Effect of privatization on performance of public corporations

Effect of privatization on performance of public corporations Stock exchanges anywhere in the world provide a platform for investors and capital raisers to come together and get what they want. They assist in trading of stocks and bonds. Apart from that, it can be viewed as a liquidity providing platform. For this purpose, the stock exchange has to have a set of rules that will govern the execution and clearing of trade. Some of the responsibilities of a stock exchange are also enforcing standard rules to reduce transaction costs and monitoring of the trading to prevent manipulations like insider trading. A share or stock company model does issue shares of stock that are available through one or more stock market exchange. Shareholders purchase the shares of stock and become part owners in the company. This is a highly desirable status for many companies, as it can help generate significant amounts of revenue that make it possible for the company to grow in ways that would not be possible if the corporation remained privately held. Etukudo (2002) notes that capital markets transfer funds from savers to investors in productive assets such as plant and machinery as well as to providers of services. Capital markets also provide a mutually beneficial bridge between those who have short-time horizons and companies and projects with longer prospects. In addition, enterprises are provided with equity capital through the stock market, short, medium and long-term debt is made available through the bond market, and short or medium-term debt is provided through the banking sector. The financial intermediaries in all these transactions constitute the financial service sector and while the constituents of the sector and their relative importance vary from country to country, they generally include banks, stock exchanges, brokers and insurance companies. 1.1.1.2 Privatization of public corporations Boubakri and Cosset (1994) note that privatization has turned into a major phenomenon for the developed world as well as the developing world, particularly so over the last decade, with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) being privatized at an increasing rate. Ramamurti, (1991) note that the objectives of privatization are numerous. Country studies show that these objectives include improving government cash flows by redusing subsidies and capital infusions to SOEs, promoting popular capitalism through a wider ownership of shares, restraining the power of trade unions in the public sector, redistributing incomes and rents within society, satisfying foreign donors by reducing the governments role in the economy and especially enhancing the efficiency and the performance of the SOE sector based on the rationale that the private sector outperforms the public sector. Privatization in the 1990s led to the sale of 207 enterprises. Kenya Airways (KQ) was rated the most successful privatization venture in Africa. The Government has earmarked 33 companies for full or partial sale, these include; the National Bank of Kenya (NBK),the Kenya Commercial Bank(KCB), the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), KenGen, Kenya Petroleum Refineries, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Telkom Kenya and Kenya Railways Corporation. The methods of sale will range from concessioning, sale at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, and securing strategic partnerships with major players in the relevant sectors. 1.2 Statement of the Problem A study by Boubakri and Cosset (1994) examined the financial and operating performance of newly privatized firms in developing countries and noted that findings in for developing markets could be different from those of developed countries because the capital market may not play its monitoring role. To take account of the possibility that some of the differences between preprivatization and postprivatization performance could be due to economywide factors, the authors used performance measures adjusted for market effects in addition to unadjusted performance measures. The results were generally less significant when they adjusted the performance ratios for market effects. The authors thus concluded that this evidence brings to light the importance of considering a benchmark against which the performance of sample firms can be compared. Limi (2003) studied the influence of the level of economic development on the post-privatization growth rates in public infrastructure within the telecommunications industry and found that although privatization generally spurred network expansion in terms of telephone main lines by 4.4% in medians (5.4% on average), the performance improvement was dependent on the level of economic development. It is only the low-income and lower middle-income countries which can expect a significant positive privatization effect. Thus, it is important to account for economic development in assessing the privatization effects of public infrastructure stocks. From the foregoing it is thus useful to undertake a study to evaluate privatization and performance of public corporations listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange. 1.3 Purpose of the Study or General Objective The purpose of this study is to evaluate privatization and performance of public corporations listed in the Nairobi Stock Exchange 1.4 Research Questions or Specific Objectives or Hypotheses