268 10 3494 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/6479687195f77f84141114c9a5f40d80.docx 5ab3df13ff91cc602ad0f15cd5cd5f5e https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/22c57223a2572371cd2dc0ad8ded5a3b.pdf 9c2cb02fa3a750dd2e3358c529777620 PDF Text Text The Balanced Scorecard as a Performance Measurement Tool in Terms of Strategic Management Mustafa İyibildiren Selçuk University Turkey iyibildiren@selcuk.edu.tr Kemal Nalçın Selçuk University Turkey kemalnalcin@selcuk.edu.tr Abstract: An efficient performance appraisal system has great importance for the enterprises challenging in complex environments to achieve success. Performance indicators are used to evaluate, control and develop the processes for the enterprises to achieve their aims and objectives. Additionally, performance indicators are also used to compare the performances of the enterprises, factories, departments, teams and individuals. For appraising performance of the enterprises, financial indicators focused conventional performance appraisal techniques, have been commonly used. However, the performance appraisals dealing with only financial indicators are not considered adequate to evaluate the performance of enterprises, currently. Recognizing the weak points of the financial indicator focused performance appraisals, researchers have started to study multi-dimensioned performance approaches. In this regard, it will be an appropriate solution to take, not only financial dimension but also other dimensions, into consideration, when the aim is to design a performance appraisal system for enterprises. The balanced scorecard, which is one of the multi-dimensioned appraisal techniques, to evaluate organizational performance, is a strategic planning and management system that translates an organization’s mission and strategy into a balanced set of integrated performance measures. A broad range of performance measures and business goals can be incorporated in the scorecard. The balanced scorecard is used extensively in business, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide, to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance in terms of strategic goals. In this study, the concept of performance will be explained, balanced scorecard method, which is one of the multi-dimensional performance measurement methods, will be discussed in detail. Finally, the application of balanced scorecard analysis will be realized in a medium-sized industrial enterprise. Keywords: Strategic management, performance measurement, balanced scorecard. 167 �167 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2647 Title A name given to the resource The Balanced Scorecard as a Performance Measurement Tool in Terms of Strategic Management Author Author IYIBILDIREN, Mustafa NALCIN, Kemal Abstract A summary of the resource. An efficient performance appraisal system has great importance for the enterprises challenging in complex environments to achieve success. Performance indicators are used to evaluate, control and develop the processes for the enterprises to achieve their aims and objectives. Additionally, performance indicators are also used to compare the performances of the enterprises, factories, departments, teams and individuals. For appraising performance of the enterprises, financial indicators focused conventional performance appraisal techniques, have been commonly used. However, the performance appraisals dealing with only financial indicators are not considered adequate to evaluate the performance of enterprises, currently. Recognizing the weak points of the financial indicator focused performance appraisals, researchers have started to study multi-dimensioned performance approaches. In this regard, it will be an appropriate solution to take, not only financial dimension but also other dimensions, into consideration, when the aim is to design a performance appraisal system for enterprises. The balanced scorecard, which is one of the multi-dimensioned appraisal techniques, to evaluate organizational performance, is a strategic planning and management system that translates an organization’s mission and strategy into a balanced set of integrated performance measures. A broad range of performance measures and business goals can be incorporated in the scorecard. The balanced scorecard is used extensively in business, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide, to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization performance in terms of strategic goals. In this study, the concept of performance will be explained, balanced scorecard method, which is one of the multi-dimensional performance measurement methods, will be discussed in detail. Finally, the application of balanced scorecard analysis will be realized in a medium-sized industrial enterprise. Keywords: Strategic management, performance measurement, balanced scorecard. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-04 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/7e728817cd66badc6f2ff95e0bd68eda.pdf 34f6334327bb8ef08b9a965f85dee50b PDF Text Text 1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo The Balanced Scorecard in the Healthcare Industry: A Case Study Yigit Bora ŞENYĐĞĐT Istanbul University, School of Business Administration, Turkey senyigit@istanbul.edu.tr Abstract: The performance measurement and management is an important process for decision-makers in any type of organization. One of the performance measurement tools available is the balanced scorecard, which provides a comprehensive set of financial and nonfinancial performance measures for the organizations to be strategy focused. This study discusses the balanced scorecard generally from theoretical views, and why it should be used by healthcare organizations. Moreover, the study is enhanced by performing a case study to examine the implementation process of the balanced scorecard by healthcare (orthopedics) company in the United States. This study suggests that though the balanced scorecard would be the right choice for many, including companies in the healthcare industry, it may not be the right choice for all. With the balanced scorecard being fairly young, it is the common perception that this approach will continue to be explored and efficiency will be improved on it in the future. Keywords: Balanced scorecard, performance measurement, healthcare industry 1. Introduction Without measuring results, there is no way of knowing whether the business is being managed satisfactorily, nor is it possible to hold managers accountable for the business. Moreover, it is difficult to reward success or avoid unintentionally rewarding failure. To date, there have been numerous tools developed for the purpose of performance measurement. The balanced scorecard (BSC) puts the organization’s vision and strategy into a framework that effectively and efficiently communicates strategic intent and monitors performance. Traditionally, management control stresses decentralized profit goals, which mean that it is mostly focused on outcomes. In a BSC, outcome measures are combined with measures that describe resources spent or activities performed. Good scorecards combine outcome measures, of which profit is only one, with performance drivers. The BSC assists companies in overcoming two important issues: effective organizational performance measurement and implementing strategy (Niven, 2002). The first issue is an effective performance measurement: “If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it”. Historically, the measurement system for business has been financial. A key problem with looking at financial measures alone is that it gives only one particular perspective (Coskun, 2006). In fact, it may even lead to poor decision-making. For example, if one of the main performance measures is cost per customer, managers may try to cut costs to such an extent that the customers become unhappy with the products they are buying and will take their business to a competing supplier. Moreover, financial measures are not consistent with today’s business environment, and are not relevant to many levels of organization. Successfully implementing strategy is another important issue facing organizations. A strategy is a set of hypotheses about cause and effect. The measurement system makes the relationships (hypotheses) among objectives in the various perspectives explicit so that they can be managed and validated (Niven, 2002). The BSC is not merely a collection of financial and non-financial measurements. The BSC should be the translation of the business unit’s strategy into a linked set of measures that define both the long-term strategic purposes, as well as the mechanisms for achieving those purposes (Kaplan, 2000). In the nature of implementing strategies, the organization may have some barriers. There are four barriers to strategy implementation that exist for most companies: a vision barrier, a people barrier, a resource barrier, and a management barrier (Niven, 2002). The purpose of this study is the increase understanding of how the BSC is used in the healthcare industry, specifically in the orthopedics company operating in the United States. This paper is organized in the following manner. Section 2 reviews the literature on performance measurement and management highlighting the need for the healthcare industry to use both financial and non-financial performance indicators. In section 3, a short background of the case company is presented followed by a case description. The implementation of the 139 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo BSC is described with respect to how it designed and implemented. Finally, in section 4 the findings from the study are synthesized and the implementation process of the BSC discussed. 2. Literature Review The BSC is a management tool that was developed by Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton in the 1990s (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). Drs. Kaplan and Norton recognized the need for businesses to have a more “balanced” approach of assessing company performance than the traditional method of looking strictly at financial data (Davis, 2005). While financial data is important, in large part it only gives an indication of historical company performance. The BSC combines financial data along with non-financial performance criteria, such as product quality and customer service, in a way that allows businesses to not only track their performance, but also to align business activities in such a way that they support the organization’s stated missions and goals (Davis, 2005). The BSC provides superior financial performance when compared to a traditional performance measurement system (Albright & Davis, 2004). In contrast to the financial based measurement systems, the BSC reinforces the organization’s focus on future success by setting objectives and measuring performance from different perspectives. These balanced perspectives are as follows: customer, internal business processes, learning and growth, and financial (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The BSC retains financial measurement, but it focuses on a more general and integrated set of measurements that link customer, internal business processes, employee learning and growth, and financial performance to long-term financial success. These four perspectives are defined as (Hoque & James, 2000): The financial perspective includes profitability measures such as operating income, return-on-capital employed, sales growth, and generation of cash flow or economic value added. The customer perspective encompasses such measures as customer satisfaction, customer retention, new customer acquisition, customer response time, marked share, and customer profitability. The internal process perspective includes product design, product development, post-sales service, manufacturing efficiency, quality etc. The learning and growth perspective measures the ability of employees, information system and organizational procedures to manage the business and adapt to change. The reasons for adopting the BSC in the healthcare industry are due to financial pressure, competition, consumerism, industry consolidation, regulatory reporting, information management, and new technology (Inamdar & Kaplan, 2002). Considering the healthcare industry, one can argue that a number of problems face the healthcare industry, including cost structure, payor limitations and constraints, and performance and quality issues that require changes in how healthcare organizations, both profit and nonprofit, manage operations (Kocakulah & Austill, 2007). As these healthcare systems become more complex, so does the task of developing a methodology and formula that can align the organizational strategies and main principles with performance measurement and management indicators. The BSC is especially appropriate for organizations in turbulent industries such as healthcare (Voelker et al., 2001). A BSC is not only better in monitoring and evaluating performance of a healthcare organization but also in improving that performance to its maximum best. For instance, by tracking value delivery and paying incentives to staff based on how much value an organization delivers to customers, rather than the amount or value received from customers, hospitals can motivate and redirect staff to look for better ways to improve value of service. This can serve as counter to the possibility of staff motivation to promote short-term importance on the revenue received from clients. Also by effectively tracking improvement made by patients, clients and community, BSC can give internal stakeholders such as medical staff and employees a renewed pride in what they do (MacStravic, 1999). The BSC is one of the tools for better control and management of organizations in the healthcare industry. However, the healthcare industry was a little slower to adopt the BSC approach than was manufacturing and profit-oriented service industries. Although Kaplan and Norton’s first book in 1996 outlining the BSC included examples, none were healthcare related (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). They simply had not found any services (Kocakulah & Austill, 2007). In the next section, we perform a case study in an orthopedics company in the healthcare industry. 