Identification of Organic Compounds

Identification of Organic Compounds May Zheng Lab Partner: Vena Ganesarasa Observations: Table 1: The Use of Iodine Solution for Determining the Presence of Starch in Various Samples Solutions Sample: Amylose Maltose Sucrose Glucose Unknown X Unknown Y Distilled Water Observations Light yellow, cloudy, liquid Transparent light yellow, liquid Clear, colourless liquid Clear, colourless liquid White liquid Orange liquid Clear, colourless liquid Colour of Solution Dark blue/black liquid Clear yellow liquid Clear, dark yellow liquid Red/brown liquid Blue Dark blue/ black liquid Yellow/orange liquid Table 2: The Use of Benedict’s Solution for Determining the Presence of Sugar in Various Samples Solutions Sample: Amylose Maltose Sucrose Glucose Unknown X Unknown Y Distilled Water Observations Light yellow, cloudy, liquid Transparent light yellow, liquid Clear, colourless liquid Clear, colourless liquid White liquid Orange liquid Clear, colourless liquid Colour of Solution Orange liquid Dark orange liquid Clear, light blue liquid Yellowish/whitish precipitate Beige liquid Lime green liquid Clear blue liquid Table 3: The Use of Biuret’s Reagent for Determining the Presence of Protein in Various Samples Solutions Sample: Amylose Maltose Sucrose Glucose Unknown X Unknown Y Distilled Water Observations Light yellow, cloudy, liquid Transparent light yellow, liquid Clear, colourless liquid Clear, colourless liquid White liquid Orange liquid Clear, colourless liquid Colour of Solution No colour change No colour change Clear light blue liquid Very light blue/white liquid Beige liquid Yellow liquid Clear light blue liquid Table 4: The Use of Sudan (III) Solution for Determining the Presence of Lipid in Various Samples Solutions Sample: Amylose Maltose Sucrose Glucose Unknown X Unknown Y Distilled Water Observations Light yellow, cloudy, liquid Transparent light yellow, liquid Clear, colourless liquid Clear, colourless liquid White liquid Orange liquid Clear, colourless liquid Colour of Solution Pinkish red on top, yellowish/white on bottom Light pink liquid Light orange liquid  ¼ pinkish layer, white on bottom Pink layer, milky/ whitish layer on bottom Orangey on top, yellow on bottom Clear very faint pink when indicator was added; colour slowly faded away Discussion: The distilled water in this experiment functioned as the control sample. A control sample should be a constant variable that was not exposed to the factors being tested in the experiment. In this case, the purpose of the lab was to determine the presence of starch, lipid, protein, and sugar in various solutions. Distilled water did not contain any of these experimental factors and therefore it acted as a control sample. The distilled water played a very important role in this experiment considering that the results of the experimental samples must be compared to the control in order to form a conclusion (Rodriguez, 2013). By comparing the results of the control, the colour changes which had occurred in the experimental samples could be identified. If there was no control, one wouldn’t have been able to determine any valid changes in the experimental results since there was nothing to compare them to in order to verify the changes. In this experiment, distilled water was used a s the control instead of tap water because of the absence of metals and minerals such as iron and calcium. These elements have the potential to alter the results of the experiment by creating unwanted reactions with other substances in the experiment. Therefore, in order to have an accurate control to act as a reference source for the results of the experimental samples, distilled water was used (Myers, 2013). The Iodine solution was commonly used to test for the presence of starch in a substance. During the presence of starch, the Iodine solution would turn into a dark blue/black colour. The colour change was caused by the chemical reaction between the starch and the iodine. Amylose was a polysaccharide consisting of glucose units; it was a type of starch, in fact starch was made up of a mixture of amylose and amylopectin. Therefore in this experiment, when the iodine solution was added into the Amylose solution, the resulting solution had a deep bluish-black colour. The helix structure of amylose resembled a coiled spring. The element iodine, a non-polar molecule, on its own was insoluble in water; hence it was dissolved in an aqueous potassium iodide solution forming potassium triiodide which was soluble in water. The linear triiodide ion (I3-) basically slipped inside the coil of the amylose molecule resulting in an extremely blue/black colour. The transfer of charged particles (electr ons) which occurred between the amylose and the iodide ion altered the spaces between the energy levels/electron orbitals. This meant that light was absorbed by the solution at a different wavelength resulting in the colour change. The presence of starch was also determined in the unknown X and unknown Y solutions. The unknown X solution had a less intense shade of blue indicating that there was a lower concentration of starch in that substance (Iodine test for, 2012). Benedict’s solution was a clear blue liquid containing copper sulfate used to test for the presence of simple carbohydrates such as allmonosaccharides and several disaccharides like maltose. The presence of these sugars such as glucose triggered a chemical reaction between the sugar and copper sulfate (after heating which provides the energy required to initiate the reaction) resulting in a reddish-brown precipitate if there was a high concentration of sugar (2% or more). The solution could also turn greenish, yellow, or orange with lower concentrations of sugar. During this experiment, the glucose solution changed into a dark orange-red colour, while unknown X turned into a light yellow/beige colour, the unknown Y with a lime green colour and the maltose resulted in a yellowish-green colour. This suggested that the sugar content in maltose, unknown X and Y was low (less than 2%) compared to glucose (Benedicts reagent, 2014). Specifically, the Benedict’s solution tested for reducing sugars which consisted of an aldehyde group (presence of the CHO group). In the presence of reducing sugars, the copper (II) ions were reduced to copper (I) ions forming copper (I) oxide, a reddish-brown precipitate that was insoluble in water. In this experiment, the glucose possessed accessible electrons for donation, which the blue copper (II) ions were willing to receiving/accept to become reduced to reddish copper (II) ions. When the glucose donated an electron, it became oxidized while the copper (II) was reduced. For this reason, glucose was considered to be a reducing sugar capable of initiating a chemical reaction with the copper sulfate in Benedict’s solution. Similarly, maltose, a reducing disaccharide, reacted with the benedict’s solution when heated to form a murky yellow precipitate. Maltose molecules have a linear open-chain structure which made them accessible to react with the copper sulfa te in Benedict’s solution resulting in a dark yellowish colour indicating a low concentration of sugar (Yool, 2014). However, sucrose, also a disaccharide, did not provide a positive test for sugar. This was because sucrose was not a reducing sugar. The bond between the two sugars which made up sucrose, fructose and glucose, was formed in a particular way which inhibited the sucrose to isomerize to aldehyde form causing it to be a non-reducing sugar. The molecular structure of sucrose was not linear meaning that it was incapable of opening; it was basically stuck in its cyclical form. This prevented the sucrose from donating electrons and reducing the copper (II) in Benedict’s solution resulting in no chemical reaction, colour change, or formation of precipitate (Benedicts reagent, 2014). Biuret’s reagent was used to test for the presence of protein. The chemical reaction which occurred in the presence of protein resulted in a violet colour solution due to the peptide bonds which made up protein. The biuret reagent contained hydrated copper sulfate; the copper (II) ions formed coordination complexes as the single electron pairs of the four nitrogen atoms in peptide bonds surrounded a central atom which was the copper (II) ion. As the metal complex was formed, the wavelength at which light was absorbed changed to violet from clear blue indicating the presence of protein. Additionally, the greater the amount the protein in a solution, the more intense the colour change considering that there were more peptide bonds present resulting in long chain peptides (Biuret test, 2014). Sudan III was a red reagent that detected the presence of lipids. This solution was insoluble in water, however would dissolve in lipids. It would stain the present lipid an orange-red colour. In this experiment, only the unknown Y solution presented a distinctive orangey colour on top of a yellow solution after the addition of the Sudan III reagent suggesting the presence of lipid in this unknown solution. This showed a clear separation of the lipid and water portions of the solution considering that the two did not mix; lipid molecules were nonpolar while water molecules were polar. For this reason, the staining had only occurred at the top layer of the solution (Sudan iii, 2014). Carbohydrates were essential nutrients to