Research Topics: Dissertation Thesis

Chinese Investment in Africa: an Empirical Analysis

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION   Introduction             Throughout the years, the rising financial, political, and financial portfolio of People’s Republic of China in the African region has been considered by many scholars and influential studies. Since China is in need of new energy and raw materials sources to fuel its fast developing economy (2006), they found African region to be an important place to find such needs. Accordingly, Chinese strategists and leaders perceived China’s historical experiences and growth model powerfully resonate with African counterparts, which enable them to establish comparative advantage from the Western region (2006). Furthermore, Chinese investors also believed that African region is on the verge of a developmental blast-off.             With the growing investments of China in African region, there are growing issues on the possible effect of China to the region or vice versa. In this regard, the main goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the impact of Chinese investments in Africa. In this paper, the researcher would also attempt to determine the policy changes made by Africa to adhere to the development brought by the Chinese investments.   Background of the Study             The fast economic development of People’s Republic of China in the past 20 years, averaging 8% annually, has major impact for the growth and development of the world economy. With this, the entrants of Chinese investments to Africa are also said to have an implications in African region. The Strategic interests China’s part also motivates and triggers foreign direct investment flows, with relative impact for African region. The Chinese authorities have clearly expressed their objective of safeguarding energy and raw material resources in African region high on their lists (2005;2005). To achieve their main goal, the government of China has been able to identify list o f nations and resources in which their investment is eligible for government subsidies. Previous studies have mentioned that Chinese government has been able to take advantage of gaps wherein target nations have been marginalised by developed and industrialised regions and major multinational corporations (2006). Since, China has found the value of African region to provide for their needs, the China-Africa Cooperation Forum was formulated in 2000 to endorse Chinese investments and trade in their chosen African nations (2006). In year 2003, Chinese Prime Minister Wen has visited some African nations, particularly oil produces. In the first quarter of 2006, the government issued a regulation on “China’s Africa Policy” that sets out wider principle of integration in the aspects of international for a, political, cultural and economic interests as well as social security and exchange (2006).  The Chinese interest in the energy and other raw materials in Africa have led authors to focus the significance of African nations’ negotiating arrangement (Alden, 2005).  With the growing literature of the benefits of China and its economy with investments in Africa, there are only few studies which really highlight the impact of Chinese investments to African region.  With the continuous entrants of Chinese investments in African nations, it is essential to discuss the impact of Chinese investment to Africa.   Objective of the Study This study will attempt to identify how Chinese Investments affects the political, economic and cultural aspects of Africa.  Basically, this paper aims to study the investments made by China in Africa by reviewing related articles and conducting survey to knowledgeable individuals such as economists, investors, businessmen and other business personalities. The primary objective of this study is to examine and determine the perception of economists, investors, businessmen and other business personalities regarding the impact of Chinese investment on Africa.  To address this objective, the researcher explores the nature of the implications of Chinese direct investment in Africa: its benefits and advantages to the country. The objectives of this study will be to: <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Conduct literature review regarding the impact of China’s direct investment in Africa.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">  Identify the factors in China’s investments that affect political, economic and cultural growth in Africa. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> determine if Chinese direct investment has significant relationship to the current economy of Africa; and</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Identify how the Africa progresses through Chinese investment.</li>   In this empirical study, , a survey is conducted to the economists, investors, businessmen and other business personalities to determine what attributes of Chinese investments affect the Africa. Finally, this research aims to come up with pertinent findings, and provides insightful recommendations for the progress of global economy.   Conceptual Framework               The conceptual model that will be used in the study is the Input-Process-Output Model. In the IPO model, a process is viewed as a series of boxes (processing elements) connected by inputs and outputs. Information or material objects flow through a series of tasks or activities based on a set of rules or decision points. Flow charts and process diagrams are often used to represent the process. In this model, what goes in is the input; what causes the change is the process; what comes out is the output. Figure 1.1 Input – Process – Output Model                        The IPO model will provide the general structure and guide for the direction of the study. Substituting the variables of this study on the IPO model, the researcher came up with the following: Figure 1.2 Conceptual Framework             INPUT                                   PROCESS                                   OUTPUT                     Research Questions The focus of this problem statement is to establish and determine the impact of Chinese investment to African region in accordance to the empirical evidence from the region. Currently, there are limited studies that provide a definitive answer regarding the negative and positive influence of Chinese investment to the performance of Africa in terms political, economic and cultural aspects. The researcher is hopeful that this research will yield a significant result in terms of both positive and negative impact of Chinese investment to the growth of an economy. This study will attempt to answer the following questions: 1.                          