AMERICAN RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

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Authors: Marianne Ojo

Do jurisdictions with concentrated ownership structures require less reliance on audits as corporate governance mechanisms and devices? Why do concentrated ownership structures still prevail in certain jurisdictions which are considered to be “market based corporate governance systems”? More importantly, if failures and causes of recent financial crises are principally attributable to the fact that market based corporate governance mechanisms, such as financial regulators, are not optimally performing their functions, why is the role of audits still paramount in such jurisdictions? These are amongst some of the questions which this paper attempts to address. The ever increasing growth of institutional investors in jurisdictions – particularly those jurisdictions with predominantly concentrated ownership structures, with their increased stakes in corporate equity, also raises the issue of accountability and the question as regards whether increased accountability is fostered where institutional investors assume a greater role – as opposed to position which exists where increased stake of family holdings (family controlled structures) arises.

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Authors: O.P.Akinwale , E. Adu , I. Seriki

Small Business can serve as a tool for poverty reduction in South Africa, but it requires adequate support and development for its continuous sustenance in spite of rigorous challenges, especially in the rural environment. This study explored the challenges faced by the small business owners in the rural Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The objective of the study is to identify the challenges faced by small business owners in the case study area and to examine the effects of those challenges on poverty rate. Survey research design was adopted, with the distribution of structured questionnaire for data collection through a simple random sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that small business owners face various challenges in their commercial operations. It was also made clearer that these challenges have effects on the poverty rate as well as crime rate. In conclusion, in other for small businesses to be affective instrument to tackle poverty, certain measure must be taken into considerations. This therefore necessitates recommendation from the researcher that potential and current business owners must seek valuable advice from the more experienced business tycoon and seek information about the business assistance programmes provided by government and private sectors

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Authors: David Trafimow

The present article provides a very basic introduction to Bayes’ theorem and its potential implications for medical research. This introduction was written to be accessible to medical researchers without much mathematical background in general or without much background in Bayesian mathematics specifically. I prove Bayesian equations from very basic probability theorems and also show how these basic theorems can aid medical researchers to make important discoveries without having to do much empirical work. In many cases, the necessary empirical work, including relevant epidemiological work, is already in the medical literature and important discoveries can be made merely by looking up that work and applying one of the Bayesian equations to be presented. I also demonstrate that the traditional null hypothesis significance testing procedure that currently dominates medical research is blatantly invalid; a Bayesian point of view suggests that researchers should not use this procedure. Finally, I discuss some special issues, including philosophical issues that pertain to using a Bayesian perspective in medicine.

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Authors: Ashutosh Mishra

Abstract: The Shankargarh block of Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh, India, is well known for its high quality silica sand, and large scale surface mining is being done here. Most of the mining workers belong to a forest-dwelling community- Kol. Although, their life was never easy, they were fulfilling their needs by selling forest produces. As forest was occupied by mines, Kols became unsheltered and resourceless. They started working as silica sand mining labours to earn their livelihood. These men are mostly underpaid, extremely poor and homeless. They are deprived by all basic amenities and services and are struggling for their survival by more than seventy years.

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Authors: Rasmi Ranjan Puhan , Lakshmipriya Malla

The present study focuses on the actual socio economic condition of tribal people prevailing in Odisha. The study has been undertaken in the two tribal blocks of Kalahandi district such as Koksara and MadanpurRampur among the SHGs having bank linkage experience only. India’s preoccupation with rural credit dates back to the pre-colonial period. Successive attempts by governments in the post-independent period failed in providing credit to the vulnerable and poor people in rural areas thereby leaving an estimated 38 per cent of household dependant to the informal sector lending. NABARD developed the SHG-Bank Linkage approach as the core strategy that could be used by the banking system in India to increase financial inclusion of the poor. Odisha is the only state in India that accommodates the largest number of STs and PTGs in her soil who is of course the matrix of poverty and leads an unprivileged and deprived life. This isolated group of our society has been perishing in the secluded, most backward, remote and inaccessible tribal region of the state in an ever impoverished mental, economic and physical conditions. To analyse the above subject matter three research questions were established and Focus of the questions ware: (i) Whether Micro-Financing has generated any impact to deal with the problem of isolation and secluded living style of tribal people; (ii) Whether MicroFinancing has created awareness in the minds of tribal people for development through any attitudinal transformation; (iii) Whether Micro-Financing has enhanced the tribal participation in development programmes to accrue increased benefits thereof. To study these questions same numbers of objectives are framed and which are the major thrust of this present study. Results of this study show that there is a clear empirical evidence of impact of SHGs in the lives of poor. The intervention has made significant change in the attitude of poor towards saving and on the other hand to mobilise a considerable quantum of credit with repeat support from formal financing institutions. The paper recommended several empirical steps to overcome these problems including provision of a better planning and implementation of the intervention with regular nurturing and support to the SHGs can result in better socio-economic outcome.

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Authors: Dr. Amalendu Bhunia , Soumya Ganguly

The present study investigates the relationship between selected Asian eight countries stock market index and Indian stock market BSE-Sensex. In other words, the main objective of the study is whether Indian stock market index is influenced by selected Asian countries stock market or not. The progressive deletion of constraints, reduction of controls over capital movements, quick development of worldwide trade in commodities, services and financial assets, emergence of new capital markets and the upshots of financial and economic crises enhanced the significant dependability among the emerging stock markets as well. This study is based on secondary time series data obtained from index mundi database and yahoo.com database for the period from 1991 to 2013. In the course of analysis, ADF unit root test, co-integration test and causality test have been designed. Johansen multivariate co-integration test shows that Indian stock market index is related with selected eight countries stock market index in the long-run. Granger causality test illustrates that bi-directional causality exists between the selected variables between the selected stock market indices.