leading a healthy diet. They were important energy source for the human body. However, they were not used straightaway due to excess intake; the body would store the carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver. The body used the glycogen stored in the muscles while the brain obtained energy from the glycogen stored in the liver which could only support a limited amount. Therefore, upon excess consumption of carbohydrates, the carbohydrates would be converted into fat which was stored in the fatty tissues. This would also simultaneously increase the glucose levels in blood which triggered the release of insulin in order to maintain homeostasis. Insulin was a hormone secreted by the pancreas into the bloodstream with the purpose of lowering the sugar levels. A great quantity of insulin not only triggered the body to store the extra carbohydrates as fat but also inhibited the release of the stored fat. This meant that the stor ed fat lost its ability to be used as energy. Additionally, high levels of insulin restrained the secretion of glucagon and growth hormones. Glucagon was a hormone secreted in the pancreas that initiated the breakdown of fat and sugar to increase the blood sugar levels. Growth hormone was responsible for muscle development. Lastly, the excess intake of carbohydrates which increased the blood glucose levels caused the secretion of extra insulin in order to lower the sugar level at a rapid rate. This caused hunger considering that after a short amount of time; the body’s blood sugar levels would be lower than normal causing the hungry sensation to convince the body to consume more carbohydrates increase the sugar levels (The relationship between, 2008). Cholesterol was a waxy, sterol, substance found in most body tissue such as in bloodstream and the nerves. This compound was produced by the liver in the human body and circulated through one’s blood stream. Cholesterol could also be found in one’s diet; foods with a great amount of saturated and trans fat such as meat and dairy products contained this substance. The presence of high level of cholesterol in the body greatly increased the risk of many heart diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. This was because when there was an excess amount of cholesterol in the blood, it could accumulate in the interior walls of arteries which provided various parts of the body the nutrients and oxygen needed to function properly. Plaque was formed as the extra cholesterol and other substances such as fat and calcium stuck to the inner walls of the blood vessel. This sticky substance would harden and decrease the circumferences and flexibility/elasticity of arteries. This health issue was known as atherosclerosis; the clotting of blood vessels due to the buildup of plaque limiting the flow of blood to several parts of the body such as the brain, the heart, and other organs. Depending on which of the many arteries in the body was blocked, there were several potential heart diseases. If the plaques clot the coronary arteries which supplied the heart with oxygen-rich blood, heart attacks may occur and if there was a blockage in the carotid arteries which fed blood to the brain, the reduced blood flow to the brain may cause a stroke. Most of these heart diseases were serious and even deadly (What is atherosclerosis?, 2011). Protein could be used as an energy source for the human body; however not the most efficient method. As protein was digested by the body, it was chemically broken down into amino acid subunits. Glucose and amino acids were chemically alike with the exception of the presence of nitrogen atoms in amino acids. In the absence of nitrogen, the amino acids could be converted into glucose or fatty acids which provided energy for the body. Due to the additional steps of removing the nitrogen, proteins were a slower source of energy, but longer lasting compared to carbohydrates and lipids. Furthermore, the use of protein as an energy source could be harmful to the body due to the by-products formed from the breakdown of amino acids. The nitrogen atoms contained in all amino acids were converted into ammonia during amino acid catabolism. The substance ammonia was toxic as it accumulated in the blood causing the body to excrete it through urination. However, high levels of ammonia would damage the liver and the kidneys. Also, the presence of a large quantity of this compound was poisonous to the cells in the body (Cloe, 2012). Errors: During this experimental, a few errors had occurred. The test tubes filled with the experimental samples were not washed properly for the next nutrient test. This resulted in absurd colour changes. At times, not enough indicator solution was added to the samples. This might have affected the resulting colours. Lastly, during the test for sugars, after the addition of the benedict’s solution into the samples, the solutions were not heated evenly for the same length of time. A few samples did not obtain enough energy for a potential chemical reaction/ colour change to occur. Conclusion: It was concluded that distilled water functioned as the control in the experiment due to the absence of metals and minerals in the liquid which could possibility initiate unwanted reactions. The control was used to provide a reference source for the obtained results from the experimental samples in order for the changes to be valid. The iodine solution was used to test for the presence of starch. The chemical reaction between the triiodine ions and starch molecules triggered the colour change of the solution to deep blue/black. Starch was detected in the amylose, unknown X and Y solutions. The benedict’s solution was used to determine the presence of reducing sugars. The chemical reaction between the copper sulfate in the benedict’s solution and the sugar molecules triggered a colour change in the samples. The sugar molecules reduced the copper (II) into copper (I) resulting in a reddish precipitate. With a lower concentration of sugar molecules, the samples turned gree nish, yellowish or orangey. The presence of sugar was determined in maltose, glucose, unknown X and Y samples in this experiment. Biuret’s reagent tested for the presence of protein. The copper sulfate in the reagent formed metal complexes with the nitrogen atoms found in the peptide bonds of protein. This resulted in a colour change of the samples to violet if protein was detected. The Sudan III solution tested for the presence of lipid. Since the solution was insoluble in water and soluble in lipids, the colour change to orangey red was only found on the top layer of a few samples. The presence of lipid was determined in the unknown Y sample. Furthermore, excess intake of carbohydrate increased the sugar level in blood. This triggered the release of the hormone, insulin, with the intention of lowering the sugar level to maintain internal balance. The release of this hormone by the pancreas caused the extra carbohydrates to be stored as fat. Also, the presence of a large amount of insulin caused the frequent sensation of hunger. This was because the insulin quickly lowered the sugar levels causing the body to want more carbohydrates to increase the sugar levels to maintain homeostasis. High levels of cholesterol in the blood resulted in the accumulation of plaque reducing the blood flow to various part of the body. This was a major risk factor of heart diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Lastly, when the body used protein as an energy source, there would be an elevated level of ammonia in the body considering that it was a by-product of the breakdown of amino acids. The high level of this toxic compound would cause harm to the kidneys, the liver and other body cells. References: Benedicts reagent. (2014). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedicts_reagent Biuret test. (2014). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biuret_test Cloe, A. (2012).  Why are proteins used as the last source of energy?. Retrieved from http://livewell.jillianmichaels.com/proteins-used-last-source-energy-5473.html Iodine test for starch. (2012). Retrieved from http://brilliantbiologystudent.weebly.com/iodine-test-for-starch.html Myers, G. (2013).  Why is distilled water a good control for science projects?. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_7418493_distilled-good-control-science-projects_.html Rodriguez, B. (2013).  What is the purpose of a control in an experiment?. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8612333_purpose-control-experiment.html Sudan iii. (2014). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan_III The relationship between carbohydrates and insulin. (2008, July 02). Retrieved from http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/article/Insulin_Weight_Loss What is atherosclerosis?. (2011, July 01). Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/atherosclerosis/ Yool, B. (2014).  The effect of benedict solution on glucose. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6584528_effect-benedict-solution-glucose.html

Homo Erectus: Pyro Technology Essay