What are the related factors within Chinese investment affecting the political, economic and cultural growth of Africa? 2.                          What are the advantages of Chinese investment to Africa? 3.                          What are the consequences of Chinese investment in Africa? 4.                          Is there a significant relation between Chinese investment and economic growth of Africa?   Significance of the Study   Majority of the nations around the world has always perceived that attracting more investments will enable them to achieve their national goal of economic and nationwide improvement. This is the reason why many countries are trying their best to have many foreign direct investments.  The purpose of the research is to help students, economists, leaders and other members of the governments to understand the importance of Foreign Investments, in this case Chinese investments to Africa. The findings of the study will be beneficial to the national system since the research will be able to support existing evidences about the effect of Chinese investments to countries and region like Africa. This also suggests that the findings of the research will allow leaders and government to integrate strategies and styles to have a better relation with regards to foreign investments.  Scope and Limitations               The study aims to address the issue on the effect or implication of Chinese investment to African regions. For this study, primary research and secondary research are used.  In researching about this problem, the topics to be covered include the concept of Chines investments and the advantages of this to Africa. In order to gather the needed pertinent data, the locale of the study will be in Africa.  Contact with the chosen respondents who will be included in the study will be conducted.  Information that will be presented in this research will be collated from the published articles on books and journals, Internet resources will also be utilized.  The primary data of this research will be gathered through the semi-structured interview which will be sent to the chosen respondents.                         CHAPTER 2 Review of Relevant Literature               This part of the paper will discuss important topics relevant for the dissertation. Herein, the researcher discusses the FDI in Africa, Overview of China, Chinese Investments to Africa, and Potential Effects of Chinese Investments.   Foreign Direct Investments in Africa             African image as a foreign direct investment location are always considered as unfavourable for many multinationals and transnationals corporation. Africa has always been linked only with pictures of deadly diseases, civil unrest, economic disorder and starvation which has given many investing companies to have negative perception of Africa as a whole (1999). While such African image is true for some nations in the region, this is still untrue for majority of the African nations. In terms of economic aspects, Africa has not been able to perform well as other developing countries in the past periods. The growth and development of the economy of Africa has been considered as low, as real GDP/capita raised by an average of only 1.5% per annum during 1980s and increased by only 0.4% a per annum from 1990 to 1994 (1997). In this regard, development and growth of the entire Africa has delayed behind that for other developing areas, with economic instability or even decline of output describing the experience of some African nations (from 1990-1994). For instance, there are 15 African nations had negative average rates of economic growth. However, since year 1994, such trend has been conversed. The region’s per capital income increase for several consecutive period which include the Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the report of the  (1998, 1999), GNP/capita of Sub-Saharan Africa improved by an annual average of 1.9% in the year 1995-1996 and eventually have 4.4% increase for the year 1996-1997.             Accordingly, the weak performance of the economy of Africa over a long period of time was also attributed in the poor record of the continent in accordance with FDI inflows. Regardless of specific stabilisation of inflows since the year 1994 at a higher degree at the beginning of the 1990s (See Figure 1), Africa is still struggling to cover up for the ground that they have  during the 1970s to 1980s. Figure 1. FDI flows into Africa, 1970–1997 (Billion Dollars)               Report shows that the FDI inflows in Africa for most of the period since 1970 have modestly improved (See Figure 2), from a yearly average of almost .9 billion from 1983-1987 up to .1 billion in the following year until 1992 and .0 billion in 1993-1997 1998, 1999). While FDI inflows to developing nations as a group almost increased in quadrupled, the FDI inflows in Africa are considered to be doubles during such time. In this regard, the share of Africa in total inflows to developing nations significantly dropped (See Figure 3) from more than 11% from 1976-1980 to 9% in 1981-1985, 5% in 1991-1995 and 4% in 1996- 1997.     Figure 2. FDI flows into Africa, developing countries and selected regions, 1970–1997 (Billions of dollars) Source:       Figure 3. The share of Africa in total FDI flows into developing countries, 1970–1997 (Per cent)     On one hand, Africa’s share in total outflows form Japan, EU and US, which are known as the triad, and which is noted as the most essential source areas for FDI inflows was even lower during 1987-1997 (See Annex Table 1) as other developing nations became more appealing as investment sit. Until 1996, FDI inflows have never exceeded 2%, which increase to 2.4% in 1997. Annex Table 1 FDI outflows from European Union, Japan and United States to developing Countries and Africa (1987-1997) (Millions of Dollars)   The deterioration of the position of Africa is also associated in the ratio of FDI to Gross Domestic Product.   