Statistics

Study Objective

The role of footwear and foot characteristics has been extensively studied in older people to understand how these factors interact to induce falls, and further to endeavour to reduce fall as this has been classified as one of the more prevalent means of injury in older adults. Studies often focus on the interactions of footwear, foot mobility and flexation, and musculoskeletal disorders of the foot. Menant et al. (2008) systematically investigated the relationship between footwear characteristics, balance and stepping in older adults. They used specially designed footwear with contrasting features which included 6 different designs, a standard shoe, identically shaped soft and hard sole, a high heel-collar shoe, an elevated heel shoe, a bevelled heel shoe, a flared sole and a tread soled shoe, which were used to assess coordinated stability and choice stepping reaction times. In contrast, Menz et al. (2006) sought to determine the relationship between footwear characteristics and the risk of indoor and outdoor falls in older people. The study used only two that were supplied by the participants; these were a soft indoor shoe (slippers) and their normal outdoor shoes. The study explored the relationship between the footwear features and the frequency of falls in older adults by separately assessing indoor and outdoor falls.

Determining the correlation between musculoskeletal foot disorders, pain and functional stability is the most common form of fall study, perhaps because these relationships have less variation than shoe characteristics. Badlissi et al. (2005) investigated the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders of the foot (for example pes cavus, pes planus, claw toe, hammertoe, mallet toe, overlapping toes, hallux valgus/bunion, bunionette, and plantar fasciitis) and foot pain and functional limitation, measured on scales of 0-100 for foot pain while functional limitations were measured as walking times on a range of 0-4, to determine how foot pain mediated the relationship.

Menz et al. (2005) studied the comparative contribution of a number of foot and ankle features to performance on a range of balance and functional tests, building on previous work, to determine whether these tests could explain further variation in balance and functional performance after standard sensorimotor factors were measured. Spink et al. (2011) also investigated foot characteristics in older adults, determining the degree that foot and ankle strength, range of motion, posture, and deformity were related to performance, using tests that measured balance and functional ability.

Pain studies have also been used to assess falls. Mickle et al. (2010) determined if foot pain and plantar pressure were connected with falls in older people. The investigation focussed on the association of plantar pressures with foot pain in older adults and how foot pain or dynamic plantar pressures increase the risk of falls in this population, using ambulatory data from this group of community-dwelling older people. A follow-on study by Mickle et al. (2011) sought to establish whether disabling foot pain could be associated with functional foot characteristics, functional ability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in retired adults. The principal objective was to determine whether disabling foot pain was connected with foot function quality, practical ability, and HRQOL in older adults, using two definitions (A: reduced ankle dorsiflexion and hallus flexor strength. B: reduced flexor strength of the lesser toes and increased foot reaction time and postural sway).

Outcome variables

The outcome variables for the footwear studies used similar measurements. Menant et al. (2008) measured a series of balance and stepping tests in the eight randomly presented shoe conditions. Maximum balance range and body sway measurements, coordinated stability and Choice-Stepping Reaction Time was assessed in each footwear style. In contrast, Menz (2006) measured footwear characteristics including shoe style, ?xation (buckle, velco etc.), heel height, counter height and width, critical tipping angle, sole rigidity and ?exion point, tread pattern, sole hardness and heel counter stiffness with respect to specific incidence of fall.

Badlissi et al. (2005) measured foot disorders e.g pes cavus, pes planus, claw toe, hammertoe, mallet toe, overlapping toes, hallux valgus/bunion, bunionette, and plantar fasciitis against foot pain. Foot health was measured on a range of 0–100, and walk time was scored on a range of 0–4.

Spink (2011) measured foot and ankle strength by dynamometry, motion range, posture, deformity, and balance tests which measured postural sway, balance range extent, lateral steadiness, co-ordinated steadiness) Functional ability tests (alternate step, sit-to-stand, timed 6-m walk) were used to assess foot and ankle strength, whereas Menz (2005) tested foot and ankle characteristics (foot posture, range of motion, strength and deformity) against sensorimotor functions, which included vision, sensation, strength and reaction time, as well as balance and functional aptitude as measured using standing and leaning balance, stepping, sit to stand and walking speeds.

Mickle et al. (2010) classified participants into two categories (faller or non-faller) based on falls incidence over 12 months. Pain was calculated with the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index (MFPDI) that employs questions consisting of statements about the participant’s foot or foot pain. Finally, dynamic plantar pressures were measured during a walk over a pressure platform which was used to represent bare-foot dynamic foot function. Mickle et al. (2011) also employed MFPDI to establish foot pain. Foot function was characterised by foot reaction time, ankle dorsi?exion strength and ?exibility, hallux and lesser toe ?exor strength, and spatiotemporal gait parameters. Finally, volunteers performed postural sway tasks, those with disabling foot pain were classi?ed using original and conservative de?nitions from Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Pain-free was subsequently compared with individuals with pain following adjustments for gender and body mass index (BMI).

Participant/study selection

The participant study for these investigations was older adults of retirement age, without comparisons to younger adults. Badlissi et al. (2005) used a very large sample (n=5784) of ethnically diverse adults aged 65 and older for their study into foot disorders. For the footwear studies, Menant et al. (2008) used 29 community-dwelling volunteers recruited from a research database aged ?70 years with a mean age of 79.1 (+/-3.7) years of which 15 were females, while Menant et al. (2008) had the smallest cohort with only 29 community-dwelling volunteers with a mean age of 79.1 (3.7) years.

Menz et al. (2006) used 176 volunteers from a retirement village (56 men and 120 women), aged between 62–96 (mean age 80.1, SD 6.4). For the studies into foot characteristics Menz et al. (2005) used the same cohort as their previous study (n=176), while Spink et al. (2011) employed a larger randomized cross-sectional study of people (n=305) over 65 years, participants ranged between 65–93 years.

The pain studies by Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011) used the same participants of 312 community-dwelling people (154 female, 158 male) recruited from arbitrarily chosen federal electorates of New South Wales, Australia.

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

The exclusion criteria for all seven studies included that the participants were not bed or chair-bound; unable to ambulate household distances unaided (10m), unable to communicate in English (or Spanish (Badlissi et al. (2005)). Further exclusion criteria included neurodegenerative disorders and lower-limb amputation (Spink et al. (2011), Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011)). The ability to pass the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire was deemed necessary by Menz et al. (2005 and 2006) and Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011). While Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011) also stated that participants were required to arrange transport to testing venues; furthermore trials were discarded if obvious gait deviations or targeting of the pressure platform were detected.

Randomisation

Only studies into pain by Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011) used any form of randomisation in the choice of the study participants.

Baseline differences

Basline differences measured prior to studies being undertaken were performed by Menz et al. (2006) who assessed participants most-used indoor and outdoor footwear and the right shoe was characterised by a single examiner into 16 basic shoe categories.

Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011) used MFPDI to establish baseline foot pain and dynamic plantar pressures.

Interventions used

The studies into footwear (Menant et al. (2008) and Menz et al. (2006)) employed footwear interventions, however, while Menz et al. (2006) studies shoes types already owned by the participants, Menant et al. (2008) supplied specifically designed shoes for the study.

Demographics

Almost all studies used volunteers from community/retirement village volunteers, apart from Mickle et al. (2010 and 2011) who recruited study volunteers from arbitrarily chosen federal electorates of New South Wales, Australia. The age range was continuous after retirement age (60+ years) without bias towards gender, race or ethnicity. Other demographic characteristics included weight, height and BMI as well as foot and other medical conditions.

Time frame of study

Study time-frames ranged from 1 day to 1 week, while follow-up resulted in 1 year, however, only Menz et al. (2006) and Mickle et al. (2010) required 1 year.

Participant flow

(No data in any of the studies related to this topic)

Statistical analysis

Badlissi et al. (2005) employed logistic regression to acquire adjusted-odds ratios (95% con?dence intervals) to show interaction between foot musculoskeletal disorders and pain, with potential confounders adjustment. Subsequently, stepwise multiple linear regression was used to assess variance in walk tests and foot disorders were explained by the FHFS scale scores.

