segment of the population income
brackets that are supposed to have homogenous tastes such that the net effects of neighbourhood attributes are similar.
Secondary data were obtained from journals, technical reports, and previous studies.
Given the nature of the data available for this study, the semi-log function was considered best fit and therefore
employed. Additional reasons for choosing the semi-log is that the model, unlike the linear model, allows the value added
to vary proportionately with the size and quality of the house. Furthermore, the coefficients of a semi-log have simple and
appealing interpretation, while the model minimizes the common statistical problem known as heteroskedasticity. The
semi-log model uses the natural log of the hedonic price, which is regressed on untransformed independent variables
thus:
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Where,
i = property, t = time, ARit = apartment rental at given time t; Zijt = vector of characteristics; αjt = implicit prices of the k
characteristics; εit = error term.
6. Data
The data analysis has been structured into two sections. In the first section is the analysis of the data on the
characteristics of the respondents and housing characteristics which were presented using descriptive statistics. The
second is the analysis of the relationship between locational, neighbourhood, and structural attributes on the one hand,
and apartment rentals on the other which are presented inferentially using the hedonic price model. All analyses were
carried out with the aid of SPSS.17.
Table 1 describes the dependent and independent variables used in the hedonic model analysis with their
respective codes and measurements - continuous and dummy variables. Due to paucity of data on construction and
accommodation details of apartments in the study area; the uphill task of getting majority of the respondents either to
provide accurate measurement of their accommodation or to allow field staff to do the same; and for lack of GIS
information that cover these areas; a number of variables that should ordinarily be measured as continuous variables
were measured as dummy variables – in the best way permitted by circumstances and in a way respondents can readily
relate with. For instance, it was relatively easy for respondents to relate effectively with the size of their accommodation
when described as ‘standard’ or otherwise. Distances are also approximated as ‘walking’ or ‘driving’ distance.
A number of rules of thumb were used to test for the presence of collinearity. Heteroskesdasticity has long been
recognized as a potential problem in hedonic price equation. Wallace and Silver (1988) opined that “it is probably a good
idea to use the White heteroskedasticity test option routinely, perhaps comparing the output with regular OLS output as a
check to see whether heteroskedasticity is a serious problem in a particular set of data”. We have followed this advice in
this study.
Table 1: Definition of Housing Hedonic Variables for Ikeja Area, Nigeria.

S/No Variable Code Variable Definition Variable Measurement
1 RTVAL Rental value (net) of the apartment (flat) per annum = Amount in Nairaa
dependent variable.
2 BDRM Number of bedrooms in the flat Number of bedrooms available.
3 SIZKITCH Size of the kitchen If standard(≥8 m2) = 1
Otherwise = 0
4 SIZBDRM Average size of bedrooms If standard (≥10 m2) = 1
Otherwise = 0
5 SIZSTRM Size of the sitting room If standard (≥20 m2) = 1
Otherwise = 0
6 BATOILET Number of bath/toilet Number of bath/toilet available.
7 FENCE Availability of security fence If available = 1, Otherwise = 0
8 WATAVL Availability of pipe-borne water in the block of flats If available = 1, Otherwise = 0
9 COND Structural and decorative state of the house. If good = 1, Otherwise = 0
10 SECURITY Perceived neighbourhood security. If good = 1, Otherwise = 0
11 DISCH Linear distance from apartment to quality school for If less than 10 minutes walking distance =
children. 1, Otherwise = 0.
12 DISCBD Linear distance from apartment to Ikeja Central Business If less than 15 minutes driving distance =
District (CBD). 1.Otherwise = 0
13 DISMKT Linear distance from apartment to nearest neighbourhood If less than 15 minutes walking distance =
market 1, Otherwise = 0
14 ROADS The state of neighbourhood roads/culverts. If good = 1,Otherwise = 0
113
For the purpose of this study (modeling apartment rental) and for the sub-market under consideration, plot size is
unimportant. Possession of view, such as water, Sea or Mountain View, is also not applicable. Floor level is equally
irrelevant as earlier explained, because the market showed no price differential between flats on different floors even in
the few cases where the number of floors were 4 or even 5. Age of property is excluded from the variables because rental
values (unlike sale values) respond more to the physical condition of the property rather than the chronological age.
Thus, in the model, the condition of the property (COND) is used.
7. Data Analysis and Discussions
Table 2 summarises certain characteristics of the respondents. From Table 2 (a), 78% of the respondents are male, 84%
are university or polytechnic graduates (Table 2(b)), about 70% are either civil servants or white-collar workers (Table
2(c)). Over 60% earn in excess of N2 million in a year which is far above the national average (Table 2(d)).
Table 2: Major Characteristics of Respondents
Variable Frequency Percentage (%)
(a) Gender Distribution of the Respondents.
Male 196 78
Female 54 22
Total 250 100%
(b ) Distribution of the Respondents by Educational Qualification
National Diploma or below 35 14
Tertiary (BSc./HND) 142 57
Post Draduate 68 27
Others 5 10
Total 250 100%
(c) Distribution of Respondents by Job Classification
Traders 42 17
Civil Servants 45 18
Corporate Organisations 67 27
Private Consultancy 60 24
Students 25 10
Others 11 4
Total 250 100%
(d) Distribution of Respondents by Income Brackets (Per Annum).
Below N1,000,000 29 12
N1,000,000 – N2,000,000 60 24
N2,000,000 – N3,000,000 69 28
N3,000,000 – N5,000,000 52 20
N5,000,000 – N10,000,000 28 11
Above N10,000,000 12 5
Total 250 100%
Source: Field Survey 2010
Respondents are mainly professionals and civil servants with a minimum academic qualification of secondary school
certificate which guarantee a measure of rationality, objectivity and reliability in their responses.
Table 3 presents the descriptive statistics of the dependent and independent variables. The minimum rental value
for flats in the study area is N350, 000 and the maximum N1, 800,000. The mean rent is N608, 000 while the standard
deviation is N425, 000. The minimum number of bedroom is 2, a maximum of 4 and a mean of 3.40. For the number of
bathroom, the range is between 2 and 4 while the mean is 2.30 and the standard deviation is 0.88.
114
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of the Continuous Variables
Variables Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Dev.

RENTVAL N350, 000 N1, 800,000 N608, 000 N425,000
BDRM 2 4 3.3 0.97
SIZKICH 0 1 0.449 0.39
SIZBDRM 0 1 0.447 6.14
SIZSTRM 0 1 0.724 0.469
BATOILET 1 4 2.3 0.88
FENCE 0 1 0.330 0.470
WATAVL 0 1 0.267 0.443
COND 0 1 0.292 0.455
SECURITY 0 1 0.129 0.301
DISCH 0 1 0.423 0.427
DISCBD 0 1 0.623 0.565
DISMKT 0 1 0.494 0.500
ROADS 0 1 0.095 0.294
8. Results
Table 4 contains the summary of the results of the hedonic price model estimates using the three functional forms. A
casual look at the results would suggest the existence of collinearity problem given the high R2 value for each of the three
functional forms. However, the correlation matrix (not included) revealed that a large percentage of the pair wise
correlations are quite low suggesting that there is no collinearity problem. Further, applying Klein’s rule of thumb, it is
observed that most R2 values obtained from the auxiliary regressions of the three models are quite lower than the overall
R2 value (that is, the one obtained from the regression of rental value on the explanatory variables), again confirming
there is no collinearity problem. The several low VIF and the closeness of their respective TOL to 1 in another
confirmation that no collinearity among the variables.
Due to the nature of the study, unequal variances among the variables could be expected and heteroskedasticity
may likely to be encountered. Thus, the logistic modeling was done in order to express the regression coefficients as
elasticity estimates. The semi-log and double log forms were included because this will not only reduce the occurrence of
heteroskedasticity but also allow for interdependence among variables.
Evaluating the model, the semi-log provides the best fit with the highest R² statistics of 84.5%. This corroborates
several previous studies (Selim, 2008; Ajide and Alabi, 2010). Both the explanatory and predictive performance of the
model is good as indicated by R² and adjusted R² statistics of 84.5% and 83.1% respectively –this is particularly good for
the present study giving the sample size. This suggests that about 85% of the variation in apartment rentals in the study
area is explained by the thirteen explanatory variables employed. The computed F-statistics (F=58.82) indicates that the
fitness of the model is high; while Durbin Watson = 2.024, depicts non-serial autocorrelation. Therefore the model
appears adequate for predicting rental value of apartment in the study area.
115
Table 4: Hedonic model estimates for linear, semi-log and log-log functional forms
Independent Linear Semi-log Log-log
Variables Coefficient t-stat Coefficient t-stat Coefficient t-stat
Constant -17049.785 -0.307 6.243 38.785 5.851 43.403
BDRM 53905.044 0.344** 0.22 1.751** 0.027 2.012*
SIZKTCH 28572.644 2.039 * 0.020 1.933 0.098 2.131
SIZBDRM 84211.822 3.992** 0.006 3.630** 0.273 4.022*
SIZSTRM 3264.395 0.466* 0.000 0.504* -0.022 -0.028
BATOILET 111706.352 1.421* 0.031 6.525* 0.074 1.499*
FENCE 776889.044 4.804** 0.025 4.081* 0.057 3.758**
WATAVL 687521.352 8.626 0.050 7.792** 0.091 6.965**
COND 541881.573 2.587** 0.074 4.358** 0.064 3.758**
SECURITY 182750 1.416* 0.018 0.807* 0.10 0.853
DISCH -0.088 - 0.651 -0.0001 -0.702 -0.015 -0.928
DISCBD -9.823 -1.073 -0.009 -1.008 -0.009 - 0.563*
DISMKT -39.472 - 0.723 -0.0004 -1.072 -0.006 - 0.532
ROADS 344, 477 1.949* 0.014 2.859* 0.32 2.077*
R2 0.824 0.845 0.841
ADJUSTED R2 0.808 0.831 0.823
F- STATISTICS 50.574 58.818 48.135
DURBIN-WATSON 2.074 2.024 1.990
N 250 250 250
*Sig. at 0.05 level of significance, **Sig. at 0.01 level of significance -

WHITE’S TEST
F‐statistic (prob) 1.3335(0.07866) 1.098(0.3113) 0.808(0.5399)
Obs*R‐squared(prob) 30.0911(0.09044) 23.962(0.3061) 12.305(0.5231)
Evaluating the independent variables presents interesting and useful picture about the relative importance of housing
characteristics in the valuation of apartment rental in the study area. All parameter estimates display signs and magnitude
that are in line with theoretical expectations and corroborate previous research. Structural attributes – number of
bedrooms, perceived state of security in the locality, condition of the property, average size of bedrooms, availability of
demarcating/security fence, availability of pipe-borne water, condition of access roads, number of toilet/baths - entered
the model with significant coefficients; making structural attributes the most significant group of factors above
neighborhood and locational characteristics.
As expected, the number of bedroom was the strongest apartment price predictor, followed by the condition of the
property, and availability of pipe-borne water - all the three presented significant t-values contribution at 99% confidence
level. Other structural attributes with significant unique contribution at 95% level of confidence are average size of
bedroom, number of toilet/baths, while the size of the kitchen had positive but statistically insignificant impact on
apartment rentals at the required levels of significance. The two neighbourhood variables - security and infrastructure
(neighborhood roads) - entered the model with a priori signs, and significant coefficients at 95% level of confidence but
were 7th and 8th respectively on the priority list suggesting a low impact of these factors on rent. Reasons for this may
include the general lack of security and poor infrastructure (especially roads) over the entire study area. The location or
accessibility attributes have their expected negative correlation but none made statistically significant contribution. This
could be explained by the fact that a good number of the respondents are traders while schools, and especially private
school that majority of children attend today, are to be found within reasonable distance all over the study area.
The functional form of the model is the semi-logarithmic, thus the coefficients generated from the model becomes the
approximate percentage change in apartment rental relative to a per-unit change in a given characteristics of a house.
The resultant hedonic regression equation is therefore:
116
RENTVAL = 6.243 + 0.220(BDRM) + 0.02(SIZKITCH) + 0.094(SIZBDR) + 0.053(BATOILET) + 0.0001(SIZSTRM) +

0.025 (FENCE) + 0.050(WATAVL) - 0.074(COND) – 0.0001(DISCH) – 0.0003(DISMKT) – 0.009(DISCBD) +
0.081(SECURITY) + 0.140(ROADS) ….…………… (viii)
The model predicted that the annual rent of an apartment in the study area is made up of a basic sum plus adjustments
reflecting number of bedroom, size, condition and other property characteristics. In particular, the model suggested that
additional bedroom adds approximately 22 percent while an extra bathroom increases it by 5.3 percent. The state of
repairs of the property and availability of portable water increases apartment rental value by appropriately 7.4 percent,
and 5 percent, respectively. The average size of bedrooms, condition of access roads, and availability of
demarcating/security fence increase property value by 9.4 percent, 14 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
The study recognizes residential property as a multi-dimensional product comprising of locational, structural and
neighbourhood attributes. Extant literature accepted these attributes as the main determinants of residential property
values (capital or rental). The study employed the hedonic price model to determine both the predictive and relative
impact of these explanatory variables on apartment rentals in the study area. The results identified the number of
bedroom, number of bath/toilet, availability of pipe-borne water, size of bedrooms, and availability of security fence, in
that order, as the principal descriptors of apartment rentals in the study area. This result is largely consistent with
previous studies in hedonic residential property market analysis in more advanced economies.
Hedonic price theory is not without its shortcomings arising from potential problems relating to fundamental model
assumptions and estimation such as the identification of supply and demand, market disequilibrium, the selection of
independent variables, the choice of functional form of hedonic equation and market segmentation (Selim, 2008).
In spite of the inherent conceptual limitations of the theory, and the general paucity of data in the right quality and
quantity as required by the hedonic pricing theory for reliable results, the results of the study illustrate the feasibility of
applying the technique as a framework for housing market analysis even in a developing country like Nigeria; at least in
the apartment sub-market where majority of players possess a reasonable level of market information and the property
type exhibits a measure of homogeneity.
By establishing the right rent at which property owners are prepared to supply and tenants are willing to pay, the
model potentially promises numerous benefits. It would provide developers with essential information on tenants’ taste
and preferences, in terms of housing attributes. The pricing model also offers great benefits to the real estate valuation
profession. Besides providing an alternative valuation methodology, the model could enhance the reliability of apartment
rental valuation by cutting down on valuers’ idiosyncrasies and subjectivity in the valuation process which Babawale
(2008) identified as contributory factors to inaccuracy in residential property valuation in Lagos metropolis. Such a
scientific way of establishing property values will ensure that the valuation process is more rationale, consistent and
transparent; the hallmark of reliable asset pricing. Well priced properties generate competitive offers; stimulates demand,
and give birth to a healthy and functional market. These attributes had particularly endeared the technique to the
valuation profession especially in the analysis of the housing market as well as in mass valuation like property rating.
Given socio-economic similarity, the results on Ikeja apartment rental market analysis should provide a base for
extrapolation to the remainder part of Lagos metropolis as well as cities of comparable socio-economic characteristics not
only in Nigeria but in most developing countries.
Currently, the potentials of this versatile tool of analysis are begging to be harnessed by Nigerian researchers and
practitioners. The required skill and array of data remain a challenge. The challenge must however be confronted
frontally. Nigerian valuers cannot afford to be isolated from ongoing paradigm shifts in valuation practice standards driven
by factors such as globalization, developments in information technology and market dynamics.
The application of the hedonic pricing model for housing market analysis in the study area calls for further research.
First, the validity of resultant model need be tested with samples of new transaction prices. The model also needs to be
further refined with increased sample size; improved quality and quantity of property transaction data; and more precise
measurement of the structural and location attributes as GIS resource becomes more cheaply available in the country.
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Appendix 1: Samples of Empirical Studies in Hedonic Price Modeling
S/ Author(s), Year, Classification of Variables Methodology/Model Results/Findings

No Country Specification
118
1 Magbelugbe I.F. Jos Dependent variable: Appraised Hedonic pricing model; Box – Box-Cox λ transformation
Urban Area, Nigeria, annual value(rating assessments) Cox transformation; separate parameter is 0.2 for the
1989. Independent variables: – Building analysis for single family, multi-family and -0.1 for the
1,310 appraisal data age, roof cover, ceiling material, multi – family and both single-family submarket. The
from property tax nature of area and the building combined; market hedonic parameters of these
assessment; made up of floor (earth or clay), building wall segmentation based a prior functional forms are
1124 multifamily and 186 (sand or concrete), roof type; on the type of design of the significantly different from
single family units– number of kitchens, floors; houses. log-linear and linear
occupied mainly by low– building floor area, building gross functional forms, and those
income and moderate – area; if building contain flats, has most commonly found in
income households. fence, share essential facilities; literature. The author justifies
use zoning, zoning density. this claim by making
comparison with results of
similar studies in a number
of other developing
countries.
2 M.O. Bello & V.A. Bello, Dependent variable = transaction Relative Importance Index Study revealed that both
Lagos metropolis, 2007. prices employed to assess the valuers and buyers agree
Survey involved buyers Dependent variables: (1)Location significance of each housing that prices of blocks of flats
and valuers which (2) Security (3) Plot size (4) State attributes; while the Kendall’s are influence principally by
participated in the sale of of repairs (5) Age (6) Number of Coefficient of Concordance location, state of repairs and
some properties within bedrooms (7) Size of room (8) (W) was used to measure the water supply. For duplex
Lagos metropolis. Electricity (9) Number of level of agreement between there is both partial and high
toilet/bath (10) Nearness to work the rankings of buyers and level of agreement between
(11) Water (12) Finishes (13) sellers at each variable level buyers and valuers.
Parking space (14) Telephone. and when the variables are Regressing the attributes of
combined. Tested at .05 level each property against the
of significance using chi- actual price paid, the
square approximation. significance of each attribute
was determined; which was
then compared with the
ratings of both the valuers
and the buyers. Study
concluded that the valuation
methods used by Nigerian
valuers do not take into
consideration the buyers
preference.
M.O. Bello and V.A. Dependent variables: Annual rent Study used a two-stage The study identified
3 Bello, 2008, Akure, Independent variables: Wall, hedonic model. First stage to households income, distance
Nigeria. ceiling, roof, window, room size; model property values as a away from waste dump site
Sample survey of 190 availability of kitchen, toilet, water, function of housing attributes, and regularity of electricity
households living in fence, conditions of access, while the second stage supply as the major
rented houses in electricity drainage, crime, model willingness to pay. significant factors influencing
randomly selected from number of approved private household willingness to pay
two communities of schools and number of public for better environmental
Akure. schools, income of household services.
heads, number of dependents,
number of years spent on formal
education, gender, length of stay
in the developing and distance
away from offensive refuse dump.
Ajide K. B. and Alabi, M. Dependent variable: Monthly rent. Hedonic price model using Of the three functional forms,
4 Lagos, Nigeria. 2010. Independent variables: Room the three functional forms - semi-log gives the best fit
Sample of 983 size, age, floor level, kitchen, wall linear, semi-log and double- with R2 = 0.67, while the
households through material, toilet facilities, ceiling, log – for purpose of linear and double-log is 0.56
survey using Lagos fencing, window, water, drainage, comparison. The study and 0.63, respectively. This
statae Household Survey crime rate, pollution level, showed that semi-log is the confirms the number of
as sample frame. accessibility to employment, best of the three. earlier studies that a non-
119
children school, hospital, market, linear functional form

recreational centre, and public performs better than a linear
transport. form. Furthermore, structural
attributes were found to be
more statistically more
significant than locational
and neighborhood attributes
in influencing house prices in
Lagos, Nigeria.
5 Tse R.Y.C. & Love, Dependent variable = Transaction Log -linear with (log) house All variables except shop are
P.E.D., Hong Kong, prices prices In order to improve significant. The explanatory
2000. Independent variables = Floor efficiency of the model in the power of the model is
139 sale prices selected area; age; availability of car park, face of heteroscedasticity, approx. 85% which
from Class B (40-70 shopping centre, sport facilities, the study employ both decreased to 47% when
sq.m.) huoses. covering cemetery view, whether estate heteroscedascity consistent location variables were
four housing estates type housing units. convenience matrix estimator removed. All the signs of the
(70%) and several non- and weighted least squares coefficients are usual except
estate type properties method. for SPORT. Estate type
(30%). housing units and
neighbourhood amenities
have considerable influence
on house prices in the study
area.
6 Lennon H.T., Stephen Dependent variable = Inflation Linear form; White’s test Most variables are
W.K., Winky K.O., Hong adjusted transaction prices. used to detect possible statistically significant at
Kong , 2007. Independent variables = total heteroskedasticity; used conventional levels: and
749 samples from gross floor area, age, floor level, Newey – West exhibited conventional signs.
Quarry Bay District made garden view, sea view, bad view, Heteroskedasticity consistent R2 = 85% approx. Larger
up of several small & transport accessibility, luck conveniences to correct size, higher floor level, and
one mega – scale number observed heteroskedacity better view commands a
housing estate occupied and correlations among higher transaction prices.
mainly by middle-income observations in cross Property closer to the mass
earners. sectional data. Prices transit railway station
adjusted using the “Monthly commands a premium. Non-
Price Indices for Selected linear effect of floor level
Popular Private Domestic exerts an impact on prices.
Developments”. Feng Shui (luck number)
also has influence on house
prices.
7 Mishra , S.K. & Ngullie Dependent variable: House rent All variables (dependent and Study suggests that
M.C., Kohima, capital Independent variables: House independent) are consumers of rented house
city of Nagaland, India, type, plot size, floor area, No of transformed into their consider floor area, water
2008. rooms, no of occupants, nature of (natural) logarithmic values. supply and power supply
Sample survey of 109 ownership, distance from the complimentary to each other
households living in nearest building, receiving while other characteristics of
rented houses randomly enough sum share, parking house as substitutes of the
selected from residents space, waste disposal, facilities, floor area. Rented house is
of 19 wards(11 from drainage, public garden/ park an inferior commodity and its
each ward) in Kohaima nearby, water supply, regularity income elasticity for the
capital city of Nagaland, and source of water supply, overall sample is negative,
India In 2008 nature of toilet, power connection, though statistically
load-shedding or power failure, insignificant.
noise pollution, air pollution, water
pollution, nature of water
pollution, respondents feeling of
satisfaction with the house,
safety, income, family size and
rent.
120
A Participatory Development Strategy for Sugar Palm Plantation Community
Mr. Chaiyan Kong-at

Ph.D. Candidate Student of Development Strategy Program,
Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University, Thailand
Asst. Prof. Dr. Suphawan Vongkamjan

Major Advisor, Development Strategy Program,
Prof. Dr.Anurak Panyanuwat

Co-Advisor, Development Strategy Program,
Asst. Prof. Dr. Thassanupan Gusolsatit

Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p121
Abstract The objectives were 1) to create the development strategy for sugar palm plantation community, and 2) to experiment the
development strategy for sugar palm plantation community in Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province.
Qualitative research and quantitative research approaches were used. The experiment group composed of 50 peoples that were divided
into 10 peoples for each group and they were local scholars or knowledgeable peoples in the sugar palm, sugar palm owner, sugar palm
producers, suppliers of sugar palm product, community leaders and local leaders. Data collection and analysis were done with
document, In-Depth interview, focus group discussion, observation and participatory action research. The analysis revealed that the
important problem solving were the sugar palm plantation community at Keoychai District lacks of adaptation to suit with the prosperous
period. The results of testing of system operation with the experimental group who were stakeholders, it was found that Unit 5: To
establish a center of strategic development with the satisfaction of stakeholders at the highest level of 4.54 and satisfaction of
stakeholders with strategy development of overall average at the highest level of 4.51. The satisfaction of 60 visitors who came to visit,
receive service and purchase the sugar palm product, the strategy of “watching, tasting, shopping, and taking photograph” by setting 4
sites for the visitors, it was found that shopping site with the satisfaction of visitors at the high level of 4.06 and overall average
satisfaction of visitors at the high level of 3.97.
Key Words: Participatory Development Strategy, Sugar Palm Plantation Community, Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon
Sawan Province
1. Introduction
With inheriting for long time ago, Thai society is an agricultural society that agricultural way is a fundamental living since
primeval time. This has created culture and wisdom of agricultural identity including way of life and behavior blueprint that
connected to characteristics of land use by using learning experience in natural occurrences. Moreover, Thai people has
inspired thinking and developing his life way by taking these advantages based on equipments, tools, and processes in
order to meet the highest quality of life. Therefore, the quality of life would depend on traditional, cultural, familiar and
consumption behavior and belief of local community as well. Most of foods have been locally produced through direct
learning experiences with gradually proceed. Particularly, sugar production from palm tree, it is also local wisdom. Even
though, currently, Thai society has dramatically transformed from prior in various parts, but sugar production from palm
tree still stays with Thai society because sugar is a basic element of Thai food because sugar has value of nutrient for
energy for vital life (Rojanapitakkul, L.2007).
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Regarding to economic, politic and social revolutionizes, Thai society has significantly changed, therefore, majority
people in society couldn’t adapt to keep up with it. This caused the cultural problem to solve continuously, since prior Thai
society was agricultural society and lived in rural area, so they were farming and culturing as a main living. Prior
production was emphasized on serving for family consumption without considering on mass production for exporting
(Veeraprajuk, K, and Boonsue, K, 1997).
In the age before 1961, Thailand was faced with the poverty and lack of basic structure and service, therefore the
first national plan (1961-1966) was established to aim for rapid growth in economy by economic development through
expressly developing industry and promoting in private sector investment including pay attention to infra-structure
development to support this speedy development such as transportation, energy production and irrigation development in
order to promote better life quality of Thai people (The National Economic Development Board Office of the Prime
Minister., 1961). During the period of the second nation plan (1967-1971) and the fifth national plan (1982-1986), the
occurred different events had impacted to the development. Such as monetary crisis and international trade, the exported
income of Thailand were radically decreased therefore, it effected to the economic growth because of value of agricultural
and industrial products were lower than the setting target (The National Economic Development Board Office of the Prime
Minister., 1967, 1972, 1977, and 1982). The problem of income distribution and extending poverty were increasingly. The
seventh nation plan (1992-1996), emphasized on economic extension, and completion for building the income security, it
made Thai society to become materialism and caused behavior problem of people to neglect the morals, ethics,
disciplines, and selfish. These are affected to original way of life and good value fading from Thai society and
harmonizing of collapses of institutes of family, community and local culture. This plan adjusted the agricultural structure
to raise income of agricultural income to be able to self-reliance (The National Economic Development Board Office of the
Prime Minister., 1992). The past period, Thai government stressed on mechanism of belief by giving package of growth to
Thai citizen, therefore Thailand became one of different countries with fast economic growth according the
Westernization pattern. However, the problem of poverty of major citizen and justice income distribution could not be
solved so it made Thai neglected Thai wisdom based on cultural concept. Consequently, during the eighth to tenth
national plan (1997-2011), government has turned to aim for human development as main target by defining policy on
Thai wisdom subjectively and has promoted living in keeping with principle of Self-sufficiency Economy by stressing on
community participation and community learning. It is a good opportunity to rehabilitate community potency by using
recourses, wisdoms and cultures to be social capital and power to create strong society (Sotthipuntu, P. et al., 2004, and
The National Economic Development Board Office of the Prime Minister, 1997, 2002, and 2007).
It is obviously seen that model of country development, Thai government aimed to economic growth more than the
aim to encourage the community competency adaptation by themselves. Hence the global situation faced with numerous
crises, Thailand also faced crisis like as others countries in global society. It is obviously seen impact that community
cannot self-dependent because of neglect of local wisdom. Those impacts make society to subjectively alert, they turned
back to the development mean of stress on community base. The Constitution of Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2550, set 5
on Basic policy of government, has promoted and supported development of local wisdom and Thai wisdom to use for
good production, service, and earn a living including promoting earn of living or invention to create new knowledge, to
maintain and to develop local wisdom and Thai wisdom by setting policy of people participation in section 87 with aim of
people participation in policy formulating, decision making of economic, social and political plan. Section 85, it promotes
people participation in preservation, conservation and maintenance to use natural resources and biodiversity balancing
until it becomes national fundament for wisdom transferring succeeding for community strength establishment. It is
acceptable that strong community must be self-dependent through learning ability together in community activities by
depending on some important fund existing in community such as social capital, resource capital and cultural capital
(Sotthipuntu, P. et al., 2004).
Local culture of each place has the similar and different practices in accordance with the contexts of community
such as weather, geographical characteristics, attitude, belief, and way of living. Such as agricultural community or fishing
community, this makes a different of local culture. Moreover, it also relies on accepting for other civilization and prosperity
to integrate among cultures. Even though, the threat of foreign culture, it might cause some local culture disappeared but
there are a lot of cultures still remain. In order to maintain original culture, it needs to preserve and improve or develop
that culture to be in consistent with modernized age appropriately and effectively. Local culture reflects not only the
prosperity but also like a teacher to aid human to better understand the life situation because it is congruent to way of life,
thinking, feeling, attitude, belief, and disciplines. Thus, peoples in community should be known and learnt their own
culture to understand life and preserve worth and build their prides to disseminate to other society. Meanwhile, it must be
developed more prosperity and incessantly transferred. Way of practice and living of community people, there are both
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alike and dissimilar in each locality. The difference of each locality was named as “identity” or “uniqueness” (Office of
National Culture Commission., 2011).
In Thailand, There various sugar production from different kind of trees such as sugar cane, coconut and sugar
palm (Rojanapitakkul, L.2007). The historical evidence confirmed that sugar palm originated on the earth for million
years, therefore, it can be accounted that it is a plant in primitive age and it was assumed to have origin in tropical zone of
Africa. Afterward, it was spread to South India and countries in Asia region such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia,
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Thai believes that sugar palm in Thailand has origin from India. The assumption is
high possibility since site of sugar palm cultivation in the past was found at important port city that contacted with India
before such as Supanburi (U-thong District), Chainath (Sankaburi District) Nakhon Srithammarach, Songkla, Nakhon
Pathom (Nakhonchaisri District) (Ruchsameethamwong, P., 1994).
For that reason, Thai people have known the sugar palm since their ancestors. In local area, sugar palm has
cultivated generally and some is natural growth. It is important for community development in term of making different
livelihood through buying and selling. Additionally, sharing and exchanging resources, it builds systemically income and
connects to strengthen community through concept of community economy based on local wisdom (Sotthipuntu, P. et al.,
2004).
Community in Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province, is a sugar palm production
community. Primary survey was done by interviewing and focus group discussion. In the past sugar palm tree generally
grew covering whole subdistrict but presently, 6 villages are left (total 17 villages). Main occupation of people are rice
farmer and together with sugar palm producer. The survey was done in 2007 with number of sugar palm producers and
number of sugar palm trees; it was found that the number of trees are decreased from 2002 about 10,000 trees
(Keoychai Subdistrict Development Plan, 2007). Currently there are 80 households with 5,000 palm trees and it is
expected to almost immediately dissolve. The sugar palm is important to Keoychai Subdistrict people because it is
property transferring from their ancestors since ancient age. It is also accounted as symbol of Keoychai Subdistrict
community that way of live ties up with benefit use of sugar palm product for long time until it becomes a culture and living
by transforming for daily life use. But with the globalization threat, it invades in community, sugar palm earn living people
have declined because they neglects of its value in term of economic capital in accordance with lack of knowledge
transferor. However, there is some people earning from sugar palm production and government agency and local
administration organization also realizes on conservation and promotion for this livelihood. Therefore, community needs
to build development strategy to solve this problem through participatory action research.
2. Objective
The research objectives were as followings:

1) To create the development strategy for sugar palm plantation community in Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang
District, Nakhon Sawan Province.
2) To experiment the development strategy for sugar palm plantation community in Keoychai Subdistrict,
Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province.
3. Methodology
The research design was implemented in steps by step as followings:

1. The qualitative research was used for creating the development strategy for
sugar palm plantation community in Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province. Focus Group
discussion and In-Depth Interview were used for data collection. There were 5 steps of strategy development including;
1.1 Identifying and analyzing the way of life of sugar palm planter.
1.2 Defining and analyzing target problems.
1.3 Defining the target of strategy
1.4 Creating units of system operation
1.5 Providing resources
2. The quantitative research was used for experimenting the strategies for
Development of sugar palm plantation community in Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province.
There were 2 sample groups of experiment. The first experiment group composed of 50 peoples that were stakeholders
of 10 peoples for each group of local scholars or knowledgeable peoples on sugar palm, sugar palm owners, sugar palm
123
producers, suppliers of sugar palm product, community leaders and local leaders. The second experiment group was 60
visitors.
3. Results
The study of problem sugar palm plantation community at Keoychai Subdistrict, it was found that the problem of
community at Keoychai Subdistrict due to loss of identity of the sugar palm, and the analysis revealed that the important
problem solving were the sugar palm plantation community at Keoychai Subdistrict lacks of adaptation to suit with the
prosperous period. There was a structural element composing of 1) the lack of sugar palm identity, 2) regardless of
security of production, 3) the lack of a complete business cycle of group unity, 4) the lack of continuity of tradition and
cultural transferring, and 5) the lack of a strategic driving for sugar palm development.
Therefore, the development strategic goals were the development for sugar palm plantation community at Keoychai
Subdistrict through participation for achieving the above strategy, therefore the strategy defined for maintaining the
identity of the community at Keoychai Subdistrict included five units of system operation that Unit 1 was to build a unique
landscape of the community, Unit 2 was to build standards and hygiene product, Unit 3 was to organize complete
business cycle, Unit 4 was to hold the annual tradition on sugar palm and Unit 5 was to establish a center of strategic
development.
The results of testing of system operation with the experimental group of 50 stakeholders, it was found that Unit 5:
To establish a center of strategic development with the satisfaction of stakeholders at the highest level of 4.54 and
satisfaction of stakeholders with strategy development of overall average at the highest level of 4.51.
Table 1 Stakeholder Satisfaction of Operation along with Development Strategy for sugar palm plantation community at
Keoychai Subdistrict
Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
Unit 1: To build a unique landscape of the community 4.51 0.27 Highest
1.1 Concept for building a unique landscape of the community 4.40 0.49 High
1.2 Appropriateness for building a unique landscape of the community 4.54 0.50 Highest
1.3 Benefit receiving from operation according to this unit 4.44 0.50 High
1.4 Successful level of this unit operation 4.56 0.50 Highest
1.5 Accepted to live along with this unit 4.62 0.49 Highest
Table 1 Continue
Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
Unit 2: To build standards and hygiene product 4.52 0.24 Highest
2.1 Concept for building standards and hygiene product 4.66 0.48 Highest
2.2 Appropriateness for building standards and hygiene product 4.54 0.50 Highest
2.3 Benefit receiving from operation according to this unit 4.56 0.50 Highest
2.4 Successful level of this unit operation 4.32 0.47 High
Unit 2: To organize complete business cycle 4.51 0.23 Highest
3.1 Concept for organizing complete business cycle 4.54 0.50 Highest
3.2 Appropriateness for organizing complete business cycle 4.40 0.49 High
3.5 Accepted to live in accordance with this unit 4.44 0.50 High
Unit 4: To hold the annual tradition on sugar palm 4.48 0.23 High
4.1 Concept for holding the annual tradition on sugar palm 4.46 0.50 High
4.2 Appropriateness for holding the annual tradition on sugar palm 4.46 0.50 High
4.4 Successful level of this unit operation 4.48 0.50 High
4.5 Accepted to live along this unit 4.58 0.50 Highest
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Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
Unit 5: To establish a center of strategic development 4.54 0.24 Highest
5.1 Concept for establishing a center of strategic development 4.56 0.50 Highest
5.2 Appropriateness for establishing a center of strategic development 4.56 0.50 Highest
5.3 Benefit receiving from operation according to this unit 4.54 0.50 Highest
Overall Satisfaction of Stakeholders 4.51 0.26 Highest
The experimental strategy creation were found that 1) the site of watching, tasting shopping and taking photograph as a
result of the target problem solving of sugar palm identity. The site of watching was to illustrate on Keoychai Subdistrict
unique as site of sugar palm product display. The site of tasting was to build confidence in the safety of production
process of sugar palm. The site of shopping was to represent a complete business cycle of group unity. The site of taking
photograph was to reflect continuity of tradition and cultural transferring in order to stay with Keoychai Subdistrict forever,
2) the General Hospital Products (GHP) standards used in the manufacturing process of the sugar palm product to build
the consumer confidence in the product, 3) group unity of the community to create a common vision and ideology, 4) the
festival and tradition of group participation and the strategy were filled in plan and budget provisions of Subdistrict
Organization Administration of Keoychai Subdistrict, and 5) the center for strategic development with participation of all
sectors, strategy was used to drive the development of sugar palm community at Keoychai Subdistrict.
The satisfaction of 60 visitors who came to visit, receive service and purchase the sugar palm product, the strategy
of “watching, tasting, shopping, and taking photograph” by setting 4 sites for the visitors, it was found that the shopping
site with the satisfaction of visitors at the high level of 4.06 and overall average satisfaction of visitors at the high level of
3.97.
Table 2 Visitor Satisfaction of Strategy of Watching, Tasting, Shopping, and Taking Photograph at Keoychai Subdistrict
Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
1. Watching site 3.95 0.36 High
Concept used for building a unique landscape of the community 4.00 0.82 High
Appropriateness for establishing a center of strategic development 3.75 0.77 High
Interesting for presentation of watching site 3.92 0.83 High
Benefit receiving from watching site 3.97 0.82 High
Appreciation from watching site 4.10 0.79 High
Table 2 Continue
Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
2. Tasting site 3.99 0.31 High
Concept used for demonstrating the original production process 3.90 0.73 High
Preparation of place and product sample for tasting/reception 4.02 0.79 High
Interesting for presentation of watching site 4.02 0.79 High
Benefit receiving from watching site 4.07 0.78 High
Appreciation from watching site 3.93 0.77 High
3. Shopping site 4.06 0.39 High
Concept used for decorating at front of shop 3.97 0.84 High
Appropriateness of product display in shop 3.95 0.72 High
Accountability of product hygiene 4.18 0.79 High
Benefit receiving from demonstration of GHP production process 4.10 0.71 High
Appreciation from shopping sugar palm product 4.08 0.79 High
4. Taking photograph site 3.87 0.37 High
Concept used for decorating of this site 3.87 0.87 High
Appropriateness for decorating of this site 3.98 0.83 High
Interesting for decorating of this site 3.80 0.84 High
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Satisfaction Level
No. Items
X S.D. Level
Benefit receiving from this site 3.78 0.85 High
Appreciation from this site 3.92 0.79 High
Overall Satisfaction of Visitors 3.97 0.17 High
4. Discussion
Research results revealed that the most significance for community development is
people participation. Another importance of community development is development strategy created and developed by
stakeholders who really understand and share benefit from the development. Therefore after developing strategy, it
needs to be experimented by implementing in the real situation and determining the stakeholders satisfaction and
customer satisfaction of sugar palm product. Moreover, it needs a driving agent to be a main host to take major
responsibility and it should establish a center of strategic development for sugar palm product development. Moreover,
regarding to the visitors satisfaction with the strategy of watching, tasting, shopping, and taking photograph to attract the
visitors and make appreciation of product.
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Ethno Religious Conflict and Settlement Pattern in Northern Nigeria
Y. L. Gambo
Lecturer Department of Estate Management,

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria
yusuf_gambo@yahoo.com
Dr. M. M. Omirin
Associate Prof. Department of Estate Management,
University of Lagos, Nigeria
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p129
Abstract The preponderance of violent ethno religious fracas in Nigeria, especially in Northern part of the country, has acquired such a
dreadful level of reoccurrence. This violent insurgence has started taking its toll on the response and organization of the real property
market. The study seeks to examine the influence of ethno religious conflict on settlement patter of some selected cities in Northern
Nigeria. Empirical survey revealed that the level of notoriety it has acquired has shaped and influenced the real property market
enterprise and ushered in settlement pattern along religious and in some cases ethnic lines. This development has negative impact on
land use and administration as some activities are inaccessible in some areas of dominant religion. Government and community leaders
should checkmate this hideous development which is fast-spreading and can dramatically disrupts land use planning, spill over borders
and reduce growth and prosperity across entire regions.
Keywords: Ethno-religious, violence, settlement pattern
1. Introduction
Nigeria since independence has remained a multi-ethnic nation state with over four hundred ethnic groups (Chidi, 2005;
Salawu, 2010), belonging to several religious sects has been trying to cope with the problem of ethnicity on the one hand,
and the problem of ethno-religious conflict on the other. In the last decade, ethno-religious conflict, which is a form of
urban violence, has been reported in most major towns in Northern Nigeria. The religious contradictions that Nigeria
faces are daunting. The country is essentially heterogeneous society, with the two monotheistic religions-Christianity and
Islam enjoying the loyalty of most Nigerians. The origin of the employment of religion as an instrument of politics in
Nigeria can be traced back to the colonial era. Although the British colonialists claimed to have Nigerians on the
imperative of secularity in a multi-religious society, available evidence suggests that the colonial administration
consciously employed religion as an instrument of pacification. Agbaje (1990:288) correctly established, the colonial
administration underwrote Islam in the Northern part of colonial Nigeria and used it as the basis of political authority in
local administration. It not only kept the Christians missionaries from the North, so as to preserve the assumed Islamic
homogeneity of the region, it also adopted the emirate system of political administration with its strong religious content.
In spite of this early trend, the issue of religion did not come to the front burner as a critical issue dividing Nigeria along
religious streak until 1986 when General Babangida regime upgraraded Nigerian’s membership in the Organization of
Islamic Countries, OIC, from observer to a substantive one (Mimiko, 1995:261). This move was seen by Christians as a
ploy to turn Nigeria into an Islamic State against the spirit and the letter of the constitution. This singular action of the
Babangida regime marked the epoch of intractable intra (in the case of Islam) and inter-religious violence in Nigeria. This
precarious situation has worsened recently, with the promulgation of Sharia law in the North. This new move takes Sharia
away from its constitutional and historical domain in customary law in the North, and places it in the criminal/civil law
domain. Although this move seems motivated by the political dynamism of contemporary Nigeria and by politicians’ quest
for popularity, empirical evidence so far shows that it is the harbinger of future ethno-religious conflict in the country. Also,
the recent Sharia law, apart from its political undertones, is a potent tool for restricting economic migration. This hideous
development informed people choice of where to live in the wake of consciousness for safety and influence in many
instances choice of business operations. The degree of segregation can vary substantially from place to place even
within cities. In this paper, the concern is with religious and ethnic segregation
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2. Trends of Ethno Religious Conflicts in Northern Nigeria
It has been recorded by peace workers and researchers that most of the violent conflicts in Northern Nigerian have been
either purely religious or ethno-religious (see Bako, 1994; Mohammed, 2002; IPCR, 2003; Bogoro, 2008; FAcE PaM,
2008). The recent increase in violence in intra- religious conflicts is a very worrisome new development that has caught
the attention of clerics. It is surely a very dangerous dimension to religious intolerance, even within a particular religion.
In some cases, ethnicity has been the basis for violent intra- religious conflicts adding a new dimension to religious
conflicts in Northern Nigeria (Bogoro, 2008). The tendency to identify some ethnic groups with a particular religion easily
gives credence to the use of religion for the manipulation of other differences. It is a fact according to Bogoro (2008),
many modern secular nations fraternize with some religions, depending on the peculiarity of such countries especially the
wishes of the majority of the citizens. Similarly, a number of theocratic states whose political system is generally guided
by the dictates of a dominant religion still find it convenient to accommodate one or more prominent minority religions.
IPCR (2003:314) North- West Report maintained same position. ‘It reported that:
“there is a definite feeling, especially in Kano, that the zone’s identity is mainly religious, particularly Islamic, and
that such identity should be protected at all cost. The options are: The acceptance of such identity, or the division
of the country. The constitutional means of dividing the country is a preferred option. If otherwise, then Sharia
should be applied to Muslims only and the rest of the citizens in the Sharia implementing states should live
according to the rules of the majority’’.
There are two types of religious conflicts in the geo-political region. They are the conflict between followers of two
different religions and conflict between followers of the same religion, particularly between Muslims (IPCR, 2003). The
identifiable causes of inter religious conflict range from extremism to politicisation of religion. A factor that contributed to
this development is the politicisation of religion that took place at both national and local levels. The attempt at the
national level by the Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in the late 80’s to enlist Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic
Conference (OIC) had raised the spectre of religions division at the national level (IPCR, 2003). The expansion of Sharia
legal system by some state governments further heightened the tension between Muslims and Christians. The situation
is made worse with the presence of religious armed groups, the Hisbah to monitor the implementation of the sharia legal
system at local level. The activities and proliferation of the new generation Christian churches in terms of aggressive
preaching and indiscriminate constructions of churches in residential areas that are dominated by Muslims have the
potential of generating conflict is some states in the region. Bako (1994) viewed inter religious conflict consisting of
different ethnic groups belonging to Islam and Christianity, battling along majority/minority and indigene/settler divides
within a frame work of ethno religious domination and struggle for liberation. This form of religious conflict he added, exist
between minority Hausa- Fulani Muslim groups resident in predominantly non Hausa Christian areas, in the northern
towns and cities. Example of such conflicts he substantiated, are those between the Hausa and Southern Kaduna ethnic
groups from Kafanchan; the Hausa and the Kataf; the Hausa and the Sayawa; the Hausa and the Jukun; the Hausa and
the Birom etc over the ownership of towns, sharing of religious space, land, market, fishing ponds, rulership, chieftaincies
and participation in local government election.
The increase in religious intolerance and the use of religion for political ends was made possible because of the
public perception that access to power and resources at the national level became politicised along religious and ethnic
lines. This claim supported by Human Rights watch report. ‘’The country is divided along religious lines, with the
boundaries between Muslim and Christian often overlapping with some of the most important ethnic and cultural divides’’.
(HRW Vol. 18 No 3 (A) pg.7, April, 2006)’.
The intra religious tension, especially among Muslims is another palpable generator of conflict. The cause of such
conflict according to IPCR report has both international and local dimensions. The overseas training Muslims receive
either in the Middle East or the Izala group represents the Saudi brand of Islam and the Muslim Brothers represents Iran’s
brand of Islam. Related to this is the struggle for legitimacy between the traditional Islamic scholars and the young and
western educated Muslims. In the opinion of Bako (1994), in northern Nigeria, Muslim intra sectarianism has manifested
itself eloquently in the large scale maitatsine insurrections which took place in the northern cities of Kano, Maiduguri,
Kaduna, Gombe, Yola and Funtua between 1980 and 1993. Recently the Boko haram, an Islamic sect known for its
detest for western education had raided the cities of Maiduguri and Bauchi agitating for implementation of Islamic law in
Northern region of the country. While no claim of Christian intra religious conflict by the IPCR, Bako maintained that a
Christian movement similar to the maitatsine can be identified in the ‘militant,’ born ‘again’ movement among the urban
130
poor and proletarian groups opposed to the dominant, orthodox Christian movements, though he concluded that their
operation is less organized and violent than the maitatsine.
Another glaring factor that sparks up ethno religious violenct conflicts is indigene/settler divides. In many parts of
Nigeria, the issue of indigeneity has seemed to create new kinds of parochialism where none had existed before. The
settler question in urban areas in Nigeria has produced violent conflicts in varying capacities as witnessed in Kasuwan
Magani (1980), Zango Kataf, Gure Kahagu (1984), Kafanchan, Kaduna, Lere (1987), Ilorin, Jere (1987), Tafawa Balewa,
Bauchi (1991), Zango Kataf (1992), Tiv and Idoma (1993), (see Ibrahim, 1993; Dung, 1994). Dung (1994) asserts that
these conflicts often start as local conflicts but later spread to other areas. He further states that religious factors have
also played a crucial role in the generation and expansion of these conflicts, especially in situations where the religious
and political boundaries overlap. The issue of indigene/settler divides began to take on increased importance not long
after Nigeria’s independence according to HRW (2006), ‘’with regional policies that discriminated against the indigenes of
other region in areas as diverse as employment and the acquisition of land’’ (Brennan, 2005).
The following excerpts speak volume of indigene/settler dichotomy:
‘’We do not want to go to (Lake) Chad and meet strangers catching our fish in the water, and taking them away to
leave us with nothing. We do not want to go to Sokoto and find a carpenter who is a stranger nailing our houses. I
do not want to go to the Sabon Gari in Kano and find strangers making the body of a lorry, or to go to the market
and see butchers who are not Northerners’’.{ Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Nigeria’s Northern Region, 1965.
House of Chiefs Debates, 19 March 1965, p. 55 From Albert and Godfrey, ‘’Inter Ethnic and Religious Conflict
Resolution in Nigeria’’, (New York: Lexington Books, 1999), p.73 in Human Right Watch Vol.18, No.3(A), April
2006}.
The Indigene/settler fracas most often than not culminate into ethno-religious violent conflicts in the north. Example of
‘religious conflicts are: Maitatsine insurrections which took place in the northern cities of Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna,
Gombe, Yola and Funtua between 1980 and 1993; Kano riot (1984) as a result of the coming of Rev. Bonke; Tungdo –
Wudugu (1989); Hausa/Fulani and Sayawa in Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi State (1991, 1995, 2001, 2005 and 2011);
Bauchi religious crisis (1991, 2006, 2007 in Yelwa Kagadama); Hausa and Kataf (1992); Hausa and Berom in Jos (1994);
Kaduna sharia conflict (2000); Jos/Plateau State (2001,2002, 2008, 2010 and 011).( See Bako, 1994; IPCR, 2003;
Bogoro, 2008; FAcE–PaM, 2008, Gambo, 2009). The increasing level of violence informed largely by intolerance, hatred
and stereotypes in Northern Nigeria has risen to such fratricidal levels. The role of religion as reinforcing with ethnicity as
instrument for assertiveness is provoked not as an end in itself but by a social and economic conditions to resist
extinction, domination and marginalization, it is the combination of perceived ethnic threat and personal vulnerability that
force people to fall back on community, groups, religion and other cleavages (Raji, 2003).
3. Theoretical and conceptual clarification
Regional Identity
Secular
Ethnic Identity Society Religious Identity
Segregated
Neighbourhood
Figure1: Conceptual Framework
131
Nigeria presents a complex of individual as well as crisscrossing and recursive identities of which the ethnic, religious,
regional and sub-ethnic (communal) are the most salient and the main bases for violent conflicts in the country. This is
both from the point of view of the identities most commonly assumed by citizens especially for political purposes and the
identities often implicated in day-to-day contestations over citizenship as well as competitions and conflicts over
resources and privileges. To emphasize the inter-connectedness of ethnic, regional, and religious identities and the fact
that they are often mutually reinforcing, they are sometimes compounded or hyphenated as ethno-regional and ethno-
religious. The latter references have historical, geographical and political origins. They evolved from the old regional
structures of the Nigerian federation, where identities were shaped by leaders of the dominant ethnic groups –
Hausa/Fulani in the Northern region (predominately Muslim), Igbo in the Eastern region and Yoruba in the Western region
– that exercised some form of hegemonic control over the regions. As a result, ethno-regional identities were, and
continue to be, used as shorthand references to the dominant ethnic groups acting as regional ‘hegemons’. This is the
sense in which conflicts among the three dominant groups are generally referred to as ethno-regional. With the division of
the country into six semi-official geo-political zones in the late 1990s, which not only have ethnic referents but have also
gained currency in the political lexicon, the usage of ethno-regional categories is likely to expand, but so far the old
regional references remain dominant.
Similarly, the category of ethno-religious identities initially owed its origin to regional formations. It has been useful
for differentiating the predominantly Muslim North from the predominantly Christian South. The category has also helped
to differentiate the dominant Muslim group in the North from the non-Muslim minorities in the region. Indeed, unlike the
south where majority groups are distinguished from minority groups on the basis of ethnicity, majority-minority distinctions
in the north have been more religious than ethnic (Osaghae and Suberu, 2005). Thus, a member of the Hausa/Fulani
majority group in the north who is Christian is as much a minority in the overall scheme of things as say an Idoma or
Igala,(both of which are northern minority groups) and is actually likely to enjoy lesser privileges than an ethnic minority
person who is Muslim. Since the early 1980s when the Maitatsine riots ushered in a regime of religious fundamentalism in
the Northern parts of the country, ethno-religious categories have been more frequently used to describe conflicts that
involve an intersection of ethnic and religious identities. Again for partly historical reasons, this has been true of the North
where, as has been pointed out, religious differences play a major part in ethnic differentiation. Thus, conflicts between
Hausa/Fulani and minority ethno-religious groups are described as ethno-religious. However, the increased politicization
of religion by the state, including the adoption of Islamic penal law by several Northern states in the Fourth Republic, has
led to the generalization of ethno-religious conflicts all over the country.
In the recent past, other ‘primordial’ identities that have gained wide currency and greater political significance,
especially in contestations over citizenship, are those of ‘indigenes’, ‘non-indigenes’, ‘migrants’, and ‘settlers’. These
categories have ethnic, communal, religious and regional origins, and have evolved from an entrenched system of
discriminatory practices in which non-indigenes, migrants and settlers are shunted out or denied equal access to the
resources, rights and privileges of a locality, community, town or state, to which ‘sons and daughters of the soil’ have first
or exclusionary access. The system produces and sustains a hierarchical, unequal, and ranked system of citizenship that
has provoked violent conflicts all over the country, and goes to the very heart of the ‘National Question’. Although these
identities have grown in significance in the recent past, which obviously has to do with the aggravation of the ‘National
Question’, they have deep historical roots in pre-colonial patterns of inter-group relations, and the discriminatory practices
and ethnic inequalities entrenched by both the colonial regime and continued by post-independence administrations.
These have cumulatively provoked various forms of self-determination agitation by different groups.
Ethnicity is generally regarded as the most basic and politically salient identity in Nigeria. This claim is supported by the
fact that both in competitive and non-competitive settings, Nigerians are more likely to define themselves in terms of their
ethnic affinities than any other identity. Indeed, according to the authoritative 2000 survey on “Attitudes to Democracy and
Markets in Nigeria”, ethnicity “is demonstrably the most conspicuous group identity in Nigeria” (Lewis and Bratton 2000:
27). Thus, the survey found that almost one-half (48.2%) of Nigerians chose to label themselves with an ethnic (including
linguistic and local-regional) identity, compared to almost one-third (28.4%) who opted for class identities, and 21.0% who
chose a religious identity (Lewis and Bratton 2000: 24-25).
Ranking next to ethnicity is religious identity. In fact, in parts of the North commonly referred to as the ‘core’ or
‘Hausa-Fulani North’ - which is roughly coterminous with those states that adopted Sharia law in the Fourth Republic -
religious identity is more critical than ethnic identity and in fact serves to activate ethnicity. This ushered in segregation
pattern along ethnic and religious lines in most states in Northern Nigeria specifically pronounce in Bauchi and Jos
(Gambo, 2009). Best & Idyorough (2003) in examining the Jukun-Tiv conflict observed different pattern of settlement in
the course of the study. They reported settlement along ethnically homogenous lines such as Tiv people in Wukari
Township; settlement based on wage employment and also settlement which emerged along the major roads after the
132
conflict. The measurement of segregation in populations has been the focus of a large amount of research and a variety
of segregation indices have been proposed and examined. The degree of segregation can vary substantially from place
to place even within cities. Poole and Doherty (1996) and Doherty and Poole (1997) in Northern Ireland examined the
segregation between Protestants and Catholics. Residential segregation has major political and policy implications in
Northern Ireland because of the legacy of communal division and conflict (Anderson and Shuttleworth, 1998). The extent
of segregation in Northern Ireland as a whole has been a focus particularly in media discussions (see, for example,
Anderson and Shuttleworth, 1994) which have attempted to evaluate the extent to which Northern Ireland has become a
more communally-divided society in terms of residence. The general consensus has been that segregation in general has
increased through time in a ‘ratchet effect’, with large increases particularly after outbreaks of violent conflict, with little or
no decrease when violence declines. Undoubtedly, violence has been an important element in driving changes in the
geographical distribution of population since 1969 (Poole and Doherty, 1996) but other forces driving changes in the
distribution, such as counter-urbanization as seen in other cities (Power and Shuttleworth, 1997), cannot be discounted.
Besides a focus on segregation in Northern Ireland as a whole, there have also been analyses of residential patterns in
sub-units such as Belfast and its various parts, as well as selected towns and rural areas (Doherty and Poole, 1997;
Poole and Doherty, 1996). Doherty and Poole (1997) consider the evolution of residential segregation in the Belfast
Urban Area (BUA) and sub-areas through time using grid-square data. The analysis was extended by Poole and Doherty
(1996) who outlined segregation patterns in towns and in locations such as the border. High levels of segregation were
found in Belfast, Derry, Lurgan, Portadown, and Armagh with lower levels in locations like North Down and parts of East
and North Antrim. This approach moves quite a way to recognizing that residential segregation varies between places
and that presenting information on Northern Ireland as the ‘given unit’ of analysis conceals significant local variations.
4. Pattern of Settlement in the North
Complex interconnectedness between ethno-regional, ethno-religious and ethnicity presents a new phenomenon in the
springing of settlement pattern in almost all the northern states. Combine as exacerbating factor, preponderant violent
ethno-religious fracas had ushered in new phenomenon in neighbourhood/settlement arrangement in most northern
towns and cities. Empirical survey revealed settlement pattern along religious lines and ethnic formations in the cities of
Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Bauchi. With religious fundamentalism of the 1980s, the struggle to preserve Kano’s identity
shifted from ethnic and assumed a religious dimension. By 1859, Kano was organized into 74 quarters each headed by
Mai Ungawa - the Emir’s representative. The quarters were divided into two – Birni (the walled city for Kano indigenes
and other Muslim Hausas), and the Waje (the outside city for non - indigenes) (Nwaka, nd). The preservation of Islam
from pollution informed the separate settlement. This development continued in almost all the core Northern cities. The
non-Muslims and non-indigenes settle outside the traditional city walls of Kano, Kaduna (Zaria), and Bauchi. The
insurgence religious crises compelled the non-Muslims and the non-indigenes to settle outside the city walls for perceive
safety. In the case of Jos the capital city of Plateau state which is a Christian dominated State the non-Christians which
are majorly Hausa/Fulani also settle in isolation of Christians, along religious divides.
Table 1 Settlement Pattern in Jos along Religious Line

___________________________________________
Christian Muslim
Unguwan Rukuba Yanshanu
Rock Heaven Rikos
British-America Gangare
Tudun Wada Ungwan Rogo
Bukuru ________________ Ali Kazaure ________
Source: Field Survey, 2011
Table 2 Settlement Pattern in Bauchi along Religious Llines
Christian Muslim
Yelwan Tudu Jahun
Yelwan Kagadama Nasarawa
Rafin Zurfi Gwallaga
Gwallameji Kobi
Gudum Sayawa Bakaro
133
Table 3 Settlement Pattern in Kaduna State along Religion Lines
Christian Muslim
Barnawa High cost Kawo
Barnawa Complex Tudun Wada
Sabon Unguwan Dosa
Unguwan Pama Unguwan Rimi
Unguwan Sunday Mando
Table 4 Settlement Pattern along Ethnicity Divides in Bauchi State
Neighbourhood Tribe
Igbo Quarter Igbo
Gudum Sayawa Sayawa
Rafin Zurfi Ngas
Birshi Fulani Fulani
Yalwan Kagadama Sayawa
Turum Gerawa
In Kano State the Christians and non-indigenes settle at Sabon Gari where they feel secured and safe. Albert (1994)
asserts that by 1948, the population of the Igbo (6,680) had surpassed that of the Yoruba (4,415). By 1950s, the
population of Sabon – Gari Kano was: Igbo-54%, Yoruba-24%, Hausa/Fulani 4-%. Most non-indigenes and non-Muslims
settling in core north do that along religious and/or ethnic (native) divides as seen in table 4. It is obvious that security is
perceived along religious and native affinity indicated in table 5. This arrangement applies in some northern states with
Christian domination as seen in the case of Jos, the Plateau State capital (see table1). The pattern of settlement also in
the north informs people choice of where to live and whether not live. This has compelled some people to swap lands and
in some cases residential apartments to areas of dominant religion. Table5 shows criteria for judging safe areas, what
people consider before deciding where to live and/or not live. Religion ranks first followed by native affinity in Bauchi and
Jos. Proximity to town (CBD) is the least considered. It is not uncommon to have settlements along religious and ethnic
lines.
Table 5 Relative Importance Index of Factors used in Judging Security

BAUCHI JOS
Variables RII Rank RII Rank
Religious Affinity 0.99 1 0.97 1
Native Affinity 0.93 2 0.82 2
Non-Indigene settlement 0.70 3 0.59 3
Proximity to town 0.61 4 0.55 4
Source: Gambo (2009)
5. Conclusion and recommendation
Empirical survey revealed that violent outbreaks affect settlement arrangement as such perceive safety compelled people
to settle along religious and ethnic divides as commonly found in most northern cities. This has great consequences on
land uses and administration thereby causing floating of property values as the case may be in safely advantageous
neighbourhoods. Government should therefore checkmate the incessant ethno-religious conflicts ensure adherence to
land use and planning regulations.
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135

Beckett's Metatheatrical Philosophy: A postmodern Tendency Regarding

Waiting for Godot and Endgame
Marzieh Keshavarz
Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics,

Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Keshavarz.Marzieh@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p137
Abstract: There are so many controversial debates over the features of Beckett's dramatic works that surpass the previous models of
literary plays. Andrew K. Kennedy (1991) asserts that "what is unique is the supreme fiction that turns so many disparate ideas,
impulses, beliefs, and unbeliefs into a new and personal mythology" (3). Thus, the main concern of this paper concentrates on Beckett's
philosophy that breaks with the conventional principles of theatre in order to promote a new view of dramatic form which Lionel Able
coins as metatheatre. Abel constructs his notion of metatheatre on two famous phrases which are 'the world is a stage' and 'life is a
dream' that justify the dreamlike atmosphere of Beckett's plays. Beckett's plays that at the first glance seem nonsense or meaningless,
demand a deeper awareness and should be evaluated by destructing the conceptual boundaries as they are constructed upon the
deviation from the standard norms. His plays insist that the ultimate reality of one's mind is beyond the limits of logical mind. Hence the
word meta-theatre is suitable for his plays, because the basic idea of meta-theatre is that of multiple layers of meaning. Beckett's
theatrical masterpieces, Waiting for Godot and Endgame are among the best examples of falling away from the accepted standards.
Still, the loose structure of the plays with little or no action in which a few anti-heroes play out their roles in a nightmarish world of
motionless time does not make it pessimistic. As Brook (1990) says, "Beckett's dark plays are plays full of light" (65). Waiting for Godot
and Endgame in particular will lead us to advance the central argument and achieve a more comprehensible analysis of Beckett’s major
plays.
Key Terms: anti-theatrical metatheatre, metatheatre, postmodernism, protheatrical metatheatre, self-reflexion, postmodern tendency
1. Introduction
Samuel Beckett (1906-89) is the most eminent playwright of the anti-formal drama who tried to show the condition of
human beings in a world of shattered beliefs and uncertainties through his meta-theatrical plays. He throws away the
standards of traditional western theatre and invents a kind of anti-traditional play that goes beyond the restricted
boundaries of classical and modern drama. Lionel Abel (2003) asserts that meta-theater "marks those frames and
boundaries that conventional dramatic realism would hide" (133). William S. Haney, in his essay, Beckett out of His Mind:
The Theater of the Absurd believes that Beckett goes beyond "the linguistic and cultural boundaries by dispensing with
narrative sequence, character development, and psychology in the conventional sense" (40). In fact, Beckett has
uprooted the conventions to show the absurdity and lack of meaning in modern life. To achieve this aim, he replaces the
logical world of the conventional plays by such a fragmented world full of nonsense words uttered by the characters to
confirm the dreamlike atmosphere of absurdity that encompasses the whole play. His innovation embraces all the
elements of conventional elements of theater including plot, characterization, language, and time. This defamiliarization of
the familiar notions establishes the basis of meta-theatre that "may present actions that we are forced to acknowledge
the estranging frame that encloses a whole play" (Abel, 2003, 134).
Beckett's promotion of meta-theatre leads his drama to a rediscovery of realities beyond the grasp of rational mind.
Therefore, it is less concerned with meaning and in order to understand such plays, one must suspend his mind and
empty it from all its accepted notions so that he may surpass "the psychic structures that select, organize, interpret, and
limit our knowledge about the world around us" (Haney, 2003, 42). Thus, as a skillful subversive of conventions, Beckett
tries to use meta-theatre as a device for taking the spectator's attention beyond the restriction of thought and meaning. At
times, he stops the flow of thought to lead the spectator's attention toward his "pure conscious mind: "What emerges is a
state of pure consciousness -- 'pure' in the sense that it is not the consciousness of any empirical content. It has no
content except itself" (Stace, 1960, 86).
137
2. The Origin of Metatheatre
The word 'metatheatre' was used for the first time in 1963 by Lionel Abel who introduces a new way of looking at drama.
Abel believes that "metatheatre at the very least, has added a word to the language with which we talk of theatre" (Abel,
2003, v). According to Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'meta' means besides, after or above, upon or about. Thus,
metatheatre is a theatre about theatre. Abel tried to suggest the nature of a philosophical form of drama that broke with
the classicist and modernist techniques and conventions. Martin Esslin (1976) says that "metateatre outstrips other
dramas as a form of philosophizing, not in abstract but in concrete term" (4). This literary term coined by Abel is so
indispensable that it has acquired a life of its own. It is a powerful tool for understanding modern theatre. Abel's definition
of metatheatre is based on two basic beliefs that "the world is a stage" and "life is a dream".
John Collens (1998) hesitates to call 'metatheatre' a "genre" and says that "it is misleading to include 'metatheatre"
under the heading of genre and form" (211). In his Dictionaire du Theatre (1984), Patric Pavis also affirms that
"metatheatricality is a fundamental characteristic of any theatrical communication." But to Abel, this word was only a
device and a definite form for plays with a philosophic self-consciousness. He claims that this style of playwriting existed
long before his description of metatheatre. In his book Tragedy and Metatheatre: Essays on Dramatic Form Abel treats a
range of authors from Moliere and Calderon to Genet and finally Beckett as authors of metatheatre. But, he asserts that
all the works categorized under the term 'metatheatre' have one common characteristic: "all of them are theatre pieces
about life seen as already theatricalized" by which he means that characters appearing on the stage are there simply
because "they are caught by the playwright in dramatic postures", while they themselves are aware of their own
theatricality (Abel, 2003, 135). Pavis' dictionary (1998) refers to Abel to provide the following definition of metatheatre:
This phenomenon dose not necessarily involve an autonomous play contained within another, as in the "play within
the play". All that is required is that the represented reality appears to be one that is already theatrical, as in plays in
which the main theme is life as theatre . . . Metatheatre, thus, defined becomes a form of antitheatre, where the
dividing line between play and real life is erased. (210)
Metatheatre shows a fictional illusion that self-consciously reflects upon itself. In order to show the artificiality and
illusionary of life, this dramatic form of theatre breaks the boundaries and goes beyond the framework of realism.
Therefore, metatheatre is a quality that diminishes the idea of theatre to be nothing but a mirror of reality. Instead, it
brings forth the theatricality of life. The term 'theatricality' coined by Ruby Chon (1980) in his Just Play is a distinctive form
of drama that emerges in the moment when "the stage reality synchronizes with fiction" (99) or when "the fiction is
literalized" (101). He says that always in theatricality "the actual and fictional only nearly converge" (103). Howard Barker
(1989) believes that metatheatre, which is in fact a drama on drama, "imaginatively speculate[s] about life as it is lived"
(qtd. in Discovering Utopia, 1998, 219). Considering Beckett's theatre as metatheatre, Kennedy (1989) points to
Endgame as a play that "enacts a diminished theatre, along with the diminished humor and physical universe it evolves"
(66). That is why Beckett's theatre causes the audience "since its first humiliated appearance to think about the theatre
with the most appalling doubt" (Blau, 1990, 181). Indeed, metatheatre focuses on the understanding of the world as the
theatre of life which has been theatricalized.
Beckett glorifies an age that no longer regards the realistic world of drama and shows tendency toward anti-norms of
writing. He puts away the popular literary forms of drama and implies a careful blend of the two desperate forms of
comedy and tragedy. Merivale (1978) explains that "the king of tragedy and the fool of comedy are brought together by
Beckett to exemplify theatricality itself" (121). His innovation in dramatic form causes the movement in modern European
drama. As a result, instead of tragedy, we have metaplay, a dramatic form for revealing characters whose self-
consciousness create their dramatic situation. Abel (2003) believes that "metaplay has occupied the dramatic imagination
of the west to the same degree that the Greek dramatic imagination was occupied with tragedy". What playwrights such
as Shakespeare, Calderon, Genet, Brecht, and Beckett have written are new types of drama "with very different
assumptions from those of Greek tragedy, and with very different effects" (151). Retreating from realism in recent dramas
lead such plays toward interpreting and understanding the ultimate reality.
Lack of concern for reality and self-awareness are two basic characteristics of metaplay which show that theatre no
longer deals with ethical or political manners of the society. Instead, it celebrates itself as the essence of theatre. The
metatheatrical moments, then, is constituted by "combining the representation with a simultaneous auto-- or self-reflexion
on the representation, a running commentary organically fusing staging with self-staging" (Collens, 1998, 211). Analysis
of the theatrical self-representation shows that using metatheatrical techniques transforms the plays into a kind of
dramatized perception of specific dramas such as Beckett's anti-traditional dramas. Schwab (1992) believes that
138
Beckett's plays expand the "boundaries of our consciousness in two directions toward the unconscious and toward self-
reflection" (97). This self-referenced dramatic form indicates that the theatre reflects on itself and delights itself. It also
means that the theatre might be rather self-critical that is the feature of much of modernist metatheatre. For instance, in
Wating for Godot when Estragon says: Nothing to be done" about his boots, Vladimir comments on his life:
I'm beginning to come round to that position. All my life I've tried to put it from me, saying Vladimir, be reasonable,
you haven't yet tried everything. And I resume the struggle. (1)
Therefore, the modernist theatre engages in self-critiques and this self-critique is enacted through various modes of
interpretation. Modern theatre becomes metatheatre when the action of the play does not progress. In this sense,
Beckett's Waiting for Godot becomes waiting for an event that will never occur. The characters are immobile and out of
energy. Interruptions, moments of hesitation and non-activity in Waiting for Godot and Endgame are Beckett's
dramaturgy. The structure of such plays is loose in a stop-and-go manner. Beckett never wants his audience to get
involved in the play. His plays are an invitation to the world of play which acknowledges the audience's part in creating
that world. Therefore, a variety of interpretations are inevitable. Davies (2002) asserts that "yet, the metatheatrical nature
of the work also makes the aesthetic criticism personal" (88).
Abel categorizes metatheatre into "protheatrical metatheatre" and "anti-theatrical metatheatre". By protheatricl
metatheatre he means a theatre "reflecting endlessly upon itself in a half of mirrors" and by "anti-theatrical metatheatre"
he means a theatre "permanently interrupted". He points to Calderon's life is a dream as a protheatrical metatheare which
takes the confusion between life and dream. It leads to the belief that the world is indeed a theatre. Abel mentions that
Hamlet is an anti-theatrical metaphor since its action is endlessly postponed and interrupted. (Abel, 2003, 19-20). Beckett
owes his innovation to the same inaction and postponement which has dominated Hamlet. In Waiting for Godot, at times
we witness that Godot's arriving is postponed and in Endgame we see Clov's hesitation in leaving Hamm at every
moment of the play.
The incidents and characters in a metaplay are the playwright's inventions which "are found by the playwright's
imagining rather by his observing the world" (Abel, 2003, 133). These plays are able to "instill a grave silence-- a
speculative sadness-- at their close", though there might be some humor in them (Abel, 2003, 133). If so, the word
'tragicomedy' is a proper name. Here, metatheatre becomes a form of drama which is "aware of its nature as a medium
and capable of exploiting its own conventions and devices for comic and occasionally pathetic effect" (Slater, 1985, 13-
14). When we read Beckett, we are confronting a new theatrical form which demands a more sophisticated meditation
about the story of the play in order to discover its genres. He has created moments that we often do not know whether to
laugh or to cry. Kennedy says that "Beckett's plays get nearer to pure theatre in the sense that they could not function in
any other genre or medium" (23). The relationship between Beckett's "creatures of illusion on stage" and the audience is,
in Duckworth's words, "a confused one" (Duckworth, 1972, 49). At first Beckett announces a comedy and then he
pretends to change the nature of the play toward a tragedy. Therefore, the audience's first expectation as a comedy
disturbs as he witnesses the tragic underlying meaning of the play. Since the comic and tragic are brought together, the
audience's feelings "are moved and disturbed by ostensibly comic as well as the play's more overtly tragic moments"
(Foster, 2004, 169). Foster declares that though we laugh at what is unhappy, it is not "mirthless laughter but genuine
engagement of the surprising wit with which Vladimir and Estragon acknowledge their existence" (169). In this regard,
Abel affirms that the real usage of metatheatre is that it can convey both the comic and tragic while it can keep them
separate. He believes that metatheatre is a clearer term than 'tragicomedy' since it "suggests a restrained comicality
together with a serious painfulness, one not pushed to the point of tragedy" (Abel, 2003, 172). Thus, Abel considers
metatheatre as a mixed genre. In fact, in Beckett, it is the concept of metatheatre that allows us to see how he places a
tragic underlying meaning beneath the comic surface of the play. Beckett has skillfully created the situation of his plays to
show us that his characters are innocent enough to sympathize with them while they are unwillingly trapped in a world of
sufferings. Davies mentions that Beckettian characters are "not mean or vicious by nature; they are made so by life" (81).
Clov: That's friendship, yes, no question, you've found it . . . Then one day, suddenly it ends. (Endgame 82)
In fact, Beckett tries to take the tragic aspect of Waiting for Godot and Endgame into the power of comic theatre. Beckett
uses the metatheatrical devices in his lines to draw the audience into his characters' play experience. Foster points to
Beckett's play as 'tragicomedy' since Beckett has created "simultaneous engagement and detachment in his audience by
playing colloquialism and artifice against one another. . ." (173). He adds that the language of tragicomedy "typically
blends emotional realism with self-conscious artifice" while the audience is "drawn, almost mesmerized, into the
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characters' experience of the horror of silence, of an emptiness filled only with dead voices" (173). The metatheatrical
elements in Waiting for Godot and Endgame often serve to detach the action by reminding us that we are in a theatre in a
more profound and surprised way. For instance, while watching Waiting for Godot, the audience participates in Vladimir's
and Estragon's experience of waiting for a Mr. Godot as they themselves experience the action of waiting.
In order to join the comic to the tragic in a unified dramatic work, Abel appeals to Bakhtin's distinction of
'architectonic form' from the 'compositional form' in a literary work that has been mentioned in his essay on form and
content. 'Architectonic form' would tell us whether the play is a romance, a tragedy, a metadrama, a comedy, or a farce.
The compositional form describes the work conventionally; it distinguishes a play from a novel, but it cannot distinguish a
comedy from a tragedy. The values of comedy and tragedy can be brought together in a unified literary work but not
certainly by mixing the two. The comic and the tragic may "appear harmoniously in a single work if confronting to the
metatheatrical cannon". Abel points out that "there is no form, no nonconventional, architectonic form for tragicomedy"
(171-173). Therefore, comedy and tragedy can come together under a single architectonic form: "this can be achieved
when the effects of comedy and tragedy are both subordinate to the theatrical, and this becomes possible in a play about
play theatre." (173)
Collens affirms that metatheatre should be considered as a "specific heightening of the theatre's inherent
doubleness, as fiction and reality, showing and telling, as a mind-broading serving public and private interest" (219).
Today, some still enjoy metatheatre, others find it as a kind of outdated play. By the way, this form still persists.
Historically, the form has had at least one common purpose: To expose that life is a dream, all the world is a stage and
finally celebrating the theatricality of theatre.
3. Beckett's Philosophy
Traditional drama went through many changes in the hands of Samuel Beckett which shows his dissatisfaction of the
previous dramatists. Samuel Beckett, most obviously, is a postwar Irish dramatist who upsides down the realistic
representation of the conventional playwrights. He departs from the standard ways of representing theatre in order to
construct a new culture. Thus, he violates the traditional continuity of the action and coherence of the narrative language
while maintaining "an underlying consistency/an inner coherence" artistically in his plays (Kennedy 155). Beckett believes
that continuality in the formation of events is nothing but illusion imposed on the audience. Therefore, his world is "a
bundle of broken images" (Lane, 1996, 3). Matthew Davies points to Beckett's text as "a mosaic of broken or incomplete
metaphors and mythologies that defy interpretation, baffling audience and performer alike" (79):
Hamm: We're not beginning to . . . to . . . mean something!

Clov: Mean something! You and I, mean something! (Brief laugh) Ah, that's a great one! (Endgame 34)
All of this may seem tedious to a reader eager to get on with a narrative, but in the theatre, in performance, it builds a
framework through which the play is interpreted. His deconstruction of language, form and some well-known norms in art
and literature makes him create an illusionary world of metatheatre. In this respect, he resonates with Jean Francois
Lyotard's notion of postmodern artist. Lyotard (1992) puts the postmodern artist in the position of a "philosopher":
The text he writes, the work he produces are not in principle governed by pre-established rules, and they cannot be
judged according to a determining judgment, by applying familiar categories to the text or to the work. Those rules
and categories are what the work of art itself is looking for. (124)
Beckett's works can be interpreted on several different levels in order to make any sense of his multi-dimensional works.
They challenge the audience to make sense of nonsense and perceive with laughter the life's fundamental absurdity, life
as a fantasy or dream. Therefore, the audiences impose their own meaning on the play through the power of their
imagination by means of which they experience the existence of each character. He used a whole rang of intertextual
devices and challenged the privileged mode of drama through various metatheatrical strategies. The destruction of
referentiality and meaningfulness of language caused Beckett create a system of specific rules for the performance of
nonsense plays. Collens asserts that, "indeed Beckett tried to dissolve and distinct between reality and illusion, self and
role to destroy the referentiality of language"(217).
Beckett was interested in mundane situations. In describing Endgame Haney says that Beckettian characters "live in
the aftermath of a great calamity and seem to be the sole survivor in a world Clov describe as "corpsed"" (Endgame 45)
(Haney 47). Beckett's metatheatre is very special. His plays almost never present a play-within-a-play sequence. The
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characters have a kind of sad naturalness. They fail in making communication; still they find it hard to stop talking. His
characters come in symmetrical pairs and play a waiting game. According to Essif, their essential characteristics include:
The relative immobility (instead of either dynamic acrobatics or normal social or biological motion and gesture); its
central detached and highlighted presence on the stage (instead of an interactive relationship with other
characters); and the consequently; its focus on head as a metaphorical empty space (instead of the mimetic---
ideological or psychological---focus on the whole play). (184)
Statements in Beckett's metatheatrical play are very specific, not revealing or withholding any special meaning and
because of the lack of traditional cause and effect relations between them, it is difficult to say what the play as a whole
mean.
Considering these strategies in Beckett leads us to a practical philosophy in which Beckett depicts his views and
ideas in his anti-formal dramatic works. Beckett confronted the audience with characters whose subjectivity is implicitly
self-aware. He tries to place the audience between the actual world of the play and the play-like qualities of the actual as
he believes in the metatheatrical notion of 'all the world is a stage'. He persuades the audience to become a character on
the stage of theatre and experience the same fate as the characters they observe. In order to achieve this aim, he
completely ruptures the 'fourth-wall' conventions of theatre which was used in nineteenth-century with the advent of
realistic plays. Davies points out:
In a period dominated by naturalistic theatre and an adherence to the suspension of disbelief, Beckett's assaults on
the fourth wall create metatheatrical fractures that undermine the egoistical nature of preference and spectating.
(79-80)
Destroying the notion of fourth wall as an imaginary wall at the front of the stage in theatre through which the audience
sees the action in the world of the stage, Beckett moves away from the theatrical realism which separates the audience
from the stage. He creates fractures that confuse the boundary between representation and reality:
"Estragon: charming spot. (He turns, advances to front, halts facing auditorium.) Inspiring prospects. (He turns to
Vladimir.) Let's go." (Godot 8)
Thus, he draws the audience into the realm of theatre and in this regard, the claim that Beckett has rescued "the
centuries old mimetic stage by abolishing the pretence of the fourthwall as a pseudo natural space into formal artistic
space" is a power potential toward a metatheatrical performance (Licastro 211). Blurring the boundary between audience
and his characters, Beckett makes the action of the play more powerful. This adds a metatheatrical feature to the play as
the characters are aware of their own theatricality while implicating the audience in their actions at the same time. The
highly self-conscious nature of the play makes his play become a play about the nature of the play. Endgame constantly
concerns itself with roles, role-playing and the nature of waiting and hesitation. Having totally ruptured the usual
stage/audience relationship and reestablished the normal conditions of performance, he tried to present his audience with
those dramatical aspects of theatre that is usually kept hidden by realistic performance. He destroys the fabric of theatre
representation in the hope of metaheatrical promotion.
Beckett tries to present what is absent by the limitation of thought. Indeed, he is the master of metatheatrical devices
that stop the flow of thought and move the attention toward self-awareness. Haney points to "the lack of logical
movement, the digression of nonsense . . . his repetition of endless cycles of action-in-non-action" as some features of
metatheatre (43). Therefore, many of Beckett's plays rely on repetition or looping. In the world of the play each day the
characters begin again, attempt again and repeat again in the failure of the previous day. In Waiting for Godot, the
protagonists decide to move and then do not move again and again. The circularity of the non-closure of the plot in his
works push the audience in a loop as if the action of the play is supposed to be seen over and over again as a kind of
hallucination. The open-ending of such plays is the anti-theatre's denial of the boundaries of the actions. The plays
disregard any kind of ending or resolution. So in the end, his plays suggest no certainty. In order to create a circular plot
Beckett has to remove the time: "A 'timeless' or circular structure of action has entered spectrum of dramatic forms,
against the long dominance of the logic of time in various plot-central versions" (Kennedy 19).
So the past, present, and future mingle together. The immediate experience of the play is shown to be the same as
past experiences and memories of the past are constantly recurring in the present which shows Beckett's tendency to
merge all the tense in the present time. He uses the technique of alienation in his anti-theatres to stop the audience from
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experiencing the dramatic time. When time is arrested in anti-plays, the effect is unavoidably paradoxical. Time stops or
conveys the sense that nothing is happening. Waiting for Godot dramatizes such experience that has been constructed
on non-movement in which nothing ever happens:
Estragon: Let's go.

Vladimir: we can't.
Estragon: why not?
Vladimir: we are waiting for Godot. (50)
James Calderwood believes that, "the act of waiting, although indiscernible to an outside observer, disturbs the illusion of
time by erasing the past, diminishing the present, and aggrandizing the future when that which is waited for is expected to
appear" (33). Observing Beckett's philosophy in creating his metatheatres shows that he uses and subverts the
fundamental elements of the theatre including plot, characterization, language, and time in an innovative way. However,
his metatheatrical strategies change our very idea of the dramatic, of what is possible with the limits of a dramatic
performance.
4. Metatheatre: A Postmodern Tendency
The postmodern tendency of metatheatre deconstructs every facet of the process through which the conventional plays
were performed for the audience. Thus, postmodernism, the dominant culture of late modernity can be read through a set
of metatheatrical process that subverts the complete set of rules and conventions. Lyotard (1984), an influential critic of
postmodernism, asserts that the postmodernist artists' literary works "stand outside the rules of its time". He believes that
"those rules and categories are what the work of art itself is looking for. The artist and the writer are working without rules
in order to formulate the rules of what will have been done" (81). Thus, the postmodern dramatists use self-conscious
dramatic techniques in their plays to comment on the play itself.
According to Hutcheon (1985), the postmodern "factious mode" complete modernism's break with traditional realism
and challenges the "romantic self-transcendence" (51). In fact, the antiplays of the post-war period appeared to be
moving away from modernism in its claims of realism toward a new entity, called postmodernism. Therefore,
postmodernism is a literary category with which we describe the important innovation after World War II which in the
realm of theatre has been manifested in metaplays. Modern conventions impact the rules of dramatic narrative structures
in such a way that the metadrama they produce becomes a critique of those conventions. Metadrama produces
structures with characteristics Hutcheon identifies as a "postmodern tendency." She believes that those structures
"implicated in the notions of center they attempt to subvert" recreate our interpretation of the structure these texts present
(14). Thus, modern theatre has taken the postmodern turn: it is now metatheatre. In other words, metatheatre has
become a frequent feature of postmodernist literature.
Metatheatre engages the audience in the process of meaning-making in order to shape their interpretation of the
dramatic scene. Therefore, dealing with the interpretive power of the audience is one of the main concerns behind the
metadramatic production in any era. Jean Baudrillard (1983) believes that postmodernism is a "technical simulation . . . to
which is attached an aesthetic pleasure . . . of reading and of the rules of the game" (147) which is an aesthetic approach
to artistic definitions.
Metadrama, very often questions the boundaries between the real and the artificial. Therefore, postmodernism's
question "What can be said to be art?" leads to a metadramatic question of "where does art-- in this case dramatic--
begin and end?" which is nourished by the conception of the dramatical nature of life from Shakespeare's "[a]ll the world's
a stage" to Elizabeth's "[w]e princess are set upon stags in the sight and view of the world" (Mullaney, 1997, 44).
Postmodernism's self-conscious tendencies and styles juxtapose and compare reality and fiction in a way that
distinction between the two cannot be felt. So, Postmodernism attempts to destroy modernist potential that separates
theatre from life. Waugh (1993) believes that postmodernism's sense of art is not only an "ontologically distinct from the
world, but also a fundamental aspect of existence in it" (11). Therefore, one must destroy any established rules and
reconstruct them in order to grasp the depth of a metaplay. Beckett achieves this aim by using the very technique of
parody. But what makes him innovative was the way he used this technique. Unlike other writers, he parodies no
particular dramatic work; instead, he parodies the traditional rules of theatre. Moses (1985) points to Beckett's aim as the
"complement, revise, or correct" the previous literary authorities and conventions. He says: "This virulent new strain of
destructive parody is Beckett's self-conscious use of literary conventions without conviction and with the clear aim to
subvert those conventions" (662). In fact, Beckett's destructive ironical parody is a literary strategy, for, unlike the
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traditional parody, Beckett's postmodernist form is not constructed against any specific work, style, or author. Beckett's
engagement in parodying the conventions and elements of theatre through self-conscious or self-referential techniques
designates the metadramatic or metatheatrical nature of his plays. Therefore, Beckett makes the theatre itself reflect the
incomplete and fictitious essence of its theatrical conventions by creating a sense of confusion in his audience.
Beckett's anti-literary talent for applying and then violating theatrical traditions overshadows almost all elements of
conventional theatre. In this respect, Waiting for Godot and Endgame have been chosen as literary works that rupture the
dominant dramatic realism and open up a space that was filled by the postmodern concern for metatheatrical plays.
These masterpieces contain metatheatrical elements of self-observation and self-commentary, which are some of the
postmodernist prominent features. Thus, Beckett's plays are constructed in a way to question the conventional norms of
theatre. For instance, Schlueter (1979) points out that Hamm and Clov are simultaneously "participants in life (in the play
world) and participate in theatre" (54). Thus, Beckettian characters are noticeably both characters and actors. The actors
seem to inform and to stand apart from their characters, and the audience's task is to recognize this double aspect of the
characters to become part of the play. Beckett's plays are self-reflexive; they constantly draw attention to the greater
reality upon which they are constructed: an audience in a theatre watching actors perform as characters. They challenge
the audience, then, persuade him to remain consciously complicit in order to submit to the fiction even while being aware
that it is a fiction. It is one of several instances of metatheatre in Beckett.
As a result, Beckett sought to explore the mechanics of representation in a manner that laid the way for its
deconstruction. His works seek to resist and remake many of the assumptions and, therefore, empower the
postmodernist tendency in his metatheatre.
5. Conclusion
Therefore, this study emphasizes the historical background of metatheatre with an overview of Beckett's philosophy. It
sheds light on the new strategies that Beckett has used in shaping his metatheatrical plays. In this way, he goes beyond
the limits of traditional norms of theater and invents such a metatheater that makes him the pioneer of a new cult. This
deviation from standards questions the validity and authority of the main elements of theater such as characterization,
plot, language, and time. Paradoxically, Beckett announces a comedy and then pretends to shift the nature of the play
toward tragedy. In this sense, Able separates metatheatre from tragedy in that it deals with reality while metatheatre
shows its tendency toward the artificiality of life. Thus, as a new genera, metatheatre replaces tragedy because its self-
consciousness makes tragedy impossible as "in nature tragedy is beyond thought" (Able, 2003, 180). Besides, the self-
reflexivity of metatheatre reveals significant contiguities with that of postmodernism. In this respect, metatheatre is a
postmodern genera that moves beyond the textual boundaries in order to challenge the traditional authorities. Therefore,
modern theatre has taken the postmodern turn which is now metatheatre.
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Real Exchange Rate and Inflation: An Empirical Assessment of the Nigerian Experience
Victor E. Oriavwote (M.Sc.)

Department of Arts and Social Sciences,
Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, Delta State, Nigeria.
Corresponding Author: E-Mail: oriavwote40@yahoo.com Phone No. 08035814123
Samuel J. Eshenake (M.Sc.)
Department of Economics,
College of Education, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
E-Mail: eshenakecared@yahoo.com 08067518238
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p145
Abstract The objective of the paper has been to assess the relationship between the real exchange rate and inflation in Nigeria. Using
data covering the period between 1970 and 2010, the cointegration test result shows a long run relationship between inflation and the
real exchange rate. The satisfactory speed of adjustment indicated by the error correction model further supports this long run
relationship. The result showed that both domestic and imported inflation appreciated the real exchange rate. The ARCH result indicates
the persistence of volatility between the rate of inflation and the real exchange rate. An indication that the real exchange rate in Nigeria
has been susceptible to fluctuations in the rate of inflation. Policy makers should thus, not rely only on policies to stabilize real exchange
rate by targeting inflation, but should employ domestic policies to increase export and production of previously imported inputs to reduce
the problem of imported inflation.
Key words: Real exchange rate, inflation, error correction, granger causality and Nigerian economy
1. Introduction
The effects of high inflation on the economy are generally considered to be predominantly harmful. Since the 1970s
policy makers have been saddled with the responsibility of reducing and stabilizing the inflation rate. Inflation can be
decomposed into two, namely: demand side inflation and the supply side inflation. For an open economy like Nigeria,
inflation comes from both domestic factors (internal pressures) and oversea’s factors (external pressures). The external
factors results from increase in the world prices of commodities or fluctuation in the real exchange rate. However, the
influence of exchange rate on inflation is a function of the exchange rate regime in the country (Noer, Arie and Piter,
2010). The exchange rate regime plays a key role in reducing the risk of fluctuations in the Real Exchange Rate (RER)
which will affect the rate of inflation and hence the entire economy. In a system of flexible exchange rate as practiced in
Nigeria, fluctuations in the RER have a major impact on output and prices through the aggregate demand and supply
channels. On the supply side, depreciation or devaluation of domestic currencies affects the price level and output
directly through the importation of goods in which case the country is an international price taker. Indirect effect of
depreciation or devaluation is transmitted through the price of capital goods imported by the manufacturers as inputs in
the production process. The historical origin of the current inflation in Nigeria dates back to the early 1970s when oil
revenue rose sharply resulting in an increase in government spending and aggregate demand without a corresponding
increase in domestic output production. The monetization of oil earnings which expanded money supply also resulted to a
rise in the general price level.
In July 1986, the deepening economic crisis made the government to introduce the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) supported Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) which was predicated on the principle of “getting prices right”
and has exchange rate reform as a major focus (Festus, Chete and Gabriel, 1994). The Second Tier Foreign Exchange
Market (SFEM) was introduced in late September 1986 and since then, the naira has depreciated against the American
dollar and other major currencies. The Nigerian naira traded at about N4.62k to a U.S. dollar at the introduction of the
SFEM and by the last part of 1989, has exceeded N7.65k to a U.S. dollar and inflation jumped from about 5% at the
introduction of SFEM to about 41% (Festus, Chete and Gabriel, 1994). Although the exchange rate became relatively
stable in the mid 1990s, it depreciated further to about N120.97, N129.36 and N133.50 in 2002, 2003 and 2004
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respectively (Obadan, 2006). This is an indication that the depreciation of the naira is a contributory factor to the
inflationary trend in Nigeria. Giiven the import dependent nature of the Nigerian industrial sector, the continued
depreciation of the naira exchange rate vis-à-vis the currencies of other major trading partners, meant that more
resources would be needed to increase domestic output. A depreciating exchange rate in the absence of domestic
sources of input and inadequate infrastructure has raised the cost of production in Nigeria and hence a high rate of
inflation. Locally produced goods are thus less competitive compared to imported goods, thus reversing the supposed
benefits of cheaper exports expected from depreciation of the currency. Similarly, overdependence of the Nigerian
economy on imported capital goods implies that a deprecating exchange rate would crowd-out marginal investment as a
result of high investment cost (Nnanna, Englama and Odoko, 2004). This has increased the inflationary pressure in
Nigeria, thus providing more justification for this study. The overall objective of the study is thus to assess the relationship
between the RER and inflation in Nigeria using the cointegration and its implied error correction methodology. This will
entail building an econometric model that will adequately explain the RER- inflation relationship in Nigeria. This will
enable us to ascertain the authenticity or otherwise of the monetary policy direction of the Nigerian government. This
study is important because unrealistic RER and high rate of inflation may hinder the achievement of other
macroeconomic objectives like employment, rapid economic growth and tolerable balance of payments. The study of the
relationship between RER and inflation in Nigeria will highlight the need for efficient resource allocation and this will
increase the international competitiveness of the country.
2. Exchange rate and inflation in Nigeria
The general price level and exchange rate has been identified as two important key indicators of economic performance
(Rutasitara, 2004). There has been a significant change in exchange rate management in Nigeria over the past years.
The table below summarizes the exchange rate regimes in Nigeria:
Table A1: Schema of Events in Exchange Rate Management in Nigeria

S/N YEAR EVENT REMARK
1. 1959-1967 Fixed parity solely with the British Suspended in 1972
pound sterling
2. 1968-1972 Included the US dollar in the parity Aftermath of the 1967 devaluation of the pound and
exchange the emergence of a strong US dollar.
3. 1973 Revert to fixed parity with the British Devaluation of the US dollar
pounds
4. 1974 Parity to both pounds and US dollar To minimize the effect of devaluation of the individual
currency.
5. 1978 Trade (import)-weighted basket of Tied to 7 currencies- British pounds, US dollar,
currency approach German mark, French franc, Japanese yen, Dutch
guilder and Swiss franc
6. 1985 Referenced on the US dollar To prevent arbitrage prevalent in the basket of
currencies.
7. 1986 Adoption of the Second- Tier Deregulation of the economy
Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM)
8. 1987 Merger of the first and second-tier Merger of rates
markets
9. 1988 Introduction of the inter-bank foreign Merger between the autonomous and the FEM rates
exchange market (IFEM)
10. 1994 Fixed exchange rate Regulate the economy
11. 1995 Introduction of the Autonomous Guided deregulation
foreign exchange market (AFEM)
12. 1999 Re-introduction of the inter-bank Merger of the dual exchange rate, following the
foreign exchange market (IFEM) abolition of the official exchange rate from January 1,
1999
13. 2002 Re-introduction of the Dutch Auction Retail DAS was implemented at first instant with the
System (DAS) CBN selling to end-users through the authorized users
(banks)
14. 2006-date Introduction of Wholesale DAS Further liberalized the market
Source: Extracted from Mordi, C.O. (2006) “Challenges of Exchange Rate Volatility in Economic Management in Nigeria”, Central Bank
of Nigeria 30 (3) . Updated by the author
146
The Nigerian foreign exchange market is peculiar because foreign exchange earnings depends about 90% on the world
price of crude oil. The consequence is that the volatility of the world oil prices has direct impact on the Nigerian foreign
exchange earnings (Olusanya and Rasheed, 2008). Thus, the revenue shared between the three tiers of government
depends on the international price of crude oil. However, in Nigeria, it has been difficult to bring down the expenditure
when oil prices fall. This has been the main cause of high government deficit spending. Thus, despite the huge amount of
foreign exchange supplied by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the foreign exchange market, the impact has not been
fully reflected in the performance of the real sector of the economy. Arising from Nigeria’s high import propensity of
finished consumer goods, the foreign exchange earnings from oil continued to generate output and employment growth in
other countries from which Nigeria’s imports originate. This lead the CBN to re-introduce the DAS in 2002. since then, the
DAS has been largely successful in achieving the objectives of monetary authorities.
The theoretical framework draws from the framework proposed by Olusanya and Rasheed (2008). In the framework
inflation is assumed to originate from both the demand side and supply side. The supply side is captured by the tradeable
sector whereas the demand side is represented by the nontradeable sectors. The price of non-traded goods responds to
disequilibria in the money market and the price of traded goods is governed by the movements in the exchange rates and
foreign prices. The overall price level is a weighted average of the price of tradeable and non-tradeable goods .
Rana (1983) in his study of the impact of current exchange rate system on trade and inflation of selected developing
member countries found that the changes in exchange rates do not affect the inflation rate. Oyejide (1989) in his study on
the stability of the Nigerian exchange rate found that exchange rate depreciation often lead to increased local currency
cost of imported inputs and final goods through the cost-push inflation channel. He further noted that since non-tradable
goods cannot be imported, the excess demand for them is translated into high prices since in the short run, domestic
supply is fixed. Elbadawi (1990) investigated the inflationary process, stabilization and the role of public expenditure in
Uganda and found that rapid monetary expansion and the precipitous depreciation of the parallel exchange rate were the
principal determinants of inflation. Ndugu (1997) investigated price and exchange rate dynamics in Kenya using data
covering the priod between 1970 and 1993. Using the Granger casuality testing he found that the level of domestic
inflation and exchange rate affect each other.
Kamin and Khan (2003) empirically investigated the multi-country comparison of the linkages between inflation and
exchange rate competitiveness found that a relationship exists between inflation rate and the RER in most Asian and
Latin American countries. Their study further revealed that the influence of exchange rate changes on inflation rate is
higher in Latin American countries than those in Asia and industrialized countries.
Omotor, (2008) in his study of exchange rate reforms and its inflationary consequences, found, using annual time
series data covering the period between 1970 to 2003, that exchange rate policy reforms is important in the determination
of inflation in Nigeria.
Noer, Arie and Piter (2010) conducted a comparative investigation of the relationship between inflation rate and the
RER. Using explorative statistics and granger causality test, they found a strong correlation between the movements of
inflation rate and the RER in most countries investigated. Using data covering 1986-2008 and adopting the auto-
regressive distributed lag model (ARDL) and cointegration techniques, Imimole and Imimole and Enoma (2011), in their
study of exchange rate depreciation and inflation in Nigeria found that exchange rate depreciation can bring about
inflation in Nigeria.
A close look at the literature reveals that most of the works that investigated the relationship between inflation and
exchange rate are of foreign origin. Most of the works also used the nominal exchange rate. One of the points of
departure of this paper is the use of real exchange rate which reflects the true international competitiveness of Nigeria.
The study also used data covering the pre-SAP, SAP and post -SAP periods. The paper also adopts more recent
econometric methods of estimation.
4. Econometric Procedure
The conventional approach to time-series econometrics is based on the implicit assumption of stationarity of time-series
data. A recent development in time-series econometrics has cast serious doubt on the conventional time-series
assumptions. There is substantial evidence in the recent literature to suggest that many macroeconomic time series may
possess unit roots. That is, they are non-stationary processes. A time-series integrated of order zero I(0), is level
stationary, while a time-series integrated of order one, I(1), is stationary in first difference. Most commonly, series are
147
found to be integrated of order one, or I(1). The implication of some systematic movements of integrated variables in the
estimation process may yield spurious results. In the case of a small sample study, the risk of spurious regression is
extremely high. In the presence of I(1) or higher order integrated variables, the conventional t-test of the regression
coefficients generated by conventional OLS procedure is highly misleading (Granger and Newbold, 1977). Resolving
these problems requires transforming an integrated series into a stationary series by successive differencing of the series
depending on the order of integration (Box and Jenkins, 1970). However, Sargan (1964), Hendry and Mizon (1978) and
Davidson, Hendry, Sbra and Yeo (1978) have argued that the differencing process loses valuable information in data,
especially in the specification of dynamic models. If some, or all, of the variables of a model are of the same order of
integration, following the Engle-Granger theorem, the series are cointegrated and the appropriate procedure to estimate
the model will be an error correction specification. Hendry (1986) supported this view, arguing that error correction
formulation minimizes the possibilities of spurious relationships being estimated as it retains level information in a non-
integrated form (Hendry, 1986). Davidson, Hendry, Sbra and Yeo. (1978) proposed a general autoregressive distributed
lag model with a lagged dependent variable, which is known as the ‘error-correction’ term. Davidson, Hendry, Sbra and
Yeo (1978) also advocated the process of adding lagged dependent and independent variables up to the point where
residual whiteness is ensured in a dynamic specification. Therefore, error correction models avoid the spurious
regression relationships. To guard against the possibility of estimating spurious relationships in the presence of some
nonstationary variables, estimation is performed using a general-to-specific Hendry-type error correction modelling (ECM)
procedure. This procedure begins with an over-parameterised autoregressive distributed lag (ADL) specification of an
appropriate lag. The consideration of the available degrees of freedom and type of data determine the decision on lag
length. With annual data, one or two lags would be long enough, while with quarterly data a maximum lag of four can be
taken. Under this ECM procedure, the long run relationship is embedded within the dynamic specification.
The model to be estimated is thus stated as:
REER = bo + b1CPI + b2IMP + b3MS + Ut

b1<0, b2<0 b3<0
Where:
REER = Real Effective Exchange Rate
CPI = Consumer Price Index
IMP = Import representing imported inflation
MS = Money supply
Ut = Random variable
L = Natural logarithm
The summary of the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Philip Perron (PP) unit root tests are shown in table 2 below:
Table 2: Summary of ADF and PP Unit Root Tests Results
Variables ADF PP
Level 1st Difference Order of Level 1st Difference Order of
Integration integration
IMP -1.328355 -4.498982* I(1) -2.587691 -7.382665* I(1)
REER -1.925375 -3.422332** I(1) -1.612792 -3.445278** I(1)
CPI -1.234678 -4.065456* I(1) -2.351024 -3.924131* I(1)
MS -2.126756 -3.745776* I(1) -2.406755 -6.456235* I(1)
* significant at the 1% level
** significant at the 5% level
The result from both the ADF and PP unit root tests suggests that the variables are non-stationary. The variables
however became stationary after taken the first difference. All the variables are integrated of order 1. This result thus
permits us to proceed to the next stage which is the test of a long run relationship among the variables. The Johansen
methodology was adopted for this purpose. The summary of the Johansen cointegration test result is shown in table 3
below:
148
Table 3: Summary of Johansen cointegration test result
Series: LREER LCPI LIMP LMS

Hypothesized Trace 5 Percent 1 Percent
No. of CE(s) Eigenvalue Statistic Critical Value Critical Value
None * 0.612425 53.38387 47.21 54.46

At most 1 0.328621 19.26139 29.68 35.65
At most 2 0.123320 4.918224 15.41 20.04
At most 3 0.004991 0.180129 3.76 6.65
*(**) denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 5%(1%) level

Trace test indicates 1 cointegrating equation(s) at the 5% level
Trace test indicates no cointegration at the 1% level
Hypothesized Max-Eigen 5 Percent 1 Percent

No. of CE(s) Eigenvalue Statistic Critical Value Critical Value
None ** 0.612425 34.12248 27.07 32.24
At most 1 0.328621 14.34316 20.97 25.52
At most 2 0.123320 4.738095 14.07 18.63
At most 3 0.004991 0.180129 3.76 6.65
*(**) denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 5%(1%) level

Max-eigenvalue test indicates 1 cointegrating equation(s) at both 5% and 1% levels
The result of the Johansen cointegration test in table 3 indicates the existence of a long run relationship among CPI,
REER, MS and IMP. This is suggested by both the trace statistics and max-eigen value statistics which indicated one
cointegrating equation in each case. The result of the long run elasticities are reported in table4 below:
Table 4: Summary of long run elasticities: Dependent variable: LREER
Variables Coefficients Std. error t-statistics Probabilities

LCPI -0.454316 0.167069 -2.719327 0.0105
LIMP -0.241899 0.117810 -2.053292 0.0476
LMS -0.210039 0.028066 -7.483633 0.0000
LMS 8.413220 1.006740 8.356891 0.0000
R2=0.74; DW=2.234; Fstat= 32.95; Prob(Fstat) = 0.0000
The estimated long run result in table 4 shows that in the long run, domestic inflation rate and the imported inflation have
significant impact on the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER). The result shows that an increase in the rate of inflation
and imported inflation by 1 percent appreciated the REER by 0.45 and 0.24 percent respectively. The result of the error
correction representation is shown in table 5 below:
Table 5: error Correction Representation: Dependent variable: DLREER
Variables Coefficients Std. Error t-Statistic Prob.

DLCPI -0.576772 0.212428 -2.715139 0.0112
DLIMP -0.102783 0.041629 -2.469048 0.0191
DLMS -0.483866 0.105695 -4.577960 0.0001
ECM(-1) -0.268213 0.089215 -3.006366 0.0061
C 0.065979 0.091336 0.722375 0.4753
R2= 0.83; DW= 2.017921; F statistic= 42.90; Prob (Fstat)= 0.0000; SC=0.54;AIC=0.33;LL=-1.11
The error correction result shows that the overall fit is satisfactory at an R2 of 83 percent. The probability values of 0.0112
and 0.0191 is an indication that the rate of inflation and imported inflation are statistically significant. The result shows
further that an increase in the rate of inflation by 1 percent appreciates the REER by 0.58 percent. The coefficient of the
ECM is negative and is statistically significant, indicating a satisfactory speed of adjustment in the long and short run.
149
According to Afolabi and Olayemi (1995), a highly significant error correction is an indication of a stable long run
relationship. This, thus, confirms the existence of a long run relationship between REER and inflation rate.
The result of the ARCH test shown in table 6 with a combined coefficient of approximately 1 is an indication of the
persistence of volatility between the rate of inflation and the REER. This is an indication that the REER in Nigeria is
susceptible to fluctuations in the general price level.
Table 6: summary of ARCH result: Dependent variable: LREER
Convergence achieved after 37 iterations

Coefficient Std. Error z-Statistic Prob.
LCPI -0.358519 0.025745 -13.92599 0.0000
C 7.544876 0.152922 49.33815 0.0000
Variance Equation
C 0.044098 0.052249 0.843983 0.3987
ARCH(1) 0.576232 0.813007 0.708766 0.4785
GARCH(1) 0.336379 0.452888 0.742741 0.4576
R-squared 0.694979 Mean dependent var 5.310853
Adjusted R-squared 0.660119 S.D. dependent var 1.018128
Log likelihood -23.63283 F-statistic 19.93651
Durbin-Watson stat 2.153935 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000
The result from the granger causality test presented in table 7 below with an F value of 4.1365 and probability of 0.000
indicate a causal relationship from inflation from inflation to the REER. There is also a bi-causal relationship between
imported and domestic inflation.
Table 7: Summary of Pairwise Granger causality test result
Null Hypothesis: F-Statistic Probability

LCPI does not Granger Cause LREER 4.43651 0.00000
LREER does not Granger Cause LCPI 2.88409 0.07009
LIMP does not Granger Cause LREER 0.59784 0.55602
LREER does not Granger Cause LIMP 1.04237 0.36428
LMS does not Granger Cause LREER 1.90962 0.16415
LREER does not Granger Cause LMS 0.13505 0.87415
LIMP does not Granger Cause LCPI 4.09991 0.02599
LCPI does not Granger Cause LIMP 7.61614 0.00197
LMS does not Granger Cause LCPI 4.07681 0.02617
LCPI does not Granger Cause LMS 0.25363 0.77748
6. Conclusion
This study has been on inflation and the RER in Nigeria. The study covered the period between 1970 and 2010, which
encompasses, the Pre-SAP, SAP and post-SAP periods. The cointegration technique and its implied error correction
methodology were used as well as the ARCH and Granger causality methodology. The result showed that the RER in
Nigeria is highly responsive to changes in the rate of inflation and import. A long run relationship was also found between
RER and inflation in Nigeria. The satisfactory speed of adjustment shown by the error correction further confirms this
result. It is therefore recommended that policy makers should not only rely on targeting inflation as a measure of
stabilizing the RER, but should adopt complementary macroeconomic policies such as increasing domestic production of
exports and previously imported inputs used in the production process.
150
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Appendix
Appendix 1: Summary of result of Variance Decomposition
Variance Decomposition of LREER:

Period S.E. LREER LCPI LMS LIMP
1 0.273987 100.0000 1.0200000 0.000000 0.000000
2 0.434754 88.33610 11.30551 3.391510 7.971844
3 0.561349 76.38749 14.59971 8.403675 14.61886
4 0.689009 64.18306 19.79685 12.59112 22.42613
5 0.777962 61.29638 12.13690 15.32068 22.56926
6 0.855757 60.24940 15.81006 17.22914 21.63045
7 0.930438 59.47669 21.97297 18.40855 21.19746
8 1.007960 57.82875 16.96497 19.33834 21.91641
9 1.079484 56.47161 13.92895 20.17582 22.43968
10 1.143683 55.64698 21.31950 20.90398 22.51709
Variance Decomposition of LCPI:
1 0.234481 0.043170 99.95683 0.000000 0.000000
2 0.345548 0.028810 94.88365 3.007602 2.079941
3 0.403112 0.194000 89.75256 4.354781 5.698657
151
4 0.444432 0.595393 88.05764 4.549392 6.797579

5 0.483813 0.747871 88.71084 4.333233 6.208059
6 0.521627 0.731949 89.71626 4.083764 5.468028
7 0.556800 0.711543 90.06006 3.957270 5.271125
8 0.590898 0.725667 89.84016 3.904496 5.529674
9 0.622914 0.762656 89.72454 3.877097 5.635712
10 0.652334 0.789658 89.91512 3.826163 5.469061
Variance Decomposition of LMS:
1 0.144801 18.57282 2.785746 78.64143 0.000000
2 0.241769 12.41354 4.662730 79.26248 3.661252
3 0.316484 9.404279 4.653610 82.83394 3.108168
4 0.380746 8.026308 3.853982 85.24272 2.876989
5 0.437285 7.220428 3.428937 86.50557 2.845066
6 0.491062 6.608258 3.194759 87.00724 3.189745
7 0.540222 6.188136 3.053379 87.45631 3.302173
8 0.585399 5.898495 2.911391 87.86082 3.329294
9 0.627085 5.677697 2.808596 88.18239 3.331321
10 0.666572 5.495463 2.732491 88.39353 3.378515
Variance Decomposition of LIMP:
1 0.752325 0.838176 9.574159 2.575634 87.01203
2 0.856773 0.695885 24.96922 2.059877 72.27502
3 0.878597 0.721649 27.35694 2.104516 69.81690
4 0.909701 0.686112 31.49123 2.201951 65.62071
5 0.966434 0.625439 33.67896 2.087925 63.60768
6 1.002478 0.655016 37.56677 1.998938 59.77927
7 1.025802 0.722961 40.21752 1.940240 57.11928
8 1.050648 0.708966 42.92606 1.860045 54.50493
9 1.077248 0.684029 45.43319 1.770406 52.11237
10 1.105299 0.670629 47.72779 1.691515 49.91006
Cholesky Ordering: LREER LCPI LMS LIMP
Appendix 2: Summary of Vector Error Correction Result
Cointegrating Eq: CointEq1

LREER(-1) 1.000000
LCPI(-1) -139.6377
(27.4641)
[-5.08437]
LIMP(-1) 110.8093
(17.6057)
[ 6.29392]
LMS(-1) 18.16785
(19.6019)
[ 0.92684]
C -629.5866
Error Correction: D(LREER) D(LCPI) D(LIMP) D(LMS)
CointEq1 0.003833 0.001365 -0.017757 0.000245
(0.00137) (0.00118) (0.00377) (0.00073)
[ 2.78945] [ 1.16064] [-4.70663] [ 0.33797]
152
D(LREER(-1)) 0.245369 0.135823 0.010430 0.096988

(0.19071) (0.16321) (0.52366) (0.10079)
[ 1.28660] [ 0.83218] [ 0.01992] [ 0.96228]
D(LREER(-2)) -0.071219 -0.141040 -0.276978 0.022567

(0.19082) (0.16331) (0.52396) (0.10085)
[-0.37322] [-0.86366] [-0.52862] [ 0.22377]
D(LCPI(-1)) 0.212520 0.109119 -0.716547 0.033906

(0.16394) (0.14030) (0.45015) (0.08664)
[ 1.29633] [ 0.77775] [-1.59179] [ 0.39134]
D(LCPI(-2)) 0.111977 -0.198263 -1.045638 -0.055968

(0.15144) (0.12960) (0.41582) (0.08003)
[ 0.73943] [-1.52980] [-2.51464] [-0.69931]
D(LIMP(-1)) -0.249792 -0.080220 0.689695 0.038726

(0.12418) (0.10627) (0.34097) (0.06563)
[-2.01156] [-0.75485] [ 2.02273] [ 0.59008]
D(LIMP(-2)) -0.176132 -0.058760 0.328723 -7.39E-05

(0.07833) (0.06704) (0.21509) (0.04140)
[-2.24849] [-0.87652] [ 1.52830] [-0.00179]
D(LMS(-1)) 0.389408 0.375114 0.765445 0.278836

(0.42527) (0.36395) (1.16773) (0.22476)
[ 0.91566] [ 1.03067] [ 0.65550] [ 1.24062]
D(LMS(-2)) 0.145850 -0.250389 0.002513 0.007131

(0.39350) (0.33676) (1.08048) (0.20796)
[ 0.37065] [-0.74353] [ 0.00233] [ 0.03429]
C -0.131067 0.234053 0.055338 0.182182

(0.11948) (0.10225) (0.32807) (0.06314)
[-1.09700] [ 2.28902] [ 0.16868] [ 2.88521]
R-squared 0.377247 0.303054 0.653642 0.230614
Adj. R-squared 0.161679 0.061804 0.533749 -0.035712
153

Teaching French as a Foreign Language to Iranian Adult Learners: Problems and Solutions
Nazita Azimi Meibodi
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of French,

Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Zohreh Gharaei
Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages,

Corresponding Author: E-mail: gharaei.z@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p155
Abstract This article is a general overview on the problems that stand in the way of Iranian adult learners of French. The article
introduces the linguistic background of learners as one of the factors causing problems for them. English, the language they learnt during
school years, and Persian, their mother tongue, are introduced as the main sources of these problems and this is because of the
differences they have with French. The problems are categorized into three categories of discriminating phonemes and segmenting
words, pronouncing and writing adjectives and finally pronouncing and writing verbs. Attempt has been made to offer some solutions for
the existing problems as well. Teaching phonemes meticulously from the very outset of training can be one of the solutions to this
problem. As the next step, after acquiring some preliminary skills by learners, teachers should focus on some other aspects including
self correction and self monitoring exercises. They should also ask learners to record their voice and listen to it and to guess the
meaning from context.
Keywords: teaching French, discrimination, segmentation, comprehension, pronunciation
1. Introduction
The issue of teaching French as a foreign language has preoccupied the minds of many scholars of the field for many
years. Linguists and French teachers have paid attention to this point that the comprehension and production of oral
materials are the two skills that should be focused on as the basis of the class program, especially during the first
sessions of training (Tabrizi, 2010; Azimi Meibodi, 1995).
Iranian French learners who serve as the subjects of this study have difficulty in discrimination and segmentation of
letters, especially vowels such as /u/, /o/, /ə/, /y/. Intonation in affirmative, imperative and interrogative sentences is also
problem-inducing for them. What has urged us to conduct the present study is the reason why problems of that ilk have
occurred for Iranian adult elementary learners of French. It is also our aim to offer some suggestions for solving the
existing problems.
A point worthy of attention is that the adult learners who are the subjects of this study learnt a second language –
mainly English- during their school years. In this study it is believed that this is one of the factors causing delayed
acquiring of the required skills in French. A question raised here is that should we start the task of teaching language with
writing or speaking? Whatever the answer, the point is that in learning a second language writing most often takes
precedence to speech. If the teacher follows teaching in a traditional way and if the learners live in a country other than
the place where the language is spoken, the point raised above will be more evident.
The present study tries to shed light on three main problems in learning French with which Iranian adult learners are
faced. The problems are categories under three areas of discrimination of phonemes and segmentation of words,
problems in pronouncing and writing adjectives and finally problems in writing and pronouncing verbs. The study tries
also to offer some suggestions for handling the existing problems.
2. Problems in discrimination of phonemes and segmentation of words
Those who want to learn French should be especially trained in the discrimination of phonemes (Grevisse, 1986). Thus,
on the one hand, it is necessary for them to get familiar with the phonemes and letters of this language, and, on the other
155
hand, it is imperative to discriminate these phonemes from the similar ones in their own mother tongue as well as the
second language they learnt before (English, in this case). A point worthy of attention is that although all Persian
speakers are to some extent familiar with Arabic, Arabic does not interfere with learning French.
Along with teaching the first phonemes to the learners, discriminatory skills should be developed in learners. For learners
to be able to pronounce French vowels and consonants properly, it is not enough to limit their activities to listening
comprehension related ones; repetition and conversational tasks are also needed. If the correct pronunciation of French
words is not taught, the learners will not be able to pronounce the words the way they are pronounced by native speakers
in their daily use.
Discriminating and comparing phonemes intralingually as well as interlingually (between the mother tongue and the
language being taught) is a very important issue, since there might be some phonemes in a language which are
nonexistent in the mother tongue. As an example, Iranian learners of French frequently make mistakes in pronouncing
the French phonemes /y/ and /ə/. They assimilate them into the Persian phonemes /u/ and /o/.
As a solution, the teacher can make use of minimal pairs (Richard, 1994). The pairs should be chosen from among
French words. The learner should learn to recognize and repeat them (oral repetition), without any need for knowing their
meaning. Then, it is possible to substitute the words of the pair with their phonemic equivalent in Persian, if such an
equivalent exists. That way, the learner can make a relationship between her/his mother tongue and the new language.
As a result, the mother tongue can have a facilitating role in pronouncing, learning and memorizing the French words. To
illuminate the point an example is given below:
tu [ty] ---------- tout [tu] ---------- ‫[ ﺗﻮ‬to] ---------- tout [tu]

tout [tu] ---------- tot [to] ---------- ‫[ ﺗﻮ‬to]
The above example shows the effectiveness of using mother tongue in elementary classes. It occasionally happens that
a learner discriminates a phoneme properly, but due to overcorrection s/he pronounces some phonemes
interchangeably. A case in point is the phoneme /u/ and /y/ which might be mistakenly pronounced as /y/ and /u/,
respectively. Mispronouncing /o/ and /ə/ is another example.
If phoneme discrimination is taught successfully, the teacher can expand it to word discrimination in the continuum
of speech, i.e., segmentation of words will be facilitated. The requirement for the two skills of discrimination and
segmentation is the high speed of mental processes. It is also important to comprehend spontaneously. However,
variations in syllables and changes in rhythm and intonation might impede learners from comprehending (Guimbretière,
1992). Rhythm and intonation can be regarded as secondary for beginners. The reason lies behind the fact that there is
no sharp difference between intonation and rhythmic patterns of English and Persian. At more advanced stages such
points can be focused on.
Native French speakers do not separate words while speaking. That is why chain of speech can easily mislead
learners. As a result, learners should get familiar with liaison. The intervention of syllables might cause difficulties in
proper segmentation of words in a sentence and the result will be miscomprehension of speech. The negative
consequences of this problem are not only limited to comprehension of the speech to which the learners are exposed. It
can also induce problems in dictation.
The factors which cause improper segmentation of word on the part of the learners can be summarized as follow:
2.1. Phonemic variations
2.1.1. omission of /ə/ in speech
Example:
je la revoie [ʒəlarvwa]
The omission of /ə/ will lead to assimilation (Peytard, 1983; Grevisse, 1986). In such cases French learners cannot
recognize the word, although they might know the word and its meaning while seeing it in print.
Example:
tu reviens [tyrvjɛ̃] ---------- tu viens [tyvjɛ̃]
je l'ai jeté [ʒleʃte] ---------- je l'ai acheté [ʒleaʃte]
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In the first example the omission of /ə/ leads to an unclear pronunciation of /r/. As a result, the listener cannot distinguish
it properly. As for the second example, the omission of /ə/ causes the listener to bring the closest phoneme in her/his
mind and this causes miscomprehension.
However, it seems that learners have less difficulty comprehending words consisting of more syllables in comparison with
the ones having only one syllable. The reason is that words having more than one syllable are longer and the listener has
more time to react.
2.1.2. Liaison
Liaison leads to improper segmentation:
il l'a apprend [illaprã] ---------- il la prend [illaprã]

tout à l'heure [tutalør] ---------- toute à l'heure [tutalør]
The process of liaison here changes the word tout to toute, and cause miscomprehension on the part of the listener.
2.2. Morphophonological variations: pronouncing the last consonant
Considering the learners' language background, one can easily find out that all consonants, even those which are in the
final position in the words, are pronounced in Persian. The second worthy of attention point about the learners' linguistic
background is the fact that in Persian making plural nouns out of singular ones is not possible by adding «s» to the end of
the noun. And the third point is that the second language they learnt in school, just as their mother tongue, has a
tendency to pronounce all final position consonants, except for some rare cases such as the /b/ sound as in comb, and
climb.
Error analysis of learners' productions, both oral and written, in French has revealed that Iranian learners of French,
even after spending a long time on learning French, tend to pronounce the final position consonants, even though at the
start of training the mute «e» might have been fully explained to them (Haghshenas, 2004). Pronouncing the acoustic
image of [vert] for words such as vert and vertr and [ətãd] attend and attendant can be regarded as two examples. The
fact is that adding «e» to the end of the word
The learner should compare English and Persian with French and make some phonological rules for her/himself.
Pronouncing the last consonant mistakenly causes a masculine word to be taken as feminine or a singular word to be
taken as plural. Therefore, mispronouncing the words leads to semantic changes.
What are the possible suggestions for both teachers and learners? This problem can be partially solved by paying a
closer attention to morphophonological changes and the pronunciation of words, i.e. the issues related to the changes in
gender, number and tenses of verbs. Besides, analysis of learners' errors has revealed that plural «s» in French is
pronounced by learners and the reason is the interference of English rules (Tabrizi, 2010; Dayhim, 2009). Such
interference not only induces some problems in speaking and reading, but also poses some problems in writing and
dictation related activities.
At universities, since the learners are adult, it is a good idea to work on phonetic transcriptions along with the
regular repetition and listening comprehension activities. The use of phonetic transcriptions help learners find a logical
relation between the signified and the signifier. It should be continued so that learners enter into the stage of conversation
when they can read and write properly even without resorting to phonetic transcriptions. That is why in the available
textbooks, the transcriptions are offered in the first lessons, but for the rest they are not included. That way, the learner
can understand the difference between French phonemes and Persian phonemes. Besides, it will be easier for the
learner to learn new phonemes. With regard to the consonants, except for the vibrant «r», no striking differences can be
found between French and Persian. The problems are mainly in learning some vowels.
3. Problems in pronouncing and writing adjectives
As it was mentioned before, the existence of «e» at the end of a French word is a pronunciation clue which shows that
the consonant before it should be pronounced (Coste, 1993). It can be very helpful for pronouncing adjectives since
feminine adjectives generally end with «e». Because of the language background of Iranian learners in which there is a
tendency to pronounce the final consonants (Shariat, 2011), it is wise to first teach feminine adjectives in which the final
consonants are pronounced. Then, the masculine forms should be presented.
157
It is also a good idea to ask learners to write all four forms of an adjective they have learnt in tables. That way, the
process of learning, memorizing and recognizing will be facilitated. Table 1 shows an example of an adjective ending with
a vowel:
Table 1: adjectives ending with vowels
joli [ʒoli] singulier pluriel

feminin jolie jolies [ʒoli]
masculin joli jolis [ʒoli]
Table 2 shows an example of an adjective ending with a consonant:
Table 2: adjectives ending with consonants
petit [pəti] singulier pluriel

feminin petite [pətit] petites [pətit]
masculin petit [pəti] petits [pəti]
The above adjectives shown in tables can be regarded as representatives of all usual adjectives. After working with
tables as such and learning few adjectives with the help of these tables, learners will notice that all four forms of
adjectives belonging to Table 1 should be pronounced alike. With regard to the second table, they will find out that the
singular and plural forms of feminine adjectives are pronounced alike, but different from the singular and plural forms of
masculine adjectives. The familiarity of the learners with phonetic transcriptions has proved to be helpful.
There are also some exceptional cases such as cruel/cruelle and public/publique. Table 3 shows the change of «-e» to «-
elle»:
Table 3: «-e» changing into «-elle»
cruel [kryel] singulier pluriel

feminin cruelle [kryel] cruelles [kryel]
masculin cruel [kryel] cruels [kryel]
Table 4 shows the change of «-c» into «-que»:
Table 4: «-c» changing into «-que»
public [pyblik] singulier pluriel

feminin publique [pyblik] publiques [pyblik]
masculin public [pyblik] publics [pyblik]
Table 5 shows one example of the cases where adding plural «s» causes the last consonant not to be pronounced:
Table 5
os [os] oral écrit

singulier [os] os
pluriel [o] os
Table 6 is another example:
Table 6
œuf [œf] oral écrit
singulier [œf] œuf
pluriel [œ] œufs
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As it was mentioned, Iranian learners, because of the influence of their mother tongue and the role of English language
with which they are familiar, tend to pronounce the final consonants. In order to facilitate their learning process this study
suggests that French teachers start teaching adjectives with the feminine ones. That way, the language background of
the learners does not play a debilitative role. However, the common practice of teaching French adjectives in Iran is
starting with the singular masculine ones, a practice which might be challenged.
4. Problems in pronouncing and writing verbs
The pronunciation of last consonants of verbs in French depends on the singularity and plurality of them (Arrivé et al.,
1986; Génouvrier & Peytard, 1986). Learners should understand that the rules for the pronunciation of the written form
«ent» in verbs are the same as the rules at work for the pronunciation of the written form «e», i.e., these written forms are
not pronounced, but adding them to the end of the word causes the final consonant to be pronounced. The addition of the
«ent» to the end of the verbs of the third category also causes a kind of denasalization (Vanoye et al., 1991). As a result,
the nasal vowel turns into a laryngeal vowel and a nasal consonant. The following examples might help illuminate the
point:
il attend [ilatã] ils attendant [ilzatãd]
il vient [ilvjẽ] ils viennent [ilvien]
un [ẽ] une [yn]
5. Some suggestions
To fully understand the variation of verbs, learners need lots of practice. Following points might be helpful with this
regard:
 Learners should be made sensitive to variations in pronunciation. To become sensitive, they should be given
listening related practices in language laboratories. It is a good idea to provide the learners with the
transcription of the text to which they are listening. The focused points of pronunciation can be anywhere in
the sentence:
la fille arrive / les filles arrivent

il append sa leçon / il apprend ses leçons
prends-le / prends-la
il met la table / ils mettent la table
 Learners should practice repeating the material after they listen to it;
 Self correction and self monitoring exercises could be useful;
 Learners should listen to their recorded voices. Comparing their own voice with that of the native speakers
help them notice the differences and eliminate the possible problems. Besides, that way, learners may
overcome some psychological barriers they might encounter while listening to their own voice in real
conversations; and
 Learners could be asked to guess meaning without direct help of their teacher.
6. Conclusion
Speaking and writing could be postponed until passing 306 hours of learning. After this period the learners will get familiar
with morphophonological patterns. Such familiarity helps the learner listen to and understand the exercises, conjugate
words and recognize syntactic markers. In countries where a language is not considered socially prestigious, like French
in Iran, the traces of that language cannot be seen in mass media, billboards and etc. As a result, learners will not expose
to that language at all and learning a language as such will be more difficult than a socially prestigious language such as
English. Iranian English learners see signs of English in their everyday life and out of their language class. However, it is
159
not the case with French. The only occasion Iranian French learners are exposed to French is their language class. The
consequences of such limited exposure are evident in their low ability to engage in writing and speaking related activities.
It should be mentioned finally that this article does not claim to offer the final solution of all problems in the way of French
learners. Rather, considering some of the problems of Iranian adult learners, the researchers offer some guidelines to
help teachers and learners gain more out of their teaching and learning.
References
Arrivé, M., Gadet, F., Galmiche, M. (1986). La grammaire d'aujourdhui. Paris: Flammarion.
Azimi Meibodi, N. (1995). Self-orientation in oral teaching. Credif. 12: 20-22.
Coste, D. (1993) Le Renouvellement méthodologique dans l'enseignement du FLE: remarques sur les années 1965-70 dans la reveue
Langue Française n. 8. Paris: Larousse.
Dayhim, G. (2009). An introduction to phonetics. Tehran: Iranian National University.
Guimbretière, E. (1992). Phonétique et autonomie de làpprentissage, dans la revue le Français dans le monde n spécial: les auto
apprentissages. Paris: Hatier.
Génouvrier, E. and Peytard, J. (1986). Apprentissage du français langue maternelle, dans la revaue langue Française. Paris: Larousse.
Grevisse, M. (1986). Le bon usage. Paris: Gembloux.
Haghshenas, A. (2004). Phonetics. Tehran: Agah Publication.
Peytard. M. (1983). Situation doral. Paris: Gembloux.
Richard, D. (1994). Les langues vivantes. Paris: Larousse.
Shariat, M.J. (2011). Persian grammar. Tehran: Asatir.
Tabrizi, A. (2010). Discourse analysis and its application to teaching French to non-native French learners. Scientific Research Journal
of the University of Isfahan. 4: 27-35.
Vanoye, F. and Mouchon, J. and Sarrazac, J. (1991). Pratique de loral. Paris: Armand Colin.
160
Combating Human Trafficking in Nigeria: An Evaluation of State Policies and Programmes
Emmanuel Joseph Chukwuma Duru
Department of Political Science

University of Calabar, Calabar – Nigeria
Email: duruejc@yahoo.com, +234(0)8037239727
Ogbonnaya, Ufiem Maurice

Department of Political Science &Public Administration
University of Uyo, Uyo – Nigeria
Email: godscourt24@yahoo.com, +234(0)8063407042
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p161
Abstract This paper examines the social problem of trafficking in human beings in Nigeria. It considers the root causes of the problem,
the socio-economic implication of human trafficking, its recent global dimension and the policies and programmes of the Nigerian state in
combating this ugly phenomenon. The paper made predominant use of secondary sources of data. Findings reveal that though the state
has certain policies and programs aimed at combating human trafficking, the problem persists because the institutions saddled with
these responsibilities are fundamentally weak. The paper, therefore, recommends certain measures to help in tackling the problem of
human trafficking in Nigeria.
Keywords: Nigeria, humah trafficking, state policies
1. Introduction
Human trafficking is not a recent phenomenon. It is as old as humanity itself and has manifested in different forms and
dimensions. According to UNESCO (2006), the current form of globalization has occasioned an upsurge in human
trafficking, resulting in a “complex, multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at the institutional and
commercial level”. It is a demand-driven global business with a huge market for cheap labour and commercial sex
confronting often insufficient or unexercised policy frameworks or trained personnel to prevent it.
Contextually, the UN (2000) defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of
the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. The import of this definition is
that human trafficking is a crime against humanity, marked by the intent to deceive and exploit.
On the other hand, Agbu (2003) submits that though the fact of human trafficking is not difficult to understand on its
own, its dimensions and categorization continue to multiply by the day. Thus, broadly conceptualized, Agbu (2003: 2)
submits that human trafficking include forced and child prostitution, domestic servitude, illegal and bonded labour, servile
marriage, false adoption, sex tourism and entertainment, pornography, organized begging, organ harvesting, and other
criminal activities.
Though Nigeria is not the only country where human trafficking activities take place, nor is it the only country
suffering from its effects, yet it has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading African countries in human
trafficking with cross-border and internal trafficking.
It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine state policies and programmes aimed at combating
this ugly phenomenon. This re-examination is premised upon the fact that despite these programmes and policies,
human trafficking still persists in Nigeria assuming both internal and global dimension.
2. Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Facts and Figures
It is estimated that one to two million people are trafficked around the world every year – mostly women and children, but
increasingly, men and boys as well – generally for forced labour, agricultural bondage, prostitution, or other forms of
161
indentured servitude (Lyday, 2001; Agbu, 2003).

Globally, Agbu (2003) and UN (2006) have carefully provided staggering statistics on human trafficking. According
to the U.S State Department (2005), six hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand women and children are trafficked
annually across international borders. Approximately, 80 per cent are women and up to 50 per cent are minors, while the
vast majority of those trafficked under 18 years of age are girls. In his account, Abu (2003) estimates that in the year
2000, a conservative count of people trafficked to all part of the globe, especially the United States, Western Europe, the
Middle East, Japan, North America and Australia, included 250,000 persons from Southeast Asia; 150,000 from South
Asia; 100,000 each from the defunct Soviet Union and Latin America; 75,000 from Eastern Europe, and another 50,000
from Africa.
In Nigeria, figures and statistics on the number of Nigerians involved have been most inconsistent. This however,
does not negate the fact that human trafficking is in the increase in Nigeria. For instance, it was reported by the Nigerian
Police Force and the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) that between March 1999
and April 2000, about 1,126 women trafficked out of the country were deported from various countries. Further statistics
released by WOTCLEF, put the figure of trafficked Nigerian women deported as at December 2001 at about 5000 (Agbu,
2003; Daily Times, 14 June 2001: 4).
An ILO/IPEC report found that 40 per cent of Nigerian street children and hawkers are trafficked person (ILO/IPEC,
2000). In March, 2002, WOTCLEF in a seminar organized by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA),
reported that there are about 20,000 Nigerian women involved in the sex industry in Italy. Te Daily Champion of July,
2002 reported that 80 per cent of foreign prostitutes in Italy were Nigerian women. According to Agbu (2003), most of the
trafficked women were from Edo, Delta and Lagos States with an average age range of between 15 and 35 years. Also,
Uzor (2001: 28) reveals that in one instance, 12 prominent businessmen suspected of trafficking 13 Nigerian women for
prostitution abroad were intercepted at the Nigeria’s seme border with Benin Republic.
Human trafficking in Nigeria are of two dimensions; internal and international. By internal trafficking, we mean
human trafficking within Nigeria and this is occasioned by the geographical dynamics of the Nigerian state.
According to UNESCO (2006) in the last two decades, there has been an increase in the internal trafficking of
women and children. An increased number of people are trafficked from rural communities in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Akwa
Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Imo, Benue, Niger and Kwara States to cities such as Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan,
Kano, Kaduna, Calabar and Port Harcourt. Trafficking to these regions is predominantly for exploitative domestic work,
farm labour and prostitution, with incidents of human trafficking and forced labour particularly prevalent in Lagos.
The same source also submits that international trafficked Nigerians come from all parts of Nigeria but some states
tend to provide more trafficked persons than others. These states include Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo,
Ebonyi, Kano, Ogun, Oyo and Lagos.
With particular reference to international human trafficking, Nigeria has variously been described as “a source
country” (UNESCO, 2006); “a transit country” (This Day, 2000); and as a “destination country” (Kathleen, 2003). This is
because at various times, Nigeria serves either as a place where trafficked persons are taken from while at other times, it
is used as a route by human traffickers.
Within the African continent, investigations reveal that over 500 women of Nigerian origin are practicing prostitution
in Bamako, Mali, while more than 500 others are hawking their bodies in Burkina Faso (Agbu, 2003).
Various factors have been identified as being responsible for the upsurge in human trafficking in Nigeria. These
factors range from social, cultural and religious practices of the people, weak institutional and legal frameworks, official
and institutionalized corruption, unequal access to education; poverty and lack of legitimate and fulfilling employment
opportunities; increasing demand for foreign workers; globalization, which has resulted in the growth of the billion-dollar
sex and entertainment industry; lack of access to legal redress; devaluation of women and children’s human rights;
perversion of cultural traditional practices and lack of information (Agbu, 2003; UNESCO, 2006; Ebirim, 2002;
Newswatch, August 22, 2011; Newswatch, August, 8, 2011).
From the foregoing, one can reasonably assert that human trafficking in Nigeria is a reality that has so far
constituted a potent challenge to and tasked the intellectual capabilities of security operatives and law enforcement
agencies.
3. Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Evaluating State Policies and Programmes
Like other countries of the world where human trafficking is experienced the Nigerian state and those who operate on its
behalf have made several efforts in combating the social problems. Private individuals have equally been working to
ensure a total eradication of human trafficking.
162
At the state level, legal and institutional framework have been created for the purposes of combating human
trafficking in Nigeria. At the international level, Nigeria ratified the UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking
in persons, especially women and children in 2001 and at the national level, Nigeria passed a national law against
trafficking entitled “Trafficking in persons (prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003”. Nigeria is also one
of the few African countries to pass the Child Rights Act in 2003, which deals comprehensively with the issue of child
trafficking.
Apart from these legal frameworks, economic empowerment and reintegration programmes have been tried to
address the problem of human trafficking in Nigeria. There have also been several awareness-raising activities.
At the non-governmental level, Nigerian NGOs are involved in efforts to combat human trafficking. Worthy of
mention according to Agbu (2003) are National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), FIDA (International Federation of
Women Lawyers) and WOTCLEF. The activities of these NGOs have gone a long way in exposing the various
dimensions of this trade in Nigeria and bringing relief to many of the victims.
Despite these initiatives, human trafficking remains a critical problem in Nigeria. Many reasons have been adduced
for this. According to Agbu (2003), tackling human trafficking in Nigeria by the government means engaging corruption
directly. However, it seems Nigeria’s laws cannot effectively control corruption for the simple reasons that they were not
designed for the kind of society existing now. Secondly, there are problems with the adversarial criminal justice system
not the least of which are its technicalities and inadequate enforcement agencies. The point being made above is that
the legal frameworks put in place are too weak to confront the dangers occasioned by corruption to wit; human trafficking.
The consequence of this weak legal and institutional framework is that those saddled with the responsibility of
enforcing the law have taken advantage of the weakness of the law to violate the law. In 2001, a former police officer and
50 other Nigerians were arrested in Conakry by Guinean authorities for human trafficking offences (Odunuga, 2001: 3).
Another problem that has weakened the campaign against human trafficking in Nigeria is poor funding by
governments or international donor agencies. However, in some cases, funds meant for this campaign have been
discovered to have been misdirected by officials of these governmental and non-governmental agencies to other uses.
Corruption, therefore fuels human trafficking in Nigeria. And by the same token, human trafficking fuels corruption in
Niger.
Furthermore, the anti-human trafficking campaign and activities are only being carried out at the urban and
developed centres of the country at the detriment of the rural areas. Yet greater percentages of trafficked persons in
Nigeria or human trafficking victims are “sourced” from rural areas (UNESCO, 2006).
Most fundamentally, government policies and programmes have not adequately addressed the problem of mass
illiteracy in Nigeria, yet the nexus between illiteracy and lack of access to information against human trafficking had long
been established (ILO/IPEC, 2000; UNESCO, 2006).
4. Prognosis for action
From the foregoing analysis, it has become obvious that global interventions, government policies and programmes and
the activities of Non-Governmental Organizations and civil societies have not adequately addressed the problem of
human trafficking in Nigeria. Thus, to effective combat human trafficking in Nigeria, we recommend as follows;
1 There is the need for a continuous and further ratification and implementation of international legislation along with
the use of national legal tools currently available to fight against trafficking in human beings.
2 Secondly, combating human trafficking and its attendant damaging effects throughout the Nigerian society will
require the energy, talents and resources of government, international organizations, NGOs and the civil society.
This simply calls for synchronization of ideas, policies and efforts at the international and national levels.
3 Obviously, human trafficking amounts to human rights violation. Thus, there is the need to incorporate human rights
and development perspectives into the campaign against human trafficking.
4 Governments needs to enact a comprehensive law that will cover most aspects of human trafficking, specify severe
punishment for traffickers, rehabilitate victims, and give law enforcement officers adequate investigative tools while
legal institutions and frameworks must be strengthened (Agbu, 2003).
5 There is the need to discourage excessive materialism and the culture of “get rich quick” (TI, 2001).
6 While proper and adequate education and gainful employment for the youths is encouraged, government must
ensure a proper coordination of efforts between the police and other state security services.
163
7 Public enlightenment through regular workshops, conferences, and through print and electronic media must be
evolved. On the other hand, schools, religious bodies, traditional institutions, and the family should be sensitized on
the evils of this abominable trade.
8 Finally, security especially at national frontiers and entry points must be strengthened to check the schemes of the
traffickers.
5. Conclusion
Obviously, human trafficking results in irretrievable depletion of human resources that weakens the productive base and
economy of any society, it undermines public health and government authority, breakdown social and moral conducts
resulting in upsurge in crime, results in human rights violations and other evil activities.
Given the negative effect of human trafficking, there is the need for a total re-examination of government policies,
programmes and institutions that are established to combat this evil trade. This re-examination will help in identifying
loopholes and weak-points which will ultimately result in policy changes and a society devoid of such social crimes and
monsters as human trafficking.
References
Agbu, O. (2003), Corruption and Human Trafficking: The Nigerian Case. West African Review, Vol. 4. No. 1, pp. 1-13.
Daily Champion, July 5, 2002.
Daily Times, June 14, 2001.
Ebirim, I. (2002), Human Trafficking: Economic Implications. New nigerian, February 25.
ILO/IPEC (2000), Combating Trafficking in Children for Labour in West and Central Africa, Geneva.
Kathleen, F. (2003), Modern Day Slavery? The Scope of Trafficking in Persons in Africa. African Security Review Vol. 12, No. 1.
Lyday, C. B. (2001), The Shadow Market in Human Beings: An Anti-Corruption Perspective. Paper Presented at Transparency
International’s 10th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Pragne, Czech Republic, October 7-11.
Newswatch (2011), The Booming Baby Market in Igboland. August 8, pp. 16-22.
Newswatch (2011), Masaba, the Mystery Man: His 91 Wives and Controversies, August 22, pp. 16-20.
Odunga, Y. (2001), Ex-Police Chief, 50 others Arrested for Human Trafficking”, Punch, August 2, p. 3.
Transparency International and Key Centre for Ethics, Justice and Governance (2001), Australian National Integrity System Assessment,
Queensland Handbook.
UNESCO (2006), Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Root Causes and Recommendations. Policy Paper, No. 14.2 (E).
UN (2000) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
Uzor, B. (2001). Tackling Women Trafficking Through Constructive Engagements. Daily Times, October 8, p. 28.
164
The Impact of Rising Food Prices on the Households in a Low

Income Township in South Africa
Tshediso Joseph Sekhampu

Dorah Dubihlela
North-West University, South Africa
E-mail: joseph.sekhampu@nwu.ac.za
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p165
Abstract: Food prices in South Africa have increased significantly in recent years. The impact of these price increases on many
residents remains largely unknown. The study reported here analyzed the perceptions of households in a low income township of
Bophelong (South Africa) in order to assess the impact of increases in food prices. The results are based on a household survey using
questionnaires. The majority of households reported that they do not have enough income to meet their daily needs. The increase in
prices in general was much higher for electricity and commuting. A logistic regression model was used to determine the socio-economic
factors affecting the reported impact of increase in food prices. Married and employed household heads reported lower severity levels.
Female-headed households reported higher severity levels of price increases. Household income, household size, age, educational
attainment of the household head and the labour- force had no effect on the reported impact of prices. The article provides useful
information to policy makers by providing information on the reported impact of rising food prices among low income households in a
South African context.
Keywords: Food prices; inflation; low income households; Township; South Africa.
1. Introduction
Inflation is a sustainable and continuous rise in the general price level or a fall in the value of money (Makinen, 2003). It
refers to the overall price level increase in the economy, not an increase in the price of one commodity. In South Africa,
general price levels are monitored by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) through the consumer price index (CPI).
The central bank has made inflation targeting and therefore price levels its top priority. This is the most significant
monetary policy reform since 1994. The Reserve Bank aims at maintain inflation within the 3-6% band. Inflation has fallen
from double-digit levels in the 1990s to well within the target range, and has in some years fallen outside the range
(Butler, 2010). The reasons for these inflationary pressures are complex and include both supply-side and demand-side
factors. The long-term structural trends underlying growth in demand for food have coincided with short term cyclical or
temporary factors affecting food supply, resulting in a situation in which growth in demand continues to outstrip growth in
supply. The supply side factors include lower levels of cereal stocks by world’s major cereals producers, which contribute
to higher price volatility, production shortfalls due to bad weather, and soaring petroleum prices, which are highly
correlated with food prices. Demand-side factors include increased demand from the emerging biofuels market and
changes in consumption patterns in large emerging economies such as India and China.
A number of studies have been undertaken to understand the impact of food prices on a number of socio-economic
indicators. The poor are the first to suffer from a price rise and the last to benefit from a price fall due to poor access to
information (Prabu, 2011). The suffering of the poor is largely attributed to their abrupt and unstable income (United
Nations, 2010). Changes in food prices affect poverty and inequality through consumption and income channels. On the
consumer side, as food prices increase, the monetary cost of achieving a fixed consumption basket increases hence
reducing consumer’s welfare. However, for the segment of the population whose income depends directly or indirectly on
agricultural markets (i.e. self-employed farmers, wage workers in the agricultural sector, and rural land owners) the rise in
food prices represents an increase in their monetary income. For each household, the net welfare effect of an increase in
food prices will depend on the combination of a loss in purchasing power (consumption effect) and a gain in monetary
income (income effect). Clearly, for those households whose income has no linkages with the agricultural markets, for
instance urban dwellers, the net welfare effect of an increase in food prices will be entirely determined by the negative
consumption effect. The urban poor are the most vulnerable group because they are net food consumers and as food
prices increase, they involuntarily respite from eating nutritious and fresh food due to limited income sources (United
Nations, 2010).
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Studies on the poor and rising prices have been mainly carried out in the Asian countries (Aksoy and Dikmelik, 2008;
Reyes, 2010; World Bank, 2010). A study by Muhammad et al., (2010) in the UAE concluded that the severity of prices
increases was higher based on ethnicity and income level. Respondents with lower income reported higher severity
levels. The cost of food and healthcare was seen to be the most impacted by prices increases. Reyes (2010) points that
poor household’s coping strategies differ from those of the non-poor households. When food prices go up, poor
households reduce food consumption and substitute with cheaper products, while the non-poor reduce expenditure on
durables and not really on food. Rural poor are found to have more options; as an example they can resort to medicinal
plants and herbs for medication, while the poor in the urban areas can only resort to cheaper generic brands. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2011:1) suggests that the poor and the low income have to grow some vegetables as
a hedge against price increases. At a national policy level, Aaron and Kingdon (2007:2) argue that the suffering by the
poor during inflation times can only be ameliorated by an increase in government expenditure and investment. Given that
poor and vulnerable households spend a large proportion of their income on basic foodstuffs, higher food prices erode
their disposable income.
This study attempts to provide quantitative evidence at a micro level by analysing the perceptions of urban
households in a South African township on the impact of rising food prices. In South Africa, the term township and
location usually refers to the often underdeveloped urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of
apartheid, were reserved for non-whites, principally Black and Coloureds. They were usually built on the periphery of
towns and cities. In the townships, households are caught in poverty trap from which they are unlikely to escape without
government help (Estelle, 2003). A random sample of households was surveyed in a township called Bophelong (about
70km south of Johannesburg). Previous studies have found seemingly high poverty levels in the area; where 67% of the
households were found to be living below their poverty lines in 2003 (Slabbert, 2003). A study by Sekhampu (2004)
reported that 62% of the households were poor. A similar study by Slabbert (2009) revealed increasing levels of poverty
where 69% of the sampled population in Bophelong was found to be poor. A logistic regression model was used to
determine the socio-economic factors affecting the reported impact of high food prices.
The article is organized as follows. The next section will provide a brief historical overview of inflation changes in
South Africa. The methodology followed will then be explained. Following that will be the main results and discussion
based on the analysis. The last section provides the conclusion on the findings of the study.
2. Recent inflation changes in South Africa
Rising food prices reduce the level of disposable income available for consumers to spend on other goods, and add to
the strain experienced by consumers. Inflation in South Africa has been unstable even long before the democratic
government that took over in 1994. South Africa had a relatively low inflation rate, averaging 2.5 per cent in the 1960s.
The rate subsequently accelerated, entering the double-digit range in 1973, making the average inflation rate in the
1970s to rise to 10.3%. During the late 1980s, South Africa's inflation rate did not decline. Inflation reached a high of
18.6% in 1986, forcing a depreciation of the rand, and it continued in double-digit amounts after that. Inflation continued
to erode economic strength in the early 1990s, but declined to 9.1% in 1994. Inflation increased in early 1995 under
pressure from new social spending, but declined to 8.7% by the end of the year. The lower rate of inflation resulted in part
from a decline in food prices, the relative stability of the rand, and the lowering of import tariffs. Inflationary pressures
persisted in the increase in credit purchases and strong labour demands (Byrnes, 1996).
Figure 1 show the year on year headline inflation rate and the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation rate since
October 2010. Following a steady downward movement beginning in late 2008, local food prices started an uptrend in
mid-2010. Food price inflation in March 2009 was the largest contributor to overall CPI inflation. Headline CPI increased
by 6 % between October 2010 and October 2011. Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation increased by 10.6 %
between October 2010 and October 2011; the highest level since May 2009. The annual increase in food and non-
alcoholic beverages inflation was largely driven by the annual increases in oils and fats (22.6 %), sugar (14.9 %), meat
(14.6 %) and vegetables (11.8 %). The prices of processed food products increased by 10.3 % from October 2010 to
October 201, while the price of unprocessed food products increased by 11.5 % over the same period. Headline inflation
has also shown an increasing trend during this period, from 3.4 % in October 2010 to 6 % in October 2011. The headline
inflation has remained in the 6% range for the first quarter of 2012. In contrast, food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation
ranged from 11.1% in December 2011 to 8.6% for February 2012. The decrease has been attributed to slowing consumer
demand as a result of the instability in some of the country's major trading partners, especially Europe. (Stats SA, 2011;
Stats SA, 2012).
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Figure 1. Headline CPI and food and non-alcoholic beverages CPI for 2010 – 2012 (year-on-year)
The data for this study was collected in Bophelong during March 2012. A total of 300 questionnaires were randomly
administered in the area through face to face interviews. The survey questionnaire was tested before its distribution and
necessary adjustments were made. The questionnaire included information on demographics, respondents’ opinion on
prices increase, impact of prices increase, and strategies to deal with increase in food prices. Several statistical methods
were used to analyse the data using SPSS. A logistic regression model was used to determine the socio-economic
factors affecting the reported impact of high food prices on the households in Bophelong Township. The households are
classified as impacted or not impacted. Predictor variables are a set of demographic and socioeconomic variables. The
choice of the regression model was based on the characteristics of the dependent variable. The impact of high food
prices was measured using a scale of 0 and 1, where 1=Impacted and 0=Not impacted. The regression model was
estimated as follows:
Yt = β’ Xt + εt. (1)
Where Yt is unobserved, Xt is vector of explanatory variables, and β is the vector of unknown parameters; and εt is the
independently and identically normally distributed error term. The description of dependent and explanatory variables is
shown in Table 1. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20.0 for
Windows).
Table 1. List of the variables and their description
Dependent variable
Impact status Reported impact by household (0= not impacted, 1=impacted)
Explanatory variables
AGE_Head Age of the Head of the Household in Years
HH_Income Household income in Rands
HH_Size Number of household members
EDUC_Head Years of Schooling Head of the Household
ES_Head Head of the Household Employment Status (1 = Employed, 0 =No)
G_Head Head of the Household Gender (1 =Female, 0 =Male)
MS_Head Head of the Household Marital Status (1 =Married, 0 =Not married)
Lab_Force No. of Potential Income Earners in the Household
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4.1 The demographic characteristics of the sample
The sample data was based on responses from the head of the household. The descriptive statistics for the sampled
population is given in table 2. The results showed that the youngest head of household was 18 years, with the oldest at
90 years old. There were also greater variations in household income, with the lowest household income recorded at R20
($2.50) per month and the highest earning household had an income of R12 000 ($1500). The results also showed that
46.2% of households were headed by females (G_Head). The average number of years of schooling (EDUC_Head) was
6.63 years, which equate to primary schooling education. About 8.3% of households head had no formal education. The
majority of households heads were married (58.2%). The variable for Labour force (Lab_Force) measured the number of
people per household who are of working age and are able to work. The average labour force was calculated at 2
members per household.
Table 2. Comparison of the demographic statistics of the respondents

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Dev.
HH_Income 300 20 12000 1590.98 1973.066
HH_Size 300 1 10 3.97 1.831
AGE_Head 300 18 90 50.81 15.484
EDUC_Head 300 0 66 6.63 4.194
ES_Head 300 0 1 .31 .462
MS_Head 300 0 1 .29 .456
G_Head 300 0 1 .69 .465
Lab_Force 300 0 7 2.27 1.062
4.2 Impact of rising food prices on households
Several questions were used to determine the effect of increase in food prices on households in Bophelong. The
respondents were asked if they have enough income to meet their daily needs. Table 3 shows that 75.4% of all
households said that they do not have enough income to meet their daily needs. The majority of households (57.5%)
reported that they cannot be able to have the normal three meals a day, resorting to skipping a meal. The respondents
were also asked whether they borrow food from neighbours for sustenance; 67.1% of all households answered yes.
These households reported that they borrow basic items like sugar and salt, and in most cases are not expected to return
the food. On the question of whether they have been impacted by recent food prices increases; 82.7% of all respondents
reported that they were impacted, with 17.3% reporting no impact. The respondents who reported that they impacted by
rising food prices were then asked to rate the severity level and were given the choices of somehow, moderate and
severely. Fifty eight per cent answered that they were severely affected, with 17% reporting moderate impact and 8%
said that the impact was minimal (somehow).
Table 3. Effect of recent prices increases on households in Bophelong

Do you have enough income to meet your daily needs? Yes 24.6%
No 75.4%
Do you normally have three meals a day? Yes 42.5%
No 57.5%
Do your neighbours lend you food? Yes 67.1%
No 32.9%
Has there been days in the last three months you did not have food? Yes 60%
No 40%
Have you been impacted by the recent price increases? Yes 82.7%
No 17.3%
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The study also collected opinions on the impact of price increases in general. The respondents were asked to indicate the
categories of expenditure where they were affected by rising prices in general. Table 4 shows the results of the
descriptive statistics for different reported categories. The households reported significant increase in the overall cost of
living. The most effect was observed for electricity (mean value of 1.1495), followed by commuting (1.4751) and food
(1.5333). Other categories considered included education, healthcare and housing. The households reported that these
factors are provided freely by the government and therefore not impacted by their price increases.
Table 4. Mean increase of cost of important categories in the last 12 months
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Dev.

