Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting the Market Behavior of Coconut Farmers in Central Philippines

Author(s):  
ERNESTO GO YAP

In a competitive market, both suppliers and buyers behave with the aim of obtaining the most concession from the other. There are situations wherein one party benefits more than the other, resulting in unfavorable outcomes for the latter. The study explored the socio-cultural factors that affect the market behavior of coconut farmers, in an attempt to rationalize why coconut farmers are poor. This study is conducted in the Municipality of Bacong, Negros Oriental in the central part of the Philippines. Themes in the study included decision-making, division of labor, urban migration, and relations with other stakeholders as well as the impact to the local ecology. This study was conducted using qualitative research techniques that included key informant interview, participant observation, and focus group discussion. The findings show that the productive capacity of coconut farmers are limited, if not decreasing and are more influenced by the socio-cultural factors that govern the farmers’ life situations, than by the market prices of coconut meat. The farmers are price takers of the coconut meat they produce and sold. Productivity and income of small coconut farmers are expected to deteriorate together with vast agricultural lands becoming idle and barren, unless government interventions are enhanced, and young professionals are encouraged to return to the farms.Keywords: Socio-cultural factors, market behavior, decision-making, coconut farmers,descriptive design, Philippines

1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 16-22
Author(s):  
Timothy E. Cook

Participant observation has provided some of our most impressive insights into the contemporary Congress. In particular, two scholars relied upon this method for results that must be regarded as shaping our current paradigm on Congress and its members: David Mayhew, who, six years after serving as an APSA Congressional Fellow, published his essay,Congress: The Electoral Connection(1974), and Richard Fenno, who traveled with representatives and senators in order to assess how members of Congress interact with their constituents and the impact of those interactions upon their performances in Washington inHome Style(1978) and its companion volume on the Senate (1982).Despite the influence of these works, some ambiguities remained when I began my stint as a Congressional Fellow in the fall of 1984. For one thing, Mayhew and Fenno had reached different conclusions regarding the impact of the need to run for reelection. Mayhew asserted that congressional behavior and congressional outcomes could be explained solely by the goal of getting reelected; on the other hand, Fenno contended that members could establish separate “home styles” and “Washington styles,” as leeway in the latter increased with more successful presentations of self back home. Likewise, whereas Mayhew made no distinction between the strength of the electoral incentive for representatives and senators, Fenno argued that having longer terms than representatives provided much more temptation for senators to do something besides merely run for reelection. A second ambiguity was that most of Mayhew's and Fenno's fieldwork was accomplished in the early to mid 1970s, before the sea-change in American politics best symbolized by Ronald Reagan's election and the dramatic shifts in policy and in political style that ensued (see especially Edsall, 1984; Chubb and Peterson, 1985). While studies suggest that congressional decision-making has changed only slightly in the Reagan years (e.g., Smith, 1985), the altered electoral environment may have produced far-reaching changes in how the electoral connection shapes Congress.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madara Apsalone ◽  
Ērika Šumilo

Socio-cultural factors – shared values, norms and attitudes are significant, but less acknowledged sources of international competitiveness. Previous studies have found socio-cultural factors positively affecting various aspects of international competitiveness – entrepreneurship, innovation, productivity and international cooperation. These factors are more sustainable and less affected by external environment changes in comparison with the traditional factors. Socio-cultural factors provide an opportunity to develop competitiveness strategies based on unique advantages. This research aims to explore the impact of socio-cultural factors on international competiveness in small, open economies. Analysing relationship between 400 socio-cultural indicators and competitiveness indicators such as productivity, economic development, business and government efficiency, innovation capacity and infrastructure in 37 countries, six socio-cultural factors have emerged: Collectivism and Hierarchy; Future, Cooperation and Performance Orientation, Self-expression, Monochronism and Rationality, Economic Orientation and Social structure. The first factor – Collectivism and Hierarchy – tends to reduce the international competitiveness; the other five affect it positively.


