GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY - The Researcher: International ...

Chief Patron

Mr. Suneel Galgotia, Chancellor, Galgotias University, IndiaMr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO, Galgotias University, India

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Prof.(Dr.) Renu LuthraVice Chancellor, Galgotias University, India

Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Adarsh Garg

Galgotias University Publication

Volume

01July- December, 2016 Issue 02

The ResearcherInternational Journal of Management Humanities

and Social Sciences

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Neuroscience Basis of Context in Multimedia Enhanced Problem-Based STEM Learning

The Researcher- International Journal of Management Humanities and Social Sciences July-Dec 2016, 1(2) 2

Neuroscience Basis of Context in Multimedia Enhanced

Problem-Based STEM Learning

1David Devraj Kumar

Abstract

The role of context in problem-based learning (PBL) in science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM) education is briefly explored from the point of view of ongoing

developments in neuroscience. Context of learning plays a very important part in how people

learn meaningfully in PBL situations. An understanding of the nature and design of the human-

computer (or technology-cognition) interface is also important to understand the relationship

between the hippocampus, context, and multimedia in PBL. With cautious optimism, the

neuroscience aspect of how multimedia augmented contexts support PBL could be viewed as a

promising area for research and development not only in STEM education, but also in other

subject areas.

Key Words: Context, Multimedia, Neuroscience, Problem-Based Learning, STEM

1. Introduction

In this paper, the neuroscience basis of context in multimedia-enhanced problem-based learning

(PBL) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is explored.

According to the National Research Council [1], a desired goal of STEM education is to increase

the number of students pursuing STEM careers. One of the goals of STEM education is to

prepare students for life by developing the cognitive skills necessary to deal with real-world

problems. Unfortunately, most classroom learning experiences are passive. Whitehead [2], in the

“Aims of Education,” was concerned about passive learning when addressing inert knowledge.

Inert knowledge is recalled under explicit conditions, but not applied spontaneously in solving

problems. It is believed that inert knowledge is part of the semantic memory which lacks

autobiographical references. One way to overcome inert knowledge is by providing the learner

with a meaningful context to facilitate mental associations (schema) necessary to form

autobiographical references to new information [2]. For example, multimedia-enhanced

problem-based learning contexts have been found to improve student learning [3, 4, 5]. The

neuroscience basis of context in learning is a growing area of interest, and for this paper, context

may be operationally defined as the environment where learning occurs.

2. Neuroscience Basis of Context

1STEM Education Laboratory, College of Education, Florida Atlantic University, Florida USA

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Advances in neuroscience have improved our understanding of the neurophysiological basis of

cognition in learning situations [6]. Non-invasive imaging technologies such as functional

magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) have helped researchers to study learning processes. There

is a growing body of evidence from neuroscience to support the importance of the context of

learning centered on the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the enfolded cerebral cortex in the

lateral fissure of the cerebral hemisphere associated with long-term memory [7]. It has a role in

the formation of new memories and in sensing new stimuli, occurrences, and surroundings.

Episodic and semantic memories are “consolidated” in the hippocampus [6]. More specifically,

clinical and experimental studies show that the hippocampus processes episodic memories by

analyzing contextual information with temporal and spatial references [8, 9]. “Episodic memory refers to the ability to recall specifics of past events in our lives. An essential aspect of events is

timing when things occur during an episode. A number of recent studies have shown that the

hippocampus, a structure known to be essential to form episodic memories, possesses neurons

that explicitly mark moments in time” [9, p. 18351]. Sakon et al. have shown that in

experimental animals “hippocampal neurons not only track time, but do so only when specific contextual information (object identity/location) is cued. These time context-sensitive neurons

represent a novel way in which the brain unites disparate streams that comprise an episode and

will aid in our understanding of how we store and retrieve episodic memories” [9, p. 18351]. Research by Smith and Mizumori [10] (2006) suggests that the hippocampus has a key role in

the contextual representation of episodic memories.

Based on the fact that context influences hippocampal functions, it could be inferred that it also

facilitates meaningful learning, thus overcoming inert knowledge. In problem-solving situations,

inert knowledge is a factor inhibiting success [2, 3]. It is worth exploring how the context of

learning could be enhanced to improve meaningful learning and move away from inert

knowledge. There are many creative approaches to enhance the context of learning. For

example, the use of parables as exemplified by the Lord Jesus Christ over two thousand years

ago, noted in the Bible [11] is one approach. A parable is a method of instruction using

allegorical illustrations and it has human characters (e.g., Good Samaritan), and it differs from

fables where animal characters and inanimate objects are used (e.g., Aesop’s Fables) [12]. The application of theme based learning proposed by John Dewey is another approach [13]. The

use of case studies suggested by Charles Gragg [14] is yet another approach. The use of

multimedia anchors to portray and/or simulate authentic episodes is a current approach to enrich

the context of problem-based learning [3, 15] thanks to unprecedented developments in the

Internet, multimedia and electronic communication technologies.

3. Learning with Multimedia Technology

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A compelling argument for using multimedia technology to promote thinking has been made by

researchers and educators [16]. “We may distinguish two senses in which technology and

learning are intertwined. The first is thinking with technology; the second is thinking about

technology. The second twist of phrase is crucial for technological literacy and technical

education and is the topic of recent standards for student learning. But thinking with technology

is far more important historically and substantively, for it is in this sense that technology is an

instrument of knowing, reason, culture, and humanity itself” [16, p. xv]. One of the most

practical ways to promote thinking with technology is rooted in approaches to learning through

problem solving with technology. According to the Board on Science Education of the National

Research Council in the United States, “at the root of all science investigations are complex and

compelling problems. In order for problems to be effective for supporting learning, they must be

meaningful both from the standpoint of the discipline and from the standpoint of the learner… Students may relate more easily to the curious phenomena they observe in their daily lives, such

as what causes an empty juice box to crunch up when you suck continuously through a straw” [17, p. 127-128]. The authenticity of the learning context is one of the crucial supporting

environments for meaningful science learning, particularly in problem-based learning. It should

be noted here that the use multimedia to augment the context of learning should not be construed

as minimizing hands-on learning experiences in STEM education.

4. Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

PBL is a pedagogical strategy where students are engaged in small groups to participate in

problem-solving activities that they can relate to in an authentic context [4, 18, 19]. For

example, elementary school students can engage in making a consumer decision involving

sunscreen selection, between sunscreen with and without nano particles, in a web-anchor

supported PBL nanotechnology project, as reported in Kumar [15]. The context here is

authentic, and the processes involved in solving the challenge of choosing between the two kinds

of sunscreens include: the scientific method involving data-based decision-making, critical

thinking, and analytical thinking. The cognitive foundation of PBL is that it enables the

activation of prior knowledge which is vital to processing new information; as students engage in

discussing a problem case, they are able to make multiple cognitive associations between new

and old concepts. Learning takes place in an authentic context similar to real-world situations,

helping the learner receive prodding cues in accessing prior knowledge [19]. Thus, students see

the inter-connected nature of STEM. By carefully centering on a problem-based situation,

multimedia technologies could be designed to embed specific, well-defined problem-solving

tasks in a broader context, raising real-world societal and economic issues for consideration and

discussion in STEM education [4, 5, 15].

5. Enlarging the Context of Problem-Based Learning with Multimedia

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Information-rich contexts, often referred to as "macro-contexts," encourage the active

construction of knowledge by learners, and differ from "micro-contexts" (information-poor,

mostly unrealistic) found in traditional educational technology applications [3]. Often, it may not

be feasible to bring real-world problem situations into classrooms to enrich the context of

learning. One of the ways to present real-world contexts for PBL is through multimedia. The

following example draws from the ‘Golden Statuette” an uncopyrighted experimental work of

Professor Robert Sherwood produced in the 1980’s may shed some light on how an enriched

context may be developed for a particular learning experience.

The “Golden Statuette” test video anchor was developed with the intention of providing a real-

world problem-based learning context (as an episode) for introducing the concepts volume by

displacement and density. In the episode a misguided chap who wanted to generate some money

the wrong way to buy an electric guitar spray painted an old lead statuette gold and went to a

pawnshop. He was telling the shop owner that his mother needed money for surgery and asked

him to sell this treasured golden antique which his great grand father got from a potentate in the

Middle East in exchange for a portable radio. Being worried sampling by scraping would reveal

the true nature of the metal he was telling the owner “don’t you go cutting into it or anything… it’s pure gold and real soft,” In order to estimate its value, the shop owner first determined the

mass of the statuette and determined its volume by displacement method. The calculated density

came out to be that of lead 11.35 gm/cc, and the shop owner gave the chap 20 cents. The startled

chap who realized that he could not fool the pawnshop owner remarked “what can I buy with 20 cents?” and the owner replied “not much.” Undergraduate science education students when

challenged first with the “Golden Statuette” video followed by hands on activities in volume by

displacement and density expressed a greater appreciation for science as they were able to see its

connection to societal applications in an authentic context [20].

Multimedia technology provides a hypermedia platform for linking text, figures, audio and video

information without requiring the user to physically leave the environment where she/he is

located in order to access, manipulate, and interact with them. It is designed on the Internet,

creating a network of internally and externally connected platforms to represent a collection of

ideas for students to explore. Multimedia technology on the Internet has generated much interest

in education thanks to convenient ways to represent knowledge structures in line with some of

the learning theories [21]. Some of the advantages of multimedia include visual, dynamic,

spatial, veridical representation of information, random access, and greater user control [22]. For

details on how multimedia technology has been used to enlarge the context of PBL, see

“Problem-Based Learning in Nanotechnolgy” [15], “The River of Life” [23], and “Adventures of

Jasper Woodbury” [3]. These multimedia applications also involve hands-on learning and

provide classroom teachers the flexibility to make necessary adaptations based on their local

curricular needs. As noted earlier in this paper, information-rich meaningful contexts might

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work towards facilitating hippocampal functions in the process of learning [9, 10], leading to

meaningful learner outcomes in STEM education.

6. Concluding Thoughts

Ongoing developments in the field of neuroscience show an emerging connection between the

critical role of context and learning. Enriched contexts are essential to engaging students in

problem-based learning in STEM. Multimedia platforms are quite suitable for developing

enriched contexts to enhance problem-based learning in STEM education. The scope of this

brief note is limited to exploring the neuroscience base of contexts and how multimedia-

enhanced learning contexts could be developed to support PBL in STEM education. Most

neuroscience studies involve laboratory animals, translating results from animal studies to

situations involving human beings, hence demanding high inference. Also, the nature of the

technology-cognition interface [24, 25, 26, 27] and its effect on multimedia-supported STEM

learning is not addressed in this paper. To gain a clearer picture of the effect of multimedia-

augmented contexts on information processing in the hippocampus, our understanding of the

technology-cognition interface also needs to improve, and how human computer interfaces are

designed also must be taken into consideration [26, 27]. This is a complex relationship and

should not be overlooked when thinking about neuroscience developments, contexts, and

multimedia-enhanced learning. As research advances our understanding of the relationship

between the brain, learning, context, multimedia technology, and the technology-cognition

interface, it could be anticipated, with cautious optimism, that better ways of designing and

developing meaningful learning environments to facilitate PBL, not only in STEM education but

also in other subject areas, would emerge.

7. Acknowledgements

The “Problem Based Learning in Nanotechnology” instructional platform was developed with

funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The views expressed are not that of the

funding source. "The Golden Statuette" is an uncopyrighted experimental work produced by

Professor R. D. Sherwood at Vanderbilt University in the 1980s. Thanks to Ms. Chelsea Dittrich

and Ms. Sharon Booshi for editorial feedback.

References

1. National Research Council. 2011. Successful K-12 STEM education: Identifying Effective

approaches in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Washington, DC: National

Academy Press

2. Whitehead, A. N. 1929. The aims of education. NY: Macmillan.

3. Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. 1993. Anchored instruction and situated

cognition revisited Educational Technology, 33, 52-70.