Electricity 300 1.00 4.00 1.1495 .51079
Food 300 1.00 4.00 1.5333 .68590
Commuting 300 1.00 4.00 1.4751 .80636
Overall cost of living 300 1.00 4.00 1.2558 .59246
4.3 Factors affecting the reported impact of rising prices
The results of the logistic regression on the factors that affect the reported impact of increases in food prices are shown in
table 5. The table shows the logistic regression results, Wald test and the odd ratio for each of the explanatory variables.
The results of the survey show that employment status (ES_Head), marital status (MS_Head) and the gender of the
household head (G_Head) are significant in explaining the variations in reported impact of increases in food prices on
households in Bophelong. Households with employed heads reported lower impact of food prices. Married household
heads also reported lower severity levels. Of interest was that female-headed households reported that they were more
impacted by food prices, compared to male-headed households. The sign for the coefficient for the gender of the
household head was positive.
There was no significant difference in households responses based on the age of the household head (Age_Head),
the educational level of the head (Educ_Head), household income (HH_Income), household size (HH_Size) and the
number of people per household who can work (Lab_Force). These factors were not significant in explaining the
variations in the reported impact.
Table 6. Logistic Regression on the factors that impact reported impact of high prices
B S.E. Wald df p Odd Ratio 95% C.I. for Odds Ratio
Lower Upper
HH_Income 0.000 0.000 1.623 1 0.203 1.000 1.000 1.000
HH_Size 0.014 0.106 0.018 1 0.894 1.014 0.824 1.249
AGE_Head -0.027 0.016 2.729 1 0.099 0.973 0.942 1.005
EDUC_Head 0.142 0.082 2.997 1 0.083 1.152 0.981 1.352
ES_Head -1.571 0.525 8.962 1 0.003 0.208 0.074 0.581
MS_Head -1.091 0.410 7.090 1 0.008 .336 0.150 0.750
G_Head 1.741 0.462 14.172 1 0.000 5.702 2.304 14.114
Lab_Force -0.086 0.175 0.242 1 0.623 0.918 0.651 1.293
Constant 2.735 1.153 5.624 1 0.018 15.411
For selecting a good model, a number of tools for model adequacy can be employed. The Hosmer-Lameshow goodness
of fit statistic shows the possible deviation from the underlying fitted distribution. The percentage of correct predictions
made after fitting the model on the observed data is another way to assess its applicability. Moreover, the high McFadden
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R2 and high percentage of correct predictions leads to the selection of a model. The model containing all explanatory
variables was significant χ² (8 N= 300) = 89.80 P < 0.001, indicating that the model was able to distinguish between the
impacted and not impacted households. The model as a whole explained 25.9% (Cox and Snell R Squared) and 42.9%
(Nagelkerke R Square) of the variations in the reported impact of rising food prices, and correctly classified 89% of all
cases.
The aim of the study reported here was to analyse the impact of rising food prices on households in a low income
township of Bophelong. A logistic regression equation was estimated to determine the factors influencing the reported
impact of food prices. A random sample of 300 households in Bophelong was analysed, with the reported impact as the
dependent variable and a number of socio-economic characteristics as explanatory variables. The results of the study
showed that various household factors are important in explaining the reported impact of food prices. There was reported
significant increase in the cost of electricity and commuting. The overall cost of living was also reportedly higher.
The regression results showed that the employment status, marital status and the gender of the household head are
important in explaining the variations in the reported impact of food prices. Married and employed household heads
reported lower severity levels. Female-headed households reported higher severity levels compared to male-headed
households. The results of this study can help policy makers understand the social impact of high food prices on urban
townships. The possibility of providing food vouchers and other measures to alleviate the impact of food prices on
township dwellers can be a great relief. There is a need to further investigate the possibility of supporting households to
produce more of their food.
References
Aaron, J., and Kingdon, G. (2007). South African economy under democracy. Oxford: Oxford University.
Aksoy, M.A. & Dikmelik, A. (2008). Are low food prices pro-poor: net food buyers and sellersin low income countries. New York: World
Bank.
Byrnes, R.M. (Ed) (1996). South Africa: a country study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
Butler, A. (2010). Inflation targeting in South Africa: a promising start with a challenging future. Bloemfontein: University of the Free
State.
Estelle, E. (2003). Poverty shocker for Cape Townships. Retrieved on Nov 24, 2011, from the following World Web Site:
http://www.101.co.za/news/south.africa/poverty-shocker-for-cape-townships-1,1150710
IMF (International Monetary Fund). (2011). Food inflation: the story of 2011 and investment strategy for food. New York: IMF.
Ivanic, M., and Martin, W. (2008). Implications of higher global food for poverty on low income countries. Agric. Economics, 18, pp.39-40.
Makinen, G. (2003). Inflation: Causes, costs and current status. New York: Economic Policy Division.
Muhammad, S., Gheblawi, M., & Al-Neyadi, A. (2010). Analyzing the impacts of increase in food prices on the households in United Arab
Emirates. Emirates Journal of Food Agriculture, 5(22), pp.367-376.
Prabu, M. (2011). Changes in policy can curb price rise to some extent. World Press: New Delhi.
Reyes, C. (2010). Below poverty measures. Beijing: World Bank.
Robles, G., Cuesta, J., Duryea, S., Enamorado, T., Gonzales, A., & Rodriguez, V. (2008). Rising food prices and poverty in Latin
America. Effects of the 2006-2008 price surge. Mexico: Inter-American Development Bank.
Sekhampu, T..J (2004). An in-depth micro-economic analysis of the poor, with special reference to the activities the use to sustain
themselves. M.Com Dissertation. Vanderbijlpark: North-West University.
Slabbert, T.J.C. (2003). Bophelong: a socio-economic & environmental analysis. Vanderbijlpark: Vaal Research Group.
Slabbert, T.J.C. (2004). An investigation into the state of affairs and sustainability of the Emfuleni economy. D.Com Thesis. Pretoria:
University of Pretoria.
Slabbert, T.J.C. (2009). Bophelong: a socio-economic & environmental analysis. Vanderbijlpark: Vaal Research Group.
Stats SA (Statistics South Africa). (2011). Social profile of vulnerable groups in South Africa 2002 - 2010. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Stats SA (Statistics South Africa). (2012). Consumer Price Index: additional tables, march 2012. Pretoria: Government Printer.
United Nations. (2010). Food prices soaring. Washington D.C: United Nations.
World Bank. (2010). Food price increase make 44 million people be poor. Wahington D.C: World Bank.
170
Role of Body Members in Constructing Metaphors in Persian Political Texts
Shahla Sharifi
Linguistics Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
PO box 91779-48974, Azadi Square, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Campus, Iran
(Corresponding author): Email: sh-sharifi@um.ac.ir
Ailin Firoozian Pooresfahani

Email: Ailinfiroozian@yahoo.com
Aida Firoozian Pooresfahani

Email: Aida.Firooziyan@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p171
Abstract: The major aim of this study was to explore how the body parts play roles in Persian political texts as metaphorical expressions
according to cognitive point of view. Due to this fact, by examining a number of contemporary political expressions, the accumulated
data were attributed into different body members including: dast (hand), cheshm (eye), sar (head), pā(foot), ru (face), dahān (mouth), del
(stomach, heart), shāne (shoulder), angosht (finger), zabān (tongue), dandān (tooth), gush (ear), sine (breast), ghalb (heart) and gardan
(neck). Based on the findings, there are fifteen body members by applying which the political metaphors are conceptualized and
reflected in Persian political discourse. Furthermore, the results obtained from the current study revealed that among the human body
members which are conceptualized in Persian political texts, "head" is the most frequent one.
Key words: discourse analysis, politics, political texts, cognitive linguistics, metaphor, body members
Introduction
Cognitive linguistics is a novel school of linguistics and also one of the most innovative and exiting approaches to the
study of language and thought. Metaphor as one of the most prominent part of this approaches, considered to be an
active and basic process in human's conceptual system which is extensively reflected in everyday language. In fact,
contrary to traditional point of view which had an influence on most of previous studies, thought of metaphor as just a
literary items and nothing more, the cognitive linguistics has given this area a new outlook and novel identity by
considering the metaphor as a device to conceptualize our daily language and various discourses ranging from spoken to
written, from learner language to academic or professional (legal, medical, political). Based on cognitive approach, by
using metaphorical expressions, one can reflect an abstract concept in terms of concrete one. Today, cognitive linguists
believe that human's body member is one of the common and frequent fields through which, one can conceptualizes an
abstract concept (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).
Regarding the vast amount of use and application of body members as conceptualized metaphors in Persian
political texts and discussions, no comprehensive research or study have done about their source domain from which the
metaphorical expression have made, so it is essential to investigate about the different parts of human's body which are
borrowed to conceptualize some abstract concepts use in some Persian political texts. Considering this fact, the study
takes as primary the analysis of the use of metaphorical body members first and then the frequency of each body
member will be illuminated and the most productive body member in political metaphors will be represented. Totally, this
paper strives to classify these body members. Moreover, we delve the most frequent borrowed field and the reason of
that.
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1. Theoritical Framwork
1.1 Cognitive Linguistics
Croft and Cruse (2005) mention that cognitive linguistics is relatively a new approach to the study of language that starts
to emerge in the 1970s and has been enormously active since the 1980s. This contemporary movement of cognitive
approach arouses a lot of interest among the scholars of different fields such as psychologist, philosophers, and linguists.
They emphasize that in this kind of approach, researchers investigate the relations among human's mind, language and
experiences. Horie (1997) states that cognitive linguistics closely allies clearly with linguistic anthropology, neuroscience
and natural language processing, because of their common interests in exploring symbolic and image-schematic
organizations of language. Evan and Green (2006) point out that cognitive linguists strive to describe linguistic
systematicity, structure and function and also say that language reflects patterns of thoughts and so the study of
language is to study patterns of conceptualization. Langacker (1990) claims that in cognitive approach language is
considered as a part of human's cognition and should not be thought that we can have a modular look toward that.
Robinson and Ellis (2008) claim that in cognitive linguistics, we investigate the language, cognition and communication
which are not apart from each other by considering this fact that cognition and language create each other and language
reflects the outside world in a way that human beings realize and so it has a root in conceptualized experiences of human
beings. Dirven and Verspoor (2004) believe that the evolution within cognitive linguistics leads to deeper insights into the
nature and functioning of language and its relation to cognition, culture and communities because from this view point, all
linguistic signs are part of the human mind. Bussman (1996) states that in cognitive approach the language is considered
as the patterns of conceptualization in human's mind.
1.2 Metaphor in cognitive linguistics
As mentioned before, according to cognitive linguists point of view metaphor has the most salient function in figurative
language. Evan and Green (2006) mention that "conceptual metaphor theory" has been proposed by George Lakoff and
Mark Johnson. Based on this theory, metaphor is not simply a stylistic feature of language, but this belief itself is
essentially metaphorical in nature. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980) metaphor is a conceptualized term through
which one can transfer an abstract concept through the concrete one. So, from this perspective, human being's not only
speak in metaphorical terms, but also think in metaphorical terms. Musolff and Zinken (2009) explain that many
conceptual metaphors are universal at a high level of abstraction and the variations among them are because of a
culture-close level, so the conceptualized metaphors vary within cultures. Trim (2007) also believes that conceptual
metaphors are associated with culture. In other words, metaphors may be transferred from one language with specific
culture to another by changing the metaphoric image to fit the target culture.
Deignan (2010) mentions that according to conceptual metaphor theory, a metaphor is a link between the source
domain which is physically experienced and the target domain which is abstract. Carroll (2008) considers conceptual
metaphor as a psychological matter. Raymond and Gibbs (2008) point out that according to cognitive point of view,
metaphor is a kind of mental mapping that has an effect on human being's thought and imagination. Actually, metaphor
and its connection to human's thought is like a widespread network which goes beyond the human's mind and covers the
cultural world. Yu (2008) divides conceptual metaphor into two kinds including: primary metaphors and complex
metaphors. He states that primary metaphors derived directly from our experiences and therefore are likely to be
universal whereas complex metaphors are the combinations of primary metaphors and cultural beliefs.
1.3 Metaphor in political discourse
El Refaie (2009) investigates the applied metaphors in political cartoons and considers the audience responses. In fact,
he surveys the ways in which readers interpret multimodal metaphors. The results show that the interpretation of
metaphors is somehow dependent upon people's socio-cultural background, as well as on the contexts in which the
metaphors are used. Charteris-Black (2009) considers the function of metaphor in political communication and concludes
that based on his analysis, a single metaphor may associated with ethos, pathos and logos. Beard (2000) claims that by
knowing how to use metaphorical language in a political discourse is an influential way for gaining power or keeping
power. Woods (2006) states that metaphorical expressions mostly used by politician in order to give them this opportunity
to express their opinions and change them in the way that they prefer. Moreno (2008) searches the different metaphors
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which were used by Hugo Ch'aves. He realizes that Hugo Ch'aves used various metaphors as means of refering to
people, revolution and hostile as three target domains.
1.4 Human body members as a metaphorical expression
Ning Yu (2008) investigates about conceptual metaphor and its interaction between body and culture. He states that
while body is a potentially universal source for emerging conceptual metaphor, culture roles as a filter for selecting them.
In other words, metaphors are generated from bodily experience but formed by cultural realization and so they are
cultural-specific. He also refer to this point that "face" as one of the human being's body member is one of the most
common member by helping which both Chinese and English can make a lot of conceptual metaphors. He says that the
reason for that is related to this fact that face is the most distinctive part of a person because we identify people by their
faces and this member stands out in our memory.
Gibbs (2006) explains that according to embodiment premise which is nominated in cognitive linguistics, the
researchers look for the connection between mind-body and language-body. Johnson (1999) points out that human
being's body plays a significant role in our creation of meaning and its understanding and his embodiment with the bodily
and cultural world builds the contours of what is meaningful to him. El Refaie (2009) believes that one of the central
opinions of conceptual metaphors theory is that most of the metaphors derived from our physical experience and are
likely to be realized in similar ways by all human beings. Gibbs (2006: 1) explains that in cognitive science the term
'embodiment' related to "understanding the role of an agent's own body in its everyday, situated cognition". Maalej and Yu
(2011: 1) quoted from Enfield and Wierzbicka (2002) that "the explicit use of body-parts terminology in emotion
expressions is the tip of the iceberg, which is a good place to start if we want to know more about the whole submerged
beneath the sea. They mentions that 'the whole submerged beneath the sea' refers to the body in the mind (Johnson,
1987), the culture in the mind (Shore, 1996), the culture in the body (Maalej, 2008).
Marmaridou (2011) investigate about the relevance of 'face' in Modern Greek by considering embodiment hypothesis.
She mentions that by using the word 'prosopo' in Modern Greek and its polysemies, various positive and negative
connotations of adjectives in collocations are made which are not only reveal embodied personhood, psychological and
social human's aspects, but also show spatial orientations. Vainik (2011) surveys dynamic body parts in Estonian
figurative for descriptions of their emotions. She comes to this conclusion that chest and heart are conceptualized as
containers for emotion and the more common dynamic members are different parts of the head, the face, the eyes and
lips. She also mentions that it seems there is no specific relation between the particular emotions and particular body
members that is the body parts refer to both positive and negative emotions. Nissen (2011) compares the nonliteral uses
of "mouth" in English with Spanish and Danish and comes to this conclusion that metaphorizations are influenced by
cultural differnces.
Siahaan (2011) compares the usage of two body members including: head and eye in German and Indonesian. She
concludes that in both languages these two body members often target the same conceptual domain. Besides, her
findings reveals that Indonesian speakers prefer to use kepala (head) for position and mata (eye) for the appearance
while German speakers consider function for both kopf(head) and auge (eye).
Yu (2011) studies the Chinese cultural ways of understanding speech and language according to the chain from
speech organs to language. Yu indicates that among various body members, she (tongue), chi (teeth), chun (lips), and
zui or kou (mouth) are Chinese terms which are applied metaphorically to refer to more abstract linguistic action and
function. Nagai and Hiraga consider the relationship between the outer body part that is hara (belly) and the inner body
part that is koshi (lower back) in Japanese. They find out that in Japanese figurative expressions with koshi are
associated with a human possessor which is strongly linked to motion or attitude, whereas hara metaphorical expressions
are related to mental, spiritual or activities. Occhi (2011) has a cultural- linguistic view toward Japanese eye expressions
and states that eye have a crucial role in Japanese language and culture. She shows that the expressions considering
eye contact have reveals the nature of Japanese social interaction and social hierarchy schema. Moreover, she points
out that Gender is another factor which has influence on using eye expressions.
Sharifian (2011) examines the conceptualized metaphors containing cheshm (eye) in Persian. He explains that the
conceptualized expressions which are built by cheshm as one of the body parts, related to emotions, feelings,
personality, culture, traits, intuition, knowing and seldom with thinking. Furthermore, he emphasizes the close relationship
among language, body and culture. Sharfian (2008) also comes up with conceptualization of del (heart-stomach) and
other terms of internal body organs in Persian language. He mentions that del is associated with vast number of cultural
schemas and it may related to emotion, desire, patience, courage, compassion, and thought and memory. Also he comes
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to this conclusion that some Persian metaphorical expressions which are conceptualized by del, may reflect something
that can be tightened, opened, wounded, filled, burned, collapsed, pulled out or stolen.
Maalej (2011) survey the mental faculties such as thinking, understanding, knowing and speaking and physical states
such as sleep, death, and passage of time which are conceptualized through ȝayn (eye) and vision in Tunisian Arabic.
Maalej also states that the ȝayn is conceptualized as a source domain for expressing emotions including: love, desire,
anger, guilt and envy, character traits such as ambition, insolence and cultural value such as respect and hospitality.
Totally he points out that using ȝyan as a conceptualized metaphor is not just related to human body and physical
environment, but also is a mediator between cognition and culture. Aksen (2011) investigate about the figurative uses of
bas (head) and ayak (feet) in Turkish. He explains that head usually implies positive culture value while foot has a
negatively evaluated in Turkish. Moreover, head and feet combine in a large number of expressions. Due to this fact, the
position of body members on the verticality scales is applied to conceptualized contrasts in social satisfaction. Zahedi
(2012) is another researcher who searches about body parts in language. He reveals that how human body parts are
used in the linguistics semiosis of Persian and English and affirms other researcher's hypothesis that conceptualized
metaphor are basically rooted in human cognitive abilities of semiotic representation whereas languages as semiotic
system are restricted to their cultures.
2. Purpose of the study
This study has been come up with the main purpose of deeply highlighting the conceptualized metaphors which have
been derived from the human body members producing by political Persian speakers. Moreover, these metaphors would
be scrutinized. Furthermore, the percentages of these applied metaphors would be given and the most frequent one in
Persian political texts would be taken into account.
3. Methodology
This research was carried out on Persian newspapers published in Iran. The accumulated data are completely derived
randomly from Persian political sections of newspapers from the year 2008 to 2011. Totally, in this paper 160 numbers
from 6 types of different newspapers including: Khorasan (30 numbers), Hamshahri (10 numbers), Etemad (15 numbers),
Ghods (30 numbers), Mardom Salari (45 numbers) and Jomhorie Eslami (30 numbers) have been analyzed and all the
borrowed metaphors from human body members have been derived. Furthermore, they were translated into English. At
the end, a frequency table is illustrated based on the accumulated data.
4. Results
After analyzing conceptualized metaphors which are derived from human body parts, fifteen members have been found in
Persian political texts. For each human body member, two examples are put forward along with the English word by word
translation of the utterance. In both Persian and English translation, metaphors are highlighted by red color. Finally, a
frequency table is illuminated.
1. Dast (Hand)
● in movaffaghiyyat be dalile vojude daste komake parvardegār va hozure āgāhāneye mardom ast.
Translation:
This success is the result of the existence of helping hand of God and people's conscious attendance.
● u bar ahammiyyate shenākhte dasthāye penhān va peydāye doshman taʔkid kard.
Translation:
He emphasises on recognizing the hostile's hidden and apparent hands.
2. Cheshm (Eye)
● badtarin va zeshtarin chiz ke be cheshme man āmad, harfhāyi bud ke az zabāne u sāder shod.
Translation:
The worst and ugliest thing that came to my eye, were his saying that exports from his tongue.
● javānāne keshvar nure cheshmhāye mā hastand.
Translation:
The youth of the country is the light of our eyes.
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3. Sar (Head)
● az shomā yek eshāre va az mā bā sar davidan.
Translation:
One point from you and we run by our heads.
● sarkeshāne ghānun masʔule payāmadhāye ehtemāli ān hastand.
Translation:
The pulling head of law are responsible for the probable resulting outcomes.
4. Pa (Foot)
● ānhā ensāf, ghānun va akhlāgh rā zire pā gozāshtand.
Translation:
They put under their feet justice, law and morality.
● khode shomā midānid ke dast va pā zadanhā na az eghtedār balke az zaʔf ast.
Translation:
You yourselves know that hitting of hand and foot is not because of power but is because of weakness.
5. Ru (Face)
● agar mardom dar keshvar be āyande omidvār nabāshand, be entekhābāt ruye khosh neshān nemidahand.
Translation:
If people of the country are not hopeful for future, they will not show a happy face to election.
● ān Goruhhāyi ke mokhālef hastand, nemikhāhand ān keshvar ruye amniyat va solh rā bebinad.
Translation:
That groups which are opposed, do not want that country to see the face of safety and peace.
6. Dahān (Mouth)
● in monāzerehā tu dahane ān kasāni zad ke birun tabligh mikardand ke in reghābathā bi fāyde ast.
Translation:
These arguments hit the mouths of those who claimed from outside that these competitions are useless.
● mā cheshm entezāre movaffaghiyyathāye baʔdi hastim.
Translation:
We are eye waiting for next successes.
7. Del (Stomach)
● agar dar hame hāl del rā be khodā motavajeh konim, mā keshvare movaffaghi khāhim dāsht.
Translation:
If our heart considers God all the time, we will have a successful country.
● khotbeye rahbareshān omid rā be dele ommateshān bāz gardānd.
Translation:
Thier leader's saying returned hope to their nation's stomach.
8. Angosht (Finger)
● angoshte etehām bar chand farde siyāsi eshāre mikonad.
Translation:
Fingers of condemnation are pointing to some political persons.
● hozure aksere mardom hame rā shegeft zade kard va bāʔes shod jahān angosht be dahān bemānad.
Translation:
The attendance of majority of people surprised everyone and made the world put his finger in his mouth.
9. Zabān (Tongue)
● in kānāl aʔlāve bar pakhshe mostaghime sokhanāne az zabāne rahbar, baʔzi az akhbāre fori rā monʔakes kard.
Translation:
This channel displays the live syings from leader's tonuge, reflected some immediate news.
● in javābe goftehāyi ast ke doshmanāne shomā be zabānhāyeshān āvardand.
This is an answer to the sayings that your enemies brought to their tongues.
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10. Dandān (Tooth)

● in do goruhe ghodratmand barāye in goruh dandāneshān rā tiz kardeand.
Translation:
These two powerful groups have sharpened their teeth for this group.
● ou barāye mā yek javābe dandān shekan āmāde karde bud.
Translation:
He prepares a breaking tooth answer for us.
11. Gush (Ear)

● goshāye doyā bishtar az hamishe bāz ast.
Translation:
The ears of the world are open more than ever.
● mā be pishnahādāte rahbar bā gushe jān gush dādim.
Translation:
We listened to the leader's suggestions with ear of spirit.
12. Sine (Breast)

● sange mardome faghir rā be sine mizanid.
You hit the poor's stone to your breast.
● in vāghean akhbāre sinesuzi ast va mardom moteʔajeb shodand.
Translation:
This news actually is burning breast and people were surprised.
13. Ghalb (Heart)

● u az ommat khod dar ghalbe sarzamine bigāne setāyesh kard.
Translation:
He praised his own nation in the heart of the strange territory.
● shorāye shahr be ghalbe moshkelāt miravad va talāsh dar haleshān dārad.
Translation:
The council of the city goes to the heart of the problems and tries to solve them.
14. Gardan (Neck)

● tarafdārāne u tasdigh kardand ke in raftār va gardan koloftihā dorost nist.
Translation:
His fans confirm that these behaviors and making thickneck are not right.
● in afrād mikhāhand dar in keshvar gardan keshi konand.
Translation:
These people want to pull the neck in this country.
15. Shāne (Shoulder)

● mā bāyad shāne be shāne be rāhi ke entekhābe kardehim edāme dahim.
Translation:
We should shoulder by shoulder continue the way that we choose.
● dalile piruziye ānhā tavajoh nakardan be shākhe shānehāye sāyerin bud.
Translation:
The result of their victory is because of not paying attention to other's horn shoulder.
The table of human body members and the amount of their usages in Persian political texts are illuminated as follows:
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Table 1 Human body members and their Frequencies in Persian Political Texts
Human Body members in

Frequency Frequency (percentage)
political metaphors
Head 100 25%
Hand 88 22%
Foot 56 14%
Stomach 48 12%
Eye 28 7%
Ear 16 4%
Face 12 3%
Heart 8 2%
Tongue 8 2%
Neck 4 1%
Tooth 4 1%
Shoulder 4 1%
Finger 4 1%
Breast 4 1%
Mouth 4 1%
5. Discussion
This study was conducted to examine the function of human body members as a source domain in creating the
metaphorical expression in Persian political texts and also regarding their frequencies, the most productive one was
indicated. According to Lakoff and Johnson's beliefs, in this research metaphor was considered as a mean for building an
abstract concept based on the concrete one through conceptualization and embodiment. There are various fields by
using which the metaphorical expressions can be made and human body member is one of the most salient one which
have a crucial role as a source domain for moving toward a target domain. By investigating and scrutinizing the human
body member field as a source domain in Persian political texts, we come to this conclusion that this field have been
actively used and has a vast application. Based on the data, there are fifteen body members including: dast (hand),
cheshm (eye), sar (head), pā(foot), ru (face), dahān (mouth), del (stomach), shāne (shoulder), angosht (finger), zabān
(tongue), dandān (tooth), gush (ear), sine (breast), ghalb (heart) and gardan (neck) which are applied in Persian political
texts. Moreover, the most productive and frequent ones, are "sar", "dast" and "pā", respectively. This may due to this fact
that comparing these three body members with others, they are the ones which are consciously used a lot in human
being's daily activities. In other words, "sar" is as a highest human member which is the center of thinking, reasoning and
analyzing and these are the activities which we always deal with. Furthermore, "dast" and "pā" are the members which
are consciously used by human beings and besides they are two of the first members that human beings become familiar
with and consciously experience them almost from beginning. So as a result, these members are the most concrete and
tangible ones for human beings and they can be realized better.
177
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Apprenticeship Culture among Traditional Tailors in Atiba Local

Government Area in Oyo State, South-Western, Nigeria
Jubril Olayiwola Jawando

Department of Sociology, Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria
Email: Jawando2002@yahoo.com
Oluranti Samuel
Email: olurantisamuel@yahoo.com
Bolawale Odunaike
Email: bolawaleodunaike@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p179
Abstract This paper assessed the apprenticeship culture among the traditional tailors in Atiba Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Adopting qualitative methods, specifically the Focus Group Discussion and In-depth Interview, the study found that apprenticeship
among the traditional tailors is shaped by common framework of guiding principles. The nature of traditional apprenticeship culture also
varies among the tailors. In addition the traditional apprentice also possesses some unique characteristics that distinguished them from
the Ibo apprentice. Furthermore, they have unbreakable relationships that make for their unity against masters. The paper suggests
government involvement through adequate supply of electricity, soft loan, training and retraining for masters as well as the organization
of extra mural centres for them. The tailors and their apprentices should be alive to new ways of doing their trade so as to be much more
marketable.
Key Words: Apprenticeship, Traditional Tailors, Culture, Master, Vocation
1. Introduction
Globally, it is believed that the passage from childhood to adulthood and from school to work was not problematic in the
50s and 60s because the labour market was buoyant with readily available jobs and apprenticeships (Bynner, 1991,
Pollock, 1997; Roberts, 1984). It was observed that there were mass movement of young men from the classroom to the
factories and building sites, while young women followed the pathways leading straight from school to shops, offices and
factories (Furlong and Cartmel, 1997). The availability of relatively secure work led to the assumption that other
transitions could be smooth and easy. Therefore, leaving school at the earliest opportunity and going straight into full-time
work has the advantage of making a young person becomes financially independent’ (Pollock, 1997). Full-time jobs and
apprenticeships became readily available for young men in the period up to the mid 1970s but there was very little
guidance or preparation for work (Carter, 1966) and many approached the end of school life with few concrete ideas
about what they wanted to do in life. In Nigeria, the former National Policy on Education made recommendations for a
system of education that segmented the system into 6 years of primary education. The six years of primary education are
part of the 6-3-3-4 system. The system was designed to allow an exit point after nine years of schooling to continue
careers through apprenticeships or other vocational training programs. The objectives for primary education put emphasis
on a balance between physical and intellectual development (Moja, 2000).
Apparently, it is clear that the connection between class background and type of school attended did, and indeed
still does, determine in large measure the labour market opportunities available to individuals. However, it cannot be
assumed from this that the school-to-work transitions were experienced as easy, comfortable or unproblematic at the
time. The traditional apprenticeship culture in practice among informal economy operators has attracted increasing local
and international interest not only at the level of academic research but also at the level of policy making. Unless out – of
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– school youths, who will constitute the next generation of adults, can acquire skills that can enable them to earn cash
incomes either through wages or self employment, they cannot expect to escape from poverty and destitution since their
lack of formal educational qualifications can only allow them to hold low paying menial jobs, which are not readily
available (Kishindo, 1995). Perhaps the more engaging argument for research interest in traditional apprenticeship
culture is the inability of the informal system to deliver the type of skills that are required to ensure lateral conversion of its
‘graduates’ into the formal sector economy. The cause of growing concern about this phenomenon may be the policy
implications of the influx of this large number of youths into the apprenticeship scheme for future manpower development
of the nation. This trend is not unexpected given that the system has proved to be a stable form of informal source of skill
cultivation for much of contemporary youths that has been experiencing high level of unemployment, skill mismatch and
poverty most especially in the rural and semi-urban areas. Its enduring prevalence is also noticeably associated with the
informal sector of the Nigerian economy.
Ordinarily, the traditional informal apprenticeship is recognized everywhere as a powerful process of training for
young persons in different skills and vocations. These forms of training are common among traders, auto-mechanics,
carpenters, battery chargers, basket weavers, tailors, hairdressers and so on. If a child is apprenticed to any of these
trades, such remains in training to receive instruction not only on the technical skills needed for the trade but marketing
and other business skills. After the master is convinced that the young trainee has acquired the required competence,
s/he grants permission for freedom or ‘graduation’ for the young person to openly and legitimately practises the learnt
trade/vocation
It is noteworthy that this apprenticeship culture is not peculiar to Nigeria. The Nigerian experience is however
different from what obtains elsewhere in which apprenticeship combines somewhat seamlessly with workplace and
institutional leaning of theories with techniques of trade learning. It against this background that this study intends to
study the apprenticeship culture among the informal economy with particular reference to the master-apprentice
relationship among the tailors in Atiba Local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria,
Apprenticeship is defined by the Encyclopedia (1988) as ‘training in art under a legal agreement defining the relationship
between master and learner and the duration and conditions of the relationship’. Encyclopedia (2001) traced the tradition
of apprenticeship to before early 16th century when earliest artists usually acquired their skills mainly through various
systems of apprenticeship. The apprentice learned his trade and practiced it under the instruction and supervision of a
master. Typically, a boy was bound to a master at the age of 14 and served for seven years. This system was in force
throughout most of the renaissance period. In the 17th century, the system changed so that an apprentice lived and
studied in the house of a master for an indefinite period and was free to leave when he felt he had learned enough (Sanni
& Alabi 2008)
Apprenticeship is an old institution, deeply rooted in a wide range of societies (Halpern, 2006). In its historical form, a
young man in his teens apprenticed himself to a master of some craft or trade for a period of years, emerged as a
journeyman, and was inducted into the guild that controlled practice of that craft or trade. In addition to specific skills, the
apprentice was taught a set of principles and precepts by which to live and a sense of his place in the world. Although
apprenticeship was not available to all youth and was not always a positive experience, it was seen as a safe passage
from childhood to adulthood in the social, economic and psychological ways (Rorabaugh, 1986). However, It
subsequently declined in its vocational form, with the growth of schooling and, especially, of factory work, with the division
of labor into jobs that can be learned in the space of a few days or at most a few weeks during the industrial revolution.
Apprenticeship-like experiences in crafts and industrial arts nonetheless continued to be found in summer schools
and after-school programs until the 1960s (Halpern, 2003). Although vocational apprenticeship declined dramatically in
the United States, a number of European countries adapted it to the changed economic circumstances, integrating it with
secondary education and private corporations’ own training programs. During the 1990s, there was some debate about
the potential for instituting a vocationally oriented youth apprenticeship system in the United States, stimulated by
research on the German system (Bailey & Merritt, 1993; Hamilton, 1990; Rosenbaum, 1992). Such activity is not yet a
full-scale movement, in part because sponsors are disparate, in part because it remains modest in scope, and in part
because no one has focused on it as such.
It is probably against this background of more structured tradition of apprenticeship that Hamilton (1987), Heinz
(1999), Silverberg, Vazsonyi, Schlegel, & Schmidt (1998) conceived apprenticeship as a formalized training and
educational experiences that include on the job learning as well as specialized classroom instruction. However, drawing
public attention to the disadvantage that characterises the blending of formal education with apprenticeship, Steinberg &
180
Avenevoli (1998) noted that subsequent empirical work has also provided some evidence that part – time employees
were less committed to school and generally lower achievers prior to commencing a part time job. Disagreeing with the
foregoing position, Staff, Mortimer, and Uggen (2004) pointed out that other studies conducted in the USA also provide
evidence that youth may benefit from high quality jobs if they include mentoring experiences. But especially in the USA,
Vazsonyi and Snider (2008) warned that few studies have been conducted in this area.
Apprenticeship provides experiences that actualize the new capacities that arrive with adolescence, whether for
planning, managing and sustaining effort, regulating emotional states, developing the skills of judgment, reflecting and
self-correcting, or other (Larson, Hansen, & Walker, 2005).
Apprenticeship is characterized by a distinct adult-youth relationship (Halpern, 2005). The relationship is task
focused, not youth focused. The apprentice has some volition, a fact important to youth, but the adult structures tasks to
create a sequence tied to the apprentice’s growing experience. The adult does some teaching and is authoritative, but he
or she is also an “exemplar,” modeling skilled practice and the general behavior of one with that particular identity (i.e.,
scientist, dancer, filmmaker). The adult’s discourse is typically task oriented, concrete, and specific. Identification with the
adult as a skilled professional in a particular discipline becomes, over time, one motive for learning and part of the
learning process. The apprentice is motivated toward mastery in some measure by a desire to “become” his or her
teacher (Litowitz, 1993)
In Nigeria, apprenticeship system arose as a family institution, as a means of supplying artisans for the various
crafts then in existence and as a means of propagating the heritage of the family (Agboola & Olaoye (2008). Agboola
(1985) identified the inclusion of refugees, war captives and bondsmen as other sources of recruitment of apprentices
before colonialization. With colonialization, the British introduced new building materials and building designs which
needed specialized training to use and construct. In addition, as the country developed economically, there were more
bicycles, auto cycles, motor-cars and Lorries. There was need for men to service and maintain them. A new breed of
occupations, distinct and different from the traditional ones thus emerged (Agboola, 1985; and Onasanya, 1998; Agboola
& Olaoye, 2008).
There are diverse forms of apprenticeship which has replaced the old system of hereditary craft as the basic form of
apprenticeship has given way to the processes of free recruitment in Nigeria. Agboola & Olaoye (2008) observe that
since apprenticeship existed in the form of a relatively well developed and organized training system in the traditional
crafts, it was not difficult to introduce, adapt and incorporate the new occupations into the existing apprenticeship system.
Onasanya (1998) stressed that apprenticeship is a good means of teaching skill but it is not without its disadvantages,
which include lack of programmed training. To him, in most cases, the masters teach their apprentices as work comes,
not as planned, and there is lack of end-of-course test or examination to standardize the level of craftsmanship and
differences in standards of craftsmanship from one employer or master to another.
Callaway (1965) observed that the duration of apprenticeship is either three or five years. Fees vary considerably by
craft, and when the apprentice extends beyond five years, there is usually little or no fee paid. In some cases, small
payments are made by the master to the apprentice and sometimes contributions in the form of food, clothing or shelter.
Masters in the old crafts often accommodate apprentices in their houses, but this is less true in the new-line artisan
workshops (Agboola & Olaoye, 2008).
3. Methods
Atiba Local Government is one of the 33 local governments in Oyo State. Its headquarters are in the town of Ofa Mefa. It
has an area of 1,757 km² and a population of 168,246 at the 2006 census. Atiba local government is an agrarian town
that hosts the Alafin of Oyo. It is one of the local governments within the Oyo axis of the state. Most of the inhabitants of
this town are the indigents of Oyo as well as the royal family. Apart from being an agrarian community, it also play host to
weavers, Oyo State is homogenous, mainly inhabited by the Yoruba ethnic group who are primarily agrarian but have a
predilection for living in high density urban centers. The indigenes mainly comprise the Oyos, the Oke-Oguns, the
Ibadans and the Ibarapas, all belonging to the Yoruba family and indigenous city in Africa, south of the Sahara.
Qualitative Method was used to collect information for the study. Both Focus Group Discussions and in-depth
interview were employed in this study. For the in-depth interviews, 25 Masters Tailors were randomly chosen for interview
within Atiba Local Government for the two days. While three sessions of Focus Group Discussions comprising of 10
respondents were held for selected apprentices in various locations within the Local Government. It took the researchers
six days to organize these sessions after seeking the permission of the masters.
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4. Discussion of Findings
4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics
The study generated salient findings regarding apprenticeship culture among the tailors in informal economy operating in
Oyo town of Atiba Local Government Area
The socio-demographic characteristics of respondents show that the age of owners (Masters) ranges between 32
and 77 years, while the ages of apprentice ranges between 15 and 25 years. The number of apprentice under the
mentoring of the masters depends on the size of the shop in terms of availability of machines. The minimum numbers of
apprentices admitted by owners were 2 while the maximum/highest number found in the course of the field research was
10 apprentices. Majority of the respondents practice Islamic religion, while few were Christians and some claim to be
adherents of traditional religion.
4.2 Guiding Culture
The work of apprenticeship among the Traditional tailors is shaped by a common framework of guiding principles and
required elements and by the specific goals set by each Master. The common principle includes: authentic tasks involved
in the vocation, rituals, routines and rules guiding the conduct of the apprentice, paying attention to fundamentals, early
success based on the determination and willingness to master the craft or vocation, identification of specific skills to be
developed, a culminating product, event or performance, and some kind of community service which every apprentice
must do before graduating. Within these guiding principles, the master focuses on two kinds of goals: those related to
substantive mastery within the discipline and those relating to broad developmental capacities of the apprentices within
the stipulated times to be spent on the vocation.
As expressed by one of the Masters (Trainers)
“We teach them the skills that they need to know to master the trade and also the knowledge
they need to know to succeed in this trade”
4.3 Nature of the Traditional Apprenticeship Culture
The nature of the traditional apprenticeship culture varies among the tailors in Atiba Local Government. There are no
laws guiding the number of apprentices to be recruited on daily, monthly or yearly basis. The system allows for free entry
and exit of apprentice at will. This makes it difficult for the masters to have a clear number of trainees that have graduated
under them from time to time. Most of the time, those who eventually stay and graduate and those that abscond after few
days or weeks have been introduced to the fundamental of the vocation or skill such as the techniques or methods,
materials, particular tools or technology, language, components or dimensions of skills or vocations needed. This is done
by allowing the apprentices to begin to develop the approach of an expert the discipline. This means looking at one’s own
or others’ work with a “knowledgeable eye” or developing an educated aesthetic sense. It means being able to visualize
what the craft or vocation is all about. A higher level of expertise means being able to describe what one is doing or
aiming for in a creative piece of work. As observed by one of the respondents
“It is very difficult to say how many people have been enrolled in a week, month or year. Most times when
they bring them for apprenticeship, some will not stay longer than a day, some a week and some months. It
is only those that finished their training programme that we can say have finally gone through the
apprenticeship scheme”
As noted by Onasanya (1998) apprenticeship is a good means of teaching skill but it is not without its disadvantages,
which include lack of programmed training. In most cases, the masters teach their apprentices as work comes, not as
planned, and there is lack of end-of-course test or examination to standardize the level of craftsmanship and differences
in standards of craftsmanship from one employer or master to another
On yearly basis, minimum of two and maximum of 5 apprentices were recruited irrespective of gender, cultural or
religious affiliation. It was observed that apprenticeship in the Local Government were gender biased. That is, male
owners recruits male apprentice while female apprentice were found with female owners. One noticeable feature of the
traditional apprentice system of the tailoring is that no female apprentice was found with male owners and vice versa.
182
For tailoring, female owner sew only female dresses and male owners sew male dresses. Apprentices were not paid
salaries, feeding, transportation and housing allowance. Parents or guardians are responsible for the upkeep of their
wards for 2-3 years (minimum) training, depending on how fast the apprentice could learn. Contrary to Agbola and
Olaoye (2008) assertion that in some case, that small payment are made by the master to the apprentice and sometimes
contributions in the form of food, clothing or shelter. This was not the case with the apprenticeship culture among the
Tailors in Atiba Local Government. Also, apprentice paid unspecified amount for the training programme. The amount
charged varies, depending on relationship with the apprentice parents.
“We charge based on relationship with the apprentice family or relative. We charge a small amount of
money but during graduation ceremony we collect some items from the parents of the apprentice as a form
of blessing.”
A minimum of primary school certificate is required for tailoring. Again, ethnic and religious affiliation has no barrier for
enrolment. Most of the apprentices have kinship ties with their trainers. The profession becomes a generational
occupation. Therefore, it means that ascribed generational occupations are still very much in existence in Oyo Kingdom.
“Most parents still want the children to learn their trade or vocation especially when they are successful,
also it may be the decision of the child to learn the trade or maybe because someone in the family is
successful in a chosen vocation”
Agboola and Olaoye (2008) noted that apprenticeship is a means of propagating the heritage of the family. Most times an
apprentice may decide to opt out of the system as a result of not wanting to continue to propagate the heritage of the
family. This is often the case for those young, under age apprentices who find it difficult to adjust to the reality of the work
environment. They find it intimidating and not conducive. As pointed out by one of the respondents
“It is very common to have cases of drop-out from time to time. Some of the apprentices may have
something in mind as against what their parents want them to do. The clash of interest results in drop out.
Also some of these apprentices are just not ready for mentorship”
Most of these apprentices ordinarily wanted to get engaged in paid employment like something that would bring them
income to sustain their livelihood. But their parents insisted that they must get a trade or vocation that would lead
eventually to better prospects. This belief is based on the fact that if they are apprenticed for two to three years, they will
be getting low wages or no wages at all. But as soon as they graduate and established their own business, they start
earning big money and forget about their sufferings. It is common among the Yoruba, especially among the local people
that a child that is not educationally sound should be enrolled for apprenticeship so that the child could be useful to
himself and the society at large.
One noticeable features of this traditional apprenticeship culture is the compulsory community service that all trainees
must render during their apprenticeship. It is pertinent to note that every trainee must serve his or her master at home
apart from the normal services rendered in the shop. This community service however varies from one master to the
other. As expressed by one of the respondents
“It is a must that every trainee must compulsorily serve his or her trainer by rendering services such as
washing his master’s clothes, running errand, assisting in domestic chores of his/her master and any other
duties from time to time as his master want him to do. It is what we have gone through and is like a norm
that they would also do to their own trainees. It is like a ritual handed over from generation to generation. It
is part of blessing the trainee will receive on the day of his graduation.”
It was observed that conflict resolution mechanism for resolving disputes among trainees exist. Contrary to the practice of
the senior trainee disciplining the junior trainee, it is the duties of all trainees under the mentorship of master to report all
cases of abuse, insubordination, stealing, fighting and backbiting to the master who in turn investigate and carry out
appropriate sanctions and discipline as the case may be from time to time.
In order to be objective and remove all elements of bias in this study, we organized Focus Group Discussion
(FGDs) with some selected trainees based on age, sex and years of experience.
183
4.4 Apprentices’ Own Views
Based on our observation and what we were told by the trainers, we decided to hear the views of the trainees on their
choice of apprenticeship, despite the fact that they could easily make quick money by going for paid employment. They
strongly agreed that they value the choice of their vocations and also corroborated some of the things said by their
masters. However, they frowned at the way their master engaged them in community service. One of the male trainees
said
“Apart from learning the trade Monday to Saturday and closing very late, I will still have to go and
assist my master in his house on Sundays to wash his clothes and that of his family, despite the fact
that he has grown up children at home. After doing the chores, he would not offer me any food or
transport money and if I failed to come on any Sunday he would punish me for three days”
Apart from the community service, they all complained about the rules and regulations which to them are very
cumbersome and rigid. Part of the rules and regulations is making the trainees responsible for the refund in part or full of
any damage items belonging to the customers. They argued that most times it is not as if the master actually took them
through the rudiment, they only learn by observing what the masters did and getting the experience from their seniors.
This had made some trainees to abscond when they could not afford the payment for damaged materials.
A female trainee explained:
“This is my third place of learning tailoring. I have been taken to two masters who were just too
wicked and always beat me. I left the last place because I damaged a client cloth and I was asked to
pay N5, 000 which I could not afford. But this Master is very nice and that is why I have spent two
years with her”. Although we are somehow related but she is nice to others too who are not related
to her”
Despite their challenges in learning their vocation they still find time to make some money whenever their trainers or
masters are not around. Whenever opportunities to make quick money occur they take advantage of such situation.
There is an informal relationship which binds them together against their masters. Any apprentice that does not aligned
with the group is frustrated out of the vocation. As explained by one of the respondents
“We have our own norms that are different from the mainstream norms and it is binding on every
apprentice to abide by these rules. Anyone that goes against the group norms will be frustrated”
5. Conclusion
There is no doubt that apprenticeship system is expected to play crucial role in the manpower development of any nation.
The mass exodus of our teeming youths into the various traditional and modern apprenticeship schemes is expected to
rise in the years to come as government has continue to make education exclusive rights of the rich. The traditional
apprenticeship systems are gradually being replaced by modern apprenticeship system which allows the masters to
accommodate, feed and set-up the apprentice after graduation as being practiced by the Ibo traders. This system not
only empowers the apprentice but also allows them to grow in business. One noticeable features of the traditional
apprenticeship system is that it does not duly encourage manpower development. Most of these trained apprentices end
up not making livelihood from these vocations. This is due to the fact that they have to switch job to either purchase the
materials for the trade. Most of them end up new found job or vocation. The incessant power outage has not helped
artisans as most of them have abandoned their various vocations for commercial motor cycling
6. Recommendations
Despite few hitches in the traditional apprentice system, its contributions cannot be overemphasized in the nation’s
developmental efforts. As part of the efforts of creating the needed manpower for development, it therefore becomes
pertinent to make the following recommendations.
 Government must ensure that the problem of power is given urgent and accelerated attention as this is
important in order to achieve the needed economic development
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 Government should support the traditional apprenticeship system by ensuring that apprentices under this
system can compete favourably with the modern apprenticeship system. This can be done by conducting skill
tests for apprentices to maintain standards
 Master tradesmen for the required crafts from the traditional and modern scheme should be trained and
retrained from time to time by relevant government agencies to keep them in tune with modern trends in their
various vocations
 There should be a uniform training for all apprentices in the same vocations to ensure competitions.
 Soft loans facilities should be made available for the people in this system
 Atiba local government should organize extra-mural lesson for the practitioners, especially the apprentice so
as to improve the level their level of education as many of them only had first school leaving certificates
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186
Strategic Model for Development Planning of Subdistrict Administrative Organization
Mr. Thanakrit Sawasdee
Ph.D. Candidate Student of Development Strategy Program,

Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Suphawan Vongkamjan
Major Advisor, Development Strategy Program,

Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University
Asst. Prof. Dr. Boonsaen Teawnukultham

Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University.
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p187
Abstract The research objectives were 1) to create the strategic model for development planning of Subdistrict Administrative
Organization (SAO), and 2) to experiment the strategic model for development planning of SAO. In this study had introduced the idea of
five steps of development strategy combined with other theories and principle related to study strategic model for development planning
of SAO. The participants were 221 peoples. Descriptive statistics was percent (%), mean ( X ) and standard deviation (S.D.). The
inferential statistics Paired t-test was used for means comparison between before and after implementation achievement. The results
were as followings : Planning, Plan Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, Correcting, Adding and Changing, and Thinking Model of
Development Strategy after implementation, the knowledge development strategy of participants ( X =7.20, 6.91, 6.78, 6.80, and 6.75),
were higher than before implementation ( X =5.64, 4.85, 4.60, 4.52 and 4.42), therefore, the mean score of after implementation
achievement was higher than before implementation with statistically significant at level of .01. 2). Satisfaction toward the implementation
of the strategic model for development planning of SAO as a whole, had average with 4.23 at high level. The strategic model for
development planning of SAO, in case of Keoychai SAO had derived from process with integration of idea of five steps of development
strategy combined with other related theories that can be actual use effectively to be a guideline for analysis the implementation created
9 steps for conducting in this research that help to initiate results of oriented models for the preparation of development plans of the SAO
can be effectively implemented and successfully achievement, therefore SAO can make a good and suitable plan for the preparation of
local development plans.
Key Words: Strategic Model / Development Planning / Subdistrict Administrative Organization
1. Introduction
Constitution of Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2550, established the policy on people participation by issued the section 87
that government must implement according to policy in aspect of people participation as followings:
(1) Promote people to participate in policy and plan establishment in social and economic
aspects both on international and local levels.
(2) Promote and support people participation in politic decision making to plan for social
and economic development including public service.
(3) Promote people to be strong in politics and arrange law to establish the fund for politic development in citizen
sector to aid implementation activity in community public health including supporting implementation of people
group that assemble in term of network in every form in order to be able to express opinion and propose
community need in the area through public space pattern (Constitution of Kingdom of Thailand, 2007 and
Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Inferior, 2004).
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Accompanying to the Tenth National Economic Development Plan (B.E. 2550-2554) established social status of country
that Thai society adapted to the age of changing from rural to urban development. However, the process of community
participation in the development and knowledge management increasingly, therefore, it affected the community to be
group and to learn together to manage their problems that impacted to community at a certain level. This made the local
readiness for effective work performance and had mechanism of community administration to be ready for burden of
decentralization by governmental sector to promote people participation in local plan preparation. Moreover,
governmental sector established country strategic development to strengthen good governance for country development
and support the justice in sustainable society by decentralization from the national level to local and community level
increasingly. Continuously, potential development and decentralize the decision making to local to have a role and take
responsibility for management of public service by opening the people participation for local development by themselves
to be value and benefit to people service thoroughly (The National Economic Development Board Office of the Prime
Minister, 2007 and Thiengkamol, 2007).
Therefore, SAO had extensively role, function, and authority by not only having duty to provide basic public service
for local people but also developing life quality, social and economic aspects, and providing opportunity for local people
participation in local administration and examining the work performance of SAO (Department of Local Administration,
2003). Therefore, if SAO has good system of management to administrate and implement, hence, it will create happiness
and well being for people effectively (Kanjanarangsinonth, 2009).
Establishing the development plan is the first process of administration of SAO in order to be congruent to concept
of decentralization of governmental sector that aims to let people participate. This should have accurate mean to promote
people to perceive on their right and duty together with understanding the administration in term of democracy as
representative form correctly. Along with responsible unit for local administration is able to allocate restricted resources to
bring for local development by getting well together with states of problem and needs of people successfulness
(Wanaratana, et al. 1996, and Department of Provincial Administration, 2000).
Plan establishment obtained for participation process is accounted as important mechanism to make SAO
accomplish those aims by using proper strategy, hence, SAO is essential to pay attention for planning of resource use to
meet economization and most benefit for people both in present and future. SAO must implement according to work plan
and project that established to meet high achievement in a certain period with controlling, monitoring, examining, and
evaluating the work plan and project implementations. Management along with work plan and project, must be
implemented in consistent with good administration with consensus oriented, transparency, accountability, participation,
efficiency and effectiveness, and equitableness and inclusiveness. This can be examined by government sector and civil
society (Thiengkamol, 2007 and Kanjanarangsinonth, 2009).
However, in the past period, major process of establishment for community development plan was established by
guide or order from the central government mainly, while mechanism or organization for plan establishment was under
the leading of governmental sector. This affected to problem identification that was not covering because process of
establishment for community development plan was conducted by only administrative group or some community leaders.
They identify problems and requirements of community with people participation (Puang-ngam, et al., 2004,
Thiengkamol, 2005a and Kanjanarangsinonth, K 2009).
In order to promote, participation of multilateral sectors for establishment for community development plan to
develop their local community by themselves, this will lead to sustainable living and self-dependent for administration of
conservation and rehabilitation of natural resources and environment. Additionally, it also promote body of knowledge and
multilateral competencies for local administration but in the past establishment for community development plan of
Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province, was conducted by only administrative and local
officers and they faced with problem of lack of good model for establishing development plan because it was not
participated by involved network party to give information and correct academic principle. This caused majority of
establishing development plan of SAO was only emphasized on some aspect without establishing diverse project
development for each strategy inclusively and equally. Particularly, in sectors of social, economic, natural resources and
environment that are key targets of sustainable development (Trithosawit, 2006, and Thiengkamol, 2011e).
From analysis of establishing community development plan of Keoychai Subdistrict according to strategic
development plan, three year development plan, and plan implementation, it can be concluded that in order to introduce
project in three years plan to implement in budget of each year for each strategy, it is obviously seen that establishing
community development plan of Keoychai Subdistrict was not appropriate, therefore, it impacted to administration of SAO
of Keoychai Subdistrict because project implementation was done in all 5 strategies was emphasized only in some aspect
without establishing project development for each strategy inclusively and equally in all aspects of development, therefore
188
community development of Keoychai Subdistrict is lacking of regular development according to principle of sustainable
development (Puang-ngam, el al., 2004 and Thiengkamol, 2007).
As problems and principles mentioned above, the researcher pay attention to study and develop the strategic model
for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict by using participation of multilateral sectors, academic principle,
and different technique for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict with clear model and strategy for
development planning with effective and efficient plan to obtain an appropriate community development plan and to be
able to transfer the use of strategic model for other SAO with participation of stakeholders through Participatory Action
Research (PAR) (Thiengkamol, N. (2011a).
2. Objective
The research objectives were as followings:

1) To create the strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District,
Nakhon Sawan Province.
2) To experiment the strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District,
Nakhon Sawan Province.
3. Methodology
The research design was implemented in steps by step as followings:
1. The qualitative research as Participatory Action Research (PAR) was used for creating the strategic model for
development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province. PAR was
used for preparation of SAO development plans through brain storming process integrated with SWOT (Strength,
Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis (Thiengkamol, 2011a). There were five steps of development planning as
including;
1.1 Planning,
1.2 Plan Implementation,
1.3 Monitoring and Evaluation, Correcting,
1.4 Adding and Changing,
1.5 Thinking Model of Development Strategy.
2. Questionnaire for preparation of development plan implementation and satisfaction were used for evaluating SAO
development plans, it included as followings:
Unit 1: Building awareness and knowledge and understanding for plan preparation.
Unit 2: Establishing representative to collaborate in plan preparation.
Unit 3: Providing Knowledge and Understanding about thinking model on development strategy.
Unit 4: Public hearing for the plan.
Unit 5: Preparing plan and implementing according to the plan.
Unit 6: Monitoring plan and evaluating.
3. The quantitative research was used for experimenting the strategic model for development planning of SAO of
Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province. There were 2 sample groups of experiment.
The first experiment group composed of 221 stakeholders. The second experiment group was 45 SAO members.
4. Results
SWOT analysis was used for evaluating competency of existing development potential and opportunity for future
development of SAO. The Strength was found that there were no conflict of race and land since it is appropriate for
agriculture with soil fertility and agriculturists are hard-working and high capability of agricultural knowledge, especially,
rice cultivation and no crime and drug addict in community. Weakness was found that there was no irrigation system, a lot
of agriculturists had informal debt, high production cost and prize of product set by middle man, lack of working capital,
189
and little equipment, less technology and low quality. Opportunity was found that location locates on the way to provincial
center, and convenient transportation, therefore, it is easy for business development because of having railway station.
Additionally, its location is able to develop as recreation site for passing people and able to hold community shop for
increased income and occupation. It places on flat plane and connects to different important rivers such as Nan River and
Yom River. Therefore, it is proper for numerous agricultural activities. Threat was shortage of irrigation system, and has
faced with drought and flood. Moreover, agricultural product prize has fluctuated. SAO had few budget for development.
4.1. Creating the for the preparation of SAO development planning with PAR, the results were as followings.
It created 9 steps for the preparation of SAO development planning including;

1.1 Arranging project for promotion multilateral sectors for community sustainable development and holding meeting
to explain the project and request multilateral sectors to participate in the project.
1.2 Establishing work of project
1.3 Project opening by holding a meeting of group leaders, and community committee to create awareness and to
gain more knowledge and understanding for plan preparation and thinking model of development strategy.
1.4 Arranging for public space for brain storming.
1.5 Surveying, collecting data, analyzing and synthesizing community data by establishing team work for data
collecting from 17 villages.
1.6 Formulating and defining draft work plan of plan work and project for annual budget of 2012.
1.7 Public hearing for plan
1.8 Plan compilation and introduction plan to practice
1.9 Monitoring and evaluating
1.10
4.2. Results of experimenting the strategic model for development planning of SAO
4.2.1 Results of experimenting the strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang
District, Nakhon Sawan Province with the first experiment group composed of 221 stakeholders.
The sample group of 221 stakeholders was test on knowledge and understanding on strategic model for development
planning of SAO, it was revealed that after the mean scores of aspects on planning, plan implementation, monitoring and
evaluation, correcting, adding and changing, and thinking model of development strategy with 7.20, 6.91, 6.78, 6.80 and
6.75 higher than mean scores before participation through PAR with 5.64, 4.85, 4.60, 4.52, and 4.42 respectively as
presented in table 1.
Table 1. Stakeholder Knowledge and Understanding on Preparation of Development Planning
Knowledge and Understanding on Plan Before (N = 221) After (N = 221)

Preparation X S.D. Level X S.D. Level
1. Planning 5.64 1.82 Moderate 7.20 1.24 High
2. Plan Implementation 4.85 1.57 Moderate 6.91 1.25 Moderate
3. Monitoring and Evaluation 4.60 1.62 Low 6.78 1.16 Moderate
4. Correcting, Adding and Changing 4.52 1.58 Low 6.80 1.16 Moderate
5.Thinking Model of Development Strategy 4.42 1.52 Low 6.75 1.29 Moderate
4.2.2 Results of comparison participants on knowledge and understanding
about strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan
Province with the first experiment group composed of 221 stakeholders, it was revealed that the mean score of after PAR
achievement after implementation through PAR process was higher than before with statistically significant at level of .01,
as presented in table 2.
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Table 2. PAR Achievement of Stakeholder on Knowledge and Understanding on Preparation of Development Planning
After Before
Treatment t p
X S.D. X S.D.
PAR Achievement 6.89 0.18 4.81 0.49 15.040 .000**
** Statistically significant at level of .01
4.3. Results of Satisfaction Level toward Practice according to Strategic Model for Development Planning of SAO
Results of satisfaction on the strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang
District, Nakhon Sawan Province with the second experiment group was 45 SAO members, it was revealed that SAO
members had satisfaction for system Unit 1: Building awareness and knowledge and understanding for plan preparation
with mean score of 4.28, Unit 5: Preparing plan and implementing according to the plan with mean score of 4.20, Unit 4:
Public hearing for the plan with mean score of 4.17, Unit 3: Providing Knowledge and Understanding about thinking
model on development strategy with mean score of 4.13, Unit 2: Establishing representative to cooperate in plan
preparation with mean score of 4.06, and Unit 6: Monitoring plan and evaluating with mean score of 3.97 respectively.
Moreover SAO members had satisfaction for problem solving of subsequences at high level with mean score of 4.40.
Subsequences were problem solving of target and problem solving of trouble at high levels with mean score of 4.37
equally, and problem solving of causes of trouble with mean score of 4.31 respectively. Satisfaction toward the
implementation of the strategic model for development planning of SAO as a whole, had average with 4.23 at high level,
as presented in table 3.
Table 3 Satisfaction Level toward Practice according to Strategic Model for Development Planning of SAO
Satisfaction Level
Items X S.D Level
Unit 1: Building awareness and knowledge and understanding for plan 4.28 0.50 High
preparation
Unit 2: Establishing representative to cooperate in plan preparation 4.06 0.68 High
Unit 3: Providing Knowledge and Understanding about thinking model on 4.13 0.75 High
development strategy
Unit 4: Public hearing for the plan 4.17 0.68 High
Unit 5: Preparing plan and implementing according to the plan 4.20 0.72 High
Unit 6: Monitoring plan and evaluating 3.97 0.83 High
Problem solving of target 4.37 0.71 High
Problem solving of causes of trouble 4.31 0.66 High
Problem solving of subsequences 4.40 0.53 High
Problem solving of trouble 4.37 0.61 High
Total 4.23 0.67 High
5. Discussion
Research on strategic model for development planning of SAO of Keoychai Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon
Sawan Province, was conducted based on collaboration, knowledge and capability of administrators, SAO members,
head of a group of villages, village chief, village committee, and involved network party by participation through PAR.
Moreover it needs to introduce knowledge and understanding on planning, plan implementation, monitoring and
evaluation, correcting, adding and changing, and thinking model of development strategy for all stakeholders who
participated in preparation of development planning of SAO in order to obtain effective strategic model for development
planning of SAO. After experimenting the SAO members had high satisfaction in all aspects of system units. Therefore, it
might be concluded the created strategic model for development planning of SAO was appropriate for SAO of Keoychai
Subdistrict, Chumseang District, Nakhon Sawan Province to use for implementation to solve problems that it was found in
different aspects such as problem solving of target in term of lack of stakeholder participation and problem solving of
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causes of trouble in term of preparation of planning under control of government sector. Moreover, it might be applied for
other SAOs that have similar context in the same province or others province in Thailand.
References
Department of Local Administration, Ministry of Interior. (2003). Research Report on Factor Affecting Strength of Subdistrict
Administrative Organization. Office of Development and Promotion of Local Administration, Department of Provincial
Administration. Bangkok: Borpit Publishing.
Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Interior. (2004). Guideline for Public Space
Arrangement for Examination and Confirmation the Correct of Register Data for Social Problems and Poverty with Integration. Retrieved
from Department of Provincial Administration, (2000). Decentralization. Retrieved from
http://www.cpc.ku.ac.th/ocs/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=308:department-of-provincial-administration-of-
ministry-of-interior-and-tcs-visited-ocs&catid=3:newaevent&Itemid=428
Kanjanarangsinonth, K (2009). Community Process to Community Strength. Bangkok : Department of Rural Development.
Puang-ngam, K., et al. (2004). Subdistrict Administrative Organization in New paradigm: Development of Network and strengthen.
Bangkok: Sematham Publishing.
The National Economic Development Board Office of the Prime Minister. (2007). The Tenth Economic and Social Development Plan
(2007-2011). Retrieved from http://www.nesdb.go.th/Default.aspx?tabid=402
Thiengkamol, N. (2005a). Strengthening Community Capability through The Learning Network Model for Energy Conservation. Journal
of Population and Social Studies, 14 (1), 27-46.
Thiengkamol, N. (2007). Globalization Administration. Bangkok: Saengchai Publishing.
Thiengkamol, N. (2011a). Holistically Integrative Research. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn Press.
Thiengkamol, N. (2011e). Environment and Development Book 1. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn Press.
Trithosawit, P. (2006). Implementation for strengthening Community between Government
Sector and Non Governmental Organization Composition of Village Civil Society. Retrieved from http://www.dopa.go.
th/iad/topic/perapon.html.
Wanaratana, L., et al. (1996). Administration of Subdistrict Administrative Organization. Bangkok: Office of Civil Government Officer.
192
Telephone Conversation Opening in Iran: Males and Females in Focus
Dr. Azizollah Dabaghi

Email: azizollahd@hotmail.com
Akram Khadem

Email: khadem.akram@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p193

Abstract: This paper aims to compare the structure of telephone conversation opening in Iran between males and females with
particular attention to the “how are you” sequence. Natural data are 30 recorded telephone conversations by both males and females in
different age groups. The data are transcribed for analysis to see how these two groups perform their telephone conversation openings.
Due to the differences in their nature, there seems some considerable differences will be observed between the males and the females
not only in the “how are you” section but also in the selection of words.
Keywords: conversation; telephone conversation openings; tarofs (ostensible speech); the ‘how are you’ sequence; tag-positioned
address terms and words of endearment
1. Introduction
Generally, the beginning of conversations has been of considerable attention in the fields of sociolinguistics, pragmatics,
and conversation analysis (Schegloff, 1979; Coulmas, 1981; Schegloff, 1986).
The opening of telephone conversations has been widely studied by different researchers such as Schegloff (1972,
1979), Godard (1977) Lindstrom (1994) and Taleghani-Nikazm (2002).
Schegloff (1972,1979) analyzed telephone conversation opening in American English and discovered four opening
sequences :1)the summons-answer sequence / 2)the identification-recognition sequence / 3)the exchange of greeting
tokens / and 4)the “how are you” sequence .And these sequences have been used as a base “template”(Hopper,1996)for
describing telephone call openings in other cultures.
In an investigation of French telephone conversation openings, Godard (1977) found that some differences exist
between summons-answer sequences in French versus American telephone openings. According to Godard, Americans
interpret the answer to summons as an indication that the channel of communication is open; the French see it as an
indication of the answerer's availability to be interrupted in the middle of what s/he was doing, not of her or his availability
as a partner in the conversation. French callers thus provide an apology in the opening sequence.
Lindstrom (1990) explored the structure of telephone conversation opening in Sweden and compared the pattern
with the one in other communities. She found that “Swedes overwhelmingly self-identify by name over the telephone, like
Dutch interactants ;but Swedes also avail themselves of the recognitional resources that have been found within
American materials to achieve recognition without explicit name proffer.”(p.231)
Taleghani - Nikazm (2002) contrasted “ritual routines” in telephone conversation openings in Iran and Germany.
She specifically focused on the ritual “how are you” in both cultures. She described that Iranians after inquiring about
one another’s well-being, ask about the well-being of their respective families. In the analysis about the German,
Taleghani - Nikazm found that German telephone conversation openings do not include the “how are you”
sequence.When the German perform a set of “how are you” sequences, they are not reciprocated.
As it was shown, studies on telephone conversation opening have received lots of attention in different cultures. But
none of them specifically has focused on a particular gender to see whether any specific differences are observed in the
rituals or not. Taleghani-Nikazm (2002) focused on telephone conversation opening in Iran without making any
differentiation among different genders. The researchers in this study aim to focus on telephone conversation opening in
Iran and make a comparison between males and females in their way of talking on the phone, particularly telephone
conversation openings.
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Iranian have a prolonged part in their greetings in the opening section. The researchers in this study believe that
there are some considerable differences between males and females with regard to this part in both quality and quantity.
2. Research Methodology
The telephone conversation data for the present study are 30 telephone calls recorded by 3 males and 5 females. 12 of
the telephone calls are between the males and 18 of them between the females.The participants in this study are middle-
class Iranians and are of different age groups(18,20,30,50).The recording was made by them using special software
while using their cellphones and sometimes their telephones at home. They were asked to record both the telephone
calls initiated by them and the telephone calls they received. These conversations are mostly between friends and
sometimes intimate friends.
All telephone call openings of the collected data are transcribed according to the transcription notation developed by
Jefferson (1984, pp.-xvi) for conversation analysis.
3. Results
The researchers in this study use Taleghani-Nikazm’s study as the base for how Iranians open their telephone
conversations. When analyzing the telephone calls recorded by the subjects in this study, the researchers realized that
the sequence of telephone call openings in Iran, as Taleghani –Nikazem has said too, is the same as what happens in
American telephone conversation openings: First there’s the summons-answer sequence, then identification-recognition,
after that the exchange of greeting tokens and at last but not the least a series of “how are you” s about each other’s well-
being such as Ahvaleh shoma? (How are you?) Chetori? Khubi? (Are you OK?) are exchanged between the co-
particapants
The investigation of telephone conversation openings between males and females in this study suggests that both
these groups react the same in the first three sequences, but the noticeable difference is with regard to the fourth one
(the how are you sequence).
In the following there are two sample extracts of two telephone calls. One between two females Nina (N) and
Shamim (Sh) and the other is between two males Farhad (F) and Sohrab (S)
[1] Shamim calls Nina to make an appointment for a meeting.

Ring?
N Baleh?
N Hello?
Sh Sala:m
Sh Hello
N Sala:m.Ha:le:h [shoma?
N Hello.How are you doing?
Sh [Chetori?=
Sh How are you?
Sh =[Khub hasi?
Sh Are you well?
N [Mamnun mersi
N Thankyou.Thanks
Sh Ghorbane to.
Sh Thanks
Sh Khubi aziz?=
Sh Are you OK,dear?
►Sh =bebkhsid mozahemet shodama?
►Sh Sorry for taking your time?
N Na baba ,[Che mozahemati
N Oh,no.I’m peased .
Sh [Maman baba khuban?
Sh Are your mother & father OK?
N Bad nisan. [salam miresunan
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N They’re OK.They’ve said hello to you

Sh [Ghorbanet salamat bashed
Sh Thanks be healthy
N Shoma mamanetun[ khuban?
N Is your mother OK?
Sh [Ghorbanet mersi
Sh Thank you
N Danduneshun behtar shod?
N Did her tooth get better?
Sh Are:.[Ye kam behtare mamnoon
Sh Yeah. It’s a bit better
N [Khodaro shokr-khob
N Thank God
Sh Migama nina joon….
Sh Nina,I wanted to say…
[2] Sohrab (S) calls his classmate and friend Farhad (F) to ask about some books Farhad was supposed to take
for him:
Ring?
→F: Salam Sohrab.
F: Hi Sohrab
S: Salam aleikom.[Khubi?
S: Hello there. Are you well?
F: [Chetori?Khubi?
F: Are you well?
S: Salamati?(0) Khab budi?
S: Are you OK? Were you sleeping?
F: Na:::h.Khab Koja?
F: Oh no
S: Az sar-e kar key umadi?
S: When did you go back from work?
F: ˚Ye do saati ha:s˚.
F: About two hours ago.
S: Miga:m(0) ketaba ke goftam…
S: O,about those books…
As it was shown above, the first part of both extracts was the summons-answer sequence, then identification-recognition
(these conversations are on the cellphone, and their numbers are saved, so it didn’t happen like the telephone calls at
home), after that the exchange of greeting tokens and then a series of “how are you” s about each other’s well-being. In
some situations that numbers are saved and the callee is aware of the identity of the caller, “identification-recognition”
part and the “greeting” part are joined together (shown by →in extract [2]).
In extract [1], in addition to asking about each other’s wellbeing, the participants even ask about the wellbeing of
their families .While in extract [2], they only ask about each other’s well beings.
One noticeable difference between these two groups was that females seem it necessary to answer the questions
regarding their well beings and their families, they consider it part of being more polite toward others, but the analysis of
telephone calls in Iran between males indicates that males more than the females try to evade the rituals in their
conversations. They only ask about each other’s wellbeing but occasionally about their respective family members .They
sometimes even do not provide any answer to the questions about each other’s well beings. In fact they tend not to
extend their greetings and the “how are you sequence” and and not to have long conversations and quickly go toward the
reason for the call.The answer to the questions about the respective familily members are mostly mamnoon , salam
miresunand (thanks , they have sent hello to you).
Men tend to be more direct, while in contrast tarofs (ostensible speech) are a lot more common between females.
In most of the calls, when the level of intimacy is a little low, they apologize for having called and having to take the time
195
of the other party. Apology part is shown by ►in extract one.in extract [1] apology for having called has preceded the
“how are you”section. It can sometimes follow it .
Sometimes even the kinds of words these two groups use are different. In most of the telephone conversations
between the males it is observed that the greeting word hello is mostly Salam aleikom (Hello there) which is a little bit
formal and lack the kind of intimacy the words such as salam (hi) has. .The other expression which was more common
between the males was the expression Eradat darim (I am at your service) while the use of such this expression was zero
between the females.
[3] A telephone conversation between Sohrab(S) and Ardalan(A),two men:
Ring?
S Alo::?
S Hello?
A Salam aleykom.=
A Hello there.
A chetori?
A Are you OK?
S eradat darim
S I am at your service
A chetori agha[ khubi?
A How are you doing sir?Are you well?
S [che khabar?
S What’s new?
A ˚ Salamti˚ .man mosaferatam
A Health.I’m on a trip
Another one was the use of tag-positioned address terms and words of endearments which was common between the
females. The expressions such as Azizam(dear),shamimjun(Shamim,dear),Khalejun(dear aunt),….while such these
terms were the least common between the males.
In the analysis of recorded telephone calls, there were some telephone calls between the females that were only for
the purpose of asking about the other party’s wellbeing ,especially the times the caller had missed the callee,but such
these telephone calls were not observed between the males and in most of the calls between the males there was a
special purpose for calling.
4. Discussion
In order to fulfill the purposes of this paper, the researchers selected a group of males and females and they were asked
to record their telephone conversations. In the analysis it was observed that both two groups observe the same rituals,
but some considerable differences were seen between these two groups.
Men do not exchange a series of “how are you” sequences about their respective families; while in contrast women
due to their long talk in the how are you section have longer conversations.
These differences can be justified by what Tannen (1990) in his book “You Just Don't Understand: Women and
Men in Conversation” has talked about the differences between men and women.Tannen (1990) observed that males use
conversation to negotiate their status in the group and keep people from pushing them around, while in contrast, females
use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy.
Because of what Tannen says, the kinds of vocabularies, the length of their conversations, and even the questions
about each other’s well-being are different from men. They are more sensitive and try to be more polite. Caldwell &
Peplau (1982) believed that women's same-sex friendships are more intimate than those of men. Williams (1959) found
that women's friendships are affectively richer .Powers & Bultena ( 1976) explored that women have more "intimate
friends" than do men.
The researchers believe that these findings are good justifications for the kinds of differences which were observed
between the males and females and their ways of opening a telephone conversations. Women extend their telephone
calls by asking about each other’s family members to maintain their friendship relations and get more intimate to others.
196
In order to fulfill that purpose they sometimes even call to show the other party that she has missed her. While such these
conversations are uncommon between the men because as Lewis(1978) says, men have difficulty with emotional
intimacy. They are emotionally inexpressive (Balswick & Peek, 1971; Komarovsky, 1967).
5. Conclusion
After comparing the norms in opening telephone conversations in Iran between males and females, the researchers
explored that males, due to their nature, tend to have shorter conversations .In their conversation on the phone after
identification and recognition are achieved, they only ask about each other’s well-being and do not go further to ask about
the well-being of their respective families. They quickly go toward the reason for the call and keep it short .But women on
the other hand tend to stick closely to the rituals in order to be more polite. They have longer conversations and at the
same time use some sentences to keep their intimacy such as asking questions about the well-being of each other’s
families .women tend to maintain their friendship by using some tag positioned address terms and words of endearment
to be more polite and the same time get more intimate.
References
Balswick, J. O., & Peek, C. W. (1971).The inexpressive male: A tragedy of American society.Family Coordinator, 20, 363-368.
Caldwell.M.A. & Peplau.L.A.(1982).Sex Differences in Same-Sex Friendship. Sex Roles, 8(7), 721-732.
Coulmas, F. (1981). Conversational routines: Exploration in standardized communication situations and prepatterend speech. New
York:Mouton Publishers.
Godard, D. (1977). same setting, different norms: Phone call beginnings in France and the United States. Language in Society, 6: 209-
19.
Hopper, R. & Chen, C-H .(1996). Languages, cultures, relationships: Telephone openings in Taiwan. Research on Language and Social
Interaction, 29(4): 291-313.
Jefferson, G. (1984) .Transcript on notation. In J.M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (eds.), Structures of social action (pp. ix-xvi ).Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Komarovsky, M. (1967).Blue-college marriage. New York: Vintage.
Lewis, R. A.( 1978). Emotional intimacy among men. Journal of Sociallssues , 34, 108-121.
Lindström, A. (1994). Identification and recognition in Swedish telephone conversation openings. Language in Society, 23: 231-252.
Powers, E. A., & Bultena, G. L. (1976). Sex differences in intimate friendships in old age. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 739-
747.
Schegloff, E. A. (1972) .Sequencing in conversational openings. In John J. Gumperz and Dell Hymes (eds.), Directions in
Sociolinguistics: The ethnography of communication (346-380). New York. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Schegloff, E. A. (1979). Identification and Recognition in Telephone Conversation Openings. In George Psathas (ed.), Everyday
language: Studies in ethnomethodology(pp. 23-78). New York. Irvington publisher.
Schegloff, E. A. (1986) .The routine as achievement. Human Studies, 9(2-3):111-151.
Taleghani-Nikazm, C. (2002). A conversation analytical study of telephone conversation openings between native and nonnative
speakers. Journal of Pragmatics.Elsevier. 34(12), 1807–1833.
Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, Ballantine Books, New York.
Williams, R. M.,Jr. (1959) .Friendship and social values in a suburban community: An exploratory study.Pacific SociologicalReview,2,3-
10.
197

Primary School Students’ Perception of Inspectors and Inspection Period in Turkey
Asiye Toker Gökçe
Assist. Prof. Dr. Kocaeli University, Faculty of Education

Email: asi.gokce@kocaeli.edu.tr, asitoker@gmail.com
Züleyha Ertan Kantos
Dr., Ministry of National Education

Email: zulisertan@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p199

Abstract School inspection is essential for the educational achievements, and educators are inspected year at schools every academic
in Turkey. Students are also affected by the inspection process while their teachers are examined by inspectors at class time. This study
aimed to address primary school inspectors through the perceptions of the students, whose teachers were inspected during a class time.
A 16-item open ended question form, which was developed by the authors, was conducted for the 60 5th-grade students who inspected.
The data gathered were analyzed through qualitative methods. The data suggest that inspectors’ manner such as shouting, being angry,
humiliating, scowling, being serious, controlling and taking notes, staring the students, and carrying and playing ruler in his/her hands
frightened the students. Besides, the students liked inspectors who were friendly, kind, natty and well-dressed, and who made jokes, and
used good communication skills. The results of the study are supposed to foster the essence of school inspection and, in consequence,
quality of education.
Key words: Inspection, inspector, perception of students, primary school.
1. Introduction
The mission of the Turkish educational system is to provide opportunities for everyone to self-actualize, and both school
principals and teachers have great responsibility in educational activities. School principals provide the most appropriate
environment for the educational activities, while teachers educate children. Hence teachers and school principals are
supposed to work in collaboration at schools. Since they involved in the educational process, both teachers and principals
might not realize mistakes or deficiencies in the education system immediately. Therefore supervising is needed for the
schools to sustain attempts for qualified education. The scientific management approach (Daughtry & Ricks, 1989, 9;
Lunenburg & Ornstein, 1996, 5) claims that both teachers and school managers need to be controlled in order to do their
job better. Hence supervising is an important part of school management, and qualified teaching practices needed to be
examined by supervised professionals.
Educators are inspected instead of being supervised at schools in Turkey. Thus school supervision comprises two
ways of inspection that are institutional inspection and course inspection. The school principals are examined in relation
to their management acts by institutional inspection process. Inspectors observe and check everything to get answers for
the question that “how human and stuff resources have been used?” during the school inspection. In addition, teachers
are evaluated on account of their teaching skills, and inspectors observe teachers during their class time to examine their
teaching qualifications during the course inspection period (Taymaz, 2002, 28).
Since school inspection aims revealing the most appropriate values and procedures of the instruction and teaching,
it is executed in terms of educational goals. Besides, reasoning and practical intelligence is important for inspection.
Reasoning has importance to determine educational purposes, while practical intelligence is needed by the people who
have roles to perform these objectives. Besides, determining criteria for the task inspected, constructing instrument for
measurement, measuring the process and the actions of the tasks, correction, and correcting the results with the
employees have great importance in inspection process in schools (Bursalıoğlu, 1994, 129; Başaran, 2000, 289). Firstly,
a measurement tool is developed, then the processes and actions in the school are measured by the tool, and the
correction phase comes after. Finally, the measurement tools and criteria are revised, and the inspection process is
cycled (Gökçe, 2009, 76).
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School inspection is performed by the inspectors charged by the Ministry of National Education in Turkey.
Inspection regulations declares that inspection is aimed to determine whether plans and practices actualized or not; and
to correct emerged deficiencies during the process; to identify strategies for ensuring the continuous development of the
schools, and the educational staff. In addition, by inspection process educators are given suggestions about whether the
practices are match with the goals, the resources, the principals, and the objectives that are framed by the law of
education. Furthermore, by the help of inspection, educators can determine whether the practices are accurate, regular,
efficient, economic, valid, and reliable. Besides, after an inspection period, educators can make comparison of the
effectiveness of the actions according to the objectives of national standards and principles. Finally, inspection process
gives guidance for deficiencies that can be satisfied, bringing suggestions for change and development concerning
mission and vision of national education system (MEB, 2005, 7). Hence, inspection process changes teachers’
educational behaviors, thereby the educational process directly. So, while efficient relationship between the teacher and
the inspector is essential, it does not enough for powerful inspection. Because inspectors observe teachers with their
students that are affected by both the inspectors’ and the teacher’s behaviors in the course time, during the inspection
period.
There are many studies about the school inspection in Turkey. For instance, Yıldız (2007) examined the relationship
between primary school inspector’s professional performance and burnout, while İşlek (2007) studied professional ethical
principles of primary school inspectors by the view of primary school inspectors and teachers. Besides, Cantimer (2008)
analyzed primary school inspectors’ mentoring roles in Sakarya, and Mulla (2008) studied human relations skills of
primary school inspectors. He found that the school inspectors perceive themselves as having higher level human
relations skills, while the teachers perceive them not. Finally, Demir (2009) examined inspectors according to the
variables such as gender, age, professional experience, branch, graduated school, and their inspection grades of the last
three-year, by perception of the teachers who are inspected.
As mentioned above, primary school inspectors are studied in different ways by the view of teachers, and the school
administrators inspected, but not in the way of the perception of the students involved in the inspection process. This
study aims to reveal perceptions of the students who are involved in but have not been examined about the inspectors
and inspection process.
2. Methodology
This study aimed to show primary school students’ views of inspectors, and inspection process. Hence open ended
question forms were conducted with the students inspected to examine inspectors’ behaviors with their perceptions. Then
the behaviors of the inspectors that the students stated and frequencies of these behaviors were analyzed through
qualitative method. The study consisted of 60 students who were inspected in 5th grades located in Ankara Turkey.
Open ended question forms with 16 items were used during the data collection. The question forms questioned
observable inspectors’ behaviors, and inspection period such as; (1) Were you informed that the inspector would come to
the classroom before s/he come?; (2) Did the inspector introduce himself to you after s/he come; (3) Did the inspector
dealt with your teacher’s behaviors or yours?; (4) Did the inspector say something before leaving the class?; (5) What did
"Inspector" remind you before s/he came to the classroom?; (6) What did "Inspector" remind you after he left the
classroom?; (7) Which behaviors of inspector scared you?; (8) Which behaviors of inspectors did you like?; (9) Did the
inspector ask your name?; (10) Was the inspector lovely?; (11) How did the inspector call you?; (12) Did the inspector
knock on the door when he entered your classroom?; (13) Where did the inspector sit in the classroom?; (14) Did the
inspector speak to your teacher in a harsh tone of voice?; (15) Did the inspector sullen or cheerful?; (16) Did the
inspector leave the classroom by farewell or without saying anything?.
3. Findings
The students’ answers were analyzed by qualitative methods. The results show that high proportion of the students
(n=51) stated that they were informed before inspection period and the inspector introduced himself after s/he came to
classroom. On the other hand, very few of the students (n = 9) revealed that they were not informed before the inspection
period. Most of the students (n=45) indicated that the inspector leaved the classroom by saying “Goodbye”, while 15
students stated that the inspector left the classroom without saying anything. Furthermore one-third (n=24) revealed that
they realized the inspector’ interest, while little (n=7) stated that the inspector interested both them and the teacher.
Nearly half of the students (n=27) imagined the inspector as a detective; 9 students stated that they were dreaming a
‘horrible man’; 6 students stated that they imagined the inspector as a “well-disciplined teacher”; and 3 students stated
200
that they were dreaming a cartoon character “Inspector Gadget” before the inspection period. On the other hand, half of
the students (n=30) used the metaphor “a detective”; while 4 used “a teacher who comes for observation” and 3 students
use a “wise man” and a “tough guy” after the inspection period.
Nearly half of the students (n=26) revealed that they scared when the inspector was angry, shouted, and humiliated
them, while one-fourth (n=15) students indicated that they frightened when the inspector scowled; and less (n=10) stated
that the inspector was so serious, and they scared when the inspector was controlling and taking notes, staring them,
carrying and playing ruler in his/her hands. Only few students (n=8) stated that they did not scared of the inspector. The
students’ answers related to the inspector’s behaviors that they liked, revealed that the students like the inspectors
because s/he was friendly, kind, like a teacher, natty and well-dressed. Besides, they stated that they liked the inspector
because the inspector made jokes, did not shout them, said good-bye before left the classroom, and talked to them
politely. Furthermore, more than half (n=33) indicated that the inspector asked their name while one-fourth (n=15) stated
that the inspector did not. Finally, one-fourth (n=15) noted that the inspector asked and used the students’ names, while
nearly half (n=27) revealed that the inspector used finger points or words like “you, students, children, child, or friend”
during any conversation in the classroom.
More than half of the students (n=41) stated that the inspector knocked the door before entering the classroom,
while the others stated that the inspector did not. Besides, most of the students (n=49) indicated that the inspector sat the
teacher’s table, while few (n=11) noted that the inspector sat at the back desk, and sometimes walked in the classroom.
High proportion of the students (n=49) stated that the inspector talked to teacher softly and gently, and they identified the
inspector as cheerful and kind. On the other hand, one-fourth (n=15) described the inspector as being sullen and having
artificial smiles. Besides, half of the students (n=32) stated that their teachers was not troubled with the inspector, and did
not changed his/her actions in the classroom during the inspection period. On the other hand, the other half (n=28)
mentioned that their teachers was restless, and the teacher’s behaviors changed that s/he talked and acted more
respectfully and politely to the students during the inspection period.
4. Conclusion and Discussion
This paper has shown that the students inspected were aware of the inspection, and they paid attention to the inspectors’
manners from the beginning to the end of the inspection period in the classroom. This study indicated that while the
students imagined the inspectors as horrible, and frightening before they seen the inspectors, their perceptions did not
changed after the inspection period. The teachers might be considered that affect the students with their negative feelings
about the inspectors consciously or unconsciously. From the view of students, the inspectors are firm controller,
authoritarian, and strict. Besides, they dealt with the teachers more than the students. This result contributes the
inspectors’ bureaucratic roles and consistent with the scientific inspection approach taken over by the Ministry of
Education in Turkey. Furthermore, these results contribute to the literature on scientific inspection. For instance,
Savendra and Hawthorn (1990, 17-20) studied inspectors’ roles from the view of inspected ones, and described them as
authoritarian, stylish-looking, and strict.
Results of this study revealed that inspectors’ manner such as shouting, being angry, humiliating, scowling, being
serious, controlling and taking notes, staring the students, and carrying and playing ruler in his/her hands frightened the
students. The inspectors might be or act this way because of their bureaucratic roles but they would be better take into
consideration the students feelings while doing their jobs. At the same time, the students liked inspectors who were
friendly, kind, natty and well-dressed. Besides, they liked the inspectors because they made jokes, did not shout them,
said good-bye before left the classroom, and talked to them politely. These results showed that some inspectors
represent their rigid bureaucratic roles while some shows humanistic management roles.
This study renders that the students are affected by the inspectors and inspection period. Hence students should be
informed about the inspection process before the inspection period, and the teacher should not affect the students
negatively about the inspectors. Finally inspectors should be careful for the students’ feelings, and be polite to them while
doing their jobs.
Consequently, inspectors work hard to check whether all educational activities are done properly for the qualified
education that make students felt worthy in their lifetime. Hence, inspectors should behave properly to the students’ age
and, perception levels as teachers, during inspection period.
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Anomie and Honor in the Albanian Society
Miranda Rira
University:“A. Xhuvani”, Elbasan, Albania.
Email: mirandarira@hotmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p203

Abstract: This paper aims at elaborating and understanding anomie and the code of honor in the Albanian family. During the last two
decades, Albanians have experienced rapid changes, great turmoil and transitions from a communist, traditional ethnic-based society
towards a new era of modern norms of a “western” society. Referring to Durkhemian’s paradigm on anomie as the first leading cause to
crime and deviance will go further by explaining that when people are living in anomic state due to rapid changes in transitional societies,
a revival of old canonical, patriarchal norms is seen which controls and constructs human behavior. In the Albanian psycho-social
system, the code of honor of Middle Ages is renewed, by influencing the level of crimes and homicides especially within the family
members. We hypothesize that: “when ethnic-based family oriented societies face new rules and regulations, a deregulation of the
social system and a disruption of family ties is displayed, hence a domain of anomie is created, a threat of collective conscience of the
society, a state of being lost between past and future which influences people to be more prone to committing murder and crimes
towards society, towards their families and towards themselves, committing suicide. The second hypotheses is that: the honor killings
are nothing but a rudiment of the old patriarchal societies and an expression of the collision between the new imposed norms and old,
well-established traditions.
Key words: anomie, culture of honor, deviance, blood feud.
1. Introduction
There is a rich domain of literature concerning anomie, conflict, deviance and crime. Since Durkheim (1897) and Merton
(1957) wrote their well-known book “Suicide” and essay “The Social Structure and Anomie”, a good deal of work has
been done in both elaborating the theories and trying to test them out (Rose, 1966). Most of the researchers have done
so in a dichotomy point of view by portraying macro-sociological analyses such as: society and crime; culture and crime;
anomie and crime; poverty and crime, honor and crime, etc. In this paper we will try to pinpoint at the Albanian family
which in our view provides a specific case study to test Durkheim due to its historical past and present as a patriarchal
and transitional society and its Balkans belongings. Hence we try to fill a gap between previous research and upcoming
research in the Balkan family studies. Vandello and Cohen (2003) citied Antoun (1968), Campbell (1965), Peristiany
(1965) et al. who studied different cultures in Mediterranean societies such as Italy, Greece, Spain and Arab cultures
referring to the concept of ‘culture of honor’ and the concept of ‘culture of violence’ and its influence in domestic violence
and gender roles.
After The Second World War, having a dilapidated infrastructure and poor economy, Albania embraced the
totalitarian regime as most of the countries of Eastern Europe did, following in the steps of Russia, trying to build
socialism and its ideological ideals. For almost half a century Albania was under one of the most rigid Stalinist regimes
thus being the last one to resign from it in the ‘90-s. From that time on, it has been lagging behind other countries of
Eastern Europe and experiencing a transitional period of rapid changes of political and economic instability, a wide range
of cultural metamorphoses such as what is considered “family”, what is considered “deviance” and what is considered
“law”, etc. All this turmoil has created a synergy of clash between old cultural traditional norms and new modern ones.
This co-existence with the past and the future, this clash of customary patriarchal laws and future inspirations of
entering European Union, equipped the social arena with new rules, new regulations, new institutions, new lifestyles, new
stratification of the society, new perception of what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, what is ugly
and what is beautiful, what is legal and what illegal, what is old and what is new. As the majority of the people in the
society experience a feeling of being lost, the only sphere to act and be present is the cell of the society, the family. As a
result of this, during the last two decades there has been a growth in the number of homicides in the family, a revival of
honor killings, crimes of passions, committing suicide, etc. The family is the only place when they feel safe, they are more
prone to relinquish their stress and act against the feeling of being lost. Outside the family, everything is foreign and
alienated.
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2. What is Anomie?
Pescosolido & Georgianna (1989) stated that almost a century ago, Durkheim provided sociologists with a formidable
conceptualization of anomie and crime. This view is also found in the work of Orru (1987) who thinks that the popularity of
this concept is just a few decades old but its roots go back more than twenty five centuries ago. Although it is a very well
known notion in sociology, criminology and psychology, anomie is easily defined etymologically but not semantically. Its
origin is from Greek word anomia which means the absence of law. As stated in Orru(1987) such definition is so broad
and when using instead its semantic definition, the meaning varies greatly throughout the literature reflecting specific
concerns of different epochs and cultures. Anomie means ruthlessness in Euripides, anarchy in Plato, sin and
wickedness in the Old Testament of the Bible, unrighteousness in Paul’s letters and a human condition of instability in
Durkheim(Orru,1987).
Although nowadays, Durkheim is mostly famous for his use of anomie, it was from the writings on anomie of the 19th
century philosopher and sociologist Jean Marie Guyau developed in the book L’Irreligion de l’avenir published in 1887
and reviewed by Durkheim in the Revue philosophique the same year. Although Guyau lived only 33 years, he is
considered as one of the most prominent of French philosophical critics who had an influence on Durkheim’s work.
In resent years, both empirical and theoretical studies have focused on Durkheim’s specific ideas without seriously
considering how historical changes might have affected his general propositions and how this propositions might be
translated to consider new social contexts (ibid). Although his core propositions of his theory were presented in “Suicide”
(1951 [1897]), there are some authors like Rose(1996) who thinks that the first Durkheim who wrote: “The division of
labor in Society”, is not quite the same as the one who wrote “Suicide”.
In the first book he refers to anomie as a breakdown of the regulatory mechanisms to which the term ‘normlessness’
might well refer(Rose, 1996, p.30). In the second book he describes anomie as a condition where either the ends outstrip
the means as in prosperity or the ends remain the same and the means are severely restricted as in depression(Rose,
2006, p.32). In 1902 Durkheim writes: “If anomie is an evil it is above all because society suffers from it, being unable to
live without cohesion or regularity. A moral or juridical regulation essentially expresses, then, the social needs that society
alone can feel”(Orru 1987, pp. 107).
There are other scholars like DiCristina (2006) who think that Durkheim’s theory of homicide exists in a somewhat
fragmented and incomplete state. In the “Suicide” he implies that the rate of social change can influence homicidal
dispositions with anomy being the key intervening variable. Anyway, a connection between the rate of social change and
anomie is proposed in both of his two major works. In “Suicide” he directly addressed the relationship between anomie
and homicide (DiCristina 2004). He described anomy as a state in which people are unable to achieve their goals or
satisfy their desires due to a rapid change which reduces the amount of interaction between people or various groups,
thus it leads into a breakdown of norms and values.
In fact in “Suicide”, Durkheim (1951[1897]), referred to different sorts of anomie, such as domestic anomie,
matrimonial anomie, economic anomie and sexual anomie. A couple of years later, the economic anomie was further
developed and tested by different sociologists like Krohn (1978), Messner (1982) et al. Building on Durkheim paradigm,
Krohn implied a positive relation between societal development and homicide. According to him, population, urbanity,
industrialization and the division of labor create anomie, a state where men’s desires exceed his means to accomplish or
satisfy them. This inability to satisfy desires fosters unhappiness, disappointment, anger or rage than can drive a person
to commit suicide or homicide (Durkheim 1897). As cited in DiCristina (2004), anomy begets a state of irritated weariness
which may turn against the person himself or against other persons, according to circumstances. When turning against
himself the person commits suicide, when turning against the others, he /she commits homicide. DiCristina (2006, pp 74-
75) states that the notion of Durkheim’s anomie (1951 [1897]: 357-9) could cause both suicide and homicide.
Although currents of anomie may flow through all societies, abrupt and substantial changes in a social system can
generate high levels of anomie(DiCristina 2004). Such changes although can be good, can make the rules obsolete,
especially in the periods of rapid social changes which can also bring an increase in homicidal dispositions (Durkheim
1951[1897]: pp.369). For Durkheim anomie is a condition where goals and aspirations are unrestrained, or deregulated,
when the end of actions become contradictory, insignificant or unassessible; a condition of anomie arises when there is a
general loss of orientation, when there are feelings of emptiness and apathy, in this sense anomie is conceived as a state
of meaningless. Thus, individuals are more prone to commit crimes and become delinquent.
As cited in Agnew(1992, p.50), the classic strain theories of Merton(1938), Cohen(1955), Cloward and Ohlin (1960),
focus on the negative relationships which prevent the individual from achieving valued goals. Especially, the low-class
individuals experience a goal blockage in trying to achieve monetary success. Later, Agnew(1985) that strain may result
not only from the failure to achieve valued goals, but also from the inability to escape legally from painful situations. In
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other words, the theorist of strain theory believe that people are strained, are under pressure, are living under anomie in
Durkheim’s words, when they experience a disjunction between aspirations and actual achievements.
For Merton(1997), anomie is an adequacy of means for the fulfillment of cultural goals or society’s sanctioned
culturally goals. He conceived anomie not as much as an anomie of the individuals, but mostly as an anomy of the
institutions. Anomie is a disjunction between goals and institutionalized means. That doesn’t mean that institutional norms
or means don’t exist, they are present but they don’t guide the conduct of the people. Merton also conceived anomie as a
state of normelessness of the means and the ends.
As cited in Cao et al., according to Merton anomie refers to ‘a lack of consensus on norms judged to be
legitimate’(Merton, 1964). Merton (1938) argues that anomy is a unique characteristic of an open democratic society. In a
closed society anomie is more rampant, because people know their place in the stratification system. A social democratic
political system is thus the precondition for the growth of anomie. He also states that in every society and societal system
there are two essential elements: cultural goals and institutional norms. Merton argued that anomie is socially induced.
Latter research (Cao, Zhao, Ren, Solomon Zhao, 2009) demonstrated that people in societies with more social support
should be less anomic because their fundamental needs are satisfied and they are not any under extreme pressure to
achieve monetary success.
In other terms, in cultural level Merton emphasizes the lack of equilibrium between socially described means and
ends of action. Anomy is caused by the imbalance that results when cultural goals are overemphasized at the expense of
institutionalized means( Bernburg, 2002). Although Merton talked on anomie of the institutional level, it was Messner and
Rosenfeld (1994, 1997) who established the Institutional-Anomie theory.
Edwin Sutherland (1939) argued that social disorganization is the basic cause of systematic criminal behaviors.
Cultural conflict is a specific aspect of social disorganization. A cultural system can be disorganized in the sense that
there are conflicts between values, norms and beliefs, within a widely shared, dominant culture (Jinger, 1960). Similarly in
his paper Sellin (1938) argued that when we study a specific conduct it is important to think of culture conflict as a conflict
of conduct norms, that such a conflict may arise as a process of group differentiation within a cultural system. There is a
conjunction between cultural, social and legal norms during raped changes which may create a culture of conflict or in
other words can create anomie.
3. Transition and Tradition
During the last two decades Albania faced tremendous political, socioeconomic and ideological changes. A culture of
conflict or violence has developed in Albania because of the lack of the conjunction between legal, social and cultural
norms and due to the rapid changes that happened in the legal, economic and social institutions. In such times of
transitions, the institutions are not deeply rooted in “the collective conscience” of the individuals, and the social ties are
weak. In this bipolar anomic system created by individual and institutional anomie, the social structure is very unstable
and people try to find ways to survive or be successful by turning to delinquency. In some cases the legal norms of one
group are extended over areas of the other groups by creating confusion and violating their legal, cultural norms (Sellin,
1938). Because of the changing of the political system and going from communism to democracy, Albanians were asked
to embrace values and norms that were anathema for them just a few years ago. New economic and political norms and
values trying to cope on the old, social ones, thus creating a wide array of challenges related to crime, law and justice
(Pridemore & Kim 2007). As a result, a widespread corruption especially among the political elites has been growing, a
growth of crime and homicide in the society in general and within the family in particular, a dramatic increase in
interpersonal violence, a diminishing law and a growing “cult of the individual”, reflected in the revival of old Canon
Medieval norms, which will refer below. In modern societies “the cult of the individual” characterizes the social relations
and the moral values (Durkheim 1898).
4. Culture of honor
It is very important that when we study crime in a society we take into account the cultural system and the historical
background. Culture is a crucial element in understanding a given society, especially the traditional ones where cultural
goals (Durkheim, 1897) really matter. Attitudes, values and beliefs that are sometimes collectively referred as “culture”
play an unquestioned role in human behavior and progress (Huntington and Harrison, 2000).
In most of western societies, crime or violence is seen as something illegal, illegitimate, as a law-breaking act, as an
offence, as a corruptive act, as misconduct, as delinquency, as an offence against the law, as a violation of the law, etc.
In a traditional society these conceptions are on the top of social structure but not rooted in the psycho-social mindsets of
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the individuals. Their ethnic, religious and cultural identity bequeathed in their history, their folklore, their myths and
traditions, is more important than other legal mechanism imposed externally on them.
All the nation-states of Balkans, which are basically all ethnic-based societies characterized by a strong nationalistic
spirit form a perfect model of this framework. Looking back in history, these nation-states always fought for a bigger
Albania, a bigger Serbia, a bigger Rumania, a bigger Macedonia, etc. All the wars and the fights through the centuries
create a colorful history, while ethnicity being a benchmark of it. These are ethnic based societies where the use of
violence is usually seen as an archetype of social control. In all these societies, culture is a big issue, more than politics,
more than economy, because through their culture they identify who they are. Their culture identity is strong, because
they are all ethnic-based societies and when faced with new political norms or laws, the old well-established laws usually
prevail, thus influencing some individuals to get lost between the past and the future, or to experience anomie, a
prerequisite for crime and homicide.
Not just in the Balkans but in Middle East as well, and in other geographical entities where culture matters, where
religious identity is strong and nationalism is in high levels, there have always been wars and acts of violence. Some sub
cultural groups are more prone to violence than others. Usually in these cultures, the rule of law is weak and norms that
regulate behavior run deeper in the old traditional norms. This is true especially for ethnic based societies, where the
clan, the family, the kinship is much more important than other social mechanisms. Further more, a code of honor is
established which regulates and controls most of the spheres of social life.
When Nisbett (1993), referred to the South of the American society he stated that South is heir to a culture deriving
ultimately form economic determinants in which violence is a natural and integral part. Herding predisposes people to a
violent stance towards their fellows (Lowie, 1954; Peristiany, 1965). For this reason Southern society were to have
retained aspects of culture of honor even in this century. Moritz(2008, pp.100-101) states that many varieties of the
cultural complex of honor can be identified but thy have one element in common: the man should protect his honor.
Honor usually refers to an individual’s honesty or integrity. However, in honor cultures it mostly refers to a man’s social
status and is always related with the sexual relations or purity of his wife, his sister(s) or his female cousins. This is true,
especially in some people of Mediterranean, Middle East, Arab and Turkish cultures where honor is the binary opposite of
shame(Wikan, 1984). In such societies there are higher levels of honor killings, honor crimes or as they are known in
some other cultures, crimes of passion.
What I argue about the culture of violence and code of honor, prevailing the culture of law, is totally different from
what Nisbett calls “Culture of honor” of the Southern people in America. Honor in Albania, Turkey, Sudan, Arab, Brazil,
Jordan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, does not derive from herding societies or economic constructions. In these
societies, honor is linked with women’s sexual purity and modesty, is linked with the family. For that reason, thousands of
women are killed for family “honor” each year. In order for someone to put in place the honor, he has to kill, to revenge.
Only blood can cleanse the shame (Durham, 1908). And the circle of violence and conflict includes not just tow people,
but two families or two kinships. As a result, blood feuds by killing and taking blood in the name of “honor” can go on for
generations. Such is the case of “honor killings” in Northern Albania, known as “Gege” culture.
The essential part of the cultural norms in Albania is promoted by its traditional customary laws. Almost four
centuries ago, during Middle Ages, society was governed by a codex of six customary laws, also known as Canons:
Canon of Skenderbeg, Canon of Leke Dukagjini, Canon of Luma, Canon of Puka, Canon of Laberia and Canon of Kruja.
In the Medieval times these canons played a significant role in regulating all spheres of life, legal and social issues, such
as marriage, the conflicts and the relation between men and women, etc. Although five of these canons diminished and
are not existent any more, the Canon of Leke Dukagjini is still vivid and influential especially in the interrelations between
men ad women, by posing their rights and their duties, by accessing of what is crime and what is family, by promoting the
old patriarchal values in new family arrangements. Although it is easy to claim that societies in transitions have higher
crime rates, no study so forth has focused on this triple framework: the rapid changes, the family crime and the role of
patriarchal, cultural background. Albanian society provides a perfect example of these three paradigms.
First, a flood of foreign values, imposed by western socio-economic systems (Pridemore and Kim 2007), have
eroded traditional norms leaving many Albanians culturally disoriented and socially disorganized and psychologically lost
between past and future. As Polanyi (1947) and Pridemore and Kim (2007) state it, in such transitional conditions
individuals co-exist with a pressing need for money as they try to cope with the rules of the new political economy and
capitalist market. This occurs in a society where the individual aspirations and liberties are limited from above and where
group oriented values run deeper then the beginning of the Third Millennium.
According to Messner and Rosenfeld(1997), there is an anomic cultural ethos in the nature of capitalist economy,
and this is in the relation of the economic and non-economic context. Messner and Rosenfeld (ibid.) referred to the
American society to describe this relationship. Nevertheless his is not the case in Albania. Because of its transitional and
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traditional society, the economic system is not embedded or regulated by other social institutions. During half a century of
the common market, being all similarly rich or similarly poor, showed that the social ties were strong and that were no
alienations of the individuals. People are under anomic state when they feel alienated, when they don’t know where they
belong. Because of the rapid changes and the free market economy laws have invaded all other spheres, the social, the
public and the private ones. Thus the society fails to guide or regulate the behavior of its members by means of social
norms (Bergenburg 2002). This condition where goals are deregulated or unrestrained was described by Durkheim as
anomy. In a society where culture matters, where tradition, kinship ties are tight and canon norms are strong, a clash
between them and western capitalist norms of market modernity is usually creating the anomie. This clash fosters
homicide and murder not such in the society but within the family members as well.
5. The role of the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini
It is very interesting to realize some conception of how the others viewed Albania, especially the classic scholars. Here it
is what Barnes (1918, p.13) was writing almost a century ago:
“The Albanians are descendants of the original inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula. Here they have succeeded
through the centuries in maintaining their ancient language, their national customs and their virtual
independence. No people of Europe have proved themselves more resistant to efforts of assimilation; and if in
many ways they are still barbarians, it is because they have suffered the double disadvantage of forming part of a
corrupt and stagnant Empire, cut off during the past five hundred years from all contact with progressive Europe
and was never strong enough to subdue them”. Being part of the Ottoman Empire for five hundred years, being
part of the First and the Second World War, being under one of the most rigid communist regimes for half a
century and the last one to resign form it in the ’90-ies, it is a syntheses of how the past has defined the present,
and how the lack of a real state is in a positive relation with the rebirth of anomie.
The practice of the codex of Lek Dukagjini goes back from 2000-3000 years ago, possibly to the Illyrian origin (Durham,
1908). The etymology of the word “Kanun” derives from the Sumerian word “gi rohr” to the Hebrew word “kane rohr”, and
then to the Greek word “kanna rohr”, meaning: principle, standard, or rule. The kanun of Lek Dukagjini was a bunch of
oral laws, orally generated from one generation to the other and formalized by Lek Dukagjini in the 15th century.
Dukagjini(1410-1481) was one of the princes of Northern Albania and best friend of Skanderbeg, Albanian biggest
national hero who fought against Turkish empire for 25 years and restricted them from crossing into the western part of
Europe. The book was not published until 1933, when a catholic priest from Kosovo, Shtjefen Gjecovi put it together. This
canon law is derived in 1263 paragraphs and of 12 sections like: family, church, honor, marriage, etc.
Right after being destroyed from the Second World War, Albania embraced one of the most rigid regime of
communism for 50 years, during which the role of the Kanun was attacked form the communist party and the dictator.
After the communism fell in the ’90-ies, during these two decades of a hybrid and transitory democracy, there has been a
revival of the Kanun especially for those who live in the Northern part of Albania, also known as ‘Gege’ culture. This
kanun has prevailed many times one the contemporary, constitutional, national and European laws by displaying itself as
a threat towards the collective sentiments creating an anomic state, because people get lost in the clash between old
traditional canonical rules and the new, modern ones. There are two main influences that can better show the impact of
this canon in the anomie and the murder within the Albanian families: honor killings and blood feud.
6. Honor killings and blood feuds
Hundreds if not thousands of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of “family honor”. In countries
where Islam is practiced, they are called “honor killings” like in Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Uganda, Egypt, Bangladesh,
Iran, etc. But the practice goes across cultures and beyond religions. In Albania, honor killings and blood feud form a
very complex situation. According to the Kanun of Lek, the woman has not the same rights as the man; “The man has the
right to kill his wife, beat her up or cut her hair and drive her with a whip through the village (Gjecovi, 1933)”. A woman is
known as a “sack, made to endure as long as she lives in her husband’s home. If she is caught in adultery, she is killed
with the bullet given by her father when she gets married (Gjecovi, 1933)”.
One of the most basic sections of the kanun is the one that talks about the code of honor. One can not understand crime
or honor killings if he can’t understand the importance of “honor” in that culture. Anthropologists tell us that culture really
matters, and if we study the high-context cultures, it is true that honor matters also. In order to understand a custom, one
has to see it through native eyes(Durham 1908). In some cultures like in Middle East, Japan and Albania as well, honor is
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above everything, above law and above state, honor is better than life. For this reason its moral importance surpasses
generations and borders. Blood feud also known as Vendetta, is still alive in Albanian families, especially in Northern part
of it and in Kosovo. It is a fight between two families, two clans and can go on for many generations. It is also important to
realize that Albania is not the only country who had/has this canon still going on. It is usually an element of weak states
and strong ethnic-societies. This Canon is most widely known for the predominance of blood feud and vendetta as its
intrinsic principles. As it will be demonstrated in this paper, the rules on blood feud form only a very small part of the
Cannon and not its core, as is often erroneously believed. The Kanun also allows for the possibility of the blood being
redeemed. Until early modern period (1500 -1800), feuds were considered legitimate legal instruments. In Japan’s feudal
past, the Samurai class upheld the honor of their family, clan, or their lord by revenge killings. During the Middle Ages, it
flourished in many cultures and countries like in: Chinese culture, Scotland, Ireland, Caucasian and other traditional
societies (Lamanna, 2008). Nowadays, blood feud is still strong in Montenegro knows as “krvna Osveta”, meaning blood
revenge. In southern Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Kurdish clans in Iraq and Turkey, among Pashtuns in Afghanistan, in
Southern Ethiopia, in areas of Georgia and Azerbaijan, in Isles of Crete and Mani in Greece, among Arab Bedouins, in
Philippines, etc.
Blood feud is existent in societies with weak rule of law, and mostly where family and kinship ties are the main rule
of authority. The concept of family and kinship ties is essential in Durkheim’s work. He characterized family as a social
institution and he in a way or another rejected the biological and the psychological explanation of the family in vogue
among his contemporaries (Lamanna, 2002). He pointed out that the family is a moral, not simply a biological association.
Durkheim also insisted in the nature of marriage as a social, not biological based institution. Kinship is a social bond or is
nothing(Durkheim 1989, p.318). For Durkheim (1898) “the clan is the family par excellence”.
Durkheim saw the clan as an abstract type. Clans were organized around totems or around mystical principles that
also symbolized society and its origins (Lamanna, 2002). There were certain rights and duties of clan members such as
the right to share in clan patrimony, the right to share in religion, the right to share in the mourning process, the right and
duty of vengeance and diverse other obligations (ibid). Clan members were both kinsmen and fellow citizens and society
was communal and egalitarian. Kinship was reckoned collectively although blood kin might recognize each-other in de
facto social relations.
What Durkheim was talking about clan family is exactly of what family system developed in Albania in Middle Ages
and even latter. This clan type family or tribal system has been rewarded a century ago in the writings of the well known
British anthropologist Edit Durham who lived for a couple of months in the northern mountains and villages of Albanian
and asserted that: “Albania is the only spot in Europe in which the tribal system has been reserved up to date(Durham
1908)”. As Durham (1908) points “The ancient Illyrian tribes and the nowadays Albanians believe that they were the
oldest thing in the Balkan Peninsula, there was no Slav, Greek, Turk or Roman before him”. What Durham saw in the
villages of Northern Albania by describing them as “aborigine inhabitants” is what Durkheim saw when he studied the
religious beliefs and practices of the aboriginal populations of Australia.
Durkheim also referred to Chinese patriarchal family as well as Jewish and Roman patriarchal families (Lamanna,
2008). There is an interesting parallel between the 15th century Albanian legal code and the 17th century code of the
Chinese Hung Mun known as Triad Society. If we have a closer look at these families we can see parallels between
Albanian patriarchal family and the Chinese patriarchal family, between the Kanun of leke Dukagjini and the Chinese
triads, especially referring to blood feud and revenge.
The Albanian patriarchal family we talk about today is the later form that emerged from the clan family. The family
existed by that time as a communal entity made of sixty or seventy people, all living under the same roof. By that time, a
tribe consisted of one or more “bajrake”, a group of men who fight under the same standard. In this tribal and clan family
the norms and kinship ties are very strong. As she saw and lived with those bajraks, Durham believed that she visited the
land of the living past.
The Kanun is also often known as the Law of the Mountains. In the Northern part of Albania and Kosovo, known as
Gege culture is more fanatic and serious, while more subtle in the Southern Albania. The Kanun being 500 years old, has
prevailed many times on the contemporary constitutional and European laws. It is stronger than any other law.
Blood feud is prone to any conflict that can happen between two persons. If one of them is killed, than the other one
has to “pay back” his blood. In most of the cases, not just the life of the aggressor is risked but the life of his family as
well, his brothers, his male relatives and so on. That means that the circle of violence becomes bigger and wider. In the
Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, it is sanctioned how to revenge and behave if someone kills someone else. Originally it was
meant to stop people from killing each-other and solve their conflict, but the history shows that unfortunately it serves with
an opposite effect.
208
Women, however, according to these ancient rules, are considered to be of a lower social status: they do not share
either the rights and privileges or the responsibilities of men. The role of women in the Kanun is very shadowed and
weak. This is also impacted in the mentality of men and how they behave towards women. This perception of the women
has totally influenced the way men view their mates, as objects, as beings that should submit to their husbands in
everything and anytime. This old mentality, is in clash with new lifestyles, new patterns of behavior, new norms. An
anomic situation is created and therefore an increase in the violence and crime against women. The numbers given by
the police are higher every day as crime within the family and due to honor killing and blood feuds also increase. To
illustrate this lets look at the results of National Reconciliation committee and Freedom House report of 2011;
 From 1990- 2009 = 5603 murders recorded by the police
 From 1990-2009 = 1072 family reconciled (murder cases)
 From 1990- 2009 = 9788 families in enmity (murders, property)
 From 1990-2009 = 3653 families reconciled for property conflicts.
 There are about 2000 children are self-isolated, not going to school or being educated because of the fear of
being killed.
 There are an estimated 2,800 Albanian families living in self-imposed isolation, trying to avoid becoming
victims of blood vengeance.
The transition from communism to democracy in Albania has proved challenging as governments have had to deal with
high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks and
combative political opponents. There has been a weakening of the state power and the law authority, which leaves space
for the old canon norms to be applied. The transition from totalitarian rule to democracy has been associated with rapid
changes in social, economic and political arenas by threatened by the transition and the growth of corruption and the
increase of crimes within the family.
7. Conclusion
The state of anomie happens when people go through social, economic and political turmoil, basically through transitional
periods of society.Many of the researchers have tried to understand what is anomie by studying it in a dichotomy point of
view by portraying macro-sociological analyses such as: society and crime; culture and crime; anomie and crime; poverty
and crime; honor and crime; etc. In such social structures, people face new ways of live, new values and new norms
which usually create a clash of synergy between the past, well established norms and the new, modern ones. Although it
was a century ago when Durkheim provided sociologists with a formidable conceptualization of anomie and crime, other
thinkers such as Orru(1987) think that its roots go back more than twenty five centuries ago.
Many studies of criminologists and sociologists (Rose 1966; Merton 1997; Harris 2002; Konty 2005 et al.) show that
whenever there is social disruption or social deregulation in a society, the level of homicide and delinquency tends to
grow. A feeling of being lost, of being apart or alienated from the rest of the society is conceived as a state of anomic
behavior which further enables the delinquent individual to commit crime or suicide. When we study the anomie and
crime in Albanian families, we see that some sub-cultural groups are more prone to violence than others. Usually in such
cultures, the rule of law is weak and norms that regulate behavior run deeper in the old traditional norms. In the case of
Albania we argue that as a result, there is a revival of old Medieval canonical norms, that controls the social behavior. It is
above any other law, it is what men live and die for.
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210
The Relationships of Learning Styles, Learning Motivation

and Academic Success in EFL Learning Context
Napaporn Srichanyachon
Bangkok University, Thailand
E-mail: napaporn.s@bu.ac.th
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p211

Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a survey of learning styles and learning motivation of EFL learners. It aimed to compare
learning styles and motivation to learn English of Bangkok University students categorized by their background, and investigate the
relationship among English background knowledge, learning styles, and learning motivation. The samples were 183 undergraduate
students enrolled in Fundamental English course. The instrument in this study was a questionnaire. Results indicated that the level of
learning styles and learning motivation in general were moderate. There were no statistically significant differences at .05 level found in
students’ learning styles and learning motivation as classified by gender, school type and field of study. As hypothesised, positive
relationships were found among students’ English background knowledge, learning styles, and learning motivation at .05 level, and
students with higher English background knowledge were found to have a greater variety of learning styles and more motivation to learn
English.
Keywords: learning styles, motivation, EFL learners
1. Introduction
Learners’ learning styles have an impact on their academic performance. Keefe (1979: 4) defined them as “cognitive,
affective and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and
respond to the learning environment.” Kolb (1984) defined learning styles as the learner’s preferred methods of
processing and perceiving knowledge. Kolb developed a LSI (Learning Style Inventory) to determine individual
preferences for four types of learning abilities.
1. Concrete Experience (CE - feeling): the ability to be involved in new experiences without bias or restraint
2. Abstract Conceptualization (AC - thinking): the ability to theorize logically, and to integrate observation into
concepts
3. Active Experimentation (AE - doing): the ability to act by making decisions and problem solving
4. Reflective Observation (RO - watching): the ability to maintain multiple perspectives in observation and
contemplation
The learning style questionnaire developed by Kolb categorizes learners as diverger, assimilator, converger, and
accommodator. Divergers learn from feeling and have the ability to view concrete situations from several different
viewpoints and approach problems through observation rather than action. Assimilators learn from reflective observation
and tend to focus more on logical soundness and preciseness of the ideas, rather than their practical values. They prefer
readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think. Convergers learn from abstract
conceptualization and like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications. They can
solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problems. Accommodators learn from
active experimentation and tend to rely on others for information rather than technical analyses. People with this learning
style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks.
Nelson et al. (cited in Drysdale, Ross & Schulz, 2001) found a correlation between learning style and increased
levels of GPA. Dunn et al. (cited in Drysdale et al., 2001) found that making students aware of their learning style and
helping them develop study skills compatible with their preferred learning style had a positive effect on academic
performance. Castro and Peck (2005) carried out a study on learning styles and learning difficulties that foreign language
students face at the college level and claim that a student’s preferred learning style can help or hinder success in the
foreign language classroom. However, when they analyzed the distribution of grades according to Kolb’s learning style
types, they found no significant correlation between learning style and grades.
211
Learning motivation is another most important factor in determining how well they learn foreign language. Various
studies have found that motivation is very strongly related to achievement in language learning. According to
Cunningsworth (1992), a student who is not well taught but is motivated will have better results in learning a foreign
language than a student who is well taught but is not motivated. Chou (2007) points out that motivated learners learn
more because they seek input, interaction, and instruction. When motivated learners encounter the target language input,
they may pay attention to it and actively process it. Therefore, highly motivated people are nearly always achievers.
Both learning styles and learning motivation affect how students act perform in classroom activities, solve problems,
and learn a foreign language. This study examined whether there is any relationship of the four learning styles as
measured by the LSI, with learning motivation and student academic success in an English course. Although student
success was determined by the course grade, which is not necessarily a precise indication of level of proficiency, in
general, students and instructors have a tendency to equate success with an academic grade nonetheless.
2. Purposes of the Study
The objectives of this study were:

1. to study learning styles and learning motivation of EFL students
2. to compare learning styles and learning motivation of students with different background (gender, school type
and field of study)
3. to investigate the relationship among English background knowledge, learning styles and learning motivation
3.1 Population and samples
The participants included in this study were undergraduate students enrolled in Fundamental English course at Bangkok
University. These students studied English as a foreign language. The samples were selected by the use of stratified
random sampling technique. As a result, 183 students were participated in the data collection.
3.2 Research instrument
In order to identify students’ learning styles and learning motivation, a questionnaire was used to collect the data. The first
part gathered personal information from the respondents who were asked to answer the questions on gender, school
type, field of study, and English background knowledge (grade). The second part was a survey of students’ learning
styles and learning motivation adopted from Ichikawa (2001, cited in Shwalb, Nakazawa & Shwalb, 2005). The
questionnaire was prepared for rating in a form of five-rating scale.
3.3 Data analysis
The acceptable statistical significance level was set at alpha (α) < .05. After the receipt of the completed quetionnaires,
the data were statistically analyzed by using SPSS/Window 12 through the following steps:
1. The data of personal information were brought to calculate for average means.
2. The data of learning styles and learning motivation were brought to calculate for average means and standard
deviation.
3. The means of learning styles and learning motivation were divided into three levels and interpreted in the form of
range based on the criterion of  ±.5SD.
- The average mean of learning styles was 3.40 and standard deviation was .34.
3.40± (.5)(.34) → 3.40±0.17
212
Level of Learning Styles Mean Range

high 3.58 – 5.00
moderate 3.23 – 3.57
low 1.00 – 3.22
- The average mean of learning motivation was 3.57 and standard deviation was .52.
3.57± (.5)(.52) → 3.57± 0.26
Level of Learning Motivation Mean Range

high 3.84 – 5.00
moderate 3.31 – 3.83
low 1.00 – 3.30
4. The independent-samples t-test was used to test the mean scores of two groups of subjects concerning their
learning styles and learning motivation.
5. The One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was used to compare mean scores of three and more groups
concerning their learning styles and learning motivation. Then the Scheffe test was used to test a statistically significant
difference in the mean scores of any two groups.
6. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient test was used to investigate the relationship among English
background knowledge, learning styles, and learning motivation.
4. Results
4.1 Results of fundamental analysis
4.1.1 Level of learning styles
The study revealed that the level of learning styles in general was moderate (  = 3.40). Among four items of learning
styles, the highest means were accommodating style, diverging style, and converging style respectively (  = 3.49, 3.43,
3.36). The lowest mean falling on assimilating style was at a moderate level (  = 3.31). The results were presented in
Table 1.
Table 1 Mean and Standard Deviation of Learning Styles
Learning Styles  S.D. Level

1. Diverging style 3.43 .42 moderate
2. Assimilating style 3.31 .47 moderate
3. Converging style 3.36 .55 moderate
4. Accommodating style 3.49 .46 moderate
Total 3.40 .34 moderate
4.1.2 Level of learning motivation
The study revealed that the level of learning motivation in general was moderate (  = 3.57). Among twelve items of
learning motivation, the four highest means of opinion were items no. 5, 3, 6 and 4 respectively (  = 4.10, 4.01, 3.97,
3.85). These items were at a high level. The three lowest means were items no. 10, 9 and 7 respectively (  = 2.60,
3.04, 3.19). The results were presented in Table 2.
213
Table 2 Mean and Standard Deviation of Learning Motivation
Opinion: “I learn English because…”  S.D. Level
1. I feel good to become a knowledgeable person. 3.80 .91 moderate
2. I cannot have feeling of fulfillment if I do not learn. 3.56 .92 moderate

3. I want to be able to provide a broad-ranging perspective.
4.01 .78 high
4. Learning makes my brain work. 3.85 .87 high
5. What is learned will be useful in a job or daily life. 4.10 .87 high
6. It may be too late if I try to learn something when it is
needed. 3.97 .90 high
7. People around me study hard.

3.19 .96 low
8. I feel guilty toward my parents and teachers if I do not learn.
3.65 1.10 moderate
9. I feel superior to other students when I do well on exams.
3.04 .97 low
10. I feel frustrated if my achievement is worse than that of
most others. 2.60 1.04 low
11. educational status will help me to be wealthy in the future.

3.39 1.04 moderate
12. I will get benefits in society from my educational status.
3.68 .86 moderate
Total 3.57 .52 moderate
4.2. Results of hypothesis testing
4.2.1 Hypothesis 1 compared students’ learning styles with different background information
The overall mean score of learning styles of female students (  = 3.44) was higher than that of male students (  =
3.34). However, both groups had learning styles at a moderate level. According to the results of the comparison of the
mean scores of learning styles, there were no significant differences found in students’ learning styles between two
groups (male and female) at .05 level. That is, learning styles of male and female students were not different.
The results obtained from applying the ANOVA, revealed that no difference in overall learning styles among three
school types (private schools, government schools and vocational education institutes) was found statistically significant
at .05 level. Also, there were no statistically significant differences at .05 level found in students’ learning styles as
classified by field of study (science, math and language arts). This means that school type and field of study had no
impact on students’ learning styles.
4.2.2 Hypothesis 2 compared students’ learning motivation with different background information
The overall mean score of learning motivation of female students (  = 3.68) was higher than that of male students (  =
3.44). However, both groups had learning motivation at a moderate level. According to the results of the comparison of
the mean scores of learning motivation, there were no significant differences found in students’ learning motivation
between two groups (male and female) at .05 level. That is, learning motivation of male and female students were not
different.
The results obtained from applying the ANOVA, revealed that no difference in overall learning motivation among
three school types (private schools, government schools and vocational education institutes) was found statistically
significant at .05 level. Also, there were no statistically significant differences at .05 level found in students’ learning
214
motivation as classified by field of study (science, math and language arts). This means that school type and field of study
had no impact on students’ learning motivation.
4.2.3 Hypothesis 3 investigated the relationship among English background knowledge, learning styles and learning
motivation
The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient test was used to find out whether there was a statistically significant
relationship among English background knowledge, learning styles and learning motivation. This hypothesis was
accepted.
Table 3 Correlations among Students’ English Background Knowledge, Learning Styles and Learning Motivation
VARIABLE English background knowledge Learning styles Learning motivation

English background knowledge 1.00
Learning styles .16* 1.00
Learning Motivation .24** .53** 1.00
* P < .05
** P < .01
Table 3 shows that there was a positive relationship between English background knowledge of EFL students and their
learning styles at .05 level. In other words, students who had high academic success were found to have a lot of learning
styles. On the other hand, students who had low academic success did not have a lot of language learning styles
There was a positive relationship between English background knowledge of EFL students and their learning
motivation English at .01 level. In other words, students who had high academic success were found to have a high
motivation to learn English. On the other hand, students who had low academic success were found to have a low
motivation to learn English.
In addition, there was a positive relationship between learning styles of EFL students and their learning motivation
at .01 level. In other words, students who had a lot of learning styles were found to have a high motivation to learn
English. On the other hand, students who did not have a lot of language learning styles were found to have a low
motivation to learn English.
5. Discussion and Conclusions
This study attempted to compare learning styles and learning motivation of Bangkok University students categorized by
their background and investigate the relationship among English background knowledge, learning styles and learning
motivation. From the overall results of the study, the findings can be used as a guideline for EFL providers. The
correlation analysis revealed that students with higher English background knowledge were found to have more
motivation to learn English. Also, students with higher English background knowledge were found to have a greater
variety of learning styles and more motivation to learn English. However, the statistical analyses revealed that the level of
learning styles and learning motivation in general were moderate. Therefore, teachers should encourage their students to
stretch their approaches to learning and motivate them to learn in order to achieve enhanced learning outcomes.
Acknowledgement
This research was sponsored by Bangkok University.
References
Castro, O. & Peck, V. (2005). Learning styles and foreign language learning difficulties. Foreign Language Annals, 38(3), 401-409.
Chou, C. E. (2007). Factors affecting language proficiency of English language learners at language institutes in the United tates. Ph.D.
dissertation, Texas Woman's University, United States -- Texas. Retrieved October 30, 2010, from ProQuest Digital Dissertations
database. (Publication No. AAT 3271411).
Cunningsworth, A. (1992). Evaluating and selecting EFL teaching materials. London: HEB.
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Drysdale, M. T., Ross P., & Schulz, R. A. (2001). Cognitive learning styles and academic performance in 19 first-year university courses:
Successful students versus students at risk. Journal of Education For Students At Risk, 6(3), 271-289.
Keefe, J. W. (ed.). (1979). Student learning styles: Diagnosing and prescribing programs. Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary
School Principals.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning–Experience as a source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Shwalb, D. W., Nakazawa, J., & Shwalb, B. L. (2005). Applied developmental psychology. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age.
.

216
Paradigm Shift in Investment Property Valuation Theory and Practice:

Nigerian Practitioners’ Response.
G.K Babawale, PhD
Department of Estate Management,

University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
Email: gkbabs@yahoo.co.uk
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p217
Abstract This paper examined the response of Nigerian property valuation professionals to observed shifts in valuation theory, valuation
construction process, firms’ structure and regulatory framework, over time (particularly in the UK from where Nigerian practice took its
root), with the aim of ascertaining the dynamism of the local practice and the extent to which it is keeping pace with international
standards and best practices. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from local practitioners. The study revealed
comparatively negligible shifts in valuation theory, valuation construction process and firms’ structure; while the regulatory framework
has witnessed remarkable shifts. The study provides a benchmark for gauging the development of real estate valuation in Nigeria in the
light of contemporary international standards and best practices. The results point the way to improving valuation practice in Nigeria, and
also revealed the extent to which such improvements are feasible. The study identified the academia, individual valuation firm, and the
Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) as the major drivers of the required shifts in theory and practice. The study
also proffered the means whereby the required shifts can be fast-tracked including an overhauling of the training syllabus; creation of a
central database; and a stronger collaboration between the academia and the practitioners particularly in research and information
dissemination.
Keywords: property valuation, paradigm shifts, theory and practice, Nigeria.
1. Introduction
Property valuation is a process or procedure for estimating the value or worth of an interest in property for various
purposes including investment analysis, mortgage analysis and transactions, capital budgeting, merger and acquisition
transactions, financial reporting, property taxation, and litigation. According to the International Valuation Standards
Committee (IVSC), “real property represents a considerable portion of the world’s wealth, and its valuation is fundamental
to the viability of global property and financial markets...... the quickening pace in the globalization of investments market
further underscores the need for valuations that are consistent, transparent and that are readily understood, applicable
and accepted internationally (IVSC, 2003). In the emerging globalized world, valuations that would be relied upon
internationally can therefore be produced only by a valuation profession that conforms to international standards of
professional education, competence and practice.
Property valuation theory and practice were birthed and are continually being shaped by a combination of forces
within and external to the profession. The external forces include the changing needs of valuers’ clients especially
institutional investors and lenders; challenges posed by unstable economics accentuating risk and uncertainty; the quest
for standardization; a mismatch between actual income streams and the basic assumptions underlying the valuation
tables; the wide range of opportunities offered by advancement in information technology and especially in
computerization; continuing globalisation of property investment; and academic pre-occupation with innovation and
evaluative enquiry (Omirin, 2000). Others include adoption of new capital adequacy rule for international banks (Basle
Accord), and the development within the sustainability account and performance arena, a general shift in accounting
convection from depreciated historical cost to market value reporting as well as the growing acceptance of International
Valuation Standard (IVS) which is closely interconnected with developments in the accounting arena (Gilbertson and
Preston, 2005).
Among the internal forces that have impacted significantly on valuation theory and practice standards are the
damaging criticisms from other professions and investors regarding the accuracy of valuer’s estimates and reliability of
his advice; and the growing awareness of academics and practitioners of the need to increase the transparency of
valuation process and to adopt procedures that systematically assess and report property risks as well as to account for
the uncertainties associated with valuers’ opinion (French and Gabrielle, 2005; Omirin, 2000).
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Today’s real estate valuation profession in Nigeria stands at a crossroads necessitating a revisit in order to reposition it
to perform its expected roles more effectively. Presently, not only are clients beginning to question Nigerian valuers’
approach and cast doubts on the reliability of their advices, other professionals, notably engineers and accountants, are
not only encroaching into areas which are the traditional purview of the valuers/appraisers (officially referred to in Nigeria
as Estate Surveyors and Valuers), but are claiming to be more competent (Babawale and Koleosho, 2006). Babawale
and Omirin (2012) observed that financial institutions, the main clients of real estate valuers in Nigeria, are getting weary
of mortgage valuations prepared by valuers. Financial institutions now advance a very low percentage of values
recommended by valuers, while insisting on additional collateral in order to mitigate the imminent credit risk accentuated
by uncertainty in valuations (Babawale and Ajayi 2011; Ayedun et al., 2011)
Recognising that valuation theory and practice, as we have it today the world over, have been shaped by a
combination of circumstances and factors, this study examined such shifts under three broad headings with a view to
evaluating how the local practice in Nigerian has fared and responded. The study thereby sought to promote the
development of local standards and benchmarking that would help to link local practice to international best practices.
The ultimate goal is to identify and optimize existing opportunities as well as identify inhibitions on the way to best
practice, and then proffer ways of eliminating or at least minimizing them.
The paper is structured into five parts. This first part is followed in part two by review of literature. Part three
described the method of study. The penultimate part discussed the results of the empirical investigation, while the last
part covered the conclusions and recommendations.
2. Review of Literature
History of property valuation dates back to over three hundred years. There were valuation anecdotes from biblical times,
the Persian, Asian, and Roman Empires. However, the first book on property valuation, entitled Book of Surveying was
published in 1523 in England by Jophn Fitzherbert (Yovino-Young, 1997). The first professional body of surveyors was
formed in 1834 in London as a precursor of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which was founded in 1868.
As a former British colony and an active member of the Commonwealth, Nigeria’s academic and professional
training is rooted and patterned religiously after the British syllabus and practice standards, respectively. In evaluating the
dynamism of the Nigerian local practice therefore, we have tried to identify the paradigm shifts that the British valuation
theory and practice have witnessed over the years, as benchmarks. This study, in particular, examined shifts in three
broad areas viz: valuation theory and methodology; firms’ structure and practice standards; and the regulatory framework.
2.1. Shifts in Valuation Methodology and Toolkits
The common characteristic of all forms of investment is the given up of capital today in exchange for benefits to be
received in the future. For property, the benefit is expressed as future income (rent) and/ or future reversionary capital
value. This is the underlying economic basis for the Investment Method of valuation, which is commonly used to value
income producing properties. Investment property pricing model is therefore of the form:
Po (or Vo) = C1 + C2 + C 3 +............................... ..................... (i)
(1+r) (1+r)2 (1+r)3
Where Po = Current price of property interest
Vo = Present value of property interest
C1,2,3, = Expected cash flow in periods 1,2,3
r = Investors’ required return (or target IRR)
Expressed in words, the model says that the price (or value) of an income earning property is the present value of
expected income flows, discounted over the period to elapse before each flow is received. That is, the price (or value) of
an income earning investment property is a function of time, investors’ income expectation and their required returns.
The pricing model seeks to duplicate the behaviour of average investor in the local marketplace. Provided the model
mirrors the thinking and perceptions of investors of the time, it will be logical and reasonably accurate (Ajayi, 2010).
Valuation models have therefore evolved over time, changing with investors’ perceptions and behaviour, which in turn
reflect the changing social and economic parameters in the society. Ajayi (2010) further remarked that those who work in
the frontlines of valuation practice and their clients are always looking to theoreticians to discover new ways of thinking,
new approaches, new applications that change and improve the practice. Crosby (2010) also observed that the
assemblage of calculative practices that constitute established business and professional activities is constantly
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changing. Such changes have either been compelled on the valuation industry or made voluntarily by the responsible
stakeholders.
The current investment property valuation approach in the UK has evolved over the course of four centuries
(Jefferies, 2009a). The earliest application of the investment valuation method was about the 17th century when the Court
of Augmentations started to sell former monastic lands on behalf of Henry VIII at what was called “twenty one years’
purchase”. By this approach, the capital value of land was regarded simply as the rent receivable for twenty one years
without interest and without taking into account the time value of money. This early investment method of valuation
sufficiently mirrored the thinking and perception of the investors at the time and was therefore adequate and accurate for
that time.
The early valuation practice did not reflect interest or time value of money owing to the restriction placed by the
Catholic Church on interest charge. It was not until the passage of the Interest Act of 1545 which gave legal recognition to
the charging of interest in business transactions that valuation of real estate started to reflect accrued interest on
investment; howbeit understanding and application was then limited to simple interest; a practice that persisted until late
seventeenth century when a better understanding of investment performance replaced valuations based on simple
interest with valuations based on compound interest (Ajayi, 2010).
The invention of mechanical (movable type) printing press and the invention of logarithms in the 15th century
encouraged the compilation of Valuation Tables developed to assist in the laborious manual calculations involved in
investment valuation (Jefferies, 2009b). The incorporation of sinking funds in the valuation table published by Estate
Gazette (Parry’s valuation table) in 1913 also marked the beginning of the application of dual rates to capitalised income
from terminable interests like leaseholds. Ajayi (2010), however, observed that this particular shift represents one
instance where the shift in valuation theory and practice did not reflect investors’ perception nor prompted by market
practice; as leaseholders (both then and now) rarely take out sinking fund policy in practice.
A remarkable shift was provoked by the aftermath of the First World War and the depression leading to the Second
World War. In order to cushion the effects of scarce capital, labour and materials on property investment climate at the
time, and an attempt to house the rapidly growing population; most countries introduced various forms of rent and price
controls. To beat the implications of ensuing static rents, landlords resorted to granting long leases (upwards of 21 years)
with no rent reviews. This development was reflected in investment valuation methodology of the time; the traces of which
can still be found in some text books today notwithstanding the marked differences between the economic conditions of
today and then (Jefferies, 2009b; Ajayi, 2010).
Post 1960 UK witnessed two major developments that provoked a number of remarkable shifts in valuation theory
and practice. First is the post Second World War inflation which led to rent increases. To take advantage of rental growth,
the usual long rent review period prior to 1960, changed gradually from 21 years to 5 years by 1980 (Baum and Crosby,
1995). To account for the ensuing growth potential in property investment, the income capitalization rate in investment
valuation changed from being the equated yield (internal rate of return) that reflected no growth (pre-1960 situation) to a
much lower “all-risks” yield (or initial yield) that reflected growth potential (of post-1960 situation). This made the rent
multiplier (all risks yield) to be more akin to the yield from equities.
The second factor that provoked post-1960 shifts was the recognition of property as an asset class. With their funds
buoyed by a constant flow of new money in the 1960s, insurance companies, pension and superannuation sought to
diversify their investments beyond fixed securities, equities and mortgages by including property in their investment
portfolios (Jefferies, 2009a; Ajayi, 2010). This development required that valuation theory and practice realign to stock
market terminology, formulae, concepts, and measures to permit inter-asset portfolio performance measurement. For
instance, whereas the stock market measures return using internal rate of return, the property market used the initial yield
or all-risk yield. On this note, the conventional investment methods of valuation (term and reversion, equivalent yield, and
the layer method) which made use of the all-risk yield were roundly criticized as incorrect, illogical and by deductions,
capable of leading to inaccurate valuations (Greenwell, 1976). This criticism was corroborated by a RICS sponsored
research (Trott, 1980). The latter report recommended the equated yield technique to replace the conventional term and
reversion, equivalent yield, and the layer techniques.
The 1970’s also witnessed a change from valuations based on rent payable in arrears to rent payable in advance. In
the early part of the twentieth century, rent in the UK was received annually in arrears. Early editions of the standard
Parry’s valuation tables were therefore computed on an ‘in arrears’ basis to reflect the economic situation that was
current in the UK then (Jefferies, 2009b). However, by mid-twentieth century, due to changes in the economic situation in
the UK, rents on most classes of property investment began to be received quarterly in advance. Thus, in the 1970s,
Rose produced rent in advance tables that reflected the reality of rent payment patterns (based on rent receivable
quarterly in advance) with interest accredited yearly, while Bowcock produced a table based on quarterly rent in advance
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with interest credited half yearly. However, subsequent revisions of Parry’s tables continued with the assumption of rent
paid annually in arrears until the 2002 edition when it included tables with rents receivable quarterly in advance (Ajayi,
2010).
The effects of inflationary growth on both valuation theory and practice prompted the development of the basic ‘real
value’ valuation models in the UK in the early 1970’s as a more realistic investment valuable model. UK real value models
were first heralded by Ernest Wood in the 1960s with his Inflation-Risk-Free-Yield (IRFY) model defined as a ‘yield
excluding inflation and real value change’. This was followed by Neil Crosby’s real value hybrid model in 1985. The
principal argument for using the real value model over the traditional UK ARY model is that the latter over-values the term
(as it capitalises the rental cash flows at the initial capitalization rate); and under-values the reversion (as it capitalises the
current rental value at the capitalization rate). However, the real value approach foundered in the 1980s as it was
considered too complex and esoteric especially in its first formulation – its theoretical soundness was rubbished by the
complicated formulary and calculation required (Jefferies, 2009a). A friendlier nominal ‘equated yield’ (EY), a variant of
the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model, was recommended (Trott, 1980); and has remained the most popular valuation
model in use in UK since the end of the 1970s.
The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques gained widespread use in the UK especially in the last two decades,
and particularly in the valuation for individual property investments in relation to companies and institutions meeting their
target returns (Jefferies, 2009b). The DCFs approaches are being extensively used as a check on the traditional EY
valuations and for properties that have unusual cash flows (Wright, 2000).
The need to identify and express for risks and uncertainty within the scope of property valuation is currently one of
the key concerns in contemporary UK valuation literature (Ogunba, 2007). The debate on the need to expressly reflect
risks and uncertainty in valuation started in 1994 with the publication of the Mallinson Report that outlined a number of
initiatives which the RICS should undertake to help improve the quality of valuations and the standing of the valuation
profession in the business world (RICS, 1995). Hitherto, valuation have been expressed as a single unchallenged, single-
point, non-risk adjusted figure. Advising on the purchase of a property or mortgage value based on non-risk adjusted past
market trends is increasingly becoming inadequate advice to sophisticated clients because such deterministic
(unadjusted) calculations ignore the other possible capital values, which could be derived if changes occur in rental
income/growth rate/yield forecasts. Sophisticated UK clients are therefore increasingly advocating downside risk
quantification, measurement, and adjustments from valuers similar to what is obtainable in other markets like the capital
and the financial markets (Ajayi, 2010).
Globalization has also contributed in no small way to changes in real estate valuation theory and practice standards.
In response to globalization, standards have to be developed to promote consistency and the standardization of
investment valuation concepts and terminology, which has led, among others, to the growth of national, regional and
international valuation standards - RICS’s ‘Red Book’, TeGova’s ‘Blue Book’, and the IVSC’s ‘White Book’, respectively.
Internationalization of real estate services and particularly the merger of property consultancy companies in the UK with
their American counterparts acted as a driver for the development of common valuation standards (Mackmin, 1999). The
recent developments in the banking world promoted by the Basle Accord on bank regulations; and the growing need to
observe International Accounting Standards has made the need for common standards for valuers all over the world
more urgent and compelling.
Technological advance in IT and computer has affected the valuers approach and handle certain valuation jobs,
provoke innovations in practice, and push back the frontiers of theory. The application of ICT in handling various aspects
of valuation jobs including data processing and the use of Automated Valuation Models (AVM) is well entrenched in the
UK practice as it helps to comply with the capital adequacy requirement of Basel II, and because its ability to value large
number of properties bring advantages in terms of cost and time saving.
Lastly, the pressing need to ensure sustainability in property development in general and in property markets in
particular present another force that is significantly impacting on the theory and practice of property valuation in the UK.
The UK practice already recognizes and is allowing for ‘green’ value. Already, there is growing usage of industry rating
tool, performance rating tools, and ‘green star’. There are cases of introduction of green leasing because there is market
for sustainable buildings.
2.2. Shifts in Firms’ Structure and Practice Standards
Firms’ practice standards and structure refers to the ways valuation jobs are approached and carried out, and how real
estate valuation firms are organised for efficient service delivery, respectively. Drucker (1969) posited that firms should
strategize in order to gain competitive advantage. Gilbertson and Preston (2005) cautioned that the future belongs to
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those valuers who understand the dynamics in the market place and who are willing to anticipate and respond to change.
Pascale and Athos (1990) argued that in pre-globalization era, it was enough to achieve success in business by focusing
on what he referred to as ‘hard factors’ (strategy, structure, and system) alone; but that in a globalizing world, businesses
need to extend their focus on what he termed ‘soft factors’ (skill, staff, style and shared values) in order to survive and
grow. Pascale and Athos (1981) further posited that the concept of shared values is significantly driven by supraordinate
goals, and that all over the world emphasis is now on collaboration, partnership, and team building. True to Pascale and
Anthos’ opinion, recent worldwide happenings in most economies have forced corporations to move towards cost
efficiency and improved productivity via merger, acquisition, take-over and partnership, among others. Organisations now
look towards enjoying synergy through buying, acquiring, and partnering with other organisations.
In the same vein, valuation firms are restructuring and getting bigger, over the last few years. Foreign firms are
cooperating or merging with indigenous partners to overcome the disadvantage of local knowledge, expertise and
contacts. Examples of mergers and cooperation include LaSalle Partners from the US combining with Jones Lang Wotton
of the UK in 1999 to become Jones Lang LaSalle (JLN) with strength of 30,000 staff in 750 locations in 60 countries. On
the strength of JLW’s strong position in Europe and Asia Pacific, and LaSalle’s standing in the US and its leadership in
real estate investment management, the new firm aspire to becoming a global services management organisation
(Annual Report, 1998). The CBRE Group, Inc. is another UK multinational real estate firm. The company was the world’s
largest commercial real estate firm in 2011 (in terms of revenue). The firm was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: CBG), a fortune 500 and S & P 500 (in terms of 2011 revenue). The company has approximately 34,000
employees (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing;
corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development
services; investment management; and research and consulting. Aldair (2005) also cited Knight Frank & Rutley, Wright
and Partners, G. Crossley & Son, Ealing Surveys & Valuation Ltd., Burns & Webber Surveyors as among the several real
estate firms that are taking advantage of the international market by penetrating into several countries. The UK practice
therefore has considerable high number of large firms operating as partnerships, Limited Liability Company and with
pseudo names. Other relevant features of the UK practice include departmentalisation of job functions, specialization,
relatively large number of valuers engaged by firms, and larger number of branches. Firms operating under limited liability
structure or large partnership have an avalanche of funds to support strong R&D department that carry out market
surveys and researches from time to time; maintain library and data bank; and invest in staff training and re-training,
among others.
The need to improve on data procurement, construction, and management within the real estate market has
witnessed the emergence of firms like Investment Property Data (IPD), WM Company, Chronicle CB Hillier Parker (ICHP)
and Jones Lang LaSalle in the UK. The RICS maintains a working relationship with the Investment Property Databank
(IPD) with a view to using the data generated by the latter to compute the reliability of valuations provided by UK valuers;
and also liaise with the academic community on how such data can be analyzed further to provide better information. In
addition, RICS as a body has also been able to maintain a symbiotic relationship between town and gown. The last ten
years in particular, had also witnessed dedicated researches focusing on valuation methods, valuation accuracy and
related behavioural issues in response to changes in investors’ perceptions as a result of changing economic climate
both at the local and international fronts (Crosby, 2000). For instance, Jones Lang Wotton (as it was then called) a
property firm in the U.K has been able to cooperate with researchers at both Reading University; while RICS had
facilitated a number of researches including that carried out by Lizieri (2001) for London Corporation on the implication of
financial innovation on commercial property in London, among others.
2.3 Shifts in the Regulatory Framework
The regulatory bodies of various professions are concerned primarily with issues such as ethics; best practices; research
and market analysis; enforcement of rules and regulations guiding the trade; issues of continuous professional
development; advancing national, regional and international standards, among others. Real estate valuation regulation in
the UK dates back to the 16th century (McNamara, 1999). The principal regulatory body, the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS), for instance, was founded in 1786 and as at 2011 had over 100,000 qualified members and over
50,000 students and trainees spread over about 140 countries. The RICS valuation manual, the Red Book provides
perhaps the most extensive and well considered rules and guidelines to valuers. The RICS Valuation Faculty, one of her
16 faculties, promotes specialist skills and dedicated research, information and training of members. RICS is affiliated
with the European Group of Valuers Association (TEGoVA), a regional standard setting body, and also with the
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International Valuation Standard Committee (IVCS), the most widely recognised international standard setting body made
up of 35 full member states (RICS, 2003)
Over the years, RICS has developed a set of strict rules for professional conduct coupled with appropriate
disciplinary powers to maintain the highest standard of competence, integrity and professionalism among members that
promote confidence in clients and third party users of valuations. RICS has a Valuation Practice Control System (VRS) -
an initiative which monitors all RICS Valuation Standards (the Red Book) which provide a regulated framework and
practice guidance. It is an initiative set out to raise confidence in the delivery of valuation advice and reinforce the highest
professional standards in property valuation and in compliance with Basel II.
3. The Property Valuation Profession in Nigeria
The profession of real estate valuation in Nigeria followed in the wake of colonialism. F.G.
Cleave, an expatriate, was the first known chartered surveyor to set up a general practice in Nigeria in1955. About the
same time, Mr. J.W Wood Ekpenyong, the first Nigerian Estate surveyor and Valuer, graduated from the University of
London with a B.Sc degree in Estate Management. Since then the profession has grown in number and influence
(ESVARBON, 2003).
Decree 24 of 1975, now known as Cap E13, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004, formally and officially established
the profession of real estate valuation in Nigeria by making valuations of proprietary interests in land (for various
purposes) an exclusive preserve of professional Estate Surveyors and Valuers, among others. Unlike in the UK, where
the profession is unilaterally controlled by the RICS, the profession in Nigeria is jointly regulated by the Estate Surveyors
and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), a statutory body established by Decree 24 of 1975, and the
Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), a voluntary professional organization established in 1969
and incorporated in 1970. Notwithstanding, there is strong and complementary relationship between the two bodies.
Beside the inconclusive Igboko (1992) research into property yields, neither the NIESV nor ESVARBON had initiated any
other researches to date. Practitioners had therefore been operating largely on presumptions, guesstimates, or rule of the
thumb which are inimical to rationality, consistency and transparency.
Membership of the institution (NIESV) as at 2012 is still under 5000. The institution produced the maiden edition of
its valuation standards in 1985, and a revised edition in 2006. The Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
committee at both state and national level organises seminars and workshops, the attendance of which is mandatory and
is a pre-requisite for annual renewal of membership. The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers established
ten faculties, reminiscence of the RICS’s. The faculties, which include one for valuation, are mandated to hone members’
skill in their respective areas and where possible, to promote specialization. It is mandatory for each member of the
profession to belong to at least two of the ten faculties. The NIESV is affiliated to the International Real Estate Federation
(FIABCI), Commonwealth Association of Land Survey and Economy (CASLE), and the International Valuation Standards
Council (IVSC).
Today, forty eight tertiary institutions (universities and polytechnics) in the country offer courses in Estate
management at the undergraduate and some at the post graduate levels. Valuation teaching tended to depend entirely
on UK textbooks not until late 1990s when Nigerian textbooks, which are more or less a duplication of British texts were
being authored by Nigerians (Ogunba, 2007). Presently, the professional valuation practice flourished largely in the state
capitals and other major commercial and industrial cities. Rural practice is virtually non-existent. There is a very low
presence of foreign firms.
Using the yardstick of market openness, number of professionals, sophistication of professional services, property
market liquidity, the level of research and real estate activities, among others, the Nigerian property market has been
classified as immature (Dugeri, 2011). Though there is already a growing awareness of the need to mainstream
sustainability into real estate valuation practice in Nigeria, Babawale and Oyalowo (2010) in their study found that the
respondents tended to define real estate sustainability in terms of its social, rather than economic or environmental
features. The authors therefore, suggested that Nigerian valuers must improve on their present knowledge of
sustainability to effectively account for all three features in their valuations.
4. Study Area
The study sample is drawn from Lagos metropolis which today represents the hub of the Nigerian property market.
Though Lagos has ceased to be the seat of Federal Government of Nigeria since 1991, the sprawling metropolis retained
number a prime in terms of concentration of industrial and commercial activities; concentration of financial institutions;
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largest and most patronized sea port, airport and capital market; the highest concentration of professional offices, among
others (Falade, 2005). For example, more than 90% of the headquarters offices of post-consolidated banks and
insurance companies are located within the metropolis. The mega city is said to have the most developed, most
diversified and the most active property market with the highest average property value and stock of investment
Babawale and Koleosho, 2006).
Available records with the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, one of the Nigerian regulatory
bodies, puts it that 53% of the 779 registered firms of Estate Surveyors and Valuers have either their head office or at
least a branch office within Lagos Metropolis. The above suggests that the metropolis has the highest concentration of
both the providers and the end users of valuation reports. Lagos practice is therefore fairly representative of the Nigerian
practice.
Previous studies on valuation accuracy in Nigeria that have used Lagos Metropolis as either the sole study area or as
part of the study area (Ogunba, 1997; Ogunba and Ajayi, 1998; Ogunba, 2004) had used the cluster sampling technique.
This was based on the fact that firms of Estate Surveyors and Valuers are to be found in clusters or pockets of
settlements around major business districts of major urban centres. Using the NIESV latest directory (2002 edition) as the
sampling frame, Ogunba (1997), and Ogunba and Ajayi (1998) for instance, identified six such clusters for their
respective study.
For this study, to ensure that all categories of property valuation firms were covered regardless of size, age,
organizational structure, practice standards, location etc., a survey of total population (all registered firms of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers in Lagos Metropolis) was considered more appropriate. This is expected to enhance the reliability
and validity of the outcome. The sample frame for this study is therefore 415; representing the number of firms of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers that have either their head office or at least a branch office within Lagos metropolis. Two hundred
and fifty (250) of the responses received were duly completed and therefore considered satisfactory for further analysis.
This represents a response rate of above 60% which is good enough for reliable and valid conclusion.
The population of the study is primarily Estate Surveyors and Valuers who are heads of firms or heads of valuation
unit/department of real estate valuation firms in Lagos Metropolis. By virtue of Decree 24 of 1975, Estate Surveyors and
Valuers are the only professionals statutorily empowered to undertake valuation of proprietary interests in real estate and
related assets in Nigeria.
Information on valuation toolkits and methodology and on firm’s structure and practice standards were garnered
through structured questionnaires administered to heads of valuation department/unit, where one exists or a senior
valuer, as representative of each firm. It is believed that departmental heads should be able to provide reliable
information on the practice structure, standards and ethics of their respective firms. The issues covered in the
questionnaire include how capitalization rate is determined, number of registered valuers engaged by firms, average
number of valuation jobs done, and firm ownership and structure, among others. Data on regulatory framework were from
secondary sources.
5.1 Data Analysis and Discussions
Table 1: Characteristics of Firms Surveyed (N=250)
Characteristics Frequency %
Firms operating as sole proprietorship. 248 99
Firms that have been operating for more than 5 years. 171 69
Firms operating in more than one branch. 121 49
Firms that employ more than 5 registered valuers. 101 41
Firms affiliated with foreign firms/has a branch outside Nigeria. 2 0.8
Firms that specialized in particular area(s) of the profession. 0 0
Firms having distinct valuation unit/department. 55 22
Firms carrying out more than 5 valuations/month averagely. 85 44
Firms having a copy of any Valuation Standards in their office 60 24
Firms having distinct research unit/department. 50 20
Firms that have created data bank 108 43
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Table 1 summarizes the major characteristics of the firms involved in the study. Almost all the firms (99 per cent) operate
as sole proprietorship, 31 per cent were established less than 5 years ago, only 51 per cent has more than one branch,
and less than 1 per cent are either affiliated with foreign firms or has a branch outside Nigeria. Of the 250 firms, only 43
per cent operate data bank, 20 per cent has designated research unit/department, and only 24 per cent had a copy of any
valuation standards or guidance notes at the time of our survey. Only 56 per cent of the firms carry out less than five
valuation jobs in a month on the average, 59 per cent has less than 5 registered valuers on their staff list. There are no
specialist firms; that is, all firms carry out all manner of real estate consultancy services. As of the time of the field survey,
only 24% of the firms have a copy of valuation standards, whether national, regional or international.
Table 2: Most Frequently Used Method(s) to Value Investment Properties (N= 250)

Method(s) Frequency Percentage (%)
Income Capitalization 46 18
Comparative 50 20
Cost 85 34
Income Capitalization + Cost 15 6
Comparative + Cost 34 14
Income Capitalization + Comparative+ Cost 12 5
DCF-based techniques 8 3
Others 0 0
Total 250 100
Table 2 summarises the valuation methods most often employed by the respondents. The cost method alone or in
combination with the comparative method is the most often employed (54 per cent). There is a limited use of income
capitalization whether solely or in combination with other methods (28 per cent), whilst only 3 per cent employed any of
the more rational and transparent DFC-based or growth-explicit methods like the equated yield and the real value.
Babawale and Koleoso (2006) in a similar study for the same study area found that the respondents favoured the
replacement cost method above the comparative and income capitalization approach; and also preferred the
conventional methods above the more rational and explicit rational, equated yield or the real value. Ogunba (1997) found
that only 3.3 per cent of the 30 firms investigated employed the DCF-based valuation techniques; while Ogunba and Ajayi
(2007) bemoaned the attitude of Nigerian practitioners for their apparent continuous misconstruing the DCF-based
techniques as “superfluous and an unnecessary example of academic wizardry”. Koleosho (2000) also remarked that
most Nigerian professionals are averse to statistical calculations which are often required in risk analysis and probability
concepts. The result in Table 2 confirmed that the most commonly used valuation method (s) by majority of Nigerian
valuers has not changed significantly over the years.
Table 3: Method Most Often Used to Estimate Yields (N=250)
No Method Frequency Percentage (%)
1 Market analysis 108 43

2 Predetermined figures as provided by the firm based
on property type and location 75 30
3 Rates found in textbooks 39 16
Theoretical calculations 3 1
4 Rule of thumb based on type and location
of the property 25 10
Total 250 100
Results in Table 3 suggest that the methods for deriving capitalization rates (or yields) by respondents lack consistency,
objectivity and transparency – the universal hallmarks of reliable asset pricing. For instance, only 43 per cent often
obtained their yields through market analysis; 30 per cent used fixed rates predetermined by their respective firms, 16 per
cent made use of textbook recommendations (majority of available texts are foreign or have foreign origin); and 10 per
cent employ a rule of thumb based on the type and location of property.
These results do not differ significantly from Ogunba and Ajayi (2007), where 13 per cent of the respondents used
the rule of thumb, another 13 per cent used subjective assessment based on past experience, and only 40 per cent used
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explicit calculation from market evidences. Ogunba and Ajayi (2003) observed that Nigerian practitioners used dissimilar
methods for determining yields, and that there was a preponderant use of fixed yield rates.
Table 4: Type of ICT Nigerian Real Estate Valuation Firms Use (N=250)
ICT Frequency Percentage (%)

Word processing 250 100
Property Management Software 28 11
Valuation/Investment Analysis Software 8 3
Internet Surfing 94 38
Data Analysis Packages (e.g. SPSS) 22 9
The application of IT in real estate valuations in the study area is still in its infancy going by the results summarised in
Table 4. Beside the limited use of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and MS-Word for processing and storage of office
information, very few of the firms employ any form of information technology to assist either in data analysis or
computation of valuations. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Given that firms in the study area are predominantly
small-scale, the fact that only 44% carry out more than 5 valuations in a month on the average, as well as the paucity of
relevant data, investing in IT may be considered uneconomical or completely unnecessary.
Table 5: Which of these Stakeholders is the Foremost Driver of Necessary Changes in Valuation Theory and Practice in
Nigeria (N=250)
Method Frequency Percentage (%)
NIEVS 52 21
ESVARBON 18 7
Government 25 10
Individual valuation firm 57 23
Academic institutions 73 29
Valuation end users 25 10
Total 250 100.0
Going by the results in the Table 5, majority of the respondents believed that the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyor
and Valuers, individual valuation firm, and particularly the academic institutions, are best placed to drive the required
shifts in theory as well as practice standards. This is in line with Ogunba and Ajayi (2007) and Babawale and Omirin
(2011).
Table 6: Which of these is the Foremost among the Changes Required to Reposition Real Estate Valuation Theory and
Practice Standards in Nigeria?
Method Frequency Percentage (%)

Larger number of registered valuers 16 8
Stricter enforcement of standard & ethics 26 10
Greater government intervention/regulation 10 4
Greater collaboration between academia/
practitioners/end users 25 10
More research 35 14
Larger firms 10 4
Review of academic curriculum 9 4
Stricter requirement for admission to corporate
Membership 12 5
Mandatory valuation standards 14 6
Investment in data procurement/analysis 58 23
Investment in industry-based software 11 4
Specialization in training/practice 24 10
Total 250 100.0
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Going by the results in Table 6, respondents appreciate the central place of research and data procurement/analysis in
driving the required changes in both theory and practice standards. Of the twelve identified possible changes required to
reposition real estate valuation practice in the study area, data procurement and analysis is considered foremost,
research is second, while stricter enforcement of standards, specialization in training and practice, and a greater
collaboration between academia and practitioner tied at the third position.
6. Conclusions and recommendations
This study has unearthed some critical issues germane to valuation practice in Nigeria. First, the predominant use of the
conventional valuation particularly the ‘term and reversion’ technique reflects the extent to which valuation practice in
Nigeria has lagged behind international standards and best practices. Secondly, the absence of specialist firms, the lack
of departmentalisation of operations, predominantly small-scale firms and virtual absence of foreign firm within the
industry, limited use of information technology and the apparent lack of conscious approach to information procurement
and analysis, reflect the conservative stance of real estate valuation theory and practice in the study area. In a similar
study, Ogunba and Ajayi (2007), scored Nigerian real estate valuation theory and practice to be just at the second-stage
of the seven-stage evolution model which the UK practice has gone through ‘over the past 40 years’ to sustain the
rationality of the valuation process and to satisfy the yearnings of the emerging sophisticated clientele. The Nigeria
property valuation profession has not recorded any significant shift in over 50 years of its existence in spite of the
enormous changes that the economy has witnessed (Dugeri, 2011). After over thirty years of formal recognition as an
independent profession by the Nigerian government, it is to be expected that indigenous professional practice procedures
and methods would have evolved in response to the peculiar Nigerian valuation environment. Such methods would have
been researched, documented, and presented as standards and guidelines for indigenous practice and made available to
students through education and professional training institutions. This however has not been the case in Nigeria. The
profession has remained largely static in the inherited UK theory and practice of the 1950’s and early 1960’s and has not
kept pace with the paradigm shifts in the UK since then, and worse still, it has not considered its own unique economic
environment where it diverges from the UK practice (Ajayi, 2010). This dangerous trend was foretold by Jefferies when he
observed that “Valuation traditions become entrenched from one generation to another reliant on the education system in
place, reinforced by apprenticeship type post-graduation work experience, as required for professional
recognition/membership/certification/registration. This has traditionally limited the acceptance of both new technologies --
as the employer seeks to catch up with the employees of skills and reluctance reliance thereon – and advances in
valuation models and the methodologies to support them. The experienced professionals undertaking the professional
certification/registration of valuers and appraisers take considerable time to accept changes in the way appraisals and
valuations are done by the younger generation – who in turn are dependent on their educators often from of the same
“old” school as the leading professionals in practice” (Jefferies, 2009).
Babawale (2005) reasoned that the evolution of the Nigerian property market (the Valuers’ primary working
environment) had been held back by a number of structural problems which had impacted negatively on the growth and
development of valuation theory and practice standards that would sufficiently reflect the peculiarity of the local market
place and that meet international best practices, at the same time. These include the general low par capital income, non-
availability or high cost of capital, hyper inflation, the risks associated with unsecured titles, lack of reliable transaction
information, indiscriminate government intervention and lack of transparency in the market. Others include obsolete
training curriculum, weak regulatory framework, lack of national valuation standards, predominance of small size firm,
lack of specialization. These factors and circumstances combined to produce a weak, distorted property market; paucity
of reliable market data leading to unreliable property performance indices; weak mortgage institution; high cost of
property transactions; and doubtful property titles. The overall effect of all these is a valuation environment that is far from
conducive and which make attainment of consistency, rationality and transparency of the valuation process an uphill task
for Valuers.
A number of Nigerian studies have therefore espoused the need for drastic change from an approach that is based
essentially on intuition to one that is based on an explicit analysis of variables (Ajayi, 1997, 2006; Babawale, 2005, 2012).
In particular, <Ajayi and Ogunba (2007), Omirin (2002), Babawale (2008), Ibiyemi (2009), and Ajayi (2010) have all posed
brilliant arguments to justify the need for Nigerian valuers to hone their skills and to update obsolete tools for real estate
investment analysis and valuation; emphasizing that the continued use of inappropriate tools and non-standardization of
the valuation process in a globalizing world is bound to generate conflicts and accentuate investment risk exposure.
This study lends credence to the calls for significant paradigm shifts towards a more globalized valuation culture
through major reform of the valuers’ working environment through advocacy and direct participation. Change is required
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in resolving the myriads of institutional and ethical problems bedevilling the profession. Specifically, changes are required
in firm size; research and data procurement, regulatory framework, and incorporating both sustainability and risks in
valuation and valuation reporting, among others.
The study suggested that the academia, individual firm and the regulatory body are best placed to drive the required
shifts in real estate valuation theory and practice. This is in line with the thought expressed by Jefferies, that
“breakthroughs came when an educator discovers, employs, creates, or learns a new methodology, skill, or application
through research and then applies that in teaching students, who hopefully embrace those new ideas skills and
application and take them out into the workforce on graduation to educate and influence their employers, masters and the
accreditation bodies” (Jefferies, 2009a). Baum and Crosby (1998) are also persuaded that “Valuers will change in their
attitudes and techniques if a long substantial argument is put forward from a logical platform”
Recently, the NIESV took a number of initiatives aimed at making the valuers’ working environment more
conducive. The NIESV’s Valuation Standards and Guidance note (2006) replaced the obsolete 1995 maiden edition. It
was developed in context of the International Valuation Standards and the International Accounting Standards. It clearly
provides in its section 8.13.1 that its provisions are to be used in conjunction with that of the International Valuation
Standard and in the context of the International Accounting Standards. In particular, section 8.2.4 emphasizes the need to
adhere to all sections of the International valuation Standards Code of Conduct pertaining to ethics, competence,
disclosure and reporting. In addition, every valuer rendering valuation services to public entities in Nigeria must be duly
registered with the Financial Reporting council, under a law (Financial Reporting Council Act, 2011) which domesticates
in Nigeria, such international standards as International Reporting Standards, International Public Sector Accounting
Standards, International Standards on Accounting, Basel II Capital Adequacy Framework, Global Investment
Performance Standards, and the International Valuation Standards. The Financial Reporting Council is an independent
regulatory body set up to provide a legal platform for the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with prescribed
standards in accounting, auditing, actuarial, valuation and corporate governance. The provisions of the Financial
Reporting Council Act (2011), if faithfully implemented, is expected to strengthen existing regulatory framework, promote
transparency in the industry, and provide the required legal backing for monitoring and enforcement of compliance with
international standards and best practices.
At the just concluded 2012 Annual National Conference of the Institution (NIESV) in Abuja, Nigeria, a major
impediment towards formation of bigger and multi-disciplinary firms was removed by allowing firms to practice under
pseudo names and operate as limited liability companies.
The impact of these recent measures on both theory and practice remains to be felt. The ultimately impact will
depend on the attitude of individual valuers and valuation firms in terms of their readiness to identify themselves with the
required shifts and their willingness to adopt necessary changes in practice. Ethical decisions have been found to rest
squarely in the hands of the individual valuers and to a lesser degree the ethical culture of the firms they work for (Levy
and Schuck, 1999).
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Fidelity vs. Infidelity: An Investigation of the Ideational and Illocutionary Strategies

Used in the Two Persian Renderings of Shakespeare's Macbeth
Elaheh Jamshidian
English Department, University of Isfahan, Iran
Jamshidian_elaheh@yahoo.com
Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi

Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, English Department, University of Isfahan, Iran
h_vahid@yahoo.com Tel.: 09133181520 Telefax: 00983116687391
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p229

Abstract This study is an attempt to identify and describe certain ideational and illocutionary strategies which translators can make use
of in their challenging task of translating literary works. They will be analyzed based on a hybrid framework comprising Halliday's
systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and Lefevere's illocutionary strategies. To show such strategies at work, two Persian translations of
Shakespeare's Macbeth were selected: one by Shadman (1972) and the other by Ashouri (1992). A descriptive and comparative
analysis of the two translations, with a close eye on the source text, was done on the basis of ideational strategies (i.e. poetic function for
meaning) and illocutionary strategies (i.e. archaism and rhyme for form). The findings revealed how the combination of the strategies, if
done ideationally, could lead to the closest target language approximation of Shakespeare's elegance and balance in creating Macbeth.
Thus, the study also tested the hypothesis that the very ideational combination of illocutionary strategies would bring forth a relative
reconciliation for the old dichotomy of "fidelity" vs. "beauty" in the realm of literary translation.
Key terms: Fidelity, infidelity, Systemic Functional Linguistics, illocutionary strategies, Macbeth
1. Introduction
Translation, as Catford (1965) states, is "the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual
material in another language (TL)" (p. 20). Bell (1991) defines it more completely as "[T]he transformation of a text
originally in one language into an equivalent text in a different language retaining, as far as is possible, the content of the
message and the formal features and functional roles of the original text " (p. xv).
It should be mentioned that relying on just some general definitions like the above ones belittles the value of
translation. In fact, the term translation is defined differently when applied to different fields like science and literature. In
literature, the area of the present study, a perfect definition seems to be what Levý maintains, i.e. "translation is not a
monistic composition, but an interpenetration and conglomerate of two structures. On the one hand, there are the
semantic content and the formal contour of the original; on the other hand, the entire system of aesthetic features bound
up with the language of the translation" (cited in Bassnett, 2005, p.16).
Through examining the concept of fidelity in translation, literary translation, and the role of literary translators, the
present study would unearth thoroughly the issue of keeping intact form as well as meaning in literary translation and
focus on its significance in the following sections.
1.1. The concept of ‘fidelity’ in literary translation
Johnson describes literature as "an apparently nebulous body of knowledge in oral or written form, an imitation of life,
which reflects civilization and culture, and which covers every angle of human activities, culture, tradition, entertainment,
information among others" (cited in Kolawole. S. O. and Salawu.A, 2008, para.1). Working on literature is always known
as a complicated process and so is translation of literature. In fact, literary translation refers to the translation of all genres
of literature which are embodied in prose, poetry, and drama. Kolawole. S. O. and Salawu. A. (2008) see literary
translation as one of the great creative and universal means of communicating the emotional, spiritual and intellectual
concerns of humankind.
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Artistic creation in literature and artistic recreation in literary translation are so important that Wei (2006) states,
"[L]iterature's unique artistic nature and aesthetic nature determine that aesthetics is an important factor to assess the
values of both a literary text and its translation" (p.134).
One of the main issues and in fact the focus of the present study is the concept of fidelity in literary translation. As
defined in Webster's English dictionary (2009), faithfulness/fidelity is "the quality of being accurate, reliable, and exact".
To some translators, fidelity is to transfer the message from the source text to the target text in a word-for-word manner,
while some others believe that fidelity is to adopt a free method in passing on the message (Kolawole. S. O. and Salawu.
A, 2008). Considering the text and context, Lessig (1995) states "Fidelity is the aim to preserve meaning" (p.402).
Without doubt, producing the closest possible effect (in terms of sense and form) in the reader of the target language, as
it is created in the reader of the original text, defines fidelity in translation. The issue of fidelity between the original and
its translation has always been an obsession for translators. How and to what extent can a translator be faithful to the
source language? Guangqia (2006) argues:
Fidelity should include the faithful transition of the expressiveness and elegance of the original, and that fidelity to
the original refers to the faithfulness not only in superficial literal meaning of words, but also in the emotion, thought,
style, and acoustic rhythm and so on of the original (cited in Wei, p.135) .
Familiarity with both the Source and the Target Language is agreed upon among almost all translators, but there is less
agreement on 'faithful' translation. Hurtado-Albir (1990) defines fidelity/faithfulness in relation to three things, (1) what the
author means to say, (2) the target language and (3) the reader. According to her, fidelity is a three-fold relationship to the
author's intentions, to the target language and to the reader of the translation. Remaining faithful to only one of these
parameters and betraying the remaining ones ruin fidelity to the sense. According to Nord in order to achieve faithfulness,
the following requirements must be observed:
1) The translator's interpretation should be identical with the sender's intention (interpretation).
2) the translator should verbalize the sender's intention in such a way that the target text is able to achieve the same
function in the target culture as that which the source text achieved in the source culture (text function).
3) The target receiver should understand the text world of the translation in the same way as the source receivers
understood the text world of the original (cultural distance).
4) The effect the translation has on its readers should be the same as the one the source text has or had on its readers
(text effect). (As stated in Aiwei 2005, section 4).
1.2. The role of literary translators and the significance of the study
Theoretically, a translator should take into account a number of conditions which affect the transfer of all the meanings of
the original text. Context, the rules of grammar of the source language and target language, the writing conventions, and
the idioms and semiotic connotations of words of both languages are among these conditions. In fact, according to Lessig
(1995), the reason a literary translator translates is "to construct a second text in a second (or "target") language to mirror
the meaning of a first text in the first (or "source") language-again, to construct the text" (p. 406). Popov (2003) maintains:
One would imagine that translators have an in-trained intuitive grasp of 'literal translation' or do they? The first
commandment of our craft is thou shalt not translate literally, precisely because literal translation is assumed to lose
or destroy the literary (effect); literal translation makes the literary ludicrous (p.3).
Literary translators, as Lefevere (1995) states, "could not only bestow life on the originals they translated, they could also
decide what kind of life they would be-stow on those originals and how they would try to inject them into the receiving
literature" (p.7), as well as keeping both the beauty and content in mind. According to Hayes (1975), "the process which
the literary translator follows is that s(he) reads the original work in order to understand it thoroughly; next s(he) identifies
the devices through which the author has achieved any special effects; third, s(he) decides which lexical and syntactical
adjustments will best reproduce those effects in the target language; and fourth, s(he) produces a literary work in his own
idiom" (pp.838-839).
The present study is intended to show how the combination of ideational metafunction and illocutionary strategies
applied by translators can lead to the closest target language approximation of Shakespeare's elegance and balance in
creating Macbeth. Indeed, the dichotomy between form and meaning has always been the issue of controversy in the
230
field of literary translation. Thus, creating a kind of reconciliation between the two within the framework of SFL, on the one
hand, and application of the illocutionary strategies by the translators, on the other hand, would be of significance. To put
it another way, the significance of the study lies in the hypothesis that this very ideational combination is what might bring
forth a relative reconciliation for the old dichotomy of "fidelity" vs. "beauty" in the realm of literary translation. To clarify, an
outstanding part of the present study is the connection of translation to linguistics, i.e. Systemic Functional Linguistics
(SFL), one part of the framework of the study. Using it for meaning elements is what makes the study significant and
worthwhile. Another outstanding significance of this study is the application of illocutionary strategies, the other part of the
framework, by translators for formal elements. According to Lefever (1992), "[t]ranslators should know the grammars and
the lexica - the "illocutionary" aspects - of the languages they want to work with before they begin to translate" (p. 101).
2. Method
2.1. Materials
The necessary data for this descriptive-comparative study were elicited from an English source and two Persian sources.
To clarify, the English one was Macbeth and the other two were its Persian renderings. For the sake of ideational
unanimity, the researchers also used a number of commentaries, including two printed books of Macbeth by Muir (1984)
and Groom (1961) and two electronic commentaries of Macbeth available on Shakespeare Navigator and Sparknotes
web sites.
2.2. Procedures
For the purposes of this descriptive study, the original text of Macbeth with its two Persian translations; namely, Shadman
(1972) and Ashouri (1992), were comparatively analyzed in the following manner:
First, the original text was carefully read to isolate the items under study by the help of English commentaries to
reach an ideational unanimity.
Second, the translation of the mentioned items were extracted and compared not only with one another but also
with the original text in order to see how close the translations were in terms of ideation.
Third, the strategies applied by the translators for preserving the beauty and balance of the original text in their
renderings were identified.
Fourth, the collected data were categorized and sorted out in a number of tables in order to have a complete picture
for comparison.
Finally, on the basis of the analyzed data drawing on Halliday's and Lefevere's models, the strategies used by the
translators were examined to assess the extent of ideational and stylistic success of the two translations.
2.3. Design
The present study examined Macbeth and its two Persian renderings based on the integration of Halliday's SFL and
Lefevere's (1992) illocutionary strategies to show how the combination of the strategies, if done ideationally, can lead to
the closest translation in terms of both sound and sense. In fact, a selective and integrative design was used, that is, out
of the three interpersonal, ideational and textual metafuntions introduced in SFL, only the ‘ideational metafunction’ was
selected for the part of meaning, and out of all the illocutionary strategies, just ‘archaism’ and ‘rhyme’ were chosen for the
part of form. The following is the illustration of the hybrid framework of the study:
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Figure 2.1. Design of the study
3. Data analysis
In order to analyze the data, the whole Macbeth was scrutinized and 195 chunks were carefully extracted and matched
with their two Persian translations, i.e., Ashouri (1992) and Shadman (1972). Then, the Persian translations were
analyzed ideationally based on SFL as it was the chosen framework for the part of meaning. To do so, the poetic
function, i.e., the arrangement of ideas by the use of figurative and rhetorical devices as mentioned by Trosborg (2000),
was examined in the 195 chunks through extracting such devices as metaphor, simile, irony, personification, paradox,
allusion, ambiguity, synesthesia, repetition, alliteration, metonymy, antithesis, congruence, and pun. The 195 English
chunks were ideationally analyzed as well to determine the extent of the literariness of the parts and also to compare
them in terms of the above mentioned features for yielding valid results.
The extent of literariness was then obtained by calculating the frequency of each device and the percentages of all the
195 English and Persian chunks. Regarding the form, based on illocutionary strategies, the English and Persian chunks
were analyzed in terms of ‘archaism’ to decide on the closeness of the two translations to Macbeth as an archaic text,
and in terms of ‘rhyme’ to check the extent of musical and thus, literary effect. Figures 3.1., 3.2. and 3.3. below show the
related statistics:
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Figure 3.1. Comparison of Macbeth and its two translations based on ideational analysis
The comparison of the ST and the TTs revealed that they both have almost the same percentages of distribution and thus
almost the same extent of literariness. It should however be noted that higher percentages of some devices is due to the
natural difference between any two languages.
As a completely archaic text, the selected parts of Macbeth and its two translations were also compared to decide on the
extent of archaism in each translation and thus, the illocutionary closeness of them to Macbeth. As shown in figure 3.2.
below, Ashouri and Shadman have both availed themselves of this strategy to some extent, but Ashouri has been closer
to Shakespeare in terms of this device.
Figure 3.2. Comparison of Macbeth and its two translations in terms of archaism based on illocutionary analysis
As for the comparison of ‘rhyme’ between Macbeth and its two translations, it should be noted that the rhyme in the poetic
parts and internal rhyme in the sentences were both taken into account. Interestingly, the poetic parts in Macbeth have
been translated into poetic language by Ashouri and all the rhyming items have been kept intact, while this is not seen in
233
Shadman's translation. Also, to increase the musicality and thus, the literary effect of the text, Ashouri has applied many
internal rhymes in the sentences. Internal rhyme is seen in Macbeth and Shadman's translation too, but not as much as
in Ashouri's translation. Figure 3.3. below is indicative of this:
Figure 3.3. Comparison of Macbeth with its two translations in terms of rhyme based on illocutionary analysis
4. Results and discussion
The present study aimed to prove that the combination of SFL and illocutionary strategies can create a relative
conciliation between form and meaning in translation and thus lead to an ideal translation keeping both the content and
beauty simultaneously. This was achieved by applying ideational metafunction from Holliday's SFL for the part of
meaning, and archaism and rhyme from Lefevere's illocutionary strategies for the part of form. To do so, a literary text,
Shakespeare’ Macbeth and two of its best Persian translations by Ashouri and Shadman were selected and analyzed
according to the criteria mentioned previously. The analysis yielded interesting and remarkable results which would be
discussed in what comes next.
4.1. Faithful translation
As believed by many, what should be given importance in literary translation is content not form, and the mere regard for
beauty in translation would betray the original text. But it should be noted that literal or faithful translation might lead to
dullness and even sometimes to distortion of the meaning that is supposed to be the pivotal part in this kind of translation.
Having analyzed the data, the researchers found some instances of this condition in the translated parts by Shadman, i.e.
although faithful to the original text, she has sacrificed meaning for the sake of form, and thus her extremely literal
translation has distorted the meaning in some instances like the following:
ST:
One of my fellows had the speed of him,
Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more
Than would make up his message.
:‫ﺷﺎدﻣﺎن‬
‫ﻳﮑﯽ از هﻤﮑﺎران ﻣﻦ ﺑﺮ او ﺳﺒﻘﺖ ﮔﺮﻓﺖ‬
‫و او ﮐﻪ از ﺗﻨﮕﯽ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺗﻘﺮﻳﺒًﺎ ﻣﺮدﻩ ﺑﻮد‬
.‫هﻤﻴﻦ ﻗﺪر ﻧﻔﺲ داﺷﺖ ﮐﻪ ﭘﻴﻐﺎم ﺧﻮد را ﺑﮕﻮﻳﺪ‬
Yiki> az hamka>ra>n-i man bar u> sibqat girift
Va u> ki az tangi>-i nafas taqri>ban murdi bu>d
Hami>n qadr nafas da>sht ki piyqa>m-I khud ra> bigu>yad.
:‫ﺁﺷﻮرﯼ‬
‫ﻳﮑﯽ از هﻤﺮدﮔﺎن ﻣﻦ ﺧﻮد را از او ﭘﻴﺶ اﻧﺪاﺧﺘﻪ‬
.‫و ﻳﮏ ﻧﻔﺲ ﺗﺎﺧﺘﻪ ﺗﺎ ﭘﻴﺎم او را ﺑﺮﺳﺎﻧﺪ‬
234
Yiki> az hamradiga>n-i man khud ra> az u> pi>sh anda>khti

