2nd Assignment for PhD Scholar Research Methodology and Computer Application
…… University, ….. 2nd
Assignment for PhD Scholar Research Methodology and Computer
Application |
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[POLICY IMPACT UPON DEVELOPMENT OF
CO-OPERATIVES IN NEPAL] |
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Part 1
1.
What is data? Express types of sources to collect data and
information.
A
collection of facts, such as values or measurements is known as data. It can be
numbers, words, measurements, observations or even just descriptions of things.
There are mainly two types of data: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data is descriptive
information whereas quantitative data
is numerical information (numbers). There are two categories of data: (i) facts
and (ii) opinions. "Facts usually describe tangible things. Facts measure
anything that actually exists or has existed. Opinion is a view or judgment in
the mind about a particular matter. It is a result of people’s attitudes,
intentions, knowledge and motives and reflects their perception about
something. It is a desired data (Pant, 2002)".
Data are classified into two types based on its sources, primary and secondary.
Primary sources are original data collected or gathered by researcher for the
research work. Primary data can be collected through observation, interview or
experiments but secondary sources is already gathered or collected by others
for the specific purposes. Secondary data can be obtained from literature
review, previous research, policy documents of Government and donors, reports
of the Donors, NGOs. Collecting the data from the appropriate sources is depend
upon the various factors i.e. nature of the research, application of the
research, objectives of the research, cost, time and other associated and
related matters.
2.
Describe difference between Schedule and
Questionnaire.
A schedule is a set of instruction, written for the
researcher. A schedule is to give and interview or research session some
directions and structures (Bradley, 2010). As
described by the CR Kothari, these are the difference between Schedule and
Questionnaire which are as follows:
a)
The questionnaire is generally sent
through mail to informants to be answered as specified in a covering letter,
but otherwise without further assistance from the sender. The schedule is
generally filled by the researcher worker or the enumerator, who can interpret
questions when necessary.
b)
To collect data through questionnaire is
relatively cheap and economical since we have to spend money only in preparing
the questionnaire and in mailing the same to respondents. Here no field staff
required. To collect data through schedules is relatively more expensive since
considerable amount of money has to be spent in appointing enumerators and in
importing to them. Money is also spent in preparing schedules.
c)
Non-response is usually high in case of
questionnaire as many people do not respond and many return the questionnaire
without answering all questions. Bias due to non-response often remains
indeterminate. As against this, non-response is generally very low in case of
schedules because there are filled by enumerators who are able to get answers
to all questions. But there remains the danger of interviewer bias and
cheating.
d)
The questionnaire method is likely to be
very slow since many respondents do not return the questionnaire in time despite
several reminders, but in case of schedules the information is collected well
in time as they are filled in by enumerators.
e)
Personal contact is generally not
possible in case of the questionnaire method as questionnaires are sent to
respondents by post who also returns by the same post. But in case of schedules
direct personal contact is established with respondents.
f)
Questionnaire method can be used only
when respondents are literate and cooperative, but in case of schedules the
information can be gathered even when the respondents happen to be illiterate.
g)
Wider and more representative
distribution of sample is possible under the questionnaire method, but in
respect of schedule there usually remains the difficulty in sending enumerators
over a relatively wider area.
h)
The information collected through
schedules is relatively more accurate than that obtained through
questionnaires.
i)
The success of questionnaire method lies
more on the quality of the questionnaire itself, but in case of schedules much
depends upon the honesty and competence of enumerators.
j)
In order to attract the attention of
respondents, the physical appearance of questionnaire must be quite attractive,
but this may not be so in case of schedules as they are to be filled in by
enumerators and not by respondents.
k)
Along with schedules, observation method
can also be used but such a thing is not possible while collecting data through
questionnaires forms (Kothari, 2008). These
two methods, scheduled and questionnaire are widely used to collect the data in
the research survey.
3.
What is sampling? Explain it in context
of your research.
Sampling means taking one or more examples from which to learn something new (Bradley, 2010). The process of selecting segment of the populations for research is called sampling. The methods of selection may be based on probability sampling or non probability sampling (Brayman, 2009). In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. Researchers rarely survey the entire population because the cost of a census is too high. The three main advantages of sampling are that the cost is lower, data collection is faster, and since the data set is smaller it is possible to ensure homogeneity and to improve the accuracy and quality of the data. A sample is some specified subpart or subset of the population. In order to take a good sample, we must carefully define our population. We use samples to generalize to populations and it is usually the well-defined populations we are interested in.
In
this research, among the existing cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives are
chosen. From them, only tea cooperatives of Ilam district are selected to have
case studies. There are altogether 48 tea cooperatives in Ilam district; 10 %
of them is 5. With its topology and human settlement areas, those 5 selected
cooperatives will not be from the same cluster.