Menant et al. (2008) used repeated-measures ANOVA with simple contrasts for statistical analysis of the data, while Menz et al. (2006) assessed the differences in foot-wear characteristics and physiological falls risk factors between fallers and non-fallers using independent samples t-tests (for continuously scored variables) and dichotomous variables. Footwear variables with signi?cant difference between the two catagories were further assessed using logistic regression analysis with adjustment for confounders identi?ed by univariate analyses.

Menz et al (2005) applied descriptive statistics with multiple and step-wise regression. To define the relationship between foot and ankle characteristics, sensorimotor measures, balance and functional test performance scores, Pearson correlation coefficients (PCC) were used. Spink et al. (2011) also employed PCC to examine relationships between foot and ankle strength and range-of-motion measures and the balance and functional test performance scores and independent sample t-tests to measure difference in balance and functional test scores with Hierarchic stepwise multiple regression analysis.

Mickle et al. (2010) applied Chi-square values to establish frequency of foot pain differences between fallers and nonfallers. Independent t-tests was employed to establish signi?cant differences in peak pressure or pressure-time for the two groups and one-way analysis of covariance to ascertain signi?cance in peak plantar pressure or pressure-time integral data created by participant reports of foot pain and pain-free. Mickle et al. (2011) also used analysis of covariance tests to determine signi?cant differences in SF-36 scores, foot function, or postural sway variables in volunteers reporting foot pain or pain-free, while gender and BMI were input as covariates. Similarly, chi-square tests compared the frequency of responses between pain de?nitions.

Completeness of follow up

Of the seven studies investigated, only Menz et al. (2006) and Mickle et al. (2010) conducted follow up studies, which occurred one year later. The follow-up required participants to record falls over the 12 month period and comparisons were then made between ‘fallers’ and ‘non-fallers’.

References

Badlissi, F; Dunn, JE; Link, CL; (2005) Foot musculoskeletal disorders, pain, and foot-related functional limitation in older persons, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Volume: 53Issue: 6Pages: 1029-1033

Menant, Jasmine C.; Steele, Julie R.; Menz, Hylton B.; (2008) Effects of footwear features on balance and stepping in older people, GERONTOLOGY, Volume: 54Issue: 1Pages: 18-23

Menz, HB; Morris, ME; Lord, SR (2005) Foot and ankle characteristics associated with impaired balance and functional ability in older people, JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, Volume: 60Issue: 12Pages: 1546-1552

Menz, HB; Morris, ME; Lord, SR (2006) Footwear characteristics and risk of indoor and outdoor falls in older people, GERONTOLOGY, Volume: 52Issue: 3Pages: 174-180

Mickle, Karen J.; Munro, Bridget J.; Lord, Stephen R.; (2010) Foot Pain, Plantar Pressures, and Falls in Older People: A Prospective Study, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Volume: 58Issue: 10Pages: 1936-1940

Mickle, Karen J.; Munro, Bridget J.; Lord, Stephen R.; (2011) Cross-Sectional Analysis of Foot Function, Functional Ability, and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older People With Disabling Foot Pain ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH, Volume: 63Issue: 11Pages: 1592-1598

Spink, Martin J.; Fotoohabadi, Mohammad R.; Wee, Elin; (2011) Foot and Ankle Strength, Range of Motion, Posture, and Deformity Are Associated With Balance and Functional Ability in Older Adults ARCHIVES OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION, Volume: 92Issue: 1Pages: 68-75

Personality Reflection using the textbook, the university Library, the Internet, and/or other resources, answer the following questions. Your responses to each question will vary but overall should be 700- to 1,050-words in length.

How would you define personality?

It is based on a few inherited traits, but mostly it is how a person builds on that, to learn a sure way, interact a sure way, solve issues a sure way, etc. Personality is the one-of-a-kind way an individual has learned to deal with the challenges of life and work.

It is the general trend of how a person thinks and behaves. Every persona Is one-of-a-kind. There’s no exactly Identical personalities. This Is because no people are similar and no people grow up under the same conditions with the same experiences and decisions. Patterns of thought and action are ingrained, and the sum total is an individual’s persona. Persona is of the ways a person is one-of-a-kind. Separate from persona are knowledge, skills, values, motivations, memories, resources, and strengths of character.

What are some key personality features that define you?

I am funny, giving, loving, caring, nurturing, kind, ambitious, and motivated. I love to learn and communicate with people. I strive for the best in anything and everything that I do. Personally, I am a cross between my mother and father, and It shows greatly. I Like to do construction and hand work, which Is a skill that comes from both parents, I am creative Like my mother: and smart Like both of my parents. My skill and ease to learn new technology, is something else that I gathered from my father.

What key concepts or “constructs” are used to explain your personality?

Personality consists of “traits”, which are individual differences that are stable over time. That Is, they don’t change day to day, or change much over the course of your life. The most common personality theory these days is commonly called the Big Five, which uses the acronym OCEAN to remember the five factors.

The five factors are:

• Openness to Experience: degree to which you are interested in new things, learning, etc.
• Conscientiousness: degree to which you are reliable, follow through on things
• Extroversion: degree to which you are outgoing and sociable
• Agreeableness: degree debility.
• Degree to which you experience negative emotions.

Other traits related to personality include: Self-esteem (general sense of your worth as a person) Intelligence Achievement motivation Type A or B (Type As are competitive and hard driving; Type Bi’s are more laid back and not as ambitious)

Are your personality features consistent or do they change according to the situation?

For the most part, my personality features are the same; my mood is usually consistent as well. Although, I do have mood changes when angered, hurt, or upset.

As any of us humans do. For example, I was engaged to be married, I found my ex fiance©e always in his phone. One night, while he was asleep. I checked his phone, only to find approximately 50 numbers of different women he was engaged in various conversations with, I called off the wedding and broke up with him.

Have you ever taken a personality test before? If so, what was your reaction to the analysis? If not, what would you expect a proper test to measure?

I have taken one before, I do not recall what the results were. My reaction, was normal.

I was not surprised by the accuracy of the results or the test for that matter. I expect the test to measure my ability to adapt to change, being responsible, managing money, time management, and personality traits.

What would make a personality test reliable and valid?

The accuracy of any assessment measure can be quite complicated, with some tests requiring hundreds of statistical analyses Just to give you a few simple numbers. There are two statistics, however, that every professionally published assessment technique must provide in order to accepted as ‘good’ tests: reliability and validity.

Introduction

In 2000, two books were published that were based on research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. These were Boys, Girls and Achievement: Addressing the classroom issues by Becky Francis and Choice, Pathways and Transitions Post-16: New youth, new economies in the global city by Ball, Maguire and Macrae. Both addressed issues of educational attainment and both took as their starting point for observation the behaviour and attitudes of adolescents in their mid-teens. In other respects, however, these books, and the research that underpins them, are very different from one another not only in terms of the findings they produced but also in fundamental aspects of scope, methodology, and ideological background. These differences are the more noticeable and significant because so many aspects of the two studies do share similarities.

Boys, Girls and Achievement is an examination of the way gender roles are constructed by secondary school children and how this might be connected to educational achievement for both boys and girls. Choice, Pathways and Transitions is a study of the lives of school leavers, looking at the options open to them and the routes they take, whether in education, employment or neither.

Both studies took place in London. Francis investigated gender attitudes in three schools in different parts of London, ranging from the inner city to Greater London. All three of these schools were mainly working class in composition, although they had different gender balances and ethnic mixes (Francis 2000: 21). Ball et al focussed on one particular school in south London, along with the local Pupil Referral Unit (Ball et al 2000: 14). This school also had a mainly working class composition, and a significant number of ethnic minority pupils. Ball et al give an enormous amount of information about the area in which the study took place and the backgrounds (both ethnic and social) of the pupils themselves (Ball et al 2000: 10-16, Appendices 1-3 and passim), while Francis merely sketches in the general ethnic and social background, and gives no information about the local areas except to say whether they are surrounded by council estates, or a mixture of estates and owner-occupied housing (Francis 2000: 21-2). This is in line with the differing methodological approaches: a case-based approach such as that of Ball et al requires a much deeper knowledge of the subjects, while a more variable-based approach, such as Francis’, makes up for the lack of background information by gathering data from a wider sample (see below for more on methodology). Despite this justification, however, Francis’ sketchiness about the ethnic and class backgrounds of her sample is a weakness, as we shall see.