Va yik nafas ta>khti ta> paya>m-i u> ra> birisa>nad
The literalness of Shadman's translation is revealed when comparing the two translations. Although all the words are
carefully and faithfully translated by Shadman, the whole part is not as clearly meaningful as Ashouri's translation, since
the exaggerated expression, "almost dead for breath" is used by Shakespeare to show the loss of breath as a result of
running or walking fast, and thus, there is no rationale for literal translation where there are so many expressions in the
Persian language, like the one used by Ashouri, to show this haste. Surprisingly, this literal/faithful translation has
distorted the content.
4.2. Beautiful translation
The fact that beautiful translation regardless of the content annihilates the original text, is accepted generally. Supposing
that a translation is made by the use of a bulk of literary figures without taking the content into account, it will be of no
value since it leads to mistranslation. The following instances of Ashouri's translation reveal this undesirable beauty:
ST:
If you can look into the seeds of time
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak, then, to me.
: ‫ﺁﺷﻮرﯼ‬
‫اﮔﺮ ﺷﻤﺎ را ﺗﻮان ﺁن اﺳﺖ ﮐﻪ در زهﺪان زﻣﺎن ﺑﻨﮕﺮﻳﺪ‬
،‫و ﺑﮕﻮﻳﻴﺪ ﮐﻪ ﺁﺑﺴﺘﻦ ﭼﻴﺴﺖ وﭼﻪ ﺧﻮاهﺪ زاد‬
.‫ﺑﺎ ﻣﻦ ﺳﺨﻦ ﺑﮕﻮﻳﻴﺪ‬
Agar shuma> ra> tava>n-i a>n ast ki dar zihda>n-i zama>n bingari>d
Vabigu>yi>d ki a>bistan-i chi>st va chi kha>had za>d
ba> man sukhan bigu>yi>d.
‫اﮔﺮ ﻣﯽ ﺗﻮاﻧﻴﺪ در درون ﺗﺨﻤﻬﺎﯼ زﻣﺎن ﺑﻨﮕﺮﻳﺪ‬
،‫و ﺑﮕﻮﺋﻴﺪ ﮐﻪ ﮐﺪاﻣﻴﻦ داﻧﻪ ﻣﯽ روﻳﺪ و ﮐﺪام ﻧﻤﯽ روﻳﺪ‬
.‫ﭘﺲ ﺁﻧﮕﺎﻩ ﺑﺎ ﻣﻦ ﺳﺨﻦ ﺑﮕﻮﺋﻴﺪ‬
Agar mi>tava>ni>d dar duru>n-i tukhmha>y-i zama>n bingari>d
Va bigu>yi>d ki kuda>mi>n da>ni mi>ru>yad va kuda>m nimi>ru>yad
pas a>nga>h ba> man sukhan bigu>yi>d.
Regarding 'the seeds of times', Muir (1984), quoting Curry's Shakespeare's Philosophical Patterns, states:
[i]f time is the measure of movement of corporeal things and if corporeal things move and develop according to the
impulses latent in that treasury of forces called rationes seminales, then these seeds of matter may literally be
called the seeds of time and demons have the power of predicting which grain will grow and which will not (p.16).
When it comes to the translations, it is observed that Ashouri has produced a metaphoric translation by likening ' time' to
a mother and using "‫"زهﺪان‬/zihda>n/ for ' the seeds of time" and translating the rest of the sentence through the
personification he has coined. It is very beautiful, but not a very meaningful translation. Back translation would yield a
completely different statement.
4.3. Ideal translation
The reconstruction of the original text, taking both content and form into account, might define what is called an ideal
translation. Having analyzed content and form on the basis of each individual framework of the study, i.e. SFL and
Illocutionary strategies, the researchers combined them as a hybrid framework which after application to the data
235
revealed the fact that the two translators were successful in producing an ideal translation in a good number of instances
wherever they consciously or unconsciously followed this combination. The following examples attest to this reality:
ST:
1. Mark, King of Scotland, mark:
No sooner justice had, with valor armed,
Compelled these skipping kerns to trust their heels.
.‫ ﺑﺪان ﮐﻪ داد ﺑﻪ دﺳﺖ دﻟﻴﺮﯼ ﺳﺮ ﺁن داﺷﺖ ﮐﻪ اﻳﻦ ﭘﻴﺎدﮔﺎن ﺗﻴﺰﭘﺎ را از ﻣﻴﺪان ﺑﺮاﻧﺪ‬،‫ﺑﺪان اﯼ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ اﺳﮑﺎﺗﻠﻨﺪ‬
bida>n iy pa>dsha>h-i iska>tland, bida>n kid da>d bi dast-i dili>ri> sar-i a>n da>sht ki i>n pi>ya>diga>n-i ti>zpa> ra> az
miyda>n bira>nad.
.‫ اﻳﻦ ﭘﻴﺎدﮔﺎن ﮔﺮﻳﺰﭘﺎ را ﺑﺮﺁن داﺷﺖ آﻪ ﻓﺮار آﻨﻨﺪ‬،‫ ﻣﺴﻠﺢ ﺑﺴﻼح دﻻوري‬،‫ ﺗﻮﺟﻪ آﻦ!ﺣﻖ‬،‫ﺗﻮﺟﻪ آﻦ اي ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ اﺳﻜﺎﺗﻠﻨﺪ‬
tavajuh kun iy pa>dsha>h-i iska>tland, tavajuh kun! Haq, musalah} bi sila>h-i dila>vari>, i>n pi>ya>diga>n-i guri>zpa>
ra> bar a>n da>sht ki fara>r kunand.
In the ideational analysis of the ST, it is seen that Shakespeare's use of rhetorical devices like personification (justice),
metaphor (valor armed), irony (compelled these skipping kerns to trust their heels), repetition (mark), and alliterations of
/k/ and /s/, /v/ are evident. When it comes to the two translations, Ashouri's beautiful translation proves its ideational
success. Having done a literally faithful translation, he has used personification for ‫داد‬, metaphor for ‫ دﺳﺖ دﻟﻴﺮﯼ‬/dast-i
dili>ri>/, irony for ‫ از ﻣﻴﺪان راﻧﺪن‬/az miyda>n randan/, repetition for ‫ ﺑﺪان‬/bida>n/, congruence for ‫ ﭘﺎ‬/pa>/, ‫ دﺳﺖ‬/dast/,‫ﺳﺮ‬
/sar/ and alliterations of /d/, /t/, /p/. All these show that his translation was ideationally acceptable. It should be noted that
he has smartly translated ‘valor armed’ to ‫ دﺳﺖ دﻟﻴﺮﯼ‬/dast-i dili>ri>/ which can be considered as a pun used by
Shakespeare.
As for Shadman's translation, although it is not rich in the use of rhetorical devices as those used by Ashouri, it is
acceptable too on the basis of ideational analysis. Indeed, she has rendered personification, metaphor, irony, and
repetition exactly the same as Shakespeare, and alliterations of /s/, /g/, /l/, /p/ according to the Persian language levels.
The analysis based on the illocutionary strategies show that both translators were successful in the proper use of
archaism. ‫ ﺗﻴﺰﭘﺎ‬/ti>z pa>/, ‫ داد‬/da>d/, ‫ دﻟﻴﺮﯼ‬/dili>ri>/ and ‫ از ﻣﻴﺪان ﺑﺮاﻧﺪ‬/az miyda>n randan/ and ‫ ﺳﺮ ﺁن داﺷﺖ‬/sar-i a>n
da>sht/ by Ashouri, and ‫ ﮔﺮﻳﺰﭘﺎ‬/guri>z pa>/, ‫ ﺣﻖ‬/haq/ and ‫ ﺑﺮﺁن داﺷﺖ‬/ bar a>n da>sht/ have been used by Shadman at
word and sentence levels.
Having applied internal rhyme to his translation by the words ‫ ﻣﻴﺪان‬/miyda>n/, ‫ ﭘﻴﺎدﮔﺎن‬/pi>ya>diga>n/, ‫ ﺑﺪان‬/bida>n/,
Ashouri has left no stone unturned. Thus, he has produced an ideal translation preserving both the form and meaning.
ST:
2. Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry “Hold, hold!”
‫ اﯼ ﺷﺐ ﺗﺎر‬،‫ﻓﺮاز ﺁﯼ‬
‫و ﺧﻮد را در ﺳﻴﺎﻩ ﺗﺮﻳﻦ دود دوزخ ﻓﺮو ﭘﻮش‬
‫ﺗﺎ ﮐﺎرد ﺑﺮّاﻳﻢ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ ﺁن زﺧﻤﯽ را ﮐﻪ ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬
‫و ﺁﺳﻤﺎن از ﮔﻮﺷﻪ ﯼ ﭘﺮدﻩ ﯼ ﺗﺎرﻳﮑﻴﻢ ﻧﻨﮕﺮد‬
«!‫و ﻓﺮﻳﺎد ﺑﺮﻧﺪارد ﮐﻪ »دﺳﺖ ﺑﺪار! دﺳﺖ ﺑﺪار‬
Fara>z a>y, iy shab-i ta>r
va khud ra> dar si>ya>htari>n du>d-i du>zakh furu> pu>sh
ta> ka>rd-i burra>yam nabi>nad a>n zakhmi> ra> ki mi>zanad
va a>sima>n az gu>shiy-i pardiy-i ta>ri>ki>yam nangarad
va farya>d bar nada>rad ki " dast bida>r! dast bida>r!"
‫ﺑﻴﺎ اﯼ ﺷﺐ ﻇﻠﻤﺎﻧﯽ‬
‫و ﺧﻮﻳﺸﺘﻦ را در ﮐﻔﻦ ﺗﻴﺮﻩ ﺗﺮﻳﻦ دود ﺟﻬﻨﻢ ﺑﭙﻮﺷﺎن‬
‫ﺗﺎ ﺗﻴﻎ ﺗﻴﺰ ﻣﻦ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ ﺁن زﺧﻤﯽ را ﮐﻪ ﺧﻮد ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬
236
‫و ﺁﺳﻤﺎن هﻢ از ﭘﺸﺖ ﺣﺠﺎب ﻇﻠﻤﺖ ﺑﻴﺮون ﻧﻨﮕﺮد‬

«!‫ دﺳﺖ ﺑﺎزدار‬،‫و ﻓﺮﻳﺎد ﺑﺮ ﻧﻴﺎورد »دﺳﺖ ﺑﺎزدار‬
Bi>ya> iy shab-i zuluma>ni>
va khi>shtan ra> dar kafan-i ti>ritari>n du>d-i jihannam bipu>sha>n
ta> ti>q-i ti>z-i man nabi>nad a>n zakhmi> ra> ki khud mi>zanad
va a>sima>n ham az pusht-i hija>b-i zulmat bi>run nangarad
va farya>d bar naya>varad " dast ba>z da>r, dast ba>z da>r".
Using an apostrophe, Shakespeare addresses the night and continues by the use of personifications and metaphors.
'Night', 'knife', and heaven are three instances of personification. ‘Dunnest smoke of hell as a pall’ is one instance of
metaphor. To say, ‘pall’ as a noun signifies a number of meanings two of which are ‘a dark cloud of smoke’ and ‘a cloth
spread over a coffin or tomb’ that Shakespeare has used as a verb in a metaphoric way. The other instance of metaphor
in this part is ‘the blanket of the dark’. Finally, repetition of the word ‘hold’ helps the images of death and fear. Considering
the two translations, it was revealed that both translators were faithful not only in rendering the content but also the form.
The very Apostrophe, personification, metaphor, and repetition are seen in the both translations. However, in the
case of ‘pall’, Ashouri has used the former meaning and Shadman, the latter one, i.e., ‫ ﮐﻔﻦ‬/kafan/, which implies the
stronger image of death. In addition to the devices recreated, the alliteration of /d/ in Ashouri's translation, and /t/ and /sh/
in Shadman's translation intensifies the image to increase the beauty of the whole stanza. Thus, the arrangement of
ideas in terms of ideational metafunction proves to be right for both translations.
As for archaism, the words ‫ ﺑﺮّا‬/ burra>/, ‫ دوزخ‬/du>zakh/ and the sentences ‫ دﺳﺖ ﺑﺪار‬/dast bida>r/, ‫ﻓﺮﻳﺎد‬
‫ﺑﺮﻧﺪارد‬/farya>d barnada>rad/, ‫ ﺁﺳﻤﺎن از ﮔﻮﺷﻪ ﯼ ﭘﺮدﻩ ﯼ ﺗﺎرﻳﮑﻴﻢ ﻧﻨﮕﺮد‬/a>sima>n az gu>shiy-i pardiy-i ta>ri>ki>yam
nangarad/, ‫ ﮐﺎرد ﺑﺮّاﻳﻢ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ ﺁن زﺧﻤﯽ را ﮐﻪ ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬/ ka>rd-i burra>yam nabi>nad a>n zakhmi> ra> ki mi>zanad/ are
indicative of full archaism in Ashouri's translation. There are also enough instances of archaism like the words ‫ ﺗﻴﻎ‬/ti>q/
and the sentences ‫ دﺳﺖ ﺑﺎزدار‬/dast ba>z da>r/, ‫ ﻓﺮﻳﺎد ﺑﺮ ﻧﻴﺎورد‬/farya>d bar naya>varad/, ‫ﺗﻴﻎ ﺗﻴﺰ ﻣﻦ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ ﺁن زﺧﻤﯽ را ﮐﻪ ﺧﻮد‬
،‫ ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬/ ta> ti>q-i ti>z-i man nabi>nad a>n zakhmi> ra> ki khud mi>zanad/, to prove an archaic translation in Shadman’s
rendering.
Concerning the musicality of the translations, it should be stated that Ashouri has used such internal rhymes as ‫ﻳﻢ‬-/i>yam/
in ‫ ﺗﺎرﻳﮑﻴﻢ‬/ta>ri>ki>yam/-‫ ﺑﺮّاﻳﻢ‬/burra>yam/, ‫ ﻧﺪ‬/nad/ in ‫ ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬/mi>zanad/-‫ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ‬/nabi>nad/, ‫َد‬/ad/ in‫ ﺑﺮﻧﺪارد‬/barnada>rad/-
‫ﻧﻨﮕﺮد‬/nangarad/. Shadman has used ‫ ﻧﺪ‬/nad/ in ‫ ﻣﯽ زﻧﺪ‬/mi>zanad/- ‫ ﻧﺒﻴﻨﺪ‬/nabi>nad/ and ‫َد‬/ad/ in ‫ ﺑﺮﻧﻴﺎورد‬/barnaya>varad/
-‫ﻧﻨﮕﺮد‬/nangarad/ in her translation.
The totality of the above-mentioned examples shows that the combination of ideational and illocutionary analysis has led
to an ideal translation.
5. Conclusion
In the present study, Macbeth by Shakespeare was scrutinized to show how the Persian translators have dealt coevally
with Shakespeare's elegance and balance. To do so, 195 chunks were carefully selected and compared with their two
English translations, i.e., Ashouri's (1992) and Shadman's (1972). The main objective of the study was to show how the
combination of ideational metafunction and illocutionary strategies applied by the translators could lead to the closest
target language approximation of Shakespeare's elegance and balance in creating Macbeth.
Based on the results of data analysis, the two research questions were answered in the following way:
-The ideational metafunction and illocutionary strategies employed in Macbeth are of much significance, for the
arrangement of ideas, as a part of ideational metafunction to convey the meaning in the frame of literariness on the one
hand, and to increase the beauty by the application of illocutionary strategies ( i.e., archaism and rhyme) on the other
hand, have made the text of Macbeth unique. This was proved to be also true of its Persian translations. Indeed, the
significance of the ideational and illocutionary strategies was revealed when data analysis in the present study showed
that the translators did their utmost in conveying both the content and the beauty.
- Regarding the ideational metafunction, the two translators applied one of its subcategories, poetic function, i.e.,
arranging ideas by the use of rhetorical devices like metaphor, simile, irony, personification, paradox, allusion, ambiguity,
synesthesia, repetition, alliteration, metonymy, antithesis, congruence, and pun. Thus, the more the translator used the
mentioned devices, the closer s/he was to the ST in terms of meaning and literariness. As shown in the figure 3.1., the
devices used by the two translators were almost similar to the ST, and even in some instances more frequent. That is, the
close rendering of the rhetorical devices and arranging the ideas in a literary manner by the two translators proved the
literariness along with the meaning conveyance of their works, and thus, their ideational success.
237
- As for the form, the translators applied illocutionary strategies, of which the two strategies of archaism and rhyme
were chosen. Data analysis results revealed that the two translations, Ashouri's in particular, have used archaism to such
an extent that they can be considered as archaic texts (Figure 3.2). Playing a beautifying role, rhyme, the other
illocutionary strategy, was used effectively by the translators. As shown in figure 3.3., Ashouri has more instances of
rhyme which has added to the beauty of his translation. However, data analysis revealed that Shadman's translation
could also be regarded as a rhymed one.
Overall, based on the results obtained from the data analyzed, the possibility of the ideal translation through the
ideational combination of illocutionary strategies was established. That is, the integration of the ideational metafunction
and illocutionary strategies led to beauty as well as fidelity.
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238
Constructed Identity and Community Self-Expression to Perceive Human Security;

Case Study of Klity Village, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
Passanan Assavarak
Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, School of Liberal Arts

King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
passanan99@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p239
Abstract The lead released from a mine in Klity village killed many people, especially children. Moreover, it destroyed the ways of lives
of the community and damaged the environment severely. The voices of the marginal Klity villagers have not been heard for over 10
years. These voices of both physical and mental pain have finally led to the fight being heard and the faint voices have now been
amplified and heard by both the public and the ears of justice. The objective of this study is to discover how this overlooked community
will be able to reconstruct their identity and create community self-expression in the public realm. Documentary research, participant
observation and interviews have been designed to collect data. The voice of Klity has never been heard until the media started to
release news about Klity. This communication is meant to allow the society to perceive facts and feelings. Simultaneously, the
community has had to struggle with structural power and mainstream cultures in order to receive recognition as humankind with human
dignity as well as human security. The Klity case is the first environmental case in Thailand where the community has won a lawsuit
against a powerful mine company and governmental organization, and this has raised public awareness about risk and social
consciousness.
Keywords: Klity, lead mine, environmental risk, identity construction
1. Introduction
The main purpose of the National Economic and Social Development Plan I (1961–1966) was to promote a better quality
of life for the population of Thailand in terms of economy and material well-being. This resulted in the state creating a
physical infrastructure, including building roads, electricity power plants and dams. The materials used for constructing
these fundamental infrastructural features come from mining. From the initial ideologies of development came the
beginning of the ideology to overcome nature. Mining has provided the nation’s main domestic and international income
with its products for export. This is the cause behind those who suffer from the existence of the mining industry, “the
marginal, small portion of the people who have to sacrifice for the prosperity of the nation”. Furthermore, a ruined
environment as a result of the mining industry would be seen as something “inevitable”. When the discourse about
development emphasized economic prosperity rather than the sustainability of the environment and the security of human
beings, environmental problems ensued. Ways of life, human rights and human dignity have become the silent problems
amidst the blindfolded development.
Klity village is located in the area of the vast Thung Yai Naresuan forest; the villagers were living amidst happiness
and sufficiency. The Klity creek is like the main artery for the Klity villagers in terms of food security: villagers catching
shrimps and crabs for food as well as foraging for vegetables and herbs for side dishes, children swimming innocently in
the water and cattle drinking water on the bank of the creek are the regular scene in the village. The Lead Concentrate
Co. Ltd. in Kanchanaburi had released lead waste into the Klity creek and this resulted in dead fish, plants and herbs, and
the villagers themselves suffered from illness caused by lead contamination. The fight for justice from the marginal Karen
villagers was filled with pain and adversity. They needed to make the public see their existence to create social
awareness and bring about a solution to the problem, yet the fighting to construct the identity that established the strength
of the community was not easy and it was even more difficult than for Thai people due to their marginal existence, in
terms of both geographical and social bias. Being Karen, they are limited by language and an identity hegemonic
mainstream knowledge. Their initial publicized search for recognition started by appealing for justice in a court, appearing
in the media, organizing exhibitions, putting on performances by children in the village, and attending various conferences
and seminars. The actions of the villagers and the children challenged the hegemonic discourse which had economic
success as the main goal of social and environmental concern. This new motivation was in accordance with the Human
Development Report 2009 presented by the United Nations Development Programme regarding concepts of human
security, which focuses on human rights, equal distribution of resources, a state of well-being and the environment. In
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Thailand, the National Economic and Social Development Plan VII-XI (Issue numbers: seven from 1992 to 1996, eight
from 1997 to 2001, nine from 2002 to 2006, ten from 2007 to 2012 and eleven from 2012 to 2016) was also updated as
the critical-thinking mindset which reflects the changes in the essential core of thoughts, such as the change from
centralization to decentralization, from the development that emphasizes the growth in economy to human-centred
development and sufficiency economy. Meanwhile, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim to create
environmental sustainability by 2015 (the United Nations, 2008). Thus, the construction of an identity for a small village in
Kanchanaburi is a great step towards social justice, the questioning of development discourse, and an awareness of
environment and society as being parallel with the economy. Moreover, it is a lesson from which other villages and
governmental sections can learn more about sustainable development.
2. Objectives
1. To study the construction of an identity for the marginal community that could publicize their existence to the
public and society.
2. To study the route of the villagers’ fight for justice from the past until present.
3.1 Marginal people
Marginal people are those without power, such as power in politics, society and the economy, and accessibility to
resources. They are those who do not belong in the hegemonic group of the nation. Most people who belong to the
hegemonic group will refer to them as ‘the others’, and sometimes the hegemonic group do not even see ‘the others’ as
being visible (Yee, 2005). Moreover, development could also play a role in marginalizing the marginal people so that they
become the marginal entities of the marginal people. The Karen villagers at Klity village are among those who also
suffered from development, in this case in the form of mining. Although mining provided the main national income, its
biggest impact on the villagers was its creation of pollution problems. The rules and regulations were ignored, and the
Pollution Control Department did not try to solve the pollution problems until the issue reached crisis point. The mining
company did not take responsibility or try to manage this problem by taking measures to control lead contamination in
creek. The Klity village was forgotten because “the small few should sacrifice for the good of the nation” and “They are
Karen, not genuine Thai”. Pain was thus the silence amidst the loud cries of happiness due to the increasing gross
domestic product. To amplify the silent voice so that it could be heard, it needed to be connected to a larger structure in
society, which was the origin of the oppression that caused them to be marginal people (Mullaly, 2007). The fight for
justice of the small group of Karen people required an identity to make their ‘existence’ visible in the society as a priority.
3.2 Building Space in the Context of Globalization
Globalization has destroyed the difference in the dimensions of time and space, making communication easier and faster,
as well as making it different and more complicated. Identity is not something intrinsic but rather the attempt to name or
define things for ourselves and for others. Social identity is the common identity of the members of a community or
society (Hogg & Vaughan, 2002). Constructing social identity occurs because of conditional being, belief, traditions and
cultures that are identical. Moreover, it means having a common feeling as well. The Klity village needed to create space
in the society to make people aware of their very existence and their story. Social construction of risk was essential in
indicating that problems really existed and that the society was in danger from them. However, social construction of risk
not only contains factual data but is also a matter of bias and distortion (Eiser, 2001). The other important thing is
communication: communication will let the outsider perceive facts and feelings about a problem and help reduce bias and
distortion as well as cultural bias. The media is the other factor in bridging a case from a small village to the
acknowledgement of the public. Moreover, the media also helps the government to decide on a way to solve such issues
(Nerb et al., 2001).
3.3 Mines: Environmental and Health Problems
3.3.1 Environmental problem
In the recent past, many areas have changed from fertile fields to polluted areas; for example, the Lead Concentrate Co.
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Ltd., Kanchanaburi, released lead into the Klity creek, causing the death of fish, herbs and plants in and near the creek.
The villagers suffered from illness from lead contamination as well. The marginal Karen villagers’ fight for justice was
filled with pain and adversity, not very different from the Ashio Copper Mine case in Japan, which was the very first and
most important lesson for the Japanese government and public regarding the pollution from mining that affects the
environment; the Mutsuki village had to suffer as it went from green fertile forest to bald mountain, from rich village to
abandoned village and area. The mining industry created environmental pollution that severely affected health and the
ways of life of the villagers. Poisonous sulphur dioxide gas, cyanide, leach residues, lead, cadmium and zinc
contaminated the air, soil and water sources. The mountain was covered with sulphites that no living creatures could live
with. The village that used to be situated in the abundant area was replaced by a polluted field. The environmental
problem was confirmed in the research carried out by Eduardo Ferreira da Silva, who found that the gold mine in
Castromil, which closed in 1940, still contains high levels of lead (Ferreira da Silva et al., 2004). Christopher J. Schmitt,
who studied the contamination of the heavy metal in fishes, found enough evidence to conclude that the water near
Missouri, United States of America, was contaminated with lead (Schmitt et al, 2007) This research is in accordance with
the research conducted by Robert T. Angelo (Angelo et al., 2007) and James M. Czarneki (1985), who studied water
animals near the mines and found high levels of heavy metal contamination.
3.3.2 Health problem
Many researchers from Thailand and other countries talk about the negative impacts of mines on the health of the people
in the villages near the mines, especially children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. The research conducted
by Stephan Bose-O’Reilly (Bose-O’Reilly et al., 2008) found that children who live near the gold mines in Indonesia and
Zimbabwe suffer from health problems caused by accumulated mercury. This is in accordance with the research carried
out by Boreland (Boreland et al., 2009) which claims that the children in the Broken Hill community in Australia have high
levels of lead in their blood. He speculates that this is due to the fact that the community is close to a mine. Margrit C.von
Braun (von Braun et al., 2002) also supported this claim with research that studied the level of lead in the blood of people
who live near mines in Russia, finding that preschool students have a higher risk of lead poisoning. The research by
Stephan Bose-O’Reilly also discusses mercury contamination in mothers’ milk, which will have a direct impact on their
babies (Bose-O’Reilly et al., 2008). During the time when the Klity creek was really turbid, around 1995-2001, 29 children
in the Klity village died (Banthaothuk, 2007).
3.4 Vulnerability
Vulnerability lies between a physical threat and the potential of humans to solve a problem (UNEP, 2003). Although
humans face identical problems, their potential to solve these problems differs. In the case of vulnerability to toxic
materials, it has been found that the villagers in the community possessed different levels of vulnerability depending on
immunity, behaviour, the distance of their dwelling from the toxic source and economic status, etc. In the research
conducted by Lorraine Halinka Malcoe et al. (Malcoe et al., 2002), it was found that poor children are more vulnerable to
lead poisoning. Thus, if any community is prone to risk from either chemicals, pollution or natural disaster, all parties
should consider the vulnerability issue among individuals, because in considering the risk from the total picture without
taking other factors such as gender, economical status, poverty level, independent level etc. into consideration, it is
impossible to truly solve the very core of the problem. Moreover, human security might occur temporarily without
sustainability. Any study into a community’s vulnerability to risk needs to be a multidisciplinary one because reducing the
chance of risk cannot be done singularly. For example, the Klity village suffered from lead contamination in the creek
because the creek was the most important source of nutrition, ways of life and cultures for the members of the village;
hence, solving the problem of lead contamination in terms of physical features, health problems, poverty, problems in
adapting to the new contaminated environment and other issues required knowledge and cooperation from the
government sector, the public sector, civil society, the people’s representatives and the media. The study must be carried
out holistically: building interdisciplinary knowledge, cooperation from each organization’s specialization and cooperative
management are all needed to help solve the problem.
4. Methodology
This research employs the methods of collecting data by three research techniques included documentary analysis,
interviewing and participant observation.
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4.1 Research techniques
4.1.1 Documentary analysis
Research articles, archives, government publications, newspapers, television reports were employed as the primary
technique of data collection.
4.1.2 Interviewing
The second technique was interviewing four groups, firstly, three community leaders, secondly, ten adult villagers, thirdly,
ten young villagers in Klity village. The respondents were chosen by specific sampling. There were two main criteria for
chosen the respondents which were experiences as well as involved with constructed identity and community self-
expression. Last but not least, the interviewing also including six scholars; two specialize in law, two sociologists and two
specialize in environment.
4.1.3 Participant observation
The research was employ participant observation in Klity village, Thong Pha Phum district, Kanchanaburi province. The
data was collected between 2011 and 2012
4.2 Analysis
The analytical method used to analyse the data was that of descriptive analysis. The multiple methods was analysed,
interpretation and translation into descriptive data.
5. The Result of the Study
5.1 The unheard voice of the Klity villagers
Klity village is a village of Karen ethnics, with about 82 houses and a population of 327. Farming has been the villagers’
main occupation. Klity villagers lived in this area for many generations until the Lead Concentrate Co. Ltd. established a
mineral processing plant in 1967. The mine did not have a good water management system and released its waste water
into the Klity creek on a regular basis until 1975 when fish started to die of an unknown cause. The ways of life of the
community still persisted and pets and cattle continued to die. The villagers’ health, especially that of the children and
women, also deteriorated as time went by. The villagers started to perceive abnormalities and appealed to the Director
General of the Pollution Control Department in 1998; however, the department did not take any immediate measures to
prevent contamination and restore normality to the village. From the blood sample tests conducted by the Public Health
Office of Kanchanaburi , it was found that the villagers had higher levels of lead than the standard level (Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment, 2008). This caused disability, both physical and mental, in children and adults, and
between 1995 and 2001, 29 children died (Banthaothuk, 2007). In 1998 the mine was ordered by the government to be
closed, yet the problem remained unsolved and the case was forgotten.
5.2 When Klity Creek became indirectly killer
The villagers were very concerned and distressed because they worried about their children and did not know what to do.
Moreover, they were also greatly affected when the creek, which was the life and soul of the villagers, became, indirectly,
their own killer. Some villagers were distressed because their animals died and they could no longer find enough money
for their families; some families could only feed their children plain rice because they were not able to catch fish in the
creek anymore. Since the water had become turbid and contaminated, the villagers could not use it for cooking, causing
them to go further into debt because they needed to buy food from the outside vendors that came to sell food in the
village. The villagers were very worried about illness and the limited availability of medication, as well as the expense and
difficulty of travel.
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5.3 Life before being publicized
The villagers were leading a simple life interconnected with the surrounding nature until the mine released lead-
contaminated waste water into the creek; the villagers’ way of life changed from that moment. The villagers tried to
appeal for help from the government to restore the creek and heal the condition of those affected by both physical and
financial problems, but the government did not take any action and seemed to ignore the villagers until the villagers felt
belittled and worried. Moreover, the villagers were also marginalized geographically as the village is very far from the
main town of Kanchanaburi; communication was rather difficult as the route to the village was a non-asphalt road –
ordinary cars could not enter the village, only pickup trucks could. Furthermore, they were the marginal group in the
society as Karen ethnics and people only saw them as outsiders finding shelter in Thailand who did not belong to the
majority of Thai nationals, when they are actually Thai people of Karen race; they were also marginal people in terms of
politics as they did not have the authority to manage resources or decide on and participate in the restoration of the
creek. In addition, their voices were so quiet that the government could not hear. Lastly, they were also marginalized in
terms of a hegemonic knowledge base; the villagers did not know their rights according to the law and human rights and
this caused them to be exploited by the mine company and lack of important knowledge in legal regulations.
5.4 Step forward out of the small village to the public sphere
The villagers knew the common risk, and with this in mind they had to decide whether they would do nothing or fight.
Their final decision led to their appeal to the court conducted by the community leader. The villagers also helped by being
cooperative with the lawyers and the media. They started to talk with news reporters. Their first attempt to being
publicized was in dialect and body language communication because some of the villagers could not speak Thai as they
used the Karen language when communicating within the village. They started to learn Thai from the younger
generations. The villagers started to observe and monitor the abnormality in the creek and the health of the people in the
village. This could be described as the villagers’ first step across their familiar environment towards the public to
challenge governmental authority and the powerful mine company.
5.5 The Role of the media and the court jurisdiction
The media had a really significant role to play in bridging and reflecting the problem so that it became understood by the
public. In 2000, the ITV channel reported on the Klity case six or seven times a day and other TV channels started to
report on the case as well, but not as often as ITV. This could be considered as the village’s public appearance in the
hegemonic mainstream media and it resulted in more people being aware of and concerned about the Klity case.
Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants cooperated with the Lawyers’ Council in assisting the villagers to
sue both the mining company and the Department of Pollution Control. The procedure of the lawsuit was rather difficult,
especially in terms of the health impact: it was rather hard to prove. Doctors did not all agree on the medical results and
they could not definitely confirm that the health problem was caused by lead contamination. If the result of an examination
was not clear, then the villagers could not sue the company. The issues of complication and repetition of the laws by the
department responsible for the case, and the lack of communication and cooperation between different sectors, hindered
the court process and caused the different sectors to blame each other. Moreover, the court procedure was very slow,
while the severely suffering patients could not wait until they won the case; some villagers died before the court came to
its final verdict. Despite the struggle, the 13-year-long fight finally ended in victory.
Table 1 Table showing the jurisdiction procedure in the Klity case
1967 Establishment of the Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd.’s mineral processing plant
1989 The villagers start to get ill and die. The ecosystem around the creek is fatally damaged
1998 The suffering of the lower Klity villagers as a result of the mine is publicized in the media
The Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd. is ordered to close
Case 1 8 Lower Klity villagers sue the Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd. at the court of Kanchanaburi for
violating the National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 1992
2003 8 Lower Klity villagers sue the Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd. and ask for compensation
2006 The civil court orders the company to compensate 4,260,000 baht to the villagers (excluding
interest); the company appeals to the appeal court
2008 The appeal court orders the 29,551,000 baht compensation to be paid to the villagers (excluding
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interest); right now the case is at the supreme court

Case 2 The Lower Klity villagers sue the Department of Pollution Control
2004 13 Lower Klity villagers sue the Department of Pollution Control at the central administrative court
2008 The central administrative court orders the Department of Pollution Control to compensate 743,226
baht to the villagers; at present the case is at the appeal court
Case 3 151 Lower Klity villagers ask for compensation from the Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd. at the
court of Kanchanaburi
2007 151 Lower Klity villagers sue the company and ask for compensation
2010 The villagers win the case in the civil court; the court orders the company to compensate 35.8
million baht (excluding interest) to the villagers; the case is transferred to the appeal court
2012 The court orders the company to compensate 36 million baht (excluding interest) to the villagers; it
is speculated that the company will appeal to the supreme court
The victory of this small village in their fight with the powerful mining company and the governmental section is a symbol
of justice in society as well as encouragement and inspiration for other affected villages to continue to fight and strike for
justice.
5.6 Publicity: public appearance
Adults
The villagers gave the information to news reporters and tried to exchange with and learn from the scholars, attorneys,
charity groups and governmental section; they tried to make themselves known and created a social network. In creating
the network, it was essential to enlarge the knowledge base, to build cooperation and to assist one another to cross the
boundaries of knowledge, specialization and organization with integrity.
Youth
Young people also participated in helping their village. Their public appearance differed from the adults as they could not
understand distant issues unrelated to them and their principles and thoughts. However, they possessed sincerity and
innocence; the provincial organization, as well as volunteers such as the Dinsorsee Creative Group and alliances,
organized activities which helped the society to understand the story of their village through plays and a short film about
lead production from the children’s perspective. Photographs and paintings created by the Klity children reflected their
relation to nature and the injustice that occurred in the village. These expressions were exhibited and performed in the
city centre in Kanchanaburi and in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, and they have been featured in short news items
on television and radio channels.
5.7 Changes in the community
After the story of Klity village was publicized and the society got to know more about it, the community changed quite
significantly. More people, including governmental sections, scholars and volunteers, came to the village. Initially, the
villagers were happy to know that the society knew about their problems and they hoped that people would come and
help them. Professors and students from many universities came to exchange knowledge and learn about their problems,
and the scholars and the villagers started to see a wider and clearer range of methods to solve the problem. However,
the data collectors who asked to collect research data, whether in terms of scientific or social studies, or those who asked
to collect the blood samples to detect lead in the blood from the villagers, often disappeared and never got back to the
village with the results. The villagers then started to develop a negative attitude towards the strangers coming to the
village. Nevertheless, their attempts to get known by the public and their fight for justice, in tandem with the media
pressure, helped urge the governmental section to come and assist in solving the problem by closing down the mine and
finding ways to restore the creek.
5.8 Constructing human security
After the mine released waste water into the creek, the human security in Klity was very vulnerable in terms of living a life
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prone to a risk of lead toxicity and illness, and being ignored by the state and the society. The value of being ‘human’ was
dehumanized because of their Karen ethnicity. However, with their construction of a self-identity, they finally bridged the
silent gap to the public and their voice was finally heard in the public sphere. The Lead Concentrate (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
was ordered to close, the governmental officers and governmental organization were inspected and the villagers won the
lawsuit. All this helped to improve the quality of the lives of the villagers and endowed them with hope. Although not all
the problems were eliminated, with hope and the strength of the community, partnering networks that are always ready to
assist them, and the media which is constantly reporting and motivating the feelings and awareness of the value of being
“human”, the perception of risk and creation of social consciousness, human security in Klity will not be beyond reach.
5.9 Future actions
The restoration of the creek has not been completed the lawsuit is not yet finished, and the villagers’ fight still persists;
however, the fight has already acquired more networks and has become stronger. The communities affected by the mine
that learned the lessons from Klity village will become the new alliances, media and volunteers and will help as mediators
in publicizing and reporting the adversity of the villagers while also monitoring the process of the governmental section in
restoring the creek. Eventually, the development discourse that only emphasizes the economy and profit will be
questioned as to whose benefit this is for.
6. Conclusion and Discussion
The research on constructed identity and community self-expression to perceive human security, case study of Klity
village, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, aims to study the construction of a self-identity for the marginal community that
succeeded in raising the awareness of the public about them, and to study the route to justice of the community from past
to present by using the research methods of studying archives, interviewing the villagers and participant observation, and
using descriptive analysis in analysing the case. The Klity villagers perceived a common risk, so they decided to publicize
their story to the public. The villagers’ construction of an identity made the society aware of their ‘humanity’ by
exchanging knowledge with scholars, volunteer groups and a governmental section, and creating networks, while the
youth also got to participate in activities such as filming a short movie, photographing, painting and being in a play which
reflected their love for the village and their relation to nature, as well as injustice in society. The construction of an identity
in the public sphere became the power in pressuring the governmental section to order the closure of the mine; the
villagers won the lawsuit and their human security finally fell into place.
In order to construct a self-identity, strength and unity for the members of the community, be it children, adults,
elders, men or women, they must all have a common conscience and awareness of the problem. When they perceive the
problem, they must then decide to ignore or fight it, and if the villagers chose to fight for justice, they then need to accept
adversity before they feel hopeless. Hopelessness will lead villagers to succumb to the problem and the social structure,
the villagers will then be defeated by the development discourse which overlooked issues of environment and humanity,
and finally the community will be shadowed by the cultural hegemony (Gramsci,1992) and no longer possess enough
energy to ask questions or to resist. Due to this, strength and common conscience are very important in the construction
of identity and for challenging authority. Moreover, the partnering networks will be influential in amplifying the story of a
small village so it is heard by the public. When the community is stronger and has alliances and the media to support
them, the problem from a very small corner of the society will become the pressure that urges the government to hurriedly
solve the problem; this is in accordance with the work of Josef Nerb (Nerb et al., 2001). Moreover, this case will help the
public to perceive different dimensions regarding justice in society and gain awareness in solving environmental
problems.
7. Recommendation
7.1 Recommendation regarding the strategy of national development
Society should question whether a strategy of development which emphasizes economy without considering other factors
can reach sustainable development. All divisions – government, private sector and civil society – should learn about the
pain and adversity of the pollution problem in Klity as well as the process of truly restoring physicality (environment, ways
of life, well-being) and mentality, which are valueless but are defined by monetary compensation. It is also important to
speculate whether the compensation for restoring and healing was worth the destruction of nature and ways of life that
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would never be the same again. From this, the strategy for development might need to focus more on different and
complicated dimensions; the sustainable development needs to arise from a balance between economy, society and
environment.
7.2 Recommendation regarding future research
This research looked at the construction of an identity to fight for justice in a community motivated by both internal
divisions and external networks. However, it does not explore risk in society. Future research might focus on how risk can
be reduced once the identity and networks are built, and how this can help in creating justice both at the community and
social levels. These questions still need to be answered.
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Albania Between Italy and the First Balkan Conference 1930
Anduana Shahini (Kërtalli)

Lecturer at the University “Aleksander Moisiu”, Durres, Albania
E-mail: kanduana@yahoo.it
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p247
Abstract The period between two World Wars brought a new political atmosphere between countries. The Balkans, in foreign and
internal policy, is part of these changes. Albania, being part of the region, was involved in social – economic changes and also political
that occurs within it. The Balkans tentative for unification came in early 1930 and exactly in First Balkan Conference, to create a Balkan
Locarno. Albania's participation comes at a difficult economical and political moment. Its external ally, Italy, thought to repeat bilateral
pacts. Which will be the position of Albania, the impact that will create its participation, and the results obtained, will be examined
through the research in the central archives of the Albanian state and archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania and the
central library for periodicals of the years 1930-1934 in Tirana.
Key words: Balkan conference, pan-Balkans, the Adriatic-Balkan policy, Albania, Mehmet Konica.
1. Introduzione
I Balcani, nei primi anni '30 del XX secolo, sono stati caratterizzati da un tranquillo clima politico tra i paesi della regione.
Questa regione, sebbene era generalmente considerato dagli studiosi come un focolaio di tensione, conflitti territoriali e
nazionali, stava iniziando le politiche di cooperazione nel periodo tra le due guerre mondiali. La tendenza verso tale
unione derivava dal piano Briand. Secondo lui "é necessaria una unione economica - sociale dell'Europa, tutto può
essere raggiunto attraverso un patto. Questo principio si concretizzerà de facto tra gli stati europei" (AQSH, F.151,
D.102, V.1930, f.26-27).
La tendenza dei paesi europei, in questo periodo, era a favore di una unificazione, inizialmente economica e poi
politica, se possibile, di tutti i popoli dell'Europa di fronte "alla pressione" economica degli americani. L’America stava
vivendo i suoi anni migliori e si stava rendendo una minaccia per la produzione e l'economia europea. A questo
proposito, venne ideato il modello dell'Unione Europea, sotto lo slogan "pan-Europa", non per sfidare l'America, ma per
sopravvivere economicamente ai cambiamenti che stava portando con se la nuova epoca del capitalismo.
Secondo Briand "i popoli, che sono geograficamente raggruppati in un continente, devono avere una connessione
federale tra loro in termini economici ed essere sempre in contatto tra di loro per resistere a circostanze economiche
sfavorevoli"(AQSH, P.151, D.102, V.1930, P.25).
Influenzati da questa idea, i balcani pensarono di gettare le basi della loro unione per dare un contributo
significativo in tutta l'Unione europea. Durante la prima riunione, che si tenne per la realizzazione dell'idea "pan -
balcanica" in Francia, venne deciso che nel periodo dal 5 al 12 ottobre del 1930, si sarebbe tenuta ad Atene una
conferenca balcanica.
1.1 Il tentativo dell'Albania per una nuova politica balcanica
L'Albania, negli anni 20-30 del XIX secolo, era un paese con un governo consolidato, una monarchia con una posizione
alquanto sfavorevole con i paesi vicini e gli alleati europei. Inizialmente la politica interna di Ahmet Zogu, il re al trono
dell’Albania, era a favore del consolidamento del suo governo, mentre nella politica estera era orientato verso buoni
rapporti di vicinato e verso l'assicurazione degli alleati internazionali (Puto. A, Toena, 2009, P. 400, & Fischer, I. Bernd,
Çabej, 2004, p. 209-211). Per migliorare la situazione economica lui accettò la collaborazione con la società inglese
"Anglo - Persiano" e la società italiana "AIPA" (1925) e negli anni 1931 ricevette un prestito che fù firmato tra i governi
senza la necessità di un terzo. Entrambe le società fornivano allo stato albanese entrate sufficenti, che poi diventarono
necessari durante la grande crisi economica degli anni 1929 - 1933, ma anche in generale per la fragilità dell'economia
interna in quel periodo. (Accademia delle Scienze, Toena, 2007, p. 303 ).
E proprio questa situazione generale che orienta l'Albania verso l'intensificazione degli sforzi per migliorare le
politiche regionali. La proclamazione della monarchia secondo Zog avrebbe rafforzato la posizione dell'Albania rispetto
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l'Italia e i Balcani. In queste condizioni l'linvito per la partecipazione nella Prima Conferenza Balcanica arriva proprio al
momento dell'inizio dell’aggravamento dei rapporti italiano – albanesi, del tentativo di re Zog per allontanarsi dalla
influenza italiana, soprattutto durante il governo di Koço Kota. (Accademia delle Scienze, Toena, 2007, p. 304-305).
In analogia con le vicende dei Balcani e dell'Albania il nuovo clima della politica europea aveva cambiato direzione,
creando nuovi equilibri dopo la prima guerra mondiale. Diversa appare anche la situazione nei Balcani, in termini di
interferenza delle potenze europee, nell'orientamento delle politiche interne ecc. L'idea delle Conferenze Balcaniche
venne percepita in modi diversi dalla diplomazia inglese, italiana e soprattutto francese. A causa della posizione
geopolitica e dei problemi interni, i Balcani divennero il bersaglio delle loro sfere d'influenza (Shpuza. G. Ekstra, 1999, p.
40-41). Italia e soprattutto la Francia avevano i loro rispetivi beniamini nei Balcani, cosi Italia aveva l'Albania e Francia la
Jugoslavia. Questo anche per via delle soluzioni imposte anni prima durante la Conferenza di Pace di Parigi nel 1918-
1919.
La politica estera dello stato albanese in questo periodo, per molte ragioni, era orientato verso l'Italia. I patti
economici firmati con l'Italia, (Il primo e il secondo patto di Tirana), sicuravano al'Albania l'unica fonte di reddito per la
sopravvivenza. Se si studia la natura di questi patti, si noterà che, per il periodo in cui sono stati firmati, rappresentano un
significativo intervento economico e politico per l'Albania e i Balcani. L'orientamento evidente dell'Italia verso l'Albania
non era coerente con le intenzioni della Jugoslavia nei Balcani. Sotto il motto "Balcani dei balcanici" (Ushtelenca.I, 1997)
Jugoslavia condannava pubblicamente l'intervento dell'Italia nelle aree politiche albanesi. Non mancano neanche gli
incidenti diplomatici tra di loro in rapporto all’ndipendenza dell’Albania, durante la Prima Conferenza dei Balcani.
Di fronte all'invito a partecipare alla Prima Conferenza Balcanica, l'Albania sembra disposta a riesaminare ancora
una volta i suoi rapporti con l'Italia. Di tutti i paesi dei Balcani l'Albania è stato considerato il punto di forza d'Italia nei
Balcani. Sulla base di questa percezione, ma non solo, l'Albania decise di far parte di questa Conferenza. Con la
creazione di nuovi ponti di cooperazione economica, l'Albania non si sentirà più "dipendente" economicamente dall’Italia.
La Prima Conferenza dei Balcani venne organizzata dal 5 al 12 ottobre del 1930 nella capitale della cultura ellenica,
Atene. Vi hanno partecipato circa 150 delegati provenienti da diversi paesi e diverse aree e discussero intorno al
problema del ravvicinamento dei popoli balcanici. Il Governo albanese decide, con una risoluzione del Consiglio dei
Ministri nr. 622, del 23. 07. 1930, di creare una delegazione dignitosa per rappresentare il paese (AQSH, P.151, D.103,
V.1930, P. 30). La politica albanese mostrò particolare interesse per questo evento regionale. La delegazione albanese
era rappresentata da Mehmet Konica, Padre Gjergj Fishta, Imzot Jul Bonati, Maliq Bushati, Bedri Pejani, Asim Jakova,
Stavro Stavri, Leonidha Naci, Faslli Frasheri, Seid Toptani, Emine Toptani (Hanem). Loro hanno rappresentato al meglio
ogni sezione delle discussioni della conferenza e hanno dato l'opportunità all’Albania di avere ampi settori di
cooperazione. La posizione del governo albanese fu irremovibile, l'Albania non mancherà mai, ovunque sia necessario di
dimostrare la sua esistenza come Stato e come nazione” (Il giornale "Vullneti i Popullit", nr. 47, 4 tetor 1930). Questo
atteggiamento viene esplicitamente espresso nel discorso del Mehmet Konica, il delegato principale albanese, tenuto il
giorno di apertura della conferenza (AQSH, P.151, D.103, V.1930, P.252-253). Gli obiettivi della conferenza sono
completamente favorecoli alla cooperazione multidimensionale dei balcani, l'aspetto economico, la disposizione delle
tariffe per i prodotti agricoli e industriali, la fondazione di un istituto economico dei Balcani, la fondazione di una fusione
degli ediffici postali, e il miglioramento delle condizioni di transito dei cittadini. Tutti questi obiettivi non menzionano le
questioni fondamentali dei problemi nei Balcani. Problemi seri come quelli delle minoranze etniche o le questioni
politiche, sono stati trascurati dalla conferenza con l'intervento intensivo della delegazione serba. La presenza di questi
argomenti sveglierebbe immediatamente l'antipatia e la frustrazione di Bulgaria e Albania, mettendo in discussione il
funzionamento della conferenza.
La delegazione albanese e Mehmet Konica avevano progettato nei dettagli la loro posizione. Inizialmente
propossero due richieste essenziali, per prima cosa dare la priorità al problema delle minoranze nazionali, e in secondo
luogo, dare la protezione reciproca in caso di eventuali attacchi a una delle grandi potenze (Ushtelenca.I, 1997).
Entrambi questi problemi sono molto gravi e causano controversie tra le parti. L'Albania, a causa delle soluzioni che
erano dettate dalle grandi potenze sul territorio, aveva una grande parte della sua popolazione fuori dal territorio e
precisamente in Grecia era la parte maggiore. A questo proposito l'Albania trovava il supporto della Bulgaria, che aveva
lo stesso problema. Paesi come Grecia, Turchia e Romania sostenerono in principio queste richieste. L'unica che non
accettò la revisione era la Jugoslavia, la qualle spesso ha accusato l'Albania di sottomissione verso l'Italia. Per questo
motivo il governo albanese si informava di volta in volta dalla sua legazione a Belgrado, su come si stava percependono
la sua partecipazione. Il console albanese a Belgrado chiese una riunione speciale al ministro degli Esteri della
Jugoslavia, affinché lui desse una risposta. Secondo i rapporti che il console porta a Tirana, il governo jugoslavo non
parteciperà ufficialmente a questa conferenza, a causa di questioni spinose che esistono tra i popoli balcanici. Secondo
lui, "i delegati saranno rappresentanti da diverse associazioni jugoslave come l'Associazione per la Pace, l'Associazione
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di Pan - Europa ecc” (AQSH, F.151, D.103, V.1930, P.10). La delegazione albanese, quindi, poteva agire a seconda
delle circostanze che potevano verificarsi, ma il tempo durante il quale si tenne la conferenza dimostrò il contrario in
rapporto alla delegazione jugoslava.
Durante la conferenza il delegato jugoslavo accusò la delegazione albanese che devono assicurare la loro
indipendenza nell'unione balcanica, che la protezione di un altra potenza straniera che ha scopi di colonizzazione non
porta la libertà, ma la schiavitù. I serbi, secondo lui, erano nella stessa posizione quando sono stati soto la tutela di
Austria, contro la Turchia .(Il giornale "Rilindja e Arbënis" / nr. 29, 11 tetor 1930 & AQSH, P.151, D.103, V.1930, P. 249-
251). Perciò, per questa dichiarazione fatta alla conferenza, dalla parte italiana e quella albanese, si ebbe una doppia
reazione. Konica, immediatamente informò il governo albanese la quale formulò la suo posizione in merito a questa
dichiarazione. Lei non accetta una indipendenza minacciata dall'Italia e chiede che il delegato jugoslavo immediatamente
ritirasse le sue accuse. La parte italiana, a sua volta, stabilisce la propria posizione pubblicando un articolo come
controreplica. Nel giornale "Politica", pubblicato a Roma, c'e un articolo che parla esattamente della posizione italiana in
rapporto alle accuse del delegato jugoslava. "A nome della Serbia vuole apparire come un difensore della libertà di
Albania" e sottolinea che "La Serbia dimentica che non solo ancora un milione di albanesi vivono sotto la prigionia serba,
ma anche gli atteggiamenti più scettici nei confronti del indipendenca dell'Albania sono venuti dalla Serbia" (Il giornale
"Rilindja e Arbënis" / nr. 29, 11 tetor 1930 & AQSH, P.151, D.103, V.1930, P. 249-251 ). Questa è la controversia
successiva che si è sviluppata tra i due paesi per quanto riguarda il problema dell'Albania. Il rappresentante serbo
chiesse scusa per la questione che causò molti controversi, giustificandossi con il fatto che egli non sapeva bene parlare
in francese, quindi era stato frainteso dai partecipanti. Lui rappresentava un gruppo indipendente e non il governo serbo,
pertanto il suo parere doveva essere preso come un parere personale distaccato dalla politica del suo paese. Gli sforzi
dell'Albania per collaborare e creare alleati si vedono nell’avvicinamento con la Bulgaria. I due paesi hanno lo stesso
problema, le minoranze. Il console albanese in Bulgaria cerca di incontrare Sign. Liapceff, il quale in questo caso è
consigliere per la posizione che manterrà la delegazione bulgara. Durante il loro incontro, Liapceff aveva sostenuto che
"La cooperazione tra la delegazione bulgara e albanese era necessaria di fronte alla cooperazione greco-serba" (AQSH.
P.151, D.103, V.1930, P.156). Secondo il rappresentante in questione, questo approccio era necessario a causa della
creazione di un altro gruppo balcanico rappresentato dalla Grecia, Serbia e Romania, che non aveva alcun interesse a
riaprire la questione delle minoreanze. D'altra parte Bulgaria, Serbia e Turchia avrebbero avuto un certo peso di fronte a
questo gruppo, solo se avessero mantenuto lo stesso atteggiamento. Secondo lui, "la questione delle minoranze e del
disarmo dovrebbero essere discussi nelle sessioni della conferenza. Ad ogni modo si dovrebbe comprendere il loro
atteggiamento a questo problema anche se non possiamo trovare la soluzione " (AQSH. P.151, D.103, V.1930, P.156).
Nei documenti storici dell'Albania in merito alla sua partecipazione alla Prima Conferenza Balcanica, si sottolinea la
convinzione della delegazione ad approfondire la cooperazione con i paesi regionali. In rapporto a questa posizione ha
reagito anche la rappresentanza diplomatica italiana a Durazzo. Si trovano molti telegrammi e relazioni presentate al
governo italiano da questa legazione, dando tutte le informazioni possibili su ogni azione del governo e della delegazione
albanese. Secondo un documento che proviene dal console albanese ad Atene, si conferma che "Solo la legazione
italiana la considera "utopia" e che ha avuto dall’inizio intenzione di fermarlo, anche nel caso di sucesso dalla parte
albanese, in quanto questo è contro gli interessi italiani” (AQSH, P. 151, D.104, V. 1930, P. 19 v).
1.1.1 L'analisi
Da uno sguardo generale alla conferenza si puo pensare che all'interno ci sono due frazioni che contraddicono l'un –
altro. Da un lato abbiamo l’antanta che è stata creato prima di questo evento e di fronte a loro cerca di coordinare le
azioni di Bulgaria, Turchia e Albania che trovano sostegno indiretto dall'Italia, Austria e Ungheria. Il problema che
conduce al conflitto rimane sempre la questione delle minoranze. A questo proposito, nessuna delle due parti tollera
un'altra posizione. L'Albania viene sostenuta vivamente dalla Bulgaria e riceve una tacita approvazione dalla Turchia e
Romania. Da tutte le delegazioni, durante la conferenza, le delegazioni della turchia, bulgaria, e romenia hanno mostrato
interesse per la nostra delegazione, mentre la delegazione serba contatta la nostra delegazione, in modo più riservata
(AQSH, P.151, D.103, V.1930, P.154). Durante la conferenza, per le sei commissioni che sono state stabilite in diversi
settori, hanno preso parte alcune personalità. Mehmet Konica rappresentava il Comitato della Conferenza, non
casualmente, questa è stata la comissione più importante. Lui cercava di armonizzare e trovare delle soluzioni politiche
alle controversie tra i paesi, in questo caso si occupò del problema delle minoranze che comprendeva tutti i paesi. Nella
commissione di riavvicinamento politico avevano scielto Stavro Stavri, Fazli Press, e Said Toptani che avevano buona
conoscenza della politica albanese e dei suoi interessi. La commissione degli Affari economici, anche se non viene
rappresentata da veri e propri specialisti, Leonida Naci e Asim Gjakova, crearono molte possibilità di collaborazione per
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l'Albania. La commissione dell’approccio intellettuale era rappresentata dal Padre Gjergj Fishta, Maliq Bushati e Emine
Toptani. La partecipazione di una donna in questo campo era molto importante, perché giocava un ruolo cruciale nel
processo di emancipazione delle donne in Albania. Le ultime due commissioni, l'approccio della politica sociale e quello
delle comunicazioni sono state rappresentate da Bedri Peja, Leonida Naci ed Toptani Said. Le delegazioni di Albania,
Turchia e Bulgaria erano a favore di un Locarno balcanico. La loro idea di base era quella di distruggere qualsiasi
contraddizione fra loro e di prestare più attenzione allo sviluppo interno. Queste idee sono state lanciate da paesi, come
Albania, che non aveva questioni aperte con altri paesi e, soprattutto, non aveva tendenze espansionistiche nella regione
e oltre. Questo atteggiamento spiega la reazione di altri Stati che erano o non erano parte della conferenza. Ricordiamo
qui l'atteggiamento della Serbia verso l'Albania, le accuse per la minaccia della sovranità da parte dell’Italia.
Le polemiche della delegazione serba con la delegazione turca, esprimono apertamente l'antipatia per la sua
partecipazione alla conferenza, nonostante l'orientamento economico che Turchia appogiava. Tutti i paesi partecipanti
alla prima conferenza dei Balcani accettarono in principio la cooperazione tra di loro nonostante i diversi punti di vista.
Loro crearono, per questa funzione, anche degli organizmi competenti, dove viene rappresentata anche l'Albania in modo
da coordinare i lavori della Seconda Conferenza dei Balcani (1931), oltre gli organi centrali furono creati anche quelli
locali. Ogni stato stabilí una sede propria e secondo il programma della conferenza e dei suoi compiti avrebbe fatto le
relazioni necessarie nella sede centrale. Un nuovo campo che venne ulteriormente sviluppato a favore dei popoli
balcanici fù il Locarno balcanico, l'idea di vivere in pace e di stostenere la cooperazione in tutta la regione.
L'idea dell'Unione balcanica venne ben accolta dalla stampa albanese. Nelle edizioni dei quotidiani, che coprono il
periodo 1929-1935, troviamo recensioni, analisi, pensieri e idee personali su tutte le conferenze balcaniche. Diversi
giornali scrivono: "Vullneti i popullit / Nr. 96" il 2 agosto 1930, scrive un articolo informativo dal titolo "Conferenza
Internazionale"; il giornale "Rilindja e Arbenise / Nr. 10 "Il 26 agosto 1930, scrive un articolo analitico dal titolo " L'albania
viciono alla Lega delle Nazioni nella Conferenza Internazionale"; il giornale “Vullneti i popullit/ Nr. 47" il 4 ottobre 1930
scrive un articolo analitico dal titolo "Pensieri e impressioni sulla conferenza balcanica"; anche il giornale "Shqiptarja / Nr.
153" il 1 dicembre 1930 nella cronaca ufficiale scrive "La donna albanese viene rappresentata alla conferenza balcanica
ad Atene”. In tutti gli articoli della stampa vediamo che questa iniziativa è sostenuta da tutti.
Bibliografia
Fonti archivistiche
AQSH (Arkivi qëndror shtetëror Shqiptarë në Tiranë- Archivio centrale dello stato albanese a Tirana)
Archivio del Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Tirana (Albania)
Litteratura
Amedeo Giannini, “L'Albania dall'indipendenza all'unione con l'Italia (1913-1939)” Instituto per gli studi di politica internazionale, 1940
Arben Puto“Shqipëria politike 1912-1939“ Toena, Tiranë 2009.
Bernd J.Fischer “Mbreti Zog dhe përpjekja për stabilitet në Shqipëri“ Çabej, Tiranë 2004
Biagini Antonello, Storia dell’Albania Contemporanes, Bombiani 2005
Gazmend Shpuza,“Shqipëria ndërmjet Ballkanit dhe Apenineve“ Extra, Tiranë 1999.
Ilir Ushtelenca,“Diplomacia e mbretit Zogu I (1912-1939)” Ermir, Tirane 1997.
Valentina Duka “ Çështje të historisë bashkohore të Shqiptarëve“ SHBLU, Tiranë 2008
Periodici del periodo 1930-1934

Albania
Besa
Dielli
Demokratia
Ora
Shqiperi e re
Shqiptari i Amerikes
Shqiptarja
Telegraf
Zeri i popullit
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The Influences of Foreign Direct Investments, the Economic Advantages

Offering in Macedonian Economy
An overview of foreign organizations activities
Prof. Assoc. Dr Alba Dumi

Dean of Graduated School ”Ismail Qemali” Vlore University”
Email:besi.alba@yahoo.com
Florina Memeti
E mail:florina_memeti@hotmail.com
Jeton Qazimi
SEEU University, Law Faculty, Graduated in “Master in law”,
Email: jeton_toni02@hotmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p251
Abstract: In this paper we want to illustrate the facts that both means of supplying markets exporting and production in those markets.
Moreover, there are two international business activities that we are studying in our paper research. Among, the companies Forbes
(2000) listed as the 100 largest U.S multinationals companies. According the World Investment Report small and middle enterprises
account for 20.8% of the total 3.470 U.S. In this paper we analyze two topics directly related to exporting and production in foreign
countries to compare with foreign investments in Republic of Macedonia. The aim of this study is to analyze: (1) international trade which
includes exports and imports in Republic of Macedonia, (2) foreign direct investments which international polices in Republic of
Macedonia must make to establish and expand the activity components and products in Republic of Macedonia. Today’s multinationals
create widespread network of research, component production assembly and distribution.” We want together date from the development
of foreign investments of Republic of Macedonia. There are a number of advantages of in focusing attention on a national that is already
sizable purchaser of goods coming from would – be exporter country.
Key words: Foreign investments, international trade, capital instruments, productivity in Macedonia
1. Introduction
1.1 International trade and volume of the trade, influences over productivity and business climate.
One the major trading partners of the firms-home country and those of the nations where it has affiliates that export can
provide valuable insights to management.According to the definition, of Martin Wolfe, Global Business analyst (Financial
Times, October 1, 1997, pp.12) “Creating overseas production cities merely in order to meet local consumption looks an
increasingly fragile basis for foreign investment. A much better one is the ability to make the best use of companies-
competitive advantage by locating production wherever it is most efficient. Why focus on major trading partners?
1).Business climate in importing nations is relatively favorable 2).Export and Import regulations are not insurmountable
3).There should be no strong cultural objections to buying that nations- goods 4).Satisfactory transportation facilities have
already been established.
2. Literature Review and Hypotheses
2.1 Foreign direct investments, rapid increase in nowadays
This study empirically examines the impact of debt management policies on borrowing costs incurred by state
governments when issuing debt in the municipal bond market. Based on positive political theory and the benefit principle
251
of taxation, it is proposed that states that adhere to best practice debt management policies transmit signals to the credit
ratings, investment community and taxpayers that the government should meet its obligations in a timely manner,
resulting in lower debt costs. FDI has arisen rapidly from 185 billion $ in 1985 to 360 billion $ in 1996 (Source: World
Investment Report, New York, 1997, pp.303). The problem is that we do not have a country with the rule of law,
Macedonia has not a professional Administration that will offer to investors security, business climate or politic. The fact
that Macedonia is really too bad with FDI comparing with regional countries is the statistical report from International
Institute for Economic Researches of Vienna: In 2010 in Macedonia entered 221 million Euros, in Serbia 1 milliard, in
Albania 800 million and in Montenegro 564 million Euros. So this Government must do the actions that other regional
countries did to attract more investors, for example to fix the road infrastructure, to use fiscal reliefs. Macedonia need to
search investors from regional countries and from Europe, so the countries that know about Macedonia, not from Japan,
India, est. that has more less or no knowledge about this country.
This is an average annual increase of nearly 12 %. Observe how concentrated FDI is in the United States. Nearly
three-quarters of the total stock was owned by firms of just five nations: (1) United Kingdom (23 percent), (2) Japan (19
percent), (3) the Netherlands (12 percent), (4) Germany (9.9 percent), and (5) Canada (8.5 percent).On the record
investment outlays in the U.S by foreign firms, much more has been spent to acquire going companies than to establish
new ones. A number of reasons are responsible : (1) Corporate restructuring in this country caused managements to put
on the market units that either did not meet management’s profit standards or were considered to be unrelated to the
company’s main businesses, (2) foreign companies desired to gain rapid access in this country to advanced technology,
especially in computers and communications, and (3) managements of foreign firms felt that entrance in to the large
market and money promote foreign direct investments.(Source: International nature of business, July, 1999, pp.34).
Tab 1.Stocks of Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Selected Countries, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2000 ($ Billions)
1985 1990 1995 1999

Country 2000
Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share Amount Share
World total $707.8 100.0% $1,717.4 100.0% $2,879.4 100.0% 5,004.8 100.0% $5,976.2 100.0%
United States 251.0 35.5 430.5 25.1 699.0 24.3 1,130.8 22.6 1,244.7 20.8
United 100.3 14.2 229.3 13.4 304.9 10.6 684.2 13.7 901.8 15.1
Ki d
Japan 44.0 6.2 201.4 11.7 238.5 8.3 292.8 5.9 281.7 4.7
Germany 59.9 8.5 148.5 8.6 258.1 9.0 394.3 7.9 442.8 7.4
France 37.1 5.2 120.2 7.0 208.0 7.2 348.3 7.0 496.7 8.3
Netherlands 47.8 6.8 109.0 6.3 179.6 6.2 252.8 5.1 325.9 5.5
Switzerland 25.1 3.5 66.1 3.8 142.5 4.9 192.4 3.8 232.0 3.9
Italy 16.6 2.3 57.3 3.3 109.2 3.8 181.9 3.6 176.2 2.9
Canada 43.1 6.1 84.8 4.9 118.1 4.1 187.2 3.7 200.9 3.4
Developing 32.4 4.6 81.9 4.8 258.3 9.0 468.7 9.4 710.3 11.9
Countries
European 293.0 41.4 790.3 46.0 1,312.5 45.6 2,448.7 48.9 3,110.9 52.1
Union
Developed 675.2 95.4 1,637.3 95.3 2,621.2 91.0 4,380.0 87.5 5,248.5 87.8
Countries
Source: Various “Country Fact Sheets,” World Investment Report 2001, United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, Geneva, October 2001
During this same period, the proportion of FDI accounted by the European Union increased by approximately 25 percent,
from 41.4 percent to 52.1 percent. It is interesting to note that Japan’s proportion of FDI has declined from 11.7 percent in
1990 to only 4.7 percent in 2000. Reflecting their continued economic development, developing countries have increased
their proportion of FDI from 4.6 percent in 1985 to 11.9 percent in 2000. (Source: International nature of business, 2004,
pp.67). The volume of international trade in goods and services measured in current dollars approached $7 trillion in
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1996. Merchandise exports, at $5.4 trillion, were 17 times what they were in 1970. The proportion of FDI accounted for by
the U.S. declined by nearly one-third between 1985 and 2000, however, from 35.5 percent to 20.8 percent. During this
same period, the proportion of FDI accounted for by the cent to 20.8 percent.
Fig 1 The volume of international trade and relationship of data collect.
FDI year 2009
FDI and EU
FDI year 1990 Inflation on FDI

Identify the direction of trade, or who trades with whom.
The percentage of total exports of all the categories of developed nations to other developed nations is declining with the
exception of Canada’s. Most of Canada’s exports to developed countries go to the U.S, and they have been increasing
since the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement went into effect. Developing nations are selling more to each other, and
U.S.-developing country trade is on the rise.
2.2 Foreign investment and its components
Foreign investment can be divided into two components: portfolio investment, which is the purchase of stocks and bonds,
solely for the purpose of obtaining a return on the funds invested, and direct investment, by which the investors
participate in the management of the firm in addition to receiving a return on their money. The distinction between these
two components has begun to blur, particularly with the growing size and number of international mergers, acquisitions,
and alliances in recent years. Source: International nature of business, 2004, pp.66).
2.3 Foreign Direct Investment, volume and the proportion of investors
The value of the outstanding stock of all foreign direct investment (FDI), worldwide, is over $ 5.9 trillion. Table shows how
this total is divided among the largest investor nations. In 2000 the U.S. had 1.4 times the FDI of the next largest investor,
the United Kingdom, and 2.5 times that of the third largest investor, France. (Kalon 2002)
Explain the size, growth, and direction of U.S. foreign direct Investment.
The book value of foreign direct Investment has grown and now totals almost $3 trillion. The American FDI is more than
double that of the United Kingdom, the next largest investor, which is closely followed by Japan. The direction of FDI
follows the direction of foreign trade; that is, developed nations invest in each other just as they trade with each other.
Note because of the new business environment, many international firms are dispersing the activities of their
manufacturing systems to locations closer to available resources.
The decision where to locate may be either an FDI or trade decision. Foreign direct Investment in the U.S. has risen
from $185 billion in 1985 to $630 billion in 1996.Firms from just five nations–United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands,
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Germany, and Canada-own about three-quarters of the stock. But the entrance of FDI, are with problems in Republic of
Macedonia. We are trying to do one comparative analyze between indicators of FDI on developing countries with
indicators of FDI in Republic of Macedonia.
3.1 Recognize the value of analyzing trade statistics.
The analysis of trade statistics is useful to anyone starting to search outside the home market for new trade opportunities.
Studying the general growth and direction of trade and analyzing the major trading partners will show businesspeople
where the important trading activity is. Companies enter foreign markets (exporting to and manufacturing in) to increase
sales and profits and to protect markets, sales, and profits. Foreign firms often buy American firms to acquire technology
and marketing know-how. Foreign investment also enables a company to diversify geographically. One must be careful in
using GNP blindly as a basis for comparing nations’ economies. First, the reliability of the data is questionable. Second,
the World Bank and other international agencies convert national currencies to dollars, the unit that usually appears in
their statistics. Official exchange rates do not reflect the relative domestic purchasing powers of currencies.
3.2 Understand the international market entry methods
The two basic methods of entering foreign markets are exporting to and manufacturing in them. Exporting may be done
directly or indirectly. A firm may become involved in foreign production through various methods: (1) wholly owned
subsidiaries, (2) joint ventures, (3) licensing. (4) Franchising and (5) contract manufacturing.
3.3 This policy reform program in Albania and Structural Adjustment Credit
The Government of Albania has adopted a comprehensive policy reform program to strengthen Albania's weak
institutional and governance capacity. This policy reform program is being supported by a Structural Adjustment Credit,
which was approved by the Bank in June of 1999. The overall objective of the proposed Public Administration Reform
Project is to provide required resources for technical assistance, training, goods and incremental operating costs that are
needed to implement the Government's Institutional and Public Administration Reform agenda effectively. The
Development Credit Agreement (DCA) states the objective of the project to be: The objective of the Project is to assist
the Borrower to improve its capacity with regard to policy formulation and coordination, and administrative performance
so as to create conditions that will encourage the Department of Public Administration of the Borrower to improve their
service delivery.
H 1 Explain the many forms of strategic alliances in west countries and in Republic of Macedonia
Many firms are forming strategic alliances with competing companies, suppliers, and customers to gain access to new
products, technology, and markets and to share resources, costs, and risks. Strategic alliances take many forms,
including licensing, mergers, joint ventures, and joint research and development contracts. A firm can have, and usually
does have, an international strategy that is partially multi-domestic in some dimensions and partially global in others.
Management must decide the extent to which the firm should globalize along each dimension (Source: International FDI,
July, 1999, pp.79).
H 2 Comprehend that globalization of an international firm occurs over at least seven dimensions and that a company can
be partially global in some dimensions and completely global in others.
3.4 The problems that are identify in Republic of Macedonia
3.4.1 Strong nationalism
Strong nationalistic sentiment may cause the foreign firm to try to lose its identity by joining with local investors. Care
must be taken with this strategy, however. Although a large number of people in many developing countries dislike
multinationals for “exploiting” them, they still believe, often with good reason, that the products of the foreign companies
are superior to those of purely national firms. One solution to this ambivalence has been to form a joint venture in which
the local partners are highly visible, give it an indigenous name, and then advertise that a foreign firm (actually the
partner) is supplying the technology. Even wholly owned subsidiaries have followed this strategy. (Source: International
Management business, July, 1999, pp.74)
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3.4.2 Seven Global Dimensions and Management reforms
There are at least seven dimensions along which management can globalize (standardize): (1) product, (2) markets, (3)
promotion, (4) where value is added to the product, (5) competitive strategy, (6) use of non-home-country personnel, and
(7) extent of global ownership in the firm. The possibilities range from zero standardization (multi-domestic) to
standardization along all seven dimensions (completely global). (Adlere 1999) Management’s task is to determine how far
the firm should go with each one. Usually the amount of globalization will vary among the dimensions. For example, the
promotion for washing machines can be standardized: People use them to get their clothes clean, but for economic
reasons, in poorer countries the machines must be simpler and less costly. Therefore, the product is not standardized
worldwide.(Source: International nature of business, July, 1999, pp.78, 79).
4. Analyze in Macedonia situation, real data and facts
Although the marketing in foreign TV’s to present Macedonia like an attractive place for foreign investors, different visits
of Prime Minister in different countries around the world, last year and this year, Macedonia still is in the last place to
attract foreign direct investments compared with other countries of the region.
4.1 Investments and operational efficiencies in Macedonia
In the other hand this Government shows clearly the nationalist politic and shows an example of ethnic discrimination,
because the investments that have been done in Macedonia were all in the East Macedonia which is populated with
Macedonian ethnicity. So, in that region will be open new places for job, and will be reduced unemployment in this region.
One investment that will start is from Russia, concentrated in meat industry. The biggest investment was also in East
Macedonia form an American company “Johnson controls” a global company offering products and services to optimize
energy and operational efficiencies of buildings, automotive batteries and interior systems for automobiles. This
investment of 20 million Euros will employ more than 1 400 employees; will improve the standard of living in that zone.
Other 20 million Euros investment in East Macedonia that will start to work in the end of this year is from a German
company“ Kromberg & Schubert” a global actor confirmed the manufacture of automotive harnesses and will employ
more than 2 000 employees. Unfortunately in regions which are populated with Albanian ethnicity there are no
investments, but just promises and promises all over the years and nothing is done!
4.2 Influences of NATO and EU
All the companies that invest in R.M want to maximize their profit. I think that in R.M the key problem for foreign
investment is that state has not a stabile economy; we cannot predict what will happen in the economy in future because
everyday changes something because of the political crisis, corruption is on the highest level. To achieve this
Government need to work hard to remove national and religion disagreements between the communities that lives in
these country, not to encourage this disagreements to remove the nation’s attention from the economic crisis. If these
political crises would not be happened R.M would now be the part of NATO or EU and for investors could be like a proof
that will invest in one stabile country.
After the endorsement of the O F Agreement, Macedonia has undergone a long and complex way of reforms of FDI,
towards its European integration goal. Some of the steps include the Stabilization and Association Process, endorsement
of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and the accomplishment of the application questionnaire as a candidate
country for EU membership. The country is currently going through a phase of two parallel FDI processes that converge
to the country’s full membership in the EU: the process of ratification of the Integration Agreement between Macedonia
and the EC as well as the process of implementation of remaining FDI reforms in order to accomplish the whole set of
membership criteria.1

1 Referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" by the EU
255
The fully standardized criteria for membership in Macedonia and Albania on EU were most accurately determined by the
Copenhagen Summit I 1993 Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey are all official candidates states while
Albania and Serbia have applied for membership. Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded an association agreement and
is preparing an application while Kosovo is beginning negotiations for an agreement. The Western Balkans have been
priority for membership since emerging from war during the breakup of Yugoslavia; Turkey has been seeking
membership since the 1980s and Iceland has lodged its application since suffering economic collapse in 2008.
2. Regional cooperation is a principle of the highest importance for the political stability, the security and economic
development of the WBs countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Republic of Macedonia. Many of the
FDI challenges facing the WBs countries are not only common to them but also have a cross-border dimension, which
involves their regional neighbors. The political dimension of regional cooperation, FDI and Regional cooperation in the
WBs is: needed as a crucial ingredient of stability; about helping overcome nationalism and intolerance and promoting
mutual understanding and political dialogue in the region.
References
Ari Kokko, ˝How Foreign Investment Affects Host Countries˝, Washington D.C., 1997
Beata K. Smarzynska, ˝Technological leadership and Foreign Investors˝Choice of Entry Mode, Washington D.C., 2000
Charles W.L.Hill, ˝International Business˝, New York, 2007
Debra Johnson & Colin Turner, ˝International Business – Themes and issues in the modern global economy˝, New York, 2004
Donald A. Ball, Wendell H. McCulloch, ˝ International Business – The challenge of Global Competition˝, New York, 1999
Donald A. Ball, Wendell H. McCulloch, Jr. Paul L. Frantz, J. Michael Geringer, Michael S. Minor, ˝ International Business – The
challenge of Global Competition˝, New York, 2004
Hill, Charlles, ˝International Business˝, New York, 2005
Ilia Kristo, ˝Biznesi ndërkombëtar˝, Tirana, 2004
International Finance Corporation, ˝Foreign Direct Investment˝, Washington D.C., 1997
Irena Kikerova, ˝Megunarodna ekonomija˝, Skopje, 2003
John H. Dunning, ˝Governments, Globalization and International Business˝, New York, 2003
Kamga Wafo, ˝Political Risk and FDI˝, Konstanz, 1998
Marcus Noland, ˝Competition Policy and FDI˝, Washington D.C., 1999
Marios I. Katsioloudes & Spyros Hadjidakis, ˝International Business˝ - A Global Perspective, Burlington, 2007
OECD, ˝Survey of OECD WORK ON International Investment˝, Paris, 1998
Paul R. Krugman & Maurice obstfeld, ˝International Economics˝, Boston, 2003
Rajneesh Narula, ˝Trade and Investment in the Globalizing World˝, Amsterdam, 2001
Rajneesh Narula, Sanjaya Lall, ˝ Understanding FDI˝– Assisted Economic Development, London, 2009
Stephan Thomsen, OECD, ˝Investment Patterns in a Longer-Term Perspective˝, Paris, 1999
United Nations, ˝World Investment Report 2000˝, New York, 2000
United Nations, UNCTAD ˝Trends in International Investment agreements: an Overview˝, New York and Geneva, 1999
Williamson, John, ˝ Political Economics and International Money˝, New York, 1989
Williamson, John, ˝The open Economy and the World Economy˝, New York, 1983
www.finace.gov.mk
Zejnulla Veseli, Koha, Skopje, 2012
256
Experienced versus Inexperienced EFL Teachers` Beliefs of Self-Efficacy:

The Case of Public and Private Sectors
Ehsan Alijanian

E-mail: ehsanalijanian@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p257
Abstract: Teacher self-efficacy is the confidence in one`s ability to motivate and promote positive outcomes in students. It can be
influenced by contextual and demographic factors. The present study is an attempt to analyze the role of factors such as teachers`
working environment, experience, and gender on teachers` beliefs about self-efficacy. For this purpose, 40 Iranian English as Foreign
Language teachers (20 form public setting, and 20 from private setting) with different gender and work experience were chosen. A
teacher self efficacy scale and three open-ended questions were used to investigate the possible differences of teachers` beliefs with
respect to the variables mentioned. The results indicated that working environment, experience, and gender can effect teachers` beliefs
of self-efficacy significantly. The findings have pedagogical implications for teacher education programs.
Key words: self-efficacy, contextual and demographic factors, public setting, private setting
1. Introduction
Teacher efficacy has been defined as teachers` beliefs and confidence in bringing about positive outcomes to students`
performance (Berman et al., 1977). Since 1970s, teacher efficacy has been introduced as a central issue for advancing
teacher education and maintaining educational reforms (Ross, 1995; Wheatley, 2002). According to Ross (1995) and
Henson (2001) teacher efficacy is a prominent factor related to promoting constructive teaching behavior. Ideas such as
teachers applying innovatory practices, risk taking, and even consistency in a task are closely linked to degrees of
efficacy (Ashton & Webb, 1986).
Social cognitive theory is the theoretical base of efficacy which is developed by Albert Bandura (1977, 1997).
According to this theory our future behavior is related to our human agency which is in turn the function of environmental
influences, behavior, and intrinsic factors (such as cognition, affection, and biology). According to Bandura (1986)
dynamic interactions amongst external, internal, current, and past behavior construct human beings. Bandura (1986)
noted ‘dualistic doctrines that regard mind and body as separate entities do not provide much enlightenment on the
nature of the disembodied mental state or on how an immaterial mind and bodily events act on each other’ (p. 17).
Idea of self-efficacy can be traced to Bandura (1977) in which it is claimed that ‘beliefs in one’s capabilities to
organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments’ (p. 3). Feelings of self-efficacy are
seen as a medium for transformation in our actions that influence our motivation, and as a result can override our
success of failure (Bandura, 1998).
When it comes to the academic setting, teacher self-efficacy refers to teachers’ mentality with respect to their
dexterity in motivating and advancing students` achievement (Wheately, 2005). There are so many factors which may
influence this psychological construct, but they can be classified under two broad categories; contextual and demographic
factors.
As for the contextual category, it is said that teacher self-efficacy is a kind of context-specific conception (Dellinger
et al., 2008) which is structured within a specific environment (Friedman & Kass, 2002). It is influenced by such factors as
the principal leadership and school conditions (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007). Teachers having access to more
facilities in the school, being subject to the principal’s constructive behavior, and having supervision of their colleagues
are therefore more likely to have heavier beliefs of self-efficacy (Deemer, 2004). Students’ characteristics is another
factor e.g., teachers working with younger students are more efficacious (Herman, 2000). Likewise, considering students’
social class, it has been suggested that more efficacious teachers have students who come from the high socioeconomic
levels of the society (Lee et al. 1991). To sum up, it might be inferred that the context in which teachers work, including
the principal, the colleagues, and the students’ characteristics can affect their self-efficacy beliefs to a great extent.
Variables such as gender, age, experience, and academic degree are included in the second category
(demographic factors). Considering gender, for example, available research indicates that male and female teachers are
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not different with respect to their self-efficacy beliefs (Lee et al., 1991; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007). One of the few
studies that found a difference between female and male teachers` self-efficacy conceptions was conducted by
Raudenbush et al. (1992). In this study, female teachers had stronger beliefs of self-efficacy but this difference was not
that much great.
Studies that have considered the role of experience in self-efficacy beliefs have mostly found that teachers
advanced their beliefs of efficacy with experience (Woolfolk & Hoy, 1993; Cambel, 1996). Self-efficacy has been reported
to be correlated with age but teachers who changed schools or experienced disruptive events tended to decrease
efficacy (Deemer, 2004). Public orprivate work environment can be another variable affecting beliefs of teachers. When
we see that the outcome of private institutes is different to that of public schools, many reasons such as teachers` beliefs
of self-efficacy can be amongst the influential factors. Teachers’ perception about their professional responsibility should
be considered deeply to increase our understanding of how teacher efficacy affects teaching especially in different
contexts and settings.
Researchers have recognized the need to extend efficacy research in order deepen our understanding of the
construct of teacher efficacy. Teachers` gender, experience, and work environment are amongst the important criteria
that can affect teacher`s beliefs of self-efficacy. It is important to investigate how these factors influence teacher`s beliefs
of self-efficacy. Based on what has been mentioned so far, the following research questions were posed to be answered
in this study:
1- Is there any significant difference between self-efficacy beliefs of male and female Iranian EFL teachers?
2- Is there any significant difference between self-efficacy beliefs of more experienced and less experienced
Iranian EFL teachers?
3- Is there any significant difference between self-efficacy beliefs of Iranian EFL school teachers and institute
teachers?
2. Methodology
2.1 Participants
The sample of this study consisted of forty English language teachers in Iran. They were chosen from a public high
school (twenty) and a private language institute (twenty). These participants were chosen because the researcher had
access to them. Institute language teachers taught courses at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Public
school teachers taught the textbooks assigned by the ministry of education; while the private school teachers taught
Interchange Courses. They were consisted of twenty male and twenty female teachers. Their teaching experience ranged
from 2 to 20 years. Following Chan (2008) I chose five years of teaching as the cut-off point between experienced and
inexperienced teachers. Again twenty of the sample had teaching experience of five years and above, twenty other had
teaching experience of less than five years.
For answering to the open ended question four volunteer teachers were chosen. Two from public school and the
other two form the institute. These teachers were different in work experience (two experienced, two inexperienced) and
gender (two males, two females).
2.2 Instruments
Teacher Self-efficacy scale (TSES) developed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2001) was used to assess teachers` self-
efficacy beliefs since its validity has been proved in different contexts. This questionnaire consists of 24 questions
answered on a 5 likert scale ranging from 1-nothing to 5-a great deal. An open-ended question consisting of three parts
was also distributed among four volunteer teachers. The researcher devised the questions. The three questions were
related to three main parts of the practice of language teaching that is lesson planning, dealing with students` disruptive
behavior, and instructional practices.
2.3 Procedure
The questionnaire was distributed among the institute and public school teachers. Teachers took the questionnaire either
before or after class time and marked the response that best described their beliefs. As for the open-ended question, the
four volunteer teachers took the sheet home and returned it on their next appearance.
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2.4 Data analysis
SPSS software was used in analyzing the data. T-test was used to determine if the differences between the groups were
significant. The groups were male and female teachers, more experienced and less experienced teachers, and school
teachers and institute teachers. To compare the means independent T-test was used for each group. For the open ended
question qualitative analysis was used.
3. Results
3.1 Gender and self-efficacy beliefs
The first comparison was on male and female English language teachers to see if they have different views. Table 1
shows that the difference between the means of these two group was significant (p = .009).
Table 1. Mean, Standard deviation, and P value for male and female teachers
Groups N Mean Std. Deviation p
Female 20 75.450 8.738 .009
Male 20 68.900 5.981
3.2 Experience and self-efficacy beliefs
The second comparison was on experienced and inexperienced language teachers to see their beliefs are different.
Table 2 shows that the difference between the means of the two groups was significant (p = .008)
Table 2. Mean, Standard deviation, and P value for experienced and inexperienced teachers
Experienced 20 74.900 8.181 .008
Inexperienced 20 67.750 7.986
3.3 Work environment and self-efficacy beliefs
The third comparison was between teachers who taught at public schools and those at institutes. Table 3 shows that the
difference between the means of these two groups was significant (p = .000).
Table 3. Mean, standard deviation, and P value for public school and private institutes
School teacher 20 66.950 4.773 .000
Institute teacher 20 75.450 7.816
In sum, the results of the three comparisons of the self-efficacy beliefs indicated that the difference between the groups
were significant.
4. Discussion
4.1 Gender differences and self efficacy beliefs
As it was shown in the previous part the differences between male and female language teachers when it comes to self-
efficacy beliefs was significant. In EFL context in Iran there are obvious differences between male and female teachers.
In Iran teaching is not a job that males choose voluntarily. Usually when they cannot find any other profession they come
to be teachers. Even sometimes this profession is seen as a temporary job until they can find better professions. The
reasons can be the low payment and social degradation of teachers. As a profession teaching is not seen as prestigious
job. Mostly this is true for males who are bread winners of their families. As for females this is not the case since teaching
for them is one of the jobs available and also socially speaking they usually are not seen as bread winners of their
families. Because of the mentioned reasons males are not that interested in teaching, they have negative beliefs towards
teaching, these beliefs affect their attitudes and as a result their behavior in the classroom.
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In answering to the open-ended question one of the male teachers contended ‘When it comes to lesson planning
what I do is to see the objective of the lesson from the teacher guide and this objective would be my lesson plan’. They
seem to teach on the basis of these objectives and not care even if they have completed the whole content or not. In my
view, lesson planning can be considered as a skill; now if teachers are not interested in teaching and see it as a
temporary profession they would not be careful in dealing with these skills, they cannot develop these skills because they
are not interested in teaching. On the other hand a female teacher wrote ‘I am successful on the way I plan my lesson as
I elaborate on the lesson objectives’. So it seems because they are interested in what they are doing they are concerned
about students understanding and involvement. It is obvious that lesson planning is something interactive; teachers
should not have a product oriented approach in the lesson plan. It is based on the needs of students.
In answering another part of the question a female teacher contended ‘I believe that I am successful in instructional
practices because I use varying teaching techniques to teach a topic, it is helpful in getting students` understanding.
Some students may not understand through using explanation and if other techniques were used such as audio lingual
methods, or images they can learn better’. Females seem to be doing this job whole-heartedly. It seems that due to
sociological reasons mentioned above females are better-informed and are more concerned with teaching skills. It has
been said that variety is the spice of life, when it comes to teaching, teachers must use these instructional strategies and
teaching methods as weapons in their arsenal. Maybe in teaching one single content or subject different strategies must
be used. It all seems to happen for female teachers. Males stick to one instructional strategy or technique but as we all
know it would not be sufficient. Of course when males are not interested in teaching they will be careless in all these
matters and capturing these goals.
4.2 Gender differences and experienced and inexperienced teachers
The results showed that the difference between self-efficacy beliefs of experienced and inexperienced teachers were in
fact significant. Inexperienced language teachers are more concerned with ‘textbook knowledge delivery’. It seems that
they have the syllabus from a well-known publication, also the content, objective, as well as instructional practices and
follow the line of that publication. They believe it is something from their masters; those who printed the book or designed
the syllabus. They stick to that as they believe that is good teaching. But this is not the case with experienced teachers.
They do not stick to what is being put in the syllabus. They focus on the content but as one said they see success in
language teaching as ‘having informal knowledge or their own variety of techniques’. Inexperienced teachers see success
as ‘classroom management and class control’; while focus of more experienced teachers seem to be on students`
learning. ‘I arrange the class based on the activity that is done, based on student needs I choose whether to have groups,
pair work, or tasks’ one experienced teacher contended. Another teacher believed ‘I see myself competent since I go to
supplementary materials to reinforce what has been taught to ensure student learning’. On the other hand, naïve
teachers are not that much concerned with student learning. They see success in controlling the classroom; they are
concerned with ‘who they are as teachers’.
When it comes to students` disruptive behavior, inexperienced teachers see disruptive behavior as a major
problem they are concerned with it. They see ‘misbehavior as something inherited genetically that not much can be done
about it’. On the other hand, experienced teachers do not see disruptive behavior as a problem they see it as ‘something
educational not genetically inherited’. More experienced teachers have an indirect approach when it comes to
misbehavior. They see success in dealing with these students as raising their interest, naughty students must feel that
the teacher has a positive attitude towards them. As an example on teacher said ‘If I am doing pair work or group work I
will give disruptive students some activities to make them leader of their groups, I will give feeling of responsibility’.
Experienced teachers see themselves successful in lesson planning when they see the lesson plan as a cognitive
process. They are focused on choosing what is appropriate based on student needs, levels, and leaning styles. One
experienced teacher gave an example ‘I had planned a group work activity but during the class I came to the
understanding that it does not go well because of the number of students and the way of teaching (teacher-centered
methods) that the students were accustomed to. So I changed the activity to pair work’. So success in accomplishing
lesson planning is dependent upon how the teacher is prepared and based on understanding of the environment and
student needs. Lesson planning is an interactive decision not like what some naïve teachers thought as ‘something fixed
and predetermined’.
4.3 Public school teachers and private institute teachers and self-efficacy beliefs
In public schools teachers are not interested in teaching, acquiring of knowledge, and self-developing. Teachers` role
here is that of knowledge transmitters from the textbook to the student; students are passive recipients. An institute
260
teacher said ‘I see myself successful because in private schools resources are available that make me interested in
selection of supplementary materials, how to plan for a lesson, and to discover the new techniques that are to be used’.
Teachers in public schools do not have the aid system such as library or computer system, as a result teaching will not be
reinforced. Teachers are demotivated and confined to the teaching practice. An institute teacher believed ‘I love teaching
in the private sector because I see myself successful since everything I need is there from activity books to dictionaries’,
‘my techniques of lesson planning is more effective due to availability of resources’, ‘we can prepare supplementary
material to reinforce the learning process.
Classes are less crowded in private institutes and students seem to be more interested in private institutes. One
private institute teacher believed ‘she is successful because she finds students more interested and motivated’. Another
teacher believed ‘disruptive behavior is much less when it comes to private institutes’. The reason is that students are
there voluntarily and are paying for being there.
One public school teacher did not think he is successful because ‘the focus of the textbook in public schools is just
the matter of knowledge to be transmitted to students without much consideration of how to deal or teach textbooks or
how to develop teachers` skills of how to teach the topic’. Teachers seem to be demotivated in the public sector. On the
other hand, a private teacher believed ‘I understand that I am teaching with a different style and on a different textbook’.
Private teachers are more concerned with interaction with students. They are more concerned with students` learning
styles, problems, classroom management, and teaching strategies.
Cooperation between teachers in private and public schools is different, in public sector teachers are heavy loaded
with different practices and different classroom hours. One public teacher believes ‘I do not have interaction with my
colleagues at school; I do not see my colleagues so much’. In the public sector teachers do not reflect or ask about what
went wrong or right due to time limitedness. But in private sectors this is not the case, as one teacher said ‘we are
concerned about our colleagues. Even we have good constructive relation with the institute principle.’ They can ask their
colleagues to help them; even private institutes hold training sessions in which teachers can report problematic situations
in a way that can be solved in the future.
5. Conclusion
The study examined whether variables such as teachers` gender, experience, and work environment affect EFL
teachers` self-efficacy beliefs. The findings revealed that the three mentioned variables make a difference in affecting
teachers` self-efficacy beliefs. Considering the first variable; gender, the study showed that female teachers had higher
self-efficacy beliefs. This is attributed to males not being interested in this profession due to socioeconomic factors.
When it comes to second variable which is experience, the findings showed that it makes a significant difference in
teachers` self-efficacy beliefs. The reason can be the fact that for experienced teachers what is important is knowledge
and mental preparation not a pre-determined lesson plan, experienced teachers` focus on students` learning styles and
techniques that suit their students. While inexperienced teachers are more concerned about knowledge delivery,
classroom management, and classroom control. As a result experienced teachers righteously feel they are more
successful language teachers.
The third variable also played a significant role in teachers` self-efficacy beliefs. Teachers contend that students in
private institutes are more interested in the lesson and the fact that they are of higher social class compared to public
school students can be affective factors. Also the air of private institutes is different to that of public schools. There
teachers are more cooperative. Another important factor is different textbooks. While in public schools textbooks are
prepared by the science ministry, in private institutes courses like Interchange are taught that have a stronger regard for
communicative skills which make students much more interested. Another factor that increases private institutes` self-
efficacy beliefs is availability of resources by which teachers can reinforce the subjects taught and provide students with
supplementary material.
Self efficacy has been linked to demographic factors (in this study gender and experience) and contextual factors
(work environment in this study). For the context variable the results of the study are in parallel with previous research;
context has a huge effect on teachers` self-efficacy beliefs. (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007). Role of collegial support
and school climate are key in teachers` beliefs.
Also for the experience factor which is a demographic factor we see that the findings of the study are in line with
previous research. Experience has a significant effect on teacher`s efficacy beliefs (Campbel, 1996). But when it comes
to the gender variable we see that the results of this study are different to previous ones. While in almost all previous
research gender had no effect on teachers` self-efficacy beliefs (Herman, 2000; Gencer & Cakiroglu, 2007), in this study
its impact was significant. The reasons might be the low income of Iranian teachers and the fact that sadly males are not
261
oriented to getting a job in the teaching profession. Maybe this is something that happens only in Iran and this may be
why the results are in contradiction to previous studies.
The findings have implications for teacher education programs in order to promote understanding of EFL teachers`
beliefs of self-efficacy by including theories, models, techniques, procedures, and skills that are well supported by
theoreticians and research findings in this area. In this study teachers` action in the class was not observed. The study
can be enhanced by observing teachers in real contexts which can also lead to further qualitative evidence with respect
to findings of the study. Also it seems appropriate to conduct studies in teachers of other courses such as scientific
streams. It can help us understand how teacher efficacy affects teaching in different contexts and settings.
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262
Primary School Teachers’ and Administrators’ Opinions

About Success of “E-School” Application in Turkey
Hakan Akar
Lecturer, Departments Of Informatics, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
E-mail: hakanakar@akdeniz.edu.tr
Mehmet Arslan
Prof. Dr., Gaziosmanpaşa University, Curriculum and Instruction, Tokat, Turkey.
E-mail: tugberkarslan @gop.edu.tr
Zehra Nur Ersozlu1

Postdoctoral Research Scholar, North Carolina State University, Curriculum & Instruction, USA.
E-mail: znersozl@ncsu.edu
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p263
Abstract: In this research that aims revealing the strong and weak points of e-school application; it has been tried to identify the views of
teachers and administrators about the success of e-school application. The research sample consists of 602 primary school teachers
and administrators who are working in Tokat and its districts in Turkey. The data has been collected by a scale called “e-school
application evaluation questionnaire” which has been developed by the researchers. According to the result of the research it has been
determined that the views of teachers and administrators on the efficacy of e-school application do not show any clear difference
according to the their genders, titles, their interest on computers or the location of the school; however, the teachers who are in charge of
administration find the e-school application beneficial when compared with the other teachers. As a result of the research it has been
identified that the views of the teachers and administrators on the usefulness of e-school application do not show any clear difference
according to the their genders, titles, their interest on computers or the location of the school; however, senior teachers find the e-school
application useful.
Keywords: E-school application, Administers, Teachers, Internet.
1. Introduction
Ministry of National Education has started to use the internet based school management system, of which pilot
application was implemented in 2006 in Turkey, in all the primary schools at home and abroad, which is connected with
the ministry in 2007 – 2008 term. This school management system is called “e-school”. e-school application is used in
national scale. Although this system is related to both information technologies and education fields, an independent
research has not been done about this subject in both fields. As there is not any research done on e-school so far and the
e-school application is being used in all the schools that are connected with the ministry, the researcher tends to make a
research on this issue. Also it has been thought that the fast growing technology has an important role in the education
and the researches that will be done in this subject will be beneficial. It can be stated that Cradler's (2000) view which is
“Most of the educators counts the technology as an important element of the learning and teaching process” has
supported this study. The aim of the research is to identify the views of the primary school teachers and administrators
about this application.
This section looks at the various definitions of learning style, a framework for categorizing the types of instruments used

1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Zehra N. Ersozlu, GOP Univ. College of Ed. nurersozlu@yahoo.com.
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to assess learning style, as well as prior researches on learning style.
2.1 Internet and Education
As the computers become an indispensable element of human life, it has become compulsory to use them in education.
The complicated structure of the computers has made them collect more features than the other education technologies
that are used in the education environments. Due to these features, the computers have a lot of benefits for usage in
educational environments. According to Rıza (2001) these are providing self-confidence to students, generating a
confident environment for learning, giving quick feedback, meeting students' individual needs, helping unsuccessful
students, making changes in the writings easily, providing writing skills, reaching rich information resources directly,
ability to presenting the knowledge in new methods and giving an opportunity to team works (Yılmaz & Horzum, 2005).
Due to these benefits, the computers are being used in the activities in educational institutions, laboratories,
administrative issues and extracurricular activities and it has become an indispensable technology. The superiority of
computers in saving the information, keeping the information and re-using the information has revealed the need for
sharing these information with others. To share the information is possible with computer network which will connect the
computers to each other. This network is called internet (Yılmaz & Horzum, 2005). The aim of developing the internet is
not for the use of education undoubtedly, it was originally the idea of USA Ministry of Defence to use internet as network
which will never disconnect in case of any war. In spite of this aim, education is the field that benefits from internet the
most. The education can be provided via internet in a different and efficient way. By starting to use internet in education a
lot of new concepts has emerged: One of them is e-education. Shortly, e-education is a way of using internet as a mean
in learning and teaching activities. Whether e-education is used as a support for the classical learning techniques or it is
evaluated as an alternative, it helps the learning process to be quick and the information learned to be permanent.
According to Gülbahar (2005, p.2) when web based traditional education environment is designed in order to increase
student responsibility, communication and orientation, it has been concluded that it can widen the limits of learning and
teaching process (Akçakaya & Tanrısever, 2007). McCorkle (2003) stated that implementing the lessons from web pages
will give opportunity to the students to use the web pages as a means of supplementary for lessons (Akçakaya &
Tanrısever, 2007). The most important factor for the supplementary and Project based web pages to reach success is
that the pages designed is regarded as attractive by the students. If the students do not find the materials prepared
attractive and interesting, there can be problems in reaching the goal. At the same time, that the web pages that are
prepared relevant to the purpose have rich materials can provide permanent learning (Akçakaya & Tanrısever, 2007).
E-enabled learning is that the teaching applications are reflected on the teaching and learning processes by using
internet Technologies. Owston (1997) and Horton (2000) stated that e-enabled learning provides a lot of benefits both to
the learner and teacher (Kılıç, Karadeniz, & Karataş, 2003). These are;
 The materials which are arranged for e-enabled learning environment are immediately updated.
 Being independent from time and location, the learners are provided to reach teacher, information resources
and other learners.
 It provides more flexible learning environment for the learners who have different learning styles.
 It decreases the cost in reaching resources.
 It increases social interaction and cooperation.
 It reinforces the teaching done in class.
 It provides that the learners are active.
 It gives opportunity to reach correct data.
 It provides deep learning experience.
 It gives time for the learners to think by increasing their thinking skills and decide (for example; discussion
groups).
 It brings in the skill of distinguishing the information resources.
Besides these benefits of e-enabled learning, there are some limitations like the other learning environments.
 It requires the teacher to spend more time. (After making a pre-preparation, it saves time.)
 The learners are required to spend more effort when compared with the traditional learning. (Online
discussions, brainstorming and problem solving activities take more time than face-to-face teaching.)
 It requires time and technical facilities for the teacher and learners to be internet literate.
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 The teachers can have hesitations against using a new technology.

 The cost is high when the sub-structure is generated the first time.
 It is possible to experience problems about technical and sub-structure issues and in such cases technical
support can be insufficient (Kılıç, Karadeniz, & Karataş, 2003).
It is expected that a well-designed distant education applications should minimize the differences of students’ physical
location and individual needs. Face-to-face education dimension should be taken into account as an element that can
help to realize the equality approach in education applications. The equality approach covers that the learning
experiences of the students who have distant education should be equal with the experiences of the students who have
formal education, the distance should be overcome and equal educational experiences should be presented. In order to
provide this, Soefijanto (2004) stated that the designers should take the advantages that increase the attention of the
face-to-face education students into account (Eşgi, 2006).
2.2 What is E-School?
E-school is a central and online school management system. Owing to this application of which centre is in Ankara, it is
started to keep all the records belonging to the student, teacher and administrators in only one database. Owing to this
application, the school managers do not need an additional computer programme in order to simplify their Works. Owing
to the application the students’ verbal, written and Project grades are put into system by the teachers, the parents can
learn the grades of the students from the internet as online, school managers can print the ration cards automatically from
the system without asking for grades from teachers. Also the identity information of the students can automatically be
taken from MERNIS and it can automatically controlled from the system if the students who are 7 years old are registered
in a school or not. Also in this system the transfer of the students extramurally can be done online and the retrospective
grades of the students are kept in the system.
E-learning or distant education can be identified as a web-based education system that is presented on a platform
which has an internet/intranet or a computer network. The most important difference of e-learning from the traditional
education perception proposes a radical change although it seems as if the technological dimension it includes. This
perception is a model that centralises the individual, motivates the individual in reaching information and gives priority to
the individual. With E-learning the education activities are realised without the need to bring the teachers and students
together. e-learning generally realises in two ways: a. Persons’ receiving education on their own from the computer. b. A
group of students and a class teacher’s meeting in a class online in computer environment synchronously (Şenel &
Gençoğlu, 2003). In the developed countries e-learning is especially preferred by the adults. It is a profitable possibility in
mid and long term for the business places in house training. So the employees do not need to stay away from the work
place long hours. With this method, the employees are able to repeat the subjects that they do not understand enough
and learn better by listening, seeing and doing interactive applications with multimedia materials. As it is still a new
method, discussions about its long term educational results and standards continue and there are institutions and
organisations that benefit from e-learning in our country and they get positive results. When the resources regarding e-
learning is applied by integrating with face-to-face, traditional education environment and methods, more positive results
will be gained. As short term goal supporting in house training of education administrators and teachers with new
information and communication technology media (Şenel & Gençoğlu, 2003).
One of the most important steps of education is measure and assessment activities. Doing this in a correct way
increases the quality of education. The developments in the technology present a lot of conveniences in the education.
Since 2007 – 2008 education term, Ministry of National Education has presented e-school application which can be
reached via internet for the teachers to use. In this research that aims to reveal the strong and weak points of this new
application, it is tried to identify the views of teachers and administrators about e-school application. With this study, it is
aimed to give feedback to programme managers of Ministry of National Education, about revealing the strong and weak
points of the application and contribute to its improvement. The problem of the research is: “What are the views of
primary school teachers and administrators about the success of e-school application?”
3.1 Participants
In this research, as an existing situation is determined, it is a study of scan model. The findings received with the data
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collection instrument are analysed by examining. This study’s population consists of teachers and administrators who are
working in the primary schools in Tokat/Turkey. The researchers have applied the scale to teachers and administrators
(%15 of the population) by the way of sampling with random method
3.2 Instrument
The instrument used in this study was developed in order to use in this research and with the help of this scale it is tried
to identify the views of the teachers and administrators. In order to develop the scale, the researchers have prepared a
questionnaire which consists of 7 open ended questions in order to ask to the teachers and administrators about e-school
application. In line with the findings received from the interviews made with 50 people in total that comprises 40 teachers
and 10 administrators, the draft scale comprising 58 statements has been prepared. This draft has been sent to the
instructors, assistants and doctorate students who are working in the department of computer teaching. After receiving
learned opinion, the scale which has been revised has been applied to 60 teachers and administrators for the purpose of
pilot application. As a result of the pilot application the reliability of the scale has been found appropriate (Cronbach Alpha
is .85). When the data gained is examined, it has been thought that the scale can be divided into two groups. In order to
understand the conformity of the scale instrument to the factor analysis, KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) sample proficiency
test has been made to the scale. KMO sample proficiency test is an index that show the conformity of the factor analysis.
While KMO value is accepted as 0,5 - 1,0, the values under 0,5 are the indicators that the factor analysis is not
appropriate for the data set. The value (.89) resulting from KMO sample proficiency shows that the scale is appropriate
for the factor analysis. Factor analysis has been applied to the scale comprising of 58 statements. The factor analysis has
been repeated three times by removing the statements which have low factor load value and do not show accumulation in
the factors. As the statements 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41 and 43 which form the
second part are lower than .30, they have been removed from the scale. As the load values of the statement 11, 14, 26,
28, 29, 32, 36, 37 and 38 are equal or they show similar distribution, they have been removed from the scale. As a result
of the application, it has been observed that in the first factor 16 statements and in the second factor 14 statements have
been collected. When a factor analysis has been made for the remaining 30 statements, it is seen that 2 factors explains
46,5% of the total variance in total. When the factor rotation results are examined, it is seen that the statements 42, 44,
45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 have higher values in the first factor and the statements 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 31 have higher values in the second factor. When the statements are examined it is seen
that rotated load values change between .35 and .84. It is observed that the communalities of the two factors defined
regarding the materials change between .13 and .72. Also the alpha values of the scale’s factor have been examined. It
has been understood that for the first factor cronbach alpha value is .93 and cronbach alpha values of the statements
forming the first factor change between .92 and .94. For the statements in the first factor the correlation values change
between .34 and .79. It has been understood that for the second factor cronbach alpha is .85 and cronbach alpha values
of the statements forming the second factor change between .84 and .85. It is observed that the correlation values for the
statements forming the e-school usefulness factor change between .37 and .58 in the table above. For the total scale
comprising of 30 statements, it is observed that the reliability coefficient is .90. The findings of the research have been
obtained by applying the developed scale to 602 teachers and administrators. The data collected with data collection
instrument have been evaluated with the help of SPSS 15 package programme. In the evaluation of the data mean and
standard deviation techniques have been used.
The views of the teachers and administrators about the success of e-school application have been mentioned separately
according to both factors of the scale below. The findings revealed in line with the views received from the teachers and
administrators about the scale’s e-school application efficacy (16 statments) and e-school application usefulness (14
statements) have been given below. The mean and Standard deviation points belonging to 16 statements about the
views of the teachers and administrators attending to the research and working in Tokat regarding e-school’s benefits
have been shown in the following table.
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Table 1. Mean and Standard Deviation of the Statements constituting the First Factor
Statements S.S.
E-school’s Benefits 4,29 0,49

1. E-school’s presenting the student information regularly simplifies my work. 4,19 0,68
2. Keeping the grades in e-school is so beneficial. 4,44 0,56
3. Keeping the behaviour notes in e-school is so beneficial. 4,32 0,75
4. Keeping the information of attendance and absenteeism is so beneficial. 4,30 0,77
5. Keeping the books that the students read in e-school is so beneficial. 3,69 1,22
6. Keeping the school programme in e-school is so beneficial. 4,24 0,71
7. Keeping tje school staff list in e-school is so beneficial. 4,24 0,71
8. Keeping photographs in e-school is so beneficial. 4,26 0,67
9. Making SBS applications in e-school is so beneficial. 4,36 0,62
10. Keeping parents information in e-school is so beneficial. 4,35 0,60
11. Providing the ration cards in e-school is so beneficial. 4,42 0,58
12. Providing certification of appreciation / achievement in e-school is so beneficial. 4,43 0,58
13. Providing student patient examination certificate in e-school is so beneficial. 4,25 0,70
14. Taking various reports from e-school is so beneficial. 4,27 0,70
15. Taking class lists from e-school is so beneficial. 4,43 0,56
16. Transfer outgoing/incoming proceedings in e-school are so beneficial. 4,39 0,60
When the findings above are examined, it is observed that the teachers and administrators who attend to the research
have chosen “Agree” for the 1st and 5th statements and for the other 14 statements “Definitely Agree” has been chosen.
According to the research, three statements that the teachers and administrators have graded the most are: “Keeping the
grades in e-school is so beneficial.”, “Providing Certifications of appreciation/achievement in e-school is so beneficial” and
“Taking the class lists from e-school is so beneficial.” Four statements that the teachers and administrators give grade the
least are: “Keeping the books that the students read in e-school is so beneficial.”, “e-school’s presenting the information
of the students regularly simplifies my work.”, “Keeping the school programme in e-school is so beneficial.” and “ Keeping
the school staff list in e-school is so beneficial.”. Mean answers that the teachers and administrators give to the
statements in this section change between 3,69 and 4,44.
That the teachers and administrators who attend to the research have chosen “Definitely Agree” for the 14
statements and chosen “Agree” for two statements regarding the e-school’s benefits show that they have positive
thoughts about the benefits of e-school.
The mean and Standard deviation points belonging to 16 statements about the views of the teachers and
administrators attending to the research regarding e-school’s usefulness have been shown in the following table.
Table 2. The Mean and Standard Deviation of the Statements constituting the Second Factor
Statements S.S.
E-schools usefulness 3,65 0,55
1. E- school application is designed as clear, simple and comprehensible. 4,19 0,62
2. When using E- school programme I can easily use menus. 4,21 0,65
3. When using e-school programme I can easily use the modules. 4,12 0,71
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4. The colours used in E- school programme is chosen carefully and they do not strain eyes at all. 3,88 0,81
5. There is not any extra information that distracts attention in E- school programme. 3,91 0,88
6. There are not any unnecessary proceedings in E- school programme. 3,56 1,08
7. The fonts and size of the fonts are chosen very well in E- school programme. 3,89 0,77
8. I can easily open e-school programme in every kind of programme such as Mozilla, opera which 3,14 1,03
are the alternatives of “internet explorer”.
9. E- school programme is loading so quickly in my computer. 3,00 1,16
10. The computers in my school can easily open E- school programme. 2,76 1,28
11. I can connect to E- school programme from every computer around. 3,72 0,99
12. Out of school I can use E- school programme. 4,11 0,71
13. I can use e-school programme without losing any time. 3,24 1,11
14. Technological sub-structure of e-school programme is sufficient. 3,30 1,02
When the findings above are examined, it has been observed that the teachers and administrators who attend to the
research have chosen Definitely Agree for 7% (1/14) of the statements, chosen “Agree” for 57,2% (8/14) of the
statements and chosen “Undecided” for 35,7% (5/14) of the statements. According to the research three statements that
the teachers and administrators give grade the most are: “e-school application is designed as clear, simple and
comprehensible.”, “Technological sub-structure of e-school programme is sufficient.” and “When using E- school
programme I can easily use menus.”. Three statements that the teachers and administrators give grade the least are:
“The computers in my school can easily open E- school programme”, “E- school programme is loading so quickly in my
computer.” and “I can easily open e-school programme in every kind of programme such as Mozilla, opera which are the
alternatives of internet explorer.” Mean answers that the teachers and administrators give to the statements in this section
change between 2,76 and 4,21. That the teachers and administrators that attend to the research have chosen “Agree” for
8 statements and “Undecided” for 5 statements regarding e- school’s usefulness shows that they do not have a certain
opinion about the usefulness of e- school and they do not have a negative opinion in general.
According to the results obtained from the research, the teachers and administrators has found e- school successful in
terms of its benefits and usefulness. When the scale statements which have low average are examined, some feedbacks
can be submitted to the authorities from the ministry. The teachers have difficulty in finding a computer which has a
sufficient capacity and a high speed internet in order to Access to e- school application. Therefore, a sufficient number of
(more than one) computers which have very good internet connection can be set up in the teacher’s room. Also it is
possible to bring e-school application into conformity with alternative internet browsers such as Mozilla Firefox. e- school
application asks for repetitive information (name of a book, activity, name of a writer, etc.) frequently from the teachers.
The features such as Automatic completion, selection wizard can be added to the teachers’ grade and information
entries. The teachers and administrators cannot receive any technical support about the problems that they encounter in
e- school application. A formatter who is responsible from e- school system can be assigned to Provincial and District
Directorates of National Education in order to help the teachers to solve the problems that they encounter. There are
some limitations and faults in e- school application such as not being able to enter exam grades after 15 days, logging off
automatically in 10 minutes, being locked up by not enduring the intension in the system in the ration week. The
limitations in entering information to the system can be bended or left to a superior (School manager, branch manager).
As this research is the first one done about e- school, we believe that it will help the researches about school
management programme to be done in the future. The scale used in the research which has been done and developed
by implementing validity and reliability studies can be applied in different countries by translating into other languages.
We believe that there will be different statement about this subject and the scale developed and therefore we will have
opportunity to compare the research findings.
268
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Gender Undertone in Occupational Competence of University Workers.

An Application of Holand’s Theory (1959)
Amos. E. Arijesuyo Ph.D
Guidance And Counseling Unit,

Federal University Of Technology, Akure Ondo State Nigeria
Adodo Sunday Olufemi.Ph.D
Science and Technical Education Department,

Adekunle Ajasin University,Akungba Akoko P.m.b 001, Ondo State,Nigeria.
E-mail address: so_adodo@yahoo.com Phone Number: +2348035064033
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p271
Abstract This survey research investigated gender undertone in occupational of selected university workers. The participation comprise
two hundred and forty (240) male and female senior non-academic and academic university workers selected through stratified random
technique from the Federal University of Technology, Akure and Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo state. The modified
self-directed search (SDS) developed by Holland (1985) was adopted for the study. The results showed that male workers were
significantly higher in realistic, investigative, enterprising and artistic competences while female workers faired better in social and
conforming competences.
Keyword: Occupational Competence, sex-role stereotyping, Occupational Environment.
1. Introduction
One of the funde5rmental ways of differentiating people is in terms of gender. In all cultural societies, the social
categorization of mankind along gender dimension has resulted into some form of socio-cultural stereotyping ascribed to
occupational decision making and competency. The concept of sex-role stereotyping may be viewed as indoctrination
process whereby society instills in its members right from childhood appropriate adults roles. These roles usually have
sex-bias, and role stereotyping also applies to cultural expectation about the attitude, belief and behaviour associated
with masculinity and feminity These socialization process are usually communicated through variety of agent such as
parents peers, schools, books, religious bodies and the mass media (Larkin, 2003).
There is considerable evidence that sex-role changing in modern society. Broverman, Vogel, Clarkson and
Rosenkrantz (2010) observed that even though it appeared that sex roles are changing rapidly in American society the
stereotype of women and men did not keep pace with changing role option and that women still viewed as possessing
effectively in high-level positions. In related development Robinson, Johnson and Shield (2008) examined a number of
employment and career issues that might be affected by sex stereotype and concluded that sex stereotypes operated at
various stages in one’s career and provide a series of barriers for women aspiring to position that traditionally had been
dominated by males.
Vicki (2009) argued that gender is a culturally fundamentally criterion in categorizing the human species along
varied dimensions. He further asserted that this categorization has resulted in man-woman inequality expressed in every
aspect of life. This principle of inequality has permeated almost the entire culture of human race with woman playing a
secondary role and that is still on in most cultural societies. Women are believed to be subordinates socially because of
their innate inferiority. Robinson et al (2008) opined that many of the characteristic we associate with being male of
female reflect our cultural belief and practices rather than fundamental differences. They therefore asserted that, people
are taught gender roles early in life and that such gender label affect role designation.
People are found to prefer, enter, remain in, like and succeed most consistently in occupations for which they have
appropriate patterns of traits. Broverman et al (2010), argued that consensus about the differing characteristics of men
and women exist across groups with marked differences in sex, age, marital status, and education. In the opinion of Vicki
(2009), he asserted that though sex-role definition are incorporated into the self-concepts of both men and women and
that these sex-role differences vary as a function socio-cultural perceptions and stereotypes. In a study involving three
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college samples on the effects of sex and academic field of colleges teachers on perceptions of teachers competences
and sex-role stereotypes by Hessebalt (2004), contrary to expectations that male and female teachers would be
described in sex-typed ways, regardless of academic major, subject in these three studies rated male and female
instructions in the same academic field essentially the same.
2. Theoretical background
Holland’s (1959) theory of vocational choice asserted occupational choice is an expression of personality. By this,
Holland postulated that people search for occupations that are in consonance (or congruent) with their personality types
and characteristics. Consequently, it is believed that members of the same occupations share similar characteristic and
that people with similar personality types are likely to make similar vocational choice. If further postulated that people
whose personality characteristics are congruent with their vocations will usually experience greater satisfaction with their
chosen vocation.
In explaining the above theory, Holland (1959), went on to categorized human personality characteristics into six
types. These are the realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional types. Holland also categorized
working environment into corresponding six personality type. Holland’s categorization of work environment was based on
the premise that people seek environment that are compatible with type and will avoid based on the premises that people
seek environments that are compatible with their type and will avoid those that are disagreeable to them (Adetunji, 2002).
He argued that in the process of making a vocational choice, an individual searches for the situations which satisfy his
hierarchy of adjustive orientations. As pointed out by Holland (1959), the adjustive orientations corresponding to the six
occupational environment are also designated as motoric, intellectual, supportive, conforming, persuasive and aesthetic
orientations.
Holland further enunciated in his theory that motoric orientation personality enjoys activities requiring physical
strength, aggressive active, motor co-ordination, and skills. They prefer playing masculine roles. The intellectual person
are task-oriented. They avoid interpersonal relationship with people. The supportive persons on the other hand prefer
teaching and therapeutic roles and possess verbal and interpersonal skills which reflect their desire for socialization. They
value humanist and religious roles and are feminine in nature and attitude. The conforming people prefer subordinate
roles also prefer structure verbal numerical activities. The persuasive orientation person prefer to use their verbal skills for
dominating and leading others. They conceive of themselves as strong and masculine leaders. The aesthetics persons,
on the other hand prefer dealing with environmental problems through self-expression in artistic media.
There has been an accelerated tempo of researches investigating various aspect of Holland’s theory such as
occupational stereotype and congruence. Kenneth, Catherine, Micheal & Gugel (2008) investigated stereotype of traits,
personalities and skill of people in differing occupations. Similarly, the general result of these investigation indicated that
the prestige level and various personality characteristics including gender, associated with occupation are frequently
cross-currently stereotyped. Robison, Johnson and Shield (2008) related the degree of competency required to functions
in an occupation in determining the attractiveness of the occupation to the individual. Male college students were to rate
occupations in terms of prestige and the competence required for success in them. Their findings indicated that those
who preferred occupations higher on competency requirement earned higher score on the mastery index than those who
preferred occupations that are low on competency requirement. They therefore concluded that for some people, mastery
is a more potent occupational motivator than power and prestige.
In a research involving about seventy-nine practicing mental health clinicians conducted by Vicky (2009) on sex role
characteristic of a mature, healthy, socially competent adult gender differences were observed. Both men and women
agreed that competence was more characteristics of the healthy male than of the healthy female. He argued that healthy
women differ from healthy men by being mores submissive, less independent, less adventurous, less objective, more
easily influenced, less aggressive, less competitive, more table in minor cases, more emotional, more concerned about
their appearance and more prone to having their feeling hurt. Uwe (2007) in study which replicated Holland theory to
Nigeria situation observed that, male workers in their studies did not differ in their vocational orientations from their
females counterparts in within the realistic, investigative, enterprising and conforming vocational groups. They further
concluded that less females than males prefer occupations involving risk-taking behaviour.
Stemming from the above theoretical considerations, this study was carried out to ascertain the extent to which the
efficacy (competency) of male and female Nigerian university worker is significantly influenced by Holland’s typology of
occupation orientations.
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3. Statement of the problem
Gender is culturally a fundamental criterion in categorizing the human species along varied dimensions. This
categorization results in different treatment of extent to which gender orientation can significantly influence the
competence of university workers.
4. Research questions
1. Do the respondents differ in their competences across the six occupational environments irrespective of
sexes?
2. Is there any gender difference in the occupation competence of workers in the various occupational
environments?
5. Research Hypothesis
There is no significant gender difference in occupational competences of workers in the six occupational environments
6. Significance of the study
The results of the study will hopefully be beneficial to parents, individuals concerned and employees of labour as well as
the government. It will enable the individual explore his/her areas of proficiency in life. This will also yield positive dividend
to the beneficiaries to tailors their competences towards occupational environment congruent to their personality traits.
Counselors will utilize the knowledge in vocational guidance of male and female clients towards appropriate career
choice. Employers of labour will also find the result of this study as useful guide in appropriate job selection based on
specialized skills and personal traits.
7. Methodology
The descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The stratified random sampling technique was
adopted to select 140 males and 100 females teaching and non-teaching university workers not below
CONTISS 07 or CONUASS 01. these categories of respondents were randomly selected from Adekunle Ajasin
University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA); The Federal University Of Technology Akure (FUTA)
Altogether there were 140 male and female subjects evenly spread across the various categories of senior
university workers viz: Academic Staff Union of Nigerian University (ASUU); the Senior Staff Association Of Nigerian
University (SSANU); The National Association Of Academic Technologies (NAAT). A total of 300 questionnaires were
administered our of which only 240 were validly completed and retrieved
7.1 Instrumentation
A modified version of standard inventory the self-directed search (SDS) Holland (1985) was adopted for this research.
This self-administered questionnaire allows for individual’s self assessment of his/her ability capabilities, competencies,
e.t.c. about one’s work. Uwe (2007) established the test-retest reliability coefficient of the modified version of the
instrument (SDS) at 0.72. The instrument was also pilot tested on 30 subjects at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo
and a test-retest reliability coefficient of 0.84 was obtained. These were adjudged high enough to be used for this study.
7.2 Data analysis
In finding out whether any significant differences existed between the mean scores of men and women regarding their
occupational competencies, independents t-test of the means and standard deviations for the occupational competence
area were calculated and statistically compared using t-test technique. The five percent (p=0.05) level of significance was
used for the hypothesis testing.
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8. Results
Data in tables 1-2 and figure 1 below address research questions 1 and 2 as well as hypothesis 1.
40
35
competencies of workers
Mean occupational
30
25
20
15
10
5
0 Male
Realistic Investigative Conforming Social Enterprising Artistic
Female
Holland occupation competences of Male – Female workers.

Figure 1: Mean comparison of occupation competences of male-female workers
In order to answer research question 1 and 2, fig. 1 presents the comparison of mean distribution of workers in the
respective occupational environment based on gender of subject of subjects. From fig. 1, it was observed that males
were higher in their mean scores than their female counterparts in realistic, investigative, artistic and enterprising
competences, while females obtained significantly higher mean scores in social an conforming competences.
9. Hypothesis testing
The results of data analysis in respect of hypothesis 1 is presented in fig 1 and tables 1 & 2 below.
Table 1: Analysis of variance comparing workers competences in different occupational environment
Source Sum of square df Mean square F Sig.

Model 425.562(a) 7 60.795 257.792 .000
Sex .667 1 .667 2.830 .153*
Occupation 35.584 5 7.117 30.178 .001**
Error 1.179 5 .236
Total 426.741 12
*Sex Significant at P>0.05
Result in table 1 indicated that gender of university workers was a significant factor in determining their work efficiency
(competence). This is indicative of the probability value of P>0.05 for gender comparison of occupational competencies.
The hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference in the occupational competence of workers is therefore
not accepted. The analysis however, established a significant difference in workers competence across the six
occupational environment irrespective of gender. This observation is confirmed by probability value of P>0.05
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Table 2: Scheffee’s Post Hoc multiple comparison showing differences in mean competencies of occupational
environment
(1) Mean Std. Error P-Value 95% Confidence Interval

Occupational difference
Groups (I-J)
Upper bound Lower
bound
Realistic
investigative -2.4850(*) .48562 .047 -4.9253 -.0447
Conforming -2.1600 .48562 .079 -4.6003 .2803
Social -5.8350(*) .48562 .001 -8.2753 -3.3947
Enterprising -3.2750(*) .48562 .015 -5.7153 -.8347
Artistic -29000(*) .48562 .025 -5.3403 -.4597
Investigative Realistic 2.4850(*) .48562 .047 .0447 4.9253
Conforming .3250 .48562 .990 -2.1153 2.7653
Social -3.3500(*) .48562 .014 -5.7903 -.9097
Enterprising -.7900 .48562 .749 -3.2303 1.6503
Artistic -.4150 .48562 .973 -2.8553 2.0253
Conforming Realistic 2.1600 .48562 .079 -.2803 4.6003
Investigative -.3250 .48562 .990 -2.7653 2.1153
Social -.3.6750(*) .48562 .009 -6.1153 -1.2347
Enterprising -1.1150 .48562 .478 -3.5553 1.3253
Artistic -.7400 .48562 .790 -3.1803 1.7003
Social Realistic 5.8350(*) .48562 .001 3.3947 8.2753
Investigative 3.3500(*) .48562 .014 .9097 5.7903
Conforming 3.6750(*) .48562 .009 1.2347 6.1153
Enterprising 2.5600(*) .48562 .042 .1197 5.0003
Artistic 2.9350(*) .48562 .024 .4947 5.3753
Enterprising Realistic 3.2750(*) .48562 .015 .8347 5.7153
Investigative .7900 .48562 .749 -1.6503 3.2303
Conforming 1.1150 .48562 .478 -1.3253 3.5553
Social -2.5600(*) .48562 .042 -5.0003 -.1197
Artistic .3750 .48562 .982 -2.0653 2.8153
Artistic Realistic 2.9000(*) .48562 .025 .4597 5.3403
Investigative .4150 .48562 .973 -2.0253 2.8553
Conforming .7400 .48562 .790 -1.7003 3.1803
Social -2.9350(*) .48562 .024 -5.3753 -.4947
Enterprising -.3750 .48562 .982 -2.8153 2.0653
Based on observed means.

* The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.
In table 2, the Scheffee’s multiple comparison was used to determine which of the pairs of occupational environments
were significantly different with respect to workers’ competence. The post hoc results indicated pairwise significant
difference with respect to each of the following pairs of occupational group as exemplified by P>0.05; Realistic versus
Investigative, Realistic versus Social, Investigative versus Social, Social versus Conforming, Social versus Enterprising
versus Realistic, Artistic versus Realistic and Artistic versus Social competencies.
10. Discussion of results
From the result of the findings it was observed than sex has no significant influence on occupational competence of
university workers. A significant difference in workers competences was also established across the six occupational
environment irrespective of gender. Results in table 1 further show that male were higher in their mean scores than their
female counterparts in realistic, investigative, artistic and enterprising competences, means score than their female
counterparts in realistic, investigative, artistic and enterprising competences,
While female obtained significantly higher mean scores and conforming competences.
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The fact that female respondent fair better in social and conforming competencies may be explained in term physiological
difference the sexes. This findings thus partly confirm that male workers are traditional believed to be more involved in
energy sapping vocations and consequently perform better than their female counterpart. Moreover, there is the
occupational stereotype in our culture in which certain jobs are designated men’s jobs while some are designated
“women’s job” (Marano,2005)
The results of this study therefore lend support to the earlier assertion of Broverman et al. (2010) that gender
differences in job competences and the attendant sex-role stereotype in varying occupational environments could partly
be explained by the fact that females, being feminine and not physiologically strong, would prefer occupation that may
not demand excessive energy dissipation. Again, the fact that this study confirmed gender difference in occupational
competency of workers based on physiological personal characteristic of the sexes have lend credence to Holland’s
theory of vocational typology which he based on personal characteristic traits of individual.
11. Recommendation
Based on the result of this study, the following recommendation were made.
1. Counseling should help student to identify and develop talents as well as assist people in planning realistic
career division.
2. School based and community counseling programme can serve the community at large by helping to de-
emphasize sex-role stereotyping so as to reduce the socio-cultural factors reinforcing sex-role stereotyping
in our society.
3. Early self-concept enhancement training and empowerment of the girl-child is also being advocated as a
means of assisting the girl child compete and cope with non-traditional careers.
4. Women should be given equal opportunity to develop their potential because it has been proved that
occupational competencies have nothing to do with sex.
References
Broverman, I.K., Vogel, S.R., Clarkson F.E. and Rosenkrantz P.S. (2010). Sex-Role Stereotypes: a current Appraisal. Journal of social
Issues. 28 (2), 59-78
Hesselbart Susan (2004). Sex role and occupational stereotype: Three studies of impression formation. Journal of sex Roles. 3(5), 409-
422.
Holland, J.L. (1959). A theory of vocational choice. Journal of counseling psychology. 6(1), 35-45
Holland, J.L (1985). The self-directed search (Modified version). Professional manual. Psychological assessment resources
incorporated.
Hyde, J.S. (2005). The Gender similarities Hypothesis. American Psychologist. 60(6), 581-592.
Kenneth, M.Y.., Catherine L.T., Michael T. and Gugel, P.E. (2008). The Ever-Changing Face of Sex Stereotyping and Sex
Discrimination in the Workplace. Journal or leadership & organizational studies.
Larkin, J.E (2003). Gender and risk in public performance Sex Roles: A journal of Research. A Journal of Research. 32 (8) 115-119.
Marano, H.E (2005). The New Sex Scorecard Psychology. Today Magazine 27(3),
339-356
Robinson, M.D., Johnson, J., and Shield, S. (2008). The gender heuristic and the database: Factors affecting the perception of gender-
related differences in the experience and display of emotions. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 20, 206-219
Uwe, E.A. (2007). Gender differences and carriers aspiration. The counselor. The counselor Association of Nigeria (CASSON) 14(2),
216-260.
Vicki S. (2009). Psychology of Gender: Third Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson education Inc.
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Multicultural Education Curriculum Development in Turkey
Hasan Aydin
Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul-Turkey
Email: aydinh@yildiz.edu.tr
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p277
Abstract: In recent years, Turkey has seen an increase in immigration and, consequently, also in the enrolment of international
students. These students from many countries, with a variety of cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, and educational backgrounds are in
need of education that “teaches the value of cultural diversity.” Schools must also deal with issues related to differing socioeconomic
backgrounds, and, sometimes, limited awareness of diversity and a lack of cultural competence. Thus, it has become essential for
Turkish schools to adopt a multicultural curriculum, restructured in accordance with knowledge of the right of all to education, in keeping
with principles of global justice. The purpose of this paper is to provide multicultural educators with such an insight from research on
development curriculum of multicultural education. In addition, this paper offers ideas culled from successful multicultural programs in the
U.S. and elsewhere and discusses how these ideas can be made useful in the Turkish system.
Keywords: Multicultural education, Curriculum, Turkey
1. Introduction
Much of the world has changed since the American Civil Rights Movement in 1969 occurred. The world did not only see
the liberation of African Americans from the oppressive and discriminating White American society, but also how
important it is for members of society to become tolerant (or develop some degree of tolerance) to individuals whose
social and economic background, ethnicity, culture, gender, or even age differ greatly from their own. This is expected
since social interactions within local and international settings are no longer limited to interactions within one’s culturally,
ethnically, socially, and economically homogeneous spheres.
A tolerant society indeed sounds ideal. A society where discrimination rarely occurs and where everyone has equal
access to social and economic opportunities regardless of their physical attributes sounds utopian but is not entirely only
a dream. In a democratic multicultural society, the only way for different cultures to meet without any conflict is for
understanding to occur. According to Chreptaviciene and Urboniene (2005) understanding breeds tolerance and
tolerance breeds respect. This is then translated to positive social interaction between and among individuals coming
from diverse origins.
While understanding is an easy concept to grasp, there are a number of elements that makes understanding difficult
to actually achieve. For one thing, the psychology of individuals creates barriers that make understanding less successful
at higher or deeper levels (Eldering, 1996). Another thing that prevents successful multi-cultural understanding (and
hence multicultural tolerance) is the social influence that tends to shape individual psychology. If a society tolerates
multiculturalism, the individuals within the society will more likely become sensitive and respectful of the characteristics
and attributes of individuals comprising the society. Consequently, if the society practices or promotes the practice of
discrimination, individuals comprising the society will never be too far in practicing the same.
The concept of multiculturalism and tolerance to diversity is very much applicable to Turkey and to the Turkish
society. Despite the fact that 99% of Turkey’s population is Muslim, the Turkish government institutionalized the
protection of the practice of other secular religions (Cinoglu, 2006). In addition to that, Cinoglu (2006) emphasizes that
the Turkish government sought massive modernization programs in order to make the country acceptable to the rest of
the global community. For example, Turkey has sought full membership to the European Union since 2004. This signals
the desire of the Turkish government to become as competitive, if not as powerful, as other members of the union. These
two among other factors could potentially make Turkey a cultural utopia described above.
Even with the steps Turkey has made towards creating a successful multicultural society; recent turn of events like
the Hijab ban in public places have elicited major concern (Aydin, 2010). The naïve attempt of the government to
eliminate cultural and religious discrimination by banning a specific religion’s garb backfired and placed Turkey in a sticky
situation. This circumstance highlights the failure of the Turkish government to implement and institutionalize diversity-
related programs. Another lesson learned from this event is that the Turkish government is unprepared to handle
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complex issues that arise whenever there is an attempt to solve one or more diversity issues. This paper evaluates the
successes and drawbacks encountered by the educational reforms in Turkey. In addition, this paper provides multicultural
educators with insights from research on the development of curriculums for multicultural education in Turkey.
2. Definitions and Scopes of Multicultural Education
There are numerous definitions and perspectives of multicultural education to reflect standpoints of specific disciplines or
outlooks of different professional organization. Based on a review of literature on multicultural education, several
scholars has described multicultural education a quite differently. For example, according to (Banks & Banks, 1997;
2001), multicultural education is a transformative movement in education that produces critically thinking and socially
active members of society. It is not simply a change of curriculum or the addition of an activity. It is a movement that calls
for new attitudes, new approaches, and a new dedication to laying the foundation for the transformation of society. In
addition, Gorski (2010) argues that multicultural education is designed to develop citizens in democratic society-by
considering the needs of all students. It makes explicit how issues of race, ethnicity, culture, language, religion, gender,
and abilities/disabilities are intertwined with educational process and content. In addition, Bennett (1999) defines that
“multicultural education is an approach to teaching and learning that is based upon democratic values and beliefs, and
affirms cultural pluralism within culturally diverse societies and an interdependent world and it is based on the assumption
that the primary goal of public education is to foster the intellectual, social, and personal development of virtually all
students to their highest potential” (p. 11). From these several different perspectives and definitions, Tiedt and Tiedt
(1999) also states that multicultural education is an inclusive teaching/learning process that that involves all students in
emerging a strong sense of self-esteem, discovering empathy and tolerance for people of diverse cultural and ethnic
backgrounds, and experiencing equitable opportunities to achieve their fullest potential.
Through different perspectives and definition from well-known scholars in multicultural education field, however,
researchers including (Gay, 2000; Gorski, 2010; Nieto, 1996; Salili & Hoosain, 2001) agree that multicultural education
aims at teaching students to accept, understand and appreciate different culture, race, social class, religion, gender, and
geographical line differences, and instill in them during their formative years a “ sense of responsibility and commitment to
work toward the democratic ideals of justice, equality and democracy (Manning & Baruth, 1996, p. 3). The
multiculturalists believe that multicultural education helps students understand and affirm their community cultures and
helps to free them from cultural boundaries, allowing them to create and maintain a civic community that works for the
common good (Banks, 1993; Sleeter, 1991). They argue that a unified and cohesive democratic society should be
created only when the rights of its diverse people are reflected in its institutions, within its national culture, and within its
schools, colleges, and universities. However, a national culture or school curriculum that does not reflect the voices,
struggles, hopes, and dreams of its many peoples is neither democratic nor cohesive. Therefore, the aim of multicultural
education, according to Sleeter and Grant (1994), is promoting cultural diversity, promoting human rights, promoting
alternative life choices, promoting social justice and equal opportunity, and promoting equity in the distribution of power.
3. Turkey and the Turkish Educational System
According to CIA (2010), the economic reforms in the past allows the present economy to experience consistent growth
(around 6% per annum until 2009) in its industry, service, and agricultural sectors. Turkey’s GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) in 2010 is about $729.1 billion with GDP contribution of 65.5% for industry, 25.7% for service, and 8.8% for
agriculture, The Turkish economy allows a wider window for privatization of various industries like banking,
communication, and transportation which helps middle-class entrepreneurs compete in the market. Moreover, Turkey has
begun distributing oil and petroleum to Central Asia and Europe through its own Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan pipeline, thus
signaling another era of growth and development.
The Turkish society has improved significantly since the first modernization programs were instituted in 1923. Much
of the improvements were directed to infrastructures: the creation of jobs for locals, the opening of the nation to global
trade and commerce, and the creation of various academic institutions. As of this writing, there are more than 160
universities in Turkey whose entrance and qualification is strictly regulated by the government (except for the Open
Education Faculty in Anadolu University). Education is one of the most basic human rights in Turkey in accordance to its
legislation and international commitments. However, in Turkey, the only language of instruction in the educational system
is Turkish. In addition, Kurdish people which is the largest ethnic minority in the country with around 12-16 million
population and their language is banned in education, state offices, and public sphere since 1923 which is against of
human rights. Cinoglu (2006) argues that Article 42 of the (Turkish) Constitution stresses the importance of access to
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education. Article 42 of the Turkish Constitution mandates that the State support disadvantaged students through
scholarships, and if necessary, the government will require the parents or guardians to send their children to school. The
Article 42 states that no one can be prevented from making use of their right to education. In Turkey, education is
monitored and controlled by the state through the Ministry of National Education. One of the many functions of the
Ministry is to design, create, implement, and manage curricula for all public and private schools in the country. Curricula
design is mainly focused on the support of various government programs on economic and social development. Public
and private schools do not have the liberty to change the curricula to fit their own objectives or to fit the unique needs of
its students (Cinoglu, 2006).
Turkish children are required to take 8 years of basic education and 4 years of high school education in order to
advance to higher education. Secondary education covers general, vocational, and technical curricula. However, high
schools is not a preparation for specific vocations but is meant to prepare students for higher education. There are four
types of high schools in Turkey: fine arts, multi-curricula, evening, and private. By the time high school students reach
their second year, they will be given the option to attend specialized branches of learning in the natural sciences, social
sciences, foreign languages, literature, and mathematics (CHE, 2005). In order for the students to become eligible in
higher education, they need to obtain the Lise Diplomasi (High School Degree) from their secondary education and to
obtain passing points in the Student Selection Examination (OSS), depending on which program they wish to enroll.
Higher education in Turkey is provided by 103 state universities, 54 private universities, and 5 higher institutes of
learning (MEB, 2010). The government wing that is responsible for overseeing higher education in Turkey is the Ministry
of National Education but the commission handling the directives of the Ministry for higher education is the Council of
Higher Education. The establishment of universities, selection of faculties, and founding of institutes and four-year
schools are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education. The Council of Higher Education on the other
hand handles the establishment of two-year vocational schools and the creation of departments and divisions within the
university. Even so, the Council retains a fully autonomous national board of trustees independent of any political or
government influence. Another important body is the Interuniversity Council which is composed of the rectors of all the
universities and a member from the Senate elected by members of council. The majority of the higher universities use the
Turkish language as a medium of instruction although some universities use French, English or German.
As a result, the education in Turkey is somewhat excellent. Out of the 77.8 million people in Turkey, the literacy rate
is 87.4%, wherein 95.3% of the male population and 79.6% of the female population are literate (CIA World Factbook,
2011). This is due to the fact that the Turkish government has placed strong emphasis on educating its general populace
in order for them to contribute positively to the country’s workforce.
4. Turkey as a Multicultural Society
Turkey has always been very accommodating to foreigners and to people from outside Turkey. Since the early 15th
century, the Ottoman Empire has always welcomed hundreds of thousands of Spanish, Armenian, and Portuguese Jews
along with Russians, Polish and Europeans in search political asylum in the course of over 600 years. Turkey has always
been a refuge for people from various cultures and ethnicity driven by either political or economic factors. In fact, Turkey
sits very well with the mix of cultures within its domains that social and cultural issues are not major concerns of the
Turkish society.
Modern Turkey is a secular state, meaning it does not have a uniform or required religion. Despite this, it is still a
culturally diverse country. Its major ethnic groups are Turkish (75%), Kurdish (18%), Cerkez, Arabic, Armenian,
Circassian, Greek, Abazan, Romanian, Laz and others. About 99.8% of its population practice Islam with the remaining
2% practicing mostly Christianity or Judaism (CIA, 2010). (The ethnic distribution in Turkey remains debatable as different
sources publish different figures). Thee ethnic distributions proposed by Andrews (2002) classifies the people in Turkey
into four major groups which are (a) Turkic-speaking people, (b) Indo-European-speaking people, (c) Semitic-speaking
people, and (d) Caucasian-speaking people.
The Turkish people have deep ties to their country's culture. Despite this, modernization, or westernization as what
Turkey believed it was called, became the primary goal of the Turkish government since its legislation in 1923 (Cinuglo,
2006). Social and political reforms were made as early as the 18th and 19th centuries, aimed towards massive
westernization of Turkish society. One of the highlights of the Turkish aim to become a part of the Western world is its
pursuit to become a member of the European Union (EU). Discussing multicultural nature of Turkey from the perspective
of its entrance into the European Union is necessary since it gives us a deeper understanding of the social and cultural
dynamics of the country. Basically, the main barriers between Turkey and its entrance into the European Union are the
anti-Muslim feeling harbored by Europeans and the growing ethnic naturalism in Turkey (Cinoglu, 2006). Despite the
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strong presence of cultural homogeneity in Turkey and despite the Turkish government’s effort of smoothing its policies to
encourage cultural heterogeneity, it is not considered a melting pot. According to Arnesto (2002), multiculturalism in
Turkey “resembles a traditional Turkish desert named assure where every ingredient preserves its own flavor but when
taken together… compose a delicious taste” (p.6). In other words, there is harmony and coherence between the
ingredients and these complement each other in many ways. However, the components have remained what they are
without really losing their identity amongst the myriad of other components. Individuals from different cultures in Turkey
somehow manage to co-exist and avoid serious social and cultural conflicts in the process, but they have not been able
to cohere as one unified society for many different reasons.
Two of the main reasons that Turkish society has not been able to unify culturally are cultural isolation and cultural
indifference. The social structure and the political conditions of any given society have a strong influence on the attitudes
and views of its people towards ethnicity and race (Ugur, 1995). These attitudes are then reflected and projected by and
to the members of each ethnic group which are more or less based on divergent identities. Social integration between
and among cultures does not really occur (Arnesto, 2002) if cultures remain isolated between and among each other. In
other cases, cultural tolerance exists as cultural indifference which is not what Turkey aims to achieve. For Turkey to
succeed as a member of the European Union, cultural understanding, not cultural indifference, needs to occur. Turkey
needs to acknowledge the suboptimal nature of the exclusive club implied by nationality and alleviate the non-divisibility
and non-transparency of the cultural issues (Verkuyten & Zaremba, 2005).
Despite the reluctance of the European Union to take Turkey into its wings, Turkey has remained steadfast in
keeping its society heterogeneous. For many years, Turkey has avoided major political conflicts, slowed down its
economic regression for the last few decades, grown its economy, minimized the role of its military in politics and in
political conflicts, and extended its minority rights (Arnesto, 2002). It is easy to notice that these end results are aligned
with the EU’s minimum requirements for qualification. These moves highlight the commitment of Turkey to achieve a
healthy and harmonious multicultural society.
4.1. International Students in Turkey
Internationalization of higher education is an effort between and among political entities, assisted by multilateral
agreements and policies to create, design, and implement activities in order to exceed or transpire political domains as
well as strengthening international research efforts (Van Damme, 2001). One of the best and most effective ways to
achieve this internationalization of higher education is through international student mobility, or the movement of students
from one academic institution to the other beyond their country’s borders. In the context of international mobility of
students, Turkey is seen as a leading supplier of students to various universities and academic institutions abroad. In
2006, UNESCO ranked Turkey as the 7th highest ranking country in terms of the gross outflow of students (Terry, 2006).
Additionally, Turkey is no longer a country that only sends students abroad, particularly to United States and European
Union; its prestigious universities are also accepting international students from all over the globe. As Turkey has
matured in terms of cultural diversity, students within Turkey that come from various racial and ethnic backgrounds flock
the academic institutions. This makes multicultural education a very important requirement for Turkey to develop further.
The internationalization of education in Turkey is based mainly on the principles incorporated in the Bologna
Process and the Sorbonne Declaration. The Bologna Declaration aims to eliminate the barriers to student mobility across
Europe, improve the attractiveness of European higher education to the rest of the word, and establish a common
structure of higher education across Europe (King, 2006). In the same manner, Turkey’s pursuit to provide the same level
of quality of education to students from all cultural dimensions in various European universities is embodied in the
Sorbonne Declaration. This Declaration underscores the creation of the European Area of Higher Education as a body
that oversees the mobility and employability of students throughout the member states of the Union (Terry, 2006). Since
Turkey has made strides towards entering the European Union, the country has begun implementing these educational
systems in accordance to both principles.
The hope behind the international mobility of students is that significant increase in the probability of free flowing
qualified labor across borders either during the duration of the study or right after the students’ graduation. With learned
and skilled individuals from different countries collaborating with professionals and students from other countries, an
economy of scale in the higher educational system can be created and sustained. This will be noticed in especially the
creation of additional areas of learning with sufficient funds to backup the creation (King, 2006). Moreover, if the number
of foreign students increases over a period of time, they will have a positive impact on local economies since they will
also become consumers to the locale where they are located (Terry, 2006).
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5. Importance of Multicultural Education in Turkey
In recent years, in Turkey many schools have been adopting a multicultural curriculum, which “teaches the value of
cultural diversity” (Slavin, 2006, p.116). Banks (as cited in Slavin, 2006) defines multicultural education as educational
equality in schools regardless of a student’s background. Both domestic and international diversity and unprecedented
immigration have created a vibrant mixture of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious, educational, and socioeconomic
backgrounds (Gay, 2011). Thus, experiential plurality becomes essential for Turkish education. However, the highly
intensive central management of Turkish education does not meet the needs of such a diverse society. In sum, first, the
Turkish society has become a multicultural society whose members have different needs, backgrounds, perspectives,
and educational requirements. Second there is a need for the education sector of Turkey to align its goals, objectives and
processes towards meeting various cultural needs, which often translates to social tolerance. How can Turkey be able to
meet the need for cultural tolerance especially in this age and time? The answer is simple: in order for Turkey to be able
to truly become a melting pot of cultures, it needs to educate the present and future generation to become more tolerant
and acceptant of the cultures of other individuals living in Turkey.
From this context, the importance of education in Turkey becomes a major concern. Despite the growing movement
towards globalization, education in Turkey is formed and created in national contexts (Eldering, 1996). How a state
through its various agencies creates educational policies depends largely on local knowledge, social heritage, communal
experience, and exposure to international audiences as much as they depend on various economic factors such as labor
force, economic growth, and commercialization (Grant, 1997). In the case of multicultural societies, successful education
programs can be achieved if a sense of respect of inherited boundaries established through one’s affiliations with one’s
own ethno-racial group is protected at all cost (Kang, 2010). Thus said, Turkey must be able to get past the nationalistic
conception of education in order to provide its multicultural society the quality of education it needs in order to progress
and move forward.
6. Development and Changes of Multicultural Education in Turkey
Prior to the 1980s, Turkey’s educational system was largely focused on militarization of civilians. Educational system in
Turkey has been widely affected by economic and political pressures since that time (Tural, 2007). Despite these
changes, the educational system in Turkey remains centralized and nationalized under the guidance of the military
regime. The Ministry acts as a centralized body that makes decisions about schools, administrators, teachers, students,
and even textbooks regardless of the type of schools and the geographical locations of the school within Turkey. That
being said, private, religious, technical, minority, and public schools depend on the directives of the Ministry. The Ministry
decrees things like what curricula will be implemented and what the setting of each classroom for its normal day-to-day
operations will be like. In other words, the educational system in Turkey has been strictly controlled by official policies
through state-imposed programs and guidelines and the degree of control and centralization of the educational system in
Turkey.
However, educational system in Turkey has gone through myriad changes. At first, many of these changes seemed
to be cosmetic, but in time, curriculum reformers recognized a need for contextual adaptation (Turkmen & Bonnstetter,
1997). In Turkey, education is perceived to be upmost priority. Since the Erdogan Government, which was elected in
2002, education at all levels has been regarded as the most important factor in reaching the level of most other
developed countries. The funding of education is highly centralized, more than the European educational system (World
Bank, 2005). After Turkey became a democracy, all schools were annexed to the Ministry of National Education. The
Ministry of Education is in charge of implementing a contemporary mode of education training for all citizens through
primary and secondary education and other institutes. Through the changes, the Turkish Education System has
developed democratic, modern, secular and coeducational characteristics. The aims of the system are to increase
prosperity and welfare of Turkish citizens and society, to support and accelerate economic, social, cultural development
in accordance with national unity and integrity, and to make the Turkish Nation contemporary civilization’s constructive
and creative (Eginli, 2010). According to the Global Monitoring Report (2010), the major improvements in the Turkish
Education are first; Turkey doubled its gross enrolment ratio in pre-primary education from 2002 to 2010. Second, adult
literacy rate increased. Turkey is now at an average 89% estimated literacy rate (96% among men and 81% among
women). However, Kurdish languages is banned in public schools, therefore, Turkish State should change a
constitutional which made by military regime in 1982 and new constitution should include all minority ethnic identities
rights and should lift Kurdish language into schools to allow Kurdish children to learn their mother tongue.
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7. Setting New Directions for Multicultural Education
The major challenges experienced in multicultural education are (a) the lack of proper academic structure to address the
different needs of students from various cultural backgrounds and needs to forward multicultural curriculum
transformation (Eldering, 2006; Gorski, 1995), (b) the inability of the students to participate in meaningful academic
processes (Oikonomidoy, 2011), and (c) the experience of prejudice and segregation directed to students from
multicultural background by teachers, classmates, and the people from the community (Kang, 2010). These factors along
with other factors hinder multicultural societies from achieving high quality education especially the education provided to
students not of the dominant culture. The same thing can be said about the educational system in Turkey. In Turkey, the
attention of the educational system to the diverging cultural needs of each student group has remained asymmetrical and
inadequate (Cinoglu, 2006) resulting in inappropriate and irrelevant education received by students in all levels of
education (Andrews, 2002). Multicultural education in Turkey needs to be reconsidered in accordance with allowing the
right to education for all people and in keeping with global justice. Development of multicultural education curriculum in
Turkish higher education should focus on protecting the cultural heritage of each of the international students and people
from different backgrounds to encourage tolerance. In addition, Banks (2006) suggests, the school curriculum should be
reformed so that students will view concepts, events, issues, and problems from different ethnic perspectives and points
of view. He argues that conceptualizing the curriculum and making ethnic content an integral part of a transformed
curriculum should be distinguished from merely adding ethnic content to the curriculum. Ethnic content can be added to
the curriculum without transforming in or changing its basic assumptions, perspectives, and goals.
7.1. Setting the Definitions
One of the most obvious reasons why multiculturalism and its impact on the Turkish educational system has not yet been
fully understood is because of the lack of proper and appropriate definition of multiculturalism and interculturalism. Most
governments think that multicultural education involves only the educational process that takes into account the
difference in culture and ethnicity of students. However, it is more than this. Eldering (1996) emphasizes multicultural
education “can be approached at different perspectives… [which can be based] on the position of minority cultures, the
curriculum, and to the attention paid to individual or collective inequality” (p.319). Defining multiculturalism from these
various perspectives ensures that all aspects of the society can be addressed by multicultural education.
So what is a multicultural education? More specifically, what should multicultural education be all about? In this
context, multiculturalism in Turkey is more than just the gathering of individuals from different cultures with different
perspectives, belief systems, prejudices, and biases. Multiculturalism in Turkey is also more than just cultural tolerance
and cultural indifference. Rather, multiculturalism in Turkey means social integration and genuine cultural interaction
rather than social tolerance built on cultural indifference. Hence, multicultural education in this context must be a social
approach that teaches the citizens of a democratic society to value diversity and differences, aid in the cultural integration
of socially diverse communities, and reinforce the need to coexist and harmonize within the given society (Kuzio, n.d.). By
setting the definition of a multicultural Turkish society, we are able to identify the needs and requirements of this type of
society. This implies that the creation or modification of educational programs and policies can be aligned to this definition
just made.
7.2. Multidimensional Intercultural Understanding
Education sits best when one of its main goals is multidimensional intercultural understanding (Horst & Pihl, 2010).
According to Hurst and Pihl (2010), interculturalism emphasizes intercultural dialogue and social inclusion which are
primary requirements for having a biased-free and non-discriminating society. For Turkish society to develop more
tolerance and to integrate more fully with individuals from various cultural and ethnical backgrounds, its educational
system must be able to address the different dimensions involved in intercultural understanding. That is to say that the
curriculum should not only be focused on instructing nationalism, it should also protect the cultural identities of individual
students. It should also be geared towards successful social and communal experience between and among students
from different racial, cultural and ethnical backgrounds. As Turkey is one of the countries that has rich diversity and many
international students from different ethnic backgrounds, the multicultural educational curriculum development should
include: 1) redesign and organization of new multicultural education curriculum 2) exploration of various approaches to
structuring and sequencing multicultural learning activities 3. Instruction awareness of a wide variety of resources in
multicultural curriculum and learn how to evaluate and select materials for diverse students 4) curriculum which should
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apply various multicultural approaches to teaching, including those that utilize dialogical and cross-cultural techniques,
and 5) examination of culturally-sensitive methods of assessing student needs and learning preferences, evaluating the
effectiveness of multicultural curricula, and assessing student learning.
7.3. The Enrichment Approach
One way of improving multicultural student learning is the enrichment approach. The aim of the enrichment approach as
was discussed by Eldering (1996) refers to a policymaking approach that does not judge individuals through their social
or cultural origins but rather looks at individuals with fair, assessing eyes. That is to say that enrichment programs take on
individuals based on how they could potentially improve in terms of their academic performance in order for them to
become integral parts of the society. One way of using the enrichment approach in multicultural education is to allow
students, irrespective of their cultural backgrounds to participate in programs that could boost their competence or
increase their skills which they can use while at the academic program or after graduation. For example, if the Ministry of
Education wanted to produce a competent and culturally sensitive workforce, it has to integrate cultural diversity
programs in their curriculum or the Ministry may require students to be immersed in multicultural societies before
graduating. This way, multicultural biases can be smoothened and can be reduced on a much wider scale. Apparently,
the Turkish educational system has yet to create successful and efficient enrichment programs. In addition, self-
awareness is an essential skill. As we understand our own culture and the biases we may have about other cultures, we
will be able to maintain positive relationships with others. This includes an investigation of our own values, practices, and
beliefs surrounded by culture. Knowledge about others’ cultures is also essential. Students should learn the values,
practices, and beliefs of other cultures. In doing so, students will be able to see the similarities and differences we share
with other cultures. Everyone has a culture, not just people who are different from us.
7.4. Bicultural Competence Approach
Unlike the enrichment approach that aims to solve multiculturalism issues by creating programs that expose students to
all the cultural groups within their society, bicultural competence focuses only on two other cultures. In principle, bicultural
competence would work better than the enrichment approach on the basis that an individual can only learn so many
cultural differences. For all practicality of purpose, competence in one or two cultures is a step big enough for social
reform to occur. Thus said, Turkish government can also begin to look at the advantages of implementing a bicultural
competence program within its educational system in order for it to address the growing need for effective and successful
multicultural education.
7.5. Collective Equality Approach
The collective equality approach is somewhat the comprehensive application of all the approaches discussed, with strong
emphasis on the involvement of the community in achieving such high levels of success in social and cultural integration.
This approach strongly emphasize the need for all stakeholders to implement and practice collective equality of all
cultural groups rather than focus on the equality of social and economic opportunities for individual groups. In a way, this
collective equality approach can be divided into two smaller approaches. These are to assume the equal rights of the
diverse cultural groups in the society, and to make the schools the center for multicultural education. The first approach
means that the society must be actively involved in addressing the needs of multicultural societies. The second approach
means that multicultural education is not and should not only be focused on curricula but also on teaching methodology,
approach to teaching and instruction, administration, and the selection of staff. This is very useful suggestion considering
the nature of the educational system of Turkey. With a highly centralized and autocratic educational body, the aim to
achieve multicultural education through factors aside from the curriculum can easily be achieved.
8. Recommendations for development of multicultural education curriculum and activities
As Turkey continues to exhibit great diversity, the need for understanding and accepting the differences among all people
has never been more important. Thus, the challenge for educators is to present an effective multicultural education
foundation by means of which all children can learn to accept others (Gomez, 1991). Compell (1999) underlined that the
goal of multicultural education is not only to teach children about other groups or countries. It is also to help children
become accustomed to the idea that there are many lifestyles, languages, cultures, and points of view. According to
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Dimidjan (1989), the purpose of multicultural curriculum is to attach positive feelings to multicultural experiences so that
each child will feel included and valued, and will feel friendly and respectful toward people from other ethnic and cultural
groups. One key to helping young children develop a sense of being citizens of the world lies with the early childhood
teacher. The disposition exhibited by this individual in promoting everyone's culture will be the successful factor in the
child's development of a multicultural perspective.Through multicultural curriculum, Norton (1985) indicated that students
discover that all cultural groups will make significant contributions to alliance of civilization. She advocated that a well-
balanced multicultural curriculum programs should include literature that depicts people with a variety of aspirations, from
different sociometric levels, with different occupations, and with a range of human characteristics. In addition, Gorski
(2010) argues that multicultural education curriculum should be accompanied by commentaries that explain their cultural
context and it should always be chosen on the basis of developmental appropriateness. Several scholars including Banks
(1999) and Gorski (2010) argues that multicultural education is designed to develop citizens in democratic society-by
considering the needs of all students which makes explicit how issues of race, ethnicity, culture, language, religion,
gender, and abilities/disabilities are intertwined with educational process and content. Therefore, a rich diverse population
of Turkey needs a multicultural curriculum development in its education. They should prepare students for diverse
workplaces and multicultural environment, exposes biases, stereotypes, and policies that can restrict achievement,
content is fair accurate, and inclusive, accommodates for diverse teaching and learning styles of teachers and students,
and helps students, faculty, and staff to become advocates for multicultural awareness.
Moreover, Banks (2008) also argued the multicultural education curriculum should be implemented with teaching
strategies that are involving, interactive, personalized, and cooperative. The teacher should listen to and legitimize the
voices of students from different racial, cultural, language, and gender groups. Throughout the teaching materials for
multicultural educators, government should develop and implement a policy for selecting teaching materials that describe
the historical and contemporary experiences of various ethnic, language, and cultural groups. And that present issues,
problems, and concepts from the perspectives of these groups Banks (1999; 2008). Furthermore, many multicultural
scholars, including (Banks, 2008; Bennett, 1999; Gay, 2000; Grant, 1995; Nieto & Bode, 2011) recommended that
successful implementation and improvement of a multicultural education program within a school or district require an
effective monitoring plan. Ways must be developed to determine (1) whether the multicultural education goals established
by the Minister of Education are being attained, (2) steps that need to be taken to close the gap between the goals and
actual program implementation, and (3) incentives that needed to motivate educator in the educational offices to
participate in the efforts being undertaken to attain the government’s multicultural education goals and objectives.
Through participation, educators, teachers, administrators, and parents will be able to discuss students’ needs and it will
be more consistent with the multicultural realties of the country.
9. Activities and Suggestions for Multicultural Educators
Multicultural activities should be integrated in all curriculum areas, including social studies, language arts, science,
humanities, etc. Administrators, teachers, faculties, and staffs should create an educational climate in which different
cultural, ethnic, and linguistic patterns are accepted and nourished throughout the curriculum (Ortiz & Travieso, 1977).
Teachers need to understand the importance of multicultural education and provide opportunities for their students to
learn about the many cultures represented. In addition, educators should be creative, flexible, sensitive, equitable, and
supportive and utilize all available valuable resources for their students. Through this integration, the classroom
atmosphere will ensure the uniqueness of each child and, children will be able to share their unique experiences and
stories based on their culture, language, religion, geographical, and ethnic background with their peers. Campbell (1999)
advises that curricula used for the educational programs must be concise, well defined and engaging. Multicultural
education programs should create a spirit of inclusion (particularly in groups that have a history of being discriminated
against, and between groups that have a history of antagonism), as well as address and diminish stereotypes, prejudice
and racism. Moreover, Gorski (2010) suggests that multicultural educators should encourage students to develop critical
thinking skills, as well as increase their self-understanding. Educators can best encourage this development by modeling
critical thinking skills. Encouraging students to recognize their values, feelings, privileges, and biases can facilitate
development of self-awareness.
10. Conclusion
(a) Turkey’s multicultural society has existed for many centuries already, but the effects of its educational system
towards the cultural diversity are still not effective.
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(b) A possible reason for this ineffectiveness is the inability of the Turkish educational system to realign its goals
and objectives to the changing attribute of the society;
(c) Turkey can take advantage of the structure of its educational system by implementing approaches that caters
to various socio-cultural levels discussed above.
The need for the government to address deeper issues related to cultural diversity such as the issue on education is a
fairly novel concept for the Turkish government. As far as the government is concerned, social and political tension within
its domains are avoided as much as possible by tolerating individuals from other cultures. One of the many ways of
solving the subtle yet existing social and cultural inequalities is through education. A successful multicultural education
means that the educational program implemented in the Turkish educational system must and should be able to take into
account the different cultures and cultural needs. Educators must also make use of professional development in order to
increase their understanding of different cultures. If Turkish educators utilize these approaches and strategies, Turkish
education might indeed become a model utopia.
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Promoting Culture and Tourism in Nigeria Through

Calabar Festival and Carnival Calabar
Esekong H. Andrew, Ph.D
Department of Theatre & Media Studies

University of Calabar, Nigeria
Email: esekongh@yahoo.com
Ibok Ekpenyong
Department of Theatre & Media Studies

Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p287

Abstract This Paper examines current measures of cultural promotion and tourism development in Nigeria, focusing on the efforts of
Cross River State. Described as Nigeria’s foremost tourists’ destination, Cross River State has developed what appears to be a unique
cultural and tourism development plan, featuring two major products – The Calabar Festival and Carnival Calabar in its tourism calendar.
In the first place, the paper analyses the structures and dimensions of the two cultural and tourism products, situating them in the
contexts of traditionality and modernity on the one hand, and globalization and localization on the other. In the later part, the paper
attempts to evaluate the economic, social and political implications of the festival and carnival on tourism development in Nigeria. In
conclusion, the paper affirms that with products such as Calabar Festival and Carnival Calabar, Nigeria may already have started the
process of economic diversification from oil driven economy to ecological/cultural tourism-driven economy of the future.
Recommendations are made towards the fortification of the tourism industry, particularly in the areas of security and privatization for
accelerated growth.
Keywords: Culture, Tourism, Festival, Carnival.
1. Introduction
A number of cultural activities exist in Nigeria, which create unique creative spaces for producers of the arts as well as
conducive interactive spaces for tourists and connoisseurs. Many of these cultural activities have been in practice from
time and have given the country an acclaim as being culturally super-active. The cultural activities in Cross River State
are particularly outstanding from those in many other states of the federation as they showcase diverse creative
packages. The state is renowned for its festivals of songs, dances and masquerades at coronation, marriage, burial,
naming, planting and harvesting ceremonies. Cross River State is also popular for its hospitality and its culinary
productivity – many Nigerians would want to have a taste of ‘Calabar’ food. Tourists also like to visit the numerous
cultural and historical sites in Cross River State. While these ceremonies, tourism potentialities and locations have ever
been present with the people of Cross River State in Nigeria, not much was done to formalize and organize their
presentation to diverse international audiences until the year 1999. The administration of Donald Duke at the inception of
Nigeria’s 4th democratic era evolved a dynamic policy to develop the tourism sub-sector as an area of alternative revenue
for the state. Part of the plan was to develop a rich tourism calendar to accommodate more (existing) cultural events and
in some cases rebrand and repackage them for better appeal. The plan was also to accommodate new events that would
appeal to the emerging consumerist culture of the 21st century. So, in all parts of the state there are cultural festivals and
artistic practices that appeal to diverse audiences. There is mountain tourism and recreation in the mountainous region of
Obudu; there are new yam festivals in the agricultural belt; maiden outing ceremonies, water sports and other art-related
events in many communities of the state. Following the tourism calendar, the month of December is busy, deliberately
packed with festive activities, most of which take place at the state capital. Two major activities – Calabar Festival and
Carnival Calabar feature prominently in this season of festivities every year. The concern of this paper is to analyse the
structure, scope and the cultural dimensions of the Calabar Festival and Carnival Calabar in the first instance, and later to
evaluate the economic, social and political implications of the festival and carnival on tourism development in Nigeria.
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2. The Calabar Festival
The Calabar Festival started ordinarily as Christmas festival and initially, celebrations at the festival were similar to
Christmas celebrations elsewhere in the Christendom to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, but with traditional
African touch – a display of masquerades and traditional dances, and heavy consumption of food and drinks. The
Christmas celebration climaxes on 24th, 25th and 26th of December. In Calabar, a variety of indigenous masquerades,
including Ekpe, Nnabo, Tinkoriko, Okpo and dances such as Abang and Ekombi display around the Bassey Duke Effigy
close to Watt Market, at Eleven-Eleven and many other locations within the town. But in 1999, the celebration took a
dramatic form. It was the turn of a new millennium and the new civilian administration in the state, led by Governor
Donald Duke decided to make Christmas celebration an international festival sponsored by the state and other concerned
entities. Fireworks heralded the beginning of a new millennium in the city of Calabar and across the state. A tradition of
celebrating Christmas with pump and pageantry had begun and was to get better every passing year.
By the year 2005, the period of Christmas festival was extended to 32 days, beginning from the first day of
December to the first day of January. This particular year, public and civil servants in the state were granted a leave from
work to enable them enjoy the holidays. There was no work in public offices throughout Cross River State for 32 days.
Every day was filled with a major celebration or recreation activity that would appeal to all classes of people - the children,
youth and adults.
In what has become an established tradition, Calabar Festival celebration starts on the 1st of December with the city
walk campaign against HIV/AIDS. In the event, the organizers thought there was a need to ensure the fitness of the
citizens as well as to regenerate the awareness on HIV/AIDS for the season. This activity also commemorates the World
AIDS Day declared by the United Nations and observed globally as an annual event. The city walk in some cases serves
as a test run for Carnival Calabar since it goes through the same route and covers the same 12km distance.
As part of the Calabar festival, several shows and entertainment activities are held every evening and late into the
nights at a number of venues – the Millennium Park, The U J Esuene Stadium, the Cultural Centre Complex, Marina
Beach and Resort, Tinapa and the Botanical Garden. No day is wasted, no dull moments. Every show is free for all
classes of audiences.
Figure I: Map of Calabar Showing Performance/Activity Venues for Calabar Festival
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There is a vibrant festival atmosphere at the Cultural centre ground where the Christmas Arcade is built. Also known as
the Christmas Village, the arcade consists of several make-shift kiosks and shops for sales of fast food and drink, and for
other forms of entertainment. The people’s cultural artefacts – arts, craft and fashion are displayed in this cultural village
for sale to visitors. This is also the venue for the Christmas fair where sales are made in specially fabricated shops.
Tourists and residents unwind and shop at this venue after the day’s activity. A San Grotto is built for the children where
with a token, they can have a hand shake, photo shot and a gift from Father Christmas.
At the arcade, all the local government areas in Cross River State also exhibit their cultures in various stands. At the
ultra-modern theatre within the complex, theatrical performances – plays, dance-drama and pantomime are held. In the
programme of the festival, some days are set aside for play productions, consisting of indigenous and foreign stage
plays, featuring, in most cases, the best performers in Nigerian theatre practice. A number of classics have been
performed over the years.
The UJ Esuene stadium with a seating capacity of 10,000 spectators is a large venue for open-air performances. A
collapsible stage, replete with state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment is assembled for shows featuring popular
international and local entertainers performing for a large crowd. The carnival king and queen competition is also held
here.
The Millennium Park commissioned in 1999 is an alternative venue for open-air performances. This is the venue for
the annual Christmas carols and nativity plays on Christmas Eve. Church choirs also hold annual festival of songs where
the best choirs win fabulous prizes. At the festival, churches also have a wide avenue for evangelism as they circulate
tracts and other Bible literature.
At the Tinapa Business Resort, a number of facilities, including the waterpark and games arcade are available for
year-round entertainment. In the festive period, one of the emporia is used for the Carnival Calabar Queen competition.
Funds raised at this event are used for humanitarian courses. Tourists can access the Tinapa resort by road and by the
river channel, using marine boats ferrying from the Marina beach through the Calabar river to Tinapa jetty.
The Marina (Bayside) beach, also known as Freedon Bay is another site that hosts thousands of people in the
season of festivities. The boat regatta, another cultural activity in the festival is held at this venue, launching from the
bank of Cross River at Calabar. The event is competitive and draws participants from interested local government
councils. In the olden days, the regatta was staged during the celebration of tribal war victories. It was also observed
during the coronation of a new Efik King (Obong). Still at the Marina beach is the Marina resort where there is an
amphitheatre, fantasy world for children, night club, outdoor bar and a boat club. All facilities are open for patronage
during the festival period.
The Botanical Garden ground offers a venue for the Nyoro festival of Ekpe masquerades. Other performances such
as cultural dances, songs, dirges and poetry of different ethnic groups of the state are displayed during the Christmas
festival to enable people to appreciate various cultural aesthetics of Cross River State. In some years, the activities may
include modelling parade of indigenous fashion. This aspect showcases fashion and style in fabrics, beads, raffia and
other accessories of the people of the state.
Football competition between local government areas and well organized club sides is also a part of the festival.
The venue is Abraham Ordia Stadium at the University of Calabar. The UJ Esuene stadium which would better suffice for
this event is at this time fully engaged for daily concerts.
The city of Calabar wears a different look during the festival. Every part of the city is decorated for the festival. The
most striking element of decoration is the lighting. Major roundabouts and electricity power poles on every major street
are creatively decorated with special Christmas lighting. The lights are strung on metal wires into various designs with
intervals of multiple coloured bulbs. The shaped designs comprise floral patterns, angular, multiple-point stars, Christmas
bell, geometric shapes and others. Some have the traditional image of Santa Claus as part of the design. The focal point
of Christmas streetlights is the massive structure at the CBN roundabout close to the Millennium Park. The structure is
built like a set, covered with special fabric and lit with tiny multi-coloured bulbs. The millennium park itself is also
beautifully lit and houses a giant Christmas tree with special lighting accessories. The light patterns are said to have
meanings and values for those who share in the Christian faith. A large Nigerian flag acclaimed to be the largest flag in
Africa is flown prominently at the centre of the park at the height of approximately 70 feet. As part of the decoration,
holiday messages and greetings are printed on flex materials and panels and displayed along major streets to create a
panoramic visual delight. The Calabar Festival is rounded up with the cross over night on 31st December and a New Year
thanksgiving service on the 1st of January held in different churches.
From the scenario presented, the Calabar Festival offers what can be described as a full menu in the attraction
sector, being one of the five components of the tourism industry classified by Middleton and Clarke (2008:11). The other
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sectors – accommodation, transportation, travel and destination organization are also provided by the Tourism
Development Bureau to support the attraction sector.
3. Carnival Calabar
The Calabar carnival with the brand name Carnival Calabar, dubbed ‘Africa’s Biggest Street Party’ by its organizers has
been held annually every 26th and 27th December since 2005. The idea of the carnival had been on the drawing board
since 2000 when the Cross River State government started celebrating the annual Christmas festival now renamed
Calabar Festival. The carnival in its present form is cloned after Trinidad and Tobago carnival. Five bands were formed in
the year 2005, namely, Bayside, Freedom, Master Blaster, Passion 4 and Seagull, and each is headed by a leader who in
consultation with prominent band leaders develops a guiding philosophy for the operations of the groups. Membership for
each band is drawn from the public and can be extended to any size. Funding is derived from corporate sponsorship,
adverts at carnival venues, membership contributions, annual registration fees and proceeds from year-round
entertainment activities. The Calabar carnival continues to grow in terms of participation and in funding every year.
Corporate sponsors, consist of banks, airlines, communication and insurance companies who collectively fund the
various aspects of the carnival through their publicity programs. The carnival is largely funded by the private sector. The
State Carnival Commission, a government regulatory agency moderates the activities of the bands. The commission
seeks for sponsorship and technical partnership, sources for marketing rights, generates publicity, provides logistics,
provides themes, organizes dry runs and other activities related to carnival organization.
Children’s carnival is a vital preliminary component of Carnival Calabar. Prior to the main carnival, children, divided
into bands parade a short distance with colourful costumes and dance. The involvement of children is to ensure that the
carnival tradition is passed on to succeeding generations. The ultimate winners in the children category are given prizes.
Also as preliminary to the main carnival is the cultural parade through the carnival route. This parade consists of cultural
groups from various states in Nigeria and resident communities in Cross River State.
The main carnival procession moves through a 12-kilometre route in the city of Calabar, and is very competitive.
Judges are drawn from various fields of the arts and also from the academia, the entertainment industry and other
relevant professions. There are defined parameters for assessing the ability of each band to interpret the carnival theme.
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Pictures Showing Revellers at Carnival Calabar
The Calabar carnival is supported by allied activities, including a beauty pageant – the carnival Queen competition, which
generates proceeds specifically for a humanitarian cause; and the essay writing competition geared towards encouraging
students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions to develop interest in creative writing. Prizes are awarded to
winners in various categories. For reason of maintaining high standards in the carnival, the carnival commission
organizes a post-carnival interactive forum, bringing both the organizers and the participants together to discuss
operational protocols towards rectifying anomalies. The commission also sends separate delegations to the annual
carnivals at Trinidad and Tobago and Rio de Jainero in Brazil to study production techniques towards applying the
experience to improve Carnival Calabar.
4. Trado-Modernity versus Glocalization in Calabar Festivities
Carnival Calabar and Calabar Festival are tourism products that draw from traditional indigenous practices and the ever-
unfolding forms of modernity in various contexts. This is why the concept of trado-modernity, formulated to describe and
address the fusion of the traditional and the modern is apt in describing them.
While the contents of Carnival Calabar and Calabar Festival are largely indigenous and traditional, parts of the
execution and consumption of the concepts reflect aspects of modernity. The core artistic mix of Calabar Festival – the
masquerades, songs, dances and costumes are indigenous art form which have been in traditional usage early in time.
Masquerades, for instance have been performing in Calabar, like many parts of Africa, acting as intermediaries between
the spirits of the ancestors and the real world in roles that vary with societies (Willet 1981: 180). But in contemporary
usage in the festival, masquerades simply entertain and the costumes draw from a wide variety of locally produced and
foreign materials, the essence of which is to achieve the requisite aesthetic blend.
Similar to what is happening to the masquerades, cross cultural interactions and globalization have introduced new
elements into existing indigenous artistic forms adopted or appropriated for the festival and the carnival. Expressionist
trends of the 21st Century demand creativity, which is amply displayed in the various designs for Carnival Calabar in
costumes, props and make-up, which are now produced with a mix of indigenous and foreign materials; songs and
dances may be indigenously conceived, but are refined and amplified with modern equipment. Similarly, foreign
choreography and dance now coexist with indigenous ones to form completely new creations in many instances.
Another interesting area of manifestation of the global/local relationship is in the concept and eventual structure of
Carnival Calabar. It has been widely remarked that Carnival Calabar is a foreign carnival tradition on which indigenous
art forms and festivals have been sprinkled, so to say for acceptability. It is true that at the inception, Carnival Calabar
was conceived to replicate the Trinidad and Tobago carnival (Carlton 2010: 42). It could be recalled that Donald Duke,
the erstwhile governor of Cross River State in a bid to enrich the tourism menu of the state led a delegation to Trinidad
and Tobago early in 1995 to participate, study and reproduce the Trinidad and Tobago-type street carnival in Calabar.
But as the carnival tradition was shaping up, modifications were made, which added peculiar features that made the
carnival somewhat original in the final analysis. For instance, the idea of constructing floats on trucks for each carnival
band was borrowed from the Brazilian carnival. The Hip-Hop musical genre, arguably of American origin is popularly used
instead of the Caribbean Samba. Contemporary Nigerian popular music is also widely used. The dances and costumes
are a blend of the indigenous and Western varieties. The costumes in particular are rendered with a touch of indigenous
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morality and consequently are a bit more conservative and less revealing, unlike the Caribbean-type costumes which
tend towards nudity. As a further mark of uniqueness, indigenous concepts are performed to meet the aesthetic taste of
the largely indigenous audiences. Constantly, the themes of Carnival Calabar have been formulated to promote the
culture of the indigenous people. It is therefore difficult to assume in totality that Carnival Calabar is exclusively
indigenous or foreign, for it certainly blends the global and local taste. In other words, it is glocalized to adopt Brooks and
Normores’ usage of the portmanteau terminology in reference to “meaningful integration of global and local forces”, and
the final product, though still metamorphosing is unique. (Brooks & Normore 2010: 52)
5. Audience Response and Patronage
The formulation of Carnival Calabar and Calabar Festival appears to be acceptable to both global and local audiences as
reflected in the patronage over the years. Patronage has been increasing progressively and with a remarkable diversity in
terms of the number of foreign nationalities that participate. More bleachers have been constructed on the carnival route
to accommodate the growing audiences in comfort. It is difficult to declare in certain terms the number of people that visit
Calabar for the festival and the carnival every year as there are no official figures to this effect. There are no deliberately
designed templates to capture data, neither are there agencies to monitor and publish figures representing the number of
visitors to Calabar. But speculations can be made based on the fact that traffic through the Calabar airport during the
festive season is dense and air passengers are usually required to book ahead. All the airlines that ply the Calabar local
route are usually fully booked towards the festive period. Moreover, from media reports, accommodation in hotels and
guest houses are usually scarce as booking is done earlier in the year by guests to beat the rush. Road traffic in the city
of Calabar also increases as evident by the traffic jams of December. From all indications, the flurry of activities in
Calabar and environs towards the end of year is linkable in one way or the other to the festivities. To draw from Hughes’
classification of tourists, both ‘culture/art-core’ tourists and ‘culture/art peripheral’ tourists inundate Calabar every end of
year. In other words, while some tourists visit Calabar just to see the arts and culture displayed at the festival and
carnival, others visit maybe for other purposes, but also take part in the festivities as a secondary activity (Hughes 2000:
2).
6. Tourism Promotion and Transmission of Cultural Values
Over the years, Cross River State has been acclaimed for its great tourism potential and cultural practices probably
ahead of other states in Nigeria. The state is naturally endowed with great waterfalls as found in Agbokim and Kwa; rich
virgin forests reserves found at Afi and the protected forest areas of the Cross River National Park at Akamkpa, Oban
and Okwango. There are also mountain ranges and scenic hills at Obudu and environs. From the cultural perspective,
Eyo has publicized prime historical findings such as the Bakor (Ejagam) Monoliths and the Calabar terracottas (2008: 48,
53). There are also a number of historical landmarks such as the Old Residency Museum, Slave History Museum, Mary
Slessor tomb site, among others. All these attractions and amenities are easily accessible to tourists; most also conform
to the parameters of Hughes’ tourist destination evaluation model, consisting of attraction, amenities, accommodation and
access – “the 4 As” (Hughes 2000: 125).
The Obudu Ranch Resort is a major tourism centre with its facilities linked by air and by road. The Bebi Airstrip at
the top of the Ranch was built to meet the need of travellers who wish to connect directly to the ranch from Calabar and
other airports in the country all year round. There is a cable car spanning a distance of 11 km between the foot of the
Obudu Mountains and the top of the ranch. Visitors can use this facility while ascending the ranch to have a panoramic
view of the mountain ranges. Some major features of the resort are the water park, the presidential villa, international golf
course, standard lawn tennis courts, a well equipped gymnasium, deluxe suites and chalets. This venue has hosted
major global events some of which are the Miss World Beauty Pageant in 2002; the Gulder Ultimate Search II, which
generated a lot media mileage from the 30 days one hourly show on Nigerian Television Authority Network Services; the
Obudu mountain race, which attracts internationally acclaimed marathon racers and the African weekend with a bon-fire
at the ranch.
Another centre for tourism development is the Tinapa – Africa’s premier business resort where business is done in
absolute leisure. Facilities at this complex include the 5-star Amber Hotel, a beach, craft village, water park, games
arcade, etc. The ecological, cultural and contemporary facilities in Cross River State collectively serve to promote tourism
in the state. All year round, the state is a viable tourism destination. This continuity in tourism promotion orchestrated by
the international media opens a possibility of continuous patronage from which the annual festivities benefit. The state
has developed a marketable brand captured visually in its logo – ‘Destination Cross River’. The logo appears to be a
292
permanent tourism promotional tool that beckons on the visitor wherever it appears. In the year 2011, a giant sculptural
replica of the state logo was mounted at a major roundabout at the entrance of the city of Calabar, where like a billboard,
it dominates the landscape and literarily as it would appear, raises the image of the state above others in tourism
practice.
The state’s tourism development thrust has a sustainable framework and its implementation is overseen by the
state tourism bureau, established by an act of the state assembly and properly positioned to become a permanent
institution for tourism development. Over time, the bureau has identified and developed tourism sites, co-ordinated and
promoted activities in the tourism sector.
Even as Cross River State has set up a comprehensive structure to promote tourism and to boost its tourist image,
the component products of the sector also continue in this drive. Specifically, the Calabar Festival and Carnival have
been veritable tools in the promotion of culture and tourism through the images and impressions they present and the
experiences they represent. The period of festivities is perhaps the only time which the people of the state share in an
intensive display of performing and visual arts and cultural heritage. This promotes cohesion amongst the people as the
participation is interactive between the various ethnic groups that make up the state and beyond. During this period
different tribes showcase their cultures to educate the people. The shared cultural values therefore become a medium of
learning about the values that have been handed down from earlier generations.
The festival is a forum to showcase the traditional hospitality for which the state is known. Hospitality is part of the
culture of the people of Cross River State and is demonstrable not only within family circles, but also to visitors. The
people have a strong will and desire to host visitors no matter where they come from. Visitors are entertained primarily
with food and drinks, and also with outdoor recreation and entertainment which are plenty during the festival. Apart from
being hospitable, the people of the state are peaceful. This quality is rare in many other Nigerian states where there are
frequent reports of civil unrests. The attitude of receptivity to visitors, no doubt supports tourism.
7. Tourism and Culture in Cross River State: Economic, Social and Political Implications
Perhaps the greatest factors of sustainability in tourism development are those linked with the economic, social and
political structures of the host environment. For tourism to thrive on long-term basis there have to be significant economic,
social and political benefits. This justifies the investment in the sector. From the economic perspective, Cross River State,
like every state in Nigeria is dependent on federal monetary allocation largely derived from the sales of crude oil. From
this allocation, the state meets its needs of both capital and recurrent expenditure, including payment of salaries to the
teaming population of civil and public servants. This pattern of income generation is mainly dependent on a singular
source – the sales of crude oil. It follows that if Nigeria does not export crude oil for whatever reason, then the whole
country will be paralyzed financially. In view of this possibility, many states of the federation with Cross River State at the
fore are beginning to explore options for alternative revenue. The agriculture and the tourism sectors were two of the
viable sectors earmarked by the state government for development. An attempt was made to produce a roadmap on
tourism development to include the improvement of allied infrastructure to support all facets of tourism development. In
this regards, transportation and accommodation were to receive prime attention. The civilian administrations of the 4th
Republic from 1999 have done much to develop the transportation systems in the state, first by extending the road
network and secondly, by introducing mass transportation systems and sophisticated taxis to replace motorcycles. A
mono-rail plan is also complete, awaiting implementation to provide another option to mass transportation in Calabar, a
city that is fast expanding. The Margaret Ekpo International Airport in the city has been given a face lift to fit the status of
the state as the foremost tourism destination in Nigeria. The Bebi Airstrip at the Obudu Ranch Resort was built as part of
the transportation plan to enhance tourism.
As part of the tourism development plan, the state has also developed the hospitality industry by privatizing the
major hotels previously run by government for effective management and service delivery. The Metropolitan Hotel and
the Obudu Resort have been outsourced to competent international conglomerates in hotel management. Private
operators in the hospitality industry are also encouraged to invest in hotels, guest houses, motels and hostels to meet the
high demands for accommodation in the state towards the end of the year.
The ripple effect of tourism development in the state is enormous. As part of the benefits to the state, the returns
accruing from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at this period is assumed to be high. While no figure is available to
indicate in clear terms this assumption, it is on record that major hotels and guest houses, major transportation
companies and vendors pay a percentage of their income as tax to the state. Much benefit also accrues to the private
sector as artists, designers, engineers, transporters, hoteliers, artisans, retailers at various outlets and many others
experience a boom from the state’s tourism initiative.
293
The social atmosphere, particularly in Calabar is charged as social engagements abound throughout the festive
season. Residents key into the festive mood to arrange other social outings such as weddings, birthdays, chieftaincy
ceremonies and children parties during this season. The designation of Cross River State as the foremost tourist
destination in Nigeria is a boost to the economic, social and the political profile of the state. The respectability earned by
Cross River State in the comity of Nigerian states accrues partly from its tourism initiatives. Local and international media
echo the need to visit the state for what it has to offer on daily basis. Well before the opening of Tinapa Business Resort,
the international media were awash with messages on the facility and tourists began visiting the resort well before its
commissioning. The state also understands the primacy of the Nigerian movie industry – Nollywood in social and
economic development and has provided a home for the film industry at the Tinapa resort. Cross River State is therefore
to Nollywood what California is to Hollywood in the United States of America.
8. Projections: The Future of Tourism in Cross River State
With so much potential, one can safely conclude that when crude oil is exhausted in Nigeria, Cross River State would
already have found an alternative economic footing in the area of ecological and cultural tourism. The tourism sub-sector
can only survive if the potential is developed. Policies must be instituted to ensure more infrastructural and human capital
development in addition to sensitization to ensure that the local or host population understands and keys into the tourism
drive to contribute its quota.
There is also a need to enhance security. Even though the state is now acclaimed to be the best secured in Nigeria,
the expanding social profile is bound to come with new social challenges. A need therefore arises to put a firm security
network on ground for the sake of the thriving tourism industry. Political and social stability are also necessary for
sustainable patronage. A turbulent political climate can only repel visitors. Terrorism in all forms, kidnapping, political and
religious violence are apathetic to the growth of tourism.
Moreover, it has been proposed that depoliticizing and privatizing the tourism sector will accelerate the growth of the
industry. Government should initiate favourable and liberal legislations and policies for the participation of the private
sector. International conglomerates should be wooed to invest in the expansion of the hospitality infrastructure at various
locations in the state. Government should become less involved in direct investments. The practice whereby the private
sector funds Carnival Calabar and Calabar Festival should be extended to other products of cultural and eco-tourism for
which the state is known. It is possible that these tourism products will later become self-sustaining with some internal
restructuring. As a global economic trend, free market systems ensure healthy competition among investors. This is a
standard formula for rapid development, which could work in the Cross River State tourism sub-sector as it has worked in
other capitalist economic sub-systems.
References
Brooks, Jeffrey S. and Anthony H. Normore. (2010) “Educational Leadership and Globalization: Literacy for a Glocal Perspective.”
Educational Policy Vol. 24 No.1: 52-82.
Carlson, Amanda B. (2010) “Carnival Calabar: A Trinidadian Tradition Returns to Africa”. African Arts. Vol 43, No. 4 Winter. 42 -59.
Eyo, Ekpo. (2008) Masterpieces of Nigerian Art. Abuja: Federal Ministry of Information and Communication.
Hughes, Howard. (2000) Arts, Entertainment and Tourism. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Middleton, Victor and Jackie Clarke. (2008) Marketing in Travel and Tourism. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.
Willet, Frank. (1981) African Arts. London: Thames and Hudson.
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The Impact of Macroeconomic Variables on Stock Prices:

An Empirical Analysis of Karachi Stock Exchange
Muhammad Mubashir Hussain
GC University, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Aamir
Hailey College of Commerce
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Corresponding author Email: aamir@hcc.edu.pk
Nosheen Rasool*
Maleeha Fayyaz*
Maryam Mumtaz*
GC University, Lahore, Pakistan*
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p295
Abstract The intention of this study was to investigate the causal relationship, both long-run and short-run, between KSE (Karachi Stock
Exchange) and some macroeconomic variables in Pakistan. The monthly data of all macroeconomic variables and stock prices was
taken from January 2001 to December 2010. In this paper, the variables which have not been previously studied by the researchers in
Pakistan were also included. The set of macroeconomic variables used in this study as an independent variables were Exchange Rate
(ER), Foreign Exchange Reserves (FER), Industrial Production Index (IPI), Interest Rate (IR), Imports (M), Money Supply (MS),
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Exports (X). The stock price index of KSE, which is the largest stock exchange of Pakistan, was taken
as a dependent variable. The statistical techniques, which were employed in this study, include the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and
Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS) unit root test, Johansen Co-integration test, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and
Granger Causality test. The study revealed the presence of long-run association between macroeconomics variables and stock prices.
FER, IR, M, MS and WPI showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices, while ER and X indicated a negative and
insignificant impact on stock prices but IPI has a negative but significant relationship with stock prices. The two error correction terms like
Vecm1 (-1) and Vecm2 (-1) were resulted from VECM, the first error correction term was significant and indicated short term adjustments
towards the equilibrium path. The results of Granger Causality showed that MS and WPI have bi-directional relation while ER, FER and
M have uni-directional relationship with the stock prices but IPI, IR and X showed not any casual relationship.
Key words: Exchange Rate (ER), Foreign Exchange Reserve (FER), Industrial Production Index (IPI), Interest Rate (IR), Imports (M),
Money supply (MS), Whole Sale Price Index (WPI), Exports (X), Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).
1. Introduction
The performance of stock exchange is a debatable issue in any country because it plays an important role in global
economics and financial markets due to its impact on corporate finance and economic activity. The efficient stock
exchange diversifies the domestic funds and activates the productive investment projects, which flourish the economic
activities in a country, but this is only possible if the stock market have significant relationship with the macroeconomic
variables.
The capital market plays a dominant role in the economic growth and development because it transfers the funds
from the savers to the borrowers, but it is only possible if it works efficiently. By investigating the relationship between the
stock prices and macroeconomic variables, the investors and the policy makers can make a better investment decisions
and can improve the county’s overall perception and economic conditions. Stock exchanges enable the firms to attain
capital quickly due to the ease with which the securities are traded. (Adjasi and Biekpe, 2006).
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The empirical literature consists of substantial number of studies that examine the movements and relationship of stock
prices with the macroeconomic variables. Mohammad et al. (2009) investigated correlation between macroeconomic
variables and stock prices of KSE and found that M2 and IR have negative affect on stock prices. Rizwan and Khan
(2007) deduced that MSCI world index, 6-months LIBOR, money supply and CPI showed the stock return volatility in
KSE. Nishat and Shaheen (2004) found that the industrial production index was the largest positive determinant of stock
prices in Pakistan. While on the other hand, inflation was the largest negative determinant of Pakistan stock prices.
Lijuan and Ye (2010) evaluated the relationship between macroeconomic variables and Shanghai Composite Index
of listed companies in China, and they concluded that stock prices were positively related to Exchange Rate, Interest
Rate, Macroeconomic Prosperity Index and Consumer Confidence Index, while negatively related with Corporate Goods
Price Index. Sharman and Mahendru (2010) found that stock market was highly affected due to changes in
macroeconomic variables. Asmy et al. (2009) scrutinized the association of stock prices with Inflation (CPI), Money
Supply (M2) and Exchange Rate (Ex) in pre-crisis and post-crises, and found a positive relation in pre-crises period and
negative association in post-crises period. Humpe and Macmillan (2009) also found a relationship between
macroeconomic variables and stock market for USA and Japan stock market.
Qayyum and Anwar (2011) found that a monetary policy has a positive and significant impact on the volatility of
stock market. Singh, Mehta and Varsha (2011) examined the casual relationship based on market portfolio rather than
single stock. The basic purpose of this study was to verify the assimilation and performance of market in current
conditions, and it became significant for the origination of new macroeconomic policies.
This paper provides further empirical evidence regarding the long-run and short-run relationship between the stock
prices of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and macroeconomic variables. It is also investigated that either the stock prices
act as a leading indicator for macroeconomic variables or vise versa. This paper is structured as follows: the next section
provides the objectives of the study. Third section gives the history of KSE. Forth section presents the literature review.
Fifth section presents the research methodology and data base. Sixth section discusses the empirical results and
analysis and seventh section provides the conclusion and recommendations.
2. Objectives of the Study
The overall purpose of this research paper is to find out that either there exists any causal relationship, both long run,
short run, between the stock prices and macroeconomic variables or not. Underlying objectives of this study are the
following:
1. To find that either there is any long-run relationship between the macroeconomic variables and stock prices or not.
2. To find the short term adjustments towards the equilibrium path.
3. To unravel the causal relationship between the stock prices and a set of macroeconomic variables and also the
direction or nature of this causal relationship.
3. History of KSE
Karachi Stock Exchange is one of the largest and most dynamic stock exchanges in Pakistan. It was established on
September 18, 1947 and was incorporated, as a company limited by guarantee, on March 10, 1949. At the time of its
formation, it had 90 members, number of active brokers was 5-6, and five companies were initially listed, with a paid up
capital of Rs 37 million. Later, the number of companies reached to 15 with the total paid up capital of Rs.117 million.
In 1960, the number of listed companies in KSE rose to 81 companies with a paid up capital of Rs 1.0 billion, and
the market capitalization was about 1.9 billion at that time. In 1966, the number of listed companies reached to 200 and
KSE stopped to admit new members. It also modernized its operations by establishing Clearing House in 1969. In 1970,
listing at KSE had risen to 291 companies and market capitalization had reached to Rs 5.66 billion. Annual share trading
turnover, also increased to more than 15.4 million shares traded, which was 3.5 times more than 4.4 millions traded in
1965. In 1980 the number of listed companies reached to 314, market capitalization was Rs 9.77 billion while annual
turnover was 25.8 million shares.
In 1990, 33 companies were delisted due to certain reasons and the number of listed companies reached to 487.
The market capitalization increased more than 6 times and reached to Rs 61.8 billion due to which the aggregate paid-up
capital became twice, and annual turnover was 252.9 million shares (increased almost 10 times as compared to 1980’s).
In the end of 1991, 6 companies were delisted and remaining number of listed companies reached to 542. Market
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capitalization and turnover were doubled. Till the end of 1995, the number of listed companies at KSE reached to 764
(including one merger). The paid up capital was Rs 134,427 million and total turnover was 3051.09 million shares.
In 2002, Pakistan stock market was declared as the “best performing market” in the world, while in 2003 and 2006 it
was ranked at third. During 2003-04, KSE share index presented an increase of 55.2% and market capitalization was
increased by 81.9%.
From 2004 to 2005, KSE 100 index reflected a sharp increase of 47.2% (from 5279 points to 7770.3 points). During
the same period the market capitalization presented a growth of 55.8 %. As a result of growth rate, Karachi stock market
became one of the five best performing markets in the world. Market capitalization was increased by 35% in 2007 as
compared to 2006. In 2007, the KSE 100 index was increased so much and reached to 12961 points.
On 20 April 2008, KSE-100 Index crossed the level of 15,000 points for the first time in its stock exchange history.
Moreover, the increase of 7.4 % in 2008 made it the best performer among major emerging markets. In 2009, the
numbers of listed companies were 654 at KSE and market capitalization was 8.561 trillion. In 2009, the KSE 100 index
and 30 index increased by 20-25%.
On 30 July 2010, the market capitalization of KSE became 2.95 trillion. During the period from 2010-11 (July-
March), the capital markets presented rising trend and posted modest gains. Total 638 companies were listed at the
Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) in 2010-11 and the total listed capital during that period was of Rs. 920.1 billion.
It was found (Ali, 2011) that inflation and foreign remittance had a negative impact while industrial production index,
market P/Es and growth rate of market capitalization had a positive impact on stock returns for Dhaka Stock Exchange.
Asaolu and Ogunmuyiwa (2011) inspected the impact of macroeconomic variables on Average Share Price (ASP) for
Nigeria and found the long run relationship between macroeconomic variables and ASP.
Ashish Kumar (2011) examined the nature of causal relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock
market of India, which corresponded with the real and financial sector of the economy. The study adjudicated that Indian
financial market not so good because only 2-3% Indians invested in the market. Qayyum and Anwar (2011) checked the
association between the monetary policy and the stock market in Pakistan, and found that a monetary policy has a
positive and significant impact on the volatility of stock market.
Singh, Mehta and Varsha (2011) observed the casual relationship between Taiwan Stock Return (portfolio) and
macroeconomic variables, and the basic purpose of this study was to verify the assimilation and performance of market in
current conditions, and it became significant for the origination of new macroeconomic policies. Ali et al. (2010) inspected
the causal relationship between the macroeconomic indicators and stock prices of KSE and found that there was a co-
integration between the industrial production index and stock prices. They also found that there was no causal
relationship between the macroeconomic indicators and stock prices in Pakistan.
The study in China found that industrial production, short term interest rate, money supply, and exchange rate had
significant positive relation with stock prices. While inflation had negative relation and long term interest rate had no
significant relation with stock prices, and it was also deduced that shanghai stock index act as leading indicator of
macroeconomic variables in china. (Garcia and Yue, 2010). The relationship between macroeconomic variables and
Shanghai Composite Index (Stock Prices) of listed companies in China was also found. The study concluded that the
stock prices were positively related with the Exchange Rate, Interest Rate, Macroeconomic Prosperity Index and
Consumer Confidence Index and negatively related with Corporate Goods Price Index. (Lijuan and Ye, 2010).
Sharman and Mahendru (2010) confirmed the impact of major macroeconomic variables on stock prices in case of
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India, and the empirical results exhibited that exchange rate and gold prices highly
affect the stock prices. Singh (2010) examined a causal relationship between the macroeconomic variables and stock
market index i.e. BSE Sensex of Indian economy, and found a bilateral causal relationship between IIP and BSE Sensex
and found a unilateral causal relationship between WPI and BSE Sensex.
Asmy et al. (2009) scrutinized the association of stock prices with Inflation, Money Supply and Exchange Rate in
pre-crises (1987-1995) and in post-crises (1999 - 2007), and found a long run relationship with stock prices in both
periods. Inflation rate (CPI) had a positive while money supply had a negative relationship with stock prices. Exchange
rate had a positive relation in pre-crises period and negative association in post-crises period. Humpe and Macmillan
(2009) studied the influence of various macroeconomic variables and identify distinction and resemblance among USA
and Japan stock markets.
Mohammad et al. (2009) investigated correlation between macroeconomic variables and stock prices of KSE in
Pakistan, and found that the foreign exchange reserves and foreign exchange rate significantly affected the stock prices.
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While IPI and GFCF considerably affected the stock prices, and also found that M2 and IR have negative effect on stock
prices. Donatas Pilinkus (2009) studied that the macroeconomic variables i.e. M1, M2 and IDCG found a bi-directional
causality with stock prices in Lithuania.
Sohail and Hussain (2009) examined the long-run and short-run relationship between macroeconomic variables and
Lahore stock exchange LSE25 index, and found that there was a negative impact of CPI on stock returns and IPI, ER and
M2 had a significant positive impact on the stock returns but three month treasury bills had an insignificant positive impact
on stock prices. Gay, Jr (2008) found that there was a negative relationship between stock prices and oil prices, while the
exchange rate had a positive relationship with stock prices in four largest emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia,
India, and China.
Hasan and Nasir (2008) found that inflation, industrial production index and oil prices were not significantly related
while exchange rate, money supply and short term interest rate were significantly related with the equity prices. Ihsan et
al. (2007) explored the relationship of economic and financial variables with behavior of stock return and found that the
unanticipated realizations of economic and financial variables were found to be a significant determinant of movement in
stock returns.
Rizwan and Khan (2007) deduced that MSCI world index, 6-months LIBOR, money supply and CPI showed the
stock return volatility in KSE. Gan et al. (2006) scrutinized that New Zealand stock index was not a leading indicator of
macroeconomic variables. Erdogan and Ozlale (2005) investigated the influence of varying macroeconomic variables on
stock return of turkey and found that IPI and ER were positively related with the stock return. On the other hand,
Circulation in Money (M1) had no any significant impact on stock return.
Al-Sharkas (2004) found that inflation and interest rate affects negatively on stock prices, while real economic
activity and Money supply (M2) affects positively on Amman stock prices in Jordan. Nishat and Shaheen (2004) found
that the industrial production index was the largest positive determinant of stock prices while inflation was the largest
negative determinant of Pakistan stock prices.
Nath and Samanta (2003) investigated the relationship between Exchange Rate and Stock Prices of India but the
result of this study was uncertain because it was against all other previous studies. Chang, Yeung, and Yip (2000) found
that Money supply, interest rate, commodity prices and capacity utilization were negatively correlated. While inflation,
consumer expectation, manufacturing contracts and orders were positively related with stock prices.
5. Data Description and Research Methodology
5.1. Data description
This study analyzed the long run, short run and causal relationship between macroeconomic variables [Real Exchange
Rate (ER), Foreign Exchange Reserve (FER), Industrial Production Index (IPI), Interest Rate of three month treasury bills
(IR), Imports (M), Money Supply (MS), Wholesale Price Index as inflation (WPI) and Exports (X)] and stock prices of
Karachi stock exchange for the period January 2001 to December 2010 by using monthly observation. Data of these
macroeconomic variables were extracted from “International Financial Statistics” (IFS) and “Monthly Bulletins of
Statistics” while data of KSE was collected from the Karachi Stock Exchange.
To determine the effect of real economic variables on stock prices, it was preferred to use the data in real terms
rather than in nominal terms. When the data was collected, the values of Foreign Exchange Reserve, Interest Rate,
Imports, Exports and Money Supply were in nominal form so, they were converted into real terms by using the following
formula:
The base year of Exchange Rate, Industrial Production Index and Wholesale Price Index from 2001-10 is not same. So,
the data of these variables were transformed into a same base year of 2000. The nature of our observable data is
secondary.
A. Dependent variable and its trend
Stock Prices of KSE 100 index has been used as a dependent variable. The graph represented the trend from the year
2001 to 2010.
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Figure 1: Stock Prices of Karachi Stock Exchange Index (SPK)
share prices of KSE
16000.000
14000.000
12000.000
10000.000
SPK
8000.000 share prices of KSE

6000.000
4000.000
2000.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
From the graph, it is construable that in first seven years of twenty first century the share index showed upward trend. But
in 2008, due to uncertainties it showed a downward trend but after that period, the trend goes upward as shown in the
graph.
B. Independent Variables and their trend
i. Exchange Rate (ER)

Exchange rate is a rate at which one currency is converted into another currency. The exchange rate is used in the
foreign exchange market, when converting one currency into another currency or when engaging in speculation or
trading. The graph represented the trend from the year 2001 to 2010.
Figure 2: Exchange Rate (ER)
Real Effective ER
120.000
100.000
80.000
ER
60.000 Real Effective ER

40.000
20.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
The above graph showed relatively stable Exchange rate from 2001 to 2010.
ii. Foreign Exchange Reserve (FER)
Foreign Exchange Reserves are the foreign currency deposits and bonds which are held by the central banks and
monetary authorities. Following graph showed a trend in foreign exchange reserves.
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Figure 3: Foreign Exchange Reserve (FER)

Foreign Exchange Reserves
120.000
100.000
80.000
FER
60.000 Foreign Exchange Reserves

40.000
20.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
From 2001 to 2008, it showed an upward trend. But after 2008, it showed downward trend and then in 2009 it increases
slightly.
iii. Industrial Production Index (IPI)

Industrial production index is a macroeconomic indicator, used to measure the volume of output related with the
manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors. The upward movement of industrial production index can be shown by the
following graph.
Figure 4: Industrial Production Index (IPI)

Industrial Production Index
300.000
250.000
200.000
150.000 Industrial Production Index
IPI
100.000
50.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
Overall industrial production index graph showed the upward trend.
iv. Interest Rate (IR)

Interest rate is the rate charged by the lender to a borrower, for the use of assets i.e. cash, consumer goods, vehicle or
building. The graph represented the trend from the year 2001 to 2010.
Figure 5: Interest Rate (IR)

Interest rate (Treasury bills)
0.140
0.120
0.100
0.080
Interest rate (Treasury bills)
IR
0.060
0.040
0.020
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
After 2003, IR represented the gradual upward trend as shown in the graph.
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v. Imports (M)
Imports cover the goods and services which are brought into a country from another country. These goods and services
are produced by the foreign sectors and brought by the domestic country. Following graph showed a trend in imports.
Figure 6: Imports (M)

Imports
1800.000
1600.000
1400.000
1200.000
1000.000 Imports
M
800.000
600.000
400.000
200.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
From this graph, it is concluded that Pakistani imports boomed over this period.
vi. Money Supply (MS)

It includes different types of monetary aggregates M0, M1 and M2. Where M0, M1 are the narrow measures while M2 is a
broader aggregate. M2 is composed of currency in circulation, demand deposits, other deposits with SBP, time deposits
and Resident Foreign Currency Deposits (RFCDs) of the scheduled banks. The graph represented the trend from the
year 2001 to 2010.
Figure 7: Money Supply (MS)

Money Supply
30000.000
25000.000
20000.000
MS
15000.000 Money Supply

10000.000
5000.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
From above, it is infer that money supply sharply increased in Pakistan in last few years.
vii. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

WPI reflects a raise in the general price level of goods and services. It can be used as an indicator of inflation. Following
graph showed a trend in wholesale price index.
Figure 8: Wholesale Price Index

Wholesale Price Index
350.000
300.000
250.000
200.000
WPI
Wholesale Price Index

150.000
100.000
50.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
301
The inflation reflected an upward trend in Pakistan from 2001 to 2010 but in the last five years, high inflation was
witnessed.
viii. Exports (X)

Exports are the goods and services which are produced domestically and sold to the foreign countries, in terms of foreign
currency. Export is the oldest form of economic transfer which occurs on a larger scale with a few restrictions on trade
such as tariff and subsidies. The graph represented the trend from the year 2001 to 2010.
Figure 9: Exports (X)

Exports
900.000
800.000
700.000
600.000
500.000 Exports
X
400.000
300.000
200.000
100.000
0.000
2001 Jan
2002 Jan
2003 Jan
2004 Jan
2006 Jan
2007 Jan
2008 Jan
2009 Jan
2010 Jan
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
2005 jan
Years
Pakistani exports showed an upward trend during 2001-2010, although it has been facing a lot of fluctuations over the
period but the overall trend was upward.
2. Theoretical Framework
EXCHANGE RATE
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
RESERVES
INTEREST RATE
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
INDEX
SHARE PRICES OF
KSE
IMPORTS
MONEY SUPPLY
WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX
EXPORTS
Firstly, descriptive statistics were applied to find out the Mean, Median, Mode, Standard deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis,
Jarque-Bera Test and Probability. Unit root test was employed to check the stationarity of variables. Johansen
Cointegration technique and Vector Error Correction model were applied to investigate the long-run and short-run
302
relationship. Lastly, Granger Causality Technique was conducted to find out the causal relationship between the
macroeconomic variables and stock prices.
Unit Root Test

Unit root test was used to determine the stationarity of data. Stationarity of data was very important aspect for empirical
analysis. In this paper, stationarity is checked by two unit root tests: (i) Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) Test; and (ii)
Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS) Test. The ADF test was well known and probably the most applied test in the
unit root framework.
It can be shown as:

 1  yt    i y t  t
m
 yt   1  i
i 1
yt   1   2t  yt  1    iyt  i  t

m
i 1
The test about the stationarity of time series always depends upon the coefficient  of the regressor yt-1.  = -1 but if
=1 then =0, then as a result the null hypothesis =0 is not rejected, because computed absolute value of  statistics is
lesser than the critical values of Dickey Fuller (DF) asymptotic distribution. If  is negative or less than one, then the null
hypothesis =0 is rejected because the computed absolute value of  statistics is greater than the critical values of
Dickey Fuller (DF) asymptotic distribution.
Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) is another test, which was used to test the stationarity in this research
paper. Basically in this technique, a null hypothesis reflects that an observable time series is stationary. Its null
hypothesis is opposite to ADF test.
Johansen Co-integration Test

The Johansen co-integration test, named after Soren Johansen, is a procedure for testing co-integration of time series
data in same integrated order. Johansen’s methodology takes its starting point from vector auto-regression (VAR). The
Johansen Co-integration technique can be expressed as:
x t  A 0  A 1  x t  1  A 2  x t  2  ........  A k  1  x t  k   x t  k   t
The first step is to test the order of integration of the variables. The second step is to select the appropriate lag length.
The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Schwarz Bayesian Criterion (SBC) are used to select the optimum lag length.
Co-integrating vectors are determined in third step. For this purpose the Johansen Co-integration technique describes
two likelihood ratio tests, one is the “trace test” and the second one is the “maximum Eigen value test”.
n
 trace ( r )   T  ln( 1   )
i  r 1
i
The null hypothesis is that the number of the co-integrating vector is less than or equal to r against the alternative
hypothesis that there is one or more co-integrating vectors which shows that r > 0.
 max( r , r  1)  T ln(1   r  1)
The null hypothesis is that the (rank) = r against the alternative hypothesis that the  = r+1. The null hypothesis
suggests that there is Co-integration relationship equal to r against the alternative hypothesis, that there is one or more
than r Co-integration relationship (i.e. r+1).
Vector Error Correction Model (VECM)

Error correction model is a procedure having such characteristics that if the current state deviate from its long-run
relationship than such deviation will be fed into its short-run dynamics. To find out the short run dynamics in the model the
vector error correction model was applied. For this, the following VAR equation is considered:
x t  A 1 x t  1  A 2 x t  2  .......... ...  A k x t  k   t
This can be rewrite in a vector error correction model (VECM) as follow:

 x t   1  x t  1   2  x t  2  .......   k  1  x t  k  1   x t  1   t
303
Where  = Matrics of parameters, which indicates the long-run relationship in the model. However,      where 
is the speed of adjustment towards the equilibrium parameters and   is the matrics of parameters and tells us about the
long-run relationship.
Granger Causality Test Analysis

Granger causality technique investigates the causality from independent to dependent variable and also from dependent
to independent variable. It is expressed as:
6. Analysis and Results
6.1. Descriptive Statistics
The Mean, Median, Standard deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis, Jarque-Bera Test and Probability of all variables can be
determined by the descriptive statistics. The summary statistics of all variables is shown below in Table 1.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics of KSE
SPK ER FER IPI IR M MS WPI X

Mean 7290.481 94.48107 63.93853 168.4012 0.055592 909.3435 21861.55 156.3021 574.1267
Median 7585.525 94.45200 72.32850 183.0000 0.060000 964.3150 23397.14 140.8000 579.2755
Maximum 15125.89 108.2200 99.87700 247.1700 0.126000 1543.403 28140.77 287.6350 818.2820
Minimum 1133.430 87.24000 10.46700 76.33700 0.011000 411.9840 14173.13 102.9100 378.5370
Std. Dev. 4072.490 3.136398 24.87112 44.44625 0.023734 306.1945 3850.954 49.81788 90.10244
Skewness 0.009053 0.478185 -0.469782 -0.563516 0.255401 0.080217 -0.605252 0.898271 0.110525
Kurtosis 1.856815 4.634988 2.082000 2.118009 3.811923 1.933788 2.151037 2.693190 2.668287
Jarque-Bera 6.535995 17.93915 8.627529 10.24056 4.600692 5.812736 10.93029 16.60847 0.794482
Probability 0.038083 0.000127 0.013383 0.005974 0.100224 0.054674 0.004232 0.000247 0.672172
Sum 874857.7 11337.73 7672.623 20208.14 6.671000 109121.2 2623386. 18756.25 68895.20
Sum Sq. Dev. 1.97E+09 1170.602 73610.17 235080.8 0.067035 11156851 1.76E+09 295336.7 966095.6
Observations 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120 120
Table 1 shows that the average value of SPK is 7290.481 and its Standard Deviation is 4072.490 which is relatively very
high as compare to other variables. It shows that there was significant variability or high volatility (Risk) in the stock prices
during 2001-10. High volatility indicated that there was a higher risk in stock prices. While the standard deviation of IR is
relatively very low as compare to other variables and its value is 0.023734, and its average value is 0.055592. MS has
highest range as compare to other variables which is from 14173.13 to 28140.77. From skewness, we observed that ER,
IR, M, WPI and X are positively skewed while FER, IPI and MS are negatively skewed which clarified that the variables
are asymmetrical. Skewness value of SPK is very near to zero so it is relatively symmetrical. Kurtosis values indicated
that SPK, FER, IPI, M, MS, WPI and X have platy-kurtic distribution while ER and IR have lepto-kurtic distribution, and it
is concluded that variables are not normally distributed. By analyzing Jarque-Bera test, it is found that no variable is
normally distributed because it is based on skewness or kurtosis. P value of SPK, ER, FER, IPI, IR, M, MS and WPI are
less than or equal to 10%.
6.2. Unit Root Test
In this paper, ADF and KPSS unit root test was applied to check the stationarity of data. To apply Johansen Co-
integration technique, it is compulsory that our variables should be at same integrated order. The results of Augmented
Dickey Fuller (ADF) test at ‘intercept” & at “trend and intercept” are given in the following table:
304
Table 2. ADF Unit Root Test
Level/First Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test statistics

Variables Difference/Second Decision
Difference With Intercept With Intercept & Trend
-4.171803*** -4.267396***
Level
(0.0011) (0.0049)
ER I(1)
-13.31117*** -13.26280***
First Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-2.250514 -2.299465
Level
(0.1899) (0.4306)
FER I(1)
-4.810189*** -5.066457***
First Difference
(0.0001) (0.0003)
-1.522998 -0.608975
Level
(0.5183) (0.9763)
IPI I(1)
-2.814369* -3.152211*
First Difference
(0.0596) (0.0999)
-2.267029 -2.255293
Level
(0.1844) (0.4545)
IR I(1)
-8.826909*** -9.015341***
First Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-1.402765 -3.132617
Level
(0.5788) (0.1037)
M I(1)
-11.51574* -11.46948***
First Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-2.114513 -1.414031
Level
(0.2395) (0.8518)
MS -2.301657 -2.817001 I(2)*****
First Difference
(0.1733) (0.1944)
-16.38277*** -16.29387***
Second Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
2.373712 -0.207759
Level
(1.0000) (0.9922)
WPI I(1)
-5.714517*** -6.426679***
First Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-2.463899 -4.848872***
Level
(0.1270) (0.0007)
X I(1)
-4.634876*** -4.651032***
First Difference
(0.0002) (0.0014)
-1.109682 -1.495223
Level
(0.7105) (0.8261)
I(1)
SPK -9.463223*** -9.426622***
First Difference
(0.0000) (0.0000)
Critical values:
1% level of significance -3.48 -4.03
Note:
*Significant at 10% level of significance.
**Significant at 5% and 10% level of significance.
*** Significant at 1%, 5% and 10% level of significance.
( ) shows p-value.
***** all variables are integrated of order 1, i.e. I(1) except money supply (MS) and it is known that long- run relationship can’t be find
until the order of integration is same of all variables. So, to get the more authentic results, KPSS test is also applied.
305
Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS) test is another test to analyze the stationarity of data. The results of KPSS unit
root test are more authentic and it is more preferable than ADF test. The results of KPSS test is shown in table 3:
Table 3. KPSS Unit Root Test
Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-

Level/First
test statistics Shin (KPSS) test statistics
Variables Difference/Second Conclusion
With Intercept With With Intercept
Difference With Intercept
& Trend Intercept & Trend
-4.171803 -4.267396
Level 0.176454** 0.083214**
(0.0011) (0.0049)
ER I(1)
-13.31117 -13.26280
First Difference 0.070609** 0.054745**
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-2.250514 -2.299465
Level 0.242896** 0.245446
(0.1899) (0.4306)
FER I(1)
-4.810189 -5.066457
(0.0001) (0.0003)
-1.522998 -0.608975
Level 1.108022 0.300824
(0.5183) (0.9763)
IPI I(1)
-2.814369 -3.152211
(0.0596) (0.0999)
-2.267029 -2.255293
Level 0.159885** 0.167092*
(0.1844) (0.4545)
IR I(1)
-8.826909 -9.015341
First Difference 0.271661** 0.146877*
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-1.402765 -3.132617
Level 1.107392 0.199065*
(0.5788) (0.1037)
M I(1)
-11.51574 -11.46948
First Difference 0.500000* 0.500000
(0.0000) (0.0000)
-2.114513 -1.414031
Level 1.081593 0.298409
(0.2395) (0.8518)
-2.301657 -2.817001
MS First Difference 0.407360** 0.092226**
(0.1733) (0.1944)
-16.38277 -16.29387 I(1)
Second Difference _ _
(0.0000) (0.0000)
2.373712 -0.207759
Level 1.212505 0.309180
(1.0000) (0.9922)
WPI
-5.714517 -6.426679 I(1)
First Difference 0.750177 0.061130**
(0.0000) (0.0000)
Second Difference - - 0.136425** -
-2.463899 -4.848872
Level 1.122280 0.190266*
(0.1270) (0.0007)
X I(1)
-4.634876 -4.651032
(0.0002) (0.0014)
-1.109682 -1.495223
Level 0.965176 0.211457
(0.7105) (0.8261)
SPK I(1)
-9.463223 -9.426622
(0.0000) (0.0000)
Critical values:
1% level of significance -3.48 -4.03 0.73 0.21

Note:
* Significant at 1% level of significance.
** Significant at 1%, 5% and 10% level of significance.
( ) shows p values.
306
Finally we can say that all variables are integrated at first order. Table 4 shows the final decision about the stationarity as
shown below:
Table 4. Final Decision
Variables ADF Test KPSS Test

With intercept With With intercept Decision
With intercept
and trend intercept and trend
Exchange Rate (ER) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Foreign Exchange Rate (FER) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Industrial Production Index (IPI) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Interest Rate (IR) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Imports (M)* 1st 1st 1st level 1st
Money Supply (MS)** 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
Whole Sale Price Index (WPI)*** 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st
Exports (X) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Karachi Stock Price Index (SPK) 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Note:
*Imports (M) is stationary at first difference according to the ADF test, and in KPSS it is also stationary at first difference (at intercept).
Therefore, we take it at first difference because most of the results support the I (1) order of integration.
**Money supply (MS) is stationary at 2nd difference according to the ADF test, but KPSS test reflected that money supply is stationary at
first difference. So, results of KPSS test are more preferred. Therefore ,level of integration of money supply is 1.
***Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is significant at first difference, only KPSS (at intercept and trend) results showed second order of
integration, that’s why we can say that level of integration of WPI is 1.
6.3. Johansen Co-Integration Technique
Once the stationarity is checked, the Johansen Co-integration technique can be applied. The trace statistics trace and
maximum Eigen value max statistics results for KSE are shown in the following table:
Table 5 Results of Johansen Co-integration for KSE
Alternative
Null Hypothesis 5% Critical Value P value
Hypothesis
λtrace tests λtrace value
r=0 r>0 678.3544 208.4374 0.0000

r≤1 r>1 498.6227 169.5991 0.0000
r≤2 r>2 362.2602 134.6780 0.0000
r≤3 r>3 258.5987 103.8473 0.0000
r≤4 r>4 167.7262 76.97277 0.0000
r≤5 r>5 116.6732 54.07904 0.0000
r≤6 r>6 73.63836 35.19275 0.0000
r≤7 r>7 37.75584 20.26184 0.0001
r≤8 r>8 10.87958 9.164546 0.0234
λmax tests λmax value
r=0 r=1 179.7317 59.24000 0.0000

r=1 r=2 136.3625 53.18784 0.0000
307
r=2 r=3 103.6615 47.07897 0.0000

r=3 r=4 90.87253 40.95680 0.0000
r=4 r=5 51.05296 34.80587 0.0003
r=5 r=6 43.03485 28.58808 0.0004
r=6 r=7 35.88252 22.29962 0.0004
r=7 r=8 26.87626 15.89210 0.0007
r=8 r=9 10.87958 9.164546 0.0234
Johansen Co-integration results showed that there are 9 co-integrating vectors in the trace statistics and 9 co-integrating
vectors in the maximum .Eigen value statistics in KSE. So, we can say that there is a long-run relationship between the
macroeconomics variables (ER, FER, IPI, IR, M MS, WPI, X) and stock prices of Karachi Stock Exchange.
From the normalized co-integrating equation, it can be checked that either there is a positive or a negative relationship
between macroeconomics variables and stock prices. The normalized co-integrating coefficients of first co-integrating
equation are estimated as shown in the table below:
Table 6 Normalized Co-integrating Equation for KSE
SPK ER FER IPI IR M MS WPI X

1.000000 84.05592* -85.59601* 24.17215* -71700.44* -7.820086* -0.479840* -33.65123* 1.666985*
S.E. -69.6632 -15.9321 -9.35437 -9785.08 -3.18955 -0.16525 -6.37116 -4.75529
t-value -1.20660 5.37255 -2.58405 7.32753 2.45178 2.90372 5.28181 -0.35055
* shows the value of coefficients
The first normalized equation can be written as:

SPK   0   1 ER   2 FER   3 IPI   4 IR   5 M   6 MS   7 WPI   8 X
By putting the values of coefficients in the above equation, the above equation cab be written as:
SPK  12749 .04  84 .05592 ER  85 .59601 FER  24 .17215 IPI  71700 .44 IR
 7 .820086 M  0 .479840 MS  33 .65123 WPI  1 .666985 X
According to the normalized co-integrating equation, there is a negative and insignificant relationship between stock
prices and real exchange rate (ER). With costly dollar; the energy cost, imported input cost and debt servicing cost are
sure to go up and may negatively affect the balance sheets of companies and would have adverse effect on the
profitability of the companies. This result is consistent with the Soenen and Hennigar (1988), Kwon and Shin (1999) in
case of Korea, Ibrahim and Yusoff (2001), Karamustafa and Kucukkale (2003), Ibrahim and Aziz (2003). In case of
Malaysian equity market, Yildirtan (2007), Ozturk (2008) and Abugri (2008) for Argentina and Chile because they all
found a negative relationship between the exchange rate and stock prices. Abugri (2008) found that there is negative but
significant relationship between the exchange rate and stock prices for the Brazilian and Mexican stock returns. Adam
and Tweneboah (2008) found a negative relationship between the exchange rate and Ghana stock market. While this
result is inconsistent with Mukherjee and Naka (1995), Aggarwal (1981), Maysami and Koh (2000),Yusoff (2003) for
Malaysian stock market, Maysami et al.(2004) for Singapore stock market, Ratanapakorn and Sharma (2007) and Sohail
and Hussain (2009), who found that there is a positive relationship between exchange rate and stock market.
FER showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices.due to increase in FER the country can fulfil
foreign exchange obligations (import bills etc). The result is consistent with the Maghayereh (2003) and Mohammad et al.
(2009) who found the positive relationship between FER and share prices.
IR showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices. The result is consistent with Mukherjee and Naka
(1995), who found positive relationship between stock prices and the short-term interest rate. Similarly, Maysami et al.
(2004) found a positive and significant relationship between the interest rate and stock prices in case of Singapore stock
market. Ratanapakorn and Sharma (2007) in case of US stock market and Sohail and Hussain (2009) in case of Lahore
308
stock exchange found a positive relationship between the three months treasury bills and Stock prices. While the result is
inconsistent with Chen et al. (1986), Choi and Jen (1991), Grerde and Saetterm (1999), Maghayereh (2003), Al-Sharkas
(2004) in case of Jordanian stock market, Yildirtan (2007), Kandir (2008), Adam and Tweneboah (2008) in case of Ghana
stock market, Abugri (2008), Humpe and Macmillan (2009), for Brazil, Argentina and Chile, who found a negative
relationship between interest rate and stock prices.
M showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices. Usually imports included the imports of plants,
machinery and other industrial inputs, generally used for value addition. In Pakistan, every year about 92 products of
machines and about 35 products of textile and leathers segments are imported, for the purposes of manufacturing. This
helps to brighten the perception that production capacity is being built up, which will create value and add to the profits of
the companies. Hence, it affects the companies’ stock prices and EPS, positively and ultimately increase stock prices.
MS showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices. We can justify this relationship in this way that
with improved money supply the cash liquidity improves with investors, institutions, market participants, fund providers
and fund seekers, and thus helps to reduce the markup rate and borrowing cost. Lesser borrowing cost may add to the
corporate profitability so, impact the earnings per share of companies positively and thus has a positive impact on stock
prices. The result is consistent with the Friedman and Schwartz (1963), Bulmash and Trivoli (1991) and Maysami and
Koh (2000) which indicated the positive relation between money supply and stock prices. Similarly, Al-Sharkas (2004) in
case of ASE, Maysami et al. (2004) in case of Singapore stock market, Ratanapakorn and Sharma (2007),Yildirtan
(2007) Hasan and Nasir (2008), Sohail and Hussain (2009)and Humpe and Macmillan (2009) in case of USA, found the
same results. Our result is inconsistent with the study of Fama (1981), Geske and Roll (1983), Maghayereh (2003) which
indicated the negative relationship between money supply and stock prices in case of Amman stock exchange. Abugri
(2008) found negative and significant relationship between money supply and stock prices in case of Brazil and Argentina
but in case of Mexico and Chile found an insignificant relationship. Humpe and Macmillan (2009) found a negative
relationship between money supply and stock prices in case of Japan.
WPI showed a positive and significant relationship with stock prices. When WPI increases, most of the companies
are positioned to pass over the increase in prices to consumers at much higher rates and further enhance their profit
spreads. This increase in profits of companies may have a positive impact on their balance sheet and stock prices.
Companies generally keep good inventory levels. With increased prices, they are sure to be good beneficiaries of
inventory profits, thus it ultimately has a positive impact on stock prices. Our result is consistent with the Firth (1979) in
case of UK, Abdullah and Hayworth (1993), Ibrahim and Yusoff (2001), Abd. Majid et al.(2001), Ibrahim and Aziz (2003),
Islam (2003), Ratanapakorn and Sharma (2007), Adam and Tweneboah (2008) in case of Ghana stock market and Asmy
et al.(2009), because they all found a positive relationship between inflation and stock prices. Our result is inconsistent
with the results of Nelson (1976), Jaffe and Mandelker (1976), Fama and Schwert (1977) in case of USA, Saunders and
Tress (1981) in case of Australia, Fama (1981), Geske and Roll (1983), Chen, Roll and Ross (1986), Mukherjee and
Naka (1995), Naka, Mukherjee and Tufte (1998) in case of India, Maghayereh (2003), Al-Sharkas (2004), Nishat and
Shaheen (2004) in case of Pakistan, Humpe and Macmillan (2009) in case of both USA & Japan and Sohail & Hussain
(2009), because they all found a negative relationship between inflation and stock prices.
IPI represented the negative and significant relationship with stock prices because many factors of listed industrial
sector, like prolong power outages, higher energy cost, strikes, securities concerns, political instability, policy risk, liquidity
constraints, higher interest rate, higher inflation levels, higher cost of doing business, markets multiples and other
financials of the country reduced the competitiveness of the companies and also its production levels, which in turn
impact the stock prices adversely.
An export (X) has a negative but insignificant relationship with stock prices. When an exports decreases, profitability
of export oriented companies also decreases. This resulted in decreased revenue streams and decreased profitability of
the companies with poor dividend payout prospects and will have a negative impact on stock prices.
4. Vector Error Correction Model (VECM)
As co-integrating vectors confirmed the presence of long-run equilibrium, so now the short-run dynamics can also be
analyzed. Two error correction co-integrating equations are observed to check the short-run dynamics, which is shown in
the table below:
309
Table 7 Vector Error Correction Estimates for KSE
Error Correction: D(SPK) D(ER) D(FER) D(IPI) D(IR) D(M) D(MS) D(WPI) D(X)
-0.499703* 0.002191 0.001429 -0.003377 3.28E-07 0.049824 -0.075569 0.000251 -1.65E-05
Vecm1 (-1)
[-2.58644] [ 3.31138] [ 1.47746] [-1.02994] [ 0.27267] [ 1.74169] [-0.73622] [ 0.34049] [-0.00102]
328.6545* -0.853075 1.257671 4.053153 -0.000647 34.84349 20.65208 1.251104 7.941633

Vecm2 (-1)
[ 2.41220] [-1.82798] [ 1.84348] [ 1.75314] [-0.76340] [ 1.72717] [ 0.28530] [ 2.40534] [ 0.69562]
Note:
* shows the value of error correction terms
[ ] shows the “t-values”
The adjustment coefficients Vecm1 (-1) and Vecm2 (-1) showed the speed of adjustment towards the equilibrium path.
According to the above table, the adjustment in SPK is due to the first error correction term (Vecm1) because its
coefficient is less than one with a negative sign and its t-value is greater than two which shows that it is significant. The
second error correction term (Vecm2) is greater than one with the positive sign which indicated the absence of short-run
relationship. So, according to the first error correction term, the SPK is adjusted by 49.9703 percent which is quiet rapid.
This shows that it takes “2 months” (1/0.499703 = 2.00) to eliminate the disequilibrium and achieve the long-run
equilibrium path.
The error correction equation is estimated by using the differences of variables and the lagged values of long-run
relationship. The error correction equation for KSE is given below:
8 8 8 8 8
DSPK  145 . 1168  
i 1
DSPK t  i  
i 1
DER t  i  i 1
DFER t  i  i 1
DIPI t  i  
i 1
DIR t  i
8 8 8 8
 
i 1
DM t  i  
i 1
DMS t  i  
i 1
DWPI t  i  
i 1
DX t  i  0 . 499703 Vecm 1 (  1 )  328 . 6545 Vecm 2 (  1 )
5. Granger Causality Test Analysis
Granger Causality Technique is employed to investigate the causal relationship between macroeconomic variables and
stock prices. For causality, p-value is analyzed at 1%, 5% and 10% level of significance. In such case, if the calculated p-
value is greater than 10% than we can’t reject Ho and we can say that variable does not affect or cause each other. We
can confirm this by seeing table 8
Table 8 Granger Causality Results for KSE
Variables Alternative Hypothesis P-value Results
ER →SPK 0.0143**
ER ↑ Uni-directional
ER ←SPK 0.6836
FER→SPK 0.0030*
FER ↑ Uni-directional
FER ←SPK 0.6963
IPI → SPK 0.3589
IPI ≠ Independent
IPI ← SPK 0.8642
IR →SPK 0.1232
IR ≠ Independent
IR ← SPK 0.6455
M →SPK 0.0163**
M ↑ Uni-directional
M ←SPK 0.2896
MS MS →SPK 0.0093* ↕ Bi-directional
310
MS ←SPK 0.0029*
WPI→ SPK 0.0207**
WPI ↕ Bi-directional
WPI←SPK 0.0628***
X →SPK 0.1743
X ≠ Independent
X ←SPK 0.7020
*Significant at 1% level of significant.

**Significant at 5% level of significant.
***Significant at10% level of significant.
The detailed analysis of Granger Causality Test for KSE revealed that ER causes SPK. This result is consistent with
Dharmendra Singh (2010), Ozturk (2008), Basabi (2006), Abdalla & Murinde (1996, 1997) and Abdalla (1996), who found
that stock prices are caused by exchange rate. This result is inconsistent with Ali et al. (2010), Singh (2010), Pilinkus
(2009), Ganet al.(2006), Mishara (2004), Karamustafa and Kucukkale (2003), Muhammad and Rasheed (2002),
Bhattacharya and Mukherjee (2001), Bartov and Bodnar (1994), Bodnar and Gentry (1993), Jorion (1990,1991), Franck
and Young (1972), they all found that exchange rate and stock prices do not cause each other.
In FER and M, a uni-directional causal relationship from FER to SPK and from M to SPK was found.
Bi-directional causality only found in MS and WPI which reflects that only MS and WPI may predict the movements in
stock prices and vice versa. This result is in line with Dharmendra Singh (2010) that exhibited the bi-directional causal
relationship. The result of money supply is inconsistent with Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and Ali et al. (2010), who found
no causal relationship between money supply and stock prices. Similarly, our result of WPI is inconsistent with Ashish
Kumar (2011) and Ali et al. (2010).
No causal relationship was found between the IPI, IR, X and SPK. These results are consistent with Ali et al.
(2010) for IPI and Toda & Yamamoto, (1995) for IR. But these results are inconsistent with Dharmendra Singh (2010),
Agrawalla and Tuteja (2008), Chakra arty (2005), Nishat and Shaheen (2004), Pethe (2000) and Toda and Yamamoto
(1995) that showed a causal relationship between industrial production index and stock prices.
The overall results of KSE indicated that through macroeconomics variables, the policy maker may control the stock
prices because they act as a leading indicator on stock prices.
7. Conclusion and recommendations
In this paper, the empirical impact of selected macroeconomic variables on stock prices in Karachi Stock Exchange was
investigated. For this purpose, the long-run, short-run and causal relationships among the variables were found from
January 2001 to December 2010. All data set used in this study was non-stationary at level but stationary at first
difference. Nine long-run relationships were found between macroeconomic variables and KSE100 Index. In long-run
ER, IPI and X had a negative effect on stock prices while FER, IR, M, MS and WPI had a positive impact on stock prices.
The analysis of VECM described the two error correction terms, Vecm1 (-1) and Vecm2 (-1). Only first error correction
term showed the speed of adjustment towards the equilibrium path. From the results of Granger Causality Test, it was
analyzed that ER, FER, M showed unidirectional causality, MS and WPI showed Bidirectional causality while IPI, IR and
X not showed any causality.
From the above findings, it can be scrutinize that the government should adopt suitable policies to monitor the
economic activities and capital market of Pakistan. It is a matter of facts that these variables have discussed in isolation.
The real market works on the basis of all these variables . Combined together, there may be a situation, where one
variable is neutralizing the impact of any other. This leads us to conclude that stock market’s behavior especially in
shorter span of time may not follow the academic path, as provided in text-books.
As a result, it was recommended that monetary managers should adopt suitable monetary measure to control the
inflation, so that the volatility of the stock market can be reduced. The increase in Industrial production can play
significant positive role in development of the capital market of Pakistan. Thus, it is recommended that authorities should
formulate such a policy which promotes industrial production and then stock prices will increase, automatically. SECP
should keep a closer eye on the functioning of stock markets and bring more reform to boost up the investor’s confidence
and availability of new products in the stock market.
311
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Troop Deployment and Effective Peace Operations in Africa:

African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS) (2004-2006)
Dodeye Uduak Williams1
Lecturer in the Department of Political Science,

Email: williamsdodeye@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p313
Abstract The African Union (AU) was set up in 2002 with one of its core objectives being to ensure Peace and Security in the continent.
In response to this, the AU has been involved at various levels in peacekeeping activities involving deployment of troops. Given that the
success or failure of any peace operation is tied to the various components of the peace process, this paper examines the AMIS
intervention in Darfur in terms of its limitations as a useful model for troop deployment in future African peace operations. It finds that the
security situation in Darfur was a huge challenge to AMIS and its deployment to Darfur was flawed on several counts including a weak
mandate and unclear terms of reference for the mission.
Key Words: African Union, Darfur, Peacekeeping, Deployment, Peace operations
1. Introduction
African peacekeeping experiments and conflicts are notable for the impact they have had on the concept and practice of
United Nations (UN) peacekeeping. More broadly, Africa has provided the fertile ground to experiment with some of the
most challenging developments in peacekeeping, and in the process the continent has considerably influenced the
evolution and development of UN peacekeeping. However, Africa needs to create its own capacity without relying on
outside powers all the time especially with the growing consensus in peacekeeping literature that traditional UN approach
to peacekeeping in Africa is no longer sustainable. But the UN has changed its traditional approach to peacekeeping in
Africa and made a transition to different strands of 2nd generation peacekeeping. The UN efforts are now on
multidimensional peacekeeping, hybrid peacekeeping, co-deployment and post-conflict peace building. Beginning from
the 1990’s these examples could be differently found in post-war Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Sudan etc. This
calls for an in depth assessment of the peacekeeping efforts of the African Union (AU) with a view to understanding and
addressing the major challenges in its operations. The introduction of the joint mission of the UN and the AU (UNAMID) in
Darfur clearly showed the perceived inadequacy of the AU, as a continental security regime yet again, to field a mission
which can produce the desired results and fulfill its given mandate, without external “support” from the UN.
2. Darfur: The 2003 Conflict
The root causes of the present conflict in Darfur have been described by many scholars as being very complex. The
prevailing belief among these scholars is that several factors, among them, tribal feuds resulting from desertification,
availability of modern weapons, deep layers relating to identity, governance and the emergence of armed rebel
movements which enjoy popular support amongst certain tribes have played and are still playing a major role in shaping
the current crisis. The war in Darfur has been described as a typical north-east African civil war, made up of multiple
overlapping conflicts mixed with large-scale offensives by the government army and its proxies and rebels (De Waal,
2007).
A comprehensive examination of the origins of the conflict lies outside the scope of this paper however it is sufficient
to give a brief overview of the events leading to the conflict in 2003. During 2001-2003, local disputes were exacerbated

1 Dodeye Uduak Williams holds a PhD in International Relations. She is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of
Calabar, Nigeria. She was a Commonwealth Scholar at the Centre for African Studies, University of Edinburgh in 2008. Her research
interests include Peace and Conflict Studies in Africa, Religion and Politics. She has published a number of articles in refereed and
scholarly Journals.
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by the breakdown of local governance and combined with the ambitions of frustrated provincial elite to fuel an insurgency,
which escalated more quickly and bloodily than either side anticipated (De Waal, 2007b).
In May, 2000, a manuscript called the ‘Black Book’ surfaced and outlined Darfur’s grievances towards the central
government. It used sensitive records from state archives to show the imbalance of power and wealth in Sudan and the
dominance of three tribes from Sudan’s Nile valley in the north of Khartoum. The publication of the book caused a stir in
Sudan after copies were mysteriously found in mosques and other public places.
In February 2003, the JEM – associated with Bedouin people of north Darfur such as the Zaghawa – and the SLM –
associated with the Fur and Masaalit people – attacked military installations triggering an armed response from the
Central government. The rebel groups blamed the government in Khartoum for the situation in Darfur and have continued
to attack the government and government installations. The government, which was caught by surprise, had very few
troops in the region (as most of them had been deployed to the south), and many of the lower and middle-ranking officers
in the Sudanese army were actually from Darfur. Its response under pressure was to mount a campaign of aerial
bombardment allegedly supported by ground attacks by an Arab militia called the Janjaweed (which means men on
horseback), comprised of fighters from the Baggara people in West Darfur (De Waal, 2007).
3. AMIS Deployment in Darfur
In response to the crisis, on the 8 April, 2004, under the auspices of the President Idriss Deby of Chad and the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission and in the presence of International observers and facilitators, the
Sudanese parties signed a Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement (HCFA) on the Darfur conflict and a protocol on the
establishment of Humanitarian Assistance in Darfur. Further to this, an AU-led mission including all parties was sent to
Darfur from 7 – 16 May, 2004 and recommendations were made to dispatch monitors, [military observers, MILOBS] and
military units, to serve as their protection, from African Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs). As a result of this, on the 28
May, 2004, the Sudanese parties signed an Agreement on the modalities for the Establishment of the Ceasefire
Commission and the deployment of military observers in the Darfur region. In accordance with this agreement, the parties
accepted the deployment of 60 African military observers and 300 MILOB protectors as well as observers from the
Sudanese parties. It was also agreed that the European Union and the United States of America would participate in the
mission by sending advisors (AU PSC Reports, 8th April, 2004 accessed 29th September, 2008).
Sector commanders were appointed and assigned initially to the six (6) newly created sectors – El-Fasher, Nyala,
El-Geneina, Kabkabiya, Tine and Abeche (Chad) on 22 July and ordered to deploy by 25 July, 2004. Apart from those in
Abeche and Nyala, the sectors were in deplorable and deprived areas, some sectors having a higher risk factor against
the background of incessant violence and absence of AU protection in Darfur (Appiah-Mensah, 2005). The effectiveness
of the initial AMIS deployment was constrained by its small size and by its logistical challenges. The small number of
MILOBS, regardless of their efficiency and dedication, were unable to provide meaningful monitoring coverage for an
area roughly the size of France and particularly in a situation where the parties were not complying with the provisions of
the HCFA that they had signed. The parties requested that AMIS be strengthened.
Realizing the inadequacy of the initial deployment, at the 13th Meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of
the African Union (AU) held on the 27th July, 2004, a request was made for the chairperson of the AU commission to
submit, for consideration, a comprehensive plan on how best to enhance the effectiveness of the AU mission in Darfur,
this was to include the possibility of transforming it into a full-fledged peacekeeping mission, with the mandate and
strength to implement the HCFA by the disarmament and neutralization of the Janjaweed militia, the protection of the
civilian population and the facilitation of the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The AU commission proposed the transformation of the nature, scope and composition of the mission and called for
the enhancement of the mandate together with the strength of the military observers and the protection force. This
proposal was approved by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) on the 20 October, 2004. The number of AMIS was
increased to ‘3,320 Personnel including 2,341 military personnel, among them 450 observers, up to 815 civilian police
personnel and appropriate civilian personnel’ (AU PSC reports, 20th October, 2004, accessed 9th October, 2008).
3.1 The Mandate
The missions mandate was given as follows:

 To monitor and observe compliance with the Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement of 8 April, 2004 and all such
agreements in the future
 To assist in the process of confidence building
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 To contribute to a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian relief and beyond that, the return of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes, in order to increase the level of compliance
of all parties with the HCFA and to contribute to the improvement of the Security situation throughout Darfur
 In all sectors under its jurisdiction, AMIS performs for the benefit of the local population the following tasks by
the deployment of military observers, protection forces as well as civilian and military police from all over
Africa:
 Monitor and verify the provision of security for returning IDPs
 Monitor and verify the cessation of hostile acts by all parties
 Monitor and verify hostile militia activities against the population
 Monitor and verify efforts of the government of Sudan (GoS) to disarm government controlled militias
 Investigate and report about allegations of violations of the HCFA
 Protect civilians whom it encounters under imminent threat and in the immediate vicinity with resources and
capability, it being understood that the protection of the civilian population is the responsibility of the
government of Sudan (GoS)
 Protect both static and mobile humanitarian operations under imminent threat, and the immediate vicinity,
within capabilities
 Provide visible military presence by patrolling and by the establishment of temporary outposts in order to deter
uncontrolled armed groups from committing hostile acts against the population (AU, Peace and Security
Council Reports, 20 October 2005 accessed 9th October, 2008).
3.2. Coordination and Administration
In response to the challenges of coordination and administration, AU’s PSC deemed it necessary to establish the Darfur
Integrated Taskforce (DITF), which would provide support for the mission in an organized manner. In January 2005, the
Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) was integrated within the Peace and Security Directorate (PSD) of the African Union
to assist with the planning, force generation, procurement of logistics and administrative support, and also to liaise with
partners to mobilize resources in support of DITF and AMIS on the ground in Darfur.
The tasks of the DITF included the following:
 Advise the Chairperson and the Commissioner for Peace and Security on strategy for effective implementation
of the Ceasefire Agreement and any future political settlement.
 Advice and support the work of the AMIS headed by the Chairperson’s Special Representative and the DMT
headed by the Special Envoy.
 Plan for the establishment and expansion of the AMIS.
 Serve as focal point in the HQ and provide the necessary support for AMIS activities in Darfur, Sudan.
 Serve as the focal point for the partners who would like to support the AU efforts with respect to Darfur.
 Plan and establish a media strategy in collaboration with AMIS and DMT (AMIS website accessed 9th October,
2008).
The DITF was the ad hoc strategic Military/Police headquarters of the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS). It was
expected that the taskforce would become the nucleus of the Peace Support Operations Divisions of the AU. At this
strategic level two important cooperative groups, the Liaison Group (LG) and the Partners Technical Support Group
(PTSG), met regularly to discuss and assist AMIS operations. The idea of establishing these two forums on AU Mission in
Darfur, according to the DITF, was to appropriately identify the needs of the mission and to coordinate support for the
mission. The partners were also to provide experts in specific areas to work closely with AU’s staff.
The Liaison Group (LG) was chaired by the Head of the DITF, with Senior Military, Police, and Political Affairs
Officers. The LG meeting was usually attended by representatives of European Union, United States of America,
European Union Experts and UN experts. During the meeting, the AU indicates its requirements and partners ask
questions related to the support provided.
The Partners Technical Support Group (PTSG) met regularly and was chaired by a senior member of the European
Union delegation in Addis Ababa. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Embassies of Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United States of America, the United Nations and
NATO.
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3.3. Deployment
According to the PSC report of 20 April, 2005 the strength and status of deployment at the time was given as follows:
i. Military Observers (MILOBs) – 454: Algeria 13, Congo 15, Senegal 23, Nigeria 48, Mozambique 5, Egypt 34,
Ghana 24, South Africa 39, Namibia 23, Gabon 20, Kenya 30, Gambia 20, Mauritania 10, Mali 15, Rwanda 10,
Zambia 15, Malawi 15, Burkina Faso 4, Cameroon 13, EU 10, USA 3, Chad 18, GoS 16, SLA 15, JEM 16
 SLA 15
 JEM 16
ii. Civilian Police (CIVPOL) - 245
iii. International staff/CFC Members - 26
iv. Protection Force - 1647
 Nigeria 587
 Rwanda 392
 Gambia 196
 Senegal 196
 Kenya (MP) 35
 South Africa 241
v. Darfur Integrated Task Force (DITF) 12 (PSC Report, 20th April, 2005 assessed 9th October, 2008).
To undertake its tasks in fulfilling of the mandate, AMIS adopted a flexible Concept of Operations (CONOPS) in Darfur
(Appiah-Mensah, 2005). The concept of operations of AMIS 2 envisaged the military component establishing 8 sectors
and 8 military observer group (MOG) sites. The 8 sectors were El-Fasher, Nyala, Geneina, Kabkabiya, Tine, Kutum,
Zalingei and Al-Daun (PSC Report, 20th April, 2005 assessed 9th October, 2008).
Table 1: Breakdown of Personnel Strength at the sectors
S/N Location MILOBS CIVPOL IS/CFC PF Remarks

(Military (Civil Police) (International (Police Force)
Observers) Staff/CeaseFire
Commission)
a b c d E f g
1 HQ AMIS 70 7 26 65 232
FHQ AMIS
a b c d E f g
2 Sector 1 45 19 207 71
3 Sector 2 45 29 207 83
4 Sector 3 47 29 143 17
5 Sector 4 45 16 196 59
6 Sector 5 47 20 196 65
7 Sector 6 49 19 21 08
8 Sector 7 48 18 196 1
9 Sector 8 45 24 196 11
10 Abeche 11 --
Total 454 245 26 1647 372
Source: PSC Reports, 20th April, 2005
AMIS strength was expected to be increased to 6,171 military personnel, with an appropriate civilian component,
including up to 1,560 civilian police personnel by the end of September, 2005 to meet up with the challenges of
peacekeeping in Darfur. However, as of 20 October, 2005, the status of the deployment was as follows:
 Nigeria 3 battalions of 680 = 2,040
 Rwanda 3 battalions (1 of 680 and 2 of 338) = 1,756
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 Senegal 1 battalion = 538

 The Gambia 1 company = 196
 Chad 1 section in Abeche = 40
 Kenya 1 military police section = 60 (35 deployed)
 South Africa 285 military personnel representing one company of 241, one light engineer
section of 38 and EOD section of 6 military (PSC Reports 20th October, 2005 Assessed 9th
October, 2008).
The total was only 4,915 and was not up to the planned deployment of 6,171. To complete the deployment plan as
provided for in the Concept of Operations (CONOPS), the Republic of South Africa was requested to raise its contribution
to include a battalion of 538 military personnel, a reserved company of 120, and a light Engineer company of 100 and an
EOD Team of 10. The response was very slow. In addition to the protection force, a further 686 MILOBS generated from
African countries, from the Sudanese parties and from some partners were deployed into Darfur.
In spite of this deployment, the security situation in Darfur continued to deteriorate. As of 1st September 2006,
AMIS strength stood at 7,200 personnel, comprising 4,980 protection force elements, 783 military observers and staff
officers, 1,425 civilian police personnel and 12 CFC members, drawn from 28 Member States. This was 541 personnel
short of the authorized strength of 7,731 (6,171 military and 1,560 civilian police). The shortfall is made up of 406 military
personnel and 135 civilian police elements. Efforts were still being made to bring AMIS deployment to the authorized level
up till the plan for the introduction of the UN and AMIS joint force by September 30, 2006.
3.4. Funding
The initial budget of the AU observer mission in Darfur, according to the PSC report of 20 October, 2004, amounted to
about 26 million dollars. Some AU partners pledged to pay part of the budget in monetary terms and other pledged to
support the mission in kind. The EU pledged 12 million Euros, while Germany pledged 250,000 Euros, the UK provided
3.6 million dollars and the USA at the time was in the process of operationalizing the Headquarters and the sites for the
various sectors (PSC Reports, 20th October 2004 assessed 9th October, 2008). In this report, the Chairman of the AU
Commission expressed his concern about the lethargy with which AU member countries treated their contributions and
stated as follows, ‘It is my sincere hope that AU member states will also contribute to the funding of the AU observer
mission.’
In its 10 March 2006 decision, the AU Council reiterated its appeal to AU partners to provide all necessary financial
and logistical assistance to sustain AMIS until 30 September 2006, as well as support to the Abuja Talks. In this respect,
Council welcomed the envisaged convening of a pledging conference in Brussels, with the support of the UN and the EU.
Against this backdrop and in addition to the main budget amounting to US$ 170 million, to sustain the Mission within the
current mandated strength, which had already been prepared and circulated to donors the Commission, also prepared a
supplementary budget. This supplementary budget was to cover requirements arising from the implementation of the
DPA during the transition period.
In the meantime, the UK and the Canadian Governments gave firm undertakings to provide aviation assets, ground
fuel and aviation fuel up to the end of the transition period, i.e. from 1st April to 30 September 2006. The EU, on its part,
pledged 50 million Euro, following the decision to replenish, in the short term, the Africa Peace Facility from the 9th EDF
(PSC Reports, 20th October 2004. (Assessed 9th October, 2008). The council once again hoped that more funds would be
mobilized during the pledging conference, especially as the Mission had been facing acute shortage of funds since April
2006. Through the Liaison Group and the Partners Technical Support Group, AMIS received the necessary funding,
technical support in terms of experts and training of MILOBS, staff officers, and Civilian Police.’ The European Unions’
(EU) contribution to AMIS included vehicles, communication equipment, pay and allowances, experts (CIVPOL) and
maps. The contribution of the United Nations included UN Assistance Support Cell in Addis Ababa, Staff training and
Mapex. NATOs contribution included Strategic air lift, staff training at strategic/operational levels, Mapex under UN
auspices, Information Analysis Training, Capacity Building for PSOD Staff (including training and supply of Office
Equipment) after AMIS transition to UN, Basic Operational Equipment (NVE, Training Aids, Flak jackets) and Training
Simulators for Staff Training. The United States contribution to the mission included construction and maintenance of
camp facilities and observers. Canada’s contribution was 105 APCs including Training & Maintenance support package,
Ammunition, Ground Fuel, 25 Helicopters, Experts and Maps. Norway contributed Communication Equipment CIVPOL
Accommodation at IDP Camps (26 in place, 39 to start) and Netherlands contributed communication equipment (AU PSC
report , 20th October, 2004, assessed 9th October, 2008).
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Not much is said in the PSC reports, about the financial contributions of AU member countries. The PSC reports reveal
large contributions, in cash and in kind, by countries outside Africa. Contributions from AU’s international partners totaled
£278,974,147.39. The budget of AU was USD $26 million dollars and the total contribution from its international partners
for AMIS 1 was £30,555,476.48 as shown in Table 2. Table 3 shows the total contribution for AMIS 2 and Table 4 merges
the two tables.
Table 2: Pledges and Contributions: Status of Donors Contribution for Darfur
AMIS 1
Donors Pledges in cash £ Pledges in Kind £ Total £
Canada(1) - - -
EU 14,931,000.00 - 14,931,000.00
Germany 1,165,120.00 - 1,165,120.00
Norway - - -
Netherlands - 2,000,000.00 2,000,000.00
Sweden 134,066.23 - 134,066.23
Denmark 736,666.25 - 736,664.25
UK (3) 3,676,000.00 - 3,676,000.00
USA (4) - 7,340,000.00 7,340,000.00
France - - -
Italy 240,000.00 - 240,000.00
South Korea 200,000.00 - 200,000.00
Ireland - - -
Greece 132,626.00 - 132,626.00
Japan - - -
Belgium - - -
Contribution 21,215,476.48 9,340,000.00 30,555,476.48
Source: PSC Reports 2004-2006
Table 3 AMIS 2 (Amounts in £)
Donors Pledges in cash Pledges in Kind Total

Canada (1) 1,515,151.52 15,037,593.98 16,552,745.50
EU 100,604,794.44 - 100,604,794.44
Germany 1,311,750.00 - 1,311,750.00
Norway 1,558,250.62 - 1,558,250.62
Netherlands 5,020,848.02 - 5,020,848.02
Sweden 443,360.67 - 443,360.67
Denmark - - -
UK (3) - 22,080,000.00 22,080,000.00
USA (4) - 95,086,485.05 95,086,485.05
France 1,763,907.73 - 1,763,907.73
Italy 588,352.83 - 588,352.83
South Korea - - -
Ireland 659,750.00 - 659,750.00
Greece - - -
Japan 2,070,000.00 - 2,070,000.00
Belgium 678,426.05 - 678,426.05
Contribution 116,214,591.88 132,204,079.03 248,418,670.91
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Table 4 Total Contributions for AMIS 1 & 2
Donors Total £
Canada (1) 16,552,745.50
EU 115,5535,794.44
Germany 2,476,870.00
Norway 1,558,250.62
Netherlands 7,020,848.02
Sweden 577,426.90
Denmark 736,664.25
UK (3) 25,7756,000.00
USA (4) 102,426,485.05
France 1,763,907.73
Italy 828,352.83
South Korea 200,000.00
Ireland 659,750.00
Greece 132,626.00
Japan 2,070,000.00
Belgium 678,426.05
Contribution 278,974,147.39
3.5. Security Strategy
The AU mediation’s security arrangements commission included an implementation task force which had drawn up
estimates for the numbers of troops and civilian police required. In line with the Cease Fire, troops were needed to verify
the positions of the parties’ military forces, to monitor the disengagement and withdrawal of the parties, and to monitor the
limited arms control. Troops and civilian police were needed for the demilitarization of the displaced camps and the
training of a ‘community police force’ drawn from among the displaced communities.
Troops were also required to monitor the demilitarization of humanitarian supply routes, to monitor the government’s
staged plan for restricting, containing, and disarming the Janjaweed, and to monitor airfield in order to ensure that the
government was complying with its obligation to halt offensive military flights.
However, the security situation in Darfur was a huge challenge to AMIS. The GoS had all the States military
apparatus at its disposal to deal with what it called ‘an internal rebellion.’ It used Antonov aircrafts and helicopter
gunships to attack what it perceived as ‘rebel strongholds’ which contained large civilian populations. This contributed
largely to the massive internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugee crisis in Darfur. The GoS also used the Janjaweed
as a proxy force, even though the Janjaweed acted alone at times. On the other hand the Rebel groups, JEM and SLM
targeted GoS forces. They attacked police stations, administrative convoys and members of the government within its
vicinity.
4. Conclusion
A critical look at the observations presented above reveal the following:

First, the parties to the Darfur conflict agreed to the presence of the AU regime. The Sudanese authorities
expressed the view that although they considered the Darfur conflict to be an internal one, they had no problem with the
involvement of the AU. The parties having signed the HCFA, and being aware of the volatile situation, accepted the need
to have the presence of the AU to ensure compliance with the ceasefire agreement. However, the consent did not last as
Bellamy, William and Griffin (2004) observe, consent can only be maintained if the peacekeepers come across to the
parties as being impartial and neutral. The parties, especially the rebel groups, had no faith in the negotiations. The AU
was unable to match its position during the talks with its position in the field. The groups felt that the AU was not capable
of protecting them and their people as evidenced in the continued assault by the GoS on the people of Darfur even in the
presence of the AMIS officials.
Second, AMIS mandate was based on the assumption that the parties would adhere to the HCFA. The parties had
no regard for the ceasefire agreement they had signed and the situation was still very volatile. As an observer mission,
319
AMIS, only observed series of violations to the HCFA and when the mission was transformed into a full-fledged
peacekeeping mission there was still ‘no peace to keep.’ The parties believed that they could win in the battle field and so
the HCFA and even the peace talks had little or nothing at stake for them. The GoS especially used all the force at its
disposal to make sure the rebel groups and all civilians associated with them suffered severe assault. This in turn
provoked the rebel groups to fight back and all this was happening as the talks were going on and in spite of the
Ceasefire agreements. Nathan (2008) observed that most of the parties in Abuja appeared to view the battlefield as the
strategic arena of conflict and the negotiations as simply a tactical arena. The peace talks were only a forum to show that
they were talking and negotiating, for them it was not a principal means of defending and advancing their interests. As
Zartman (2000) notes, participating in negotiations does not in itself indicate the existence of a ripe moment, it may be
merely a tactical interlude on a sop to external pressure, without any serious intent on the part of the parties to seek a
joint solution. Nathan (2007) made the following observation about the parties – ‘Minawi’s faction of SLM seemed to
believe their interests were best served through a ‘war of manoeuvre’ against the militarily weak Abdel Wahid faction of
the SLM. While the negotiations were going on, his forces seized strategic locations from Abdel Wahid. The government
seemed to believe that its interests would be served through ‘a war of attrition’ it was not overly troubled by the weak
international pressure; it did not have a strong sense of responsibility to protect civilians. It was also not under any great
military threat from the rebels. It was not incurring onerous military costs since it relied on the Janjaweed as a proxy force,
and the rebels were busy fighting each other. JEM had a national political agenda that would not be met by a peace
agreement for Darfur, and although the organisation lacked a sizeable fighting force, its military activities in western (and
eastern) Sudan, helped to maintain its profile and status as a liberation movement.
Third, the troops were confused about their rules of engagement. As a result of the weak mandate and the unclear
terms of reference for the peacekeeping mission, it was difficult for the peacekeepers to react in a situation where they
were being attacked along with the civilians they were expected to protect which were being attacked right under their
watch. For a peacekeeping regime, minimum use of force is one of the major characteristics. For this reason it was
impossible for the troops to fight back except in self defence and this meant they were unable to fulfil their mandate.
AMIS failed to monitor and observe compliance with the ceasefire. Fighting continued throughout the period of
negotiations and the security situation became worse when the DPA was concluded. AMIS itself needed protection and
although the troops did all they could, they were not able to provide the protection needed by the local population.
Fourth, a lack of political will hinders the deployment and ultimately the success of any peacekeeping mission. The
reluctance on the part of the AU members to give the mission the means to successfully fulfil its task in Darfur shows the
lack of political will to see an end to the Darfur crisis. Members were also very slow in contributing troops or funds to the
mission and ultimately most of the support came from external partners. The provisions of the Constitutive Act of the AU
reflect great intentions and principles that are workable. However, the genuineness of these aims and guiding principles
are not in tandem with actual practices especially in a situation where the political will to actually enforce relevant
decisions is lacking. The membership of the AU is represented by Heads of States who appear to have no moral
justification to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of other states when their own states are facing similar situations of
conflict even though the intensity may differ from state to state. Most of the countries within the AU have themselves used
the apparatus of the state to oppress minority groups. A ready example is the Niger- Delta region of Nigeria. It is
interesting to note that while the Darfur Peace Talks were being hosted in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, Niger-delta
militants were exchanging fire with the Joint Task Force in the some of the creeks in the Niger-delta.
Fifth, just as scholars like Wesley (1997) have acknowledged that the extent to which mandates are achievable and
appropriate to the situation on the ground depends largely on the diagnosis of the conflict on which the objectives are
based. The fact that the AU mandate was weak, inadequate and ineffective in the face of the volatile situation shows that
the AU did not appreciate the gravity of the situation in Darfur. The first mission was made up of 300 Military Observers.
In a region as large as Darfur, this was an unfortunate situation as reveals a lack of understanding of the situation prior to
the deployment. Wesley (1997) rightly points out that a wonderful mandate predicated upon wrong assumptions about the
root causes of a conflict has failed even before it takes off.
Sixth, according to the Brahimi Report (2000), the leadership, personnel and command structures of a mission are
crucial because they are the basis for the implementation of the mandate and each policy tool of which the peacekeeping
operation is comprised. The character and ability of those who lead a peacekeeping mission contribute largely to its
success or failure. AMIS did not have a good command and control system which was necessary for receiving and
distributing information. As Neil and Cassis (2005) rightly argue, where this structure is absent the troops will not have the
privilege of early warning or advanced information on potential attacks or ambushes and the result of this is the inability to
distribute available information to those who may need it for defence of themselves or others. This was the situation the
AMIS troops found themselves in. Decisions were taken on the basis of the reports sent in from the mission field. The
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failure of the negotiations put the peacekeepers in jeopardy as they were simply trapped between the parties. It was not
able to provide a secure environment for the delivery of humanitarian relief; the terrain was not conducive for moving
troops and supplies to affected areas. AMIS was not able to monitor and verify the cessation of hostile acts by all parties.
The Ceasefire Monitoring troops were deployed to an area that was well known to the killing forces of the Janjaweed
whom the AU knew very well were responsible for much of the violence in Darfur. These forces were very organized and
well positioned. They knew the terrain more than the AU forces that were, in the first instance, numerically weak. The
Janjaweed were trained forces with a motivation to kill. The rebels and the government forces were also large, well-
equipped and well-supported killing forces that were deployed in large and dispersed areas well known to them.
Considering the size of Darfur, these forces were not concentrated in one place but were well spread hence the killings
were also widespread. Another challenge for AMIS was the fact that the terrain was conducive for ambushes and since
AMIS did not know the terrain very well it could not intercept these ambushes effectively. The mission lacked strategic
intelligence to support the operation and this led to a wide gap at both the strategic and operational levels of the AU. The
humanitarian efforts were also hindered in the sense that the terrain made it difficult for supplies to get to the displaced
civilians without being intercepted by either rebel forces or the government sponsored militia.
Finally, the AU’s mediation team’s strategy of developing a compromise text and presenting it to the parties as the
basis of a final expedited negotiation was the product of very frustrating circumstances and the urgency to find a
settlement in the light of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur. Nathan (2007) rightly observed that the AU
and its international partners, desperate for a quick accord, pursued a counterproductive strategy of ‘deadline diplomacy’
that inhibited progress. The AU mediators and their partners were not patient. An enduring peace agreement cannot be
forced on the parties. It has to be owned by them. The contents must be determined by them. In a conflict of this nature,
he argues correctly that a quick fix is not possible because the issues at stake have multiple historical, structural, political,
social and economic causes that are complex, deep rooted and intractable. This position is also consistent with that of
Fetherston (1993) who argues that conflict is caused by the frustration of human needs and is at least partly a subjective
phenomenon and so these social and cultural conditions that cause violent conflict must be changed by peacekeeping
operations. Ross (1993) also posits that constructive conflict management occurs only when a large conflict can be
progressively de-escalated through the successive settlement of a series of component disputes.
References
Appiah-Mensah, Seth (2005) ‘AU’s critical assignment in Darfur: Challenges and Constraints’, African Security Review, 14 (2), 7-21
AU, PSC Reports, 2004-2006, www.africa-union.org/root/au/auc/departments/psc/ditf.htm, accessed 9th October, 2008
AU, PSC Reports, 2004-2006, www.amis-sudan.org, accessed 29th September, 2008
AU, PSC Reports, 2004-2006, www.amis-sudan.org, accessed 9th October, 2008
Bellamy, A. J, Williams, P. and S. Griffin (2004) Understanding Peacekeeping, Cambridge: Polity Press, Cambridge
Brahimi, L. (2000) Report of the panel on United Nations peace operations New York: UN General Assembly, A/55/305 S/2000/809
De Waal, Alex (2007) War in Darfur and the search for Peace, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Cambridge
De Waal, Alex (2007b) Darfur’s deadline: The final days of the Abuja peace process, in Alex de Waal (ed.), War in Darfur and the search
for peace, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 267-283
Fetherston, A. B (1993) ‘Putting the Peace Back in to Peacekeeping: Theory Must Inform Practice’ International Peacekeeping Volume 1
No. 1 pp 3-29
Laurie Nathan, Laurie (2007) The making and unmaking of the Darfur peace agreement, in Alex de Waal (Ed.), War in Darfur and the
search for peace, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 245-266
Marc, Howard Ross (1993) The management of conflict: Interpretation and interest in comparative perspective New Haven: Yale
University Press
Neil, W and Cassis, V (2005) Protecting two million internally displaced: The success and shortcomings of the AU in Darfur, Bern:
University of Bern Press
Wesley, M (1997) Casualties of the new world order: The causes of failure of UN missions to civil wars, Basingstoke: Macmillan
Zartman, William I. (2000) ‘Ripeness: The hurting stalemate and beyond’ in P. C. Stern and D. Druckman (ed.), International conflict
resolution after the cold war Washington DC: National Academy Press, 225-250
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Approaches and Differences on the Ratio Between History and Sociology
Dr. Jani Sota

"Aleksander Moisiu" University of Durres, Albania
E-mail address: jani_sota@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p323
Abstract: Today’s society constantly raises issues related to our lives, both in personal and social plans. Handling and resolving these
issues often require not only scientific knowledge but skills and attitudes to engage in discussions related to Historycal events and
especially to make critical judgments in dealing with sociological issues. Determining the difference between History and Sociology helps
people understand the impact of socio-economic activities and people in the community where we live, highlights developments in
relations between local, national and global level; highlights the ability of citizens to influence the life of community and beyond;
examines breadth and depth of sustainable development issues and promotes respect for people and other cultures in the environment
where we live.
Keywords: History, Sociology, method, development, society, culture.
1. Introduction
Determining the ratio between two scientific disciplines, the relationship between History and Sociology in our case, is the
moment of setting their own course, which is the most important aspect. Contrary to strict methodological naturalism in
the field of Sociology, History consents that some of the characteristic methods of physics can not be applied in social
sciences due to deep differences between Sociology and physics. "Rules of physics or "rules of nature", - states Karl
Popper in his book "The Poverty of Historycism", - are valid at any time; the physical world is governed from an evenly
and unchangeable system in space and time". (Popper 1969)
Sociological rules or social life rules change in different places and eras. Even if History admits that there are many
typical social conditions, whose regular occurrence can be seen, it denies regularities of social life to have irregular and
unchangeable character of the physical world. They depend upon History and change in culture, and particular historical
event; meaning that can not be spoken on e.g. economy rules without a settling of early industrial period and so on.
There will always be mentioned the historical period in which rules of the time have been dominant.
Also, it should be underlined that History claims how historical relativity of social rules makes physical methods
sociologically inapplicable. Typical historical arguments on which this viewpoint is supported have to do with
generalization, experimentation, social phenomena complexity, difficulties of precise forecasting and understanding
methodological essentialism.
Defining the relationship between History and Sociology is as important and difficult and such difficulty is seen in
these moments:
First, in the ontological and epistemological according of a high degree in these sciences, which makes it difficult to
distinguish and differentiate because the objects of History and Sociology studies are: society, social phenomena and
their rules. Given the fact of society unity and its aspects, of the overall connectivity and mutual description of social
interaction phenomena and rules, it becomes clear that the only relative order can be divided roughly in content and ways
of study for various social sciences. It is mostly applied to History and Sociology because both are general social
sciences.
Second, existing differentiated concepts that are related with different theoretical and methodological orientations, of
different definitions of material and study methods within Sociology and History. Regarding Sociology, such difficulties,
concepts and different orientations are known and almost proverbial.
Historians often declare that "behind such wrong theories, usually in the hidden agenda there is an apologetic aim
and the assertion for the non changeability of sociological rules can easily be abused for such purposes. It is known the
fundamental difference in theoretical and methodological aspects among contemporary sociologies, whose lone
theoretical basis is social transformations and rules of such transform as one of the main objectives and sociologies of
functionalist orientation, behaviorism etc., orientated firstly by study structure, functional relationships, conditions for a
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harmonious relation to existing elements and incorporation of conformity in given conditions, is known as social
determinism of these different orientations.
It is known the difference between theoretical extreme tendencies and orientations, even hyper theoretical, as Rite
Mills calls them and empiricist trends and orientations, measurements and quantifications that are made in quantofren, as
Sorokin stated. It is finally known today’s Sociology’s ambiguity, partially caused by its under development, especially by
the under development of particular sociologies and the fact that it from one side pretends to be the most generalist social
science, in studying qualities and general links to social phenomena, the general structure of society and its most general
rules and on the other side basically studying tiny social phenomena, like micro social ratios. Given that, based on what
said above, Sociology is hard to define as all of them who tried achieved only in showing what lacked in the others
definition.
Such difficulties occur also in the subject of History, branched into sub-branches, periods, areas of life and social
phenomena. When dealing with History, we will borrow the thought of Fernand Braudel, viewing his History and Sociology
aspect, based on his writing for Sociology published by Gurvitch. "There is no History, a historian’s profession, but do
exist historians professions, a complex that can be joined in curiosity, viewpoint and new opportunities. Probably
sociologists ... will understand me better if I say that contests and contestations regarding studies of the past are as much
as studies of the presents ...” (Gurvitch 1996)
Obviously, there are difficulties and weak links in determining the ratio of History and Sociology, where we would
mention the professional narrowness and partiality. An illustration of this claim and as a starting point for a more complete
and adequate ratio of these two sciences, we will take a look at definitions of generalization, experimentation, innovation,
complexity, inaccuracy of forecast, arguments objectivity and evaluation.
Many historians believe there is a deeper reason why physic scientific methods can not be applied in social
sciences. They argue that Sociology, like the other "biological" sciences, meaning sciences that deal with live objects,
should not act in a nucleus approach but in a different way called "holistic". Sociology’s objects, social groups, should not
be seen mere piles of people. Thus, the social group is a simpler and generalized member, also more than the just
general sum of its members, more than just sum of personal relations that exist at given time among each member of the
group.
Regarding the ratio between Sociology and History, Ogburn and Nimkopf write: "History, another general science,
distinct from Sociology because it deals with description of unique events as e.g. the War in Okinawa, unique
movements, as was England’s Industrial Revolution. Sociology does not deal with unique events (unrepeated –J.S.),
distinct names like Eisenhower and Churchill that are not seen often in Sociology books. Furthermore, only a limited
number deals with description. The object of Sociology deals more with research of phenomena and explanation
(explicom) rather than description. "Why" is very often in Sociology” (Ogburn and Nimkopf 1968).
For the historicist, Sociology is a theoretical history. Its scientific predictions should be based on rules and since
they are historical predictions, change projections, they must be based in historical rules. According to Carl Popper "In
the same time the historicist, maintains that the method of generalization is inapplicable to social sciences and that we
must not think that uniformity of social life are unchangeable in space and time, since usually deal with a certain historical
cultural period” (Popper 1969).
Thus, we believe that social rules must have a structure somewhat different from usual generalization based on
uniformity. Real social rules must be "generally" valid. But this does not mean that they apply to all human history, where
it covers all of its periods rather than some of them. We also think that there can not be social uniformity that remains in
power beyond particular periods. The only valid universal rules of society should be "rules that bind successive periods.
They should be rules of historical development that determine the transition from one period unto the other. Here’s what
historicist mean when they say that the only real rules of sociology are historical rules" (Popper 1969).
Without needing profound analysis in details of such claim, we can not leave aside these three moments: firstly, the
mentioned authors determine History as a science studying unique and unrepeatable social phenomena, a wide spread
definition found in all authors of unique movements as in England’s Industrialization. Sociology for this issue of study that
is being revitalized and conditionally approached, as later, can be acceptable. Secondly, History is attributed mainly the
description of phenomena while Sociology the search for cause and explanation. Said as such there is no clear answer to
the factual state and degree of History’s development a century before. Thirdly, strangely authors reserve the question
"Why?" to Sociology, as such question can be both for them and other sciences, which is the question that scientific
research starts.
Professor F.A. von Hayek, in his study "Scientism and social study" (published at Economica N.S.), after
determining History and Sociology as general sciences, continues by claiming that "There still exists great difference
among History and Sociology ... the object of general History are phenomena and unrepeatable social processes, in the
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historical specificity and conditionality” (Goritcha 1965) He illustrates this through the example of slave life in feudal
period, which is an historical issue, whilst "Sociology deals with the question of what feudalism is, its social structure,
requirements that caused and held it, despite of the existing historical forms of manifestation in feudal societies as in
German feudalism, Byzantine or Islamic"
"History studies French or October Revolution etc., as unique social phenomena fully determined in space and
time”. Also according to the author, "Sociology deals in issues like; what is revolution, its characteristics, essential rules
that are present in all social revolutions, despite its historical form of manifestation” "Research in Sociology is guided by
general sense that is typical and stable...” (Goritcha 1965)
Such two sciences are reciprocally completed. Sociology can not be understood without History because it gives
food for "the necessary real case to the Sociology’s generalization” (Hayek 1981). But neither History can do without
Sociology because it "can determine, describe and classify known phenomena, the essence of social phenomena and
their rules, whose discovery and general sense are given by Sociology” Goriçar states that "Sociology stands toward
general History, in the same position as to other social sciences. It gives to all particular social sciences (understandably
to History), the starting point of general theoretical and methodological principles” (Hayek 1981).
As seen from cited article, Hayek clearly distinct from the material or object of studies of History and Sociology. The
objects of History are unique social phenomena of Sociology. Object of History are unique and concrete social
phenomena determined in space and time. Object of Sociology is generality, relatively the constant and the typical.
History studies this or that form of feudalism or revolution, while Sociology studies feudalism and revolution as such. In
the examples taken we don’t see clearly or even fairly treatment. For some issues that are reserved to Sociology, even to
what is the structure of federalism and what are the requirements that brought and kept it, and what are causes and rules
of revolution, at least in those forms of feudalism and revolution that History studied in tis framework.
Even more abstract and schematic seems the setting of link and mutual satisfaction between Sociology and History:
History gives Sociology the material for theoretical generalization, which lay partially in the differentiation of the above
question to their subject, while Sociology is supplied with knowledge on the core rules and phenomena studied. Faith,
specifically, is the task of social sciences aiming at disclosing societies rules of evolution in order to foretell its future (as
presented above - J.S.) may be described as History’s central doctrine. Implausible seems the claim that "Sociology
discovers and defines the essence and rules of phenomena because, as said, History denies this and does not
distinguish among essences and varying degrees of rule” (Hayek 1981). Finally, it seems important the statement that
"Sociology donates to other sciences (as to History), the starting point of general theoretical and methodological
principles” (Collins 1981)
Charles Cooley, in his work mentions two main distinctions between Sociology and History, and another
differentiation conditionally stated. Main differences according to him remain in these two elements: first element,
"History’s method is mainly individual and chronological, while Sociology’s is typically generalist", second element,
"Abstraction degree in Sociology is higher than in History" (Cooley, 1969).
Regarding the first distinction, the following examples and claims proceed that "Rome’s history is a successive
series of real events, the historical picture of the year 1789 gives individual appearance of this revolution, even when the
story makes the study of an individual designated phenomenon, History uses Sociology as a method (!). Rather than
individualized real actions, Sociology examines the essential qualities such as that of a slave state or the bourgeoise
revolution. It should reveal common qualities of a certain type of social phenomena, the typological view of revolution
state, class and other categories” (Cooley, 1969).
Regarding the second distinction, Cooley states that "Sociology operates with concept, while History operates
primarily on mutual link of all social phenomena ... studies society in terms of interaction of different structural elements.
History, on the contrary, deals with social movement primarily from political aspect, taking in consideration even other
elements but only insofar as explaining scientifically certain historical phenomena” (Cooley, 1969).
Despite the first impression, the analysis might show that this view is even more uncertain, inconsequent and
unacceptable. Firstly, it reduces the difference between Sociology and History in methodological differences, in contrast
to study methods, while the material might be the same: History is individual, concrete and chronological, while Sociology
method is general and typological. Furthermore, it is said that in studying concrete phenomena, History uses Sociology
as method but does not explain how is possible, when both are differentiated in methods. Examples given, contrary to the
upper assertion, implicate the subject of their difference.
The second distinction, regarding different levels of abstraction, looks like it says something but unable to express it.
The assertion that follows Sociology operates with concepts, while History by concrete images is totally unacceptable.
Because, if anything at all is known with certainty in science is that there is no such thing as operating by image. Even the
third distinction over Sociology as a science of link and interaction of all social phenomena and History as a primarily
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political development science does not seem reasonable because neither Sociology has not achieved the determinal
level and there is no reason to make comparison based on the lack of historical events.
Proffesor Anthony Giddens, in the textbook "The Constitution of Society", 1997 edition, acknowledges the necessity
of historical orientation toward Sociology (Giddens 1997). This means much more than completing "historical context"
within which events take place. Such information is necessary considering a small portion of knowledge people have,
regardless of freshly historical events, are limited. It should be said that one of the most important elements in recent
years for Sociology has been the resurgence of historical analysis. It should be understood only of a matter of
sociological gaze on the past but also as an elementary contribution in understanding today’s institutions.
A complete classification of general and specific details determines the essence of these events, their relantioship
with others, etc. But that’s not enough because for a full recognition is necessary a thorough knowledge. This means that
"generalization of some common characteristics of events will provide short and synthetic recognition and above all will
reveal rules and balance of a variety of materials extracted from society and other cultures" (Abrams 1982).
In delivering particular historical explanations, History does not deliver complete interpretation and as such is not
fully independent. It seems to rely on support of other particular social sciences to extract from them particular social
phenomena on notions and rules. On the other hand, "must also rely on a more general social sciencethat will also define
its own notion of society as a whole of all social phenomena and different societies at different developmental stages"
(Althuser 1969).
So, History is defined as the science that studies particular and real social phenomena, while Sociology as a
science studies the relation among all social phenomena, eras and notions. This definition implies a difference in
substance and in method but this is not fully explained. Rightly, History is defined as the not only the writing science but
also explanatory of the particular and agin rightly is added that such explanation of the particular is not enough, not only
within the reach of History.
Examples taken to illustrate this relation and manner of expression do not look very random. "History will show how
the event was held concerning the history of people. It will describe the behavior of relevant people will run to Sociology
to determine the kind of social phenomena in which it takes part" (Arendt 1963). Borrowing general notions of war,
revolution and uprising from Sociology, History will prove whether in the mentioned event there are all of the phenomena
or just one of them." Naturally, these examples contain a part of the truth are illustrative for freshman students but ignore
the fact that every science, including History, creates a self conceptual system of categories, even incomplete and are not
remained on loan.
Mentioning some textbooks shortcomings in the ratio among History dhe Sociology does not naturally mean
denying the fact that even the cited texts are not mentioned fundamental moments of such ratio but for a definition of it
and related texts mentioned above we would consider:
First of all, determining the relationship between Sociology and History, these two sciences deal in abstraction, by
dealing with it in many moments of their contemporary being, so History as General History and Sociology as a science of
linkage and general social qualities, on the general structure in repeating and general rules of its development.
Analysis of their ratio will ascertain the close link but also difference among the two sciences.
The objective real linking and differentiating basis among Sociology and History comprises a unified objective,
general dialiectics and particularity of social reality. The general and particular categories will be taken as reviltalised. The
generalization, links and ratios, structures and general ruling of social phenomena in their real shape in connections and
conditions are studied by History. But generalization and particular do not exist apart as every particular in a way or
another, the objective reality comprises the basis of linkage among Sociology and History. On the basis of such unity and
divergence derives link and difference in methodology among them.
Generally, it is said that "History is an individual science, which studies phenomena in their specificity not only in
time and space but also in their functional conncetion with other phenomena" It is also mentioned that "Sociology, on the
contrary, is general, studies it and aims at establishing a categorical system that includes and explains the whole
prosperous concretness of social phenomena, ratios and ruling"
Such fundamental methodological difference between the two may be considered as true if considered absloute.
Authoritative authors limit and make it relative the upper claim. Bottomore, in his textbook of Sociology writes: "In what
ways differ History and Sociology? It’s usual to say that History describes unqiue events, while the sociologist makes
generalization. This is not true. The work of every serious historian is full of generalizations, while many sociologists were
involved in description and analysis of unique events or their consequences. Probably is best to say that historians
usually start a deep study of events and sociologists start in generalization, trying to prove by studying a number of
similar parts of events. In short intent is marked" (Buttomore 1972) This is what Leon Kamin (1977) in his work "The
Science and Politics of IQ" published in London in 1977. It is wrong to say that History studies unique aspects on of past
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events because every historian in the theme framework it treats classifies the characteristic of events from accidental
ones.
Received and relativized in such manner, the upper methodological change, which in essence seems right, allows
to see hints of the historian is not and can not be the only chroniclers of the past events but researcher analyzing main
structures and influence of main factor in the stream of events, which allows understanding historical tendencies to be
"transendented the the amusing description towards an analytical and scientific development of past history" as Jensen
put it.
The difference remained between Sociology and History is still the primary theoretical and methodological
orientation of Sociology and it trends to create a categorical or ruling system of a general theory and methodology that
can serve as a starting point and theoretical support for all social sciences and History. Engels emphasizes when writes
"on the importance of discovering the principles of historical materialism from Marx on the science of History". But this
distinction cannot be absolute and this was one of the main objections done to the analysis of the texts analyzed. All
because of primary theoretical and methodological orientation which does not mean exlusive orientation and even and
even less could mean that other sciences do not fall under their various degrees of generalizations, do not establish
categorical and ruling systems nor theorise despite the fact that in History, most of the time there is lack of explicit
theoretical and methodological presumptions in discussions.
A relative distinction of History as science will guide to the study of the past and Sociology’s primary guidance from
the present human society.
Among methodological differences between History and Sociology is a distinction that even Bottomore mentions but
widely mentioned by Dowse and Hughes in their textbook of political sociology. The say that for History are important
facts as such: percentage of member vote of a class that gave the vote to a party. For Sociology, on the contrary, this fact
becomes valuable information only in relation to some theory e.g. on the Marxist theory on the class character of political
parties (Dowse & Hughes 1972).
The emphasis on differentiation, but also the subject of close connection of Sociology and History, insistence on
relativism of their methodological differences, which is ultimately dictated by the development of these two sciences, must
lead to the idea of linking close between them, to the idea of Lucien Goldman on Historical Sociology and Sociological
History.
In the later development of Sociology, especially after World War II until the 50s, was predominated in historicism,
functional basis shape, various behaviourism influences but also in the form of Stalinist dogmatism Stalin. Perhaps here
should be asked the reasons for the crisis of Sociology, which is spoken and are speaking so much. But if we are to think
of Bottomore on the idea that "social development and radical transformations of recent decades are causing a twist in
the orientation of Sociology and are causing a new orientation in History".
Neither History was not without downsides like it was reflected in the form of atheorism and positivism. We believe
that weaknesses separating these sciences times ago have been temporary. "Their eventual disputes have always been
result of misinterpretations. Regarding their future ratio, these two sciences will determine this ration in their future
development. For the better, less schematization from Sociologies viewpoint towards this ratio it is best expressed” (Ross
1954)
Sociology’s attitude toward such ratio is best expressed by the political science researcher Carl Deuche when
writing that "History is required not as a servant of social sciences but a powerful firend and ally" (Millon-Delsol 2000)
2. Conclusions
Analysis of this study may indicate, views associated about the ratio between History and Sociology, which is clear and
acceptable. This means reducing the difference between them regarding methodological differences, in contrast to
methods of studying the subject. The accomplishment of goals, objectives and historical topics, requires extensive use of
historical resources (evidences). Ability to discover, to examine, to inquire, to compare, to draw conclusions from the
sources of historical evidence are formed in different ways: finding and examining of objects, buildings and other
resources, their examination and use of evidence helps to develop analytical abilities of man, to observe to discover, to
compare views, to draw conclusions about human actions and decisions.
However, we think that if the case may be the same, we can rightly say that History is individual, concrete and
chronological and Sociology’s method is general and typological. Moreover, one could say about the study of concrete
phenomena, History uses methods of Sociology but does not explain how this is possible, when History and Sociology
exactly differ in methods.
327
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Ross, Arthur M 1954: "Tha natyral History of the strike", in Arthur Kornhauser, Robert Dubin and Arthur M. Ross, Industrial Conflict, New
York: McGrawin-Hill
328
Translation of Terms of Address from English into Persian: Strategies in Focus
Bahareh Lotfollahi
M.A. student of translation studies Department of English,

Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Iran
Azizollah Dabbaghi
Ph.D. in applied linguistics Department of English,
Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Iran
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p329
Abstract This paper investigates the kind of translation strategies and procedures used by translators in the translation of terms of
address from English into Persian in three short stories, "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence, "A Rose for Emily" by William
Faulkner, and "A Little Cloud" by James Joyce. The comparison of terms of address with their translation showed that there is a
difference between the system of terms of address in English and Persian. In order to show the kind of relations exist between
interlocutors in a more precise manner, translators should avoid a literal translation and pay more attention to cultural elements involved
in the target language.
Keywords: Terms of Address, Persian, Translation, Strategies.
1. Introduction
Terms of address are "words and phrases used for addressing" (Braun, 1988, p. 7). They show the kind of relations exist
between addresser and addressee. These are culture specific elements which worth being studied cross-culturally.
"Terms of address constitute an important part of verbal behavior through which, the behavior, norms and practices of a
society can be identified" (Afful, 2006a).
As Daher (1984, p. 144) mentions "terms of address are the best example of the interaction between language and
society and the more we understand them, the more we understand language”. Different languages use different systems
of terms of address, therefore; translation of them has caused difficulties for translators. The translator should be aware
of such differences between the two languages involved in order to show the kind of relationship exist between
interlocutors as precisely as possible.
Terms of address have been studied from different viewpoints. Also, translation of terms of address has been the
focus of attention by many researchers. In one study Shehab (2005) investigated the problems exist in the translation of
terms of address between Arabic and English. In order to do so, she studied difficult honorifics in a novel. Her study
showed that relational terms of address are more difficult to translate than absolute ones.
In another study Methven (2006) discussed the translation of terms of address in Chinese and English. His study
showed that there is a huge lexical gap between Chinese family terms of address and honorifics in translating into
English. He mentions it is because of the additional number of family address terms in Chinese that the translator is
forced to use more general hyponyms in English when translating from Chinese into this language.
Translation of Vietnamese terms of address into English was also studied by Ngo (2006) who found two kinds of
strategies and procedures: source language-oriented and target language-oriented. She showed that the frequent use of
target language-oriented strategies has lead to a loss of socio-cultural and pragmatic implications of Vietnamese terms of
address.
Address terms in Persian have been studied too. In one study conducted by Aliakbari and Toni (2008) ten
categories for address terms were proposed which are used in present study too. They include: "personal names, titles,
religious-oriented terms, occupation-bound terms, kinship or family/relative terms, honorifics and terms of formality, terms
of intimacy, personal pronouns, descriptive phrases, and zero address terms" (p.6). They suggested that "the abundance
and frequency of the application of honorifics in Persian language reveal the importance of courtesy in this language" (p.
11). They also showed that family relations are strong in Persian and this is important in using kinship terms for non-
relatives.
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And finally, Afzali (2011) investigated different terms of address spouses use in different social strata in Iran. Her findings
showed that power and solidarity play an important role in the way spouses address each other in upper-middle, middle
and lower-middle classes in Iran.
Although many have investigated the translation of address terms in different languages, the translation of address
terms from English into Persian has received little attention. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate the kind
of strategies and procedures used by Persian translators to translate terms of address from English into Persian.
In order to analyze the strategies and procedures used, models present in descriptive translation studies are used as the
theoretical framework of the study. One of such models is proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet who identified different
translation ‘procedures’, (Munday, 2001, p. 56-58).
Each of these procedures is explained below.
Borrowing: It happens when the source language word is transferred directly to the target language.
Calque: It is “a special kind of borrowing” where the source language expression or structure is transferred literally.
Literal translation: It is “word-for-word” translation and is common between languages of the same family and culture.
Transposition: It happens when one part of speech changes for another without changing the sense.
Modulation: It changes the point of view and semantics of the source language.
Equivalence: This is used when “languages describe the same situation by different stylistic or structural means”
especially in translating proverbs and idioms.
Adaptation: Where a situation in the source culture does not exist in the target culture, adaptation happens by changing
the cultural reference.
Other translation procedures which are used are that of Newmark. Some of them which are related to the present study
are mentioned here ( Newmark, 1988, p. 75-77).
Transcription (adoption, transfer, 'loan-words')
Literal translation: A 'coincidental' procedure when the SL term is transparent and semantically motivated and is in
standardized language.
Through-translation ('loan-translation', calque)
Cultural equivalent: The SL word is replaced with the TL cultural word.
Translation label: An approximate equivalent or a new term, usually a collocation, for a feature peculiar to the SL.
Translation couplets: The transcription of an institutional term followed by its translation in brackets.
Translation triplets: A politically colored term may require a literal translation, a transcription, and the denotation.
Deletion: A term of little importance in the TL culture may be deleted in translation, provided it is marginal to the text, and
some indication of function given where required.
Naturalization: The process of 'anglicizing' foreign names by supplying them with English suffixes.
2. Methodology
Three short stories and their translations including "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence, "A Rose for Emily" by
William Faulkner, and "A Little Cloud" by James Joyce were selected as the corpus of the study. Terms of address and
their translations were compared in order to find out the kind of translation strategies and procedures used by translators.
3. Results
Terms of address and their translations were analyzed according to Vinay and Darbelnet and Newmark's model. The
results are summarized in the following tables.
Table 1 Personal Names
Source language Target language Translation procedure

Lancelot ‫ﻟﻨﺴﻼت‬ Transcription
Bassett ‫ﺑﺴﺖ‬ Transcription
Tommy ‫ﺗﺎﻣﯽ‬ Transcription
Annie ‫ﺁن‬ Transcription
Paul ‫ﭘﻞ‬ Transcription
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Table 2 Occupation-Bound Terms

Judge ‫ﺁﻗﺎﯼ ﺷﻬﺮدار‬ Cultural equivalent +Addition
Garcon ‫ﮔﺎرﺳﻮن‬ Borrowing
Table 3 Title Terms

Miss Wilmet ‫ﺧﺎﻧﻢ وﻳﻠﻤﺖ‬ Literal translation+ Transcription
Miss Emily ‫ﻣﻴﺲ اﻣﻴﻠﯽ‬ Borrowing +Transcription
Laddie Deletion
Madam Deletion
Madam ‫ﺧﺎﻧﻢ‬ Literal translation
Table 4 Honorifics or Terms Formality

Master paul ‫ارﺑﺎب‬ Literal translation+ Deletion
Dammit Sir ‫ﺁﻗﺎ‬ Deletion+ Literal translation
Sir ‫ﻗﺮﺑﺎن‬ Cultural equivalent
Table 5 Terms of Intimacy

Dear ‫ﻋﺰﻳﺰم‬ Literal translation+Addition
love ‫ﻋﺸﻖ ﻣﻦ‬ Literal translation+Addition
Table 6 Kinship or Family/Relative Terms

Mother ‫ﻣﺎدر‬ Literal translation
Son ‫ﭘﺴﺮم‬ Literal translation+Addition
Sonny ‫ﭘﺴﺮم‬ Literal translation+Addition
Uncle ‫داﻳﯽ ﺟﺎن‬ Literal translation+Addition
My boy ‫ﭘﺴﺮم‬ Literal translation
Table 7 Personal Pronouns and Descriptive Phrases

You young jockey ‫اﺳﺐ ﺳﻮار ﮐﻮﭼﻮﻟﻮ‬ Deletion +Literal translation
You young romance ‫ﭘﺴﺮ ﺧﻴﺎﻟﺒﺎف ﻣﻦ‬ Deletion+Literal translation +Addition
You young Nat Gould Deletion
Table 8 Descriptive Phrases
Mamma's little lamb of the world ‫ﮐﻮﭼﻮﻟﻮ ﺗﺮﻳﻦ ﺑﺮﻩ دﻧﻴﺎ‬ Literal translation+ Deletion
Old man ‫ﭘﺴﺮم‬ Cultural equivalent
Old hero ‫ﻗﻬﺮﻣﺎن ﻗﺪﻳﻤﯽ‬ Literal translation
Old chap ‫دوﺳﺖ ﻗﺪﻳﻤﯽ‬ Literal translation
4. Discussion
The translation of address terms from English into Persian in the three mentioned short stories was investigated in the
present study. The main purpose of the study was to examine the kind of translation strategies and procedures used in
331
their translations by Persian translators.

As table 1 shows transcription is the most common strategy used in the translation of personal names. This kind of
translation strategy might lead to loss of meaning denoted in the name of some characters. Some phonological changes
are observed in the translation of some personal names such as Annie which is translated as ‫( ﺁن‬Ann).
Occupation-bound terms in the present study are composed of job titles. Judge has been translated as ‫ﺁﻗ ﺎﯼ ﺷ ﻬﺮدار‬
(Mr. Mayor) which is a combination of a generic title Mr. and a job title. According to Aliakbari and Toni (2008) addition of
generic titles shows "the degree of respect" which is a common characteristic in Persian. Also, judge has been changed
to mayor in order to show that the person in charge of a town who handles city matters is a mayor not a judge in Iran.
Garcon is borrowed from French and is an accepted equivalent of waiter in Persian.
In translation of titles miss is borrowed and directly transferred to Persian. Because the main focus of the story is
that Emily never got married, this borrowing might lead to a loss in meaning. Miss refers to a single female in English.
The translation of miss is ‫ دوﺷ ﻴﺰﻩ‬which is not common in addressing in Persian and is mostly used in formal texts. In
another situation miss is translated as ‫ ﺧﺎﻧﻢ‬which is used to refer to a female person regardless of her marital status.
Here there is a difference between Persian and English in that English which uses different terms to address
women including miss, Mrs., Ms., and madam. The common translation for all of them in Persian is ‫ﺧﺎﻧﻢ‬.
Honorifics are according to Mehrotra (1981) a common characteristic of many oriental languages. They are used to
show respect, politeness and power. Therefore, dammit is omitted in the translation in order not to violate courtesy in
Persian. Master Paul is a combination of an honorific term and a first name which in translation, the first name is omitted
to show more power relation between a worker and his master. For sir, which is used to address a man in a polite way,
two different translations were was observed: ‫ ﺁﻗ ﺎ‬which is a generic address terms means Mr. and ‫ ﻗﺮﺑ ﺎن‬which is used to
address someone who is higher in rank and shows the kind of power relation exists between interlocutors.
In the translation of terms of intimacy such as dear and love my is added so that ‫( ﻋﺰﻳ ﺰم‬my dear) and ‫( ﻋ ﺸﻖ ﻣ ﻦ‬my
love) are more natural address terms in Persian and show the strong affection which exists in Persian society.
Cooke considers kinship terms as "nouns, most of which have a primary meaning denoting blood kin" (Cooke, 1968,
p. 125). According to Aliakbari and Toni (2008) family relations are very strong in Persian. Therefore, Persian speakers
use a wide range of address terms to refer to different family members and relatives. This is not the case with English
which is according to Methven (2006) based on a nuclear family system. For example, the word uncle in English has two
translations in Persian ‫ ﻋﻤ ﻮ‬which refers to one's father's brother and ‫ داﻳ ﯽ‬which refers to one's mother's brother. This is
another area which English and Persian show considerable cultural differences. Uncle is translated as ‫( داﻳ ﯽ ﺟ ﺎن‬dear
uncle) which is first, based on the plot of the story it seems that he is the mother's brother of the protagonist and second,
it conforms strong family relations and respect in Persian society. Son and sonny are translated as ‫( ﭘ ﺴﺮم‬my son) which
sounds more natural in Persian.
According to Gramley and Pätzold (2003) English uses second personal pronouns in addressing. However, second
personal pronouns are avoided in Persian to address people. Therefore, in table 7 you is omitted and only the descriptive
phrases are translated.
Old man is translated as ‫( ﭘ ﺴﺮم‬my son) which show cultural differences exist in using descriptive phrases or
"descriptors" which "contain an element of description" (Gramley & Pätzold, 2003, p. 197).
5. Conclusion
The comparison of terms of address in three short stories, "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence, "A Rose for
Emily" by William Faulkner, and "A Little Cloud" by James Joyce, with their translations showed that there is a difference
between the system of terms of address in English and Persian. In order to fill this gap translators have used different
strategies such as deletion, addition, cultural equivalent and transcription. This is in line with Khani & Yousefi (2010).
However, because terms of address are hard to translate, literal translation is the most common translation strategy
observed in the translation of terms of address from English into Persian which could lead to a loss in meaning.
As the limitation of this study it should be mention that the corpus was too small to make safe conclusions. By
increasing the size of the corpus and also, conducting similar studies using different genres more exact conclusions
would be drawn.
To sum up, the findings of such research could be useful in translator training and translation courses at
universities. Such research could help students of translation practice proper translation strategies for terms of address
which are an area that languages show significant differences.
332
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of linguistics, 3 (1), 1-9.
Aliakbari, M., & Toni, A. (2008).The Realization of Address Terms in Modern Persian in Iran: A Sociolinguistic Study. Linguistik online,
35. Retrieved July 27, 2011. from http://www.linguistik-online.de/impressum.html.
Braun, F. (1988). Terms of Address: Problems of Patterns and Usage in Various Languages and Cultures. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Retrieved July 28, 2011. from http://www.books.google.com.
Cooke, J. R. (1968). The Pronominal Reference in Thai, Burmese, and Vietnamese. American Anthropologist. 72 (1), 190–191.
Daher, N. (1987). Arabic Sociolinguistics: State of the Art. Al-Arabiyya 19 (1 & 2), 125-159.
Gramley, S. & Pätzold, K.M. (2003). A survey of modern English. London: Routlege.
Khani, S. & Yousefi, R. (2010). The study of address terms and their translation from Persian to English. Retrieved July 27, 2011. from
http://www. TranslationDirectory.com.
Mehrotra, R.R. (1981). Non-kin forms of address in Hindi. International journal of the sociology of language. 32, 121–138.
Methwen, A. (2006). Discussion of the Difficulties in Translating Terms of Address in Chinese and English. [Electronic version].
Munday, J. (2001). Introducing translation studies theories and applications. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Newmark, P. (1988). Approaches to translation. Prentice hall international (UK) Ltd.
Ngo, T. (2006). Translation of Vietnamese Terms of Address and Reference. Translation journal, 10 (4). Retrieved July 27, 2011. from
http://www. translationjournal.net.
Shehab, E. (2005). The Translatability of Terms of Address in Najib Mahfouz’s Ziqaq Al-Midaq into English. An-Najah Univ. J. Res. (H.
Sc.), 19(1), 315-327.

333

The Impact of Level of Education of Pregnant Women on Nutritional Adherence
Bada, Festus Olatunji [PhD]

Department of Guidance and Counselling
Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti , Nigeria.
E-mail: sampromise2@yahoo.com
Falana, Bernard Akinlabi [PhD]

Department of Guidance and Counselling
Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti , Nigeria.
E-mail: falana2010@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p335
Abstract The study examined the impact of educational level of pregnant women on their adherence to nutrition recommendation in
Ado-Ekiti local government area of Ekiti state. The study investigated the Impact of education, the knowledge, the social status, socio-
economic and socio-cultural factors on adherence to nutrition among pregnant women in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The research design for the
study was descriptive in nature and survey approach was adopted for the entire population. The population consisted of the literate and
illiterate pregnant women of child bearing ages selected through purposive random sampling technique in five hospitals in Ado-Ekiti local
Government. A sample of 100 respondents was randomly selected using purposive and stratified random sampling technique. A
questionnaire tilled “Education and nutrition of pregnant women in Ekiti State “was used for collecting data. To ensure the validity of the
instrument copies of the instrument were given to health care practitioners and nutrition specialists in the hospitals that are not part of the
sample and the Department of Health and Human kinetics Ekiti State University. They ensured face and content validities of the
instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.74 was obtained using test retest reliability. This was found significant at 0.05 level of significance.
The instrument was personally administered in the maternity homes in Ado-Ekiti local Government Area of Ekiti State. The data
generated were analysed using descriptive and inferential Statistics. The general question raised was answered using frequency counts
and percentages. The hypothesis postulated was tested using Chi-square (x2). The analysis of the data revealed that Education
determined to a large extent the nutritional adherence by pregnant women. There are significant relationship between the education level
of respondent pregnant women and their nutritional adherence. Based on the findings, the curriculum planners should integrate
nutritional counselling to all levels of education in Nigeria schools. The Ekiti State Government and Nigeria Government should have a
nutritional guide for would be pregnant women in Ekiti State.
Keywords: level of education, pregnancy, nutritional adherence.
1. Introduction
The type of food taken by women during pregnancy influences the health of pregnant women and fetal development. It
has impacts on the development of the placental and maternal state of health or wellbeing (Carmichael and Abrams
1997; Siega-Riz, Adair & Hobel 1996; Smith, 2004). During the first 2 months of pregnancy, the embryo and placenta
undergoes a process of rapid cell differentiation and division and are particularly sensitive to excesses and differences in
micro nutrients. Godfrey & Barker (2001) observed that inadequate levels of maternal nutrients during this crucial period
may lead to reprogramming within the fetal tissues that exposes the infants to chronic illness or malformation in
adulthood.
The researchers observed that a lot of school children appear to have problem assimilating, memorizing and even
have problem with reading. Most of the pupils interviewed from lower and higher classes, educated and illiterate homes,
there appear to be discrepancies in their study habit, posture, behavior and their social interaction. The researcher
therefore looked at the background of the children, observed and interacted with the pregnant women to find out if the
pregnancy state have impact on certain attributes possessed by the pupils. It also appears as if the level of education and
their amenability to counselling impacts on the management of pregnancy through nutrition. Majority of the pregnant
women are immature financially and age making them unable to manage the state of pregnancy.
In 1965, a World Health Organisation (WHO) Expert committee on nutrition in pregnancy and Lactation observed that
next to young children, pregnant and lactating women are nutritionally the most vulnerable group especially in the
335
developing regions of the world and yet comparatively little is known of their special nutritional needs (WHO, 1965) .This
may be due to their low level of education.
Regrettably the situation still remain the same in developing nations like Nigeria, majority of women are in constant
state of limbo and nutritional stress. This in fact has been accountable for premature death, chronic protein-energy
malnutrition, iron deficiency anemia and a host of other deficiencies. Household or pregnant women’s nutritional status
depends on socioeconomic and socio-cultural factors such as income literacy or traditional beliefs.
All these appear to affect pregnant women’s nutritional status and their nutritional related roles. The effect of gender and
poverty on nutritional status of pregnant women may be synergistic. Levinson (1974) in an economic analysis of
malnutrition among young children in Punjah found that while gender was the most statistically significant determinant of
nutritional status, male-female differential in nutritional status were especially great among the lower socioeconomic
group. Nutritional status among the higher and owning caste was better on the whole and the gender differentials was
also smaller. According to existing documents, there is deterioration in nutritional status cross-sectionally. As females
grow older, the combined result of socio-cultural, economic, biological processes, gender differences in adult nutritional
status also appear to be exacerbated by poverty according to McNeill (1984).
The time of marriage and child bearing affect pregnant women nutritional status directly as well as indirectly through
associated socio-cultural norms and practices. They also affect pregnant women’s education and employment which
exert considerable influence on household nutrition. In India’s Office of the Registrar-General 1983, it was revealed that
women have one of the lowest mean ages of marriage in the world 18.3 years (1981) with lower averages obtaining in
rural areas and in some states .These low ages are reflected in the proportions of girls married among younger age
groups almost 8% of 10.14 year olds and 44% of 15-19 years old .In Pakistan universal marriage almost obtained by the
age of 24 years among women. The mean age at marriage was 20.4 years in 1981. Among the correlates of age at
marriage, female literacy is paramount, while other factors such as general literacy, per capital income level of
urbanization, non- agricultural employment and mass media are also important (Srivastav, 1986). At the State level
women’s participation in agriculture has a negative correlation with female age at marriage because higher participation
rates are indicative of more traditional communities. Thus, where women are married early they are not only deprived of
schooling, the benefits of this may affect their nutritional awareness, while they are also exposed to the double energy
demands of grueling agricultural work , early frequent and prolonged childbearing.
Early, frequent and prolonged childbearing are associated with higher risks of malnourishment and mortality to both
pregnant mothers and infants. Das (1975) found that the mortality rate among children born between 1.5 and 2.5 years of
a previous birth was almost half that of children born within 1.5 year birth interval. With longer interval the mortality rate
decreased further. In a survey conducted by WHO on 6000 women, the mortality of infants born within a year of a
previous birth was twice as high as that of infants born after two years of previous birth (Ghosh, 1987).
The mechanisms where women’s education results in lower child mortality have been the subject of some
speculations. Children health and survival appears to be enhanced by better hygiene, improved nutrition and feeding
practices of the child and the mother and timely medical intervention. Education may enable women to take independent
decisions and act on them. Educated women appear to have greater roles in household decision making and be
permitted by other household members to pursue appropriate strategies. The effect of women’s education on their own
nutritional status and on their children is exerted through their roles as providers of household health and nutrition care.
When it comes to nutrition of pregnant women, nutritional knowledge may be important than income. Bairagi (1980)
studied the relationship between child nutrition and factors such as family income, maternal education and birth order. He
found that income was not the only constraint on nutritional status, even in the lowest income group. Maternal education
had a significant influence on nutritional status as did the child’s sex and birth order .A literate mother used scarce
resources better for her child’s welfare than did an illiterate mother with higher income. Sen & Sengupta (1983) studied
two villages in West Bengal, it was revealed that children with literate mothers fared better than those with illiterate
mothers in terms of nourishment .It shows that literacy and prosperity went hand in hand.
Accessibility to health care also affects the nutritional status and roles of pregnant women. The woman is the first
health care provider within the household. A woman’s knowledge of good health and nutrition practices is crucial. This
knowledge may be gleaned from school, older family members or other informal networks. Pregnant mothers should have
the preventive knowledge of health. This will enable them to carry out their preventive multiple roles as producers,
mothers and child minders. Antenatal, intranatal and postnatal care affect the viability of infants and the survival of
mothers nutritional care, protect growth and development and ensure better health for pregnant and lactating women.
Blount (2005) doubtlessly expressed that nutrition, well-balanced eating adherence is one of the greatest gifts a pregnant
woman can give to her soon to-be-born baby. Adopting a healthy nutrition adherence before pregnancy is ideal.
According to him eating and supplying ones body with a tasty blend of nutritious food can improve fertility, keep the health
336
during pregnancy and pave the way for an easier labour. This can also help to establish essential building blocks of
growth and overall health for the expected child.
The food one eats on a daily basis affects how ones bodies work, how one heals and grows, how she maintains
energy and strength for years. It determines the basic nutritional health that children are born with and provides model for
their eating habits during childhood and beyond. Pregnancy is the one time in ones life when your eating habits affect
another person. The pregnant women’s decision to incorporate delicious vegetables, whole grains and legumes, lean
proteins and food choices into their eating adherence before and during pregnancy will give the baby a strong start in life.
The researchers observed that majority of pregnant women in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria appear to have problem with the
food they take during pregnancy. Majority of them appear to be ignorant of the food they are supposed to take during
pregnancy. A lot of them are impoverished and unable to secure their best food. Many of them apart from not being
amenable to counseling which make them to be ignorant of the nutritional requirements. This may be accountable for
their state of undernourishment during pregnancy. This seems to be responsible for the ill-health or most of the
malformation in children experienced after pregnancy delivery.
It is rather unfortunate that despite the provision of health care providers to pregnant women by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid to counsel and encourage their clients to consume food that
meet the nutritional requirements of pregnancy and was used extensively in education materials on nutrition. Women
were encouraged to eat daily 3 servings of milk 3 types of fruits, four periods of eating vegetables in order to meet the
nutritional requirements of pregnancy. Fowles (2000), reported that pregnant women readily consumed 6 to 12 servings
per day from the bread group and at least three servings of meat per day.
It is rather unfortunate that in Ekiti State pregnant women may be because of carelessness, ignorance, poverty, lack
of education, misplacement of priority consume low status diets which lead to ill-health and malformation during and after
pregnancy. The lack of adequate data by the Ekiti State Government indicating a food guide for the majority pregnant
women is another bane to adherence to nutrition by the Nigeria pregnant women. In 2005, the USDA released a revised
edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USDA, 2005a) .The revision emerged as an attempt to reduce the increased
rate of obesity by encouraging consumers to eat more healthfully and control their weight. The guidelines focused on
adequate nutrients within calorie needs weight management physical activity, food groups to encourage fats,
carbohydrates, sodium and potassium, alcoholic beverages. The document in fact, outlined specific recommendations for
specific population like children, people over 50 years old, pregnant and breastfeeding women.
2. Research Rationale
The researchers observed the tenacity of problems faced by pregnant women in Ado-Ekiti. It appears as if the level of
education impacts on the Nutritional adherence by pregnant women it seems as if women in pregnancy state go through
the stage in agony this could be due to the fact that certain factors such as education social status socio-cultural factors
appears to impinge on the health status of pregnant women in Ado-Ekiti local government area. Majority of the pregnant
women appears not to be prepared for the chores of marriage. They marry very early with little or no education. A lot of
the pregnant women interviewed appears to be ignorant of the supposed nourishment to take during pregnancy and a lot
without where withal to face the afore mentioned has prompted to raise questions such as (1) will the demographic
variables influence the nutritional adherence of pregnant women (2) will there be any relationship between the level of
education of pregnant of women and nutritional adherence.
3. Methodology
The researchers employed descriptive research design of the survey type. The population consisted of all the pregnant
women in Ado-Ekiti local Government area. A questionnaire titled “Education and Nutrition of Pregnant Women” was
used for collecting data. A sample of 100 respondents (pregnant women) was chosen through purposive sampling
technique. The face and content validities of the instrument were investigated and ensured by health care practitioners
and nutrition specialists. The test-retest reliability of the instrument was carried out by subjecting it to respondents that
are not part of the original sample. This was administered on 20 respondents and on 2 occasions of two weeks interval. A
reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained and found significant at 0.05 level of significance .The instrument was
personally administered by the researcher. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Question 1: Will the demographic variables influence respondents adherence to nutrition?
Descriptive analysis showing influence of demographic variables on nutrition adherence.
337
Demographic Variables Grouping Frequency Percentage

Age 22-34 92 92.0
35 and above 8 8.0
Level of Education Primary, 4 4
Secondary 12 12.0
OND/NCE 18 18.0
HND/BSc/Ed 59 59.0
MSc/PhD 4 4
Others 3 3
Religion Christianity 87 87.0
Muslim 11 11.0
Others 2 2.0
Type of Family Monogamy 89 89.0
Polygamy 11 11.0
Table 1 shows that 92 (92%) of the respondents falls between 22-34 years while 8(8%) of the respondents are above the
age of 35 years, 4(4%) of the respondents had primary school leaving certificate, 12(12%) are school certificate holders.
18(18%) respondents had ordinary National Diploma and National Certificate of Education, while 59(59%) of the
respondents are Higher National Diploma, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Arts degree. 4(4%) had MSc/PhD holders
while 3(3%) possess qualifications that differs from the list. The analysis of religion shows that 87(87%) of the
respondents are Christians while 11(11%) respondents are Muslims. There are 89(89%) monogamous and 11(11%)
polygamists that participated in the Study.
Hypothesis: There would be no significant relationship between the level of education of pregnant women and
adherence to nutrition
Table 2: Chi Square (x2) Analysis of level of education and adherence to nutrition by pregnant women
SN Variables Response df X2 X2 tab

Yes No
1 Educational level/Nutritional adherence 77 23 1 29.160 3.84
2 Adequacy of Nutrition 92 8 1 70.560 3.84
3 Necessity of Nutrition/Education 31 69 1 14.440 3.84
4 Knowledge of good Nutrition 34 66 1 10.240 3.84
5 Eating Pattern 26 74 1 23.040 3.84
The table shows that 77(77%) of respondents agreed that the level of education determines the nutrition while 23
respondents disagreed 92(92%) of the respondents agreed adequate nutrition is required during pregnancy while 8(8%)
disagreed 31(31%) of the respondents agreed that there is necessity for nutrition during pregnancy while 69(69%) of the
respondents disagreed 34(34%).
Of the respondents agreed that the knowledge of nutrition during pregnancy is necessary while 66(66%) disagreed
26(26%) of the respondents agreed that they eat anything during pregnancy while 74(74%) of the respondents patterned
than food during pregnancy.
The result of Chi square analysis shows that X2 calculated is greater than X2table (3.84) at 0.05 level of significance.
29.160>3.84, 70.560>3.84, 14.440>3.84, 10.24>3.84, 23.040>3.84. The null hypothesis that states that there would be
no significant relationship between the level of education of pregnant women and adherence to nutrition is therefore
rejected. It implies that there would be significant relationship between nutrition adherence and education.
4. Result
The result of the Analysis shows that demographic variables such as age, level of education and type of family imparts on
nutritional adherence by pregnant women. It was also revealed that there are significant relationship between educational
attainment of pregnant women and their nutrition intake.
338
5. Discussion
The result of the data analysis showed that there is significant relationship between the level of education of pregnant
women and nutritional adherence. The study is in agreement with Bairaga (1980) that there is significant relationship
between child nutrition and factors such as family income, maternal education and birth order. He also found that income
was not the only constraint on nutritional status even in the lower income group. Maternal education had a significant
influence on nutritional status as did the child’s sex and birth order.
6. Recommendations
Based on the findings the curriculum planner should incorporate maternal education into the school curriculum. Teachers
will be able to teach boys, girls, men and women the necessity to know and adhere to nourishment and nutrition that will
enable women to go through the stage of pregnancy with reduced problem. Also the state government should constitute
medical team that will enhance provision of nutrition guide and that will employ educators and counselors that will
orientate the pregnant women about the necessity to adhere to nutrition during pregnancy. The maternity centers should
be made to give adequate orientation to pregnant women on the necessity to adhere to good nutrition. Nigerian
government should have food guide which must be in mother tongues and should ensure that nutrition education is
provided to all pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women. This can be an extension to school curriculum in order to
prepare the students for this inevitable future. The government should provide training to persons providing nutrition
education.
References
Bairagi, R. (1980). Is income the only constraint on child nutrition in rural Bangladesh? Bulletin of the World Health Organisation.
Blount, D. (2005). Growing a baby diet and nutrition in pregnancy. The Birkit. 46.
Carmicheal, S. & Abram, B. A. (1997). Critical review of the relationship between gestational weight gain and preterm delivery obstetrics
and gynecology. 89(5): 865-873. (PubMed).
Das, D. J. (1975). An indirect approach to study the inter-relationship between infant mortality and fertility. Demography India. 4: 449—
456.
Das, Gupta, M. (1998). Selective discrimination against female children in rural Punjah. India Population and Development Review. 13:
77—100.
Fowles, E. (2000). Comparing pregnant women’s nutritional knowledge to their actual dietary intake. MCN: The American Journal of
Maternal/Child Nursing. 27: 171—177.
Ghosh, S.; Bhargava, S. K. & Moriyama, I. M. (1982). Longitudinal study of the survival and outcome of a birth cohort. Report of Phase I
of a reseach project, Saf Darjung Hospital, New Delhi.
Levinson, F. J. (1974). Momela: An economic analysis of malnutrition among young children in rural India. In Cornell-MIT International
Nutrition Policy Series. Cambridge: Mass.
McNeil, G. (1984). Energy under-nutrition in adults in rural South India. Progress Report to Finding; Agences Mimeo.
Sen, A. & Sengupta, S. (1983). Malnutrition in rural children and the sex bias. Economic and Political Weekly; XVIII: 855—864.
Siega-Riz, A.; Adam, L. & Hobel, C. (1996). Maternal under-weight status and inadequate rate of weight gain during the third trimester of
pregnancy increase the risk of preterm delivery. Journal of Nutrition. 126:146—153. (Pub Med).
Smith, G. (2004). First trimester origins of fetal growth impairment Seminars in Perinatology. 284150 (Pub Med).
Srivas-Tav, J. N. (1986). Factors in female age at marriage in India with special reference to literacy status. Interstate Analysis for 1981
demography; India. 15: 228—238.
Rowland, M. J. (2002). Geography: An assessment of implications for the development of Australian indigenous. Plant processing
technologies. Australian Aboriginal Studies. 51—66.
Wiley, A. S. & Katz, S. H. (1998). Geography in pregnancy: A test of a hypnosis. Current Anthropology. 39: 532—545.
339

An Overview of Eqrem Cabej’s Literary Thought
Edlira Dhima
Ismail Qemal University of Vlora
College of Human Sciences
Department of Language and Literature, Vlora, Albania
E-mail: edadhima@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p341
Abstract For over half a century, Cabej, like a few others, saw great achievements for his contribution to various fields of Albanology
and Balkanology. The breadth of his interests and his scientific productivity are perspicuous testimonies of the fact that he was a gifted
scientist of European caliber, who dedicated his entire life to science. The writings of great linguists and humanists such as Eqerem
Cabej are part of those elements, which constitute the cultural foundations of a nation. Just like the mighty mountains, such contributions
cast their shade and rest their weight everywhere. Even when lacking the possibility or the need to analyze them in detail, the wide
masses of the common people can feel their irradiating influence, and most of all, they truly believe them. Eqerem Cabej is a profound
scholar of the genesis of Albanian literature. He created the theoretical core of Albanian Romanticism and started the theoretical initiative
of the Modern Albanian Literature. As a pioneering theorist of the latter, which inevitably includes language too, he put forth prodigious
efforts to make it as rich and dynamic as possible, and as developed, and particularly, as aesthetic as it could be. His work, just like the
busy hum of the working bee, was persistent and tireless — the work of a great master. His work will be traveling the Albanian-speaking
world in perpetuity, due to its being as language-forming as it is world-forming.
Keywords: science, literature, initiator, Romanticism, action.
1. Introduction
For over half a century, Cabej, like a few others, saw great achievements for his contribution to various fields of
Albanology and Balkanology. The breadth of his interests and his scientific productivity are perspicuous testimonies of the
fact that he was a gifted scientist of European caliber who dedicated his entire life to science. The writings of great
linguists and humanists such as Eqerem Cabej are part of those elements, which constitute the cultural foundations of a
nation. Just like the mighty mountains, such contributions cast their shade and rest their weight everywhere. Even when
lacking the possibility or the need to analyze them in detail, the wide masses of the common people can feel their
irradiating influence, and most of all, they truly believe them. Because in times of pressure, when someone tries to attack
the foundations: language, culture, art and its mentality, shinning examples such as Eqrem Cabej, are even more strongly
highlighted, just as the hefty mountains are illuminated by lightning during a storm.
Cabej, is, in the first place, known as a linguist and there are probably not many of those who know that he has
been quite dealing even with popular culture, as well as literature. Furthermore, it can be affirmed that during the first
years of his scientific activity, he has dedicated almost equal efforts to linguistic problems, as well as to issues related to
folklore and literature. He was convinced that linguistics and folklore are “two fields of study that should walk side by side,
since the results coming from the findings of one of them, are serviceable to the findings of the other.”
Even from a quick glance at the research, published papers, and speeches on the Albanian literature and popular
culture, one finds no difficulty in understanding that even these fields of study Cabej has given valuable contribution. His
two pieces of research on Albanian Literature, namely Për Gjenezën e Literaturës Shqipe [On the Genesis of the
Albanian Literature] and Romantizmi në Europën Lindore e Juglindore dhe në Literaturën Shqiptare, [Romanticism in
East and Southeast Europe and in the Albanian Literature] contain his views on these literature.
An overview of Cabej’s multifaceted activity shows that his first article, published in 1929 at the age of 22, is focused
on Lasgush Poradeci. In 1936, in his book Elemente të Gjuhësisë e të Letërsisë Shqipe (Për Shkollat e Mesme)
[Elements of the Albanian Linguistics and Literature (For High School Students)], in addition to imparting information and
opinions about a considerable number of Albanian and Arberesh writers, he included many selected portions of their
literary works.
Ibrahim Rugova, the greatest standardizer of the Albanian literary criticism, has defined Eqrem Cabej’s creative
method in literary studies “cultural-historical” and “philological”.
341
2. Popular Poetry
With regards to popular poetry, in his publication Për Gjenezën e Literaturës Shqipe [On the Genesis of the Albanian
Literature], E. Cabej was of the opinion that it it not enough to say that it represents an organic part, although humanly
higher, of the life of the common people in its everyday manifestations. He adds that our popular poetry is impossible to
be understood without knowledge of the old Albanian everyday life and without understanding of such poetry “as a
product and function of that life”.
In his papers and articles on the Albanian folk poetry, Cabej has noted the wide variety of motifs interweaved in the
folk song verses. As a careful examiner of various aspects of Albanian people’s life, he has also provided valuable ideas
on the tunes used to sing those verses in different regions of Albania.
Cabej admits that folk poetry has exercised some great influence on writers from different parts of the Balkans.
Generally speaking, the Albanian poets have risen from the natural soil of folk poetry. At the same time, he also notes
that creations of art and literature have “often been simply turned into folk songs.”
3. Some thoughts and evaluations of Albanian literature and of his authors
This historian of the Albanian language could not neglect showing interest on the works that deal with the historical
evolution of the Albanian language. Alongside the old Albanian authors such as, Buzuku, Budi, etc, Arberesh writers from
Italy, starting from Matrenga up to the present day, have also been included in his work. Indeed, judging by several
writing he published, it can be stated that if he had committed himself to literature, he would certainly have left us much
valuable literary critical research and probably even literary creations of his own.
Regarding the categorization of the Albanian literature, Cabej was of the opinion that it should be based on cultural
and literary circles instead of dividing it according to historical periods. Based on this criterion, he distinguished among
four literary and cultural circles: The Catholic Circle of North Albania, the Albanian-Italian Circle, The Orthodox Circle of
South Albania, and lastly, the national literature of the nineteenth century.
Our great scholar has also written about a number of Albanian and Arberesh authors on the Croatian Encyclopedia
(1942).
3.1 Romanticism
The book Romantizmi në Europën Lindore e Juglindore dhe në Literaturën Shqiptare, [Romanticism in East and
Southeast Europe and in the Albanian Literature] was written in 1945, but was only published in 1994 with a half a
century delay, is the most systematic literary research authored by Eqrem Cabej and, at the same time, constitutes the
theoretical crown of the Albanian romanticism. Cabej views the Albanian romantic poets as creators of their own works of
art as well as nation’s patriots and educators. While taking into consideration the cultural heritage, the author views
romanticism as belonging to European romanticism and to Balkanic romanticism, thus identifying himself with the great
representatives of these views, namely Jeronim De Rada and Naim Frasheri.
Regarding De Rada, in an unpublished paper titled Nje shkrim i panjohur i De Rades [An Unknown Piece of Writing
by De Rada]. He highlights “… the unfading spirit of this Arberesh colossus…”. In addition, in his speech Vatra dhe bota
në poezinë e De Radës [The Hearth and the World in De Rada’s Poetry], Cabej analizes the multifaceted activity of De
Rada — as a writer, linguist, folklorist, Albanian language teacher, and patriot — which is summarized in “The image of
an apostle to the national idea.”
De Rada’s cultural legacy displays nuances of Albanian-Byzantine and Pre-Turkish influences. In order to grasp this
poet’s work in a more holistic manner, one should not neglect the circumstances that have conditioned his context — as
the author himself informs that he found inspiration in both classical and modern literature, just as the majority of the
European poets belonging to the same time period. Traces originating from the Italian Renaissance, particularly Ariosto
and Thasos are noticeable in some of the literary figures and motifs used in his poems. The motif of the unfortunate love
between youths that stem from two feuding families, which is used in a number of European literatures, can also be found
in our poet’s work while depicting the characters of Bozdar Stres and Serafina Topia in Arta, in Skanderbeg’s time. The
names of Turkish heroes like Almazore and Algazile, which are mentioned in his poem Skanderbekku i Pafaan [The Ill-
fated Scanderbeg] and in the elaboration of his poem Serafina Topia, transport us into the Arabian world of Medieval
Spain, just like Sid’s Romansero. Aide’s name, a character that appears as Skanderbeg’s sister, reminds us of Byron’s
poems. In addition, The Bible has left a deep impression on the poet.
342
The romantic characteristics of his poetry are as follows: his foundations planted on folk poetry, his profound research
into the nation’s past history, his glorification of the Middle Ages, his way of singing praises to a woman’s spirit, his
subjectivity, his pessimism, his deeply religious nature, his sensibility towards nature, as well as an interest in the Orient.
In his book Elemente të Gjuhësisë e të Letërsisë Shqipe [Elements of the Albanian Linguistics and Literature], in which
Cabej brifly mentions Albanian and Arberesh authors, he states that in Naim Frasheri’s work “the apostle and the poet are
one and the same… As a result, it is difficult to distinguish the artist from the patriot.” He is an offspring of the most recent
half of romanticism. His poem “Bagëti e Bujqësi” [Herds and Tillage] is considered a masterpiece of our poet. This poem
is estimated as his most poetically complete work. Cabej concludes that Frasheri is a product of his nation, and blood of
our blood, while generalizing that the ethnic feeling has always been more intense than the religious feeling among the
Albanian people.
In Cabej’s analysis of Cajupi’s works, especially Baba Tomorri [Father Tomorr], he asserts “this is a folk poet in the
true sense of the word”, while adding that “even the content of his poems is mostly reflecting the life of the common
people…”.
Since the year 1929, when he published his first paper titled "Mbi poezinë e Lasgush Poradecit" [On Lasgush
Poradeci’s Poetry] to the end of World War II, Eqrem Cabej (1908-1980) showed great consideration and esteem for the
personality and poetry of Gjergj Fishta (1871-1940). This was evident both in the publication of his two monographs —
Poeti Shqiptar Gjergj Fishta [Gjergj Fishta, the Albanian Poet] and Epika e Gjergj Fishtes [Gjergj Fishta’s Epic], — and in
the release of his literary-historic and literary-critic works — Elemente të Gjuhësisë e të Literaturës Shqipe [Elements of
Albanian Linguistics and Literature] and Romantizmi në Europën Lindore e Juglindore dhe në Literaturën Shqiptare
[Romanticism in East and Southeast Europe and in the Albanian Literature], with only a slight mention in a number of
other publications. In fact, in his textbook Elemente të Gjuhësisë e të Literaturës Shqipe [Elements of Albanian Linguistics
and Literature], Cabej dedicates an entire chapter (p. 50-52) to Gjergj Fishta.
This man of our era was an important link in the chain of Albanian literary studies, spanning the period between pre-
war and post-war Albania, just as Gjergj Fishta was, in a different way, a liaison and very synthesizing link in the
development of creative literary thought, from the Renaissance period to the period of Realism and Independence,
encompassing the entire history and culture of the Albanian people. In this point of view, Gjergj Fishta and Eqrem Cabej,
in their different ways of expressing their creativity, satisfied the necessary criteria, which were also preferred by Horace,
who said "Scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons".
Cabej’s appreciation for Fishta’s poetry, especially with regards to his poem Lahuta e Malcis [Lute of Highlands], is
steady and constant, while the comparisons he makes with Frasheri’s poetry as well as with additional poems authored
by several other Albanian poets who had lived and worked in the East or in the West, render the persona and the great
commandment of our national poet even more convincing, while at the same time offer some well-deserved and
acceptable support to the development of Albanian literary thought in its entirety. The concepts of the East and of the
West, added to the concepts of the hearth and the “Albanian soil” in the poetic creations of De Rada, Frasheri, and Fishta
have been presented with the due argumentation of a scientist and a scholar of the Albanian literature in Eqrem Cabej’s
analyses.
Prompted by the great urge to create a map of the Albanian literature history in the process of cementing the older
generation to the next one, Cabej states that, “Asdren provides the transition…” then he specifies that such transition
aims at liberating poetry from national obligations in order to resemble more to work of art. After he describes the lyrical
work of Asdreni — namely, Rreze Dielli [Sun Rays], Ëndrra e Lotë [Dreams and Tears], and Psalme Murgu [A Monk
Psalms], which have a formal poetic structure — praises him as a “master of the form”.
The first article published by Cabej is titled “Mbi Poezinë e Lasgush Poradecit” [On Lasgush Poradeci’s Poetry],
published on Gazeta e Re newspaper, when he was still a student. The broad cultural knowledge and the depth of the
literary thought of this of young Cabej are significantly evident in the eyes of the reader. Based on Poradeci’s poetic
creations of that time, Cabej beautifully expresses his judgment and appreciations for the talented writer: “Lasgush
Poradeci opens for us the gate to a new life in Albanian poetry… a new style is born and is being cultivated in the
Albanian poetry, for which you can search in vain amongst other Albanian poets, but also among foreign writers because
of the authenticity that distinguishes this young poet.”
The modern European poets: the Germans Rilke and Stefan George, the French Baudelaire, Verlee, Malarme,
Rimbaud, Valery, the Italians Pascoli and D’Anuncio, the Russian Jesenin, are viewed, in Cabej’s work, as product of
modern times, whose son is also Lasgush Poradeci.
Thus, the preceding time periods of old biblical writers, led by Budi, namely the romantic writers’ period, which was
highlighted by De Rada and Naim Frasheri, are concluded with the announcement of the modern period of the Albanian
literature, which protagonist is Poradeci.
343
Cabej’s most beautiful piece of writing in the field of literature remains without a doubt his short speech dedicated to Fan
Noli’s literary activity, which, in its brevity, is as packed with information as it is sharp and heartfelt. Briefly, he sheds light
on the Noli’s colossus work as a writer and a translator of some of world’s masterpieces. According to Cabej, “the
complex spirit of the writer permeates everywhere in these works — both in his creations and in his translations. He has
lived them, he has lived through them in the images of the heroes…” He involuntarily appears in Brutus and Hamlet, in
Don Quixote and in Omar Khayyam, in Moses the prophet and the Galilean, in bound Prometheus and in the people’s
enemy, which in reality is his true friend.
Further on, while elaborating on his poetic formation and linguistic expression, Cabej adds: “He is not a poet of
etheric heights, but instead he is the writer of the sod soil. Noli is a forerunner of the Albanian literature, receiving power
from the Motherland itself. In this field of literature he is not a blade of grass, which blooms today and withers tomorrow,
nor is he a flower, which blossoms today and fades tomorrow. Instead, he appears as an oak, old and knotty — a lone
oak, deeply rooted in the profound soil of this country. Such as this is also the language he uses… It does not have the
fragrance of flowers, but it brings the healthy scent of the soil.”
The literary sensitivity of Cabej is also clearly witnessed by the beautiful adaptation into Albanian of a number of
poems written by well-known international poets, including a children’s book. Such works include the song of Dante to
Beatric, as well as the following poems: Song of the Evening by H. Von Failersleben, Green Leaf, Heavy Shadows, A
Woman’s Hand by Th. Storm.
He has also has translated from German the children’s novel Bambi, by the Austrian writer Felix Salten.
Eqrem Cabej is a profound scholar of the genesis of Albanian literature. The Albanologist and the greatest Albanian
linguist of all times connected his first studies to literature issues. He created the theoretical core of Albanian
Romanticism and started the theoretical initiative of the Modern Albanian Literature. As a pioneering theorist of the latter,
which inevitably includes language too, he put forth prodigious efforts to make it as rich and dynamic as possible, and as
developed, and particularly, as aesthetic as it could be. His work, just like the busy hum of the working bee, was
persistent and tireless — the work of a great master. His work will be traveling the Albanian-speaking world in perpetuity,
due to it being as language forming as it is world forming.
References
Çabej E. (1976) Histori fjalësh të sllavishtes e të shqipes, in Studime filologjike, (1).