This study is guided by the following research objectives formulated to aid in gathering the information regarding the research topic. Review literature on privatization of public corporations in Kenya To determine privatization factors in the Nairobi Stock Exchange To analyze privatization implications on public corporation performance in Nairobi Stock Exchange 1.5 Importance or Justification or Rationale of the Study The information generated by this study will be important for stock markets in the East Africa in understanding the implications of privatizing public corporations. This will benefit stock markets in Uganda, Tanzania and wider Eastern Africa which has the stock markets at their infancy stages. It will also assist policy makers who want to make use of performance measures of the stock market in advising public corporations on privatization prospects that may arise when listing in the stock market. In addition, it will guide policy makers of new baselines to use when determining privatization options for public corporations. Educators too in the education industry will find the information obtained from this study beneficial to their curriculum in imparting knowledge to students and researchers who are researching on the sector and how it can greatly benefit the country. 1.6 Scope of the Study The study will be limited to the Nairobi Stock Exchange for the duration 2008-2010. Nairobi Stock Exchange has about fifteen active stock broking firms with fifty two listed companies. I will focus on five of the stockbrokerage firms and fifteen of the listed companies. The use of the listed firms was due primarily to data availability and reliability because they are required by law to provide end of year financial statements. However, firms that were not listed for the entire period under study were left out of the sample. The study used annual reports that are available at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. 1.7 Definition of Terms 1.7.1 Privatization Privatization means the sale of public utilities to private concerns. 1.8 Chapter Summary This chapter covered the background of the research, the problem statement, the purpose of the study or general objectives of this research, the research objectives, the significance and scope of the research i.e. importance of the study and the definitions of Terminologies used in this research. Further, this chapter has specifically pointed the relevance of the study in regards to public corporations, and how they, in a bid to improve performance, employ a privatization strategy in light of global trends. 2.0 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction This chapter will review relevant literature in line with the study objectives. 2.2 Privatization of Public Corporations in Kenya ROK(1965) noted that the establishment of the parastatals was driven by a national desire to (i) accelerate economic social development; (ii) redress regional economic imbalances; (iii) increase Kenyan Citizens participation in the economy; (iv) promote indigenous entrepreneurship; and (v) promote foreign investments (through joint ventures). This desire was expressed in the Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its application to planning in Kenya. A comprehensive review of the public enterprises performance was noted by (ROK, 1979) (the Report on the Review of Statutory Boards) that pointed that there was clear evidence of prolonged inefficiency, financial mismanagement, waste and malpractices in many parastatals; and (ROK, 1982) (the Report of the Working Party on Government Expenditures) which concluded that productivity of the state corporations was quite low while at the same time they continued to absorb an excessive portion of the budget, becoming a principal cause of long-term fiscal problem. The enactment of the State Corporations Act was a major attempt to streamline the management of the state corporations. The performance of most of the corporations continued to deteriorate due to the continued reliance on limited public sector financing. Sessional Paper No.4 of 1991 on Development and Employment in Kenya underlined the need to implement privatization and divestiture of State corporations urgently in view of the managerial problems afflicting the parastatals leading to poor return on government investments, the existence of a larger pool of qualified manpower, availability of more indigenous entrepreneurship to permit private sector led economy and the need for non-tax revenue for the Government. The Programme began in July 1992 with the issuance of the Policy Paper on Public Enterprises Reform and Privatization which pointed out that there were 240 commercial public enterprises with public sector equity participation and classified the PEs in to two categories: (i) 207 Non strategic commercial public enterprises which were to be privatised and 33 Strategic Commercial public enterprises which were to be restructured and retained under public sector ownership and control. By the time the first phase of the programme ca me to an end in 2000, most of the non-strategic commercial enterprises had either been fully or partially privatized, liquidated, sold under receivership while the strategic commercial enterprises to be retained under government operation had been reduced to 15 and later to 14 enterprises. The following is a list of privatized public enterprises by PUBLIC FLOATATIONS- Bamburi Portland Cement Co. Ltd, E.A., CMC Holdings Oxygen Ltd, National Bank of Kenya, Kenya Airways, Mumias Sugar Company; by PARTIAL DIVESTITUTRES Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd, Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd, General Motors (K) Ltd, and Housing Finance Company of Kenya. 