Concerning the choice of London as the area from which to select the sample, Ball et al give two reasons. The first is that poverty and inequality is at its worst in London, with economic polarisation increased by recent Government policy (Ball et al 2000: 5). This is relevant to a study looking at how political and economic changes have affected the options available to young people. The second reason is that London is a “global city”, like Tokyo and New York. This means that it is linked much more closely than other large cities to global economic organisation and developments (Ball et al 2000: 5), and as such it presents different opportunities and even different economies from the rest of the UK – for those who are able to access them (Ball et al 2000: 148-9). This means that by setting the study in London they are able to look at the widest variety of choices that are (theoretically) open to young people. Francis, by contrast, gives no reason for setting the study in London, leaving the reader to guess whether the choice was made for ideological reasons, or purely for convenience. This may be an example of what Ball et al note as a tendency in social theorising to assume that trends and patterns in London apply generally to the whole of the UK (Ball et al 2000: 148-9).

The historical background to the research is important to both studies, and it is the same history to which they both refer, although of course they each take a different focus. The historical development in question is the change to the labour market in the second half of the twentieth century, and particularly since 1979 and the accession of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister. As Ball et al note, the adolescents in their study are “Thatcher’s Children” (Ball et al 2000: 1). During this period manufacturing jobs decreased as industry declined, and the service sector provided a larger share of the job market. This meant that there were fewer manual jobs requiring few or no qualifications, which has seriously reduced the options available to school leavers, and particularly boys (Francis 2000: 7). This background is relevant to the work of Ball et al because it reduced the options open to the young people whose choices they studied. They focus in particular on the “McDonaldized” nature of many of the jobs available, and how this contrasts with secure, high-status professional and managerial jobs (Ball et al 2000: 10). Employment that falls between these two extremes has become rarer, and so many of the young people in Choice, Pathways and Transitions are faced with employment that is low-pay, low-status and low-security.

Francis focuses more on what this change in the labour market has done for the prospects of boys. Manufacturing jobs that required no qualifications were mainly filled by men, because of the physical nature of the work. On top of this, the growing service sector is seen as requiring more ‘feminine’ skills such as empathy and communication (Francis 2000: 7). This means that the traditional jobs for male school leavers are disappearing and the jobs that are replacing them are unattractive on gender grounds. Francis is concerned to look at how this may be affecting the educational attainment of boys and girls.

Unlike Ball et al, Francis also looks at the educational history of the period, with the introduction of the National Curriculum and standardised testing in the Education Reform Act 1988. This was the move that made it possible to directly compare boys’ attainment with girls’ throughout the country, by means of league tables showing performance in compulsory subjects (Francis 2000: 6). Ball et al, on the other hand, are more concerned with the ‘learning society’ the political initiative to encourage people to obtain and continue to develop marketable skills throughout their lives so that they are suited to the needs of the labour market (Ball et al 2000: 8). The unrealistic nature of this one-dimensional view of young ‘learners’ as fodder for the labour market is dealt with throughout the work.

Although the historical background and social changes that inform and indeed inspire the two books are similar, when it comes to the underpinning social theory, more differences start to emerge. In fact, both works are informed by a post-structuralist understanding of identity; people ‘construct’ who they are in terms of the particular society, culture and background they find themselves in. “We take it that the self is discursively and interactively constituted”, as Ball et al put it (Ball et al 2000: 20). Francis, however, goes further down this line by taking a social constructionist view of gender, something that Ball et al do not address, although they do look at the particular gender-based social limitations that face some women in the study. Francis believes that “gender difference is socially produced” (Francis 2000: 19), a belief that is very important to the purpose of her book, which is to break down the gender constructs that hinder learning. Francis is a feminist, and her work is strongly influenced by this philosophical position. She believes that the construction of gender difference leads to the subjugation of women and says, “As a feminist, I believe that this situation is wrong and we should work to change it.” (Francis 2000: 19)

This declaration of purpose is another difference between the two texts. Francis has an acknowledged aim: to deconstruct the gender constructions of secondary school pupils that are detrimental to the education of both boys and girls. To this end, the final part of Boys, Girls and Achievement is devoted to practical strategies that can be used with the whole class or with groups, to deconstruct preconceived notions of gender roles and expressions of gender such as behaviour. She believes that this should “spur educational achievement” (Francis 2000: 152). Ball et al’s work is much less prescriptive in nature. While they make it clear that they are uncomfortable with the Government’s notions of young people as “individual, rational calculators”, they do not say whether this is a view that preceded, or arose out of, the research, nor do they make any prescriptions about what young people, or the Government, should do. Instead, the book seeks to “describe and analyse the choices and constraints” of the young people (Ball et al 2000: 1). The overall purpose, therefore, is descriptive rather than prescriptive. It is for others to use their data and analysis as best they may.

Unlike Francis, Ball et al do not appear to have a hypothesis that they are trying to prove or disprove. Their work is inductive rather than deductive, resembling grounded theory. Francis does appear to have a hypothesis, although it is never explicitly stated as such. She mentions that she has previously carried out similar work in primary schools, looking at gender construction and power (Francis 2000: 19), and throughout the book she notes when the results correspond to the earlier research and when they do not. She also begins the book by discussing the notion that boys are ‘failing’ in school because girls are outperforming them. Her hypothesis, then, seems to be that, as in primary schools, secondary school children construct their gender, and this is the reason why boys appear to be progressing less rapidly than girls. As a feminist, though, she believes that the construction of gender disadvantages girls as well as boys, and should be challenged (Francis 2000: 19).

The different approaches and scopes of the two studies are reflected in the research methods used and in the sample selected.

The research of Ball et al is purely case-based. Each of the chapters of their book demonstrates a different potential outcome for young learners, but the data is presented in the form of narratives, following the lives of particular individuals – typically three or four per chapter. The young people’s names (pseudonyms) are given, and their whole history throughout the study is presented as a unit; it is not split up to sit under different topics. The study was also longitudinal (Ball et al 2000: vii). This type of research produces rich and complex knowledge of how different variables interact, but it is of course harder to generalise from than statistics would be. It is also not well suited to testing a hypothesis, since the young people are being treated as holistic individuals, rather than as points on either side of an argument. Case-based research requires a relatively low number of subjects because so much information is drawn from each subject, and because it all has to be analysed qualitatively for meaning, which is very time consuming (Della Porta 2008: 208). Ball et al’s study began with 110 students, but of those only 59 were interviewed over four years for the in-depth study, and only 24 are featured in the book Choice, Pathways and Transitions as representative examples (Ball et al 2000: 14).

Francis, by contrast, carried out classroom observation on twelve classes at three different schools (Francis 2000: 24). Assuming a class size of approximately 30 pupils (for Francis does not specify) gives a sample of 360. Each class was observed three times over “a relatively short time” (Francis 2000: 23), making this study transverse rather than longitudinal. Interviews were then conducted with a random sample drawn from all the classes, numbering 100 pupils – 50 boys and 50 girls (Francis 2000: 28). This larger sample, combined the shorter space of time and the use of only one interviewer (Ball et al used a number of interviewers) means that the interviews had to be conducted in less depth, but the results could be generalised more easily. For example, Francis is able to provide a table of the attributes of an ideal pupil with figures showing how many times each attribute was mentioned by girls, and how many by boys (Francis 2000: Appendix 3). This pooled information is isolated from the identities of the individual interviewees, and could be used as an indication of the general attitudes of adolescent boys and girls, in a way that Ball et al’s narratively presented interviews could not be.

Francis’ study is variable-based rather than case-based, although the data cannot always be reduced to statistics. Perhaps because of the difficulty of accurate recording when there is only one observer, the classroom observation part of the study is used mainly to confirm the presence of certain language (such as ‘bitch’), behaviours (such as personal grooming) and attitudes (such as homophobia), and to demonstrate tendencies and trends (for example, “boys were far more physically active in the classroom than were girls.” Francis 2000: 42). When collecting generalised information like the data in Boys, Girls and Achievement it is helpful to have a larger sample size so that it is possible to generalise from the data with greater confidence (Della Porta 2008:198). Francis’ study was designed to indicate something about boys’ and girl’s attitudes to gender in Britain as a whole, so a larger sample is useful to her.