4.
Explain the structure and component of
good research report.
The components and structure of a research report
are as follow:
Introduction
-
Statement of the problem
-
Objective(s) of the research
-
Statement of the research question(s)
-
Statement of the hypotheses
-
Research background/context
Literature Review
-
Orientation: comprehensive or selective?
o Have
a plan; outline it
o Set
the context of your research
o Show
relateness to your research
o Review
key points in your words; quote little
o Summarize
to conclude this mini-essay
Plan of Research
-
Study/experimental design
-
Selection of cases/participants (sampling)
-
Setting
-
Data collection procedures and instruments
-
Data analysis
-
Outline or detailed description?
Presentation of Data and Data Analysis
-
"A picture is worth…"
Interpretation and discussion of the
Data (findings; what it all means)
Conclusion
o Summary
of the report
o Limitations
of the study
o Future
research needs
5.
Explain _ (Answer in 50 words only)
Primary data
Primary data are those that you have collected
yourself. In general, you will find that you are expected to collect primary
data when using quantitative methods, but that secondary data are more
acceptable when you are using a qualitative method. This is because there are
certain common aspects of qualitative research which involve only secondary
data, such as the study of television or newspaper discourses. If you wanted to
understand the nature of the representation of Romany people on television, you
wouldn’t make your own television programmes! You would use those which exist,
and they would form [your] secondary data.
Secondary data
Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, surveys, organizational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research. Primary data, by contrast, are collected by the investigator conducting the research. Secondary data analysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and, particularly in the case of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-quality databases that would be unfeasible for any individual researcher to collect on their own. In addition, analysts of social and economic change consider secondary data essential, since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past change and/or developments.
Sampling error is the deviation of the selected
sample from the true characteristics, traits, behaviors, qualities or figures
of the entire population. In statistics,
sampling error or estimation error is the amount of
inaccuracy in estimating some value that is caused by only a portion of a
population (i.e. a sample)
rather than the whole population. This amount of inaccuracy is commonly
referred to as an error. Sampling error can be measured and
quoted in many different ways, but in practice the reported error itself is
almost always an estimate of the real error rather than an absolute measure of
the error (which would usually require analyzing the entire population).
Type
I error
An error of the first kind (Type I error),
is the wrong decision that is made when a test rejects a true null hypothesis
(H0). A type I
error may be compared with a so called false
positive in other test situations. Type I error can be viewed as the
error of excessive credulity. In terms of folk tales, an investigator may be
"crying wolf" (raising a false alarm) without a wolf in sight (H0: no wolf). The rate of
the type I error is called the size
of the test and denoted by the Greek letter α (alpha). It usually equals the significance level of a test. In
the case of a simple null hypothesis α is the probability of a type I error.
If the null hypothesis is composite, α is the maximum of the possible
probabilities of a type I error.
An error of the second kind (Type II error), is the wrong decision that is made when a test fails to reject a false null hypothesis. A type II error may be compared with a so-called false negative in other test situations. Type II error can be viewed as the error of excessive skepticism. In terms of folk tales, an investigator may fail to see the wolf ("failing to raise an alarm"; see Aesop's story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf). Again, H0: no wolf. The rate of the type II error is denoted by the Greek letter β (beta) and related to the power of a test (which equals 1 − β). What we actually call type I or type II error depends directly on the null hypothesis. Negation of the null hypothesis causes type I and type II errors to switch roles. The goal of the test is to determine if the null hypothesis can be rejected. A statistical test can either reject (prove false) or fail to reject (fail to prove false) a null hypothesis, but never prove it true (i.e., failing to reject a null hypothesis does not prove it true).
6. Explain the meaning
of:-
A. Statistical Analysis
This
term refers to a wide range of techniques to describe, explore, understand,
prove, predict, etc. based on sample
datasets collected from populations,
using some sampling strategy. It
is a collection of methods used to process large amounts of data and report
overall trends. Statistical analysis is particularly useful when dealing
with noisy data. Statistical analysis provides ways to objectively report
on how unusual an event is based on historical data.
B. Probability Theories
Probability
theory is that part of mathematics that aims to provide insight into phenomena
that depend on chance or on uncertainty. The most prevalent use of the theory
comes through the frequentists’ interpretation of probability in terms of the
outcomes of repeated experiments, but probability is also used to provide a
measure of subjective beliefs, especially as judged by one’s willingness to
place bets.