Çabej, E. (1936) Elemente të gjuhësisë e të literaturës shqipe, Tirana.
Çabej, E. (1939) Për gjenezën e literaturës shqipe, in Hylli i dritës, Vol. 2, Vol 3-7.
Çabej, E. (1941) Der albanische Dichter Gjergj Fishta, in Südost Forschungen, VI 3-4, Munchen, p. 635-647; Idem, Epika e Gjergj
Fishtës, in Gjergj Fishta - A commemorative volume, Luarasi Publishing House, Tirana.
Çabej, E. (1965) Fan Noli ynë, in Nëntori, Vol. 4.
Çabej, E. (1975) Studime gjuhësore V, Pristina.
Çabej, E. (1994) Romantizmi në Europë lindore e juglindore dhe në literaturën shqiptare. All citations on Romanticism belong to this
publication.
Çabej, E. (1994, 1998) Shqiptarët midis Perëndimit dhe Lindjes, MÇM, Tirana, and in Jeta e re, Pristina, Vol. 4, p. 516-439. From the
year 1945, in which it was written, the publication was stored in the Linguistics Institute Archives, Tirana — hereby cited after its
being published in Jeta e re.
Demiraj, Sh. (1990) In Eqrem Çabej, një jetë kushtuar shkencës, 8 Nëntori Publishings.
Demiraj, Sh. (2005, August 13) Vlerësimi për Eqrem Çabejn, in Shekulli.
Epist. Ad Pisones, v. 309.
Hamiti, S. (2010) Eqrem Çabej: Romantizmi e modernizmi, in Poetika shqipe, 55 Publishing House, Pristina.
Hamiti, S., Çabej E. (2010) Romantizmi e modernizmi, in Poetika shqipe, Pristina, Kosovo, p. 571.
Kadare, I. (2005, August 13) Regjimi ia shkurtoi jetën, in Shekulli.
Rugova, I. (2009) Kode të shkrimit letrar, Faik Konica Publishing House, Pristina, p. 119.
Sedaj, Ë. (2008) Konsiderata dhe vlerësime të Eqerem Çabejt për At Gjergj Fishtën, in Zemra Shqiptare, 08. 2008.
344
A Study of Cosmetic Brand Name Translation in Iran
Zeinab Khalilian
Dr. Abbas Eslami Rasekh
English faculty of Isfahan University
Z_khalilian@ymail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p345
Abstract With the acceleration of economic globalization foreign products are being launched into the international market.
Consequently, translating brand names successfully into other languages has never been more imperative and vital than today. The
translation of brand names is a kind of intercultural communication. Therefore, the translation of brand names is one of the most
challenging activities every translator faces. While working on business literature, translation is especially complicated in cosmetic brand
names. Since advertising is important in these sort of products and we want to be certain that the product name will convey a friendly
image in the foreign countries. This study, presenting an analysis of brand name translation, is based on Nida's functional equivalence
as its framework. It is tried to study the problems has been dealt with in the translation process. There are suggested ways to solve
them. And the results show that all names have been translated literally or transliterated and the denotative meaning of them employed
without any attention to the connotation.
Key words: brand name, functional equivalence, translation, cosmetic
1. Introduction
1.1 Globalized transaction
With the increased emphasis on globalization, there is a constant flow of products and services among nations. The
marketing of product and service brands is crucial. Thus, naming brands and having brand names translated into
culturally acceptable linguistic symbols becomes ever-challenging business as culturally heterogeneous and linguistically
diverse consumers drive the global marketplace (Li and Shooshtari 2003).
When a brand is expanded into a foreign market, a careless choice of a new or translated brand name may
generate negative effects on the product and on the company in terms of loss in sales, damage to credibility and damage
to reputation. Even a company that uses its original language in the new market to maintain an exotic foreign image may
not be able to avoid problems since the original brand name may not be easily pronounceable in the foreign language
and may convey an undesirable association or meaning. (Francis, Lam, Walls 2002)
Therefore, a successful translation of the brand name should not only transfer the information concerning the
commodity or service, but it also should transfer its cultural significance to the audience in the target culture (target
culture audience). This applies particularly to culture-loaded brand names that have different mental associations in
different cultures.
When doing international business, the translation of brand names will be the first task facing many companies. A
well-translated brand name will be a most valuable linguistic asset to companies. Though great attention is paid to the
creation of new international brand names, it seems that little attention is paid to the translation of existing brand names
of them.
1.2 Definition of Brand Name
Brand name, an arbitrarily adopted name that is given by a manufacturer or merchant to an article or service to
distinguish it as produced or sold by that manufacturer or merchant and that may be used and protected as a
trademark.(Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary,1922).
In markets where consumers purchase brands to reinforce their membership in a certain global segment or to
appear cosmopolitan, brands with a global image will fare better than brands with a local or provincial image (Alden,
Steenkamp, and Batra 1999). So these markets use transliteration to capitalize recognition and remind customers of the
original brand name.
345
Aiming to build, reinforce, and or reposition consumers' perception of a certain brand, brand names have the
following four functions: distinguishing products, providing information, ensuring guarantee and stimulating consumption.
In order to build up a good image in the market and arouse favorable associations as well as purchasing desire in the
minds of the consumers, brand names should have the following major characteristics: short in length and sweetness,
sonorous and distinct, elegant and apt, original and novel.
Given the uniqueness of brand names translation, the translator must be fully aware of the cultural awareness,
aesthetic standards, and consumption modes of both SL and TL readers, and should keep in the mind the intention of the
original so as to transfer its message (both linguistic and cultural) maximally, otherwise, a failure to reflect the spirit and
dynamics of the source document is a mortal sin (Nida, 1993).
The translator of brand names should strive for the following two effects: (a) the translated brand name should
reflect the semantic features of the original one; (b) the translated brand name should have the same or similar function
as the original one.
Considering the features of brand names, particularly the fact that they are mostly created to perform such functions
as informative, aesthetic and vocative functions, the present paper will chiefly draw upon Nida's principle.
Language has six basic functions: informative, vocative, aesthetic, expressive, phatic and metalingual (Newmark,
1988, p.39). The former three are more closely related to brand names. As far as foreign brand names are concerned,
functional equivalence means that the Persian renderings must perform these three functions to the same, or at least to
similar extent as the foreign brand names do.
Since culture is often created by a people in their ongoing activities within their particular life-conditions, brand
names, which obviously are part of the culture of a people (in this sense refers to spiritual, artifacts), frequently trigger
different aesthetic perceptions (or associations) and values in different cultures.
From the viewpoint of lexicology, associative meaning is the secondary meaning supplemented to the conceptual
meaning. It differs from the conceptual meaning in that it is open-ended and indeterminate. It is liable to the influence of
such factors as culture, experience, religion, geographical region, class background, education, etc. In contrast to
denotative meaning, connotative meaning (of which associative meaning is an essential part) refers to the overtones or
associations suggested by the conceptual meaning.
How to assess a translated brand name? Most marketing textbooks summarize the criteria for ideal brand names as
memorable, distinctive, and positive and preferably suggestive of product attributes (Kevin Keller, 1998, pp 131-132). But
translated brand names are the products out of their original names; they should share some relevance with their
originals to some degree or by some manner. If they are completely irrelevant, and then the new names are re-created,
not translated. In order to build a unified brand image across borders and to make consumers easy to associate the new
names with the old names, it is advisable, from a marketing point of view, to translate with some associative relevance
between them, while re-creation means the total loss of original brand assets and new expensive promotion of the new
one. It should also follow the following additional criteria:
1. Phonetic relevance
The new translated brand name should sound similar, if not exactly the same, to its original name. Transliteration can well
reach this criterion.
2. Semantic relevance
By semantic relevance, we do not necessarily mean literal equivalence; rather we mean the new translated brand name
should be semantically meaningful.
3. Graphic relevance
Languages are semiotic, the brand name and its typeface constitute the visual part of brand image. Sometimes, the
typeface can suggest or symbolize the features of a product. In translating brand names from one language into another,
it is highly recommended to make a similar visual look by adopting the same typeface or font of letters.
1.3. Translation techniques of brand names
The common techniques are of five kinds: 1) literal translation; 2) transliteration; 3) liberal translation; 4) combined
translation; and 5) adjustment.
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1. Literal translation
The so-called literal translation in this paper is equivalent to Newmark's semantic translation, which attempts to render, as
closely as the semantic and syntactic structure of the second language allow, the exact contextual meaning of the original
(Newmark, 1988, p. 39).
2. Transliteration
Newmark (1988, p.81) proposes transference for cultural terms which includes transliteration: Transference is the
process of transferring a SL word to a TL text as a translation procedure. It is the same as Catford's transference, and
includes transliteration, which relates to the conversion of different alphabets
3. Paraphrase
Paraphrase is the technique of translating brand names by giving a restatement of the meaning in Persian. It helps bring
out the functions and effects of products clearly so as to impress the receptors and in many cases avoid unfavorable
associations.
4. The technique of combined translation

Sometimes literal translation, transliteration and paraphrase are integrated to achieve functional equivalence.
5. Adjustment
To employ adjustment as a supplementary technique, this requires that the translator make some adjustments in
translation. Addition or deletion, blending, acronym, purposive misspelling, and renaming usually realize it.
5.1 Additions or deletions

Addition refers to adding certain letter, sound or even semantic component in translating English brand names into
Persian. Deletion refers to deleting certain letter, sound or even semantic component in translation.
5.2 Blending
Blending refers to the technique of translation by combining two or three words into one word. It is acknowledged that
good brand names are not only informative but also concise enough to be memorized.
5.3 Acronym
Acronym refers to the way of translating by combining the initial letters of the Persian characters in a English brand name.
5.4 Purposive misspelling

Purposive misspelling refers to the deliberate misspelling of Persian words in translating English brand names into
Persian.
5.5 Renaming
Renaming, as the term suggests, means giving a new name to the original brand name. It is by far the most innovative
technique of translation and is mainly used to avoid negative associations.
1.4. Objective
The objective of this report is to provide a more comprehensive overview of brand naming in Iran which includes brands
imported.
2. Methodology
2.1. Material
Like other kinds of translations, translation of brand names is not only a code switch between two languages, but a
transformation of culture and social conventions. As cosmetics, it also includes cultural factors, which imposes a more
severe standard on the sense of beauty. Therefore, apart from following language laws, the translation of cosmetics
brand names must pay attention to such non - linguistic factors as gender, age and culture of the customers.
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In this research, twenty cosmetic brand names are selected and analyzed on five techniques of brand names translation
according to Nida's functional equivalence. The questionnaire is prepared and sent by email to twenty peoples. After
gathering the data the researcher analyzed on the basis of functional model.
2.2. Model of the study
According to the principle of functional equivalence, the translated brand names should achieve a perfect linguistic unity
among sound, form and meaning.
This paper, taking Nida's functional equivalence as its framework, attempts to study the problems that are often
encountered in translating brand names into Persian and suggest ways to solve them. As far as cosmetic products are
better available, the researcher decided to choose from cosmetic brand names.
2.3. Procedures
Content analysis is a technique for gathering and analyzing the content of a text, it is used to analyze the translation
patterns.
3. Data Analysis and results
In this section, the analysis of data is conducted on techniques of data only all other words are going to be studied one by
one. Nida's functional. Because of not having a great bulk of
1. Etod (lipstick)
Persian Counterpart: /Etood/is transliteration
/Etod/ is adjustment
2. Persian (powder cream)

Persian Counterpart: /parian/ is adjustment
/pershian/ is transliteration
/pershen/ is deletion and transliteration
3. Flormar (kind of stick for cheeks)

Persian Counterpart: /flomar/ is transliteration
4. Oreal (mascar)
Persian Counterpart: /ureal/ is transliteration
/or al/ is adjustment (deletion)
/oreel/ is transliteration
5. Ever Sheen (eye liner)

Persian Counterpart: /Hamishe derakhshan/ is literal
/Ever sheen/ is transliteration
/hamishe saaf/ orsheen/ is paraphrase/ adjustment (addition
6. Ever Bilena (stake pan)

Persian Counterpart: /ever bilena/ is transliteration
7. Carol (pankak)
Persian Counterpart: /naghmeh/ is literal
/karool/ is transliteration
/karel/ is adjustment (deletion)
8.Ever Beauty (powder cream)

Persian Counterpart: /hamishe zeeba/ is literal
/ever beuty/ is transliteration
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9. Miss Rose (eye liner)

Persian Counterpart: /khanoom roz/ is paraphrase
/miz roz/ is transliteration
/khanoom roz/ Miss roz/ is literal/ transliteration
10. Lilyum (nail polish)

Persian Counterpart: /lilium/ is transliteration
/li lium/ is transliteration
11. Ruby Rose (eye shadow)

Persian Counterpart:/rubi roz/ is transliteration
/roz ghermez/ is literal
12. Dallas/ Jewel (fingernails)

Persian Counterpart: /daalaas/ jool/ is transliteration/adjustment (deletion)
/daalaas/negin/ is transliteration/ paraphrase
/daalaas/ joovel/ is transliteration/adjustment (addition)
13. Igora Royal/lady/ silk (hair colors)

Persian Counterpart: /igoora royal/ is transliteration
/laydi/khanoom/banoo/ is transliteration/ literal/literal
/abreesham/silk/ is literal/ transliteration
14. Jacsaf (perfume)

Persian Counterpart: /jaksaf/ is transliteration
/jaaksaf/ is transliteration
/jasaf/ is adjustment (deletion)
15. Nice/ chi chi (kind of perfume)

Persian Counterpart: /khoob/chi chi/ is literal/ transliteration
/nice/chi chi/ is transliteration
/mode rooz/aali/ is paraphrase/ literal
16. Nivea (shaving foam)

Persian Counterpart: /neva/ is adjustment
/nev a/ is transliteration
/neve a/ is transliteration
17. Fa (deodorant)
Persian Counterpart: /fa/ is transliteration
18. Balea (depilatory)

Persian Counterpart: /baleh a/ is transliteration
/balii/ is adjustment
/bali/ is adjustment
19. Miracle (cream for eye)

Persian Counterpart: /moogezeh/ is literal
/mirakl/ is transliteration
20. AxE (body spray)

Persian Counterpart:/ax e/ is transliteration
/exi/ is adjustment (misspelling)
/Ax/ is adjustment (deletion)
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21. My (sun screen cream)

Persian Counterpart: /my/ is transliteration
/man/ is literal
4. Conclusion
Brand name translation is getting more and more important to companies in today's world economic environment, and
has become a hot topic in commercial language translation, worthy of further study. It is suggested that translators and
translation organizations consider offering such service to their clients. So as to the aim of this study was presenting
appropriate equivalence of cosmetic brand names on basis of functional meanings. The results show that translators tend
to use transliteration technique for translating brand names, though as suggested method, translators must maintain that
association meaning behind the brand name as it do in its source.
Comment: Though the names seem clear and simple on the surface, they have some connotative meanings. All
names have been translated literally or transliterated and the denotative meaning of them employed without any attention
to the connotation. In order to avoid the loss of meaning due to the cultural differences, the renderings can be more
attractive and acceptable to the target audiences.
Two suggested Methods of Brand Translation
In international names and brands translations, two generic methods of brand name translation are used:
• Direct translation for the brand name's meaning and
• Phonetic translation for the brand name's pronunciation.
For an unknown brand, a phonetic translation is helpful, whereas for an existing strong brand name, it is better to retain
the original name.
References
Alden, D. L., Steenkamp, J.-B. E.M. and Batra, R., (1999), Brand Positioning Through Advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe:
The Role of Global Consumer Culture, Journal of Marketing, 63 (1)
Francis, J. N.P., Lam, J. P.Y. and Walls, J., (2002). The Impact of Linguistic Differences on International Brand Name Standardization: A
Comparison of English and Chinese Brand Names of Fortune-500 Companies, Journal of International Marketing Chicago: Vol.10
(1); pg. 98
Keller, K, K. (1998). Strategic Brand Management. New York: Prentice-hall.pp.131-132
Li, F. and Shooshtari, N. H., (2003) Brand Naming in China: Sociolinguistic Implications, Multinational Business Review. Detroit: 11(3); p.
3 (19 pages)
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, (1922)
Newmark, P. A. (1988). Textbook of Translation, London: Prentice-Hall
Nida E. A. (1993). Language, Culture, and Translating, Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press

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Politeness Principle in 2008 Presidential Debates between Mc Cain and Obama
Maryam Pakzadian
University of Isfahan, Iran

maryam.pakzadian2011@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p351
Abstract This paper discusses “diplomatic language” with reference to linguistic theories, especially theories of pragmatics involving the
Politeness Principle. In this paper the researcher tries to investigate the 3 presidential debates in 2008 between Senator Mc Cain and
Obama. After checking the accuracy of transcripts against the videotape, the researcher through sentence by sentence analysis of the
text, examines to what extent each candidate contributes more to Leech politeness maxims. The results of the paper show that in all
three debates incident of maxim contribution is preceded by Obama. The researcher closes the paper with discussing the positive impact
of these 6 maxims in face saving and group connectedness. She points to politeness maxims consideration as one of having crucial
importance which helps diplomatic language to be more effective and successful.
Key words: diplomatic language; Leech maxims; politeness principle; 2008 presidential debates;
1. Introduction
The writer first makes a survey of documents available, briefing the present study on the diplomatic language field as well
as introducing the main theories in pragmatic study, including Politeness Principle, face and politeness strategy, as well
as the shortcomings and limitations of these theories involving the Leech’s Politeness Principle, Brown and Levinson’s
Face Saving Theory. Then the writer implements the analysis of the characteristics of the diplomatic language .Through
the illustrations and analysis, the writer points out that negotiation and dialogue are playing such significant roles in
present world that language matters a lot in diplomacy. In diplomatic language use , no matter what kind of specific
linguistic strategy is taken, the purpose is either to reduce the face threat to “other” or to reduce the face threat to “self” or
to both. In other words, the goal is either to maintain the face to “other” or to “self” or to both or all sides involved. Hence
the politeness is neither so absolute nor so asymmetrical so far as the diplomatic language strategy is concerned. The
writer concludes that the maxims under Politeness Principle are so asymmetrically other-oriented that it may not account
for the features of diplomatic language.
In this paper the researcher chooses three presidential debates from 2008 political race between Mc Cain and
Obama. She tries to investigate to what extent each of these candidates contribute to Leech politeness maxims. By
comparing the incidence of contribution to such maxims the researcher wants to know which candidate is more
concerned with face saving and group connectedness.
2.1 Politeness Principle
In the book Principles of Pragmatics published in 1983, Leech (1983) defines politeness as forms of behavior that
establish and maintain comity and he proposes what he terms “The Politeness Principle” as a way of explaining how
politeness operates in conversational exchanges, indicating the ability of participants in a social interaction to engage in
interaction in an atmosphere of relative harmony. Leech’s maxims of Politeness Principle are:
I TACT MAXIM
(a) Minimize cost to other [(b) Maximize benefit to other]
II GENEROSITY MAXIM
(a) Minimize benefit to self [(b) Maximize cost to self]
III APPROBATION MAXIM
(a) Minimize dispraise of other [(b) Maximize praise of other]
IV MODESTY MAXIM
(a) Minimize praise of self [(b) Maximize dispraise of self]
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V AGREEMENT MAXIM
(a) Minimize disagreement between self and other
[(b) Maximize agreement between self and other]
VI SYMPATHY MAXIM
(a) Minimize antipathy between self and other
[(b) Maximize sympathy between self and other]
(Leech, 1983:132)
A Leech (1983) point out that it is not that all of the maxims and sub-maxims are equally important. Rather, of the twinned
maxims (I)-(IV), (I) appears to be a more powerful constraint on conversational behavior than (II), and (III) than (IV). This
reflects a more general law that politeness is focused more strongly on other than on self. Moreover, it is obvious that
within each maxim, sub-maxim (b) seems to be less important than sub-maxim (a), which illustrates the more general law
that negative politeness or avoidance of discord is a more weighty consideration than positive politeness or seeking
concord.
Leech (1983: 112) compares the paradox of politeness with a comedy: “We may observe in the pragmatic
paradoxes of politeness a comedy in inaction: it is as if two people are eternally prevented from passing through a
doorway because each is too polite to go before the other.”
Why does politeness manifest itself in this behavioral or pragmatic paradox? Leech (1983) says the answer to this
appears somewhat paradoxical: the paradoxes of politeness function as an antidote to a more dangerous kind of
paradox. It is epitomized in a situation in which each of the two persons wishing to go through the doorway attempts to go
before the other, with the result that they collide in the doorway! Such paradoxes clearly lead to direct conflict, and are
socially perilous. He perceives that the function of the Tact Maxim is a means of avoiding conflict.
Leech perceives that “politeness is essential asymmetrical: what is polite with respect to h or to some third party will
be impolite with respect to s, and vice versa” (1983: 107).
Leech claims that PP can be seen not just as another principle to be added to the CP, but as a necessary
complement, which rescues the CP from serious trouble.
2.2 Face and Politeness Strategies
Erving Goffman (1959: 208-12) was a professor at Berkeley and later at the University of Pennsylvania. He defines
“Face” as “the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during
a particular contact”, i.e. the image of the “self” that is presented. He illustrates some of the ways in which people present
a face or image of the “self” in social relationships, interactions, and encounters. Goffman continues to develop similar
ideas with a more systematic analysis of social interaction later on. He analyzes how we develop and present ourselves
to others. For Goffman, the “self” is the individual’s personal possession. But he also notes that it is social, it is given to
the individual by others, and can be withdrawn by them. He thinks that in order to prevent the occurrence of incidents and
the embarrassment, certain attributes are indispensable, and these attributes and practices “will be reviewed under three
headings: the defensive measures used by performers to save their own show; the protective measures used by
audience and outsiders to assist the performers in saving the performers’ show; and, finally, the measures the performers
must take in order to make it possible for the audience and outsiders to employ protective measures on the performers’
behalf”. The “performers” are equivalent to “self”. Obviously, Goffman stresses the ways in which face of “self” tends to be
maintained.
Perhaps the most thorough treatment of the concept of politeness in pragmatics is that of Penelope Brown and
Stephen Levinson (1978). The book is named Universals in Language Usage: Politeness Phenomenon, which was first
published in 1978 and then reissued in 1987. In the book Brown and Levinson (1978: 71-3) point out that face refers to a
speaker’s sense of linguistic and social identity. Any speech act may impose on this sense, and is therefore face
threatening. And speakers have strategies for lessening the threat, especially to the hearer. That is where the
significance of Politeness Principle lies. In their model, politeness is defined as redressive action taken to counter-
balance the disruptive effect of face threatening acts (FTAs). In their theory, communication is seen as potentially
dangerous and threatening. The basic term of their model is “face” which is defined as “the public self-image that every
member wants to claim for himself” consisting of two related aspects. One is negative face, or the rights to territories,
freedom of action and freedom from imposition, wanting your actions not to be constrained or inhibited by others. The
other is positive face, which is consistent with the self-image that people have and want to be appreciated and approved
of by at least some other people. Positive politeness means being complimentary and gracious to the addressee (but if
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this is overdone, the speaker may alienate the other party). Negative politeness is found in ways of mitigating the
imposition. In the context of the mutual vulnerability of face, any rational agent will seek to avoid these face-threatening
acts, or will employ certain strategies to minimize the threat. The speaker will want to minimize the threat of his FTA. The
politeness theory of Brown and Levinson is also called “Face-saving Theory”.
Brown and Levinson (1978) also argue that in human communication, either spoken or written, people tend to
maintain one another’s face continuously. In everyday conversation, we adapt our conversation to different situations.
Among friends we take liberties or say things that would seem discourteous among strangers. And we avoid over-
formality with friends. In both situations we try to avoid making the hearer embarrassed or uncomfortable. Face
Threatening Acts (FTAs) are acts that infringe on the hearers’ need to maintain his/her self-esteem. Politeness strategies
are developed to deal with these FTAs. They stress that the basic strategy of politeness is to minimize the threat to an
addressee’s “negative face” and enhance their “positive face” as much as possible.
Grice’s Cooperative Principle contributes a lot to pragmatic study of conversations between people, yet it is
vulnerable to a certain extent so far as the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchanged is concerned. Will
conversation between America and Iraq involve the accepted purpose or the consistent direction of talk exchange? In
addition, what are the reasons for the violation or “flouting” of the maxims under the principle?
Apparently, it is a request, Brown and Levinson’s Face Saving Theory is so influential that almost all discussions on
politeness are based on their theory, yet it has some limitations, which are mainly:
1) Brown and Levinson (1978) divide “face” into “positive face” and “negative face”, and think that a certain speech act
threatens only one of them for one time. However, some speech acts (such as orders or request) can
simultaneously threaten two kinds of faces. For example a teacher speaks to a student:
“Would you please rewrite your essay however, it threatens both the positive face and negative face of the hearer. The
speaker is not satisfied with the essay written by the hearer, which threatens the positive face of the hearer. The speaker
requires that the hearer should write the essay again, thus interfering with the freedom of the hearer, which threatens the
negative face of the hearer.
2) Brown and Levinson mention that almost all the speech acts constitute face threatening, including invitation,
compliment, gratitude, etc., which are not so acceptable. Assume that here comes an invitation that has been
longed for by the recipient of the invitation letter; say an invitation of studying in a famous university with
considerable scholarship. Is it a face threatening to the recipient?
Unquestionably, Leech’s “Politeness Principle” contributes a lot to pragmatics study. However, the maximum shortcoming
of it is insufficient consideration of the appropriateness of politeness. Leech (1983: 83) thinks that “some illocutions (e.g.
orders) are inherently impolite, and others (e.g. offers) are inherently polite”, which implies some speech acts are
intrinsically polite or impolite, thus overlooking the context factor that may determine the level of politeness. Hence the
appropriateness of politeness is ignored. Similarly, he holds that “Politeness is essential asymmetrical: what is polite with
respect to h or to some third party will be impolite with respect to s, and vice versa”(Leech, 1983: 107), which is not
always the case, rather, the politeness can be even-handed, as shown in the examples in the following chapter.
Moreover, in stating the maxims of the Politeness Principle, the word “maximize” and “minimize” are obviously going to
extremes. The context is not sufficiently weighted anyway. Some typical examples cited in Chapter 4 will show how
diplomatic language works in reconciling the asymmetry.
It can be seen that Leech’s Politeness Principle is too absolute and ideal. It is “other” oriented and neglects “self”.
New ideas are to be proposed into the Politeness Principle, including strengthening the harmonic relations between each
side and taking related politeness strategies, which may include 1) pay attention to ‘self’, 2) respect ‘other’, 3) consider
‘third party’. In a word, the relativity of politeness is to be dealt with appropriately. The view that the true nature of
politeness is the relativity, which determines the appropriateness of politeness in different occasions, is to be taken into
consideration regarding the relative context. The relativity of politeness reveals itself in various ways, which cannot be
overlooked. Since the “absoluteness” in politeness is relative whereas the “relativity” of it is absolute, Leech’s Politeness
Principle may not cover all the requirements of the polite language. Though it is proposed to “rescue” the Cooperative
Principle, it may solve only part of the questions that are unsolved by the Cooperative Principle.
In summary, the major weakness of “Face Saving Theory” and “Politeness Principle” is that they emphasize (along
with speech act theory) single turn or utterance as primary to face-work. Their overemphasis on hearer’s face (at expense
of speaker’s face) overlooks the appropriateness in language strategy. Much face-work is negotiated and coordinated
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over a series of moves or actions. Face-work can be missed if it focuses only on a single turn. Sometimes, especially in
diplomatic language strategy, face of “self” is as important as that of “other”, or even more important on some specific
occasions, which is determined by requirements of diplomacy and features of diplomatic language. Moreover, diplomatic
language strategy is also prevalent in people’s lives because people will take “face” or “interest” into consideration in their
everyday activities. In this sense, diplomatic language strategy is worthy of analysis and discussion.
2.3 Politeness Theory and Presidential Debates
In the field of diplomacy, politeness prevails in diplomatic language and behavior as a whole. Diplomats are supposed to
have decent manners and not to resort to personal attacks on any occasion. Being the representatives of their own
country, diplomats and statesmen have the holy duty to protect their countries’ interests, avoid conflicts between
countries and maintain good relations with other countries. Therefore, both politeness and competence are needed for
diplomacy. Politeness reflects the social distance in the relationship between the sender and the receiver. Suppose both
sides are of equal position, generally, the more intimate, the less polite; the less intimate, and the more polite. As a
phenomenon existing for a very long time, diplomacy is formal, conservative, persuasive, cautious and, polite and tactful.
So indirectness is one important strategy in diplomatic language.
While politenesss research focused mainly on dyadic interaction some studies have moved beyond dydic context in
an attempt to assess how audiences perceive a speakers politeness. Myers (1989) has considered the complex situation
where an audience of readers might respond to the politeness evident in scientific articles and in small group context of
scientific collaboration (Myers, 1991); Obeng(1997) studied politeness strategies in Akan juditial discourse ;and Wilson
(1992) has applied a politeness model to Pauls letter to Philemon.
Recently, debates scholars have started to pursue studies that assess candidate's image formation as it develops
out of interactive clash. Benoit and Wells (1996) developed the claim that candidates' images are at stake in debates
.Similarly Becks (1996) study of 1992 vice presidential debate argued that a candidate's social face was at stake in a
debate and that the candidates ability to manage turn taking affected what the audiences perception of the candidates.
How candidates argue is an important if not more so than what they argue about.
According to Beck (1996)," candidate's capacity to present themselves during such consequential public
interactions (as debates) hinges on their interactional skills, not just their ability to look a certain way or say particular
things. This critical factor in political communication merits exploration"(p.166).
Our belief is that debates are a special type of social situation where candidates are required to disagree in ways
that persuade audiences to perceive them favorably. In short, candidates are expected to project a favorable political
image-positive face-in a context that calls for face threatening acts. Cognizant of the fact that audience members are
carefully scrutinizing each language choice for clues concerning presidential ability ,candidates must calculate what
constitutes an appropriate strategy in the attack and defense of competing political images before, during and sometimes
after a debate(when other debates scheduled in a campaign). In these highly charged, competitive situations, social face
must be managed carefully before an audience of voters who are observing for the purpose of judging each candidate's
ability to sense the appropriate strategy at each point in transaction. In these respects, chieces regarding politeness
strategies might be one way to measure a candidate's good will and judgement regarding his image, his opponents and
the values he aspires to represent for the community. These qualities represent important aspect of political leadership
and are assessed by the audiences in debates (Hinck, 1993).
3. Methodology
3.1 Debates
The three presidential debates:

 Friday, September 26, 2008, 9 p.m. EDT at the University of Mississippi's Gertrude C. Ford Center in Oxford,
Mississippi, moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour on PBS. This debate
was originally planned to focus on foreign policy and national security. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, a
portion of the debate focused on economic issues.
 Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 9 p.m. EDT at Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville ,Tennessee,
moderated by Tom Brokaw, special correspondent and former evening news anchor for NBC News. This
debate had a town hall meeting format.
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 Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 9 p.m. EDT at Hofstra University's Hofstra Arena in Hempstead, New York,
moderated by Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation. This
debate focused on domestic and economic policy.
The first and third of the 90-minute CPD presidential debates were divided into nine 9-minute issue segments, allowing
the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from the moderator and directly address each other. The
second CPD presidential debate featured a town hall format in which voters, either present at the debate or via the
internet, posed questions on a topic of their choice. The format of the single vice presidential debate followed that of the
first and third presidential debates, but included questions on all topics, with shorter response and discussion periods
compared to the presidential debates.
3.2 Participants
The Republican nominees were Senator John McCain, and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The Democratic nominees
were Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. The debates were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential
Debates. Here in this paper we focus on debates between Obama and Mc Cain.
3.3 Procedure
First the researcher tries to check the accuracy of transcripts against the videotapes of 3 presidential debates. She tries
to have a neat sentence by sentence analysis of the transcripts against the use of politeness strategies. As it is
mentioned in review part, we mentioned 6 politeness maxims presented by Leech (1983). The researcher tries to
investigate to what extent each of two candidate contribute to these 6 politeness maxims. By providing the percentage
incidents of their happenings in transcripts, the researcher wants to know which candidate, Mc Cain or Obama,
contributes more to politeness maxims.
4. Results
Table 1 show to what extent each candidate contributes to Tact maxim. This maxim relate to the reality that when we
minimize benefit to ourselves and maximize benefit to others we are more concerned to politeness principle, and
connectedness to group and others is more important issue for us. The results of table 1 show that Obama proceeds to
Mc Cain in contributing to Tact maxim in all 3 presidential debates.
Table 1. Incidents of Tact Maxim as % of candidates/debates
Debate 1 Debate 2 Debate 3

Mc Cain 32 30 22
Obama 50 41 38
Table 2 show to what extent the two candidates contribute to Generosity Maxim. According to this maxim we minimize
the benefit to ourselves and maximize the cost to ourselves. The results show again for this case Obama precedes Mc
Cain. So Obama with resorting to this maxim seems more contributed to politeness principle.
Table 2. Incidents of Generosity Maxim as % of candidates/debates

Mc Cain 12 25 19
Obama 35 34 43
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Table 3 show to what extent the two candidates contribute to Approbation Maxim. This maxim presents the issue that as
we minimize dispraise of others and we maximize praise and admiration of others. In this case except in debate one in
which Mc Cain precedes in using this maxim, in other two debates Obama contributes more to this maxim.
Table 3. Incidents of Approbation Maxim as % of candidates/debates

Mc Cain 32 13 26
Obama 31 25 41
Table 4 shows to what extent participants contribute to Modesty Maxim, in which participants try to minimize praise of self
and maximize dispraise of self. The results show both candidates in very little extent contribute to this maxim. But here
again Obama in all three debates contribute more to this maxim.
Table 4. Incidents of Modesty Maxim as % of candidates/debates

Mc Cain 8 4 3
Obama 15 6 9
Table 5 show to what extent participants contribute more to Agreement maxim which put emphasis on Minimizing
disagreement between self and other and Maximizing agreement between self and other. In all three debates Obama
precedes in contributing more to this maxim.
Table 5. Incidents of Agreement Maxim as % of candidates/debates

Mc Cain 30 18 28
Obama 32 25 34
Table 6 show to what extent the two candidates contribute to Sympathy Maxim. This maxim considers the issue of
Minimizing antipathy between self and other Maximizing sympathy between self and other. Again in this case Obama
considers this maxim while talking more.
Table 6. Incidents of Sympathy Maxim as % of candidates/debates

Mc Cain 15 19 38
Obama 32 24 40
5. Discussion and Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent 2008 presidential candidates contributed to politeness
principle. The researcher investigated the incidence of contribution to politeness maxims. The results showed that Obama
in all 3 debated proceeded in maxim contribution and also contribution to politeness principle. The results of 2008
presidential race in which Obama finally won the game, support what Hinck ( 1993) reports in his study, that qualities like
contribution to cooperative principle or politeness principle represent important aspects of political leadership and are
assessed by the audiences in debates .The results also are in accordance with what Myers (1989) discussed in his study.
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He has considered the complex situation where an audience of readers might respond to the politeness evident in
scientific articles in small group context of scientific collaboration. He considered politeness principle as a crucial factor
which contributes to the candidates face in debates.
Since the significance of “diplomacy” or “diplomatic language strategy” consists in maintaining good relations among
nations, dialogue and negotiation are playing more and more important roles in the present world. Therefore language
matters a lot in diplomacy. The maxims under Politeness Principle are so asymmetrically other-oriented that it may not
account for the features of diplomatic language. It can only solve part of the problems that are unsolved by the
Cooperative Principle. Therefore the concise tact maxim of Leech’s Politeness Principle, which is “minimize cost to other,
maximize benefit to other”, can be adjusted to be an “Interest Principle” in diplomatic language strategy: “Minimize cost to
others, maximize benefit to self”, which is a parallel and simultaneous process. They are premises to each other based
on specific conditions. In addition, “others” indicates not only the hearer, but all the parties involved. It really looks another
paradox, yet a trade-off is possible so far as the diplomacy is concerned.
References
Beck, C. (1996). "I've got some points I'd like to make here": The achievement of social face through turn management during the 1992
vice presidential debate. Political Communication, 13, 165-180.
Benoit, W. L., & Wells, W. T. (1996). Candidates in conflict: Persuasive attack and defense in the 1992 presidential debates. Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press.
Brown, P. & Levinson, S. C. (1978). Politeness: Some universals in language use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life . New York: Doubleday.
Hinck, E. A. (1993). Enacting the presidency: political argument, presidential debates, and presidential character. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Leech, G. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.
Myers, G. (1989). The pragmatics of politeness in scientific articles. Applied Linguistics, 10, 1-35.
Myers, G. (1991). Politeness and certainty: The language of collaboration in an AI project. Social Studies of Science, 21, 37-73.
Obeng, S. G. (1997). Communication strategies: Persuasion and politeness in Akan judicial discourse. Text, 17, 25-51.
Wilson, A. (1992). The pragmatics of politeness and Pauline epistolography: A case study of the letter to Philemon. Journal for the Study
of the New Testament, 48, 107-119
Note*
You can see full transcripts of three presidential debates and their videos on this page:
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/third-presidential-debate.html
357

Manipulation through Legal and Judicial Translation Process
Ma. Anila Bilero

University of Tirana, Albania
Email: bileroanila@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p359
Abstract: In the context of the general translating as a process, that today in the consecutive epoch of globalizing processes who had
involved the modern society, the legal and justice translation has been done and he as well as an essential and common; however is
clearly visible how little importance and attention, to say the least, is devoted from the criticism or contemporary literature. In translator’s
environments, often we listen the italian expression "tratuttore, traditore" that means "translator, traitor". Many translators have had their
experiences, good or bad, encountered during the translation process. Legal texts and judicial, legally regarded as "original" and not as
translated; we really never used the term translation, otherwise it will be affected very important principle of authenticity, which would
mean that each of the texts been translated depend on the interpretation of the courts. One of the more used practices of translations of
the legal texts is the method of translation ëith the same vieë of language in ëhich is translated. Pierre Pescatore says that "The ideal
translation of the EU legislation is that can be read as it was originally drafted in this language." The requirements of translations in the
courtroom are legally and complex interpretations that aimed to achieved the inter-language and inter-cultural equivalence. As above,
and not only, will be the subject of this paper!
Keywords: The mission; code of ethic; dilemmas and problems that arise before the legal translator during this process; some
suggestions that can help this process.
1. Introduction
In general context of translation process, in which modern society has been involved today in the era of consecutive
globalizing processes the legal and judiciary translation has become as ordinary as indispensable; even so, it is clear and
evident how criticism and contemporaneous literature gives to it little consideration or no attention at all. In the premises
of translators, we often hear the Italian expression “translator, traitor”. Many translators have their good and bad
experiences and the difficulties they have encountered during translation.
Legal translators and interpreters operate in special legal conditions different from the most part of translators. They
constantly have to be under pressure and rigid rules of Ethic Code, and at the same time to be faced with conflicts and
communication dilemmas. This paperwork aims to explore some of basic rules of legal and judicial translation,
accompanied with a few real cases and at the same time establish new standards and continuous training for legal and
judicial translators of the future.
2. A quick overview on “legal” translator
In principle, generally in everyday life, we call legal translators all those persons who have completed the university
studies and are graduated in a foreign language. But, practically, we often need to make a selection in the market of
translators so that we can individuate the perfect one. It is already known the fact about graduation, even it is to
maximum of grades, is not enough to work in profession of translator or interpreter.
Recently, submitting also the international rules and standards, and especially the European ones, because of
application as an EU candidate, several basic norms for legal translators have been started even in Albania, maybe a
little late, but anyway very positive. The initiative of Ministry of Justice in organizing the competition with its product a list
of legal and judicial translators in disposal of public and private authorities, who are considered to be the most
professionals on market, is a serious step that has influenced to the quality of this sort of translation too. But is it enough?
I think that the reply needs a deepened analysis of the issue.
3. What is the legal or judicial text?
First, I would like to stop a while on understanding a legal or a judicial text. Legal and judicial texts, are legally considered
to be “original” and not translated ones; in fact the term translation is never used, otherwise the very significant
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authenticity principle would be threatened, the one that in legal practice means that each of translated texts depends on
interpretation of courts. One of the most ordinary practices of translating legal texts is the method of translation with the
same spirit of language in which it is compiled. Here I want to underline one of the main features of legal or judicial texts;
these texts are compiled and neither written or created. When we say compiled we must know that they are texts that
summarize and aim a lot of characteristics within, like the interpretation, summary, ordering, legal norms and the last
comes writing or composing.
Pierre Pescatore emphasizes that the ideal translation of EU legislation, is the one that is read as if that was the first
language in which it was compiled (Corpus of Community Laws 2011:11). The demands for court translations are legal
and complex interpretations that aim to reach the inter-lingual and inter-cultural equivalence.
The legal and judicial translation in itself is a term that refers to all sorts of translations, commencing from that of
various legal acts, like conventions, laws, government decisions, instructions up to the most ordinary acts like statements,
power of attorneys and various documents; but it also refers to the translations in courtrooms, in police departments, in
jails, in the border immigration ticket-offices, etc.
There are fields like the literary creativity where the translator must have a poetic talent, but in others like in this
case of legal and judicial one, that translation is abusively and unfairly is considered to be simple arguing that you just
have to stay faithful to the text. Of course it is a true argument, but in most cases here it is the main mistake of legal and
judicial translators and interpreters, or better saying of who pretend to do this job. Translation of a legal or judicial text is a
process that implies not simply the translation but the recreation as the original of an interpreting – prescriptive text.
On the other side, there are fields of sciences, especially of human or social ones, that require a wide and profound
culture, first to know that field and then to try to reproduce it in the same forms and of the same effect to the other
language which it is presumed to be known well.
4. The basic principles of legal translation process
When a translation who wants to work in this field of translations, has realized what a legal translation is, must
understand the significance of basic principles that saying the truth are basic not only for translation process but even for
legal –judicial one. These principles are important not only to be known but even to be executed and respected
indispensably otherwise it would be with irreversible social and legal consequences for the whole society. Below there is
an order of some of the most important ones.
4.1 The mission and cultural skill of legal interpretation
Legal and judicial translators on purpose to provide an accurate communication between the parties, to guarantee a
reciprocal exchange and as a result the success of legal processes, first of all must know that they have to face not only
with the simply linguistic problems, but first with individuals who come from various cultures, from various social groups of
a certain status and especially of a diverse intellectual level. Thus they need not only general knowledge of various
cultural elements but even legal ones and also to have wide vocabulary knowledge and linguistic uses starting from
formal legal language up to slangs and conversational language. We say not cultural but even legal because in modern
world (although the main systems are common law and civil law) there are various legal systems which differ not only in
their perceiving but even in terminology and dealing.
In the instruction of Albanian Government for translation of Community Laws (Acquis Communautaire) it is expressively
underlined for the qualities of legal translator that: “It is not indispensable for translators to be experts of acquis
communautaire, although it is very important to be recognized with basic knowledge about European Union, its
institutions and above all its legal texts (goals, objectives, circle of persons to whom they are addressed and normative
effects) (Corpus of Community Laws 2011:11).
4.2. Ethic Code
Except the skills necessary to make the interpreter and translator capable to overcome all the linguistic and cultural
shortcomings in order to meet all the requirements to reach the success of legal and judicial process, the translator must
prove to understand the legal procedures and be impartial and confidential. This because first of all, a correct
interpretation does not include only the articulation of clients’ requests, but even in conformity with specific ethic
standards to ensure the integrity of judicial process. These ethic principles include reliability, confidentiality, impartiality
and professional conduct (Mikkelson 2000:49-55).
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“If the trial is a battle this is a battle won with words, and through oratory strategies, everything becomes important to
reach the superiority” (qtd. In Hale 1997b:201). In case of interpretation in the court, which in real is more evident and
reachable from the public, legal battles have been fought by people who can not speak and understand the proper legal
language, therefore the presence of a translator is considered crucial as a necessary mediator and contributor to
overcome the linguistic barriers and to ensure the communication.
4.2.1 The reliability principle (authenticity’s)
The interpretation in such contexts is related to ethic standards and considerations that every translator holds so that he
can operate effectively to avoid and risk the result of a case. Holy Mikkelson underlines that translators have even a
professional moral, not to mention the legal engagement, to forward the full message of the speaker (2000:49). Legal and
judicial translators and interpreters having the duty of ensuring the links between the legislator (either designer or
executive or judicial applicant) and the simple public, in the role of free individual in the everyday life or in the courtroom,
they have an extreme power therefore they must be very careful. Their duty does not include message deciphering and
decoding, but first it must ensure and guarantee the equivalence of message from the source language, trying at the
same time to keep the original words, without adding or cancelling anything. What’s more, it is necessary to keep all the
non verbal elements in verbal and judicial translations, like tone of the voice or pauses between the words, on purpose to
avoid the deviation of legal process, ensuring the forward of original message. So, the goal of legal translator will be to
reproduce translated texts of same legal effects in practice. If we talked in legal terms, the final goal is to provide
translations that guarantee a uniform interpretation and the same application of law and of Acquis Communautaire.
4.2.2. Principle of confidentiality
Confidentiality is a very important principle. “Interpreters will respect confidentiality at any time and will not try to profit
from the information they are acquainted with during their job”. This is a principle defined in Article 4 of “Ethic and
professional issues” of National Register of Public Service of Interpreters in the Ethic Code of United Kingdom (Mikkelson
2000:50).
The legal and judicial translators, during their job receive knowledge about legal or judicial processes, for which it
would be unforgivable and of inestimable social consequences, in case of leakage of information. Here I am referring to
the sensational case of “Cocaine” in Albania in years 1998-2000 where because of information leakage by the side of
translators engaged there was a problem with foreign witnesses of non-Albanian citizenship. (Official journal 2005:71).
4.2.3. Principle of impartiality and professional behavior
Of same importance are the last two principles of Ethic Code, the impartiality and professional behavior. Muahamd
Gamal argues that impartiality establishes a special obligation to translators during the judicial process who should
distance themselves from witnesses (1998:55). Personal opinions and judgments should not be expressed in any way,
otherwise they will influence to the jury and the legal result is compromised.
There are some practical instructions about professional behavior of legal and judicial translators concerning the way of
behavior in premises like legislator’s chambers, courtrooms, halls of meetings and legal conferences, international ones
or not, etc. A legal translator absolutely must take a preparatory information and be prepared before any translating
process so that he can guarantee his success and integrity as a professional. A significant aspect of professional
behavior of translators is even that of relation between colleagues. The Ethic Code of Spain (articles 2.2.7 and 2.2.8)
sanctions that “translators help their colleagues, in the present and in the future, and should restrained themselves to
speak out their opinion about competences and skills of the other translators” (Mikkelson.2000:54).
5. Case
I will refer to a case to illustrate, the one which during the year 2011 provoked an extensive debate and discussion in
Albania. This case confirms not only the importance of translation but also how a translation can cause manipulation of a
whole legal process with consequences to social, individual, political etc. aspects.
The object of this debate was Law no. 10129 date 11.05.2009 “For Civil Status”, in some of its articles, but the ones we
are interested in for the case we are dealing with are the articles 6/1 and 8, which define the term “nationality”.
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The above mentioned law was designed and passed by legislator in May of 2009, after the Framework Convention of
European Council for Defense of Minorities was previously ratified. This Convention after been translated to Albanian
language was sanctioned by Albanian state in 1999 and started to be applied and change the existing legislation. Since
the day it came into force up to the year 2011 this law was applied bringing legal and social effects with changing the
nationality of a lot of people, and resulting legally to new configurations in individual and social aspect of Albanian state.
Without considering if it was right or not, I want to underline only the fact of social and legal manipulation of Albanian
society because of legal change, a fortiori it is directly related with the translation of the term “nationality” from English to
Albanian.
But this manipulation goes further; a part of community, for example the most aggressive ones “Black and Red
League”, then several courts of judicial districts like the court of Saranda, Permet, Shkoder reacted severely and accuse
for abuse by legislation and violation of human rights, and for anti constitutionality of this law. The question became a
national legal problem and ended to the Supreme Court, where after a legal constitutional assay, with its decision no. 52,
date 01.12.2011, through other articles, abrogated the articles 6/1 and 8 which defined the term “Nationality” in Law no.
10129, date 11.05.2009 “For civil status” (Official journal. 2011:8230).
In conclusion, I brought this case to show how legal or judicial translation is important and special in all translations
and what attention must be paid to it. An unclear or inaccurate translation, without respecting or referring to certain
established standards, does not take only to the manipulation of a legal process but even of social one. There come
social and legal reactions like the one mentioned above that may be associated with political or individual consequences.
6. Conclusions and suggestions
It is certain that we can speak endlessly about this topic, but hoping to your comprehension, I would like to end this assay
here, and mention the urgent need of preparing the legal and judicial translators through training courses or workshops
where they can receive a more profound and essential legal culture.
In addition, the education for a skillful legal and judicial interpretation must be improved as soon as possible. The
academic institutions must provide courses and training, workshops and seminars.
Lastly, legal and judicial translators must be certified by a special proof for “in a trial to overcome the hedge in the
mid of “general” academic training in interpreting with specific standards and with the skills required in the professional
world” (Gamal 1998:56).
The future of legal interpretation is unclear. The role of judicial and legal translator, like agents of culture and
negotiators of foreign elements and information has been underestimated and has been reduced to that of a translation
machine. The shortcomings of legal norms in this field accentuate the need of a formal system that will create well-
marked models of behavioral interpretation and will allow legal translator to play a more active role in legal interactions,
so that translations can be flexible, the concepts and meanings they mean can be the original ones and so they can
attract the attention of foreign speakers.
References
Mikkelson, H. (2000) Introduction to Court Interpreting, Manchester UK and Northampton MA: St Jerome Publishing.
Edwards, A. (1995) The Practice of Court Interpreting, Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Gamal, M. (1998) ‘Court Interpreting’, in Mona Baker (ed) Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, London & New York:
Routledge, 53-56.
Hale, S. (1997a) ‘The Treatment of Register Variation in Court’.
Official Journal, nr. 163, (2011). Tirana: Center of official Publications. Available: www.qpz.gov.al
Official Journal, nr. 23, (2015). Tirana: Center of official Publications. Available: www.qpz.gov.al
“Corpus of Community Laws”, (2011). “General Instructions for translation of Acquis Communitaure”. Tirana: (online). Available:
www.mie.gov.al
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Social Pathology of Trust in Car Written Manuscripts
Farhad Divsalar
Department of literature, Karaj branch,

Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: divsalarf@yahoo.com
Phone: 0098 2614503170, Fax: 0098 2614503170
Azadeh Nemati 1
Department of English Language Teaching,

Jahrom branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, Iran
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p363
Abstract Poetry can be considered as a means of expressing emotions and also represents the personality, beliefs, and even social
class. From poems proposed one can get others emotional status at the moment. Normally we recite happy songs when we are in a
good mood and definitely by expressing sad verses we convey our unhappiness. This is actually a kind of emptying positive or negative
energy and is seen in all members of society. Among these members of society are the car owners, from whose written on car many
ideas can be revealed. Car written manuscripts are part of culture and folklore of people so, by studying them, culture of ordinary people
can be detected. To express the feelings and ideas car owners use these verses, also they can communicate in this way with ordinary
people without considering the style of poems. Sometimes, these verses teach a lesson and to tell the truth its effect is more, as there is
no bitterness of advice and as a result it is a kind of moral literature. Present article indicates a new research in the field of pathology
analysis of social trust which present in car written manuscripts. It seems that the lack of attention to the important factors of human
personality cause mistrust in the community. Some of these factors such as, hopelessness, ignorance, greediness, jealousy and … will
be tackled in this article.
Keywords: road literature, car written manuscripts, moral literature, folklore, distrust, social pathology.
1. Introduction
"Folklore" is an English term consists of two parts of "folk" and "lore" means general knowledge that can be contrasted to
the classical knowledge or culture. The origin of this word is from Germany, means population (Watkins 2000, Mahjub
2005). The word “folklore” was first coined in 1846 and began as a study of antiquities. In the public mind it appears
largely to be viewed as either a subject for scholars or vaguely as something to do with ancient Greek myths and
legends. Others might associate folklore with folksongs, with ancient ballads, with Native Indian tales or with tall stories.
Folklore is all of these things but it is much more and a great deal of it relates to our daily lives (Ballantyne 2001).
Folklore is common to all people. Understanding, appreciating and sharing another culture's folklore transcends race,
colour, class, and creed more effectively than any other single aspect of our lives and, as an element of our past and
present society it is something we can all relate to. Its value is no less than any other part of our history and heritage
and as such must be documented and preserved as a legacy for our future (Richard Mercer Dorson, 1972)
It is related to all aspects of living, without any boundary. It exists in all societies and like colors with different specter it
has unlimited specter. Folklore in developed countries is used more while, in less developed counties it is used less.
Folklore literature comes from the root of society. It is clear that if people use folklore voluntarily then, it will be said that it
is the manifestation of society.

1 Azadeh Nemati is an assistant Professor in Iran, majoring in TEFL. She is the reviewer and editor and editor in chief of some
international journals and has already published books and articles nationally and internationally. In 2010 she was selected as
distinguished researcher in the University
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It has different genre such as, rhymes, literature, beliefs, proverbs, stories, …. The folklore of each society and tribe is
related to all the members and not to a specific person; it goes mouth by mouth (Georges 1995).
Sentences written on mirrors, back and body of vehicles are among folklores. These written manuscripts are
actually the gist of beliefs, wishes and desires of theirs owners. They are from the heart of chuffers, and sometimes can
bring tears, sometimes laughter. Some of these sentences are innovative.
Car written manuscripts can bring peace and since they come from heart linger to heart. They are in the form of
proverbs, songs and they teach lessons directly or indirectly.
One of the characteristics of this kind of literature is that they are a part of a whole. Car written manuscripts not only
reveal the drivers’ emotions, mindsets and creativity but also show the problems of society. In some of them one can see
the fear of separation, anxiety, stress, hopelessness and a kind of believing in faith. Being far from home, having a
difficult job in the dangerous roads needs a superpower. Also, there are some themes such as, love and hate, pray and
plea. So, resulted all of these problems the drivers have to take refuge to the superpower and Meta physics. Hence, we
can see a lot of religious verses from holy Quran, religious quotes. They believe that these sentences can reduce drivers’
anxiety and give them peace as one can see trust and belief in them. Sometimes these manuscripts will give some
pieces of advice to the readers which have more affects because it is a direct training and lacks the bitterness of direct
advice. Because these verses were changed from direct advices into morality literatures.
Car written manuscripts can be seen in other countries as well with the names of ‘Car window stickers’, ‘Bumper
stickers’ and ‘Sticker slogans’. A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached
to the outside of cars, vans, trailers, as well as outdoor machinery and sporting equipment. These stickers are an
excellent tool for getting your message across to people. Nowadays, bumper stickers have become a route for
advertising. Then, few companies offer to match car owners to advertisers willing to pay for the ad.
Generally speaking, sticker slogans in most of countries such as Iran, USA, Sweden, India, Pakistan, Syria, etc. are
formulated in a condensed poetics which refer to a common world of images and associations. Documenting the stickers
as a contemporary folkloric genre suggests an intricate link between form and content, medium and message, elements
which cooperate on the hermeneutic level. Complex social and political realities are distilled in the stickers into short
slogans, which then are deciphered through equally complex processes, and are far from uniform or transparent for
participants.
Hagar Salamon (2001) worked on Political Bumper Stickers. According to the writer relations between form and
content, messenger and audience, tradition and innovation, global and local, and, above all, among folklore, emotions,
and power, challenge traditional limits of the folkloric scope, and call for a refinement of its interpretive tools. For the
writer the daily journey was more than a routine act of commuting.
Thomas (1999) examined the decorative traditions and accompanying folk expressions surrounding pickup trucks in
Utah. She believed that decorations added to trucks don’t always follow solely utilitarian functions. Rather they help
negotiate and present group membership, notions of masculinity and more (David Stanley, 2004).
This article is based on empirical research which included the documentation of car written manuscripts or bumper
stickers over a period of several years from different provinces of Iran including Tehran (Capital of Iran), Alborz and
Mazandaran. It is intended to understand the popular expressions of these manuscripts regarding different views of social
phenomena which affect social trust. It should be mentioned that in the examples of the present manuscript, it is tried to
find appropriate equivalent of dictionary of proverbs in English as much as possible and quotes, sayings and proverbs
from all around the world and all religions; otherwise, the literal translation of the written proverbs is given.
2. Social trust and the consequences of untrustiness
Human being is a social creature and needs to be related to others. Nowadays, relationship can be observed in all
developed and undeveloped countries. Therefore, due to the distance among groups, people and different organizations
the need for trust is more vital. Trust is an important part of this relationship and lack of it can lead to disorder and crime.
Trust is attributable to relationships within and between social groups (families, friends, communities, organizations,
companies, nations etc.) and is an important factor that can create cooperation in society and among members. It is a
way to success and can be used to reduce malfunctions in society. Trust can be seen positively so to create social
relationships. Then, it is a popular approach to frame the dynamics of inter-group and intra-group interactions in terms of
trust.
Social trust is a social-cultural phenomenon which is rooted in the social-historical experiments of a society. It can
be as a powerful element with a lot of consequences. When it will be expanded in a society it can act as a powerful
element which can affect different levels of society. Without trust, life has no meaning. According to Seligman (1998),
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trust is an index in society. It is important as water or air, we consume. Dasgota (2009) stated that trust facilitates
cooperation is society. Sociologists have demonstrated that cultural beliefs and values play an important role in
determining what triggers social trust and what constitutes socially acceptable expressions of social trust. Cultural
learning can influence the situations that trigger social trust and the manner in which social trust is expressed.
Trustless is a psychological problem in which a person will lose its trust and imagine himself/herself weak. Lack of
trust can change an energetic person to inactive as well as a neutral element in society. Political, social and economical
turmoil can create lack of trust is society. If this condition becomes worse it will lead to not considering social and
personal manners. Also, lack of trust in can lead to malfunction and loneliness in a society.
On the contrary having trust in a society can act as a cure, as a healing and as a doctor to available pains. It can
recover the sick society. Though it has its own danger it can change the world into a more peaceful, active and nicer
society. According to Barbalet (1996) trust is the spiritual foundation of cooperation. Hence it can be a crucial issue to be
thought about.
The important point is to consider literature especially poems to solve the problem of being untrust in a society since
there is a positive relationship in this regard.
3. Indications of being untrust from the point of view of the car owners
In this section the most salient elements of being untrust will be stated. Some of these elements are hopelessness,
ignorance, greediness, obstinacy, jealousy, selfishness and pride, disloyalty, wildness and aggression, materialism,
futility, antifeminism due to irresponsibility, regret and envy, faithlessness, cruelty, fault finding, backbiting and calumny,
hostility and revenge, association with vicious, ungratefulness, injudicious statements, ingratitude and dishonesty and
falsity. In sprite of illiteracy of the most car owners, it is surprising that we can see the deep concepts of social
phenomena in car written manuscripts or bumper stickers as an excellent tool for transferring their messages across to
people which affect social trust.
3.1 Hopelessness
Miller and Powers (1988; 6) has been defined hope as the ‘‘anticipation of a future which is good, based on mutuality, a
sense of personal competence, coping ability, psychological well-being, purpose and meaning in life, and a sense of the
possible’’. It reflects a belief that a personal tomorrow exists. Hopelessness comes from misunderstanding of the concept
of life. It has been associated with negative outcomes including violence, depression, substance abuse and risky social
behaviors. Then, hopelessness's result is the decrease of social trust. The following sentences can clear the point:
To live is to always be hopeful

People are by nature hopeful, and must always be so, because when they lose hope, they will depress.
Alas it was all a legend
I searched for it, you don’t do
In search of Utopia
Hope for the best, expect the worst
Hope is life
Hope is the last thing that we lose
Hope springs eternal
Life is sweet
Without hope (if it were not for hope), the heart would break
3.2 Ignorance
Common metaphors for ignorance are negative. For example, ignorance is blindness; to know is to see. Or knowledge is
power; ignorance is helplessness and impotence.
Ignorance can be contrasted to knowledge in car written manuscripts. By means of knowledge one can find the
meaning of life, and it cause improvement. Consider these examples:
The result of escaping from school! (This sentence was written on the rubbish trucks).
Sometimes, these sentences show moral customs that ruined. In this case people get upset and are looking for the best
condition.
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Never too old to learn

History repeats itself
People tend to repeat mistakes made by others over the generations, not learning from them
Brain is better than brawn
Ignorance is bliss (You can be happy when you do not know there are problems around you )
Ignorance of the law excuses no man (Not knowing what you did was wrong does not excuse you from suffering the
penalty)
3.3 Greediness
Greediness is an unpleasant personality which is prohibited. Taking the following proverbs and sayings shows that
greediness will bring suffer and have no result.
Greediness will cause suffer

The higher the greediness the more suffer
It has no result except requirement.
Grasp all, lose all.
Catch not at the shadow and lose the substance
A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.
He who is greedy is always in want (Horace Quotes)
3.4 Jealousy
Jealousy typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of
something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Being jealous is the source of loss and
will destroy social relationships. This unaccepted personality is due to being belittled; it hinders success and has no fruit
at all. The gist of all the following care written manuscripts is the same. Jealousy is nothing more than a fear of
abandonment, and a competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a
symptom of neurotic insecurity.
A jealous person won't have peace

The result of jealousy is nothing just loss
Jealous person is in the state of suffering
3.5 Selfishness and pride
Pride is the root of selfishness and thus the root of all evil. Pride is hidden but manifests as selfish acts. Being selfish
brings disagreement. Human beings like to control others. Its result is misery for self and annoyance for others. From the
point of view of religious the root of all these terrible personalities lie in evils temptation that leads to selfishness and
pride. Being selfish can make enemies in the society. According to Bible (Proverbs 18:1) Isolation and separation Can Be
signs of selfishness and pride.
The next proverbs also can clarify the point.
Don’t be proud of yourself which leads to catastrophe

Don't be selfish nor pessimist
Flattery brings friends, truth enemies (people don’t really want to hear the truth)
3.6 Disloyalty
In any form disloyalty is prohibited in all religious and faiths. Its frequency is high in manuscript written on cars.
Touch it but don’t betray

I am afraid of scorpion but not cockroach, I am afraid of friends but not enemies
Remembering friendship is now a bitter story for me (because of disloyalty of friends)
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There are also a lot of verses in bible regarding disloyalty reads as follows:
The disloyal will get what their conduct deserves, and a good man, what his [deeds deserve.] 15 The inexperienced
believe anything, but the sensible watch their steps. 16 A wise man is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool is easily
angered and is careless. 17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man who schemes is hated. 18 The gullible
inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge. 19 The evil bow before those who are good, the wicked,
at the gates of the righteous. 20 A poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but there are many who love the rich. 21 The
one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever shows kindness to the poor will be happy. 22 Don't those who plan evil
go astray? But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness. 23 There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads
only to poverty. 24 The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the foolishness of fools produces foolishness ( Proverbs
14:13, Proverbs 14:14-24, Proverbs 14:25 )
3.7 Wildness and aggression
In psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the
same species that is intended to cause pain or harm. Although humans share aspects of aggression with non-human
animals, they differ from most of them in the complexity of their aggression because of factors such as culture, morals,
and social situations.
Human relationship is not based on observable features rather it relies heavily on spirituality. Also, based on
ideology, there is no other way to join the hearts except relationship. Some more examples are:
The more I know human beings, the more I admire wolfs.

Wolf is always hungry
The child of wolf is wolf
Wolf breed wolf
3.8 Materialism
According to Mark Twain definition, Aany so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for
itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment. Materialism coarsens and petrifies everything, making
everything vulgar, and every truth false (Henri Frédéric Amiel).
Materialism is a major danger to human society. It can lead to injustice, oppression, selfishness among members of
society. Being materialistic can cause that one be devoted to this material world instead of spirituality. More sentences
are given below:
Human being will get attached to the world.

How long the pain of the this nasty world
From the word of stable nature, seek not uprightness of covenant. For, this old woman is the bride of a thousand lovers
Don't hang on to this world, as it is a bride of thousand grooms
In the stated examples bride is a metaphor for this world.
3.9 Falsity
Falsity means to show off one's self in a pleasant way. If somebody does something good the public to show off
himself/herself it can be considered as falsity. It is a prohibited personality in all cultures and religions. Consider the
following examples.
All colors are fine except the falsity

Better an open enemy than a false friend
A good faculty in lying is a fair step to preferment.
A good lie finds more believers than a bad truth.
A great talker is a great liar.
A half-a-truth is better than a whole lie.
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3.10 Antifeminism due to irresponsibility
Being single with its own characteristics can cause irresponsibility. Despite the importance of marriage and family life in
Islam there are still some manuscripts indicating lack of interest in marriage. It happened due to the wrong concept of the
environments and as a result a person dislikes marrying.
Be careful! Don’t marry!!

As far as you can don't marry, marriage is like a loop don’t take it around your neck
Marry in haste, repent at leisure (Do not rush for marriage since if you marry the wrong person, you will regret all your life)
3.11 Regret and envy
One should uses the opportunities happen for him/her but once he/she missed the time, he/she will start to regret. Its
result is being in trouble and losing trust. As a result it is problematic for the society. Having a look at the following
proverbs will confirm the issue.
History tends to repeat itself (What has happened once is liable to happen again.)
Let bygones be bygones
Who knows what happen next?
I wish there was a reverse gauge in life
Be careful, don’t plea
I did not get what I expect
We never miss the water till the well runs dry (You only realize the importance of something when it is gone)
Prevention is better than cure (It is better to be careful beforehand than to try to solve a problem after it has arisen.)
The envious person is the least happy
The worst emotion is envy
3.12 Cruelty
Being successful is useful when its result is expanded for all the members of a society. When there is justice, the situation
is the same for all the members and it does not advocate the minority or a special group. There is a saying that those
who live in a glass house should not throw stones. This idiom can clear the point that if you don’t like to see cruelty
doesn't be creul. As a result, when there is no justice, the society will be accompanied by cruelty.
Don’t be cruel to lower class people

Such a nice person is that won't bother anyone else
Don’t bother a small ant
Up-pluck the bush of enmity, which countless troubles bringeth
So many times of wrong-doing did not do you may good, why don't you do it for once?
3.13 Faithlessness
Not keeping ones word is the sign of unfaithfulness and happens as a result of cruelty. Keeping ones word even for a
small kid is a valued characteristic and should be taught from childhood. In Quranic verses also loyalty of lovers and
beloved is reiterated. This subject is of high importance.
Unfaithfulness is not accepted

I did not know that you are unfaithful
Being faithful is nice
Mentor said: "The society of covenant-breakers, shun"
Stay away from promise- breakers
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3.14 Fault finding
It just can be mentioned that the more mystical view toward world, the more beauty is observable. There is more chance
of praying in a society where there is less fault finding. It is clear from the following examples that fault finding is a part of
personality of weak and worthless group.
You pious, don’t fault find

Don’t find fault of others as it is the job of feeble
Fault finders will find fault out of nothing
If you find fault of others, others will also find yours
Don't find fault with what you don't understand
It is clear that fault finding is an important element in weak people and as a result will cause disloyalty among all
members of a society
3.15 Backbiting and calumny
Backbiting refers to speaking in the absence of others. It doesn’t matter if the mentioned shortcoming or flaw is true or
false. If it is true then it is back biting, if false then it is an accusation, which also is a grave sin. In Islamic perspective it is
the worst. Considering the following notes from Islam is illustrative enough.
Backbiting and slander is so widespread that it has become the topic of people’s meetings and an avenue for
expressing their anger, misgivings and jealousy. Those who indulge in backbiting are oblivious of the fact that they are
only harming themselves. This is because of the fact that on the Day of Resurrection both the wrongdoer and the
wronged will stand before God, Who is the Just Judge, God will then give this wronged person from the good deeds of
the person who wronged him in accordance with his wrong by backbiting. (From Backbiting & Slander, an Islamic
perspective, http://www.islamfortoday.com/backbiting01.htm )
Jorjani (1938) in his book under the title of "Tarifat" stated that backbiting is a bad habit of counting bad personality
of a person in his/her absence, otherwise it is calumny.
It is such a terrible behavior that in holey Quran it refers to eating the flesh of dead brother (“For you it is better to
eat its flesh than the flesh of your dead brother.” verse12 of Surah Al-Hujurat).
Do you want to be honored, don’t backbite

Honesty is the best policy
The necessity of joy and suffer together
Every flow must have its ebb (Life has its ups and downs; neither good fortune nor ill fortune lasts forever.)
There are also a lot of verses in holy Quran in this regard such as
And why did you not, when you heard it, say? "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to God, this is a most serious
slander" (Quran 24:16)
O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds some suspicions are sins. And spy not neither backbite one another.
Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear God, verily,
God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (49: 12)
I asked the Messenger of God: Who is the best Muslim? The Messenger of God replied, "He is the one from whom
Muslims are safe from the evil of his tongue and hands." (Muslim)
3.16 Joy and suffering
In car written manuscripts the paradox of joy and suffering comes together. One can learn lessons from the paradoxes of
ease and difficulty of life. Though they are written simply they are very deep and interesting. In Quranic verses as well,
ease and suffering mixed with each other. Definitely, being aware of the fact that, joy and suffering comes together can
bring peace. It is of high cultural value and can teach a lot.
Life is like a river passing through the suffer village

Who is without suffer
No rose is without thorn
No one can pluck flowers easily
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3.17 Hostility and revenge
Hostility refers to the statues of being enemy. A person with such personality is bad-wisher, bad-thinker, and is after
revenge and definitely will respond in the wrong way. It is always sweet to forgive than to revenge. This can have a
negative effect on society.
Do well and don’t revenge
It is hostility to take revenge from a person who was kind to us
If you don’t take revenge it is pleasant
Pluck the root of enmity
Revenge is a dish best served cold
Revenge is sweet
3.18 Complaining about relatives and oppression of life
Complaining is a concept with high frequency in these manuscripts. They are from the drives regarding this nasty life
such as:
I am afraid of relatives
At the period of poverty relatives are not there
No one will overcome us except our relatives
Just hi and bye now a days
Oh life! You are my oppression
3.19 Association with vicious
An important part of folkfore is dedicated to etiquettes.

The result of association with vicious is infamy that can be a salient element in social relationship. Being aware of the bad
side-effect of association with vicious can bring fortune. Considering the next proverbs and sentences:
Don’t accompany with vicious

Who keeps company with wolves, will learn to howl (If we associate with bad companions we, too, will become bad)
From bad fellowship separation, separation!
Evil communications corrupt good manners
God defend (or deliver or preserve) me from my friends
Better to be alone than in bad company
3.20 Ungratefulness
This expression simply means being unthankful, it can be seen in anybody and can cause major problems.
Ungratefulness can be seen in anybody. It happens as a result of not considering others’ kindnesses to us. It can create a
sense of being untrust in society.
A grateful dog is better than an ungrateful human being

Give credit where credit is due (Appreciate someone for the good work he has done)
Judge not, lest ye be judged (Do not judge others as you are not perfect yourself, so be merciful in the hope that others
will show you mercy one day)
3.21 Injudicious statements
This can be referred to saying nonsense, as a result destroying the fame of a person. It is clear that “Whatever is
meaningless will reveal itself.”
You won't regret of what you don’t say, but will regret of what you say
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all (Avoid being negative)
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If you keep your mouth shut, you won't put your foot in it (Keep quiet, and you will say nothing wrong
Speech is silver, silence is golden (Talk may be beneficial, but sometimes acquiescence may be the best option to take)
3.22 Ingratitude and dishonesty
ùIt is clear that human being is a social creature and he or she should accept that this type of group living. Everyone
should accept that He/she has a social life and cannot live in isolation. As a result and to have a better life in group one
should observe some principles such as gratitude and honesty. If one can live in peace with others it is the sign of
wisdom and knowledge of ones and others. These quotes and proverbs are illuminating this important factor in social life.
Don’t expect honesty from mean people

Birds of a feather flock together (People of the same sort of character or belief always go together.)
Which one is better, knowledge of money? None of them just honesty
Honesty is just like a rare pearl few can have it
Peacock feather won't be given to vulture
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. (Mark Twain)
4. Conclusion
According to wikipeida definition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore) Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history,
proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is
also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called
folkloristics. A simple example of folklore in daily life can be seen and heard when touring. In this study, car written
manuscripts were selected as a part of folklore reflecting some problems of society. Dealing with social issues such as
social pathology is an important topic. Hence, one can take advantage of literature to this end.
Morality is important in social perfection and can make social relationships easy and as a result can act a role in the
evolution and development of a society. Considering this can create personal trust and as a result social trust. Bearing in
mind social issue sociologically speaking is crucial. Fear of devaluation of social relations is among topics which were
discussed frequently however the function of literature should not be neglected in this regard.
Also, it can be said that since our society is faced with social troubles and social dangers such as aggression,
injustice, uncertainty, being strangers to the environment and its bad side effect taking care of this issue and work on
these topics is of great importance. It is interesting that these realties which were shown on the manuscripts written by
members of lower social level with great heart.
Some other works are done on bumper stickers and truck plug on other culture and societies. In this article car
written manuscripts were selected to reach the goal. Car written sentences which are full of emotions and sensations can
lead us to the correct path of social pathology. These sentences stated by the lower social class group are the realities
and shortcomings of members of a society reflected in the form of sentences. By studying these manuscripts one can
improve his/her behavior namely, freedom, selfishness, honesty, patience, contentment,… . From among these cars
written manuscripts one can get a precious wealth of words, meaning, philosophy, and advice which are useful for the
next generation. In them one can get the right way and salvation as well as improving in morality.
Delving into the litterateur, such as car written manuscripts, which is a reflection of inside thought and personality
can help the researchers. Since in any society members are just like connected chains, having good or bad
characteristics can affect all the members of a society one by one and finally the whole. These sentences and proverbs
can bring into vogue loyalty, kindness, truthfulness, honesty, patience, humility and other respected mid set which were
neglected by the society. The sentences can teach lessons so that members of a society try to be useful members for the
society. These values are wealth of a society which can shape generations.
What was intended in this article was to show social pathology of a society. Hence, it is recommended that social
wounds will be detected and considered by authorities and ways of removing them will be proposed. In this article, the
writers just touched the tip of the iceberg with huge addressee while it is hoped that other researchers will continue.
References
Barbalet, J.M. 1996. Social emotions: confidence, trust and loyalty, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 16, No. 9.
Dasgupta, Partha. 2000. ‘Trust as a Commodity’, in Gambetta, Diego (ed.) Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations,
electronic edition, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, chapter 4, pp. 32.
371
Dasgupta, Partha. 2009. Trust and Cooperation among Economic Agents Royal Society Discussion Meeting on 19/20 January.
Dorson, Richard Mercer. 1972. Book of Folklore, pp. 1916-1981, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Georges, Robert A. 1995. Michael Owens Jones, "Folkloristics: An Introduction," pp.313 Indiana University Press.
Hagar, Salamon. 2001 Political Bumper Stickers in Contemporary: Folklore As An Emotional Battleground. Journal of American Folklore,
Vol. 114, No 453, pp. 277-308.
Jorjani, Ali ibn Mohammad. 1938. Al-tarifat, Egypt, Cairo Press.
Mahjub, Mohammad Jafar. 2005. Iranian Folkoric Literature, Heidari Press, Tehran, Iran, pp35.
Mike, Ballantyne. 2001. The British Colombia Folklore Society.
Miller, J. F. & Powers, M. J. 1988. ‘Development of an Instrument to Measure Hope’, Nursing Research, Vol. 37, No. 1. pp. 6—10.
Pickthall, Mardaduke. 2001. The Meaning of The Glorious Qur'an, Salehi publication, Nourouzkhan Bazar Kashefi, Tehran, Iran.
Seligman, A. 1998. The problem of Trust, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University, Press 1998.
Stanley, David. 2004. Folklore in Utah: A History and Guide to Resources. All USU Press Publications
Vedantam, Shankar. 2008. "Sign of road rage may be on bumper". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
Watkins, Calvert. 2000. (ed.), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, second edition (Houghton Mifflin.
http://www.englishdaily626.com/proverbs.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk
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Formation of new Words with the Suffix in the Albanian Language Today
Aida Bado
Università di Tirana, Facoltà di Storia e Filologia
Dipartimento di Lingua albanese
E-mail: aida14071985@yahoo.it
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p373
Abstract Always, through the language, we can create new words using different ways each times we feel that it is necessary. A good
way to observe this new creative skill in Albanian language is through its explanatory dictionaries. The explanatory dictionary, in this
case, serves not only to explain or ranked meanings that have the Albanian language words, but through it we can do also a “linguistic
photography’ of Albanian language. The “linguistic photography”, in this case, means the reflection of the meanings that a word has
(linguistic reality) and the word-formation tools that the Albanian speakers use to create a new word. The object of our study relates,
exactly, to the desire to analyze the word-formation with suffix, created after year 1980. To do this we will refer at two Albanian
dictionaries: Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe (2006) and Fjalori i gjuhës së sotme shqipe (1980) publications of the Academy of Sciences of
Albania. From these two dictionaries we have extracted the corpus of words that are includes only in the dictionary of 2006. We have
distinguished only the new words from this lexical corpus, which have entered into Albanian language, these last decades, as formation
of words with suffixes.
Keywords: suffix, languages, Albanian, dictionary, analysis
1. Introduzione
Il linguaggio umano è creativo (Kreidler, 2002, p. 4). Attraverso il linguaggio, possiamo sempre creare nuove parole
utilizzando percorsi diversi ogni volta che occorre. Un buon metodo di osservare la capacità creativa nella lingua
albanese, è attraverso i suoi dizionari esplicativi.
Il dizionario si puo paragonare ad una foto. Cosi come la foto serve a fissare nel tempo immagini, dettagli, ecc.,
anche nel dizionario rimane impresso il corpus lessicale che il gruppo sociale utilizza nel tempo. Se volessimo vedere
come siamo cambiati nel tempo, ci basta confrontare le fotografie che abbiamo fatto, ma, se volessimo vedere come il
linguaggio che noi usiamo è cambiato nel tempo, oppure, se volessimo fare un analisi linguistica delle tendenze formative
delle parole che la lingua albanese ha acquistato nel tempo, allora ci aiuta il confronto tra due dizionari esplicativi.
Naturalmente, questi dizionari devono fare riferimento a periodi diversi di tempo. Quindi, attraverso i dizionari possiamo
fare una “fotografia linguistica”.
L'obiettivo della nostra ricerca riguarda l'analisi della formazione delle parole secondo la modalità morfologica, più
precisamente, le formazioni con suffissazione, nella lingua albanese, creati dopo il 1980. Per fare questo si farà
riferimento a questi dizionari esplicativi albanesi: Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe (2006) e Fjalori i gjuhës së sotme shqipe (1980)
entrambe pubblicazioni dell'Accademia delle Scienze d’Albania. Questi dizionari li abbiamo confrontati e poi abbiamo
isolato solo le parole che fanno parte nel dizionario del 2006. Alla fine, da questo corpus lessicale abbiamo isolato solo le
nuove parole che si sono formate con il suffisso.
Ovviamente, i dati forniti da questi dizionari sono relativi, perché non è il loro dovere “fissare” pienamente tutto il
corpus lessicale che veniva usato o è usato oggi nel discorso parlato o scritto.
Infine abbiamo preparato un glossario (albanese-italiano) con gli esempi che abbiamo usato. Per tradurre questi
esempi (parole) abbiamo usato il dizionario albanese-italiano di Fredinand Leka e Zef Simoni.
2. La formazione con suffissazione
Quando parliamo della formazione delle parole secondo la modalità morfologica, intendiamo i meccanismi di derivazione
descritti in diverse grammatiche della lingua albanese. Noi abbiamo rispettato la classificazione fatta nella Gramatika e
gjuhës shqipe I (2002, fq 60), per i suffissi.
Saranno prese in considerazione i casi quando la parola base o la radice, usata per creare la nuova parola, non è di
origine albanese, ma anche i casi di suffissi di origine straniera. Il primo caso dimostra che la parola straniera è integrata
bene nella lingua albanese grazie al suo uso come parola base per creare le nuove parole con i suffissi albanesi. Il
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secondo caso dimostra che il prestito morfologico e divenuto insieme al prestito lessicale e che in alcuni casi il suffisso
viene rimosso dalla lessema straniera per essere utilizzato con una lessema albanese.
La suffissazione. I suffissi più utilizzati in questi ultimi trent'anni sono:
 -im, -je, -ues, -më, -(ë)s, -esë

 -i, -(ë)si, -(ë)ri
 -izëm, -azh
 - uk, -ush, -ok, -an, -uc, -z, -inë
 -arak, -(a)cak, -aq, -s, -anik, -ak, -anjak, -esk
 -o, -(i)zo , - (ë)soj, -os, -(i)s
 -(i)st, -ik, -ant, -ier, -al, -ual, -iv, -(a)xhi, -men (-man)
 -ar, -tar, -or, -tor, ak, -as, -an (-jan), -it, -ez
 -ishtë, -ore, -tore, -inë, -(ë)tirë, -(ë)sirë, -najë, -cak, -ajë
 -ik, -(a)nik, -atore, - ës, - ak
 -isht, -as, -thi, -azi, -shëm
Questi suffissi, per facilitare l'analisi, li abbiamo raggruppati in 11 gruppi di suffissi.
Il primo gruppo di suffissi crea nomi astratti che denominano azioni, condizioni, oppure mostrano la relazione con
l'azione. Questi suffissi sono: -im, -je, -ues, -më, -(ë)s, -esë.
In alcuni casi, si creano nomi di persone caratterizzate dalle azioni che fanno o da una loro particolarità. Il suffisso -
im (per i nomi) e -ues (-(ë)s) (nomi e aggettivi) sono i più produttivi, dopo di loro c'è il suffisso –je. Questo risultato forse è
influenzato dal fatto che i nomi deverbali dell'azione con il suffisso –je si formano regolarmente da tutti gli altri verbi, a
parte i gruppi dei verbi con il suffisso –oj e –ej, le quali si creano con il suffisso –im. (Gramatika e gjuhës shqipe, 2002, p.
141). La stessa cosa può essere affermata anche per i suffissi –ues e -(ë)s, i quali formano nomi e aggettivi dalle parole
base verbali con i suffissi –o e –ua, oppure, si aggiungono a i participi dei verbi. Dunque, la parola base (tema), per
questo gruppo di suffissi, e generalmente un verbo o un participio. I campi di applicazione di questi suffissi sono molto
ampi, poiché in ogni campo c'è bisogno di parole che denominano le azioni dei nomi o dei risultati delle operazioni
eseguite, oppure che denominano la relazione con l'azione. Esempi: campo letterario: absorbim, absorbues, adaptues
(nome e aggettivo); campo medico: abortim; campo cinematografico: aktrim; campo scolastico: testim, trajnim, inspirues
(nome e aggettivo); campo economico: kreditim, vetëfinancim, vetëdeklarim, investues (nome e aggettivo); campo del
denominazione dei suoni: brumbullim, cërcërimë, cokëllimë, buburitje, cirkatje; campo del denominazione dei
professioni: inventarizues, menazhues, korrigjues (nome e aggettivo); in altri campi: këqyrës, (nome e aggettivo),
arratisës (nome), braktisës (nome), dëmës (nome e aggettivo), kaçurrelës, fjalës, ajkosje, cënosje, sajesë, zbulesë,
mbikalesë ecc.
La denominazione secondo il processo di lavoro, nella maggior parte dei casi, viene fatto con l'aiuto dei suffissi -ues
e –(ë)s.
Dagli esempi datti sembra che i suffissi -ues e -(ë)s si utilizzano per formare contemporaneamente due diverse parti
del discorso: nomi e aggettivi. Ma, abbiamo a che fare, in questo caso, con dei suffissi che hanno nuove funzioni e
significati, o con un altro procedimento di derivazione?
Secondo Rakela Luniku, in molte formazioni con suffissazione in alcuni casi le formazioni nominali si incrociano con
quelle aggettivali, che è l'influenza della formazione degli aggettivi con i nomi corrispondenti. (Luniku, 2005, p. 51).
Quindi, tramite conversione si creano aggettivi dai nomi. Questo si conferma dagli esempi: arratisës (colui che fugge),
braktisës (colui che abbandona un incarico, un lavoro ecc.) che si presentano solo come nomi, mentre la parola
këqyrës(këqyrës, -e mb.(aggettivo) që bëhet për ta këqyrur: me synime këqyrëse - che è stato fatto per essere guardato;
em., (nome) që këqyr: këqyrës i vëmendshëm- colui che guarda) (Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe, 2006, p. 458); dëmës (dëmës, -
e mb., anche come em., bised. (familiare) dëmtues ( nocivo) (Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe, 2006, p. 188) ecc. oramai si
presentano come nomi e aggettivi.
In alcuni casi, il suffisso –(ë)s si aggiunge non solo alla fine di un verbo o di un participio ma anche di un nome:
kaçurrelës (kaçurrel{riccio}+ ës), fjalës (fjalë{parola} + s) ecc. In questi casi, si denominano le persone secondo le azioni
che fano, il loro aspetto ecc.
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Il secondo gruppo contiene suffissi che creano nomi feminili che denotano una caratteristica o una qualità astratta.
Questi suffissi sono: -i, -(ë)si, -(ë)ri.
I campi di applicazione di questi suffissi non sono molti, tuttavia, si possono menzionare: il campo letterario:
sendëri, parimorësi, rrenësi, sipërfaqësi, pakrijueshmëri, frytshmëri, palëkundshmëri, llojllojshmëri, ksenomani,
lundrueshmëri, manovrueshmëri ecc; campo giuridico: nëdorësi ecc.
Il suffisso piu usato (il più produttivo) è il suffisso –(ë)ri. Questo, probabilmente, ha a che fare con il fatto che con
questo suffisso si creano nomi da gli aggettivi. Questi ultimi sono aggettivi derivati e si creano con il suffisso –shëm e
l'articolo preposto i-, oppure il suffisso –shëm si aggiunge a un aggettivo articolato: palëkundshmëri { l’essere incrollabile;
irremovibile} (i palëkundshëm- (pa-)i lëkundur + shëm ), in questo caso il nome palëkundshmëri si crea dal aggettivo i
palëkundshëm, quest’ultimo si è creato dalla parola base i lëkundur che è un aggettivo articolato; frytshmëri {l’essere
proficuo} (i frytshëm- i + fryt +shëm), in questo caso il nome frytshmëri si crea dal aggettivo i frytshëm, quest'ultimo si è
creato dalla parola base fryt che è un nome. Dall'analisi fatta si vede che questi aggettivi (che servono come parole
base per il suffisso –(ë)ri ) si creano dalle parole base nominali, aggettivali, ma anche verbali e adverbiali. Perciò è
comprensibile il fatto che qusto suffisso è il più produttivo.
In alcuni casi i suffissi –(ë)ri, -(ë)si e –i servono per formare nomi collettivi: campo zoologico: zogjëri; in altri campi:
sendëri, mbesëri, stërnipëri, farësi, frankofoni, udhëheqësi ecc.
Il terzo gruppo contiene suffissi stranieri che formano nomi astratti. Questi suffissi sono: -izëm, -azh.
Tra questi due suffissi il più produttivo è il suffisso –izëm. Con qusto suffiso abbiamo non solo prestiti lessicali (cui ha la
sua origine), ma anche una parola, formata all'interno del albanese: toskizëm (-mi m. sh. –ma(t) gjuh. fjalë e dialektit
toskë- parola del dialetto tosk) (Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe, 2006, p. 1097). I campi di applicazione di questi suffissi sono vari:
campo del economia. afarizëm, kambizëm, klientelizëm; campo letterario:: totalitarizëm, patetizëm, nudizëm; campo della
letteratura: erotizëm, folklorizëm; campo linguistico purizëm, idiotizëm, arkaizëm, italianizëm etj.; campo fotografico:
fotomontazh.
Il quarto gruppo contiene i suffissi che danno alle parole significato vezzeggiativo e diminutivo. Questi suffissi sono:
- uk, -ush, -ok, -an, -uc, -z, -inë.
Questi suffissi sono poche usate e formano aggettivi e nomi. Alcuni di loro sono: trombuk (vezzeggiativo, nome e
aggettivo), dajok (vezzeggiativo, nome), rrafshok (diminutivo, nome), qengjërush (vezzeggiativo, nome), vocërrush
(vezzeggiativo, nome e aggettivo), vogëlan (vezzeggiativo, nome e aggettivo), qenuk (diminutivo, nome), qenush
(diminutivo, nome), zaruk (diminutivo, nome), kësulëz (diminutivo, nome), shigjetëz (diminutivo, nome) ecc.
In alcuni casi il suffisso –an da al nome un significato peggiorativo: leshan (qafëlesh- capellone), strukan (i mënjanuar-
appartato, emarginato) ecc.
Un altro suffisso diminutivo è il suffisso –inë: figurinë (-a f. sh. a(t) figurë e vogël e dikujt a e diçkaje (vizatim,
shtatore etj.) piccola immagine di qualcuno o di qualcosa (dipinto, una statua ecc.)) (Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe, 2006, p. 270).
Questo è l'unico caso trovato nel nostro dizionario.
In questo gruppo dovrebbe fare parte anche il suffisso –th, ma in questi ultimi anni non è utilizzato per creare parole
del uso comune con svalore vezzeggiativo, ma per creare termini per vari campi della scienza: tymth (campo botanico,
urth- edera; ellera), ylberth (campo medito, rreth me ngjyra të ndryshme që gjendet në beben e syrit- iride), qorrth (campo
medico, sëmundja e shpendëve shtëpiak dhe e njerëzve, që u vesh sytë me perde dhe i verbon- malattia dei volatili
domestici e le persone, che gli fa diventare ciechi.) ecc.
Poiché queste parole sono termini, non possono esprimere significati peggiorativi, diminutivi o vezzeggativi.
(Memushaj, 2002, p.151). Perciò, le parole-termini che contengono suffissi con valori affettivi li perderanno questi valori.
Lo stesso fenomeno sta accadendo anche con i suffissi –uk e –ëz. Questi suffissi sono stati utilizzati soprattutto nel
campo della botanica, medicina e veterinaria: fijuk (campo della botanica, barishte me gjethe si fije të holla dhe me halla
si të grurit- erbe con foglie sottili, come fili e lische come il grano ), lëmshuk (campo della botanica, grumbull i ngjeshur
dhe i rrumbullakët lulesh ose frutash- viluppo), shpretkëz (campo della veterinaria, ënjtja e shpretkës te bagëtitë-
splenite), iriqëz (campo della medicina e della veterinaria, iriq2- tumore), vezëz (campo della botanica, organ i lules që
shndërrohet në farë pas pllenimit- ovulo) ecc.
Il quinto gruppo contiene suffissi che sono utilizzati per formare nomi e aggettivi e che danno alle parole valori
peggiorativi fino a sfirare un valore dispregiativo. Questi suffissi sono: : -arak, -(a)cak, -aq, -s, -anik, -ak, -anjak, -esk. I
suffissi hanno quasi la stessa densità d’utilizzando.
In questo raggruppamento sono stati introdotti anche i suffissi –ak e -esk. Il suffisso -ak, di solito non veniva usato
per dare alla parola u valore (significato) peggiorativo. In questi ultimi anni è stato notato che anche questo suffisso si sta
usando per esprimere tali valori: partiak (che protegge gli interessi, opinioni ecc. del propio partito), trashamak
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(grossolano). Il suffiso –esk sembra che è di origine italiana: donkishotesk – (donchisciottesco = donchisciot + esco). Con
questi suffissi abbiamo anche queste parole: amatoresk (che non è di qualità), aktoresk (finto, falso).
Altri esempi di questi suffissi abbiamo: egërcak, humbarak, zhulaq, zhuls, trashanik, gojës, rrudhacak, strehacak,
zdërranjak ecc.
Il sesto gruppo contiene i suffissi, che formano verbi. Questi suffissi sono: -o, -(i)zo, (ë)soj, -os, -(i)s.
Dalle ricerche svolte si è osservato che il suffisso usato di più per formare i verbi è il suffisso –o, poi seguono i
suffissi -(i)zoj e –os. L’aumento del numero di parole (verbi) con il suffisso –o è una prova della semplificazione della
formazione dei verbi com molti suffissi (Samara, 2007, p. 100). I nuovi verbi con questi suffissi sono formati
principalmente da temi (parole bose) nominali e aggettivali. Ecco dei esempi di formazioni dei verbi con questi strumenti:
abortoj, adresoj, aktroj, certifikoj, çamëroj, finalizoj, evropianizoj, bunkerizoj, instrumentalizoj, baltëroj, anëtarësoj,
rreptësoj, kikiris, binjakëzoj, zeheros ecc.
Il settimo gruppo contiene suffissi stranieri, con i qualli si formano nomi e aggettivi. Questi suffissi sono: -(i)st, -ik, -
ant, -ier, -al, -ual, -iv, -(a)xhi, -men (-man).
I suffissi che formano nomi indicano le persone caratterizzate secondo la loro professione, o il lavoro che fanno,
oppure indicano utensili da cucina, mentre i suffissi che formano aggettivi danno alla parola un significato di
appartenenza.
Esempi di nomi: fizioterapist, enciklopedist, ekuilibrist, anestezist, masazhist, skafist, ekologjist, grafist, disertant,
figurant, dublant, furrxhi, tullaxhi, fshesaxhi, parukier, frutier, supier ecc.
Da questi suffissi il più produttivo è il suffisso –ist.
Esempi di aggettivi - sensual, portal, konsensual, eventual, skeletik, mediatik, kompjuterik, katasrofik, idilik, filmik,
serial, piramidal, intuitiv, suksesiv, instiktiv, festiv, afektiv, alpinistik, ambiental, voluntarist, delirant, ekuilibrist ecc.
Oltre a questi suffissi, insieme al prestito lessicale, negli ultimi anni, e entrato una “spece” di suffisso, cioè il “quasi
suffisso” –men (-man): biznesmen (affarista), kongresmen (congressista), kameraman (cameraman), zeshkaman (bruno).
Secondo diversi studiosi, questo “quasi suffisso”, che svolge la funzione di un suffisso, nella sua lingua d'origine (la
lingua inglese) è una parola autonoma: man, nel nostro caso uomo. A quanto pare, questo strumento morfologico svolge
la funzione di un affissoide e si sta usando anche con i temi (parola base) di origine albanese: zeshkaman (nome e
aggettivo).
Con i suffissi del ottavo gruppo si formano nomi comuni di persone e aggettivi. Questi suffissi sono: -ar, -tar, -or, -
tor, ak, -as, -an (-jan), -it, -ez.
Questi suffissi esprimono:
- rapporti di appartenenza del oggetto verso un'altro oggetto o verso un'azione espresso con un verbo o un nome
stratto: (-or, -ar, -tar , -tor (-ator)): anor, arkitekturor, bisedimor, dhetar, elitar, besar, fushator, dredhator, eliminator ecc.
- l'azione che fanno: (-or,-ar, -ator, -atar ): anor (mban anën e dikujt – favoreggiare qualcuno), besar (mban fjalën e
dhënë- mantenere la parola data), dredhator (njeri dredharak- tortuoso), eliminator (eliminues- eliminatorio) ekzekutor
(vrasës- assassino), falsifikator, dushkatar etj. In questo grupo il piu produttivo è il suffisso –atar.
- Il mestiere che esercitano, la professione e i attrezzi usati: (-ar, -tar, -tor, -ator, -or): europarlamentar (deputet-
deputato), bravar, çatiar, arëtar, artar, ilaçtar, lugëtar, djathor .ecc
- Il luogo dove vivono o dove sono nati: (-as, -ak, -anak, - ian (-jan), -ez, -an, -ar, -tar): voskopojar, boshnjak,
bulqizak, ersekas, ekuadorian, hasjan, kalabrez, maltez, rrethanak (banor i rrethinave), trojan, vërritar (ai që banon në
vërri), voskopojar ecc. Questi nomi hanno anche i lori rispettivi aggettivi.
- Luoghi o mezzi diversi: , -or, -ar): fushëtar (fushore-pianura), mjedisor (korridor-corridoio), celular, erar (vend që e
zë era- lugo battutto dal vento) ecc. Con questi significati, questi suffissi hanno un uso limitato.
I suffissi –ar, -tar, -atar, -tor, -ator e –or formano nomi e aggettivi.
Secondo Rakela Luniku, nei casi quando i suffissi si aggiungono ai nomi dei residenti secondo la loro residenza,
abbiamo a che fare con un suffisso che ha preso funzioni e significati differenti e non con due diversi suffissi (Luniku,
2005, p. 52). Tuttavia, per i casi in cui i nomi e i aggettivi sembrano formate da lo stesso strumento formativo (suffisso), la
spiegazione più accettata è la conversione.
Il nono gruppo contiene suffissi, che formano i nomi comuni dei luoghi. Questi suffissi sono: ishtë, -ore, -tore, -inë,
-(ë)tirë, -(ë)sirë, -najë, -cak, -ajë.
Fra questi suffissi il più produttivo è il suffisso -ishtë. Ciò significa che nella maggior parte dei casi abbiamo a che
fare con nomi che si referiscono al luogo dove si trova in abbondanza l'oggetto desingato dalla parola base (tema).
Questo significato hanno già preso altri suffissi come: -ore: fikore (ngastër toke me fiq- ficheto), njelmore (njelmishtë-
luogo salmastro); -inë: rrasinë (vend me rrasa- luogo coperto di lastre), fierinë (fierishtë- luogo coperto di felci ); -ajë:
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çukajë (vend me çuka- luogo con cime (di alberi ecc); vetta (di monte)); -sirë: akullsirë (akullishtë- ghiacciaio); -cak:
egërcak (vend me barëra të këqija- luogo con erbacce).
In alcuni altri casi sembra che il suffisso –ishtë viene utilizzato con un altro significato: borishtë (tokë e zhveshur dhe e
varfër- terreno improduttivo, privo di vegetazione). In questo cosa il suffisso –ishtë non da all luogo borishtë il significato
del luogo dove si trova in abbondanza la neve (luogo coperto di neve), perché non viene usato direttamente l'oggetto
disegnato dalla parola base, ma si usa la conseguenza che deriva dall'essere coperti di neve.
Il decimo gruppo contiene suffissi che servono per formare i nomi dei oggetti. Questi suffissi sono: -ik, -(a)nik, -
atore, - ës, - ak.
Nel termine oggetto abbiamo incluso:
- I attrezzi per diversi tipi di mestieri. I suffissi che sono stati utilizzati per questi casi sono: -ës, -atore, -nik: bukatore,
gurës ecc.
- I cibi, piatanze diverse. I suffissi che sono stati utilizzati per questi casi sono: -ak, -(a)nik, -ik: zorranik, trahanik,
hithërak, fasulnik ecc.
Il undicesimo gruppo contiene suffissi che servono per formare i avverbi. Questi suffissi sono: isht, -as, -thi, -azi, -
shëm.
Il suffisso più produttivo del grupo è il suffisso –isht: zemërgjerësisht, vrazhdësisht, vobekësisht, varësisht,
trashëgimisht, urgjentisht, turpërisht, seksualisht, momentalisht, boshas, arras, cepas, druajturazi, ëndrras, fushas,
galopthi, heshturazi, shpatthi, rëndshëm, gulçueshëm ecc.
3. Conclusioni
Da questa analisi delle nuove parole con cui è arricchita la lingua albanese in questi ultimi decenni, possiamo concludere
che:
- Per la formacione dei nomi femminili il più produttivo è il suffisso –je, mentre per la formazione dei nomi maschili il
più produttivo è il suffisso –im.
- Il procedimento principale di formacione dei verbi è la suffissazione. Il suffisso più produttivo è il suffisso –o.
Durante il conteggio dei verbi (presenti sul nostro dizionario e formati con il suffisso –o) abbiamo preso in considerazione
anche i verbi rifelssivi. Tenendo conto di questo fatto, possiamo dire che con il suffisso -o si sono formate oltre il 70% dei
verbi.
- Il procedimento principale di formacione dei avverbi è la suffissazione. I suffissi più produttivi sono i suffissi –(i)sht,
-thi, -azi. Usando questi suffissi si sono formate circa 89 avverbi da circa 278 in totale, quindi circa il 32% di loro si sono
formate solo da questi suffissi.
- Il procedimento più usato per formare i aggettivi non è la suffissazione, ma la prearticolazione (l'articolazione
preposto) del participio del verbo.
- L'introduzione delle parole straniere nel lessico della lingua albanese, come abbiamo detto, a portato ad utilizzare
anche il suo affisso (se c'è). In altre parole, è possibile separare il prefisso oppure il suffisso dalla parola straniera.
Questo è possibile perché il prefisso non è limitato ad una sola parola; d'altra parte la parola senza il prefisso non è
isolato, ma ha un uso autonomo (Hysa, 1973, p. 97). Lo stesso ragionamento fatto da Enver Hysa per il prefisso vale
anche per i suffissi stranieri.
- Dato che il prestito è un fenomeno inevitabile e, in alcuni casi, addirittura necessario, anche il prestito morfologico
(in questo caso dei suffissi), sembra inevitabile.
- Negli ultimi anni, dai dati racolti dal dizionario, si sono verificati due fenomeni:
a. I affissi tranieri si stanno sostituendo con quelli albanesi
b. Stanno entrando affissi nuovi, ad esempio il suffisso -men (-uomo) e si stanno utilizzando anche nei temi
(parole base) albanesi: zeshkaman (nome e aggetivo).
Bibliografia
Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë, Gramatika e gjuhës shqipe, Tiranë, 2002

Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë, Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe, Tiranë, 1980
Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë, Fjalori i gjuhës shqipe, Tiranë, 2006
Charles W. Kreidler Introducing english semantics, London and New York, 2002
Enver Hysa, Disa çështje të parashtesimit në gjuhën shqipe, SF, nr 3, Tiranë, 1973
Ferdinand Leka, Zef Simoni Fjalor shqip-italisht, Tiranë, 2003
377
Graffi Giorgio, Sergio Scalise Le lingue e il linguaggio. Introduzione alla linguistica, Il Mulino, 2003
Miço Samara, Rreth zhvillimit të leksikut politiko-shoqëror në gjuhën shqipe, SF 1-2, Tiranë, 2007
Rakela Luniku, Raporti semantik midis fjalëve të formuar me prapashtesat –ar, -tar, -or, -tor dhe tema fjalëformuese të tyre, Gjuha jonë,
nr 1-4, 2005
Rami Memushaj, Hyrje në gjuhësi, Tiranë, 2002
Appendice
Glossario albanese-italiano (gli esempi usati)
abort/ój jokal. –óva, -úar mjek. abortire. cirkátj/e,-a f. sh. -e(t) 1. l’azione secondo il significato del
abortím, -i m. sh. –e, –et mjek. aborto. verbo gocciolare 2. goccia.
absorbím, -i m. sh. –e, -et assorbimento. cokëllím/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) il rumore quando che si crea quando
absorbúes, -e mb. assorbente. battiamo i denti.
adaptúes,-i m. sh. –i(t), adattore. çamër/ój kal., -óva, -úar sbriciolare; lagliuzzare; spezzettare.
adaptúes , -e mb., libr. adatto; adeguato. çatiár,-i m. sh. -ë(t)conciatetti; chi cistruisce, ripara tetti.
adres/ój kal. – óva, -úar indirizzare. çukáj/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) luogo con cime (di alberi ecc); vetta (di
afariz/ëm, -mi m. affarismo. monte).
afektív,-e mb affettivo. dajók,-u m. sh. -ë(t) përk. zio.
aktorésk,-e mb finto; simulato; subdolo; falso. delirant,-e mb. libr. 1. anche come em., in delirio 2. fig.
aktrím,-i m. interpretazione. entusiastico.
akullsír/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) 1. ghiacciaio; 2. ghiacciolo; 3. lastra di dëmës,-e mb., anche come em., bised. nocivo.
ghiaccio. disertánt,-i m. sh. -ë(t) colui che prepara una dissertazione •
alpinistík,-e mb. sport. che ha a che veder con l’alpinismo. fem. -e, -ja sh. -e(t).
amatorésk,-e mb. delettantesco. djathór,-i m. sh. -ë(t) gjell. cascina; latteria
ambientál,-e ambientale. donkishotésk,-e mb. libr. keq. donchisciottesco.
anestezíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) mjek. anestesista. dredhatór,-e mb., anche come em., tortuoso; astuto.
anëtarës/ój kal., -óva, -úar inscrivere. drúajturazi ndajf con paura, timore.
anór,-e mb. anche come em. che propende per una parte; dublánt,-i m. sh. -ë(t) libr. doppiatore • fem. -e, -ja f. sh. -e(t).
frodatore. dushkatár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) colui che taglia e trasporta querce
arëtár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) coltivatore. per il bestiame.
arkaíz/ëm,-mi m. sh. -ma(t) gjuh. arcaismo. dhetár,-e mb., anche come em. locale; del luogo.
arkitekturór,-e mb. architettonico. egërcák,-u m. sh. -ë(t) luogo con erbacce.
artár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) argentiere. ekologjíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) specialista nel campo dell'ecologia.
árras ndajf. il modo di giocare con le noci. ekuadorián,-i m. sh. -ë(t) abitante ecc. di Ekuadori • fem. -e, -
arratísës,-i m. sh. -(it) colui che fugge, evade. ia sh. -e(t).
baltër/ój kal., -óva, -úar infangare. ekuadorián -, -e mb ecuadoriano.
besár,-e mb., edhe si em., fedele; fido. ekuilibríst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) equilibrista.
binjakëz/ój kal., -óva, -úar gemellare. ekzekutór,-i m. sh. -ë(t) libr. carnefice, boia.
bisedimór,-e mb che ha a che vedere con la conversazione; eliminatór,-e mb., anche come em. m. sport. eliminatorio.
colloquiale, elitár,-e mb. libr d’elite.
biznesmén,-i m. sh. -ë(t) affarista. enciklopedíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) libr. enciclopedista.
bóshas ndajf. bised. vuoto; a vuoto; invano erár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) lugo battutto dal vento.
boshnják -, -e mb bosniaco erotíz/ëm,-mi m. let. erotismo.
braktísës,-i m. sh. –i(t) colui che abbandona un incarico, un ersékas,-i m. sh. –(it) abitante ecc. di Erseka. • fem. -e, -ja
lavoro ecc. sh. -e(t).
bravár,-iII m. sh. -ë(t) colui che fa le serrature. europarlamentár,-e mb. del Parlamento dell'Unione Europea.
brumbullím,-i m. sh. -a(t) il rumore che fa un scarabeo. eventuál,-e mb. libr., eventuale.
buburítj/e,-a f. sh. -e(t) il rumore che si sente quando freme evropianiz/ój kal., -óva, -úar europeizzare.
qualcosa. ëndrras ndajf. come in sogno.
bukatór,-e mb. fertile, grasso; ubertoso. falsifikatór,-i m. sh. -ë(t) libr. falsificatore; contraffatore.
bulqizák,-u m. sh. -ë(t) abitante ecc. di Bulqizë. farësí,-a f. përmb. siamo dello stesso sangue
bunkeriz/ój kal., -óva, -úar 1. costruire bunker in...; fasulník,-u m. sh. -ë(t) spece di sfogliata ofarcita di fagioli
cospargere di bunker (il paese ecc.) 2. fig. assicurare una festív,-e mb festivo; gioioso
protezione della massima per qualcuno o qualcosa. fierín/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) luogo coperto di felci
celulár, -i m. sh. -ë(t) cellulare, telefono cellulare, telefonino. fijúk,-u m. sh. -ë(t) bot. erbe con foglie sottili, come fili e
cenósj/e,-a f. sh. -e(t)1. violazione; lesione. 2. difetto. lische come il grano
cépas (cépazi) ndajf. da un canto all’altro. figuránt,-i m. sh. -ë(t) teatër. comparsa
certifik/ój kal. -óva, -úar fornire di certoficato. figurín/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) figurina
cërcërím/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) sfrigolio. fikór/e,-ja f. sh. -e(t) ficheto
378
filmík,-e mb. filmico, cinematografico kreditím,-i l’azione secondo il verbo kredit/oj (concedere un
finaliz/ój kal., -óva, -úar libr. 1. terminare 2. concludere. credito).
fizioterapíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) fisioterapeuta. ksenomaní,-a f. libr. xenofobia.
fjálës,-e mb., anche come em., loquace; parolaio. leshán,-e mb., anche keq., peloso; villoso.
folkloríz/ëm,-mi m. elemento o caratteristica folcloristico in lëmshúk -, -u m. sh. -ë(t) 1. bot. viluppo 2. fig. nanerottolo.
un’opera d’arte. lugëtár,-iII m. sh. -ë(t) grattugia di zucca.
fotomontím,-i (fotomontázh,-i) m. sh. -e(t) art. fotomontaggio. lundrúeshmërí,-a f. libr. navigabilità.
frankofoní,-a f. 1. essere francofona 2. përmb. francofoni. llojllojshmëri, -a f. assortimento (delle merci)
frutiér/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) fruttiera. maltéz,-i m. sh. -ë(t) abitante di Malta, maltese.
frytshmërí,-a f. libr. l’essere proficuo. manovrueshmërí,-a f. libr. manovrabolità.
fshesaxhí,-u m. sh. -nj(të) bised. spazzino; netturbino • fem. - masazhíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) massaggiator.
e, -a sh. e(t). scopatrice. mbesëri-a f. përmb. l’insieme dei nipoti.
fúshas ndajf. apertamente. mbikalés/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) ndërt. soprapassaggio.
fushatór,-e mb., anche come em., di pianura; campestre. mediatík,-e mb. di media.
fushëtár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) coltivatore’ agricoltore • fem. -e, -ja sh. menazhúes,-i m. sh. -(it) amministratore• fem. -e, -ja sh. -e(t).
-e(t). mjedisór -, -i m. corridoio.
furrxhí,-u m. sh. -nj(të) bised. fornaio. mjedisór -e, -ja f. sh. -e(t) centro (della tavola ecc.).
galópthi ndajf. con velocità e saltando (per il cavallo). momentalísht ndajf. al momento; attualmente.
gójës,-i m. sh. -(it) keq. boccaccia; chiacchierone; pettegolo. nëdorësí,-a f. drejt. possessione; possesso.
grafíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t) art. specialista in grafica. nudíz/ëm-mi m. libr. nidismo.
gulçúeshëm ndajf. 1. ansando 2. fig. con avidità. njelmór/e,-ja f. sh. -e(t) terreno salifero; luogo salmastro.
gúrës,-i m. sh. -(it) asta di legno per arricciare lana o cotone. pakrijueshmërí,-a f. libr. essere i pakrijueshëm (che non si
hasján,-i m. sh. -ë(t) di Hasi; abitante di Hasi (regione puo creare).
dell’Albania) • fem. -e, -ja sh. -e(t). palëkundshmërí,-a f. libr. 1. essere incrollabile. 2. essere
héshturazi ndajf. in silenzio. irremovibile.
hithërák,-u m. gjell. sfogliata a base di ortiche. parimorësí,-a f. libr. essere di principio.
humbarák,-e mb., anche come em., keq. inetto; incapace; partiák,-e mb., anche keq.che protegge i interessi del proprio
scalzane. partito.
idilík,-e mb. idillico. parukiér,-i m. sh. -ë(t) parrucchiere (chi acconcia i capelli);
idiotíz/ëm,-mi m. sh. -a(t)1. idiozia. 2. gjuh. provincialismo. chi fa le parruche.
ilaçtár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) guaritore, che prepara i farmaci dalle patetíz/ëm,-mi m. libr pathos.
piante. piramidál,-e mb. che è come la piramide.
inspirúes,-e mb., anche come em., ispiratore portal, -i m.sh –e(t) arkit. Il cancello principale di un edificio
instinktív,-e mb. istintivo. scolpito con una bellissima architettura.
instrumentaliz/ój kal., -óva, -úar libr. sfruttare qualcuno o puríz/ëm,-mi m. gjuh. purismo.
qualcosa per raggiungere uno scopo particolare. qengjërush, -i m. sh. ë(t) përk. agnellino
intuitív,-e mb. libr. intuitivo. qenúk,-u m. sh. -ë(t) cucciolo • fem. -e, -ja sh. -e(t).
inventarizúes,-i m. sh. -(it) colui che fa l’inventario • fem. -e, - qenúsh,-i m. sh. -ë(t) 1. cucciolo . 2. fig. minuscolo; piccolino.
ja sh. -e(t). • fem. -ë, -a sh. -a(t).
investúes,-e mb. ek. investitore. qorrth,-i m. veter., mjek. malattia dei volatili domestici e le
iríqëz,-a f. mjek. iriq2. tumore. persone, che gli fa diventare ciechi.
italianíz/ëm,-mi m. sh. -ma(t) gjuh. italianismo. rëndshëm ndajf. bised. pesantemente.
kaçurrélës,-e mb., anche come em., con i capelli ricci. rrafshók,-u m. sh. -ë(t)piccola pianura.
kalabréz,-i m. sh. -ë(t) abitante della Calabria. • fem. -e, -ja rrasín/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) luogo coperto di lastre.
sh. -e(t). rreptës/ój kal., -óva (u), -úar inasprire, farlo severo.
kambíz/ëm,-mi m. ek. attività di cambio (di valute). rrethanák,-u m. sh. -ë(t) residente dei ditorni. • fem. -e, -ja sh.
kameramán,-i m. sh. -ë(t) cameraman. -e(t).
katastrofík,-e mb. catastrofico. rrudhacák,-e mb., anche come em., përb. rugoso;
këqýrës,-e mb. osservatore. raggrinzito.
kësúlëz,-a f. sh. -a(t) 1. zvog.piccolo berretto. 2. piccola sajés/ë,-a f. 1. improvvisazione; 2. invenzione.
calotta di metallo che metiamo in dito per cucire. seksualísht ndajf. 1. dagli organi genitali 2. per il sesso.
kikirís jokal., -a, -ur 1. v. III canta (il gallo).2. fig chiacchera e sendërí,-a f. përmb. libr l’insieme di oggetti.
ride molto. sensuál,-e mb. libr. sensuale.
klientelíz/ëm,-mi m. servizio nello stesso deposito, ecc. visite seriál -, -i m. sh. -e(t) a puntate.
dall stesso medico; / keq. tendenza a creare i propri clienti sipërfaqësí,-a f. libr. superficialità.
attraverso la concorrenza sleale. skafíst,-i m. sh. -ë(t)scafista.
kompjuterík,-e mb. del coputer. skeletík,-e mb. libr. 1. molto debole (di salute) 2. fig. che è
kongresmén,-i m. sh. -ë(t) membro del congresso. • fem. -e, come uno scheletro.
-ja sh. -e(t). stërnipërí,-a f. përmb. l’insieme dei pronipoti.
konsensuál,-e mb. libr. consensuale. strehacák,-e mb., anche come em., girovago; vagabondo.
korrigjúes,-e mb., anche come em., colui che corregge. strukán,-e mb., anche come em., keq. apartato; emarginato.
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suksesív,-e mb. libr. successivo. vézëz,-a f. sh. -a(t) bot. ovulo.

supiér/e,-ja f. sh. -e(t)zzupiera. vërritár,-i m. sh. -ë(t)chi transuma il bestiame al piano.
shigjétëz,-a f. sh. -a(t) piccola frecia. vobektësísht ndajf. libr. poveramente.
shpátthi ndajf. obliquamente. vocërrúsh,-e mb., anche come em., përk. minuscolo;
shprétkëz,-a f. veter. splenite (del bestiame) poccolino.
testím,-i m. sh. -e(t) il sottoporsi a un test; prova attitudinale. vogëlán,-e mb., anche come em., përk. piccolino.
toskíz/ëm,-mi m. sh. -ma(t) gjuh. parola del dialetto tosk. voluntaríst,-i m. sh. -ë(t), anche come mb., filoz. volontarista
totalitaríz/ëm,-mi m. libr. totalitarismo. voskopojár,-i m. sh. -ë(t) abitante di Voskopoja (centro
trashëgimísht ndajf. ereditariamente; per via ereditaria. storico dell’Albania meridionale) • fem. -e, -ja sh. -e(t).
trahaník,-u m. sh. -ë(t) gjell. sfogliata ripeno di trahana (farina vrazhdësísht ndajf. con ruvidezza; con asprezza.
impastata con latte o yogurt e lasciata seccare al sole). ylbérth,-i m. sh. -e(t) anat. iride.
trajním,-i m. sh. -e(t) l’azione secondo il verbo trajn/oj zarúk,-u m. sh. -ë(t) 1. segugio o piccolo dado 2. fig.
(allenare qaulcuno). vagabondo.
troján -, -e mb. troiano. zbulés/ë,-a f. sh. -a(t) rivelazione; la parte scoperta di
trombúk,-e mb., anche come em., paffutto, paffutello. qualcosa.
tullaxhí,-u m. -nj(të) bised. colui che fa i mattoni. zdërranják,-e mb., anche come em. chiacchierone.
turpërísht ndajf. vergognosamente. zeherós kal., -a, -ur, far diventare amaro.
tymth,-i m. bot. edera; ellera. zemërgjerësísht ndajf. con manganimità.
udhëheqësí,-a f. përmb. l’insieme dei dirigenti. zeshkamán,-e mb., anche come em., bruno.
urgjentisht ndajf. urgentemente. zogjërí,-a f. përmb. l’insieme dei volatili.
varësísht ndajf. libr in dipendenza da.. zorraník,-u m. sh. -ë(t) gjell. sfogliata di intestino bollito .
vetëdeklarím,-i m. autodichiarazione. zhuláq,-e mb., anche come em., keq. sporcaccione.
vetëfinancím,-i m. sh. -e(t) zhuls,-e mb., anche come em., keq. sporcaccione.
autofinanziamento.
380
Assessment of Development Indices in Nigeria’s Bitumen Communities
Adekunle Olatumile Ph. D.
Department of Arts Education

Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko
E-mail: kunletumile@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p381
Abstract Nigeria is well endowed with bitumen, with its potentials of wealth generation and prosperity. It becomes imperative to ensure
socio-economic development of the host communities in order to avoid a repeat of the crises that have characterized the Niger-Delta
petroleum enclave where the inhabitants felt needs are no met in the provision of infrastructure and social services. This study assessed
the inhabitants’ perception of the availability of development indices in the bitumen communities, such that a framework for the provision
of infrastructures along the needs of different communities can be developed. The sample was 1147 inhabitants. Data were collected
using a questionnaire. ANOVA, MCA and Scheffe were used to analyse data. Findings showed variations in the indices of development
and development needs of different communities. Infrastructures and social services should be provided according to the felt needs of
different communities and local governments in the region.
Key Words: Infrastructural Facilities, Social Services, Sustainable Development, Exploitation.
1. Introduction
Tar sands or bituminous sands were discovered in Nigeria in the beginning of the 20th century around 1900. The Nigeria’s
tar sands rank among the five largest deposits in the World. It is suggested to be second only to the deposits in
Venezuela and compatible with the large tar sands deposits in Alberta Canada and Trinidad (Adegoke, 2000).
The Nigeria’s bitumen has the capacity to yield income higher than what accrues from petroleum industry. Besides
the potential of saving the country’s hard currency, its exploitation will provide jobs for Nigerians and give rise to the
emergence of allied companies (Ebisemiju, 2000). The consequent development of the bitumen sector can through
export earnings fetch Nigeria over six times the total revenue presently accruing from petroleum development (Nwosu,
2000).
Adequate supply of infrastructure is the bedrock of all development activities in any region (Nyong & Oladipupo,
2003). The greatest developmental programme that can be carried out in a mineral bearing community is to open it up-
economically, socially, politically and technologically – to the outside world ((Nyong & Oladipupo, 2003)). This should be
geared towards enhancing better housing; more secured tenure; greater access to water; sanitation, and waste
management services and cleaner fuels; reduced urban pollution; and easier access to safe transport services (World
Bank, 2002:17).This should embrace the community development approach to infrastructural development where the
households in the communities are the target group, and that is why all development activities must be directed at them
((Nyong & Oladipupo, 2003)). Hence, projects need to be human – centred and aimed towards the development of the
people. Sustainable community development programmes are contingent upon long-term strengthening of community
viability. In mineral bearing communities, sustainability can be supported by mining practices that help convert natural
resource capital into another local asset, sustainable human capital.(ESMAP, the World Bank, and ICMM, 2005). This
may be in the form of skills and capacities that training, employment and education programmes can provide for local
people.
2. Statement of the Problem
One of the greatest problems facing mineral activities in Nigeria and the World over especially in the 21st century is
integrating such economic activity with environmental integrity and social concerns. Hence most nations and communities
endowed with mineral resources, experience a kind of paradox of poverty amidst plenty. This is borne out of the fact that
there is lack of proactive approach to the provision of indices of development in such communities. This is evident in the
Niger-Delta petroleum enclave in Nigeria. The situation may not be unconnected with the fact that, the inhabitants of the
host communities are not consulted in defining, designing and implementing development programme and priorities, their
381
felt needs are not elicited before infrastructures and social services are provided, thus the widespread apathy and
rejection of such amenities. It is against this background that this study is out to assess the inhabitants’ perceived
availability of development indices in the bitumen communities in Nigeria, with a view to developing a framework for the
provision of infrastructure and social services along the needs of different communities in the region.
3. Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study is to carry out an assessment of the difference in inhabitant’s perception of the availability
of indices of development between the local governments areas in the bitumen region.
Develop a framework for sustainable provision of infrastructures and social services in the bitumen region.
4. Hypothesis
Ho1: There will be no significant interaction influence of residence on the perceived availability of indices of development.
5. Sample
The sample for the study was one thousand one hundred and forty-seven inhabitants of the bitumen communities.
6. Delimitation
The study was delimited to bitumen communities in Ondo State. Ondo State is located in the Southwestern part of
Nigeria. It is located between longitudes 4.00º E and latitudes 5.45° N .Ondo State covers an area of over 14,595 square
kilometers. Ondo State is bounded by Kwara ,Kogi and Ekiti States in the North, Edo and Delta States in the East, .
Ogun, and Osun States in the West and by the Atlantic Ocean in the South.The bitumen communities are scattered over
Okitipupa, Odigbo, Irele, Ese-Odo and Ilaje Local Government Areas. This area is popularly known as the southern part
of Ondo State. The researcher’s decision to restrict the study to Ondo State was borne out of the fact that half of the
bitumen deposit in Nigeria is in Ondo State.
7. Instrument
Data were collected using a structured questionnaire tagged Indices of Development Questionnaire (IDQ). It was used to
collect information from the respondents. It incorporated the four point rating with Very Adequate (VA), Just Adequate
(JA), Not Adequate (NA), and Not Available (NA).
8. Data Analysis
Data were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) and Scheffe
9. Findings and Discussion
Table 1: Summary of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showing the influence of residence on the indices of development
between the local governments in the bitumen communities.
Sum of DF Mean Square F Sig. of F Remark

Squares
Main Effects 4168.099 4 1042.025 17.755 .000

V006(Residence) 4168.099 4 1042.025 17.755 .000 Sig.
Explained 4168.099 4 1042.025 17.755 .000
Residual 67021.353 1142 58.688

Total 71189.452 1146 62.120
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Table 1 above shows that there was significant difference in the indices of development between the local governments
in the bitumen region (F (4.1142) = 17.755, P < .05). The mean scores which dictate the contributions of each of the
independent variables to the level of significance is as follows: Irele (47.57), Ilaje (46.15), Okitipupa (43.86), Ese–Odo
(43.37) and Odigbo (41.91) respectively. The hypothesis which stated that there will be no significant interactive main
influence of residence on the availability of indices of development is rejected. UNDP (2006) held that experts defined
infrastructure as the whole physical framework, within which all activity and other forms of development take place.
Hence it submitted that the provision of infrastructure will be critical to achieving sustainable livelihoods in mineral bearing
communities, and concluded that accessibility is a major livelihood issue. For example, inadequate options for transport,
bad roads will practically cut off some communities from the main stream of activities and hence they will be unable to
market their produce and often suffer high losses. Without health care or educational facilities within their communities,
the local residents have literally no means to improve their welfare or income. Bitumen companies owe a duty of
providing some of these facilities, only as corporate social responsibility and as complement to the role of government at
all levels. But as is the case in the Niger-Delta oil enclave, according to UNDP (2006) these projects have not been able
to make meaningful impact on livelihoods because of ineffectiveness of local governance. These projects, which could
have complemented the developmental role of local governments virtually ended up as the only development projects in
most of these communities. Again, the projects were implemented on ad hoc basis without any systematic link to any
development plan either at the local or state government level. Consequently, in some cases, schools and hospitals were
built without any teachers or para-medical staff to operate the infrastructure and hence the consequent unsustainability of
such projects. The conditions for economic growth – whether in industry or services – are complex and will require
planning and the building of substantial infrastructure (UNDP, 2006).
It suffices to point out that indices of development between the local governments in the bitumen region are
disproportionately provided. The reason is not far fetched, the terrain of the region is not uniform, while some local
governments are on land, and some are on marshy land. The questions then become how a mining development can
assist a region in achieving sustainable development over the long term (Lapalme, 2003).
Leipziger et al. (2003) argue for renewed emphasis on the effectiveness of multi-sectoral linkages and in particular,
make a case for multiple interventions in infrastructure as the key to reaching the Millennium Development Goals, and
that different infrastructure projects can interact to provide benefits that are greater or lesser than anticipated. These
interactions have to be explicitly considered as an essential component of any human poverty reduction strategy. For
example, synergies exist between: connectivity infrastructure (roads, bridges, telecommunication, etc.) and fixed-point
service infrastructure (schools, hospitals, markets, etc.); connectivity infrastructure and production-enhancing
infrastructure (irrigation, land reclamation/improvements); production-enhancing infrastructure and utilities (water,
electricity, sanitation, etc.); as well as among different types of utilities projects (electrical pumps needed for water
projects) and even different types of water projects (safe drinking water, irrigation, flood control, etc.). Capturing these
synergies requires balancing the needs of the individual communities with regional and national project coordination.
Jahan and Macleery (2005) found that in the context of the overall infrastructure-poverty reduction- governance nexus,
small-scale community-based infrastructure assume a special place. Compared with large-scale infrastructure projects,
the small-scale community-based projects may present more insights with regard to poverty reduction and governance.
Swada, (2000) posited that because of the nature, location, design and implementation process, small-scale
infrastructure may bring more direct impacts on the lives of poor people. Small irrigation projects contribute immediately
to agricultural productivity bringing tangible benefits to local farmers. A rural feeder road improves mobility of local
communities and reduces transportation costs which have impacts on economic activities. Rural infrastructures create
jobs locally. Rural electrification through small-scale electricity generation contributes directly to the well-being of rural
households. A small-scale infrastructure facility raises overall productivity of the local economy through the construction
and maintenance of local roads, the water supply systems, small bridges and local agricultural electrification projects, et
cetera. There may be a high possibility to contribute directly to chronic poverty reduction through improving the average
income levels of local communities. Jahan and Macleery (2005) submitted that in cases of small-scale and community-
based infrastructure, local communities take part directly in making decisions regarding the nature of the infrastructure
(what would serve them best), their locations and designs. In small scale community-based infrastructure, local
communities can also take part in the implementation process.
383
Table 2: Multiple Classification Analysis showing the significant interactive main influence of residence on indices of
development.
Variable+Category N Unadjusted Eta Adjusted for independent + Beta

Grand Mean=44.55 Variation covariates deviation
V006:
Okitipupa 431 -.69 -.69
Irele 227 3.02 3.02
Odigbo 182 -1.19 -1.19
Ese-Odo 142 -1.74 -1.74
Ilaje 165 -1.59 .24 -1.59
.24
Multiple R-squred .059
Multiple R .242
In the table, the mean scores of the different residence categories are: Okitipupa = 43.86, Irele = 17.57, Odigbo = 41.91,
Ese-Odo = 43.37, and Ilaje = 46.15 respectively. Ilaje local government made the highest contribution on the significant
difference in the indices of development between the local governments in the bitumen region, followed by Okitipupa,
Ese-Odo, Odigbo and Irele respectively.
Table 3: Scheffe Multiple/ Pairwise Comparison of the indices of development of the local governments in the bitumen
communities
Odigbo Ese- Odo Okitipupa Ilaje Irele

Mean
41.9066 Odigbo
43.3662 Ese_odo
43.8631 Okitipupa
46.1455 Ilaje * * *
47.5727 Irele * * *
The pariwise multiple comparison table shows that there were significant differences between Odigbo and Ilaje, Odigbo
and Irele, Ese – Odo and Ilaje, Ese-Odo and Irele Ilaje and Okitipupa and Okitipupa and Irele. This difference is due to
the fact that the location and composition of the local government is different from one another. Odigbo is located on land
while Ilaje is mostly on the water; Okitipupa and Odigbo are cosmopolitan and heterogeneous while Irele is indigenous
and homogenous. Ese-Odo is located by water. The implication is that any developmental project should take care of
these diversities in order to ensure sustainability. The characteristics of Odigbo and Ese-Odo, Odigbo and Okitipupa,
Odigbo and Ilaje are similar, These local governments are inhabited by people of diverse socio-cultural background and
as such are heterogeneous, hence developmental projects carried out in one can be replicated in the others,
10. Conclusion
From the findings of the study, it is evident that in the opinion of the inhabitants, provision of infrastructural facilities and
social services has had significant influence on perceived sustainable development. The indices of development of
bitumen communities vary from community to community and local government to local government, this finding therefore
established that there were variations in the development needs of the different local governments in the bitumen region.
Consequently, sustainable development of the region will require eliciting the felt needs of inhabitants of each local
government and communities in the region.
11. Recommendations
Infrastructure linkage and multiple interventions should guide efforts at providing infrastructural facilities
384
Connectivity infrastructure (roads, bridges, telecommunication e.t.c.); fixed-point service infrastructure (schools, hospitals,
markets, housing units e.t.c) and production enhancing infrastructure (water, electricity, sanitation e.t.c) should be
provided synergiously according to the needs of different communities and local governments in the bitumen region.
Provision of infrastructural facilities in the bitumen communities must be in consonant with the needs of the generality of
the inhabitants. Sustainable mining operation requires that engagement with local communities must begin at the
exploration stage. Government and companies in consultation with inhabitants who have the right skills and authority
develop plans for continuous engagement during the operational life- from exploration through to closure.
The community must be carried along in order to ensure that the mechanisms it proposes are considered appropriate.
References
Adegoke, O.S. 2000. Historical perspective of bitumen tar sand development in South Western Nigeria: paper delivered at International
Summit on Bitumen in Nigeria. November 2000, Akure.
Ebisemiju 2000 How the new hope began “ Interview in Southern Echo, June 2000.
Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, the World Bank and the International Council on Mining and Metals 2005
Community development toolkit. Washington and London. ESMAP the World Bank and ICCM
Jahan, S. and Macleery, R. 2005. Making infrastructure work for the poor. New York: UNDP.
Lapalme, L 2003 The social dimension of sustainable development and the mining industry. Retrieved on October 27 from
WWW.nrcan.gc.ca/mms/poli/sust_e.htm\soc .
Leipziger, D. et al. 2003. Achieving the millennium development goals- the role of infrastructure investments. World Bank Research
Project- Infrastructure and Growth: A Multi-Country Panel Study.
Nwosu I. 2000. An agenda for bitumen development in a democratic Nigeria. Paper delivered at International Summit on Bitumen in
Nigeria. November 2000, Akure.
Nyong, E.E. and Oladipupo, E. 2003. Creating an enabling environment for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta Region.
Proceedings of the International Conference (Port Harcourt, 10-12 December 2001) and Follow-up Thematic Workshops
(2002/2003) on the Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta Region.
United Nations Development Programme. 2006. Niger Delta human development report 2006. Abuja.
World Bank. 2002b. Linking poverty reduction and environmental management. Washington D.C.: World Bank
385

Symbolism and Domain of Numbers in English and Persian Metaphorical Expressions

in the Light of Al-Hasnawi's Cognitive Model
Banafsheh Ghafel ¹
M.A, Lecturer, Amin Institute of Higher Education,
Department of Language, Fooladshahr,Isfahan, Iran
Email:banafshehghafel@yahoo.ca
Abbass Eslami Rasekh
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics

Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Iran
Email:abbasseslamirasekh@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p387
Abstract: Cognitive linguistics views language in terms of concepts, either universal or culture specific. Language is both embodied and
situated in a specific environment; in this connection, metaphorical expressions (hereafter MEs) such as idioms, proverbs, and slang are
pervasive and interesting to study. Numbers are widely used to form such MEs as ‘a cat has nine lives’, ‘third time is charm’ and ‘to be
scattered to the four winds’. The present study investigates MENs in English and Persian within Al-Hasnawi's three-scheme cognitive
model (2007). The aims are twofold: (i) to identtify the extent of culture-specify in English and Persian metaphorical expressions of
numbers (hereafter MENs); (ii) to see how symbolic meaning of numbers is a determining factor in the construction of metaphorical
expressions. The findings show that, although a small number of ideas in domain of numbers are shared between Persian and English,
the majority of them are culture-bound and are thus filtered by symbolism, value and belief system of their host community.
Key words: Metaphorical Expressions of Numbers; Number symbolism; Cognitive Linguistics; Mapping Condition
1. Introduction
Humans have the ability to count and form numbers. Different peoples have over time employed many number systems.
Number words are a way to speak about numbers in speech. Any language has a set of number words for a finite set of
numbers (Allen et al., 2000).
Viewed symbolically, numbers represent more than quantities; they also have qualities (Zhang, 2007). As numbers
are an integral constituent of language, they are widely used to form metaphorical expressions such as ‘at sixes and
sevens’, ‘To be in seventh heaven’ and ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ in English and ‘hæšteš geruje noheše’ (his eight is
pawned for his nine; used when someone's income is not equal to his expenditure),‘je sær dare vâ hezâr sodâ’ (he has a
head and one thousand ; used when referring to a person who is so busy) in Persian. The main feature that characterizes
in these expressions is that the words are used metaphorically. During this process, numbers lose their surface meaning
under the influence of cultural and social factors.
Broadly speaking, metaphoricity is the main feature of all human language. In fact, any form of language is
nonexistent without metaphorical traits (Goalty, 1997). Arguably, metaphoric expressions have a relativistic nature and
are culture bound. New conceptions and mental structures are reflected in the creation of metaphors (Keranen, 2006).
Despite abundant studies on metaphoric expressions, it seems that idiomatic MEN's have been left unexplored in
many languages, including Persian. Focusing on the use of numbers in the construction of metaphorical expressions, this
paper sets out to scrutinize the role of symbolism in the construction of ME's and examine the differences between MENs
in English and Persian in the light of Al-Hasnawi's cognitive Model (2007). The main aim of the current study is to identify
the extent of culture-specificity in metaphorical mapping condition between English and Persian MENs, as well as how
the analysis of these MEs can contribute to the numerical symbolism.
2. Al-Hasnawi's Cognitive Model
According to Kovecses (2005) and Al-Hasnawi (2007), in the study of metaphorical expressions a researcher should
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consider two aspects, namely, mapping conditions and lexical implementations. Al-Hasnawi (2007) distinguishes between
three schematic models:
(i) Metaphors of similar mapping conditions and similar lexicalizations;
(ii) Metaphors of similar mapping conditions but different lexicalizations;
(iii) Metaphors of different mapping conditions and different lexicalizations.
The first set includes the universal ones which are shared by human experiences in the SL and TL culture. The second
set comprises those which are lexically different because of the cultural system in the languages concerned, but here the
SL metaphor and TL metaphor belong to the same conceptual domain. The last one includes culture-bound metaphors
whose mapping conditions and their lexical implementations are totally different.
3. Methodology and Data
The present study is a qualitative study in that the research questions have been answered through comparing and
contrasting MENs in English and Persian. In order to collect a body of data, the following English dictionaries were
examined: NTC's American Idiom Dictionary (Richard A. Spears, 2000), Idiom Dictionary (Laura Jeffcoat, 2009), and
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (Spears, 2006). Persian dictionaries such as Farhang-e-
Estelahat-e-Aamiyaneh (Glossary of Colloquial Expressions:Najafi, 2010), Amsal-o-Hekam-e-Dehkhoda (Idioms and
Proverbs: Dehkhoda, 1999) were also consulted. To investigate the cultural background underlying expressions,
Rishehaay-e-Taarikhiy-e-Amsaal-o-Hekam (Historical Roots of Dehkhoda's Idioms and Proverbs: Partivi Amolli, 1996)
and Jaygaah-e-Adaad dar Farhang-e Mardom-e Iran (The Significance of Numbers in Iran's Modern Culture:
Hassanzadeh, 2008) were used. It is worth mentioned to say that the intuitions of native speakers were consulted. Some
of the idioms had been constructed around symbolic meanings of numbers; therefore, number symbolism was also
investigated.
The data include MENs, both cardinal and ordinal, used by English and Persian speakers. Persian numbers include
jek(one), ævæl(first), do(tow), dovom(second), se(three), čâhâr(four), pændʒ(five), pændʒom(fifth), šeš(six),
hæft(seven), hæšt(eight), noh(nine), dæh(ten), jâzdæh(eleven), dævâzdæh(twelve), čâhârdæh(four-teen), bist(twenty),
čehel(forty), hæftâd(seventy), nævæd(ninty), sæd(one hundred), sisædo šæsto pændʒ (three hundred and sixty five) and
hezâr(one thousand). Most of the IENs in English had been constructed around these numbers: zero, one, first, two,
four, five, fifth, six, seven, seventh, eight, nine, ten, eleventh, nineteen, twenty two, forty, and a million.
3.1. Procedure
As the first phase of the study, the MENs in the aforementioned dictionaries and research works were picked out
manually. Given the fact that numbers play an important role in the construction of metaphorical expressions, we
categorized our data thus: English MENs and their Persian numerical counterparts (hereafter E+Num vs. P+Num);
English MENs and their Persian non-numerical counterparts (hereafter E+Num. vs. P- Num.); English MENs with no
Persian idiomatic counterparts (hereafter E+Num. vs. Zero P); Persian IENs and their English numerical counterparts
(hereafter P+Num vs. E+Num); Persian MENs and their English non-numerical counterparts (hereafter P+Num. vs. E-
Num.); and finally Persian MENs with no English idiomatic counterparts (hereafter P+Num. vs. Zero E). (See the Tables
in appendices).
Next, the numbers were examined symbolically and the cultural backgrounds underlying their metaphoric
significance were. Finally they were examined in the light of Al-Hasnawi's Cognitive Model (2007). It is worth while to note
that this model was applied to analyze the diversity in cognitive mappings and lexical implementations. Each Persian
idiomatic expression together with its English phonetic transcription (PT hereafter) and its English literal translation (LT
hereafter) were put in order (See Parvaresh, Tavangar and Eslami Rasekh, 2012 for phonetic transcription symbols in
Persian).
3.2. Analysis
3.2.1. Classification of Data
Metaphoric expressions are the prime vehicle of communication in many cultures. They are the reflection of a particular
way of thinking and behaving and also associated with nation's history and culture (Li, 2007; Parvaresh, Ghafel and
Eslami Rasekh, forthcoming). In line with this observation, in what follows we will cross-tabulate the data and explain the
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characteristics of each language that are manifested metaphoricity.
3.2.1.1. E+Num .vs. P+Num.
Numerical symbolism involves figurative suggestions emerging from the use of numbers. A symbol may have more than
one meaning and differ from metaphor in that it does not contain a comparison, but by virtue of association represent
something more than itself (Perrine, 1974). As our data shows, symbolism has a major role in the construction of
metaphoric expressions in each culture (Table 1). Number one is to be the best. ‘One’ also symbolizes the oneness and
uniqueness (look after number one). Two is the number of discord and conflict such as ‘sær e do râhi mândæn’, (to stay
at junction; used for a person who hesitates to decide about saying or doing something). Metaphoric expressions like
‘Two cats and a mouse, two wives in one house, two dogs and a bone, never agree in one’ in English and ‘xâneje râ ke
do kædbânust xâk tâ zânust’ (when there are two ladies in a house, your knees are in dust; used to show disagreement
and lack of unity between the two )Persian highlight conflict and lack of unity between. Number three combines numbers
one and two and signifies life and experience (John, 2008). It is birth, life and death; mind, body and soul; past, present
and future; it represent completeness in both English and Persian. There is a belief in Aryan mythology that events are
pending in number one and two and should be followed up by number three to be completed (Nooraghie,2008). It seems
that Persian expression like ‘tâ se næše bâzi næše’ (it does not play up to three) and English idiom ‘third time is charm’
are constructed around the symbolic meaning of three. Four is the number of square; the four elements are earth, fire,
water, and air. It is associated with the Earth and completeness. In Zoroastrian mythology of ancient Iran, four is the sign
of strength and coordination (www.ariaadib.com) and has influenced the formation of expressions such as ‘čâr sotune
bædæn sâlem budæn’( all the four pillars of your body are healthy). Four denotes stability, physical limitations, hard labor
and earthly things, as in the four corners of the earth or the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water) in English
According to Bible; God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Six represents balance, love, health and
also luck. According to Jalaloddin Kazaazi (www.ariyaadib.com) “all the universe phenomena are hexangular.” In this
context, ‘ræfiqe šeš dâng budæn’, (To have all the six parts of a tune friendship) and ‘šeš gušeje del râzi budæn’, (to be
satisfied with six corners of heart ; used when someone wants to be sure about complete agreement of the other
party)are some examples. Seven is a sacred number; it represents the union of divinity (number three) and earth
(number four). Each phase of the moon lasts seven days and there are seven days in a week. In Persian astrology,
number seven is the symbol of moral orientations, kindness, brightness, self-sacrificing, spiritual insight, and power. It is
in the harmony with life movement and is the cause of wisdom victory (Nooraghaie, 2008). For example, ‘dær hæft
âsemân jek setâreh hæm nædâræd’,(he does not have a star in seven heavens) epitomizes a person who is extremely
poor; metaphorically, ‘gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd’, (a cat has seven lives) is used when referring to a person who is so firmly
standing against deadly situations; hæft qælæm ârâješ kærdæn (To put on seven kinds of cosmetics) expresses
excessive make up; hæft xâne rostæm gozæštæn (To pass Rostam's1seven burdens), from mythological origin in
Shaahnameh's2, connotes a complicated and mind-boggling situation that one has to conquer; ‘hæftâ kæfæn
pusândæn’,(to spoil seven shrouds) conceptualizes a person who is dead for many years; and ‘hæft pâdešâh râ be xâb
didæn’, (to dream about seven kings) is used for a person who is fast asleep. Nine is a sacred number both in English
(e.g. I am on cloud nine). In Christian countries, especially North America, thirteen is an unlucky number because there
were thirteen people at the Last Supper. Stephan King wrote in his book "when I am reading, I will not stop on page 94,
page 193, page 382, et al. The digit of these numbers add up to 13 (13 An Unlucky Number, 2005).It is unlucky in
Persian too and people seek to avoid it. The metaphorical expression such as, “næhsije sizdæh gerefteš”, (unlucky
thirteen struck him; used when something bad happens for a person), highlights the point in Persian. Additionally, in the
streets and alleys of Iran you can see 12+1 as an alternative for house plaques because its residents want to stay away
from the unlucky thirteen. According to this folk belief, some airlines such as Iran Air do not have any row numbered
thirteen between.
All these usage indicate the influence of culture effect on the uses of language, and because of these differences, the
metaphorical images invoked in the metaphors are bound to be different. The following table shows some of these
metaphorical expressions.
Table 1: E+Num. versus P+Num Metaphorical Expressions
PT:gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd A person who is so firm standing against

1 A cat has nine lives
LT: a cat has seven lives deadly situations
2 A chance in a million PT:ehtemâle jek dær hezâr Something which is happened rarely
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LT: one in a thousand

3 A fox is not taken twice in PT: âdæme âgel æz je surâx do bâr it is unwise to commit the same mistake twice
the same snare gæzide nemiše
LT: a wise man is not bitten twice
from the same hole
4 A man can only die once PT: mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr Refer to the fact that dying can only be
LT: once death, once grief experienced
3.2.1.2. E+Num. vs P-Num.
People's experiences in their daily life may expedite the formation of metaphoric concepts. Some of these idiomatic
expressions imply the same meanings in the two cultures compared, but each culture may choose a different source
domain different to conceptualize the same concept. As Table 2 shows, there are cases in which English uses domain of
numbers in the construction of idioms whereas Persian uses other domains to imply the same meanings.
Table 2: E+Num. versus P-Num Metaphorical Expressions

PT:čo be moqe zæni bæxije(.)ze pâregi
A stitch in time saves nedʒât dehi bæqije Making small repair now is better
1 than making large repairs later.
nine LT: if you stitch in time, you save the
rest to be tore
PT: tu hæčæl oftâdæn A difficult position from which it is
2 Behind the eight ball
LT: to fall in difficuties unlikely one can escape.
A situation where a person who knows
In the country of the blind, PT:mæh dær šabe tire âftab æst nothing is getting advice and help from
3 the one-eyed man is a LT: in a dark night moon is like sunshine another person who knows almost
king nothing.
PT: šâhre mordeh A small, boring town where nothing
4 One-horse town
LT: the city of dead bodies much ever happens.
3.2.1. 3. Culture-Specific E.
Considering culture-specificity, Table 3 represents MENs in English that seem to not have any metaphoric equivalents in
Persian. Some experiences about things and environment around us are culture-specific. For instance, in the west the
use of intoxicated drinking is common (whereas in Iran using intoxicated drinking is against the law). As a consequence,
the idiomatic expression ‘one over the eight’ is constructed around the activity of drinking beer because, in the west-as
opposed to a country such as Iran, a man can safely drink eight glasses of beer.
Being in line with the above-mentioned descriptions, in unrelated cultures (English and Persian in our study) where
symbols, life conditions and models of representation are different, there are culture-bounding idiomatic expressions in
one culture that do not have idiomatic equivalents in the other. They are called “zero equivalents” (Gouws, 2002).
Table 3: E+Num. versus Zero Persian Metaphorical Expressions
1 Dressed up to nine To wear very smart or glamorous clothes.

2 Three sheets to the wind Refers to a person who is roaring drunk.
3 To be in seventh heaven To be extremely happy.
4 To be scattered on the four wind To go or to be sent to different places which are far away from each other?
As an example , “Dressed up to nine” is based on according to Albert Jack (2007), in the precious metal industry, the
finest gold and silver are never classified as 100 percent pure, but 99.99 percent; hence the finest metals are known as
"the nines". It is the beginning of 'being dressed up in your nines' that means wearing your finest jewelry. Further
evidence to support the emergence of this idiomatic expression lies in the archive of Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and
Wiltshire Regimental Museumin Salisbury. Queen Victoria's favorite regiment was the Wiltshire (Duck of Edinburgh's) 99th
Foot. Stationed at Aldershot, they were always chosen to guard the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, consequently becoming
known as "the Queen's pet." The officer dress-code included an unusual amount of gold lace on their uniforms; hence
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they were regarded as 'being dressed up in their nines' for their Royal duty (Jack, 2007).
Another interesting one is three sheets to the wind. It has a nautical origin. The sails of a tall ship were controlled by
rope (the rigging) and these ropes were – and still are – called ‘sheets’. Two sheets controlled each sail and the story is
that if one of the sheets wasn’t properly handled, then the other three (of the two sails) would be ‘to the wind’. The boat
would then be blown about from side to side and not under full control, much like a drunk trying to navigate his way home
(Jack, 2007).
Considering the abovementioned explanation, the formation of idioms of numbers is affected by different culture-
bound factors including symbolism, History, traditions, national events and people's experiences. In other words, the
implied meaning of idioms can be seen as motivated and not as arbitrary
3.2.1.4. P+Num. vs. E+Num.
Table 4 features Persian MENs with their English counterparts. Human beings share experiences like embodiment,
death, and so on. It is therefore common to have idiomatic expressions that are close to each other cognitively.
Considering death, for example, Persian speakers use ‘mærg jek bâr (.)šivæn jek bâr’, (once death, once grief; used)
and English ones use a man can only die once.
Table 4: P+Num. versus E+Num Metaphorical Expression

1 PT:gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd A person who is so firm standing
A cat has nine lives
LT: a cat has seven lives against deadly situations
2 PT: mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr Refer to the fact that dying can only be
A man can only die once
LT: once death, once grief experienced once.
3 PT: jek dæst sedâ nædâre One hand washes the You need each other to accomplish
LT: one hand does not make any sound other hand and together things; Cooperation leads to
they wash the face accomplishment
3.2.1.5. P+Num. vs. E-Num.
Table 5 presents Persian MENs with their non-numerical English counterparts. As it was mentioned before, People's daily
experience can be a source for the formation of idiomatic concepts. Having different living environments, social customs,
religious beliefs and historical allusions, English and Persian idiomatic expressions are loaded with the same meanings in
the two cultures, but each culture chooses a source domain different from the other one to conceptualize the same
concept. As is shown in Table 5, there are cases in which Persian uses numbers in the construction of idioms whereas
English uses other domains to imply the same meaning
Table 5: P+Num. versus E-Num Metaphorical Expressions

PT: ægær hæft doxtære kur dæšte bâšæd(.)jek To be so smart
sâ?te hæme râ šohær midehæd
1
LT: if he has seven blind girls, he will give them in Box clever
marriage within one hour
PT:dâr hæft âsemân(.) jek setâre nædâræd As poor as a church mouse ;He Extremely poor
2 LT: he does not have a star in all seven heaven does not have a penny to bless
himself with
PT: šeš dânge hævâs râ dʒæm? Kærdæn Keep your eyes peeled; wake up To stay alert or watchful
3
LT:To act according to all six parts of the brain and smell the coffee
3.2.1.6. Culture-Specific P
Looking at Table 6, one could establish that most of the data are constructed around some stories that happened in
ancient Persia. For instance, ‘hæmiše do gorto nimeš bâgist’ (To demand two gulps and a half more than others) refers to
Solomon, who asked God to give him all the power in the world. God accepted his request. Then he said God "I want to
feed all the creatures in the world for one meal." God tried to stop him and said “I am responsible for the creatures' food”,
but Solomon insisted on his request and God accepted finally. God sent Solomon's invitation to all his creatures and they
gathered for Solomon’s party. There was a huge fish among the creatures: “I have heard that you have a party. So give
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me my food” he said to Solomon. “There are a lot of foods here and you can eat whatever you need” said Solomon.
Suddenly the fish rushed to the foods and gulped all of them and said again "I am hungry. I need food." Solomon
wondered and asked “how much is your daily portion for food? You eat all the prepared food for the creatures. Are you
still hungry!?” “God give me, daily, three meals and in each meal a gallop of food” the monstrous fish said hungrily.
“Today in your party, I just eat half a gallop and two gallops and half are remained. You cannot feed a creature like me,
how can you feed all the creatures in the world?” he added. Solomon passed out and bowed down in front of God after
his recovery (Partovi Amoli, 1996).Today this expression lost its story and is used for those who are guilty but instead of
presenting their excuse, they expect others to take care of and cuddle them.
Table 6: P+Num. versus Zero English Metaphorical Expressions
Culture-Specific P Metaphorical Meaning
PT: bæ?d æz si sâl no ruz oftâd be šænbeh Refers to a situation when someone asks the other party to do
1 LT: after thirty years New Year came to Saturday something for him/her but he refuse they reject the request
although he can respond to the request.
PT:hæmiše do gorto nimeš bâgist Refers to a person who expects others to respect him more than
2
LT:to remind two gulps and half usual and he is not thankful.
PT:ræfiqe šeš dâng budæn
3
LT: To be a sixth share friend To be so friendly.
PT: šeš mâhe be donjâ âmædæn To be so impatient.
4
LT: to be born in six months
PT:næhsije sizdæh gerefteš Used when something bad happens for a person
5
LT: Unlucky thirteen struck him
3.2.2. Examining in Al-Hasnawi's Model
In linguistics, metaphorical expressions are motivated by conceptual structures that exist independently of language. In
other words, they are not arbitrarily combined strings of words but the products of our embedded encyclopedic knowledge
in our conceptual system (Kovecses, 2002). In this alignment, idioms are mostly metaphorical terms because they are the
product of our conceptual system.
In keeping the above mentioned discussion, idioms, proverbs and similes that have metaphoric and metonymic
motivations can be categorized under the individual level of metaphor. Hence, in the current study, the researchers have
applied Al-Hasnawi's Cognitive Model as a basic tool to examine the similarity or difference in their mapping conditions.
3.2.2.1. Metaphors of Similar Mapping Conditions and Similar Lexical Implementations
According to Emanatian (1995)“similarities in mapping conditions across diverse cultures could be labeled as pancultural
metaphorical expression which diverse from panhuman shareness of basic experience”(Emantian, 1995, as cited in Al-
hasnawi, 2007). The number of instances in this group is very few, since real-world experience is common to most
individual cultures. Each culture represents symbols, life conditions and models of experiences, priorities, and
assumptions differently. The following table shows English MENs in this group:
Table 7: Similar Mapping Conditions and Similar Lexical Implementations
1 Back to square PT:bærgæšt sære xuneje ævæl To start from the beginning again.
one LT: Back to the first square
2 Two-faced PT: do ru budæn To be hypocritical; someone who is not sincere,
LT: to be a two-faced person saying unpleasant things about you to other people
while seeming to be pleasant when they are with you.
3.2.2.2. Metaphors of Similar Mapping Conditions but Different Lexical Implementations
Although the English metaphoric expressions and their Persian counterparts in Table 8 are related to the domain of
numerical concepts, the ethical system in Persian led to differences in lexical choice. For example, English speakers use
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‘a cat has nine lives’ to connote a person who is so firm standing in against deadly situations whereas Persian speakers
use ‘seven’ instead of ‘nine’ and say ‘gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd’,(a cat has seven lives)to convey the same meaning .
Table 8: Similar Mapping Conditions but different Lexical Implementations

A person who is so firm
PT:gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd
1 A cat has nine lives standing against deadly
LT: a cat has seven lives
situations.
One swallow does not make PT:bâ jek gol bæhâr nemiše Advising someone to err on the
2
a Summer LT: one flower does not make Spring side of caution.
PT: se pælæšt âjædo zæn zâjædo mehmâne A situation characterized by
æziz âjæd confusing, engrossing, or
3 Three-ring circus
LT: three people come; lady delivers the child ; amusing activity.
and dear guest come
Two cats and a mouse, two PT: xâneji râ ke do kædbânust(.)xâk tâ zânust When two people are
wives in one house, two LT: when there are two ladies in a house, your responsible to do the same job
4
dogs and a bone , never knees are in dust they never agree with each
agree in one other.
3.2.2.3. Metaphors of Different Mapping Conditions and Different Lexical Implementations
A rather different perception of the world has led to the absence of equivalent terms and language differences in terms
and lexical gaps. For example, in number 4, ‘talk nineteen to the dozen’, which means acting very quickly, dates back to
the 18th century coal-fire in which that steam-driven pumps were used to clear water out of Cornish tin and copper mines.
Hand-powered pumps were slow and ineffective but at full power the steam version could clear 19,000 gallons of water
for every dozen bushels of coal burned (Jack, 2007). That is how the expression became used, but today it also refers to
speaking very quickly. In this case, Persian speakers used machine gun ‘mesle mosælsæl hærf zædæn’, (to talk as like
as machine gun) to conceptualize the speaker's quickness in speech. A machine gunner fires continuously (see Table 9).
Table 9: Different Mapping Conditions and different Lexical Implementations (English)

1
A difficult position from which it is
Behind the eight ball PT: tu hæčæl oftâdæn
unlikely one can escape.
LT: to fall in difficulties
2 A situation where a person who knows
In the country of the blind, PT:mæh dær šabe tire âftab æst nothing is getting advice and help from
the one-eyed man is a king LT: in a dark night moon is like sunshine another person who knows almost nothing.
3 PT: šâhre mordeh A small, boring town where nothing much

One-horse town
LT: the city of daed ever happens.
4 PT: mesle mosæsæl hærf mizæne To speak very quickly.
Talk nineteen to the dozen
LT: to talk as like as machine gun
Put differently, some Persian concepts in general have lexical implementations which are distinct from their English
counterparts but imply the same idea in both languages (see Table 10).Different perception of the world has led to the
absence of equivalent terms in these two categories. Some of them refer to special events that took place in an individual
culture. Some are constructed around historical or religious events that were identified in a special community of
speakers.
Table 10: Different Mapping Conditions and different Lexical Implementations (Persian)
1 PT:hæmiše hæšteš gerove noheše Feel the pinch To be poor; to have low
LT:his eight is pawned for his nine income
2 PT: jek dænde budæn To be as stubborn as a mule Mulish person

LT: to have just one gear
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3 PT:dâr hæft âsemân(.) jek setâre nædâræd As poor as a church mouse; He Extremely poor
LT: he does not have a star in all seven heaven does not have a penny to bless
himself with
4 PT: šeš dânge hævâs râ dʒæm? Kærdæn Keep your eyes peeled; wake up To be careful and certain
LT: To act according to all six parts of the brain and smell the coffee about people or things
Examples in Tables 9 and 10 confirm Wierzbicka's claim (cited in Al-Hasnawi, 2007) that "it is through the vocabulary of
human languages that we can discover and identify the culture specific conceptual characteristics of different people of
the world." The socio-cultural beliefs and attitudes of a specific culture can be observed in these categories (English and
Persian data), clearly. For instance in number 3, ‘dær hæft âsemân jek setâre nædâræd’, (he does not have a star in
seven heavens) emerged from a religious belief. According to Muslims, there are seven heavens, each of which relating
to one of the seven planets ruling the universe (Jack, 2007). This metaphoric expression is used to describe a poverty-
stricken person. Its metaphoric equivalence in English first appeared in the 17th century. Originally it was “hungry as a
church mouse" because a mouse that was so unluckily to live in church would find no food there. Churches in the 1600s
had no kitchens to cook meals and no pantries to store food. A smart mouse would take up residence in the cellar of a
house, restaurant or grocery store. As years went by, ‘hungry’ was changed to ‘poor’ and the idiom became popular in
many countries (www.dictionary.reference.com).
The comparison between English and Persian idiomatic expressions of numbers revealed that the construction of
idiomatic expressions of numbers obey a psycholinguistic process during which the speaker refers to his/her experiences,
social beliefs, and cultural knowledge and attitudes, and transforms them to linguistic manifestations. As the data show,
this manifestation is more culture-oriented rather than universal.
4. Conclusion
The relation between culture and language is quite entwined, the latter being an important feature of the former, and each
affects the other one. Metaphoric expressions are colorful language used to communicate one's thoughts and feelings, to
give life and richness to language by taking the existing words, combining them in a new sense and creating new
meanings, just like a work of art (Lenung,2008).
Numbers, both in English and Persian, have formed a large part of metaphorical expressions. In different cultural
backgrounds (English and Persian in our study), they are endowed with different cultural connotations. According to
Keranen (2006) “new conceptions and mental structures of the world are reflected in the creation of metaphorical
expressions”. The pattern of language usage in Persian is different to a large extent from English and vice versa. This
observation seems to support Jandt's proposal “that language provides the conceptual categories that influence how its
speakers' perceptions are encoded and stored” (Jandt, 2004, as quoted in Lee, 2005).
From analyzing MENs, both in English and Persian, and their metaphoric counterparts in the languages concerned,
the researchers came to realize that the metaphorical expressions that are related to numbers echo specific beliefs held
by a particular culture. They are connected with traditions, customs, beliefs and events belonging to a culture. Each
culture is more oriented toward using its ethical system in the construction of idioms of numbers.
Considering cognitive mapping conditions; the data indicate that cultural cognition about the numbers within different
cultures plays a key role in cross-cultural variations.
Given the widespread role of idiomatic expressions in successful communication, whether in listening, speaking,
reading or writing, an increasing familiarity with this cultural distinction enhances researchers, translators and second
language learners' understanding that, despite their universal characters, numbers can have a different value in different
cultures.
Acknowledgment
I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my friend Arash Nooraghaei who provided me his valuable book Number,
Symbol and Myth; and Dr. Parvaresh at University of Isfahan for his critical reading of this article
Notes:
1. Rostam is the symbol of power, bravery, and resistance in Shaahnaameh.
2. Shaahnaameh is a famous Persian epic book.
394
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Appendices
Table 1: Similar Mapping Condition and Different Lexical Implementation

E+Num. P+Num. Metaphorical Meaning
1 A cat has nine lives PT:gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd A person who is so firm standing against
LT: a cat has seven lives deadly situations.
2 A chance in a million PT:ehtemâle jek dær hezâr Something which is happened rarely.
3 A man can only die once PT: mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr Refer to the fact that dying can only be
LT: once death, once grief experienced.
4 Back to square one PT:bærgæšt sære xuneje ævæl To start from the beginning again.
LT: to return to the first square
5 He does not have a penny PT:dâr hæft âsemân(.) jek setâre Poverty.
to bless himself with nædâræd
LT: he does not have a star in seven
heaven
6 In two minds PT: do del budæn You have difficulty deciding what to do.
LT: In two hearts
7 Nine times out of ten PT:sâli sisædo šæsto pændʒ ruz Absolutely always.
LT: to happen each year and three
hundred and five days
8 On all four PT:čâhâr dæsto pâ To be down on hands and knees.
LT: four hands and feet
9 One hand washes the PT: jek dæst sedâ nædâre You need each other to accomplish things;
other hand and together LT: one hand does not make any Cooperation leads to accomplishment
they wash the face sound
10 One swallow does not PT:bâ jek gol bæhâr nemiše Advising someone to err on the side of
395
make a Summer LT: one flower does not make Spring caution.
11 Three-ring circus PT: se pælæšt âjædo zæn zâjædo A situation characterized by confusing,
mehmâne æziz âjæd engrossing, or amusing activity.
LT: three people come; lady delivers
the child ; and dear guest comes
12 Two cats and a mouse, PT: xâneji râ ke do kædbânust(.)xâk tâ When two people are responsible to do
two wives in one house, zânust the same job they never agree with each
two dogs and a bone , LT: when there are two ladies in a other.
never agree in one house, your knees are in dust
13 Two-faced PT: do ru budæn To be hypocritical; someone who is not
LT: to be a two-faced person sincere, saying unpleasant things about
you to other people while seeming to be
pleasant when they are with you.
14 Third time is charm PT: tâ se næše(.)bâzi næše This is used when the third time one tries
LT: It does not play up to three something, one achieves a successful
outcome.
15 Never in a million years PT:tâ sæd sale dige hæm nemifæhmi Absolutely never.
LT: to not understand till one hundred
years
Table 2: Different Mapping Condition and Different Lexical Implementation
E+Num. P-Num. Metaphorical Meaning
1 A stitch in time saves nine PT:čo be moqe zæni bæxije(.)ze pâregi making small repair now is better than
nedʒât dehi bæqije making large repairs later.
LT: if you stitch in time, you save the
rest to be tore
2 Behind the eight ball PT: tu hæčæl oftâdæn A difficult position from which it is
LT: to fall in difficulties unlikely one can escape.
3 In the country of the blind, the PT:mæh dær šabe tire âftab æst A situation where a person who knows
one-eyed man is a king LT: in a dark night moon is like nothing is getting advice and help from
sunshine another person who knows almost
nothing.
4 One-horse town PT: šâhre mordeh A small, boring town where nothing
LT: the city of dead much ever happens.
5 Talk nineteen to the dozen PT: mesle mosæsæl hærf mizæne To speak very quickly.
LT: to talk as like as machine gun
6 To be on cloud nine PT: az xošhâli bâl dærâværdæn To be very happy because something
LT: Gladly he grows wings wonderful has happened.
7 Two left feet PT: dæsto pâ dær hæm pičidæn To be clumsy or awkward in movements.
LT: twisting the hand and leg
Table 3: Culture Specific English Idiomatic Expressions with Numbers
Culture-Specific E Metaphorical Meaning
1 Four –square behind To give a person a full support.