2.3 Privatization Factors in the Nairobi Stock Exchange 2.3.1 Methods of privatization The term privatization has been applied to three different methods of increasing the activity of the private sector in providing public services: 1) private sector choice, financing, and production of a service;2) public-sector choice and financing with private sector production of the service selected; 3) and deregulation of private firms providing services. In the first case, the entire responsibility for a service is transferred from the public sector to the private sector, and individual consumers select and purchase the amount of services they desire from private providers. For example, solid-waste collection is provided by private firms in some communities. The third form of privatization means that government reduces or eliminates the regulatory restrictions imposed on private firms providing specific services. The second version of privatization refers to joint activity of the public and private sectors in providing services. In this case, consumers select and pay for the quantity and type of service desired through government, which then contracts with private firms to produce the desired amount and category of service. Although the government provides for the service, a private firm carries out the actual execution of it. The government determines the service level and pays the amount specified in the contract, but leaves decisions about production decisions to the private firm. 2.3.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Privatization Etukudo (2002) sates that in sub-Saharan African countries with a high level of illiteracy, public offer for sale of state-owned enterprises has its limitations due to cumbersome formalities in the prospectus as well as complicated application forms, etc. As banking facilities are concentrated in urban centres, the use of public offer in privatization works to the disadvantage of those in rural areas with few banking facilities. On the whole, Etukudo (2002 contends that privatization programmes have led to marked increases in stock market capitalization as well as increases in the quantity and range of issues traded on the market. The stock exchange has attracted a considerable number of players to the market leading to increased competition within the capital market. The structure and function of capital markets affect the availability of capital, influence investment processes and also influence the ways in which business managers who approach investors project the current performance and future potential of their enterprises. 2.4 Privatization implications on public corporation performance in Nairobi Stock Exchange Yarrow (1986) notes that as firms move from public to private ownership, their profitability should increase. First, given that shareholders wish the firm to maximize profit, newly privatized firms managers should place greater emphasis on profit goals Second, privatization typically transfers both control rights and cash flow rights to the managers who then show a greater interest for profits and efficiency relative to pleasing the government with higher output or employment (Boycko, Shleifer and Vishny, 1993). In addition, Boycko, Shleifer and Vishny (1993) state that following privatization; firms should employ their human, financial and technological resources more efficiently because of a greater stress on profit goals and a reduction of government subsidies. Megginson, Nash and van Randenborgh (1994) note that governments expect that greater emphasis on efficiency will lead the newly privatized firm to increase its capital investment spending. Once privatized, the firm should also increase its capital expenditures because it has greater access to private debt and equity markets and it will have more incentives to invest in growth opportunities. Megginson et al (1994) believe the switch from public to private ownership should lead to a decrease in the proportion of debt in the capital structure because with the end of government debt guarantees the firms cost of borrowing will increase and because the firm has a new access to public equity markets. The authors further note that with privatization, dividend payments should increase because unlike governments private investors generally demand dividends and dividend payments are a classic response to the atomized ownership structure which most privatization programs led to. In terms of output Megginson, Nash and van Randenborgh (1994) contend that privatization should increase output because of greater competition, better incentives and more flexible financing opportunities. On the other hand Boycko, Shleifer and Vishny (1993) predicts a fall in output since the government no longer subsidizes the newly privatized firm to maintain inefficiently high output levels. Kikeri, Nellis and Shirley (1992) assert that governments expect the level of employment to decline once the SOE which is usually overstaffed turns out private and no longer receives government subsidies. However, in growing sectors, the newly privatized firm could absorb surplus labor through new capital investment and more productive use of existing assets. 