Interview technique, and the interpretation of results, is another are where these two books differ, and again the differences in method are attributable to different theoretical or philosophical positions. Francis, in accordance with her feminist beliefs, takes an approach to interviewing which might be labelled romanticism or emotionalism (Alvesson 2011: 14). Rather than trying to reduce the influence of the interviewer as much as possible, she enters into a relationship with her interviewees, being “winsome, warm/jokey” with the boys, while “laughing conspiratorially and nodding” at the derogatory things the girls said about boys (Francis 2000: 29). This is in line with the feminist approach to interviewing which seeks to break down the power imbalance between the interviewer and the interviewee, and to establish a relationship of trust where the truth can be revealed collaboratively (Alvesson 2011: 15). It does raise some problems, however, as Francis herself recognises. By giving the boys special treatment to get them to “open up” she risks being guilty of accommodating males while assuming co-operation from girls, effectively submitting to and reinforcing gendered power roles (Francis 2000: 29). More worryingly for the integrity of her results, the intrusive interviewer may elicit responses that have been influenced by her own views. Certainly, there are times in the transcripts of the interviews where Francis appears to put words in the mouths of the participants, for example when she (rather than the interviewee) suggest that it is “all right for [boys] to be thick” and when she inserts the word “slag” into the conversation rather than allowing the interviewee to supply it (or an alternative) (Francis 2000: 73 and 82).

Ball et al seem to have initially taken a more positivist approach to interviews, keeping the format very prescriptive and the power balance very unequal. Later, however, they allowed the subjects of interviews to be led more by the interviewees, eliciting information which they had not anticipated and which could then be followed up with other subjects. This later approach can be characterised as interactive rationalism (Alvesson 2011: 12-13). Although more trust had been built up and the interviewees have more freedom, there is no suggestion of collusion or the intrusion of the interviewer into the data. Ball et al acknowledge the problems of interview context that they faced, with varied and sometimes unsuitable venues, and often the presence of family members, which inhibited the responses. Despite this, they still seem to take a positivist approach to the data gathered, treating it as valid, if curtailed, information, rather than as simply the product of the particular context in which the interview took place (Della Porta and Keating 2008: 23). This may be a little over-confident, especially considering the influence that the opinions of family members have over the young people, as evidenced by the study. These variable and often unsatisfactory interview contexts are a weakness in Ball et al’s work, compared to the uniformity available to Francis in her work in a school setting.

The other major weakness in Choice, Pathways and Transitions is how heavily it relies on interpretation. This is, of course, both the strength and weakness of case-based studies. The young people are allowed to represent themselves rather than statistics, which means that the scope of the study is much wider and the information obtained is richer, but in order to reach any conclusions about what the lives of particular young people have to say about the situation of young people in London or Britain as a whole, it is necessary to supply a large amount of interpretation. Other researchers might have taken different lessons from the same results, and this subjectivity is a weakness that Ball et al acknowledge (Ball et al 2000: 142).

Certainly the weaker of the two studies, however, is Boys, Girls and Achievement. The problem of leading interviewees has already been discussed, but perhaps more serious is the attitude towards the ethnic and class backgrounds of the children involved. Ball et al found that the single biggest factor that increased or curtailed a young person’s chances was class (Ball et al 2000: 177), while ethnicity, especially for women, could also be a major factor; the way a girl’s gender affected her choices was strongly linked to cultural background (for example the cases of Rena and Delisha, Ball et al 2000: 35-41). Francis pays no attention to class whatsoever, except to say that her sample is mostly working class (Francis 2000: 21). As for class, her approach is very inconsistent. She claims that, while a full analysis of ethnicity and class are outside the range of a study such as this, she will attempt to include an analysis of ethnicity where possible (Francis 2000: 23). To this end reference is made to racial stereotypes (found in the schools) of Afro-Caribbeans as sexually potent (Francis 2000: 38), speakers are identified by sex and ethnicity, and where ethnicity seems to be relevant to gendered behaviour it is remarked upon (e.g. Francis 2000: 44). However, no reference to ethnicity is found in the final discussion, and nothing which could fairly be called “analysis” of ethnicity and gender appears anywhere in the book. The references to the young people by ethnic background seem to be a red herring, and are therefore merely distracting and unhelpful. Particularly unhelpful is the term “Anglo” which is never defined and is by no means self-explanatory.

The two books examined here make an interesting comparison because of the similarity of the subjects they study and the almost identical social setting, combined with very different methodological approaches and ideological interests. There is nothing to criticise in the choice of either a case-based or variable-based research model, nor in the focus on gender specifically as opposed to all of the factors affecting young people’s choices. These are all equally valid and are useful in different ways. However, even making allowances for these differences, Choice, Pathways and Transitions succeeds better on its own terms than does Boys, Girls and Achievement.

Bibliography

M Alvesson (2011) Interpreting Interviews London: Sage

S J Ball, M Maguire and S Macrae (2000) Choice, Pathways and Transitions Post-16: New youth, new economies in the global city London: RoutledgeFalmer

D Della Porta (2008) “Comparative Analysis: case-oriented versus variable-oriented research” in D Della Porta and M Keating Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 198-222

D Della Porta and M Keating (2008) “How many approaches in the social sciences?” in D Della Porta and M Keating Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19-39

B Francis (2000) Boys, Girls and Achievement: Addressing the classroom issues London: RoutledgeFalmer

M Keating (2008) “Culture and Social Science” in D Della Porta and M Keating Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 99-117

The Thanjavur Art Plate is a world famous one and is being produced only in Thanjavur Town. The making of Thanjavur Art Plate is recognised as small handicraft cottage industry, as the production takes place at the household level. The Thanjavur Art Plate artisans are having minute skill for making Thanjavur Art plate of different size and type. It is a craft consisting of metals such as Silver, Copper and Brass (Alloy) embossed with figures of Gods and Goddesses at its Centre.

Thanjavur Art plate artisans have problems like skilled labours, inadequate knowledge of global marketing and risk taking abilities, poor information technology, failure to raise investment and absence of infrastructure. So, the Art plate artisans are diversified to produce other items like jewel box, key chain, gift items and photo frames etc. The sample size of the study comprised of 200 artisans who are the producers and retailers of the Thanjavur Art plates.

Only male artisans are involved in this type of production. The findings of the study show the different problems faced by the producers and retailers in the field. The present study deals the various problems of the Thanjavur Art Plate artisans, which can be eradicated by the mutual association of Thanjavur Art Plate artisans with the handicraft export marketers and Government of India in order to boost and promote the traditional sector.

Introduction

The making of Thanjavur Art plate is one of the traditional handicrafts with minute and skilful craft work. Art plate comprises of two costlier noble metals like Silver, Copper and alloy like Brass. Now-a-days, purchase of the metals for making Art plate is very difficult because of the price of metals is going on increasing. The production of Art plate requires different types of skill and experienced labours like heavy metal worker, jewel maker and relief setter. Thus, it is a team work done by the artisans.

They always face different problems particularly financial and marketing to produce and sell their product. Many artisans are working as daily wage earners and no financial institutions are coming forward to help them to become entrepreneurs. This handicraft demands a high degree of skilfulness and patience which is a traditional art of a particular community and is strongly occupied in Thanjavur Town. China and Thailand have produced alloys which is brass like metals. These products are cheaper, lighter and do not lose its shine. The highest problems of Thanjavur Art Plate artisans are product development and marketing, price of the raw materials, globalisation and lack of information technology which makes a major setback to this sector.

Literature Review

Chutia and Sarma (2017) stated that in the age of global competition when the world has become a small trading community, handicraft artisans constantly compete with machine made products and struggle for the sustenance of their age old traditional industries. Changing functional requirements and aesthetics orientation of modern customers are pressing artisans to modify certain traditional features of the crafts and innovate according to market demand. In addition to this, unrestricted flow of imported metal items also offers tough competition to the indigenous sector. Artisans complying with existing needs of customers, comparatively, do well in economic terms than those producing age-old products.

Artisans also seem to continue the craft in future and encourage their kith and kin to undertake the occupation, since they find it a reliable income source. Kabitha Kalita and Sarma (2016) expressed that the world market has changed drastically for skilled and unskilled workforce and there is a growing need for workers with specialised skills. Brass metal being one of the traditional industries of Assam can become one of the chief contributors towards the revenue generation of the state only if technological innovations are brought about in the revival of the industries, this is only possible when the workers of these industries will be trained and equipped properly.