4. Kumar, D. D. 2010. Approaches to video anchors in problem-based science learning. Journal

of Science Education and Technology, 19(1), 13-19.

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5. Kumar, D. D., & Sherwood, R. D. 2007. Effect of a problem based simulation on the

conceptual understanding of undergraduate science education students. Journal of Science

Education and Technology, 16(3), 239-246.

6. Collins, J. W. 2007. The neuroscience of learning. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 39(5),

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7. Mandal, A. 2014. Hippocampus functions. News Medical. Available at: http://www.news-

medical.net/health/Hippocampus-Functions.aspx.

8. Mizumori, S. J. Y. 2013. Context prediction analysis and episodic memory. Frontiers in

Behavioral Neuroscience, 7, 132.

9. Sakon, J. J., Naya, Y., Wirth, S., & Suzuki, w. A. 2014. Context-dependent incremental

timing cells in the primate hippocampus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

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10. Smith, D. M., & Mizumori, S. J. Y. 2006. The Journal of Neuroscience, 26(12), 3154-3163.

11.The Zondervan Corporation. 1995-2010. Bible Gateway. (n.d.). Available at:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

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13. Dewey, J. 1933. How we think (revised edition). Boston: Heath.

14. Gragg, C. I. 1940. Because wisdom can’t be told. Harvard Alumni Bulletin, October, pp.

78-84.

15. Kumar, D. D. 2015. A study of web based anchors in nanotechnology for problem-based

science learning. Journal of Nano Education, 7(1), 58-64.

16. Pea, R. 2000. Introduction. In The Jossey-Bass Reader on Technology and Learning. San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. xv-xxiv.

17. Michaels, S., Shouse, A. W., & Schweingruber, H. A. 2008. Ready, set, science! Putting

research to work in K-8 science classrooms. Board on Science Education, Center for

Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC:

The National Academies Press.

18.Hur, Y., & Kim, S. 2007. Different outcomes of active and reflective students in problem-

based learning. Medical Teacher, 29(1), 18–21.

19.Schmidt, H. G. 1993. Foundations of problem-based learning: Some explanatory notes.

Medical Education, 27, 422–432.

20.Kumar, D. D., & Hofwolt, C. A. 2002. Using technology to improve science teacher

education. A paper presented at the Annual International Conference of the Association for

Science Teacher Education, Charlotte, NC.

21.Marsh, E. J., & Kumar, D. D. 1992. Hypermedia: A conceptual framework for science

education and review of recent findings. Journal of Educational Multimedia and

Hypermedia, 1(1), 25-37.

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22. Sharp, D. L. M., Bransford, J. D., Goldman, S. R., Risko, V. J., Kinzer, C. K., & Vye, N. J.

1995. Dynamic visual support for story comprehension and mental model building by young at-

risk children. Educational Technology Research and Development, 43, 25-42.

23. Sherwood, R. D. 2002. Problem based multimedia software for middle grades science:

Development issues and an initial field study. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and

Science Teaching, 21(2), 147-165.

24. Kumar, D. D., Helgeson, S. L., & White, A. L. 1994. Computer technology-cognitive

psychology interface and science performance assessment. Educational Technology Research

& Development, 42, 6-16.

25. Kumar, D. D., & Helgeson, S. L. 1996. Effect of computer interfaces on chemistry problem

solving among various ethnic groups: A comparison of Pen-Point and Powerbook computers.

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26. Carroll, J. M. 2010. Conceptualizing a possible discipline of human-computer interaction.

Interacting with Computers, 22, 3-12.

27. Shneiderman, B., & Plaisant, C. 2009. Designing the user interface: Strategies for effective

human-computer interaction (5th

edn.). Addison-Wesley.

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ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SIKKIM


Role of Media in the Promotion of Sustainable Tourism: An

exploratory Study of Sikkim

1Mahesh Puja

2Kumar Amit

Abstract

Appropriate information and message, being the source of knowledge, could have impact on

the attitude to access resources available to the target people over a period of time.

Development communication, in this context, is considered to be an important means for

spreading the message of development to the rural masses. The Ecotourism Directorate of

Sikkim runs appropriate multimedia campaigns to promote ecotourism through mass media.

Keywords: Tourism, sustainability, multimedia campaigns.

1.Introduction

The need of sustainability has become a fundamental issue in tourism development and

growth, after the debate at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. According to Principle 4 of The

“Rio Declaration” on environment and development (1992) “In order to achieve sustainable

development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development

process and cannot be considered in isolation from it”. The Principle 22 states that

“Indigenous people and their communities, and other local communities, have a vital role in

environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional

practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and

enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development”.

India has some of the world's most bio-diverse regions. It hosts 3 biodiversity hotspots3: the

Western Ghats, the Himalayas and the Indo-Burma region. These hotspots have numerous

endemic species4. The State of Sikkim is located in the area of the Biodiversity Hotspot of

Eastern Himalaya Region. To promote conservation incentive and suitable livelihood option

for the natives, the Government of Sikkim has formulated an Ecotourism policy based on two

primary motives; “poverty alleviation” and “nature conservation”. (Kumar, 2014)

1 Associate Professor, Manipal University, Dubai

2 Assistant Professor, Galgotias University, Delhi, India

3 Biodiversity hotspots are defined as areas featuring exceptional concentrations of endemic species and experiencing exceptional loss of

habitat. 4 Species are described as endemic if they are unique to a specific area or region, and don't naturally occur anywhere else. Due to their

limited ranges, endemic species are particularly vulnerable to extinction.

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1.1 Conceptual Framework of Sustainable Tourism

The requirement of nature based tourism emerged as an outcome of the world’s acknowledgment and reaction to global sustainable practices. There was an increasing

concern to minimize the negative impact of tourism on the environment and also a concrete

evidence was available that tourists have moved away from mass tourism to more

individualistic and enriching experiences. Moreover, these instances were further

substantiated with the urge to include natural and cultural component during vacations. This

set the ground for the alternative form of tourism which was termed in due course of time as

‘Eco Tourism’, ‘Sustainable Tourism’ and ‘Responsible Tourism’ etc. However, all these

terms were rooted in the concept of sustainable development and intended to benefit local

communities and destinations environmentally, culturally and economically. (Diamantis,

1999)

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) defines ecotourism as: “environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate

nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present) that promotes

conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-

economic involvement of local populations”. (IUCN, 1996)

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) definition, ecotourism refers to

forms of tourism which have the following characteristics:

1. All nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourists is the

observation and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in

natural areas

2. It contains educational and interpretation features

3. It is generally, but not exclusively organized by specialized tour operators for small

groups. Service provider partners at the destination tend to be small, locally owned

businesses

4. It minimizes negative impact on the natural and socio-cultural environment.

5. It supports the maintenance of natural areas which are used as ecotourism attractions by:

a. Generating economic benefits for host communities, organisations and authorities

managing natural areas with conservation purposes;

b. Providing alternative employment and income opportunities for local

communities;

c. Increasing awareness towards the conservation of natural and cultural assets, both

among locals and tourists (UNWTO, Ecotourism and Protected areas, 2002)

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) has proposed a revised definition of ecotourism

in 2015 as, “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the

well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education" with the

specification that education is to staff and guests. (TIES, 2015)

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Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world accounting

for some 9% of the world’s GDP and over 200 million jobs. In 2015, international tourist’s arrival crossed 1 billion marks and UNWTO predicts that growth trends in world tourism will

continue, with total arrivals reaching 1.8 billion by 2030. The highest share is expected to get

by emerging economies, including developing countries.

Tourism has potential to play a major role in delivering sustainable development in many

countries. For this it is critically important that it must be well managed so that it benefits

local communities and the natural and cultural environments upon which it depends.

(UNWTO, The Sustainable Tourism for Development Guidebook , 2013)

In September 2015, the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a

universal agenda for planet and people, termed as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development. Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated

targets, tourism is explicitly featured in Goals 8, 12 and 14 because of its capability to

promote sustainable consumption and production and its critical contribution to sustainable

development. In 2015, over one billion tourists travelled internationally. This provides over

one billion opportunities for sustainable development, in line with the SDGs. Considering the

immense potential of sustainable tourism to be a part and parcel of SDGs; the United Nations

has declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

(UNWTO, UNWTO Annual Report 2015, 2016)

1.2 Sustainable Tourism in Sikkim

1.2.1 Sikkim; an Introduction

Sikkim is truly a mystical land, a confluence of advancement and mysticism. It is situated in

eastern Himalayan region of India and have borders with Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal and only

open border with China (Nathula-Pass). It hosts Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak

(8586 meters) which is also valued as the state’s guardian deity. Sikkim became the 22nd

state

of the India in 1975. The ecological condition in Sikkim varies from low tropical, temperate

to sub alpine and alpine zones in a small geographical area. Sikkim has a forest cover of over

47 per cent, which is the highest in India. The protected area network in Sikkim includes one

National Park and seven Wildlife Sanctuaries that cover an area of around 2,183 Sq. Km.,

which is the largest in the country. Sikkim has a rich variety of flora and fauna. Sikkim’s population comprises many ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups, each characterized by their

unique culture, customs and traditions that exhibit strong bonds with nature. It is also

reflected in a rich array of traditional festivals and rituals that take place throughout the year

in Sikkim. (ECOSS & WWF, 2016)

1.2.2 Growth of Tourism in Sikkim

The growth of tourism in Sikkim started during the period of 2002-10, with the gradual

opening of large areas which were inaccessible or restricted to tourists. Tourism centers and

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circuits began slowly developing from Gangtok, the capital city, and gradually extended to

other areas. The decision to allow tourists first to visit Tsomgo Lake and then Nathula Pass,

near the Chinese border witnessed a surge of tourist flows. This was also aided by the

Government’s decision to allow Leave Travel Concession by Air to the North East Region in

2010 for Central Government employees. (ECOSS & WWF, 2016).

Sikkim has been named as the best region to visit in 2014 by a leading global travel guide

Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet describes Sikkim as “It's clean (plastic bags are banned) and the mountain air is fresh. Best of all the people are among India's most friendly, with a charming

manner that's unobtrusive and slightly shy”. Sikkim is witnessing a regular growth in tourism inflow. Till December 2015, 705023 domestic tourists and 38479 foreign tourists have visited

to Sikkim. (Tourism, 2016)

The state of Sikkim has divided into four administrative districts; North, South, East and

West.

Fig. 1: Sikkim map

East Sikkim is located at the south east corner of the state and Gangtok is the administrative

headquarters as well the state capital. The area of the district is 964 km². East Sikkim is very

close to the border with China and Bhutan therefore the area is divided into two regions;

Civilian and the Military region, which is under the control of the District collector and a

Major General respectively. Most of the parts of East Sikkim are restricted for civilian use.

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Only a few areas are open to tourists in the eastern parts of Gangtok. Tsongmo Lake aka

Changu Lake at an altitude of 3780 m and Nathula Pass which is one of the three trading

border posts connecting India and China are main tourist’s attractions.

West Sikkim is next to East Sikkim in terms of tourism promotion. It is the place for

adventure tourism and many successful ecotourism ventures including homestays can be

found here. Pelling and Yuksom are two most popular destinations among tourists.

South Sikkim is an ideal place for trekkers, religious tourists, bird watchers and nature

lovers. It is being promoted as next tourist destination after East and West Sikkim. Namchi is

the district headquarter and a famous tourists destination. Temi Tea Garden and Ravangla are

other prominent attractions.

North Sikkim is the northern district of Sikkim. Mangan is the districts headquarter of North

Sikkim. North Sikkim can be visited only as part of an organized tour and tourists need

special permits to visit beyond Mangan. Almost the entire zone of North Sikkim comes under

the restricted territory; foreigner’s visit beyond Thangu is prohibited. Because of these

restrictions tourism in the region is at a nascent stage. Yumthang Valley, Chungthang, Lachen

and Lachung are other prominent attractions.