2.5 Empirical experience Jones, Jammal Gokgur (1999) undertook an impact study applied to 81 privatizations (covering not just infrastructure firms but a range of firms already operating in competitive markets (in agriculture, agro-industries, tradable and non-tradable sectors) in Cote dIvoire and concluded that firms performed better after privatization and that they performed better than they would have had they remained under public ownership. The study also found that the set of transactions as a whole contributed positively to economic welfare, with annual net welfare benefits equivalent to about 25% of pre-divestiture sales. These results stemmed from a number of effects, including increases in output, investment, labor productivity, and intermediate-input productivity. 2.5 Chapter summary The chapter highlighted the different studies that sought to address the research gap. Chapter three will point out the methodology to be used in the study. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction This chapter will discuss the research methodology that will be used as the basis of this study. The chapter will also discuss the population of study, sample frame and sampling techniques, data collection methods as well as data analysis and data presentation methods to be employed in the study. 3.2 Research Design The research design employed in this study will be empirical in nature and will be aimed at delivering answers to the research questions outlined in the problem statement. 3.3 Population and Sampling Design 3.3.1 Population The population involved in the study are four privatized public corporation that have listed on the NSE. Population refers to the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the researcher wishes to investigate. Population forms a basis from which the sample or subjects for the study is drawn. 3.3.2 Sampling Design and Sample Size Methods that we will use in our paper to analyze the operating and market performance are descriptive statistics for evaluating the post listing share price performance and the financial ratio analysis using the accounting data to evaluate public corporation performance as well as their risk and return relationships profile. Documents will collected from the organizations resource center, individual file record, libraries of various universities, company reports, company newsletter and other printed materials (e.g. newspaper cuttings, journals, text books, conference reports, articles, training packages) that were made available for the purpose of the research. 3.4 Data Collection Methods In order to achieve the set objectives, I will collect data from the Nairobi stock exchange database and from the financial statements of the individual companies under study. The collected data will be captured in form of tables. This will be used to capture performance of privatized public corporations listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. 3.5 Research Procedures 3.6 Data Analysis Methods This study will use the quantitative method of data analysis. The quantitative analysis is applied using descriptive statistics. According to Denscombe (1998) descriptive statistics involves a process of transforming a mass of raw data into tables, charts, with frequency distribution and percentages which are a vital part of making sense of the data. Data will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program and presented using tables and pie charts to give a clear picture of the research findings at a glance. 3.7 Chapter Summary The chapter describes the methodology that is to be used in carrying out the study. The chapter has also indicated that, data will be analyzed using SPSS and presented in inform of chart and tables. The next chapter will present the findings of the research.

The Climate Change Impacts South East Asia’s Food Security

Global warming affects many areas of the planet. Not only are plants and animals affected by the rising temperatures, but so are the intensity of storms. Global warming is believed to be responsible for numerous storms across the world intensifying. Global warming is believed to be causing more severe hurricanes, floods, and now monsoon season. As the temperatures across the globe continue to rise the intensity of the monsoon storms is continuing to build. If the temperatures continue to rise, the storms can become even more severe because they thrive off of hot temperatures.As the temperatures from global warming continue to cause the pressure that results in monsoon storms continues to rise, the more intense the rains and winds will become. As the rains and the winds intensify a number of serious complications can occur. Almost half of the world's population lives in areas affected by the monsoons of Asia and most of these people are subsistence farmers, so the coming and goings of the monsoon are vital to their livelihood to grow food to feed themselves. When its bounty is too great, floods can displace millions and cause hundreds of deaths.When it brings too little rain between June and October, shortages of food and drinking water can develop. Too much or two little rain from the monsoon can mean disaster in the form of famine or flood. It is fair to say that the livelihoods, water security, food security, and energy security of Southeast Asia are all tied to the volume and timely arrival of monsoon season. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in nearly every country in the region; traditionally, Southeast Asian countries (and most Asian countries in general) depend on crops for food.Rice is arguably the most important food source in the region and is a major staple food. When you hear someone say â€Å"it is the rice bowl of the country† or something similar, they mean that ‘it' is the source of income and prosperity, and ‘it' i s how they feed their families. That's how important rice is. Rice, grown in paddy fields, requires a lot of water to grow. This is why monsoons are so important to people in Southeast Asia – it's to ensure a good crop of rice. The theory is that when there is a good monsoon, there is plenty of water to grow crops and sustain larger populations.This leads to economic prosperity. When there is less water, there is less food and the large population cannot be sustained. Southeast Asia weather is somewhat predictable with two distinct seasons: wet and dry, and is highly susceptible to weather changes and is highly vulnerable to the changing climate. In fact all the countries in Southeast Asia are surrounded by the sea and are at risk due to the rising sea levels. In addition, global warming is also known to trigger climatic changes like tsunamis, cyclones and floods which specifically target the coastal areas.In the past decade, exceptionally severe climatic disasters wreaked ha voc on the Southeast Asian countries, causing massive financial and life losses. In addition, the food supply of these countries was also hampered by the floods and droughts ravaging the entire region. Precipitation has a dramatic effect on agriculture; all plants need at least some water to survive. While a regular rain pattern is usually vital to healthy plants, too much or too little rainfall can be harmful, and possibly even devastating to crops. Drought can kill crops and increase erosion, while overly wet weather can cause harmful fungus growth.Plants need varying amounts of rainfall to survive. Southeast Asia depends on the summer monsoon rains; agriculture, for example, relies on the yearly rain. .A monsoon is a storm system that begins off of many coastal regions, typically hot, tropical or desert areas. The storms created by the monsoon season thrive off of hot temperatures. The hot temperatures rise off of the ground as it is heated throughout the day and begin to expand once the heat rises into the air. These hot areas of air then mix with areas of low pressure air.As the heat continues to rise into the air throughout the day, the pressure continues to build with the low pressure. Eventually, this pressure results in a sudden rainfall. (Krishnamurti, 2007. ) Monsoons are notorious for bringing large amounts of rain in short amounts of time. This commonly causes flash flooding or mud slides. If the rains intensify from the monsoon storms, the chances of flash flooding increase. A larger amount of rain will be brought by the storms the higher the temperature's rise. This can cause a devastating consequence for areas of the world that have experienced a severe drought prior to the monsoon storms.Droughts will also become more common as the temperatures continue to rise. This increases the chances of flash flooding once the rains return. If severe flash floods occur, this brings about more complications. Mud slides and landslides are also likely to occ ur once severe flooding has occurred. This can cause crops to be damaged, houses to be destroyed, and can even cause fatalities. Other serious complications can also occur. The monsoon seasons can begin to affect areas of the world that do not typically experience the monsoon storms. This can throw off entire ecosystems, destroy crops, and cause damages to natures habitats.Not only can this cause other areas of the world to be affected by the intense winds and rains but it can have a reverse effect on other areas of the world. Places that normally see the monsoon storms may all the sudden suffer from drought as the storms move to other areas. The droughts can cause severe sand and dust storms to begin. The tropical regions of the world can also be affected by these changes. The coastal regions can begin to experience severe hurricanes and tropical storms. This can cause severe flooding, damage, and wide spread devastation.Southeast Asia has been naturally blessed with a rich soil an d sufficient rainfall so that there is an enormous agricultural potential in these countries. However, in the recent times, global warming has resulted in a series of catastrophic climatic disasters like floods, cyclones, tsunamis and droughts, which have ravaged the region’s agricultural capacity, slain millions of edible animal food reserves and destroyed the aquatic habitats so that the food supply of people has been cut short severely. The process of global warming affects the overall climate in such a manner that all weathers tend to get extreme.There is extreme rainfall, extreme summers and short spells of extreme colds. This has resulted in the setting of floods at one time, and droughts at others in different parts of the globe. The Southeast Asian region has also suffered the consequences of these weather extremes in the forms of droughts, badly hampering the food supply of people in this region. Thus it can be concluded that the Southeast Asian region faces a seriou s predicament because of the process of global warming. The increasing global warming has brought some of the most disastrous events of the world’s history in Southeast Asia.