C. Hypothesis Tests
Setting up and testing hypotheses
is an essential part of statistical inference. In order to formulate such a
test, usually some theory has been put forward, either because it is believed
to be true or because it is to be used as a basis for argument, but has not
been proved, for example, claiming that a new drug is better than the current
drug for treatment of the same symptoms. In each problem considered, the
question of interest is simplified into two competing claims / hypotheses
between which we have a choice; the null hypothesis, denoted H0, against the
alternative hypothesis, denoted H1. These two competing claims / hypotheses are
not however treated on an equal basis: special consideration is given to the
null hypothesis.
The hypotheses are often statements
about population parameters like expected value and variance; for example H0
might be that the expected value of the height of ten year old boys in the
Scottish population is not different from that of ten year old girls. A
hypothesis might also be a statement about the distributional form of a
characteristic of interest, for example that the height of ten year old boys is
normally distributed within the Scottish population.
D. Sample Test
In statistics
and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the
selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate
characteristics of the whole population. Researchers rarely survey the entire
population because the cost of a census
is too high. The three main advantages of sampling are that the cost is lower,
data collection is faster, and since the data set is smaller. It is possible to
ensure homogeneity and to improve the accuracy and quality of the data. Each observation
measures one or more properties (such as weight, location, color) of observable
bodies distinguished as independent objects or individuals. In survey sampling,
weights can be applied to the data to adjust for the sample design, particularly stratified sampling (blocking).
Results from probability theory and statistical theory are employed to guide
practice. In business and medical research, sampling is widely used for
gathering information about a population.
E. Formula of :-
a) Chi-Square Test
The Chi Square (X2)
test is undoubtedly the most important and most used member of the
nonparametric family of statistical tests. Chi Square is employed to test the
difference between an actual sample and another hypothetical or previously
established distribution such as that which may be expected due to chance or
probability. Chi Square can also be used to test differences between two or
more actual samples.
Basic
Computational Equation
Part 2
Introduction
Overview
The ecological and
socio-economic description of the research area marks the importance of research.
Nepal is an under developing south Asian landlocked country. It is located
between economically emerging two great nations India and China. Ecologically,
it consists of three parts: mountain, hill and plain from north to south
respectively. The physical coverage of
mountain is 15%, hill 68% and terai 17%. The current census 2011 publishes the
data of total population of the nation is 26,620,809. The data show that the population increase rate
is 1.4 percent per annum (Preliminary Report of
Census 2011). However, the economic growth rate is not satisfied. Nepal is an agrarian country. More than sixty per cent of its
population is dependent on agriculture. In the context of unavailability of
modern agricultural technology, institutional loan, storage facilities, market,
cooperative is an appropriate device. Thus, it was introduced as one of the
important segments under the First Five Year Plan (1956-61) of Nepal. The
cooperative development activities have been continued until the present Interim
Plan. It shows that there is long history of cooperative in Nepal even though
performance is still poor. Why there is only quantitative growth rather than
qualitative is the main cause of poor implementation of policies.
The Cooperative Movement of Nepal has dramatically
been changed by the enactment of Cooperative Act, 1992. The National
Cooperative Federation of Nepal Limited [NCF], an apex body of the cooperative
movement of Nepal, registered on June 20, 1993 under the Cooperative Act, 1992,
was voluntarily and jointly organized by cooperatives of different levels based
on universally accepted cooperative principles. At present NCF has a membership
of 3 Central Co-operative Unions, 1 National Cooperative Bank, 58 District
Level Co-operative Unions and 7 Single Purpose Primary Co-operative Societies.
Cooperatives are businesses owned and controlled by the people who use them. Cooperatives differ from other businesses because they are member owned and operate for the benefit of members, rather than earn profits for investors. Co-operative is a form of business enterprises, or community organization, incorporated in service to its members and users, in order to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. Co-operative is jointly-owned and democratically controlled by its members and users on the basis of one member, one vote (Alliance, 1995).
Co-operatives follow democratic, participatory and transparent decision-making processes and organizational structures so that their members and users (i.e. owners, workers and consumers) may be directly responsible for benefiting themselves and the society in general. Co-operatives are based on the value of self-help, mutual help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, owners, social responsibility and caring for others. "The cooperative business structure provides insurance, credit, health care, housing, telephone, electrical, transportation, child care, and utility services." (Why Cooperatives Are Organized?, 1995, p. 1). Members use cooperatives to buy food, consumer goods, and business and production supplies. "Farmers use cooperatives to market and process crops and livestock, purchase supplies and services, and to provide credit for their operations." (Why Cooperatives Are Organized?, 1995, p. 1). Such farmers own cooperatives are also called agricultural cooperatives. An agricultural cooperative is an association of people who join together to engage in the production of agricultural products. Farmers seeking to organize cooperatives are usually seeking the benefits of economies of scale. Many farmers with common interests may organize through cooperatives and strengthen their market power.