The Homo erectus lineage consisted of the first human beings that controlled fire, or pyro technology, to sustain life. In this case fire was their lifeline, and without it there may not have been the continuation of human life as we know it. Physical evidence of fire making preserved at early sites of Homo erectus caves proved they were able to contain and control the flames. Origins of fire making are speculated from many hypotheses of archaeologists. Fire making became their lifestyle, and with fire the Homo erectus maintained a stable heat and light source. In early Homo erectus times these beings lived in caves in Southern Africa. In these caves evidence of fire use was discovered and examined by Kenneth Oakley and his colleagues, but the evidence was inconclusive (Clark and Harris 7). Eventually more Homo erectus sites were found and were also searched for possible fire making utilities and products of their fire making tools. In three sites of eastern and southern Africa, Clark discovered remains of burnt bone of a catfish and charred logs, along with other burned plant materials and rare fire-fractured quartzite (Clark and Harris 7). These discoveries revealed many uses of fire to the Homo erectus. Cleary the burnt bone of catfish shows that Homo erectus gained knowledge of cooking raw meats. Materials left behind such as the charred logs probably indicated their source to keep the fire burning as long as they needed. Fire in human nature has always been a fear and still is, but humans have learned to understand and control fire to their will. In Kenneth Feder’s book â€Å"The Past in Perspective an Introduction to Human Prehistory† he stated that â€Å"Homo erectus was our first ancestor able to control fire due to the evidence founded at an 800,000 year old site in Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, in Israel. Strong evidence has been found there such as burned seeds, wood, and even flint† (110). The capabilities of having controlled fire drew the existence of the human lineage further down in time. This controlled fire helped human species adapt to new environments with the protection of the warmth of flame and the light it provided. Fire also protected these beings from animals of the wild, keeping them off the food chain with a better chance to survive. Even cooking raw meats became possible through trial and error. â€Å"The ability to cook also helps with their digestive tract breaking down food easier with less energy to do so† (Feder 110). The origin of fire making in the Homo erectus time period is truthfully uncertain. It is clear however that fire had been provided either by nature or by they themselves learning how to build up a fire. Through observation of hitting specific stones together they could have possibly learned fire building this way. Even though there isn’t much evidence of whether or not the Homo erectus could build a fire or not, there are sites showing evidence that suggest they were capable of constructing a fire. In Chesowanja, Kenya there is a site where there were stone artifacts, fossilized faunal remains, and baked clay clasts that were recovered in situ from fine grained clayey silt deposits found outcropping in the Chemoigut Formation (Clark and Harris 12). Even though this evidence is believed to be man-made there is no actual proof that suggests these products were done with man-made fire. Fire making was the difference between Homo habilis and Homo erectus. The capability of fire making and use completely altered human life and then carved into the human lineage. The Homo erectus had fire to keep them warm from the harsh conditions of the winter and cold climates they would encounter. Eventually the Homo erectus would learn how to use fire for foods and simplistic tool crafting. According to Gascoigne â€Å"It will be many millennia before fire is adapted to any purpose other than for warmth and for roasting meat and root vegetables. But more than 250,000 years ago hunters realize that the sharpened point of a wooden spear can be hardened by charring it in embers†. All the knowledge of fire that the Homo erectus acquired from their lifetime was clearly passed onto all human species that came after themselves. Fire gave the Homo erectus the power needed to control and adapt to new environments. Protection with the use of fire helped the Homo erectus protect themselves from wild animals they encountered. These beings used fire for everyday use, in everything and anything. The use of fire in the Homo erectus lifetime was essential for their existence. Without fire human life would have been altered indefinitely. Fire is the base of their existence and even ours. Then and now fire has always been here to help us advance not just in technology, but just a way of living. Fire and its many uses completely changed life for the Homo erectus and it not only helped them survive as long as they used it, but it also paved the way for human species in the future. In the end, fire is the basis of technology along with other tools the Homo erectus crafted in their time as well. Fire became the necessity among human life. Works Cited Clark, J. D., and J. W.K. Harris. â€Å"The African Archaeological Review.† Fire and Its Roles in Early Hominid Lifeways. Springer, 1985. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. Feder, Kenneth L. â€Å"The Human Lineage.† The past in Perspective: An Introduction to Human Prehistory. 5th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. 110. Print. Gascoigne, Bamber. â€Å"History of Technology.† HistoryWorld. 2001. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. .

Factor Affecting People Investing in Mutual Fund

Factors affecting people investing in Mutual Fund in Malaysia: An application of the Theory of Planned Behavior Kuah Kean Lam Research report in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MBA 2008 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Nabsiah Abd. Wahid and my co-supervisor, Dr. Datin Joriah for their invaluable guidance in helping me with this research. Special thanks also go to Associate Professor T. Ramayah for his kind assistance and consultants in my statistical analysis. My sincere thanks to all the lecturers in the MBA programs.I also want to thank my family for their patience, support and encouragement during the period of my study. I am also grateful to my friends for their help and encouragement. Lastly, I wish to accord my appreciation to all the respondents who had so kind to respond my questionnaire in time. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF APPENDICES ix ABST RAK xi ABSTRACT xii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1. 1 Introduction 1 1. 2 Background 1 1. 2. 1 Benefits of Unit Trust Scheme 2 1. 2. 2 Disadvantages of Unit Trust Scheme 1. 2. 3 Types of Unit Trust Funds 4 1. 2. 4 Growth of Mutual Fund in Malaysia 6 1. 3 Problem Statement 8 1. 4 Research Objectives 10 1. 5 Research Question 10 1. 6 Definition of Key Terms 11 ii 1. 6. 1 Mutual Fund / Unit Trust Fund 1. 6. 2 11 Federation of Malaysia Unit Trust Managers (FMUTM) 12 1. 6. 3 Net Asset Value (NAV) 12 1. 6. 4 Islamic Mutual Fund 12 1. 6. 5 Attitude 13 1. 6. 6 Subjective Norms 13 1. 6. 7 Perceived Behavioral Control 14 1. 6. 8 Behavioral Intention 14 1. 7 14 1. 8 Chapter 2 Significance of Study Organization of Remaining Chapter 15 LITERATURE REVIEW 16 2. Introduction 16 2. 2 Literature Review 16 2. 2. 1 Emerging Market Research 17 2. 2. 2 International Research 20 2. 3 Model Explanation (TRA, TAM, TPB, and DTPB) 22 2. 3. 1 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) 23 2. 3. 2 Technology Acceptance Model ( TAM) 25 2. 3. 3 Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) 26 2. 3. 4 Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB) 28 2. 3. 5 Inclusion of other variables in the TPB iii 31 2. 4 33 2. 5 Theoretical Framework 33 2. 6 Chapter 3 Gaps in Literature Hypothesis Development 35 METHODOLOGY 41 3. 1 Introduction 41 3. 2 Research Design 41 3. 2. 1 Type of Study 1 3. 2. 2 Data Collection Method 42 3. 2. 3 Population and Sample 42 3. 2. 4 Data Collection 43 3. 3 Data Analysis 43 3. 3. 1 Descriptive Analysis 45 3. 3. 2 Factor Analysis 45 3. 3. 3 Reliability Test 45 3. 3. 4 Correlation Analysis 46 3. 3. 5 Multiple Regression Analysis 46 3. 4 48 3. 5 Chapter 4 Summary Expected Outcome 48 RESULTS 50 4. 1 Introduction 50 4. 2 Profile of Respondents 50 4. 3 Goodness of Measures 52 iv 4. 3. 1 Factor Analysis 52 4. 3. 1. 1 Factor Analysis for Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Ease of Invest 53 4. 3. 1. 2 Factor Analysis for Efficacy andFacilitating Condition 54 4. 3. 1. 3 Factor Analysis for Past Behavior, At titude, SN and PBC 4. 3. 2 4. 4 Reliability Test 57 Descriptive Analysis 4. 4. 1 55 58 Analysis of Independent Variable Explanatory Role 58 4. 5 Correlation Analysis 60 4. 6 Hypotheses Testing 62 4. 6. 1 Multiple Regression Analysis (Stage 1a) 62 4. 6. 2 Multiple Regression Analysis (Stage 1b) 64 4. 6. 3 Multiple Regression Analysis (Stage 1c) 66 4. 6. 4 Multiple Regression Analysis (Stage 2) 68 4. 6. 5 Multiple Regression Analysis (Stage 3) 70 4. 7 Chapter 5 Summary of Results 73 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 76 . 1 Introduction 76 5. 2 Recapitulation of the Study Findings 76 5. 3 Discussion of Major Findings 77 v 5. 3. 1 Attitude towards the Behavioral 78 5. 3. 2 Past Behavior 79 5. 3. 3 Subjective Norms 80 5. 3. 4 Perceived Behavioral Control 80 5. 3. 5 Behavioral Intention 81 5. 3. 6 Actual Investment 82 5. 3. 7 Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Ease of Invest 5. 3. 8 Efficacy and Facilitating Condition 83 5. 3. 9 5. 4 82 Normative Influence 84 Implications 84 5. 