in 1970, Africa had attracted Foreign Direct Investments per 00 of GDP than other developing countries in Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean (See Table 1). Although both the value of the FDI per GDP ratio and its FDI inflows improved for most of the time from 1975 to 1997, Africa had been noted to fall behind other developing nations by 1990 and has stayed behind these countries since then.  During this period, the gap between Africa and other developing nations became more pronounced. Table 1 The relative importance of FDI inflows: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South, East and South-East Asia, 1970–1997 (FDI in dollars per ,000 of GDP)                 As often regarded, African nations have been perceived by military conflicts, unstable political regimes, mounting social and health dilemma, and economic depression, it can also be said that Africa has some positive improvements which are highly related for foreign direct investors, however, those are seldom reported and not known in a broader context. Authorities have noted that Africa also deserved to be looked in a different way, like any other region in the world. Too often, some has forgotten that Africa is a region which consists of over 50 nations, which differ in terms of economic, political and human development and may also have various aspects to be considered as a potential FDI location.             In order to adhere to the needs of investors, various African nations have been able to initiate economic transformations which aim on increasing the role played by the private sectors, like the privatisation of State-owned enterprises. Furthermore, different African nations have also attempted to restore and sustain macroeconomic strength by the devaluation of overvalued national currencies as well as the decrease of budget deficits and inflation rates (1998).             Moreover, part of these reforms is the improvement of the regulatory frameworks and policies for FDI in various African nations which enable them to be more open in allowing profit permitting profit repatriation and giving tax and other incentives to be more appealing to foreign investors. For instance, 26 of the 32 least developed nations in Africa covered in a 1997 study had been noted to have liberal or relatively liberal regulatory frameworks for the repatriation of both the capital and dividends (UNCTAD,1997b). In addition, development has also been established in other aspects which are essential for the FDI needs and requirements, including the strengthening of the rule of law, trade liberalisation, enhancements in legal and other institutions like transport and telecommunications infrastructure (1998).             The enhancement of the regulatory policies for FDI has been supported by many nations by the conclusion of or accession to some international trade and agreement which is relevant to FDI contexts. In this regard, most African nations had established bilateral investment treaties with other nations aiming at the protection and promotion of FDI and to clarify the terms under which foreign direct investments can take position between partner nations. Accordingly, such treaties contribute to the establishment of a more secure economic environment and location for foreign investors in Africa.     Chinese Industrial Development and Policies             An essential premise of this dissertation is that developing economic relations through investments by China and Africa could not be comprehended in the absence of the consideration of the underlying aspects of development and industrial policies. The impressive economic growth performance of People’s Republic of China is attributed to its investment which is considered to be around 40% GDP. Herein, two-thirds of China’s investment has been related to infrastructure and construction. On one hand, authorities have noted that most investment of China in equipment and machinery has been domestically financed with foreign investments supporting only a very little share (2004).   The industrial growth of China has been unusually connected to international trade for a nation of its size, with a trade GDP ration in excess of 70%. In addition, the industrial growth is also export-oriented in the manner that China has sustained to operate a major trade surplus since 1990s with the exclusion of 1993, together with the establishment of huge foreign exchange reserves. In terms of their manufacturing exports, China has been supported by the fixed exchange rate and rigorous capital controls. In previous years, under the intensive pressure, specifically from the United States of America, the currency has been permitted to be modestly appreciated.  In contrast, the Rand has become more powerful against US$, and hence, against the Chinese currency, whereas the current account and trade balances have recorded vast deficits.   The Chinese industries’ manufactured exports have been conquered by labour-intensive goods like in the clothing and toy industries (2004, 2007). On the other hand, exports of more stylish products have strongly grew in the past years, and the export of China is now considered to be much more sophisticated that would be considered of a nation of its level of gross domestic products (2006).             Although this maybe noted to be irrelevant to the extent that it is associated to the outsourcing of assembly functions by MNC to take advantage of low-labour costs as well as the undervalued currency, it is also linked to the strategy of the government of heavily investing in science and technology and engineering areas (2002). In this regard, most studies have shown that the development of Chinese’s industrial competitiveness is essential in the concept of a plausible trade agreement (2005), as is the role played by the Chinese government.             