What is a Referendum and what are the arguments against them?

1) What is a Referendum? A referendum is when a citizen (18+) is asked to express their opinion on a certain issue or proposal. Unlike an election this process is not binding and the outcome is open to discussion. A referendum can result in a new constitution, law, amendment, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy. 2) A referendum is when a citizen (18+) is asked to express their opinion on a certain issue or proposal. Many have been issued in the past; examples of this are, 11 September 1997. Tony Blair issued a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland asking whether there was support for the creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether the Parliament should have tax-varying powers. The reason for this was the Labor party had just won the election and included in their manifesto was the establishment of a Scottish Parliament. 4th November 2004, Tony Blair (Labor Party) issued a referendum in Northern England. The votes concerned the question of devolving limited political powers from the UK Parliament to elected regional assemblies in North East England, North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber. The reason for this was Labor government attempted to introduce regional assemblies, to be directly elected. 5th May 2011, the ‘Alternative Vote’ referendum was drawn up as part of the Conservative- Liberal Democrat coalition, to be asked across the whole U.K. The Referendum concerned whether to replace the present voting system with an alternative one. This was because the Labor government, who were previously in power in 2010, used their majority to pass an amendment to their Constitutional Reform Bill to include a referendum on the introduction of AV to be held in the next Parliament, naming a desire to restore trust in Parliament in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. 3) Arguments against Referendums In this essay i will talk about the arguments against referendums, the effects and sometimes consequences it can incur. A referendum is when a citizen (18 years and above) is asked to express their opinion on a particular issue. In Britain, referendums date back to 1973 and ever since has been used as a mechanism for feedback on issues regarding laws, voting systems and so on, its a form of direct legislation, used selectively. Those who are against direct legislation will argue that the use of referendums is an opening for politicians to absolve themselves of responsibility for making difficult decisions. When representatives know that ultimately the result of their efforts may be reversed by the process of referendum, they will take little interest in the discharge of their legislative duties. It doesn't even reflect well on the party issuing it. If the measure succeeds at the popular vote the credit for it goes to the people and if it doesn't, the blame goes to the legislature. We elect a Prime Minister, legislatures, to make the decisions of how to run our country. By electing, its an official notion that we trust them to conduct, obviously voting the party who's manifesto we are partial to. Referendums are useful, yes, but how does it make legislatures look when matters such as ‘do you want a Mayer'- 1998, Tony Blair are issued. When was the time when legislatures took the bull by its horns and made decisions for the good of the nation and not based on doing what the people want so they'll get voted in the next election. As Margaret Thatcher once said, â€Å"if you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything wouldn't you and you would achieve nothing†. Referendums seem to be a vehicle to become the apple of the nations eye to the point that in 1997 elections- The Labor party promised in their manifesto a referendum for the establishment of a Scottish parliament knowing that Scotland wanted it but just didn't get enough votes last time. Governments are also unlikely to hold them unless they are fairly confident they will win the vote, which was the case in 2004, the devolution referendum for the North East. Labor wanted to create English Regional Assemblies and thought they would win the vote therefore created three referendums only for the first one to be rejected by the public. And this being the case, the government are unlikely to be neutral participants and the phrasing of the questions can distort the results. So is a referendum really the government wanting us to tick the yes so they can blame us if something goes wrong? Apart from the time consuming, expensive and tedious way that is involved in a referendum, after all that, who's to say that people will vote? One of the criticisms against direct legislation and a really compelling one, relates to the small size of the votes cast at a referendum. The result of the ballot does not fairly represent popular opinion, because in most cases, opponents of the issue will go to the polls in larger proportion than its supporters. Moreover, when people are frequently asked to cast their votes, as is when Tony Blair was elected in 1997, making referendums a much more important part of politics, they'll