It has been observed that the Government of Sikkim has devised a model to promote

sustainable tourism in ecologically sensitive areas by managing tourists number as well

encouraging high income - low volume tourists. Another initiative includes sharing of tourism

revenues with local communities. Pokhri Sanrakshan Samitee at Tsomgo Lake is one such

successfully implemented strategy. (ECOSS & WWF, 2016)

1.2.3 Ecotourism in Sikkim

Being a Himalayan state Sikkim has a very fragile ecosystem. Its strength has always

been its natural beauty and distinctive culture, customs and traditions. To protect the unique

cultural identity and to curb the negative impact of mass tourism Sikkim pioneered in creating

a community supported ecotourism pathway which was based on the nature and cultural

conservation. Community-based tourism (CBT) sites were evolved in different parts of the

state with the core concept of village homestay that ensured benefits of tourism to local

communities. This was further supported through policy initiatives of government of Sikkim

including the Sikkim Ecotourism Policy 2011 prepared by The Forest Environment and

Wildlife Management Department along with the JICA funded Sikkim Biodiversity and

Forest Management Project (SBFP), and the Sikkim Registration of Homestay Establishment

Rules 2013.

Due to harsh climate, the number of tourists visiting Sikkim is less during winter and rainy

season. To help Sikkim grow as 365 days tourists destinations the government of Sikkim

conducts different ecotourism carnivals/festivals, promotional campaigns and other activities

periodically to attract more tourists during the lean season. Following ecotourism

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carnivals/festivals were conducted during 2015-16 to promote Sikkim as a prime ecotourism

destination in India for both domestic and foreign tourists:

Table 1: Ecotourism Festivals/Carnivals in Sikkim

Sl.

No.

Name of the Ecotourism

Festival/Carnival

Destination being

promoted

Date &

Duration

1. Sikkim Butterfly Meet Yuksam-Rimbi, West

Sikkim

17-19 July 2015

2. Okharey Ecotourism Carnival Okharey, West Sikkim 17-19 October

2015

3. Red Panda Winter Festival Gangtok, East Sikkim 23-31 January

2016

4. 2nd Losar cum Tourism Festival Anden Walung Gumpa,

West Sikkim

11-12 February

2016

5. Tinjurey Ecotourism Festival Pangthang, East Sikkim 12-13 March

2016

6. Zakri-dhunga Rhododendron

Tourism Festival

Maneybung Dentam, West

Sikkim

13-15 April

2016

7. 9th Lampokhari Tourism Festival Dalapchand, East Sikkim 14-16 April

2016

1.2.4 Ecotourism Promotion Campaign in Sikkim

To promote Sikkim as a prime ecotourism destination in India and globally, the Government

of Sikkim has proposed guidelines in their Ecotourism Policy in 2011. An apex body, the

Directorate of Ecotourism has been constituted to ensure effective management and

implementation of the ecotourism initiatives under the Forest, Environment and Wildlife

Management Department in the State of Sikkim. The Directorate is the executing arm of the

Sikkim Ecotourism Council, an autonomous body with representatives from government

departments, civil society, tourism professionals and public sector representatives. In Sikkim,

March to June and September to December is considered as a peak tourist season. One of the

key targets of the Directorate is to promote Sikkim as a year around ecotourism destination.

(Sikkim, 2011)

2. Research Methodology

2.1 Selection of the Topic

Appropriate information and message, being the source of knowledge, could have an impact

on the attitude to access resources available to the target people over a period of time. Mass

media tools such as TV, radio, community radio, print publicity, outdoor media and new

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media are being employed to carry these messages for providing information and educating

the people. Government schemes, programs and benefits are being informed to the general

masses through different publicity programs in a campaign mode.

People’s empowerment, as one of the major Millennium Development Goals, requires

working with communities at the grassroots level and involving them to participate in the

development efforts. Communication through mass media, in this regard, can have a

prominent role to play and inform communities. To communicate and publicize the

Government’s programs and initiatives directly to the beneficiaries down to the grassroots level, the Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation Department of Sikkim, an Eastern Himalayan

State of India, which is chosen as area of study for this work, runs appropriate multimedia

mass campaigns through different means of communication. To pursue these objectives, the

Government of Sikkim has formed Ecotourism Directorate which in co-ordination with The

Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department takes care of publicity for the

ecotourism initiatives in the state of Sikkim.

The plethora of choices in media vehicles has led to an urgent need to study the scope and

effectiveness of their utilization for the purposes of ‘People’s Empowerment through Development Communication’.

2.2 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study are significant to government, tourism service providers, and local

people in a variety of ways. For the government policy makers, the results will help to make

informed decisions, formulate and implement the appropriate policies and legislations to

establish Sikkim as a prime ecotourism destination. For Ecotourism Directorate and other

agencies who are entrusted with the responsibility to promote ecotourism in the state, this

study helped in understanding means that they can utilize the available resources to attract

many tourists and in providing convincing information to tourists. For the local people, the

results of this study help them to know the role to play and the associated benefits of

ecotourism in return.

2.3 Area of Study

The study area comprised two districts (East, West) of Sikkim, where media campaign and

publicity programs were undertaken by the Ecotourism Directorate, the Department of Forest,

Environment & Wildlife Management, State Tourism Development Corporation, and Ministry

of Tourism and Civil Aviation of Government of Sikkim during the period of 2015-16 (up to

April, 2016). The field work was conducted at the ecotourism sites of Gangtok in East Sikkim

and Pelling in West Sikkim.

2.4 Objectives of the Study

1. To analyze the role of media campaign in promoting ecotourism in Sikkim.

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2. To analyze the media platforms in terms of media vehicles employed and its

corresponding strategies used for promoting ecotourism in Sikkim.

3. To analyze the impact of the promotional campaign on the target group in terms of their

level of awareness generation about the ecotourism promotion initiatives and the benefits

availed.

3. Research Design

3.1 Sample Selection

A sample of 200 respondents was taken for this study, out of which 100 were local residents

of Sikkim and another 100 were tourists in Sikkim, which included a mix of foreign and

domestic tourists. 80 domestic tourists and 20 foreign tourists were consulted precisely with

interview schedules.

3.2 Data Collection

Keeping in mind the proposed objectives, the study is based on both primary and secondary

resources. The study has both quantitative and qualitative data as components to substantiate

our argument through statistical analysis to assess the impact of the campaign and to

understand the functioning of Ecotourism Directorate.

3.2.1 Primary Sources

Qualitative Research: In-depth interviews with the officers of Ecotourism Directorate were

done to gauge the system of sharing the Campaign Brief among various teams especially the

creative (copy and art) and media planning section to aim at synergizing the process and

outcome. The qualitative research also aimed at finding out the process of ideation and pre-

testing of the promotional campaigns before these campaigns are released in media.

Quantitative Research: Under this study interview schedules were used to collect data from

respondents. Two different interview schedules were prepared; one was for tourists visiting

Sikkim and another was for local residents of Sikkim. It was constructed with a view to find

out ‘top of the mind recall’ of the requisite campaign message; and also whether it resulted in the desired response/action on the part of the respondent, besides which medium was also

more impactful in terms of recall, assimilation and action.

3.2.2 Secondary Sources

Desk Research: There was need to understand the media planning and buying strategies

adopted by the Ecotourism Directorate, to reach out to the desired constituent publics along

with an effort to have desk analysis on the campaign briefs received by the officials of

Ecotourism Directorate to gauge and understand the clarity of campaign objectives among

officials themselves.

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Secondary records: Data were collected initially from the specific web sources of different

departments of Government of Sikkim.

Table 2: Govt. of Sikkim Resources

Sl. Name of the Department Web Page

1 Department of Forest, Environment &

Wildlife Management

http://www.sikkimforest.gov.in/Ecotourism.htm

2 ENVIS Centre: Sikkim

Status of Environment and Related

Issues

http://www.sikenvis.nic.in/

3 Sikkim Tourism Development

Corporation

http://www.sikkimstdc.com/Index.aspx

4 Tourism and Civil Aviation

Department

http://www.sikkimtourism.gov.in/Webforms/Gener

al/Default.aspx

5 Directorate of Ecotourism https://www.ecotourismsikkim.com/

6 ENVIS Center on Ecoturism http://scstsenvis.nic.in/index.aspx?langid=1

7 Sikkim Biodiversity Conservation and

Forest Management Project (SBFP)

http://forestsbfp.nic.in/default.aspx

The various records, white paper on policy, annual reports, ecotourism database, tourism

policy of state etc were examined. The collected data was used for statistical analysis to

justify arguments to measure the impact of the mass media campaign.

4. Data Analysis

Data was collected from the tourists and local residents of Sikkim through interview

schedules and from Ecotourism Directorate officials through interview to analyze as per the

given objectives. Thematic analysis5 was followed to understand the process and outcome of

internal briefings of the Ecotourism Directorate. Other qualitative data collected through

observation were thematically analyzed to support findings from the quantitative data. Apart

from these, quantitative data were fed into SPSS for cross tabulation and used for

tables/graphs giving number, frequencies and percentage. Those tables/graphs were used to

analyze the media planning, recall & retention of Ecotourism Promotional Campaigns and

awareness about ecotourism.

5 Thematic analysis is the most common form of analysis in qualitative research. It emphasizes pinpointing,

examining, and recording patterns (or "themes") within data. Themes are patterns across data sets that are

important to the description of a phenomenon and are associated to a specific research question.

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4.1 Understanding of Ecotourism Directorate and its internal processes

4.1.1 On the process of internal briefing

The process of briefings for an advertising campaign is crucial to the success of any campaign

as it helps the agency to understand the requirement of the Client. A ‘brief’ generally means “that a client for an advertising project… is informing, or briefing, an advertising agency of the client’s expectations for a proposed advertising campaign6.” It was observed that the

briefs were clear and precise with the appropriate involvement of concerned officers.

However no pre-testing of creative is done because of lack of time and resources.

4.1.2 Assessing the process of internal communication and teamwork at the Directorate

From the detailed discussions with Ecotourism Directorate officers, it emerged that there

exists a team approach to the assigned tasks. Also the internal communication system exists in

Ecotourism Directorate favors the effective implementation of the assigned tasks. The senior

officers are also readily accessible. However the lack of manpower was a major concern.

4.1.3 Examining the process of identification of stakeholders and media planning to reach

them

The Ecotourism Promotional Campaigns targets at multiple stakeholders, therefore the choice

of media vehicles needed to be diverse. It was observed that multiple media platforms were

utilized in order to reach the diverse audience. This included Television Commercials, Radio

Spots, Print Campaigns and Social Media. However a better guideline to determine the fund

allocation and selection of media vehicles is required.

4.2 Media Planning: Observation and Analysis

4.2.1 The Role of Media Planning in a Campaign

Media planning forms a crucial part of any campaign given that media time and space are

expensive; in a typical advertising campaign, the media costs account for eighty to eighty-five

percent of the advertising budget; the remaining fifteen or twenty percent covers research,

message, production, evaluation and profits for the (private) advertising agency.7 It basically

consists of (1) formulating a media strategy to deliver the creative so as to meet the brand’s advertising objectives, and then (2) implementing the strategy in an accurate and cost-

effective manner.8

6 Advertising, Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, Terence Shrimp,

Cengage Learning, 2010 7 Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach By Larry D. Kelley, Donald W. Jugenheimer,

2008, M E Sharpe, USA, p 3 8 Advanced Media Planning by John R Rossiter and Peter J Danaher, Kluwer Academic Publishers, USA, 1998,

p xi

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4.2.2 Media Planning Analysis

From the field survey conducted, Television has emerged as the medium of choice among

local residents of Sikkim, with 63 percent of respondents overall naming it as their preferred

choice. Newspapers follow a poor second with 11 percent while Radio accounted for only 8

percent of respondent’s preference. However, social media seems to be gaining momentum

with 6 percent of respondents showed preference for Facebook, 4 percent for Tourism

Websites, 4 percent for YouTube and another 4 percent for other Media.