3. The Implementation Process of the Balanced Scorecard in the Healthcare Industry We have chosen to evaluate the unique aspects of a medical device manufacturer when considering the implementation of a BSC system. As we discussed before, one of the most critical aspects of creating a BSC system is making sure that it is tailored to the specific needs of the company and the industry in which it competes. There are several distinctive aspects of the medical device market that will ultimately determine the metrics used for our BSC implementation. The name of entity used herein is fictional to protect proprietary 140 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo interests and privacy. “Morgan” is the fictional name that represents the company. For this evaluation, we choose Morgan Inc., a large-cap manufacturer of orthopedic implants used for joint reconstruction. In applying the four main perspectives of the BSC to Morgan’s business it is also important to look at the medical device market in general. Morgan is one of the world’s largest pure-play orthopedics’ manufacturers with annual revenues in 2008 of $1.8 billion. The orthopedic market is mainly made up of total joint replacements (hips, knees, shoulders, ankles, elbows, etc.) as well as trauma and spinal implants. This market is dominated by five key players that together account for over 90% of the joint reconstruction market. Having an oligopoly market like this creates stability, but also makes moving market share incredibly difficult. This market is set for increased growth over the next few decades, since the average age that a patient will receive a total hip or total knee replacement is 67, and the average baby boomer is currently 62 years old. Because Morgan manufacturers implants for human use, quality is incredibly important. This is also why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays such a large role in the company’s financial performance. The FDA must approve all new implants that Morgan makes. It is subject to continued oversight of the FDA in the form of product surveillance, inspection checks, and even implant recalls. All of this points to the need for a high level of quality in the products that Morgan makes. In addition to a need for high quality, the medical device market in which Morgan does business is incredibly lucrative. Morgan’s annual gross margin is consistently in the mid to upper 70 percent, and its main customers are orthopedic surgeons, hospitals, and ultimately patients. Also, a total hip or total knee replacement is an extremely technical operation. For this reason, Morgan has an array of sales associates around the world that not only deliver the necessary implants and instruments to the hospital but also provide critically important information about the product and surgical technique during a case. Therefore, the sales associate-surgeon relationship is important for maintenance and growth of sales. In applying the BSC approach to Morgan, it is important to walk through the four different perspectives and discuss how they affect each other and also how each measure improves company. The first is learning and growth. Learning and growth is important because it is Morgan employees that drive innovation and creativity throughout the organization. Hiring, training, and retaining key employee talent is necessary for improving the next stage: business processes. By improving the way that Morgan operates internally, it has increase focus and can better serve the 3rd perspective: customers. Customers that purchase products consistently and/or those that purchase premium technology products lead to increased revenues and improvement in the 4th perspective: Financial performance. The tracking of key financial metrics helps Morgan measure those areas that tie directly with corporate strategies. In exploring the first perspective, learning and growth, it is important to remember that key employee talent is critical to the success of the organization. Some of the unique attributes of this perspective within Morgan are a highly technical and creative workforce, employee interest in continued education, and high attraction to the medical field. In order to be a highly motivated and capable organization, Morgan would implement the following employee goals: 1) provide continued opportunities for employee learning and training, 2) increase employee empowerment to make key decisions, 3) encourage innovation and creative thinking and 4) have a highly satisfied and motivated workforce. Some of the metrics that would be measured in order to judge performance would be the percentage of internal promotions, continued education tuition reimbursement, retention rates, employee satisfaction surveys, and benchmarking evaluations. In exploring the next perspective, internal business practices, it is important to remember that Morgan produces high quality, high technology products. Also important is the fact that new propriety, premium-priced implants are the main drivers of growth. Therefore some of the goals that Morgan would implement would be to 1) minimize the potential for product recalls, 2) increase sales force focus on premium products, 3) become the technology leader in new product development, and 4) minimize time from idea creation to launch. In order to achieve these goals Morgan would measure 1) the percentage of “first run” products that are manufactured without defect and incidence reports as measured by the FDA, 2) the percentage of new product sales from total sales as determined by those systems launched in the past 18 months, 3) new, propriety technology product launches and 4) product launch timelines. In thinking about the next perspective, customers, it is important to remember that the Morgan’s main customers are orthopedic surgeons. They are a highly educated and technical professional group. Second, market share is extremely sticky, causing the relationship between sales associate and surgeon to be critical in the selling process. Therefore the goals for the customer perspective are to 1) increase customer loyalty and satisfaction, 2) better target the most profitable customers, and 3) increase new customer usage. Some of the measures that Morgan would look at are 1) share of profitable customer’s business, 2) measurement of average profit per account and 3) percentage of the business that is coming from new customers. The final BSC perspective that Morgan would measure would be financial performance. Important criteria to Morgan in this category are the need for profitable R&D and product development cycles, ready 141 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo access to cash, and efficient return on investment throughout its various divisions. The measures that would be considered for financial performance are IRR and NPV minimums, consistent growth in free cash flow, and ROI and ROA assessments. As we step back to assess the value of a BSC system for Morgan, it is important to remember that the measures will only work if employees believe in their value. The biggest motivation for employee input and support of a BSC system is to directly tie the performance evaluations to the BSC measures. It is also important to make sure that these targets are aligned with the broader corporate strategy. By determining strategy first, and then building your BSC measures on those tactics that directly support the plan for the organization, the BSC approach is much more effective. Another important part of implementing the BSC at Morgan is to incorporate lessons that other organizations have learned when they developed their own BSC system. As more organizations implement BSC, there are more opportunities to avoid the potential land mines and hit the ground running with an effective measurement system. Some of these lessons are the need for flexibility, openness, efficiency, and inclusiveness. The need for flexibility stems from the fact that it takes time to develop the tools and measures that will ultimately benefit Morgan the most. All of the correct measures will not be in place the first year, therefore Morgan should be willing to change or drop those measures that are not working or are not aligned with the broader corporate vision. The need for openness is also critically important because it keeps individuals at all levels engaged and focused on the right measures. By having an open communication channel from the CEO to the down, individual employees are empowered to make decisions that improve important measures. It is also important to be efficient in the measures that the company decides are critical to its success. Efficient focus on the key metrics for success is vitally important. Finally, including all departments in the planning and development of the BSC approach helps to achieve employee buy-in and support the measurement system. This is important not only at BSC creation, but also through continual feedback and refinement of the system moving forward. 4. Conclusion Many aspects were explored about the BSC and it can be claimed that there is much to be discovered about it. First to be explored were the main concepts and ideas about the BSC. This helped to get a general idea of what the BSC is all about. After understanding this, the reasons that industries need the BSC were discussed. The industry focused on was the healthcare industry and the many reasons why this approach could be used. More specifically we chose to go into more detail and chose a company in the healthcare industry that actually uses the BSC in their operations. The findings of the study imply that the implementation cost of the BSC is high. Therefore, it is important to make cost-benefit analysis rigorously. So it can be concluded on this note that though the BSC would be the right choice for many, including firms in the healthcare industry, it may not be the right choice for all. With the BSC being fairly young, it is the common perception that this approach will continue to be explored and efficiency will be improved on it in the future. It is very well likely that more and more companies, including the healthcare industry, will use the BSC in the future. References Albright, Tom & Davis, Stan (2004). An investigation of the effect of balanced scorecard implementation on financial performance. Management Accounting Research, 135-153. Coskun, Ali (2006). Stratejik performans yonetimi ve performans karnesi. Istanbul: Literatur. Davis, Fred R. (2005). Strategic management: Concepts and cases. NJ: Prentice Hall. Hoque, Z. & James, W. (2000). Linking balanced scorecard measures to size and market factors: Impact on organizational performance. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 12, 1-17. Inamdar, N. & Kaplan, R. (2002). Applying the balanced scorecard in healthcare provider organizations. Journal of Healthcare Management, 47(3), 179-95. Niven, P.R. (2002). Balanced scorecard step-by-step : maximizing performance and maintaining results. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Kaplan, R. & Norton, D.P. (2000). The strategy-focused organization : how balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. & Norton, D.P. (1996). The balanced scorecard : translating strategy into action. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. & Norton, D.P. (1992). The balanced scorecard – Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, January-February, 71-79. 142 �1. International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10 2009, Sarajevo Kocakulah, M.C. & Austill, D.A. (2007). Balanced scorecard application in the healthcare industry: a case study. Journal of Health Care Finance, 34(1), 72–99. MacStravic, S. (1999). A really balanced scorecard. Health Forum Journal, 42(3), 64-67. Voelker, K. E., Rakich, J. S., and French, G. R. (2001).The balanced scorecard in healthcare organizations: A performance measurement and strategic planning methodology. Hospital Topics, 79(3), 13-24. 143 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 147 Title A name given to the resource The Balanced Scorecard in the Healthcare Industry: A Case Study Author Author ŞENYİĞİT, Yigit Bora Abstract A summary of the resource. The performance measurement and management is an important process for decision-makers in any type of organization. One of the performance measurement tools available is the balanced scorecard, which provides a comprehensive set of financial and nonfinancial performance measures for the organizations to be strategy focused. This study discusses the balanced scorecard generally from theoretical views, and why it should be used by healthcare organizations. Moreover, the study is enhanced by performing a case study to examine the implementation process of the balanced scorecard by healthcare (orthopedics) company in the United States. This study suggests that though the balanced scorecard would be the right choice for many, including companies in the healthcare industry, it may not be the right choice for all. With the balanced scorecard being fairly young, it is the common perception that this approach will continue to be explored and efficiency will be improved on it in the future. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed HB Economic Theory https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/83831b03b1f95ef0f26cbf635509d2cf.pdf 8c5baaf2270f8800725afe4850e092ab PDF Text Text 3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo Available http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1516837 Rondinelli, D.A.& Bery, M. A. (2000). Environmental Citienship in Multi-national Corporations: Soial Responsibility and Sustainable Development, European Management Journal, Vol.18, No:1, p:70-84. Schaltegger S. (1997). Information Costs, Quality of Information and Stakeholder Involvement-The Necessity of International Standards of Ecological Accounting, EcoManagement and Auditing, Vol. 4 (3), 87-97. Tüsiad, (2005). Şirketlerin Yeni Yönetim Aracı: Çevresel Muhasebe, Yayın No. -T/200506/404, Haziran. United Nations Division for Sustainable Development, (2001). Environmental Management Accounting, Procedures and Principles. Yakhou M., Dorweiler V.P. (2004). Environmental Accounting: An Essential Component of Business Strategy, Business Strategy and the Environment, Volume 13, p.65-77. Yıldıztekin, İ. (2009). Sürdürülebilir Kalkınmada Çevre Muhasebesinin Etkileri, Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Sayı:13 (1): 367-390. The Banks And Sustainable Development Violeta Madzova University Goce Delcev, Faculty of economics-Stip , Republic of Macedonia, violeta.madzova@ugd.edu.mk Abstract This paper focuses on the role of the banks in supporting sustainable development. Its objective is to examine recent trends in banking and sustainable development, as well as to assess the implementation and application of the sustainable development policies adopted by the banks in the banking sector in Republic of Macedonia. For that purpose it is made a comprehensive analysis on the trends of “sustainable finance”, as well as research on the practices in the Macedonian banking sector in supporting sustainable society. Namely, at the beginning of the 21st century, the banks in the industrial world have become complex financial organizations that offer a wide variety of services to international markets and control billions of dollars in cash and assets. Supported by the latest technology, banks are working to identify new business niches, to develop customized services, to implement 89 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo innovative strategies and to capture new market opportunities. By means of their financing policy, banks can then take specific measures to contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship. As the analysis indicates, with few exceptions bank policies in the West Balkans are lagging significantly behind relevant international standards and best practices. Until recently, most Macedonian banks did not consider environmental and social concerns to be particularly relevant to their operations. Today, however, the integration of sustainability into the banking sector of Macedonia has taken two key directions: Support the environmental and social responsibility through environmental initiatives and socially responsible initiatives financial contribution in Integration of environmental and other sustainable development criteria into lending and investment strategy of the banks Therefore, the paper reviews the environmental and social policies of the selected big and medium sized banks in Macedonia, as well as policy and the practices if the specialized promotion bank-Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion. 1.INTRODUCTION Sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.5 It is about preserving the environment and biodiversity for future generations, and about being cautious with our natural resources and climate. But sustainability is also about guaranteeing human rights and a life in dignity, free from want and poverty for all people living today. In the present, globalizing world, private banks play a crucial role in allocating financial resources. As a large majority of all companies and governments in the world is dependent on the financial services of private banks, these financial institutions play a key role in every segment of human activity. While their financial services are used too often for activities which are harmful to the environment, human rights, and social equity, banks can also be powerful agents of change. In fact , due to their intermediary role in the economy, banks hold a unique position with regard to sustainable development. This intermediary role is both quantitative and qualitative. Through their efficient credit approval systems, banks are well equipped to weigh risks and attach a price to these risks. Through the price differentiation, banks can foster sustainability. Banks can also develop more sustainable products, such as environmental or ethical investment funds. In addition, there is great scope for banks to improve their internal environmental performance. 2.THE TRENDS IN SUSTAINABLE FINANCE The banking sector’s emerging recognition of environmental and social responsibility was 5 Jan Willem van Gelder “The do’s and don’ts of Sustainable Banking - A BankTrack manual”- 2004, pg.3 90 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo driven to a large degree by outside pressures. Namely, at the very beginning of 21 century (i.e. in 2000) the environmental organizations such as Friends of the Earth and the Rainforest Action Network challenged the industry with high-profile campaigns that highlighted cases in which commercial banks were “bankrolling disasters”. In 2002, a global coalition of non-governmental organisations (including FoE, RAN, and WWF-UK) promoted sustainable finance in the commercial sector. 6This informal network subsequently evolved into BankTrack, whose vision for a sustainable finance sector was expressed in the Collevecchio Declaration of January 2003. Now endorsed by more than 200 organisations, the Collevecchio Declaration remains the benchmark by which civil society will measure the banking sector’s commitment to sustainable development. The discernible shift that many banks have made in recent years towards addressing the environmental and social impacts of their financial services is a welcome and important first step in this direction. More and more banks realize that ignoring social and environmental issues could considerably increase their exposure to credit, compliance and reputational risks. The progress banks make in this field, however, will be measured not by good intentions or even by strong policies on paper. To advance sustainability, banks must seek improved performance and results on the ground in affected communities and environments. The fall-out of the financial crisis continued in 2011, affecting many people around the world and in the communities where we live and work. The current economic environment has prompted some to examine the global banking system, asking fundamental questions about the role banks play.At the same time, the need for a stable international financial services system has never been greater. Volatility in global markets, risk of contagion in the euro zone , high unemployment levels across North America and increased levels of household debt can affect each and every one of us. Today the question is no longer whether commercial banks should address the sustainable development aspects of the activities they support, but how they should do it – what substantive standards should they apply? How should they implement them? And how should they assure compliance? 3.THE ROLE OF THE BANKS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT As mentioned before , the banks are the most important intermediaries in an economy. This intermediary function centres on bringing together and coordinating savings and investments. As a financial intermediary between entities on the market, a bank has four functions: transforming money by size, duration, place and/or time, and risk. It is particularly this last function (the distribution and management of risks) that will probably be the most important one for attaining a sustainable society. Between borrowers and lenders of money what develops is information asymmetry, including that which concerns environmental aspects. Banks have extensive and efficient lending operations and have a comparative advantage in information (as a result of the knowledge they have of economic sectors, regulations and market developments). By in principle having a solid view of environmental and financial 6 Marcel Jeucken “Sustainable Finance and Banking” November 2001, pg.5. 91 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo risks, banks fulfil a key role in reducing information asymmetry between entities in the market. A bank can attach a value or price to reduce that uncertainty. Interest rate differentiation among sustainability aspects is justified from risk perspectives. The scope for interest rate differentiation increases if banks can raise funds more cheaply because they have a relatively ‘well qualified’ credit portfolio. Banks can go a critical step further by applying interest rate differentiation on the basis of the will to stimulate sustainable development. By means of their financing policy, banks can then take specific measures to contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship. By now, various banks have drawn up their own methods to determine the environmental risks associated with potential clients. 7 A number of banks are also marketing specific environmental loans for SMEs. Investing for proprietary trading (in which the same risks as previously described are generally applicable) and investing as commissioned by clients are becoming increasingly more important activities for banks. In cases where clients are interested not only in financial rewards but also in ecological and social rewards, an interesting market develops. The market for funds that invest exclusively in companies demonstrating progressive environmental care, for example, is growing dramatically. Also available are funds specialising in solar energy, wind energy and environmental technology. It is no longer pure idealism, however, that is driving the success of these funds since the financial yields of several of the more ‘sustainable’ funds are above the market average. Dealing openly with this process of change, both internally and externally, will lay the foundations necessary for sustainable banking. This is not a process than can or will take place overnight. A key factor in this process of change is how a bank sees itself within the global setting. Thus, companies have to implement the idea of the Corporate Social Responsibility, which is an equivalent of the sustainable development at the microeconomic level. The basic principle of the sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility is the combination of needs important both from the point of view of an institution, as well as a group of entities operating in its environment (employees, shareholders, stakeholders, borrowers, local society) within its business policy. 8Thus, the goal of a contemporary organisation should be to maximise its shareholders’ value satisfying, at the same time, expectations of other stakeholders (stakeholders’ value) by integrating economic, social and environmental operations. 4.SUSTAINABLE FINANCE IN MACEDONIAN BANKS Until recently, most Macedonian banks did not consider environmental and social concerns to be particularly relevant to their operations. In the recent years , however, the integration of sustainability into the banking sector of Macedonia has taken two key directions:  Support the environmental and social responsibility through financial contribution in environmental initiatives and socially responsible initiatives 7 8 WWF & BankTrack Report - “ Shaping the future of sustainable finance” – WWF , 2006, pg 11 92 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo  Integration of environmental and other sustainable development criteria into lending and investment strategy of the banks. The development of sustainable financing in both direction are partly due to the more favorable legal environment created by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia focused towards enabling sustainability , fair competition, competitiveness and better social inclusion at the labor market . In that given environment, the banks were just trying to accommodate and include some of the Governments directions in their strategies and credit policies . The other reason for more social responsible banks lays partly to the general policies of the international banks which in recent 10 years entered in almost all Macedonian banks and therefore brought a new philosophy of bank management . Additional reason for the acceptance of so called sustainable finance by the commercial banks was the strengthened position of the Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion which credit lines were mostly focused on financing sustainable development while the commercial banks were agent banks for these lines.. 