Medhi et.al (2012) identified that the present situation compels them to switch over to other tertiary activities abandoning their traditional brass metal work. But despite of these a group of enthusiastic Morias are trying to revive their traditional brass work. Attempt has also been made to discuss their traditional occupation and the poor economic condition of the traditional brass artisans.

Profile of the Study Area

Thanjavur has a very important place in world Tourism Map, because of its long run history, rich art, culture and heritage. So, it is daily visited mostly by foreigners and domestic tourists. The aesthetic sense of the visitors makes an affinity towards the products like Thanjavur Art Plate, Thanjavur dancing dolls, Pith work, Thanjavur painting etc. This creates a demand for the production of Art Plate. This art of making Art Plates was a very precious and prestigious one in the past history of Thanjavur.

Statement of the Problem

The Thanjavur Art Plate artisan’s socio economic condition was very high during the period of Raja Serfoji. But, at the present time Art plate artisans were very difficult to survive and produce the good quality products. The number of Art plate artisans’ families has been reduced from 300 to 200. Many of the artisans were migrated from Thanjavur town and indulge in other labour works. The increasing cost and insufficiency of raw material supply affects the production. Billing of electricity under commercial slab increases the cost of the product. Young artisans from traditional family who were indulged in this art are switching over to other area of works to earn more money.

This leads to lack of sufficient skilled and traditional artisans. Artisans who are willing to start an individual business do not have adequate amount of capital at his own. The problem seems to be worst in the case of Thanjavur Art plate artisans because District Industries Centre is providing a loan of one Lakh Rupees only and other financial institutions are not willing to provide loan to them. The Art plate is purely a decorative item, it has no utility value, and this inhibits the market scope of the product. Altogether, they are facing various problems like financial, marketing, cheaper technological intervention due to globalisation, lack of quality raw materials and non availability of skilled labours etc.

Objectives of the Study

• To understand the skill and knowledge of Thanjavur Art Plate artisans.
• To analyse the problems faced by Thanjavur Art Plate artisans and
• To know the schemes provided by the government to overcome the problems.

Research Methodology

• Data Collection: The data used for the study is both primary and secondary. Primary data was collected by using interview schedule from Thanjavur Art plate artisans. The Secondary data were collected from reputed journals and research publications.
• Research Design: Descriptive and analytical research has been used.
• Sample size: 200 Art Plate artisans from Thanjavur Town.
• Sampling Technique: Simple Random Sampling
• Statistical Technique: Percentage Analysis, Chi-square test and Karl Pearson correlation.

Limitations of the Study

1. The questions in the interview schedule are close-ended questions which limits the artisans’ problems.
2. Limited sample size was due to unavailability of artisans at the time of data collection.
3. The study findings cannot be generalised.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Table 1 Demographic profile of the Thanjavur Art Plate Artisans
Demographic Variables Frequency Percentage

Monthly Income Below

• Rs. 10,000 121 60.5
• Rs. 10,001 to Rs. 20,000 46 23.0
• Above Rs. 20,000 33 16.5
• Total 200 100
• Age 20-30 Years 34 17.0
• 31-40 years 61 30.5
• 41-50 years 66 33.0
• 51 years and above 39 19.5
• Total 200 100
• Type of Family Joint 107 53.5
• Nuclear 93 46.5
• Total 200 100
• Educational
• Qualification Illiterate 41 20.5
• School 99 49.5
• College 49 24.5
• Professional 11 5.5
• Total 200 100
• Source: Primary Data

The above table shows that the demographic profile of the respondents of Thanjavur Art plate artisans with respect to Monthly Income, Age, Type of family and Educational Qualification. Out of 200 artisans, 60.5 per cent of the Art Plate artisan’s income is below Rs. 10,000 per month. The majority (33 percent) of the artisans belongs to the age group between 41 to 50 years. 53.5 percent of the artisans are living as joint family system. Regarding the Educational qualification, 49.5 percent of artisans are school leavers and 20.5 per cent are Illiterate.

Ho: There is no significant relationship between Age group of the artisans and the problems facing by the artisans

Problems of Art Plate Artisans Chi- Square P value Statistical Inference

• Raw materials related problems 14.10 0.07 P;0.05
  Not significant
• Technical and skill based problems 25.55 0.00 P;0.05
  Significant
• Marketing and infrastructure problems 35.15 0.00 P;0.05
  Significant
• Information and policy problems 23.15 0.00 P;0.05
  Significant
• Financial problems 14.55 0.06 P;0.05
  Not Significant
• a. There is no significant relationship between age group of the Art Plate artisans and Raw materials related problems. So, accept the null hypothesis
• b. There is significant relationship between age group of the artisans and Technical, skill based problems. Hence, reject the null hypothesis.
• c. There is significant association between age group of the artisans and Marketing, infrastructure problems. Therefore null hypothesis is rejected
• d. There is significant relationship between age group of the Art plate artisans and information, policy problems. Hence, reject the null hypothesis, and
• e. There is no significant relationship between age group of the Art plate artisans and financial problems. Therefore null hypothesis is accepted.

Problems of Art Plate Artisans

Demographic Variables Problems of Art Plate Artisans Correlation
Age Pearson Correlation .478** Significantly Positive Correlation

• Sig. (2- tailed) 0 Educational Qualification Pearson Correlation .428** Significantly Positive Correlation
• Sig. (2- tailed) 0 Marital Status Pearson Correlation 0.007 Not Significant
• Sig. (2- tailed) 0.919 Monthly Income Pearson Correlation -0.003 Not Significant
• Sig. (2- tailed) 0.967 Size of the family Pearson Correlation .591** Significantly Positive Correlation
• Sig. (2- tailed) 0 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2 – tailed)

The above table shows that there is a strong correlation between the age, educational qualification, size of the family and the problems of Art Plate artisans. It is also inferred that there is no significant correlation between marital status, monthly income and the problems of Art plate artisans.

Findings of the Study

1. Government schemes not reaching the genuine artisans.
2. Lack of credit facilities is the most remarkable challenge to an artisan.
3. Artisans mainly depend on Trade fairs and exhibitions to sell their products.
4. The artisan is not recognized.
5. The artisan suffered a serious dearth in marketing customers’ expectation.
6. Poor infrastructure and less remuneration are forcing artisans to choose other profession.
7. Most of the artisans expressed that the non-availability of working capital.
8. Marketing, export avenues and linkages are limited.
9. Lack of encouragement of commercial collaboration between enterprises.
10. Dissemination of market information was not done at the right time to develop their markets.
11. Hazardous air pollutants released during melting of brass, cause respiratory diseases amongst the artisans and their families.
12. Exploitation of artisans by middlemen.
13. Higher raw material prices and costlier electrical power have created an increased need for more capital.
14. Art plate artisans are struggling to compete with the cheaper, low quality and more availability of global machine made brass products.

Schemes Provided By the Government to Overcome the Problems

Government had implemented two programmes in the name of Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana and Janshree Bima Yojana for artisans in the age group of 18-60 for health and life insurance for the artisans along with three dependents.

Ministry of social justice and empowerment has initiated Shilp Sampada scheme to improve the economic standard of artisans and handicraft. It will provide loan upto 10 lakhs for traditional Artisans of Backward class to upgrade their entrepreneurial skills.

Welfare scheme of USTTAD (Upgrading skills and Training in Traditional Arts for Development) aimed at upgrading and promoting the skills of artisans from minority communities.

Recommendations

More health related schemes have to be implemented for security of the artisans.
Financial Assistance for taking up issues relating to brand building and sales promotion of Traditional handicrafts should be implemented.
Dissemination of Government schemes, loan facilities, about trade fairs and exhibitions, knowledge of E-Commerce, widening of export avenues and linkages, market information should be done at the right time to improve their markets.

Raw materials like noble metals, alloys and electricity should be given in subsidised rates.
Programmes should be coined for direct marketing of the Art Plates at a profitable rate produced by the artisans.

Conclusion

The Government of India have to open an Institute for all traditional arts where a senior artisan can get a permanent job to teach new artisans. Moreover, measures should be taken to boost and improve the interest of artisans to continue their skilful and aesthetic work without compromising the traditional and quality of the Thanjavur Art Plate.