Fig. 2 : media preference of local residents

Facebook has emerged as the medium of choice among domestic tourists visiting Sikkim,

with 40 percent of respondents overall naming it as their preferred choice. Tourism Websites

follows with 22.5 percent while TV Spots accounted for only 11.25 percent of respondent’s preference. Other social media platforms like YouTube accounted for 10 percent.

Newspaper/Magazine was preferred by 13.75 percent of respondents while 2.5 percent of

respondents showed preference for other Media.

Facebook again emerged as the medium of choice among foreign tourists visiting Sikkim,

with 45 percent of respondents overall naming it as their preferred choice. Tourism Websites

follow with 25 percent while YouTube accounted for 10 percent of respondent’s preference. Other social media platforms like Twitter along with print publication accounted for 5 percent

each as preferred media choice of respondents. Other means of promotion like events, trade

shows,etc were significantly high and preferred by 10 percent of the respondents coming from

foreign land.

63

8 11

4 6 4

0

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Media Preference of Local Residents of

Sikkim

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Fig. 3 : media preference of domestic tourists

Fig. 4 : media preference of foreign tourists

4.3 Recall and Retention of Promotional Campaign

To gauge the recall and retention of the Ecotourism Promotional Campaign was one of the

most important parts of the field research. A sample was purposively taken of those who have

come across the advertisements directly or indirectly. The various advertisements of the

11.25

0

13.75

22.5

40

10

0

2.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Media Preference of Domestic Tourists

0 0

5

25

45

10

5

10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Media Preference of Foreign Tourists

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campaign were shown through laptop, phone or copy of print ads to aid recall among

respondents. During the field work, 114 (or 57%) of the respondents said that they had either

seen or heard the advertisements through different media tools like TV, radio, newspaper &

Internet etc whereas 86 (43%) of them negatively responded they had not seen/heard/read

these advertisements.

Table 3 : Recall and Retention of Promotional Campaign

Program Seen Local Residents

of Sikkim

Domestic

Tourists

Foreign

Tourists

Total

Losar cum Tourism Festival 5 0 0 5

Khanchendzonga Winter

Festival

10 4 3 27

Okharey Ecotourism Carnival 13 4 0 17

Red Panda Winter Festival 22 9 4 35

Rhododendron Tourism

Festival

6 0 0 6

Sikkim Butterfly Meet 7 4 0 11

Tinjurey Ecotourism Festival 14 6 0 20

Lampokhari Tourism Festival 11 2 0 13

Total 78 29 7 114

4.4 Awareness of Promotional Campaign

The table below gives indication that a significant number of tourists were not aware of

ecotourism promotional campaigns in the state. 78 local respondents of Sikkim out of 100

said that they knew about the campaign while 29 domestic tourists out of 80 and 7 foreign

tourists out of 20 said the same. Nearly 57 % or 114 out of 200 respondents were aware of

ecotourism promotional campaigns, making it a success story as far as awareness levels are

concerned. However, the less awareness among locals suggests that there are long miles to

travel in order to promote Sikkim as an all year round preferred ecotourism destination in

India.

Table 4: Awareness of Promotional Campaign

Awareness

Type of Respondents

Total Local Residents of Sikkim Domestic Tourists Foreign Tourists

Yes 78 29 7 114

No 22 51 13 86

Total 100 80 20 200

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5. Conclusions and Recommendations

As per the stated objectives of this study, placed below are the main findings and

recommendations.

5.1 To analyze the role of media campaign in promoting ecotourism in Sikkim.

Observation – It has been clearly observed during the field work that a larger percentage of

respondents have given the thumbs up to the Ecotourism Promotional Campaign. Out of 200

respondents 114 were able to recall the different ecotourism promotional campaigns.

Recommendation – There is a scope to improve the production quality of the creative of the

campaigns. Also pre-testing is recommended before dissemination of any creative.

5.2 To analyze the media platforms in terms of media vehicles employed and its

corresponding strategies used for promoting ecotourism in Sikkim.

Observation – A look at the media platforms in terms of media vehicles employed and its

corresponding strategies showed a remarkable skew in favor of television among local

residents of Sikkim. However in case of tourists, both domestic and foreign, social media is

clearly a preferred choice with a significant percent of respondents preferring it over other

media vehicles. In social media, Facebook is most preferred choice followed by Tourism

Websites and YouTube.

Recommendation – The future marketing strategy should have specific plan to target the

tourists through social media. Though the internal processing of Media planning and use of

industry-specific metrics was found adequate, Ecotourism Directorate needs to increase the

manpower available for its Campaign Wing.

5.3 To analyze the impact of the promotional campaign on the target group in terms of their

level of awareness generation about the ecotourism promotion initiatives and the benefits

availed.

Observation – It has been clearly observed during the field work that large number of locals

were aware about the Ecotourism Promotional Campaign. However, the awareness level was

heading south in terms of awareness level of tourists. This will also help those who are

associated with tourism to plan their offerings to get benefit out of it. This has also been

vindicated by the statistical data where only 36% of the tourists were found aware of it.

Recommendation – While doing publicity campaigns ecotourism Directorate should also

include a component for impact assessment, with pre and post-evaluations to not only

measure success of that particular campaign but also to guide planning for future campaigns.

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References

1. Baken, R. J., & Bhagavatula, S. (2010). Some reflections on tourism and tourism

policy in India. IIM Bangalore Research Paper No. 320, 1-21.

2. Barkin, D. (1996). Ecotourism: A Tool for Sustainable Development in an Era of

International Integration? The Ecotourism Equation: Measuring the Impacts (pp. 263-

272). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale F & ES Bulletin.

3. Bora, B. (2009). Tourism in Sikkim: An Evaluative Stuudy (Doctoral dissertation).

Guwahati: Retrieved from Shodhganga: A reservoir of Indian Theses.

4. Butcher, J. (2010). The 'New Tourist' as Anthropologist. Motivations, Behaviour and

Tourist Types: Reflections on International Tourism Motivations, 160-168.

5. Diamantis, D. (1999). The Concept of Ecotourism: Evolution and Trends. Current

Issues in Tourism, 93-122.

6. ECOSS, & WWF, I. (2016). State Tourism Policy. Gangtok: Government of Sikkim.

7. Environment and Forests, M. o. (2011). Guidelines for Ecotourism in and around

Protected Areas. New Delhi: Governmment of India.

8. GOI, D. o. (2002). National Tourism Policy. New Delhi: Ministry of Tourism and

Culture.

9. GOI, M. o. (2015). National Tourism Policy . New Dellhi: Government of India.

10. Honey, M., & Gilpin, R. (2009). Tourism in the Developing World Promoting Peace

and Reducing Poverty. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

11. IUCN. (1996). Definitions Sustainable Tourism. Retrieved from Sustaining Tourism:

http://www.sustainabletourism.net/sustainable-tourism/definitions/

12. Korstanje, M. (2007). The Origin and meaning of Tourism: Etymological study. e-

Review ofTourism Research, 100-108.

13. Kumar, A. (2014). Sikkim; A Role Model of Ecotourism in India: A Critical Analysis

. Indian Streams Research Journal, 1-5.

14. Lama, R. (2014). Community based Tourism Development: A Case Study of Sikkim

(Doctoral dissertation). Kurukshetra: Retrieved from Shodhganga: A reservoir of

Indian Theses.

15. Sikkim, G. o. (2011). Sikkim Ecotourism Policy. Gangtok: SBFP & DFEWM.

16. TIES, T. I. (2015, January 7). TIES Announces Ecotourism Principles Revision.

Retrieved from https://www.ecotourism.org/: https://www.ecotourism.org/news/ties-

announces-ecotourism-principles-revision

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17. Tourism in India. (n.d.). Retrieved from Shodhganga:

http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/9790/10/10_chapter%203.pdf

18. Tourism, S. (2016, June 1). Statistics of Tourists Arrival in the State of Sikkim.

Retrieved from Tourism and Civil Aviation Department:

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alStats.aspx

19. UNWTO. (2002). Ecotourism and Protected areas. Retrieved from World Tourism

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20. UNWTO. (2013). The Sustainable Tourism for Development Guidebook . Madrid,

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Organization (UNWTO).

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LIFE SATISFACTION: A LITERATURE REVIEW


Life Satisfaction: A literature Review

1Rituparna Prasoon

2K R Chaturvedi

Abstract

This paper reviews the contributions of earlier study in the area of Life Satisfaction . The attempt

is to examine the extent of the knowledge contribution in this study sphere and incorporate

significant reviews of the patterns of Life Satisfaction in various domains . The literature looks

into the review of studies on finding the exact definition of Life Satisfaction along with its

determinants and the concept of subjective well being.

Keywords: Satisfaction, Quality of life, Social Indicators.

1.Introduction

“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. ‘ –

Antoine de Saint-Exupery—The little Prince

Embedded in the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, the concept of Life Satisfaction breezed

through 19th century as a means for providing people with good life and influenced the

development of Welfare State. By the late 20th Century, intellectuals endeavored to find a proper

definition of Life Satisfaction, envisioning the components of good life and its measurement.

The term Quality Of Life (QOL) was introduced in the 1960s. However, social indicators

replaced the traditional economic criteria of welfare and satisfaction by mid 1980's stating that

money cannot buy happiness. The early use of the idea was a reproval denoting that there is more

to human way of life than material gratification.

Several important books in this area were published, such as ‘The Quality of American Life’ (Campbell et al., 1976), ‘Social Indicators of Well-being’ (Andrews and Withey 1976), ‘The Social Progress of Nations’ (Estes 1984), and ‘Lebensqualität in der Bundesrepublik’ (Glatzer and Zapf 1984) . These accentuated on social relationships, health, work related conditions,

personal welfare, liberty, moral values and personality traits as a source of Life Satisfaction .

1 IILM Graduate School of Management Greater Noida, India

2 Professor KIET School of Management Ghaziabad, Indi

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2.Literature Review

Definition of Life Satisfaction:

Many explanations and definitions of Life satisfaction can be observed as it is not a very easy to

understand notion. Neugarten at al.(1961) calls Life Sati8sfaction “an operational definition of

‘successful aging’. Life satisfaction for Sumner (1966) is "A positive evaluation of the

conditions of your life, a judgment that at least on balance, it measures up favorably against your

standards or expectations."

Andrew (1974) states life satisfaction symbolizing an overarching criterion or ultimate outcome

of human experience. Life satisfaction is an overall assessment of feelings and attitudes about

one’s life at a particular point in time ranging from negative to positive. It is one of three major

indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, positive effect, and negative effect (Diener,

1984). Life satisfaction is characterized, in agreement with the cognitive theory, as

“individual’s cognitive judgment about comparisons based on the compatibility of their

own living conditions with the standards” (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffen, 19 85).

Life satisfaction is believed to have antecedents in the work domain, family domain, and

personality traits Ruut Veenhoven ( 1993 ) has best summarized Life Satisfaction; “Life

satisfaction is the degree to which a person positively evaluates the overall quality of his/her life

as-a-whole.”.Diener, suh, lucas, & Smith (1999) also included the following under life

satisfaction: desire to change one’s life; satisfaction with past; satisfaction with future; and significant other’s views of one’s life." life-satisfaction is one of the pointers of ‘apparent’ quality of life along with other indicators of mental and physical health. It is referred as an

assessment of the overall conditions of existence as derived from a comparison of one's

aspiration to one's actual achievement (Cribb, 2000).

It is assumed that the less the incongruity between the individual’s desires and achievements, the more life satisfaction he/she has (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003). The

Affective theory, on the contrary feels life satisfaction to be an individual’s conscious experience as to the dominance of their positive emotions over their negative emotions.

In recent research conducted life satisfaction is assessed as the degree of the positive emotions

experienced (Frish, 2006; as cited in Simsek, 2011).