4.1.Legal preconditions for developing” sustainable finance” in Macedonian banks a) Legal environment promoting and supporting social corporate responsibility The concept of social responsibility was basically recognized by the Government through adopting the Law on donations and sponsorship in 2007 , envisaging many tax exemption for the sponsorship and donation provided by legal entities ( including banks’) as well as citizens in the areas of ecology, social inclusion issues , human rights , social care, health, science and culture. The same year , the social responsibility concept was even more acknowledge by establishment of the National coronation body for corporate social responsibility as permanent working group within the Macedonian Government Socio-economic Council . In 2008 the body created and the Government adopted National Strategy (Agenda) for corporate social responsibility which was a platform for further raising awareness for the social responsibility concept, capacities and competences development for further incorporating of the CSR concept in all business strategies of the real sector as well as creating more favorable environment for the further promotion and establishment of social responsibilities in Macedonian legal entities. All this was strong incentive for the banks in their efforts to be recognized as social responsible entity who acts like a good citizens and contribute to the community more that the common banking operations envisaged. In the banking competitive market the banks were quite aware that the tax exemption and the good image that would be created through corporate social responsible actions will just strengthen their position at the market, and even increase the profitability. 93 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo As of 2010 the the National body for CSR organizes competition called as “ National award for the corporate social responsible best practices in the area of : relationship with employees, ethical management , market relations with suppliers/customers, environment protection and investment in community. In almost all areas, the banks turns out to be either winner or one of the best in certain area of CSR activities. b) Legal environment for incorporation of the sustainable development criteria in bankin strategy and lending policy Trying to create favorable environment for sustainable development in the country the Government of Macedonia created and adopted numerous of law, bylaw as well as strategic documents mostly in the area of:  environment with special emphasize on energy efficiency and renewable energy production ;  entrepreneurship , startup companies and SME development ;  labor rights, active measures for employment, poverty reduction and social inclusion at the labor market  developments and restructuring of the agro-sector.  Environment – Energy efficiency and renewable energy production and usage In order to stimulate the energy efficiency as well as the production and usage of renewable energy the Government has adopted the following strategic document and laws:      Energy law (in 2006 and new Energy law in 2011) Strategy for energy efficiency till 2020 year Strategy for Energy development (2008-2020) with vision till 20130 Strategy for renewable energy usage in Republic of Macedonia till 2020 National programme for energy efficiency in public buildings (2012-2018) draft Besides the document the Programme for enhancing the usage of renewable energy in RM was adopted and the Energy Efficiency Agency as well as the Energy efficiency Fund were established in 2010. This was a strong signal first for MBDP as well for some commercial banks to create special credit products for financing environmental including energy efficiency and renewable energy project offering special and more favorable terms of crediting.  Entrepreneurship , competitiveness and SME development The Ministry of Economy as responsible authority for creating favorable business climate , has created and Government adopted the following documents which support SME development :  National strategy for SME development ( which was drafted in 2002 , reviewed in 2004 and amended in 2004)  Four years Programme for SME development ( first adopted in 2006) envisaging support and subsidies for micro and small enterprises and special support for establishment of SME 94 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo  Programme for SMEs’ entrepreneurship, competitiveness and innovation development 2012 envisaging financial support to handicrafts and micro enterprises in standardization of their work. Knowing that the micro and small enterprises are financially not strong enough and need loans at least in first years of their work, the Government adopted so called Law on banks for micro financing, envisaging the banks which will be established for micro financing only , with more favorable lending policy in terms of interest rate, collateral and repayment period. It gives the incentives for all other banks to incorporate special and more favorable conditions in their lending policy when financing micro and small enterprises.  Labor rights, active measures for employment, poverty reduction and social inclusion at the labor market One of the most favorised area in terms of creating favorable conditions through legislation is the area of labor and social policy , tackling the issues of labor rights, active measures for employment, poverty reduction and social inclusion at the labor market . Therefore , the following law and strategic document have been adopted:      Labor law Employment Strategy 2006-2010 Employment Strategy 2011-2015 National Strategy for poverty reduction and social exclusion in RM 2010-2020 National Strategy for youth (envisaging special measures for employment of youth in RM As of 2007 the Government has been adopting the Operation plan for implementing Active measures for employment envisaging measures for :  Smart growth – program for preparation for employment  Sustainable growth – Programme for self-employment and Programme for financial support of the SME for new employments  Inclusive growth – Employment Subsidy programme , Programme for social useful work, Progaremme with packages for employment support The active measures supported the self employment initiatives by giving financial support in amount of 3000 EUR for start up businesses with special focus of unemployed young people. Although these fund were highly welcomed by unemployed youth, in many cases they were not enough and additional fund in terms of loans were needed. This directly impacted the banks to create the special lines for start up business and self-employment which was seen as a complementary funding for successful outcome from the active measures created by the Government.  Developments and restructuring of the agro-sector Over 10 years the agro sector ( primary producers and food processors) are supported through the fund provided by IFAD-International Fund for Agriculture Development . Some of the banks have been even specialized for crediting the agro-sector being additionally supported 95 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo by IFAD funds, or they have created complementary credit packages (comprised of both banks and IFAD funds) In recent years the agriculture was seen as a part of the rural development and gives a new light in respecting the principles of rural development in the EU context. Therefore the Government adopted several laws and bylaws enabling favorable environment for agro sector development (within rural development umbrella) through financial and other support:  National strategy with action plan for organic production 2008-2011  Law on organic production  Law on agriculture and rural and development (envisaging among the other issues measures for support of rural development , the state aid in agriculture and rural development ) As of 2010 the Ministry of agriculture, forestry and water economy , has been creating the Programme for financial support of the rural development aimed to increase competitiveness in agro sector Additionally , in the period 2007-2011 the state withdraw over 60 milion EUR for implementing the IPARD measures for rural development in order to prepare the agro sector for EU accession . The IPARD fund are aimed for investments for restructuring the farms and food processing facilities according to Community standards requirements as well as for diversivication and development of rural communities . As the IPARD funds cover 50% of the total costs, the rest should be financed by the farmers own resources ( i.e own savings or loans by commercial banks). The Government even has formal discussion with the banking sector , for providing additional 50% of the fund through crediting with special favorable conditions in order to support implementation of the project for agro sector restructuring and rural economy diversification. 4.2.The role of the Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion (MBDP) in supporting “sustainable financing” Although the Government of the RM has given strong incentives towards corporate social responsibility concept implementation and promotion of further aspects of sustainable financing, it seems that the strongest initiative in this sense is given by the Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion as it is already incorporated the concept of sustainable financing and corporate social responsibility in its strategy business philosophy and policy. Namely MBDP offers the following financial products: 1. Lending o o export credit financing - working capital for pre-shipment export finance and working capital for bridging the period between export and collection of payment from the foreign buyer; credit support to SMEs - permanent working capital and investment financing from various fund sources: ICL-Revolving, MBDP, EIB-Revolving, EIB-50 million euros; 96 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo o credit support to agriculture and agro-industry - primary production, processing and export; o o o o o micro financing - micro and small scale enterprises, individual entrepreneurs, handicraft shops, private merchants, market counters, and other micro and small scale entities; financing energy projects - energy efficiency and renewable energy sources; loans for reducing unemployement - creation and preservation of jobs and selfemployment financing. 2. Credit insurance of: domestic accounts receivable (pre- and post-shipment) export accounts receivable (pre- and post-shipment)against commercial and political risk. 3. Factoring – i. e . providing finance to: - small and medium-sized enterprises registered in the R. Macedonia, through commercial banks, i.e. intermediary banks, and - export oriented enterprises registered in the R. Macedonia, through commercial banks, i.e. intermediary banks or directly through MBDP. For the purpose of the analysis, the most important financial product are credit products, i.e credit lines for : -export credit financing – providing working capital for pre-shipment export finance or bridging the period between export and collection of payment from the foreign buyer ( with minimum amount: EUR 15,000 and Maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000, repayment period of 2 year and interest rate of 6%). These loans is distributing through 14 intermediary Banks (out of 18 banks) in Republic of Macedonia. -SME financing – permanent working capital and investments from different sources: ICLrevolving, MBDP, EIB-revolving, EIB-50,000,000 euros . The minimum amount per beneficiary is EUR 5,000 while maximum amount is over 600.000 EUR , with repayment period of 3 years/grace period of 6 months and interest rate of 5,5%). These loans is distributing through 11 Macedonian intermediary Banks . -financing agriculture and agro-industry – for primary production, processing and export of agricultural products , including investments supported by IPARD Programme ( with different conditions relating the sub- purpose and the beneficiaries of the loans) and being disbursed through 11 Macedonian intermediary banks. - micro financing - micro and small scale enterprises, individual entrepreneurs, handicraft shops, private merchants, market counters, and other micro and small scale entities ( with amount up to 15.000 EUR and repayment period of 2 years for micro loans and up to 50.000 EUR and repayment period of 4 years for small loans ) . These loans is distributing through 5 Macedonian intermediary banks . - financing energy projects – i.e. energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, environmental care and improvements of energy climate ( with amount up to USD 500,000 per beneficiary , envisaging repayment period of 6 years and floating interest rate). The loans are being distributed through 5 Macedonian intermediary banks . - loans for reducing unemployment – total amount of 10.000 EUR for creation and preservation of jobs and self-employment ( with the individual loans up to 400.000 EUR , repayment period of 7 years and grace period of 2 years and floating interest rate.This credit 97 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo line is expected to create 950 new jobs and the loans are distributed through 3 Macedonian intermediary banks. The fact that all above mentioned credit lines are distributed through the commercial banks, the lending policy of the commercial banks is affected in two ways: -Being the intermediary banks for MBDP credit lines they accept the credit products as their own and further more create credit conditions regarding their general credit policy , respecting terms from the agreement signed with MBDP. -In case of positive experience related to sustainable financing, the banks dedicate certain amount of their own banking fund and create special credit lines that support sustainable development areas. 