2 At sixes and sevens To be in a state of confusion or not very well organized.
3 Catch twenty-two A frustrating situation where people need to do one thing before doing the
second, and they cannot do the second before the first..
4 Dressed up to nine To wear very smart or glamorous clothes.
5 It takes two tango Difficult situation or argument cannot be the fault of one person alone.
6 One over the eight Slightly drunk.
7 Three sheets to the wind Refers to a person who is roaring drunk.
8 To be in seventh heaven To be extremely happy.
9 To be scattered on the four wind To go or to be sent to different places which are far from each other.
396
Table 4: Similar Mapping Condition but Different Lexical Implementation
P+Num. E+Num Metaphorical Meaning
1 PT:ehtemâle jek dær hezâr A chance in a million Something which is happened rarely
2 PT: bâ jek gol bæhâr nemiše One swallow does not make a Advising someone to err on the side of
LT: one flower does not make Spring Summer caution.
3 PT:bærgæštæn sære xuneje ævæl Back to square one To start something from the beginning again
LT: To back to the first square
4 PT: tâ se næše bâzi næše Third time is charm This is used when the third time one tries
LT: It does not play up to three something, one achieves a successful
outcome
5 PT:tâ sæd sale dige hæm nemifæhmi Never in a million years Absolutely never
LT: to not understand till one hundred
years
6 PT:čâhâr dæsto pâ On all four On hands and knees.
LT: four hands and feet
7 PT: xâneji râ ke do kædbânust(.)xâk tâ Two cats and a mouse, two When two people are responsible to do the
zânust wives in one house, two dogs same job they never agree with each other.
LT: when there are two ladies in a house, and a bone , never agree in one
your knees are in dust
8 PT:dâr hæft âsemân(.) jek setâre He does not have a penny to He is poor
nædâræd bless himself with
LT: he does not have a star in seven
heavens
9 PT: do del budæn In two minds You have difficulty deciding what to do
LT: In two hearts
10 PT: do ru budæn Two-faced To be hypocritical; someone who is not
LT: to be a two-faced person sincere, saying unpleasant things about you
to other people while seeming to be pleasant
when they are with you
11 PT: se pælæšt âjæd o zæn zâjæd o Three-ring circus A situation characterized by confusing,
mehmâne æziz âjæd engrossing, or amusing activity.
LT: three person come; lady delivers the
child; and dear guest comes
12 PT:gorbe hæft dʒân dâræd A cat has nine lives A person who is so firm standing against
LT: a cat has seven lives deadly situations
13 PT: mærg jek bâr šivæn jek bâr A man can only die once Refer to the fact that dying can only be
LT: once death, once grief experienced once.
14 PT: jek dæst sedâ nædâre One hand washes the other hand You need each other to accomplish things;
LT: one hand does not make any sound and together they wash the face Cooperation leads to accomplishment
Table 5: Different mapping Condition and Different Lexical Implementation
P+Num. E-Num. Metaphorical Meaning
1 PT: âšpæz ke do tâ šod âš jâ šur miše jâ bi næmæk Too many cooks spoil the broth Too many people who try to
LT: two chefs make the pottage sour or insipid take charge at a task , the end
product might be ruined
2 PT: ægær hæft doxtære kur dæšte bâšæd(.)jek sâ?te To be so smart
hæme râ šohær midehæd
LT: if he has seven blind girls, he will give them in Box clever
marriage within one hour
3 PT:dâr hæft âsemân(.) jek setâre nædâræd As poor as a church mouse ;He does Extremely poor
LT: he does not have a star in all seven heaven not have a penny to bless himself with
4 PT: šeš dânge hævâs râ dʒæm? Kærdæn Keep your eyes peeled; wake up and To be careful and certain
LT: To act according to all six parts of the brain smell the coffee about people or things
397
5 PT:sæd tâ čâqu besâze(.)jekiš dæste nædâre All talk and no trousers A person who is not
LT: if he makes one hundred knives, one won't has a trustworthy; a person who
handle talks about doing big,
important thing, but does not
tack any action
6 PT: kæsi râ be čâhâr mix kešidæn Pin someone down to get specific information from
LT: to nail someone on four nails someone
7 PT: hæft xæt budæn Crooked as a dog's hind leg A deceitful person; very
LT: to be a seven-lined person dishonest
8 PT:hæmiše hæšteš gerove noheše Feel the pinch To be poor ; to have low
LT:his eight is pawned for his nine income
9 PT: jek dænde budæn To be as stubborn as a mule Mulish person

LT: to have just one gear
10 PT: jeki be do kærdæn At each other's throats Attacking each other;
LT: To argue over one and two disagreeing aggressively
Table 6: Culture-specific Persian Idiomatic Expressions with Numbers
Culture-Specific P Metaphorical Meaning
1 PT: bæ?d æz si sâl no ruz oftâd be šænbeh Refers to a situation when someone asks the other party to do
LT: after thirty years New Year came to Saturday something for him/her but he refuse they reject the request
although he can respond to the request.
2 PT:hæmiše do gorto nimeš bâgist Refers to a person who expects others to respect him more than
LT:to remind two gulps and half usual and he is not thankful.
3 PT:ræfiqe šeš dâng budæn
LT: To be a sixth share friend To be so friendly.
4 PT: šeš mâhe be donjâ âmædæn To be so impatient.
LT: to be born in six months
5 PT:šælvâre mærd ke do tâ šod(.) be fekre zæne Used when someone becomes wealthier and decided to change
dovom mioftæd things to better ones
LT: if man has two pants, he will be thinking
about marriage for the second time
6 PT: gave noh mæn šir deh A person who wastes his good performances with a wrong action.
LT: a cow with nine pounds of milk
7 PT: mâhe šæbe čâhârdæh budæn To be so beautiful (used for women).
LT: to be the moon of fourteenth night (full moon)
8 PT:masnavije hæftâd mæn kâqæz æst A piece of writing which is so long.
LT: A book with seventy pounds of paper
9 PT: morq mæn jek pâ dâre To insist on a matter without changing opinion.
LT: my chicken has one leg
10 PT: hæft tâ kæfæn pusândæn Refers to the death of someone for many years ago metaphorically.
LT: to spoil seven shrouds
11 PT:hæft xâne rostæm râ tej kærdæn To reach to the goal by solving complicated problems and conquer
LT: To pass seven Rostam's burdens difficulties
12 PT: hæft qælæm ârâješ kærdæn To use a lot of make-up
LT: To put on seven cosmetics
13 PT: jek sib râ ke bâlâ bendâzi hezâr čærx mixore Our life conditions always change
LT: if you throw up one apple , it will spin
thousand times
14 PT: jek mæviz o čel gælændær Small amount of things or money that must be used for a lot of
LT: one raisin and forty dervish people
398
Exchange Rate Volatility and Economic Growth In Nigeria
Oyovwi O. Dickson
Economics Department
College of Education, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Email: doyovwi@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p399
Abstract This study seeks to evaluate the effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria on the basis of annual data
from 1970 to 2009. A review of the literature reveals that exchange rate volatility can have either positive or negative effect on economic
growth. The empirical analysis began with testing for stationarity of the variables by applying the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF). This
was followed by co-integration test of the model. The unit root test results show that all variables except exchange rate volatility were
integrated at order one, that is I(1) while exchange rate volatility is integrated at order zero that is I(O). Also, co-integration analysis
indicated that variables are co-integrated. Employing the Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) technique
to generate exchange rate volatility, the relationship between exchange rate volatility and economic growth was estimated. Findings
further show that in the short run, economic growth is positively responsive to exchange rate volatility while in the long run, a negative
relationship exist between the two variables. The long run result also indicate that increase in oil price depress economic growth in
Nigeria. Thus, the income effect of rising oil price is not felt while the output effect is evidenced in factory closure and re-location to
neighbouring countries. The study recommends control of import content of both public and private expenditure, greater diversification of
the economy through investment in key productive sectors of the economy to guard against the vicissitude exchange rate volatility. Also,
domestic refining of crude oil to avoid the current massive importation and in the short run, we recommend the legalisation of the refining
activities in the creeks to supplement the existing refineries in the country.
Keywords: exchange rate, Nigeria, FDI, economic growth, GDP.
1. Introduction
Initially, exchange rate as a factor did not feature in the analysis of economic growth. It did not feature in first generation
neoclassical growth model Solow 1957 and Rostow 1960 (as contained in Todaro and Smith 2004) which focused on
savings and investment. The fact that they were closed economy models dictated that there is no role for exchange rate
or exchange rate volatility.
However, a variant of the neoclassical counter revolution - liberalization of national market - that propelled export
led growth gave exchange rate prominence. Thus the use of exchange rate as an incentive to shift resources into export
sector became a policy of interest as a way of boosting national income.
Post exchange rate consideration studied the impact of exchange rate volatility on growth. This literature seeks to
establishment that exchange rate volatility discourages trade and investment, which are important for growth. Exchange
rate volatility refers to short term fluctuation in exchange rate. These fluctuations could be positive or negative and it
stems primarily from flexible exchange rate regime.
Flexible exchange rate that followed the collapse of the Bretton Wood system brought to the fore worries by
economists and policy makers about the effect of exchange rate volatility on economic growth. Theoretical and empirical
work on the subject has produced mixed results. The paper seeks to analyse the effect of exchange rate volatility on
economic growth in Nigeria. Similar studies have also been carried out like Aliyu (2009), Akpan (2008), Ogunleye (2008),
Obiora and Igue (2006) Alaba (2003) Adubi and Okumadewa (1999) Egwaikhide (1999) e t c. Aliyu (2009) for instance,
studied the impact of oil price shock and exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria, Obiora and Igue (2006)
investigated the likely effects of exchange rate volatility on U.S – Nigeria trade flows, while Ogunleye (2008) and Alaba
(2003) focused on exchange rate volatility and foreign direct investment in Nigeria. Despite these efforts, volatility in
exchange rate still persists. Could the persistence of the problem due to inappropriate policies or gaps in the studies
already carried out? This is one specific goal of this study. This study departs from the above studies because it focuses
on exchange rate volatility and economic growth from 1970 to 2009 using annual data. It has wider coverage in addition
to using a measure of exchange rate volatility. The remainder of the paper is organized thus: the next section is on review
of literature and it is followed by the method of study. Section four is data presentation and analysis while the last section
summarizes and concludes the study.
399
A major goal of macroeconomic policy is rapid economic growth in a country. Economic growth is measured in terms of
persistent growth in national income which translates to increase in the amount of goods and services produced in an
economy. Growth is said to occur when a country’s productive capacity is on the increase Akpan (2008). Production of
goods and services involve exports and imports which in turn involves transactions in foreign exchange. Exchange rate in
post Bretton Wood System has been characterized by instability and this has raised concern about its effect on economic
growth.
The effects of exchange rate volatility on growth, seen as a comprehensive measure of the benefits and costs of
exchange rate stabilization can be x-rayed through international trade (imports/exports), foreign direct investment, credit
flow, and asymmetric shock, some of the most important transmission channels from exchange rate volatility on growth
Arratibel, Furceri, Martin and Zdzienicka (2009). Previous research on the impact of exchange rate stability on growth
has tended to find weak evidence in favour of a positive impact of exchange rate stability on growth. For large country
samples such as by Ghosh, Gulde and Wolf (2003) there is weak evidence that exchange rate stability affects growth in a
positive or negative way.
The panel estimations for more then 180 countries by Edwards and Levy-Yeyati (2003) fund evidence that countries
with more flexible exchange rates grow faster. Eichengrean and Leblang (2003) reveal a strong negative relationship
between exchange rate stability and growth for 12 countries over a period of 120 years. They concluded that the result of
such estimations strongly depend on the time period and the sample.
Mckinnon and Schnabl (2003) argue for the small open East Asian economics, that the fluctuations of the Japanese
yen against the U.S. dollars strongly affected the growth performance of the whole region. They identified trade with
Japan as crucial transmission channel. Before 1995, the appreciation of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollars
enhanced the competitiveness of the smaller East Asian economies who kept the exchange rate in the region
accelerated. The strong depreciation of the yen against the dollar from 1995 into 1997 slowed growth, contributing to the
1997/98 Asian crises.
Although the short term and long term swings of exchange rates can strongly affect the growth performance of
open economies through the trade channel, the empirical evidence in favour of a systematic positive or negative affect
effect of exchange rate stability on trade (and thereby growth) has remained mixed (IMF 1984, European Commission
1990). Bacchetta and Van Wincoop (2000) fund that exchange rate stability is not necessarily associated with more trade.
From a short term perspective, fixed exchange rate can foster economic growth by a more efficient international
allocation of capital when transaction costs for capital flows are removed. From a long term angle, fluctuations in the
exchange rate level constitute a risk to growth in emerging market economies as they affect the balance sheet of banks
and enterprises where foreign debts tend to be denominated in foreign currency Eichengreen and Hausmann (1999). The
case of Commerce Bank of Nigeria buttress this when the then NERFUND Loans were given out in 1995. High
depreciation inflates the liabilities in terms of domestic currency, thereby increasing the probability default and crises. In
debtor country with highly dollarized financial sector, the incentive to avoid sharp exchange rate fluctuations is stronger
Chmelarova and Schnabl (2006). Maintaining the exchange rate at a constant level or preventing sharp depreciation is
equivalent to maintaining growth McKinnon and Schnabl (2004).
There are different indicators to measure the performance of growth of an economy. This study focuses on the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). Also, large numbers of macroeconomic variables affect economic growth beside exchange rate
volatility which will be considered to increase the fit of the model. Based on the theoretical background, this study will
estimate the following relationship:
GDP = f(EVAT, FDI, FTB, OP, RES, MS, INR, INF) ......................(1)
Where:
GDP: Real Gross Domestic Product, EVAT is exchange rate volatility, FDI is foreign direct investment, FTB is foreign
trade balance, OP is international oil price, OPN is international oil price in naira, RES is external reserve, MS is money
supply, INR is interest rate, INF is inflation rate.
* All variables are in their log form
400
The linear approximation of the functional form of the model as expressed below:
GDP = 0 + 1EVAT + 2FDI + 3FTB + 4OP + 5RES + 6MS + 7INR + 8INF + Ut ………………(2)
Annual data from 1970-2009 shall be used for all variable. This is informed by the fact that for most developing countries,
data are available on yearly basis. For this reason, volatility measures are derived from yearly averages of monthly
exchange rate changes Schnabl (2007). To avoid the problem of multicorrelearity and to bring the variables to the same
scale, given that some are in millions and others in percentages, we opt for the log-model as given below:
LogGDP = 0 + 1LogEVAT + 2LogFDI + 3LogFTB + 4LogOP + 5LogRES + 6LogMS + 7LogIR + 8LogINF + Ut ........(3)
1 > 0; 2 > 0; 3 > 0; 4 > 0; 5 > 0; 6 > 0; 7 < 0; 8 < 0 <
The above sign  > 0, implies a positive relationship between GDP and the explanatory variables, while the sign  < 0,
indicate negative relationship. All the explanatory variables are expected to be positive related, interest and inflation while
exchange rate volatility is indeterminate. The variable (interest) is expected to be negative for the following reasons. In
Nigeria, the performance of manufacturing sub-sector has been hindered by high interest rates. Economic theory states
that when there is an increase in money stocks people have excess money balances, they used the money balance to
buy financial assets with the view that the prices of such financial assets will rise. Such a rise in the price of bonds is
equivalent to a fall in the rate of interest and this will lead to a rise in investment and increase in the industrial production
which leads to improvement in GDP.
With the formulated model above, we will carry out estimations of the model, using the Autoregressive Conditional
Heteroskedasticity (ARCH) and GARCH model. We tested for stationarity of the series using the Augmented Dickey
Fuller (ADF) and Phillip Perron (PP) procedures. All these tests are based on the series in equations as presented below:
m
Δyt = αyt-1 + Σ β Δyt-1 + δ + γt + εt (for levels) .................................(4)
i=1
m
ΔΔyt = αΔyt-1 + ∑ βt ΔΔyt-1 + δ + γt + εt (for first difference) ..............(5)
i=1
Where:
Δy are the first differences of the series, m is the number of lags and t is the time.
4. Presentation and interpretation of results
An econometric regression is carried out. In this study, we estimated the model equations using the (ML-ARCH -
GARCH) normal distribution method, in order to capture the z-statistic. Before estimating the ARCH-GARCH, we test for
variables stationary using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root, also we test for the co-integration using the
Johansen’s co-integration test that yields the log likelihood estimates for the unconstrained co-integration vectors, and
establishes the error correction model (ECM).The Augmented Dickey –Fuller unit root test results are reported in the
table below:
Table 1: Summary of Results of Unit Root Tests
Order Of
Series Prob. Integration ADF t-stat Max Lag Obs
D(EXR(-1)) 0.0003 I(1) -5.556079 1 38
EXV(-1) 0.0002 I(0) -5.739252 1 39
D(INF(-1)) 0.0000 I(1) -6.203716 1 37
D(INR(-1)) 0.0000 I(1) -6.993011 1 37
D(LOGFDI(-1)) 0.0001 I(1) -6.158176 1 37
401
D(LOGFTB(-1)) 0.0000 I(1) -7.010575 1 38

D(LOGMS(-1)) 0.0083 I(1) -4.291317 1 38
D(LOGOPN(-1)) 0.0000 I(1) -6.711831 1 38
D(LOGRES(-1)) 0.0000 I(1) -6.514290 1 38
D(LOGRGDP(-1)) 0.0001 I(1) -6.058054 1 38
Test critical values: 1% level -4.219126

5% level -3.533083
10% level -3.198312
Source: Computed by author using E-View 7.0
From the ADF test statistics, the results show that EXR, INF, INR, FDI, FTB,MS, OPN,RES, and GDP were integrated at
order one, that is I(1) or they were stationary at first difference. Comparing the variables levels with their first difference
(the ADF unit root test statistic) and various probabilities, the test statistics show that the variables are integrated at order
of one. All the variables were statistically significant at 1%, 5% and 10% critical values in first difference. Except for EXV
integrated at order zero.
From the results in the above tables’ summary, there is an existence of unit root. This implies that all the series are
non stationary at levels except one. Therefore the null hypothesis (  = 1) is accepted at levels and the null hypothesis
(  = 1) that the series are non stationary after the first and second difference is rejected for all the series except one the
EXV. For the random walk above, there are unit roots, so it is an I(1)series. We therefore concluded that the series are of
order one I(1) except one. These are MacKinnon critical values for the rejection of hypothesis of a unit root. Next we look
for the short-term linear relationship using the (ML-ARCH - GARCH) normal distribution method, and possible existence
of a cointegrating relationship among the variables.
The result of the empirical analysis with respect to gross domestic product (GDP), which is our proxy for economic
growth, is presented in the table below:
Table 2: Summary of GARCH Results
Variables Coefficient Std. Error z-Statistic Prob.
C 5.98799 2.70926 2.21019 0.0271

EXV 0.00009 0.00139 0.61428 0.5390
D(LOGFDI) -0.37575 0.10857 -3.46075 0.0005
D(LOGFTB) 0.03165 0.18367 0.17230 0.8632
D(LOGOPN) 0.34939 0.41211 0.84780 0.3965
D(LOGRES) -0.30171 0.15066 -2.00268 0.0452
D(LOGMS) 0.86136 0.29058 2.96432 0.0030
D(IR) 0.01795 0.03010 0.59632 0.5510
D(INF) 0.00501 0.00791 0.63328 0.5265
AR(1) 0.46975 0.21065 2.22997 0.0257
Std0  Std2-9
R-squared 0.921154 Mean dependent var 11.90168
Adjusted R-squared 0.875161 S.D. dependent var 1.418918
S.E. of regression 0.51340 Sum squared resid 6.032201
Durbin-Watson Statistics 2.012614 F-Statistics 20.02801
402
A look at the regression result in table 2 above indicate partial conformity of the result with our apriori expectation, the
coefficients of EXV, FTB, OPN and MS present the apriori expected signs with MS being significant. Foreign direct
investment (FDI), external reserve (RES), IR and INF are not rightly signed, however, FDI and RES are significant. As
evidenced by the above result, gross domestic product is positively responsive to exchange rate volatility and it is in
conformity with the theory that postulates that exchange rate volatility may affect growth positively or negatively (Cerra,
Panizza and Saxena 2009, Furceri and Zdzienicka 2009), though statistically insignificant in explaining variation in
dependent variable, and as such the null hypothesis is accepted. This corroborates Levine and Carkovic (2001) study on
the effect of exchange rate volatility on growth in seventy-three countries. They concluded that the effect of exchange rate
volatility is hidden in other variables (pushing up the interest rate, which indirectly reduces investment, tax revenues,
economic growth, and the ability of exporters to produce and sell goods abroad).
Also, the insignificance of oil price in the short run analysis is an indication that the over reliance of the Nigerian
Government on revenue from oil to generate desired level of economic growth has not produced the desired result. This
is not surprising however, due to the non-utilization of the proceeds from crude oil sales to develop the key sectors of the
economy –manufacturing, mining, agriculture etc – has slowed the pace of economic growth.
Further more, an examination of the result shows a good fit in terms of the standard error of the parameters (Std0
 Std1-8 ), which indicate a non-negative constant term for economic growth no matter the changes in the independent
variables and apriori expectation and statistical significance of the explanatory variables.
The z-statistics, which is computed as the ratio of an estimated coefficient to its standard error is used to test the
hypothesis that a coefficient is equal to zero. To test our hypothesis, we used the probability (p-value) of observing the z-
statistics given that the coefficient is equal to zero. For this study, we are performing the test at the 1%, 5% and 10%
significance level, that is a p-value that ranges between 0.00 -0.10 are taken as evidence to reject the null hypothesis of a
zero coefficient. From the result of the estimated model, the probability value for foreign direct investment (FDI), external
reserve (RES) and money supply (MS) ranges between 0.00 and 0.05. Thus, we therefore reject the null hypothesis and
accept the alternative hypothesis. The result showed that two variables that fell short of the apriori expectation (FDI and
External Reserve), are significant at 1% and 5% respectively. While money supply, is significant at 5% level.
The R2 , value is of 0.9212. The variables in the regression equation explain 92 percent of all variation in economic
growth (GDP) in Nigeria for the period 1970 to 2009. The F-statistics with a value of 20.03 revealed that the explanatory
variables are important factors to be considered in explaining changes in gross domestic product.
The Durbin-Watson (DW) test statistic (d*) shows the absence of first order serial correlation between the error
terms. From the result d* is greater than 2, that is 2.012614 > 2. We therefore accept the null hypothesis (H0), which says
that there is no positive autocorrelation of the errors’ terms; we reject the alternative hypothesis (H1), which says that
there is positive weak autocorrelation of the errors’ terms.
4.1. Analysis of Co integration Test Results
The summary of the Johansen’ co integration tests are presented below in Table 3 and the comprehensive results are
presented in Appendix
Table 3 A Summary of Johansen Co integration Test
Unrestricted Cointegration Rank Test (Trace)
Hypothesized 0.05
No. of CE(s) Eigenvalue Trace Statistic Critical Value Prob.**
None * 0.993733 533.2392 179.5098 0.0000

At most 1 * 0.982849 345.5582 143.6691 0.0000
At most 2 * 0.895614 195.1281 111.7805 0.0000
At most 3 * 0.712146 111.5208 83.93712 0.0001
At most 4 * 0.488387 65.44461 60.06141 0.0164
403
At most 5 * 0.445919 40.64766 40.17493 0.0448

At most 6 0.265296 18.80121 24.27596 0.2099
At most 7 0.156298 7.394570 12.32090 0.2875
At most 8 0.029455 1.106219 4.129906 0.3409
Trace test indicates 6 cointegrating eqn(s) at the 0.05 level

* denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level
**MacKinnon-Haug-Michelis (1999) p-values
Unrestricted Cointegration Rank Test (Maximum Eigenvalue)
Hypothesized Max-Eigen 0.05

No. of CE(s) Eigenvalue Statistic Critical Value Prob.**
None * 0.993733 187.6810 54.96577 0.0000

At most 1 * 0.982849 150.4301 48.87720 0.0000
At most 2 * 0.895614 83.60730 42.77219 0.0000
At most 3 * 0.712146 46.07618 36.63019 0.0030
At most 4 0.488387 24.79695 30.43961 0.2143
At most 5 0.445919 21.84645 24.15921 0.0997
At most 6 0.265296 11.40664 17.79730 0.3489
At most 7 0.156298 6.288351 11.22480 0.3181
At most 8 0.029455 1.106219 4.129906 0.3409
Max-eigenvalue test indicates 4 cointegrating eqn(s) at the 0.05 level

* denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level
**MacKinnon-Haug-Michelis (1999) p-values
Tables 3 show the estimation of the Johansen co-integration relation among the variables. From the table, the maximum
Engel test indicates four (4) co-integrating equations at the 5% level. This differs from the Trace statistic which indicates
six (6) co-integrating equation at 5% level. However, according to Gujarati 2003, if such situation arises, the Trace
Statistic supersedes the Maximum Engel. We can thus proceed to estimate our error correction, since there is at least
one (1) co-integrating equation. The detail result in appendix 1
4.2 Analysis of Vector Error Correction Result
A vector error correction (VEC) model is a restricted VAR designed for use with non-stationary series that are known to
be co integrated. The VEC has co-integration relations built into the specification so that it restricts the long-run behavior
of the endogenous variables to converge to their cointegrating relationships while allowing for short-run adjustment
dynamics. The co-integration term for a single model is known as the “error correction term” since the deviation from
long-run equilibrium is corrected gradually through a series of partial short-run adjustments.
Since the variables are non-stationary at levels but co integrated, then their dynamic relationships must be
specified by vector error correction model (VECM) in order to capture both the short-run and long-run relationships. The
results from the vector error correction estimates for the model are shown in Appendix 2 VEC includes both the long run
404
and short run dynamic relationships. The vector Error Correction model equation for the long run RGDP is presented
below:
Vector Error Correction Model Equation

D(LOGRGDP) = - 0.026*( LOGRGDP(-1) - 0.023*EXV(-1) + 0.676*LOGFDI(-1) - 0.717*LOGFTB(-1) - 1.338*LOGOPN(-
1) + 0.463*LOGRES(-1) + 0.358*LOGMS(-1) + 0.017*INR(-1) - 0.009*INF(-1) - 12.364 ) + 0.132………......……5.1Model:
From the result, the adjustment coefficient or the speed of adjustment of RGDP if deviated from its long run equilibrium is
-0.026. Also the error correction estimate equation shows that the long run behavior of EXV, INF, FTB, and OPN appear
to have negative relationship in adjusting to long-run disequilibrium given the ECM value while the long run behavior of
FDI, MS, INR and RES appear to have positively relationship in adjusting to long-run disequilibrium given the ECM
value.
Looking critically at the numerical value of the coefficients and their corresponding signs in equation 5.1, a 1 percent
increase in exchange rate volatility will cause RGDP to decrease by 0.026 percent. Theoretically, there is no agreement.
Similar findings were reported by Schnabl (2007 a and 2007b) study on emerging Europe and East Asian countries and
in small open economies at the EMU periphery. This result is at variance with Aliyu 2009 study on impact of oil price
shock and exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria. Exchange rate stability is generally recognised as the
pillar behind the Asian miracle and the World Bank (1993) and McKinnon (2005) saw a link between decline in growth in
Asia and their move towards flexible exchange rate system. This, we believe, stem from the perceived positive impact of
exchange rate stability on economic performance of the East Asian economies prior to 1997/1998 when economic crisis
engulfed the region McKinnon and Schnabl (2003, 2004) emphasize the role of low transaction costs for international and
intra-regional trade and capital flows.
The wrong sign of oil price indicates that a 1 percent increase in oil price reduce economic growth by 1.34 percent.
This is inconsistent with our apriori expectation and is also at variance with Aliyu (2009) work on the Nigerian economy
and Jin (2008) study of the Russian economy (oil exporting countries). The wrong sign is consistent with similar study on
New Zealand (Grounder and Barleet 2007 cited in Aliyu 2009) and Japan (Jin 2008), both oil importing countries. This
result is not unexpected given the Nigerian situation. Emphasis on the petroleum sector, to the neglect of the
manufacturing and agricultural sectors, the core of any developing economy, account for the negative impact. This is
evident as the Nigerian government predicate annual budget to expected price of crude oil. Thus, volatility in oil prices
negatively affects government expenditure. A good example is in 2008 when the federal government had to reduce its
budget as a result of downward swing in oil prices. Moreover, the country export crude oil, and massively import
petroleum product, making a negative sign expected for oil importing countries (Aliyu 2009), applicable to Nigeria.
Also, the results of the long-run analysis contradict prevailing opinion on the impact of higher oil prices on the level
of economic growth. This impact may be divided into two effects - an income transfer effect and an output effect. The
income transfer effect can be either positive or negative depending on the oil trade position of an economy while the
output effect is generally negative (Jin 2008). The income transfer effect occurs because the rise in oil prices increases
the value of oil exports relative to that of other traded commodities. This should leads to an improvement in the terms of
trade for net oil exporter like Nigeria, and deterioration in the terms of trade for net importer like China. This situation
brings an income transfer from the net importing economy (China) to the net exporting economies (Nigeria). Thus the
increase of oil price will give a positive effect to the GDP of Nigeria, and the negative sign of the coefficient of oil price is
unreasonable and contradictory. The output effect is the decline in output, particularly in oil intensive industries, because
of the increase in production cost associated with the rise in oil prices. This happens to be the case in Nigeria. All sectors
in Nigeria rely on petroleum products to generate energy for production. And an economy with relatively high oil intensity
and high reliance on imports will be more adversely affected by rising oil prices than an economy with lower oil intensity
(Jin 2008). It is this development that explains the reallocation of companies from Nigeria to neighbouring countries with
cheaper cost of energy This explicitly explains the Nigerian situation hence oil prices exert negative effect on the
economy.
The neglect of key sectors of the economy (manufacturing and agriculture) has reduced level of economic growth
because improvement in these sectors would have diversified revenue base for the country and there will be no total
reliance on oil prices for budgetary allocation. Moreover, these two sectors employ a large proportion of labour as can be
observed in emerging economies of the world, and they constitute the engine room of economic growth.
The result seems to contradict report of growth figures reported by the government. Nigeria’s economic managers
are fond of reeling out economic indices and informing the country that the economy is doing well. Very often, they
adjudge the economy as doing well with economic growth rate. The Minister of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria
405
Governor have at various point over the years comforted the nation that the economy has grown by as much as 7 per
cent but the question is: Can any economy grow by as much as 7 per cent without absorbing more labour in an economy
where close to 40 per cent of the able-bodied labour force willing to work cannot find jobs? Can an economy grow by this
margin in the face of retrenchment in the critical sectors of the economy? Can an economy grow in a situation where
financial institutions are not granting credit, can an economy grow in a situation where there are no new investments, no
replacement of machinery, instead of industrial expansion, there are closures?. All these confirm the result.
5. Conclusion and Recommendation
The study scrutinizes the impact of exchange rate volatility on economic growth in Nigeria from 1970 to 2009. Exchange
rate variability was measured using the GARCH approach. The policy conclusions predicated on the evidence are clear.
The empirical results confirm that exchange rate volatility have a significant negative effect on economic growth. This
implies that policy that will enhance stability of the exchange rate will promote growth. In this regard, the import content of
both public and private expenditures be controlled. One way of achieving this, is to stop importation of goods and
services that can be produced locally as an avenue for reducing demand for foreign exchange.
When the current increasing importation of petroleum products halts, coupled with concerted efforts to improve
electricity supply, the positive income effect of increasing international oil price will be felt in the economy, while the
negative output effect, experienced as a result of importation of petroleum products, will disappear. The end result is
economic growth.
Another interesting aspect of our result is that, international oil price depresses economic growth more than volatility
in exchange rate. It reveals misallocation and management of oil revenue. As a result, we recommend prudence in
management of public funds by making stealing or misallocation unattractive. In this regard, the Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC) should be re-organized to prosecute culprits. Other recommendations includes the following:
 Legalization of the local refining of crude oil in the creeks as an interim measure of increasing local
supply of petroleum product
 Domestic refining of all petroleum product consumed in the country
 Measures to stop unviable trips abroad by political office holders that has no economic value,
 Policies to stop Nigerians from storing wealth in the U.S dollars. This will reduce demand for foreign
exchange and,
 Infrastructural development to stem the relocation of companies to neighbouring countries.
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407

The Participation of Human Reseources in Albanian Local Governance Obligates
Zhyljen Papajorgji
Director of DAR regional office, Vlora Albania
Email:zhpapajorgji@yahoo.com
Alba Dumi
Dean of graduated School “Ismail Qemali”Vlora University
Email:besi.alba@yahoo.com
Irma Gjika
MSC, Management Department ”Ismail Qemali” Vlore University”
Email:irmagjikai@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p409
Abstract The role of the Human Resources Management in organizations has grown exponentially over the last decade. Specialized
professional training, such as certification, is critical for those practicing in the Human Resource field, in order to keep pace with the
demands of the industry. Democratic Albanian local governance is a prerequisite to the meaningful decentralization of infrastructure
management. When people participate in defining visions for sustainable development of HRM for their communities, in formulating
strategies for equitable access to services and resources and in setting priorities for action, they have endorsed. Participation also
sharpens their awareness of the interrelations between economic, social and environment issues. This is a highly significant feature of
infrastructure Albanian programs and carries important implications for local development. Decentralization on HRM has given local
governments the discretion and scope they need to take a lead role in responding to the challenges of economic downturn, degradation
of the urban environment, and social hardship. They institute bold initiatives and innovative practices.
Key words: Human Resources Management, initiatives, capacity, employment, strategies
1. Introduction
Human (capacity) development, as seen in most countries in Balcan still in the process of reform, remains a critical issue
that has yet to be well addressed. EU approach which is based on an accreditation program linked to a comprehensive
training strategy to ensure that governments have needed and demonstrated capacity before decentralisation of authority
and responsibility takes place is an important model that will help ensure quality performance after decentralisation.The
fact that “performance” will be monitored after decentralization is another good practice.(Keugmann & Lerin 2011)
Human resources specialists held about 442,200 jobs in 2010 and are employed in nearly every industry. About 17
percent worked in the employment services industry, which includes employment placement agencies, temporary help
services, and professional employer organizations. Because hiring needs may vary throughout the year, many
organizations contract recruitment and placement work to outside human resources firms rather than keep permanent
human resources specialists on staff. (Lognann 2011)
Despite good progress in those areas, Albania needs to do more to improve its ranking in other indicators. This is
troubling because the research also shows that organizations with defined performance management practices have
experienced less downsizing, lower turnover among high performers, and, in for-profit organizations, twice the revenue
per employee as organizations with informal or inconsistent practices.
The moral of the HRM (human resources management) is that if you are looking to do more with less (more
productivity with fewer employees) it makes sense to look first to your organization’s performance management practices.
Are the expectations for employee performance clear? Is feedback and coaching offered on a regular basis? Do
employees clearly understand how their contributions add value to the enterprise? Are managers and supervisors
confidently guiding the performance of each individual?
409
1.2 Human Reseources Management and improvemnt market forces
In addition, much remains to be done because the report of HRM doesn’t measure other important indicators that have
significant impact on the business climate like corruption, infrastructure and the efficiency of the public administration.
Reform of public health function will succeed only if there are enough professional available with appropriate skills. (Dumi
A 2011)There is need to invest in training and employing public health professional available with appropriate skills as
wells as health manager.There has been substantial improvement in education of the health managers and public health
professional etc, by establishing the new programs as well as the schools, however, varies considerably between
countries. (Kristo I 1999)
Example: Health reforms which were initiated are more fragmented with pilots and local initiatives but are not
consistently implemented within national policies. Those changes focus on: a) Reducing direct state involvement through
decentralization. b) Privatization reform orienting various actors to market forces and competition improving the
guidelines of resource allocation decision.
Employment growth for Human Resources Managers is projected to be a very healthy 21% thru 2020, which is on
par with most medical professions, according to The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If you mix their job outlook scores
with their income levels (19th on our Jobs Rated list) and throw in the low physical demands, relatively safe work
environment and low-to-moderate stress levels, HR Managers should rightly be listed as a Best Job." (Career Cast, 2012)
Also there is a particularly urgent need to increase the availability of public health mangers in those countries that
are introducing market-based health sector reforms.(Addess 2009) The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of
the current situation in general status of health care system the role of government and public investment on the health
care system, a portrait of the organization of the latter, the current situation of training in public health administration and
management (Kristo 1999)
2 Literature Review and Hypotheses
2.1 Infrastructure and sustainable program in European Countries
World Bank has been providing assistance for the implementation programs for developing MHR in Albania condition.
First phase: Since 2009, a master plan for Human" Resource Development was developed including accreditation,
incentives and career path for procurement practitioners. Compliance and performance indicators complaints
mechanisms and new regulations were also developed. (Kristo I 2009)If those systems are to continue to provide the
services we have come to expect, we need to change the way we think about and reinvest in that
infrastructure. (Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) pg 12-14-19 (1) Sustainable Infrastructure Program - EPA is
partnering with a broad group of stakeholders to help ensure our water infrastructure keeps working effectively. Visit our
sustainable water infrastructure pages to learn more about this growing challenge and how we can meet it. (2)
Infrastructure Financing – EPA In today’s business climate, public organizations are putting more emphasis on employee
performance. In a climate of restructuring and downsizing, top performers are prized. And, with fewer employees on the
payroll, managers are realizing they need to give extra attention to managing the performance of those who remain.
Krugman, P. (2009), Bersentirs (2011), Guppann (2012)
2.2 HRM and collapsed tourism.
The significance of this is reflected in tensions between Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Albania over their coastal stocks. One
side of the Adriatic is only about 148km from the other, so the potential for pollution from the land is very high. In 1993
fertiliser land runoff coated 600km of the Yugoslav to Italian coastline with toxic algae. This cost several billion Euros in
today’s money through lost fish and collapsed tourism. (Kristo 1999)
Although private organizations may not have direct voting power in what mix of organizations is chosen to
implement the plan, they could very well influence how the public and its elected and appointed representatives make
these choices.Then is worth mentioning that the area of the law rights that individuals enjoy nowadays is broader. In
previous system the individuals right were sanctioned by the law of communism regime of that epoc. But the questions
arisen up is –how much were really enjoyed their rights to the extent assigned by the law of that time?
410
In this survey we aim to identify the mediating effect of strategic developing of economical system in Albania on the
relationship between Albanian government relations and institutions, economical performance, politics reforming of
Ministry of Economy. In the centre of this study is MHR programs in Albanian conditions. To test the propositions, a field
survey using questionnaires will be conducted. (Brown, Stephen 1. (1996).The survey of this study will be conducted on
middle and senior innovations in Albanian administrative reforming system and in addition the needs for management of
HR. Data obtained from questionnaires will be analyzed through the HRM statistical packet program and three proposed
relations will be tested through regression analyses.
Tab 1.Spencer strategic regression indicators. Source: (Brown, Stephen 1. (1996).
This tab shows the relation between 1)Strategic developing,2)Analized the questionnaires in innovations,3)Regression
analyze which study the gathering data in Albanian reforming administrative system.The tab indicators are over 34%
(point 1), 45%(point 2), 67%(point 3).We are gather data from institutions, public administrative sector,universities and
intellectual low users.
Data gathering shows: HRM in Albania has need for emergency improvements. 89% of tested interviewers want
reforming of HRM legislation, 12% are anonymus, 0.1% did not think improvements in HRM.In these, conditions of
findings, HRM in Albania need the evolution of low-right and justice reform.
3.1 The evolution of the law-right & justice, the human resources problems
Nowadays people enjoy a greater sphere of rights reffered to the right enjoyed by the individuals before ’90-s,eventhough
some rights recognized by law of that time could not find application in everyday life. Another remarkable difference is
that today people enjoy several colateral rights that were not recognized by the law of that time. ( Garrett, N., Abbott, M.
Cheung, V and DeSouza, R. (2007)
According to me and the radical development that society and especilly the civilization that we intent to improve,i
would say definitely yes.The time itself and the people neccessity has the most important and influential changeable
impact i.e an actuality to improve the legislation and its approach to the legislation of Western Europian countries.
As far as people support free enterprises thats the strategic draft indicating prosperity,freedom and expanded opportunity
to live-work without boundaries. (Fiedler, F. E. (1996),
4. Analyses and Results
4.1 Treatment of private-property nowadays. Are Albanian people and HR under low protection?
HRM want a packet of low for protection. In Albania this problem is not solve yet.Sometimes in Albanian low are made
some changes,but this changes are stayed in papers.Law clearly defines the classification of items,those items which are
free to enable the civil movement by which the natural personal or legal right bare the private ownership of these items.
The profitable ownership ways and HRS programs are different,i.e “ownership profit” we will understand;legal fact,the
verification of which a person phisically,an entity or the state itself has the right of ownership over a particular item.
(Shehu 2000). And if we go further in Article 77 states the citation “Personal property are income are incomes from labour
411
source and other lawful source,residential house and other items that serve to meet personal material and cultural needs
of the family. Personal properties are also items and facilities belonging to the family based on the statute of the
agricultural cooperative” (Kristo 1999)(Anastasi 2012)
4.2 New economic instruments in Albania
External sector polices: Sustaining the market-determined exchange rate, maintaining liberal trade and exchange
systems, normalization of the external financial relation following the agreement on debt restructuring with foreign
commercial banks, strengthening of institutional capacities in the financial services sector for handling foreign
transactions. International trade will also be facilitated by Albania's accession to membership in the WTO. There are
seven key factors:
 A dynamic local government leadership

 A coherent strategy acted upon with determination
 A healthy climate of cooperation with business
 Local government’s investment initiatives to jumpstart the stagnant economy
 Creative use EU funds to implement local policy
 Efficient municipal administration and Coherent links among urban planning, infrastructure and economic
development
Tab 2 The indicators of progress culture. Source ( Avinash K., & Barry J. Nalebuff 2008)
4.3 Public Investment Program in Albanian conditions.
The latest Public Investment Program (PIP) (three-year period) assumes rapid increases in the level of public investment
linked to the increasing utilization of external financing. The sectors which have had the most success in securing
external financing commitments for their projects have been transport, agriculture and social safety net, where total
commitments secured during the years 1994-1995 represented more than 50% of the sector resource allocation for the
1995-1997 PIP. By contrast, relatively little success was achieved in securing financing for the environment, housing, and
urban and rural infrastructure.
The key measures will be the following:
1) Credit policy: The strict limits on credit expansion. The domestic budget deficit will be covered by non-inflationary
financing through the issuing of treasury bills.
2) Fiscal management: A strong fiscal policy stance will be maintained aimed at reducing the budget deficit to
sustainable levels. This involves measures to broaden the tax system, improvements in tax administration, elimination of
412
the remaining price subsidies, development social services, public administration reform and utilization of external
support. This, in turn, will require strengthening of institutional capacities for budgetary planning, accounting, reporting
and expenditure control. World Bank, European Union, 2006,pg 54-55
Tab 3. Source: World Bank, European Union, Strategic instruments and community participation
4.4 Private sector development
This will require further refinements in the legal framework for the market economy and more rapid progress in the
creation of the modern commercial banking system. This will be backed up by the completion of a enterprise privatization
program and the seeking of strategic investors in the mining and petroleum sectors and in some public utility operations.
(Commission of the European Communities, “Council directive of 27 June 1985) This involves measures to broaden the
tax system, improvements in tax administration, elimination of the remaining price subsidies, rationalization social
services, public administration reform and utilization of external support. This, in turn, will require strengthening of
institutional capacities for budgetary planning, accounting, reporting and expenditure control. In strong local government
leadership and active community participation were key to implementing an integrated plan involving urban planning,
infrastructure, and economic development.
5. Conclusions and Recommendation
Albania currently offers a great deal of opportunity for entrepreneurship. In recent years, Albania has been trying to
promote entrepreneurship among the youth. The promotion of YES (Youth Entrepreneur Seminars) seminars has had a
positive impact on the young prospective entrepreneurs. An institutional framework plays an important role for interactive
learning which leads to innovation. Now, the national institutional conditions for technological innovation are referred to as
a national innovation system.
Three basic functions have to be fulfilled by innovation systems: reduction of uncertainties by providing information,
the management of conflicts and cooperation, and the provision of incentives. We can define a national innovation
system as a complex of institutions, i.e. actors, in a nation, which are directly related with the generation, diffusion, and
appropriation of technological innovation. Under this definition we can identify four groups of actors in a national
innovation system, i.e. business firms, public research institutes, universities and government.
413
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414
The Fundamental Aspects of the Cham Issue
Dr. Sokol Pacukaj

Departement of Sociology, Faculty of Education,
Aleksander Moisiu University, Durres, Albania
Email: sokolpacukaj@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p415
Abstract: The Present paper would explain the most important aspects of the Cham issue. The populaiton mulsims chami was
deported from Greece during the period 1912-1945 and the situation is still know unresolved. The cham conflict arose as a result of the
delineation of border between Greece and Albania at the end of Balkan Wars. During the period form June 1944 to March 1945 was the
last phase of expulsion of the Cham population from northern Greece, during which an estimated 5000 men, women and children were
killed. The rest of chami population fled over the border to Albania where they lived in exile ever since. The cham are demanding the
recognition of all disappeared as a result of conflicts and the property right of all chami population. In this paper we will give some of the
foundamental aspects of the issue such are the recognition of the issue by the Greek government, the question of the lost citizenship
and the property rights.
Keywords, Cameria, property right, deportation, cham, Albania, Greece.
1. Introduzione
La popolazione çama di origine albanese e di religione musulmana fu spesso oggetto di maltrattamenti negli anni tra la
Prima e la Seconda Guerra Mondiale, fino al suo allontanamento forzato dalle abitazioni nel 1945 con l’accusa di
collaborazionismo con il fascismo.
Anche se sono passati più di 60 anni dalla fine della guerra mondiale, periodo in cui si consumò la pulizia etnica e
per alcuni il genocidio contro i çami, da parte delle truppe dell’esercito greco guidate dal generale Zerva, il pezzo del
puzzle che serve per completare il quadro complesso di questa situazione non è stato ancora trovato. Anzi, la questione
çama è tutt’altro che risolta. Ci sono vari aspetti di questa questione che ancora non hanno trovato risposta nonostante
sia passato oltre mezzo secolo dal deportamento dei çami fuori dalle loro abitazioni. Di seguito saranno esposte alcune
delle questioni fondamentali che meritano di essere discusse.
2. Il riconoscimento della questione Çama dalla parte del governo greco
Nell’Ottobre del 2004 il Presidente greco Kostantinos Stefanopulos durante una visita a Tirana ha dichiarato in una
conferenza stampa “la questione çama per la Grecia non esiste, e le pretese sui diritti di proprietà dei çami albanesi e
quelli della minoranza greca in Albania appartengono al passato, che lo stato Greco considera già chiuso. Non so se sia
necessario trovare una soluzione per la questione çama poiché secondo il mio punto di vista non ha bisogno di una
soluzione. Ci sono delle pretese da entrambe le parti ma noi non dobbiamo tornare in queste questioni, la questione dei
diritti di proprietà non esiste” (ATSH, 2004). Quando parlava di pretese da entrambe le parti Stefanopulos intendeva le
pretese greche per il Vorio Epiro che include una parte dell’Albania del Sud. Ma in ogni caso c’è da dire che
diversamente dalla minoranza greca in Albania la quale ha tutti i diritti di possedere le sue proprietà e ha anche la
cittadinanza albanese, ai çami è stato proibito di ritornare nei propri terreni e gli è stata negata anche la cittadinanza
greca. Con l’approvazione della legge 7501 del 1991 l’Albania ha distribuito i terreni agricoli che erano stati confiscati
dallo stato comunista negli anni ’60 durante la riforma agraria. Da questa legge l’Albania non ha escluso la minoranza
greca ad avere i suoi diritti di proprietà (Pettifer & Vickers 1999). Durante la visita di Stefanopulos all’associazione Ҫ
ameria non è stato dato il permesso di svolgere una manifestazione çama di protesta per i suoi diritti. Ma la questione
çama non ha soltanto il problema dei diritti di proprietà al suo interno, in primis esiste una questione morale di fondo
poiché i çami aspettano le scuse dallo stato greco per quello che è successo durante la seconda Guerra Mondiale.
Dobbiamo dire che c’è una spiegazione razionale dello stato greco che ammette i massacri e la pulizia etnico - religiosa
contro i çami musulmani, ma il governo greco si toglie ogni responsabilità dichiarando che “nel caso della guerra non era
realmente la colpa nostra” (Vickers 2004). Una tesi che è sostenuta da molti storici e accademici sia greci che albanesi è
415
il ruolo importante che hanno avuto gli inglesi poiché si crede che il comandante di EDES Napoleon Zerva abbia agito
secondo gli ordini di un membro della missione britannica (C.M. Woodhouse) contro i çami nel 1943-1944. Woodhouse
aveva dichiarato che “di fronte ai conflitti interetnici in Epiro e agli scontri tra le varie correnti dei movimenti greci contro
l’Asse, le due divisioni dell’Esercito popolare di ELAS controllate dai comunisti si dovevano eliminare in Epiro, e questo
avrebbe aiutato a salvare le forze britanniche comandate dal generale Scobie dalla disfatta nella battaglia di Atene nel
1944” (Pettifer 2001). Quindi di fondo il governo greco riconosce la pulizia etnica ma non ammette le colpe.
2. La questione della cittadinanza perduta dai rifugiati çami
L’elemento della cittadinanza greca è una questione importante anche se non fondamentale come quella dei beni
immobili dei çami albanesi in Ҫameria. Senza il vincolo della cittadinanza negata i çami potrebbero essere più liberi di
circolare e di chiedere i loro diritti sulle proprietà confiscate durante la II Guerra Mondiale. Ma c’è anche una buona parte
dei çami che pensa che la cittadinanza greca per loro sia più importante rispetto ai loro beni perduti nel ‘45. La loro
richiesta è quella di avere la doppia cittadinanza albanese e greca e vogliono essere riconosciuti come cittadini greci di
nazionalità albanese. “Noi siamo stati rifugiati per molto tempo, vogliamo che ci venga restituito la nostra identità”
dichiarano unanimi i çami.
3. La questione dei beni sequestrati alla popolazione çama
Con il termine di “beni degli albanesi çami in Grecia” ci si riferisce ai beni situati in territorio greco ma di proprietà dei
cittadini albanesi e di tutti le persone che hanno avuto la cittadinanza albanese specialmente nel periodo che va dal 1913
al 1927 anno in cui finì il processo di espatrio di massa. Il dipartimento giuridico della Società delle Nazioni ha qualificato
come cittadini greci tutti coloro che non si sarebbero allontanati dalla Grecia sino alla data del 20 luglio 1927. A questa
lista appartengono sia gli abitanti fissi dell’Albania dell’epoca, sia quelli spostati dalla Grecia verso altri territori. Rientrano
qui anche i beni dei cittadini greci di etnia albanese costretti a lasciare la Grecia fino al 1949. Gli altri beni sono
considerati beni dei çami (anche se i çami oggi hanno solo la cittadinanza albanese) che sono stati regolamentati con atti
normativi e leggi diverse per distinguerle dagli altri beni dei cittadini albanesi in Grecia. Per i beni sequestrati alla
popolazione çama nessuno di loro è stato ricompensato. Oltre al sequestro dei beni mobili e immobili dei cittadini çami
albanesi con la famigerata legge di guerra, lo stato greco ha sequestrato anche due proprietà dello stato albanese in
Grecia compresi molteplici depositi bancari (Nazarko 2007).
Secondo i dati della Società Commissionaria, società del diritto albanese creata per trattare le rivendicazioni dei
beni albanesi fuori dai confini nazionali e attiva fino al 1991, i beni pretesi fino al 1989 sono ordinati come segue:
Case e appartamenti per un numero totale di 309; terreni edificabili 62; negozi e magazzini 66; terreni agricoli 30 mila
ettari; boschi 65 mila ettari; terreni da pascolo 108 mila ettari.
In totale il valore di questi beni è stato stimato a circa 350 milioni di dollari dell’epoca senza calcolare gli interessi
per l’usufrutto di questi beni dal 1940. (AQSH Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Albania Tirana)
Ci sarebbe anche un’altra valutazione dalla commissione albanese per le rivendicazioni, una struttura presso in
Ministero degli Esteri italiano. Secondo il parere di questa commissione gli albanesi sono stati privati dei loro beni in tre
momenti: il primo momento coincide con il ritiro dell’Impero Ottomano; il secondo dopo la Conferenza di Losanna, e il
terzo con la riforma agraria. Questi beni sono stati espropriati o più precisamente sono stati sequestrati anche se
secondo gli accordi di Losanna i beni espropriati sarebbero stati ricompensati in oro dal governo greco inclusi gli
interessi. Anche se è difficile avere una stima totale di questi beni, in base ai documenti che si trovano negli archivi di
Tirana, si può dire che l’estensione dei beni rurali albanesi fino al 1941 (anno in cui è stato presentato il promemoria della
commissione albanese per le rivendicazioni) arriva a 260 mila ettari di terreni. I beni immobili comprendono anche edifici
vari, case, fabbriche e negozi. Secondo le stime dell’epoca beni simili avevano un valore di circa 100 milioni di franchi
oro. Per capire meglio le conseguenze di una ipotetica soluzione della questione dei beni albanesi valutata dal punto di
vista greco portiamo la dichiarazione del noto esperto dei balcani James Pettifer: “molti dei politici greci hanno detto in
privato incluso me, che sono consapevoli che i çami hanno ragione, ma se dovessero dargli ragione questo aprirebbe la
strada alle pretese degli ebrei, dei turchi, degli slavi e sopratutto dei macedoni che hanno villaggi interi in Grecia e molte
case sono rimaste nelle stesse condizioni in cui si trovavano nel 1949. Quindi i politici greci temono che un accordo con i
çami aprirà la strada ad un accordo con Skopie e questo potrebbe essere una catastrofe per le pretese della Grecia nella
regione. Penso che un’altra questione importante per il governo greco sia che in Ҫameria e in Macedonia la maggior
parte dei terreni che i çami e gli slavi hanno perduto è stato scoperto che sono stati presi dalla chiesa greca e sono stati
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registrati sotto forma di terreni dei monasteri. Nel caso in cui i çami dovessero appropriarsi dei loro terreni questo vuol
dire che la chiesa greca dovrebbe rinunciare ad alcuni monasteri e a grandi superfici di terreni” (Nazarko 2007).
Come è stato detto sopra della definizione di beni albanesi fanno parte solo i beni che hanno come titolare individui
i quali hanno avuto la cittadinanza albanese dal 1913 al 1930. Fino adesso non ci sono casi di proprietari albanesi che
hanno iniziato la battaglia con il sistema giuridico greco anche se i beni sequestrati sono per lo più un problema legale
poiché dal punto di vista politico la Grecia si è impegnata con il trattato di amicizia con l’Albania del 1996 a togliere
qualsiasi blocco che impedisca di godere pacificamente dei propri beni. Secondo i giuristi greci la legge 2636/40, nel
1965 è stato modificata e per i cittadini albanesi di etnia greca fa delle eccezioni rispetto agli altri proprietari. Secondo le
interpretazioni giuridiche della legge 2636 riportate da Nazarko nel suo libro “Lufta e fundit, Le proprietà degli albanesi in
Grecia” il motivo dei sequestri dei beni immobili dei çami nella II Guerra Mondiale era solo per congelare i loro beni e non
aveva lo scopo di confiscare e di espropriare poiché erano atti che andavano anche contro la costituzione greca. Questa
constatazione deriva dal fatto che l’articolo 2 parla di blocco degli scambi; l’articolo 3 di blocco dell’esecuzione di
qualsiasi atto legale; l’articolo 6 parla di sequestro conservativo dai quali appare evidente l’obiettivo della Grecia di
impedire l’uso dei beni albanesi per il periodo della guerra.
Lo stato greco ha ridato i beni italiani e bulgari sequestrati con la medesima legge togliendo al totale del loro valore
una somma per le riparazioni varie dei danni derivati dalla guerra. Oltre questo lo stato greco con le leggi degli anni ‘49-
‘50 si è dato il diritto di usufrutto e di proprietà sui beni tedeschi del 1941.
La legislazione greca sui sequestri conservativi viola il diritti fondamentali dell’uomo ma secondo l’autore greco
Ktistakis “dobbiamo aver a che fare con una violazione continua del diritto della proprietà, il sequestro conservativo non
rappresenta una violazione continua; si devono esaurire prima tutti i gradi della giurisdizione interna greca in maniera
definitiva e appropriata per restaurare il diritto violato” (Ktistakis 2006). Questo vuol dire che tutti gli interessati devono
iniziare i processi per violazione del diritto di proprietà nei tribunali greci, una volta passato attraverso tutti i gradi dei
tribunali greci ci si può rivolgere a Strasburgo. Solo così si può internazionalizzare la questione della Ҫameria. Lo stato
albanese dovrebbe sostenere caso per caso o anche gruppi di çami nei loro processi in Grecia dove sicuramente non
vinceranno poiché la legislazione è tale da non trovare sbocchi, ma potrebbero sicuramente trovare ragione nei tribunali
internazionali. Per concludere cito le parole del pubblicista greco Teloglu, prese da una intervista rilasciata a Nazarko: “la
questione dei beni albanesi in Grecia può essere spiegata in questo modo: è come se dovessi pagare una somma a
qualcuno e quella somma l’hai conservata nel tuo cassetto. Tu puoi averla nel cassetto e l’altro non te l’ha mai chiesta.
Fino ad adesso i çami non hanno chiesto di riprendere la loro somma. Stanno in piazza a gridare ma non sono andati là
dove hanno il loro prestito e chiederlo. Io la vedo cosi”
4. Sviluppi recenti sulla questione della Çameria
Ma cosa si sta facendo concretamente oggi sulla questione della Ҫameria? Alcuni çami coraggiosi sono tornati nelle loro
case in Ҫameria dopo la liberalizzazione dei visti con l’Unione Europea ma spesso hanno trovato deserti o boschi al
posto delle loro abitazioni. Le moschee, le case, gli edifici amministrativi, i monumenti di cultura piano piano sono
scomparsi per lasciare il posto all’erba e agli alberi. Così l’eredità culturale e architettonica sta scomparendo. Ma ci sono
anche casi di çami che hanno trovato e provato a restaurare le loro case. Il Ministero degli Esteri greco è convinto che
alcuni poliziotti locali siano stati corrotti dagli albanesi per far sì che alcuni çami si appropriassero nuovamente delle loro
case. Allo stesso tempo anche alcune famiglie della minoranza greca in Albania hanno emigrato verso paesi come Filat.
Nel marzo del 2004 in Albania è stato creato l’Istituto degli studi çami. Lo scopo principale di questo istituto è quello di
“colmare il vuoto nel riconoscimento della questione çama in generale” organizzando una serie di incontri e convegni che
hanno avuto una grande attenzione dai media e dall’opinione pubblica. Inoltre, è stata creata anche l’associazione “Ҫ
ameria” che per lo più ha cercato di raccogliere tutte le testimonianze personali e tutti i dati possibili dei çami che sono
stati espulsi e ora si trovano a vivere in Albania. Hanno raccolto anche un numero considerevole di documentazione e di
archivi personali allo scopo di preservare la memoria storica per le future generazioni. La politica albanese invece a
partire dagli anni ’90 ha usato la questione della Ҫameria solo durante le campagne elettorali e ha fatto poco per trovare
una vera soluzione. Il Centro di ricerca per lo Studio dei conflitti sulla questione çama ha pubblicato un rapporto nell’aprile
del 2002 e sembrava che le conclusioni del rapporto avrebbero spinto il governo ad intraprendere delle azioni che
avrebbero trovato una soluzione risolutiva. Infatti, nel marzo del 2003 il Primo Ministro di quel tempo Fatos Nano, ha
dichiarato davanti al Parlamento che aveva raggiunto un accordo con il suo omologo greco Kostas Simitis, per la
creazione di un gruppo di lavoro bilaterale per studiare la questione legale che avrebbe portato alla risoluzione definitiva
della questione çama. Ma già qualche mese dopo non si seppe più niente sull’argomento. Questa situazione ha spinto un
gruppo di deputati del Fronte Nazionale e della Legalità (due partiti nazionalisti albanesi) a formulare una risoluzione sulla
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questione çama che è stata firmata da oltre 40 deputati anche dalle forze dell’opposizione e da molti esperti di diritto. La
risoluzione esprimeva la preoccupazione per la mancanza di volontà del governo albanese e di quello greco per quanto
riguardava i diritti di proprietà dei çami. Inoltre, si esponeva il fatto che il governo albanese dovesse chiedere
l’abrogazione della legge di guerra, il riconoscimento delle proprietà dei çami, la loro ricompensa e il congelamento della
legge 2664/1998 riguardo al registro dei beni çami al catasto greco. Inizialmente tutti i gruppi politici hanno dichiarato che
avrebbero sostenuto la risoluzione e che l’avrebbero votata all’unanimità. Dopo mesi di dibattiti l’approvazione della
risoluzione è passata da una seduta parlamentare all’altra e secondo il governo era necessario cambiare alcuni
passaggi per aiutare il parlamento ad approvare una risoluzione equilibrata. Secondo l’opposizione il governo stava
contestando l’approvazione della risoluzione poiché avrebbe causato tensione nei rapporti con lo stato greco. I socialisti
si erano astenuti con la scusa che l’approvazione di tale risoluzione avrebbe comportato una reazione del governo greco
contro gli immigrati albanesi in Grecia con delle espulsioni di massa (le cosiddette operazioni scopa)1. Uno dei deputati
socialisti Spartak Braho disse: “la ragione principale è che noi non possiamo mettere le richieste della comunità çama
contro gli interessi primari dei 600 mila immigrati albanesi in Grecia” (Korrieri 2004). La Grecia quell’anno ospitava le
olimpiadi e la mano d’opera albanese era indispensabile nei vari cantieri e secondo molti politici era il momento giusto
per spingere Atene a prendere provvedimenti o quantomeno una promessa per la risoluzione della questione. Un altro
deputato socialista Sabit Brokaj disse: ”la corda che i greci tengono sul collo di alcuni politici albanesi con il pretesto degli
immigrati albanesi in Grecia, è solo una manovra per fare pressione. Solo quei politici albanesi che sono legati con i
monopoli greci e sono mischiati in affari loschi oppure traggono profitti illegali si possono far piegare da questa pressione”
(Korrieri 2004). Anche il partito filo greco per l’Unione e i Diritti dell’Uomo di Vangjel Dule era contrario alla risoluzione e
secondo la sua parola: “questa risoluzione arriva in un momento in cui la regione balcanica sta vivendo un periodo con
degli accadimenti intensivi e degli equilibri precari. L’approvazione di questa risoluzione sconvolgerebbe questi equilibri
con costo politico molto alto per la politica estera albanese” (Albania Daily News 2004)
L’ambasciatore greco a Tirana in una serie di incontri con gli ufficiali del Ministro degli Esteri albanese dichiarava
che l’approvazione di questa risoluzione sarebbe stata un atto non amichevole dall’Albania (Shekulli 2004) Infine la
risoluzione non ha preso il numero dei voti necessari per la sua approvazione. Per i çami era uno schiaffo pesante e
subito dopo hanno manifestato contro questa decisione. Anche se la risoluzione non è stata approvata è stata utile per
portare alla luce la natura emotiva, le divisioni interne della politica e il costo della questione çama. Il presidente albanese
dell’epoca Alfred Moisiu, sembrava interessato ad una risoluzione di questo problema. In una intervista rilasciata a
Miranda Vickers, l’ex presidente spiegava che “i problemi passati tra Grecia e Albania riguardo la questione çama, i loro
diritti per la proprietà, la legge della guerra, e la minoranza greca in Albania, non devono incidere nelle relazioni tra i due
paesi, anzi questi problemi devono trovare una risoluzione al più presto” (Vickers 2007)
Gli osservatori internazioni erano preoccupati per il fatto che i politici kossovari potessero speculare con la questione
çama e prenderlo come punto di riferimento per chiedere l’autonomia del Kossovo. Ma ora che l’indipendenza del
Kossovo è realtà si potrebbe vedere e considerare diversamente la questione çama. L’anno 2004 forse è stato l’anno in
cui di più si è discusso sulla questione della Ҫameria. Anche i rapporti politici tra i due Paesi sono stati molto intensi.
All’inizio del 2005 i çami delusi dagli atteggiamenti dei due grandi partiti albanesi riguardo la loro questione, hanno
deciso di fondare un partito politico PDI (Partito per la Giustizia e l’Integrità) che avrebbe rappresentato i çami nelle
seguenti elezioni parlamentari. Il partito ha dichiarato di appartenere al centro destra il che era anche la vocazione di tutti
i çami che avevano sofferto sotto il regime comunista di Hoxha. La creazione del loro partito è stato frutto anche della
consapevolezza dei çami che i grandi partiti albanesi ormai si ricordavano solo durante le campagne elettorali della
questione çama. Ritornando indietro infatti prima delle elezioni del ’96 il governo di allora del Partito Democratico di
Berisha ha segnato un giorno ufficiale per la memoria del massacro del 25-27 Giugno 1944 a Paramithia e ha costruito
un monumento per i çami nella città di Konispol (estremo sud albanese, uno dei 7 paesi che è rimasto all’Albania dopo la
conferenza di Londra nel 1913). Così come durante la campagna elettorale per le elezioni amministrative del 2003 ad
una strada principale di Tirana è stato dato il nome “Ҫameria”. Ma queste erano solo delle iniziative simboliche che non
sono state accompagnate da una azione politica vera e propria. Oltre al PDI, due anni più tardi un gruppo di intellettuali
çami ha fondato un’altro partito il PDU (Partito per i Diritti e l’Unità) che prima delle elezioni parlamentari del 2009 si è
unito in un unico partito con il PDIU (Partito per la Giustizia, l’Integrità e l’Unità).
L’anno 2005 è stato un anno difficile per i çami poiché il governo greco con la legge del 1998 dava 7 anni per la
registrazione delle proprietà situate in territorio greco. Secondo la legge “tutti i beni dei proprietari albanesi in Grecia che

1
C’erano anche altri deputati socialisti che hanno sostenuto ed erano pronti a votare a favore della risoluzione ma il loro numero non
era sufficiente per raggiungere il quorum necessario nella votazione finale.
418
ancora non sono registrate sarebbero passate allo stato”. Infatti la legge 2664 “sui catasti e altre regole” aveva messo
come data ultima il 27 novembre 2005 per la registrazione dei beni immobili. Il governo sapeva benissimo che i çami non
potevano registrare le loro proprietà poiché per farlo dovevano prendere a Janina i documenti mancanti e per andare a
Janina serviva il visto d’ingresso in Grecia. I visti sono stati sempre rifiutati e qualcuno che è riuscito ad ottenere un visto
è stato bloccato alla frontiera.
L’8 Febbraio del 2006 la Procura Generale della Repubblica Greca ha annunciato la sua decisione per la vendita di
tutti i beni non registrati in Epiro dove erano le proprietà dei çami sequestrate nel 1945. Secondo la Procura, i proprietari
di questi beni non hanno mostrato nessun interesse per oltre 20 anni. I çami hanno considerato ciò una provocazione
aperta e hanno chiesto al governo albanese e alla comunità internazionale di intervenire ma nessuna voce si è sollevata
a proposito. Nel luglio del 2006 10 mila çami indignati hanno marciato verso il confine a Qaf Bote per commemorare il
massacro dei çami del 27 giugno 1944 di Paramithia. L’accaduto ha avuto una grande eco nella stampa albanese e in
quella greca. Per la prima volta un numero così considerevole di çami si era riunito per protestare per i loro diritti chiesti
da anni. Altre iniziative si sono susseguite, comprese le lettere inviate alle missioni diplomatiche internazionali di Tirana e
ad un memorandum inviato dal PDI al Primo Ministro Berisha e al Ministro degli Esteri greco Teodoros Pangallos. Alcuni
membri del PDI sono andati nell’ottobre del 2006 a presentare le loro richieste al Parlamento Europeo a Strasburgo. È
stata la prima volta che le richieste dei çami venivano presentati ai parlamentari europei. Dopo una serie di incontri con
personaggi come Doris Pack, presidente della delegazione del parlamento europeo per l’Europa del sud-est, alla
delegazioni çama è stato promesso che la questione della loro terra si sarebbe analizzata nel 13° round della seduta
parlamentare che doveva discutere sull’accordo di stabilizzazione e associazione dell’Albania e che in maniera ancora
più forte si doveva discutere con i membri greci del Parlamento Europeo. L’idea era quella di approvare una risoluzione
parlamentare che avrebbe aperto il dialogo tra Atene e Tirana con la partecipazione della rappresentanza çama e di
quella internazionale. A distanza di 5 anni ancora non ci sono progressi per quanto riguarda una possibile risoluzione di
un problema decennale.
Il governo ha sempre ostacolato il dialogo sulla questione çama. Escludendo una minoranza di accademici,
diplomatici e persone che operano per i diritti dell’uomo, la maggior parte dei greci sostiene il punto di vista delle autorità
greche per le quali una tale questione non esiste. Molti çami pensano che il governo greco stia protraendo la questione
çama con la speranza che molti testimoni oculari dei massacri che le forze di Zerva hanno commesso in Ҫameria,
moriranno e così, di conseguenza, la questione çama si indebolirà da sola.
Conclusioni
Il problema della Cameria è stato portato al Consiglio di Sicurezza dell’ONU nel 1946, ed è stata una delle questioni più
dibattute e complicate dalle Nazioni Unite. Nel novembre del 1944 il sottosegretario americano Stetinius, informato sulla
questione della Ҫameria, si esprimeva così “noi pensiamo che non dobbiamo permettere alle forze armate greche o
albanesi di passare oltre confine e che le loro azioni di espellere o annientare la minoranza che appartiene ad una lingua
o ad un gruppo nazionale non devono essere tollerate”(AMPJ Dosja e Greqise K5/105(d). La comunità internazionale
anche se consapevole della tragedia non ha reagito. Anche lo stato albanese in un primo momento che comprende il
periodo della fine della guerra fino al 1949, ha fatto pressioni alla Grecia e ha cercato di internazionalizzare la questione
çama ma dopo ha smesso le sue azioni per ritornare a confrontarsi con questo problema delicato negli anni ’90 dopo la
caduta del comunismo. Ora il governo albanese stenta a parlare della questione çama e il problema che si menziona è
solo quello dei beni immobili di questa etnia. La questione çama rimane una questione complicata ma rimane ancora
presente nella vita pubblica in Albania. A causa di questa complicazione (genocidio o pulizia etnica, processi giusti o
ingiusti per i collaboratori, eventuali danni causati all’Albania che ha ospitato i çami espulsi e rimasti vivi, la questione
della cittadinanza, la questione dei beni immobili, il diritto a ritornare nelle proprie case, l’assimilazione dei çami ortodossi,
etc) presentano molti scenari di risposta nell’arena internazionale sia dal punto di vista giuridico che da quello storico.
Tutto questo va affrontato in una maniera integrale e obiettiva.
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A Fourty-One Year Review of Deaths from Motor Accidents in Lagos State,

Nigeria (1970-2010)
Atubi, Augustus .O. (PH.D)

Associate Professor
Department of Geography and Regional Planning
Delta State University, PMB 1 Abraka
E-mail: atubigrp@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p421
Abstract Using mostly secondary data on vehicular accidents obtained from the Nigeria Police Force and Federal Road Safety
Commission, the study examined a thirty-two year review of deaths from road traffic accidents (1970-2010) in Lagos State. The reported
deaths from road traffic accidents in the 20 Local Government Areas of Lagos State were compared using the Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA). The result showed that for the two factors, Local Government Areas and years, the F-calculated of 18.32 and 7.43
respectively were higher than the F-tabular of 1.64 and 1.32 respectively at 0.05 level of significance. It then implies that the means for
each of the factors, reported deaths from road traffic accidents across the 20 Local Government Areas of Lagos State and across
different years were significantly different. The result of the multiple regression analysis was 0.32. This implies that the proportion of
variation in the dependent variable (i.e. deaths from road traffic accidents) explained by the independent variables (i.e. length of roads,
presence of road safety and population) was 32%. Based on the findings, recommendations were proffered on how to reduce the
phenomenon of deaths from traffic accidents in Lagos State.
Keywords: Deaths; traffic; forty-one years; accidents; motor
1. Introduction
Road traffic accidents’ statistics in Nigeria reveal a serious and growing problem with absolute fatality rate and casualty
figures rising rapidly. In majority of developing countries, accident occurrence and related deaths are relative to either
population or number of vehicles. Ironically, in Nigeria, studies have indicated that better facilities in terms of good quality
and standardized roads have been accompanied by increasing number of accidents (Onakomaiya, 1988, Gbadamosi,
2002; Atubi and Onokala, 2009). This is totally contrary to the trends in countries where even the level of sophisticated
road network and volume of vehicular traffic are much higher (Atubi, 2010a).
The number of reported cases of fatal road traffic accidents in Nigeria has shown an increasing trend from 12,212
cases of accidents in 1995 to 13,913 in 1996 and 15,415 in 2004 indicating an increase of 13.9% in fatal road accidents
from 1995 to 1996 (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1997). Fatal road accidents figures across the federation of Nigeria rose
sharply in 1992 resulting in 22,992 deaths (CBN, 1994). According to the Annual Abstract of Statistics (2008), between
2003 and 2007, a total of 225,891 accident cases were reported by the Nigeria Police Force, out of which 29,490 were
fatal, 39,065 were serious cases, 23,380 were minor cases. In Nigeria, the road traffic accident situation over the last
three decades has been particularly disturbing. In 1976, there were 53,897 road traffic accidents resulting in 7,717
deaths. Although, in 1981, the magnitude reduced to 5,114 accidents, but the fatality increased to 10,236, which means
that there was an average of 96 accidents and 28 deaths for every day of that year (Ogunsanya, 1990). The situation in
subsequent years has not been any better. The number of people killed in road accidents between 1990 and 2005 rose
from 28,253 to 37,873 and the fatality rate remains consistently high (Atubi, 2009b).
International comparison indicates that the chance of a vehicle killing someone in Nigeria is 47 times higher than in
Britain. The proportion of fatalities to injuries reported is also very high. For example, while Czech Republic has only one
death in 175 accidents, France one death in 175, South Africa, one death in 47 accidents, Nigeria has one death in 2.65
accidents (Atubi, 2010b).
Road traffic accident rates all over the world show great disparity, most especially between the developed and
developing countries. It has been shown by research that the degree of severity of accidents and the frequency with
which they occur in the developed continents such as North America and Europe are decreasing, while in the developing
continents of Africa and Asia, the rates are increasing (Ghee, et at, 1997; Yang et al, 2003; Suriyawongglassal et al,
2003; Afukaar el al, 2003; Odero, et al, 2003; Atubi, 2010a, 2010c).
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Based on data that are at best conservative estimates, Nigeria is a country with a serious and growing road
accident problem that is among the worst in the world (Asogwa, 2002). Analysis of global statistics indicates that fatality
rates (per licensed vehicle) in developing countries are high in comparison with those of developed countries (Adeniji,
2002). African countries in particular have rates often 30 to 50 times greater than those in the countries of Western
Europe.
Road accidents constitute an unmitigated public scandal in Nigeria. Of the thirty-eight countries studied on basis of
deaths per 1000 vehicles, the United States of America was in the last position, while Nigeria was first with Ethiopian and
Malawi coming second and third respectively (Gbadamosi, 1999).
According to Federal Road Safety Commission, between 1970 and 2001, Nigeria recorded a total of 726,383 road
traffic accident, resulting in the death of 208,665 persons and injuries to another 596,425. In that period, each succeeding
year recorded more accidents, deaths and injuries. Also, between 1997 and 2002, Lagos State alone recorded a total of
17,141 road accidents, resulting in the death of 3,132 persons and injuries to 9,972 persons.
As in other developing countries, road traffic accidents in Nigeria are one of the most serious problems in need of
pragmatic solution. Yet this problem has been difficult to address probably because of the country’s level of development.
Nigeria is said to have the highest road traffic accident rates in Africa (Akpoghome, 1998; Obinna, 2007, p. 35).
According to one study, the proportion of deaths from road traffic accidents in Nigeria increased from 38.2 percent to 60.2
percent in ten years from 1991-2001 (Obinna, 2007).
Indeed, the Nigeria accident pattern seems to suggest that the better the road, the higher the accident and fatality
rate as well as the severity and non-survival indices because of driver non compliance with speed limits (Onakomaiya,
1988; Gbadamosi, 1994; Filani and Gbadamosi, 2007).
2. Methodology
This study, in a broad sense, under takes a spatial analysis of death from road traffic accidents over a period of 41 years
(i.e. 1970-2010) in Lagos State. This attempt to conduct a detailed investigation of accident phenomenon more than the
ones that had hitherto engaged the attention of researchers.
Secondary data were collected from various sources, which include the records of the Federal Road Safety Commission,
the Nigeria Police, Federal Ministry of Transport and the Federal Office of Statistics. The data collected were analyzed
using both descriptive and inferential statistics.
3. Data analysis
The analysis of variance statistical (ANOVA) techniques were used to test for the significance of variability in the spatial
pattern of death from road accidents in Lagos State. Also, the multiple regression analysis statistics was used in this
study to investigate the factors that influence the number of deaths from reported road traffic accidents in Lagos State.
The dependent variable was reported number of deaths from road accident, while the independent variables considered
include length of roads in Lagos State from 1970-2010, presence of road safety corps and population. However, data on
alcohol induced accidents, over speeding and reckless driving could also have been useful but were not considered for
lack of data.
4. Study area
Lagos State is a suitable case study because it hosts metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria’s major traffic centre, fastest growing
city, and most heavily motorized urban area in the country. Consequently, the state has one of the highest accident and
casualty rates in the country (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1997, p. 6). Moreover, the traffic situation in Lagos State is bad
because of the absence of effective planning, vehicle-misuse, poor management, inadequate street parking, traffic
congestion, delays and accidents among other contributory factors.
Lagos State is situated in the South Western corner of Nigeria. This elongated state spans the Guinea Atlantic coast
for over 180km, from the Republic of Benin on the west to its boundary with Ogun State in the east (figure 1), while Lagos
State is the smallest in Nigeria, it has over 5 percent (i.e. 9,013,534) of the country’s estimated 140 million people
(National Population Census, 2006). Its rate of population growth has been in excess of 9 percent per annum, or 25,000
per month or 833 per day or 34 per hours in the last decade (Lagos urban Transport Project, 2002). This population
increase has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in motor vehicles and traffic accidents. However, accident
rates in Lagos State are still very much on the high side compared to other states in the federation. But, fatalities and
422
non-survival indices for the state are on the decline. This is attributable to its high level of traffic congestion (which
reduces the probability of the high fatality accidents resulting from over speeding) and accessibility to good post – crash
medical care in the Lagos metropolitan area.
Fig. 1: Map Of Lagos State Showing The 20 L.G.AS
Source: Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (1999)
5. Discussion of Findings and Results
The reported number of deaths from road traffic accidents in the twenty Local Government Areas in Lagos State from
1970-2001 were compared using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Analysis of variance for reported number of deaths from road traffic accidents in Lagos State
Factor Source of Sum of Df Means F-Cal F-table

variation squares squares
Local Govt. Area Between L.G.A. 81412.48 16 4284.87
Within L.G.A. 88227.27 400 216.55 18.32 1.64
Total 169639.75 416
Years (1970-2010) Between years 74814.06 28 2232.81
Within years 95923.73 352 203.5 7.43 1.32
Total 170737.79 380
The results show that for the two factors, Local Government Areas and years, the F-calculated of 18.32 and 7.43
respectively, were higher than the F-tabulated of 1.64 and 1.32 respectively at the 0.05 significance level. This implies
that the means for each of the factors, reported deaths from road traffic accidents across the twenty Local Government
Areas in Lagos and across different years 1970-2010 were significantly different. In order to ascertain whether the means
were significantly different, the Duncan New multiple Range Test (DNMRT) was used to compare them. The results for
the mean comparisons for different Local Government Areas and for different years in Lagos State from 1970-2010 as
shown in tables 2 and 3.
Table 2: Means of Reported deaths from road traffic accident in different Local Government Areas in Lagos State
S/N L.G.A. N Means

1 Ikeja 41 58.31a
2 Lagos Island 41 54.62a
3 Ajeromi/Ifelodun 41 36.48b
4 Lagos Mainland 41 35.54bc
5 Mushin 41 31.55bc
423
6 Apapa 21 29.31bcde
7 Oshodi/Isolo 21 25.22cdef
8 Surulere 21 24.74cdef
9 Ojo 12 22.71defg
10 Agege 12 22.41defg
11 Shomolu 21 21.94defg
12 Badagry 41 20.44defg
13 Ifako-Ijaye 12 1.74efgh
14 Ikorodu 41 18.39efgh
15 Alimosho 12 17.64efgh
16 Epe 41 15.86fgh
17 Ibeju-Lekki 12 14.83fgh
18 Kofofe 12 1.23gh
19 Eti-Osa 12 11.20gh
20 Amuwo-Odofin 12 9.31h
Table 3: Means of reported number of deaths from road traffic accidents 1970-2010
S/N Years N Means

1 1985 8 65.38a
2 1980 8 60.38a
3 1979 8 60.38b
4 1978 8 54.88abc
5 1981 8 52.13abcd
6 1976 8 51.75abcde
7 1973 8 47.25bcde
8 1975 8 47.25bcdef
9 1988 12 42.63cdefg
10 1977 8 42.08cdefg
11 1986 12 40.25cdefg
12 1982 8 38.08defgh
13 1984 8 37.13defghi
14 1987 12 37.00defghi
15 1983 8 36.33efghij
16 2004 8 35.31efghij
17 1974 8 32.00fghijk
18 1989 20 30.75ghijk
19 2009 20 30.70ghijk
20 2001 20 24.10hijk
21 2002 20 23.44hijk
22 2010 20 24.08hijk
23 1990 20 22.60ijk
24 2003 20 22.52ijk
25 1996 20 21.60jk
26 1997 20 19.70k
27 2008 20 19.65k
28 1994 20 19.45k
29 1972 8 19.45k
30 1993 20 19.38k
31 2005 20 10.30k
32 1995 20 18.65k
33 1998 20 17.55k
34 2006 20 17.50k
35 1991 20 19.25k
36 2007 20 17.21k
37 1999 20 17.05k
38 1970 8 16.75k
39 2000 20 16.55k
40 1992 20 16.25k
41 1971 8 16.25k
The letters in the means columns in tables 2 and 3 show means of reported deaths from road traffic accidents that were
identified as significantly or insignificantly different by Duncan New Multiple Range Test. Means of reported number of
424
deaths from road traffic accidents with different letters of alphabets are significantly different while means with the same
letters of alphabet are not significantly different. In tables 2 and 3 the means were arranged from the highest to the
lowest. From table 2 the means of reported number of deaths from road traffic accidents in Ikeja and Lagos Island are not
significantly different or equal and significantly different from those in Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Lagos Mainland, Mushin and
Apapa Local Government Areas which are not significantly different (Fig. 2). However, that of Ajeromi/Iflodun is
significantly different from that of Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Area is not significantly different from those of Lagos
mainland, Mushin and Apapa Local Government Areas which were equal with that of Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government
Area.
Fig. 2: Map of Lagos State Showing L.G.A’s with Different Means of Reported Deaths from R.TA’s
OGUN STATE
N
22.41
17.64 Agege Epe
Alimosh Ifako 11.23 18.39 15.86
Ikorodu
21.94
Kosofe
Ijaye
19.74
Somolu
Ikeja
58.31
25.22
Oshodi/Isol Mushin Lagos
31.55
35.48 L OGUN STATE
REPUBLIC OF BENIN
Amuwo 14.83
Surulere Lagos
Odofin Ibeju/Lekki
9.31 24.74 M i l d
Ojo 22.71 11.20
20.44 Lagos Eti-Osa
Apapa
Ajerom I l d
54.62
Badagry
36.48 iIfelodu 29.31
GULF OF BENIN
Key
Water body
Int’l Boundary
State Boundary
L.G.A. Boundary
L.G.A. H/Q
10 10 20km
0 13.85 Means
Source: Adopted from Table 2.
Generally, Lagos Island, Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Ikeja and Mushin Local Government Areas had the highest number of reported
deaths from road traffic accidents while Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas had the least. This could be
because of the fact that Lagos Island, Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Ikeja and Mushin Local Government Areas are in the “heart” of
Lagos State with more traffic than Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas which are at the outskirts of Lagos
State.
In order to ascertain the factors that influence the number of deaths from road traffic accidents, a Multiple
Regression Analysis was used. The dependent variable was reported number of deaths from road traffic accidents, while
the independent variables considered included length of roads (in km) in Lagos State from 1970-2010, presence of road
safety corps and population. Besides the road safety variable, which was a dummy variable (1 for years when the road
safety corps are on the road, 0 for otherwise), the rest were actual values (see table 4). Out of the three regression
models tried, linear form proved better than the logarithmic to the power of two form and the logarithmic form considering
the number of significant variables, sign of the coefficients and R2 value. The result of the analysis shows that the R2
value was 0.32. This implies that the proportion of variation in the dependent variable (deaths from road traffic accidents)
explained by the independent variable was 32%. This value is low suggesting that some other factors other than the ones
used may have influenced deaths from road traffic accidents. The F-ratio of 3.63 was higher than the table F-value of
2.98 at 0.05 level of probability indicating that at least one of the independent variables had significant influence on the
dependent variable. The choice of the three variables (i.e. length of roads, presence of road safety and population) was
partly influenced by data availability. Other variables like alcohol induced accidents, over speeding and reckless driving
would also have been useful but were not considered for lack of data. Table 5 shows the regression result.
Table 4: Population, length of roads (in km), and presence of road safety corps in Lagos State from 1970-2010
Year Population Length of roads (km) Road safety Presence

1970 1,028,327 140 0 (No)
1971 1,085,913 142 0
425
1972 1,146,724 144 0

1973 1,210,940 147 0
1974 1,278,752 150 0
1975 1,350,362 152 0
1976 1,425,982 154 0
1977 1,505,836 156 0
1978 1,647,384 157 0
1979 1,802,238 157 0
1980 1,971,648 157 0
1981 2,156,982 158 0
1982 2,359,938 161 0
1983 2,581,553 164 0
1984 2,824,218 160 0
1985* 3,089,694 148 0
1986 3,380,125 144 1 (yes)
1987 3,697,856 130 1
1988 4,024,554 130 1
1989 4,425,726 130 1
1990 4,842,744 130 1
1991 5,680,000 135 1
1992 6,213,920 135 1
1993 6,790,028 150 1
1994 7,097,141 194 1
1995 7,416,512 197 1
1996 7,661,256 203 1
1997 7,914,077 200 1
1998 8,175,241 250 1
1999 8,445,025 250 1
2000 8,723,709 256 1
2001 9,011,591 300 1
2002 9,401,288 318 1
2003 9,611,201 423 1
2004 9,801,312 500 1
2005 9,910,101 520 1
2006 10,010,001 570 1
2007 10,210,112 600 1
2008 10,323,212 641 1
2009 10,510,111 677 1
2010 10,623,101 701 1
Source: Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority

(LAMATA, 2002); Master Plan Project, Urban and Regional Planning Division, Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Land
Matters, 2002.
* There was a decline in length of roads in the country between 1985 and 1992 because these were the years of military rule in Nigeria
and the various ministry regimes of that era disregarded the development of infrastructure such as roads. Moreover, flagrant abuse of
power and massive corruption greatly diminished the resources available for road and other infrastructural developments.
Table 5: Regression Results of the Factors that influence road traffic accidents in Lagos State
Independent variables Regression Std. T-start Remark

coefficients Error
Length of roads (km) 1.69 0.570 2.98 S
Presence of road safety 29.75 71.877 0.41 NS
Population -2.38x10-5 0.00 -1.54 NS
Constant -33.48 130.97 -0.26
S = Significant at 0.05 level of probability
NS = Not significant
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From table 5, only the length of roads (km) positively and significantly influenced deaths from road traffic accidents at the
0.05 level of probability in the study area. This shows that deaths from road traffic accidents significantly increase with
increased length of roads (km). Thus, the greater the areal extent and length of highways, the higher the number of
deaths from road traffic accident occurrences in Lagos State. While it is expected that large areas are likely to have
greater accident occurrences than smaller areas because of higher traffic volumes, it is, however, note worthy that the
more the highways is of generally high quality, the greater the number of accidents. This result confirms findings from
other studies that the better the quality of the roads in Nigeria, the higher the level of road traffic accidents in the country
because drivers most likely over speed on good roads, leading to more frequent and fatal accidents (Onakomaiya 1988;
Filani and Gbadamosi, 2007; Atubi, 2010a).
This finding leads to one conclusion. It suggests that constructing more roads will lead to increased death from road
traffic accidents. Since increasing the number of roads may be beneficial in other ways, especially as government
increases the road network as part of increasing the nation’s infrastructure base, the benefits of such developments will
have to be balanced with the expected increase in road traffic accidents. In general, the variability of deaths from road
traffic accident occurrences within the study area in the 41 year period can be attributed to the variation in traffic density.
This is because improvements in the quality and density of roads has not led to appreciable changes in driving, safety
provisions or stronger procedures for monitoring road users compliance with traffic rules and regulations across the
country Moreover, poor police practices, regional disparities in traffic police strength and inadequate facilities have limited
their ability to effectively enforce traffic regulations, and by extension, their ability to be effective road safety agents.
Although the traffic accident situation in Lagos State is pathetic, the situation is especially serious in Lagos Island,
Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Ikeja, Mushin, Shomolu, Agege, and Ifako/Ijaye. These areas are accident prone because they are most
commercialised and motorized areas in Lagos State (Atubi, 2006).
6. Recommendations for Nigeria
The recommendations for Nigeria are presented as follows:

 Proper traffic patrol at the times of very high accident occurrence will go a long way towards reducing deaths
from traffic accidents and the associated injuries in Nigeria.
 Ensuring that drivers are constantly trained to ensure that they operate vehicles safely at all times
 Learn from other countries with better traffic management systems e.g. the U.S. and Great Britain
 Increase the level of road user compliance with traffic regulations
 Ensure adequate funding for the Federal Road Safety Corps
7. Recommendations/Policy implications specific to Lagos State
To deal with the accident prone areas of Lagos State (i.e. Lagos Island, Ajeromi/Ifelodun, Ikeja, Mushin, Shomolu, Agege,
Ifako/Ijaye) the authorities should:
 Decongest the CBD
 Improve traffic patrol especially in accident prone season times.
 Provide recommendations for effective transport planning, human –misuse, poor management, inadequate
street parking, traffic congestion, delays and accidents.
 Strong political commitments to ensure on a long term basis, appropriate monitoring of the road accident
situation on which pertinent decisions can be made.
 Proper design of road networks as well as the planning of the general public transport system.
These measures, if well executed will contribute positively towards reducing the ugly incidence of deaths from road traffic
accident in Lagos State and Nigeria in general. The current poor road safety record in Nigeria is not inevitable. As other
countries like the U.S.A. and Britain have shown, population and vehicular traffic growth does not have to lead to
increases in traffic crashes, deaths and permanent injuries as these undesirable outcomes can be minimized through
adequate traffic accident control and injury prevention (Atubi, 2006).
8. Conclusion
Accident on our roads is the leading cause of deaths in Nigeria and Road Traffic Accident (RTAs) are a particularly well –
documented consequence of motorization. While accidents occur in all modes of transport, including railways, no mode
approaches the importance of the motor car in the scale of deaths and injuries caused to vehicles occupants, pedestrians
427
and other unprotected road users. Living safely is a challenge that must be accepted by every one, if we are to continue
to move forward in an ever-changing society. Those areas that are accident prone is because they are most
commercialized and motorized areas of Lagos State. As Atubi (2006) further observes, traffic jams, due to deep potholes,
blocked drainages, and the poor road network, keep Lagos motorists on the roads for hours.
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The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Social Phobia

Based on Meta-Cognitive Variables
Zahra Lak
MA in Clinical Psychology,
Allameh Tabatabai University, nazaninezahra@gmail.com
Mahmoud Golzari
Ph. D in Clinical Psychology,
Faculty of Allameh Tabatabai University, mahmoud.golzari@gmail.com
Ahmad Borj'ali
Assistant professor of Allameh Tabatabai University,
Clinical Psychological Group borjali@atu.ac.ir
Ma'soumeh Sedaghat
MA in Clinical Psychology of personality,
Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch masoome.sedaghat@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p429
Abstract The present research was carried out to determine the effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on social phobia of
Shahed university students with regard to meta-cognitive beliefs. Being a clinical study, the present research used as sample 30
students of Shahed University suffering from social phobia. These students had received top scores on the SPIN social phobia test. The
sample participants were also evaluated using scales of social phobia (SPIN) and meta-cognitive (MCQ30). Being homogenized, the
participants were divided into experiment and control groups. The experimental group was taught cognitive-behavioral therapy during 20
sessions but control group was not included in any educational program. The obtained results were analyzed using descriptive statistics,
correlation, and covariance analysis using SPSS. The experimental and control groups were found to be significantly different in terms of
social phobia in all three stages: prior therapy, after therapy and 6 weeks later. This implied that cognitive behavioral therapy was
effective in reducing social phobia. Findings indicated that there was a meaningful relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs and the
corresponding effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Key words: cognitive-behavioral therapy, social phobia, students, meta cognition.
1. Preface
Living with others and communicating with them forms the essence of social. This sort of communication shapes the
basis of human life (Fathi, 2005). Fear of criticism and being befooled by others exerts dramatic impact on man's social
life (Halgin, Krauss Whitbourne, 2009). Social phobia in comparison to other types of anxiety disorders outbreaks at an
early age. Its outbreak has been observed at an average age of 15 and is regarded as one of the most common mental
disorders during teens (Hirschfeld, 1995). Those suffering from social phobia experience minimal success and at times
job and educational failures. According to APA (2000/2009), Such people rarely get married, may flee school or drop out,
or be left jobless during youth, or give up looking up for a job due to the difficulties they assume in job interviews.
Besides, research findings have indicated that social phobia doubles the chance of committing suicide. Combined
with other disorders, social phobia can increase the risk of committing suicide to 4 times the rate observed in healthy
people. This rate is so shocking and alarming (Hirschfeld, 1995).
Social phobia therapy is carried out in two ways: Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments. Pharmacologic
treatment includes: Serotonin reabsorbing selective controllers, mono amino oxides controller (Figueira, 2002) and
Benzodiazepines (Davidson, 2003). Non-pharmacologic treatment includes: Cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy based
on acceptance and commitment, facing therapy and social skills training (Himberg, & Guilford, 2003). Cognition-based
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therapy can easily be taught or described and is useful for all age groups and has a great impact on prevention of
recurrence of the disorder (Blackburn, Mary, & Kate, 1987/2005). Research works have demonstrated that group or
individual cognitive behavioral therapy impacts the treatment of social phobia. In fact, this method aims to change
individuals patterns of thoughts and physical reactions in anxiety prone situations (Tang, Dragull, Lim, Efird, et al., 2007).
Cognitive behavioral therapy used in this research is based on package of cognitive behavioral therapy for Labhi disorder
of social phobia. This research was carried out during 20 sessions (Leahy, Holland2000/2006) .The efficiency of cognitive
therapy on anxious patients has been studied abundantly (Beck & Hollon,1985; Blackburn et al., 1987/2005; Hollon, et
al., 1983; Murphy et al., 1984; Rush, & Tisdale, 1977 all cited in Akbari, 2010). These studies have demonstrated that
cognitive behavioral therapy is equally, or at times more, effective on anxiety and depression than pharmological
treatment (Blackburn, Iry marie et al., 1987/2005; Simmons, & Murphy, 1986; Goldberg & Beck, 1988 all cited in
Ghasemzadeh , bahari, narimani(2011)). Cognitive behavioral therapy usually uses an array of behavioral methods like
muscle relaxation training and cognitive restructuring techniques with the objective of reducing distorted cognitions as
well as biased information processing related to anxiety pervasive disorders. The therapy also includes catastrophic
minor events (Sligman, 1984/2010).
Given the definitions of meta-cognitive beliefs (Janeck, Calamari, Riemenn, & Heffoliger, 2003) and following
research findings demonstrating a relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs and a wide range of other mental disorders
(i.e. pervasive anxiety and phobia (Cartwright-Hatton, & Wells, 1997; Wells, & Carter, 2001), symptoms of mental-
practical obsession (Wells & Papageorgiou, 2001), hypochondriasis (Bouman, & Meijer, 1999), test anxiety (Spada, Hiou,
& Nikcevic. 2006), psychosis (Morrison, Wells, & Nothard, 2002), depression (Wells, 2009), the authors decided to
examine the role of meta-cognitive beliefs on efficiency of cognitive behavioral therapy of patients suffering from social
phobia. Positive meta-cognitive beliefs well point to usefulness of perturbation ,obsessive rumination , threat monitoring
and other similar strategies. In other words, inefficient beliefs may seem logical at the surface (Sa'ed, 2009). Negative
meta-beliefs are grouped into (1) uncontrollable thoughts and (2) meaning, importance and hazards of thoughts. Because
of such meta-beliefs, we may fail to control our thoughts, which may lead to negative, hazardous or misinterpretation of
thoughts (Sa'ed, 2009). An overview of research works carried out in Iran and other countries indicated that the cognitive
behavioral method was effective in reduction of social phobia (Gaffarzadeh, et al. 2005; Ghasemzadeh,et al. 2011; Foa,
2003); Wells, & et al. 2001; Heimberg, 2003, and Liebowitz, 1999).
In this study social phobia was dealt with and participants were selected from a university, namely Shahed
University, due to the following reasons: (1) Social phobia can be harmful to individuals or societies and despite its high
prevalence, it has not been taken seriously in our country; (2) Social phobia is most likely to be mistaken for other types
of disorders such as depression; (3)This disorder spreads more among students since students need more social
relationships and (4) State University students were assumed similar. Irrational thoughts form an important aspect of
social phobia. They can, of course, be corrected partly through training the patient on ways to overcome anxiety. That
was why the researchers decided to study the effectiveness of the behavioral cognitive therapy on the participants.
2. Methodology
2.1 Participants
All male and female students of Shahed University suffering from social phobia were considered to be the population of
the study, from whom 30 were selected through randomization and on a voluntary basis. To this end, announcement was
made within the university campus and students interested to participate and answer the questionnaires gathered on a
particular day at the university and filled in the SPIN questionnaire of social phobia. Having checked the completed
questionnaires, those students with high symptoms of social phobia were selected. Each student was assigned a number
from 1 to 30 and was assigned randomly to the experimental and control groups. Each group comprised 15 students. The
two groups filled in the SPIN and MQ30 meta-cognitive beliefs questionnaires (to study the effect of intrusion on them).
The treatment was carried out on the experimental group for 20 weeks (two sessions per week) during which the control
group was left untackled.
2.2 Instruments
2.2.1 SPIN Social phobia questionnaire
This scale was first introduced by Canure (2006) to assess social anxiety. It was a self-assessment scale comprising 17
items. The questionnaire contained 3 subscales namely, fear (6 items), avoidance (7 items) and physiological discomfort
430
(4 items) (Hasanvande Amozadeh, 2010). The questionnaire was based on a five-item Likert scale, including never= 0, a
little= 1, partly= 2, very much= 3 and unlimited= 4. The reliability of the questionnaire computed using the test retest
method, in groups with social phobia symptoms was 0.78 to 0.89 and the internal consistency in a normal group for the
total scales was equal to 0.94. The internal consistency scores obtained for the minor scales were as follows: Fear (0.89),
avoidance (0.91) and physiological discomfort (0.8) (Connor, Davidson, & Churchill, 2006). Hasanvande Amoozadeh
(2010) attained the reliabiity and validity of this scale on a non-clinical sample in Iran. The questionnaire’s coefficient of
alpha for pre-test was 0.84 and that for the post-test was 0.76. Further, the split-half reliability was computed to be 0.84
and the Spearman-Brown index was 0.91. Also, Cronbach's alpha related to the whole tests in subscales of social phobia
was 0.75 (for avoidance), 0.74 (for fear) and %75 (for discomfort). The results indicated that the calculated reliability was
satisfactory.
The SPIN questionnaire’s convergent validity was computed y= 0.35, p= 0.001(with Lef and Baror’s Cognitive Error
Questionnaire (CEQ)), y= 0.58, p= 0.001 (with self-esteem scores, and y= 0.7, p= 0.001 (with phobic anxiety SCL-90-R
Drogatis and Limen). The results indicated that the test was acceptable (Hasanvandeamuzadeh, 2010). Tahmasebi
Moradi (2008) tested the reliability of this scale on 123 students of Shahid Beheshti University the result of which was
reported to be 0.82 using test re-test method. The Cronbach alpha reliability was 0.86 (Zanjani, 2009 as cited in
Mahmoodi, 2010). Discriminant validity resulting from the comparison of the test results, in the two groups, with people
diagnosed with social phobia and those patients not diagnosed as such was found to be high indicating a meaningful
difference between the variables.
2.2.2 Meta-cognitive Questionnaire (MCQ-30)
This scale is the shortened form of the original meta-cognitive questionnaire (containing 65 items and introduced by
Cartwright-Hatton, & Wells, 1997). This questionnaire studies meta-cognitive aspects using five subscales including: (1)
Positive meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety, (2) negative meta-cognitive beliefs on uncontrollability and danger, (3) low
cognitive confidence, (4) the need to control thoughts and (5) cognitive self-consciousness. This questionnaire was made
to assess individual differences on positive and negative beliefs on intrusive thought, anxiety, meta-cognitive supervision
and judgment of cognitive efficiency. The reliability and validity of this scale was tested on 182 students. The internal
consistency was reported 0.93 for the whole scales and 0.93, 0.92, 0.90, 0.91 and 0.72 for subscales of cognitive trust,
positive beliefs, cognitive self-consciousness, negative beliefs and the need for thoughts control respectively (Wells, &
Cart Wright-Hatton, 2004). In Shirinzadeh’s (2008) research, the correlation between the meta-cognitive scale and the
anxiety questionnaire of Spielberger trait was 0.45 - the coefficient of internal consistency for the whole scales was 0.91
but for subscales was between 0.71 and 0.87; the reliability of the whole scales was 0.73 and for subscales of
uncontrollability and danger, positive beliefs and cognitive self-consciousness, low cognition trust and the need for
thought control was 0.59, 0.83, 0.81 and 0.64 and 0.65 respectively.
2.3 Execution of research method
In this article, pre-test, post-test method with control group was used as the research design. The statistical population
included all male and female students of Shahed University, all suffering from social phobia. The sample participants
were selected through randomization and on a voluntary basis. Two questionnaires (Questionnaire of social phobia
(SPIN) and meta-cognitive questionnaire) were used as research tools. To describe the data, mean scores and standard
deviations were used. To analyze the data, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and correlation were used. After selecting
the questionnaire of social phobia, the participants (30 students) were divided into control and experimental groups.
Then, the experimental group underwent 20 sessions of cognitive–behavioral therapy (2 times per week, each time 2 to
2.5 hours). The control group was left untackled during this time. During the initial sessions, the participants got familiar
with sources of stress, the way to respond to stress, consequence of stress and relaxation, imaging and role playing. The
following sessions were based on cognitive-behavioral therapy. They further got familiar with the relationships among
thought, emotion, behavior, how to identify thought, distorted self talk, replacing and restructuring more rational thoughts
and finally the identification of schemata. At the end of the sessions, the control and experimental groups were evaluated
again by social phobia questionnaire and because the meta-cognitive was moderating, it was omitted from the follow up
evaluation.
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3. A summary of sessions
3.1. The first session
- The current social phobia symptoms were traced in patients.

- Consulting the diagnosis results with the students and giving them information about social phobia.
- Stressing on the commonality of the disorder and the availability of various short-term treatments.
3.2 The second session
- Relaxation practice.
- Discussing avoidance strategies and safe behaviors.
- Discussing the impact of this disorder on social, job and educational performance and making relevant assessments.
3.3 The 3rd and 4th sessions
- The identification of negative unconscious automatic thoughts

- Learning rational reactions to these thoughts.
3.4 The 5th and 6th sessions
- classification of unconscious automatic thoughts.

- To study evidence confirming or rejecting such unconscious automatic thoughts.
- More cognitive restructuring.
- Beginning of conceptive exposure, role playing, direct exposure based on a hierarchy of exposure levels.
- Training the required social skills through modeling and role playing.
3.5 The 14th to 16th sessions
- Identifying and challenging the incompatible assumptions of automatic thoughts and basic schemata.
3.6 The 17th to 20th sessions
- Continuous focus on assumptions and schemata.

- Encouraging patients to design their own exposure model (Leihi 2000/2006).
4. Results
4.1 Descriptive statistics
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of social phobia scores in experimental and control groups in pre-test, post-test and follow up:
Experimental group Control group
scores
mean SD mean SD
Pre-test 57 3.09 53.60 2.69

Post-test 9.40 5.51 54.67 4.03
Follow up (6 weeks later) 13.47 7.30 54.40 4.33
As shown in Table 1, during the pre-test, there is not much differences in the mean scores of social phobia between the
experimental and control groups. During the post-test, however, the social phobia scores of the experimental participants
who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy, were lower than those obtained for the control group. In addition, the mean
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follow up scores of the experimental group were lower than those in the control group. This finding proves the positive
effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on social phobia.
4.2 Inferential statistics
Table 2: Results of covariance analysis for social phobia in both experimental and control groups:
Sources of change Sum of df Mean of F Sig.

squares squares
Pre-test 1.48 1 1.48 0.06 0.01
Group 11217.00 1 11217.00 464.89 0
Error 651.45 27 24.12
Total 46805.00 30
Based on the above table, the post-test scores of social phobia in experimental and control groups (while keeping
constant the effects of pre-test social phobia scores) were found to be significantly different (F(1.27)=464.89, p<0.01).
This finding reiterates the efficiency of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Table 3: The correlation between meta-cognitive beliefs and efficiency of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Variables N r Sig.
Positive meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety 15 -0.44 0.09
Negative meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety 15 0.51 0.04
Meta-cognitive beliefs about low cognitive confidence 15 0.62 0.01
Meta-cognitive beliefs about a need for thoughts control 15 0.61 0.01
Meta-cognitive beliefs about cognitive self-awareness 15 0.64 0.01
Based on Table 3, there is a correlation between the positive and negative meta-cognitive beliefs, on the one hand, and
the efficiency of cognitive-behavioral therapy of social phobia, on the other. Negative correlation obtained for positive
meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety indicated the negative impact of such beliefs on acceptance of therapy. The other four
variables were found to have a positive impact on social phobia therapy.
5. Discussion
Based on the above table, the post-test scores of social phobia in experimental and control groups (while keeping
constant the effects of pre-test social phobia scores) were found to be significantly different (F(1.27)=464.89, p<0.01). A
comparison of the two groups' adjusted mean scores revealed that the experimental group's social phobia mean score
(influenced by cognitive behavioral therapy was lower ( =9.40, SD= 5.51) than that of the control group ( =54.67,
SD=4.03. Also, the experimental group's follow up mean score ( =13.04, SD= 7.30) was lower than that of the control
group ( =54.40, SD=4.33). This result proved the positive effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy on social phobia. In fact,
cognitive-behavioral therapy helped to reduce social phobia in the participants. This finding is in line with the finding of
Ghafarzadeh,mahmoudi,azimi, heidari. (2005) who studied the impact of group cognitive therapy on social phobia. Our
findings are also in agreement with those of a number of foreign researchers including Foa, et al. (2003) who studied the
effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on social phobia. Their results suggested that cognitive-behavioral therapy
was more effective than other treatments, and of course more durable in the long run. Zargar, Kalantari, Molavi, &
Nesatdoust (2006), in their study showed that group behavioral therapy was more effective in reducing students’ social
phobia and assertiveness.
As another piece of Iranian research, Mosabbebi Chenariyan, Esma’ili, & Falsafinejad (2010) suggested the
effectiveness of cognitive therapy, based on self-talk technique, on reduction of social phobia and stipulation of the
individual’s and others’ interpretations. Applying techniques such as cognitive distortions, irrational self-talk and cognitive
restructuring, the method used in the present research also corrects the individual’s self-talk and thoughts. Wells, &
Carter (2001) studied the effectiveness of cognitive therapy on social phobia and concluded that non-pharmacological
treatments, including cognitive therapy, are more effective than pharmacological ones and will lead to more noticeable
improvement. Conducting research to examine the effectiveness of group cognitive therapy on social phobia sufferers,
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Heimberg (2003) referred to group cognitive therapy as one of the most effective treatments available. Having examined
the effects of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on social phobia, Liebowitz (1999) also found that this type of therapy
was one of the most effective treatments of social phobia. As the results indicated, the correlation between positive meta-
cognitive beliefs related to anxiety and effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy was -0.44 (P<0.05). There was found
to be a negative significant relationship between positive meta-cognitive beliefs and the anxiety and uncertainty over the
effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy. In other words, positive meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety and on
effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy could reduce the effectiveness of this method on social phobia. Positive
meta-cognitive beliefs imply that such patients consider their anxieties and obsessive ruminations useful, and hence
make no effort to change themselves. They, in fact, see no need to do so. This is an important reason why cognitive-
behavioral therapy has the least effect on them. Wells, & Carter (2001) pointed to a cognitive-attentional syndrome in
social phobia sufferers. This syndrome appears in the form of repetitive thought and is hard to control. It will ultimately
lead to anxiety, obsessive rumination and self-monitoring behavior. The syndrome's activity and durability in response to
tension depends on unadjusted meta-cognitive beliefs. Although no comprehensive study on the relationship between
meta-cognitive beliefs and social phobia has been carried out, Mahmoudi, Goudarzi, Taghavi, & Rahimi (2010) in their
study on the effectiveness of brief psychotherapy focused on meta-cognition in social phobia. They came to the
conclusion that brief meta-cognition psychotherapy was effective. They reported that the correlation between negative
meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety and the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy was 0.51 (P<0.05). In other words,
there was a significant relationship between negative meta-cognitive beliefs on anxiety and the effectiveness of cognitive-
behavioral therapy. This finding implied that cognitive-behavioral therapy was more effective on social phobia. In simple
terms, negative cognitive beliefs imply that thoughts and anxiety are dangerous and harmful, which ultimately increases
the effectiveness of therapy. The correlation between meta-cognitive beliefs on low cognitive confidence and
effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy was found to be 0.62 (P<0.05). In other words, there is a significant
relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs on low cognitive confidence and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral
therapy. This relationship could lead to efficient cognitive behavioral therapy on social phobia. As the results show, the
correlation between meta-cognitive beliefs on need for thought control and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy
was 0.61 (P<0.05). That is, there was a significant relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs on need for thought
control and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy. This meant that meta-cognitive beliefs on need for thought
control could lead to the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on social phobia. Since the patients constantly
controlled their minds, it is concluded that such beliefs could increase the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Based on the results, the correlation between meta-cognitive beliefs, on cognitive self-awareness, and the
effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy was 0.64 (P<0.05). In other words, there was a significant relationship
between meta-cognitive beliefs on cognitive self-awareness and effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy. That is,
meta-cognitive beliefs on cognitive self-awareness together with effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy lead to the
effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on social phobia. It can be argued that cognitive self-awareness is, in fact,
sort of thought monitoring and continuous awareness. So, cognitive self-awareness can be useful in cognitive behavioral
therapy and increase its effectiveness. No study has been done on this issue.
Social phobia disorder is accompanied with cognitive emotional involvement of the sufferer. A therapeutic planning,
which first stops the emotional process and then tackles cognitive challenge, could be of great help. Social phobia
sufferers often before encountering social panic-inductive situations, during the encounter and even after it, do obsessive
rumination over their failure and on how they were judged by others. These obsessive ruminations lead to continuation of
their anxiety. Meanwhile, avoidance of frightening social situations in anxiety disorders leads to failure in discovering non-
dangerous items. Also, subtler forms of protective behaviors in social phobia sufferers including avoidance of self-
disclosure before others cause their biased reaction. This issue results in a negative series of social reactions. This
means that meta-cognitive therapy is effective on anxiety disorders treatment (Mahmoudi et al., 2010). However, no
research has been found to undertake the issue of meta-cognitive beliefs relationship among social phobia sufferers. The
present article is hoped to pave the way for research literature on meta-cognitive beliefs and cognitive behavioral therapy
in patients with social phobia. In brief, it was concluded that by adding meta-cognitive variables, we can anticipate the
results of cognitive behavioral therapy, and through using special interventions, we can even bolster the therapeutic
achievements. For example, regarding individuals with positive meta-cognitive beliefs on perturbation, despite having a
negative effect on the treatment, we can focus more on the identification of self-generated thoughts and cognitive
restructuring or take other measures. For instance, in order to accelerate the healing process and increase its
generalization power to a larger population, and given the individuals’ meta-cognitive status, we can form homogeneous
groups in terms of the mentioned variables.
434
6. Limitations of the study
The present research, however, like other conducted interventions, has its own limitations. This research was carried out
on students and in the university setting. So, many factors including tiredness and educational environment may have
influenced the therapeutic results. Extension of the results to non-student population suffering from social phobia should
be done cautiously.
Cognitive perspective emphasizes the important role of thinking in etiology and in continuation of clinical problems.
Cognitive therapy seeks to make correction by changing the thinking patterns involved in patients’ problems. Cognitive
theorists believe that anxiety disorders originate in the extreme and negative judgment of situations and feelings as
dangerous; therefore, cognitive behavioral therapies can play a remarkable role in treatment of anxiety disorders
(Mosabbebi Chenarin, 2010). Results obtained from other Iranian and foreign studies indicated that cognitive behavioral
therapies for anxiety disorders and, in particular, social phobia, are among well-known and effective therapies. These
therapies are recommended since they can easily be taught and the obtained results are durable.
In this article, the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy in reduction of social phobia in students and its
durability was proved. The therapy was found to be effective and reliable. Iranian and foreign research proved the
effectiveness and even superiority of cognitive behavioral therapy in comparison to pharmacological treatments. Further,
social phobia was found to have undeniable effects on function and success of students and individuals suffering from
this disease. In all, this method of treatment, as a reliable and efficacious treatment for social phobia sufferers, is
recommended to be used in universities as well as medical centers. Enjoying follow up and durability of medical
achievements after 6 months is one of the main achievements in this research.
Acknowledgment
We would like to offer our appreciation and thanks to all people contributing in this research, especially staff of humanities
faculty of Shahed University and all participating students.
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Stock Market Prices and Performance of Textile Industry of Pakistan

in Last Five Years – An Evidence of EMH
Muhammad Aamir *
Kanwal Iqbal Khan
Muhammad Farooq Rehan
Hailey College of Commerce,
University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
E-mail: *aamir@hcc.edu.pk
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p437
Abstract This paper explains the performance of the textile sector and its impact on the market prices for the last five years. Textile
sector is an important sector for the economy of Pakistan due to its employment potential, availability of raw material and foreign
exchange earnings but this sector is not contributing its required role in the economy since the last five years. Why textile industry has
lost its share in exports and fails to maintain its position in the economy. Reasons are discussed and explained by building the statistical
relationship between the performance of the companies and their market prices. Although there are many internal and external factors
for measuring the performance of the company, but in this research article only EPS (Earning per Share) and Book Value of shares are
taken as a performance measurement tools. The efficient market hypothesis is used as an evidence to explain the relationship between
the stock market prices and performance of the textile industry. The sample of twenty companies are taken from textile industry and by
using the SPSS software the relationship between the performance of the companies and their market prices are explained in the
meaningful way. These results are helpful in explaining, how performance of the textile industry affects their market prices of shares in
the stock market.
Keywords: textile sector, Pakistan, export, stock market price
1. Introduction
This paper highlights the performance of textile sector of Pakistan and its impact on market prices of shares during the
last five years. Textile sector is the major sector for the Pakistan economy due to its employment potential, availability of
raw material as well as foreign exchange earnings. Pakistan is the 4th largest cotton producing country of the world and
3rd largest cotton consumer country (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2008-09). It accounts for approximately 27 percent of
total industrial output, absorbs about 38 percent of Industrial labor force, and contributes around 60 percent to export
earnings (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 1999-2000). But the textile and clothing industry has lost its share in exports
from 66 percent in 2004 to 53.7 percent in current financial year (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2008-09).
This shows that the textile sector could not get full benefit of removal of quota regime as compared to its regional
competitors (i.e. China, India and Bangladesh). According to an estimate by Khan & Mehmood (1996) Pakistan will have
an additional market access of about 62 percent and 67 percent for textile and clothing respectively with the eradication
of MFA (Multi-Fibre Arrangement) in 2005. Another estimate by Ingco and Winters (1995) the gain for Pakistan would be
more than US $ 500 million with the removal of MFA (Multi-Fibre Arrangement). The reasons behind this performance are
the increasing world Competition, technological gap, lack of co-ordination between different sub sectors of textile industry,
inadequate finance for investment and labor force etc.
The performance of the textile sector also affects the market price of the shares. The performance of the particular
industry plays an important role in determining the stock price of that industry. That’s why most of the times, the stock
price of the companies moves in the same direction in which the industry moves. Although there are many internal and
external factors that affect the market price of the company like demand and supply forces in the stock market, market
capitalization, news, performance of the sector or industry to which a company is the part, etc. But in this research article,
I have discussed that the market price of the share is determined on the basis of performance of the company as an
evidence of Efficient Market Hypothesis. The Efficient Market Hypothesis says that a market is efficient if all relevant
publicly available information is quickly reflected in the market price.
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In this article I have used the semi-strong form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis. It says that the market will quickly
digest the publication of relevant new information by moving the price to a new equilibrium level that reflects the change
in supply and demand caused by the emergence of that information. That’s why it is said that the performance of a
particular sector plays an important role in determining the stock prices of that company and it moves in the same
direction in which the industry moves. Although there are many internal and external factors for measuring the
performance for the company like sales volume, profit of the company, size balance sheet, EPS ratio, book value of the
share etc. but in this research article only EPS (Earnings per Share) and book value of the share are taken as a
performance measurement tools.
The objective of this research is to develop the meaningful relationship between the market prices of shares and the
performance of the textile industry by considering the current status and importance of Pakistani textile industry. This
paper is helpful in explaining, how performance of the textile industry affects its market prices of shares in the stock
market.
Textile industry is the major contributor to the exports of our country. But in the international market the share is
decreasing. The year 2008-09 was a crucial period for the textile industry since the industry was the major problem of
globalization and energy crisis. “The impact of globalization is apparent on both demand and supply sides of the trade
equation. However, global supply capacities have exceeded more than demand in recent years. Domestically, the
increase in cost of utilities, (Power, Gas, Transport, and Petrol) has impacted the viability thus forcing the industry to
make distress sales. Resultantly all competing countries are making distress sales to sustain their market share. This has
also affected Pakistani Textile Industry”(Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2008-09).
The textile and clothing industry has lost its share in exports from 66 percent in 2004 to 53.7 percent in current
financial year (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2008-09) (See Table ‘A’).This shows that the textile sector could not get full
benefit of removal of quota regime as compared to its regional competitors (China, India and Bangladesh). According to
Trela & Whalley (1990) estimates Pakistan would gain $0.008 Billion with the removal of both tariffs and quotas.
Mehmood (1999) explained that by taking account of the tightness with which MFA has bound Pakistan, this gain might
be around US$ 1-1.3 billion. Textile exports from Asia to Africa, Europe and North America increased by 14-20 per cent
after the expiry of quotas (WTO, 2006).According to an estimate by Khan & Mehmood (1996) Pakistan will have an
additional market access of about 62 percent and 67 percent for textile and clothing respectively with the eradication of
MFA in 2005. Another estimate by Ingco and Winters (1995) the gain for Pakistan would be more than US$ 500 million
with the removal of MFA (Multi-Fiber Arrangement).
There are two important tools (EPS and book value of the share) used to measure the performance of the textile
industry. P/B Ratio is used to compare the market price of a stock with its book value as an evidence of Efficient Market
Hypothesis. As according to the efficient market hypothesis all the publically available market information is available to
all the investors. This information helps the investors in taking their investment decisions. As according to Fama(1970)
‘…an “efficient” market for securities, that is, a market where, given the available information, actual prices at every point
in time represent very good estimates of intrinsic values’ (Fame, 1965).Fama (1970)explained efficient market by adding
that it is a market which completely reflects the information about prices prevailing in the market.
For measuring the performance of the company EPS (Earning per Share) and book value of the share are used.
Brigham & Ehrhardt(2007) states that that the ratio of a stock’s market price to its book value gives another indication of
how investors regard the company. Companies with relatively high rates of return on equity generally sell at higher
multiples of book value than those with low return. In a research articleKing & Langli(1998) use a regression model of
earnings and book value on stock prices and report an explanatory power of 70%, 60% and 40% respectively for the UK,
Norway and Germany. Howton & Peterson(1999) have also analyzed the effects of betas, size, book-to-market equity,
and earnings-price ratios on stock returns. The result of the researches conducted by Graham & King (1998) in Southeast
Asia and Chen, Chen, & Su (2001) in China show significant differences in the relationship between financial statement
information and stock prices across countries and across time. Bloomfield (2004) has performed two experiments to
examine how beta, market-to-book ratios, and firm size affect the returns.
In this research article, Efficient Market Hypothesis has provided the theoretical basis for measuring the performance of
the textile industry during the seventies and the eighties as its results have strongly influenced the stock market prices.
438
An efficient market will always “fully reflect” the available information, but in order to determine how the market should
“fully reflect” this information, we need to determine investors’ risk preferences. Therefore Sewell (2006) any test of the
Efficient Market Hypothesis is a test of both market efficiency and investors’ risk preference.In the past, most of the
evidence seems to have been consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis. Most of the studies in the seventies
focused on predicting prices from past prices, studies in the eighties also looked at the possibility of forecasting based on
variables such as dividend yieldas by Fama & French (1988)and P/E ratios by Campbell & Shiller (1987).
The value investor studies the financial statements of the company before buying the shares from the stock market,
for restoring to various approaches that validate their investment decision by providing them high returns. Market
Price/Book Value ratio is an important indicator for the investors to measure the performance of the company. P/B Ratio
is used to compare the market price of a stock with its book value. Brigham &Ehrhardt (2007) in their book “Financial
management: theory and practice” state that "the ratio of a stock’s market price to its book value gives another indication
of how investors regard the company. Companies with relatively high rates of return on equity generally sell at higher
multiples of book value than those with low return” (p.135).
Book Value per Share =Common Equity/Shares Outstanding
This ratio is also known as the "price-equity ratio". It is calculated by dividing the current market price of the share
by the book value per share.
Calculated as:
P/B Ratio = MPS/BPS
If the P/B ratio is lower than it means that the stock of the company is undervalued. While on the other hand if the
P/B ratio is higher than it means that the stock of the company is overvalued. This ratio also gives some idea of whether
you're paying too much for what would be left if the company went bankrupt immediately or in case of winding up of the
company.
Another important factor affecting stock price is the earning/price ratio. This gives you a fair idea of a company’s
share price when it is compared to its earnings. The stock becomes undervalued if the price of the share is much lower
than the earnings of a company. But if this is the case, then it has the potential to rise in the near future. The stock
becomes overvalued if the price is much higher than the actual earning. The portion of a company's profit allocated to
each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share serve as an indicator of a company's profitability. EPS is
calculated by dividend on preferred stock per share from the net income and by dividing it with the no. of outstanding
stock per share.
This research is aimed to see the effect of firms’ performance on stock market prices. Sample of twenty companies from
the textile sector listed at Karachi Stock Exchange were taken for the period of five years from 2005 to 2009. Although
there are many variables that can affect the market prices but in this articles only two variables book value of share and
earnings per share were taken and study their effect on market price of share. Ohlson(1995) consider book value and
earnings important variable to see their affect on stock prices. He also considers stock value as a function of two financial
statement variables (book value and earnings). Table ‘B’ provides the detailed financial information about the variables
used in this article. To test this relationship, linear regressions method is used by taking market prices as dependant
variable and book value as well as earnings per share as independent variables. Same variables are used for analysis by
Dung in his article named “Value-Relevance of Financial Statement Information: A Flexible Application of Modern
Theories to the Vietnamese Stock Market” (Dung).
The regression model, Anova table and correlation analysis is used to test the significance of the relationship
between the market price of the share and book value of the share or earnings per share.The relationship between the
market price of the share and book value of the share or earnings per share is tested at 5% level of significance.
The hypotheses are
Ho: Market Price of Shares is not affected by the Earning per Share
H1: Market Price of Shares is affected by the Earning per Share
: Market Price of Shares is not affected by the Book Value of Shares
: Market Price of Shares is affected by the Book Value of Shares
The first regression line is
Y= + α 0+ α 1X1+€
Here Y denotes the market price the of shares
X1 denotes the earning per shares
439
The second regression line is

Y= β0+ 1X2+€
Here Y denotes the market price of the shares
X2 denotes the book value of the shares
Year Average EPS Average BPS Average MPS

X1 X2 Y
2005 4.613637 50.44987 57.797
2006 3.099456 99.18718 62.8585
2007 1.49797 98.70233 72.87
2008 0.312532 94.48291 90.4345
2009 3.50597 90.95895 70.555
Figure 1
This graph reports the sample’s descriptive statistics. The average market price of the share of the companieslisted on
the Karachi stock Exchangeis Rs.70.9030 for the period 2005-2009. From the graph it is clear that the minimum average
market price per share is Rs. 57.797 in 2005 and the maximum average market price per share is Rs.90.4345 in 2008.

Figure 2

440
This graph reports the sample’s descriptive statistics. The average earning per share of the companies listed on the
Karachi stock Exchange is 2.6059 for the period 2005-2009. From the graph it is clear that the minimum average earning
per share is 0.313 in 2008 and the maximum average earning per share is 4.61 in 2005.
Figure 3
This graph reports the sample’s descriptive statistics. The average book value per share of the companies listed on the
Karachi stock Exchange is Rs. 86.7562 for the period 2005-2009. From the graph it is clear that the minimum average
book value per share is Rs. 50.45in 2005 and the maximum average book value per share is Rs.99.19 in 2006. The
graph of MPS and BPS shows that the average BPS remains greater than the average MPS for the period 2005-2009.
Ho: Market Price of Shares is not affected by the Earning per Share
H1: Market Price of Shares is affected by the Earning per Share
Y= + α 0+ α 1X1+€
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics
Co-efficient of Variation
Mean Std. Deviation N
Average MPS 70.9030 12.46947 17.58% 5
Average EPS 2.6059 1.70087 65.27% 5
The table shows that the Average MPS is 70.9030 and the Average EPS is 2.6059. It means the Average MPS is greater
than the Average EPS. This table also shows that the Std. Deviation of MPS is greater than the Std. Deviation of EPS.
There is much variation in Average EPS as compared to Average MPS.
Table 2: Coefficients
Un standardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients Correlations
Model B Std. Error Beta T Sig. Zero-order Partial Part
1 (Constant) 88.371 5.172 17.087 .000
Average
-6.703 1.714 -.914 -3.911 .030 -.914 -.914 -.914
EPS
441

Y= α 0+ α 1X1+€
The estimated line is
= 88.371-6.703 X1
α0= 88.371 shows that if earning per share is zero then market price of share will be Rs. 88.371 and α 1= -6.703 shows if
there is one rupee increase in earnings per share, the market price of share will decrease by 6.703 rupees. Both constant
and slope parameter are significant. As P- Value of constant and slope parameter are less than 0.05. So we reject our
null hypothesis and conclude that there are enough evidence to infer that market price of shares is affected by the
earning per shares.
ANOVA
Model Sum of Squares Df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 519.971 1 519.971 15.296 .030a
Residual 101.980 3 33.993
Total 621.951 4
a. Predictors: (Constant), Average EPS
b. Dependent Variable: Average MPS
ANOVA tests the overall significance of the regression. The outcomes show that linear relationship between themarket
price per share and earning per is significant as P- Value is less than α i.e. 0.03< 0.05. So we reject our null hypothesis
and conclude that there are enough evidence to infer that market price of shares is affected by the earning per
shares.Furthermore the Residual SS< Regression SS shows that regression is contributing much in the model.
Correlations
Average
MPS AverageEPS
Pearson Correlation Average
1.000 -.914
MPS
Average
-.914 1.000
EPS
Sig. (1-tailed) Average
. .015
MPS
AverageEPS .015 .
N AverageMPS 5 5
AverageEPS 5 5
Correlation Matrix:
The correlation matrix shows that there is a negative relationship between MPS and EPS. The Sig. testing shows that
the P- Value is less than α i.e. .015 <0.05 showing that correlation is significant and this further explains that there is
much significant relationship between the market price of the share and earnings per share.
Model Summary
Std. Error of the
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Estimate
1 .914a .836 .781 5.83038
442
Here R2= 0.914 and Adj.R2= 0.836. This shows that only 91% of the variations in market price of the shareare explained by
itslinear relationship betweenearning per share as independent variable and market price of a share as dependent
variable. So this further explains that the linear line is a good fit which shows that there is a strong relationship between
the EPS and MPS.
: Market Price of Shares is not affected by the Book Value of Shares
: Market Price of Shares is affected by the Book Value of Shares
Y= β0+ 1X2+€
Descriptive Statistics
Co-efficient of Variation
Mean Std. Deviation N

Average MPS 70.9030 17.58% 12.46947 5
Average BPS 86.7562 23.76% 20.57155 5
The table shows that the Average MPS is 70.9030 and the Average BPS is 86.7562. It means the Average BPS is
greater than the Average MPS. This table also shows that the Std. Deviation of BPS is greater than the Std. Deviation of
MPS. There is much variation in Average BPS as compared to Average MPS.
Coefficients
Un standardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients Correlations
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig. Zero-order Partial Part
1 (Constant) 42.777 26.225 1.631 .201
Average
.324 .296 .535 1.096 .353 .535 .535 .535
BPS
a. Dependent Variable: Average MPS

Y= β0+ 1X2+€
The estimated regression line is
= 42.777+0.324X2
0= 42.777shows that if book value of the share is zero then market price of share will be Rs. 42.777and 1=
0.324shows if there is one rupee increase in book value of the share, the market price of share will increase by 0.324
rupees. Both constant and slope parameter are highly insignificant. As P- Value of constant and slope parameter is
greater than 0.05. So I do not reject my null hypothesis and conclude that there are no enough evidence to infer that
market price of shares is affected by the book value of the shares.
ANOVA
1 Regression 177.911 1 177.911 1.202 .353a
Residual 444.040 3 148.013
Total 621.951 4
443
ANOVA
1 Regression 177.911 1 177.911 1.202 .353a
Residual 444.040 3 148.013
Total 621.951 4
a. Predictors: (Constant), Average BPS

b. Dependent Variable: Average MPS
ANOVA tests the overall significance of the regression. The outcomes show that regression is insignificant as P- Value is
greater than α i.e. 0.353> 0.05. So I do not reject my null hypothesis and conclude that there are no enough evidence to
infer that market price of shares is affected by the book value of the shares. Furthermore the Residual SS> Regression
SS shows that regression is not contributing much.
Correlations
AverageMPS AverageBPS
Pearson Correlation Average MPS
1.000 .535
Average BPS .535 1.000

Sig. (1-tailed) Average MPS
. .177
Average BPS .177 .

N Average MPS
5 5
Average BPS 5 5
Correlation Matrix:
The correlation matrix shows that there is a positive relationship between MPS and BPS. The Sig. testing shows that the
P- Value is greater than α i.e. .0177 > 0.05 showing that correlation is insignificant and this further explains that there is
insignificant relationship between the market price of the share and book value of the share.
Model Summary
Std. Error of the
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Estimate
1 .535a .286 .048 12.16608
a. Predictors: (Constant), AverageBPS
Here R2= 0.286 and Adj.R2= 0.048. This shows that only 29% of the variations are explained by the line so the linear line is
not a good fit which can lead to the following possibility thatthere is not much relationship between the book value of the
share and the market price of the share andthe regression line may be nonlinear.
Conclusion
In conclusion I can say that textile industry is the backbone for the Pakistan economy. So for increasing its productivity ,
we are really in need to work out the plan for stable market environment, cutting down the taxes, adequate finance for
444
investment and labor force, Rationalization of existing policies and development of a long term policy environment.
Various shareholders within the textile industry are working towards developing a competitive advantage. Investors of the
Karachi stock Exchange can quite base their investment strategies on financial statement information, particularly on
earning per share. As according to the statistical analysis book value of shares has insignificant relationship with market
price of share while earning per share has statistically significant relationship with market prices. So with a skilled
analysis of financial information investors will be able to take an advantage of the time lag with which earnings per share
and book value are reflected in the stock prices.
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Table A
EXPORT FROM PAKISTAN
VLAUE IN '000' $
S. COMMODITY BY 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 CAGR PAGE #
COUNTRIES
EXPORT % EXPORT % EXPORT % VAL
NO. SHARE SHARE SHARE
A TEXTILE & GARMENTS

CATEGORY
1 RAW COTTON 70,122 1% 38
68,151 0.41 50,226 0.30 0.37
2 COTTON YARN 1,300,968 -3% 39
445
1,382,874 8.41 1,428,041 8.41 6.83

3 YARN OTHER THAN 46,792 12% 40
COTTON YARN 36,996 0.22 67,193 0.40 0.25
4 COTTON CLOTH 2,010,611 -2% 41
2,108,183 12.81 2,026,388 11.94 10.55
5 KNITTED CROACHED 71,666 18% 42
FABRICS 51,378 0.31 63,568 0.37 0.38
6 READY-MADE GARMENTS 1,452,477 5% 43
1,309,990 7.96 1,384,775 8.16 7.62
7 KNITWEARS 1,872,030 3% 44
1,751,494 10.65 1,961,048 11.55 9.83
8 TEXTILE MADE UPS. 2,440,569 -10% 45-47
3,043,582 18.50 3,069,651 18.08 12.81
A) BED WARE 1,903,501 -3% 45
2,038,064 12.39 1,995,899 11.76 9.99
B) TOWELS 613,065 2% 46
587,641 3.57 602,547 3.55 3.22
C) TEXTILE MADE UPS 537,068 13% 47
417,877 2.54 471,205 2.78 2.82
(EXCL.TOWEL&BEDWARE)
9 TENTS AND CANVAS 71,050 35% 48
38,902 0.24 69,060 0.41 0.37
10 ART SILK AND SYNTHETIC 410,308 43% 49
TEXTIL 200,308 1.22 419,724 2.47 2.15
Source: (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2008-09)
TableB (l)
Name of company Average Earning Per Shares
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Average
Fazal Textile 6.61 7.86 -3.31 1.62 .o43 3.195
Ahmad Hassan Textile Mills Ltd. 4.21 -0.48 0.21 -6.03 -4.43 -1.304
Ali Ashgar Textile Mills Ltd. 0.1 0.37 -0.82 -0.9 -4.4 -1.13
Nishat Mills Limited 12.86 10.22 7.58 36.86 6.81 14.866
Ayesha Textile Mills Limited 17.07 5.72 -36.47 -24.65 -76.88 -23.042
Azam Textile Mills Limited -0.06 0.25 0.26 -1.76 -2.55 -0.772
Annoor Textile Mills Ltd. 0.66 6.18 1.61 1.35 1.43 2.246
Dewan Khalid Textile Mills Limited 1.68 1.991 0.2 -17.54 -16.53 -6.0398
Gul Ahmad Textile Mills Ltd. 1.53 -0.68 3.11 1.86 1.45 1.454
Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited 0.93 2.82 -0.32 -0.02 -3.02 0.078
Premium Textile Mills Ltd. 5.87 6.51 1.11 1.88 0.46 3.166
Quality Textile Mills Limited 2.91 2.11 -0.4 -0.15 -0.13 0.868
D. M.Taxtiles Ltd. 20.96 10.04 -13.37 -7.91 22.12 6.368
CRTM 6.26 -1.27 1.78 -1.25 3.64 1.832
Hajra Textile Mills Limited -2.75 0.16 -0.13 -0.78 -1.29 -0.958
Idrees Textile Mills Limited 1.49 1.76 1.17 0.37 -0.33 0.892
446
MeharDastgir Textile Mills Limited 0.56 0.09 0.11 -4.76 -1.49 -1.098
ShahzadTaxtiles Mills Ltd. 0.22726 1.738121 1.94937 0.04936 2.490672 0.400559
Sapphire Textile Mills Limited 14.37 6.7 10.77 30.76 8.95 14.31
Total 4.61363 3.09945 -1.4979 0.31253 -3.50597 0.636288
TableB(ll)
Name of company Average Book Value
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Average
Fazal Textile 115.17 120.53 114.72 116.35 112.34 116.6925
Ahmad Hassan Textile Mills Ltd. 75.6846 76.18603 76.82471 192.311 182.1624 120.6338
Ali Ashgar Textile Mills Ltd. 3.10572 2.784227 3.36189 3.46861 7.771206 4.098333
Ayesha Textile Mills Limited 234.329 1015.603 837.435 787.606 994.4493 773.8847
Azam Textile Mills Limited 6.31969 5.088136 3.87796 4.91322 6.603013 5.360407
Dewan Khalid Textile Mills Limited 49.6263 93.26946 100.308 50.8582 16.19017 62.05059
Gul Ahmad Textile Mills Ltd. 35.7443 36.406 41.8881 43.5107 49.11896 41.33365
Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited 26.1052 32.34469 50.1215 34.2618 19.71466 32.50961
Quality Textile Mills Limited 15.0570 15.92568 14.8326 15.0521 15.16872 15.20725
D. M.Taxtiles Ltd. 4.75719 16.76468 7.82688 -1.70684 -21.8655 1.155277
CRTM 49.8070 50.03056 60.7397 49.0145 45.96634 51.11164
Hajra Textile Mills Limited 5.81818 23.49091 18.1090 18.2545 12.65455 15.66545
Idrees Textile Mills Limited 15 14.76 15.11 16.5511 16.98983 15.68219
Kohat Textile Mills Limited 13.5213 15.85063 14.7513 17.5983 14.31514 15.20737
MeharDastgir Textile Mills Limited 103.054 109.113 114.139 72.425 72.425 94.2313
ShahzadTaxtiles Mills Ltd. 30.7753 32.20408 30.3065 37.2563 39.62223 34.0329
Total 50.4498 99.18718 98.7023 94.4829 90.95895 87.92317
Table B(lll)
Name of company
Average Market Share Price
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Average
Fazal Textile 106.5 138.98 245.7 584.9 345 269.02
Ahmad Hassan Textile Mills Ltd. 64.07 57.71 50.67 76.51 36.92 57.176
Ali Ashgar Textile Mills Ltd. 4.73 5.45 2.48 2.46 0.77 3.178
447
Azam Textile Mills Limited -6.32 -5.09 -3.88 -4.91 -6.6 -5.36
Dewan Khalid Textile Mills Limited 49.25 36 26.82 22.5 7.5 28.414
Gul Ahmad Textile Mills Ltd. 55.6 41 45.65 40 38.84 44.218
Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited 39.48 44.48 50.12 34.26 19.71 37.61
Quality Textile Mills Limited 24.64 25 21.7 14.27 7.4 18.602
D. M.Taxtiles Ltd. 21.51 38.5 21.48 17.39 6.47 21.07
CRTM 60.26 55.03 66.82 49.02 45.96 55.418
Hajra Textile Mills Limited 4.94 3.5 3.13 3.34 1.27 3.236
Idrees Textile Mills Limited 12.49 9.79 9.97 7.93 4.65 8.966
Kohat Textile Mills Limited 11.75 6.83 3.97 3.32 1.61 5.496
MeharDastgir Textile Mills Limited 320 337 339 416 416 365.6
ShahzadTaxtiles Mills Ltd. 22.51 16 12.36 7 6.37 12.848
Total 57.797 62.8585 72.87 90.4345 70.555 70.1432
448
Socio-Economic Determinants of Household Food Expenditure

in a Low Income Township in South Africa
Tshediso Joseph Sekhampu

North-West University, South Africa
E-mail: joseph.sekhampu@nwu.ac.za
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p449
Abstract: The study, on which this article is based analysed the impact of selected socio-economic characteristics on food expenditure
patterns of a low-income township in South Africa. The results are based on a household survey using questionnaires. A multiple
regression model was used to explain responses in monthly household food expenditures to socioeconomic factors. Household income,
household size, age, employment status, and the educational attainment of the household head were found to exert a strong positive
impact on food expenditures. The marital status of the household head was associated with a negative impact on household food
expenditure, and the coefficient for the variable was significant. Household size, employment and marital status of the household head
are the most significant predictors of food expenditure. The gender of the household head had no significant impact on household food
expenditure. This study contributes to the understanding of low income townships in South Africa by modelling the factors influencing
household food expenditure.
Keywords: Food expenditure; determinants; low income households; township; South Africa.
1. Introduction
Determinants of household expenditure have been a topic of interest for economists for centuries. Several researchers
have made important contributions to the understanding of factors associated with consumer choice (Engel, 1895;
Barton, 1955; Becker, 1976). Engel focused on the relationship between expenditure on food and income. According to
Engel’s Law, the household budget spent on food decreases as income increases. He suggested that a higher propensity
of households experiencing increasing income spend a bigger proportion of the food budget on a diversified diet thus
improving the nutritional status of the household members. Engel’s original work showed the relevance of income and
family size in influencing household expenditure, and later studies confirm that larger families typically have larger budget
shares of necessities than smaller families at the same income level. Becker’s (1965) theory of household production is
often used to model household expenditure analysis. The theory extends to consider how households choose the best
combination of commodities to maximize utility, while subject to time, resources, and technology constraints.
The nature and patterns of food expenditure continue to reflect the socio-economic and demographic characteristics
of households under consideration. From an empirical perspective, several studies have been undertaken to provide an
understanding of the factors that affect household food expenditure. Gheblawi and Sherif (2007) examined the factors
affecting expenditure on rice, fish, and meat in the UAE. Their results indicated that income and household size are
important factors affecting the amount of money spent on the three examined food groups, and that the expenditure on
the three examined food items was not highly responsive to changes in households' incomes. Several researchers
(Bansback, 1995; Dickinson et al., 2003) indicate that non-economic factors (i.e. non price/income factors) are becoming
more important in determining consumers' purchasing decisions. For example, in a study by Bansback (1995) on the
demand for meat in the EU, he showed that, for the period 1955 to 1979, price and income factors accounted for a higher
proportion of the explanation of changes in meat consumption (Bansback, 1995).
Statistics South Africa (2008) reports that housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, transport and food and
non-alcoholic beverages are the main components of household consumption in South Africa. The expenditure on food
and non-alcoholic beverages amounted to 14.4% of household expenditure. The black African population was found to
spend on average 21.4% of household expenditure on food and non-alcohol beverages. Evidence continues to point to
increasing inequality and deprivation in South Africa. It is estimated that about 35 per cent of the population in South
Africa is vulnerable to food insecurity and approximately a quarter of the children under the age of 6 years are estimated
to have had their growth stunted by malnutrition (Human Sciences Research Council, 2004). Most studies on food
expenditure use a demand system approach in the understanding of the major determinants of food expenditure in a
South African context (Dunne & Edkins, 2005; Selvanathan & Selvanathan, 2006). A study by Balyamujura et al. (2000)
449
analyzed the impact of HIV/AIDS on the demand for food. The study cites increasing strain on food expenditure brought
about the impact of HIV / AIDS. These studies find an association between food demand and the socio-economic and
demographics of the samples under study.
It is well documented that South Africa’s historical circumstances have shaped the present configuration of poverty
and opportunities along racial lines. Disadvantaged groups were systematically left with relatively little in the way of land
and other resources, were not afforded education of a quality comparable to that of whites, and were compelled to adopt
coping strategies. Food consumption is an important issue in South Africa, given its relation to poverty and deprivation.
With the pressing need to increase food security, understanding the determinants of demand for food has become a vital
task. A formerly blacks only township in South Africa provides an ample case study. A random sample of households was
surveyed in a township called Bophelong (about 70km south of Johannesburg). Previous studies have found seemingly
high poverty levels in the area; where 67% of the households were found to be living below their poverty lines in 2003
(Slabbert, Bophelong: a socio-economic & environmental analysis, 2003). A study by Sekhampu (2004) reported that
62% of the households were poor. A similar study by Slabbert (2009) revealed increasing levels of poverty where 69% of
the sampled population in Bophelong was found to be poor. A logistic regression model was used to determine the socio-
economic factors affecting the reported impact of high food prices.
The main objective of this study was to identify and quantify the relationship between household food expenditure
and the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the household. The findings of the study are important to
government and industry efforts to understanding the factors that influence food expenditure in a South African township.
The article is organized in the following manner. First, the research model is discussed. Second, the empirical results are
presented and interpreted. Finally, conclusions are provided.
2. The research methodology
The data for this study were collected in Bophelong during March 2012. A total of 585 questionnaires were randomly
administered in the area through face to face interviews. The survey questionnaire was tested before its distribution and
necessary adjustments were made. The questionnaire included information on demographics, respondents’ income and
expenditure patterns and their general view about their socio-economic status. Total monthly household food expenditure
was of keen interest for this study. Several statistical methods were used to analyze the data using SPSS. A multiple
regression model was used to determine the socio-economic factors affecting household food expenditure. The selection
of variables likely to influence household food expenditure relies on previous studies by Stewart et al. (2004), McCracken
and Brandt (1987), and Redman (1980). The regression model was estimated as follows:
Yt = βXt + εt (1)
Where Yt is unobserved, Xt is vector of explanatory variables, and β is the vector of unknown parameters; and εt is the
error term. The following socio-demographic characteristics are therefore hypothesized to influence the amount of money
spent on food: (1) total monthly household income, (2) household size, (3) education attainment of the household head,
(4) gender, (5) age (6), marital status, and (7) employment status of household head (Table 1).
Table 1: Description of explanatory variables in the regression model
Variable Description
HH_Income Total gross monthly household income (in Rands)
HH_Size Total number of family members in the household
Educ_Head Formal education of the household head (number of years)
G_Head Gender of the household head (1 for female, 0 for male)
Age_Head Age of household head (in years)
MS_Head The marital status of the household head (1 for married, 0 for not married)
ES_Head The employment status of the household head (1 for employed, 0 for not)
Household income is important as it determines how much can be spent on various needs of the household. The quantity
and quality of a household’s food consumption pattern are highly correlated with the purchasing power of the household.
Household size is meant to account for the effects of household composition on expenditure. It was expected that
household size would significantly impact food expenditure. The age of the household head (in years) is selected as an
explanatory variable in the study as both younger and older people are assumed to have differences in tastes and
preferences for food, eating habits, lifestyles and opportunities to socialize. The gender, employment and marital status of
450
the household head are important to consider as an explanatory variables as the head plays a primary role in food
purchasing and can influence the consumption patterns of a household. Formal education of the household head (in
number of years) is another explanatory variable selected in this study due to its effect on lifestyles and health-related
behavior. Individuals with different levels of education may have different knowledge and perception about diet and
health, and consequently may have a different consumption basket.
3. Findings and discussions
3.1 The demographic characteristics of the respondents
The sample data was based on responses from the head of the household. The descriptive statistics for the sampled
population is given in table 2. The results showed that the youngest head of household was 18 years, with the oldest at
90 years old. The number of persons per household varied from 1 to 13 members. The average household had 4
members. There were greater variations in household income, with the lowest household income recorded at R30 ($3.75)
per month and the highest household income recorded at R18 000 ($2250). Household income is the total income
earned/ received by the various household members.
The results also showed that 49.4% of households were headed by females (G_Head). The average number of
years of schooling of the respondents (Educ_Head) was 6.21 years, which equate to primary schooling education. A
small percentage (1.6%) of household heads had a post-school qualification, and 12.5% of the respondents had no
formal education. An analysis of the marital status of the respondents shows that 47.2% were married. Regarding the
employment status of the respondents; 58.1% were not employed. The lowest monthly food expenditure was R90
($11.25)(R1=$8), and the highest at R3686 ($460.75) per month. The average food expenditure was recorded at
R748.93 ($93.62).
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Food_Ex 585 90 3686 748.93 517.89
HH_Income 585 30 18000 2441.56 2409.21
HH_Size 585 1 13 4.06 1.90
Educ_Head 585 0 66 6.21 4.14
G_Head 585 0 1 .49 .50
Age_Head 585 18 90 48.40 14.37
MS_Head 585 0 1 .47 .50
ES_Head 585 0 1 .42 .49
3.2 Monthly food expenditure as a proportion of income
Table 3 shows the proportion of monthly income allocated to food by selected subgroups (variables under consideration).
On average, surveyed households spend 29.8% of household income on food. Male-headed households were found to
spend more of their income (32%) on food compared to female-headed households (27.8%). The proportion of household
income spent on food increased with household size. The results of the study also show that married respondents spend
a lower proportion of their income on food (32.6%) compared to those who are not married (26.6%).
Table 3: Monthly food expenditure as a proportion of monthly income
Number of Mean Monthly Income in Mean Monthly Food Percentage of Monthly

Grouping Households Rands (R1=$8) Expenditure Income Spent on Food
All households 585 2 506 746 29.8%
Gender
Male 296 2 305 737 32.0%
Female 289 2 712 754 27.8%
HH_Size
2 - 4 persons 352 2 307 698 30.3%
5 - 7 persons 173 3 068 885 28.9%
>7 persons 33 2 330 863 37.1%
451
Educ_Head
No schooling 73 2 502 690 27.6%
1 - 5 years 92 1 910 531 27.8%
6-10 years 406 2 635 804 30.5%
> 10 years 14 2 717 745 27.4%
MS_Head
Married 276 2 522 671 26.6%
Not married 309 2 492 812 32.6%
ES_Head
Employed 245 2 868 875 30.5%
Not employed 340 2 246 654 29.1%
Age_Head
<30 years 56 2509 483 19.3%
31 - 50 years 286 2479 735 29.6%
>50 years 243 2 538 758 29.9%
3.3 Socio-economic factors affecting household food expenditure
The results of the regression model on the factors that affect household food expenditure are shown in table 4. The
results of the survey show that household income (HH_Income), household size (HH_Size), age (Age_Head),
employment status (ES_Head) and the educational attainment of the household head (Educ_Head) significantly influence
food expenditure. These variables were found to exert a positive impact on food expenditure. Of interest is that the
marital status of the household head is negatively associated with spending on food. The coefficient for the variable
(MS_Head: -.211) was significant at 1%. Married household heads might benefit from an additional person to help with
decision making, thus ensuring increased efficiency in food purchasing and consumption. For this model, the employment
status (ES_Head), t (585) = 5.73, marital status of the household head (MS_Head) t(585) = -5.25, and household size
(HH_Size), t(585) = 4.44, p<.01, are significant predictors of household food expenditure.
An increase in household income, household size and the educational attainment of the household head is
associated with a positive increase in household food expenditure. Changes in the age of the household head lead to
differences in nutritional requirements of a household. In this study, an increase in the age of the household head was
positively associated with increased food expenditure. Moreover, larger household sizes require increased food
expenditure. The gender of the household head (G_Head) was not significant in explaining the variations in household
food expenditure.
Table 4: The socio-economic factors affecting household food expenditure
b SE b β t
Constant 112.22 97.26 1.15
HH_Income 0.04 0.01 .170* 4.39
HH_Size 47.10 10.60 .173* 4.44
Educ_Head 13.48 4.88 .108* 2.76
G_Head -15.01 41.67 -.015 -.36
Age_Head 5.79 1.53 .161* 3.78
MS_Head -218.55 41.66 -.211* -5.25
ES_Head 245.58 42.89 .234* 5.73
R2 = .166.*significant at the 1% level
The model containing all explanatory variables was significant, indicating that the model was able to distinguish between
the various explanatory variables used in the model. The regression model as a whole explained 16.6% (R2 = .163) of the
variations in all cases. The Durbin-Watson test is another measure of model adequacy. This statistic informs us about
whether the assumption of independent errors in tenable. The closer to 2 the value is, the better, and for these data the
value is 1.782. The F-ratio for the model was calculated at 16.37, which is also highly significant (p <.001).
4. Conclusion remarks
This study analyzed the socio-economic determinants of household food expenditure in a South African township of
Bophelong. A multiple regression model was used to determine the factors influencing household food expenditure. Data
452
from a random sample of 585 households in Bophelong was analyzed, with the monthly household food expenditure as
the dependent variable and a number of socio-economic characteristics as explanatory variables.
The results of this study may have important implications as it indicates that household income, household size, the
age, employment, and marital status and the educational attainment of the household head significantly affect total
monthly expenditure on food, ceteris paribus. Specifically, as household income increases, total monthly expenditure on
food is expected to increase. Larger household sizes are also associated with increased spending on food. The age,
employment status and the educational attainment of the household head were also associated with increased spending
on food. This suggest that households where the head has more education, spend more on food that their less educated
counterparts. The educational attainment might be a good proxy for the knowledge required to ensure efficiency in food
purchasing. The marital status of the respondents was negatively associated with food expenditures. The negative
parameter indicates that with other variables constant, married respondents spend relatively less on food than their
unmarried counterparts. Married household heads might benefit from efficiencies in food purchasing brought by joint
decision making. The household size, employment, and marital status of the household head were the most important
predictors of food expenditure.
From general perspective and in congruent with patterns in other developing countries, it is expected that food
expenditure patterns will continue to be largely influenced by increased income and the socio-demographic
characteristics of the population under study. An understanding of the impact of socio-economic and demographic factors
on food purchasing decisions provides an opportunity for profiling these households to examine household food
expenditure in a South African township. The results reported here contribute to a growing body of empirical evidence in
South Africa, suggesting that socio-economic and demographic characteristics must be considered as important
predictors of food expenditure.
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453

Market Research Applicability Among Nigerian Estate Surveyors

and Valuers in Project Appraisal
Y. L. Gambo (M. Sc) *
Lecturer, Department of Estate Management,

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi
* Corresponding Author: yusuf_gambo@yahoo.com
A. C. Otegbulu (Ph. D)
Senior Lecturer, Department of Estate Management,
M. M. Omirin (Ph. D)
Associate Prof. Department of Estate Management,
J. U. Osagie
Department of Estate Management,

University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p455
Abstract: An investigation into market research applicability among Estate surveyors and Valuers examined the competence with which
professionals carry out market research while on project appraisal. Structured questionnaires were analyzed using appropriate inferential
and descriptive statistical tools. The study revealed Estate Surveyors and Valuers carry out market research in feasibility studies
shabbily and without the required competence. The study also revealed that Estate Surveyors and Valuers spend little or no time in
carrying out market research compared to the onerous task required in market research. This by implication obviously affects even the
most viable investment decision. It recommended the need for the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers to provide
standardized methodological framework within the context of project appraisal for market research and to actively play a supervisory role
to ensure Estate Surveyors and Valuers adhere to minimum practice standards.
Keywords: Market research, appraisal, competence
1. Introduction
Prior to the ushering of globalization, markets were so badly underserved that it was often possible for the developer with
optimism to take a quick look at the existing competition and then move ahead with the construction of his development,
safe in the knowledge that as the market was so badly underserved his project would succeed. Today, the picture has
changed, most major markets today are already quite well satisfied and as a result, new projects, that must effectively
complete with and complement existing developments rather than merely duplicate them, require the benefits of a
thorough and detailed understanding of the market place, if they are to be successful(Darlow, 1998). A strong market
does not necessarily equate with a good development opportunity. Neither does a weak market mean that a good idea
cannot be implemented successfully. A good market from the perspective of demand may be oversupplied; at the same
time, a good idea may prove successful in a low-growth market.
Market research identifies market performance gaps against which the project can position itself and develop
relevant market competencies so that it can be assessed to be capable of outperforming competitors in meeting market
expectations in a sustainable manner. In the heat of globalization, the need for professionalism and standardization of
appraisal methodological framework is paramount and imperative to guarantee security of investment parameters. In
recent time, investors have been requiring that more comprehensive market analysis be included in the appraisal they
455
commission. It is stating the obvious to say that project appraisal involves a series of sequential methodology combined
with appropriate decision model. Analyzing project’s productive capacity is related to market activity which must be
carried out with the required competence. This paper tries to examine the competencies with which estate surveyors and
valuers carry out market research and integrate it into the appraisal process.
The word market is used in many different contents. It can be a store that sells a particular type of merchandise. Miles et
al. (2005) holds that in real estate development, a market is a subgroup of a general population that is considered to
contain potential buyers or users of a specific property type which may include a demographic makeup (age, income,
household size,, education, and so on) and motivation of its constituents. Sarvides (2000) see market in the context of
market analysis for project appraisal different from the commonly used term of an industry. He opined that the boundaries
of the market within which the project is expected to operate depends on the degree of substitutability between its
products and other potentially competing products. Moran (1973) expressed that the boundaries of such definition of
market are often difficult to establish and even harder to achieve with a high degree of consensus. While Savvides (200)
concludes that within the framework of project appraisal, ‘relevant market is simply that part of the total potential market
that is competitively accessible to the project.
Ogbuefi (2002) posits that market survey is an essential prerequisite in the preparation of feasibility and viability
report and that the degree of market research to be conducted depends on the nature of the proposed investment. Kotler
(2005) argues that marketing should not be narrowly construed as the process of selling products but more broadly
understood as satisfying human wants and needs.
Real estate investment decision making is essentially a matter of interpreting information about the real estate
market in general, the subject scheme in particular, and the investor who must make a decision. Barrett and Blair (1988)
called market research both the most difficult and the most consequential part of the real estate development planning
process. Market research provides the information for which periodically, every portfolio should be reevaluated and
adjusted to meet investment targets. Churchill (1994), remarks that research information is used by operating
management for planning, problem solving, and control purpose. In the same vein, Greer &Kolbe (2003) opined that
market research is an essential element in rational investment decision making which permits reliable revenue and
expense forecasts and estimates of future market values. The task of providing market information enables a scheme to
have a competitive edge and capabilities that will enable it to distinguish itself from other competitors and yet remain
flexible enough to respond quickly and effectively to changing market condition as necessary (Savvides, 2005). Fanning
(2005) asserted that market analysis can be a separate study from appraisal but an appraisal cannot be completed
without market analysis. This implies no feasibility studies can be successful without market research to determine the
development potential of the scheme.
3. Market Research Requirements
A growing body of literature had proposed what market research should encompass (see Sangree, 2009; Miles et al
2007; Fanning 2005; Greer & Kolbe 2003; and Darlow1988).
Sangree (2009) propounded that market research should encompass a large range of data but identified key areas an
appraiser should consider to cover economics and demographics namely:
 Population trend: the population which the project will serve; is it growing or shrinking?
 Household growth: how big is a typical family? How many children per family?
 Household economics: rate of employment, what is the median income? How much disposable income do
households in the area have?
 Area economics: What large corporations are in the area?
 Area transportation: The number of airports, interstate highways and rail transportations greatly affects travel
tp am area.
 Comparative data: Compare data obtained from economic and demographic with successful market in the
area.
 Projections: Based on data gathered, what is the projected performance of the subject property? Are there
plenty of demand generators in the area?
456
He further considered that while obtaining economics and demographics data, the appraiser should consider existing
competitors, recent similar project openings, similar potential project openings, and market segmentation and market
penetration.
Fanning (2005) outlined six steps in market analysis process. These are:
o What attributes does the subject property offer the market?

o Who are the most likely users of this product?
o Is the property use needed? (demand analysis)
o What is the competition? (supply analysis)
o What is the condition of the market? (comparing supply and demand)
o How much of this market can the subject capture?
And that the six steps processes are used in studying alternative uses of property. In this context, the process functions
as a screening mechanism and alternative use(s) forecast model. The amount and timing of the demand is used in the
financial analysis of highest and best use alternatives. Fanning concluded that market analysis in appraisal is determined
by the nature of the assignment and specific problem confronting the decision maker.
In the opinion of Gree and Kolbe (2003) each project has its own special emphasis, all share a common sequence of
steps. The problem to be solved or question to be answered should be carefully formulated before any data are
gathered, because the nature of the problem will largely determine the information to be assembled
Miles et al. (2007) provided ten critical questions that market research should answer:
 What are the trends in this type of development?

 What is the current market (what buyers want)?
 What is the depth of this market (what percentage of the market must be captured)?
 What are the markets’ perceived values (what motivated buyers)?
 What opportunities and challenges does the current market profile present?
 How do one determine and gain an understanding of the target market
 What are the lessons learned from competitive project?
 What are the lessons learned from comparable projects?
 What are the opportunities and challenges presented by the competitive and comparable projects?
 What conclusions can be drawn about all aspects of the projects?
Answer to above question should address questions about:
 The market- who are the buyers? What are their characteristics? What do they want?
 Positioning- where should the product fit in potential users’ minds relative to other choices?
 The development program- what is the best way to provide a product that will be in demand yet financially
feasible?
 Marketing- what is the best way to get our message to buyers?
 Opportunities for differentiation- what can we stand out compared with other possible choices? What makes us
special?
 Price points- How can we best capture the value we created? How should pricing be structured?
 Absorption rates- how quickly can the products be sold or leased?
In the opinion of Darlow (1998) the detail techniques of market research generally fall into two categories namely: area
research and consumer research. Area research is a quantitative analysis which determines the characteristics of the
market in order to identify the size and nature of project which should be built. This type of research helps the financial
institution know the economic feasibility of the product. Consumer research is a qualitative analysis which determines the
attitude of consumers in the area with regard to the existing facilities.
457
Conceptual Framework
ASSESS ANALYSE ACTION

AREA RESEARCH CONSUMER Product
RESEARCH Market strategy
Market
Competitor Price
Competitive
Needs Sets
Performance
Profile
Product Positioning
Market
Consumer Competence
Market
Choice Factors
Size
Consumer
Market Needs Profile Market Share
Growth
Market
Segmentation
Market Share
growth
Assess opportunity& identify market - Analyse business viability & success - Develop Enterprise
Performance gap - Technology factor
- Human factor
- Other factors
Figure 1. Conceptual framework
Figure2: Map of Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria

Source: www.lagosstate.govt.ng
458
4. Research Method
This study by classification is an evaluation research which enables data to be collected and valued judgments made for
the purpose of improving a system or performance (Yalams & Ndomi, 2000). The research relied much on empirical
findings. Three hundred Questionnaires were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics and inference drawn.
Thirty feasibility study reports were examined to determine the extent of adherence to market research methodology.
Unorganized interviews with Estate Surveyors and Valuers were conducted in few cases to investigate the thoroughness
of market analysis applicably.
5. Results and Discussion
Table 1 shows that many Estate Surveyors under the investigation have been in operation for quite a while. It was
gathered that a total of 62.5 per cent have spent over 10 years in practice. Just 16.7 per cent of the population spent 1
to 5 years in operation. Among those who have spent over ten years, 25 per cent, have spent between 21 and 30 years
in practice. This suggests that a significant number of the respondents are well experienced. Table 2 reveals that Estate
Surveyors and valuers are more into general practice than specialized operations. It shows 85.7 per cent of the surveyors
are found in general practice. Surveyors were asked if they carried out Project Feasibility study. From their responses, it
is shown in the Table 3 that all the surveyors carried out Project Feasibility Study in the course of their operation. Market
research, an integral aspect of Feasibility study is investigated among Surveyors and Valuers. Table 4 shows100 per cent
of practicing Estate Surveyors and Valuers all admitted the use of market research while on feasibility study assignment.
The Table 5 gives a clear indication that no matter the nature of feasibility study task, Market research among the
surveyors and valuers does not take more than 5 days to complete. This is a complete departure from the opinion of
Greer and Kolbe (2003) that market research should be a continuous process from the inception of the project to its
completion. Table 5 reveals above 23 per cent conducted market research in a day. About 47 per cent executes market
research in 2 days while only 30 per cent spent 3 to 5 days in carrying out the same task. It is obvious most Estate
Surveyors and Valuers do not exhibit professional competence in carry out market research as ought to. Number of days
spent in carrying out market research gives a fair indication of the quality and effectiveness of the market analysis
conducted. This may elicit a claim that what the Estate Surveyors and valuers do is not more than a certification for fee.
Table 6 shows that about 57 per cent get information about the market through local practice. This may not be an
effective way of getting information about the market as some project inputs are beyond local practices and require
international data. Ogbuefi (2002) also maintains that market research may require international input and study of
international market. Table 6 also depicts that 40 per cent rely on client’s briefing, while slightly above 3 per cent get
information from phone calls. It is erroneous to rely on information from client and phone calls. The reason why market
research is carried out by the Estate surveyor is shown in Table 7. Half of the Estate Surveyors and valuers indicate that
market research is carried out to convince financiers on the project viability, above 33 percent to determine the
practicability of the project while about 17 per cent to convince client that they have done a good job. In the opinion of
Darlow (1988), market research is to achieve product positioning in order for a new project to effectively compete and
complement existing ones rather than merely duplicating them. Miles et al. (2007), holds that market research is a tool for
generating idea so as to discover who buyers and end users are and what motivates them to buy. Ogbuefi (2003)
buttresses that, market research identifies relevant investment alternatives or those investments that have
complementary capacity. In a similar development, Umeh (1977) contributed that market research and analysis examines
both the supply and demand sides of the market for an investment project, it also looks at both the need for the project as
well as the costs and benefits attaching thereof. To Greer and Kolbe (2003), market research helps identify alteration that
will enhance a property’s potentials, assess the quality of existing operations and evaluate proposed changes for
optimum profitability. While Fanning (2005) put forward that market research links the property’s attributes to market
preferences and identifies the highest and best use of the property in terms of the property use, economic demand and
absorption rates.
6. Conclusion
An investigation into market research applicability among Estate Surveyors and Valuers reveals that 70 per cent of Estate
surveyors and Valuers spent only 1 to 2 days in carrying out market research which demonstrates gross incompetence in
carrying out market research. The findings of the study revealed that about 57 per cent of Estate Surveyors and valuers
indicated that little time is required for market research so as to avoid time wastage while on feasibility studies
459
assignment. This reveals the neglect to which market research receives from professionals in project appraisal. Worthy of
note is the fact that market analysis can be a separate study from feasibility studies but feasibility studies cannot be
completed without market analysis. Therefore, feasibility studies cannot be successful without effective market research
to determine the development potentials of the scheme and remain flexible enough to respond quickly to changing market
condition as necessary. The study distilled from attestable inability of most Estate Surveyors and Valuers, which
constituted 60 per cent of the respondents to differentiate between feasibility studies, economic impact studies and needs
assessment; therefore provides us the ground to assert that market research is not carried out with the required
competence among Estate Surveyors and valuers. Incompetence in carry out market research is by implication a clear
demonstration of ineptitude in project appraisal which could have potential consequences in investment decision. Also,
the competence with which this investment tool is handled is a reflection of a nation’s level of property market complexity
and maturity in the global panorama. Therefore, the need to address this professional paucity with all the needed
attention is paramount and imperative.
7. Recommendations
Globalization necessitates the need for standardization of professional practice and a revamp of professionalism as a
whole. It is against this backdrop that the following recommendations are pinched:
1. The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers should provide a methodological framework for
effective market research in project appraisal.
2. The professional practice committee of the Institution should awake to their supervisory role so as to ensure
all practicing Estate Surveyors and valuers adhere to the minimum practice standards.
3. There should be sincerity on the side of the professionals in upholding professional ethics.
4. Government should provide the legal framework that will encourage professionalism in the wake of
globalization.
Table 1: Years In Operation
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid 1-5 40 13.3 16.7 16.7
6-10 50 16.7 20.8 37.5
11-20 90 30.0 37.5 75.0
21-30 60 20.0 25.0 100.0
Total 240 80.0 100.0
Missing System 60 20.0
Total 300 100.0
Table 2: Operational Area

Valid General Practice 240 80.0 85.7 85.7
Project Management 10 3.3 3.6 89.3
Valuation & Agency 10 3.3 3.6 92.9
Appraisal & Agency 10 3.3 3.6 96.4
Valuation, Project Appraisal &
Agency 10 3.3 3.6 100.0
Total 280 93.3 100.0

Total 300 100.0
460
Table 3: Participation in Feasibility study Assignment

Valid Yes 300 100.0 100.0 100.0
Table 4: Rate at which Estate Surveyors and Valuers Employ Market Research.

Valid Yes 270 90.0 100.0 100.0
Total 300 100.0
Table 5: The Duration of Market Research in Project Appraisal

Valid 1 day 70 23.3 23.3 23.3
2 days 140 46.7 46.7 70.0
3-5 days 90 30.0 30.0 100.0
Total 300 100.0 100.0
Table 6 : How Information Is Got While On Market Research

Valid Phone 10 3.3 3.3 3.3
Study of Local Practices 170 56.7 56.7 60.0
Client's Brief 120 40.0 40.0 100.0
Total 300 100.0 100.0
Table 7: Reason For Market Research

Valid To Determine Project
Feasibility 100 33.3 33.3 33.3
To Convince Financiers on the

Project Viability 150 50.0 50.0 83.3
To Convince Client of Good

Job 50 16.7 16.7 100.0
Total 300 100.0 100.0
References
Barrett, G. V. and Blair, J.P (1988), How to conduct and analyse Real Estate market and Feasibility studies. 2nd ed. Van Nostrand
Reinhod. Newyork
Churchil, G. A (1994), “Market Research: Methodological Foundations. 5th Ed. The Dryden press, Texas.
461
Darlow, C. (1988), Valuation and Development Appraisal. The Estate Gazette Ltd London.
Esubiyi, A. O. (1994) Obsolescence and Property Values: A Case Study of Lagos Metropolis. Unpublished B.Sc. Dissertation Submitted
to the Department of Estate Management, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Fanning, S.F (2005), Market Analysis for Real Estate: Concepts and applications in valuation and Highest and Best use. Appraisal
institude Chicago, USA.
Greer, G.C&Kolbe, P.T. (2003), Investment Analysis for Real Estate Decisions. 5th Ed. Dearbirn Real Estate education, Chicago.
Kotler, P. (2005) Marketing management. 12th Ed. Prentice Hall. Eaglewood Cliffs, NL.
Moran, W.R (1973), “Why New Products Fail. Journal of Advertising Research, April pp5-13
NIESV (2002) The Directory of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers: Publication of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers
Ogbuefi, J.U. (2002), Aspect of Feasibility and Viability Studies. Institute for Development Studies, Enugu.
Sangree, D.J. (2009), Appraisal & Market Analysis for Real Estate Decisions. 5th Ed. Dearborn Real Estate education, Chicago.
Savvides, S.C (2000), Market Analysis & competitiveness in project Appraisal Development Discussion papers No 755 Harvard institute
for international development, Harvard University.
Umeh, J. A (1977), Feasibility and Viability Appraisal. Onibonoje Pubblishers, Ibadan.
Yalams, S.M and Ndomi, B.M. (2000), Research project writing supervision: A Guide to supervisors and students in Education,
Engineering, Science and Technology. League of Researchers in Nigeria, Bauchi, Nigeria.
462
Inter Religious Tolerance Among the People of Elbasan
Nuredin Çeçi
University “A.Xhuvani” of Elbasan

Faculty of Education Sciences
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p463
Abstract A special place in this article is given to the description of inter religious tolerance, as one of the most important cultural values
among Albanians. Also this article aims to highlight that complexity of factors, which with their actions have conditioned the birth and
existence of the religious tolerance; not only in the city of Elbasan but also in its surrounding areas. Furthermore this article aims to show
through facts and their interpretation the main characteristics of such an environment, in comparison to other Albanian territories.
Keywords: tolerance, religion, Albania, culture
We are a nation that has changed its history through a long journey of different cultural and religious absorption from
paganism to the present day, a journey that has enriched the Albanian identity from generation to generation and is
clearly defined in the words of the esteemed Albanian Renaissance writer, Pashko Vasa: “The Albanians’ religion is
Albanianism”. Albanians are proud of their ancient culture as well as of their centuries old traditions of harmony and good
understanding among the four main religions. These inter religious spiritual monuments exist only because of the respect
for diversity.
1. An analytical approach to religious coexistence in Albania
The presence and the existence of the great monotheistic religions in the world, Islam and Christianity, in the Albanian
people, has made inter religious tolerance and understanding an historical must, serving as a tool and a factor that has
secured the national unity and co-existence of the of the nation, giving it an inalienable popular value, the most valuable
one, that most of the world countries necessarily require, harmony and inter religious co-existence, even the interethnic
and intercultural coexistence.
The Albanian people with their multi religion, have been, are and should be a special example and a symbol of the
religious harmony in the history of the Balkan people, and even further. Muslims, orthodox and Catholics have lived
together in harmony without any confrontation between them, on the contrary they have complemented each other. The
very existence of the worship objects like mosques, churches and Teqe, near each other symbolizes the common past of
our country.
All people in Albania should understand that the reality not only our destiny but of the whole world, from the
beginning to its end, is a variety of faiths and beliefs. The Albanians will not have religious divisions until they believe that
religions in Albania are richness and not disgraces and that the god is one and the same for everybody, being them
Muslims or Christians. Based on these, the most outstanding representatives of the international dialogue school
Fethullah Gylen are of the opinion that: “The inter religious dialogue is raised as a duty and the first step to set it is to
abandon all the controversial arguments and to give priority to the common points, which are much more numerous that
the points of difference. “
Albania has been the area where the two of the greatest Empires that of Rome and Byzantium met during the
middle Ages, where the authority of the two churches Catholic and Orthodox met and divided. Also Islam in Albania has
coexisted with Christianity for ages and is one of the constituent religions in Europe from its own origins. In any case, a
nation that is able to provide such a wealth, like the inter religious harmony, surely is capable and has the necessary
authority to radiate to all the others messages of peace and tolerance. The inner inter religious harmony of a country, is
awarded with many points in the evaluation process of the role of such a country in the international, regional, continental
and world wide community.
Plenty of Albanians and foreign researchers have argued that religions in Albania have played an important anti-
assimilation role. For centuries, the Christian and Muslim patriots have been acting factors against anti Albanian and anti-
national politics.
463
Tolerance is also an ethno typical feature of the Albanians. Maybe this quality is related with the geographical
position of the Albanian state. While the West has seen the Balkans and its gate, Albania, as an exotic east, on the
contrary the East has seen it as its West. At the intersection of the two worlds, the Albanians have taken and given with
both of them by preserving their own core identity, by serving as a bridge of crossing influences and also by acquiring
from them. The exchanging street value between the civilizations is also present today to the Albanian people. We can
talk about two levels of cultural interactions about the Albanian people: the reports of the Albanian subcultures influenced
by the Christian and Muslim religion, and the reports of the Albanian culture with that of the neighboring nations, which
started coexistence together within the Albanian people, centuries ago. We find such coexistence in art, architecture,
language and beliefs.
In order to create such a tolerant spirit, apart from the beliefs and their representatives in years, a major role was
played by the social-anthropological inheritance of the Albanians, their system of traditions and values. Religious
tolerance has passed through important components of the psycho cultural modeling of the Albanians towards a national
consciousness about this value. From the sociological data that have been collected it is assumed that in the Albanian
society the difference in religious affiliations have not locked them inside the consciousness and the narrow exclusive
relation defined by their religion.
2. Inter religious tolerance, one of the most prominent cultural values of the Albanians
One of the most distinctive cultural values of Albanians is the religious tolerance. A lot of strangers have written with
admiration and sometimes with amazement about such a value. For example Faik Konica, just before the Second World
War has written: “I believe that is known everywhere that the Albanians are tolerant of other faiths, and perhaps this is the
only country in Europe where there have been no religious wars. For this reason many have often spoken of the Albanian
“skepticism”. (1993:431).
This is probably the most laconic characterization, which illuminates not only the essence of one of the most complex and
interesting “segments” of the psycho cultural reality of the traditional and modern Albanian society, but also shows the
point of view of this reality by researchers, voyagers and, generally, foreign thinkers.
In the scripts of many non-Albanian thinkers and voyagers there are a lot of characterizations about this issue. For
example, Hugo Adolf Bernatzik, when he visited many cities and provinces of Albania, wrote those things about the
Albanian society of the year 1929: “Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims live in peace in this small country, they
often live together in villages too” often living together in villages too. Religious wars are unknown and in conceiving for
the Albanian people "(2003:154).
Tolerance and religious coexistence among the Albanians has worked and works on every level of social
organization, among the inhabitants of cities, the rural provinces up to the villages, among members of the clans and
even families.
The Italian researcher Roberto dela Roca has highlighted: "The literature of the Albanian history in the modern and
contemporary era poses a number of contributions in the best...of the thesis of a fundamental religious tolerance made by
Albanian society…” (1994:13). These truths are confirmed by the religious developments in the Albanian post communist
transition, on the contrary to what some of the foreign and domestic researcher foretold that the revival of religious
beliefs would lead to the strengthening of intolerant and fundamentalist tendencies.
If we could express in figurative language, the cultural value of the inter religious tolerance of the Albanians
resembles a pearl, stable and an identifier of the Albanians in the course of many centuries to our days. The issue of inter
religious tolerance among the Albanians appears as a rebus, almost indecipherable in the dual background of the
prevailing socio cultural reality of many societies in nowadays who experience inter religious problematic conflicts and a
dense foggy prejudices that come from the outside, and distorts the appearance of values of the Albanian society.
Since the time of the Crusades (XII-XIII century) to the present days the conflicts, religious wars have been raging
and occasionally fainted in different regions of the world, causing a large number of victims and people physically and
spiritually hurt. Anthony Giddens has written: During the Middle Ages there was pretty much a constant war between
Christian Europe and Muslim countries ...” (1997:452).
It is worth mentioning that religious tolerance, as one of the cultural values of the Albanians is being consolidated,
while in many countries around the worlds different fundamentalist movements are being revived, and encourage their
followers to hold intolerant attitudes, sometimes even extreme and aggressive towards the other believers, sects and
other cults.
But a question arises naturally: What are some historical factors that shed light on inter-religious tolerance and
harmony among the Albanians?
464
Many foreign travelers and researchers, at least, since XVII century until today, have been trying to find and
evaluate the social, psycho cultural and religious roots, of the inter religious tolerance among the Albanians.
According to them, the pagan history of the Albanian people has had a significant impact on the monotheistic
religions of Albanians. Furthermore, there are foreign researchers and travelers, such as, Edith Durham who has written
that “a part of the Albanians ... have passed directly from paganism to Islam” (Durham, E., 1990:158).
The roots of religious tolerance in Albania should also be researched in the precedence of the religious conversion.
Such a conversion is interpreted as the result of the shallowness of religious feelings of the Albanians, and their shallow
techno-religious formation. Regarding to this issue in her article: “Some thoughts on the phenomenon of the conversion to
Islam, starting from the case of Albanian Catholics, observed by a Jesuit mission in late Ottoman era”, Nathalie Clayer
among all has written that the Albanians are characterized from: “a superficial religion”, from “weak links with the religion”,
that “the Albanians are not fond of the religion” etc (2006: 125, 127, 129, 142).
Of such an opinion is also the anthropological social specialist, the docent of the Cambridge University, Clarisa de
Waal, who has conducted a research expedition in the post-communist Albanian society during the 90s of 20th century.
Among other, she wrote that the Albanian Christians “do not regularly respect the holy days and hardly ever go to
church”, “that Catholicism was a source of enthusiasm in practice or a behavior pattern” (Waal, C., 2005: 91.92). It is
generally possible that the reason of this conversion may serve as an argument for the tolerance phenomenon. There
was a widespread idea among the Albanian intellectual environment that explains the conversion by just a single reason,
the taxation system at the time of the Ottoman Empire, which forced the raja Christian peasant to abandon their religion
in order to escape the burden of the heavy duties.
Apart from the taxation system there was also another significant reason but which has not been taken into
consideration. The Albanian lands were precisely the ones where the Christianity lines were broken creating two
incompatible wings. In some aspects the Eastern and Western Church that got into conflicts for centuries in row. The
boundaries and areas of influence of those two churches moved so quickly, that the population who was in between
would have been annihilated if they would have followed the confliction lines of those two religious superstructures.
On the contrary, this uninterrupted movement created indifference about this long process which they didn’t feel as
it was related to them. On the other hand, almost always, this was a perpetual process with a political content, which in
most of the cases it led the local feudal lords to follow it. In the Albanian history it is mentioned as an example, the case
of Strazimir Basha who in 1365 changed his religion from orthodox into the Islamic one, as was the whole population
under his rule (History of Albania, 1967:255). From such reasoning we can emphasize that there were those feudal lords
who moved the first in the process of Islamisation paving the way to the vast rural population which generally followed
this stream relatively later, with a centurial duration, apparently when they saw that this phenomena had started to take
shape and consolidate.
In the Albanian society, especially that of the 15th century up to the late 19th century, it has been functioning the
Crypto Christian phenomena as a very complex phenomena (Roka, R, 1994:24-25).
In the long centurial period of the Albanian invasion from the Ottoman-Turkish Empire, the conversion from
Christianity to Islam generally provided many benefits for the Albanians like greater opportunities to be enriched, advance
in their political, administrative, military and cultural career.
The relevant bodies of the occupational totalitarian regime looked up with suspicion every secret link with the
previous religion of the Albanians converted to Muslims. However, a considerable number of Muslim Albanians, in the
course of several generations, secretly exercised the Christian religious rites. It is understood that, if the Albanians
wouldn’t have had such deep religious feelings, they wouldn’t have put their lives into risk by the Turkish occupation
authorities, turning their eyes back to the previous religion. The shallow religious feelings can not legitimize the Crypto
Christianity phenomenon.
In the final analysis Crypto Christianity was coexistence and a tolerance. If this problem would be analyzed from the
point of view of the basic unit of society, the family, than it can be easily deduced about the Albanian society in general. In
this case it doesn’t seem a surprise why religious conflicts don’t arise here. This ambiguity was something accepted
consciously for pragmatic interests and none of the pressures coming up from above in order to fire up conflict couldn’t
succeed.
Faik Konica in the section “Religion” of his writing “Albania, the rocky garden of the South-Eastern Europe”, after
talking about the skepticism of the Albanians he concludes: “Behind all these talks about skepticism there has been a
total wondering of the Turks and Greeks, when they noticed the mutual tolerance of the Muslim and Christian Albanians.
A Turkish official has quoted to Tozer three quarter of century ago: “The Mohammedans here are not true ones, and the
Christians are not true Christians”. Obviously they haven’t been if the requirements for being good Christians and
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Muslims was the mutual intolerance and brutal clashes, as it occurred in the other parts of the Turkish Empire” (Konica F,
1993:495).
After this moment we pass to the National Revival which would need to openly display the problems between
different religions if they really existed. If we would suppose that in the course of time these problems had been covered,
now they can be visibly reflected. We can say that the National Revival as a conscious arousing was also a huge proof to
the Albanians maturity in all the aspects, mostly in the terms of a mutual religious tolerance.
Independence, as a culminating moment, evidently reaffirmed the indisputable values that were already established
in the terms of religions coexistence. The main figures that achieved the independence were of a different religions, while
the first organs of the Albanian state were a faithful reflection of a of the multi religion reality of the country. The legal
basis of the modern principle of the separation of state from the religion and that of an equal treatment, undifferentiated
because of the numbers of each community in the percentage of the population, were observed since independence.
The period from 1920-1939 as a culminating moment in the construction of the first real state in Albania was really
significant about the strengthening of the elements that favored the religious tolerance. The rise of nationalism in those
years was also a positive element that reinforced the positions of the religious coexistence without problems.
The process of secularization that took place in those years parallel to the laistic state was a consequence of the
later. In the years of the Second World War, the foreign powers that were installed in Albania generally followed the same
line that now was with clear features – the respect of all the religions and treating them all as equals. The positions taken
by different religious communities, in the course of the war and in the complicated situations created by them, were
maters of positions mainly of their leaders and didn’t create any problems of resistance during the war and any
collaboration that would derivate from such positions.
The slogan that emerged from the Peza’s Conference is really meaningful: “The union of the Albanian people,
regardless of religion, region and idea” means that political forces and the participants of this Conference knew and
appreciated the three main elements changing in mentality, where the first one, was the element of religious diversity.
3. The factors that cultivate inter religious tolerance at the Elbasani people.
The phenomenon of religious tolerance has always been present in the Albanian environment, but my piece of work
doesn’t aim only the identification of those factors that confirm and condition the presence of this phenomenon in this
environment. Seen in this context, my piece of work aims to demonstrate salience of the cultural value among the
Elbasani people.
You feel really satisfied when you distinguish that the feeling of the religious tolerance phenomenon, in the frame of the
Elbasani social environment, above all testifies a resonance of the phenomenon in the whole Albanian environment.
Meanwhile it also affirms a number of important indicators of existence of such a phenomenon in contrast to the national
environment, giving us in this way a number of special values for the problem we are analyzing.
Having researched and consulted with the studies of different authors, historical documents, and the press published
abroad and in Elbasan in years 20’-30’, it is best confirmed the proper character of those values, as well as it comes out
the origin of their creation. Precisely, this origin is a product of collaboration of a variety of different factors, from which i
would highlight those which are the most important and which have had a significant impact.
4. The factor of geographical nature
Being an in between area this has limited the action of such a factor. Being an area that was between the Catholic north
and the Orthodox South, until the 13th century, it has been characterized by the strong affluence of the two churches.
Meanwhile, the geographical position exposed the Elbasani environment to the threat of a Slavic assimilation from the
east and that of a Norman assimilation from the west. Such a fact served as a strong motive for the Elbasani region, in
the interest of an ethnic survival, to be characterized by a lack of fanaticism about the catholic rites or about the orthodox
ones that was not to create deep roots towards the above mentioned religions.
Furthermore, such a phenomenon is also mentioned by an anonymous western observer, who in 1308, while
passing through this region would express: “The people of these provinces do not move from one place to another…, but
have stable residences and towns, they are neither Catholics not Orthodox (1962:111)
5. The factor of cultural nature
The Elbasani environment is nationally known not only for the values that it has historically inherited, but also for its
466
radiation at the right time and moment. High indicators of the emancipation of this environment would constitute an
important prerequisite for the dawn of a cooperation climate between existing religious beliefs and for resolving major
issues emerged in certain historical periods. Seen from this point of view, it would have been natural that from such an
environment would be born, cultivated and developed the national consciousness with an increasingly comprehensive
index, which in certain circumstances found its support at the outburst of the sense of patriotism
This national consciousness and patriotism in Elbasan and its surroundings is mounted on the religious sentiment.
Such an approach has not gone unnoticed by many local and foreign researchers. Among the noteworthy local
researchers Aleksander Xhuvani, who in the context of developing the national consciousness in the events of 1907,
through a newspaper article that was sent to "Drita" in Sofia, 1907, among others wrote: "It worth to be noticed that only
in this city the religious fanaticism is slowly decreasing between the Albanians - they can not last for a long time now that
the ideas for saving the motherland have been spread out”.
Muslims and Christians have gone along quite well. Harmony among members of various religious communities and
the tolerance that characterized them was one of the main features of the coexistence of the population in the Elbasan
region. In Elbasan the relations between Muslims and Christians, despite the ambivalences that many fanatics tried to
create, were quite good.
Such a fact is also noticed by Alexander Noli, who at the same article stated: “The poem of Naim Frasherit” “All the
Albanians are all of a certain tribe”, We all know in Elbasan, all the people work for Albania; if you ask small children
“What are you?”- they will answer you “We are Albanians”. In the article that Aleksander Xhuvani send to the editorial
board of “Drita” in Sofia in 1907, it was written: “ In Elbasan Muslims and Christians together are like brothers, and there
is nothing that divides them and every Muslim table would have a few Christians around.”
The well-known British ethnologists Edith Durham, especially for the problem in question, on her way to Elbasan
would write: "Patriotism in this province is fierce and stays above all of the religious doctrines" (1990:81).
Meanwhile, the most brilliant proof of the raise of patriotism, over the religious divisions would be represent in the
cooperation between Muslims and Christians in the context of the development of the general uprising of 1912 in the
Elbasan region, which culminated with the signing of a major act for the declaration of independence on 25th November
1912. In the telegram that was sent to Ismail Qemali in Vlora, especially about the problem in question it was written: "All
our people, Muslims and Christians, have gathered today, to declare unanimously the independence ... (1924:213), then
the following 35 firms according to the religion. The celebration of the independence anniversary would be perceived in
Elbasan with strong emotions, in such a wonderful climate of understanding, that the press the 20’, would consider them
as the “Bajrami Bajrameve” and the “Easter of the Easters” (“Shkumbini Bridge” third autumn 28, Elbasan, 1923).
Typical indicators of the fact that national consciousness expressed in a form of patriotism was above the religious
divisions is the event of early December 1912, when the commander of the Serb troops in Elbasan, Col. Hadzic, in a
meeting with the Orthodox men of the castle in the metropolis of the church would claim: "Listen men, the Turks era
ended once and for all, the day has come to get revenge of the crimes, robberies, rapes that were committed by the
Turks (Muslims understandood) on the Christian element, thus against you ..." (2006: 125). As it is clearly understood
from this statement, the Serbian Colonel intended that through the promotion of religious hatred he could incite
bloodsheds and then use it for political purposes of a chauvinistic nature. However, just like other times the national
consciousness, prevailed even in this case over the religious feelings. This is shown from the reaction of one of the
participants in the meeting, which would address the above colonel with these words: "We Christians in Elbasan have not
seen crimes or persecution by the Muslims, on the contrary the religious elements Muslims and Christians together
proclaimed Albania's independence, detaching from the Turkish oppression (2066:215).
The emancipated Elbasani environment can not be understood without the outlines of the patriotic and intellectual
thought, which the city didn’t lack. In cases when their contributions of an intellectual and the patriotic nature coincided
with the national interests the reputation that they won was really absolute
In this context we can affirm that Aqif Pasha enjoyed the full support of the Muslims, and had the same support from
the Christians. Also, Lef Nosi enjoyed undisputed reputation among the Christians and at the same time, had the same
reputation in the outskirts of Elbasan, resulting Muslim.
The harmony between members of different religious communities and the tolerance between them is also reflected
in the phenomenon of Crypto Christianity that has been present in the Elbasani Region. This phenomenon represent a
transition state of two religions in which individual Christians adopted Islam only formally, in order to avoid payment of
Jizya tax and enjoyed equality with the Muslim population in the social life. While in public, these individuals presented
themselves as Muslims and kept Islamic faith names, went to mosques, etc., while in their families, secretly practiced the
Christian rite. There were a lot of families, where the Islam religion was embraced only by the head of that family, while
other family members remained Christians.
467
This ethno-cultural relics today evidences a particular situation that accompanied the process of Islamisation, that of
the long coexistence within the same family of different religious beliefs.
The famous English ethnologists Edith Durham for example, speaks of the residents of the province of Shpati who
hold two names, a Christian one in relationship to each other and a Muslim one in relationship to the authorities
(1990:87).
Being continually together, the Christians learned many things from the Muslims, for example, how to celebrate the
Friday that was the Muslim’s main feast, as the Muslims derived from the Christians, kept many customs of the latter.
Both parties invited each other in festive celebrations in deaths, weddings, etc. Many of the Christians, by taking and
giving to the Muslims, believed that they would exempt from sin, if they had any.
Despite the efforts that were made by some fanatical believers to foster religious divisions, the relations between
Muslims and Christians in the Elbasani region of appeared to be good. Here there have been no quarrels between the
Muslims and Christians to be remembered. Religious differences have not "worked" as a source of conflict. On the
contrary, religious differences have led the Elbasani people to be more cautious in the relationships with each another,
and be more inclined to balance the interests between them. Here in Elbasan, the residents of this city say, it is better to
have a neighbor from another religion, as they don’t hassle you for anything, and they try to help with whatever they can.
The Relations between Orthodox and Muslim neighbors are good, because they don’t get intermingled into politics,
parties, and troubles dealing with them.
It is really interesting the fact that Muslim believers and the Christian ones regularly exchange visits to each other.
The American Sociologist R.B. Taylor has argued that the approach of the beliefs in religious practices has played an
important role in the strengthening of the integration trends in the lifestyle (1988:220).
This affirmation is authenticated in the culture and the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the city of Elbasan where it has
been acting firmly the integrated tendencies. Nowadays there are inconsiderable differences or no differences at all
between the Muslims and Christian families in the way many of the joyful ceremonies like engagement, marriage feast,
friends welcoming etc are celebrated. The best example of this tolerance and coexistence between religion was the
“Kala” neighborhood , inside which existed the church of "Saint Mary", in which the Orthodox believers performed their
rites, and the "King" mosque where faithful Muslims performed the prayers.
On the special days marked the inhabitants of this neighborhood, despite their belief performed family visits to each
other to show respect and gratitude.
The Muslims were welcomed and accompanied by special honors in the Christian families: they were not served
pork and alcoholic drinks. Some families even kept special kitchen utensils, which were used only when they were
expecting Muslims friends, especially Muslim imams. When the Christian families invited the Muslims in the wedding
ceremonies and other special events not only were they honored in special ways, but they were even put in the best
place. The Christians believers’ houses are naturally intermingled with Muslim’s houses. The Bungalow houses, inherited
from the totalitarian socialist regime, are being replaced by large two-three story, plenty of them are surrounded by wide
balconies on all sides. In the architecture of old houses and villas there is almost no new element to identify their religious
affiliation.
6. Factor the relationship between religious beliefs
It is already a well known fact that the proportion between religious beliefs not only in the city but also at the region level
visibly claims a Muslim religion dominance. This proportion originated from the seventeenth century, during which time
took place the process of Islamization of the mass population. The prevalence Muslim religion in all of Elbasani Region,
has not served as an opportunity to indoctrinate, on the contrary, it appears pale, thus creating a favorable premise,
which in one form or another, set the origin and existence of religious tolerance, especially in the context of Elbasani civil
society. Seen from this perspective, we notice that there is no single document which evidences any conflict between
Muslims and Christians in the region of Elbasan, with the exception of an episode that appeared in late June 1876. In
relation to this episode a contemporary person informs us: "On 30-th of June 1876 evil people spread out the news that
wild Christians have entered in Tirana and Durres and would also attack Elbsani, so lets attach the Christians of the
Castle on the castle and kill them." For the sake of truth, it must be emphasized that at that time such news sparked a
movement which in its ranks included only fanatics, who fortunately, were of a low number. Further more this movement
was suppressed, at the right moment, as a result of a vigorous and authoritative intervention from the two most popular
personalities of the time: Konstantin Kristoforidhi and Mahmoud Biçaku.
468
We affirm that the failure of such a conflict with religious connotation is one of the indicators which show not only the
existence of a religious tolerance, but also the harmony that prevailed in the relations between the two religious
communities.
Meanwhile, the history of the Elbasani region from the seventeenth century up nowadays confirms the coexistence
of two religions, its conciliation with the reality of the created proportion, its respect towards the religious rites responsible,
mutual visits for special occasions such Easter and Bajram, and as far as the establishment of marriage relations
between them.
7. Elbasani’s tradition factor
The organization and superb celebration of the Summer Day has been a very important factor in the cultivation of the
religious tolerance in Elbasani environment. Being a pagan holiday, derived from the depths of history, it has served as a
factor of collaboration and integration between the Muslims and Christians. Its organization and traditional celebration,
every year on the night of the 13th of March and throughout the day of the 14th of March, has served as a factor for
cooperation, tolerance, peace, thus a creating a truly festive atmosphere and transforming it in a symbol day for Elbasan
and its surroundings.
8. The psycho-social cross-country factor
Some foreign travelers and researchers, over the course of several centuries interpret the religious tolerance of the
Albanians as a result of the shallowness of their religious feelings, and their superficial techno-religious formation. For
example, one of the most experienced travelers of the Turkish Empire, Evlia Çelebi, who visited many cities and Albanian
rural regions during the seventeenth century, wrote that the Albanians “do not care about the religious doctrine” (Çelebi,
E., 2000 : 53). Two and a half centuries later Edith Durham in her analytical traveler diary analytical would underline:
“There are nations that have liability for the religion ...The Albanians have never considered Christianity seriously, but
even Islam, hasn’t been spread as it should have”. (1990:45).
Seen in this context even the social environment of the Elbasani region, has for various reasons, enabled the formation,
and cultivation of a mentality somewhat of a hesitant nature in the population of this region, a mentality that led to the
adoption of a position not strongly active against several problems, including the religion. Seen in this context, we
emphasize that the presence of the phenomenon of the religious tolerance in Elbasan is somewhat the result of the
engagement of such a factor. However, in the frame of the engagement of such a factor, we should be careful and not
understand this attitude as an indifferent one. If it would be taken as granted such identification (tolerance -indifference),
we would naturally face the dilemma: Elbasani is tolerant or indifferent in its attitudes about religions. From what i have
researched and presented in this paper I am supporting the tolerance thesis. From the analysis made and the arguments
I have brought it is clearly seen that the rise and presence of tolerance, along with the inter religious understanding
(tolerance) of the Elbasani people, among others is conditioned by the action of these factors.
It is precisely their complexibility the basic prerequisite that enabled the characteristic features, which made Elbasan and
its surrounding regions offer an exhibition of the religious tolerance, in comparison with other Albanian territories. Those
features are precisely the ones that enabled the dawn and nurturing of features such as social harmony, peace,
cooperation and cohesion, which dominated over the religious divisions, violence, conflict, and discrimination between the
religions.
References
Bernatzik, Hugo Adolf: Albania - the place of Albanians”, “Eugen” Publisher, Tirane 2003.
Selected sources about the Albanian history of the 12th-13th century, Second Edition, Tirane 1962.
Çelebi, Evlia: Albania, 350 years ago, “Horizont” publisher, Tirane 2000.
Clayer, Nathalie: “Some thoughts about the phenomenon of Islam conversion to considering the case of Albanian Catholics, observed by
a Jesuit mission in late Ottoman era”, “Endeavour” Journal, 2006, no. 22.
Durham, Edith: The burden of the Balkans and other works anbout Albania and Albanians, “November 8” Publisher, Tirana 1990.
Demiri, Sh: “A short History of the Elbasani Region” Egnatia, Tiranë, 2006.
DRITA, Nr. 87, Sofje, 20th of January 1907-Kastrensi.
Konica, Faik: The Act, “Naim Frashëri” Publishing press, Tiranë 1993.
Nosi, Lef: Historical Documents, Elbasan, 1924, 12th edition
Roka, Roberto Moroco dela: The nationality and religion in Albanian, “Elena Gjika” Publishing press, Tiranë 1994.
469
Taylor, R. B: “Cultural Ways”, reissued by Waveland Press, Inc. 1988.