Co-operation
as a form of human organization has been in existence since the beginning of
civilization. In a broad sense, the different types of exchange and reciprocal
relations which existed in pre-industrial societies and which were crucial for
survival of its members could be regarded as co-operative action. These types
of co-operation are however different from what we now understand as the
co-operative movement. The origins of co-operation as a formal movement can be
traced to the first half of the nineteenth century in the philosophy of Robert
Owen(Bhowmik, 1988). The first co-operative was started by a
handful of weavers in England in 1844 and was known as the Equitable Pioneers
of Kochdale(Bhowmik, 1988). The basic principles governing the
functioning of this co-operative were later adopted by the co-operative
movement all over the world. These were, “one vote for each member, sale at
market prices and division of profits among shareholders on the basis of the
extent of patronage (Hough, 1966, p. 44).”
Co-operatives in the present do not function
merely as mutual benefit societies. They have in addition certain social
obligations which are spelt out in the principles of co-operation. The
commission on co-operative principles, appointed by the International Co-operative
Alliance in 1964, noted in its report that "co-operation at its best aims
at something beyond promotion of interests of the individual members ...(Report of the Commission on Co-operative Principles,
1976)”. Its object is rather to
promote the progress and welfare of the humanity. It is this aim that makes a
co-operative society something different from an ordinary economic enterprise
and justifies its being tested, not simply from the standpoint of its business
efficiency, but also from the standpoint of its contribution to the moral and
social values which elevate human life above the merely material and animal. This
implies that there is a qualitative difference between the earlier forms of
co-operation and the present co-operative societies. The earlier exchange
relations were a result of the existing socio-economic formations. These
relations were not aimed at altering the economic relations in the society they
operated in.
On the contrary, they played a functional
role and contributed towards perpetuating the system. The co-operative movement
on the other hand grew out of a need to change the existing society. The early
co-operators such as the Rochdale Pioneers and Robert Owen in England, Herr
Schulze and F W Raiffeinsen in Germany propagated the co-operative movement as
an alternative to the exploitative nature of capitalist society in nineteenth
century Europe(Bhowmik, 1988). Co-operation for them was a vehicle through
which capitalist exploitation could be replaced by an egalitarian and just
society. They envisioned co-operatives not as bodies which were functional to
their respective societies but as instruments for transforming their societies.
In this way, the objectives of co-operatives differ not only from those of
private enterprise but also from traditional forms of exchange and reciprocal
relations. Thus, co-operatives are good in nature and sound well. However, its
functions are very important, from which the members can be benefited. The core
of development of co-operatives is fully relied on the implementation of
policies. Thus, the next section follows with the concept of policy.
What is policy?
Policy is a broad concept that consists of
several dimensions. It is a principle or protocol, which guides to right
decisions and achieve rational outcomes (Torjman, 2005). It is heart of any institution either government owned or private.
Policies are directions to plan. "They are a road map management can
follow to research goals and attain objectives" (Rapp, 1990, p. 1). Thus, policy is the guideline to achieve
the goal of organization and broader concepts to set up action plan. The policy
is made based on objectives of organization and action plan controls to achieve
objectives. Further explanation of the policy is given in Chapter Two:
Literature Review.
What is co-operative policy?
"A policy is a statement that provides guidelines for actions to attain the established objectives of the cooperative and reflect the cooperative’s basic philosophy" (Rapp, 1990, p. 1). Policies are direction to plans. Well written policy facilitates are delegation of authority to the lowest realistic level in the cooperative. Written policy statements are supposed to be a major factor of each cooperative’s planning activity. So that, these policies reflect the cooperative’s basic philosophy and assist as guidelines for actions the cooperative takes to achieve its established objectives. Rapp (1990) states policies are not all of equal importance. Some policies are of such significance they determine the character of the business. Others are limited in scope and could be changed or eliminated without effect.
Highlights of co-operative policies in Nepal
It was nineteen fifties after the end of Rana regime
and establishment of democracy in Nepal, the co-operative movement started.
Formally, in Nepal the concept of co-operative started in 1956 AD (Thakuri, 2011). The cooperative credit
societies were the first institutional sources of supplying credit to the
farmers in Nepal. Due to lack of institutional credit facilities, the farmers
were the subject of individual moneylenders throughout the country and such
domination of the private credit agencies had been increasing the rural
indebtedness. In such critical situation the concept of cooperative movement
was realized for the rural economic development and His Majesty’s Government
created a Cooperative Development in 1953. From
the government level of Nepal, the policy level body: cooperative department
was first established under the Ministry of Planning Development and Agriculture
in 1953 AD.