As most nations in Africa, especially in South Africa has a goal of improving the value-added  and technological aspects of its exports, Chinese industries poses a major challenged, because of the fact that China’s development raises the relative cost of raw materials and because of the intensive competition in this area  ( 2004;2005).             In terms of industrial policy, the enhanced productivity level, the capabilities of the production process and the diversification into new product areas have significantly underpinned the changes and transformation of manufacturing operations connected with higher growth in developing nations. Consequently, there are various reasons why the market forces have not endorsed such developments as seen in China.  Relative costs that give incentives for investment, are said to be reflected in emerging production plausibility and not potential operations. The connection between these contemporary activities is also not considered in market prices (2003).  According to  (2004), financial markets are linked to the imperfections and flaws of information, which implies underinvestment significant to socially optimal values. Herein, similar sub-optimal results are indicated by market dysfunction relevant to educational aspects ( 2006). The industrial performance of China is also said to be connected to government policy. In contrast with interpretations that highlight the essentialities of decreasing government regulation if private sector operation is to be encouraged, the development of China has been pursued under extensive federal regulation of economic operations, which include the foreign firms behaviour (2001;, 2006).   Chinese Investments to Africa             CHAPTER 3 Research Methodology               This study was conducted in order to assess and investigate the implications of Chinese investments to Africa. The focus of the assessment was on the investments made by China in African region and how this affects the political, economic and cultural aspects of Africa. In order to gather the necessary empirical data, the researcher utilized the descriptive method, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 50 respondents were randomly selected as participants. The survey and interview methods were the two research instruments used for the data-gathering. The respondents who have been chosen in this study accomplished a survey questionnaire to evaluate Chinese investments and to know its implications to Africa. The results of the survey were then processed by computing the weighted mean of each survey item. The computed values were compared to the Likert scale for data interpretation. Relevant literatures were also used to support the gathered findings. The credibility of findings and conclusions extensively depend on the quality of the research design, data collection, data management, and data analysis.  This chapter will be dedicated to the description of the methods and procedures done in order to obtain the data, how they will be analysed, interpreted, and how the conclusion will be met. This section is to justify the means in which the study was obtained and will help in giving it purpose and strength as it will then be truthful and analytical. All these will help in the processing of the data and the formulation of conclusions. Specifically, this research will cover the following: the research design and method, the respondents or subjects to be studied (which will include the sampling method), the data collection instrument, and the data analysis. These will be presented below.   Research Design   To achieve the objective of this empirical study, the researcher opted to use descriptive method of research was utilized. The purpose of employing the descriptive method is to describe the nature of a condition, as it takes place during the time of the study and to explore the cause or causes of a particular condition. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire to acquire first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study. According to (1994), the descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition.  Since this study is focused on the perception or evaluation of the consultancy firm’s effective human resource management, the descriptive method is the most appropriate method to use. Two types of data were used: the primary and the secondary data. The primary data were derived from the answers respondents gave in the self-administered questionnaire prepared by the researcher. In addition, the information obtained from the interview also provided primary research data that supported the study. The secondary data on the other hand, were derived from the findings stated in published documents and literatures related to the research problem. These were based from the recent literatures related to Chinese investments to Africa and the concepts cited by the respondents. In terms of approach, the study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach focused on obtaining numerical findings was used with the survey method. The interview on the other hand, made up the qualitative approach of the study as this focused on personal accounts, observations, description and individual insights of the respondents. This study employed the combined approach so as to overcome the limitations of both approaches.   Participants             The study will have respondents directly Africa. This may include economist, investors, businessmen and entrepreneurs and other.  All of these participants were selected through random sampling. This sampling method is conducted where each member of a population has an equal opportunity to become part of the sample. As all members of the population have an equal chance of becoming a research participant, this is said to be the most efficient sampling procedure. In order to conduct this sampling strategy, the researcher defined the population first, listed down all the members of the population, and then selected members to make the sample. For this purpose, a self-administered survey questionnaire in Likert format was given to the respondents to answer.  