Subjective well-being:

Even though much of the current literature on well-being uses terms like happiness, life

satisfaction and subjective well-being interchangeably, this is not completely accurate. If well-

being is defined or assessed by individuals themselves, it is termed subjective well-being.

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Understanding the psychology of Happiness and the concept of subjective well-being was done

by Myers, D. G. (1992) New York: William Morrow. Heady, B. and A. Wearing (1992); Argyle,

M. (1987) .

According to Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin (1985) recognize three separable components

of subjective well-being: positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and life satisfaction.

Maddox (1987) in the encyclopedia of Aging defines life satisfaction as subordinate construct of

subjective wellbeing (SWB), others being happiness, mood and morale. It is contentment with

one's life in general. Research points out that there are individual differences in how meaning in

life is to one’s sense of wellbeing. The determinants of well-being and life satisfaction are highly

individualized or personalized. It is to each his own, depending on their value orientations

(Oishi, Graessman, 1998; Emmons, 1991)..

Whereas the affective part is a hedonic estimation guided by emotions and feelings, the cognitive

part is an information-based assessment of one’s life for which people judge the extent to how their life so far measures up to their expectations and bear a resemblance to their envisioned

‘ideal’ life (Hoorn, 2007). Although researchers have concentrated on the measurement of affective well-being in the past (e.g. using depression scales), the addition of separate

measurements of life satisfaction to complement traditional affective measurements has proven

useful in understanding and predicting reactions to stressful and challenging events in life

(Huebner & Dew, 1996; Bradley & Corwyn, 2004).

Cropanzano and Wright (2001) note, happiness is thought to have “three defining” characteristics: (a) it represents a “subjective experience”; (b) it “includes both the relative presence of positive emotions and the relative absence of negative emotions”; and (c) it “is a global judgment” (Cropanzano & Wright, 2001: 183). As Cropanzano and Wright (2001) note,

happiness is considered highly valuable by most people and scarce by many people, suggesting

their need to conserve or maintain happiness whenever possible. They term this model of

happiness the “re-source maintenance model,” and explain its differential effects for happy and unhappy people

Well-being and quality of life was studied by measuring the benefits of culture and sport ,

galloway susan (2005). Buetell (2006) suggests that life satisfaction is attributable to a family of

personality, genetic, and social-cognitive factors such as goal-directed activity, self-efficacy,

outcome expectations, and environmental support. Income and Individual happiness became an

important part of the study on life satisfaction by a number of theorists like Clark, Andrew E.,

Paul Frijters, and Michael Shields. 2008; Deaton, Angus. 2008; Di Tella, Rafael, John Haisken–DeNew, and Robert MacCulloch, 2007; Easterlin, Richard A. 1995; Kapteyn, Arie., Smith,

James. P. & van Soest, Arthur. 2008. Life Satisfaction was studied as a shift from wealth to

well-being by Aknin, L. B., & Norton, D.( 2009).

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Constituents of Life Satisfaction

In the 1970's, life-satisfaction was a central theme in several American Social Indicator studies.

Analysis of the development of life-satisfaction and economic growth in the post-war decades in

the USA was done by Easterlin (1974) . With economic slowdown various studies in life

satisfaction showed that there was discrepancy in job and life satisfaction associated with

work-related and extra-workplace (Rice, R. W., Near,J. P., &Hunt, R. G. ( 1979). With

expanding society in terms of money and power and new trends setting in due to globalization

there was a rise in materialism and consumerism leading to various studies on Loneliness. It was

observed that Loneliness was a hindrance to Life satisfaction . Russell, D., Peplau, L.A.,

&Cutrona, C.E. (1980). The Satisfaction With Life Scale was a defined in detail by Diener, E.,

R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen and S. Griffin (1985) .

Outside the United States of America, Glatzer and Zapf (1984) reported studies from the Nordic

countries by Allardt (1975). Heady and Wearing (1992 performed one of the first large-scale

longitudinal survey on life-satisfaction in Australia.Review studies on cross-national

differences in happiness, cultural bias or societal quality were published by Veenhoven (1984),

Argyle (1987) and Meyers (1992). “Bottom-up” theories of life satisfaction (e.g., Brief, Butcher, George, & Link, 1993) recommend that life satisfaction represents an overall attitude, composed

of components of satisfaction in various domains of life . Andrews & Withey, (1976) state that

importance of any one specific life domain of life satisfaction varies by population .

The relations between Income and Life Satisfaction became an important area of study in the

early nineties. The relationship between income and subjective well-being whether relative or

absolute was a subject of study by Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Seidlitz, L., &Diener, M. (1993).

Richard A. 1995 also saw income and Individual happiness as a vital component of Life

Satisfaction in the study on Utility Income, Aging, Health and Well-Being. Along with income

health also became associated with life satisfaction Kim, O (1997) in his study on older Korean

immigrants observed that Loneliness was a deterrent to life satisfaction and also a predictor of

health perceptions .

The subjective evaluation of different aspects of life is known to correlate fairly strongly with

life satisfaction (Ateca-Amestoy, Serrano-del-Rosal, & Vera-Toscano, 2008; Lloyd & Auld,

2002; Van Praag & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, 2004: Van Praag et al, 2003). Evaluations of finance,

health, and job satisfaction, together with leisure satisfaction are the four most important

correlates (Van Praag et al., 2003). Ateca-Amestoy et al. (2008) and Spiers and Walker (2009)

find positive associations between leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction.

Neal et al. (1999) constructed a model based on the assumption that "life satisfaction is

functionally related to satisfaction with all of life's domains and subdomains" (Neal, Sirgy, &

Uysal, 1999, p. 154).In 2004. Neal and Sirgy (2004) further validated this model by

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demonstrating that there is a correlation between satisfaction with leisure life and satisfaction

with life in general. Sirgy, Rahtz, Cicic, and Underwood (2000) developed a similar model and

included leisure as part of the "global satisfaction with other life domains" (Sirgy & Comwell.

2001: Sirgy et al., 2000).

Rode, Joseph Charles (2002) examined a job and life satisfaction model that included both

environmental conditions and personality measures within a longitudinal framework and

national r ep resen ta t ive sample to better understand the relationship of job satisfaction and

life satisfaction over time. Satisfaction with Life Index was created calculating, subjective well

being on the basis of health, wealth and access to basic education (White, Adrian (2007).

Life Cycle Happiness and its Sources was tried to be found out Easterlin, Richard A. 2006; Van

Praag, Bernard M.S., and Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell (2008) and relation-ships among stressful life

events, temperament, problem behavior was also tried to be studied McKnight, C. G., Huebner,

E. S., &Suldo, S. M. (2002). Reschly, A. L., Huebner, E. S., Appleton, J. J., &Antaramian, S.

(2008).

Life satisfaction was studied amongst the below poverty line in India , Biswas-Diener, R.,

&Diener, E. (2001). Satisfaction with Life Index was created calculating, subjective well being

on the basis of health wealth , and access to basic education .White, Adrian (2007). Tremblay et

al. (2006) examined the role of subjective vitality and the perception of stress as mediators

between general life satisfaction and post-traumatic physiological and psychological health.

They found that satisfaction with life optimistically predict subjective vitality and negatively

predicted perceived stress.

Both resilience as well as perceived positive stress are positively related to life satisfaction

(Abolghasemi & Varaniyab, 2010). This demonstrates that life satisfaction increases with an

increase in resilience and a decrease of stress. Other conditions that influence life satisfaction

include demographic, environmental, and interpersonal factors (Koohsar & Bonab, 2011).

Saari and Judge (2004) add that factors such as taking pleasure in life, finding life meaningful,

consistency at the matter of reaching goal satisfaction, positive individual identity, physical

fitness, economical security, and social relationships are all important life satisfaction indicators.

The twenty first century ushered in specific studies on Life Satisfaction. AshleyD.Lewis,E.Scott

Huebner, Patrick S.Malone&RobertF.Valois (2011) tried to find out the various components of

Life Satisfaction in particular age groups such as adolescents Kohler et al. (2005), The authors

analyze the effects of partnerships and having children on Their results show that the first child

increases happiness for women but not for men, and that the magnitude of the effect is

considerable (half or more the size of the effect of being in a partnership). Additional children

are found to lower female happiness (and do not affect men).

Gender and Life Satisfaction also is an important study on life satisfaction stating the reasons of

Life satisfaction among women . The study depicts that women have average level of life

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satisfaction at all age levels. It is found that with an increase in age, the overall life

satisfaction decreases; whereas, with an increase in personal income, the overall life

satisfaction increases. Moreover, with an increase in family income, the overa ll life

satisfaction of women also increases. Calasanti, T. M. (2009); CarmeTraid, W. (2009);

Machinov and Fernandez (2012). Muzamil Jan* and TasiaMasood(2008); Saundra HS, Hughey

AW 2003. African American Women; Kousha M, Moheen N 2004; KhannaShipra(2015) .

The direction of this relationship continues to be a source of debate.

Dispositional explanations, for example, propose a ‘spillover’ (Schmitt & Mellon, 1980) of general affective states of life satisfaction to the job situation (Judge & Locke, 1993; Staw, Bell,

& Clausen, 1986). Conversely, Rousseau (1978) and Chacko (1983) contend that job satisfaction

had a greater influence on life or non-work satisfaction than vice versa. They argued that this

was explained by the valence or value individuals place on work in general. Recent empirical

studies by Adams et al. (1996) and Judge et al. (1998) affirm this underlying sequence.

Likewise, Wright and Staw (1999) reviewed expectancy theory, goal-setting theory, and

attribution theory, and concluded that each theory predicts that positive mood is related to

motivation across a wide range of situations. Empirically, several studies have found a

relationship between subjective well-being and individual performance in the work domain

(Cropanzano & Wright, 1999; Staw & Barsade, 1993; Staw, Sutton, & Pelled, 1994; Wright &

Cropanzano, 1997,2000). However, in their study of CEO life satisfac-tion and firm performance

in small entrepreneurial firms, Daily and Near (2000) found no significant relationship.

3.Conclusion

Life satisfaction has been conceptualized as a cognitive constituent of subjective well-being.

High satisfaction suggests that the quality of life, in the population concerned, is good. Low

satisfaction on the other hand marks serious shortcomings of some kind. This is consistent with

Bradley & Corwyn (2004) who say that life satisfaction reflects both the extent to which basic

needs are met and the extent to which a variety of other goals are viewed as attainable. From this

perspective it reasonable seems that by realization of more goals, satisfaction with life will also

increase.

According to Beutell (2006) it is believed that life satisfaction is related to better physical, and

mental health, longevity, and other outcomes that are considered positive in nature. In addition,

Chow (2009) argues that improved levels of life satisfaction might give rise to better health in

the future.

Recent research, nevertheless, acknowledges that life satisfaction, should be important

considerations for organizations (Nadkarni & Stening, 1989). Researchers, are attempting to

explain the linkages between life satisfaction with other aspects by proposing that satisfaction in

one domain of an individual’s life extends into other areas.

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References

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interview surve y. New York: Basic Books.

2. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concern. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press

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publishing.

4. Alam, O.G. and Srivastava, Ramji (1971). A manual for Life Satisfaction Scale (L-S

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6. Campbell, A., P. E. Converse and W. L. Rodgers (1976). The Quality of American Li fe

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8. Diener, Emmons, Larsen and Griffin( 1985) The Satisfaction with Life Scale , The Journal of

Personality Assessment page 71- 72

9. Veenhoven, R.( 1989). How harmfull is happiness? Consequences of enjoying life or not.

University Press Rotterdam.

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11. Veenhoven, R.( 1990). Inequality in happiness. Inequality in countries compared between

countries.Madrid: Paper presented at the 12th IS A conference.

12. Veenhoven, R. (1991) Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24, 1-34.

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well-being. In: Strack et al. (Eds.). 27-48.