Author(s):  
Marcel Ioan Bolos ◽  
Victoria Bogdan ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Bradea ◽  
Claudia Diana Sabau Popa ◽  
Dorina Nicoleta Popa

The present paper aims to analyze the impairment of tangible assets with the help of artificial intelligence. Stochastic fuzzy numbers have been introduced with a dual purpose: on one hand to estimate the cash flows generated by tangible assets exploitation and, on the other hand, to ensure the value ranges stratifications that define these cash flows. Estimation of cash flows using stochastic fuzzy numbers was based on cash flows generated by tangible assets in previous periods of operation. Also, based on the Lagrange multipliers, were introduced: the objective function of minimizing the standard deviations from the recorded value of the cash flows generated by the tangible assets, as well as the constraints caused by the impairment of tangible assets identification according to which the cash flows values must be equal to the annual value of the invested capital. Within the determination of the impairment value and stratification of the value ranges determined by the cash flows using stochastic fuzzy numbers, the impairment of assets risk was identified. Information provided by impairment of assets but also the impairment risks, is the basis of the decision-making measures taken to mitigate the impact of accumulated impairment losses on company’s financial performance.


2022 ◽  
pp. 275275302110687
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Pyke-Grimm ◽  
Linda S. Franck ◽  
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher ◽  
Robert E. Goldsby ◽  
Roberta S. Rehm

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer must negotiate the transition between childhood and adulthood while dealing with a life-threatening illness. AYA involvement in decision making varies depending on the type of decision and when decisions occur during treatment, and evidence suggests that AYAs want to be involved in decision making. Objective: To explore involvement of AYAs with cancer in day-to-day decisions affected by their cancer and treatment. Methods: This qualitative study used interpretive focused ethnography within the sociologic tradition, informed by symbolic interactionism. Semi-structured interviews and informal participant observation took place at two quaternary pediatric oncology programs. Results: Thirty-one interviews were conducted with 16 AYAs ages 15 to 20 years. Major day to day decision-making categories identified included: (1) mental mindset, (2) self-care practices, (3) self-advocacy, and (4) negotiating relationships. Participants described how they came to grips with their illness early on and decided to fight their cancer. They described decisions they made to protect their health, how they advocated for themselves and decisions they made about relationships with family and friends. Conclusions: Through day-to-day decisions, participants managed the impact of cancer and its treatment on their daily lives. Research should focus on developing and implementing interventions to empower AYAs to participate in day-to-day decisions that will affect how they manage their cancer, its treatment and ultimately their outcomes. Implications for Practice: Healthcare providers can facilitate AYA's participation in day-to-day decision making through encouraging autonomy and self-efficacy by providing support and through effective communication.


Author(s):  
Kolawole Samuel Adeyemo ◽  
Chika Sehoole ◽  
Constancia G. Cueno

Orientation: This article provides an explorative analysis of the use of the job enrichment technique for decision-making in higher education in the Philippines.Research purpose: The profile of administrators in charge of decision-making was investigated in terms of their level of familiarity with, and use of, this technique in achieving the goals of enriching jobs, retaining staff and ensuring job-motivation in higher education.Motivation for the study: Given the increasingly competitive higher education environment in which higher education employees, including academics, work, the pressure on their performance, and their search for ideal working conditions, it is important to measure the impact of the job enrichment technique on employee and higher education organisations.Research design, approach and method: The study used a quantitative method. The respondents of this study consisted of 206 administrators. Spearman Rank, Correlation Coefficient, Point Bi serial and Chi-square were used to analyse the relationships between the demographic characteristics and job enrichment technique. Multiple Regression Coefficient was used to predict job enrichment.Main findings: The findings suggest that educational attainment and experience are the most important factors for predicting success as an administrator in higher education.Practical and managerial implications: Job enrichment should not only focus on the knowledge, experience and skills of administrators, but should be extended to encompass the context and working conditions of employees.Contribution: In the context of fiscal austerity measures that result in fewer resources becoming available for higher education, it is important to have competent decision-makers who are able to motivate staff.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50
Author(s):  
Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta ◽  
Tabi Chama James Tabenyang