References

1. Ajay kumar, N. S. (2013). Environmental Implications of Brass Industry in Moradabad City, Uttar Pradesh. Research Gate.
2. Banik, S. (2017). A Study on Financial Analysis Of Rural Artisans In India: Issues And Challenges. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts , 5 (4), 2294-2298.
3. Bishmita Medhi, B. M. (2012). Changing Trend of Occupation among the Brass Artisan Moria Community of Brahmaputra Valley, with special Reference to Kamrup District. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science , 5 (5), 26-30.
4. Kalita. (2008, March 23). A Geographical Analysis of Bell Metal Industry in Sarthebari. Amar Asom , p. 6.
5. Roushan, A. H. (2016). Tradition of Brass-Metal Working : A Study among the moris of Muslimpatty village in Hajo, KamrupDistrict, Assam. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Science Society and Culture , 2 (2), 115-121.
6. Sajid, M. (1989). Development of Brassware Industry of Moradabad. M.Phil Dissertation, Aligarh University, Commerce.
7. Sarma, K. k. (2016). Skill development of Manpower-A Study on the Traditional Brass Metal Industry of Assam. Pratidhwani the Echo , 5 (2), 45-55.
8. Sarma, L. J. (2017). Native Tradition and Changing Market Dynamics: The Future Sustainability of Hajo and Sarthebari Metal Crafts. The Chitrolekha Journal on Art and Design , 1 (2), 1-21.
9. Sharma, R. J. (2015). A study on the awareness of artisan on various Government schemes and policies for Handicrafts with special Reference to Madhya Pradesh. Zenith International Journal of Business Economics and Management Research , 5 (11), 20-28.

Chapter I

Introduction

1. 1 Focus of the Study This is the age of management information system (MIS) in the business world, which enables management to provide the appropriate information at optimal cost so manager can manage in private as well as government organizations. MIS can be defined as the system, which provides proper information that helps management to take management decisions in a timely fashion. Therefore the information served by management information system is very crucial for a proper management of a business organization.

In a process of receiving information from various sectors, MIS use various sectors. As well as we can find the position of income tax in government revenue. Income tax is the main source of government revenue. If high sources of income tax in government revenue, government can make good development, economic planning for development of the nation. After knowing about the contribution of Income tax in government revenue of Nepal, we can find the strength and weakness of the government functions and method of raising the revenue.

There are various sources of government revenue. Income tax, VAT, custom duty, foreign aid, internal and external loan are the main sources. There are various users and interested person and sector of Income tax in government revenue. Government is the main interested and handles body of income tax. Government can make suitable policies, acts and rules for increasing the government revenue. In current situation, government must have sufficient revenue for developing the nation. At present government expenditures is gradually increasing but government revenue is not satisfactory.

The trend of income tax in government revenue is not satisfactory up going, even it’s going down some years. Thinking of taxpayer towards the tax is not positive. The study of income tax shows the performance and contribution of taxpayers. Nepal has adopted mix economy. So there is equal contribution of private and public sector for economic development as well as government revenue. The overall performance of government and taxpayers reflected on contribution of collection of income tax in government revenue.

Government and financial policymakers can make suitable policies and rules for collection of high income tax from organizations. Analysis of income tax in government revenue is the mean of financial and accounting interpretation. We can say that analysis of income tax in government revenue is meaningless until and unless it is properly analyzed, interpreted and taken any corrective actions to the best way. Therefore the analysis and interpretation part of government revenue is fulfilled by the analysis of income tax.

The idea of introducing income tax in Nepal originated along with the first ‘Budget’ on 21st Magh 2008 B. S. (1952 AD). The first elected government finally introduced ‘Business profit and Remuneration Tax Act 2017’ to promise income tax on remuneration and business profit in Nepal. The ‘Business profit and Remuneration Tax Act 2017’ had very narrow coverage that income tax was imposed only on business profit and remuneration. Since this act could not cover all the sources of income, the ‘Nepal Income Tax Act 2019’ replaced it after two years to avoid such drawbacks.

After a year, ‘Nepal Income Tax Rules 2020’ were enacted with the view of implementing the objectives of the income tax act. According to the changing condition this act was also incapable in fulfilling the needs of changing time, it was replaced by another, ‘Income tax Act 2031’. In the course of development and modernization of income tax system, the new ‘Income Tax Act 2058’ has been enacted. Similarly, the new ‘Income Tax Rules 2059’ have been enacted for the effective implementation of the objectives of the Act.

The study will cover the analysis and interpretation of all activities related to income tax such as income tax from Business income, Investment income and Employment income. Main purpose of the study is to find out the relationship between income tax and other sources of government revenue, the trends of collection of income tax, contributing part of income tax in government revenue and to point out the reasons of low collection and imposed of income tax. 1. 2-Statement of the problem Income tax is the main source of government revenue. For the development of nation, every government needs high revenue.

For higher the revenue, the main sources is income tax. The economy of a country flourishes with the flourish of government revenue and collection of income tax and it deteriorates with unsatisfactory performance of Government function in the country. Therefore periodical review and analysis of Income Tax in the country is very essential. Performance of Income Tax is very constructive for all stakeholders closely attached with the government revenue as well as for a prosperous economic future of the country. Generating income by any individual or institution is the main sources of income tax.

If income is favourable then collection of income tax is also favourable. Lower contribution of income tax in government revenue negatively affects the country’s development. The variation of income tax contribution brings the variation of government revenue and government development function. Country’s economic development and government revenue are the closely related parts. For higher revenue, economic development is necessary and for better economic development of a country, high government revenue is necessary. Nepal is a landlocked country. The trend of collection of income tax is not satisfactory.

As maintained above, sustainable economic development and good political environment is necessary for growth the income. Income is source of income tax. Currently, political situation of Nepal is not good. From one decade it’s being worse. Here is no good environment for income generating functions. Previously running organizations also can’t perform better. They are going downwards. Individual income is also not a good increasing trend. It affects directly income tax and government revenue as well as government activities. The data of income tax may suffer a lot in lack of proper view and analysis practice of it.

Currently contribution of income tax in government revenue of Nepal may not sufficient for development of nation. At the analysis period of data income tax collection remained below the expected level due to various national and international level. Therefore, this research study is concentrated on trend of income tax collection to review and analysis the contribution in government revenue and to draw recommendation for coming period.

1. 3-Objective of the study

1. 3. 1 General Objective

1. To analyze the contribution of Income tax in the government revenue of Nepal.

1. 3. 2 Specific objective

1. To measure the ability of income tax to meet the government current requirement.
2. To measure the ability of income tax to meet the government long term planning and policies.
3. To measure the operating efficiency and ability to ensure for adequate government revenue.
4. To analyze the problems of revenue collection from Income Tax.
5. To suggest some measures for the improvement of Income Tax collection.

1. 4 Signification of the study

There are many institutions and individual that many contribute for government revenue by income tax. But their ability and willingness is not so good.

The proportion of income tax in government revenue is not appropriate. The trend of income tax collection also is not sustainable and satisfactory. Much income tax acts and rules were implemented and many of are active at present. But they are not properly implemented. For many of these problem there is best alternative to analysis the trend and contribution of income tax in government revenue.

1. 5 Research Questions

For the effective performance and result of the study and to state the findings in a core and precise form, the important research questions have been structured:

1. What is the state of income tax collection?
2. What is the proportion of income tax income for government revenue?
3. What is the trend of income tax collection?
4. What are the findings for coming days?

1. 6 A brief survey of the related literature

1. The related theoretical and previous studies review will be made later on while writing the thesis. Main of these is:
2. Budget speech of many fiscal years
3. Performance Review of public and private Enterprises
4. Economic survey of many fiscal years
5. Statement of Income and Expenditure of many fiscal years
6. Statement of Revenue of many fiscal years Different Acts, Rules and regulations, Ordinance and Circulars related to Income Tax
7. Related Research, Thesis, Articles, Journals, Books, Web site etc.

1. 7 Limitations of the Study

The study on “Contribution of income tax in the government Revenue of Nepal” is not free from the following limitations:

1. This study is based on financial statements, Economic surveys, Statement of revenue and Income and expenditure, which are subject to limitation of many National and International causes.
2. This study is based on past data’s which are provided by IRD or published.
3. The various methods and formulae are been taken as standard formula, which are worked out on the basis of different items and conditions.
4. Mostly secondary data are analyzed.
5. The area of income tax is very wide, so all the part of it may not be covered.
6. Being a student, different types of resource constraint is another important factor, which has limited the scope of the study.