14. Adams G. A , King, L A. and. King, D W (1996, ) Relationships of Job and Family

Involvement, Family Social Support, and Work-Family Conflict With Job and Life

Satisfaction Journal of Applied Psychology Vol. SL No. 4, 411-420

15. Diener, E., Suh, E.H., Lucas, R.E., & Smith, H.L. (1999). Subjective well- being:

Three decades of progress .Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.

16. Galloway Susan (2005) Well-being and quality of life: Measuring the benefits of culture

and sport: a literature review and think piece Scottish Executive Social Research

17. Ashley D. Lewis • E. Scott Huebner •Patrick S. Malone • Robert F. Valois (2011)

Life Satisfaction and Student Engagement in Adolescents J Youth Adolescence 40:249–262 DOI 10.1007/s10964-010-9517-6

18. Dr. D.F. Meyer Dr. S.H. Dunga( 2014) The Determinants of Life Satisfaction in a Low-

Income Poor Community in South Africa J Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences MCSER

Publishing, Rome Italy ISSN2039-2117(online) ISSN 2039-9340(print) Vol5 No; 13

19. Bum J Kim Kristen F Linton Wesley Lum(2015) Social capital and life

satisfaction among Chinese and Korean elderly immigrants Journal of Social

Work Vol 15 (1) 87-100 sage pub.co.uk/journals permissions .nav DOI

10.1177/1468017313504699

20. Abdullah sürücü03 june 2014, evaluation of life satisfaction among

guidanceteachers with respect to certain variables 10th international academic

conference, vienna isbn 978-80-87927-02-1, iises necmettin erbakan university ahmet

kelesoglu education faculty , turkey

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21. Kim O1Loneliness: a predictor of health perceptions among older Korean immigrants.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9354113

22. http://homepages.rpi.edu/~verwyc/TMOH17.htm

23. http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr952.pdf

24. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=bgsu1383319235&disposition=inline

25. https://www.academia.edu/1183520/DETERMINANTS_OF_LIFE_SATISFACTION

26. http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?performance_determinants_of_job_performance_why_i

s_performance_measured_performance_management_human_resource_management&b=33&

c=25

27. https://www.classle.net/#!/classle/content-page/determinants-job-performance/

28. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/definition-of-life-satisfaction-psychology-

essay.php

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Kim%20O%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=9354113

https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=bgsu1383319235&disposition=inline

https://www.academia.edu/1183520/DETERMINANTS_OF_LIFE_SATISFACTION

http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?performance_determinants_of_job_performance_why_is_performance_measured_performance_management_human_resource_management&b=33&c=25



https://www.classle.net/#!/classle/content-page/determinants-job-performance/

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/definition-of-life-satisfaction-psychology-essay.php

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/definition-of-life-satisfaction-psychology-essay.php

FINANCING ALTERNATIVES FOR SACCOS AND THEIR IMPACT ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM

TANZANIA


Financing Alternatives for SACCOS and their Impact on Financial Performance: Evidence

from Tanzania

1Mosses Mwizarubi,

2Ramarcha Kumar,

3Bernard Mnzava

4Sadananda Prusty

Abstract This paper examines the impact of capital structure on financial performance for Savings and

Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS). The study uses panel data of 484 observations of

SACCOS whose information was gathered by the Bank of Tanzania from 2008 to 2012. Using

fixed effects approach, the findings indicate that increased use of members’ savings and using larger proportion of resources for lending purposes lead to a better financial performance. Firm

size is found to have a negative impact while debt usage does not guarantee good performance.

The results are robust to alternative regression estimates. To the best of our knowledge, this is

the first time a study is conducted on the impact of capital structure on financial performance of

SACCOS. Previous studies concentrated on banking industry and other types of MFIs apart from

SACCOS. This fact makes the findings of this research to be unique.

Keywords: Microfinance, Financial Sustainability, Capital Structure.

1. Introduction

Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOS) are financial vehicles that are perceived to

be more attractive to customers, hence deeply embedding themselves in the financial sectors of

many countries (Munyiri, 2006). This has been argued to be contributed by the fact that they

have solid bases of small saving accounts, which form a stable and relatively low-cost source of

funding and low administrative costs, thus making them capable of advancing loans at interest

rates lower than those charged by other financial providers. (Branch, 2005). Another important

fact is that SACCOS have the ability to reach clients in areas that are distasteful to banks such as

rural or poor areas, and they reach such areas with the core objective of ensuring members

empowerment through mobilization of savings and disbursement of credit (Ofei, 2001).

Despite the fact that SACCOS are seen to bring financial redemption to low-income people, it

has been argued that, for them to operate sustainably, savings mobilization should be backed by

adequate institutional capital that ensures permanency, provide cushion to absorb losses and

impairment of members’ savings. This is important in ensuring the permanence and growth of

the SACCOS (economic and financial viability) even in turbulent economic times (Evans, 2001;

1 PhD Student Financial Analyst, Bank of Tanzania

2 Associate Professor, Galgotias University, Greater Noida – India

3 Senior Lecturer, Institute of Finance Management, Dar es salaam

, Tanzania

4 Professor, Galgotias University, Greater Noida – India

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Gijselinckx and Devetere, 2007). The above argument suggests that SACCOS should look for

other financing means rather than focusing on members’ savings only. On this ground, this paper

analyzes the financing alternatives and their impact on financial performance of SACCOS in

Tanzania.

2. Brief Background of SACCOS in Tanzania

SACCOS are the most widespread form of financial intermediaries at the grass root in Tanzania,

especially in rural areas, which make them the most predominant rural based MFIs. They are

registered under the Cooperative Societies Act 2013, which requires a minimum of 20 members

(URT, 2014), and are currently under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and

Cooperatives. Generally, there has been a progress in the development of SACCOS in the

country although there have been some challenges as well. As we can see in Table 1 below,

there was an abrupt and continuous growth of SACCOS in terms of number of SACCOS,

members, shares and savings, and loans disbursed from 2006 to 2009. This was mainly caused

by deliberate efforts of the 4th phase Government to promote the formation of SACCOS –

through providing them with funds – so as to ensure inclusion of the poor and low income strata

of the population in the formal financial system.

As at the end of 2009, among the existing SACCOS, 44% were located in urban areas while 56%

were located in rural areas. Of the total members, 56% were male, 41% were female and 3%

were groups. Although this was seen as a good progress, after 2009 there was a stagnation in the

SACCOS growth, which was thereafter followed by decrease in the number of SACCOS as a

result of deregistration and amalgamation in order to have sustainable SACCOS. A good

example is the trend seen from year 2009 to 2010 (Mgoba, 2011). This happened because some

of the SACCOS were formed in rush and without having proper roots, especially after the

government announced to provide them with grant funds; therefore they collapsed just a short

period of time after they were established.

Table 1: SACCOS’ Performance in Tanzania

Item 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

No. of SACCOS 1,875 2,028 4,445 4,780 5,332 5,168 5,314

No. of members 255,938 291,344 765,931 713,699 820,670 917,889 970,665

Shares and savings

(Billion TZS) 44.56 52.65 113.33 134.00 181.60 236.80 399.00

Disbursed Loans

(Billion TZS) 54.14 66.99 186.58 228.50 383.50 539.2 627.2

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (Annual Reports)

Note: These statistics might include some dormant SACCOS that were not yet

deregistered during data collection and/or publication of the reports.

3. Literature Review

The following is a review of some empirical evidence on the impact of capital structure (funding

options and mix) on financial performance for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs).

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The research by Coleman (2007) came out with the findings that the highly leveraged MFIs in

Ghana perform better by reaching out to more clients, enjoy economies of scale, and therefore

are better able to deal with moral hazard and adverse selection, thus improving their ability to

deal with risk. Similarly, the findings of the research conducted by Silva (2008), Kar (2012) and

Lislevand (2012) are consistent with the findings of the study by Coleman (2007). Kar (2012)

suggests that the increase in leverage raises profit-efficiency in MFIs while Lislevand (2012)

suggests that the use of debt is beneficial to the MFIs as far as cost of funds is concerned.

Contrary to the above authors; Hoque, Chishty and Halloway (2011) found that leverage

decreases the relative level of outreach to the very poor, suggesting that MFIs can adopt a non-

commercial approach to financing as an alternative to commercialization. In addition to that, the

study by Tehulu (2013) revealed that leverage (measured by debt to equity ratio) has a negative

and statistically significant impact on MFIs’ financial performance.

Regarding MFIs’ dependency on donors, Peter (2007) found a negative relationship between the

financial performance of a MFI and the level of subsidies it receives each quarter i.e. the more

the level of subsidy income rises, the more the respective MFI’s financial performance falls.

Similarly, Kereta (2007) found a negative relationship between dependency ratio (the ratio of

donated equity to total capital) and financial performance. Furthermore, Sekabira (2013)

suggests that grants and debt have a substantial damaging consequence on MFI performance, and

capital structure is an essential aspect on MFIs’ sustainability.

On the other hand, for the MFIs that collect savings, Iezza (2010) found that the collection of

deposits from clients has positive influence on MFI’s financial performance. In more or less the

same manner, Kioko (2012) revealed that deposit to asset ratio is a statically significant

determinant of MFI sustainability in Kenya; while for the non-deposit taking MFIs debt to equity

ratio is a significant determinant of MFI sustainability. Another research from Kenya by Kiiru

(2008), this time focusing on Deposit Taking Micro Finance institutions (DTMFIs) revealed that

the increase in customer deposits and assets in DTMFIs would significantly improve financial

performance of DTMFI while borrowing significantly decreases DTMFIs financial performance.

Focusing on share capital, Bogan (2012) revealed that share capital as a percent of assets is

significant and negatively related to MFI’s financial performance. Complementary to this, Kinde

(2012) found that debt to equity ratio has a negative but statistically insignificant impact on

financial sustainability, and there is a negative and statistically significant relationship between

dependency ratio and financial sustainability at 1% level of significance. On the other hand, Ngo

(2013) suggested that profitable and regulated MFIs that utilize considerably more commercial

funds have higher level of sustainability, efficiency and outreach. Lastly, Mwizarubi, Singh and

Mnzava (2015) revealed that deposit mobilization is the most crucial determinant of financial

sustainability amongst other MFI capital structure variables, followed by shareholders equity,

debt (commercial borrowing) and lastly going public.

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Apart from the researches conducted in microfinance industry, there are findings from banking

industry as well. For instance, Goyal (2013) revealed a positive relationship of short-term debt

with banks’ profitability in India while Taani (2013) found that bank performance, which is

measured by net profit, return on capital employed and net interest margin has a significant and

positive association with total debt; while total debt is found to be insignificant in determining

return on equity in the banking industry of Jordan. Moreover, Mujahid et al (2014) found a

positive relationship between leverage and performance of banking industry.

The research by Anarfo (2015) in Sub-Sahara Africa revealed a negative relationship between

leverage and bank performance, and indicated that capital structure does not determine bank

performance but rather it is performance that determines banks capital structure. In this study the

performance variables used were return on asset (ROA), Return on equity (ROE) and net interest

margin (NIM). Nikoo (2015), conducting the same study in Tehran Stock Exchange, found that

debt-to-equity ratio has positive impact on bank performance.

The critical analysis of the above-discussed literatures show that there are mixed results on the

impact of capital structure on financial performance. In addition to that, to the best knowledge of

the researchers, the studies are concentrated on banking industry and other types of MFIs apart

from SACCOS. These facts raise a need for further research on the subject matter.

4. Methodology

This paper employs quantitative research techniques and uses secondary data only. It utilizes

secondary data of over 200 SACCOS that was collected by the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) from

2008 to 2012. However among the assessed SACCOS, 105 were sampled because they reported

consistently for at least two years, and the rest were left because of not meeting that requirement.

In total there are 484 observations, with SACCOS reported from 2 to 5 times, but most SACCOS

reported 5 times, making the average number of observation per SACCOS to be 4.6 times.