The first co-operative act of Nepal was issued in 1959 AD (Thakuri, 2011). Similarly, in 1961, Co-operative Training Centre was established to educate and train the members who were participated in co-operatives. In the beginning, the Department faced several problems such as the lack of legislative framework, lack of proper consciousness of the people towards the cooperative system, lack of persons educated in cooperative principles and methods. The prominent obstacle to the department was the extremely inadequate fund for the development of cooperative spirit (NRB, 1972).
The country’s socio-economic condition was very poor after the establishment of democracy in 1951. A vast amount of agricultural land was under the control of limited proprietors. Farmers were out of credit system and marking facilities were rudimentary. Government formulated a long-term plan to develop the economic condition of the people by allocating and mobilizing the scattered resources together and enabled them to work with cooperation by establishing cooperatives (Lal, 1974). As the cooperative movement had proven effective in other countries in promoting economic activities of the farmers, the government established a cooperative Development in 1953 under Ministry of Planning and Agriculture and identified three major problem, i.e. (a) need for cooperative legislation: (b) training of cooperative personnel, and cooperative organization (Prabashi, 1965).
Just after the establishment of Cooperative Department, the department conducted surveys in Kathmandu for formulating some rules and regulations for the establishment and registration of cooperatives. By the time settlement program for landless people was started in Chitwan District under the Rapti Valley Multipurpose Development Program. For this purpose, government established 13 credit Cooperative Societies in 1956 as part of the resettlement program for the flood stricken people under financial and technical support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on experimental basis. These cooperatives were provisionally registered under an executive order of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal. Considering the necessary rules and regulations for managing and guiding cooperatives effectively and efficiently, the first cooperative Act was promulgated in 1959, which provided legal entity, among other things, to all cooperatives previously registered under the executive order. Similarly, with many more vicissitudes in policies National Cooperative Policy of Nepal 2012 has promulgated. The detailed explanation of development of co-operatives in Nepal in different plans is given in Chapter Two: Literature Review.
Present status of cooperative in Nepal
By the year of 2012, there are 3620420 shareholders of co-operative (Dahal, 2012, p. 30). Dahal further reports
that there are 25353 primary co-operatives, 11594 Credit co-operatives,
1785 Dairy co-operatives and 100 Tea co-operatives. There are 15 central
cooperative organizations and national cooperative bank in the country.
According to the co-operative department, there are 40 Tea co-operatives in
Illam district, where there are 1957 male and 485 female shareholders.
Similarly, there are 129 Dairy co-operatives, and 7644 male and 1148 female
shareholders. There are 53 Credit co-operatives, and 3381 male and 3819 female
shareholders.
Statement of the Problem
The history of co-operative in Nepal is longer but lack of knowledge, policy and market it was shadowed for long time. With the implementation of the Cooperative Act 1992, it has got shaped come into organization, even though it is not well structured till now. The co-operative policy is the main factor to shape it into maturity. Because of the political inconsistency, agricultural co-operatives as well as credit co-operatives have not been flourished well. The same kind of scenario is found in Illam district, the far eastern district of Nepal. This tension is in essence the research problem. The key questions that follow from this tension are:
What is the role of co-operative policy in the development of co-operatives?
What is the role of co-operatives to address the three pillars of the national economic policy and what must be in the future?
What will be the role of co-operatives in federal Nepal?
What is the role of co-operatives to uplift the socio-economic status of rural people?
What is the impact of Co-operatives in each village program launched by the
previous government (Gaungaun ma sahakari gharghar ma bhakari)?
Objectives of the Study
The importance and possibilities of the
co-operative in the socio-economic development of the poor and marginal people
are multifarious. They have a number of contributions in the local resource
generation and mobilization through the joint effort of the community. However,
all these possibilities are promoted as well as limited because of the
co-operative policy. Hence, the proposed study aims to undertake a survey
amongst tea, dairy and credit co-operative societies to assess, identify and
evaluate the business, financial, social and managerial aspects of the selected
co-operatives.
The specific objectives of the study are as
follows:
·
To study
and analyze the prevalence rate of member education and training in the
cooperative societies;
·
To find
out the prevalence rate of insurance in cooperative business;
·
To
analyze the impact of political change in cooperative societies;
·
To
evaluate the cooperative policy and practices in Nepal;
·
To
assess the gender roles on the development of cooperative societies;
·
To
examine the governance of cooperative societies
Hypotheses
In the present context, this study proposes
following hypotheses to find out the answers to the following questions about
the co-operatives in Nepal:
1) There is lack of member education in the cooperatives of Nepal.
2) Members have very less knowledge about business insurance.
3) Less members have got training to promote their business.
4) Political instability is main cause to obstruct the development of cooperatives.
5) The present acts or policies of cooperatives are not cooperative friendly.