Chapter II

Research Methodology

2. 1 Research Design

A research design refers to the conceptual structure within which the research is conducted. The research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance the research purpose within the economy and easy to procedure. This study is basically both in analytical and descriptive.

2. 2 Data collection procedure

For the study, secondary data will be collected from IRD, Budget speech, Economic survey, Statement of Income, Income and Expenditure and from other related sources. The secondary data related to income tax and revenue are basically from last fifteen years.

2. 3 Tools for analysis

To conduct the study, management and statistical tools such as ratio analysis, trend analysis, correlation regression analysis, variation, weights, diagram, graphs etc. will be used as required by the study.

2. 4 Methods for analysis and presentation

Various results will be calculated by using various management and statistical tools, and formula, which are required for this study. Then the data will be presented on suitable tables, diagrams, graphs and formats with the help of different suitable computer software on the basis of which necessary interpretation and explanation will be drawn.

2. 5 Plan of work

The study will be carried out on sequential order, which will be five chapters. The first chapter will begin with the introduction of the study, followed by review of literature, research methodology, presentation and analysis of data and conclusion and recommendation in second, third, fourth and last fifth chapters respectively.

2. 6 Bibliography

1. Amatya, S. K. , Pokharel, B. B. and Dahal, R. K. (2004), Taxation in Nepal, M. K. Publisher and Distributors, Kathmandu, Nepal.
2. Budget speech of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061.
3. Economic Survey of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061.
4. Income Tax act, 2031(1974) and Income Tax act, 2058 (2002)
5. Income Tax Rules, 2059.
6. Income Tax, Circular Collection 2055/56 to 2060/61.
7.  Statement of Income and Expenditure of the Fiscal Year 2055/056 to 2060/061.
8. Statement of Revenue from 2055/56 to 2060/61.
9. Wolf, H. K. , and Pant, P. R. ,(2002), SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH AND THESIS WRITING, Buddha Academic Publishers & Distributor Pvt. Ltd. , Kathmandu, Nepal.
10. Web sites : http://www. ird. gov. np/index1. php http://www. taxresources. com/ http://www. asosai. org/journal1993/revenue_auditing_in_nepal. htm

Week 1

DQ 1

1. Voluntary consent of the participant is absolutely essential. The subject must be capable of giving consent without coercion, and full responsibility for obtaining consent rests with the principal investigator.
2. The experiment must be designed to bring forth results that will benefit society and that cannot be obtained in any other manner.
3. Human experimentation should be based on animal research results as well as knowledge of the natural course of events, disease, or problems.
4. All unnecessary mental or physical harm should be avoided.
5. When there is reason to believe that death or disabling injury may occur, no experiment should be conducted except, perhaps, when the experimenting physicians also serve as subjects.
6. The degree of risk should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved.
7. All precaution should be taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death.
8. Only qualified personnel should be allowed to conduct experiments.

The principal investigator must be ready to terminate the experiment at any stage if it appears that injury or death will result. Research Techniques for the Health Sciences, Fourth Edition Chapter 4: Considering Ethics in Research Explain two basic principles for humane treatment of human subjects in research. Drawing on the course readings or a current news item, provide an example of a study in which ethical principles were not followed. How might study design have been improved in that case?

The two basic principles for human treatment of human subjects in research most significant to me are, making sure all precaution is taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death, and allowing the subject to withdraw from the experiment at any time if a point is reached that may bring about physical or mental harm. It is important that we do not use humans in research as crash dummies, as if they are simply replaceable after harm and injury.

It is only right to take all precautions and allow the human subject to change their mind about participating in the research. Ethical principles were not followed in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study found in our text. The human subjects were not fully aware of the study, and the purpose of the research was more so the subjects could die and they could perform an autopsy.

DQ 2

What are the advantages of using a mixed method approach to research? What are the challenges? Provide an example of how you have used (or, in the future, could use) this approach in your professional role.

1. The strength of the research;
2. Use of multiple methods in a research helps to research a process or a problem from all sides;
3. Usage of different approaches helps to focus on a single process and confirms the data accuracy.

A mixed research complements a result from one type of research with another one. This research does not miss any available data. The aim of a mixed method design is to summarize positive aspects of two approaches and produce a highly accurate data.

When you use several methods in your research process, then you can use the strength of every type of information collection and minimize the weak points of every of both approaches. A mixed method approach of gathering and evaluation can increase the validity and accuracy of the information. The advantages of using a mixed method approach to research are having several different outcomes in the process of your research. What this does is allows the researcher to use the strengths from the information collected and minimize the weaknesses from the information collected.

Using a mixed method approach can ultimately increase the accuracy and validity of the information. The challenges of using a mixed method approach will be that the time of researching will be extended. Extending the time of research could definitely be a challenge if there is a time frame to find results in. Depending on the purpose of the research, using a mixed method approach can be a waist of time. An example of using the mixed method approach was when I wanted to explore (qualitative objective) why people shop online.

I conducted open-ended interviews (qualitative data collection) asking people why they shop on-line, and then I quantified the results by counting the number of times each type of response occurred (quantitative data analysis).

Week 2

DQ 1

What is the difference between reliability and validity? Imagine that you are going to develop a new instrument for research in your field, using course readings, provide specific examples of how you might go about establishing its reliability and validity. (Make sure to cover at least one approach for determining reliability and one for determining validity. Reliability is, roughly, whether you could replicate an experiment and get comparable results – either because an individual’s responses are consistent (for example, their reaction times in a test are consistent when the test is carried out again), or the general overall results are consistent (for example, the average score on a test is the same or similar when carried out again on a comparable group) Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure.

For example, if you devised a test to measure people’s self-esteem, does it really measure self-esteem, or something similar such as extraversion? Reliability refers to the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity refers to the accuracy of those results. You could perform the same experiment many times and get the same results, but they may not be correct (if the experiment is flawed for example). This would be reliable, but not valid. Conversely, you could perform an experiment that yields accurate results once, but not when it is repeated.

This would be accurate (one time anyway), but not reliable. Reliability is the consistency of the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects; in short, it is replicating an experiment and getting comparable results. For example, a second test measuring reaction time showing the same reaction times as the first test. Reliability is all about the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure.

It is essentially the strength of our conclusions, inferences or propositions. For example, a test measuring people’s confidence, does it really measure confidence, or something similar such as faith in something?

DQ 2

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of survey research? Provide an example of survey research findings that were recently published in the news. First, briefly summarize the study design and findings. Second, based on what we have read about survey research, provide critical feedback on this study’s design or explain what additional information you would need to make a critical assessment of this study.

Strengths:

• Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys).
• Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No other method of observation can provide this general capability.
• They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or telephone.
• Consequently, very large samples are feasible, making the results statistically significant even when analyzing multiple variables.
• Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the analysis.
• There is flexibilty at the creation phase in deciding how the questions will be administered: as face-to-face interviews, by telephone, as group administered written or oral survey, or by electonic means.
• Standardized questions make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform definitions upon the participants.
• Standardization ensures that similar data can be collected from groups then interpreted comparatively (between-group study).
• Usually, high reliability is easy to obtain–by presenting all subjects with a standardized stimulus, observer subjectivity is greatly eliminated.

Weaknesses:

• A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop questions general enough to be minimally appropriate for all respondents, possibly missing what is most appropriate to many respondents.
• Surveys are inflexible in that they require the initial study design (the tool and administration of the tool) to remain unchanged throughout the data collection.
• The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply.
• It may be hard for participants to recall information or to tell the truth about a controversial question.

As opposed to direct observation, survey research (excluding some interview approaches) can seldom deal with “context. ”  Advantages of survey research could be cost efficiency since surveys are relatively inexpensive. Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population and not a lot of other methods of observation can provide this general capability. They can be administered from distant locations. Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving flexibility to the analysis. Disadvantages of survey research could be researchers being forced to develop general questions.