4. 1 Theoretica l Implication 84 5. 4. 2 Practical Implication 85 5. 4. 2. 1 Marketing Strategy for Mutual Fund 85 5. 5Answering the Research Questions 87 5. 6 Limitations 89 5. 7 Future Research 90 5. 8 Conclusion 90 REFERENCES 91 APPENDICES 97 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 4. 1 Respondents Demographic Profile Table 4. 2 Rotated Component Matrix for relative advantage, Compatibility and ease of invest Table 4. 3 54 Rotated Component Matrix for efficacy and facilitating Condition Table 4. 4 51 55 Rotated Component Matrix for Attitude, SN, PBC and Past Behavior 56 Table 4. 5 Reliability Coefficients of Variables 57 Table 4. 6 Descriptive Statistics 59 Table 4. 7 Pearson’s Correlation Analysis of Variable 1 Table 4. 8 Result of Multiple Regression of H8, H9 and H10 63 Table 4. 9 Result of Multiple Regression of H13 65 Table 4. 10 Result of Multiple Regression of H11 and H12 67 Table 4. 11 Result of Multiple Regression of H1, H2, H3 and H5 69 Table 4. 12 Result of Multiple Regression of H4, H6 a nd H7 72 Table 4. 13 Summary of Hypotheses Testing Results 73 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. 1 Total NAV vs Bursa Malaysia Market Capitalization as at 31st Dec 2006 6 Figure 2. 1 Theory of Reasoned Action 24 Figure 2. 2 Technology Acceptance Model 25 Figure 2. 3 Theory of Planned Behavior 26Figure 2. 4 TPB with belief de-composition 29 Figure 2. 5 Theoretical Framework 35 Figure 4. 1 Stage 1a Multiple Regression 62 Figure 4. 2 Stage 1b Multiple Regression 64 Figure 4. 3 Stage 1c Multiple Regression 66 Figure 4. 4 Stage 2 Multiple Regression 68 Figure 4. 5 Stage 3 Multiple Regression 71 Figure 4. 6 Model Summaries with Significant Relationship and Beta Value 75 viii LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix A Questionnaire 97 Appendix B Coding of Variables 103 Appendix C Respondent Frequency Results 104 Appendix D Factor Analysis – Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Ease of Invest 08 Appendix D1 Factor Analysis – Relative Advantage, Compatibility and Ease of Invest. (Afte r removal of RA_2) Appendix E 111 Factor Analysis – Efficacy and Facilitating Condition 114 Appendix E1 Factor Analysis – Efficacy and Facilitating Condition (After removal of FC_2) 117 Appendix E2 Factor Analysis – Efficacy and Facilitating Condition (After removal of FC_2 and EF_2) Appendix F 120 Factor Analysis – Past Behavior, Attitude, Subjective Norm And PBC 123 Appendix F1 Factor Analysis – Past Behavior, Attitude, Subjective Norm And PBC (After removal of Att_3) 128 Appendix GReliability Analysis – Behavioral Intention 133 Appendix H Reliability Analysis – Actual Investment 134 Appendix I Reliability Analysis – Attitude 135 Appendix J Reliability Analysis – Subjective Norm 136 Appendix K Reliability Analysis – PBC 137 Appendix L Reliability Analysis – Relative Advantage 138 ix Appendix M Reliability Analysis – Ease of Invest 139 Appendix N Reliability Analysis – Normative Influence 140 Appendix O Reliability Analysis – Efficacy 141 Appendix P Reliability Analysis – Facilitating Condition 142 Appendix Q Descriptive Analysis Results 143 Appendix R Correlation Analysis Results 44 Appendix S Stage 1a Multiple Regression Analysis 145 Appendix T Stage 1b Multiple Regression Analysis 148 Appendix U Stage 1c Multiple Regression Analysis 151 Appendix V Stage 2 Multiple Regression Analysis 154 Appendix W Stage 3 Multiple Regression Analysis 157 x ABSTRAK (MALAY) Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pelaburan dalam dana bersama di Malaysia: Applikasi dengan Teori Perlakuan Terancang. Dana Bersama (Mutual Fund) di Malaysia mengalami perkembangan pesat dalam beberapa tahun yang lepas. Perkembangan pesat ini menandakan kesesuaian pelaburan secara berkumpul di Malaysia.Hari ini, dana bersama telah menjadi satu bahagian penting dalam bidang ekonomi Malaysia. Perkembangan sihat dalam bidang tersebut telah memberi manfaat kepada ekonomi negara dan para pelabur. Tujuan kaj ian ini adalah untuk menentukan faktorfaktor yang mempengaruhi orang ramai untuk melabur dalam dana bersama di Malaysia dengan menggunakan Teori Perlakuan Terancang (TPB) yang diubahsuai. Sebanyak 400 soal selidik telah diedarkan kepada orang dewasa di negeri Pulau Pinang dan 211 soal selidik yang boleh diguna telah dikutip balik. Berdasarkan analisis, didapati model yang diguna dapat menerangkan 47. % varian dalam Keinginan (Intention). Sikap (Attitude), Perlakuan Lepas (Past Behavior) and Norma Subjektif (Subjective Norms) mempunyai hubungan positif yang ketara dengan keinginan untuk melabur dalam dana bersama. Analisis seterusnya mendapati kedua-dua kelakuan lepas dan keinginan mempunyai hubungan kesan positif yang ketara dengan pelaburan sebenar. Sungguhpun model ini dapat menerangkan varian agak tinggi dalam keinginan, tetapi didapati Tanggapan Kawalan Perlakuan (Perceived Behavioral Control) tidak mempunyai hubungan kesan positif yang ketara dengan keinginan dan pelaburan sebe nar.Keputusan ini mencadangkan model teoretikal lain tanpa pembolehubah (variable) ini mungkin akan lebih sesuai untuk mengkaji sikap pelaburan dana bersama. xi ABSTRACT Mutual Funds in Malaysia have experienced phenomenal growth in the past few years. This growth reflects the suitability of collective investments in Malaysia. Mutual fund forms an important part of the Malaysian economy today. The healthy growth of the industry seems to benefit the country’s economy and the investors.The aim of this study is to determine the factors affecting people investing in Mutual Fund in Malaysia using the modified decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior. Structured questionnaire was used in this study. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to the adults in Penang state and two hundred eleven useable questionnaires have been collected back. Based on the analysis, it was found that the model has explained 47. 4% of the variance in Behavioral Intention. Attitude towards behavior, Pas t Behavior and Subjective Norm have positive significant influence on investors’ Intention to invest in mutual fund.Further analysis on the Actual Investment, it was found that the both Past Behavior and Intention have positive significant influence on investors’ actual investment behavior. Even though the model has explained considerable high percentage of variances in Behavioral Intention, however, the findings that Perceived Behavioral Control is not a significant contributor to both Behavioral Intention and Actual Investment suggests that other theoretical model without this variable might be more suitable to study mutual fund investment behavior. ii Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Introduction This chapter introduces the research outline of the study. The chapter begins with an overview of the Mutual Fund industry in Malaysia, followed by brief discussion of the benefits and disadvantages of the Unit Trust Scheme, their growth and different types of Mutual Funds. Besi des that, this chapter also includes the problem statement, research objectives and research questions. The key terms and significance of the study will also be highlighted. 1. 2 BackgroundA Unit Trust Scheme (UTS) or Mutual Fund (MF) is a form of collective investment that allow investors with similar investment objectives to pool their savings, which are then invested in a portfolio of securities or other assets managed by investment professionals. Investors in Unit Trust Scheme or Mutual Fund do not purchase the securities in the portfolio directly. Securities or stocks are purchased by the Unit Trust Management Company (UTMC) following the authorized investments guidelines by a group of professional fund managers.Ownership of the portfolio is divided into units of entitlement and each investor is known as a ‘unit holder’. In this case, unit holders in Unit Trust Scheme (UTS) are not shareholders in the company but are rather beneficiaries under a trust set up by the company. Under the Unit Trust Scheme constitution or ‘deed’, there must be a trustee looking after the interest of the investors. The trustee is the legal owner of all the assets of UTS on behalf of the unit holders, and must act for the benefit of the unit holders. Unit holders in UTS have a eneficial interest in all the assets of those UTS, but are not entitle to direct UTMC on how to invest the portfolio of investments (Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM 2005). The return on investment for unit holders in UTS is usually a combination of a regular income payment (a ‘distribution’) and capital appreciation derived from the pool of investments held within those UTS. Each unit represents an entitlement to an equal amount of income and capital appreciation or depreciation that is normally reflected in the unit price of those UTS (Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM 2005). 1. 