6) Female are less promoted in the cooperative services.
7) The board of directors are elected in every two years.
Significance of the Study
This study, to the
best knowledge of the researcher, is the most extensive piece of contemporary
research on the tea, dairy and credit co-operative sectors in Nepal. The study
of development policy of government, its impact on the co-operative, co-operative
theory and practice in
In terms of
application, this study will enhance understanding of tea, dairy and credit
co-operative behaviors within the Nepalese context. This will contribute to the
knowledge base for policy makers within government, and to those working in the
agricultural industry, the agro-political sector
and the wider Nepalese co-operative movement. The study also highlights issues
related to the internal organizational behaviour of tea, dairy and credit co-operative
businesses as these organizations adjust to unfolding changes in the tea supply
chain.
Employing qualitative research methodology,
specifically in-depth interviews for the case studies, as an alternative to the
more commonly applied quantitative method, is also another contribution to the
field of tea, dairy and credit co-operative studies. This approach enables the
‘voice’ of actors from within tea, dairy and credit co-operatives and other
institutions influencing the co-operative sectors to be distinctively heard
throughout the study.
Although the study gives some background information
on the history of the tea, dairy and credit co-operatives in Ilam district, the
case studies focus primarily on these three types of co-operative and
institutional behaviour at the present. The case studies therefore provide a
valuable base line for future research. The study also demonstrates that
co-operatives in Nepal are organizations that merit further academic research
and industry support.
Insofar as the study
is concerned only with the Ilam district tea, dairy and credit co-operatives
sector and the way it interfaces with political and economic factors, it has
some limitations. The study does not address the behaviour of the other
co-operative sector in other parts of
In Nepal, a few numbers of studies have been conducted on the performance of co-operatives. A study conducted by the Asian Development Bank for the purpose of Rural Co-operatives Project in Nepal (December, 1984)concludes that the member participation in the co-operatives in Nepal is very weak. Likewise, a report entitled “SahakaritaKo Bhawi Disha (Future Directions of Cooperatives)”(1993) identified various activities to be taken by the cooperatives on the Impact of Liberal Economic Policy on Cooperatives, Review of Existing Cooperative Policy and Role of Cooperatives in Poverty Alleviation.
The main objectives of the General Conference were to set up the future directions of co-operative movement and to identify the scope and programs of co-operatives. The General Conference identifies some of the key areas to be reformed. They are increment of dealership commission to the co-operatives, co-operativization of public corporations, structural reform of co-operatives, conduct of women and adult literacy classes by co-operatives, involvement of co-operatives on environment conservation, establishment of co-operative ministry and co-operative bank etc. Hence, the researcher has undertaken this study to find out the impact of the co-operative policy towards the co-operatives (especially tea, dairy and credit co-operatives) : leadership selection, responsibilities of leadership, selection of executive members, members, participation, their perception, socio-economic status promoted by the cooperatives in Nepal.
Overview of Methodology
The methodology be adopted in this study to explore the tension identified above adopts a mixed method (qualitative and quantitative research) approach, essentially built around case studies, semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. Qualitative research operates from a different platform and mindset to quantitative research approaches. It is embedded in understanding individuals’ experiences of their worlds and how they make sense of these. Thus, an appreciation of an individual’s perspective of the tea, dairy and credit co-operative business structure and behaviour is an end in itself (Patton, 1990), whether or not one can generalize from these personal experiences to all tea, dairy and credit co-operatives. Nevertheless, these individual reflections can provide insights that are pertinent to others involved in tea, dairy and credit co-operatives in Ilam District.
A report by Patrie(1998)will guide the orientation and methodology for this research. Patrie, in analyzing why a particular form of agricultural co-operative, the NGC, evolved in North Dakota, identified that in addition to the internal behaviour and business strategies of an agricultural co-operative, a range of external factors can affect the viability of the co-operative business model. He acknowledged the role of a number of institutions in stimulating the uptake of the NGC model. These organizations included, for example, government funded business development agencies, banks and other financial institutions, management and agribusiness consultants, legal firms and accounting firms. Patrie also referred to the North Dakota State government in the development of a whole-of-State strategic plan, Vision 2000. He noted, too, the importance of other factors stimulating the formation of co-operatives, such as favorable legislation for co-operatives and low interest financial loans specifically for co-operative business start-ups, as well as a young generation of well-educated farmers who could evaluate the co-operative business structure on its economic and organizational merits (Patrie, 1998).