begin to abstain from voting. Its nice to be included in the decision but people become tired of voting after a while. The result is that the decision arrived at is that of the minority and it becomes difficult to know whether there is any public opinion at all on the referendum. Seeing as the referendum is time consuming, it sometimes involves harmful delays in passing many laws of vital national importance. All this takes away from the educative value of the referendum. When you have citizens who are not interested in public affairs and the issue is of national importance, the referendum becomes a comedy. As was the case in June 1975 when the Labor government had a power split on the issue of Europe and issued a referendum across the whole United Kingdom- ‘Do you want to stay in the EC?' Because of this time gap, while the ballot is lying on your kitchen table, coverage on the issue from the media whether it is newspapers, TV etc. can significantly influence the result. Whereas if the issue would have been dealt with in parliament alone- you would not get the opinion of people who are paid to keep people entertained. The real difference between direct action and the action of the legislatures are the voters cannot assemble and discuss matters and consequently the opportunity to arrive at truth is lost. Truth emerges from the clash of opinions. Which brings us back to the substantialness of referendums. Finally, some could argue that referendums undermine (or have potential to) Parliamentary Sovereignty. Parliament is certainly threatened by the use of referendums. Referendums put the people before the parliament. The sovereignty of parliament becomes the sovereignty of the people, introducing direct democracy into the political system, challenges the indirect, representative democracy that has been the essence of UK political system. If the people vote one way, their representatives another, who should prevail, who is sovereign? In conclusion the manner in which the referendum is used reflects greatly on the government and at times can make you question the quality of the governments political parties. The referendum can be of great use but whether the pro outweigh the cons or vice versa is relative to the issue at hand. Using the drawbacks we've discussed one can assume or hope that if legislatures had an option, referendums would not be their first choice.

Parallel Themes in the Plays, The Glass Menagerie and A...

In the plays The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun, both tried to soak up the dreams they all had envisioned. The hardships of life and trying to get that dream can be a struggle. In both plays reality was a major factor of disrupting them from pushing towards it. In a Raisin in the Sun it was Prejudice and being black people. In The Glass Menagerie it was probably Laura the disabled sister and daughter. The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the sun are similar in ways of how they live and differences in generation. The Glass Menagerie is a non-working class family, the father worked to support the family. In A Raisin in the Sun almost everyone worked to keep up with the household. Amanda is the character who revolves around†¦show more content†¦Both beneatha and Laura have suitors. Mama would like for her family to know and learn values and heritage not money, even though it is sometimes needed. In Amanda’s case she is more concerned of her daughter Laura. Amanda also wants Laura to see what she’s experienced by her husband tom walking out and she needs a man that would not do what her fathers done. Mama wants beneatha to see through her upbringing, how she was raised growing up and to respect it. Amanda contrast herself with Laura by her glamorous youth and feeding her hope of that youth to Laura. In comparison to tom and Walter, tom may have intentionally hurt his family by leaving them. Walter is caring but doesn’t realize that he’s hurting the family with his obsession for getting money or becoming rich. He believes that money will solve all the problems. Even though Lena his mother finds dreams to be important not material wealth Walter still does wrong and disappoints her. He used the insurance money received for their deceased father for a liquor store. Similarly tom in Menagerie took the money for the electricity bill as his cash to leave the family. Comparing the two mothers mama is more of a nurturer not that Amanda doesn’t nurture her kids but in a more nagging way, she is more overprotective. Also Amanda has a hard time seeing Laura for who she really is (disabled) similarly to mama and beneatha notShow MoreRelatedBrief Survey of American Literature3339 Words   |  14 Pagesnovel The Rise of Silas Lapham (1885) Henry James (1843-1916), master of psychological realism Writer of Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), The Golden Bowl (1904) International themes: Contrasting American and European cultures The first to use Third-person limited point of viewç ¬ ¬Ã¤ ¸â€°Ã¤ º ºÃ§ § °Ã¦Å"䎪 Ã¨ §â€ Ã¨ §â€™, â€Å"center of consciousness† American Naturalism American Naturalism Subject Matter of Naturalism: Subject Matter of Naturalism: Selected