Waal, Clarisa de: Survival (Albania in the post communist era, An edition of the International studies institute, Tirane 2000.
Shkumbini River, third autumn 28th, Elbasan 1923.
470
Analysis of Housing Condition and Neighbourhood Quality

of Residential Core of Akure, Nigeria
Owoeye, J.O
Omole, F.K
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure
P.M.B 704, Akure Ondo State; Phone Contact: +2348039179250 or +2348034539896
E-mails: rantiowoeye@yahoo.com or fkyomole@yahoo.co.uk
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p471
Abstract The hearts of many cities in Nigeria are like island of poverty in seas of relative affluence, which does not require any
professional skill in environmental studies to note the difference between residential environment and the overall physical structure of the
central parts of big cities and their suburbs. Well-designed and relatively well-maintained buildings in the suburbs and other parts of
these cities are inhabited by the affluent, the middle-class and the privileged. But the cores are where the majority of the urbanites live,
under sub-humane conditions in unkempt environments. However, the examination of some of the variables that determine urban
housing and neighbourhood quality as it relates to the city of Akure is the major thrust of this paper. The study sampled five
neighborhoods in the core of the city in order to examine the problems using questionnaire administration, housing demographic and
facility survey as well as physical observation as instruments for data collection. The results were analyzed with the aid of multiple linear
regression models. It is observed from the research findings that poor housing system, lack of neighborhood facilities and insufficient
household services contribute 52.3% significant impacts to the poor quality of the environment in the city´s center. It is however
suggested that extensive urban renewal programm in the form of provision of basic services be carried out in the area, which should be
supported with improved sanitation strategies for sustainable management of the area.
Keywords: Urban housing, neighbourhood quality, inner core, sanitary services, environmental facilities.
1. Introduction
Contemporary West African cities are characterized by poor housing, water sanitation, and public health infrastructures.
Shelter is universally recognized and acknowledged as one of the most basic human needs, second only to food. From
time immemorial, mankind has had to adapt to hostile environment and building innovative shelters. Growing population
and rapid urbanization has made housing problem a global issue, which both the developed and developing countries
have to face, although with varying degree of severity.
Generally, housing condition can be defined as the totality of the state of the physical, environmental and the
satisfaction level of a particular dwelling unit measured against some variables of livability at a particular time. Such
variables include the age of dwellings, types of building, materials used for construction, variety and adequacy of facilities
provided in the dwelling, and the mode of handling various aspects of housing construction such as site preparation, lying
of foundation, construction of walls and roofing and the roof types (Omole, 2000; Owoeye, 2010). In Nigeria, there are
regulatory measures formulated by government to manage housing development. Despite the existence of these
measures, unregulated housing has created negative impacts in the national urban environments. Such impacts
adversely affect the quality of buildings and the living environments. The problems, according to Ede el tal (2007) include
poor condition of buildings, high building density, high occupancy rate, inadequate sanitary services, deficient public
utilities, poor accessibility, unsatisfactory waste management systems, inadequate housing finance, lack of easy access
to land, and high rent. The inner residential core of Akure is an epitome of urban decay. With high level of blighted
features and practical poverty level of over 40.0%, the city center is replete with notable environmental problems ranging
from slum and squatter settlements, through transportation and infrastructure problems, to low productivity, crime and
delinquencies.
The work of Olanrewanju (1990, 2004); Olanrewaju and Akinbamijo (2002); Adedeji and Owoeye (2008); Owoeye (2006,
471
2010) and several other authors who worked on Akure urban development attested to the reality of the layout of
neighbourhood of the inner residential core of Akure been generally appalling. The buildings are closely built and
overcrowded. They experience varying degree of obsolescence, leaking roofs, cracked walls, broken windows and
peeling paints with toilet and bathroom facilities either totally absent or inadequate and substandard. The land–use is
largely residential and the buildings are of roomy apartments which, in most cases, have no approved plan. Contrary to
planning law, there are no provision for open spaces and no well–defined property line for the area. The buildings are
made of low quality materials like mud blocks, zinc or aluminum sheets, and wood or ordinary planks. This generally
affect the durability of the buildings, while some were constructed without due regard for roads accesses, adequate air
spaces, building lines and provision of conveniences and utility services. The existing infrastructure facilities and services
like security, schools, hospital and water among others could not sustain the enormous helpless population of the area.
Most of the facilities have over a long time been overstretched and put out of use without replacement, especially the
pipe-born water supply The electricity supplied to the area is erratic and epileptic in nature due to lack of electric
transformer equipment.
Beside these, non-conforming uses of land are prevalent. There are cases of grinding mills in the midst of
residential houses, causing noise pollution and electric outages. Over-spilling of domestic activities are rampant as well
as mixed and irrational uses of land. Refuse and sewage are disposed off openly near the residences as a result of non-
availability of organized refuse dumping site. In most cases, bathroom and pit latrines are built outside the dwelling units
with open roofs, thereby polluting the environment and make it susceptible to outbreak of diseases. The work of
Olanrewaju and Fadairo (2003) on neighbourhood in Akure further corroborates the above submissions. In their research,
they identified poor state of streets as a problem which does not give room for efficient evacuation of solid waste. Their
study equally pointed out that only a few roads were tarred with side paved gutters, while roads in many other residential
quarters were neither tarred nor provided with appropriate side drainages. The poor condition of roads in the high density
residential neighborhoods of urban centers adversely affect the quality of housing in Nigeria as people cannot move from
one place to the other with ease. In this wise, Oyesiku (2003) attributed incessant traffic congestion, awkward parking
system and environmental pollution in many urban centers in Nigeria to continuous deteriorating condition of roads that
slow down traffic. However, the critical examination of these identified problems facing housing and neighborhood quality
of the inner residential core areas of Akure shall be the major focus of this paper, with the aim to proffer possible
solutions in the form of policy recommendations.
3. Research Setting, Materials and Methods
Akure is currently the headquarters of Akure South Local Government and as well the capital of Ondo State, Nigeria. Its
estimated population of 353,211 by the 2006 population census places the city in the category of a metropolitan urban
center. However, the study concentrates on an inner residential core area of the city, which comprise of five major streets
or neighborhoods including Araromi, Ojaoshodi, Odokoyi, Isolo, and Ijomu (see Figures 1a and 1b below). The land
expanse of this area is about 3.6 square km with population figures of 43,191 inhabitants. The land-use in the area is
largely residential with a few commercial activities around the CBD. The materials used for data collection mainly include
direct observation, questionnaire administration, building demographic and facility survey. Secondary data like base
map, population figures and administration of environmental management were sourced from various institutions,
ministries and establishments. About 1306 buildings exist in the area, out of which 48 are non-residential, leaving 1258 as
target population for the study. From this, a sample of 20.0%, amounting to 250 buildings was selected randomly for
questionnaire administration. In selecting the respondents, every 5th house in the five streets involved was taken for
interview, usually a household-head per building. The sample size used for this study was determined taking into
consideration:
(i) the level of confidence desired in estimating the sample size, z (a = 0.05, z = 1.96);
(ii) the sampling error that could be permitted, e (± 0.06);
(iii) the estimated true proportion of success, p (0.05).
The sum effects of slum variables examined on socio-economic status of respondents (x1), physical environment (x2) and
health condition of the people (x3) was calculated using multiple linear regression model expressed as y = a0 + ∑ bi xi +
b2 x2 +…..bn xn + e; where a0 is constant while bi, b2 and bn are model parameters. Owing to invalidation of some of the
questionnaires due to inconsistencies observed in them, only 230 (out of 250 administered) were made available for the
data analysis. This represents about 92.0% of the total expected responses and is considered suitable for the study.
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Figure 1a: Map of Nigeria Showing Ondo State

Source: Federal Ministry of Statistics, Abuja
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Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2010
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4. Research Findings and Discussion
The result of research findings in this study are discussed around four subheadings which shows the prevailing condition
of housing and neighbourhood facilities in the area as well as various environmental problems encountered.
4.1 Condition of Building Maintenance
The quality of housing in the study area, as shown in Table 1 below, is very low due to poor quality of building materials
used for construction, the inadequate technology, and poor planning standard in handling the building components.
Fadamiro (2002) argued that the average life-span of traditional mud building is 50 years. It therefore implies that quite a
large proportion of housing stock in the study area are aged as over 80.0% of the sampled buildings have spent 30 years
and above. Only 10.5% of the buildings are recent construction, which are just below 20 years. In his efforts to establish
a correlation between relative habitability of housing and age, he affirmed that buildings erected in more recent time are
more habitable than those built much earlier. Thus, a large number of the housing stock in the area has low relative
habitability which has consequent effect on the state of health, socio-economic well-being and emotional stability of the
residents (Adedeji and Owoeye, 2008; Oriye and Owoeye, 2010). Plate 1 shows the example of the condition of some of
the buildings in the city core.
Table 1: Building Characteristics
Materials used for construction Frequency Percentage

(a) Walling – Mud/mud blocks 182 79.1
- Cement/sand-crete blocks 48 20.9
Total 230 100.0
(a) Roofing – Zinc/corrugated iron sheet 225 97.8
- Asbestos materials 05 2.2
Total 230 100.0
Structural Condition 35 15.2
Physically sound 80 34.8
Need minor repair 73 31.7
Need major repair 42 18.3
Old & dilapidated
Total 230 100.0
Age of Building 11 4.8
Below 10 years 13 5.7
10 -19 years 18 7.8
20 –29 years 55 23.9
30 –39 years 133 57.8
40 years and above
Total 230 100.0
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Plate 1a: Collapsed Buildings still inhabited by people due to high level of poverty
Plate 1b: Collapsed building left uncared for in the city core
From the responses gathered, 97.8% of sampled housing units have zinc roofing material while only 2.2% has asbestos
materials. About 79.1% are made with mud walling materials while about 21.0% have sand-crete blocks. This shows that
the level of technology of building construction in the area is rudimentary. The assessment of maintenance level reveals
that over 80.0% buildings need either minor or major repairs, out of which 18.3% are completely old and dilapidated. Only
15.2% exhibit evidence of physical soundness, while 62.6% roofing of buildings examined is patched and leaking.
4.2 Condition of Household (Sanitary) Services
-Water Supply- Figure 2 reveal hand-dug well as the major source of water supply in the area, which accounts for 85.7%
responses. Only 14.3% have access to tap water which is reported as not regularly available. This situation does not
guarantee adequate supply of good quality water in the area. Most of the well, located in unkempt surroundings, are
without cover while the water is used raw without treatment. The rain water used as substitute during raining season has
the possibility of being contaminated as majority of the roofing sheets are rust and dirty.
475
Surf ace st ream, 0% Tap/ p ipe b orne

wat er , 14%
Hand -dug well, 86%
Fig. 2: Source of Water Supply

- Wastes Disposal- The condition of both sewage and solid wastes disposal facilities are shown in Table 2. Over 65.0%
respondents used pit-latrine for sewage disposal. Only 10.9% used modern WC system while 23.9% do not have
sewage management facility at all. Alternative methods used are either through mobile system (4.8%), bush or dung-hills
(11.3%), streams or drainages (7.8%) or squatting in the neighbouring buildings. This makes the area look dirty, ugly and
stinking (see Plate 3). The method of solid waste disposal too is generally absurd in spite of government efforts to curb
indiscriminate dumping of refuse. Although, over 65.0% respondents used the controlled tipping method provided by the
government through the agency of Waste Management Authority, but the remaining 34.8% dispose theirs
indiscriminately. Some (1.3%) dispose theirs in open spaces, 11.7% through burning, 1.7% at road sides and drainages
where nobody cares for them. Such become comfortable breading grounds for rodents, flies, rats, mosquitoes and other
dangerous animals that can contribute to the spreading of diseases and other related hazards in the environment. For
example, the regular dumping of refuse in Ala River has caused blockage to the free flow of the river thereby leading to
seasonal flooding into the premises of buildings around the place as indicated by 20.4% respondents. Clear evidence of
this situation can be seen in Plate 2.
Plate 2a: Indiscriminate dumping of Refuse in drainages

476
Plate 2b: Indiscriminate dumping of Refuse in Open spaces in the city core
Liquid wastes too are poorly managed. Waste water from kitchen, bathrooms and laundries are not properly channeled
into drainages. Standing water all over the places affords breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies. Most of the gutters
are not cemented and full of foul smelling water which creates swimming ponds for pigs and ducks. To walk near the wall
of many buildings is to experience terrible odour of urine disposed here and there by the inmates and passersby. All
these create ugly look of the environments and makes it unattractive. As a result of these inhumane conditions, about
60.0% of the respondents are willing to quit the area to better places within the city.
- Bathroom- A good number of sampled houses has bathroom facility, only that they are rather substandard or
inconveniently located. About 58.2% of the sampled buildings have bathroom within, but only 4.3% are self-contained
while 53.9% are shared among several households which in most cases are being over utilized. About 31.7% have theirs
outdoor, of small enclosure usually made of bamboo, rusted iron-sheets or planks; while the rest do not have provision for
it at all. Such people become squatters in neighboring buildings. Plate 3 shows the condition of some of the bathroom in
the study area.
Plate 3: Bathrooms and Pit Toilets built outdoor in the city core
- Cooking Spaces- kitchen facilities are provided, only that few (5.2%) of the sampled buildings enjoyed the facility as
self-contained while 63.0% have it as shared facility with different households. About 28.3% have theirs outside, usually
477
at the backyard while 3.5% do not have any. The use of firewood and charcoal for cooking are rampant in the area,
except in few cases where kerosene stoves are being used as supplement.
Table 2: Condition of Household Facilities
Variables Frequency Percentage

Sewage Disposal (Toilet)
Pit latrine 150 `65.2
Water closet 25 10.9
Bucket latrine 11 4.8
Bush / dunghills 26 11.3
Streams and Drainage 18 7.8
Total 230 100.0
Bathroom facilities
Indoor – Self contained 10 4.3
-- Shared 124 53.9
Out-door – open court yard 73 31.7
None (Not available) 23 10.0
Total 230 10.0
Kitchen facilities
Indoor-- Self contained 12 5.2
-- Shared 145 63.0
Outdoor –open courtyard 65 28.3
None (Not available) 8 3.5
Total 230 100.0
Waste Disposal Facilities
Free Range @Road sides 4 1.7
@Open space 49 21.3
Controlled Tipping 150 65.3
Incinerating / Burning 27 11.7
Total 230 100.0
Source: Field survey, 2010
4.3 Condition of Neighbourhood Facilities
-Electricity Supply- As shown in Table 3, about 90.9% of the sampled respondents depend solely on PHCN’s supply
while 1.7% used self-generating plant to supplement their source of light supply. Only 7.4% indicates no other source of
light than hurricane lamps. In the area of regularity, about 89.6% indicates erratic supply of light in the area. This problem
is more severe and chronic in the study area, probably because of low caliber of people living in the area who may not be
politically influential either to secure good transformer or get the attention of the government to their aids.
- Road Accessibility: Many of the houses in the study area were built without proper provision for access roads or
garage facilities. However, the survey revealed that 68.3% of the buildings are accessible by road out of which 32.2% are
not tarred while 29.6% gain access to their dwellings only by foot-paths. Such areas need attention for proper
accessibility. Even few that are tarred, some are becoming bad and need rehabilitation with functional side-way
drainages.
Table 3: Condition of Neighbourhood Facilities
Variable Frequency Percentage
Electricity Supply (Source)

NEPA (Now PHCN) 209 90.9
Self generating Plant 4 1.7
Hurricane Lamp 17 7.4
Total 230 100.0
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Electricity Supply (Regularity)

Constant / Regular 7 3.0
Erratic / Irregular 206 89.6
None 17 7.4
Total 230 100.0
Road Accessibility
Yes (Available) 157 68.3
No (Not available) 73 31.7
Total 230 100.0
Condition of Access Roads
Tarred 88 38.3
Not tarred 74 32.2
Foot-path 68 29.6
Total 230 100.0
Security & Heath Facilities
Responses Security Facility Heath Facility
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
Available 1 0.4 60 26.1

Not Available 229 99.6 170 73.9
Total 230 100.0 230 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 2010.
- Security, Education and Health Facilities: The area has no police post situated within the neighborhood as indicated
by 99.6% of the respondents. The closet police station is about 3-4km away from the area. The effect of this is seen in
the responses of the people to the question on regular occurrence of burglary in their neighborhood. About 63.0%
indicated “occasionally” while 3.1% indicated “often” (i.e. regularly), giving a total of 66.1%` that witness occurrences of
burglary at one time or the other. Only a few numbers has not witness it as at then. Educational facilities available in the
area are only limited to preliminary level of Nursery and Primary schools, except Don Bosco School of Technology which
is not even functioning as before. Most of these are privately owned by individuals and the available ones cannot sustain
the teeming population of people in the area. The state of health facilities too is far below satisfaction, which is either
farther away from their dwellings or totally absent within their neighborhood. About 73.9% of the respondents actually
indicated non-availability of health institution within their reach. Only 26.1% are very sure of having any within their
neighborhood, which majority are mere chemist shops or at most, health clinic.
4.4 Environmental Problems Experienced and Residents' Interest in the Area
Various environmental related problems experienced in the area are shown in Figure 3 below. Their suggested causative
factors include inadequate sanitary facilities as suggested by 57.4% respondents, poor water supply by 14.8%
respondents, and dirty environment by 14.8% and overcrowding by 12.2% while 0.9% respondents suggested lack of
good drainage system.
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Figure 3 Environmental Related Problems in the Study Area.

Source: Author’s Field Survey, 2010
In investigating the interest of the people to continuing living in the area, about 59.1% indicates their willingness to move
out on several conditions. Some (29.1%) will move as soon as their incomes improve. About 22.6% wish to move
because of poor environment and 7.0% because of old and dilapidated condition of buildings in which they live. The
remaining 40.0% will not like to move out of the area because some live in their personal buildings (28.3%), some
because of free accommodation they enjoy (5.2%) while 3.0%, 2.6% and 2.2% are not willing because of closeness to
place of work, low rentage compare with other areas, and family ties respectively.
The regression analysis computed to validate the relevance of poor housing system and inadequate facilities to low
quality of neighborhood show a positive significant relationship of 52.3%. It implies therefore that the area is a typical
location of slum since it exhibits degraded features as examined in the study.
Table 4: Regression Analysis (Model Summary)
Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 0.723a 0.523 0.506 0.20
Source: Computer Print-Out, 2010
5. Policy Implications and Recommendations
The followings are the policy implications of this paper based on major findings in the study. The area is ripe enough for
extensive developmental programm which should focus on how to upgrade the physical condition of the area. This
should aim at provision of decent and adequate housing units and healthy environment for the dwellers. The assistance
of international bodies like the UNICEF and Centre for Human Settlement (UN-Habitat) can be requested in the area of
infrastructural provision through Urban Basic Service Programm (UBSP). Also, provision of good drainages and water
channels are recommended, particularly the execution of Ala River channelization project so as to curb the incessant
flooding that plagues the residents around the area. Although effective and enforceable environmental policies are
difficult to develop and implement in many sub-Saharan countries including Nigeria, but this appear to be a viable solution
if a country must be environmentally secured. In this wise, the re-introduction of the old sanitary inspectors is
recommended as a sustainable strategy for any intending renewal and upgrading effort to be efficiently carried out in the
area. Besides, the people should be educated through enlightenment campaign programm whereby they get acquainted
with the benefits of healthy environments. Since poverty has the tendency to breed such activities that lead to slum
formation and growth, the ongoing minimum wage increase is hereby recommended to be extended to all and sundry so
as to reduce the high rate of poverty that ravage the inhabitants of the area.
480
References
Adedeji, Y.M.D and Owoeye, J.O (2008); Environmental Sanitation and the Health of Slum Dwellers in Akure: Knowledge Review (a
multidisciplinary Journal); National Association for the Advancement of Knowledge (NAFAK), University of Benin, Benin-City,
Nigeria; 17(2):57-67.
Ede P.N, Ebakpa A.F, and Chukuigwe E.C (2007); Determination of Housing and Neighbourhood Quality for Yenagoa, Bayelsa State of
Nigeria: Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP); XX(I): 99-118.
Fadamiro, J.A. (2002); An appraisal of Architectural Principles in the provision and maintenance of affordable rural housing: Journal of
Rural Environment and Sustainable Development; Department of Geography and Planning Science, University of Ado-Ekiti:112-
116
Olanrewaju, D.O. (2004); Town Planning: A Veritable Means for Poverty Reduction; 38th Inaugural Lecture, Federal University of
Technology, Akure (FUTA): October 26th.
Olanrewaju, D.O. and Akinbamijo, O.B. (2002); Environmental Health and Target Audience: A programmatic panacea for poverty
alleviation in Nigerian cities: African Journal of Environmental Studies; Development Africa consortium; 3(2):82-89.
Olanrewaju, D.O and Fadairo, G. (2003); Flooding as an Induced Environmental Problem – A case study of Ala River in Akure, Nigeria:
Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP); XVI(I): 85-95
Omole, F.K (2000); Urban Renewal Process Issues and Strategies; Concept Books and Publication Company Nig. Limited, Lagos,
Nigeria
Omole, F.K and Owoeye, J.O (2006); Reducing the Environmental Health-risk Factors of Slum Dwellers in Developing Country – A case
study of Akure, Nigeria: Journal of Land-use and Development Studies, Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Oriye, O and Owoeye, J.O (2009); Combating Environmental Health-Risk Factors in a High-density Residential District of a Medium City
in Nigeria: Journal of Geography, Environment and Planning; University of Ado-Ekiti; 5(2):52-58
Owoeye, J.O. (2006); Analysis of Slum Formation and Its Associated Effects on a Residential Core Area of Akure; Unpublished M. Tech.
Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology Akure.
Owoeye, J.O (2010); Assessment of Environmental Habitability of a Residential Core Area in Akure, Nigeria: Journal of Environmental
Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure; 2(1):34-41
Oyesiku, K.O (2003); Sustainable Transportation Strategies for Intermediate Cities in Nigeria: Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Town
Planners (NITP); XVI (I):35-44.
UN-Habitat (2003); Facing the slum challenge; Global Report on Human Settlement – Advanced draft report; UN-Habitat, Nairobi
481

A Sociological Analysis of the Space of Popular Music Production in Iran 1

Using the Data Collected from Two Interviews with the Official and Unofficial Producers of Music in Tehran
Reza Samim
Ph.D Candidate of Sociology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
E-mail: reza.samim@rocketmail.com
Vahid Ghasemi
Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
E-mail: v.ghasemi@ltr.ui.ac.ir
Sasan Fatemi
Assistant Professor of Music, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: Sfatemi@ut.ac.ir
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p483
Abstract: Different research and theoretical approaches have been adopted in the study of the space of music production. In the
present study, which relies on the ethnographic/sociological research approach in the study of cultural producers, because of the
impossibility of conducting a structural research on the space of popular music production in Iran due to lack of reliable statistics on the
space of production, We have tried to analyze this space with the aid of a sociological conceptualization at a micro level, using the data
collected from two interviews with the official and unofficial producers of popular music in Tehran. In order to collect qualitative data to
answer the question as to whether the action among the producers of popular music in Iran, as the main constructors of the space of
music production, is an ideological action, the focus group technique has been used. The data was collected through five sessions of
discussion with two eight-member groups, and was analyzed using the reflective analysis method. The data analysis shows that since
the producers of the discussed genres, as the actors of this space, are ideological, the space of production of popular music in Iran is a
controversial space where no hybrid of cognitive music is possible. From the viewpoint of the authors of the present article the hybrid of
cognitive music seems to be the only way to overcome the cultural dismorphy existing in the space of music production in Iran.
Keywords: space of production; Iranian popular music; official popular music; unofficial popular music; cultural producers;
1. Introduction: A Historical Study of the Problem
For many years, especially since the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, there have always been ideological conflicts
among the supporters of traditional and modern culture in different cultural spaces. The conflict between the traditional
and modern culture in social and cultural spaces escalated with the establishment of Pahlavi dynasty and Reza Shah’s
authoritative modernization policy. One important domain of conflict in that era was the space of production of music.
Cultural modernization in this domain was carried out seriously as a result of enacting and implementing special cultural
policies. Due to these policies, the space of production of music, like other cultural spaces, became entangled with a kind
of discursive conflict. As a principal policy of that era, modern western genres were supported in the production of music;
this policy that marginalized the traditional musical productions and developed an ideological resistance in them. The
same policy was implemented in the era of Mohammad Reza Shah, and it reached its highest point in the 1960s because
of the economic boom and the dominance of the middle class. In this period popular music was produced more than
other musical genres and influenced the space of the production of music.
Iranian popular music started to develop in the years 1945 to 1955, on the basis of foundations laid for it some
years before. Gradually, with the development of the media and the economic growth in the mid 1960s, like its

1This article is based on a PhD dissertation of Sociology entitled “Subjectivity and the Process of Production and Consumption of
Popular Music in Iran”, which is being completed in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Isfahan, Iran.
483
counterparts in other countries, it became the most important and the most popular kind of music in Iran (Fatemi, 2004,
p.30).
In the 1960s the space of music production in Iran was replete with musical genres formerly non-existent. Most of
these genres were popular music produced and consumed by the urban middle class people who were in the minority. As
mentioned earlier, the growth of the urban middle class, the development of the market economy and the growth of the
mass media such radio, television and popular magazines played a key role in the general tendency towards popular
music; this trend continued into the mid 1970s. The space of music production in Iran experienced an unprecedented
diversity of genres due to the production of popular music. Since this diversity owed much to the productions of the urban
middle class, as the minority group, it led to monopolistic behavior and ideological conflicts among the more traditional
classes, who were in the majority. Although the traditional taste was not supported by the dominant cultural policies, the
space of music production, as a result of these conflicts, was full of tension.
After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the space of cultural production was revised seriously, especially, the space of
production of music. The Islamic Revolution of Iran, which according to its founders was more of a cultural revolution than
a political one, embarked on the process of removing the elements of modern western culture, as symbols of the former
regime. One major domain which required a fundamental transformation was the space of music production. What, more
than anything else, had made the space of music production problematic to the cultural policy-makers of the Islamic
Republic, was the presence of musical genres which belonged to modern western musical culture. Popular music was the
major representative of these genres, which was at odds with some Islamic values. As a result, traditional musical
cultures were supported, the production of western musical genres, especially popular music, was banned, and many
producers of the popular musical genres abandoned the space of music production in Iran, either voluntarily or
compulsorily. Since these producers continued to produce music outside of the space of the production of music in Iran2,
the space of music production in Iran, in the absence of popular musical genres, was exclusively dominated by Iranian
classical music. This monopoly could, to a large extent, solve the challenges resulting from the diversity of musical
genres. However, soon after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, and as a result of the post-war economic boom, the removal of
some limitations, and the cultural policies which were aimed at holding out against the imported phenomena of the
western culture, this monopoly was broken. As a result of the new cultural policies and in order to prevent the negative
cultural outcomes of the consumption of Iranian popular music produced outside Iran, the production of domestic popular
music was supported. Also in the early 1990s the mass media started to promote domestically produced popular music.
The space of music production included both classical and popular genres, and the foundations for the diversity of genres
were laid. At this time, the urban youth, especially those living in Tehran, embarked on the unofficial production of popular
musical genres which were not supported by the cultural policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This trend developed
noticeably in the late 1990s when the reformist government, which adopted a flexible approach in the cultural domain,
came to power. Although these genres were never officially supported by the cultural policy-makers, as a result of the
relatively large-scale production and consumption of them by the youth, they played a large part in the space of music
production in Iran (Nooshin, 2005, p.464). With the increase in the number of official and unofficial popular music groups
and concerts, and the increase in the popularity of satellite channels, some of which merely broadcast the domestically
produced official and unofficial popular music, the space of music production in Iran in the 2000s was practically changed
into a space of popular music production. Other than the unique capacity of this space for producing economic added
value, the discursive and ideological conflicts and challenges among the producers of different genres, as the major
actors, can be regarded as the major factors attracting attention to the space of popular music production in Iran. It can
be claimed that in the new space of the music production in Iran, discursive conflicts among the supporters of the
traditional and modern musical cultures were replaced by ideological challenges among the official and unofficial
producers of music and the subcultures which were formed on the basis of the production and consumption of these
genres. These challenges changed the space of the popular music production in Iran into an unpredictable ambiguous
space. No comprehensive study has been carried out to describe this space; however, a deep understanding and a thick
description of elements, relationships, and the structure of the space of popular music production in Iran can help us
understand and describe the process of the construction of the identity of the youth in Iran. This article aims to describe
the form of action among the official and unofficial producers of popular music in Iran, as the main actors in the space of
music production. Using the data collected from interviews with two groups of producers of the aforesaid genres in
Tehran, we try to answer the question as to whether, in the action among the official and unofficial producers of music,

2Most of these producers immigrated to the US and continued to produce music at lower levels of quality than before the revolution.
Their productions are known as Losanjelesi Music.
484
there are still signs of the ideological conflict remaining from long-running conflict among the supporters of the traditional
and modern musical culture. And if this conflict still dominates the space of the music production in Iran, can we still hope
to create a hybrid between the cognitive music of the producers of these genres? The authors of this article believe that
this hybrid is the only method to find way out of the unconstructive challenges in the space of popular music production in
Iran and the cultural dismorphy dominating this space.
2. Research Background: Research on Production in the Popular Music Studies
The field of popular music studies is a multi-disciplinary field where researchers with methodological and theoretical
approaches from different academic disciplines, conduct studies on a single topic, i.e. popular music. The researchers in
this field, regardless of the different multi-disciplinary approaches to popular music deal with music as an important
phenomenon which entails potential socio-political meanings. That is why, first and foremost, the relationship of the
production and the consumption of music with concepts such as identity, globalization, resistance, subjectivity, gender,
race and the like, which all have social and political implications, is of great importance to these researchers
(Hesmonhalgh & Negus, 2002, pp. 6-10). The musicological, ethnomusicological and sociological approaches play an
important role in popular music studies.
The musicological approach is primarily based on the textual and semiotic analysis of the musical text (Tagg, 1979;
1982). However, some researches in the popular music studies with an ethnomusicological approach have dealt with the
local roots of the urban popular music in contemporary societies (Jones, 1963; Keil, 1966; Middleton, 1972). Some other
researches with an ethnomusicological approach to non-western popular music have tried to analyze these types of
music in their own social and cultural context (Teixeira, 2003; Nooshin, 2005; 2008; 2011). In the earliest studies
conducted on the popular music with a sociological approach, this genre of music is regarded either as the production of
mass culture in the capitalist society or as the music of deviant subcultures (Riesman, 1950; Adorno, 1976; Horkheimer &
Adorno, 1979). The sociological research on the production of popular music can be divided into two groups: the first
group studies production with a critical approach and the second group examines the production of popular music from
the viewpoint of organizational-industrial sociology. The critical approach is influenced by the Marxist and neo-Marxist
approaches. In this approach, the method of popular music production is studied in terms of the social changes and the
cognitive aesthetic form (Adorno, 1991). In the organizational-industrial approach, the study of the production of popular
music is primarily based on the secondary analysis of statistical data from the popular music industry (Peterson & Berger,
1975). In this approach, analysis is based on the theory of “the production of culture” (Peterson, 1976). In both
approaches the study of the production involves both the process of production and the producers. However, because of
the structuralism in the organizational-industrial approach it can be claimed that this approach has paid little attention to
the study of the producers as intended actors in the space of popular music production. Because of lack of sociological
research in the popular music studies, few researches have conducted on the production of this genre of music. Also
because of lack of reliable statistics on the productions of popular music industry in Iran, conducting a research with an
organizational-industrial approach is impossible. In fact, the structure of music business in Iran, like other economic
arenas, is quite ambiguous, which is because of the quality of transition of the Iranian society. Due to the limitations in
understanding music business and the structure of music economy in Iran, this article examines the production of popular
music from a sociological approach through interviews with the producers of music. In this article the popular music
industry in Iran is not analyzed, but the communicative action of the producers in the space of popular music production is
studied at a micro level. From the viewpoint of the authors of the present article, the action of the producers is the
constructor of the space of popular music production.
3. The Conceptual Framework and the Theoretical Principles
3.1 The Space of Cultural Production: A Sociological Conceptualization at a Micro Level
Although the term “production” is mostly used in economics, it is a key concept in sociology and cultural studies when
used with the word “culture”. The sociological approach was first used to explicate the concept of cultural products in
Marxist analysis. Marxists found an intimate connection between the production of cultural products and events and the
economic production. Since this approach, unlike the older aesthetic approach, is based on the belief that the works of art
are significantly affected by the socio-economic situation they are created in, it is regarded as sociological-economic
approach (Williams, 1977, p. 70). Neo-Marxists, especially the Frankfurt school thinkers, who adopted a critical approach
to traditional Marxist ideas, attached great importance to cultural superstructure in their analyses, and consequently
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paved the way for a more sociological analysis of the concept of cultural production. They explicated cultural production
as the subgroup of the concept of “culture industry” (Horkheimer & Adorno, 1979, pp. 97-134). They believed that in the
capitalist society, cultural production is not production, but a kind of mechanical reproduction (Benjamin, 1969). In other
words, neo-Marxists considered the space of cultural production as nothing more than the space of technological mass
production of cultural goods. Neo-Marxists’ sociological analyses of the space of cultural production are largely analyses
at a macro level. In other words, in neo-Marxist approaches, producers, as individual actors, do not play any role in the
construction of space, and the space of cultural production is constructed by the macrostructures and the ideology of the
capitalist society. According to them, individual producers are completely dissolved in the structure of the capitalist
society and lose their individuality. Another sociological approach, similarly, conceptualized the cultural space at a macro
level in the 1960s and 1970s; however, it adopted the neo-Marxist approaches to explicating the concept of cultural
production in a different way, and brought about important theoretical achievements for carrying out positive analysis of
the space of cultural production. Since Richard Peterson’s sociology of culture, as the main representative of this
approach, was significantly influenced by the main current of sociology in the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s, i.e.
structuralism, it considered cultural production against any individual understanding, as a set of structural processes
which encompasses the whole industrial mechanism of production (Tanner, 2003, pp.70-72). To him, the space of
production of culture is a set of organizational and institutional processes which imposes the aesthetic choices on
consumers as actors of the cultural space (Hirsch & Fees, 2000). In their analysis of the innovative cultural production,
Peterson’s followers consider the “art worlds”, i.e. the sum of all individual actors, organizations, and institutions which
constitute the space of cultural production, not the individual producer, as their unit of analysis; however, they create this
theoretical possibility in the conceptualization of the space of cultural production that we can give a share to producers as
the individual actors in the construction of cultural space. This theoretical possibility, which is rooted in a fully structuralist
attitude, paved the way for more micro analyses of the space of cultural production. These analyses were theorized in the
1980s and 1990s by Pierre Bourdieu in his theorization about cultural production. As a reaction to all the structuralist
analyses of the past, Bourdieu tried to highlight the role of the social agent. In his theorization, he tried to explicate the
role of social structure, and the will and the freedom of choice of the individual actor (Calhoun & et.al, 2002, pp.259-260).
In his analysis of the cultural production, Bourdieu attributes the action of production to the producer, or the social agent
of production. By an individual action directed to his production, this actor constructs a space around himself which he
calls the field of production (Bourdieu, 1993, p.63). Field is a strcuturalist concept which does not make sense except by
observing the action of an individual who has willpower. According to Bourdieu, the field of cultural production, which we
call the space of cultural production here, exhibits specific characteristics. All fields of cultural production are methodic,
are based on capital as source, are in accordance with special habitus, and are controversial (Ibid, p.73). Bourdieu
believes that it is the contradiction between the interests of producers, or the actors of the field of cultural production, that
makes this field controversial. One example of this contradiction is what we discussed in the analysis of the action
between the supporters of the traditional and modern musical culture of the contemporary Iranian history and used in our
conceptualization of the problematic space of the production of music. Bourdieu’s conceptualization of the space of
cultural production enables us to examine this space, which is constructed by the action of the actors, i.e. producers,
based on the analysis of the conflict among them. As a result of examining the space of cultural production in this way,
the study of cultural producers has gain a lot of importance, and numerous research approaches have been offered in
sociology and cultural studies for the study of their action (David, 2009, pp.53-67). One method for studying cultural
producers is the ethnographic/sociological approach which involves the observation and documentation of real processes
and individuals engaged in the process of cultural production (Ibid, p.58). In this approach qualitative methods are usually
employed and research is conducted at a local micro level (Ibid, p.59). The researcher who adopts this approach to the
study of cultural producers tries to discover the performance, cognitive processes and, especially, the actions of social
actors who are engaged in the process of cultural production in the space of production. In this article, with regard to the
sociological conceptualization of the space of cultural production at a micro level, we have dealt with the producers of
popular music genres as a form of cultural production, in order to analyze the space of popular music production, as a
form of the space of cultural production, in contemporary Iran.
3.2 Popular Music and the Genres Produced in Iran
Popular music cannot be precisely defined. Numerous attempts have been made to define this type of music in the
western culture milieu. Many regard it as the music of class societies; a type of music that is in sharp contrast to the
music of the elite. Some maintain that popular misc is the music of a society with a relatively advanced division of labor
system and a clear distinction between producer and consumer, where cultural products are produced by professionals
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on a large scale, sold in a mass market and promoted by the media (Middleton, 1990). Researchers of the field of popular
music studies have employed different ways for defining popular music as a Cross-cultural phenomenon (Baily, 1981). In
the definition of non-western popular music, some attach little importance to industrialization. Rapid change in the
repertoire and close correlation between sound recording and the distributing media are among the important features in
the definition of popular music in non-western culture (Ibid, p.107). Iranian popular music, as an example of non-western
popular music cannot be defined precisely. Like all kinds of popular music in the world, Iranian popular music is
influenced by its western counterpart. The development of this type of music is the result of the growth of middle class
and the development of market economy. This kind of music owes it development to the mass media and is based on a
planned system of “making stars”. Because of lack of proper understanding of the industry and the space of popular
music production, a historical perspective is necessary to know the genres produced in Iran as popular music (Breley &
Fatemi, 2012). By adopting a historical perspective, we can trace the root of popular music in contemporary Iran in the
frivolous types of Iranian classical music, Motrebi, i.e. urban folk music, and the imported western popular music (Fatemi,
2004, p.30). Iranian popular music is generally the frivolous altered form of the Iranian classical music. In the mid 1940s,
Tasnif, which is the rhythmic vocal form of Iranian classical music changed into Taraneh, song, to take the form of
popular music. This led to a kind of amalgamation between classical and popular music in Iran; the same thing had
previously happened in the West in the 19th century. Some genres of popular music which are also supported by the
cultural policy-makers of the Islamic Republic are examples of this type. Motrebi, which is in fact the ceremonial type of
Iranian classical music, has changed into a type of popular music which is produced and consumed by the lower classes
of society. Some genres of popular music in Iran, which constitute a major part of the unofficial production in the space of
music production in Iran, are the altered forms of imported western popular music which played a great role in the space
of popular music production in Iran in the mid 1960s. These genres faced considerable limitations after 1979 Revolution.
These limitations, which still exist in Iran, have created an important micro space, i.e. unofficial space of popular music
production, alongside the official space of production.
Table 1. Official and unofficial genres of popular music produced in Iran
Influenced by Iranian popular music produced abroad

(Losanjelesi)
(Naser Abdollahi, Mohsen Yeganeh, Mohsen Chavoshi, …)

Official popular music productions in Iran Influenced by the altered frivolous forms of Iranian classical music
(Dastgahi Songs)
(Alireza Eftekhari, Mohammad Esfahani, …)

Influenced by the main stream of western popular music (MTV)
(music clips broadcast by satellite channels devoted to Iranian

Unofficial Official popular music productions in Iran popular music)
Influenced by western protest popular music
(underground music bands, rap, rock and heavy metal)
As mentioned before, different approaches have been adopted in the research conducted on cultural producers in
sociology and cultural studies (Davis, 2009, pp.53-67). In the present study, ethnographic/sociological approach has been
utilized. The qualitative data has been collected through interviews or observation, and focus group technique has been
used for the collection of accurate information. Focus group can be regarded as one kind of depth interview in which
some homogeneous people are directed in discussions about a particular topic (Boswell & Cannon, 2007, p. 196). In the
focus group emphasis is put on the interaction among group members who are interviewed.
In the present study two focus groups were formed; the members of each group were producers of one genre of
official or unofficial popular music. The first group included the producers of official popular music who were influenced by
487
Iranian classical music and dastgahi songs (which are based on Iranian musical model system). The second group
included the producers of unofficial popular music who were influenced by western protest popular music, known as
Persian Rapper. Eight people 3 (Burns & Grove, 2006, p.379), who had been active in the production of music as
musician, composer or singer, at least for 3 years, were selected as members of each focus group. For the first group 3
sessions and for the second group 2 sessions of 90 minute discussions were held. Some of the ethnographic
characteristics of the interviewees are as follows:
Table 2. Characteristics of participant in the group discussion Number 1
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
code
Characteristics
Age 25 24 28 20 28 27 29 29
Education BA BA MA BA student MA MA student MA BA
Gender Male Male Male Female Female Male Male Female
Birthplace Shahrood Kashan Tehran Tehran Tabriz Tehran Esfahan Yasooj
Birthplace of Shahrood Kashan Kermanshah Tehran Maragheh Tehran Khomeinishar Yasooj
father
Table 3. Characteristics of participant in the group discussion Number 2
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
code
Characteristics
Age 21 28 19 27 23 25 29 24
Education BA student BA BA student BA BA student BA student BA BA
Gender Male Male Male Female Female Male Male Male
Birthplace Tehran Mashhad Tehran Esfahan Tehran Tehran Ahvaz Tehran
Birthplace of Sari Mashhad Tehran Esfahan Khoramabad Tehran Dezfool Tehran
father
In the group interviews four questions were asked: 1. how resistant are your families to the production of music by you?
2. Do you get in close contact with the governmental institutions in the production of music? 3. Is there mush interaction
among you and the producers of other genres? 4. How do you find the atmosphere of the popular music production in
Iran? More emphasis has been put on the answers received through group interaction. Reflective analysis has been
utilized in the analysis of the answers received through the interviews. In this analysis, the data was analyzed on the
basis of the imagination, contemplation and interpretation of the researcher with reliance on his disciplinary insight
(Tesch, 1990, p.69).
5. Findings
In this study five group discussions with two groups of producers of popular music in Iran were held. Here the findings of
the interviews are reported and their sociological analysis is presented.
5.1 Interview with the producers of the official genres
In the first session of discussion the issue was discussed from a historical point of and then the questions were asked. In

3 The number of participants in each group depends on the topic and the characteristics of phenomenon under discussion, and the
sampling and collection of data continues to the theoretical saturation point. The size of the group should also be proportional to our
purpose; in a large group some people may not participate in discussion, and in small groups members may feel they cannot participate
in the discussions freely. Many consider a focus group of 6 to 10 people appropriate.

488
answer to question 1, Code 4 stated, “my father always encouraged me to learn music, but my mother didn’t like me to
pursue my interest in music. However, probably because of my father’s support I didn’t meet any resistance to music in
my family.” In reaction to Code 4’s answer, Code 2 said, “you have lived in Tehran, and in big cities we usually face fewer
problems. In my city, although there are great musicians, music, especially its production, is not warmly welcomed by the
people”. Code 6 maintained that, “the size of the city plays a much smaller role in building up resistance than the
widespread religious feelings. Tehran is an exception in this regard.” Code 7 and Code 1 also maintained that if they lived
in a city other than Tehran, it would probably be difficult for them to pursue their interest in music. In answer to question 4,
Code 8 said, “the dominating spaces in Iran are different, and it is difficult to analyze them as a whole. Popular music,
either in large cities, or small towns, in the eyes of ordinary people, or the educated people, is regarded as frivolous and
superficial. I started with Iranian classical music, but to tell the truth, economic problems pushed me to select this musical
genre”. Code 1 commented that, “he probably means that, the music we produce today is not what we wanted in the
beginning. The truth is that this type of music does not satisfy me, neither in terms of poetry, nor music.” Code 2
remarked that, “I don’t agree; it depends on our definition of satisfaction. This music satisfies me, because it has its
listeners. The music we started with had no listener.” Code 6 said, “Our fans are our true motivation for selecting this type
of music, both economically and spiritually. By spiritually I mean that our friends like this kind of music more and this kind
of music has guaranteed our presence in larger circles of friends.” In answer to question 3, Code 3 stated, “basically
interaction does not exist in the space of Iranian music. Although hybrid music is particularly favored by musicians in Iran,
no musical cooperation exists between the producers of Iranian classical music and us.” Code 6 maintains that, “this not
only true in the case of music. In Iran people only values things they know well. One believes that the things he doesn’t
know are not worth learning”. Code 8 said that, “it is very interesting, for example, it is important to me to produce hybrid
music, and I have produced some music of this kind, but I haven’t been successful.” Code 2 remarked that, “the music we
have produced is kind of hybrid music, which is the outcome of interaction. We have shown that we like interacting with
others.” In answer to question 2, Code 1 said that, “I don’t know how one can have no contact with the government and
continue with his work. We have to have relations with the government.” Code 6 said, “I hope musicians won’t have to
receive permission for holding a concert, someday in the future, they hold concerts when they like, or release their
albums; if their music is not really good, people won’t buy it or listen to it.” Other interviewees had had some contact with
government at some stages of their work. And some believed that the government does not always have a negative
attitude towards their music.
5.2 A sociological analysis of the answers of Group 1
At first glance, we might consider the members of this group as people who are inclined by social and cultural changes to
select a musical genre not very much in accord with their initial musical taste. Although they believe their music is hybrid
music and has been produced quite successfully, just the opposite seems to be true. The reasons for their failure in
producing hybrid music are rooted in some structural necessities which entangle them in an internal contradiction. They
accept that the music they produce is not original. This is the result of their sociability in the space of the music production
in which some genres are believed to original in essence. This essentialist attitude derives from the traditionalist
conception that the supporters of traditional musical culture have been attributed to. Although this traditionalist attitude
was denounced for a time in the contemporary Iranian history, it is now supported by cultural policy-makers; this support
results in its reproduction. From this standpoint, any kind of hybrid, either in the cultural-social space or in the musical
space is believed to eliminate originality. The lived experience in a space which, in terms of cognitive music, is not
considered original, has caused the producers of this genre of popular music to show interest in developing interaction
with other genres, even though this interaction seems idealistic and unreachable to them. Tendency towards interaction
shows a kind of social tolerance which entices a kind of monopolism and external resistance in others. In the space of
popular music production in Iran, the producers that are more influenced by Iranian classical music regard monopolism
and external resistance as aspects of musical genres which they have been influenced by, and also as features of genres
with worldviews completely different from theirs. The social tolerance of this group facilitates their interaction with the
supervising institutions and policy-makers. Almost all of them accept the necessity of supervision; however, in some
cases because of the same tolerance, they prefer this supervision to be exercised by the all the society, not the policy-
making institutions.
5.3 Interview with the producers of the unofficial genre
In these sessions the issue was briefly discussed, the key concepts of the study were explained, and then the above-
489
mentioned questions were asked. In answer to the first question, Code 5 stated that, “there’s a lot of resistance. There’s a
family quarrel about it almost every day. My family didn’t approve of it. They checked up upon me.” Code 7 remarked
that, “this resistance is interesting to me. If my family had accepted it willingly, I would have probably been the first person
to give it up.” In reaction to this answer Code 2 said, “I totally disagree, if there was no resistance, I would play music
much better.” Others also found the resistance of their family discouraging. This has caused almost all of them either to
live independently, or to spend most of their time outside. In answer to question 4, Code 1 said, “it is absolutely awful.
The situation has never been favorable. There is a lot of stress. I really envy those friends of mine who have emigrated.
They’re relieved.” Code 3 reacted to this answer and said, “those who have emigrated have their own problems. They’re
strangers there, and this upsets them. But in terms of music the situation is different. This kind of music is basically
incompatible with the situation in our country.” Code 4 remarked that, “it doesn’t have to be compatible with any culture.
This music is basically created in incompatibility.” Code 5 maintained, “incompatibility is the result of backwardness. The
culture of this music is ahead of the culture of ordinary people.” Code 7 said, “our problem is not incompatibility. The
problem is we have to make people understand this kind of music is the culture of the youth. If we consider this music
incompatible, we consider the culture of the youth incompatible. Iran has a young population, and this culture, is the
dominant culture. It music is also dominant; I haven’t seen anyone who isn’t attracted by this music. Everybody has a
stance towards this kind of music; they are usually indifferent to other genres.” Code 6 said, “our listeners are engrossed
in this music. This is great. When a lot of people like to walk or dress like rap stars, it shows that its culture is attractive.
One cannot be indifferent to it.” Code 2 said, “our listeners are different from listeners of other genres. Listeners of other
genres usually have their normal life. The listeners of this kind of music are closely engaged in it.” All answers indicated
that the producers of this kind of music believe that it is very influential. In answer to question 3, Code 6 said, “almost not
any! Essentially it is impossible.” Code 7 remarked, “it is possible, but not in Iran. People either love us, which shows that
they like the production or consumption of the same music, or not, which shows that they aren’t interested in this music
and naturally have no interaction with it.” Code 1 said, “you raised this question to know how sociable we are; we live and
work among people. Seclusion has no meaning to us. This music is collective. It needs special relationships. Sometimes,
we spend a lot of energy creating and maintaining such relationships.” In answer to question 2, Code 2 said, “you may
not believe it, but sometimes we think that we don’t live in this country. We have no relations with governmental
institutions, neither relevant institutions, nor irrelevant ones. A short while ago I went to the passport office to renew my
passport. I felt like a person who had left his cave after a long time.” In reaction to this answer, Code 7 said, “he gave a
nice example. It is really true. I didn’t watch TV for one year, I didn’t listen to any news.” In almost all answers there is a
tendency towards escaping from official spaces. They believed that what they spiritually gained in their solitude, made
interactions with official institutions unnecessary for them.
5.4 A sociological analysis of the answers of Group 2
The participants in the interview hate the smallest amount of external resistance. They have all left their family
environment and attach little importance to traditional family relationships. Families have accepted this separation in most
cases. In this group, separation from social institutions starts with the family. They have met the strongest resistance
inside these small structures. In other words, this separation is the starting point of their entrance into the space of
production and consumption of popular music. The space of popular music production is something more that a
professional space; however, for the first group, this space is primarily a professional space. The space of production is
mainly a personal domain for the unofficial popular music producers. They form some of their intimate relationships in this
space. Although some of the aforesaid actions can be seen among non-Iranian producers, the distinguishing feature of
the space of production of this genre is that the seclusion of members of this group is caused supported by the society,
not the individual himself. The member of this group demonstrated that they do not tolerate any musical interaction with
other producers in the space of popular music production. This unwillingness has created a kind of self-imposed cultural
monopolism in them. This group of popular music producers, more than others, likes to distinguish themselves from other
groups with the aid of non-musical signs and symbols. This inclination towards social distinctions, which is a sign of the
same self-imposed cultural monopolism, eliminates any possibility of creating hybrid cognitive music. Basically, no need
for such a hybrid is felt among the producers of this musical genre. Nevertheless, examples of this kind of hybrid music
are created in the spaces of non-Iranian popular music production. Monopolism has caused these producers to
underestimate the value of other genres, either directly or indirectly. This leads them to consider their music to be
original. This essentialist attitude makes them believe that today’s culture essentially favors their musical genre.
490
6. Conclusion
If we study the space of popular music production at a micro level on the basis of a sociological conceptualization, we
realize that there has been a controversial space for more than one hundred years. This conflict has broken out between
the supporter of popular and modern musical cultures. In this controversial space, cultural policy-makers sometimes
supported traditional cultures, and at times they supported modern cultures; however, the space of production, despite
this support and probably as a result of it, has always been a problematic space. Since the late 1990s, because of the
relatively large-scale production and consumption of popular music by the youth, the growth in the number of official and
unofficial popular music groups and the growing popularity of satellite channels in Iran, the micro space of popular music
production turned into the main space of music production in Iran. In this space, because of the presence of numerous
genres, each belonging to a special culture, the former controversial space was reproduced. To understand this space,
two groups of official and unofficial popular music producers were interviewed using the focus group interview technique.
A sociological analysis of the data reveals that both groups meet internal contradictions and external ideological
resistance. The first group did not consider itself to belong to the musical genre they produced; they had distanced
themselves from the space of Iranian classical music, to which they owed much, in such a way that they deemed it
impossible to return to it. This contradiction eliminates the possibility any kind of hybrid. They still believed in the
originality of some musical genres and placed higher value on them than on different forms of hybrid music. Although
they showed an interest in hybrid music, they deemed it devoid of originality. This reveals a hidden essentialism in their
evaluation, which results from traditionalist attitudes. Although they have distanced themselves from Iranian classical
music and had chosen a non-traditional musical genre and lifestyle, they showed traditional ideological reactions, at the
final level of analysis. In the second group the ideological actions were much stronger. These ideological actions are
combined with a self-imposed cultural monopolism which is the outcome of obligatory social seclusion; this obligatory
seclusion is, in turn, the result of lack of support of social and official institutions for the musical genres they produce. This
has turned them into ideological subjects who only negate others ontologically. This ideological action eliminates the
possibility of producing any hybrid music.
Different genres of popular music in Iran, either those which are the frivolous forms of non-popular Iranian music, or
those which are influenced by western genres, have always met a kid of discursive conflict, which is because of their
ontological differences and the ideological reaction of producer to them. This conflict which is engendered in the space of
popular music production is the same conflict which previously existed in the more general space of music production in
Iran, among the supporters of traditional and modern music cultures. The cognitive hybrids of cognitive music play an
important role in the space of music production; nonetheless, the ideological action among the producers of different
genres in Iran has eliminated the possibility of producing hybrid music, and innovation and dynamism in the space of
production of popular music in Iran. This causes the dynamic space of production to be changed into a static one, and
this static space can result in cultural dismorphy in the space of popular music production, and, at a larger level, in the
cultural space of Iran.
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Students’ Perception of the Relative Causes of Human Trafficking In Nigeria
Oyeleke Oluniyi
Centre for Distance Learning,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p493
Abstract The problem of human trafficking is a social problem among youth in some parts of Nigeria and many factors have been
adduced as the probable causes. The paper seeks to validate some of the proposed causes. A survey design using ex-post facto
method was employed to carry out the study. A cross section of six hundred undergraduate students randomly selected from three
universities in southwestern Nigeria was used as the study sample. A self-constructed, validated questionnaire was administered and
anlysed using simple percentage to determine the relative causes and degree of effect of each of the causes identified.
Key Words: Perception, Human Trafficking, Poverty, Curriculum, Social Problems
1. Background to the Study
1.1. Meaning of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking has become a social menace in our society. It has gone beyond a local problem, but has assumed a
status of global threat and lay credence to the saying that all crimes have international implications and consequences.
Human trafficking is a fraudulent recruitment, transfer or harbouring of persons by means of threat or deceit for
exploitative purpose, which could be for prostitution, forced labour, ritual, among others. It is a form of modern day
slavery that involves abduction, coercion, violence and exploitation in the most reprehensible ways (Loar 1999, Essien
2001).
The United States President Interagency on Trafficking defined human trafficking as the recruitment, transport,
harboring, transfer, sale of receipt of person through coercion, fraud or deception in order to set people in a situation such
as forced prostitution, domestic servitude, sweetshop labour or other kinds of work to pay off debts.
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) (1999) states the following as all acts that could be referred
to as human trafficking;
1. all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport (within or across boards), sale, transfer, harboring or
receipt of persons by threat or use of force, deceptions, coercion (including abuse of authority) or debt
bondage;
2. for the purpose of placing or holding such a person, whether for pay or not in involuntary servitude, forced or
bounded labour or in slavery like conditions (including forced prostitution);
3. in a community other than the one in which the person lived at the time of the original deception, coercion or
debt bondage;
1.2. Magnitude of Human Trafficking
There is no accurate statistics on the magnitude due to the following factors.

1. The likelihood that the majority of people who are smuggled or trafficked are never detected by immigration
authorities.
2. Lack of systems to collect data on people who are intercepted, and or turned around at airports.
3. Lack of incentive for migrants who have been smuggled or trafficked to divulge information about whether
they are part of a larger organized activity, if they are intercepted;
4. The use of different definitions of smuggling and trafficking between countries and between international
agencies (UN, 2000).
The available records, however, shows an awesome and thrilling degree of its occurrence. Benzi (2001) noted that
Nigerian girls in Italy are about twenty thousand (20,000) and about one hundred and sixteen (116) of them have been
killed between 1994 and 1998. Essien (2001) observed that as many as five hundred thousand persons are trafficked into
Western Europe each year. According to the United Nations (UN) estimates as stressed by Wijers (1998), seven billion
493
dollars are being realized annually from trafficking. Wijers (1998) stressed further that out of 95% of the unemployed in
Russian Federation, 75% were woman. In Norway, about 150 women cross border on weekly basis. Prostitution in
Lithuania is about 1,000-5,000 part of which 20% - 50% were believed to be minors. In 1990, there were 2 million
migrants in Asia, 12 million each in North America and Europe, and 7 million in Africa, in which Nigeria and Ethiopia are
the leading countries (Wijers, 1998). Loy (2000) estimates that over 700,000 women and children are being trafficked
annually and about 45,000 – 50,000 are trafficked annually into the United States. In Kyrgyzstan, about 4,000 women
were trafficked in 1999. In Italy, International Organization on Migration (IOM) (2001) observed that there are 20,000-
30,000 regular female migrants who entered the sex industry each year, out of which 10%-20% (2,000-6,000) are
trafficked.
2. Statement of the Problem
Human trafficking has become a social problem of significant magnitude in Nigeria. Many writers on the subject have
suggested some probable causes of this problem. There is an urgent need to determine the veracity of some of the
identified causes through empirical investigation.
2..1. Research Questions
1. What are the causes of human trafficking?

2. What is the degree of contribution of each of the causes identified to the problem of human trafficking?
3. Methodology
The research adopted a descriptive survey design using ex-post factor design. Education students from three universities
in Southwestern Nigeria were used for the study. A questionnaire was constructed to seek opinion of students in the
causes of human trafficking, and the degree of each of identified causes to the problem, using a three options of
disagree, undecided and agree, and a rating scale of one to seven (1 -7) scores to rank the identified causes of human
trafficking.
Six hundred students from three higher institutions such as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the University of
Ibadan and the University of Ado-Ekiti; were randomly selected, two hundred from each of the three universities. The
study sample consists of both males and females, with age range from 20-30years from various levels of socio-economic
status and educational background.
The questionnaires were administered on a one to one basis to the students. Some were given in their classrooms
while some in their halls of residence. Most of the questionnaires were collected in the spot. Data obtained were analyzed
using descriptive statistical methods- simple percentage.
4. Findings and Discussions
Research question 1
Table 1 The Respondents’ Perception of the Causes of Human Trafficking

Items/Variables Response Options
Disagree Undecided Agree
Unemployment 22 6 88
Insatiable desire for wealth 6 6 78
Poverty 8 12 80
Discrimination against women 49 21 30
Inadequate curriculum planning 45 29 28
Lack of relevant textbooks in human trafficking 49 46 5
Lack of adequate teacher to teach human trafficking 48 45 10
The data gathered confirmed the above listed factors as causes of human trafficking with varying degree of support by
the respondents.
Causes of human trafficking are many, interwoven and complex. Opinion differs among writers and scholars.
Raymond et.al. (2002) highlighted the following as the causes of human trafficking.
494
1. Gender based social and economic inequality in all areas of the globe, assuring supply of them in especially
from developing countries and the New Independent State (NIS) in European Union.
2. Male desire and demand for sex prostitution and related sexual entertainment. Macro economic polices
promoted by international leading organizations that mandate “structural adjustment” in many developing
regions of the world, pushing certain countries (e.g the Philippines) to export women for labour, making them
vulnerable to trafficking or to develop economic based an tourism (e.g. Thailand) including sex-tourism.
3. Expansion of trans-national sex industries and increasingly sophisticated predatory recruitment techniques
and network.
4. Globalisation of capital and information technology.
5. Armed conflict, military occupation and concentration of military and militia bases in various parts of the world.
According to Tazeen (2002) the causes of human trafficking involve urbanization and the disintegration of rural
communities leading to the poverty of already destitute, attitude towards women and question of dowry, polygamy, marital
problems, illicit sexual relations and women ostracized on score of chastity, the status of women, institutionalizations of
exploitative practices, etc.
The report of a Comparative Study of Woman Trafficked in the Migration Process in Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand, Venezuela, and the United States repots that “by the mid 1990s, women constitute the two-thirds of those
unemployed in Russia,… and female unemployment was exacerbated by active government support of male employment
and increased sex discrimination and sexual harassment of women”.
Santos (2002) listed six factors as responsible for trafficking and prostitution among Filipinos. They are:
i. poverty and lack of economic opportunities;
ii. low levels of education and lack of information about the process of recruitment;
iii. history of sexual abuse;
iv. family pressure;
v. aspiration of the women, often accompanied by the growing sense of personal and economic autonomy;
vi. alleged success stories of those who migrated for income abroad.
Oloruntimehin (2001) outlined the following as the causes of human trafficking;
i. unprecedented high level of poverty;
ii. ineffectiveness of societal norms and values;
iii. low level of education and inadequate training and education opportunities;
iv. a strong desire to migrate to search for economic and social well being;
v. a high demand for trafficked persons in Asia and Europe;
Table 2 Trafficking flows from African Countries
Origin Countries Destination Countries

Ghana Nigeria, Cote d’ivorie, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands,
Lebanon, Libya, USA.
Nigeria Italy, Belgium, Netherlands.
Ethiopia Middle East, Gulf States
Mali Cote d’ivorie, Nigeria (children), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
(domestic Labour)
Sources: IOM Quarterly Bulletin, April 2001, p2
Table 3: Trafficking flows within Southeast Asia
From To Purpose
VIET Nam (Northern Regions) China Marriage
Viet Nam Taiwan Marriage
Cambodia Cambodia Sex industry
Cambodia (N, N, W) Internal Sex industry
Cambodia Thailand (Children & Women) Primary begging, also sex industry
and domestic labour
Thailand Taiwan, Singapore Internal Sex industry, domestic
Sources: IOM Quarterly bulletin, April 2001, P3
495
Table 4: Trafficking flows in South Asia

From To Type Scale
Nepal India Sex industry 5,000-7,000 women and girls/year of 500,000
prostitutes in India.
Bangladesh India Sex industry It is estimated that 13,500 are Bangladeshi
4,500 women & children
Bangladesh Pakistan Sex industry
Total Middle Children begging, labour, 200,000 women & children (1963 boys in last 10
Bangladeshis East Sex industry, child soldiers. years )
Trafficked Internal Some sex industry domestic
Sri Lanka labour Affects 100, 000 children in Sri Lanka under
Sri Lanka age of 16. 2,000-3,000 children / year
Sources: IOM Quarterly Bulleting, April 2001, PS
Grayer (2000) observed that crave for exotic sex is a strong factor responsible for increase in human trafficking. He
argued that for a large number of people, someone else looks better. A Somali will perceive an Egyptian as looking “petty
good”. To an Egyptian living in Egypt, a Greek is looking prettier. To a Greek in Greece, a Belgium looks “Pretty good”. It
is not out of place for a Caucasian wanting to have a ‘taste’ of Negroid, a Mongoloid wanting to have a sexual ‘taste’ of an
African, a black wanting a sexual ‘taste’ of Asian and vice-versa.
The economic gains from human trafficking are another motivating factor responsible for its continuous expansion.
Hajdinjak (2002) noted that the business of illegal trafficking is exceptionally fast growing because of the following
reasons;
I. the profits are incomparably higher than the risk involved;
II. unlike other forms of trafficking, illegal human trafficking is considered a minor offence in some
countries;
III. no special equipment is needed just as organized network of distribution is absolutely inessential;
IV. when possibilityof danger is noticed, traffickers can easily abandon their victims;
V. the existence of organized groups and syndicates previously engaging in drug peddling and
weapon smuggling that can easily diverts to human trafficking; and
VI. lastly, the financial gains from human trafficking are awesome.
Research question II
What is the degree of contribution of each of the causes identified to the problem of human trafficking?
Table 5: Respondents Ranking of Variable in Order of Contribution to Human Trafficking
Variables Scores Percentage Position

Poverty 949 91.6 1st
Unemployment 844 81.47 2nd
Crave for wealth 788 76.1 3rd
Discrimination against women 446 43.5 4th
Inadequate teacher 419 40 5th
Lack of textbooks 397 38.32 6th
Inadequate curriculum planning 394 38 7th
4.1. Poverty
The causes are multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. There is a direct link between poverty and crime (Quinney, 1980).
Fadeyomi posited that the poor are constrained to obtain their needs through institutionalized means and actually resort
to anomic as a means of fulfilling aspirations. Poverty according to them, contributes to social deviation such as
delinquency, drug addiction and general criminology. Seventy-two percent (72%) of the respondents agreed that human
trafficking was caused by poverty and ranked first in the ranking other. Poverty in Nigeria is alarming. As of 1978, World
Bank ranking showed Nigeria as middle income country with a per capita income of about 1,000 US Dollar, and enjoyed
an exchange rate of 2 US Dollars to 1 Naira and 2 Naira to 1 UK Pounds Sterling. Over years, the country has negatively
slide down the scale. As at 1990, the per capita income was 290 US Dollars and now 17th poorest country in the world.
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There is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. The highest ten percent earn more than the forty percent of the gross
income.
4.2. Unemployment
Unemployment ranked second by the respondents as a factor causing human trafficking. Aina (1998) agreed that women
make up only about thirty six (36%) percent of the total labour force. According to a study on Public Policy conducted in
Thailand by the Chulalongkorm University Political Economy, prostitution was the largest underground business. This
sector of the economy represents about 15%-18% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) (Raymond, et al, 2002).
There are lots of inconsistencies in the real of education and curriculum that have stereotyped women and limit their
scope in employment industry. Girls drop out of school at early age due to factors such as cultural beliefs, unwanted
pregnancies, early marriage, and heavy demands of household chores.
4.3. Crave for Wealth
Another factor rated high is propensity to acquire wealth regardless of the legality and morality of the source. Previous
‘success’ of some trafficked women lured some others into trafficking, unfortunately sources of those ‘successes’ are
unknown until they become victim of prostitution. On coming back home, they were able to acquire land, buy houses,
luxurious objects such as gold, necklaces, etc which they would not have been able to afford if they had remained in their
villages. The education implication of this among students is hydra-headed. In a society where education is solely
perceived as a means of acquiring financial freedom through paid employment or government jobs, school enrolment
may likely reduce. This is predicated on the fact that there is unconventional ways of acquiring wealth. Curriculum should
be design to cater for this subtle negative trend
The table below shows the monetary values of expected income from human trafficking.
Table 6 : Monetary Value of Trafficking in US $
Countries Monetary Values in US $
Australia 2,500
South East & Eastern Europe 2,500
China 24,000
Central & South Asia 11,000
Albania 950
Montenegrin 1,250
Middle East 7,500
Balkan States 1,500
Italian Mafia 3,000
Philippine 1,650
Compiled from: Smuggling in Southeast Europe by Hajdinjak (2002)
4.4. Discrimination against Women
Women and children constitute the victim of human trafficking. It is pertinent to ask- why women trafficking and not men
trafficking? Put in other way, why the victims of human trafficking are overwhelmingly women and not men? Wish to
argue that there are fundamental factors that work negatively against women interest and subject them recipients of all
sorts of injustice oppression and discrimination.
Alao (1998) highlighted inconsistencies that characterized women education. Girls drop out more often from school
due to pregnancies, early marriage, heavy demands to perform household tasks, and economic reasons because of
limited occupational choices. The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports on human trafficking shows that prostitution
is a symbol of men’s ability to execute power over women as a consequence of the structural sub-ordinate of women in
society (IOM, 1997). Loy (2000) remarked that the low status of women in many countries contributed as well. Children
and girls particular are pulled out of school early enhancing the likelihood that they will end up in the hands of traffickers.
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4.5. Educational Implication and Policy Option
From the foregoing, fundamental bane of women disadvantages position could be attributed to their educational
attainment, imbalance policy statement and patriarchal structure that naturally put men over men. International
Organization on Migration (IOM, 1997) observed that migration inhibit women’s education prospects, and girls were
disadvantaged in terms of the quality, relevance and appropriateness of education. Akande (1998) observed that religion,
folklore, norms and cultural values impress on the female that the more educated she is the more careful she must be in
order to be regarded as “stable” for the home and the society. Alao (1998) pointed out that textbooks are full of materials
that reinforce gender discrimination and sex stereotyping. School system subtly but loudly encourage male child to be a
rugged engineer or a medical doctor while encouraging the female child to become a gentle nurse or primary pupils
teacher.
To address this imbalance, the following recommendations are suggested as basis of policy formulation.
I. Compulsory free education for girl child up to senior secondary school level. Non-compliance to the rule by
public members should attract punitive measures on the parents of such a girl child. This will put parents or red
alert to ensure that their wards are in the school, they are not given out in marriage at school age and are not
subject of street hawking and abuses.
II. Provision of scholarship for a substantial percentage of girls in higher institution. Criteria for selection should be
clearly defined to avoid favoritism.
III. Private and public organization should be compelled by legislation to devote a certain quota of available jobs to
qualified women. A respected percentage of forty five percent (45%) may be prescribed.
IV. Heavy punishment should be meted on anybody caught engaging in human trafficking.
V. School curriculum should embedded skill acquisition, entrepreneurship and skill application. This is meant to
reduce the spate of unemployment in the society.
VI. School should also endeavor to train students on interpersonal development skill. Teachers could foster this by;
i. communicating that own beliefs, feelings and convictions.
ii. self-monitor that thinking process.
iii. select an appropriate strategy to resolve international conflict.
iv. recognize and demonstrate mutual respect between/ among human beings.
v. encourage mutual dependence
vi. teaching of egalitarian concept.
vii. recognition and teaching of worth of human values above material possession.
References
Aina I.O. (1998) Women, Culture and society in Nigeria in Ahamadu S and Odebiyi A. (eds) women in society and development., Ibadan
Dokun Publishing House.
Alao K. (1998) Women in Nigeria education system in Ahamadu S. and Odebiyi A. (edu.) Women in society and development, Ibadan,
Dokun Publishing House.
Benz D.O. (2001) Report on Nigeria prostitution in Europe being proceedings of the first
pan- Europe being proceeding if the first Pan-African Conference on Human Trafficking Abuja Nigeria, PP. (142-153)
Essien O. (2011) Trafficking – involving an African regional initiative against human trafficking being proceeding of the first pan-African
conference on human trafficking Abuja, Nigeria.
Grayer A. (2002) human smuggling, speeches and papers by Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) presented at center for
Criminology, University of Hong Kong. http: ww//unchchr.ch/women/trafficking.pdf
Hajdinjak M. (202) Trafficking in human beings; smuggling in south east Europe. The Yugoslav wars and the development of regional
networks in the balkans center for the study of democracy htpp://unpan/unorg/inadoc/groops/public/doInternational Organization
on Migration (IOM) (1999) trafficking in migrant: (IOM) Policy and responses, executive committee 96th session.
Loy F.E. (2000) International Trafficking of Women and Children. The ‘US’ and international responses.
Oloruntimehin O. (2001) Trafficking of women and girls for prostitution in West Africa, the case of Nigeria being proceeding of the first
pan-African conference on human trafficking Abuja, Nigeria.
Quinney R. (1980) Class, state and crime. London, Longman.
Santos A. F. (2002) Process, pattern, profile and healthy consequence of sexual exploitation in five countries (Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand, Venezuela, and the United States); a comparative study of woman trafficking in the migration.
Wijers M 1998) Trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual exploitation; mapping the situation and existing organization working in
Belarus, Russia, the Baltic and Nordic states
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Genetic Diversity Among Puntius Sophore Complex Using Restriction

Fragment Length Polymorphism
Smitha Balaraj
Department of Biotechnology,
Mother Teresa Women`s University, Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu 624 102, India.
Email thambijoshs@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p499
Abstract: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of genomic DNA was employed to characterize species of
Puntius sophore complex, a benthopelagic freshwater fish species. Samples of five species of Puntius viz, Puntius sophore, Puntius
amphibius, Puntius chola, Puntius bimaculatus and Puntius dorsalis from the east flowing Tamiraparani and Kuzhithurai and west flowing
Tamiraparani river basins (Western Ghats) were analyzed. The restriction enzyme employed (Hind III) generated species-specific DNA
patterns for each of the five species. DNA exhibited considerable polymorphism among species. All samples showed relatively high
values of diversity. The relation between species is discussed.
Key Words: RFLP, Hind III, Genetic diversity, Puntius sophore complex.
1. Introduction
Genetic diversity is the sum of total information available in a genome of particular species or races1. Genetic diversity
occurs at intra-population level within a species. Meiotic recombination gives rise to innumerable combinations of alleles,
which generate intra-population genetic diversity. In natural population mutations, recombination`s, genetic drift and gene
flow reshuffle it, which is either preserved (or) rejected by the selection.
According to Gopal2, more than 20% of the fauna in India is aquatic and majority of them are fresh water. Among
the fresh water organisms fishes are the best group that exists at or near the top of the food chain and can serve as the
indicators of a balanced ecosystem3.
Current nomenclature and systematic status of many species is solely based on morphometric and meristic
characters often that lead to taxonomic uncertainties at various taxonomic levels. About 950 primary freshwater fishes are
reported from Indian region. Among them more than 100 species are synonymics with other closely related species4,5.
Uncertain systemic position and taxonomic ambiguity of organisms can play havoc in conservation of our resources.
Genetic tools are being used significantly to resolve these taxonomic ambiguities and to increase production in the world
aquaculture as well as to conserve and protect fish biodiversity.
Puntius sophore complex consist of five species. These species are small barbs belonging to the genera Puntius,
lives in freshwater environment (bentholopelagic) and commonly inhabitats aquatic resources of tropical climate. Most of
them are endemic to streams and rivers of Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas. Thesse species are more popular
among ornamental keepers6. They have similarity in external / phenotypic characters (occurrence of two black spots on
the dorsal as well as caudal peduncle, expect Puntius amphibius) that lead to taxonomic uncertainty and amphiguity in
species determination. An attempt was made in the present study to access the genetic diversity and to further
characterize species of Puntius sophore complex from the east flowing Tamiraparani and Kuzhithurai and west flowing
Tamiraparani river basins of Western Ghats by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP).
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Sample Collection
Samples were collected from different locations in east flowing rivers Tamiraparani and Kuzhithurai and west flowing
Tamiraparani river basins of Western Ghats (Table 1). Sampling was performed by using cast and dragnets. After
collection, portions of muscle tissues were fixed in formaldehyde for further analysis.
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2.2 Morphological characters
The morphometric and meristic measurements were done by Hubbes and Laggler (1956)7 method. The morphometric
measurements were taken at the accuracy of 0.01mm using digital verneir.
DNA Isolation:
DNA was isolated from the muscle tissues by slight variations of standard phenol:chloroform protocol (Sambrook et al.,
1989)8. The isolated DNA was quantified by using UV spectrophotometer.
RFLP-Analysis:
For restriction digestion, 20 µl of the sample DNA was digested in a total of 50 µl of the reaction mixture, containing 10U
of Hind III restriction enzyme, which was incubated at 370C for 2hrs, digestion was carried out as specified by the supplier
(New England Biolabs). Restriction fragments were separated by elecxtrophoresis in 1% agarose gel. Molecular weights
of the fragments were estimated by comparison to Hind III ‫ ג‬DNA digests (New England Biolabs). The electrophoresed
gel was documented with gel documentation unit (FOTO / UV21). The intensity and volume of each separated fragment
was documented by using total LAB gel analyzing software. Electrophorogram was prepared for each lane and the band
volumes were used for construction of cluster using Bioinformatics software STATISTICA (Version 6.0).
3. Results
Morphological characters
Five different species of Puntius sophore complex collected from southern parts of Western Ghats and 14 morphological
characters were studied in the present study (Table 2). There was a great variation among the species of Puntius
sophore complex and the variations were significant. The major variations in morphometric characters is head length,
body depth, predorsal length, snout length and the ratio of eye diameter and inter orbit width.
Genomic DNA Analysis:
The total genomic DNA quantified by using spectrophotometer at 260nm showed variation among the species, and it
ranged from 0.24 µg/ml to 0.36 µg/ml (Table 3). Puntius sophore had highest (0.72 µg/ml) and Puntius dorsalis the
lowest (0.48 µg/ml).
RFLP- Analysis:
The restriction analysis showed that there was a clear banding pattern in each DNA sample (Fig:1). Digestion with Hind
III produced species-specific DNA fragment patterns in all five species of Puntius sophore complex studied. Using
electrophorogram DNA fragments were identified. Band volume and absorption intensity of each bands in corresponding
lanes were analyzed. The band volume ranged between 0.4 to 4.0 n.moles (Table 4).
Volume of restriction fragment in each lane was subjected to phylogenetic tree construction using STATISTICA
software. The results showed that four species viz, Puntius sophore, Puntius amphibius, Puntius chola and Puntius
dorsalis were clustered together, based on genetic distance. Whereas Puntius bimaculatus showed distinct genetic make
up (Fig:2).
4. Discussion
Due to uncertainty and amphiguity in Puntius sophore complex species determination9, the present study on classical
morphological characters was done. The result showed some variation in characters like head length, body depth,
predorsal length, snout length and the ratio of eye diameter and inter orbit width. It is not enough to address the genetic
structure of individual species. Since, species are often arranged in to hierarchies of meta population, population and sub
population with varied distribution of genetic variation within and among these levels of organization10. so molecular
techniques such as estimation of genomic DNA and restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism were performed to
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assess the genetic diversity. There is a considerable variation in genomic size (varying from 0.7 µg/ml to 0.11 µg/ml)
among the species. In cyprinids, the genomic size varies from 1.6 to 4.4 µg/ml 11,12. In general interpopulation genome
size varies in closely related species13. The genomic size is essential for atleast three reasons14,15. Firstly, it provides
some valuable clue regarding genome evolution. Secondly, genome size can be correlated to some qualitative
characteristics such as cell volume. Thirdly, during molecular genetic study it is used to calculate the number of copies of
genes present in the genome of the species.
Electrophoresis of the restricted fragments showed significant variation in Puntius sophore complex. Among the
species Puntius sophore has high genetic diversity (Table 3). This variation in genome size may occur due to mutation.
The existence of many closely related halotypes that are partially geographically localized has been associated with
species or subset of species with historically intermediate levels of gene flow between geographic species16. In this
scenario ancestral halotypes may be dispersed over a wide area where as more recent mutations are conformed to
specific areas17. Differentiation among samples from Puntius sophore complex is consistent with previous findings for fish
species using protein electrophoresis18,19 and mitochondrial DNA polymorphism20.
Present study infers the genetic variation as marked distinction and the genetic structure of the species of Puntius
sophore complex appears to be unique among species. These unique genetic resources should be preserved. Degree of
habitat specialization, population tolerance and water quality can affect the absolute and relative population size leading
to changes in genetic structure. Water quality directly erodes variation through directional selection21. For conservation
such genetic make up combining our understanding of how ecology and habitat specialization relates to genetic variation
should be of value in designing, management strategies even when direct genetic information is not available.
Table 1: Study material and location
S.No. Species Location

1 Puntius amphibius Tamiraparani, Kuzhithurai
2 Puntius bimaculatus Tamiraparani, Kuzhithurai
3 Puntius sophore Tamiraparani, Kuzhithurai
4 Puntius chola Tamiraparani, Kuzhithurai
5 Puntius dorsalis Tamiraparani, Kuzhithurai
Table 2: Morphological characters of Puntius sophore complex
S.No. Character Mean
Puntius Puntius Puntius Puntius Puntius

amphibius bimaculatus sophore chola dorsalis
% of standard length
1 Body width 16.0 15.6 15.3 14.8 17.6
2 Body depth 25.9 26.9 35.3 26.2 32.0
3 Head length 26.1 28.4 27.0 29.2 28.6
4 Predorsal length 49.2 05.1 49.1 53.2 59.3
5 Length of caudal peduncle 13.0 14.2 11.2 12.2 13.4
6 Length of anal fin 15.7 19.7 16.5 18.1 20.3
7 Length of pelvic fin 17.9 19.1 15.6 19.0 20.2
8 Length of pectoral fin 19.1 18.9 20.4 19.6 19.1
9 Snout length 08.4 09.5 08.1 09.0 10.4
10 Eye diameter 09.7 08.1 08.8 09.2 10.8
% of head length
11 Eye diameter 37.2 28.4 28.9 29.4 34.9
12 Snout length 32.1 33.7 30.1 30.9 36.6
13 Length of pectoral fin 73.0 66.9 75.7 67.3 49.8
14 Eye diameter / inter orbit 03.5 05.2
width 04.6 03.5 03.8
501
Table 3: Level of genomic DNA of Puntius sophore complex
DNA content
Species OD value (260nm) ( µg/ml)
Puntius amphibius 0.54 0.27
Puntius bimaculatus 0.60 0.30
Puntius sophore 0.72 0.36
Puntius chola 0.64 0.32
Puntius dorsalis 0.48 0.24
Table 4: Number of bands in each lane, band volume and Rf value of electrophorogram of Puntius sophore complex
Species Band Volume Rf
Puntius amphibius 1 85,969.00 0.155

2 86,727.00 0.245
3 86,171.00 0.424
Puntius bimaculatus 4 102,407.00 0.661
Puntius sophore 1 127,951.00 0.232

2 200,066.00 0.700
Puntius chola 1 137,078.00 0.215
2 16,984.00 0.456
Puntius dorsalis 3 11,005.00 0.755
1 128,613.00 0.232
2 22,496.00 0.540
3 18,173.00 0.785
1 99,411.00 0.211
2 43,333.00 0.295
3 45,204.00 0.363
4 11,461.00 0.654
502
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A Communicative Approach to Meaning Discrimination in Bilingual Passive Dictionaries
Zohreh Gharaei
Department of English, Faculty of Foreign Languages,
Corresponding Author E-mail: gharaei.z@gmail.com
Ahmad Moinzadeh
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English,
Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p505
Abstract Advances made in the area of linguistics and lexicography have affected the way bilingual dictionaries are perceived. Bilingual
dictionaries, as important devices in intercultural and interlingual communications, are not regarded as mere reference tools containing a
list of items with their corresponding translation equivalents. Nowadays, the role of the user in lexicographic communication has been
highlighted and every decision made in the process of dictionary making is based on the purpose the dictionary is going to serve and the
intended users' needs and expectations. The present article aims at studying the issue of sense discrimination in bilingual passive
dictionaries from a communicative perspective. In so doing, meaning discrimination and its importance is discussed. Then, the factors
influencing the application of meaning discrimination strategies are introduced. In addition to equivalent relation which is a factor already
discussed by the scholars of the field, part of speech is introduced by the researchers as the second factor contributing to meaning
discrimination. It is concluded that the entries having more complicated equivalent relations need more meaning discriminatory
strategies. Besides, verbs, due to the role they have in comprehension and due to their polysemous nature, call for more meaning
discriminatory strategies.
Keywords: lexicography, communicative approach, meaning discrimination, equivalent relation, part of speech
1. Introduction
Lexicography as a branch of applied linguistics has developed since last decades. If one is interested in following the
trend of this development, three approaches to lexicography should be reviewed. The first approach is the traditional
approach; the deep rooted tradition of listing a number of words and giving some information about orthography,
pronunciation and meaning of words in language. As a matter of fact, that is what early dictionaries could offer. In this
narrow sense, a dictionary is compiled mainly for reference. This is the most primitive function of the dictionary (Yong &
Peng, 2007). However, there are far more functions for dictionaries to perform than just that. “The … dictionary is much
more than an instrument providing answers to linguistic questions, however complex, even for a fairly well-educated
public of users” (Bejoint, 1994:115). The reference function of the dictionary presents only part of the picture of dictionary
uses, though it is the most fundamental and important one.
Adopting a different view toward language, linguists moved away from the traditional approach and the result was a
textual approach to lexicography. The development of text linguistics has made it theoretically possible and necessary to
review and assess the traditional ways of looking at dictionaries and view them from an entirely different perspective
(Yong & Peng, 2007). Unlike the traditional approach in which the entries of the dictionary were studied separately and
one by one, textual approach tries to consider the whole dictionary as one coherent text. Frawley (1989) believes that
taking such an approach, one can look at dictionary from four viewpoints: content and form, producer or compiler of the
text which includes intentionality of it, the receiver of the text, and finally the intertextuality and situationality of the text.
However, as Yong and Peng (2007) believe, although textual approach is a new approach which looks at
lexicographic issues from a novel perspective, it suffers from some shortcomings. For one thing, they believe that, textual
approach is mostly concerned with the principles governing systematizing the text of dictionaries and ignore the
functionality and practicality of them. The most recent approach to lexicography which is a communicative one tries to
eliminate the shortcomings of the previous approaches and pay more attention to those aspects overlooked by the two
mentioned approaches. According to the communicative approach, in every communication the following aspects should
be taken into consideration:
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1. communication is a socio-cultural behavior;

2. communication involves sending and receiving messages;
3. messages are encoded by senders and intend to be decoded by receivers;
4. senders and receivers of messages are participants in the process;
5. participants are socio-cultural beings and share a common code; and
6. messages are sent and received to achieve certain purposes.
According to Yong and Peng (2007), this model generates the possibility of observing the dictionary as an entire entity
“from three different but interdependent standpoints, i.e. from the position of compilers, from the position of users, and
from the position of contexts.” From the compiler’s point of view, such macro-level problems as perspective, policy,
purpose, methodology, function, etc. can be handled. From the position of the user, factors such as age range,
educational background, user expectation, user feedback etc. will be considered and explored. From the position of
context in which the process of dictionary making is actualized, a number of problems will be raised and evaluated.
They also believe that early dictionary compilers assumed themselves as users and considered lexicographic
problems on behalf of users. These compilers used to make lexicographic choices on “an imaginary basis,” and the
users' role in dictionary making and their relation with the compiler were not recognized until the late 20th century when
the users' role started to become one of the most essential aspects of dictionary research:
The user perspective has always been there, at least implicitly, but in recent years it has slowly
gained in status and is beginning to affect the whole field of lexicography.
(Hartmann, 1987:121)
One of the striking features which makes this model different from the traditional model and the textual model is that it
gives prominence to the user’s role in the lexicographic communication and incorporates the dictionary user into its
general configuration, thus treating the dictionary user as one of the participants in the process of dictionary making. This
means that lexicographers will have to bear in mind dictionary users’ needs and expectations and their inevitable
influence on decisions concerning dictionary policies and their implementation in the course of dictionary making.
With regard to bilingual lexicography, it is widely believed that the most important task of dictionaries is providing the
users with appropriate translation equivalents (Steiner, 1971; Bogusławski, 1976, in Piotrowski, 1994; Kromann & Riiber
& Rosbach 1984; Manley & Jacobsen & Pedersen, 1988; Zgusta, 1988 in Piotrowski, 1994). Looking the matter from the
communicative view described above, in so doing, the task of lexicographers is not merely listing a number of translation
equivalents. In fact, the lexicographer should take the users into consideration and pay attention to their look up needs
and their ease in choosing the appropriate translation equivalent from among all the equivalents listed for the lemma
(Gouws & Prinsloo, 2005).
This study, adopting a communicative view, aims at discussing the issue of meaning discrimination in bilingual
passive dictionaries. The researchers hope to shed light on:
1. the issue of meaning discrimination and its importance in bilingual dictionaries;
2. the factors influencing the amount of meaning discriminatory strategies that should be allocated to each entry.
2. Decision making in bilingual lexicography
Like any other types of dictionary, bilingual dictionaries have also some predetermined purposes and users. Every step
taken in the process of dictionary making on the part of the lexicographer should be in line with the intended functions the
dictionary is to serve. Besides, the dictionary should be a tool specifically satisfying the reference needs of its specific
users (Yong & Peng, 2007). In short, it can be claimed that lexicographic purpose and perspective are two important
factors in the process of decision making.
2.1 Lexicographic purpose: general-purpose vs. special-purpose
According to Yong and Peng (2007) bilingual dictionaries may be differentiated according to the purpose they serve. A
general-purpose bilingual dictionary is designed for the general public of the source and/or target language and meets the
general purpose of consulting for information concerning the meaning, spelling and pronunciation of the vocabulary
involved. It attempts to cover as wide a range as possible of the general vocabulary of the source language. The general
vocabulary should not be interpreted as the whole lexicon of the source language, which is impossible for any bilingual
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dictionary to cover and describe. It should be understood as that part of the vocabulary that proves to be of more practical
utility to the bilingual dictionary user than the rest of the lexicon.
A special-purpose bilingual dictionary is compiled to meet the special needs of specific user groups. Such a
dictionary can serve only one purpose or a limited set of specific purposes. It may provide the user with the signification
and sometimes the use of only scientific and technical terms of the source language in a special field such as business or
commerce (special-field bilingual dictionaries), or it may choose to focus on the description of only one aspect of the
source language, such as grammar or collocation (special-aspect bilingual dictionaries).
According to Yong and Peng (2007), it does not seem to be very difficult for bilingual lexicographers to keep special-
field bilingual dictionaries within the defined vocabulary boundary, but it would be totally impossible, if not a serious
mistake, to make the same demand on general-purpose bilingual dictionaries. According to them, faced with the
enormous increase of specialized vocabularies of science and technology, bilingual lexicographers tend to increase the
proportion of the entries devoted to scientific and technical terms in their dictionaries to meet the needs of a wider range
of users. However, this does not mean eliminating the distinction between general-purpose and special-purpose bilingual
dictionaries, because they differ not only in scope of coverage and entry selection but more significantly, in purpose, in
method of information presentation and description, and in their general nature.
2.2 Lexicographic perspective: active vs. passive
Previous typological studies did not seem to take much notice of the distinction between active and passive dictionary
types, but they are important dimensions, especially when considered from the position of the dictionary user and in
bilingual circumstances (Yong & Peng, 2007).
Most traditional bilingual dictionaries were intended for decoding purposes, that is, to help the user find a correct
and precise understanding of “hard words” in her/his reading of the foreign language texts. The need for an active
bilingual dictionary intended to aid encoding and the distinction between active and passive bilingual types grew out of
the fact that no bilingual dictionary can serve all purposes equally well.
Generally speaking, active bilingual dictionaries are designed for encoding. They intend to help such linguistic
activities as writing, speaking and translating into a foreign language. In active dictionaries, efforts are often made
towards helping the user achieve an active use of the source language, especially in producing new texts. Great
importance is given to the description of how words behave grammatically, pragmatically and culturally.
Passive bilingual dictionaries, on the other hand, are intended for decoding. They are of more effective assistance in
linguistic activities such as listening, reading, and translating into a native language, as they focus more on the semantic
aspect of the source language lexicon, i.e. lexical equivalents between the language pair. This is why active bilingual
dictionaries are regarded as dictionaries for production and passive ones as dictionaries for comprehension.
3. Meaning Discrimination
According to Piotrowski (1994), any method of distinguishing the senses and strings of equivalents in meaning is known
as meaning discrimination. The semantic comment on a bilingual dictionary should not be limited to the mere listing of
translation equivalents. If a dictionary is only a list of equivalents, it will be very demanding on the part of the user to make
good choices of equivalents for a specific context. Al-Kasimi (1983) stressing the fact that a bilingual dictionary describes
a language and culture that are different from the language and culture of the dictionary users, believes that bilingual
dictionaries should provide meaning discriminations so as to enable a user to select the appropriate equivalent.
According to him (1983:68) “unless the meaning discrimination is solved systematically, a bilingual dictionary cannot be a
dependable guide to the proper equivalents.” He adds that meaning discrimination depends on whether the dictionary is
meant for comprehension or production, and whether it is intended for speakers of a source or target language. Al-kasimi
is of the opinion that proper meaning discrimination can be achieved by using one of the following devices: punctuation,
illustrative examples, indicating parts of speech, usage labels and context word or phrase.
Gouws and Prinsloo (2005) believe that the comment on semantics in translation dictionaries should make provision
for a treatment procedure that has all the polysemous senses of a lexical item in its scope. Gouws and Prinsloo
(2005:151) further believe that “polysemy is a word specific feature which implies that for a polysemous word in the
source language one will not necessarily find a target translation equivalent with exactly the same polysemous senses.”
In such cases, according to them, lexicographers not only have to provide a translation equivalent for each one of the
polysemous senses of the lemma, but also have to make sure that a target user of a given dictionary can achieve a
successful retrieval of information from the translation equivalent paradigm. This means that for all translation equivalents
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that are polysemous, each word should be accompanied by extra-linguistic information. This will enable users
discriminate the senses. Gouws and Prinsloo (2005:153) say that “it is of extreme importance that the lexicographic
treatment presented in a bilingual dictionary may not leave the translation equivalents isolated from their typical contexts.”
4. Factors influencing meaning discrimination in bilingual dictionaries
In the light of the fact that in modern lexicography allocating equal or random amounts of meaning discriminatory
strategies to different words is rejected, it is important to know which words should take precedence with this regard. In
this study, two factors of equivalent relations and parts of speech are believed to be the factors that should play a role in
sense discrimination.
4.1 Equivalent relations
It is believed that the translation equivalents of a bilingual dictionary are “the most salient data category” in such a
dictionary (Gouws, 2002). A translation equivalent is a target language item, which can be used to replace the source
language item in a specific occurrence. The relation between source language items and target language items is known
as an equivalent relation, which can be of three different types, namely congruence, divergence and surrogate
equivalence.
4.1.1 Congruence
An ER of congruence is characterized by a one-to-one relation at lexical, pragmatic and semantic level. As a result, both
source and target language forms have exactly the same meaning and implications. In such cases, the translation
equivalent can substitute the source word in all its uses. This type of ER holds few problems for a lexicographer.
However, the existence of congruence is limited to very rare cases. The entry for the source word ambulance chosen
from Hezaareh English-Persian Dictionary can be regarded as an example of congruence:
ambulance … ‫ﺁﻣﺒﻮﻻﻧﺲ‬
4.1.2 Divergence
The commonest equivalent relation in bilingual dictionaries is divergence. It is characterized by a one to more that one
relation between source language and target language forms. In other words, in cases where a given source word has
more than one translation equivalents, the equivalent relation is that of divergence. Divergence might happen on lexical
grounds, semantic grounds or both.
Lexical divergence
When a monosemous lemma has more than one translation equivalents and the translation equivalents are partial
synonyms in the target language lexical divergence happens. Most of the dictionaries use a comma to separate these
equivalents:
patient … ‫ ﻣﺮﻳﺾ‬،‫ﺑﻴﻤﺎر‬
At semantic level there is a one to one relation between the source language and the target language, but at lexical level
there is a one to more than one relation, i.e. a relation of divergence at lexical level.
According to Gouws (2002), where lexical divergence prevails the lexicographer has to make sure whether the
translation equivalents are full or partial synonyms. If they are full synonyms, which is very seldom the case, the
lexicographic treatment can be similar to the case of congruence. But, more often than not the equivalents are
synonymous only partially. In such cases, the user should not only be informed about the fact that these partial synonyms
can substitute the source word, but should also be cautioned that the target language equivalents can not substitute one
another in all contexts (Gouws, 2002). Here meaning discrimination comes to the play. As a result, the lexicographer
should make use of some sort of contextual clues to indicate the typical environment of the translation equivalents.
Semantic divergence
The second type of lexicographic divergence is semantic divergence. It happens where the source language lemma is a
polysemous lexical item. Since cases of polysemy are language specific, and since the chances are minimal that a single
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target language item will have the same semantic load as the source language item, a translation equivalent needs to be
introduced for each sense of the source language lemma. Dictionaries use different devices to mark the occurrence of
semantic divergence. Some use a numbering system to differentiate between different sets of translation equivalents
each representing a sense of the source language lemma, some others use semicolons as markers to separate
translation equivalents representing different polysemous senses of the lemma.
Gouws (2002) believes that no lexicographer may assume that the users of the dictionary will intuitively know which
translation equivalent to choose for a given source language situation. Consequently, lexicographers are compelled to
utilize additional strategies to give rise to an optimal retrieval of information on the part of the user. Like the case of lexical
divergence, these strategies include contextualization related strategies.
Poly divergence
It happens very often that both lexical and semantic divergence prevail in the translation equivalents offered for a source
language item:
recognize … ‫ ﺗﺎﻳﻴﺪ‬.2 ‫ ﺗﺸﺨﻴﺺ دادن‬،‫ ﺑﺎز ﺷﻨﺎﺧﱳ‬،‫ ﲜﺎ ﺁوردن‬،‫ ﺷﻨﺎﺧﱳ‬.1
‫ ﻗﺒﻮل‬،‫ اذﻋﺎن ﮐﺮدن‬،‫ ﺗﺼﺪﻳﻖ ﮐﺮدن‬،‫ ﻣﻮرد ﺗﺎﻳﻴﺪ ﻗﺮار دادن‬،‫ﮐﺮدن‬
‫ درک‬،‫ ﺗﺸﺨﻴﺺ دادن‬.4 ‫ رژﻳﻢ[ ﺑﻪ رﲰﻴﺖ ﺷﻨﺎﺧﱳ‬،‫ )رﲰﯽ( ]دوﻟﺖ‬.3 ‫داﺷﱳ‬
‫ ﻗﺪرداﻧﯽ ﮐﺮدن‬.5 ‫ درﻳﺎﻓﱳ‬،‫ ﺑﻮدن‬... ‫ ﻣﺘﻮﺟﻪ‬،‫ وﻗﻮف ﻳﺎﻓﱳ ﺑﺮ‬،‫ﮐﺮدن‬
‫ ﮔﺮاﻣﯽ داﺷﱳ‬،‫ ارج ﻬﻧﺎدن ﺑﺮ‬،‫از‬I recognize him as a good teacher. ‫او را ﻣﻌﻠﻢ‬
.‫ ﻗﺒﻮل دارم او ﻣﻌﻠﻢ ﺧﻮﺑﯽ اﺳﺖ‬.‫ﺧﻮﺑﯽ ﻣﯽ داﱎ‬
As evident, having five sets of translation equivalents in Persian, recognize is regarded as a polysemous lemma. On the
one hand, it has the requirements of being a case of semantic divergence and, on the other hand, each set of equivalents
contains more than one translation equivalents. Such co-occurrence of lexical and semantic divergence gives rise to an
ER of poly divergence which calls for a well-developed and consistently used system of contextual and contextual
guidance.
4.1.3 Surrogate equivalence
The existence of lexical gaps is very common in all languages. Where lexicographers are confronted with the lack of a
target language lexical item which can be coordinated with a given source language item, a surrogate equivalent is
created.
Dagut (1981: 64) believes that lexical gaps might be motivated either on linguistic grounds or on extra-linguistic
grounds. A linguistic gap occurs when a given referent is known to the speakers of both languages but lexicalized in only
one of the languages. To put it in other words, the meaning of the item exists in both languages but only one of the
languages lexicalizes it. Such a lexical gap which has some linguistic reasons is called linguistic gap.
There are also some cases where the speakers of one of the languages of the bilingual dictionary are familiar with a
given referent and their language has a word to refer to it, but the speakers of the other language are not familiar with the
referent and consequently their language has no word to refer to it. Such a lexical gap which has some extra-linguistic
motivations is called referential gap.
According to Gouws (2002), lexical gaps in the target language of a bilingual dictionary may never result in the
lexicographer refraining from an attempt to provide the lemma with a translation equivalent that conveys the meaning of
the source language item to the dictionary users. One way to fill in the possible blanks is employing loan words. It is of
utmost importance to pay attention to the point that lexicographers are not the “initiators of the loan words,” but where the
loan words do exist in a language as a part of the lexicon of that language the lexicographer can make use of it. However,
where a loan word is not recognized in the target language of a bilingual dictionary the lexicographer often compliments
the translation equivalent with a brief paraphrase of meaning i.e. explanatory (descriptive) equivalent.
4.2 Part of speech
Reviewing the existing literature on sense discrimination reveals that scholars of the field have only paid attention to
equivalents relations. But, the researchers of the present study believe that parts of speech can also play a role.
It is believed that as the kernel of a sentence, a verb has an important role in comprehension (Xu, 2008). According
to Béjoint the first choice of users for retrieval of information in dictionaries is always the verb (Béjoint, 1981). Although
509
many users might not have a good command of function words, adverbs and adjectives, when it comes to decoding a
statement in a foreign language they rarely look them up in a dictionary. Instead, looking the verb up, they try to grasp the
meaning of the whole statement (Xu, 2008). Their search for the meaning of adverbs and adjectives is limited to the
cases where such items have a pivotal role in understanding the whole utterance, or where the purpose of looking up is
finding the meaning of a specific adverb or adjective. However, if a dictionary is particularly geared to satisfying the
encoding needs of the users, the requirements would differ, since there the user is obliged to know about the meaning of
the item, as well as its syntactic, morphological and collocational behavior. There, function words also play a role.
In addition, verbs are believed to have more senses than other categories of part of speech (Miller and Fellbaum,
1992; Brown, 1994; Källkvist, 1997; Xu, 2008; Elston-Güttler and Williams, 2008). According to Miller and Fellbaum in
Collins English Dictionary verbs on the whole have an average of 2.11 senses while nouns have 1.74 senses (Miller and
Fellbaum, 1992). Along these lines, Brown (1994) also confirmed the general tendency of verbs to be polysemous and
their senses to be context dependent. Xu's study also confirmed the same claim in the Big Five (Xu, 2008).
Bearing the two above mentioned facts about verbs in mind, one can conclude that verbs are the category
deserving more attention as far as addressing is concerned (Xu, 2008), since in a bilingual passive dictionary verbs are
consulted by the users more than other parts of speech. Besides, the inherent polysemous nature of the verbs might be
challenging to many users. As a result, it is imperative for lexicographers to pay attention to this fact while assigning
meaning discriminatory strategies to different words.
5. Conclusion
This article examined systematic application of meaning discriminatory strategies in bilingual passive dictionaries. The
two factors of equivalent relations and parts of speech were introduced as the ones playing a role in assigning different
amounts of sense discriminatory strategies to words. As for the first factor, it should be mentioned that the more
complicated the equivalent relations, the more need for meaning discriminatory strategies. Thus, equivalent relations of
semantic divergence and poly divergence call for more sense discriminatory strategies in comparison with those of
congruence and lexical divergence. With regard to the part of speech, the researchers believe that verbs need more
amounts of meaning discrimination due to their role in comprehension related activities and their polysemous nature.
Lexicographers are advised to take these factors into consideration while allocating meaning discriminatory strategies to
words. That way, they can take one forward step towards compiling a dictionary which is communicatively successful.
References
Al-Kasimi, A. M. (1983). Linguistics and bilingual dictionaries. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Béjoint, H. (1981). The foreign students use of monolingual English dictionaries: A study of language needs and reference skills. Applied
linguistics 3.2: 207-222.
Béjoint, H. (1994). Tradition and innovation in modern English dictionaries. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Brown, G. (1994). The role of nominal and verbal expressions in retelling narratives: implications for discourse representations. Working
Papers in English and Applied Linguistics 1: 81-90.
Elston-Güttler, K. E. and Williams, J. N. (2008). First language polysemy affects second language interpretation: evidence for activation
of first language concepts during second language reading. Second Language Research 24.2: 167-187.
Frawley, W. (1989). The dictionary as text. International Journal of Lexicography 2.3: 231-248.
Gouws, R. H. (2002). Equivalent relations, context and cotext in bilingual dictionaries. Journal of Linguistics 28: 195-209.
Gouws, R. H. and Prinsloo, D. J. (2005). Principles and practice of South Africa lexicography. Stellenbosch: SUN Press.
Haghshenas, A. M. Samei, H. and Entekhabi, N. (2003). One volume Millennium English-Persian dictionary. Tehran: Farhang Moaser
Publishers. (Hezaareh)
Hartmann, R.R.K. (1987). "Dictionaries of English: The Users' Perspective". In Bailley, R.W. (ed.). Dictionaries of English. Michigan: The
University of Michigan Press.
Källkvist, M. H. (1997). Lexical form-class effects in foreign language learning: a study of the English produced by advanced Swedish
learners. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Cambridge.
Miller, G. A. and Fellbaum, C. (1992). Semantic network of English. Cognition 41: 197-229.
Piotrowski, T. (1994). Problems in bilingual lexicography. Wroclaw: University of Wroclaw.
Xu, H. (2008). Exemplification policy in English learner’s dictionaries. International Journal of Lexicography 21.4: 395-420.
Yong, H. and Peng, J. (2007). Bilingual lexicography from a communicative perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamin Publishing
Company.
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Translation of Movie Titles from English into Persian: Strategies and Effects
Bahareh Lotfollahi
M.A. student of translation studies
Ahmad Moinzadeh, Ph.D.
Corresponding author: Bahareh Lotfollahi, Department of English,
Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Iran,
Email: blotfollahi@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p511
Abstract Movies are one of the most popular and influential mass media in the world. Movie titles are the inseparable parts of the
movies. Translation of movie titles is a demanding job which needs much effort. Iran has long been a market for western movies which
are rapidly being translated from English into persian. It seems that translation of movie titles from English into persian has not received
much attention. Therefore, the present study made an attempt to investigate the translation of Hollywood movie titles of 2010 from
English into Persian in order to analyze the kind of translation strategies and procedures which were used and to show how these
strategies changed the effect each title creates. It was shown that the most frequently used translation strategies were literal translation
and transliteration which could change the effect of the main titles.
Keywords: movie titles, translation, strategies, Persian
1. Introduction
Movies are one of the most popular and influential mass media in the world. Titles, which are names given to the movies
are the inseparable parts of the movies. Translation of movies and especially movie titles is a demanding job which
needs much effort. In the translation of movie titles attention should be paid to the features of the title and its connection
to the plot of the movie. Different translation strategies and procedures are used in order to translate movie titles.
According to Venuti (2000), adaptation is one the most frequently used strategy in the translation of books and movie
titles.
Newmark (1988) differentiates between two kinds of titles. Descriptive titles "describe the topic of the text" and
allusive titles "have some kind of referential or figurative relationship to the topic" (p. 57). He proposes to keep the
descriptive titles, including ones that are based on the protagonist’s name, and to rework allusive ones only if necessary.
According to Zatlin (2005) "many titles carry over easily" (p. 95) and it is a rule not to keep play titles in a foreign
language. Also according to him, problematic titles are those with cultural references and the best strategy for comic
titles is adaptation.
Some studies have investigated the translation of movie titles. In one of them, by applying Newmark's translation
theory Ying (2007) investigated the translation of movie titles from English to Chinese. Four main translation procedures
identified were literal translation, transliteration, free translation and semantic translation. It was suggested that by
integrating different translation strategies and procedures with a theory, a translator can provide suitable translations to
"get the audience a better understanding of … the film itself" (p. 83).
In the second study, Yin (2009) examined translation of movie titles from English to Chinese too. In this study
techniques used in translating movie titles were categorized into two groups: first including transliteration, literal and
explication which show respect for the original title and second, adaptation and providing a new title which get rid of the
original title. As Yin proposed, a good movie title "should obey such principles: faithfulness, cultural awareness,
combination of commercial and aesthetic effects" (p. 173).
Finally, Yo-ou and Jin-hai (2010) discussed treason in movie title translation from four different aspects: the types,
the manifestations, the causes and the effect. They classified treason which "is an inevitable phenomenon in translation"
(p. 58) into two categories: unconscious which "will cause mistranslation" (p. 58) and conscious which is deliberate
deviation from the original.
As Sklar (1975, p. 215) mentions American movies especially present "American myths and American dreams…",
also these movies carry "their views of American to more people in more places than ever before (p. 215). Iran has long
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been a market for western movies. These movies are rapidly being translated from English into Persian. It seems that
despite the importance of movie translation and especially translation of the title, translation of movie titles from English
into Persian has not received much attention. Therefore, the present study makes an attempt to investigate the
translation of Hollywood movie titles of 2010 from English into Persian in order to analyze the kind and frequency of
translation strategies and procedures which are used and to show how these strategies have changed the effect each
title creates.
In order to analyze the strategies and procedures, the model proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet was used as the
theoretical framework of the study. The following translation ‘procedures’ were identified by them (Munday, 2001, p. 56-
58):
1) Borrowing: It happens when the source language word is transferred directly to the target language.
2) Calque: It is “a special kind of borrowing” where the source language expression or structure is transferred literally.
3) Literal translation: It is “word-for-word” translation and is common between languages of the same family and culture.
4) Transposition: It happens when one part of speech changes for another without changing the sense.
5) Modulation: It changes the point of view and semantics of the source language.
6) Equivalence: This is used when “languages describe the same situation by different stylistic or structural means”
especially in translating proverbs and idioms.
7) Adaptation: Where a situation in the source culture does not exist in the target culture, adaptation happens by
changing the cultural reference.
Another category for translation procedures which was used in this study was that of Newmark (Newmark, 1988, p. 75-
77) who identified the following procedures:
1) Transcription (adoption, transfer, 'loan-words').
2) Literal translation: A 'coincidental' procedure when the SL term is transparent and semantically motivated and is in
standardized language.
3) Through-translation ('loan-translation', calque).
4) Cultural equivalent: The SL word is replaced with the TL cultural word.
5) Translation label: An approximate equivalent or a new term, usually a collocation, for a feature peculiar to the SL.
6) Translation couplets: The transcription of an institutional term followed by its translation in brackets.
7) Translation triplets: A politically colored term may require a literal translation, a transcription, and the denotation.
8) Deletion: A term of little importance in the TL culture may be deleted in translation, provided it is marginal to the text,
and some indication of function given where required.
9) Naturalization: The process of 'anglicizing' foreign names by supplying them with English suffixes.
2. Methodology
The list of 60 Hollywood movies of 2010 which has been translated from English into Persian was made from the
websites introduce these movies and also from stores sell them. Each title was compared with its translation to Persian in
order to determine the kind of translation strategies used in the process of translation from English into Persian. The data
was analyzed by the researchers separately and in cases where no consensus was reached between them, two other
people were asked for further analysis. Vinay and Darbelnet and Newmark's models were used as the theoretical
framework of the study. Then frequency and percentage of each translation strategy was calculated.
3. Results
Movie titles and their translations were analyzed according to Vinay and Darbelnet and Newmark's model. The results are
summarized in the following tables.
Table 1 Literal translation

Source language Target language
Alice in wonderland ‫ﺁﻟﻴﺲ در ﺳﺮزﻣﻴﻦ ﻋﺠﺎﻳﺐ‬
Clash of the Titans ‫ﻧﺒﺮد ﺗﺎﻳﺘﺎن هﺎ‬/‫ﺑﺮﺧﻮرد ﺗﺎﻳﺘﺎن هﺎ‬
Edge of darkness ‫ﻟﺒﻪ ﺗﺎرﻳﮑﯽ‬
The book of Eli ‫ﮐﺘﺎب اﻟﯽ‬
Red dawn ‫ﺳﺤﺮﮔﺎﻩ ﺳﺮخ‬
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Unstoppable ‫ﺗﻮﻗﻒ ﻧﺎﭘﺬﻳﺮ‬

Blue valentine ‫وﻟﻨﺘﺎﻳﻦ ﺁﺑﯽ‬
Harry Potter and the deathly hallows ‫هﺮﯼ ﭘﺎﺗﺮ و ﻗﺪﻳﺴﺎن ﻣﺮﮔﺒﺎر‬
Green zone ‫ﻣﻨﻄﻘﻪ ﺳﺒﺰ‬
Undisputed 3: redemption ‫ رﺳﺘﮕﺎرﯼ‬:3 ‫ﺷﮑﺴﺖ ﻧﺎﭘﺬﻳﺮ‬
A Christmas carol ‫ﺳﺮود ﮐﺮﻳﺴﻤﺲ‬
The talented Mr. Ripley ‫رﻳﭙﻠﯽ ﺑﺎ اﺳﺘﻌﺪاد‬
The return ‫ﺑﺎزﮔﺸﺖ‬
Resident evil: extinction ‫ اﻧﻘﺮاض‬:‫ﺷﻴﻄﺎن ﻣﻘﻴﻢ‬
Devil ‫ﺷﻴﻄﺎن‬
Needle ‫ﺳﻮزن‬
The tailor of Panama ‫ﺧﻴﺎط ﭘﺎﻧﺎﻣﺎ‬
Little Folkers ‫ﻓﺎﮐﺮهﺎﯼ ﮐﻮﭼﮏ‬
Body of lies ‫ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﻪ دروغ هﺎ‬
Inception ‫ ﺗﻠﻘﻴﻦ‬،‫ ﺁﻏﺎز‬،‫ﺳﺮﺁﻏﺎز‬
Prince of Persia: the sands of time ‫ ﻣﺎﺳﻪ هﺎﯼ زﻣﺎن‬:‫ﺷﺎهﺰادﻩ اﻳﺮان‬
The fighters ‫ﻣﺒﺎرزان‬
Mirrors 2 2 ‫ﺁﻳﻨﻪ هﺎ‬
The social network ‫ﺷﺒﮑﻪ اﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﯽ‬
I am love ‫ﻣﻦ ﻋﺸﻖ هﺴﺘﻢ‬
Black swan ‫ﻗﻮﯼ ﺳﻴﺎﻩ‬
Never let me go ‫هﻴﭻ وﻗﺖ اﺟﺎزﻩ ﻧﺪﻩ ﺑﺮم‬
Exit through the gift shop ‫ ﺧﺮوج از راﻩ‬/‫ﺧﺮوج از ﻓﺮوﺷﮕﺎﻩ هﺪﻳﻪ ﻓﺮوﺷﯽ‬
‫ﻣﻐﺎزﻩ ﮐﺎدو ﻓﺮوﺷﯽ‬
Barney's version ‫ﻧﺴﺨﻪ ﺑﺎرﻧﯽ‬
Another year ‫ﺳﺎﻟﯽ دﻳﮕﺮ‬
The twilight saga: eclipse ‫ ﮐﺴﻮف‬:‫اﻓﺴﺎﻧﻪ ﮔﺮگ و ﻣﻴﺶ‬
Red ‫ﺳﺮخ‬
Universal soldier 3 3 ‫ﺳﺮﺑﺎز ﺟﻬﺎﻧﯽ‬
Iron man 2 2 ‫ﻣﺮد ﺁهﻨﯽ‬
Killers ‫ﺁدﻣﮑﺶ هﺎ‬
Saw 7 7 ‫ارﻩ‬
Game of death ‫ﺑﺎزﯼ ﻣﺮگ‬
Thirteen ‫ﺳﻴﺰدﻩ‬
Winter's bone ‫اﺳﺘﺨﻮان زﻣﺴﺘﺎن‬
The king's speech ‫ﺳﺨﻨﺮاﻧﯽ ﭘﺎدﺷﺎﻩ‬
Table 2 Transliteration
Robinhood ‫راﺑﻴﻦ هﻮد‬
Salt ‫ﺳﺎﻟﺖ‬
Legion ‫ﻟﮋﻳﻮن‬
Max payne ‫ﻣﮑﺲ ﭘﻴﻦ‬
Machete ‫ﻣﺎﺷﺘﻪ‬
Julie and Julia ‫ﺟﻮﻟﯽ و ﺟﻮﻟﻴﺎ‬
Australia ‫اﺳﺘﺮاﻟﻴﺎ‬
Shutter island ‫ﺷﺎﺗﺮ ﺁﻳﻠﻨﺪ‬
Bruce Lee ‫ﺑﺮوس ﻟﯽ‬
Narnina 3 3 ‫ﻧﺎرﻧﻴﻨﺎ‬
Tron 2 2 ‫ﺗﺮون‬
Table 3 Borrowing
Princess ‫ﭘﺮﻧﺴﺲ‬
A-team ‫ﺗﻴﻢ‬A
The tourist ‫ﺗﻮرﻳﺴﺖ‬
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Table 4 Transposition

The stone council ‫اﻧﺠﻤﻦ ﺳﻨﮕﯽ‬
The wolfman ‫ﻣﺮد ﮔﺮگ ﻧﻤﺎ‬
Tron: the legacy ‫ﻣﻴﺮاث ﺗﺮون‬
127 hours ‫ ﺳﺎﻋﺖ‬127
Four lions ‫ﭼﻬﺎر ﺷﻴﺮ‬
Animal kingdom ‫ﻗﻠﻤﺮو ﺣﻴﻮاﻧﺎت‬
Figure 1 shows the frequency of translation strategies used in the translation of Hollywood movie titles of 2010 from
English into persian.
frequency of translation strategies
40
35
30
25
20 Series1
15
10
0
literal transliteration borrowing transposition
Figure 2 shows the percentage of translation strategies used in the translation of Hollywood movie titles of 2010 from
English into persian.
Percentage of translation strategies
transposition
borrowing 10%
5%
transliteration
18%
literal
67%
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4. Discussion
The comparison of movie titles with their translation from English into persian showed that the most frequently used
strategies were literal translation and transliteration respectively.
Literal translation is the best translation strategy between languages which match with each other structurally. Titles such
as 'red dawn' are literally translated into ‫ﺳ ﺤﺮﮔﺎﻩ ﺳ ﺮخ‬, and the effect of sound play has been kept in Persian.
In case of 'the talented Mr. Ripley', deletion of the word 'Mr.' in translation has created a shorter title in Persian.
Although being short is one of the characteristics of a good title, this title does not a clue to the audience that whether the
protagonist is a man or a woman.
'Inception' has some different translations in different websites. According to the plot which refers to planting an idea
within the person's subconscious mind, ‫ ﺳ ﺮﺁﻏﺎز‬and ‫ ﺁﻏﺎز‬could not be a proper equivalent for this title. It seems that
‫ نﯼﺗﻠ ﻖ‬could be a better equivalent because it refers to the plot of the movie. This could show that some titles are being
translated without paying enough attention to the plot. Titles are the last items to be translated, because as Zatlin (2005)
mentions they are "the most important item for marketing the play" (95) and movies.
In case of 'the twilight saga: eclipse' choosing ‫ ﮔ ﺮگ و شﯼم‬as the equivalent of 'twilight' has made the title
ambiguous in Persian. It is not clear whether ‫ ﮔ ﺮگ و شﯼم‬refers to the time of the day when the sun is going down or to
some animals.
Proper names like 'Alice', 'Eli', 'Harry Potter', 'Ripley', 'Folkers', 'Barney', 'Robin hood', 'Max Payne', 'Machete',
'Julie', 'Julia', 'Bruce lee', 'Tron' and 'Salt' which are mainly based on the name of the heroes or heroines of the movies
are transferred through transliteration with some pronunciation modifications. As long as some proper nouns have
connotations in the movies, the effect of these nouns might be lost through transliteration. For example, 'Max Payne'
refers to the pain the main character suffers as the slogan of the movie is "I don't believe in heaven. I believe in pain".
Also, we know that machete is a kind of knife used as a weapon. 'Machete' is the name of the police officer in this movie
which could refer to the violence we witness in this movie. The name of geographical places such as 'Panama' and
'Australia' has also been directly transferred to Persian without being translated. However, 'Persia' has been naturalized
and is translated to ‫رانﯼا‬.
There are some borrowed words from English which in spite of having equivalents in Persian are commonly used.
Words such as princess, team and tourist with Persian equivalents ‫ﺷﺎهﺰادﻩ‬, ‫ﮔ ﺮوﻩ‬, and ‫ ﺟﻬﺎن ﮔ ﺮد‬are still kept in foreign
language. Valentine and Christmas which could be considered culture-bound items are directly transferred to Persian too.
As Ying (2007) mentions one of the functions of movie titles is giving clues about the main place where the story
happened. Translating 'Shutter Island' into ‫ ﺷ ﺎﺗﺮ ﻟﻨ ﺪﯼا‬and borrowing the world island in spite of having a well
established equivalent in Persian, could make target language audience not get the idea that the name refers to the place
where the story takes place.
In case of transposition some changes in part of speech of some words was observed. For example 'stone council'
is translated into ‫اﻧﺠﻤ ﻦ ﯼﺳ ﻨﮓ‬. Stone is a noun in this sense which is used before nouns or in compounds and refers to
a hard material substance in English which has been translated as an adjective in Persian. Also, 'wolfman' which is a
compound noun in English is translated into ‫ ﻣﺮد ﮔ ﺮگ ﻧﻤ ﺎ‬in Persian which is a noun phrase with an adjective modifier.
In case of 'Alice in wonderland' wonderland is a compound noun which is translated into ‫ نﯼﺳ ﺮزم بﯼﻋﺠﺎ‬in
Persian which is a noun phrase with an adjective modifier too.
In '127 hours' hours is always translated into ‫ ﺳ ﺎﻋﺖ‬which is a singular noun and could be considered an obligatory
modulation. The same has happened in translation of 'Four Lions' into ‫ﭼﻬﺎر رﯼش‬. Also, in translating 'animal kingdom'
into ‫ ﻗﻠﻤ ﺮو واﻧ ﺎتﯼح‬a singular noun –animal- has changed to a plural one - ‫ واﻧ ﺎتﯼح‬which is more natural in Persian.
5. Conclusion
Movie titles are one of the first items that attract the attention of the audience. Therefore, the translation of movie titles
becomes of great importance. The present study investigated the translation of 60 Hollywood movie titles of 2010 from
English into Persian. It was shown that the most frequently used translation strategies and procedures were literal
translation and transliteration. This is in line with Ying (2007) and Yin (2009) who investigated translation of movie titles
from English into Chinese and came to the same results. Also, it was observed that using these kinds of translation
strategies could lead to changes in the meaning and effect of the original titles. Therefore, it is highly recommended that
translators pay more attention to movie title translation in order to prevent miscommunication.
515
References
Munday, J. (2001). Introducing translation studies theories and applications. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Newmark, P. (1988). Approaches to translation. New York and London: Prentice hall international (UK) Ltd.
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. New York and London: Prentice Hall international (UK) Ltd.
Sklar, R. (1975). Movie-made America. New York: Random house, Inc.
Venuti, L. The translation studies reader. London and New York: Routledge.
Yin, L. (2009). On the translation of English movie titles. Asian social science, 5 (3), 171-173.
Ying, P. (2007). Translation of film titles with the application of Peter Newmarks's translation theory. Sino-Us English teaching, 4 (4), 77-
81.
Yu-ou, Z. & Jin-hat, s. (2010). On the treason in English film title translation. Sino-Us English teaching, 7 (1), 57-64.
Zatlin, p. (2005). Theatrical translation and film adaptation. Great Britain: Cromwell press Ltd.

516
Impact of Rocky Topography on Settlement Pattern and Housing

Development in Idanre, Nigeria
Omole, F.K
Owoeye, J.O
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure
P.M.B 704, Akure. Phone Contacts: +2348034539896; +2348039179250;
E-mails: fkyomole@yahoo.co.uk ; rantilinks@gmail.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p517
Abstract The pattern of development of urban land-use in relation to topography varies from rural to urban. What distinguishes Idanre
community from other Yoruba settlements is the rocky topographical nature that surrounds and abounds within the community. In this
paper, the effect of rock outcrops that surround the community and the effects on its development were investigated. The study
employed both historical and descriptive analysis to gather relevant data about the origin and locational structure of the town. There
were 3,620 existing buildings in the area according to the building demographic survey carried out. The seven quarters in the town were
sub-divided into twenty-two sectors from which 10.0% of the total buildings in all the sectors were picked as sample size for
questionnaire administration. Our findings in the study show both positive and negative impacts that the rocky topography has on the
community. The essential aspect of the discoveries were some viable potentials and topographical features of the town which need to be
adequately harnessed and made used off for the benefit of the community and the state at large.
Keywords: Rock outcrops, topographical features, settlement pattern, housing development, and accessibility.
1. Introduction
The extent of development of any settlement is largely dependent on the absence of obstacles. Where there are
constraints, people are discouraged and cause the physical development to suffer a drastic set back. The word
topography, according to Advanced Learner Dictionary, is expressed as the description of the surface features, which
comprise the landscape vegetation, rocks, lake and valleys, buildings, roads, and the general physical outlook of an area.
In other word, the pattern of settlement and the development of housing are largely determined by the nature of
topography of immediate environment. It constitutes essential factors that determine the growth and development of such
settlement. Like any other settlement, Idanre is growing due to increased rate of urbanization, improved technology and
industrialization which are responsible among other things for the day to day increase in the requirement of wide expanse
of relatively flat land for the rapidly increasing population of the settlement. Idanre town is generally surrounded by hills
while some parts of the town is dominated by rock outcrops and characterized by bad roads that negatively affects the
accessibility of the town (see Figure 3).
This immensely influences the spatial growth of the town as well as its development. For example, the installation of
infrastructure like roads, telephone network, lying of water pipes is very difficult and costly. Digging of well to provide
water is also a problem due to the underground rock beneath the sub-surface of the soil, and housing construction is
equally affected by this topographical constraint. The expansion of the town is apparently difficult while the internal
development is limited by the physical constraints. However, the topography has few positive effects on socio-cultural
activities, public utilities, crop production and the general climatic condition of the area. There are some development
potentials characterized by the topographical features of the town which can be profitably harnessed. All these constitute
the basis of our investigation in this study.
Generally, settlement can be defined as structures on the earth’s surface. Emielu (1996) expressed it as a group of
buildings with people living in them. In early times, people sought the advantages of living in groups, thereby making it
possible to share farm tasks to the benefit of all. Besides, it encourages increased security and pleasures of social
contact. Therefore settlement in any given region reflects man relationship with the environment. By studying settlement
sites, pattern and structures; one can see the extent to which man has responded to his environment as well as the
religious and social customs of his society. According to Lynch 1978, as quoted in Akinsunlola (1999), every city or
settlement has a general overall shape or pattern. The one peculiar to the study area (Idanre) is linear pattern of
517
settlement. This is usually the result of a natural topography which restricts growth or the result of transportation spine in
which a string of housing units are arranged along one major thorough fare.
The topography of an area is the pivot on which its growth and development revolves. In the physical development
of any settlement, either rural or urban, a relatively flat land is for expansion and internal development is very essential.
According to Ologunde (1980), he argued that one of the major factors that created problems in the effective use of land
for physical development in Efon-Alaye is the hilly topographical constraint. The relief features of the town affected road
links and the structures. In the case of Lagos, it locational advantage on marshy island that is almost surrounded by a
lagoon has a unique advantage with an outlet to the sea.
The physical development of the study area has been confronted with many problems emanated from the existence
of the rocky outcrops around it. However, this study has set to investigate some of the major restrictions caused by this
major physical features and see how the available potentials in the area can be properly harnessed to benefit the people
in the area.
2. The Study Area: An Overview
Idanre is one of the major towns in Ondo State of Nigeria, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. It is about 336km from Lagos,
and lies between Akure and Ondo towns to the South-Southwest and East-East North of both towns respectively. Idanre
falls on latitude 90 81 north of the equator and longitude 50 51 east of the Greenwich meridian. Idanre hills form part of the
Yoruba hills that stretch through the northern half of Oyo and Ondo States, which actually form the highest peak in the
series.
Figure 1a: Ondo State Map in the National Settings

Source: Ondo State Ministry of Lands and Housing, Akure; 2010
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Figure 2: Map of Ondo State showing Idanre Local Govt. Area

Source: Ondo State Ministry of Lands and Housing, Akure; 2010
Idanre hills have, for long time been recognized as having historical value since they offered protection in the past from
invaders. In other words, Idanre hills are to the Idanre people just as what Olumo rock is to Abeokuta people and
Olosunta rock to the people of Ikere-Ekiti settlers. Associate with the hills is Idanre town, a settlement rich in cultural
resources. It is in recognition of its potential in tourism value that prompted the Ondo State Government to build two
chalets at Oke-Idanre in 1978 at a cost of about 1.2million Naira (Akinsunlola, 1999). The hills offer various forms of
attractions, such as sports for men and women in high altitude terrain, quiet pleasure seeking, and so on. Climbing to
Oke-Idanre was extremely difficult in the past but now it has been made relatively easier as series of 600 climbing steps
have been provided with 5 resting places. The various streams and rivers that drain the area and its environ include Oto
River, Arun River and tributary of Owena River. All took their sources from the surrounding hills. The Oto River is the
major river that runs across the length and breadth of Odode-Idanre while Arun River is prominent at Oke-Idanre. There
are villages, hamlets and farmsteads which constitute the surrounding settlements to Idanre town, numbering about 450
settlements. According to NPC (1991) Census, the population of Idanre town stood at 29,156 people, while the projected
figure for the year 2000 was 37,481 using annual growth rate of 2.8% increase.
Idanre is one of the most important town that house magnificent rocks and hills in Nigeria. The ancient town (Oke-
Idanre) yielded about 80.0% of its landmass to rock outcrops, while about 62.0% of the new town (Odode Idanre) is
occupied by this gigantic phenomenon (Akinsunlola, 1999; Omole and Owoeye, 2010).
Oke-Idanre presents true picture of traditional setting. Evidence of various shrines that once adorned in the town are
still visible, some of which are named after some deities with interesting codes of taboos. Some of these features include
the ancient palace (Olofin’s house), foot print on the rock called Ese-Agbogun. At Odode, heavy outcrops such as Ularan
hills, Orosun hills, Ojimoba hill and others are common rock features with interesting outlooks. Some are egg-shaped,
some are cone-shaped, some are like waste left behind by earth-worms at dawn, and some are tall rocks lapping smaller
ones of various designs and sizes. Others are just massive rocks sloppy and attractively gratifying, some are susceptible
to mountaineering while others appear too rocky for such adventure.
Like other urban areas, various land-uses within the town unit together to form the physical features of Odode-
Idanre. These land-uses can broadly be categorized into residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural, educational,
public and semi-public uses. Odode-Idanre began to grow and expand in the year 1928 as Oke-Idanre began to decline.
Notable factors responsible for this development include rugged topography and absence of adequate buildable land
necessary for expansion and farmland. Impossibility of bringing amenities up the hills and religious conviction among
others also played significant role in the movement of people from Oke-Idanre down to Odode, which started towards the
end of 1920s and concluded in 1933. Figure 3 clearly illustrate these sceneries in the study area.
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Figure 3: Map of Idanre showing the Rock outcrops at Odode-Idanre

Sources: Ondo State Ministry of Lands and Housing, Akure; 2010; Denito Planning Associates, Akure; 2010
This study adopts both historical and descriptive research methods in gathering necessary data. The historical research
method was used to examine the events of the past relative to the locational structure of the town, while descriptive
method was used to systematically describe the facts quality and character of the given and present events. In this
regard, questionnaires were designed to collect data randomly on sector basis, which was finally analysis for factual
presentation of the research findings.
For the purpose of evenly representation of the research information, each of the identified seven major quarters
within Odode were sub-divided into twenty-two sectors using some of the prominent roads within the town for proper and
well defined demarcations. Building demographic survey was carried out in each area, and 10.0% total of those houses
counted was chosen for both formal and informal interview. Mainly, the household heads or their accredited
representatives were interviewed. This is well represented on Table 1. Information collected from primary source include
socio-economic and land-use data. Observations were made during reconnaissance survey of prominent areas of
interest. Secondary data includes facts and figures extracted from relevant texts, records from the state ministries, current
journals and publications. Altogether, 362 questionnaires were administered and used for analysis for this study.
4. Research Findings and Discussion
In attempt to achieve the aim and objectives of this study, the research findings are discussed under different
subheadings. About 40.83% of the total landmass is occupied by the natural rock outcrops while only 28.17% is used for
residential purposes. Others are shared among the commercial (3.08%) usually along the major roads, light industries
(1.92%), access roads (7.17%), agricultural (0.83%), educational (3.83%), and public and semi-public land-uses
(15.17%). Altogether, there are 3,620 buildings in the area. Table1 below shows the arrangement in sectors and the
sampled choice made in each of the sectors, which are used for the data analysis.
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Table 1: Arrangement of Sampled Buildings in sectors
Quarters Sectors Total Buildings Sampled Choice Percentage

1. Irowo A 200 20 5.52
B 180 18 4.97
C 194 19 5.25
2 Okedo D 200 20 5.52
E 170 17 4.70
F 140 14 3.87
3. Idale G 160 16 4.42
H 120 12 3.31
I 180 18 4.97
J 200 20 5.52
4. Jigbokun / Isala K 150 15 4.14
L 100 10 2.76
M 160 16 4.42
N 220 22 6.08
5. Odeja O 180 18 4.97
P 240 24 6.63
6. Yaba Q 100 10 2.76
R 96 10 2.76
S 140 14 3.87
7. Odole T 128 13 3.61
U 142 14 3.87
V 220 22 6.08
Total 3,620 362 100.0
Source: Field Survey 2010.
4.1 Building Characteristics
The largest proportion of houses in Idanre is used for residential purposes, which accounts for 28.17% of the total land-
uses. From the date collected, as shown in table 2, it was revealed that 40.10% of the sampled buildings are made of
sandcrete walling materials, 30.10% by stone walling materials and 27.90% by mud materials while 1.9% was made with
planks. Investigation about the foundation materials also revealed that 52.76% of the sampled building are made of
cement slab, 30.11% are made of sand-crete materials while mud materials take the remaining 17.13%.
Findings from the survey conducted revealed that building type is dominated by storey buildings which account for
59.97% of the sampled buildings, while the rest (40.33%) are bungalows. This might be because of limited space for
expansion and difficulty in laying building foundation due to expansive underline rock outcrops.
Table 2: Building characteristics
Variables Frequency Percentage

(a) Walling materials
 Cement Block 145 40.10
 Stone 109 30.10
 Mud 101 27.90
 Planks 07 1.90
Total 362 100.00
(b) Foundation Materials
 Cement Slab 191 52.76
 Sandcrete 109 30.11
 Mud 62 17.13
Total 362 100.00
Source: Field Survey, 2010.
4.2 Accessibility
Majority of the buildings are accessible by minor roads. This accounts for about 72.10% of the sampled buildings, only
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21.82% enjoy good accessibility while the remaining 6.08% are accessible only by footpaths. Most of the inaccessible
buildings are due to the presence of series of rock formations around and within the environment that hinders the
construction of good roads. Majority of the access roads are in bad state as accounted by 51.10% of the respondents.
About 30.94% are in fair condition while only 17.96% are in good condition.
4.3 Major Problems Associated with Idanre Hills
Different major problems are identified in the course of this research as indicated by the respondents. The number one on
the list is difficulty that the people faced in climbing the hills which account for 43.92%. Climbing up the hills is said to be
very slow as the gradients in some sections are rather steeply and slippery particularly during rainy season while there
are a lot of damaged sections of the climbing steps. Other problems identified include absence of social amenities like
extension of electricity and pipe-borne water to some parts of the town, particularly the old settlement; poor road linkages
with other part of the state and non-availability of guide capable of taking people round all the places of interest in Idanre
rocky environment during visits. Beside all these, there are problems relating to accessibility to underground water.
Digging of well and even foundation of buildings is extremely difficult if not impossible in some parts of the town. This is
because of the large expanse of hard igneous rock outcrops occupying most of the place. Sometimes, several rock
blasting has to be made before the mission of accessibility can be achieved.
4.4 Positive Impacts of the Topography on Settlement Pattern of Idanre
(i) Housing: The abundant existence of rocky materials has positive impact on building development in Idanre. However,
some building foundations were constructed with stony slabs. Buildings in this category are mostly public office buildings
like Town Planning Office, Produce Office, Local Government Maternity Home, Chief Magistrate Court and Better life
Nursery and Primary School buildings. Also, some private buildings fall under this categories.
(ii) Socio-cultural: Due to the large expanse of land that the rocky outcrops occupied, available lands for expansions
and for other human activities are becoming limited and inadequate. As a result the indigenes are looking beyond their
territory for farmlands. There are two main deities they worship Olofin and Orosun. Their cultural belief is that these
deities live inside some of the notable rock outcrops around the town. As ancient Idanre was deeply a traditional society,
it has many taboos and many spots on rocks within the town which were marked sacred while many utterances are
forbidden and many idiosyncrasies are outlawed. In the past, pebbles form the surround rocks were used in calculating
dates in ancient Oke-Idanre. A cave inside Ularan (Cater Hill) used to serve as quasi-ware house for the people with
wares in the ancient time. Goods kept in this ware house were said to be safe and secure as pilfering or robbery was
non-existent as at the time.
(iii) Recreation and Tourism: Idanre hills offer beautiful view of the town down the hills. They are awe-inspiring and
picturesque with their steep sided bare inselbergs. The highest peak is Orosun, which is about 944m above sea level
(Min. of Trade Akure, 1999; Omole and Owoeye, 2010). In addition to the existing benefits, many advantages can be
accrued form Idanre and its surrounding rock out-crops if properly developed and harnessed, particularly as tourist
centre.
(iv) Economy: Survey conducted shows that weathering activities is common features found on the rocks. A large
amount of the weathered materials from the rocks are usually deposited at the low land of the town where agricultural and
other allied land-uses are being carried out. These weathered materials are found very rich in mineral resources like
Kaolin, Quarts, and other valuable minerals that help to improve the fertility of the soil. Hence, the high yields in
agricultural products, particularly cocoa in Idanre is as a result of this favourable condition in the area (Min. of Agric
Akure, 1999).
(v) Water Supply: Adequate regular water supply has been enjoyed in this community, mainly form streams that took
their sources from the top of these rocks. The Oto stream and Arun River, for example have really been serving the
people adequately. The pipe-borne water supply from Owena is just to supplement this source, which has even ceased to
function since.
4.5 Negative Impacts of the Topography on the Settlement of Idanre
(i) Residential (Housing) Development: Residential development forms 28.17% of physical development in Idanre.
Some of the buildings are built directly on some of the flat rocks surfaces. Some of these rocks are sloppy in nature and
since they serve as natural foundation for those buildings, they tend to dictate the actual gradient of such buildings;
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hence, the cost of putting up residential building in the area becomes very high compared with when they are constructed
on flat land. Despite the abundant supply of rock outcrops that can only be used for building construction, the cost of
blasting these rocks may be too exorbitant thereby exceeding the cost of construction.
(ii) Commercial Land-uses: Two major markets exist in the town, namely Ojadele and Jigbokin market, apart from few
other smaller ones. These two markets are specifically located on top of the town relatively flat rocks in different locations
within the town. This is in line with the belief of the indigenes in those days that god and goddesses of these rocks will
help the markets to flourish. However, the limited space of the locations of these markets has since limit their expansion
to only the area where the rocks cover.
(iii) Industrial Land-use: Despite the abundant supply of timbers around the suburbs of Idanre, the major industrial
establishments within the town are the few sawmilling industries. Because of the high rate of residential development
since the people had descended down to Odode from Oke-Idanre, about 92.5% parcel of land available within the rocky
area of the town. This has since been developed, therefore tends to push various sawmill and allied land-uses meant to
be established within the town to relatively flat areas outskirt the town.
(iv) Educational Land-uses: There are five secondary schools and eleven primary schools in Idanre. The original site
coverage of most of these schools has been greatly reduced through illegal encroachment by land speculators and illegal
building development. Information collected from school principals and head-teachers of the affected schools are shown
in Table 3 below.
Table 3: The extent of Encroachment on Educational Land uses
Category Name of Schools Level of encroachment/Hect.