Purpose This paper aims to examine the dark flip side of the heightened dreams and wild expectations of development as a bright picture that accompanied the discovery of petroleum in politically unstable and donor-dependent Chad. Design/methodology/approach Data were elicited through local-level ethnography–participant observation, individual surveys and focus group discussion sessions with stakeholders on the impact of the Chad–Cameroon pipeline and petroleum development project. Findings While the “discourse of development” is about a better and new future, this new future, however, has a dark side: un/under-development, “backwardness”, corruption and patronage, leading to deeply entrenched poverty. Petroleum has become a discursive site where the competing discourses about development personified as the provision of material resources are played out. Originality/value The failure of petro-dollar-inspired development in Chad speaks to the mutually reinforcing nature of development decisions. Although firms need workers with specialized skills, workers will not acquire those skills in anticipation of employment opportunities. This disjuncture highlights the need for strategic complementarity in investment decision and coordination among economic agents. More than a decade later, the utopic dream of petro-dollar-inspired development as an aspiration is now characterized by a disconnect–environmental degradation, food insecurity, gendered and deeply entrenched poverty. This disjuncture demonstrates the need for a holistic impact assessment that involves different adaptive approaches and focus on a wide range of livelihood issues. Holistic evaluation on all programmes, plans, projects, policies and interventions will lead to the achievement of sustainable people-centred development that conserves the stewardship of nature.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Chauvin ◽  
J. P. Clostermann ◽  
Jean-Michel Hoc

In this study, the authors aim to determine the impact of situation awareness (SA) in the decision-making process of “young” watch officers of a Merchant Marine training facility. The trainees were shown an ambiguous interaction situation in which they could choose among several actions. The results show that Level 1 SA (perception of the elements in the environment) tends to be of secondary importance in decision making. The major variables of the decision-making process are the interpretation of the rules and anticipation of the other vessel's intentions. Moreover, four different trainee “profiles” emerged. The main difference between them lies in the distance at which they decided to change course, the direction of this maneuver (port or starboard), the way in which they interpreted the other vessel's intentions (is it going to change course?), and whether the trainees referred to the rules. Of the trainees, 55% performed a maneuver that was against regulations, and 34% did so in an unsafe manner. This result provides an incentive to rethink the training course to put more stress on recognizing prototypical situations and choosing which actions to take in situations such as the one presented here.


Author(s):  
Mubasher Hassan ◽  
Mohammad Taieb

The purpose of this paper is to describe kinship system and its relationship with the emergence of political leaders in district Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This study elaborates the role of kinship in the emergence of leaders at micro levels i.e., Village Council, Union Council, Tehsil Council and District Council. The study analyses the impact of kinship in the electoral politics of Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F). The ANP leaders and followers are mostly the local inhabitants of Charsadda having large number of kin members. While on the other hand, the JUI-F leaders and followers are mostly immigrants of the other districts of KP having limited number of kin members in tehsil Charsadda. However, at micro level both the parties’ leaders and their family members attempt to make fusion against the distant relatives in order to win the election. This paper describes that how the number of kin members directly affects the victory and defeat of ANP and JUI-F? This study argues that kinship and neighbourhood have significant impact in the emergence of leaders at micro level. Qualitative research method was used and the tools for data collection were participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Perez-Escudero ◽  
Gonzalo G de Polavieja

In adverse conditions, individuals follow the majority more strongly. This phenomenon is very general across social species, but explanations have been particular to the species and context, including antipredatory responses, deflection of responsibility, or increase in uncertainty. Here we show that the impact of social information in realistic decision-making typically increases with adversity, giving more weight to the choices of the majority. The conditions for this social magnification are very natural, but were absent in previous decision-making models due to extra assumptionsthat simplified mathematical analysis, like very low levels of stochasticity or the assumption that when one option is good the other one must be bad. We show that decision-making in collectives can quantitatively explain the different impact of social influence with different levels of adversity for different species and contexts, including life-threatening situations in fish and simple experiments in humans.


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