5.MACEDONIAN BANKS IN FINANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The Macedonian banking sector is composed by 17 banks among which , 3 of them are categorized as big, 9 as medium and 5 as small banks . The structure of the assets is highly concentrated in the hands of the small and some medium banks . Namely 13 out of 17 banks individually participate with less than 5 % of the total banks assets , while 11 of them individually posses less than 3%. Therefore analyzing the big and selected medium banks might give us representative and real image in case of sustainable financing research. In fact, the research for the purpose of this paper was made through desk work and structural interviewing of the representatives of 3 big and 4 medium banks. In fact the preliminary analysis included the involvement of 2 small banks , however the interest and involvement in corporate social responsibility concept and sustainable financing was very limited if not insignificant for the research. 1. The first area of research was focused on the level of accepting the concept of Corporate social responsibility in terms of business philanthropy , financing community projects, environmental initiatives as well as humanitarian , cultural and other socially useful activities. 2. The second area was the assessment of the level and way of integration of environmental and other sustainable development criteria into lending policy of the selected banks 5.1.Corporate social responsibility concept in the banks philosophy and strategy The selected banks were interviewed among which the main questions and aspects for analyzing were as following : CRS values: Does your bank have incorporated corporate social responsibility values in your banking philosophy and strategy (bank mission, code of conduct, etc)? CSR strategy and operational plan: Has your bank developed the corporate social responsibility strategy and operational plan for supporting/financing CSR projects for each year? Transparency: Does your bank is transparent and accountable for supported projects? 98 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo CSR areas supported: What areas of corporate social responsibilities does your banks finance? Projects supported: How many project per year are supported or /and total amount per year allocated for CSR projects The analysis and interviewing the selected banks representatives gives the following results: Table 1- Concept of CSR in Macedonian banks Areas/Questions Big banks (3) Medium banks (4) I II III I II III IV KB NBG NLB Halk Spar TTK Procredit CRS values YES YES YES YES YES YES YES CSR strategy NO YES YES NO NO YES NO Transparency YES Partly YES YES Partly YES Partly CSR operational plan Partly Partly YES NO YES NO Partly CSR areas supported Sport Sponso rship Culture Science Health Award for CSR Donatio ns Social Humanitar In details, analyzing the concept of CSR in the selected banks, the following comments and conclusions can be made:    All banks ( small and medium size ones) have declared their commitment and responsibility to the community and citizens through incorporating the CRS values in their Code of conducts , the statements related to the banks’ mission and objectives. However only few of them (two big and one medium sized bank) have incorporated the concept of CSR in their business strategies or create special CSR strategy. In fact the concept of CSR is mostly at the level of business philanthropy and in most cases can’t assure sustainable component in any of the sponsored or donated project/actions. Transparency and accountability can be recognized in almost all of the selected banks. Namely most of the banks have announced officially the CSR project that have been supported ( in terms of sponsorship and donations) and its considered as their PR activity , however no incentives about the amount of money spent on certain projects nor official figure about total amount of money allocated 99 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo      for this purpose. Asked during the interview to precise approximate amount for CSR projects , almost all interviewers considered this question as confidential one. Furthermore only several banks have open invitation for those who ask for sponsorship/donations and /or offer e-application on their web-pages. In most cases the request are made through direct meeting with high level of management and only in few cases there is un official who has certain responsibilities about monitoring and follow up of CSR projects/actions. This all leads to the further conclusions that the annual plans for sponsorships and donations are partly created in advanced , but most of the activities are sponsored/donated ad hoc as the top management consider it as interesting one. Almost all banks have similar CSR areas to support . These banks are involved in practically the most important humanitarian/health , cultural and sport activities and noting that in recent two years the social , humanitarian and health project are more sponsored than the sports and cultural events as it was a case in the years before. Even more, some of the selected bank has got CSR award for social responsible company which is awarded by the National Coordination body for CSR in recent two years. It is also evident the progress that the banks made supporting different projects and actions so that the number of yearly supported CSR projects ar between 5-6 in the middle sized banks and 15-23 project in the big banks. 5.2.Credit policy and sustainable development in Macedonian banks In order to assess, whether the sustainable development criteria are incorporated into the credit policy of the selected banks, the following issues were discussed/questions asked: Credit lines: Does your bank have special credit line supporting sustainable development? Lending policy: Does your bank incorporate sustainable financing in its lending policy? Number of loans: How many credit products are provided by your bank that finance the sustainable development projects ? Intermediary: How many and which credit lines/products does your bank distribute as an intermediary bank of MBDP? Own sources: How many and which credit lines/products does your bank distribute from its own resources supporting sustainable development? The results from the research are given in the Table 2: Table 2 – Sustainable development criteria into the banks’ credit policy Areas/Questions Big banks (3) Medium banks (4) I II III I II III IV Credit lines YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Lending policy Partly Partly YES YES Partly Partly YES Number of loans 7 4 7 9 5 4 5 100 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo Intermediary Export Export Export Export Export Export SME SME SME SME SME SME Agro Agro Agro Agro Agro Agro Energy Micro Micro Micro Selfemployment Energy Energy Special clients Special clients Agro Start up business Eco ECO plus Agro Special clients Own sources Special clients Agro Micro SME Energy Micro Energy efficiency ISO Certif Additionally the 5 areas of particular environmental or social concerns were analyzed through selected banks. The results are given down below: Table 3- Areas of particular environmental/social concerns in the banks’ credit policy Environment & Energy Agriculture Social aspects SME development Big banks I Bank X X II Bank X X III Bank X X X X x X X X X X II Bank X x X III Bank X x X Medium sized banks I Bank IV Bank X X X X X Analyzing the types of loans provided by the selected banks in terms of financing sustainable development , the following comments and conclusions can be made: 101 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo        In general all selected banks offer different types of loans for financing sustainable development However , despite of high level of awareness to corporate social responsibility projects and actions , the same level of commitment is not indentified with their credit policy . In fact only limited number of selected banks truly incorporate sustainable financing in their lending policy, while the others provide almost all sustainable loans being in a positions of intermediary bank for MBDP credit lines. Even two out of three big banks , which were the leaders in supporting ad-hoc CSR projects , don’t apply the same rule while creating the structure of their credit portfolio . Related to the number of the sustainable finance areas that are covered by certain loans it also important to mention that medium size banks are not much behind the big ones. Just on the contrary, one of the medium size banks have 9 different types of credit products for sustainable development support while the big banks provide 5-7 different credit lines for the same purpose. The real image is even more obvious when analyze the source of funding for such credit lines. Namely most of these loans for sustainable development is financed by the international sources acquired through Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion (MBDP) . Practicably 3 selected banks have only one credit line for sustainable development purpose, while all the rest are part of the intermediary agreement with MBDP. When analyzing the types of loans from the banks own sources ( own capital, deposit and non deposit sources) most of selected banks have developed loans for special group of citizens, such as youth, ( students loans), retired old people ( who are not eligible for common types of loans) , people employed in the health and education , while the loans for selfemployment and start up businesses are provided by one big and one middle sized bank only. Additional two middle sized banks are providing from their resources so called ECO loans for environmental projects and energy efficiency actions , while one of them is also support certification and standardization of the working procedures in small and micro companies. When analyzing the table 3- Areas of particular environmental/social concerns in the banks’ credit policy, it can be concluded that:   The most represented area of sustainable development financed by all banks are the area of agriculture as well as financing of micro and small enterprises. The certain loans for support of the primary production or food processing , as well as micro and small loans are present in each of the selected banks credit portfolio . Energy and environmental issues are however financed mostly from MBDP credit lines while 3 banks create their own credit product for the same purpose. The least represented credit lines are those who are supporting certain social aspects, employment of young people, self-employment and other project for certain group of marginalized group of people 6.CONCLUSIONS The research findings are bringing us to the following conclusions: 1. There is appropriate level of social corporate responsibility among the selected banks the financial support of the social initiatives (culture, science, sport, and other initiatives) supported by the most of the banks as well as presence of transparent policies on social corporate responsibility. 2. Limited number of banks are developing sector-specific policies that apply to their lending activities. They established special credit lines with favorable conditions to finance agriculture organic production , renewable energy production , micro 102 �3rd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, May 31 - June 01 2012, Sarajevo innovative business support , as well as startup companies support for certain social categories. 