2. Benefits of Unit Trust Scheme For investor who is unable or unwilling to research and analyze investment markets by their own effort, Unit Trust Scheme is an ideal way of investing. To maintain a portfolio of directly held investments, an individual needs to keep up-to-date with market information and sentiment. This means keeping track of a wide range of information from many sources. For many individual investors, this is difficult, time consuming and expensive. Investing in UTS transfers most of the stress of investing to those best equipped to handle it – professional fund managers.Other significant benefits of investing in UTS are listed as below: (i) Diversification A larger pool of funds from many small investors allows the fund manager to purchase a wide range of investments. (ii) Liquidity of funds Most investors require that their investment be liquid. The investor can redeem their unit trust fund and receive their money in the specified time frame. In the case of Malaysia, the guideline is within 10 days. 2 (iii) Professional Management Investment decisions are made by professional fund managers.The investment process adopted is structured and follows basic investment principles outlined in the prospectus and deed. (iv) Investment Exposure For small investor (with RM1000), it is sometimes difficult to invest in particular asset class or certain securities, for example real estate or corporate bonds. UTS make this possible with pool investments from many small investors. (v) Investment Cost When making direct investments, the smaller investors will pay higher transaction cost if compare to large institutional investors due to prenegotiated fees on large purchase. 1. 2. Disadvantages of Unit Trust Scheme Some of the disadvantages of Unit Trust Scheme are list as follows: (i) Risk Any investment involves risk. Investment in UTS also has its risk of losing all of the money invested. (ii) Loss of Control Investors in UTS lose their right to direct how their savings are invested. If the fund manager invests the portfolio in accordance with the prospectus and deed, there is little that the unit holders can do if they disagree with the investment decisions made by the fund manager. 3 (iii) Fees and Charges The services provided by the UTMC are not without cost.Hence there are fees and charges payable by investors in UTS. (iv) Opportunity cost As with any decision, an investor who invests in UTS may have produced better returns by investing directly in the markets. This excess represents the ‘opportunity cost’ of investing in UTS. 1. 2. 3 Types of Unit Trust Funds Mutual funds are referred to as open-end funds for two main reasons: (i) they are required to redeem (or buy back) outstanding shares at any time upon a shareholder’s request, at a price based on the current value of the fund’s net assets; and (ii) irtually all mutual funds continuously offer new fund shares to the public. A closed-end fund is an investment company that issues a fixed number of shares that trade on a stock exchange or in the over-the-counter market. Assets of a closed-end fund are professionally managed in accordance with the fund’s investment objectives and policies, and may be invested in stocks, bonds, or a combination of both. Like other publicly traded securities, the market price of closed-end fund shares fluctuates and is determined by supply and demand in the marketplace. 4Based on Lipper’s fund investment objectives, Unit Trust Funds in Malaysia have been grouped into the following seven types (FMUTM Annual Report, 2006): (a) Exchange Traded Funds-Bond General funds. (b) Guaranteed/ Protected funds : Comprises Capital Guaranteed funds and Capital Protected funds. (c) Money Market funds : Include all Money Market funds. (d) Mixed Asset funds : Include Mixed Asset Asia, Mixed Asset Emerging Markets Asia, Mixed Asset Global, Mixed Asset Growth funds and Mixed Asset Income funds. (e) Islamic funds : Bond Islamic/Syariah funds, Equity Islamic/Syariah funds and Mixed Asset Islam ic/Syariah Balanced funds. f) Bond funds : Include all General Bond funds. (g) Equity funds : Include Equity ASEAN fund, Equity Asia Pacific Ex-Japan funds, Equity, Equity Europe, Global funds, Equity Growth funds, Equity Income funds, Equity Index Tracking funds, Equity Info & Technology funds, Equity Sector Real Estate Asia funds, Equity Sector Real Estate Global funds and Equity Small Companies funds. 1. 2. 4 Growth of Mutual Fund in Malaysia In Malaysia and throughout the world, Mutual Trust funds have experienced phenomenal growth in the past few years.This growth reflects the suitability of collective investments in Malaysia, as a means for the smaller investor to accumulate capital over the longer term. 5 Figure 1. 1 shows the growth trend of mutual fund and total NAV versus Bursa Malaysia Market capitalization. Figure 1. 1. Total NAV vs Bursa Malaysia Market Capitalization as at 31st Dec 2006 Source: Securities Commission (2007) Although the mutual fund industry in Malaysia started as far back as 1959 with the establishment of the Malayan Unit Trust Ltd, the development of the industry did not take-off until 1980s with the launching of the Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN). The major growth of the industry can only be seen in the 1990s when Malaysia, together with other Asian Tigers, saw a high and consistent growth in their economies. For Malaysia, the growth in the mid-1990s was very much due to the boost given by the government in the area of tax relief and allowing withdrawal on Employee Provident Fund (EPF) to invest in the mutual fund. With these incentives the mutual fund industry increased in size from RM15. 7 billion in 1992 to RM60 billion in 1996. The Asian crisis of 1997 had brought a sudden halt to this and we have seen even negative growth. However, the signs of recovery after that are becoming evident.Growth of the unit trust industry in Malaysia continued at a rapid pace in 2006. Total Net Asset Value (NAV) of the industry gained 23. 6 per ce nt, the net asset value of the managed funds increased to RM121. 8 billion. This amounts made-up of only 14. 35 per cent of the total market capitalization of the Bursa Malaysia, which stood at RM848. 7 billion. (FMUTM Annual Report, 2006) Different from the developed countries, an important characteristic of the Malaysian mutual fund industry is the dominant role of the government. As of 2006, more than 58% of these funds are affiliated with the government, i. . either owned by state governments or quasi-government agencies. Nevertheless, the number of private sector funds is increasing, in particular bank-owned funds. The NAV of the private unit trust funds (excluding federal and some state funds) in year 2006 stood at RM50. 7 billion, an increase of RM 6. 6 billion over previous year. (FMUTM Annual Report, 2006) The double digit growth was observed. The type of funds included Equity Funds, Bond Funds, Islamic Funds, Mixed Asset Funds, Money Market Funds, Guaranteed Funds and Exch ange Traded Funds. All these funds are the â€Å"open-end† Mutual Funds. 7Unit Trust industries are well established in developed financial markets like United States and European Union. The extent to which research, both at the theoretical and technical level, has been conducted in developed markets indicates the stage of maturity of mutual funds in these markets. In emerging markets, however, mutual funds are a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, growth has been robust. Emerging Asian economies like China, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Malaysia are expected to grow by double digits annually and projected to reach US$ 12 trillion by the year 2030 (PR Newswire, 2000).The phenomenon growth in the mutual fund industry in these emerging markets has resulted in an increase in the number of investment companies offering a wide range of different mutual funds (Ramasamy & Yueng, 2003). Faced with a wide range of mutual funds, how does one made choices and what are the factors a ffecting the intention of an investor investing in Mutual Funds? 1. 3 Problem Statement Growth, both in terms of size and number of funds categories, in the mutual fund industry among emerging markets has been impressive.Most researches, be it domestic or international, were on the mutual funds performance compared to the market (Don, Galagedera & Silvapulle, 2002), comparison of funds performance in different regions (Otten 2002), Islamic Funds performance (Abdullah, Hassan & Mohamad, 2007), aggregate funds performance (Taib & Isa, 2007), qualification, experience and investment style of fund manager, asset size and transaction cost (Ramasamy & Yeung, 2003), price linkage with index in emerging market (Low & Ghazali, 2007) and performance of funds during different economic cycles (Low, 2007).All the researches are conducted on the nature and 8 characteristics of the mutual funds it selves and not for one of the most important components of the mutual funds, the â€Å"investorsâ₠¬  or â€Å"mutual fund purchasers†. Thus, in this research, we will study the individual investors’ intention and factors affecting investment decision in the emerging market like Malaysia. This paper intends to fill this gap. Mutual fund forms an important part of the Malaysian economy today. As of 31st December 2006, the total registered mutual trust agent was 31060 people (FMUTM annual report, 2006).Many peoples’ livelihoods are depending on this industry, directly or indirectly. Besides the mutual trust agents, the mutual trust management companies, and regulatory bodies in Mutual Fund industry, investors play the utmost important role in the growth of the industry as they are the one who provides the required capital in the industries. Investors have numerous choices to invest their savings; there are many benefits and disadvantages to invest in the mutual trust funds. Investors have to weight the benefits and disadvantages, and to consider their investme nt objectives before deciding to invest in the Mutual Funds.In many developed countries, Mutual Funds investment has become the preferred vehicle for savings and retirement. The healthy growth of the industry seems to benefits the country’s economy and the investors. For the continuous growth of the industries in Malaysia, it is utmost important to study the behaviors of the investors, their intention, and the other factors motivating investors investing in Mutual Fund. Many theories have been developed and evolved through time for the research of behaviors and intentions in many domains. Among the few popular theories re Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology Acceptance 9 Model (TAM). The theoretical models and their comparison will be discussed in detail in section 2. 