The respondents assessed the impact of Chinese investments in terms of various elements like political, economic and cultural aspects. However, due to time and budget constraints, the researcher opted for a smaller sample size.   Research Instruments For this study, two research instruments were used to evaluate the relationship of the two contexts. These research instruments included the survey questionnaire methods. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the selected customers. The questionnaire given to the respondents aimed to assess Chinese investment’s impact to African region. In addition, this also aims to evaluate the positive and negative impacts of Chinese investment to Africa as perceived by the respondents in terms of the mentioned aspects above. This focus of the assessment was based on the principles introduced by various authors. The questionnaire was structured in such a way that respondents will be able to answer it easily. Thus, the set of questionnaire was structured using the Likert format with a five-point response scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate his or her degree of agreement or disagreement to a statement. In this type of questionnaire, the respondents were given five response choices. These options served as the quantification of the participants’ agreement or disagreement on each question item. Below are the designated quantifications used in the questionnaire: 5 Strongly Agree 4 Agree 3 Uncertain 2 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree         Instrumentation 1. Content analysis Content analysis was done to analyse communications in order to answer two levels of questions – the descriptive and the interpretive. Descriptive questions focused on what the communication contains. Interpretative questions focused on what the contents was likely to mean. The process entailed searching through one or more communication to answer questions that an investigator brings to the search (2000). Content Analysis was used to analyze and interpret the interviews.   2. Statistical Treatment             The Likert scale was used to interpret items in the questionnaire. These responses were based on the respondents’ assessment of the current investment process model. There were instances that the respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of implementing the phases in the investment process. The range and interpretation of the five-point scale are shown in Table 1.   Table 1: The Five-point Likert Scale Scale Range Interpretation 5 4.50 – 5.00 Strongly Agree 4 3.50 – 4.49 Agree 3 2.50 – 3.49 Uncertain 2 1.50 – 2.49 Disagree 1 0.00-1.49 Strongly Disagree   Weighted mean was used to measure the general response of the survey samples, whether they agree to a given statement or not. The formula in computing weighted mean is as follows:                                     Where:            f – weight given to each response                                                             x – number of responses                                                             xt – total number of responses   Results of the survey were presented in tables. Excerpts from the interview were integrated based on the analysis outline. Relevant literatures to support the findings are also included. Basically, the data acquired from the survey was analysed using Pearson Correlation to find out the significant impacts and relationships. Furthermore, the correlational analysis is conducted in this study. The correlational kind of research method is use due to ethical problems with experiments. Moreover, it is also used due to practical problems with experiments. Moreover, inferring causality from correlation not actually impossible, but very difficult. This mode of study is widely applicable, cheap, and usually ethical. Nonetheless, there exist some “third variable” issues and measurement problems. The correlational research refers to studies in which the purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational statistics (r). The square of a correlation coefficient yields the explained variance (r-squared). A correlational relationship between two variables is occasionally the result of an outside source, so we have to be careful and remember that correlation does not necessarily tell us about cause and effect. If a strong relationship is found between two variables, using an experimental approach can test causality. To assess the strength of relationship between variables, it is important to get the correlation coefficient, which can take on any value between -1 and +1, since this will tell the strength of the relationship between two ranked or quantifiable variables (Saunders et al, 2003, p. 363). Accordingly, a value of +1 represents a perfect positive correlation, which means that the two variables are exactly related, where, as the values of one variable increase, values of the other variable will increase. Conversely, a value of -1 shows a perfect negative correlation, which also means that the two variables are exactly related, only this time, as the values of one variable increase, that of the other decreases. Finally, correlation coefficients between +1 and -1 stand for weaker positive and negative correlations, and a value of 0 means that the variables are completely independent from each other. Table 1: Values of Correlation   To assist the researcher in the statistical analysis of the gathered data, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used. SPSS is one of the most widely available and powerful statistical software packages that covers a broad range of statistical procedures, which allows a researcher to summarise data (e.g., compute means and standard deviations), determine whether there are significant differences between groups (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance), examine relationships among variables (e.g., correlation, multiple regression), and graph results (e.g., bar charts, line graphs).   