Financial performance is measured by two factors: Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on

Equity (ROE), which are the dependent variables. The capital structure variables (independent

variables) include Debt to Equity Ratio (DTEQ) and Savings to Assets Ratio (SAVAST). The

control variables included in this study are the effectiveness in loans disbursement – measured by

Loans to Total Assets Ratio (LOANAST), firm size – measured by Logarithm of Assets

(LOGAST), and time effects – measured by years dummies. We employed panel data analysis

methods as explained in many econometrics books such as Gujarat (2003). The following

regression equations summarize the study:

ROA = α + β1DTEQ + β2SAVAST + β3LOANAST + β4LOGAST………… (1) ROE = α + β1DTEQ + β2SAVAST + β3LOANAST + β4LOGAST………… (2)

5. Data Set and Analysis

As pointed out in Section 4 above, the variables included in this study are ROA, ROE, DTEQ,

SAVAST, LOANAST and LOGAST. All the variables, except LOGAST, are financial ratios.

ROA is a profitability measure and is calculated as a ratio of net income to total assets. In the

same manner, ROE is a profitability measure, calculated as the ratio of net income to total

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equity. DTEQ is the measure of firm’s financial leverage and is calculated as the ratio of total

liabilities to total equity. SAVAST is the measure of the extent to which the financial institution

is capable of mobilizing savings and is calculated as the ratio of total savings to total assets.

LOANAST is the measure of the extent to which SACCOS use their resources for lending

purposes and is calculated as the ratio of gross loan portfolio to total assets. On the other hand

LOGAST is a proxy for firms size and is calculated by taking the natural logarithm of total

assets. Table 2 below gives a summary of descriptive statistics of the variables put in place.

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics of the Variables

Variable

Number of

observations Mean

Standard

Deviation

Minimum

Figure

Maximum

Figure

ROA 484 0.036216 0.045123 -0.1642 0.2081

ROE 484 0.049224 0.071454 -0.3103 0.2885

DTEQ 484 0.644898 1.414538 0 12.6877

SAVAST 484 0.517169 0.211066 0 0.9742

LOANAST 484 0.741672 0.153599 0.1667 0.9925

LOGAST 484 8.5576 0.70793 6.8791 10.1921

All the variables are defined in Section 4 of this paper.

A rough prediction on the relationship among the variables was generated through correlation as

shown in Table 3 below. This gives a highlight of the possible impact of independent variables

(DTEQ, SAVAST, LOANAST and LOGAST) on the dependent variables (ROA and ROE). As

we can see, SAVAST and LOANAST seem to have a positive effect on ROA, while DTEQ and

LOGAST seems to affect ROA in a negative manner. On the other hand, all the explanatory

variables, except LOGAST, seem to have a positive effect on ROE.

Table 3: Correlation Matrix of the Variables

ROA ROE DTEQ SAVAST LOANAST LOGAST

ROA 1.00

ROE 0.90*** 1.00

(0.00)

DTEQ -0.17*** 0.05 1.00

(0.00) (0.28)

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SAVAST 0.23*** 0.04 -0.51*** 1.00

(0.00) (0.39) (0.00)

LOANAST 0.18*** 0.15*** 0.11** 0.11*** 1.00

(0.00) (0.00) (0.02) (0.01)

LOGAST -0.19*** -0.12*** 0.19*** -0.14*** -0.06 1.00

(0.00) (0.01) (0.00) (0.00) (0.18)

Notes: p-values in parentheses. *, ** and *** indicate significant correlations at 10, 5 and

1 percent respectively (correlation coefficients are the ones that are not in parentheses).

All the variables are defined in Section 4 of this paper.

After conducting the above preliminary tests, data analysis was conducted using fixed effects

regression analysis, which is a primary test for panel data. Thereafter random effects and pooled

regression analysis methods were employed. Hausman test was also conducted to check the

suitability of either fixed effects or random effects regression methods on different equations.

The research findings are discussed in Section 6 below.

6. Discussion of the Findings

6.1 Main Results – Based on Fixed Effects Regression

These results are summarized in Table 4 below whereby Model (1) and (3) summarize the results

of the independent variables on Return on Assets (ROA), and the impact of the same variables

on Return on Equity (ROE) in Model (2) and (4). Model (1) and (2) are based on main

independent variables only while Model (3) and (4) include all variables i.e. independent

variables and control variables. Both ROA and ROE (dependent variables) are the measures of

SACCOS’ performance in terms of profitability. The statistical significance of the results is

indicated at three levels: 1%, 5% and 10% levels of significance. The Hausman Test results are

also included in these findings so as to determine whether one should rely on the results basing

on fixed effects or random effects approach. The basis of making a decision is to look at the p-

value of Chi-square; when the value is statistically significant one has to rely on fixed effects

approach, otherwise random effects approach is applicable.

The Hausman Test reveals that Model (1) and (3) fit for fixed effects analysis. From Model (1),

it is revealed that savings mobilization has a positive and statistically significant impact on

SACCOS’ performance at 1% level while using debt has a negative but statistically insignificant impact. The results from Model (3) reveal a positive but statistically insignificant relationship

between debt usage and performance of the SACCOS. It also shows that the ratio of savings to

assets (SAVAST) and the ratio of outstanding loans to assets (LOANAST) have a positive

impact on ROA, while firm size (LOGAST) has a negative impact. The impact of SAVAST is

statistically significant at 1%; that of LOANAST is statistically significant at 5%, while that of

LOGAST is not statistically significant at all three levels of significance. This suggests that

borrowing does not guarantee better performance for SACCOS; the more the SACCOS mobilize

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savings, the more profitable they become; the more the use the available resources for lending

purposes, the more profitable they become; and the more they grow, the more the chance of

becoming less profitable. This is when the results are based on ROA.

On the other hand, Model (2) and (4), though not supported by the Hausman Test for fixed

effects approach, give more or less similar results. In Model (2) both DTEQ and SAVAST have

a positive impact on ROE, but the impact of SAVAST is stronger than that of DTEQ. In Model

(4), the findings indicate that DTEQ, SAVAST and LOANAST have a positive impact on ROE,

while LOGAST has a negative effect on ROE. As shown in Table 4 above, the impact of

SAVAST is statistically significant at 1% level, DTEQ at 5% level, LOANAST at 10% level,

and LOGAST is not statistically significant at all three levels of significance. The most important

aspect drawn from these results is the power of savings mobilization over other variables in

determining SACCOS’ performance, this time measure by ROE.

Table 4: Effects of Independent Variables on ROA and ROE – Fixed Effects Regression

Main Variables All Variables

(1) (2) (3) (4)

VARIABLES ROA ROE ROA ROE

CONSTANT -0.017* -0.018 0.010 0.124

(-1.701) (-0.926) (0.085) (0.579)

DTEQ -0.001 0.018** 0.001 0.019**

(-0.252) (2.284) (0.193) (2.376)

SAVAST 0.104*** 0.107*** 0.105*** 0.098***

(6.510) (3.532) (6.267) (3.081)

LOANAST 0.036** 0.058*

(2.178) (1.867)

LOGAST -0.006 -0.020

(-0.448) (-0.827)

Time effects Included Included

Observations 484 484 484 484

Number of SACCOS 105 105 105 105

Hausman Test: Random Vs. Fixed Effects

Chi-square 9.22*** 4.57 11.65** 4.67

P-values 0.010 0.102 0.020 0.323

Notes: t-statistics are in parentheses. The definition of all the variables is in

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Section 4 of this paper. Time dummies are included in Model (3) and (4).

*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.10

Hence, from fixed effects analysis based on both ROA and ROE, members’ savings mobilization by SACCOS is seen to be the most efficient way (among the variables taken into consideration)

of ensuring good performance of SACCOS in terms of profitability. This is because it both cases

its impact is positive and statistically significant at 1% level. The second factors in term of

importance is amount of funds lent (LOANAST), whose impact is positive in both cases but with

statistical significance at 5% and 10% levels in Model (1) and Model (2) respectively. Debt

usage (DTEQ) and size of the SACCOS (LOGAST) are the last ones in this case because they

impact have different signs and they are less statistical significant. The consolidation of the

findings, which also states which approach between fixed effects and random effects regression

is better in each case, will come later in the “Hausman Test” discussion.

6.2 Robustness Checks

To ensure that our results are robust we conducted two alternative tests: (1) Random effects

regression, and (2) Pooled regression. The results of these robustness tests are discussed in Sub-

Sections 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 below.

6.2.1 Results Based on Random Effects Regression

As it was in Section 6.1, there are four models, whereby Model (1) and (3) summarize the results

of the independent variables on Return on Assets (ROA), and Model (2) and (4) the impact of

these variables on Return on Equity (ROE). Model (1) and (2) are based on main independent

variables only while Model (3) and (4) include all variables i.e. independent variables and

control variables. The statistical significance of the results is indicated at 1%, 5% and 10% levels

of significance. The Hausman Test reveals that Model (2) and (4) fit for random effects analysis,

hence we start discussing the findings of these models in this Sub-Section.

As shown in Table 5 below, in Model (2), the results show that both SAVAST and DTEQ have a

positive relationship with ROE, but the impact of SAVAST is stronger than that of DTEQ. This

once again insists that SAVAST is the key driver of SACCOS’ performance. In Model (4), the

results reveal that only LOGAST has a negative relationship with ROE while the rest of the

variables have a positive relationship with ROE. The effect of SAVAST and LOANAST is

statistically significant at 5% level; DTEQ at 10% and LOGAST is not statistically significant at

all three levels. This is in line with the main findings that SAVAST and LOANAST are the key

drivers of SACCOS’ performance.

Table 5: Effects of Independent Variables on ROA and ROE – Random Effects Regression

(1) (2) (3) (4)


CONSTANT -0.005 0.011 0.052 0.087

(-0.626) (0.770) (1.187) (1.240)

DTEQ -0.001 0.008** -0.000 0.008*

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(-0.381) (2.020) (-0.142) (1.958)

SAVAST 0.081*** 0.063*** 0.077*** 0.054**

(6.300) (2.853) (5.906) (2.396)

LOANAST 0.038*** 0.054**

(2.709) (2.153)

LOGAST -0.009* -0.012

(-1.905) (-1.603)



Number of SACCOS 105 105 105 105

Hausman Test: Random Vs. Fixed Effects

Chi-square 9.22*** 4.57 11.65** 4.67

P-values 0.010 0.102 0.020 0.323



*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.10

On the other hand, in Model (1) and (3), though not supported by the Hausman Test for random

effects approach, give more or less similar results. Model (1) shows that SAVAST has a positive

and significant impact on ROA at 1% level while DTEQ has a negative and statistically

insignificant impact. This puts more emphasis that SAVAST is a key driver of SACCOS’ performance while DTEQ is not a guaranteed option. In Model (3) we see that SAVAST and

LOANAST have a positive and significant impact on ROA at 1% while DTEQ and LOGAST

have a negative impact. The impact of LOGAST is statistically significant at 10% level while

that of DTEQ is not significant at all three levels. This is supplementary evidence that SAVAST

and LOGAST are the key drivers of SACCOS’ financial performance.

Hence, from random effects analysis based on both ROA and ROE, members’ savings mobilization by SACCOS is seen to be the most efficient way of ensuring good performance of

SACCOS, followed by efficient utilization of funds for lending purposes (LOANAST). Debt

usage (DTEQ) is the third factor in the rank (having negative impact in one case and positive

impact in another case), which again suggests that it is not a guaranteed approach of enhancing

performance. The size of SACCOS has a negative insignificant effect on the performance.

6.2.2 Results Based on Pooled Regression Method

This is a second robustness check that was conducted and it came out with more or less similar

results as compared with the main findings. The results of pooled regression test are summarized

in Table 6 below. As in the previous sections, Model (1) and (2) are based on main independent

variables only while Model (3) and (4) include all variables i.e. independent variables and

control variables. In Model (1) and (3) – which are ROA based – we see that savings

mobilization and efficient utilization of resources for lending purposes have positive effect on

financial performance of SACCOS at 1% level of significance. From the sane models we see that

debt usage and firm size have negative on financial performance. The results of Model (2) and

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(4) – which are ROE based – show that all the variables, except LOGAST, have a positive

impact on financial performance. In summary, the results of pooled regression test show that

SAVAST and LOANAST have positive impact in all cases; DTEQ has positive impact in two

cases and negative impact in two cases, while LOGAST has negative impact in both cases. Thus,

we can draw similar conclusion as in the previous cases.