3. 1. 4 Research Objectives We have seen that NAV of Mutual Funds invested in Malaysia on 2006 was at RM 121. 8 billion. This has formed an important part of the Malay sian economy. This study is to investigate factors influencing Malaysian consumers’ intentional behavior to invest in Mutual Funds using modified Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB).In line with this, four specific objectives have been developed. The four main objectives of this study are therefore to: (1) determine significant contributing factors to Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioral Control, (2) determine the most significant factors among Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Behavioral Control that lead to Behavioral Intention to invest in Mutual Fund, (3) identify the relationship of Intention and Actual Investment (Behavior). (4) In line with the 3 objective above, an additional objective will be drawing the implications for the marketing of Mutual Fund products. . 5 Research Question This research attempts to answer the following research question: (1) What are the factors that significantly affect Attitude, Subjective Norm and Perceived Beh avioral Control? 10 (2) Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control and Past Behavior – which of these factors significantly contribute to Intention to invest in Mutual Funds? (3) Will Intention turn into actual Investment in Mutual Funds? (4) What are the conclusions and implications of the study for the marketing of Mutual Fund products? 1. 6 Definition of Key TermsIn order to share common understanding of the concepts and for better understanding of further discussion, the following key terms’ definition were referred specifically. 1. 6. 1 Mutual Fund / Unit Trust Fund Mutual Fund is a form of collective investment that allow investors with similar investment objectives to pool their savings, which are then invested in a portfolio of securities or other assets managed by investment professionals. Investors in Unit Trust Scheme or Mutual Fund do not purchase the securities in the portfolio directly.Ownership of the portfolio is divided into units of entit lement and each investor is known as a ‘unit holder’ (Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM, 2005) 11 1. 6. 2 Federation of Malaysian Unit Trust Managers (FMUTM) Federation of Malaysian Unit Trust Managers – an organization with the vision to develop unit trust as the preferred vehicle for saving and retirement. The objectives of the organization are (Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM, 2005): ? To improve the regulatory, fiscal and legal environment of unit trust; ?To formulate sound and ethical business practices, to promote the interest of the unit trust industry and provide investor protection; ? To provide information, assistance and other services to its Member; and; ? To promote public awareness of the benefit and risk of investing in unit trust. 1. 6. 3 Net Asset Value (NAV) The net value of the assets invested in the portfolio of the mutual fund. It’s a way to assess the net worth of the mutual fund. The value is computed every day after the closing of the share market. The NAV will be used to determine the price of buying and redemption of units trust. Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM, 2005) 1. 6. 4 Islamic Mutual Fund Islamic investing can be defined as investment in financial services and other investment products, which adhere to the principles established by the Shari’ah. These principles require that (Dealing in Unit Trust, FMUTM, 2005): (a) Investment must be made in ethical sectors. In other words, profits cannot be generated from prohibited activities such as alcohol production, gambling, 12 pornography etc. In addition, investing in interest (riba)-based financial institutions are not allowed. b) All wealth creation should result from a partnership between an investor and the user of capital in which rewards and risks are shared. Returns in invested capital should be earned rather than be pre-determined. 1. 6. 5 Attitude The extent to which one views a behavior as favorable or unfavorable, if a person perceives that there are positive outcomes resulting from an activity, then his or her attitude towards performing that behavior is likely to be positive (Ajzen, 1991). Attitude can be measure either through direct or belief-based measure.Belief-based measure of attitude is the weighted average of the strengths and outcomes evaluation of person’s behavioral beliefs (Ajzen, 2002b). 1. 6. 6 Subjective Norms An individual’s perception of social normative pressures, or relevant others’ beliefs, that he or she should or should not perform such behavior. It can be measured either through direct or belief-based measure. Belief –based measure of subjective norms is the weighted average of the normative expectations of others such as from family, friends or doctors and motivation to comply with their expectations (Ajzen, 1991 & 2002b). 3 1. 6. 7 Perceived Behavioral Control An individual's perceived ease or difficulty of performing the particular behavior (Ajzen, 1985). It is assumed that perceived behavioral control is determined by the total set of accessible control beliefs. It can be measured either through direct or belief-based measure. Belief –based measure of subjective norms is the weighted average of the strength of control beliefs and facilitation power of these beliefs (Ajzen, 1991, 2002b). 1. 6. 8 Behavioral Intention An indication of an individual's readiness to perform a given behavior.It is assumed to be immediate antecedent of behavior (Ajzen, 2002b). It is based on attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, with each predictor weighted for its importance in relation to the behavior and population of interest (Ajzen, 1991). 1. 7 Significance of the study Mutual fund has become one of the important investment vehicles for the world’s economy. The launching of the Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) in 1980 in Malaysia is part of the government efforts to increase the stakes holding of native Malays’ in Malaysian economy.The Unit Trust industry is an important component of the Malaysian economy. The industry serves to mobilize the saving of the average, small investors by funneling these savings into areas where capital is required. Investors want good returns on their savings, Mutual Fund provides an ideal way for them to gain exposure to investment that in the long run can produce returns superior to those from traditional savings accounts and fixed deposits. Study on the factors influencing the intention to invest and investment decisions will help the 4 industry formulate marketing strategies to further stimulate growth of this industry and eventually help in the healthy growth of the country’s economy. 1. 8 Organization of Remaining Chapter This research is presented in five chapters including this introduction chapter. The next chapter (Chapter Two) is the review of literature that outlined previous studies, from the review of literature; gaps are identified and new research framework is formulated for study in Malaysia context.Chapter Three will illustrate the research design, methodology used for data collections, and data analysis techniques to be used to analyzed and test the variables. Chapter Four will present the analyses done for the study and also the findings of the study. Chapter Five will discuss the interpretation and recapitulation of the study, implications of the findings, limitations of the study and suggestion for future research. It then concludes the whole research. 15 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 IntroductionFor better understanding of the present study, a comprehensive search of previous literature has been undertaken. As such, this chapter was organized in the manner to give an overview of literature, identify gaps, formulated theoretical framework and the hypotheses development. 2. 2 Literature Overview Mutual funds offer investors the advantages of portfolio diversification and professional management at low cost. These advantages are particularly important in the case of equity funds where both diversification and professional management have the potential to add value.For bond and money market mutual funds, the main advantage is transactional efficiency through professional management. There are many literature about the mutual funds in the developed countries. Literature are limited in the emerging market but are gaining popularity recently due to the tremendous growth in this industry. We will examine some literature in the emerging market, especially Malaysia as well as the international market. 