3. In fact, despite of high level of awareness to corporate social responsibility projects and actions , the same level of commitment is not indentified with their credit policy In fact only limited number of selected banks truly incorporate sustainable financing in their lending policy, while the others provide almost all sustainable loans being in a positions of intermediary bank for MBDP credit lines. Therefore MBDP is the biggest promoter of the special loans for sustainable development , while some of the medium sized banks are trying to assure better position at the market , with allocating part of their credit potential for the purpose of sustainable development financing. LITERATURE Coro Strandberg ,”Best practices in sustainable finance” – Strandberg Consulting, June 2005 WWF & BankTrack Report - “ Shaping the future of sustainable finance” – WWF , 2006 Marchel H.A. Jeunken , Jan Jaap Bouma “The changing environment of banks “GMI 1999 Marcel Jeucken “Sustainable Finance and Banking” November 2001. Jan Willem van Gelder “The do’s and don’ts of Sustainable Banking - A BankTrack manual”- 2004 Post-Modern Criticism of Monetary System and Financial Institutions Adi Fišević, Ugur Ergun International Burch University, Faculty of Economics 71000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina E-mails: adifisevic@yahoo.com, uergun@ibu.edu.ba Abstract Monetary System represents a synonym for modern economic era and its functionality. In order to maintain economic stability it is important to keep major segments of monetary system in balance. Throughout analysis we will first emphasise on nature of money and basic characteristics of it by observing its impact on human nature to reach focal points that could negatively affect monetary system. Since world is reaching toward one unique economic space we must observe it as compact unity in order to react on time to all negative impact that could potentially destabilize international monetary system. Crucial part of the analysis will be based on uncontrolled creation of debt which represents major factor that creates instability on the global and intra-country scale. Since the debt is mostly created throughout generally implemented fractional reserve system we will try to indicate how money multiplier contributes toward debt creation and how it changes over time. Also institutions like IMF and World Bank contribute to excess debt creation by formally providing loans to counties in development that eventually sink into deeper crises. One of the most fragile segments of 103 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1283 Title A name given to the resource The Banks And Sustainable Development Author Author Violeta , Madzova Abstract A summary of the resource. This paper focuses on the role of the banks in supporting sustainable development. Its objective is to examine recent trends in banking and sustainable development, as well as to assess the implementation and application of the sustainable development policies adopted by the banks in the banking sector in Republic of Macedonia. For that purpose it is made a comprehensive analysis on the trends of “sustainable finance”, as well as research on the practices in the Macedonian banking sector in supporting sustainable society. Namely, at the beginning of the 21st century, the banks in the industrial world have become complex financial organizations that offer a wide variety of services to international markets and control billions of dollars in cash and assets. Supported by the latest technology, banks are working to identify new business niches, to develop customized services, to implement innovative strategies and to capture new market opportunities. By means of their financing policy, banks can then take specific measures to contribute to sustainable entrepreneurship. As the analysis indicates, with few exceptions bank policies in the West Balkans are lagging significantly behind relevant international standards and best practices. Until recently, most Macedonian banks did not consider environmental and social concerns to be particularly relevant to their operations. Today, however, the integration of sustainability into the banking sector of Macedonia has taken two key directions: Support the environmental and social responsibility through financial contribution in environmental initiatives and socially responsible initiatives Integration of environmental and other sustainable development criteria into lending and investment strategy of the banks Therefore, the paper reviews the environmental and social policies of the selected big and medium sized banks in Macedonia, as well as policy and the practices if the specialized promotion bank-Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2012-05-31 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General),HB Economic Theory,HG Finance,HJ Public Finance https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/b31304c210e3baba1d0973954472b960.pdf 3d85898be93c5d7e4bedfda17b90ded3 PDF Text Text Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3 (2), pp. 3-22, Winter 2020 Original research paper ISSN 2566-4638 © International Burch University The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić, MA Nađa Muhić, BA University of Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina damir95484@gmail.com muhicnadja13@gmail.com Abstract: The purpose of this article is to shed light on the representation of ‘the Other’ in three Shakespearean dramas: Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest. The article describes several Shakespearean characters through the prism of post-colonialism and, therefore, the paper is structured as the postcolonial re-reading of the aforementioned dramatic texts. William Shakespeare portrayed the sad fate of immigrants in Sir Thomas More, but the Bard also tackled the refugee issue which remains relevant for the contemporary period. Additionally, Shakespeare dramatized the position of the Jewish community in Venice through the portrayal of Shylock. The re-reading of The Tempest focuses on the process of colonisation and the Manichaean division within the conquered world. In conclusion, the article portrays experiences of those dramatic individuals stigmatised and subjugated by the colonial forces, thus allowing the readers to better understand the binary division within colonial systems. Keywords: William Shakespeare, Refugee Issue, Stereotyping, Manichaean World Article History Submitted: 28 August 2020 Accepted: 25 November 2020 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 1. INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare is one of the most profoundly important writers to have ever existed. In the contemporary framework, the Bard may be synonymously associated with the very term of drama, as such. His narrative poetry, his sonnet sequence, as well as his dramatic pieces are the body of work which encompasses numerous elements of the social and cultural sphere. Shakespeare thus stands as the just equal to some of the most brilliant minds to have ever worked in the realm of literary achievements, such as Dante, Dostoevsky and Dickens. As some of the most important contributions to the great literary tradition, the Bard’s dramas are an inexhaustible field for various literary theories. The post-colonial literary criticism is especially important for Shakespeare’s dramas, because particular plays superbly depict the process of ‘othering.’ In order to better understand the representation of ‘the Other’ and ‘otherness’ in Shakespearean dramas, it should first be explained why a single minority group of people(s) is subjugated by the community which surrounds them. Brons (2015) elaborates on idea of ‘otherness’ by stating: “Othering often sets up a superior self/in-group in contrast to an inferior other/out-group, it can also create distance between self/in-group and other/out-group by means of a dehumanizing over-inflation of otherness” (72). Edward W. Said’s work Orientalism also explains the Eurocentric opinions of the East and anything which is related to the so-called Orient. Said (1979) explains that the Orient is: “Almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences” (1). However, this rather biased and Eurocentric worldview does not only portray elements of romance, or exoticism, because more often than not, the dwellers of the ‘mysterious East’ are perceived as ‘the Other,’ hence extremely negatively. The basic aim of this paper is to further disseminate the knowledge of the Bard and ‘the Other.’ In other words, this paper will analyse three dramas through the prism of post-colonial literary theory: Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest. In the case of Sir Thomas More, the Bard was not the main or the only author, however Shakespeare did add a particularly interesting monologue which describes the rising tension of the people of London, as well as their frustrations. The inserted speech presents the clash between the superior ‘ingroup,’ that is to say, the people of London, and the dangerous and unwanted ‘strangers.’ Moreover, this drama focuses on some of the most vocal protests especially in regards to the refugee issue. Secondly, this paper will focus on The Merchant of Venice, as one of Shakespeare’s greatest and best-recognised tragicomedies. The characters of Shylock the Jew will be analysed in order to portray the negative elements attributed to the Jewish community in Venice during the 16th century. Shylock will be described as the character who is perceived as ‘the Other,’ but with the highest degree of negative connotations. As a Jewish character, Shylock is heavily 4 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić marginalised by the Christian society. Different characters treat him harshly, attributing animal pejoratives to Shylock, and ruthlessly try to expel him from the society since he is perceived as ‘the Alien’ of the Venetian state. The third and therefore the final segment of this paper will focus on the inhabitants of the mysterious island in Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest. The paper will predominantly focus on the analysis of Caliban as the natural native of the aforementioned isle. On the other side of the spectrum there stand Prospero and Miranda who are the newcomers of the island and they epitomise the European conquerors. Thus, Caliban will be presented as the downtrodden and colonised individual, whereas Prospero the Wizard will be analysed as the dominant ruler. Ergo, this paper will focus on the portrayal of implicit/explicit forms of subjugation of ‘the Other,’ but also the response which ‘the Other’ makes in order to survive in the coloniser’s domain. 2. THE CASE FOR STRANGERS: SHAKESPEARE’S CONTRIBUTION TO SIR THOMAS MORE In the world of the 21st century, so heavily marked by censorship and intolerance, one author’s voice was able to transcend all barriers of time and space. William Shakespeare’s literary opus remains, undoubtedly, one of the best-recognised contributions to the realm of theatre, poetry, but also linguistics and modern understanding of various political and social systems. Shakespeare was not an author situated within a single timeframe, rather he was a writer for every day and age, and since he was able to brilliantly understand and depict the sociopolitical difficulties of his own epoch, the Bard’s dramatic pieces remain relevant for the contemporary era. A historic play dubbed Sir Thomas More grants the readers an invaluable opportunity to discover one of the most passionate defences of the refugee policy. The refugee issue was an important element in England’s history, however it is equally if not even more relevant for the contemporary society. The dramatic work is titled after the famous English chancellor Sir Thomas More whose devotion to the Pope cost More his own life. Since the Chancellor refused to accept Henry VIII’s divorce and his political split from the Church of Rome, he was beheaded. Thomas More is even nowadays remembered as a passionate defender of the Catholic faith who stood against the teaching of Martin Lutheri. After the passing of Elizabeth Gloriana, Shakespeare was invited to make adjustments to the text of the play. He and other playwrights revised the text and the Bard of Avon included 147 lines in the middle of the central plotline. Namely, Shakespeare inserted an additional monologue for the character of Sir Thomas More. In this speech, More addresses the violent outbursts of the antiimmigration riot on the streets of London. This speech is intended for the people because they so fervently desire the immigrants to be removed. It was explained that they are baying for the so-called ‘strangers’ to be unequivocally banished (Dickson, 2016). In this case, the superior and self-entitled group of the rioters is 5 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 juxtaposed with the ‘the Other,’ and the term refers to the ‘strangers’ in their unfortunate position. More’s philosophical enquiry about the fate of the outcasts attempts to reignite some degree of empathy among the angry people and More says, “What would you think / To be thus used? this is the strangers case; / And this your mountanish inhumanity” (2.4.121-123). At this instance, More switches the places of the two opposing sides. He hypothetically ‘otherises’ the rioters by placing them into the roles of those whom they deem unworthy. Through More’s mouthpiece, Shakespeare poses the question of what would happen if the downtrodden individuals were to replace their position with the people who want to see them banished. Shakespeare presents a kind approach, prompting both sympathy and empathy among the rioters, whereas the plight of the alienated and dispossessed is viewed with mercy rather than contempt. Dickson (2016) adds that this speech may prefigure the great dramas which would later ensue in Shakespeare’s opus; such dramas being Othello or The Merchant of Venice. The Bard was able to successfully implement his own opinions into the monologue, by portraying a sharp eye for the troubled relationship between the ethnic majorities and minorities. The long speech additionally depicts Thomas More’s own courageous side as he was more than willing to face the rioting mob at St. Martin’s Gate. Thus, Shakespeare can be examined as a transnational traveller, and More as his representative in the dramatic world. More’s albeit unsuccessful attempt to stop the rioters does not only pose urgent ethnical questions, rather the same speech addresses the issue of the responsibility for ‘the Other.’ In his article, Stephen O’Neill (2020) explains that: “These iterations draw Shakespeare, long imagined as a type of transnational traveller, into urgent ethical questions about borders, displaced peoples, and responsibility to the Other, as More's empathetic plea comes to function synecdochally for Shakespeare” (1). In addition to the aforementioned empathy-prompting, More’s speech exemplifies the notion of cultural tensions and mistrusts that still prevails. The cultural mistrust remains ever-so-present even in the contemporary setting, whereas this play emphasises the idea that cross-cultural connection should be bettered by all means necessary. It would appear that the 16th century society of England and the post-modern era of the world do not differ vividly from one another. Globalisation and masscommunication brings together various cultures nowadays more than ever before. However, xenophobic nationalists and those people adhering to the rightist political systems consequently try to drive different ethnic or cultural apart. The Bard was able to inform the audience of his own time about issues which plague their own society, and his words, or rather those of Thomas More as a character, definitely must have tackled many people, giving them additional reason to muse over the anti-immigration crises. The multi-authored play of Sir Thomas More appears to foreshadow not just some of Shakespeare’s own great tragedies and comedies, but also the countless problems which will be described later on in literature, especially in terms of ‘the Other’ and the so-called ‘themus’ division. Bamford’s paper (2018) connects the late Renaissance period to the 21st century in this regard by further perpetuating the notion that the mistrust 6 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić between the cultures and nations is growing: “Sir Thomas More’s speech, attributed to Shakespeare, and found in the little-known and multi-authored play Sir Thomas More, which deals with the responses to Huguenot immigrants to the UK in the 16th century, demonstrates that mistrust of other cultures, and the recognition of the need for cross-cultural communication are nothing new” (1). Furthermore, it should be noted that the Bard used whatever medium he had at his disposal to portray the hard position of ‘the Other,’ or in this case the mistrusted ‘strangers.’ As a playwright, his empathic plea was delivered through the adapted lines of Henry VIII’s Chancellor, while the theatre in itself was profoundly important as an entertainment medium of his own era. Similarly enough, for many decades numerous people have been able to enjoy the medium of television in a similar yet far more modern setting and Bamford (2018) adds: “Shakespeare made his plea through the medium of contemporary entertainment, and in the last hundred years many have used the medium of screen entertainment to make similar pleas” (1). Born in William Shakespeare’s mind, the idea of ‘the Other’ was transmitted through the adaptation of this lessknown play. Although the xenophobic and superior society of England desires to see all strangers exiled from their kingdom, Shakespeare decided to alter the overall focus of the spectators listening to the speech: “Shakespeare shifts the focus of the audience and of the play as a whole from fear of the other to fear for the other” (Lawrence, 2018, p. 2). For the xenophobes, all strangers are the enemy. Moreover, everything or better to say everyone who is not a part of the mainstream English society in this case is considered to be ‘the Other,’ therefore these strangers are posing a serious threat for all those who do not wish them to stay. Shakespeare, or actually More’s empathy-prompting, in this speech addresses the issue of the mob suffering. In fact, More compares and contrasts the pain of the audience present with that of the ‘terrifying strangers.’ More openly asks the people gathered what they would think of their own exile, at least hypothetically. More enquires, “Should so much come to short of your great trespass / As but to banish you, whether would you go? / What country, by the nature of your error, / Should give you harbor?” (2.4.107-110). In this portion of the long speech, More is trying to make the connection between the actual exile of the foreigners and the hypothetical one, and Lawrence (2018) explains that: “Fear for the other precedes and serves as a model of fear for the self” (8). In order to tackle their own compassion, Shakespeare through More inverts the logic of the so-called social contract. He accepts the alleged existence or the myth of the ‘state of nature,’ and moreover, he perceives it as a terrifying primordial phenomenon, an anarchy of some sort. Thus, More accuses the rioters of their inhuman approach to the strangers, arguing the strangers’ case. Lawrence (2018) elaborates on this notion by explaining: “Instead of imagining a state in which everyone would fear for herself or himself, however, More imagines a situation in which everyone would fear for other people” (8). The communal spirit is important. By not being, to phrase it bluntly, selfish to the core, various people are able to open themselves to empathy. The rioters, as well 7 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 as everyone else, should feel this level of genuine human compassion in order to redirect fear from themselves to other individuals, as such. Essentially, the gathered people are called to recognise ‘the Other’ as ‘the stranger’ and vice versa. However, in this particular case, More advises the people to perceive them differently. More explicitly advises the people to recognise ‘the Other’ as the widow, the orphan, and Lawrence (2018) further elaborates on this idea by explaining that: “More’s speech calls for a recognition of the Other as “the stranger, the widow, and the orphan” (8). The migrants carry different stories with them, they can be recognised perhaps as strangers, but also as someone’s child, someone’s mother, father, sister. Their own experiences do not necessarily have to differ greatly from the experiences of the people who want them to be banned from London. William Shakespeare advises, in turn, the fictional characters on the stage, but also his real spectators, to pass through the doors of fiction and reality, but also to transcend the barriers between their own experiences and the experiences of ‘the Other.’ In More’s vision, the rioters are commanded almost to imagine their own position wherein they would be excluded from the society, reduced to a level of bare existence, and denied citizenship, as well as the status of a human being (Lawrence, 2018, pp. 8-9). The inserted speech transmits one very important message for the fictional rioters, but also for the theatre audience, because More openly says: “Nay, any where that not adheres to England,— / Why, you must needs be strangers” (2.4.112-113). Evidently, More tells the people that only England is their home, for anywhere else, they would be discarded and perhaps even treated unfairly. The Londoners are not invited immediately to care for the strangers’ case by comparing their own position to the plight of the newcomers, because this would imply a level of personal agenda or self-interest. Rather, they are first asked to empathise with the tragic fate of the foreigners before their hypothetical exile is described. More asks his addressees to imagine the journeys of the foreigners, or as More calls them ‘the wretched strangers.’ This can be observed when More says: “Imagine that you see the wretched strangers, / Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage, / Plodding tooth ports and costs for transportation” (2.4.57-59). The actual pain of the ‘wretched strangers’ should be also considered, because as Lawrence (2018) moreover explains: “The rioting Londoners are not called to care for the strangers by comparing “the strangers’ case” to their own, which they would first care about in the manner of self-interested agents. Before being asked to imagine themselves becoming exiles, they are asked to imagine the suffering of “the wretched strangers”” (9). The tale of Sir Thomas More remains relevant for the contemporary society, due to the fact that we are able to reinterpret the Bard’s writings in order to better comprehend our own world, and Loomba (2002) emphasises this notion by stating that Shakespeare’s writings: “Form a bridge between the past and us: even as we read in them stories of a bygone world, we also continually reinterpret these stories to make sense of our own worlds” (4-5). The Bard’s contribution to the dramatic realm in terms of post-colonial theory remains a prominent aspect 8 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić because as Popa (2013) explains: “Postcolonial theory attempts to consider the circumstances of marginalized, exploited or subaltern systems and the social groups that become stigmatized and it is a reflection on the difference, on the Other, but more importantly, an address to the colonial Other” (92). Taking into consideration Shakespeare’s entire dramatic opus, numerous dramatis personae which may be described as ‘the Other’ can be found in the Bard’s writings, and as Popa (2013) explains: “Four of Shakespeare‘s plays deal with non-white characters: Titus Andronicus, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Tempest, while in The Merchant of Venice we have non-Christian characters” (93). Moreover, Popa (2013) also adds that: “There are a few other characters who contribute to the general picture of Shakespeare‘s perception of a racial Other” (93). For this reason, it should be noted that Shakespeare’s dramas are a fertile ground for the portrayal of ‘the Other’ while in turn the post-colonial theory can consider and analyse such stigmatised social groups. The plight of various refugees can be detected all around the globe, even in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As countless peoples from Palestine and elsewhere voyage over heavy terrain and dangerous seas. Women, children and elderly immigrants can be seen moving from countries ravished by conflict. By acknowledging such strangers as ‘the Other’ Shakespeare instructs the London rioters, but also everybody else to remember that our own fates and experiences do not have to differ so vividly, due to the fact that the wheel of fortune keeps turning. The Bard presents the case for ‘the Other,’ whereas Shakespeare’s teachings and instructions during the Renaissance period also prevail as something extremely relevant for the contemporary society. Shakespeare’s empathy-prompting refers to the Bosnian society as well as to all other communities. Since the playwright was able to understand the functioning of the human heart and mind so analytically, it is no wonder that Shakespeare successfully managed to contribute to the overall sense of empathy and/or compassion in the real world. THE ‘ALIEN’ OF VENICE Shylock the Jew is the main antagonist of one of Shakespeare’s greatest (tragi)comedies. He is at the same time a comic character, villainous, but also particularly tragic in his own right. The Bard represents Shylock as ‘the Other’ of the play. The Jew stands in contrast to the other Venetian characters due to his Jewish identity, his usury and money-lending occupation. This type of a profession, so to say, was greatly frowned upon during the Elizabethan times. Hence, in post-colonial terms, Shylock is ‘the Other’ in The Merchant of Venice. Huang (2019) elaborates on this notion by explaining that: “Compared with the other characters in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock seems to be totally an outsider and alien of Venice because he is considered to be the “Other” in the eyes of the other Venetians as a result of his identity a Jew as well as his occupation as a usurer, both of which are despised and degraded at the Elizabethan times” (661). Shylock may be presented a villainous individual, however his fate is, indeed, very tragic at the end of the dramatic piece. 9 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 Moreover, his entire fictional existence seems to be marked by this constant element of degradation. The Jew stands in contrast to the people of Venice who are predominantly Christian. Thus, it would appear that the superior Christian group has placed itself over the position of ‘the Other’ when it comes to Venice. Taking into account Frantz Fanon’s monumental work The Wretched of the Earth, it becomes evident that the Venetian society may be interpreted as a ‘Manichaean world’ in a nutshell. Primarily, because the Manichaean world is a functioning community divided into different segments. Fanon (1963) rendered the Manichaean setting in the following lines: “The affirmation of the principle “It is them or us” does not constitute a paradox, since colonialism, as we have seen, is in fact the organization of a Manichean world, a world divided up into compartments” (84). Ergo, the Manichaean setting is established as a world where there exist constant binary divisions. In The Merchant of Venice, this division is exemplified through Shylock. He is a part of the world split into compartments, and in his case, Shylock is the less-fortunate compartment of this environment. Fanon’s contribution to post-colonial studies has allowed numerous scholars over the decades to better understand the binary dichotomy when it comes various texts. More often than not, Shylock is undermined by other Venetian characters. This is particularly plausible when Antonio insults him at the Rialto. Shylock reminds Antonio of these insults when the Merchant arrives to ask money from the Jew by citing the following lines: “You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog, / And spet upon my Jewish gaberdine, / And all for use of that which is mine own” (1.3.121123). From this description, the position of the Jews in the Manichaean environment of Venice is easily recognisable, because Shylock is condemned for both what he is and for what he does. Since the Manichaean world represents a divided environment, it should be noted that the term is derived from the name of Mani and his teachings. Mani’s teachings focused on the duality of the world, or in other words: “As he developed Manichaeism, Mani composed seven writings, including the Shabuhragan. His teachings focused on the origins of evil and taught a “dualistic” view between good and evil” (Reese, 2019). Therefore, Venice can