Surveys are inflexible because they remain unchanged throughout the data collection. Also, with surveys the researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply, otherwise the survey would not be sufficient. In the news there was a survey about homelessness in Santa Cruz County. A count and survey conducted by the United Way of Santa Cruz County and the nonprofit research firm Applied Survey Research, and it showed that the homeless population in Santa Cruz County has jumped 22 percent in two years. The survey design was cross-sectional. It asked several questions at one oint in time. The survey collected age, gender, race, and reason for being homeless.

Week 3

DQ 1

bias when selecting samples for human services research? Imagine that you are going to design a survey that will be administered to consumers/clients in your field (e. g. , nursing home residents, youth mentors, single mothers); how would you go about sampling from this population in order to generate meaningful data?

What might be some of the challenges in ending up with a representative sample? To avoid bias when selecting samples for human services research a diverse set of individuals should be chosen within the same community. Different ethnicities, different genders, equals different beliefs, backgrounds, and futures. Selecting individuals in this manner should avoid bias. Hypothetically I work for an organization that offers services to young and troubled girls, especially those who have been to juvenile hall. Schools and juvenile halls if permitted would be great places to begin my sampling.

Schools and juvenile halls both have a diverse population where bias could be avoided. The barriers I could see myself running into would be getting the permission to survey the minors in the first place. The biggest barrier would be knowing what girls are considered troubled or not and who they are specifically to get only their feedback and not girls who are not considered troubled.

DQ 2

List different measures of variability discussed in the readings and, using your professional field, provide an example to illustrate the concept.

If you were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, what may they tell you about an individual’s or team’s performance? The range is the most obvious measure of dispersion and is the difference between the lowest and highest values in a dataset. The range is based solely on the two most extreme values within the dataset. The range is simple to compute and is useful when you wish to evaluate the whole of a dataset. The standard deviation indicates how tightly the values in the dataset are bunched around the mean value.

The standard deviation is the most vigorous measure of variability because it’s measuring how every value in the dataset varies from the mean. You must be careful when calculating the standard deviation to consider whether the entire population or a sample is being examined and to use the appropriate formula. If I were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, the range would point out the highs and the lows of the team performance.

This would allow me to know my team’s strength and weakness, and then I would be able to work on ways to minimum the weaknesses in performance.

Week 4

DQ 1

Based on the textbook readings, describe the “third variable problem” as it relates to correlation and provide an example of how you might see this played out in your own field.

DQ 2

How does hypothesis testing contribute to the scientific knowledge base? Based on the textbooks’ descriptions of hypothesis testing, provide an example of how you might implement this in your work. othesis is an edjucated guess an it is some time’s the closest we can get to the trueth of things we do not yet understand Scientists use a scientific method to investigate phenomena and acquire knowledge. They base the method on verifiable observation — i. e. , on empirical evidence rather than on pure logic or supposition — and on the principles of reasoning. Scientists propose explanations — called hypotheses — for their observed phenomena, and perform experiments to determine whether the results accord with (support) the hypotheses or falsify them.

They also formulate theories that encompass whole domains of inquiry, and which bind supported hypotheses together into logically coherent wholes. They refer to theories sometimes as ‘models’, which usually have a mathematical or computational basis. Determining the focus and direction of the research, it forces researcher to state the purpose of the activity, determines what variable are being studied and or considered and also it allows to a required operational definition of the variable that are being studied.

Hypothesis testing is a must for any person to successfully test their studies and make sure there are no flaws. Hypothesis is an educated guess an it is some times the closest we can get to the truth on matters that we do not yet understand. Scientist base their method on verifiable observation rather than on logic. Hypothesis testing forces researchers to address the purpose of the activity while determining what variables need to be studied and also requires operational definition.

References

1. http://www. santacruzsentinel. com/opinion/ci_18565125 http://www. phc-santacruz. org/_pdfs/2011%20Santa%20Cruz%20Homeless%20Report%20-%20FINAL. pdf

Hypothesis Testing

The significance of earnings is a growing facade in today’s economy. Daily operation, individuals, and families alike rely heavily on each sale or paycheck to provide financial stability throughout. Depending on the nature of labor, wages are typically compensated in accords to one’s experience and education or specialization. Moreover, calculating the specified industry, occupation title, education, experience on-the-job, gender, race, age, and membership to a union will additionally influence wages.

To help analyze operation pay scales and remain within budget a business should obtain data pertaining to current variations in wage. Today statistics allow a business or businesses to do so in a timely and proficient manner. The purpose of the succeeding report is to communicate a hypothesis statement regarding the wages of Hipics and Caucasian workers. Team B would like to determine whether race has an influence on the wage of these specific workers. Team B will convey this data of wages in both a numerical and verbal manner.

Moreover, it is to describe and perform the five-step hypothesis test on the wages and wage earner data set, including data tables and results of the computations of a z-test or t-test by way of graphical and tabular methods. Also the paper will depict the results of all testing and convey how the results given Team B’s hypothesis testing may be used to answer the research question. Hypotheses Learning Team B’s verbal hypothesis question asks “Does the mean salary of a Hipic worker exceed thirty thousand dollars and that of the mean salary of a Caucasian worker? ” The numerical question used for our hypothesis test is µ > $30,000.

Another numerical question is µ1>µ2. µ1 is defined as the sample mean of Hipic workers salaries and µ2 defined as the sample mean of Caucasian workers salaries. The Hipic sample population is six workers from the “Wages and Wage Earners Data Set. ” Learning Team B needs to consider whether or not the population is normal as the population size is less than 30. This also prohibits use of the Central Limit Theorem until the data set is proven normal. The wage of one worker being much higher than the others means our data will be skewed right and this data may not be a “good” sample.

The existence of this outlier means our results will be skewed meaning we should find a better sample to base our results on. More importantly, the existence of an outlier reminds us that the mean is not always a good measure of the “typical” value of X. ” (Doane & Seward, 2007). Five-step Hypothesis Test Team B would like to find if average Hipic workers make more than $30,000 per year. The team’s null hypotheses or (HO) is that Hipic pay is greater than or equal to $30,000. The team’s alternative hypothesis or (H1) is that Hipic pay is less than $30,000.

The significance level has been set at . 05 or 95%. The z score of . 05 is -1. 645. If the z-value is less than -1. 645 then the team can reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. If the z-value is greater than -1. 645 then the team fails to reject the null hypothesis, meaning Hipic workers do, in fact, make more than $30,000 a year.

The team’s null hypothesis or (HO) is that white pay wages are ? Hipic pay wages. The teams alternative hypothesis or (H1) is White pay wages are < Hipic pay wages. White wages mean = 31,387. 39 Hipic Wage mean = 33,337. 00 White wages STDEV = 16,810. 03 Hipic wage STDEV = 25,843. 24 Finally the team wanted to see if age played a part in the difference in pay wages. Our null hypothesis or (HO) is that White age is = to Hipic ages. The alternative or (H1) is that White age is ? to Hipic ages. White Wage age mean = 39. 71429 Hipic wage age mean = 35. 5 White wage age STDEV = 12. 3484 Hipic wage age STDEV = 14. 25132 Test Results This test is significant because it shows that, based on the sample population; the average Hipic worker makes more than $30,000 per year. This is because the team performed a one tailed Z-Test to determine with 95% confidence that Hipic wages were greater than $30,000 per year.

This is a one tailed test because the alternate hypothesis is only proven when the Z Value is less than the critical value of $30,000 in this case. With a Z Value of . 3163, we find that our Z-Test has yielded a result significantly higher than -1. 45, which proves H0, or that Hipic pay is greater than $30,000 per year. The test also concluded that Hipic workers make more than Caucasian workers on average. We also gathered data showing the average age of Caucasian workers is higher than that of Hipic workers. In conclusion, this paper has discussed and researched the various influence of one’s race and wages. Our results provided immense data relating to our hypotheses and both verbal and numerical hypothesis were proven to conclude that Hipic workers on average make more than $30,000 a year and also more than the average Caucasian worker.

By using a smaller sample Team B was able to distinguish any correlations between both races and determine a sound result. In today’s economy wages are a momentous factor and whether ones Hipic or not wages have a sizeable impact on one’s life. We believe our research shows that Hipic’s have an advantage in the workplace over Caucasian workers.

References:

1. Doane, D. P. & Seward, L. E. , (2007).
2. Applied Statistics in Business and Economics. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.