Table 6: Effects of Independent Variables on ROA and ROE – Pooled Regression

(1) (2) (3) (4)


CONSTANT 0.016** 0.031*** 0.074*** 0.102**

(2.364) (2.881) (2.654) (2.209)

DTEQ -0.002 0.005* -0.002 0.004

(-1.302) (1.770) (-1.438) (1.565)

SAVAST 0.042*** 0.029 0.033*** 0.017

(3.854) (1.644) (3.026) (0.959)

LOANAST 0.046*** 0.058***

(3.527) (2.676)

LOGAST -0.010*** -0.012**

(-3.404) (-2.511)



R-squared 0.058 0.008 0.108 0.043

Adj. R-squared 0.054 0.004 0.093 0.027



*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.10

7. Implication of the Findings and Conclusion

This research used SACCOS’ panel data to determine the effect of capital structure on financial performance. Primary findings were obtained by using fixed effects approach and robustness

checks were done by using random effects approach and pooled regression method. Due to the

results of the Hausman Test, the findings of Model (1) and (3) – which are ROA based – were

mainly drawn basing on fixed effects approach, and those of Model (2) and (4) mainly basing on

random effects approach. Basing on ROA, savings mobilization is the most important aspect in

bringing about good SACCOS performance, followed by efficient utilization of resources for

lending purposes (refer to Table 4 above). In more or less the same manner, basing on ROE, we

see the same factors to be the leading ones (refer to Table 5 above). Utilization of credits

(especially commercial borrowing) by SACCOS seems not to guarantee good performance,

probably due to the fact that the cost of capital (interest charges) is higher in this option as

compared to members’ savings mobilization. Likewise, the size of SACCOS does not guarantee

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good performance; and in some cases the more the SACCOS grow, the less efficient they

become. The possible reasons for this might be management incompetence and misuse of

resources as the SACCOS grow, which can be attributed by the fact that most of them do not

adhere to corporate governance principles and mechanisms.

The findings of this research imply that mobilization of members’ savings and effective

utilization of funds for lending purposes are important aspects for good SACCOS’ performance.

Further, they bring the implication that usage of commercial borrowings is not a guaranteed

approach of bringing financial sustainability; and SACCOS growth (in terms of total assets) need

to well managed, otherwise it might lead to adverse effects on financial sustainability. It is

therefore recommended that SACCOS should capitalize on efficient mobilization of members’ savings and borrow less, unless they get cheap sources of external funds such as soft loans.

These institutions are encouraged to use a greater portion of their funds for lending purposes

instead of engaging themselves in other types of business. In addition to that, they should focus

on best corporate governance practices so that they will not experience poor performance as they

grow. This will make them sustainable operationally and financially.

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2. Bogan, V.L. (2012), Capital Structure and Sustainability: An Empirical Study of

Microfinance Institutions, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 94, No. 4, pp.1045-1058.

3. Branch, B. (2005), Kenyan Government Develops First CU Regulation with WOCCU

Support, Madison:WI, USA, World Council Of Credit Unions.

4. Coleman, A.K. (2007), The impact of capital structure on the performance of microfinance

institutions, The Journal of Risk Finance, Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp.56 – 71.

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5. Evans A. C. (2001), Strengthening Credit Unions in Sri Lanka: Research Monograph, World

Council Of Credit Unions, Madison:WI, USA.

6. Gijselinckx, C. and Develtere, P. (2007), The co-operative trilemma: Cooperatives between

market, state and the civil society, Research Paper, Catholis Univeristy, Leuven, Belgium.

7. Goyal, A.M. (2013), Impact of Capital Structure on Performance of Listed Public Sector

Banks in India, International Journal of Business and Management Invention, Volume 2,

Issue 10, pp.35-43

8. Gujarati, D.N. (2003), Basic Econometrics, New York: McGraw Hill Book Co.

9. Hoque, M., Chishty, M. and Halloway, R. (2011), Commercialization and Changes in Capital

Structure in Microfinance Institutions: An Innovation or Wrong Turn? Emerald - Managerial

Finance, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp.414 – 425.

10. Iezza, P. (2010), Financial Sustainability of Microfinance Institutions: An Empirical

Analysis, Master’s Thesis (MSc. in Economics and Business Administration), Department of

Economics, Copenhagen Business School.

11. Ismail, A.G. and Possumah, B.T. (2012), Does the Capital Structure Matter for Islamic

Microfinance Institutions? IRTI Working Paper 1435-12, Islamic Research and Training

Institute.

12. Kar, A.K. (2012), Does capital and financing structure have any relevance to the

performance of microfinance institutions? International Review of Applied Economics, Vol.

26, Issue 3, pp. 329-348.

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Institutions in Ethiopia, African Economic Conference, Addis Ababa.

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Microfinance Institutions in Kenya, Student Research Project Output, Moi University.

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performance, Master’s thesis, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand.

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Tanzanian Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and their Impact on Financial Sustainability –

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Part I, 11th

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A STUDY ON APPLICATION OF NEW MEDIA FOR YOGA LEARNING AMONG WOMEN


A Study on Application of New Media for Yoga Learning among

Women

(With Reference to Young Women of Raipur City)

1Sumedha Chaudhury Raj Kumar Das

2

Abstract

In the present scenario women are often seen becoming figure conscious particularly the

young ones aged between 18 to 30 years adapting various physical exercises. Yoga is one

such natural exercise. A research regarding this phenomenon was conducted among the

residents of Raipur, the state capital of Chhattisgarh. A sample size of 20 respondents was

taken on the basis of the area they visit for performing the yoga asanas in early morning

hours.

The research problem included what type of New Media is preferred by the young women,

Are there any particular asanas they often practice, Do they encourage others for performing

yoga and has Indian government’s call for yoga promotion influenced them. The hypothesis

for the first research problem was it might be Google, Youtube or Facebook. The second

hypothesis was most of them are career focused so it is difficult to presume the asana

preferred by them while the third hypothesis was they must be encouraging others and the

fourth presumption was the government’s call has influenced them.

Interestingly, the four hypotheses turned true after conducting the research.

Keywords: Yoga, Women, New Media

1. Introduction

Keeping in mind about the recent initiatives taken by the union as well as state governments

to promote Yoga, the traditional exercise form of India, the topic ‘A Study on Application of

New Media for Yoga Learning among Women’ has been chosen. Moreover, it relates with

the sub-theme ‘Yoga for mental and physical fitness’ of this scheduled National Seminar on ‘Women Empowerment and Sports’.

According to the art of living website, a daily yoga routine can be modified and adapted to

suit a woman’s changing needs in each phase of life, helping her to achieve peace of mind and bodily poise.

The ‘Illustrated Light on Yoga’ book written by BKS Iyengar, states that the word Yoga is

derived from the Sanskrit root yug meaning to bind join, attach and attention on, to use and

apply.

1 Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur 2 Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur

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Since the area of the state capital Raipur is large, we divided it in four parts namely Gandhi

Park, Marine Drive, Anupam Garden and Bhatagaon.

The respondents were approached through schedule including around 10 close ended

questions for their convenience. It took the researchers around one day to collect the data and

three days to complete this research paper in the month of December, 2015.

2. Research Problem:

1) Which type of New Media is preferred by the young women for yoga asanas?

2) Are there any particular asanas they often practise?

3) Do they encourage others for performing yoga?

4) Has Indian government’s call for yoga promotion influenced them?

3.Hypothesis:

H1) It depends on their mood. It might be Google, Youtube or Facebook.

H2) Most of them are career focused so it is difficult to presume the asana preferred by them.

H3) Today’s youth claims self an idol so it is obvious they must be encouraging others even

for those healthy activities they do or even don’t do. H4) Yes government’s call must have influenced them. Many must not be following it physically but must be checking about yoga on New Media.

4.Data Analysis and Interpretation

We set four areas namely Gandhi Park, Marine Drive, Anupam Garden and Bhatagaon in the

state capital to conduct our study by preparing a schedule of 10 objective questions. The

findings are as follows:

Firstly, we asked the women respondentswhether they practice yoga or not wherein40% of

them said that they do not practice yoga but 60% of them agreed with it. This helped us in

proceeding with other questions concerned to our research topic.

In the second question, we asked them whether they use New Media or not for learning Yoga

asanas. 95 % replied they do use New Media while 5% accepted they do not use New Media

for the same purpose.Following our second question, the third question was if they use New

Media, which form is preferred of which 40 % said Facebook, 35% said Youtube, 15%

replied simply Internet and 5% pointed Whatsapp. Remaining 5% do not use the New Media. In fourth question, when asked about their yoga asana preference, majority i.e 55 % replied

NO while 30% highlighted Surya Namaskar because it covers the participation of many body

parts. 10% said Cardio and 5% focused on Shilpa Shetty special unable to say the exact yoga

performed by them.

Interestingly, in case of Yoga Guru which was mentioned in my fifth question, the fact

finding was quite new for us. Most among the 20 women said they watch and read Shilpa

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Shetty related special yoga asanas. It was around 50%. Consecutively, 20% do not believe in

following a Yoga Guru. 15% however have a Yoga Guru that too a registered Doctor i.e Dr

Vivek Bharti. The yoga asanas of Sri Sri Ravishankar are liked by 5%. Similar percent

respondents like the asanas of Baba Ramdev.

Girls are figure conscious was proved by our sixth question wherein the respondents were

asked do they search yoga related asanas for physical problem on New Media. 90 percent

agreed that they do it for physical problems while 10 percent said they do not. Yet again in the seventh question we found the answer that girls are very much conscious for

their figure as well as health. When asked why they practice yoga, 95% said it is for physical

fitness. 5% said for other reasons but none said it is to get rid of diseases. When the respondents were asked whether they share the New Media contents with friends

and family members in the eighth question, 75% replied yes they do. While, 25% said they

do not asked about the effects in the ninth question, 45% said the effect is moderate. 30%

said it is very effective and 25% said it is less effective.

Most respondents seem encouraging others for checking yoga asanas on New Media in our

tenth cum last question. Interestingly, 75% women encourage others for such activities.

Merely, 25% do not encourage.

5.Conclusion

After this study the conclusion was drawn that most of the women practice Yoga and use

New Media Tools like Google, Facebook and Youtube to learn this. An interesting fact was

revealed that there is no particular asana in their preference but some of them are aware about

Surya Namaskar and Cardio.

Interestingly Shilpa Shetty is the most famous yoga guru among women of Raipur and some

of them follow Dr.Vivek Bharti.

Most of the women of the Raipur city are figure conscious and utilize the new media tools to

search yogasana for their physical fitness and most of them even share the contents over New

Media with their friends and family members.

On the point of effectiveness most of the women believe that using New Media tools for yoga

learning has Moderate effect and few of them consider this as a highly effective tool.

Lastly, we found that the Indian Government's call to practice and promote yoga over various

media platforms is effective upon the women of Raipur city, Most of them are not only

practising yoga on daily basis but also encouraging others to get physical and mental fitness.

Reference

1. http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/1st-global-yoga-day-to-showcase-indias-

cultural-diversity-to-world.html

2. www.facebook.com

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http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/1st-global-yoga-day-to-showcase-indias-cultural-diversity-to-world.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/1st-global-yoga-day-to-showcase-indias-cultural-diversity-to-world.html

http://www.facebook.com/



3. www.google.com

4. www.mindfulyogahealth.com

5. time.com/3929265/international-yoga-day

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geeta_Iyengar

7. https://www.youtube.com/user/shilpayoga

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http://www.google.com/

http://www.mindfulyogahealth.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/shilpayoga

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