16 2. 2. 1 Emerging Market research Investors made investment in the mutual funds with various investment objectives.Selecting mutual funds that will offer high returns with acceptable risk is a complex task. Literature shows that there are multiple factors that determine the performance of a mutual fund. Study by Ramasamy and Yeung (2003) on mutual fund purchaser in emerging country, Malaysia, s hows that among the factors dominating the selection of mutual funds are consistent past performance, size of funds and cost of transactions. Qualification and investment style of fund manager seems to be relatively less important. This means that in emerging market, the final performance of the funds is what matters.A study by Taib and Isa (2007) on Unit Trust Funds performance of Malaysian market from period 1991-2001 showed that unit trusts have not performed well over the share market index on the period of study. In most of the instances, unit trust trail behind the performance of the market portfolio except during the crisis period when the unit trust market adjusted returns yields positive results. Of the various types of unit trust under investigation, they found the bond funds showed very superior performance over and above the market and equity unit trusts.The high interest rate kept throughout majority of the period particularly during the crisis period in year 1997 has t remendously benefited the bond funds. The study also found no meaningful inter-temporal correlation between current performance and past performance. Low (2007) had studied on the Malaysia’s unit trust performance during the up and down market conditions has shown that the Malaysia mutual fund performance from 1996 to 2000 reported that the manager’s poor timing ability contributes significantly to the fund’s 7 negative overall performance. Such results suggest no economic benefit accrues to the average fund manager involving in market timing activities. The other study by Low and Ghazali (2007) examines the price linkages between unit trust funds and the stock market index during the period of 1996-2000. He finds in the short run, the prices of unit trust funds are related to the stock market index, but finds the nonexistence of long run relationship between the unit trust funds and the stock market index.This could possibly due to fund managers that are oblige d to adhere to their investment policies with the aim of maintaining a long term allocation strategy. One recent study by Lau (2007) on the investment style of fund managers of emerging market, Malaysia, indicates that most of the funds do not outperform the passive style benchmarks. Fund managers invest in large-cap stocks with cash enhances the performance of funds. Besides having a relatively high degree of style, funds that hold large-cap stocks together with a relatively high portion of liquid asset class tend to have higher alpha, translating into higher information ratio.It could be implied that liquid asset class enables fund managers to invest in stocks that improve their values in economic cycles. It is obvious that most of the funds concentrated on large-cap stocks, followed by medium-capital and government bonds. The Islamic Mutual Fund is gaining popularity in the emerging market like Malaysia and China. In the study by Abdullah, Hassan and Mohamad (2007) on the perform ance of Islamic mutual fund over three different economic periods namely pre, during and post economic crisis in year 1997 compared to the conventional mutual funds has shown that 18Islamic funds performed better than the conventional funds during bearish economic trends while, conventional funds showed better performance than Islamic funds during bullish economic conditions. In addition to that finding, both conventional and Islamic funds were unable to achieve at least 50 per cent market diversification levels, though conventional funds are found to have a marginally better diversification level than the Islamic funds. The results also suggest that fund managers are unable to correctly identify good bargain stocks and to forecast the price movements of the general market.In the past decades, there were wide variety of studies in consumer behaviors indicated a considerably consistent successful findings using the application of TPB model (Ajzen & Madden, 1986). The model was wide u sed in the emerging market to study the consumer behaviors. Study by Mohamed (2004) on consuming herbal supplement in Malaysia has indicated the suitability of the model. In his study, Attitude was found to be the strongest predictor of behavioral intention. Study by Chai (2006) on consumer behavioral intention to choose functional foods in Malaysia was also based on TPB model.The results showed that intention was strongly predicted by subjective norms followed by perceived susceptibility to illness, health value, attitude towards behavior and finally perceived behavioral control. Interesting finding in this study was perceived importance of taste did not have significant impact on intention. The other study by Muniandy (2006) using the integrated Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior on internet stock trading showed that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, descriptive norm and perceived usefulness have a direct significant 9 positive relationship towards behavi oral intention. In his study, the model was also compared to other intention based model like TAM, TPB and DTPB and found that IDTPB has better explanatory power. 2. 2. 2 International Research. In the research on the global growth of mutual funds by Fernando, Klapper, Sulla and Vittas (2003) indicate that the growth of mutual funds was likely to be determined by a number of factors. First and foremost is the level of income and wealth of the residents of a country.Conceptually, investing in mutual funds, like purchasing life insurance and saving for retirement, should be seen as a luxury good with a positive income elasticity of demand. In practice, however, the relationship between per capita income (used as an indicator of economic development and wealth) and holdings of mutual fund assets (expressed as a percentage of national income) is not always positive. In the same research on the global growth of mutual funds also indicated that the availability or not of substitutes as we ll as complements also greatly affects the growth of mutual fund assets.For example, houses are distant substitutes of mutual fund shares in household wealth but most other instruments are either close substitutes or close complements, in some cases both at the same time. Bank deposits, both the traditional form of checking accounts and savings deposits and the more modern money market deposit accounts, are close substitutes of money market mutual funds. The interest rate spread between bank deposits and money market funds would be expected to play an important part in determining the demand for money market mutual funds (Fernando et al. , 2003). 20The study by Otten (2002) to analyze the development and performance of the European mutual fund industry and compared it with the industry in the United States, found that Europe was lagging the American mutual fund industry when it comes to total asset size, average fund size, and market importance. Furthermore, it appears that a few la rge domestic fund groups dominate the mutual fund markets in the individual European countries. The study also showed that the performance of US equity funds was relatively poor compared to the European funds, and the outperformance of small cap mutual funds.In one of the extensive research by Fortin (2005) on international mutual fund management, he examined the international mutual fund returns for each category and overall returns for the 25-year period (1976-2000). The result of the study showed that there is no relationship between total return and expense ratio, but there is a significant positive relationship between total return and turnover, and a significant positive relationship between total return and fund size.Study by Huhmann and Bhattacharyya (2005) on Mutual Fund advertisement in Canada and United States has found that Mutual fund advertisements are not providing the information necessary for optimal investment decisions. In another word, mutual fund advertisements do not contain all the requisite information on the risk-return trade-off, principal-agent conflict, and transaction costs that consumers need to optimize their investment decisions. Mutual funds used techniques known to increase the likelihood that their advertisements are noticed, but they also use techniques known to decrease the readership of their advertisements.Also, they rarely included convenience information. 21 Philpot and Peterson (2006) study on the Real Estate Mutual Fund (REMF) found that team-managed funds have lower risk-adjusted returns than solo-managed funds. Managers with longer tenure on job tend to pursue higher market risk levels, and there was no relation between manager characteristics and management fees. Researchers have begun to recognize the importance of understanding consumers’ or investors’ intention and behavior and consequently, there has een an increase in the number of studies in this area. Many theories have been developed and evolv ed through time and situational change. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Among the few popular theories are Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), DecomposedTPB and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). There are many more theories in the literature, however this research will concentrate only on the theories as listed above as they are related and well within the scope of study. . 3 Models Explanation (TRA, TAM, TPB and DTPB) The objective of the study is to determine the factors affecting the purchasing behavior of the investors in the Mutual Trust funds. Four alternative models – the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior (DTPB), primarily adapted from Taylor and Todd (1995) – are here examined and compared. 22 2. 3. 1 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)The Theory of Reasoned Action was developed by Fishbein and Ajzen in 1975. TRA su ggests that a person's behavioral intention depends on the person's attitude about the behavior and subjective norms. If a person intends to do a behavior then it is likely that the person will do it. Furthermore a person's intentions are themselves guided by two things: the person's attitude towards the behavior and the subjective norm. Behavioral intention measures a person's relative strength of intention to perform a behavior.Attitude consists of beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior multiplied by his or her valuation of these consequences. Subjective norm is seen as a combination of perceived expectations from relevant individuals or groups along with intentions to comply with these expectations. In other words, â€Å"the person's perception that most people who are important to him or her think he should or should not perform the behavior in question† (Azjen & Fishbein, 1980). The TRA is popular in applied to explain use or adoption behavior.Research by Buttle and Bok (1996) on hotel marketing strategy reveals the two predictor constructs contained in the theory, attitude-towards-the act and subjective norm, jointly explain about 65 per cent of the variance in the criterion variable intention to stay in the hotel on the next business trip. Other example of research is consumption of alcohol free beer (Thomson & Thomson, 1996). In his research, it was found that the main determinant of behavior was Attitude followed by the subjective norm. Control factors failed to improve the basic model. The basic framework of TRA is shown in Figure 2. . 23 Figure 2. 1. Theory of Reasoned Action One shortcoming of the theory of reasoned action is the consideration of behaviors over which people do not have complete control. Therein lies the notion of perceived behavioral control, or â€Å"the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior† (Ajzen, 1991). As Hagger et al. (2001) note, this concept â€Å"reflects the person†™s assessment of the capacities (e. g. , skills and abilities) and the limiting or facilitating factors (e. g. , barriers and access to facilities) regarding behavioral engagement†.Theory would predict that perceived behavioral control influences both intentions (Ajzen, 1991) and actual behavior (Ajzen & Madden, 1986). Another limitation of the theory is that the theory stems from the assumption that behavior is under volitional control. It means that this theory could only be applied if the person can decide at will to perform or not to perform a certain behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The limitations of TRA lead to the development of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). TPB is an extension of TRA to include the dealings of behaviors when people do not 24

What Made The American Revolution - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 842 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/04/26 Category History Essay Level High school Topics: American Revolution Essay Did you like this example? What made the American Revolution, so revolutionary was the independence America gained after defeating Great Britain, and the disappearance of nobility thereafter. Because America had won the war, change had swept the nation unlike ever before. America officially becoming a republic after breaking away from Great Britain, which at the time of the revolution had been a constitutional monarchy. Although slavery still continued, free black men were allowed the right to vote. Furthermore, as an independent nation America no longer had to comply with the regulations of Navigation Acts. As a result of newfound independence, America broke away from Great Britain becoming a democracy, allowing people the right to vote, and no longer having to abide by the Navigation Acts, changing America from a colony to a nation. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Made The American Revolution" essay for you Create order After the Revolutionary War, political structures in America began to change. Due to America breaking away from Great Britain and adopting a new political system, a republic. Additionally, it allowed free blacks and white males the right to vote, although it typically was rich white males that would vote. At the same time nobility had started to quickly disappear seeing that Great Britain had lost the war with America, no longer holding the same power they once did during Colonial America. On top of that there is also the Royal Proclamation of 1763, an event in Colonial America that had changed, because of the revolution. To begin with, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was the halt of westward expansion into West America by the British. Specifically, to avoid further confrontation with Native Americans and to focus more on trade, dismissing the American desire to expand west. With the Royal Proclamation ending after American independence, countless Americans strived to gain land outside the thirteen colonies. Notably, at the same time of these political changes the roles of women remained the same. Therefore, it is clear that after the Revolutionary War, there were important political changes such as Americas new republic, the right to vote, the receding of nobility, and the Royal Proclamation of 1763 but, the role of women had stayed the same and for the most part blacks as well. Not only did America experience political change strongly but changed economically as well. In fact Americans no longer had to follow the Navigation Acts, a series of English laws issued in 1651 that regulated trade between English ships and other countries, namely the Dutch. Therefore America could trade with whoever they pleased. However not all change was good considering that America had thrown itself into debts, having spent all their money towards the war effort. Among economic problems was the Articles of Confederation, drafted by Congress in 1777, which allowed Congress to coin money but lacked the power to collect taxes and regulate commerce. Although multiple economic structures changed slavery had stayed the same due to it being an important part of the economy and American society. Which consisted of three distinct slave systems, tobacco based, rice-based, and non plantation, well-established in the colonial era. Tobacco based plantation slavery and the Chesapeake made up of large planters, yeoman farmers, indentured servants, and slaves. Rice-based Plantation slavery in South Carolina and Georgia focusing on the production of rice with a high number of slaves. On the other hand in non plantation societies, slavery was less important seeing that slaves did not pose a threat to the white majority. Even though slavery is an economic structure it is also a social or cultural structure. Since the most common aspect African-Americans shared was not origin, race, or even language, but in fact slavery. In the Chesapeake, slaves learn English, experienced the Great Awakening, and were laid bare to white culture. In South Carolina and Georgia slave communities maintained notable African cultural aspects such as, child naming and language. It is also important to note that some things did change socially, but not to the degree that it did politically. Though slavery stayed, the significance on the status of slavery began to change. The revolution having exposed the irony of Americans crying out for liberty while they had been enslaving countless Africans before and during the war. In fact in the North steps were taken between 1777 and 1804 toward emancipation, the process of being freed from legal social and political restrictions. After the war free black communities emerged along with the arrival of their own churches, schools, and leaders. Also free blacks were allowed to the right to vote but because of the Three-Fifths Clause they were represented as not a whole person but as three fifths of one. The roles of women from the colonial era up to the Early Republic how little change. For instance go coverture, the legal Authority the husband had over the wife, remained untouched in the new nation. Legally and socially women lacked the opportunity for solvency bus like the qualification of political participation such as the right to vote. Women played an important role by training future citizens or otherwise known as children. Furthermore despite changes after the Revolutionary War politics has still remained a mans world.