Ethical Considerations              As this study utilized human participants and investigated on stock market practices, certain issues were addressed. The consideration of these issues is necessary for the purpose of ensuring the privacy as well as the security of the participants. These issues were identified in advance so as prevent future problems that could have risen during the research process. Among the significant issues that were considered included consent, confidentiality and data protection.  In the conduct of the research, the survey forms and interview methods were drafted in a very clear and concise manner to prevent conflicts among respondents.  People who participated in the research were given an ample time to respond to the questions posed on them to avoid errors and inaccuracies in their answers. The respondents were given a waiver regarding the confidentiality of their identity and the information that they did not wish to disclose. The respondents’ cooperation was eagerly sought after, and they were assured that the data gathered from them would be treated with the strictest confidence, so that they would be more open. This was done with the hope that this would promote trust between the researcher and the respondents.   Chapter 4 PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA   This part of the study shall be discussing the findings based on the self-administered questionnaire conducted by the researcher. The primary objective of this study is to determine the impact of Chinese investment with Africa The study intends to investigate the concept of Chinese investments and how it affects the political, economic and cultural aspects of Africa. It also aims on identifying the effect of Chinese investment in the economic performance of Africa. Prior to the initiation of the interview process, the purpose, the significance and objectives of the study were relayed to the participants. They were also assured that all the information they had provided are solely for the purpose of the study while their identities would remain confidential For this study, primary data are used. Primary data will be gathered using anonymous questionnaires that will be sent to 30 economists in Africa. The questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data. The conduct of this study entails the level and position of the respondents.  It is assumed that the attributes of the respondents influence their behaviour and answers on the survey questions. The researcher also will be conducting closed questions. The questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data and the interviews were used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected. This study was divided into two parts. The first part shall provide the profile of the respondents, the personal description which includes the age, gender, and the length of service of being an economist. The second part will be the discussion of the respondents’ perception of the respondents regarding Chinese investment, what are the advantages and consequences of Chinese investments in Africa, and the effect of Chinese investments in political, economic and cultural status of Africa.   Part A: Demographic Profile               This part will be the discussion of the demographic profile of 30 economists who have been chosen in this study. The description of the respondents includes their age, gender and length of service as being an economist. It is noted that all the respondents are economists because the researcher believes that they have a better knowledge regarding the topic.   Age of the Respondents Table 1 Age in Years Frequency Percentage Below 20 0 0% 20-25 0 0% 26-30 2 6.67% 31-35 9 30% 36-40 10 33.33% 41-above 9 30% Total 30 100%   Figure 1 Table 1 and Figure 1 show the age range of the respondents. Ten (33.33%) of the respondents’ age ranges from 36-40 years old, showing that most of them were already an experienced person in the job.  Respondents of ages between 231-35 and 41 years old and above over all compromised 30% of the total respondents. These also shows the percentage of the ages of the respondents compromised to the following distribution; ages between 36-30 (6.67%), 20-25 (0%), and ages below 20 (0%).    Gender of the Respondents Table 2 Gender Frequency Percentage Male 18 60% Female 12 40% Total 30 100%   Figure 2 The sample populations’ gender depicts an unequal distribution of the sexes.  The above table and the figure shows the total respondents based on their gender. The survey results indicate that 18 (60%) of the respondents are male and 12 (40%) are female which indicates that men are more likely to have a position in organization. Length of Service Table 3 Number of Years Frequency Percentage Less than a year 0 0% 1-3 years 0 0% 4-6 years 3 10% 7-9 years 5 16.67% 10-12 years 9 30% 13-15 years 7 23.33% More that 15 years 6 20% Total 30 100%   Figure 3 The table and the figure above illustrated the number of years of the respondents in their respective companies. It shows that most of the respondents are providing services in 10-12 years (30%) as an economist. This means that most of the economists are knowledgeable enough to answer these queries. Further, 7 (23%), 6 (20%), 5 (17%) and 3 (10%) out of the respondents handle position for 13-15 years, 10-12 years and 7-9 years and 4-6 years respectively.   Part B Perception of Respondents   The proceeding sections will present the results in accordance to the Likert technique. It will be remembered that the respondents of the study were presented a set of attitude statements so they can express their agreement or disagreement with the use of a five-point scale, wherein 5 is equivalent to an answer that merits a strong disagreement and 1 as showing a strong agreement (see chapter 3). This will provide a greater understanding about the observations of the following respondents towards their working force and will provide a greater knowledge about Chinese investment’s impact to Africa concept.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Chinese Investment in Africa: an Empirical Analysis

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction Throughout the years, the rising financial, political, and financial portfolio of Pe...