(a) Secondary Schools  Olofin Grammar School 29.535 (72.95 Acres)
 Ilemobola Grammar School 1.012 (2.5 Acres)
 C.A.C Grammar School 0.486 (1.2 Acres)
 Baptist Grammar School -
 Methodist High School 0.405 (1.05 Acres)
Total 31.438 (77.65Acres)
(b) Primary Schools  L.A Primary School 1.134 (2.8 Acres)
 Muslim Primary School 0.891 (2.2 Acres)
 Origbo Primary School 0.607 (1.5 Acres)
 St. George’s Primary School 0.607 (1.5 Acres)
 St. Paul’s Primary School 0.324 (0.8 Acres)
 Baptist Primary School 0.202 (0.5 Acres)
Total 3.765 (9.3 Acres)

Source: Field Survey 2010.
(v) Transport (Road) Network: Road network in Idanre are of three categories or hierarchies – Broad Street (Major
road), Minor road and Foot –paths. The broad street is the only road tarred, which runs through the length of Idanre, and
it is the only route that commercial vehicles pass through since it is the only road that connects the town with the
neighbouring towns, through Alade. The local streets, that links the various quarters are majorly connected by the minor
roads, while other part of the town that are not accessible with vehicles due to poor conditions are only connected by
footpaths. Most parts of the Broad Street (major road) and some of the minor roads within the town are less than the
minimum standard width of 9 meters stipulated by the State Ministry of Land and Housing. Majority of these width
reductions were caused by the presence of rocks along some areas which these roads pass through. Also construction of
proper drains to effectively control erosion along these roads could not be done due to the underline rock nature and non-
availability of enough land for development. The available land areas are fragmented among various land uses within the
town in which road network is one.
5. Recommendations and Policy Implications
The followings are the policy implications of this paper, which are based on major findings. As a way to cautioning
overdevelopment of the existing developed area, there is need for landowners at the outskirt of the town to prepare
residential layout for their areas. This will facilitate uniform development and encourage harmonious inter-relationship
among the various land-uses within the environment. Thus, an enabling environment is created whereby prospective
523
developers can purchase land for residential purposes. Since the new area in question has little or no rock outcrop, the
cost of building construction would be minimized.
Apart from the two existing major markets sited on the top of two relatively flat rock outcrops, whereby the
expansion of the markets is limited by the scope of the rocks; some other areas have been identified wherein mini-market
activities usually take place. These areas include the extreme end of Oke-Odunwo street beside Local Authority primary
school at Otapete in Idanre, Yaba round-about (Olofin/Gbalegi junction) and Ojota area. These locations, particularly the
Yaba round-about and Ojota mini-markets should be well planned, developed and upgrade their status to meet the
standard of daily market needs. In these places, there are enough available spaces for expansion and operation beyond
their existing periodic activities. The Oke-Odunwo street market should be relocated to vacant land few meters away from
the present site, along the old Idanre footpath. This is to avoid the noise generated from the market that may constitute
nuisance to the Local Authority primary school learning environment. The implication of this recommendation will help to
decongest the existing two traditional daily markets located within the town and, of course, will boost the economic
activities of the town.
The location of existing sawmilling industries at the outskirt of the town is highly commendable. This will reduce the
negative impacts that such land-use may have on residential environments. The extent of encroachment on school lands
can be controlled if the schools concerned can endeavour to fence their land area. The Idanre local government should
help to grade those roads within the town that are seriously in deplorable conditions with adequate proper drainage
facilities. Development control activities of the Town Planning department at Idanre should be improved upon. Planning
approval should not be granted to any development proposal in areas that are not suitable while severe penalty should be
attached to defaulters who cannot satisfy planning standard. However, demolition of illegal and deplorable structures
should be embarked upon in seriously affected areas. The affected schools whose lands were encroached are advised to
fence their school land to prevent further encroachment while the illegal possessors of the lands are to be persecuted.
Despite the availability of heavy rock outcrops in Idanre, there are still vacant lands along Gbalegi, Ala, Bajare and Utaja
roads which are layout preparation and acquire lands for public uses. This will even serve as control suitable for building
development. Thus, relevant agencies should carry out measure on cost of land in the area.
References
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submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure.
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submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Emielu S.A (1996); Senior Secondary Geography, Complete Syllabus Edition; Geographical Bureau (Nig) Limited, Ilorin, Nigeria.
Denito Planning Associates, Akure (2010); Map of Idanre showing the Rock outcrops at Odode-Idanre
Monkhouse F.J, (1970); Principles of Physical Geography, University of London Press.
National Population Commission (1991); Provisional Population Figure for Nigeria
Ologunde I.O (1980); Menace of Erosion in Efon-Alaye; Unpublished Higher National Diploma (HND) Dissertation submitted to the
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria
Omole, F.K and Owoeye, J.O (2010); Rocky Topography and its Impact on Settlement Pattern and Housing Development in Idanre;
Conference Proceedings, The 1st International conference organized by the School of Environmental Technology, Federal
University of Technology, Akure; October, 2010
Ondo State Ministry of Agriculture, Akure (1999); List of Valuable Trees in Idanre Region Area of Ondo State
Ondo State Ministry of Land and Housing, Akure (2010); Maps of Ondo State in the National Settings, Ondo State showing Idanre Local
Government Area, and Idanre showing the Rock outcrops at Odode-Idanre
Ondo State Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Akure (1999); Marketing Activities of Idanre Town; Preliminary Survey
524
Brian Moore’s Fergus: A Baudrillardian Reading
Atefeh Salehnia
Instructor of English Language and Literature at Isfahan Payam-e-Nour University, Iran.
Email: a.salehnia@yahoo.com
Dr. Hossein Pirnajmuddin

Assistant Professor of English Literature at the University of Isfahan, Iran.
Email: pirnajmuddin@fgn.ui.ac.ir
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p525
Abstract: Postmodern literature is founded upon the assumption that the symbolic order of the pre-capitalist era has been transformed
by mass media and information technologies into a society inundated with decontextualized signs. Fragmentation of authentic meanings,
eclipse of real objects by ‘hyperreality’ and dissolution of subjectivity, identity and religion are grounded, according to Jean Baudrillard, in
the contemporary ‘semiurgic’ culture. The present paper aims at examining the applicability of Baudrillard’s ideas concerning the
dominant cultural atmosphere in the postmodern era to Brian Moore’s Fergus (1970). In Moore’s novel a consumerist society is
delineated in which the infinitely reproduced objects and commodities threaten the individuality and identity of modern man. Besides, the
novel depicts a world in which the ‘auratic’ value of art, human relations and religion are replaced by their simulated counterparts.
Keywords: Jean Baudrillard, Brian Moore, Fergus, Hyperreality, Consumerism, Art.
1. Introduction
The shift from modern capitalism to postmodern hypercapitalism before and after World War II changed Jean
Baudrillard’s (1929-2007) position from a traditional Marxist to a cultural theorist. Correlating with Marx, Baudrilllard
primarily criticizes the reified market relations of the first phase of industrialism which is marked by excessive productivity.
However, influenced by the rapid progresses in his socio-cultural milieu, he orients his thought towards cultural studies
and examines the current “state of extermination” characterized by “the ecstasy of the real: the hyperreal. More real than
the real” (Baudrillard, 2000). In the present society whose prevailing mode is consumerism rather than productionism,
Baudrillard believes, the incessant play of signs and images drowns man in a labyrinthine simulated world. This article
examines Brian Moore as a modern novelist whose works have internalized the ‘hyperreality’ to which Baudrillard
constantly refers. The consumer society, Moore suggests, has obliterated the tradition which had united people into a
community replacing it by “pervasive and fast changing life-styles which reflect a consensus of media images and
commercial pressures” (Sampson, 1995).
2. Discussion
The pervasiveness of the cybernetic technologies has caught modern man in the overwhelming flux of images, codes and
models. The seductive nature of the new realm of computer and media has separated him from the ‘monotonous real
world’ he used to live in. In such a situation, the referent, depth, essence and reality disappear and along with their
disappearance, since the modern era is the age of the radical implosion of all the differences, meaning grounded in stable
boundaries and fixed binary oppositions is dissolved (Kellner, 2004). In the order of signs and images, therefore, the
virtues of truth, morality and originality would be meaningless as there is no longer the criterion of referentiality which
would judge their veracity (Baudrillard, Symbolic Exchange and Death, 1993).
Baudrillard attributes the disappearance of the principle of reality to the successive phases of simulacra or image
formation in which image:
1. … is the reflection of a profound reality;
2. … masks and denatures a profound reality;
3. … masks the absence of a profound reality;
4. … has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum (Baudrillard, 1994).
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With the emergence of bourgeoisie, the fixed ranks and restricted exchanges of the feudal order were dismantled and
“overt competition at the level of signs” was introduced (Baudrillard, Symbolic Exchange and Death, 1993). Although
signs as the medium of meaning had been present in the symbolic order of the primitive societies, they were in limited
quantities and their circulation was possible with the aim of setting a reciprocal relation between two persons, hence the
“obligatory signs” (Ibid). The freedom and arbitrariness of signs is simultaneous with the genesis of the first order of
simulacra which is named “counterfeit,” that is the representation of the symbolic reality of the previous expired era
(Baudrillard, Simulations, 1993).
Whereas in the first level there is a distinction between referent and its copy, the second order functions through
extinction of the original reference and production of serial machine-made signs. As the economic “law of equivalence”
governs the reproduction of mechanical objects, there is no distinguishing feature between the origin and its double
(Baudrillard, Symbolic Exchange and Death, 1993).
The absence of reality is concealed by the third phase of simulacra, that is, simulation. Breaking away from the
original outer world, a new type of reality is formed “from a radiating synthesis of combinatory models in a hyperspace
without atmosphere” which Baudrillard calls “hyperreality” (Baudrillard, 1994). As the models are bereft of referents, the
incessant proliferation of signs creates an entire mood of meaninglessness and uncertainty in the hyperreal epoch which
claims to be more real than the real (Pawlett, 2007).
Accordingly, the transition from the level of representation to that of simulation marks the passage from the phase
in which serial images used to hide the reality dimension of the original to the stage whose ever-expanding signs conceal
the absence of reality. Disneyland, as a famous theme-park, is the paradigm of a miniaturized ‘hyperreal’ universe whose
imaginary nature covers the fact that the seemingly real America has already been ‘hyperreal’ (Baudrillard, 1994).
Umberto Eco confirms Baudrillard’s proclamation and states that “the Absolute Fake” is a shrewd strategy which keeps
people ignorant of the “present without depth” (Eco, 1990).
In Baudrillard’s words, the era of simulation or “orgy” is over and the epoch of “after the orgy” is experienced by the
postmodern man (Baudrillard, Towards the Vanishing Point of Art, 2005). He labels the contemporary era as the forth,
“fractal” order of simulacra (Baudrillard, The Transparency of Evil, 1993) which gives birth to “Integral Reality” at the cost
of the “murder of signs” (Baudrillard, The Intelligence of Evil or the Lucidity Pact, 2005). In the same way that reality of the
symbolic order was overpowered by simulation, the sign and images of the third order are destroyed by virtuality of
digitalized devices. In other words, there is no need to hide the lack of reality through simulation, since it is time to mask
the absence of images and signs through simulation of the previous simulation. Therefore, the last step of simulacra is
marked by the “epidemic” and “haphazard proliferation” of value which makes all “valuation” impossible (Baudrillard, The
Transparency of Evil, 1993).
In the world Baudrillard depicts signs and images initially “refer” to the material reality, then “distort,” “disguise” and
finally “replace” that reality (Sheehan, 2004). In this sense, the serial phases of image generation vanquish reality of the
symbolic order which is replaced by ‘hyperreality’ of high-tech society (Ibid). Although ‘hyperreality’ claims to be “self-
referential,” it lacks the depth and authority of reality and, therefore, exposes itself to various levels of reproductions
(Constable, 2004). With the disappearance of referentiality which has been the foundation of signification and fixed
meaning in the traditional era, an ultimate interpretation of the concrete concepts like art, history and identity becomes
impossible, since they have fallen into abstraction and ‘virtuality’.
Though an originally Irish writer, Brian Moore (1921-1999) won his fame as a novelist in Montral, Canada. The
abandonment of his homeland was the result of his initial aversion to the traditional atmosphere of Ireland. It was his
aversion to the bigotry of the religious Irish families which led to the creation of his early works. However, Moore’s
growing familiarity with American culture offered him a new perspective in his later novels which celebrate the same strict
religion that was once the target of Moore’s criticism. Moreover, the penetration of media images and commercial
valuation in the western societies, Moore believes, has brought into existence frail and rootless cultures in Canada and
United States whose people suffer from an “uncertain identity” (Sullivan, 1997).
One of the novels that is reflective of Moore’s nostalgia for his past is Fergus (1970) in which the writer and the
main character have a lot in common: two Irish novelists who pursue their goals out of their homeland, in North America,
where modernity has devoured the significance of once valuable concepts like art, religion and humanity. Moore’s fleeting
involvement in Hollywood film industry and his consequent disappointment at western culture is also fictionalized in
Fergus. Although Moore had a notable presence in the film trade through his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on the
screenplay of the 1966 film, Torn Curtain, he dropped screenwriting and returned to his original interest (Crowley, 1998).
What motivated him in doing so was the commercial and non-artistic atmosphere of Hollywood that is elaborated in
Fergus (Ibid).
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In Fergus, Fergus Fadden is an Irish-born novelist who makes a success of his second book and wins instant
fame. Consequent upon a proposal by a Hollywood producer, he takes a trip to Los Angeles and sells the film rights of his
latest novel. To fulfill his old ambition of escaping from the narrow-minded traditional society of Ireland, the protagonist of
the story avails himself of the opportunity and stays in the luring city of Los Angeles.
From the very beginning of his residence, Los Angeles appears to him as an “unreal,” object-centered city in which
the subjectivity of human beings is preferably ignored (Moore, 2007). Following an old friend’s advice, he starts his new
life in an apartment of the West Los Angeles motor court which helps him to make himself acquainted with American
culture. Having rented his apartment by telephone, he sends his rent cheques to a firm called Western Motor Homes, Inc.
He never meets the owner of motor court or any staff members of his company. The so-called janitor of the apartments is
not, indeed, an employee of the firm, but a mere tenant who gets an eighty percent reduction in his rent by doing janitorial
chores. Cleaning the rooms of the apartments is also contracted out to a company which sends some Mexican maids as
charwomen to change the linen and bedding once a week. Sharing his experiences with his friend Dick Fowler and his
own future girlfriend, Dani Sinclair, Fergus says:
I could live here for a year and leave no mark on anything. Last week I burned a hole in the green rayon spread
which covers my bed. The Mexican maid they send in to clean saw the burn, took the spread away, and the same
day there was a new spread, same colour, on the bed. No one mentioned the damage. I wasn’t even charged for
the burned bedspread. It’s as though everything here is designed to deny one’s existence. … There are no
neighbors who know who I am. I could be absent from this apartment for months, and as long as I sent the cheques
to Western Motor Homes, Inc. in Lompoc, nobody would know that I was gone (Moore, 2007, emphasis added).
Los Angeles is seemingly taken over by the “commodity logic” which governs human relations and causes “radical
alienation” (Baudrillard, 1998). The proliferation of objects in the postmodern technological world, according to
Baudrillard, undermines the superiority of subjects in the binary opposition of subject/object. Subject in the modern
philosophy has been celebrated as the founder of history and knowledge and one who possesses the “splendid features
of freedom, creativity, imagination and certitude” (Kellner, 1989). Objects, on the other hand, have been taken as innate
and passive things which could easily be controlled and dominated by the subjects. But, today the excessive production
of objects has led to their supremacy over subjects. Production and consumption of objects have turned into a routine
and that is why people “are surrounded not so much with other human beings,” “but by objects” (Baudrillard, 1998).
Fergus comes from a society whose dependence on tradition protects its live interactions against the erosion by
modernity. He, as such, cannot digest the cold relations among American, their complete indifference to their neighbors
and their absolute domination by the objects.
The ‘hyperreal’ mode of Los Angeles also shows forth through the furniture of the apartments in the motor court.
Every commodity in these identical houses is made of synthetic fabric replacing the earlier natural materials; the carpet,
for instance, looks like real wool, but it is fabricated from nylon thread; the framework of reading chairs seems to be
wooden and the cloth of cushions is tweed; however, neither the wood nor tweed is genuine as both of them have
artificially been manufactured. Moreover, all the rooms are hung with the same picture which is seemingly an oil painting,
but once the picture is turned over, a label is found on the back:
REAL OIL
Simulates the look and texture
of the original oil painting:
SUNFLOWERS
By Artist Vincent Van Gogh (Moore, 2007)
Although none of the pictures is the original oil painting drawn by Van Gogh, they are seemingly identical and
indistinguishable. The culture of reproducibility introduced by the mechanical age of industrialism in the 19th century
eclipsed the uniqueness and inaccessibility of the works of art. The previously authentic, religious-bound art was lost in
the multiplicity of photos and images provided by photography, hence the ubiquity of the pictures of Van Gogh’s
Sunflowers whose origin was once kept away from the gaze of the popular (Benjamin, 2000). The present mediated
society, therefore, not only withers the “aura” of the original artifacts, but also makes unique and distant masterpieces
familiar (Ibid). Baudrillard has related the banality of art to its vast reproduction and consumption: everything has become
an “image, a sign” and a transaesthetic object. It is as if art has been put into an indefinite series of the market circulation
to be produced and consumed (Baudrillard, Interview with La Sept, 1993). In this sense, art is no longer a godly
inspiration attributed to the saint-artist, but is merely a commodity or an image whose reproduction can be found
everywhere.
527
Los Angeles apartments are, accordingly, filled with cheap, machine-made reproductions as the alternatives to
some absent originals. “Kitch” is the name Baudrillard applies to such simulatory objects whose proliferation in modern
cities is the result of industrial productionism and consumerism; he defines kitch as a “pseudo-object or, in other words,
as a simulation, a copy, an imitation, a stereotype, as a dearth of real signification and a superabundance of signs”
(Baudrillard, 1998). The mass produced kitch obviously stands in contrast to precious, unique objects whose distinctive
value is related to their rarity. Accordingly, the furniture in these apartments can be categorized as kitch that proves the
lack of reality and originality in the consumer-oriented city of Los Angeles.
Besides, Fergus’s acquaintance with Mr. Boweri, a Hollywood producer, and Mr. Redshields, a director, leads him
to conclude that the notion of art for art’s sake has long been supplanted by art as a means of business. Baudrillard in his
critique of the contemporary art foregrounds the notion of “fetishism of value” which abolishes the nature of art thoroughly
(Baudrillard, Interview with Gaillard, 2005). He recommends that the aesthetic value proposed by Walter Pater has been
superseded by the commercial value; it is, thus, the end of art when its value “can be negotiated, bought and sold,
exchanged” (Ibid).
Contracted to write the film script of his own novel, Fergus is given a chance to know some details about both the
producer and director. Mr. Boweri, Fergus learns, is a “financial wizard” who “had been listed in a Fortune magazine
survey as one of the one hundred richest men in the United States;” “he is not an ordinary Hollywood producer but a
millionaire who dabbles in movies as he dabbles in lots of businesses” (Moore, 2007). Meeting Fergus for the first time in
his own Bel-Air mansion, Boweri greets him with a lie: “I warn you. I am your fan. I read both your books, and I love them.
It’s an honour to meet you, believe me” (Moore, 2007). However, Boweri’s wife later informs Fergus that her husband has
just turned over the pages of his second book in half an hour.
Mr. Redshields is “a film director by avocation but, in reality, like many of his kind, a salesman” who judges the
profitability of writers’ ideas rather than their genuine artistry (Moore, 2007). That is why he refuses to direct a film based
on Fergus’s screenplay which ends tragically; a happy ending, he insists, would persuade people to walk into the movie
theaters and, consequently, boom sales figures. Owning the film rights of Fergus’s novel, Redshields does not feel
obliged to meet the original writer’s satisfaction; he ignores Fergus’s objection to revising the ending of his story and
employs another screenwriter who would apply any revision he desires. The film which is supposed to be an adaptation
of Fergus’s best seller, as a result, undergoes so many changes that the word adaptation would sound ridiculous.
Fergus comes to know Redshields as a typical Hollywood director, a man already immersed in ‘hyperreality’ of a
cinematic city like Los Angeles. He has side-tracked the continuity of real life through modern devices like camera or
telephone. Various shots taken at different moments are put together to compose a film which suggests the smoothness
of the course of life. He never finds enough time to speak to his five-year-old daughter; however, her framed photo is
available on a table at his office. Due to the phone call interruptions, a sustained conversation with him is not possible for
his wife:
Direct conversations was, to Redshields, a secondary form of communication. When he moved from the orbit of his
house to an office, restaurant, airport, a new city, a new country, his telephone-answering service tracked his
progress, keeping him always in touch. On arrival at any place, Redshield’s post-greeting words were invariably:
‘any calls?’… Calls, local, long distance, intercity, intercontinental, endless talkings to New York and London,
telephone receiver jammed between ear and hunched shoulder, greeting, cajoling, advising, shouting, laughing…
The telephone was, quite simply, more real to Redshields than anything that happened outside its circuits. On it and
in it and through it, he lived his life (Moore, 2007, emphasis added).
Telephone communication, for Redshield, takes priority over a live interaction; this is the “mediatization” and
“computerization” of human relations to which Baudrillard constantly refers: “we interact without touching each other,
interlocute without speaking to each other, interface without seeing each other” (Baudrillard, The Vanishing Point of
Communication, 2009). Although modern machines such as telephone and computer have rendered a conversation
between two people over distances possible, they have eroded the direct and dialectic forms of relationship.
Fergus is wholly set in an Oceanside house which Fergus has rented to live peacefully with his girlfriend, Dani. His
deliberations over the experiences in both Ireland and Los Angeles constitute the plot of the novel which hinges on the
way the incarnation of Fergus’s past life directs him towards self-recognition and saves him from further immersion in
non-auratic American culture.
On hearing Redshields’ opinion about the film script, Fergus has no hope of receiving the money Boweri had
promised. In order to end an unsuccessful marriage, he is forced to pay a large amount of money for the divorce and
alimony. His financial problems, on the one hand, and the fear of losing his daughter and his twenty two-year-old
Californian mistress, on the other hand, cause him anxiety. Los Angeles does not turn out to be the utopia for which he
528
leaves his family and country. Under increasing pressures, he wakes one morning to the presence of his long-dead
parents and relatives who have appeared to inquire about his present situation in the new world.
Fergus’s consciousness distances itself from real life in its involvement with the past. Baudrillard fittingly points out
that “our consciousness is never the echo of our own reality, of our existence in real time, but rather the echo in delayed
time, the dispersion screen of the subject and its identity” (Baudrillard, Radical Thought, 2005). Thought, accordingly,
remains exterior to the present objective reality and brings into existence the illusion rooted in the past reality. Although it
seems that Fergus’s parents are, “in a hallucinatory perspective,” the product of his “mental simulation,” they are real, at
least more real than ‘hyperreal’ Los Angeles citizens (Ibid).
The current technological society has witnessed the disappearance of all real values and ideologies, the subject,
art, history and religion. What is left is a meaningless ‘hyperreality,’ a depthless world without ultimate ends; a
consumerist universe in which objects are bereft of the “artifice” imposed on them by human beings; the inhuman
commodities which possess “no signification, no aura and no value” attract and finally overpower the subject and his
agency (Baudrillard, Aesthetic Illusion and Disillusion, 2005). Subjectivity, human relations and other values vanish and
appeare occasionally through illusory imaginations. They have disappeared to let us experience the world in their
absence, the world without subject, meaning, art and religion. However, all the lost values have the capacity of emerging
in the mind of a disillusioned modern man who has fallen into uncertainty (Baudrillard, On Disappearance, 2009).
Contrary to the outer world which is supposedly based on the rationality of cause and effect, the inner thought
generates illusions to “restore the non-veracity of facts, the non-signification of the world” and makes it understood that
nothing underlies the modern world, that more meaning can be found in the imaginary world of the mind than in
supposedly ‘real’ America (Baudrillard, Radical Thought, 2005). In other words, it is the task of thought and illusion to
inject truth and reality into the contemporary meaningless and ‘hyperreal’ universe: the simulacrum and reality have
changed places.
The moment Fergus sees the ghost of his father sitting on a yellow sofa in front of him is an epiphanic one in which
the abstract illusion becomes concrete or – in a sense – the disappeared reality cuts a path through ‘hyperreality’ and
reappears. The presence of his family with their old clothes, habits and beliefs reminds Fergus of the traditional and
religious atmosphere in which he had been raised. In their black formal dress, his parents were ready to participate in
Sunday Mass Communion, the religious ceremony in which Fergus never found himself since his arrival in Los Angeles.
The apparition of Father Manneally, the priest of Belfast church, condemns Fergus for his illegitimate relationship with a
girl a generation younger than him. His acquaintances reproach him for “rejecting his ethnic background and denouncing
the class, race and religion into which he was born” (Moore, 2007). Fergus is also blamed for not only ignoring to write
about national issues of Ireland, but also selling his art of writing to Hollywood.
The cultural differences between America and Ireland are dramatically contrasted in a scene occurring at the end
of the night in which Dani, her mother and Fergus have gathered together in the sitting room to watch television, whereas,
in Fergus’s bedroom, his family members have knelt to pray before going to bed. Leaving Dani and her mother for his
bed, Fergus watches the performance of a Catholic rite in front of him: “Behind him, the television voices scrambled and
faded, while ahead of him, a new sound sent his head up. … they were all kneeling-his father, his mother, Aunt Mary, his
sisters Maeve and Kathleen, his young brother Jim” (Moore, 2007). The loud voices of television which had mesmerized
Dani and her mother could not disturb his family as they were reciting the rosary perfectly. To Fergus’s surprise, Dr.
Fadden asks him to read the part he used to read in his boyish days. Fergus begins reciting “as though he had never
been away” (Moore, 2007):
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored
thy help, or thought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O virgin of
virgins, my mother: to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O mother of the World Incarnate,
despise not my petitions; but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen (Moore, 2007).
Having relived his past life in a single day, Fergus sees his family and relatives off the house or, better to say, off his
mind. They had reappeared to remind him of the traditional foundations upon which his life was built. By coming to Los
Angeles he had attempted to shatter those well-rooted beliefs and adapt himself to the flimsy American culture. However,
feeling insecure in a materialist and consumerist western society, he nostalgically revives his past life through calling to
mind the pure ‘reality,’ intimate human relations and religious values he had forgotten. Although no clue is given about
how Fergus would handle his present financial and emotional problems, his father’s last words would definitely change
the course of his life: “If you have not found a meaning, then your life is meaningless” (Moore, 2007).
529
3. Conclusion
Moore’s Fergus pivots on a paradox: what is believed to be illusion or the abstract product of thought challenges the
reality of the objective world outside the mind. The culture in which art can be bought and sold, objects enjoy a superior
status over the subjects, the reproductions of artifacts efface the singularity of their originals and live human interaction is
made virtually impossible by technological devices. For the protagonist of Moore’s novel ‘reality’ has to be sought in the
past which is given a new lease of life by thought, the time when the Irish religion-bound tradition was not superseded by
the ‘hyperreal’ modernity.
Having moved from a “manageable and realistic world” to an unreal one wherein “make-believe, imitation and
gesture” reign, Fergus finds himself in an unstable situation (Dahlie, 1987). The metaphysical ordeal in which Moore
keeps his protagonist compels Fergus to face his own real self; whereas California tends to disregard and efface the
‘reality’ of his being, the ghosts of his family and friends verify it. Brian Moore’s novel is arguably about the following
Baudrillardian statement: “The absolute rule of thought is to return the world as it was given to us” (Baudrillard, Radical
Thought, 2005).
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-----------. (1993). Symbolic Exchange and Death. L. H. Grant (Trans.). London: Sage Publications. (Original work published 1976).
-----------. (1994). The Precession of Simulacra. In Simulacra and Simulation (pp. 1-42). S. F. Glaser (Trans.). Michigan: Michigan UP.
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-----------. (2000). The Vital Illusion. New York: Columbia UP.
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Performance of Rental Values of Residential Properties in Selected areas

in Akure, Nigeria between 2001 and 2011
Bello Victoria Amietsenwu
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

E-mail: vicbellofuta@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p531
Abstract: The paper examined changes in rental values of residential properties in two neighbourhoods (Oke – Ijebu and Apatapiti) in
Akure from 2001 to 2011. The intent is to provide a measure of the performance of this sector in the past years. Questionnaires were
administered on 14 registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers practicing in Akure out of which 11 were returned and good for analysis.
The returned questionnaires were analysed using the Trend Analysis and regression model for the computation of growth rate. The
findings indicated that rental value of 3 Bedroom flat and tenement accommodation have been on the increase since 2001 to 2011
especially with Apatapiti neighbourhood having higher rental values than Oke – Ijebu. The result also showed the growth rates of 3
bedroom flat and tenement accommodation in Oke Ijebu to be 38.44% and 43.07% respectively as against 23.15% and 34.98% for 3
bedroom and tenement accommodation in Apatapiti area. It is therefore, recommended that the federal government should build more
hostels in the Federal University of Technology Akure which is close to Apatapiti one of the study areas. This gesture will help to lessen
the burden on accommodation especially in Apatapiti thereby, reducing the undue advantage taken by landlords in increasing rents.
Keywords: Residential Property; Rental Values; Popuiation;
1. Introduction
Residential properties are both consumption and investment good (Hendersin and Loannides, 1987). As a consumption
good it is acquired for owner occupation. Also, the housing good (property) may be to maximize optimum return from
outright sale or letting. If this is the case, the price of the residential property becomes very important to the landlord and
the occupants. Hence investment in this type of property is regarded as a considerable source of wealth for many
individuals (Hillard and Petersen, 1994; Reed, 2001). The physical characteristics of the property such as number of
bedrooms, age, size, various amenities and services have been noted to help determine the rental price for landlords as
they set rental prices for residential properties (YuZhou and Haurin, 2010). In addition, external factors such as
population, income, traffic congestion, proximity to work, access to public transportation, proximity to higher institution
and environmental characteristics may have significant impacts on rent (Simans et al, 1989; Bello, 2000). Therefore, any
serious investigation into the nature and behaviour of residential property price should recognize that property as a
commodity, is not a single good, but a complex bundle of services or potential services which operate in many
dimensions (Greaves, 1984).
In Akure, the rental values of residential properties has shown an upward pattern over the years. This may be
because Akure is a state capital and a civil servant state and is experiencing the influx of people from all spheres of life.
In recent past, investor have diverted their funds into real property development because of the security of returns and
the profitability of the market. In addition, because of the high competition in the residential property market, there has
been expansion and improvement in the quality of residential properties provided by the investors to meet demand.
Nevertheless, there is still short fall in the market leading to increase in rent and capital values. The objective of this
paper is to examine the residential sector in the study areas and the performance of the sector in terms of its rental value
for a decade.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows; the next section (section 2) consists of a review of existing
literature on the residential property sector in Akure. This is followed by the methodology employed with the results
presented and analyzed in section three (3) and four (4). The paper concluded with summary of findings,
recommendation and conclusion in section five (5).
531
2.1 The Performance of Residential Property Sector in Akure, Nigeria
Investment in real property market is undertaken by various individuals or groups, each having its own peculiar
requirement in terms of type of property and returns. The property types includes industrial, agricultural, commercial and
residential. Residential properties which is the focus of this study is a multidimensional good differentiated into a bundle
of attributes that vary in both quantity and quality (Can, 1990). Because each piece of property is unique, it is often
difficult to identify the appropriate variables that explain residential sale and rental prices. One approach that has been
used by researchers (in the past) to model residential prices evaluates properties according to their neighbourhood
characteristics such as quality of schooling systems, level of noise pollution, air quality, proximity to parks and quality of
transportation systems (Tse and Love, 2000). Other research explained it on the basis of housing units physical
characteristics which includes number of bedroom, number of toilets/bathrooms, age of the building, and area of the
building (Wyatt, 1996). However, Palmon et al, (2004) viewed the analyses of property prices differently by looking at
transactions as the unit of analysis, by investigating the impacts that listing price, closing price, number of days on the
market and number of properties listed by a given real estate agent have on the resulting property prices.
In whatever way the analysis is viewed, the residential property sector in Akure, Nigeria has turned in a sterling
performance over the years. With a burgeoning population migrating into the city in search for job in the commercial
sector, government employment and light manufacturing industry, there has been an upsurge in the demand for housing
(Bello and Bello, 2008). With this, government and his agencies have made concerted effort to increase the stock of
houses either through direct construction and housing loans, yet the houses are inadequate. Therefore, the residential
sector in Akure is witnessing increase in demand while the supply of accommodation is low. The resultant effect is rise in
the cost of rental apartment (Bello and Bello 2008).
The targeted population for the study are the Registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers practicing in Akure. The list of the
practicing Estate Surveyors and Valuers was taken from the 2009 Directory of The Nigerian Institution of Estate
Surveyors and Valuers. In the Directory, there are 14 registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers practicing in Akure.
Questionnaires were distributed on the fourteen (14) Estate Surveyors and Valuers out of which 11 were retrieved and
good for analysis. The questionnaires were designed to elicit information on the annual rent paid for 3 bedroom flat and
tenement accommodation in the two neighbourhoods (Oke – Ijebu and Apatapiti) for the past ten years. The data
collected was analysed using regression and Trend Analysis.
The Trend analysis was used whereby the Least Square Method was applied to estimate the Trend Values for the
study. The equation used for the Least Square is as follows:
Y = a0 + a1X...........................................................................................................(1)
Where
Y is Rental Value of property (Dependent variable)
X is Years from 2001 to 2011 (Independent variable)
a0 is constant.
Regression analysis was used to compute the growth rate in rental values of residential properties in the study
areas. The advantage of using regression to compute growth rate is that all the observations in the time series are
considered (Bello, 2002). In computing the growth rate the natural log of the variable is regressed against the time
periods. The formula for a continuous compounded growth rates is
Vt = Voegt.............................................................................................. .................(2)
Where Vt = ending value of the variable
Vo = beginning value of the variable
e = natural logarithm
g = continuously compounded growth rate
t = time period
taking the natural logarithm (Ln) of both sides, we have
Ln (Vt) = Ln (Vo) + gt.................................................................................(3)
Where Ln (Vt) – dépendent variable
Ln (Vo) = intercept
532
g = coefficient (slope)
t = independent variable
The value g is a measure of the continuously compounded rate of growth, and can be converted to annual growth rate as
written below
g = eg – 1 …………………………………......……………………………..(4)
4. Data Analysis
In this section, annual rental values of 3 bedroom flat and tenement apartment from 2001 to 2011 was collected from the
records of each of the registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers practicing in Akure. The Mean values of the data were
obtained and used for the Least Square analysis for the determination of trend values and growth rate. The information is
detailed in Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.
4.1. Trend Value determination for 3 Bedroom flat and Tenement apartment in Apatapiti in Akure
Table 1: Coefficient for Trend determination for 3 – Bedroom flat and Tenement apartment in ApataPiti area
Unstandardized Standardized
Model (3 Coefficient t Sig
Bedroom flat)
B Std Error Beta R2 R 2- Std Error of
Adjusted the Estimate
1 (Constant) -22128.50 2493.42 -8.875 .000
YEARS 11.060 1.243 0.948 8.898 .000 0.898 0.887 13.036
Model
(Tenement)
1 (Constant) -10215.786 1492.820 -6.843 .000

YEARS 5.102 0.744 0. 916 6.856 .000 0.839 0.821 7.805
The Regression equation for 3 Bedroom flat is Rental Value of Property = -22128.50 + 11.060 Years
The Regression equation for Tenement accommodation is Rental Value of Property = -10215.786 + 5.102 Years
4.2.Trend Value determination for 3 Bedroom flat and Tenement apartment in Oke - Ijebu, in Akure
Table 2: Coefficient for Trend determination for 3 – Bedroom flat and Tenement apartment in Oke - Ijebu area
Unstandardized Standardized
Model (3 Coefficient t Sig
Bedroom flat)
B Std Error Beta R2 R2 Std Error of
Adjusted the estimate
1 (Constant) -15198.016 2232.366 -6.808 .000
YEARS 7.591 1.113 0.915 6.821 .000 0.838 0.820 11.672
Model
(Tenement)
1 (Constant) -4879.423 1077.542 -4.528 .002
YEARS 2.437 0.537 0. 843 4.535 .002 0.720 0.685 4.880
The Regression equation for 3 Bedroom flat is Rental Value of Property = -15198.016 + 7.591 Years
The Regression equation for Tenement accommodation is Rental Value of Property = -4879.423 + 2.437 Years
533
Table 3: Trend Values for 3 Bedroom flat in Apata Piti and Oke Ijebu from 2001 – 2011
YEARS Mean Value of Rental Trend Values Mean Value of Rental Value Trend Values
Value of Property (N000) of Property (N000)
APATAPITI OKE – IJEBU
2001 15.09 2.5 5.00 -8.43
2002 21.00 13.62 5.00 -0.83
2003 25.27 24.68 5.00 6.76
2004 32.73 35.74 5.00 14.35
2005 40.00 46.80 12.82 21.94
2006 46.00 57.86 21.09 29.53
2007 59.55 68.92 29.27 37.12
2008 69.73 79.98 48.55 44.72
2009 80.64 91.04 48.55 52.30
2010 101.82 102.10 48.55 59.89
2011 141.82 113.16 90.82 67.49
Table 4: Trend Values for Tenement apartment in Apata Piti and Oke Ijebu from 2001 – 2011
YEARS Mean Value of Rental Trend Values Mean Value of Rental Value Trend Values
Value of Property (N000) of Property (N000)
APATAPITI OKE – IJEBU
2001 3.98 -6.68 1.20 -2.79
2002 4.11 -1.58 1.20 -0.55
2003 4.63 3.52 1.20 1.87
2004 5.46 8.62 1.54 4.33
2005 5.96 13.72 2.03 6.76
2006 8.09 18.83 2.62 9.20
2007 13.59 23.93 5.44 11.64
2008 30.09 29.03 13.55 14.07
2009 37.91 34.13 15.00 16.51
2010 45.55 39.23 26.91 18.95
2011 51.73 44.34 27.09 21.38
4.3. Determination of Growth Rate of Rental Incomes of 3 Bedroom flat and Tenement apartment in the study areas
using Linear Regression.
Table 5: Regression: In (RVt) = A+B for 3 bedroom flat in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu
Year Mean Income (RVt) Ln (RVt) = Y T Mean Income (RVt) (N000) Ln (RVt) = Y T
(N000)
Apatapiti Oke – Ijebu
2001 15.09 2.714032 0 5.00 1.609438 0
2002 21.00 3.044522 1 5.00 1.609438 1
2003 25.27 3.229618 2 5.00 1.609438 2
2004 32.73 3.488292 3 5.00 1.609438 3
2005 40.00 3.688879 4 12.82 2.551006 4
2006 46.00 3.828641 5 21.09 3.048799 5
2007 59.55 4.086816 6 29.27 3.376563 6
2008 69.73 4.244631 7 48.55 3.882594 7
2009 80.64 4.389995 8 48.55 3.882594 8
2010 101.82 4.623207 9 48.55 3.882594 9
2011 141.82 4.954559 10 90.82 4.50888 10
534
Table 6: Regression Results of Growth rate for 3 bedroom flat in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu
Study area Time Period R2 Continuous Growth B = g T (B) G = egt – 1

Apatapiti 2001 – 2011 0.99 0.208265 37.10141 23.15%
Oke – Ijebu 2001 – 2011 0.93 0.325283 10.97699 38.44%
Table 7: Regression: In (RVt) = A+B for tenement apartment in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu
Year Mean Income (RVt) (N000) Ln (RVt) = Y T Mean Income (RVt) (N000) Ln (RVt) = Y t
Apatapiti Oke – Ijebu
2001 3.98 1.381282 0 1.2 0.182322 0
2002 4.11 1.413423 1 1.2 0.182322 1
2003 4.63 1.532557 2 1.2 0.182322 2
2004 5.46 1.697449 3 1.54 0.431782 3
2005 5.96 1.78507 4 2.03 0.708036 4
2006 8.09 2.090629 5 2.62 0.963174 5
2007 13.59 2.609334 6 5.44 1.693779 6
2008 30.09 3.404193 7 13.55 2.606387 7
2009 37.91 3.635215 8 15.00 2.70805 8
2010 45.53 3.818371 9 26.91 3.292498 9
2011 51.73 27.09 3.299165
3.946038 10 10
Table 8: Regression Results of Growth rate for tenement apartment in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu
Study area Time Period R2 Continuous Growth B = g T (B) G = egt – 1

Apatapiti 2001 – 2011 0.93 0.299903 10.95796 34.98%
Oke – Ijebu 2001 – 2011 0.79 0.358185 5.734008 43.07%
5. Discussion of Results
The coefficient for trend determination shown in Tables 1, and 2 for 3 bedroom flat and tenement accommodation are
highly statistically significant. In Tables 1, and 2, R – Square value for 3 bedroom flat in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu are
0.898 and 0.838 while tenement apartment in the neighbourhood (Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu) are 0.839 and 0.720
respectively; showing that the figures are relatively high and different from zero. This shows that 89.8%, 83.8%, 83.9%
and 72% of the sample variation in the rental value of properties (3 bedroom flat and tenement accommodation
respectively) in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu are attributable to the time variable.
Tables 3 and 4 shows the performance of rental values of residential properties over the period under study.
Though the results in the figures shows rental values of properties to increase in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu, the rental
value of properties in Apatapiti seems to be higher than that of Oke – Ijebu. For instance, properties in Apatapiti for 3
bedroom flat rose from 15.09 thousand naira in 2001 to 141.82 thousand naira in 2011. While 3 bedroom accommodation
in Oke – Ijebu was constant at 5.00 thousand naira in 2001 through to 2004 and rose to 12.82 thousand naira in 2005. In
2008 the value of the properties in Oke – Ijebu was 48.55 thousand naira and the value remained constant through to
2010 and rose again to 90.82 thousand naira in 2011 (Table 3). For tenement apartment in the two neighbourhoods,
Apatapiti rose from 3.98 thousand naira in 2001 to 51.73 thousand naira in 2011. While for Oke – Ijebu the rental value
was 1.20 thousand naira in 2001 and was constant in 2002 and 2003 and rose to 27.09 thousand naira in 2011 (Table 4).
The result is expected as Apatapiti is located very close to the Federal University of Technology, Akure. The result is not
contrary to expectation as Anamaria and Melchior, 2007; Gopal, 2008; and Vandergrift et al 2009 found out that land and
property values are higher in neighbourhoods close to a university.
535
The growth rate in rental income for the residential property type was analysed using the regression analysis with
the results detailed in Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8 . The rental value for 3 bedroom flat in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu exhibits a
compound annual growth rate of 23.15% and 38.44% respectively (Table 6). For tenement apartment, the compound
growth rate is 34.98% in Apatapiti and 43.07% in Oke – Ijebu (Table 8). The result however, showed the compound
annual growth rate in Oke – Ijebu to be higher than Apatapiti for both 3 bedroom flat and tenement accommodation in
respective of the higher rental value in Apatapiti as shown in Tables 3, 4. However, the result may be because the
Federal University of Technology Akure was established before the period under review and as such rental values have
grown to its pick unlike in Oke – Ijebu where the rental value was low and increased to what it is now. In addition, most of
the tenement accommodation in Apatapiti are undergoing change of use to self contain apartment (a room with toilet,
bath and kitchen) and majority of the 3 bedroom accommodation are becoming owner occupied.
6. Summary of Findings, Recommendation and Conclusion
The paper carried out analysis of rental values of residential properties in Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu to determine the
performance of rental value of residential properties between 2001 to 2011. In the analysis it was found out that rental
values of property in the two neighbourhoods (Apatapiti and Oke – Ijebu) for 3 bedroom flat and tenement
accommodation are trending upwards showing that the rental values of the residential properties are increasing over the
years (2001 to 2011). Although, the rental value of residential properties in Apatapiti seems to be higher than that of Oke
– Ijebu in the accommodation types as shown in the Tables, the compounded annual growth rate in Oke – Ijebu seems to
be higher than that of Apatapiti (3 bedroom flat and tenement accommodation in Oke – Ijebu is 38.44% and 43.07%
respectively and that of Apatapiti, 23.15% and 34.78% respectively). In this respect, it is recommended that the federal
government should erect more hostel to accommodate a sizeable proportion of the student population in the Federal
University of Technology, Akure. This gesture will reduce the pressure of accommodation especially in Apatapiti were
landlords have taken undue advantage of the students and staff to increase accommodation annually.
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536
Gibran’s Opus The Prophet: Valuable Lessons for Better Life
Abul Mobrur Mohammad Hamed Hassan
Assistant Professor of English

(Center for University Requirement Courses)
International Islamic University Chittagong
154/A College Road, Chawkbazar, Chittagong
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p537
Abstract: The Lebanese American Writer Khalil/Kahlil Gibran, who contributed to both Arabic and American literature was a literary
artist, philosopher, theologian, painter, sculptor and visual artist. His masterpiece, The Prophet, was acclaimed worldwide. Having been
translated in more than twenty languages the book quenched the thirst for knowledge of millions of the knowledge seekers of the world.
This book composed of 26 poetic essays was first published in 1923. This, the author's magnum opus, became especially popular during
the 1960s with the American counterculture and New Age movements. Since it, The Prophet has never been out of print and remains
world-renowned to this day.The book was the bestselling book of the twentieth century in the United States, second only to the Bible. His
thought provoking sayings in this outstanding piece of literature make us think about our life afresh. He strove to resolve cultural and
human conflict transcending the barriers of East and West as few have done before. He became not only Gibran of Lebanon, but Gibran
of America, indeed Gibran the voice of global consciousness: a voice which increasingly demands to be heard in the continuing Age of
Anxiety. This article draws a short biographical sketch of Gibran, deals with some inherent quality of the writings of Gibran and
elucidates a few poetic essays of The Prophet so that the readers can have a glimpse of the great writer Kahlil Gibran.
Keywords: The prophet, Kahlil Gibran, life, poetic
“Thus I became a madman. And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the
safety from being understood, for those who understand us, enslave something in us.” (Gibran-1918, 1) The man who
thus preferred madness as it provides freedom of loneliness and safety from being understood is Khalil Gibran, who could
not actually get that loneliness and freedom of being understood, as he is in the heart of millions of fans all over the world
and people all around the world are still trying to understand him. He is a Lebanese-American philosophical essayist,
novelist, mystical poet, and artist. The millions of Arabic-speaking people familiar with his writings in that language
consider him the genius of his age. He was a man whose fame and influence spread far beyond the Near East. His
poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great
capitals of the world. He wrote both in Arabic and English. In the United States, which he made his home during the last
twenty years of his life, he began to write in English. Having drawn from an array of spiritual mysticism including Sufi
Masters, Jalal-Ud-Din Rumi and Imam Al Ghazali, Gibran, through the characters of his writings, speaks directly to the
very core of the human soul. (Singh Manbir, http://www.sikhspectrum.com)
Kahlil Gibran (full name Gibran Khalil Gibran bin Mikhael bin Saâd,) was born on January 6, 1883, to the Maronite
family of Gibran in Bsharri, an area surrounded by the natural beauty of Lebanon's ancient cedar trees and the majestic
mountains of Sannin and Famm al-Mizab. He grew up in the region of Bsharri. The rustic beauty of his birthplace proved
to be a source of inspiration throughout the poet's life. His maternal grandfather was a Maronite Catholic priest. His
mother Kamila Rahmeh was thirty when she begot Gibran from her third husband Khalil, who proved to be an
irresponsible husband leading the family to poverty. As a result of his family's poverty, Gibran did not receive any formal
schooling during his youth in Lebanon. However, priests visited him regularly and taught him about the Bible, as well as
the Syriac and Arabic languages. Gibran proved to be a solitary and pensive child who relished the natural surroundings
of the cascading falls, the rugged cliffs and the neighboring green cedars, the beauty of which emerged as a dramatic
and symbolic influence to his drawings and writings. Recognizing Gibran's inquisitive and alert nature, the priest began
teaching him the rudiments of alphabet and language, opening up to Gibran the world of history, science, and language.
At the age of ten, Gibran fell off a cliff, wounding his left shoulder, which remained weak for the rest of his life ever since
this incident. Gibran's father, a tax collector, was imprisoned for alleged embezzlement. Ottoman authorities confiscated
his family's property. Authorities released Gibran's father in 1894, but the family had by then lost their home. Gibran's
mother decided to follow her brother, Gibran's uncle, and emigrated to the United States. Gibran's father remained in
Lebanon. Gibran's mother, along with Khalil, his younger sisters Mariana and Sultana, and his half-brother Peter left for
537
New York on June 25, 1895. The family of Gibran settled in Boston's South End, which at the time hosted the second
largest Syrian community in the U.S. following New York. His mother Kamila, now the bread-earner of the family, began
to work as a peddler on the impoverished streets of South End Boston selling lace and linens that she carried from door
to door. The culturally diverse area felt familiar to Kamila, who was comforted by the familiar spoken Arabic, and the
widespread Arab customs. While Gibran’s mother, his half brother and his two sisters settled in Boston Gibran returned to
Lebanon in 1897, where he began a course of intensive study at al-Hikma school. He studied a wide variety of subjects
beyond those prescribed in the curriculum and immersed himself in ancient and modern Arabic literature. He also
acquainted himself with contemporary literary movements in Arabic world. (Badi and Goteh, 1986, 19) Later Gibran went
back to Boston. In Boston he was placed in a low grade class reserved for immigrant children to learn English. Gibran's
English teacher suggested to anglicise the spelling of his name in order to make it more acceptable to American society.
Khalil then was anglicised as Kahlil. (http://en.wikipedia.org) Though physically he was in New York, his heart was in
Lebanon. He was filled with nostalgia for the cedar forests, the home and haunt of the Gods. The mountain scenery and
all the associated legends and tradition had become a part of his being.
Gibran’s curiosity led him to the cultural side of Boston, which exposed him to the rich world of the theatre, Opera
and artistic Galleries. He caught the eyes of his teachers with his sketches and drawings, a hobby he had started during
his childhood in Lebanon. They contacted Fred Holland Day, an artist and a supporter of artists who opened up Gibran's
cultural world and set him on the road to artistic fame
In 1912 he settled in New York, where he devoted himself to writing and painting. Gibran's early works were written
in Arabic, and from 1918 he published mostly in English. Merging Eastern and Western philosophies, Gibran was
influenced by his Lebanese childhood, his adopted America, and the time he spent studying art with Auguste Rodin in
Paris. His first book for the publishing company Alfred Knopf, in 1918, was The Madman, a slim volume of aphorisms and
parables written in biblical cadence somewhere between poetry and prose. In 1920 he founded a society for Arab writers,
Mahjar (al-Mahjar). Among its members were Mikha'il Na'ima (1889-1988), Iliya Abu Madi (1889-1957), Nasib Arida
(1887-1946), Nadra Haddad (1881-1950), and Ilyas Abu Sabaka (1903-47).
Gibran was a prominent Syrian nationalist. In a political statement he drafted in 1911, he expressed his loyality to
Greater Syria and to the safeguarding of Syria's national territorial integrity. He also called for the adoption of Arabic as a
national language of Syria and the application of Arabic at all school levels. When the Ottomans were finally driven out of
Syria during the first world war, Gibran's exhilaration was manifested in a sketch called "Free Syria" which appeared on
the front page of al-Sa'ih's special "victory" edition. Moreover, in a draft of a play, still kept among his papers, Gibran
expressed great hope for national independence and progress. This play, according to Kahlil Hawi defines Gibran's belief
in Syrian nationalism with great clarity, distinguishing it from both Lebanese and Arab nationalism, and showing us that
nationalism lived in his mind, even at this late stage, side by side with internationalism. Despite having witnessed war and
destruction in the name of religion, Gibran remained committed to "unity of being" by stressing the underlying
commonality between various forms of spiritual thought, and the oneness of all humanity.
Gibran was a prolific writer who wrote in Arabic for the Lebanese, the Syrians and the Arab world and in English for
those knowing English. In his writings, Gibran strikes different notes-autobiographical, mystical, romantic, reflective,
allegorical, censorious, and revolutionary. He reacted sharply to the corruption in society, politics and religion. The story
of Khalil pulsates with righteous indignation. It is a tirade not against religion as such, but against hypocrisy, injustice, and
self-aggrandizement in the name of religion. (Singh Manbir, http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/gibran.htm)
Gibran was excommunicated from the Maronite Church for his anti-establishment tone and stance. His book Spirits
Rebellious was burnt in public in Beirut. Later, the order of excommunication was revoked. Many scholars find Gibran's
work deeply philosophical and elementary. He kept company with the greats of U.S. literary figures. The prominent
among them were poet Robinson Jeffers, playwright Eugene O'Neill and novelist Sherwood Anderson. His works were
especially influential in the American popular culture in the 1960s. Gibran and other members of the Pen League freed
Arab American writers of their self consciousness, addressing topics other than the immigrant experience. As a
playwright, novelist, artist and poet, he inspired other writers, musicians, artists and even the U.S. Congress, which
established creation of the Khalil Gibran Memorial Poetry Garden in Washington D.C., dedicated by President George
Bush in 1990 to commemorate Gibran's influence and universal themes. (Abinader, 2000)
Gibran was an immigrant mystical poet. To be an immigrant is to be an alien. But to be an immigrant mystical poet
like Gibran is to be thrice alienated. To the geographical alienation is added the estrangement from both conventional
human society at large if human society can be other than conventional, and also the whole world of spatio-temporal
existence. Therefore such a poet is gripped with a triple longing: a longing for the country of his birth, for a utopic human
society of the imagination in which he feels at home and for a higher world of metaphysical truth. This triple longing
provided Gibran with the basis of his artistic creativity. Its development from one stage of his work to another is only a
538
variation in emphasis and not in kind. Three strings of his harp is always to be detected in his works and towards the end
of his life achieved perfect harmony in his masterpiece, The Prophet where the utopic state of human existence and the
metaphysical world of higher truth became one and the same. (Nadwi: 2009) The Prophet, a book composed of 26 poetic
essays, the author's magnum opus, became especially popular during the 1960s with the American counterculture and
New Age movements. Since it was first published in 1923, The Prophet has never been out of print and remains world-
renowned to this day. Having been translated into more than 20 languages, it was the bestselling book of the twentieth
century in the United States, second only to the Bible.
As we start reading the book we find that the main character, Almustafa, who is described as the 'chosen and
beloved', had lived in a foreign country for 12 years. When the time of his departure to the isle of his birth came and a
ship was coming to carry him away, the people of Orphalese, where he spent twelve years came to meet him and asked
him a series of questions on a variety of subjects like marriage, children, friendship, work, pleasure and so on which he
answered, in a mystical and paradoxical strain.
The opening poetic essay where he describes his relation with the city and people of Orphalese and his feeling at
the time of departure is so much touching. It reads:
“And In the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielool, the month of reaping, he climbed the hill without the city walls and
looked seaward; and he beheld his ship coming with the mist” (Gibran, 1923, 4).
Seeing the ship coming to carry him at first he was overjoyed and closing his eyes he prayed in the silence of his soul.
When he got down from the hill sadness enveloped him and he thought in his heart how it would be possible for him to
depart from that city in peace without a wound in his heart. Living in that city he became part and parcel of that city. Now
leaving the city was as if tearing off his own skin with his own hands. He says,
“Too many fragments of the spirit have I scattered in these streets, and too many are the children of my longing that walk
naked among these hills, and I cannot withdraw from them without a burden and an ache. It is not a garment I cast off this
day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands. Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger
and with thirst.” (4-5)
But still he must go away, because to stay back here was to get frozen and inactive which he didn’t want. He earnestly
wished, if he could carry with him all that was there in that city. He knew that it was quite impossible because just as a
voice can’t carry the tongue and lips from where it was produced and an eagle can’t carry with it its nest while flying in the
sky, he also can’t carry with him the city of Orphalese and its people with him. As he saw the ship approaching the harbor
and the mariners, who where the men of his land he told them, “Only another breath will I breathe in this still air, only
another look cast backward, And then I shall stand among you, a seafarer among seafarers.” (5) As he walked he saw
that the people of Orphalese leaving their field of cultivation and their vineyards were hastening towards the city gate and
were calling his name. They were shouting from field to field telling one another of the coming of the ship. He thought to
himself what he could give to those people,
“And what shall I give unto him who has left his plow in mid furrow, or to him who has stopped the wheel of his wine
press? Shall my heart become a tree heavy laden with fruit that I may gather and give unto them? And shall my desires
flow like a fountain that I may fill their cups? Am I a harp that the hand of the mighty may touch me, or a flute that his
breath may pass through me?” (5).
The elder people of the city came forward and requested him not to depart. They said,
“Go not yet away from us. A noontide have you been in our twilight, and your youth has given us dreams to dream. No
stranger are you among us, nor a guest, but our son and our dearly beloved. Suffer not yet our eyes to hunger for your
face.” (6).
The people of Orphalese told him that they had loved him so much, although their love had been speechless. Now they
were expressing their love loudly and entreating him not to leave them. Almustafa could say nothing in reply. He only bent
his head and those who stood near him saw his tears falling upon his breast. He and the people then proceeded towards
the temple, and out of the sanctuary came Almitra, a woman who had first sought and believed in him when 'he had been
a day in the city'. She hailed him, saying,
539
"Prophet of God, in quest for the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your ship….. Deep is your longing
for the land of your memories and the dwelling place of your greater desires; and our love would not bind you, nor our
needs hold you. Yet this we ask that you leave us, that you speak to us and give us of your truth. And we will give it unto
our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish." (6).
Almitra requested him to disclose to them their true nature and all those things between birth and death which he
experienced. At first Almitra asked him about love then various other persons asked him questions on a variety of
subjects.
In reply to Almitra’s question about Love Almustafa, Gibran’s spokesman, gives us a very valuable advice.
According to Gibran the way of love is full of hurdles and thorns. The love which is founded on only expectations of
gaining is not a real love at all. A true lover never shuns his beloved even when he is hurt by his beloved. Almustafa says,
“For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.” (7) The
hurdles and thorns in the way of love and the mortifications occasionally coming from beloved must not dishearten the
lover, because these are actually a process of purifying the love. Without these the love would not be founded on strong
base. We cut the grains from the field. We thresh, grind and boil them in fire to make them suitable for eating. It doesn’t
mean that we don’t love the grains. We do all this things because we love these grains. Gibran says,
“Like sheaves of corn he (love) gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you
from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then assigns you to his sacred fire,
that you may become sacred bread of God’s sacred feast.”(8)
Almitra once again asks him a question about Marriage. In reply Almustafa says that marriage makes the couple
together. The couples are as if born together and they will remain together forever. Even death can’t separate them. But
there should be a space between their togetherness. The couples should love each other deeply. But in this love none
should lose the personality. Both of them should work like the strings of a lute. These strings are although separate from
each other, they quiver with the same music. Almustafa says,
“Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and
dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you alone.” (8)
In reply to a woman’s question about Children, Almustafa says that children are born into this world, light and free,
without the corruption and negative social conditioning that plague their adult counterparts. Too often, parents try to live
their life through their children, and thus burden them with false expectations and standards. Activities are imposed upon
them, sometimes without consideration of what they like. They need to be given room to explore their own likes, within
certain parameters, and develop their own unique creativity. In Gibran’s philosophy about children there is a message for
those who repose lots of hopes and expectation in their children thinking that once their children would grow up and hold
the helm of the family and would give them love and comfort in their old age. These parents usually fix up the way of life,
future career of the children. They think that their children would become doctors, engineers, judges and barristers and so
on. According to Gibran the parents don’t have this right, because the children are not actually the possessions of the
parents. The parents are none but the media for the children to come to this world. Almutafa says,
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself. They come through you,
but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your
thought, For they have their own thought.” (9).
The parents must not fix up the aim and future career of the children, because whatever the parents would fix up it would
be either on the basis of the demand of their contemporary or past days, but the children’s career would be shaped up on
the basis of the demand of future. Almustafa says,
“You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.” (9)
When a rich man asks Almustafa to tell them something about Giving he says,
540
“You give very little when you give of your possession. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” (9)
According to Gibran there is no meaning in giving unless we are able to give everything of our possession. If we give a
part of our possession and save the rest for ourselves, we actually fear that in future we’ll be in need of that portion. But
none of us knows whether or not we’ll be able to enjoy it in future. Keeping something for future is like the activity of the
dog which buries a bone in the trackless sand. Almustafa says, “And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the over-
prudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?” (9) We should not give for
any purpose. Nor should we seek anything in exchange of what we give. Almustafa says, “And there are those who give
and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindful of virtue; They give as in yonder valley the myrtle
breaths its fragrance into space. Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles
upon the earth.” (10) While giving it is not necessary for us as to whether the receiver is a deserving person or not. We
should open up our treasures for all irrespective of deserving and non deserving persons. Almustafa says, “You often
say. ‘I would give, but only to the deserving.’ The tree in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give
that they may live, for to withhold is to perish” (11)
In reply to a ploughman’s question about Work Almustafa says that in order to keep pace with the world, which is
marching ahead, one must work and must not remain idle. Almustafa says, “For to be idle is to become a stranger unto
the seasons, and to step out of life’s profession that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.” (12)
We must not consider work as a curse or misfortune. If we love our life, we must engage in labor. And to love life through
labor is actually to get closed with the innermost secret of life and thus to understand life better. Having been unable to
bear the pain and misfortune of life if one thinks that his birth was a curse, then Almustafa advises him to engage in
physical labor instead of cursing his fortune, because the sweat of one’s brow caused by physical labor has the capacity
to wash away all bad things written upon one’s brow. One must work with love, because to work with love is comparable
to weave a cloth for one’s dearest one with threads drawn from one’s heart. Almustafa says, “It is to weave the cloth with
threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.” (13) According to Gibran all works are of
equal importance. The work of the man who makes sandals for our feet is never less important than the works of those
fashion designers who make extraordinary designs for our clothes. Love is the most essential thing which a worker
should have. “And if you can’t work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at
the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” (13)
When a woman asks Almustafa about Joy and Sorrow he says, “Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame
well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.” (14) According to Gibran joy and sorrow are two
sides of the same coin. They are inseparable. Both joy and sorrow are interwoven. Gibran’s teaching about joy and
sorrow will help us maintain a balance between joy and sorrow. None of us should be overjoyed with something nor
should be so much frustrated and despondent because of sorrow. Gibran’s spokesman Almustafa says, “Together they
(joy and sorrow) come and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep under your
bed.” (14)
In reply to a question from a lawyer Almustafa discloses a harsh reality about the condition of law. Gibran thinks that law
makers themselves are the lawbreakers. Almustafa says, “You delight in laying down laws, yet you delight in breaking
them. Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter.” (19)
The reason behind this miserable condition of law is that people are always in the habit of keeping their own activities out
of the jurisdiction of law. Everyone thinks that whatever he is doing, it is lawful and it is for protecting the law and what the
others are doing are violation of law. Gibran says, “What of the old serpent who can’t shed his skin and calls all others
naked and shameless? And of him who comes early to wedding feast and when over fed and tired goes his way saying
all feasts are violation and all feasters are law breakers.” (20)
Gibran’s philosophy of freedom reminds us the remark of great French political philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau,
“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.” Gibran doesn’t believe that one can have freedom, because man’s life
is full of care, wants, grief and desire. Even the happiest man is a slave of his desire as he has to do whatever his desires
guide him to do. Gibran says, “Ay in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freeiest
among you wear their freedom as a yoke and handcuff. And my heart bled within me, for you can only be free when even
the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and
fulfillment.” (20)
541
When a woman asked Almustafa about Pain he says:
"Your pain is the break of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain….Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the
sick physician within you heals your sick self." (22)
A tree can’t sprout if the shell of the seed doesn’t break to open up its core to the sun. If the sprouting of the tree is a joy,
it begins with a pain. Thus conceived pain becomes at once a kind of joy. It is the joy of the seed dying as a tree in
embryo is in a process of becoming a tree in full. Pain truly understood is thus an impetus for growth and therefore for joy.
Painful experiences though they may cause a lot of emotional hurt, help us to better gauge life, as well as to stimulate
character refinement. Pain in Gibran’s view is comparable to the dose of bitter medicine prescribed by the doctor.
Although this medicine is detestable to the tongue, it cures the disease and ultimately brings the joy. Almustafa says, “It is
the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy
in silence and tranquility: For his hand, though heavy and hard is guided by the tender hand of the unseen.” (23)
Therefore we should welcome and embrace pain gladly.
In response to a teacher’s query about Teaching Almustafa says, “No man can reveal to ought but that which
already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.” (23) A teacher can’t insert any knowledge in the hearts of the
learners. He rather awakens the latent talent of the learners so that they can learn themselves. This indicates that all
educated persons are self educated. Therefore, we should work according to the guidance of our teacher and work hard
to seek knowledge applying our own talent. Indeed, history has shown us the danger of dependence on some mystical
savior. Blind faith to supposed holy individuals or books disconnects individuals from realizing their divinity, thus limiting
their potential. The best teachers make the students empower themselves, and explore the thresholds of their own divine
potential. “If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his own wisdom, but rather leads you to the
threshold of your own mind.” (23) Every individual can have his own view regarding any subject and so it is necessary for
everybody to develop his own opinion instead of following others opinion blindly. In this way people can make far better
choices in their everyday lives and realize heaven on earth. “And even as each one of you stands alone in God’s
knowledge, so must each of you be alone in his knowledge of God and understanding of earth.” (24)
When a hermit, who visited the city once a year, comes forth and asks Almustafa to speak on Pleasure, he gives us
valuable advice about pleasure. According to him it is not fair to ignore pleasure. At the same time it is not expected that
one would engage one’s whole self out and out in pursuit of pleasure. “Ay, in every truth, pleasure is a freedom-song.
And I fain would have you sing it with fullness of heart; yet I would not have you lose your hearts in freedom-song.” (28)
Gibran is not at one with those people who in fear of neglecting the spiritual development or offending the spirit shun
pleasure activities. He says that the desire for pleasure is inherent in the mind of man. If it is suppressed it may explode
any time. “Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recess of your being. Who knows but
that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow?” (29)
Out of 26 poetic essays of The Prophet I have just pointed out a few in the above paragraphs. Gibran’s advices and
suggestions through his mouthpiece Almustafa regarding other matters of life like, Giving, Eating and Drinking, Joy and
Sorrow, Houses, Clothes, Buying Selling, Crime and Punishment, Reason and Passion, Self Knowledge, Talking, Time,
Good and Evil, Prayer, Beauty, Religion Death and Farewell are worth remembering. We have much to learn from them.
It is not hard to see that al-Mustafa or the Prophet is Gibran himself, who had already spent twelve years in the New
York City, the city of Orphalese, having moved to it from Boston in 1912, and that the isle of his birth is Lebanon to which
he had longed to return. But looking deeper still, al- Mustafa can further symbolize the man who, in Gibran’s reckoning,
has become his freer self; who has realized the passage in himself from the human to the divine, and is therefore ripe for
emancipation and reunion with life absolute. His ship is death that has come to bear him to the isle of his birth, the
Platonic world of metaphysical reality whence we have all emerged. As to the people of Orphalese, they stand for human
society at large in which men, in their God-ward journey, are in need of the guiding prophetic hand that would lead them
from what is human in them to the divine. Having made that journey himself al-Mustafa poses in his sermons throughout
the book as that guide.
Gibran’s teaching in The Prophet is found to rest on the sole idea that life is one and infinite. As a living being, man
in his temporal existence is only a shadow of his real self. To be one’s real self is to be one with infinite to which man is
inseparably related. Self realization, therefore, lies in growing out of one’s spatio-temporal dimensions, so that the self is
broadened to the extent of including everyone and all things. Consequently man’s only path to self realization, to his
greater self, lies in love. Hence love is the opening sermon of al-Mustafa to the people of Orphalese. No one can say “I”
truly without meaning the totality of the things apart from which he can not be or be conceived. Even less can one love
542
oneself truly without loving everyone and all things. So love is at one an emancipation and a crucifixion: an emancipation
in the sense that it releases man from his narrow spatio-temporal confinement and brings him to that stage of broader
self-consciousness whereby he feels one with infinite, with God; a crucifixion in the sense that, to grow into the broader
self is to shatter to pieces the smaller self which was the seed and the confinement. Thus al-Mustafa says to his listeners;
“For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he for your growth so is for your pruning.” (The Prophet)
(Nadwi, 2009, 48) Dr. Suheil Bashrui, an internationally recognized authority on the works of Khalil Gibran says: "In truth,
The Prophet is a work of such universal appeal that there is little to be gained from speculating on the identity of persons
or places represented in it. For Gibran's purpose was a lofty one, and his belief in the 'unity of being', which led him to call
for universal fellowship and the unification of the human race, is a message which retains its potency even today as do
the messages of all great poets. Inspired by his experiences in a country far from the land of his origins, he strove to
resolve cultural and human conflict transcending the barriers of East and West as few have done before or since. He
became not only Gibran of Lebanon, but Gibran of America, indeed Gibran the voice of global consciousness: a voice
which increasingly demands to be heard in the continuing Age of Anxiety." [Singh Manbir http://www.sikhspectrum.com)
To conclude we can say that Khalil Gibran was such a prolific artist that the realm of American and Arabic literature as
well as the world of fine arts owes much to him. Although Khalil says’
Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you” (Gibran-1927, 15)
We believe that the whole of the sayings of Gibran has deep meaning for those who don’t think that literature has nothing
to do except providing aesthetic beauty and pleasure of reading. Its my firm belief that Gibrans works can provide us
essence of better human being as well as a soothing effect to our mind. We have a lot of things to learn from Gibrans
works. If we follow Gibrans advices in The Prophet we’ll be able to realize our true identity and thus to refine our life.
References
Abinader, Elmaz.: Children of Al-Mahjar, Arab American Literature Spans a Century, U.S. Society & Values, (February 2000)
Badi, Suheil and Goteh, Paul. (1986): Gibran of Lebanon, American University of Beirut Press, , p-xix
Chowdhary, Manbir Singh. http://www.sikhspectrum.com/052004/gibran.htm
Gibran, Kahlil: (1923): The Prophet,: e-book edition by Paul Coughlin, http://www.prophetebook.com/
Gibran, Kahlil, (1918) The Madman, e-book by Fishburne, www.gutenberg.org/etext/5616 p-1
Gibran, Kahlil. (1927): Sand and Foam, British edition: London, William Heinemann,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Gibran
Nadwi, Nazmul Hoque: (2009): Jibran: a Poet Philosopher, Journal of the Asiatic Society, volume LI, No.1, -p-40
543

Identification of Health and Safety Performance Improvement Indicators for Small and
Medium Construction Enterprises: A Delphi Consensus Study
Justus N. Agumba
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying,

University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa,
Corresponding author: jagumba@uj.ac.za Tel. +27 11 559 6488 Cell +27 73 176 7025
Theo C. Haupt
Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying,
University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa
pinnacle.haupt@gmail.com Tel. +27 21 931-4840 Cell: +27 82 686-3457
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p545
Abstract This study sought to identify and validate a comprehensive set of health and safety (H&S) leading indicator metrics that will
enable small and medium construction enterprises (SMEs) personnel to monitor the level of H&S performance in their projects. The
Delphi approach was used where the opinion of H&S experts, academics and industry practitioners were canvassed on 64 potential
indicator metrics, categorized in 10 elements or leading indicators that will enable H&S performance improvement e.g. reduction in
accidents, injuries, diseases but to name a few. The experts rated each indicator metric on a 10-point Likert scale of impact, where 1= no
major impact or 10% impact and 10 = major impact or 100% impact. Consensus was reached on 32 indicator metrics after four
successive rounds of Delphi if the indicators attracted final scores of, percentage median impact of 90% to 100% which is 9.00 to 10.00
median rating and over 50% of respondents rating the indicator metrics in the band of 9.00 to 10.00 or 90% to 100% impact to improve
H&S performance. The experts had the opportunity to reconsider their scores informed by the group median score in rounds 2, 3 and 4.
The limitation of the study was the reliance of a structured questionnaire in the first round as experts were not allowed to add any new
indicators, until the fourth round. This study contributes to the H&S body of knowledge where no consensus has been reached pertaining
to the indicator metrics that have major impact to improve H&S performance at project level of construction SMEs in South Africa.
Keywords: Experts, Proactive indicators, Health and safety, Performance improvement
1. Introduction
The construction industry is unique as construction activities are performed outdoor under conditions not conducive for
health and safety (H&S). Most of the people tend to relate construction industry to high risk working environment
(Loosemore et al., 2003; Root 2005).
The Department of Labour (DoL) indicated that the construction H&S statistics in South Africa covering the period
2004/05 to 2007/08 showed a sharp rise in accidents from, 54 fatalities and 159 non-fatal accidents (i.e. temporary or
permanent disablement) to around 160 fatalities and around 400 non-fatal accidents respectively (DoL, 2008 cited in
construction industry development board report (CIDB, 2008). Furthermore, the Department of Labour (DoL, 2007)
indicated that construction accidents accounted for 4% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). In South Africa the
occupational accidents and diseases accounted for approximately 3.5% of its GDP, which, translated to about R30 billion
(about US$4.2 billion). These statistics are inclusive of large, medium and small contractors. Aside from the direct
compensation and medical costs associated with accidents the costs to the economy are immense and include rework,
lost time, damage to plant and equipment, disruption, productivity loss and loss of skills to the economy (CIDB, 2004).
Furthermore the strain of the loss of a family member, particularly if the worker was the only family bread winner (CIDB,
2008).
The CIDB, (2008) report further indicated that despite isolated reports of improvement, there was very limited
commitment to comply with basic requirements, let alone promote a culture of H&S. Employers view health and safety as
a cost in the system. Small contractors can barely maintain tools and regard safety equipment as luxury items. Even
where protective clothing and equipment are provided, workers often avoid their use, including the use of safety goggles
and masks when working with grinders and asbestos (CIDB, 2004).
545
Walker, (2001) cited in Health and Safety Executive (HSE), (2007) indicated that SMEs have shown to experience
proportionately more accidents than large enterprise. It has also been indicated that models for measuring H&S
performance for large contractors will not be applicable to SMEs. This is verified in a study conducted by Lin et al., (2001)
in Australia. The authors further concluded there is need to improve H&S performance within small construction
enterprises.
2. Measurement of construction health and safety performance
Health and safety performance measurement allows comparison of H&S performance between projects and can be used
by organizations internally to maintain line accountability for H&S and to pin point problem areas. Health and safety
performance measurement can broadly be classified in two types of indicators, namely lagging indicators such as
accident rates, and leading indicators (LIs) or positive performance indicators (PPIs) that address H&S climate (Flin et al.,
2000) and H&S culture (Grabowski et al., 2010). Grabowski, et al., (2007) asserts that leading indicators can either be
subjective or objective indicator metrics. Unfortunately, the construction industry continues to rely heavily on traditional
measures such as accident rates and workers compensation statistics (Mohamed, 2002). This implies that measuring LIs
in construction industry are in their infancy and needs to be addressed especially in SMEs.
When using LIs a more thorough and constant surveillance is required than when using lagging indicators (Hinze,
2005). The real value of using H&S leading indicators on the construction project is that changes can be made early. An
intervention can be devised that can address the weakness before there is an accident. Hinze (2005) advocated for the
use of LIs in H&S performance measurement, rather than using lagging indicators.
Traditionally, senior managers of most organizations frown upon the management of a workplace where high injury
rates are reported. This pre-occupation with outcome performance measures fuels the culture of underreporting of
accidents and incidents. Arguably, therefore the use of traditional outcome H&S measures as a stand alone assessment
of workplace H&S or as a measure of performance amongst different organizations in the same industry is inherently
flawed (Trethewy, 2003). Trethewy (2003) further indicates that the absence of low probability incident does not
necessarily mean that core risks are effectively managed but merely that such an incident has just not happened yet.
This research builds on the aforementioned debate of leading indicator measures of H&S that are ideal for
improving H&S performance, than using lagging indicators. Currently there are no major studies that have focused on
H&S leading indicators and indicator metrics tailored towards SMEs in South Africa which makes this study important.
Based on the gaps in literature review this study poses the following research questions;
 What are the indicator metrics that will improve H&S performance at project level of small and medium
construction enterprises? and;
 What are the indicator metrics with major impact in improving H&S performance at project level of small and
medium construction enterprises?
3. Literature review to identify health and safety indicators
Ng et al., (2003) developed a framework for evaluating the safety performance of contractors in Hong Kong at both the
organization level and project level. The factors identified by the researchers to improve H&S performance at project level
were: project management commitment, hazard management, information, training, and promotions, but to name a few.
The factors for organization level were administrative and management commitment, H&S training, selection and control
subcontractors, safety review; accident record and legislation, codes and standards.
Levitt and Parker (1976) studied the role of top management in construction firms in reducing construction injuries.
They established that: companies whose top managers talked about safety when they visited jobsites had lower
Experience Modification Rating (EMR’s) than companies in which safety was not mentioned during these events. They
also found that companies with formal orientation programs had lower EMR’s compared to companies with no orientation
programs.
Cooper (1998) indicated the importance of communication in influencing H&S performance improvement and
categorized communication into formal and informal, verbal and written communication. Kheni et al., (2006) indicated
verbal communication as a good measure for safety management practice. Sawacha et al., (1999) established that the
most important factors to improve H&S performance under organization safety policy are: management communication in
regards to safety, provision of safety booklets, provision of safety equipment, assuring a tidy site, appointing safety
representatives and training of operatives on safety.
546
Jaselskis et al., (1996) assert that to achieve better construction safety performance at the project level, the H&S
factors/elements that are important for achieving better safety performance are: increased project manager experience
level, more supportive upper management attitude towards safety, reduced project team turnover, increased time
devoted to safety representative, more formal meetings with supervisors and specialty contractors, more informal safety
meetings with supervisors, a greater number of informal site safety meetings with supervisors, a greater number of
informal site safety inspections, reduced craft worker penalties, and increased budget allocation to safety awards.
Furthermore, Toellner, (2001) established LIs that are essential to improving safety performance to be: safety
walkthroughs by management, barricading a given place, tool box talk meeting and housekeeping. Jannadai et al., (2002)
revealed that management involvement, personal protective equipment, and emergency planning and preparation were
considered to be extremely important factors in influencing safety performance as they reveal the greatest impact.
Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007), indicated that the critical elements influencing H&S performance improvement, that
have been replicated in most literature are management commitment and involvement and employee involvement and
empowerment and they appear to be easily demonstrated and promoted through risk assessments, inspections, audits,
training, hazard reporting and completing corrective actions.
Based on the above discussions this research identified 64 potential indicator metrics categorized in ten core
elements/leading indicators viz.; appointment of H&S staff, formal and informal written communication, formal and
informal verbal communication, H&S resources, project planning of H&S, project supervision, training in H&S, upper
management commitment and involvement in H&S, policy on H&S and worker’s/employee involvement and
empowerment as indicated in Table 1.
Table 1: Core elements/leading indicators and leading indicator metrics identified
Core elements/leading indicators Leading indicator metrics Source(s)

Appointment of H&S staff, Sawacha Employing at least one qualified manager Findley et al., (2004) and researchers
et al., (1999); Vredenburgh, (2002) with H&S training to oversee H&S [on addition italics
multiple projects]
At least one staff member with H&S Ng. et al., (2005)
training is employed on each project
Employing at least one H&S Sawacha et al., (1999) Rajendran, et al.,
representative on each project (2009)
Formal and informal written Provision of written information about H&S HSE, (2008); Fernandez-Muniz et al.,
Communication Cooper, (1998); HSE, procedures (2007)
(2008)
Provision of written information about the HSE, (2008); Fernandez-Muniz et al.,
correct way to perform tasks (2007)
Written circular/brochure that informs Sawacha et al., (1999) Fernandez-Muniz
workers about the risks associated with et al., (2007)
their work
Written circular/brochure that inform Sawacha et al., (1999) Fernandez-Muniz
workers about the preventive measures to et al., (2007)
reduce risk
Formal and informal verbal Provide clear verbal instructions to both Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
communication Cooper, (1998); HSE, literate and illiterate employees about H&S
(2008)
H&S information verbally communicated to HSE, (2008); Kheni et al., (2006)
workers before changes are made to the Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
way their work activities are executed
Organize regular meetings to verbally Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
inform workers about the risks associated
with their work
Organize regular meetings to verbally Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)

inform workers about the preventive H&S
measures of risky work
Source: Authors work
547
Continuation Table 1: Core elements/leading indicators and leading indicator metrics identified

H&S resources Abudayyeh et al., Provision of personal protective equipment Kheni et al., (2006) Rajendran et al.,
(2006); Rajendran et al., (2009) (PPE) (2009)
Training in H&S through attending Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
seminars/workshops
Material schedule data sheets provided for Lingard et al., (2005)
all hazardous materials on site
Employing technically skilled employees Rajendran et al., (2009)
with H&S training
Adequate information brochures given on Sawacha et al., (1999) Fernandez-Muniz
H&S et al., (2007)
Provision of a budget for H&S Kheni et al. (2006)
Provision of correct tools, equipment and Teo et al., (2005); Rajendran et al., (2009)
plant to execute construction
Provision of good welfare facilities such as Kheni et al., (2006) Rajendran et al.,
showers, canteens, toilets (2009)
Project supervision/inspection Fang Proper supervision by staff trained in H&S Fang et al., (2004)
et al., (2004); Rajendran et al., (2009)
Identification of hazards by at least (one Mitchell, (2000); Jannadi et al., (2002)
staff member trained in H&S)
Results of inspections discussed at H&S Mitchell, (2000);
meetings
H&S inspections done at least daily Jaselskis et al., (1996); Jannadi et al.,
(2002);
Local authorities and H&S enforcement Aksorn, et al., (2008);
agencies visit sites for inspection
Ad hoc informal H&S inspections of work Jaselskis et al., (1996); Lin et al., (2001)
place
Regular H&S audits of projects Mitchell, (2000); Trewthewy, (2003)
Project planning of H&S Sawacha et Ergonomics is considered when deciding Shikdar et al., (2003); Rajendran et al.,
al., (1999); Mitchell, (2000); Teo et. al., the method of construction (2009)
(2005); Rajendran et al., (2009)
Reengineering is considered to reduce Vredenburgh.,(2002) Mitchell, (2000);
hazards
When head office decides on the method Vredenburgh., (2002)
of construction H&S is included in decision
making process
Each project has a site-specific H&S plan Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007);
Rajendran et al., (2009)
Layout of the site considers H&S aspects Mitchell, (2000); Rajendran et al., (2009)
Use hazard identification procedures Trewthewy, (2003); Teo et al., (2005)
Use of risk assessment procedures Trewthewy, (2003)
Constructability of project is reviewed Coble et al., (2000); Sawacha et al.,
(1999)
Scheduling for H&S Mitchell, (2000); Rajendran et al., (2009)

548

Training in H&S Sawacha et al., Workers undergo induction on H&S before Trewthewy, (2003); Fernandez-Muniz et
(1999); Kheni et al., (2006); Fernandez- commencing work on a particular site al., (2007)
Muniz et al., (2007)
Workers trained in proper care and use of Sawacha et al., (1999) Shannon, et al.,
personal protective equipment (1997); Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
Workers are regularly trained in H&S Shannon, et al., (1997); Ng, et al., (2005);
Rajendran et al., (2009)
Instruction manuals or safe work Sawacha et al., (1999) Fernandez-Muniz
procedures are used to aid in preventive et al., (2007)
action
Workers are given time off for training Findley et al., (2004); Fernandez-Muniz et
al., (2007)
Worker/employee involvement & Workers are involved in production of H&S Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
empowerment in H&S Aksorn et al., policy
(2008); Fernandez-Muniz et al., 2007)
Workers provide written suggestions on Kheni et al., (2006)
H&S
Workers kept informed of provisions of Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007);
H&S plan
Workers are involved in H&S inspections Jaselskis et al., (1996)
Workers are consulted when the H&S plan Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007);
is compiled
Workers are involved in development of Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
H&S rules and safe work procedures
Workers have the explicit right to refuse to Sawacha et al., (1999) Rajendran et al.,
work in potentially unsafe, unhealthy (2009);
conditions
Upper management commitment & Managers encourage and support worker Abudayyeh et al., (2004); Fernandez-
involvement in H&S Levitt et al., participation, commitment and Muniz et al., (2007)
(1976); Abudayyeh et al., (2004); involvement in H&S activities
Aksorn, et al., (2008)
Managers encourage and support training Abudayyeh et al., (2004); Fernandez-
of employees in H&S Muniz et al., (2007)
Managers communicate regularly with Abudayyeh et al., (2004); Fernandez-
workers about H&S Muniz et al., (2007)
Managers actively monitor the H&S Toellner (2001); Abudayyeh et al., (2004);
performance of their projects and workers
Managers take responsibility for H&S Shannon et al., (1996) Trethewy (2003);
Teo et al., (2005)
Managers actively and visibly lead in H&S Aksorn et. al., (2008); Fernandez-Muniz et
matters al., (2007)
Managers regularly visit workplaces to Findley et al., (2004); Toellner et. al.,
check work conditions or communicate (2009)
with workers about H&S
Managers encourage and arrange Findley et al., (2004); Fernandez-Muniz et
meetings with employees & other al., (2007)
managers to discuss H&S matters
Managers conduct toolbox talks Toellner (2009);
themselves
Managers ensure that the H&S budget is Abudayyeh et al., (2004); Jaselskis et al.,
adequate (1996)
Managers recognize and reward Teo et al., (2005)
outstanding H&S performance of workers

549

H&S policy Shannon et al., (1997); Ng Proper implementation of safety Teo et al., (2005)
et al., (2005); Fernandez-Muniz et al., management system
2007)
Company has H&S policy Ng et al., (2005); Teo et al., (2005)
Written in-house H&S rules and Teo, et al., (2006); Fernandez-Muniz et
regulations for all workers reflecting al., (2007)
management concern for safety, principles
of action and objectives of achievement
The firm coordinates its H&S policies with Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007)
other human resource policies to ensure
the well-being of workers
4. Problem statement
Based on the research questions posed, so far there has been scant research of proactive indicators that can be more
closely tied to the H&S measurement of SMEs in South Africa, to get a better understanding of their influence in
attitudinal and other cultural factors. This current study identifies and validates appropriate leading indicator metrics that
can be used for monitoring and measuring H&S performance at project level of SMEs, hence assist in reducing
accidents, injuries, fatalities, illnesses, improve the productivity of the workers in projects but to name a few.
4.1 Objectives of the study
In order to answer the aforementioned research questions. This study therefore delves into the following research
objectives;
 To identify leading indicator metrics that will influence health and safety performance improvement at project
level of SMEs; and
 To determine the impact of the leading indicator metrics when used for monitoring and measuring health and
safety performance improvement at project level of SMEs.
5. Methodology
A total of 64 leading indicator metrics that have the potential to improve H&S performance of SMEs at project level were
identified. The indicators were categorized into ten core elements as indicated in Table 1. The experts rated the impact of
the indicator metrics on a Likert scale of 1 = no major impact (10%) and 10 = major impact (100%) in improving H&S
performance at project level of SMEs.
In order to reach consensus of the identified indicators in the literature, experts experience and knowledge was
required using Delphi method. This consensus method is structured facilitation technique that explore consensus among
a group of experts, by synthesizing their opinions (Murphy et al., 1998), they share common objective of synthesizing
judgment when a state of uncertainty exists, in this case the leading indicator metrics to be used by construction industry
SMEs at project level to successfully measure and improve there H&S performance. Delphi method has not been widely
used in construction research (see Hallowell, 2008) but widely used in the health care research Addington et al., (2005),
hence the reason for using it in this research to alleviate the existing uncertainty.
The Delphi technique has four important features. First it is characterized by its anonymity, thus encouraging honest
opinion free from group pressure (Jones et al., 1995). This method is an advantage when both academics and industry
practitioners are included, lest academics dominate discussions. Second iteration allows experts to change their opinions
in subsequent rounds. Third, controlled feedback illustrates the distribution of the group’s response, in addition to
individual’s previous response. Finally the Delphi technique can be used to engage participants who are separated by
large distances because it can be distributed by mail or online (Hasson et al., 2000). This method was therefore
appropriate in validating and identifying the H&S indicators.
Based on the identified indicators a structured questionnaire was developed for the first round of Delphi, the
questionnaire was piloted with two H&S experts. The statisticians also checked for the suitability of wording and the rating
scale. The ideal questionnaire was electronically presented in four rounds of Delphi to a panel of purposely selected
550
experts who voluntarily accepted to participate. The survey was via e-mail from September 2010 to June 2011. Purposive
sampling was used, as this form of sampling is based on the assumption that the researcher’s knowledge of the
population can be used to carefully select individuals to be included in the sample (Polit et al., 1997). For this particular
study purposive sampling is superior to, for example random sampling, because the stakeholders were selected on the
basis of there breadth of experience and knowledge as well as their willingness and ability to articulate their opinions.
Optimal sample size in research with the Delphi technique has not been established. Research has been published that
was based on samples that vary from 10 and 50 to much larger numbers (Campbell et al., 2001). Murphy et al., (1998)
asserted that a larger sample is better, concluding that as the number of stakeholders/experts increases, the reliability of
‘composite judgment’ increases. However these authors also stated that there is scant empirical evidence about the
effect of the number of stakeholders/experts on either the reliability or the validity of consensus process.
A total of 30 H&S experts were identified and invited to participate, 20 experts both academics and industry
practitioners of H&S voluntarily agreed to participate. The experts were selected globally using an introductory
questionnaire survey via e-mail which they responded to. In the first round of Delphi the experts were asked to rate the
impact of the indicators to the improvement of H&S at project level of SMEs projects without adding any new indicators,
this approach was different as compared to the one applied by Addington et al., (2005) where they allowed the experts to
add new measures in the first round. The second and third round questionnaires included a qualitative component that
offered the experts the opportunity to provide additional feedback in the form of written comments if there rating was two
units out of the group median. In round 4 the experts were allowed to add new indicators they thought would improve
H&S performance at project level of SMEs and were also given the opportunity to change there rating if they were two
units out of the group median. There were no new indicators that were added, hence indicating content validity and face
validity of the indicators presented to the experts. After round 4, the degree of consensus achieved was assessed by
calculating the median, mean and percentage response in the band of 9 and 10, of each indicator. Consensus was
reached when indicators attracted final scores of, percentage median impact of 90% to 100% which is 9.00 to 10.00
median rating and over 50% of respondents rating the indicator metric in the band of 9.00 to 10.00.
The results presented in this paper are based on the fourth round of Delphi process. After the fourth round the
experts were sent the final results of the survey.
6. Results
6.1 Demographic characteristics of experts
Twenty potential experts agreed to participate, and eventually sixteen experts finished all the four rounds of the Delphi
study. The experts were internationally recruited and voluntarily accepted to participate. The experts were from Australia
(6), America (1), South Africa (7), Italy (1), Portugal (2), Ireland (1), Scotland (1), and Pakistan (1). Ninety-five (95%) of
experts were male, the female experts who were invited to participate declined the invitation, hence the result indicates
the dominance of males in this field. The sixteen experts who completed the four rounds of Delphi, eight had PhDs, five
with master’s degree, one with bachelor degree and two with diploma. The accumulated industrial experience of the
experts was 118 years at an average of 7.38 years per expert and academic experience of 95 years at an average of
5.94 years per expert. The experts especially the academics have extensively contributed to the body of knowledge on
H&S with vast publications in peer reviewed conferences and journals. The experts are professionally registered in their
countries.
6.2 Leading indicator metrics analysis
Table 2 indicates the Delphi results for round 4. The leading indicator metrics for measuring appointment of H&S staff
were not retained. The indicators achieved median score of 8.00 and below or a median percentage impact of 80% and
below. The percentage rating of the respondents in the median band of, 9.00 to 10.00 was less than 50%.
Formal and informal written communication was measured by four leading indicator metrics. The four indicator
metrics were not retained. The percentage impact median was below 90% and the response rate of three indicator
metrics, in the band of 9.00 to 10.00, was below 50%. One indicator metric attained over 50% response rate, but was not
retained because the impact median was below 90%. This indicator metric was provision of written information about
H&S procedures.
The experts rating for the formal and informal verbal communication metrics allowed the retention of one leading
indicator metric i.e. organize regular meetings to verbally inform workers about preventive H&S measures of risky work.
This indicator was rated to impact improvement at 90% and 68.75% rated it in the median band of 9.00 to 10.00. The
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other three indicator metrics were not retained as they did not attain the two criteria’s.
Health and safety resource was measured using 8 leading indicator metrics. Two of the metrics were retained as
they were rated as having major impact to improve H&S performance. These indicator metrics were; provision of H&S
budget and the provision of correct tools, equipment and plant to execute the construction work. Furthermore, material
safety data sheet (MSDS) indicator metric was rated as having an impact percentage of 80%, and only 25% of experts
rated it as having a major impact to improve H&S performance. The other five metrics were not retained because they did
not fulfill both criteria’s as indicated in Table 2.
The leading indicator of H&S project planning had nine leading indicator metrics to measure it, of which three were
retained after the fourth round. The retained metrics were; layout of the site considers H&S aspects, use of hazard
identification procedures and scheduling for H&S in projects. There percentage median impact to improve H&S
performance was 90% and were rated by over 50% of experts as having a major impact to improve H&S performance.
Six of the seven leading indicator metrics measuring the construct of project supervision were retained. One of the
metric i.e. results of inspection discussed at H&S meeting, was not retained as experts believe it had only 85% impact to
improve H&S performance.
Training in H&S indicator was revealed using five leading indicator metrics. The experts rated three of the metrics
as having major impact to improve H&S performance. The other two metrics that were not retained were; instruction
manuals or safe work procedures used to aid in preventive action and workers given time off for training. There
percentage impact to improve H&S performance was rated at 80%. The experts rating in the band of 9.00 to 10.00 was
below 50%.
Upper management commitment and involvement had the highest number of leading indicator metrics i.e. 11. All
the metrics were retained, and they were all considered to have major impact to improve H&S performance at project
level of SMEs. This result reflects the importance of upper management commitment and involvement in improving H&S
performance.
This leading indicator i.e. H&S policy had four leading indicator metrics to measure it. Based on the ratings from
experts one metric was retained. Two of the indicator metrics attained a median percentage impact of 80% i.e. company
having H&S policy and written in house H&S rules and regulations for all workers, which reflects management concern for
safety principle of action and objectives of achievement. The retained indicator metric was; the firm coordinates its H&S
policies with other human resource policies to ensure the well-being of workers.
Worker involvement and empowerment was reduced to five leading indicator metrics after the fourth round. The two
leading indicator metrics that were not retained were; workers provide written suggestions on H&S and workers are kept
informed of provision of H&S plan. Their impact rating was 85%. As per the experts rating, employees need to be
involved and be empowered in H&S. Consulting employees when H&S plan is compiled was rated as having 90% impact
to improve H&S performance, with 62.5% of experts rating it between the band of 9 to 10.
Table 2: leading indicator metrics perceived to have major impact in improving H&S performance
H&S core elements/leading indicators & leading indicator metrics

% response (9-10)
% median Impact
% Mean impact
median
Appointment of H&S staff

Employing at least one qualified manager with H&S training to oversee H&S on 37.50 77.50 75.00 7.50
multiple projects
At least one staff member with H&S training is employed on each project 31.25 77.50 80.00 8.00
Employing at least one H&S representative on each project 18.75 70.00 70.00 7.00
Formal and informal written Communication
Provision of written information about H&S procedures 50.00 77.50 85.00 8.50
Provision of written information about the correct way to perform tasks 37.50 75.60 80.00 8.00
Written circular/brochure that informs workers about the risks associated with their 25.00 74.40 80.00 8.00
work
Written circular/brochure that inform workers about the preventive measures to 31.25 74.40 80.00 8.00
reduce risk
Data source: Delphi survey; September 2010 - June 2011
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Continuation Table 2: leading indicator metrics perceived to have major impact in improving H&S performance
% response (9-10)
% median Impact
% Mean impact
median
Formal and informal verbal communication
Provide clear verbal instructions to both literate and illiterate employees 43.75 83.10 80.00 8.00
about H&S
H&S information verbally communicated to workers before changes are 37.50 82.50 80.00 8.00
made to the way their work activities are executed
Organize regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the risks 50.00 86.30 85.00 8.50
associated with their work
Organize regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the preventive 68.75 87.50 90.00 9.00
H&S measures of risky work
H&S resources
Provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) 31.25 80.00 80.00 8.00
Training in H&S through attending seminars/workshops 37.50 77.50 80.00 8.00
Material schedule data sheets provided for all hazardous materials on site 25.00 74.70 80.00 8.00
Employing technically skilled employees with H&S training 43.75 84.40 80.00 8.00
Adequate information brochures given on H&S 12.50 72.50 80.00 8.00
Provision of a budget for H&S 50.00 88.00 90.00 9.00
Provision of correct tools, equipment and plant to execute construction 68.75 86.30 90.00 9.00
Provision of good welfare facilities such as showers, canteens, toilets 50.00 82.50 85.00 8.50
Project planning of H&S
Ergonomics is considered when deciding the method of construction 37.50 82.50 80.00 8.00
Reengineering is considered to reduce hazards 50.00 85.00 85.00 8.50
When head office decides on the method of construction H&S is included in 50.00 85.60 85.00 8.50
decision making process
Each project has a site-specific H&S plan 50.00 84.40 85.00 8.50
Layout of the site considers H&S aspects 56.25 85.00 90.00 9.00
Use of hazard identification procedures 56.25 88.00 90.00 9.00
Use of risk assessment procedures 50.00 81.90 85.00 8.50
Constructability of project is reviewed 43.75 82.50 80.00 8.00
Scheduling for H&S 68.75 88.10 90.00 9.00
Project supervision
Proper supervision by staff trained in H&S 62.50 86.30 90.00 9.00
Identification of hazards by at least one staff member trained in H&S 56.25 83.80 90.00 9.00
Results of inspection discussed at H&S meeting 50.00 82.50 85.00 8.50
H&S inspections done at least daily 56.25 85.00 90.00 9.00
Local authorities and H&S enforcement agencies visit sites for inspection 56.25 83.10 90.00 9.00
Ad hoc informal H&S inspections of work place 62.50 85.00 90.00 9.00
Regular H&S audits of projects 62.50 86.30 90.00 9.00

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Continuation Table 2: leading indicator metrics perceived to have major impact in improving H&S performance
% response (9-10)
% median Impact
% Mean impact
median
Training in H&S
Workers undergo induction on H&S before commencing work on a particular 68.75 85.60 90.00 9.00
site
Workers trained in proper care and use of personal protective equipment 62.50 83.80 90.00 9.00
Workers are regularly trained in H&S 75.00 90.00 90.00 9.00
Instruction manuals or safe work procedures are used to aid in preventive 43.75 80.60 80.00 8.00
action
Workers are given time off for training 31.25 82.10 80.00 8.00
Upper management commitment & involvement in H&S
Managers encourage and support worker participation, commitment and 75.00 90.00 90.00 9.00
involvement in H&S activities
Managers encourage and support training of employees in H&S 75.00 89.40 90.00 9.00
Managers communicate regularly with workers about H&S 81.25 90.00 90.00 9.00
Managers actively monitor the H&S performance of their projects and 75.00 88.80 90.00 9.00
workers
Managers take responsibility for H&S 75.00 90.00 90.00 9.00
Managers actively and visibly lead in H&S matters 75.00 90.00 90.00 9.00
Managers regularly visit workplaces to check work conditions or 75.00 88.80 90.00 9.00
communicate with workers about H&S
Managers encourage and arrange meetings with employees & other 68.75 88.80 90.00 9.00
managers to discuss H&S matters
Managers conduct toolbox talks themselves 62.50 83.80 90.00 9.00
Managers ensure that the H&S budget is adequate 75.00 90.00 90.00 9.00
Managers recognize and reward outstanding H&S performance of workers 68.75 85.60 90.00 9.00
H&S policy
Proper implementation of safety management system 50.00 85.00 85.00 8.50
Company has H&S policy 31.25 76.30 80.00 8.00
Written in-house H&S rules and regulations for all workers reflecting 37.50 75.60 80.00 8.00
management concern for safety, principles of action and objectives of
achievement
The firm coordinates its H&S policies with other human resource policies to 56.25 80.60 90.00 9.00
ensure the well-being of workers
Worker/employee involvement & empowerment in H&S
Workers are involved in production of H&S policy 62.50 83.80 90.00 9.00
Workers provide written suggestions on H&S 50.00 80.60 85.00 8.50
Workers are kept informed of provisions of H&S plan 50.00 81.30 85.00 8.50
Workers are involved in H&S inspections 75.00 88.80 90.00 9.00
Workers are consulted when H&S plan is compiled 62.50 83.10 90.00 9.00
Workers are involved in development of H&S rules and safe work procedures 62.50 88.10 90.00 9.00
Workers have the explicit right to refuse to work in potentially unsafe, 75.00 89.40 90.00 9.00
unhealthy conditions
7. Discussions
The aim of the present study was to establish the indicator metrics having major impact to improve H&S performance at
project level of SMEs i.e. reduce accidents, injuries, diseases, damage to property but to name a few. To achieve this
objective four round Delphi was used in which 64 statements were drawn up and then evaluated by a panel of experts.
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The experts rated 32 indicator metrics as having major impact to improve H&S performance, but none of the indicators
were rated below median of 7.00, indicating that the experts opined that the indicators had a high to major impact in
improving H&S performance.
As concerns appointment of H&S staff three indicator metrics were identified none of the indicators were retained.
One expert commented that these indicators were expensive tasks for SMEs in their projects.
Verbal communication in H&S i.e. formal and informal was measured using four indicator metrics, only one of the
indicator metric was retained i.e. organizing regular meetings to verbally inform workers about the preventive H&S
measures of risky work, this is supported by Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007).
Studies of Shannon et al., (1997), Ng et al., (2005) and Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007) address the positive effect of
H&S policy to improve H&S. This element revealed itself in using four indicator metrics only one attained consensus i.e.
the firm coordinates its H&S policies with other human resource policies to ensure the well-being of workers. This finding
is supported by, Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007). The other three were rated as having high impact and not having major
impact to improve H&S performance, hence they were not retained.
Quite a number of studies are supportive of employee involvement and empowerment to improve H&S performance
(Aksorn et al., 2008; Fernandez-Muniz et al., 2007). Experts in rating the indicator metrics reached consensus on five of
them. Two of the indicator metrics were not retained despite being voted by 50% of the experts as having a major impact.
Unfortunately the impact rating was below 90% these indicator metrics were; workers provide written suggestions on H&S
and workers are kept informed of provisions of H&S plan.
Upper management commitment and involvement is an important factor in enhancing H&S performance
improvement as replicated in the studies of; Fernandez-Muniz et al., (2007), Levitt et al., (1976); Abudayyeh et al., (2004)
and Aksorn, et al., (2008). Eleven of the indicators identified in the literature were rated as having major impact to
improve H&S performance. These finding supports the literature that upper management involvement and commitment in
any organization is critical to the improvement of H&S performance. The experts indicated that managers being active,
visible on projects and leading in H&S matters will have a major impact in improving H&S performance, 75% of the
experts rated the indicators in the band of 9 to 10 i.e. major impact.
Training in H&S has been indicated to improve H&S performance (see Sawacha et al., 1999; Kheni et al., 2006;
Fernandez-Muniz et al., 2007). Three indicator metrics measuring H&S training attained consensus. Two indicator
metrics that were not retained were: instruction manuals or safe work procedures are used to aid in preventive action and
workers are given time off for training.
The H&S resource element is revealed using eight indicators of which two attained consensus i.e. provision of
correct tools, equipment and plant to execute construction and provision of H&S budget. Material safety data sheet
(MSDS) was rated by 25% of experts as having major impact to improve H&S performance; furthermore, one expert
indicated that MSDS are “cumbersome for SMEs to use”.
Project supervision has been indicated to improve H&S performance (Fernandez-Muniz et al., 2007, Fang et al.,
2004 and Rajendran et al., 2009). Six of the indicator metrics attained consensus. One metric i.e. results of inspection
discussed at H&S meeting, was not retained as it was rated as having 85% impact to improve H&S performance. The
non-retention of this indicator metric is supported by Mitchell, (2000).
Project planning of H&S has been indicated as a factor that will improve H&S performance of construction projects
(see Sawacha et al., 1999; Mitchell, 2000; Teo et. al., 2005; Rajendran et al., 2009). Three of the nine indicator metrics
measuring project planning of H&S attained consensus and were retained i.e. layout of the site considers H&S aspects,
use of hazard identification procedures and scheduling for H&S. These indicator metrics are highly acknowledged by the
experts as having major impact and voted with more than 50% of experts as having major impact to improve H&S
performance at project level of SMEs.
8. Conclusions
This is the first reported study to develop a set of performance measures based on leading indicators and indicator
metrics, specifically designed to evaluate H&S performance at project level of SMEs. These measures are deemed
relevant for all SMEs in South Africa construction industry. Publication of this set of indicators is timely because of the
interest of providing alternative measurement from traditional measurement of lagging indicators and the current
perception of their superiority over lagging indicators in improving H&S performance by reducing accidents in their
projects.
The review of literature identified 64 indicator metrics in round one, two indicators were later corrected after round
two to allow for 62 indicator metrics to be rated until the end of round 4. The experts did not add any new indicators at the
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end of round four, it can be indicated that the questionnaire used achieved both face and content validity. Consensus was
attained on 32 leading indicator metrics categorized under seven leading indicators or elements.
The attrition rate of experts was low as four of the twenty experts did not continue till the final round, considering this
was four rounds of Delphi process. It can therefore be indicated that the use of closed ended questionnaire in the first
round was a success and the research area is of interest to the H&S experts. The Delphi approach has been discussed in
detail and the procedure can be replicated in other studies.
9. Limitations
This study has a number of limitations. The indicators identified were based on literature review, with structured closed
questionnaire in the first round of Delphi, instead of open ended questionnaire, which has been used in other Delphi
survey study. This is viewed as a potential bias in this study and highly acknowledged. The other limitation was the
limited feedback included between rounds especially the qualitative discussions which were interpreted based on the
interpretation of the researchers and the statistical information being the group median. At this stage the reproducibility of
the results of the approach is not known. However, the Delphi technique used in this study has been clearly discussed
and can be replicated by other researchers.
10. Recommendations for future research
The H&S indicator metrics retained will form part of a conceptual model of H&S performance improvement that will be
tested among senior personnel of construction SMEs in South Africa, in order to develop the “best fit” model of improving
H&S performance in SMEs projects.
11. Acknowledgement
This project would not have been possible without the research funding support of the National Research Foundation
(NRF).
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The Effect of Communal Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Over Addiction Potential and

Addiction Tendency of Students Suffering from Social Phobia
Zahra Lak
MA in clinical psychology,Allameh Tabatabaei University,

nazaninezahra@gmail.com
Masoumeh Sedaghat
MA in clinical psychology of personality, Azad Science and Researches University,

masoome.sedaghat@gmail.com
Zahra Ahmadvand
MA in clinical psychology, Shahed University,

ahmadvandz@yahoo.com
Doi: 10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p559
Abstract: The aim and background: This present research has been done in order to review the effectiveness of communal behavioural-
cognitive therapy over addiction potential and tendency of Shahed university students suffering from social phobia. The method of
research: This research is a study over clinical trial. The sample of research included 30 students of Shahed University who had got the
highest score according to social phobia test on SPIN and suffering from social phobia. Before entering into therapy, these students
responded to both addiction potential questionnaire (APS) and addiction acknowledgment questionnaire (AAS). After being
homogenized, the samples divided into two groups of control and experimental. The experimental group placed under train of
behavioural-cognitive therapy over 20 sessions and the control group did not place under any training program. The data collection
instrument was self reporting which was analysed, using the descriptive statistics, the correlation coefficient, the covariance analysis and
SPSS 19 software. Findings: There has been a significant different between addiction potential and addiction tendency while entering
into research, after therapy and 6 weeks later, but from this view, no significant difference was observed in control group. It means that
behavioural-cognitive therapy has effect on reduction of addiction potential and tendency.
Keywords: The behavioural-cognitive therapy , The addiction potential, The addiction tendency , Social phobia.
1. Introduction
The social phobia which is also known as a social anxiety and it includes persistent phobia from negative assessment by
others. This disorder is one of anxiety disorder types. Those people suffering from social phobia are extremely scared of
being humiliated and embarrassed in a special social situation like conversation in a group or gathering. This phobia may
include the anxiety symptoms such as blushing, trembling, and sweating. This disorder has a high morbid comforbidity
with the anxiety disorders, mood disorders and disorders related to drug and narcotic. The researches have shown that
81 percent of people with social anxiety disorder also have another disorder (Dan Boer, 2000). Many researchers believe
if the social phobia being diagnosed early and being treated with suitable solutions, suffered people will be safe from its
complications, but unfortunately these people seek treatment when the disorder has become severe and has been
accompanied with other psychological disorders (Maggee, 1999).
The researches have indicated that many people suffering from social phobia, turn to drug and alcohol in order to
reduce their phobia and social anxiety (Smail, Stockwell, Canter and Hodgson, 1984, Carey, 2006) and also they use
drug for their treatment and as a defense mechanism for mental and social problems (Arndt, Tyrell, Flaum and Anderson,
1992). In other words, social anxiety is one of the risk factors for drug abuse (quoted from Santesso, Schmidt, Fox, 2004).
The researchers presented two concepts of addiction potential and addiction tendency in order to review the risk factors
of addiction and review personality factors cause that people turn to drug abuse.
The therapy of addiction tendency presents that specific people as a result of unhealthy personality, show the high
risk of drug dependence when they expose to it (Gendreau & Gendreau, 1970) and the addiction tendency is person's
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tendency, desire , potential which attracts him gradually towards drug or on the other hand or what causes a person to be
drawn towards drug and narcotic (Radi, 2003, p. 17). The context of addiction emergence before a person starts using
drug, is provided during the growth years with formation of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, lifestyles, social relationships and
personality characteristics. On the other hand, before a person turns to drug, the ground and readiness are provided
which are known as the addiction potential(Zeinali, Vahdat, & Eisavi, 2008) . Zeinali and his colleagues tell with reference
to growth and creation of this readiness during life that people who grow drug dependent, may have more different
psychiatric risk factors. They stipulate that in addiction, environmental risk factors facilitate the availability of drug and
increase the psychiatric risk factors and probability of drug dependence. As it mentioned before, social anxiety is one of
the important psychiatric risk factors in using drug.
Glanze and Hantel (2002) provide a model for behaviour of drug using and they believe that what lead to behaviour
of drug using in a person includes the record factors, social factors and individual factors. They believe that individual
factors include: the cognitive expectations, individual abilities and skills such as problem solving and control the anxiety
and the social skills such as: the communications skills, the strong acting skills and refusal skills and psychological
factors such as: self-sufficient, self- confidence, mental health and individual perception of life situations that some of
these factors overlap with characteristics of those suffering social phobia such as low self-confidence, the avoidance of
intimate relationships, not be resolute and determined, fear of rejecting by others and unlimited generalizing of problems
(Furmark, 2006).
So what important in social phobia and other anxiety disorders are timely diagnosis and treatment in order to be
safe from the complications of being without treatment. The social phobia treatment places in 2 classes of
pharmacological and non-pharmacological. The pharmacological treatment includes : the selective inhibitors of Serotonin
reabsorb, Monoamine Oxidase inhibitors (Figneira, 2002) and Benzodizepines (Davidson, 2003) and other concerned
treatment of psychological treatment includes: the cognitive-behavioural therapy, the therapy based on acceptance and
commitment , the exposure therapy and social skills training (Heimberg, et al., 2003). The researches have shown that
cognitive-behavioural therapy is effective in treatment of social phobia individually or in a group because the purpose of
this method is to change the thinking patterns and physical reactions to situations which cause anxiety (tang, et al, 2007).
The research review of Iranian and foreigners suggests the effectiveness o cognitive-behavioural methods in reduction of
social phobia and some of those are the research of Ghafarzadeh and his colleagues (2005), the research of
Ghasemzadeh (2010), Foa (2003), Wells and his colleagues (2001), Heimberg (2003), Liebowitz (1999). The research
review of Iranian and foreigners suggests the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural methods in addiction treating and
preventing relapse. Alizedeh and his colleagues (2008), compared inefficient attitudes in people suffering from drug
abuse to normal and usual people and its psychological consequences and they come to this conclusion that the
cognitive-behavioural therapy is effective to prevent addiction, and also Shahmohammadi and his colleagues (2008)
evaluated the effectiveness of communicative skills training on marital compatibility and adjustment and the prevention of
returning of male drug users Isfahan city and they came to this conclusion that cognitive-behavioural therapy is effective
in prevention of drug using and relapse.
Reviewing domestic and foreign researches, it is felt the vacuum of research on the effect of COGNITIVE-
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY over addiction potential and addiction tendency in social phobia sufferers. So, the researcher of
this paper decided to examine the effect of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY over addiction potential and addiction
tendency in this group of people. The COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY applied in this study is based on the
package of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY for Leahy social phobia disorder adjusted in 20 sessions performance
(Dehghani quoted from Leahy, 2006). Results concerning the effect of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY over social
phobia will be stated in another paper.
2. Methodology
2.1 Participants
The statistical universe includes all male and female students of Shahed University suffering from social phobia. Of them,
30 students were chosen voluntarily and with available random sampling. For this purpose, some announcements were
put at colleges and interested people gathered at a particular day and filled in questionnaire of social phobia on SPIN and
on addiction potential and addiction tendency. After statistical revision, those students with higher social phobia were
chosen; however, it should be noted that there is a positive correlation between social phobia and addiction tendency and
potential, and the students were given a number 1 to 30 and were placed randomly in test control and groups. Each test
and control groups were equally 15 people. Both groups filled in AAS and APS questionnaires once before and once after
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doing treatment program, and once after 6 weeks for follow-up program (in order to examine the effect of intervention on
individuals).the treatment programs were performed on test group in 20 weekly sessions (twice a week). This entire time
control group was waiting.
3. Tools
3.1 SPIN
To diagnose social phobia, SPIN 17-item questionnaire was used. This scale was provided for the first time by Connor
(2006) in order to evaluate social anxiety. This scale is a self appraisal scale which has 17 articles: 3 subscales of fear (6
articles), avoidance (7 articles) and psychological discomfort (4 articles) (Hasanvand, Amouzadeh, 2010). Each scale or
question rates based on 5 rates Likert scale (never=0, a little=1, partly=2, very much=3, unlimited=4). The retest method
of questionnaire reliability in groups with diagnosis of social phobia disorder was 78% to 89%. The internal consistency
with alpha coefficient in group with normal individuals for the total scale was 94% and for subscales of fear was 89% and
avoidance was 91% and subscales of psychological discomfort was equal to 8% has been reported(Conner and
colleagues, 2006). Hasanvand Amouzadeh, (2007) attained the reliability and validity of this scale in Iran. The alpha
coefficient of questionnaire was 82% in the first half and 76% in the second half and also the correlation of the two halves
was 84% and the Spearman, Brown index was equal to 91% also, calculation of Cronbach’s alpha related to total tests in
subscales of social phobia was 75% for avoidance and 74% for fear and 75% for discomfort which indicates the
calculated reliability is satisfactory.
The APS questionnaire (Weed and colleagues, 1992): The APS questionnaire or the scale of addiction potential
includes 39 questions. This scale has been built by Weed and colleagues (1992).The scale content is fully heterogeneous
and most of its articles seem not to be directly related to drug abuse. Some of its articles are related to extroversion, thrill
seeking and risk taking. Others are related to self-doubts, alienation and cynical attitudes towards others. Reliability
coefficients of this scale for normative sample (within 1 week) were respectively, 0.69 and 0.77 (Graham and colleagues,
quoted from Hamid Yaghobie,2000). The questionnaire is scored based on two choices of “Yes” and “No”.
AAS questionnaire: Addiction acknowledgement subscale (AAS) was also formed by Weed, Butcher, Mckenna and
Ben Porath (1992), using some of MMPI-2 questionnaire articles, which their content was clearly related to drug abuse.
Using internal consistency method, the scale was tested and modified; thus, the final scale of AAS has 13 articles. Using
MMPI-2 normative data, raw scores are transformed to linear T scores (Graham and colleagues, quoted by Yaghoubi,
H.,2000). Like AAP questionnaire, this one is also a “Yes” and “No” two-choice questionnaire. Minouie and Salehi (2004)
examined the reliability of total subscales of MAC-R, AAS, APS in Iranian society. In their research, Cronbach’s alpha
was equal to 0.5338 and reliability via spilt-half was calculated at 0.533.
4. COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
In order to conduct the research, the test group testees attended 20 sessions of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY,
per session 2:30 hours, twice a week. In this time, the control group was awaiting. In the initial sessions, they got familiar
with stressful sources, response to stress, stress and relaxation consequences, imaging and role playing. Next sessions
were based on COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPYs, so the group members got familiar with the relationship between
thought, feeling and behaviour ; with how to recognize thoughts and distorted self-talks; with thoughts restructuring and
more rational thoughts replacement as well as recognition of schemata. When sessions were completed, control and test
groups were again evaluated through questionnaires of social phobia, addiction tendency and addiction potential.
5. Results
5.1 Descriptive data
Table1. statistical indices of testees scores in the addiction potential scale (APS) in MMPI-2 test
Test group Control group

Scores Mean SD Mean SD
Pre-test 24.33 5.23 22.87 5.05
Post-test 14.87 4.89 22.87 5.05
Follow-up 15.73 4.25 22.87 5.05
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As shown above, in the pre-test, there is not a big difference between addiction potential mean of both control and test
groups. But, in the post-test, addiction potential scores of group, influenced by COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY,
were lower than control group. Also, test group follow-up mean is lower than that of control group which indicates
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY effect on addiction potential.
Table 2. Statistical indices of testees’ scores in the addiction acknowledgement scale (AAS) in MMPI-2 test
Test group Control group

Scores Mean SD Mean SD
Pre-test 7.67 2.24 7.20 1.69
Post-test 3.53 1.89 7.20 1.69
Follow-up 4.27 2.18 7.20 1.69
In the pre-test, as shown above, there is no big difference between addiction acknowledgement mean of both test and
control groups; however, in the post-test the addiction acknowledgement scores of test group influenced by COGNITIVE-
BEHAVIORAL THERAPY have been lower than that of control group. And also, test group follow-up scores are lower
than those of control group which shows that COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY affects addiction acknowledgement.
5.2 Analytical data
Table3. Covariance analysis results for addiction potential scores (APS) of MMPI-2 test in two groups of test and control
Change Sum of squares Degree of Mean square F Significance

resources freedom
Pre-test 246.11 1 246.11 18.22 0
Group 467.25 1 467.25 34.60 0
Error 364.55 27 13.50
Total 12167.00 30
With respect to above results, the amount of calculated F for post-test scores of addiction potential in both test and
control groups will be significant after stabilizing pre-test scores effects of addiction potential. (F (1.27)=34.60, P<0.01)
Table 4. Covariance analysis results for addiction acknowledgement scores (AAS) of MMPI-2 tets in two groups of test
and control
Change resources Sum of squares Degree of Mean square F Significance

freedom
Pre-test 3.21 1 3.21 0.834 0.369
Group 67.19 1 67.19 17.42 0
Error 104.11 27 3.85
Total 1158.0 30
With respect to above results, the amount of calculated F for post-test scores of addiction acknowledgement in both test
and control groups will be significant after stabilizing pre-test scores effects of addiction acknowledgement. (F
(1.27)=17.42, P<0.01)
6. Results
As seen on Table1, in the pre-test, there is no big difference between addiction potential mean of two groups of test and
control. But in the post-test, influenced by COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY, addiction potential scores of test group
562
has been lower than those of control group. Also, follow-up mean of test group is lower than that of control group
releasing that COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY affects addiction potential.
As observed on Table 2, in the pre-test, there is no big difference between addiction acknowledgement mean of two
groups of test and control. But in the post-test, influenced by COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY, addiction
acknowledgement scores of test group has been lower than those of control group. Also, follow-up mean of test group is
lower than that of control group releasing that COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY affects addiction acknowledgement.
With respect to results of Table 3, the amount of calculated F for post-test scores of addiction potential in both test
and control groups will be significant after stabilizing pre-test scores effects of addiction potential. (F (1.27)=34.60,
P<0.01) so, there is a significant difference between post-test scores mean of addiction potential in both test and control
groups and keeping the pre-test effects constant. Comparing adjusted mean of the groups shows that addiction potential
mean of test group (M=14.87) is lower than that of control group (M=22.87). Therefore, doing COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL
THERAPY has resulted in addiction potential reduction in test group.
With respect to results of Table 4, the amount of calculated F for post-test scores of addiction acknowledgement in
both test and control groups will be significant after stabilizing pre-test scores effects of addiction acknowledgement. (F
(1.27)=17.42, P<0.01) so, there is a significant difference between post-test scores mean of addiction acknowledgement
in both test and control groups and keeping the pre-test effects constant. Comparing adjusted mean of the groups shows
that addiction acknowledgement mean of test group (M=3.53) is lower than that of control group (M=7.20). Therefore,
doing COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY has led to addiction acknowledgement reduction in test group.
7. Discussion
In this research, theories related to effect of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY on the reduction of addiction potential
and addiction tendency were tested on the population of Shahed University students suffering from social phobia. The
obtained results confirm the effectiveness of COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY. In other words, addiction potential
and addiction tendency in test group show a significant reduction comparing to control group. The research findings are in
consistent with those of Alizadeh and colleagues (2008), in which they compared inefficient attitudes of people suffering
from drug abuse, common people and its psychological consequences, and found that COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL
THERAPY is efficacious on the prevention of addiction. The findings are also in consistent with those of
Shahmohammadi and colleagues (2008), in which they studied effectiveness of communicative skills training on marriage
adaptation and prevention of Esfahan city’s mal addicts relapse, and concluded that COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL
THERAPYs are effective in prevention of drug abuse as well as drug abuse relapse. The findings are also in consistent
with those of Manshaie (2005) who studied the role of life skills training on the addiction prevention of Esfahan city’s
youth. Findings are also in consistent with those of Dabbaghie and colleagues (2008) who studied the effectiveness of
relapse prevention based on mindfulness on the treatment of drug dependence and mental health. They found
psychological therapies on addiction prevention more efficacious than other therapies.
These individuals’ mental health improvement is another point that should be considered in explaining the findings,
because based on the self-medication theory of Kantzian ( Baschnagel, kufi, schumacher, Droubz and Saladin (2008),
people turn to drug use, in fact try to resolve their problems such as depression and anxiety by doing self-medication.
During the treatment employed in this research, patients were familiarized with stressful sources, response to stress,
stress and relaxation consequences, thought restructuring, replacing more rational thought and identifying schemata.
Therefore, reducing the individuals’ anxiety, COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY can be useful in reduction of
addiction potential and addiction tendency in social phobia sufferers.
The research was carried out on the student population (suffering from social phobia). Thus, the findings can be
generalized for the student population suffering from (clinical) social phobia. This class of society seems to be specifically
vulnerable to confrontation with life pressures and should be dealt with a high priority. The depression and anxiety
derived from student life and their effects on the students’ mental health have apparently drawn researchers’ attention in
recent years. Notice that the research limitations including, using Shahed University students and not those of other
universities, samples being all students and lack of non-specific parallel treatment make the generalization of findings
face with caution. It is recommended that this research be conducted on the non-student populations with more extended
samples.
Acknowledgment
Hereby, I would like to extend my sincerest that to the head and members of Arya Research Center (aryarc.com) for their
support for publication of this article.
563
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The Impact of Keyword Technique on the Students’ Vocabulary

Retention Ability in an EFL Class
Win Jenpattarakul
Assistant Professor, Language Institute

Bangkok University, Thailand
E-mail: win.j@bu.ac.th
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p565
Abstract This paper makes an effort to show the effectiveness of keyword technique as a vocabulary retention technique. The study
was a one-group pretest-posttest experiment and aimed to investigate the effect of keyword technique on vocabularies retention ability of
40 Bangkok University students and explore their attitude towards the use of keyword technique. The instruments were the vocabulary
tests, and the questionnaire exploring attitude towards keyword technique. The pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group
were calculated by descriptive statistics and compared by using a dependent t-Test measure. It was found that students obtained higher
scores for the posttest than the pretest scores at the 0.05 level of significance. In addition, their attitude towards using the keyword
technique was at a high level. Moreover, the results from this study supported that using keyword technique helped the students store
and retrieve a new bunch of vocabularies, motivated them to learn English language and expanded their imagination and creativity.
Pedagogical implications into vocabulary retention technique were suggested.
Keywords: Reading comprehension, vocabulary retention
1. Introduction
A great deal of researches including empirical researches and theories about vocabulary learning and vocabulary
acquisition to enhance vocabulary size which is directly linked to language use are in attention because vocabulary plays
a vital role in language use, and academic and career advancement (Oxford, 1990; Nation, 2008; Wei, 2007; Good and
Cheng, 2009). However, it is useless if the students learn a lot of words or possess a large number of vocabularies but
they can’t remember or retain in their long-term memories. Wei (2007) stated that nowadays long-term retention has
received wide attention as one of the greatest problems in learning new words. Quinn and Irvings (1997) mentioned that
the hardest way to learn the new words is to try to memorize a list of unrelated words and their meanings. The students
need not only learn a lot of words, but to remember them. Unlike the learning of grammar which is essentially a rule-
based system, vocabulary knowledge is largely a question of accumulating individual item. The important point is that the
students must be able to store and retrieve the vocabularies when they read for comprehension (Thornbury, 2008).
Similarly, the inability to recall the known words adversely affects not only reading comprehension but also spoken and
written discourse (Wei, 2007). Therefore, the problem of remembering a large number of vocabularies is common for the
English learners around the world as well as Thai students.
In Thailand, Thai students including Bangkok University students naturally like to learn word list by rote for
examination which will disappear from their memories very soon, so this vocabulary retention method is proved useless
and unproductive. This problem can lead to poor score of English reading test because they will forget the learned words
very soon since they can’t store and retrieve the words immediately (Folse, 2004). Moreover, there are several problems
which make Thai students fail to learn new vocabularies which result in the inability to retain a large amount of new words
in their long-term memories (Sribayak, Sirihanjanavong & Charoenchang, 2012). Here are the problems of Thai students.
1. They lack independent reading. That is, they do not like reading outside class, so they read less. The less the students
read, the fewer the chances they encounter the new vocabularies.
2. They do not use context clues when reading. So, they can’t infer and guess the word meaning from context. Hence,
they can’t unlock the meaning of the unfamiliar words and can’t get the gist of the text.
3. They always look up the words in a dictionary to find the meaning of difficult words immediately when they encounter
them which will interrupt their reading comprehension. Besides, they do not use a monolingual dictionary (English-English
dictionary), but they use the pocket or electronic dictionary that can be misleading.
4. When they look up the meanings of the new words in a dictionary, they do not pay attention to parts of speech, word
565
origins, and example sentences. Consequently, they cannot use those words appropriately and they will disappear from
their memories soon.
5. They ignore the pronunciations of the new words they learned. So, they mispronounce the words which obstruct the
ability to remember the new words.
6. They do not repeat the learned words in spite of the fact that the repetition promotes the word retention. What’s more,
they like to copy the vocabulary exercises from their friends, so they have no chance to repeat or recycle the learned
words which will improve word retention.
7. They do not use the learned words to write the stories in their personal context.
8. They do not like independent study but they like being spoon-fed with the vocabulary knowledge and prefer the
teachers to translate vocabulary.
9. They are usually overloaded with a large number of words each classroom time. This practice is not good because the
words learned over spaced learning session were retained better than words that were learned in concentrated burst
(Thornbury, 2008).
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, vocabulary retention techniques, namely grouping and making acronym,
word association, pronouncing the word correctly, making visual picture, repeating and reviewing, doing vocabulary
exercises, mind map, keyword technique, rhyming, using word study and context, placing new words into a personal
context, and checking etymology are in attention because they can help the students to store a large number of
vocabularies in their long-term memories and recall or retrieve to achieve reading comprehension (Oxford, 1990;
Thornbury, 2008; Nation, 2008; Nemati, 2009). Furthermore, vocabulary retention techniques will make the students
happy to learn a lot of words as they can keep those words in memory which can contribute to optimistic attitude and
increased confidence in learning vocabulary. Oxford (1990) stated that long-term retention has received wide attention as
one of the greatest problems in learning the new words. Vocabulary is by far the most sizable and unmanageable
component in language learning, but vocabulary retention techniques help the students to cope with this difficulty.
Among aforementioned 12 vocabulary retention techniques, keyword technique is the best known technique and
one of the most popular and the most extensively researched vocabulary teaching methods because the outstanding
strength of this technique is that it combines verbal linkage and visual imagery in the memory process. Numerous studies
have confirmed the effectiveness of the keyword technique in both foreign language and language vocabulary learning
(Atkinson & Raugh, 1975; Pressley & Levin, 1985; Cohen, 1987 cited in Zhang, 2005). What’s more, Pressley et al., 1982
cited in Nation, 1990) reached the conclusion of the advantages of keyword technique from his comprehensive survey of
almost 50 studies accordingly.
1. The keyword technique helps the learning of foreign vocabulary and is superior to other techniques, such as rote
repetition, placing vocabulary in a meaningful sentence, and using pictures or synonyms.
2. The use of keyword technique is not restricted to concrete noun, but can be used with verbs,abstract nouns, and
adjectives.
3. The use of the keyword technique is not restricted to adults. It can be used with children as young as three years if
they are helped a lot in using the technique.
4. The keyword technique does not slow down recall of the meaning of foreign words.
5. Keyword technique enhances the imagination of the students. The more imagination the students have, the more
useful the technique, although it is often difficult to think of keywords that sound like the foreign word.
Therefore, this research would like to find out how keyword technique affects the vocabulary retention ability of the
students by comparing the students’ vocabulary retention ability before and after learning keyword technique. Below is
the definition of keyword technique.
“Keyword technique refers to connecting the pronunciation of the second language (English) with the meaning of
the first language (Thai) plus generating an imagination. For example, the students connect the sound of the English
word “condolence” with the meaning in Thai “CON-DO-LOM” which means that the condominium collapsed, and they
further imagine that when the condominium collapsed, many victims will die and be injured, causing the great sorrow.
Normally, people should offer the sympathy and sadness to the victims’ relatives, which is equivalent to the meaning of
“condolence.” Another example is that the students connect the sound of the English word “jeopardy” with the meaning in
Thai “JEB-POR-DEE” which means at risk, dangerous, and be destroyed. So, when something is in jeopardy, it means
that it is at risk, dangerous, and destroyed.”
566
Furthermore, various perspectives of keyword technique are presented as follows:
1. Hauptmann (2004) said that keyword technique was originally coined and described by Atkinson as follows:
“By a keyword we mean an English word that sounds like some part of the foreign word. In general, the keyword has no
relationship to the foreign word except for the fact that it is similar in sound. The keyword method divides vocabulary
learning into two stages. The first stage requires the subject to associate the spoken foreign word with the keyword, an
association that is formed quickly because of acoustic similarity. The second stage requires the subject to form a mental
image of the keyword, “interacting” with the English translation; this stage is comparable to a paired-associate procedure
involving the learning of unrelated English words.”
2. Thornbury (2008) stated that keyword technique is the best known mnemonic technique. It involves devising an
image that typically connects the pronunciation of the second language word with the meaning of a first language word.
For example, when I was learning the Maori word te aroha (love) the word sounded a little like the English word arrow+er,
so I pictured Cupid with a bow and arrow. He also said further that devising keywords takes time, and amount certain of
training. Indeed, it can take more time and training than some practitioners think it is worth. However, the research is
compelling: there seems to be no other single technique that works well. Therefore, when teaching new vocabulary items,
it may be a good idea to allow learners a few minutes to silently and individually devise keywords. Then, if you ask them
to tell their neighbors about their keywords it will not only reinforce them, but it may help train learners who are having
trouble adopting this technique.
3. Oxford (1990) described that keyword technique combines sounds and images so that the learners can easily
remember what they hear or read in the new language. First, identify a familiar word in one’s own language or another
language that sounds like the new
word. Second, generate a visual image of the new word and the familiar one interacting in some way. Notice that the
target language word does not have to sound exactly like the familiar word and additional pronunciation practice may be
needed. Here are some examples of keywords for remembering what is heard or read. Brian links the new French word
froid (cold) with a familiar word, Frued, then imagines Freud standing outside in the cold. Sobor is the Russian word for
council, so Alice links this new word with so bored, picturing a bunch of councilors “so bored” with their meeting.
4. Nation (2008) elaborated on the keyword technique that it is primarily a way of making a strong link between the
form of an unknown word and its meaning. It involves two steps after the learner has met the unknown word and has
found or been provided with its meaning. The first step is to think of a first language word (the keyword) which sounds like
the beginning or all of the unknown word. The second step is for the learner to think of a visual image where the meaning
of the unknown word and the meaning of the keyword is combined. The keyword technique works because it makes
learners process more than one feature or a word and this processing is not superficial in the way that rote repetition is
superficial. The only limit is the learner’s imagination. The keyword does not have to sound exactly like the foreign word
to be learned, and it does not have to be like all of the word. If the form of the keyword is like the beginning of the foreign
word, then that is usually enough.
Here is an example. If an Indonesian learner wants to learn the English word pin, the learner could use the keyword
pintu which is the Indonesian word for “door”. The learner then thinks of an image involving a door and a pin.
To conclude, originally introduced by Atkinson, the keyword technique is learner-based and one of vocabulary
retention techniques which works well for acquiring foreign language vocabulary. Two stages are involved in this
technique: first, a connection based on acoustic similarities is made between a new word and a familiar word (keyword)
and second, an imaginable link that associates the new word and the keyword together is made (Baleghizadeh &Ashoori,
2010).
2. Purposes of the Study
2.1 To compare the students’ vocabulary retention ability before and after learning the keyword technique.
2.2 To survey the students’ attitude towards using the keyword technique.
3. Research Questions
To accomplish this investigation, the following research questions were formulated:

1. To what extent did the students improve their vocabulary retention ability after learning the keyword
technique?
2. How did the students respond to the use of keyword technique?
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4. Related Researches on Keyword Technique
A number of related researches about the benefits of keyword technique have been done. Most of them compare and
experiment the advantages of keyword technique. The following four pieces of researches were done to compare the
effect of different types of vocabulary retention techniques on students’ long-term memories. The first one was carried out
by Baleghizadeh & Ashoori (2010) who compared the effect of keyword and word list method on immediate retention of
English vocabulary in a natural classroom setting. The results showed that the keyword method produced better recall
compared to word list method, suggesting a promising educational value for its utility. Similarly, Chen (2006) compared
three strategies (keyword-given, keyword-generated, and rote rehearsal method). The findings revealed that keyword
technique is better than rote rehearsal in terms of retaining vocabulary. In addition, the keyword-given group is superior to
the keyword-generated group on the recall tests showing that the application of the keyword method in new tasks needs
students’ life experiences and first language expression. Therefore, these factors may result in difficulty in creating
interacting image when students intend to apply the keyword method into new context. Another study conducted by
Rodriguez and Sadoski (2000) emphasized the effect of rote learning, context, keyword, and context/keyword methods
on retention vocabulary in EFL classroom. The findings explored the effectiveness of the training in the use of keyword
method for vocabulary acquisition by the students who are experienced in learning a foreign language as well as revealed
that the keyword-trained students outperformed the control group in recall of word definitions. Fourthly, Brown and Perry
(1991, cited in Hauptmann 2004) compared three learning strategies in authentic classroom situation, keyword only,
semantic (meaning through context), keyword-semantic ( keyword plus context) and found that the keyword- semantic
strategy works best. They also made the link between this performance and the depth-of-processing theory, i.e. a well-
known theoretical framework with the learning strategy.
With regard to experiment research, Benge & Robbins (2010) conducted a study showing that keyword mnemonic
method was effective. They experimented with junior and senior students who had received vocabulary instruction using
the keyword in their class. The research clearly pointed to a strong relationship between vocabulary knowledge and
reading comprehension and most agree that the larger one’s base vocabulary, the better one’s ability to comprehend text.
Students who are able readers continued to grow their vocabulary while the students who are struggling readers do not.
In an effort to bridge this gap, they used action research methodology to explore keyword mnemonics as a way to actively
engage their students in learning new vocabulary. The results indicated that the keyword method was effective with her
students. The last research about keyword technique is the study of Kaminska (2001;2002) which was concluded by
Hauptmann (2004) accordingly.
“The research examined the effectiveness of the keyword technique when teaching phrasal verbs. The study was
conducted over three consecutive years, and the experiments properly lasted to three to four weeks only. In the process
of this study, she developed a variation of the keyword technique, which she calls literal-keyword technique. She drew
pictures to assist the learners to form an effective image, although she arrived at the conclusion that this was not
probably necessary. The results of her study strongly suggested that the keyword technique is also suitable to teach
phrasal verbs and that these learnt with the literal-keyword technique seem to be better retained than those acquired by
more traditional discovery exercises, especially when large amounts of vocabulary are to be learnt. A side effect of her
study was that it showed the flexibility of the keyword technique. It was used for an area which is normally not seen as
suitable for the use of it.”
In conclusion, a number of researches conducted in different countries where English is taught as a foreign
language showed that keyword technique is beneficial to the students’ word retention ability and outperforms other
vocabulary retention techniques such as rote learning, repetition, and using imagery in terms of word retrieval. Hence, it’s
worth experimenting whether keyword technique improves Bangkok University students’ vocabulary retention ability.
Besides, in addition to improving vocabulary retention ability, the researcher would like to find out other benefits of
keyword technique which affects the students’ vocabulary learning.
1. This research is one-group pretest-posttest design. The data were collected from 40 students enrolling in EN 111
in the first semester of 2012 academic year at Bangkok University. The participants were selected by the purposive
sampling technique. Among these participants, twenty of them were males and other twenty students were females. The
age of the participants ranged from 18 to 20 years old.
2. Two instruments were employed in the study: 1) vocabulary test for pretest and posttest, 2) the questionnaire
surveying the students’ attitude towards using keyword technique.
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3. The data obtained from the vocabulary pretest and posttest and the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively
through dependent t-Test and descriptive statistics.
4. Treatment procedure was presented accordingly.
Week 1: The teacher taught the students new 20 words and they were asked to write down the meanings in either Thai or
English. The teacher suggested them to think their own way to remember the new 20 words. At the end of the period, the
teacher informed that the first vocabulary test will be taken next week (Week 2).
Week 2: The teacher had the students take the first vocabulary test. The test requires the students to choose the best
answer to complete the sentences. The vocabulary items are the words that the students have learnt in week 1. Each
student completed the test within 30 minutes. After that, the teacher corrected and recorded the pretest scores as shown
in the table 1.
Week 3: The teacher introduced the students to know keyword technique - one of several vocabulary retention
techniques. The teachers taught the students how to apply keyword technique to help them remember new vocabularies
as the following steps:
Step 1: Check the right pronunciation of the target word (English word)
Step 2: Connect the pronunciation of an English word with the meaning of a Thai word or with the familiar word.
Step 3: Devise the visual image of the English word interacting with the meaning of Thai word or the familiar word. After
they were introduced how to apply keyword, each student will be asked to practice using keyword technique to help
remember another set of 10 words.
Week 4: The teacher taught the students how to use keyword technique to remember the new 20 words appearing in the
first vocabulary test. The teachers had the students practice individually. At the end of the period, the teacher told the
students that there will be a second test whose content is similar to the first vocabulary test.
Week 5: The students were asked to do the second vocabulary test. They have 30 minutes to complete the test. The test
was aimed at checking the students’ memory of the word definitions that they memorized by using keyword technique in
(Week 4). The teacher corrected the test and recorded the posttest scores as shown in table 1.
Table 1: Pretest and posttest scores
Student No. Pretest Posttest

(20 scores) (20 scores)
1. 7 14
2. 11 16
3. 10 15
4. 10 16
5. 12 17
6. 13 19
7. 11 18
8. 13 20
9. 12 16
10. 14 19
11. 14 18
12. 10 16
13. 8 15
14. 11 18
15. 9 16
16. 11 15
17. 12 17
18. 10 16
19. 9 15
20. 8 14
21. 4 15
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22. 14 17
23. 10 16
24. 11 13
25. 9 13
26. 12 15
27. 14 17
28. 13 18
29. 9 13
30. 12 16
31. 8 14
32. 10 13
33. 9 13
34. 10 14
35. 11 14
36. 12 16
37. 11 17
38. 13 18
39. 14 18
40. 9 13
=  10.75  = 15.83
6. Result
Research Question 1: To what extent did the students improve their vocabulary retention ability after learning keyword
technique? To answer the first research question concerning the student’s vocabulary retention ability, the results of
which have been shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Mean of the pretest and posttest of the students
N  S.D. t sig
Pretest 40 10.75 2.193 -19.219 .000
Posttest 40 15.83 1.907
The results shown in table 2 indicate that the mean of the posttest is higher than that of the pretest by using the Paired-
Sample Test. The result from the t-Test revealed that there was significant difference in pretest and posttest. The findings
supported that keyword technique can improve the students’ vocabulary retention ability.
Research Question 2: How did the students respond to the use of keyword technique? To answer the second research
question concerning students’ views in self-report, the results of which have been shown in table 3.
Statements for checking students’ attitude towards using Response Total number of students (n=40)
keyword technique
No. of students Percentage
1. The keyword technique is interesting and challenging in Yes 32 80.0
vocabulary learning.
No 0 0.0
Not sure 8 20.0
2. The keyword technique helps me to be aware of the Yes 35 87.5
pronunciation of English words.
No 3 7.5
Not sure 2 5.0
3. The keyword technique helps me to remember the meaning Yes 34 85.0
of English words.
No 0 0.0
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Not sure 6 15.0

4. The keyword technique helps me to acquire vocabulary Yes 36 90.0
more efficiently and rapidly.
No 0 0.0
Not sure 4 10.0
5. The keyword technique helps me to store and recall Yes 37 92.5
vocabulary easier.
No 1 2.5
Not sure 2 5.0
6. The keyword technique can retain my vocabulary in long- Yes 33 82.5
term memory.
No 3 7.5
Not sure 4 10.0
7. I like to memorize vocabulary through keyword technique. Yes 36 90.0
No 2 5.0
Not sure 2 5.0
8. Keyword technique makes me feel relaxed and have fun Yes 35 87.5
when studying English.
No 3 7.5
Not sure 2 5.0
9. Keyword technique expands and enhances my imagination Yes 39 97.5
and creativity.
No 1 2.5
Not sure 0 0.0
10. Keyword technique motivates me to learn new Yes 36 90.0
vocabularies.
No 2 5.0
Not sure 2 5.0
Table 3 shows that the students’ attitude towards the keyword technique is positive because the majority of the students
responded to each statement as follows:
1. 80 % of the students thought that keyword technique is interesting and challenging.

2. 87.5 of the students reported that keyword technique helps them to be aware of the pronunciation of English words.
3. 85% of the students said that keyword technique helps them to remember the meaning of English words
4. 90 % of the students expressed that keyword technique helps them to acquire vocabulary more efficiently and
rapidly.
5. 92.5 % of the students said that keyword technique helps them to store and retrieve vocabulary easier
6. 82.5 % of the students reported that keyword technique can retain their vocabulary in long-term memory.
7. 90 % of the students said they like to memorize vocabulary through keyword technique.
8. 87.5 % of the students reported that keyword technique makes them feel relaxed and have fun when studying
English.
9. 97.5 % of the students said that keyword technique expands and enhances their imagination and creativity.
10. 90% of the students said that keyword technique motivates them to learn new vocabularies.
8. Conclusion and Implication
The research findings indicated that keyword technique contributes to the improvement of students’ vocabulary retention
ability and works because it makes the students process more than one feature of a word and this process is not
superficial in the way that rote repetition is superficial (Nation, 2008). Furthermore, the keyword technique becomes a tool
for storing and retrieving, and expanding vocabulary size. It helps the students to retain the words in their long-term
memory and it is easy to store and recall. The findings were in line with (Aaleghizadeh &Ashoori, 2001; Chen, 2006;
Rodriguez & Sadoski, 2000; Benge & Robbins, 2010). In addition, the students agreed that keyword technique made
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them aware of pronunciation of English words. This is due to the fact that they realize that the knowledge of a word must
include knowing not only how it is written, how it is used as a part of speech, but also how it sounds (Sedita, 2005). The
studies showed that the words that are difficult to pronounce are more difficult to learn ( Lenier & Maker, 1984; Nation,
2008). Consequently, the teacher should make words easy to learn because they are better retained.
The students should be encouraged to practice word pronunciation continuously since if the students take time to
learn the pronunciations of certain words and practice saying them clearly with consistency, it will increase their retention
skills (Pickrell, 2010). Similarly, Thornbury (2008) proposed that the teacher should direct attention to the sounds of the
new words particularly the way the words are stressed because the students can exploit the sound of the words to
facilitate storage in memory. In order to improve the word pronunciation of the students, it is necessary to guide them to
use English-English dictionary effectively. Since the students can’t tell the pronunciations of the words from their spelling,
they have to look up the words in pronunciation guide in the dictionary. If they can pronounce a new word to themselves,
they are more likely to remember it (Lenier and Maker, 1984). In addition, to remember the meaning of a new word, the
teacher should tell the students to make the best use of the dictionary to reword the definition in their own words, to
identify synonyms and antonyms for the word, to use the word in their own meaningful sentences, and to explore the
meanings of the words when they are used in other contexts.
Motivation to learn English vocabulary is another advantage the students obtained from learning keyword technique
because motivation can lead to English proficiency improvement as Thornbury (2008) claimed that the achievers are
generally more motivated to learn English than the underachievers; consequently, they spend more time on rehearsal
and practice using vocabulary retention technique, which is the end will pay off in terms of memory. Besides, the students
reported that keyword technique expands and enhances their imagination and creativity which involves devising a visual
image that typically connects the pronunciation of the second language word with the meaning of a first language.
Creating visual image or picture is a simple and effective way to help remember the words. Hence, the more imagination
and creativity the students have, the better they can memorize vocabulary. Oxford (1990) confirmed the importance of
using picture coming from the students’ imagination and creativity to aid memory for four reasons. First, a large proportion
of learners have a preference for visual learning. Second, the mind’s storage capacity for visual information exceeds its
capacity for verbal material. Third, the most efficiently packaged chunks of information are transferred to long-term
memory through visual images. Fourth, visual images may be the most potent device to aid recall of verbal material.
Although the findings were inconsistent with Nation (2008) saying that the only limit of keyword technique is the learner’s
imagination, he encourages the beginners who learn keyword technique that in spite of the difficulty to think of keyword
that sounds like the foreign word, the more imagination is still necessary and useful for keyword technique application.
Based on the conclusion of this research, it is recommend that the teacher should
1.) introduce ready-made keyword technique examples to the students first to arouse their imagination and creativity and
later encourage the students to realize that keyword technique must be self-generated or self-created, i.e. not borrowed
from other learners or teachers. The students must be aware that keyword technique can be simple, complex, mundane,
unusual, and silly in the eyes of others, but they must make sense and be meaningful to the students themselves
because the students themselves not other who will use this technique to remember vocabularies (Oxford, 1990;
Thornbury, 2008).
2.) allow the students a few minutes to silently and individually devise keyword after learning new vocabulary items.
Moreover, the teachers should teach other vocabulary retention techniques to the students and boost them to integrate
every vocabulary retention technique and use them interchangeably since there is no single technique which is regarded
the best and works well. However, while keyword technique works well, it has some limitations: it cannot be applied with
the abstract words, and it is difficult to think of keyword that sounds like foreign words. In such case, the students must
use other vocabulary retention techniques to help retain vocabularies ( Thornbury, 2008; Baleghizadeh & Ashoori, 2010).
Reference
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Language, 3(9), 79.
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Challenges at the Beginning of the XX Century for the Albanian Nation,

Literature and Culture
The Most Prominent Personalities of time in the Albanian Literature and the Critical – Aesthetic Thought
Ledri Kurti
Prof. Assoc., Department of Literature,
Faculty of the Social Sciences; University of Shkodra; Albania.
E- mail: ledrikurti2005@yahoo.it
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v2n3p575
Abstract This study surveyed the facing challenges in the Albanian nation, at the beginning of XX century. As a result challenges
accompanied definitely its shrink literature in suppressed conscience. Time as a concept had nothing to do with the chain of phenomena
around. Time in itself, in this geographical and historical terrain, and in its literature, could not be in motion, became a painful stagnation
detached from the light and the effects of objective time or the reflections of developments in the whole. Attempts to capture the lost time
and facing with reality, would reasonably be met with the resistance and gears of real time and the difficulties which brought the
confrontation with different mentalities, the general development of other nations, hence the philosophies of thought and their
representative literature of their developments.
Keywords: Albanian literature, aesthetic thought, critical thinking, Interior Time, literary challenges, Objective Time; Anton Harapi,
Ernest Koliqi, Faik Konica, Gjergj Fishta, Kolë Ashta, etc.
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem of research
Is it raised as a problem to be solved seeing Albanian literature and his evolution of critical - esthetical thought, especially
up to 40 years at the beginig XX century. How is it shown and which is his curve, if we consider its rule from the Ottoman
conquerors of almost five centuries. Which is the trends that were shown through its phenomens upon finding it – here
during the development of this literature and when were seen the first serious efforts in this area of critical – aesthetical
thought in albanian literature. To reach here, we must walk through a path of gradual recognition of several steps in its
development, to clarify the possible lines in the general framework and some of the most important approaches, to some
of the personalities of this literature. Through examination of the possible and within a considerable space, through them,
we can follow the flow of properly traced to this perception and its approaches to the philosophies and developments of
European culture. We can follow which was the development of Albanian literature in the context of the beginning of the
twentieth, which were new opportunities and trends that provided generations of intellectuals of this period until at the
installation of another stagnation. Now (after years ’40) a new political system, retouched and wiped colors of
development and thoughts in a single and obligate literary method that of socialist realism in literature.
Time as a dimension, for the Albanian nation and the Albanian literature therefore, deviated from its normal flows
compared with other nations and literatures had its own objective historical reasons. Its deviation from general
mainstreams brought the narrowing of the airways of this notion - time shrinking it to its own partial translated as long
interior of the nation and its literature. Objective time of forming nations and whole world phenomena in other countries
was inhibited as they were cramps with longevity sometimes secular and sometimes with decades. Consequently, it
should normally be objective time for the Albanian nation and its destiny, as well as the development of the Albanian
literature, would bring with it the connotation of a specific subjective time of the nation.
Time dimension would contract by the Albanian phenomena. Time will merge into the general consciousness and
the reality will accompany them as a result. In this vision, the development of other societies under the rhythm of
objective time conveyed phenomena and realities, which would be result of historical events or incentives linked in a
chain, which went a little bit more or less, influenced by one nation to another, in an expected and evolutionary reaction
related to the subjective times.
Experience nearly 500 years of Ottoman rule had narrowed the possibility of breathing beyond the walls of its philosophy
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and culture, leading to associate with the surrounding reality. Consequences were expected. Experience – almost,
pathological. A nation locked in the dormant terrain of personal developments, with its specific time, literature pulled and
hard literature. Solid foundations of an Albanian national literature were laid only in the second half of the XX century with
the rise of national movement, when subjective time through the claim of Albanian intellectuals, was attempting the
involvement of objective time.
Spiritual individuality of the nation witnessed his creativity popular oral poetry as evidence of precocity, originality
and individuality of aesthetic taste in the art of the nation would give wing intellectuals to spouted inherence of a culture, a
separate nation, with its own language and culture. In this unwritten tradition in generations was transmitted the essence
of the life philosophy of the Albanian nation and individual. The pulp and the flavor were the only terrain where the nation
testified its existence as human beings and culture.
By having this legal basis at the beginning of the XX century laid highest demands for art and the cultivated
literature. Initially as a phenomenon, and then turned into a phenomenon such as innovation, that innovation which will
come thanks to the intellectual formation of the time by the European culture.
Although efforts haven’t lacked before nor data for the European parallel, the further implications of historical fate
had consequences of tightly articulated labyrinths.
Node solution for overcoming from the labyrinths of stalled time and separation from the cramps accompanied the
beginning of the XX century coincided with the dedication and preparation of the intellectuals of the time.
2. Discussion
2.1 Overview of Albanian literature through the centuries.
If we start in chronology, the outsets of Albanian script encountered with the documentation of Albanian humanists
become visible in the aesthetic demand, initially to work Gjon Buzuku (From March 20, 1554 to January 5, 1555 he wrote
a translation of the Catholic missal into the Gheg dialect of Albanian), where we can see, as it is felt the supported by
Horatian principle of dulce et utile, in its foreword. Higher demand we face to Pjetër Bogdani “Çeta e profetëve" (Cuneus
prophetarum”. "Bogdan in "Çeta e profetëve" (Cuneus prophetarum) would be plugged with poetics and rhetoric,
generally with the figurative art language. (Jorgaqi,N. 2000, p. 81).
Only in the second half of the XIX century with the longevity politics of the Sublime Porte to prevent writings and
schools in the Albanian language, stratified tectonic movements for the claims of the national origin, appeared more
visible than ever before over the centuries, that followed the so-called Albanian humanist literature. At this stage, the
assimilation had done its job, but the cracks had started.
East of the national movement was more sober in its demands for sustainability of Albania by the Sublime Porte,
while the literature will enjoy the fruits of its arousal. This movement failed to break the rights of the Sublime Porte, which
did not allow the opening of Albanian schools and script. Even the renaissance in terms of Balkan time saw the Sublime
Porte, as potential protective border neighbors, especially after the Balkan War.
National Renaissance would have as its epicenter the broadcast of philosophy for a national and patriotic purpose.
But the prevailing aesthetic genuine opinion for the ideal Renaissance would find support to folklore. This underlying
aesthetic yarn would constitute another similarity of trends of the Albanian literature, since the humanist leaders as Marin
Barleti, Gjon Buzuku, Budi, Pjeter Bogdani, Frang Bardhi, etc., with the phenomena that have accompanied and the
European literatures.
Flowering of the first Renaissance phenomena appear due to the Arbëresh culture. It would be the Arbëresh
culture, which would affirm the nation's recognition of the Albanian autochthony and authenticity of creativity which comes
from this nation. We mention here Vinçenso Dorsa (Vincenzo Dorsa), Jeronim De Rada (Girolamo de Rada), Dhimitër
Kamarda (Demetrius Kamarda) etc., where the scholar notes there were observed for the first time the scientific roots
aesthetic thought, the history of literature, literary criticism and theory of literature (Jorgaqi, 2000, p. 81).
Jeronim De Rada will go further, leaving the first aesthetic treatise, which by its own type of support is supportive of
the kind of art and his creativity. Similarly De Rada, in the period to which belongs to the literary activity and its aesthetic
impacts, which will merge its individuality. In his work “The aesthetic works” would be felt the effects of Madame de Stael
with its “The Moral priciple”, Jean-Baptiste Vico as well as the cartesian reasoning of René Descartes. Also, we feel the
trails and recognition of Immanuel Kant and Henri-Louis Bergson. But what manages to discern clearly is deradian
spiritual affinity with the classical concepts of harmony, order, and grandiose in art. It is noteworthy that in this period it is
shown the interest towards the literary genuine and aesthetic concepts. It should be noted as work with such
requirements, that of Mikel Markianoi (Michele Marchianò) “Albania dhe works of J. De Rada”.
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In this Arberesh terrain we will be near the Romanticism concepts, as an integrated element in the European time,
but this happened geographically far away from reality and time of the motherhood nation. Phenomenon appears
complex with a writing voice. Written Albanian Language on the Albanian terrain had not yet gained legitimacy. Exists the
idea and it is designed the future but the Albanian reality and its time were remote and conflict essentially with the
objective time. Experience including state-founding realities, governing systems as well as the evolved traditions and
new experiments, which had taken place in the European literature had not yet touched in the Interior time as Albanian
nation as independent on.
Formative nation realities of the other nations belonged to almost an arc time from centuries. Of course it was
understood that the first rule to be included in the general system of integrator communications was definitely the
assertion of identity with the formation of the Albanian state, a dream put on table, by renaissance since the second half
of the XIX century. But the lack of a language and officially recognized the Albanian script did not meet the requirement of
admission to the similar communication of states family, whose identity, had already long been enshrined in their
literature.
Literature would help, that the climate of the late nineteenth century to return in favor of the Albanian assertion
identity by reversing reality only theoretical of Renaissance’ desires. To achieve this should be built a new actual and
practical mentality. Thus, only the beginning of the XX century will start a concrete Albanian literature with concrete
claims, a literature which would also liven with the desire of a unified language already implemented through concrete
works.
While, although as a critical expressed thought we have occasional performances, a genuine critical thought for the
first time, already as institutionalized, we know Konica’s thought and work “….with linguistic and literary specialized
preparation formed at french thought school, Konica may be called as the first teacher of our critical literature” (Jorgaqi,
2000, p.13).
There didn’t stand outside Konica’s interest or aesthetic problems, especially those that dealt with the linguistic
taste and space polycolours language of words, the characteristic property of each nation and its language. We recall
here his essay on “Natural and artificial languages” and debates and general polemics of the time on the protection of
linguistic specificities of each nation, proponent and defender of the idea which, Konica would find Guillaume Apollinaire
and the support to Remy de Gourmont.
After this good konician start referred to the beginning of the XX century with a flourishing period of thought and
culture of a proud Albania the names that left deep traces of representative in culture and literary thought of this period
were the successful introductions from a whole world European culture.
In their feeds it was conceived the literary originality and the Albanian culture, but now with deep and clean
aesthetic claims, but the Albanian critical -aesthetic thought of this period would be found again in its reflections of the
intersection inclusion of the frequent path, within these two terrains of thought and in some way would appear as
supportive or reflective of the kind of creativity.
Thus, as feature of period it is noted the attempt to establish the authenticity and distinct literary identity away from
imitation. From this originality of authors and creators are noted the names of literary, critical and analytical personalities,
who can be regarded with merit as scholar of specific areas. In this beginning of the century are identifies such names,
who with their critical and aesthetic thought and a distinct level of quality become evidence in the most prominent
publications of the time.
We mention here, since the contributions in these areas Father Anton Xanonit SJ (1862-1915), and Father Justin
Rrota (1889 – 1964), figures such as Mehdi Frashëri (1872–1963), Father Gjergj Fishta (1871 – 1940), Faik Konica
(1875 – 1942), Fan Noli (1882 – 1965), Father Anton Harapi (1888- 1946), Ismet Toto (1908-1937), Tajar Zavalani (1903
- 1966), Branko Merxhani (1894 - ?), Vangjel Koça , Nebil Çika , Father Xhuzepe Valentini (1900 – 1979), Ernest Koliqi
(1901 - 1975), Eqrem Çabej (1908- 1980), Mitrush Kuteli (1907 – 1967), Krist Maloki (1900-1972), …etc.
But the Albanian critical - aesthetic thought would form its own complete arranging, with clear and deliberate
treatment through the pen of Father Gjergj Fishta. Feeds of different cultures from the European schools appeared to the
publications of the time. They brought thought and culture that came from the plutonian depths to continue in the Middle
Ages to adjacent to the Cartesian view and beyond it. Evidences come from the Enlightenment aesthetics, which would
recognize nature as the first model in art, while that art should be spokesman for time and society with high moral. But
they didn’t stop just here.
Protagonists of this qualitative boom of the beginning of the XX century in theoretical, critical and aesthetic
Albanian thought left such traces in our culture, which we can not overlook without a thorough study of each of them. It is
worth to know the cultural formative places context as it is worth to rely on the reason of the same and approximate
ground typologies, such are for example, the authors of the same geographical pulp authors are known as the north
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authors, centered in the city of Shkoder, who subsequently came from a common cultural tradition. "Modern literature of
the late XIX and early XX century, according to the researcher Sabri Hamiti is associated with contemporary phenomena
associated surpassing the tradition to create new forms with new sensitivity. In this period of the Albanian literature which
doesn’t know any same literary innovations are appeared the neoromanticism, legacy of symbolism, realistic
reconstruction, neoclassicism, up to the level of comparable modernity with contemporary literatures of Europe "(Hamiti,
S. 2002, p.370).
The Albanian culture of the beginning of the XX century being a noticeable qualitative phase in the terms of artistic
literary and theoretical-aesthetic and critical thought will reach its zenith in the period between the two World Wars.
The specific of this art and thought, that is worth to be noted as a phenomenon, is that of
"Flood of new ideas and the highest level of regular education of intellectuals who brought an openness towards to
cultural progress over a decade ('30-40) of the Albanian literature and culture as never before, first in Shkoder and later in
Tirana and around the country. "(Koliqi, 1999, p.43)
This obvious result of 30 to 40 years of the Albanian literature and culture will be first recorded, from one of literary
personalities of that period, as was the writer Ernest Koliqi who highlights the specific features that accompanied the
development of literature and the Albanian culture.
"Between two World Wars, is loomed in the field of Albanian letters
• a strong impulse of renovation

• and perfection.
•are targeted uphill ways
•is felt deeper the anxiety forward
• to be equated with the patterns of major Western literatures.
• Opening a new era, that
• should be answered to the reader's level
• sensitive and seeker toward the spread of national culture and the issue of world literary
movements. This was a period of happy flourishing literary
• also bright by flashes of hope for a rapid development toward the progress and social increase.
It did not last long. (Koliqi, 1999, f.43)
This period will also belong to the art of Ali Asllani , Lazer Shantoja, romantic colors of Father Vinçens Prendushi, lyrics of
Father Benardin Palaj, the expressive magical strings of Lasgush Poradec and the qualitative writings of Branko
Merxhani, Vangjel Koça, Karl Gurakuqi, Anton Logoreci, Odise Pascali, brilliant poetry and sub soils Freudian of Koliq,
who saved in entirety the transmission of art and their thought, the connection with the essence of a better tradition with
national color.
To this period also it is belonged the publication of numerous magazines as “Albania”, “Star of the light”, “Spark”,
“Iliry”, “The Albanian effort”etc.
This launched route in the Albanian culture was a tasteless attempt ago, which was accompanied by the qualitative
and quantitative level in the terrain of the Albanian letters.
Although for the Albanian society, the political and economic life in Albania in the early years of 20-was quite tricky,
but in this period there will happen the "transgressions" departures from the marvelous and romantic spirit of the
Renaissance. "Transgressions" were marked by Konica, whom it was belonged to the merit of overcoming toward
mentality, the exit of subjective time.
Claims of the Albanian intellectuals launched with literary artistic creativity which adds to its aesthetic
requirements. Accepting the psychological impact of the art to people, it is entered the well known binomial, that there
can be an art without its people, no nation can exist without its art. Thus, the Albanian individual as a representative of
the Albanian nation, had once been the protagonist of art created by his inherited values of itself and time, it should be
receiver of the new values, which came from the veins of his new blood.
In the artistic creativity, claims shall be postponed until the areas of philosophical demands and such problems for
choice, also parallel paved with the taste of time in the controversy spirit and up to a contemporary literary proper
criticism. Dimension of specific time was entered in the Albanian literature. Materialized national interiority in the work
was demanding for the combination with concrete space-time of the beginning of the XX century concrete in its first
steps through fishtian epopee and further in works with qualities of the modern art. The Albanian art through fishtian epic
sought for the link through transmission of the Albanian spirit and historical moments that accompanied its concrete time.
The Albanian consciousness and time remained stuck in an unfamiliar depth with the epic language translated into
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Albanian many meanings for the Albanian time of time.

The fishtian art actually translated made time to speak interior deepness, translated as a phenomenon, was the great
explosion, which can realize a language and all that had established no longer possible to break out until then.
The fractures after the Balkan War finally announced the independence in Albania increasing the accountability for
the recognition of the new Albanian state. In relation to the stabilized calendar time, Albanian nation time didn’t coincide
with the right mentality to match it necessarily with the protruding from the roots and the open confrontation with history
and reality constituted the tagged obligation.
In Albania the beginning of XX century , although associated with poverty cramps and a weak economy had started
the first signs in the silk industry, soap, fabrics, rugs, production and their processing with the tools acquired in Italy, from
the first families in Shkodra, Tirana, Korça. But this perk did not continue for long, because the inherent severity of
poverty did not give a chance to the proper development. Another reason for no walking before in the first steps was also
the drop from the bureaucracy post to that time, that still lived nostalgia and their dream, making resistance to the new
mentality development and intellectuals of the time, who wanted the change and the catch of specific time.
2.2 Fishta as dominated voice of time
Proper voice to shake the unreal delirium of time and the Albanian poverty became epic voice, rather, the language in
deepness of original fishtian sizes and his sturdy opinion Hylli i Dritës (“Star of light”) that accompanied the full life
creation of this poem.
Basically the poem was realized as the full stature in parallel (and timed) with awareness of the Albanians for the
recognition of concrete specific time. This would be pursued as such through publicist and oratory activity of Fishta as a
diplomatic representative.
In the historic territory of events and phenomena that accompanied the "Albanian national requirements at that
time attracted the nation of foreign consular representative in Albania. In "Promemoria on Albania from 1901 to 1905",
drafted in Vienna by Carl, was stated that "The Albanians, more than other Balkan people, wanted the implementation
reforms in their backward country," that "they opposed those sizes, which according to their obedience, purpose the
denationalization, dismemberment of weakening of their race "and that would" tighten their national soil, "The Albanian
demand for the opening of Albanian schools, said in this document, except the importance of the Albanian national
awakening, is a conditio sine qoa for any serious reform, which really aims the progress of Albania " (The Academy of
Albanian Science, 2002, f.310)
The terms of inclusion in the overall system of specific time communication, the assertion of identity, the formation
of the Albanian state sought the re-dimension, the rehabilitation and the dignity arguments. Theoretical reality of wishes
should be finalized in this phase .Literature would have a builder mission in this new formative state-identity formation.
Being the beginning of the XX century in political, economic life and cultural level in Albania would start from a kind of
chaos, this reality required care and proper strategy of mature thought to capture the most possible and necessary time.
With the authors of this period this beginning of the XX century was designed a new stage, essentially the Albanian
coalesce, as innovation with its cardinal steps to the literature of a nation and its existence, launched from the
consequences of an alphabet with Latin characters (which again will dominate the opinion of Father Gjergj Fishta and the
"Union" Society to which he belonged).
The contemporary concept would emerge as the commensurable notion with time problems for the Albanian reality
as literary approach innovations coming from the European cultures. Reality of time began with the creation of tie bridges
between the ages through Fishta’s works. Let's say with Fishta and his art related to the time and concrete problems of
Albanians nation , as with Koliqi and a moderate way of tradition rejection in mentality and his new way of communication
such as text, or even with Konica, who confronts the new mentality and style as a critique for many other authors of this
Plead, literature and the Albanian contemporary inherited art essentially innovation as art in relation to what centuries had
crossed and the lack of breathing that had inherited.
Myths called at this point of time, as was the beginning of the XX century to figurate the fund of literary art of the
nation, with a missing model-type to reset spotlight the dignity, man, and deepness of the Albanian interior time.
Communication way in art with epic art at the beginning of the XX century overcomes the anxiety that provided events
that occurred, or those expected to occur. The poem took over in an independent way to connect interiority of nation time
with real time. For epic and Fishta epic language was important the time, exactly the time in which it should be created,
time in which word should be said, the actual time in function of the objective space - time and the future that this poem
called in its text. Ultimately, the model itself, presented amenably the force of creation from human mind, as that of
Fishta’s enabling capacitating tagged of this race, this nation overcame to silent. This would be the way of corresponding
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of the individual voice with the spirit of all compatriots. The selected area for the creation of the epic poems are the
mountains, like center of the mythical world, as sacred places where communication with God is possible, and calls to
Him. This, thanks to the quality of their height.
On the stage, in which was found the mentality in Albania, it was asked the powdery not only of history. This story
dated to the roots of myths culture and Fishta’s one who tended to the principle “storia maestra di vita” is often cited by
him from Cesare Cantù (1804 –1895), the uniqueness of times in the concrete time.
Fishta brought from the hidden silent deepness in the glow of the sun, the feelings of un-oriented people, he
turned in his confidence and leaned in the necessity of language, not as epic essentially, as original essentially, the
model of Quid Unicum of linguistic and the global literary. The Albanian time and Fishta inside being Albanians, broke
the sound of resumption of an Albanian era, unheard before with such force, as in Germany and romanticism of Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller would rise in value the history with German idealism of
faith and art. To adapt to the Albanian conditions, mentality level of development, Gjergj Fishta will seek a deal and new
relationships with life in the Albanian context. From classics and classical models would absorb the aim to educate
characters but also the claim of overlap essentially of every culture and civilization. Change claim essentially as state and
concept, which had involved Europe, was felt and extended as a necessity in Albania too, but here despite of historical
conditions, the intellectual aimed gradual adjustment to interior time, which grows its first steps to be associated with
concrete time.
In the terrain of Albanian literature, centuries weighed negatively on the history, also aggravated on the level of
culture, mentality and its developments, so the connection to a single time had to justify all stages of unnaturally
overcome. "Homogeneous time”1 (Hersh, Tirane, 1995, p. 281) in culture and nation civilization should coincide with the
Albanian culture and mentality. This is, that a "revolution” in itself, in the Albanian context, a qualitative requirement that
opens its contemporary.
This "revolution" required finding of suitable modus for capturing possible time for the nation, within a specific time.
This concern is felt in Fishta when he thinks, that we find in Him the merger of philosophies, income thought and
knowledge from the deepness of Plato until the concrete historical time, left as a document in the writing of journals and
notebooks of the time.
We feel and find at Fishta, the nation's interior time and knowledge in deepness of the objective time. Interior time
of the nation gets its concrete performance, such as mergers, and then, as a presentation to the number of his works.
The multiplicity of fishtian works justifies the lack of nation voice gathered at the time. It is this fact, which expresses the
necessity of broke nation voice through his voice. The multiplicity of Fishta’s works justifies the thirsty of a language to
move in his bed, and the ability to be taught already as official, its ability to create the kind of epic genre giving then a
whole literature, with qualitative authors’ dignity.
Quantity and quality of the writings of this period, measured in deeds, is the proof of the successful overcoming to
interior time to approach homogenous time.
We can say that at this period happens the visible changing essentially as a state and as a concept on the
Albanian soil. The arrival of the literature in this period by authors of the time, essentially, came as a unique creative
burst, as a quid Unicum of the Albanian world, like philosophy, art, but national identity as well as .
With Gjergj Fishta was opened an era in the Albanian literature, not simply a stage of the Albanian literature. It
might be called the Albanian era of the Albanian literature, for the fact that with the philosophy of thought and his work, he
managed to connect at a single time all its stages, unnaturally avoided by the natural, linguistic, literary, cultural,
geomorphologic identity. Time for Fishta, in this context provided the condition of building of a new solid vision, for the
Albanian in relation to the tradition, for the future of Albania, starting from culture foundations and not by innate ideas that
attempted "the overcoming of locust ".
Exactly, and maybe just for this, Fishta and his concept to realize a national epic at the beginning of the XX
century can be called contemporary of his time, for his ideas, for epics languages use as a union of times with a clear
vision in the function and beyond the objectives of concrete time and real problems of time for Albanian nation.
This epic art in this sense, such as type, manages to synthesize and integrate the courage as communication code of the
interior time of a nation with homogeneous time. This is exactly the courage to communicate through gender without
asking for the genres of time to communicate with an epic language. Through the epic language, Father Gjergj Fishta

*“Homogenous time”, concept of Henri Bergson. Is precisely the fact of being homogeneous in all its points, which characterized the
area. And when the ego gives itself an external display, it unfolds at a time when he still imagines as homogeneous. In contrast, in real
time, in deep course of time, there are no similar moment’s philosophical.
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beats a comprehensive subject with specific myths, stories and international concrete historical events that demonstrate
the Albanian roots, individuality and to express the necessity to know and to hear them.
“It constitutes the first Albanian-language contribution to world literature. The Fishta-dominated Scutarine Catholic
school of letters entered a golden age in the early decades of the twentieth century and much credit for this blossoming of
Geg culture goes to him. Franciscan poets and scholars like Pashko Bardhi, Marin Sirdani, Anton Harapi, Justin Rrota,
Donat Kurti, Gjon Shllaku, and indeed virtually all other Albanian intellectuals who spent their productive years in Shkodra
during the first four decades of the century, were influenced in one way or another by the imposing figure of Father Gjergj
Fishta (Elsie R. 2007).
But, if we want to start from our origin of documenting on ethno-culture, we have to pass through the centuries and
the names, which left traces and proper contributions in this important base of the culture of the nation.
In the 16th and 17th century and on, where the sources of this kind are the most, we notice that in the reports of the
Apostolic visitors, sent to Vatican, but also in their epistolary, it has a wide material in which there are described different
ethnological phenomena for the region of the Medium and Upper Albania, by including in here the regions from Tivar, in
Kosovo, Nish and to Shkup. There are lot of data for the population of theseregions, for the social organization of the
countryside unity, for customs and different folk traditions for rites and beliefs of the pagans.
To mention for more data of this nature, the writers: Marin Bici, Gjergj Bardhi, Pjetër Budi, Frang Bardhi, Mark
Skura, Shtjefën Gaspri, Vinçenc Zmajeviq.
From the priests there are given lots of rites and beliefs of the deaths in different countryside. Mourning
(screaming) of the men and the mourning of the women in the death is described by the catholic missionaries in many
cases, since the 15th century and on; then they have done comparisons with the customs of the same content in different
populations of the antiquity in the Old Testament where the old patriarch dies, who is mourned for 70 days. (Tirta, Tiranë,
16-19 Nëntor 1999, p.553)
The cult of the epopee, would take place in Albania, particularly during the period of the National Renaissance. The
great writers of the renaissance looked themselves as responsible to the national epopee. From this responsibility came
important works from the great Albanian writers, to start with De Rada e Naimi and to Fishta. (Sinani, 2006, p. 52). Naimi
wrote the long epic poem “Istori e Skënderbeut”, while De Rada collected and published “Rapsodi të një poemi arbëresh”.
A kind of epope in its own style is “Qerbelaja” as well. Whereas “Lahutën e Malcis”some studiues (M. Lambertz) is
considered as “the great epope” of the Albanians, by comparing it with the cycle of the Kreshnikeve, as “a little epopee”.
(Sinani, 2006, p. 52).
During the National Renaissance and particularly during the Independence span some explorers, researchers of
the national cultural treasures were distinguished, so in the ethnological and folkloric domain. Their range is very long and
we are mentioning some of them: Shtjefën Gjeçovi, Zef Valentini, Bernardin Palaj, Donat Kurti, Nikollë Kimëza, Nikollë
Gazulli, Ndre Zadêja, Gjon Karma, Marin Sirdani, Marian Prela, Ndoc Suma, Lazër Mjedja, Nikollë Ashta, Anton Harapi,
Benedikt Dema, Zef M. Harapi. (Tirta, 1999, p.553)
In the stream of the general breath and of the voluminous work, that was being developed at the beginning of the
20th century for the collection of the ethno-cultural wealth, for almost 40 years, would be the scholars of the Franciscan
order those, who lay the way through a systematic and constant work in the folkloric, ethno-cultural domain and the
codification of the inherited treasury.
2.3 Time and context of time in compare
Meanwhile, in the European terrain and contemporary concepts of the beginning of the XX century, novelty as essential
feature of modernity was declared repulsive time and to affirm itself, will be pressed into essentially word in its unknown
deepness, even sometimes unspoken. He would deny coincidence with tradition in form and substance, speaking of the
new language with the language of revolution, technology, world wars and initiatives.
Art and word at this time will be carried a restless sensibility, a profound deliberate secret in poetry, often with
tempted and nervous grades, including the flourishing of criticism, controversy, sarcastic doses.
But these occurrences and phenomena in the type of critical writings would be noted in the Albanian literature. In
this context of the Albanian literature the innovation would be a blast of fishtian language as a model of a made language
in order to avoid deviations of variations of the "mule language” as an expected degeneration. For this reason, we will
have from him critical brilliant writings, with sharp and sarcastic notes through the magazine "Star of the light"
Forms of expression in the most prominent magazines of the time, like "Star of the light", "Albania" “Spark" etc. ..,
will be shifted apart the explosive grades and controversy language, the philosophy of co-transmission of the times,
tastes, cultures came from everywhere by intellectuals and the European schools from which they came prepared,
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melted into the originality ultimately based on the tradition of the Albanian language and motherhood , creating a new
precious tradition for the legacy that would leave all generations.
The essence of their common purpose, we can say without fear, was a novelty in concept, taste, substance,
mentality, to bridge the created gap with the specific time, with the claim to a common integrated mode with other nation’s
surroundings.
Truly, the general taste of the beginning of the XX century in Europe denied the classical ideals, but the derelict
invasion against classical in the Albanian language did not come over as a cross over it. It was felt a new and critical
spirit, but still it did not dispute the “model" of the beauty that transmitted large literature and classical authors. In this
way, the spirit and imagination were offered to centuries through connection with the development of culture and general
current knowledge.
Representatives of this Plead sought the new forms of expression and soul, but with national face and enriched
background certainly by the great classics.
Fishtian’s authority would leave documents of critical controversial writings, and above all, stories that tended
toward courage, as only his pen knew.
Thus, the beginning of the XX century came in Albanian literature with worthy mellow dough, for a European level.
Meanwhile, all the movements of opinion in Europe would be product of the great technological and ideological
revolutions. All these revolutions include aesthetic principles of art in general and literature in particular. Speed, cars,
metropolis, industrial complexes, fashion, were the word, features and new value. The started project in this way, about
60 -70 years of the XX century was punctured on its foundation as a building which was built on utopia.
His own radical novelty of aggressive deviation toward tradition became the cause of his further failure where
existed a weak economy with arduous effort to be changed, thought and the development of letters and the Albanian
thought were evident for steps aiming the security and evident walking in its context, without Pindaric and utopian
overcoming in relation to the tradition. All this, happened not to risk further loss in relation to the consequences.
Investigation object to monitor the level of the Albanian letters can take the writings and works of some of the
authors of this period in the field of critical aesthetic thought. They are almost always at the epicenter of thought and art of
the time. Among them arises the problem of creation as a process from where, each of them seems to have accepted it
as a prerequisite, the existence of ancestors, thoughts, but not final opened them again.
2.4 Some personalities of critical - aesthetic thought in Albanian literature
The Albanian literature of the beginning of the XX century together with Gjergj Fishta, Faik Konica, Ernest Koliqi, and
Anton Harapi etc.., gives importance not only to their time but also to the foundation of the Albanian art, culture,
intellectual thought of the time.
Thus, Faik Konica will be recognized as the genuine initiator of the critical thought at the beginning of the XX
century. Konician’s writing also Fishta’s one find purely its place and disengaged name, thanks to authenticity. Through
the writings of each of them, by the way how they transmitted the thought and expressed their own personality, we may
include and distinguish them as the most typical, in saying “Style is the man”. In the name of Faik Konitza immediately
bring us to mind his advice and the observations of thinking and critical type of writing. According to him they are
observation, judgment and criticism in the impressionism.
His way of thinking and his reasonable system on literary work and criticism is exactly what the Impressionist
criticism born in France from the late of XIX century manifested, based on impression and impressionism that literary
works left .With Faik Konitza we are near the right source to the impact of this model of impressionist criticism, French
culture and criticism of type impressionistic that accompanied his opinion. They would be part of his life, time and the
cultural environment in which it was developed and framed as such phenomenon, reflecting these in the spirit of writings
and criticism that he left.
His way of thinking and writing will give a parallel to the taste of time. Father Konica, we will find from with
polemical spirit, to a literary genuine criticism. The "modern" term, now in Faik Konitza and his criticism lies in the overall
of the typical general spirit of modernity in Europe. Konitza is shown to us in the Albanian literature at the beginning of the
XX century as the first thinker with current with contemporary aesthetic ideas and as the first Albanian theorist of the
literary criticism through the writing “Time of the Albanian letters”. However, part of Konica aesthetic thought is still
unknown and in the shade. He appears as a thinker and conductor of contemporary aesthetic ideas, giving a great
contribution to Albanian culture. For this level of konician heritage we can mention: “Outline of a method to be applauded
from the bourgeois” (1903), “Essay on the natural and artificial languages” (1904), dhe “The great mystification in the
history of the human gender.” (1904).
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Konitza comes through his writings and personality, as polemicist, esthete to aristocratic type in art, not really
professional as a writer, but as Nice says, "will (to Konica, in our case) for the truth that devours everything ugly "(Hersh,
1995, pg. 315.), while his final goal was correct design and without the retouching of international mentality, objective and
task time, that is it spread to country and compatriots. Konitza will be displayed through his legacy as with expressed
ideas and aesthetic opinion. Although we can say this much, resulting unconsciously come. We may say, Konitza starts
this way based on enthusiast and enthusiastic after Guillaume Apollinaire’s thought “the differences of expressions" and
"national and ethnic differences." From Apolinerit thought, Faik Konitza sought to achieve in the assertion of national
peculiarities of language and indirectly, in acceptation of the culture and language of every nation, as specified in its own
unique type. This drive would make Konica to be the first, who felt the necessity of phenomena separation and aesthetic
facts as “such” by conglomerate of heterogeneous phenomena" (Plasari,1999, pg. 17)
Unlike Konica, we see Gjergj Fishta with full awareness, to testify concrete trials in the treatment of the aesthetic
thought, as goal in it. Fishta is conscientious, that aesthetic issues to be addressed from which “...the feather of bone is
shaken in the hand of one Platon, Aristotle, and Akvinat.” (Fishta Gj, 1999, f.35). “The aesthetic theoritical thoght of Fishta
gives problems which can be caught with intuitive,for which we didn’t give name.His choises walk through the
culturehistorical trace,through which it continuous to send the european modern culture ”. (Plasari, 1999, p. 10)
Fishta’s aesthetic theoretical thought is one his strongest evidence to dissociate this thinker in the field of letters.
His legacy comes with the epic language "Lute of Highland " (for which he worked during 37 years of his life) with the
language of drama, tragedy, satire, poetry, lyrics, criticism of his grave speech, through “Star of the light” magazine and
recently proves to deal seriously with aesthetic-theoretical thought with “Aesthetic notes", where his potential of deep
philosophical and aesthetic knowledge emerges through the ideals and judgments that realizes the level of a s theory in
itself , and his theory of "Two globes " real and ideal ones, respectively at the "Star of Light", 1933/1, 2.
Another figure of this period would be Ernest Koliqi (Shkoder 1903– Rome 1975). With Koliqi and his aesthetic and
critical thought we can acquaint through his Autodafé which conforms to the spirit goes that bears the Aristotle’s
statement: Not to be sadden when something is asked is absurdity.
Koliqi aesthetic parameters come through this autodafé which expresses his attitude toward ignorance and
mediocre writers and elements of froidist language which are observed in “The mirrors of Narciz”. “The mirrors of Narciz”
come through the typical symbols which indicate to us the sizes of a contemporary culture of an artistic production that
conveys a specific type organist. For Ernest Koliqi are art sinners and vassals of matter on one side and the transmission
of life on the other side, as well as symbolic hermetic colors that come through these writings realized in a brilliant
lexicon. Koliqi treads with his art a microcosm of seven spirit mirrors and through them organically the philosophy of life is
a functional and related to the other as a component element of unicity.
Father Anton Harapi (1888-1946) we will know more, with the face of a decent analyst, who thoroughly breaks down the
psychological and ethical codes of his nation, after he stratified in his knowledge a precious depth of thought and
philosophical knowledge, which will be scratched with his oratorical language, perfectly into the cycle of conferences,
already summarized, under the title “Spiritual value” (1936), and in his prose type psycho-philosophical “Wave on wave”
(1939), etc. This figure of the Albanian culture we will know through writings, inclined by the motto: “The man is
reasonable being”. This motto would accompany any analysis to be undertaken to clearly ethical and psychological
concepts of his nation, but in his critical writings, where are shown the elements of his aesthetic thought, as in “Calls for
culture”.
It would be exactly the reason according to Harapi, that it will decide the balance between ethical and aesthetic
concepts (good and goodly), as well as relations between the recipient of the message (the reader) and its transmitter
(the author). A. Harapi will be put in the line of discussion of that problem that had long sought solution of art relations
with moral, report, and balance between them. Cognitive of Platon, Horac and German culture (he studied in Austria)
through the request for a balance that must exist between reason and nature in art being concludes for the kind of art,
which according to him fulfils the conditions of beautiful art, but meanwhile useful too. Harapi comes as a systematic
cognitive of philosophical and aesthetic ideas in their diachronic and as a declined of intellectual argument. We find his
unrepeatable and commensurable aesthetic arguments for literary art with Horace’s concept for art "Dolce et util".
One of the Albanian intellectuals, who closed the cultural trigger of the period between two wars, is the name of
already known lexicology Kolë Ashta. In the field of critical-aesthetic thought will be appeared with valuable writings
during 40-44 years in “Spark” or “Star of light”.
Type of his writings is an argumentative test of culture taken as laureate for Literature, in the University of Rome.
He is appeared as such, when he becomes analyzer and taster as a critic - artist art of neoclassicism author Ndre Mjeda.
Through his writings we find Kolë Ashta as a critical scholar who prefers potency and classical taste in art. K. Ashta
involves us with unhesitatingly arguments with critical - aesthetic thought of Benedetto Croce advocating his view, for
583
which except to judge, must feel.
3. Conclusions
From the Albanian literature plead of the beginning of the XX century, in which this literature recognizes its zenith of glory
in literature and intellectual thought, and from where we refer to only some of its figures
 the most potent figures who dominated with vitality and its heritage in the national cultures, will remain the
largest Franciscan figure Father Gjergj Fishta.
 Can not be left without mentioning critical thought of Faik Konitza, psycho-philosophical writer and
psychological and social deeply analyst Father Anton Harapi and much others, from north to south of
Albania and from albanian literature of this period.
Adding to the multitude of important time personalities and serious scholars here and abroad at the time in which he lived
we increase the opinion of the Albanolog scholar of our days Robert Elsie is: “The Fransciscian Father Gjergj Fishta
(1871-1940) more than another author gave artistic expresses to the demanding spirit if the new Albanian state” (Elsie,
1997, f.283);
References
Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë, (2002), Historia e Popullit Shqiptar, vëll.II, Botimet Toena, Tiranë, f.310.
Elsie R. (29 May 2007) Gjergj Fishta, The voice of the Albanian nation, www.elsie.de/www.scribd.com/doc/89034/ .
Elsie, R. (1997) Histori e Letërsisë Shqiptare, Dukagjini, Tirana & Peja, f.283
Fishta Gj.,(1999); Fishta, Estetikë dhe Kritikë, përgatitur nga P. Asllani, P. Asllani, Hylli i Dritës & Shtëpia e Librit, Tiranë, f.35.
Hamiti S.(2002), Kritika Letrare 6, Faik Konica, Prishtinë, f.370.
Jorgaqi,N. (2000), Parathënie, në Antologji e mendimit estetik shqiptar (1504-1944), Dituria, Tiranë, f..81, 81,13, 148.
Koliqi E.(1999), Koliqi, Kritikë dhe Estetikë, përg. nga Stefan Çapaliku, Apollonia, Tiranë, f.43, 43.
Plasari, A. (1999) Fishta Meditans, Fishta, Estetikë dhe Kritikë, përg. nga P. Asllani, Hylli i Dritës & Shtëpia e Librit, Tiranë, f. 17, 10.
Sinani, Sh. Mitologji në Eposin e Kreshnikëve, Argeta,Tiranë, 2006, f.52.
Tirtaj M. (1995) Kontributi i Klerit Katolik në Kërkime të Etnokulturës Shqiptare, Krishterimi ndër Shqiptarë - Simpozium Ndërkombëtar -
Tiranë, 16-19 Nëntor 1999, Seksioni i Gjuhës, Letërsisë dhe Kulturë s, f. 553.
Zhan H, (1995), Habia filozofike, Dituria, Tiranë, f.281, 280, 315.
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Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences

Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2012

Rome, Italy 2012

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences

Executive Director, MCSER Scientific Coordinator

Editing Graphic Design

Editorial Assistant Editorial Managing

Copyright  2012 MCSER – Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research

ISSN 2039-9340 (print) ISSN 2039-2117 (online)

Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2012

 MCSER – Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research

This issue is printed with the technology “print on demand”

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences

Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2012

ISSN: 2039-9340 (print)

About the Journal

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences (MJSS) is a double blind peer-reviewed

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences is included on the following index/abstracting/library

 IBSS - International Bibliography of  Georgetown University Library

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences

International Editorial Board

Addison M. Wokocha Francisco Javier Ramos

The Transfer of Persian Language Speech Acts into English Language 11

Multicultural Education Curriculum Development in Turkey 277

Socio-Economic Determinants of Household Food Expenditurein a Low

The Transfer of Persian Language Speech Acts into English Language

University of Isfahan, Iran

Keywords: speech act; transfer; cultural stereotypes; Persian, English;

2.1 Pragmatic transfer

3.2 Data collection procedures

3.3 Materials and procedures

4. Findings and discussion

4.1 Requests for repair and demands for repair

Table 1: Incidents as % of total subjects/situations

Requests for Repair Demands for Repair

NS=Native Speaker ESL=English as a Second Language

Table 2: Incidence of Justifications as % of Subjects

Sit1 Sit2 Sit3 Sit4 Sit5

NS=Native Speaker ESL=English as a Second Language

Table 3: Incidence of Criticism as % of Subjects

Sit1 Sit2 Sit3 Sit4 Sit5

NS=Native Speaker ESL=English as a Second Language

Althen, G. (1988). American ways. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press.

Idiomatic Expressions of Number in Persian and English

University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Keywords: number, Persian, culture, English, idiom, metaphorical language

2. Some notes on metaphorical idioms

3. Methodology and data

4.1. E+Num vs. P+Num

Table 1: English IENs and their Persian numerical counterparts

IENs in English Equivalents in Persian Meaning

One hand washes the other jek dæst sedâ nædâre

4. 2. E+Num vs. P-Num

Table 2: English IENs and their Persian non-numerical counterparts

IENs in English Equivalents in Persian Meaning

Table 3: Culture-bound IENs in English

English Idioms with Number Meaning

6 Three sheets to the wind To be drunk.

4. 4. P+Num vs. E+Num

Table 4: Persian IENs and their numerical idiomatic counterparts

Persian English Meaning

4. 5. P+Num vs. E-Num

Table 5: Persian IENs and their English non-numerical counterparts