When the study began, by the year of 2012, there were 3620420 total number of shareholders of co-operatives (Dahal, 2012, p. 30). Dahal further reports that there were 25353 primary co-operatives, 11594 Credit co-operatives, 1785 Dairy co-operatives and 100 Tea co-operatives. There were 15 central cooperative organizations and National Cooperative Bank in the country. According to the Co-operative Department, there were 40 Tea co-operatives in Ilam district, where there were 1957 male and 485 female shareholders. Similarly, there were 119 Dairy co-operatives, and 7644 male and 1148 female shareholders. There were 53 Credit co-operatives, and 3381 male and 3819 female shareholders.
The study was based on The Pragmatic Worldview because researcher wanted to be problem centered and used the mix data tools to gather the in-depth knowledge on subject matter (Karki, 2015).
The study was based
on explorative design. The study was carried out in Ilam district from Sep. 2013
– March, 2014 among the Dairy, Tea and Savings & Credit Cooperatives for
quantitative data. For the in-depth interview, national level cooperative
leaders and exports were interviewed.
Organization of the Study
The study consists of six chapters. The first introductory chapter introduces the definition of the key terms, world history and Nepalese history of co-operatives in brief, co-operative policy of Nepal Government, and status of tea, dairy and credit co-operatives in Nepal. The chapter also includes the theories of co-operatives, significance of the research, objectives of the study and hypotheses.
Chapter Two describes
development of co-operatives in different plan period in
Chapter Three
is about methodology of the study, which
includes the framework and design of the study, sample area, sources of data,
instruments of data collection and techniques used in data analysis. Then
Chapter Four analyses and evaluates the result broadly. Chapter Five is the
concluding chapter. It concludes the study with some recommendations as well as
the area for further study.
Part 3
1.
What is SPSS and how are data analyzed
by using SPSS?
SPSS was released
in its first version in 1968 after being developed by Norman H. Nie and C. Hadlai
Hull. SPSS
is among the most widely used programs for statistical
analysis in social
science. It is used by market researchers, health
researchers, survey companies, government, education researchers, marketing
organizations and others. The original SPSS manual (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970)
has been described as one of "sociology's most influential books". In addition to statistical analysis,
data management (case selection, file reshaping, creating derived data) and
data documentation (a metadata dictionary
is stored in thedatafile)
are features of the base software.
Statistics included in the base software:
- Descriptive
statistics: Cross tabulation, Frequencies,
Descriptive, Explore, Descriptive Ratio Statistics
- Bivariatestatistics: Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate,
partial, distances),Nonparametric tests.
- Prediction
for numerical outcomes: Linear regression
- Prediction
for identifying groups: Factor
analysis, cluster analysis (two-step,
K-means, hierarchical), Discriminant
2.
Explain in brief:
a. Data communication concepts
If
information is meaningful, and data is the construct used to convey that
meaning, communications is the action of transferring that information,
in the form of data, from one location to another. A communications system is
the mechanism used to facilitate that transfer. Mankind has developed a variety
of methods to communicate information using a variety of mechanisms. Obviously,
the human body has been wonderfully equipped for communication through our
abilities and senses. Speech and hearing serve us well in this capacity. We also
communicate visually through signals, body language and other movement.
Unaided
forms of interpersonal communication, however, are limited by how far we can
see and hear. As we will see later in this section, mankind has extended the
distance we can communicate using various types of technology. The most
significant of these developments that of electricity and electronics opened
the door to communications over much longer distances. Radio systems extended
those distances even further, facilitating communications around the world and
into space. In recent years, computer technology has enabled the evolution of digital
communications systems, which has made a variety of types of communication
accessible to virtually everyone on the planet.
b.
Local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building using network media.[1] The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to wide area networks (WANs), include their usually higher data-transfer rates, smaller geographic area, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines.
ARCNET, Token Ring and other technology standards have been used in the past, but Ethernet over twisted paircabling, and Wi-Fi are the two most common technologies currently used to build LANs.
c.
Wide area network
A wide area network (WAN) is a
geographically dispersed telecommunications network.
The term distinguishes a broader telecommunication structure from a local area
network (LAN).
A wide area network may be privately owned or rented, but the term usually
connotes the inclusion of public (shared user) networks. An intermediate form
of network in terms of geography is a metropolitan area network (MAN).
The term Wide Area Network (WAN) usually
refers to a network which covers a large geographical area, and use
communications circuits to connect the intermediate nodes. A major factor
impacting WAN design and performance is a requirement that they lease
communications circuits from telephone companies or other communications
carriers. Transmission rates are typically 2 Mbps, 34 Mbps, 45 Mbps, 155 Mbps,
625 Mbps (or sometimes considerably more).
Numerous WANs have been constructed,
including public packet networks, large corporate networks, military networks,
banking networks, stock brokerage networks, and airline reservation networks.