RADIO

Chapter One   INTRODUCTION     1. 1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY   After reading these articles, Captain  knew he needed to act. Over the next week, Captain  received numerous calls from colleagues who were commanders of other State Police divisions and patrol barracks. Captain  had long-standing relationships with each one of the callers through previous assignments. They expressed the frustration felt by patrol officers during incidents like these and impressed upon  their strong desire to see something change. From these calls, the captain determined that several key factors limited the state’s ability to respond effectively to similar incidents. He came up with the following list of State Police wireless communications issues: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal"> The State Police was operating on a 40-year old land mobile radio system. </li> <li class="MsoNormal"> The State Police radio system (and their statewide mutual-aid channel) operated in a UHF band and is uncommon compared with what other law enforcement agencies in the state used. </li> <li class="MsoNormal"> Radio system repairs were becoming more frequent, and replacement parts were difficult to locate. </li> <li class="MsoNormal"> The State Police had little to no interoperability with federal, county, or local law enforcement. </li> <li class="MsoNormal"> The State Police also had no interoperability with responding fire or EMS units. </li> </ul> Captain , like other state and local public safety officials across the country, faced the problem of figuring out how to upgrade or replace their current public safety communications system with one that would allow all public safety agencies to talk to each other in real time. He thought that sharing frequencies or equipment with other agencies whose missions encompassed the protection of life and property could potentially solve some of the observed problems, but he was not an expert on the issue and was not sure what his next step should be. He mulled over three alternatives. Which one would you choose for Captain ? Digital vs. Analog Digital radio has little in common with conventional radio, which uses analog technology. The technical difference between digital and analog radio can be compared to the difference between a digital and analog watch; the difference in sound quality is comparable to the difference between CDs and records. Analog radio, or any other analog technology, is based on a continuous flow of data. An analog watch moves from minute to minute, also touching on the infinite points between each time increment. Digital watches, on the other hand, jump from one value to another. Much the same way, digital radio is capable of broadcasting specific stations without following the continuous airwaves. Digital radio uses a built-in computer to scan each song or sound bit as a long series of numbers, then reproduce the sound created by each unique combination. This takes place at the same speed as with a CD player — 50,000 scans per second. Advantages of DAB Not surprisingly, digital radio also promises CD-quality sound — without the inconveniences of CDs, like skipping. This new technology also boasts static-free reception and a much larger selection of stations among its advantages. Furthermore, the digital receiver comes with a faceplate (also called LCD, or liquid crystal display) which is able to display all kinds of information. This includes the name of the radio station, the name of the song and its artist, traffic and weather reports, and even information about products being advertised on-air. A special antenna and a small receiver box are also required for digital radio reception. Digital radio is now only available to drivers — digital receivers for cars are already on the market — reinforcing radio’s dominance in one area that television and the Internet have yet to reach: the automobile. If they can afford the technology, commuters will be able to enjoy the benefits of digital radio. However, highway drivers will find that digital radio still has its limits, as stations broadcasting in digital format simply stop playing music past the reach of their digital signal. In the future, digital signals will connect stations across wide distances, so that a driver travelling east and listening to CBC Radio, for example, would hear a continuous stream of sound even though the computer within the digital receiver was switching from a fading station to a more powerful one. Even more appealing to travellers is the possibility that the computer would scan station information based on genre of music, and switch seamlessly from one Top 40 station to another, for example.   1.2  CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK      Input                                             Process                                      Output                 1.3       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This research will compare the different digital MTRS available in the market today and determine the best digital MTRS that the PNP can use for their law enforcement operations.  This stems from the plan of the PNP to upgrade their current analog MTRS into digital.   Specifically this study will consider the following criteria to determine the best digital MTRS:   a.    the cost of the whole digital MTRS if installed for the PNP in the Metro Manila area;   b.    the features of the digital MTRS and its suitability to the law enforcement work of the PNP;   c.    the after-service and product support to be provided after the installation of the MTRS;     1.4   STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESES Ho :     The upgrading of the MTRS from analog to digital will improve the law enforcement work of the members of the PNP;                                                     H1  :   The upgrading of the MTRS from analog to digital will not improve the law enforcement work of the members of the PNP;    ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY                         The following assumptions are posed to support this study: 1)            The PNP has a budget for the upgrading of the MTRS from analog to digital;   2)            The different digital MTRS companies have given proposals to the Radio Division of the PNP.    1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Society             The importance of quick communication cannot be underestimated for a job like law enforcement.  Time is of importance in this type of work and proper coordination and quick action can be done only through an efficient communication system.  The MTRS has been useful to the members of the PNP through the years.  However, the emergence of digital technology offers and even broader range of activities for the people in law enforcement.  However, such efforts like upgrading facilities involve money and changes in the system, that is why, it is important to study the options available first and determine which of them has the best track record and an affordable price..   This study will also benefit the members of the PNP since with a more sophisticated equipment at hand, they are now expected to also be more efficient and effective in their law enforcement work.    Academe             This study will be of importance to those who want to upgrade systems in their own field of work.  This study will try to show why the factors involved in upgrading a system; cost, features and after service support, should be considered by those handling the acquisition of such goods.  The study will also try to show that it is possible to upgrade one’s facilities within one’s budget and one’s expectations.               1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY             This study will choose from among the different proposals from different digital MTRS companies, the best digital MTRS for the members of the PNP.  The upgrade of the system will entail cost that is why the study will use the following guidelines in choosing the best digital MTRS: cost, features, after service and support.  The different companies offering the digital MTRS will be rated according to the aforementioned guidelines.  The members of the PNP who use the digital MTRS will serve as respondents of this study, for they are usually the ones who directly use this equipment.               The study will focus only on the upgrade of the analog MTRS to digital as used by the members of the PNP.  .   1.7  DEFINITION OF TERMS Trunking is the automatic sharing of a small number of communication paths among a large number of users.   AWS………. Digitial Advanced Wireless Services TETRA …….. TErrestrial TRunked RAdio ETSI…………. European Telecommunications Standards Institute MESA ………. Mobility for Emergency and Safety Applications TIA…………… Telecommunications Industry Association EEA …………. European Economic Area PMR…………. Professional Mobile Radio TCP/IP ……… Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol PHY …………. Physical Layer (ISO Model) TDMA………. Time Division Multiple Access DQPSK …….. Digital Quadrature Phase Shift Keying 3G ……………. Third Generation GSM…………. Global System for Mobile communications TIPHON……. Telecommunication and Internet Protocol Harmonization Over Networks BRAN ………. Broadband RAdio Access Networks UMTS ………. Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service IPv6x………… Internet Protocol version x QoS ………….. Quality of Service C3…………….. Consultation, Command and Control APCO……….. Association of Police Communications Officials STF ………….. Strategic Task Force MRA ………… Mutual Recognition Agreement                                                                           Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature                                                                             Chapter 3   RESEARCH METHODOLOGY   This chapter presents the description of the research method to be used, a description of the respondents, the instruments to be used, the procedures and statistical treatment utilized in analyzing the data that will be gathered.     A.  Research Design   This study will use the descriptive-normative-survey approach.  The descriptive method involves the description, recording, analysis and interpretation of the prevailing conditions and the present nature of a certain group.  It will include the following processes: induction, analysis, classification, enumeration, measurement and assessment of the data. Survey refers to the gathering of data regarding current conditions. Normative is used to ascertain the normal or typical condition.  The survey will try to ascertain the effectiveness of the customer service offered by the website of a popular wireless cellular phone company.  Furthermore, the researcher will ask customers for other services they would like to include in the company’s website.   a)    compatibility of the system; b)    complete data; and c)    quick accessibility.   The procedure will include the general principles of gathering data and used published sources of statistics; sampling questionnaires; interviews; and content analysis of documentary and verbal material.  The researcher will present case studies of successful Internet-based businesses.     B.  Method of Data Collection               The primary source of the data will come from a researcher-made questionnaire which to be given to the respondents.  The survey will assess the current archival and retrieval system of the personnel records of the Philippine National police.  The questionnaire would solicit information using the following criteria: compatibility of the system; complete data; and quick accessibility of records.     C.  Sampling Design and Respondents   The general population for this study is exclusive and should have the following qualifications: a) an employee of the Philippine National Police who has used the analog MTRS for three or more years, and b) an employee of the Philippine National Police Archival and Retrieval Department.  The department has currently around 20 employees who will act as respondents for this study.    In determining the sample size of the employees of the whole PNP, the following Sloven’s formula shall be used:   n          =           N                                             1 + Ne2   where:                                    n           –          is the size of the sample                         N         –          is the size of the population, and                         e          –          is the margin of error.               D.           Statistical Treatment of Data   After the questionnaires will be answered, the profile of the respondents will be taken, according to age, gender, educational background, civil status, occupation and frequency of Internet usage (number of hours per week).  To be able to get a description of the profile of the respondents, the data coming from each item mentioned above will be placed in tabular form with the indicated percentage as well as the frequency.  This will show the predominant characteristics of a Smart wireless cellular phone user website surfer.    The formulae that will be used in this study are:   1.     Sloven’s Formula – to determine the sample population.  The margin of error is 5%   2.     Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.             n % = ——– x 100        ;           n – number of responses             N                                 N – total number of respondents   3.     Weighted Mean               f1x1 + f2x2  + f3x3 + f4x4  + f5x5 x= ———————————————  ;                         xt where:            f – weight given to each response                         x – number of responses                                    xt – total number of responses                    The weighted mean scores for each item in the questionnaire will be determined.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

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Chapter One INTRODUCTION 1. 1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY After reading these articles, Captain knew he needed to act. Ove...