Some WANs are very extensive, spanning the globe, but most do not provide true
global coverage. Organisations supporting WANs using the Internet
Protocol are
known as Network Service Providers (NSPs). These form the core of the Internet.
d. Internet
A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well. There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).
The Internet is not synonymous with World Wide Web.
e.
Intranet
An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of many interlinked local area networks and also use leased lines in the wide area network. Typically, an intranet includes connections through one or more gatewaycomputers to the outside Internet. The main purpose of an intranet is to share company information and computing resources among employees. An intranet can also be used to facilitate working in groups and for teleconferences.
An intranet uses TCP/IP, HTTP, and other Internet protocols and in general looks like a private version of the Internet. Withtunneling, companies can send private messages through the public network, using the public network with special encryption/decryption and other security safeguards to connect one part of their intranet to another.
f.
Extranet
An extranet is a private network that uses Internet technology and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of a business's information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users outside the company. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in which the Internet is perceived as a way to do business with other companies as well as to sell products to customers.
An extranet requires security and privacy. These can include firewall server management, the issuance and use of digital certificates or similar means of user authentication, encryption of messages, and the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) thattunnel through the public network.
g.
Website
A website, also written as Web site,[1] web site, or simply site,[2] is a set of related web pages containingcontent (media) such as text, image]s, video, audio, etc. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web. A webpage is a document, typically written in plain textinterspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A webpage may incorporate elements from other websites with suitablemarkup anchors.
h.
Email
Electronic
mail,
commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging
digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email
operates across the Internet or
other computer
networks. Some early email systems required that the author
and the recipient both be online at
the same time, in common with instant
messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model.
Email servers accept,
forward, deliver and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are
required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically
to an email
server, for as long as it takes to send or receive
messages.
i.
Search engines-enterprise
"Enterprise Search" is used to describe the software of search information within an enterprise (though the search function and its results may still be public). [1] Enterprise search can be contrasted with web search, which applies search technology to documents on the open web, and desktop search, which applies search technology to the content on a single computer. Enterprise search systems index data and documents from a variety of sources such as: file systems, intranets, document management systems, e-mail, and databases. Many enterprise search systems integrate structured and unstructured data in their collections. Enterprise search systems also use access controls to enforce a security policy on their users.
j.
E-communication
:
E-communication is short for electronic
communication which means you communicate to people electronically like
emailing, text, phone calling etc. It also refers to statements, newsletters,
marketing, reports, product change information and notices sent to you by
online methods including email and SMS.
E-collaboration:
Collaboration
tools such as Weblogs, wikis, and instant messaging open up the possibility of
allowing organic self-supporting and self-organizing to form beyond the
firewall. Many organizations aren't ready for a bottom-up approach in which
individuals seek to affiliate with others of similar interests. Think about bow
we use IM. We add our buddies, create our own groups, and organize them to meet
our personal and work goals.
INFLIBNET
Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre is an autonomous Inter-University Centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India. It is a major National Programme initiated by the UGC in 1991 with its Head Quarters at Gujarat University Campus, Ahmedabad. Initially started as a project under the IUCAA, it became an independent Inter-University Centre in 1996. INFLIBNET is involved in modernizing university libraries in India and connecting them as well as information centres in the country through a nation-wide high speed data network using the state-of-art technologies for the optimum utilisation of information. INFLIBNET is set out to be a major player in promoting scholarly communication among academicians and researchers in India
DOAJ
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is website maintained by Lund University which listsopen access journals. The project defines open access journals as scientific and scholarly journalsthat
meet high quality standards by exercising peer review or editorial
quality control and "use a funding model that does not charge readers or
their institutions for access."[2] The Budapest
Open Access Initiative's definition of open access is used to define required rights given to users, for the
journal to be included in the DOAJ, as the rights to "read, download,
copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these
articles".
E-Journals
Electronic journals, also known as ejournals, e-journals, and electronic serials, are scholarly journalsor
intellectual magazines that can be
accessed via electronic transmission. In practice, this means that they are
usually published on the Web. They are a specialized form of electronic document: they have the purpose of providing material for academic research and study, and
they are formatted approximately like journal articles in traditional printed
journals. Being in electronic form, articles sometimes contain metadata that can be
entered into specialized databases, such as DOAJ or OACI, as well as the databases and search-engines for the
academic discipline concerned.
E-Library
E-library
is also known as a digital library. A digital library is a library in
which collections are stored in digital formats (as opposed to print, microform,
or other media) and accessible by computers.[1][not in citation given]The
digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer
networks. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system.
EBSCO HOST
EBSCO
host is an online system that provides access to several
periodical indexes or databases. These databases contain citations, abstracts
and many full-text articles from
magazines, journals, and newspapers.
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