be perceived as a Manichean world divided between the Christian characters on one side and Shylock the Jew on the other. The Jew of Venice and everything relating to him is vividly frowned upon by Antonio and the rest of the characters. In a similar manner to the speech delivered in Sir Thomas More, William Shakespeare yet again invites (or instructs) his audience/readers to cry and sympathise with the fate of the Jew. Undoubtedly, Shylock might have wronged different characters through his shrewd money-lending profession, nonetheless his own existence in Italy has been greatly undermined by the Christian population. In one of Shylock’s most famous monologues, the Bard touches the basic humanity of every individual when Shylock says, “If you / poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall / we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will / resemble you in that?” (3.1.64-67). Shylock wants everybody to recognise that he is a person, just like all other dramatis personae. Primarily, 10 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić the Jew should be perceived as a human individual regardless of his origins, his creed or even his profession. Huang (2019) presents the notion that Shylock actually tries to deny his own position as ‘the Other’: “Shylock denies his status as the “Other” and makes every effort to defend and justify his identity and at the same time attempts to other the Christians” (668). In the previous chapter of this paper, it was explained that More tried to draw the gathering rioters closer to the feeling of empathy by presenting the empathic case for strangers. In this drama, however, Shakespeare through Shylock tried to depict the Jew in a different manner. The usurer should be treated justly like any other Christian individual, because as Shylock himself explains, they are not so vividly different from each other after all. One might examine Shylock of narcissistic or vengeful, yet he is a tragic individual when everything is taken into consideration. Shylock is the ‘alien’ of Venice and is therefore (mis)treated accordingly. The term ‘alien’ in this case is of vital importance, due to the fact that the term denotes a social pariah, an outsider. For this reason, Shylock’s position is not something one would desire. Near the end of the play, the lexeme ‘alien’ is used once to describe Shylock, referring to the laws of Venice. Once the Jew decides that he would get his revenge on Antonio and seize one pound of his flesh, Portia disguised as Balthazar comes to the Merchant’s rescue. Once Shylock is not persuaded to render any mercy to Antonio, and once he is robbed of the opportunity to kill the Merchant, Portia informs Shylock that he cannot yet escape the Venetian justice. To confirm this, Portia recites the following: “It is enacted in the laws of Venice, / If it be proved against an alien / That by direct or indirect attempts / He seek the life of any citizen, / The party ’gainst the which he doth contrive / Shall seize one half his goods” (4.1.363-368). One of the greatest Shakespearean actors Sir Patrick Stewart presented his article describing Shylock as Shakespeare’s ‘alien’ in which he explains Shylock’s sad fate. Namely, Stewart (1981) addresses the issue of Shylock’s greedy personality, and Stewart explains that the Jew’s nature is disordered by avarice. It is Shylock’s bad experience of the world and his endeavour to cope with it which makes Shylock so malicious and cruel at certain instances. Shylock and his kind are the outsiders, they are the strangers of Venice, feared and hated simply for being different than the rest. They are, as the laws of the Venetian state clearly explain, the aliens. The Jews are stamped by the world, thus being always vulnerable (142-143). Just as it was the case with the strangers in Sir Thomas More, Shylock is likewise another Shakespearean alien. In post-colonial terms, he is ‘otherised’ by the Venetian state. Huang (2019) explains the use of the verb ‘othering’ within the context of post-colonialism and other studies by saying that: “The term “Other” together with its other variations such as its noun form “otherness” and verb form othering is often used in psychoanalysis, post-colonialism, and cultural studies” (662). Since ‘the Other’ is a term used in post-colonial studies, and since this paper classifies Shylock as ‘the Other’ of The Merchant of Venice, it is safe to assume that Shylock is the epitome of the post-colonial ‘otherness’ within the Venetian state. Furthermore, Huang (2019) confirms this aspect of Shylock’s ‘otherness’ by explaining that: “He is a stranger and a foreigner as well as an 11 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 outsider and an alien “marginalized and firmly placed on the fringe of society”; he does not “fit the norm” which has been largely determined by the Christian Venetian society. Therefore, it is absolutely safe for us to define Shylock as an “Other” in the play” (662-663). The esteemed Shakespearean thespian also adds that Shylock has found a way to ‘merge’ with his environment. Stewart (1981) adds that Shylock appears as a shabby, unmemorable and eccentric old clown in the eyes of the people around him. Not many would consider him a threat. It is only Antonio, his competitor is business, whose senses are sharpened by commerce, and who is able to detect contempt behind Shylock’s visage (143). Nevertheless, the Jacobean audience of England would be able to recognise and condemn Shylock not only for what he does, but for what he is and the way he looks. Primarily, this becomes evident in the process of stereotyping when Jews are concerned. In post-colonial terms, Mushtaq (2010) defines stereotyping and he explains that: “In post-colonial theory, ‘stereotype’ refers to the highly generalized views of the colonizers about the colonized” (25). In Shakespeare’s play, the image of Shylock the Jew is often presented rather negatively, and this is important to consider, because Mushtaq (2010) adds that: “Stereotyping can be defined as an image, mostly negative, of a person in relation with a group or society” (25). Shylock is the part of the so-called ‘out-group’ mentioned at the beginning of this paper, therefore he is the object of stereotyping. The superior group on the other hand perceives individuals from the ‘out-group’ as: “shirkers, liars, corrupt, weak, inferior, uncivilized, impotent, cruel, lazy, irrational, violent and disorganized” (Mushtaq, 2010, p. 25). Shylock’s outward appearance on the stage would mark him as the Jewish individual, and afterwards many stereotypes would be attributed to the character. Nahvi (2015) elaborates on this notion: “Elizabethan theatergoers would have recognized Shylock as a Jew immediately. His red wig, bulbous nose and huge cape immediately label him as the other and as an outsider. Even though Jews were not living in England (at least not openly), they represented a stereotype evil, cunning, greed and at the very core, heartlessness” (1293). Interestingly enough, in order to undermine Shylock’s positions, other characters, such as Antonio or Bassanio, even Portia/Balthazar refer to him simply as ‘the Jew.’ Nahvi (2015) adds that: “Even before the play begins, the dramatis personae presents Shylock as an archetype, Shylock, the Jew. Throughout the play, the other characters consistently refer to him as simply, the Jew. This characterization dehumanizes and de-personalizes Shylock” (1294). Such a characterisation certainly undermines but also dehumanises Shylock, however this is by no means the only case of Shylock’s dehumanisation, because, for example, Gratiano compares Shylock to a dog by saying, “O, be thou damned, inexecrable dog” (4.1.130). Such references serve one function and that is to replace Shylock’s human soul. Bianchi (2005) explains this element of de-humanisation by stating that: “The images increase in vulgarity as Gratiano dehumanizes Shylock, and the animal references serve to take the place of Shylock's human soul” (14). Other fictional characters and citizens of Venice reduce Shylock from a person to a mere category (Nahvi, 2015, 12 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić p. 1294). Shylock is furthermore moved from a position of ‘the Other,’ to the position of stranger, to his well-known ‘alien status,’ however even more prominently he is treated as an animal occasionally by various dramatis personae. He is attributed bestial terms such as ‘dog’ or ‘wolf.’ He is, also, equated to the devil. Shylock cleverly recalls this remark in the third act of Shakespeare’s drama and Shylock says, “Thou call’dst me dog before thou hadst a cause, / But since I am a dog, beware my fangs” (3.3.7-8). He reminds the Merchant of this epithet, thus the danger behind Shylock’s vindictiveness is portrayed clearly to the readers/spectators. Additionally, Antonio in the play spits on the Jew, while his daughter Jessica runs off with a Christian, symbolically leaving the Jewish family, thus converting to Christianity. Eventually, Shylock is left without his livelihood, and perhaps even figuratively without his own life. Shakespeare’s creation of ‘the Other’ unquestionably mirrored the sentiments, fears and the myths about the Jews commonly visible in the Bard’s own time. Many of such sentiments prevail even in the 21st century (Nahvi, 2015, p. 1296). The Merchant of Venice remains relevant for the contemporary world, because as Nowosad (2017) states: “The play is a good selection for the time we live in right now as we strive to examine the way we look at people who are different from ourselves. Religious and racial prejudice prevail in this play opening our thoughts to what happens in our own modern day society.” The aforementioned prejudice and intolerance can be observed also within the lives of various people today, because Nowosad (2017) likewise explains the notion that: “The desire for wealth, anti-Semitism, prejudice, racial and gender bias, all of these take place in this story as well as in many people’s lives today. How we decide to view them are [sic] influenced by our own places in this life. Being open to examining them allows us to express our thoughts and perhaps overcome what we can.” The pivotal scene of The Merchant of Venice is, by all means, the court scene, when Portia beats Shylock in his revenge and makes him in turn pay for the foul agendas. Portia, or rather Balthazar in disguise, urges the Jew to render some mercy, nevertheless the Jew refuses to do so. It would appear that the ‘crude’ Shylock stands in contrast to the ‘merciful’ Christians of Venice. The basic messages of the Old and the New Testament(s) are juxtaposed through Shylock and the rest of the community. However, it should be noted that the mercy which Portia so adamantly mentions is not extended to the Jewish characters within the drama (Navih, 2015, p. 1296). In his (tragi)comedy, William Shakespeare portrayed the problems of his day and age which linger even in our own sphere of existence. The issue of Shakespeare’s world is almost identical to the issue of the post-modern society. In order to connect the similarities of problems in Shakespeare’s own time and the current era, Bambušková (2019) analysed The Merchant of Venice, especially in regards to the previously-mentioned court scene, and she explained that: “Today’s ‘Christian Europe’ (Christian in name but focused on easy, enjoyable life, much like the Venetians) may profit from recognition of what kind of law and what kind of mercy we may offer those who come into our country, who are our ‘Others’ and whose ‘Others’ we are” (1-2). 13 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 Thus, it is less relevant whether Shylock the Jew is a tragic character or a sympathetic villain, because one fact is evident, he is ‘the Other,’ he is the undermined ‘alien’ of this dramatic piece. 3. CALIBAN THE NATIVE Shakespeare’s last (authentic) play, his final ‘farewell’ from the London audience, presents one of the most memorable dramatic pieces ever written. The Tempest perhaps above all other Shakespearean dramas remains most relevant for the post-colonial analysis. Characters such as Caliban, the original dweller of the enchanted island will be presented as the central element for the post-colonial examination of the play. Caliban, and other magic inhabitants such as Ariel, stand is sheer contrast to the European newcomers. The wizard called Prospero arrives from Milan with his daughter to the mysterious isle and it is there that Prospero establishes his hegemony over other beings of the enchanted island. Through his dominance, his alleged magical prowess, Prospero is able to control other island-dwellers, enslave them and ‘otherise’ them to such a degree that they are henceforth treated even worse than the strangers in Sir Thomas More or Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. In order to better understand both the colonised and the coloniser, it should be taken into consideration that the post-colonial (re-)reading of The Tempest was inspired by the process of de-colonisation. Singh (2016) connects The Tempest to the post-colonial interpretation by explaining the following: “Postcolonial readings of The Tempest were inspired by the decolonisation movements of the 1960s and 1970s in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.” Initially, Prospero’s craft symbolised the world of civility, as well as learning, rendered in contrast to the ‘natural’ dark spells of Caliban’s mother, whereas the postcolonial re-reading of Shakespeare’s play challenges this rather Eurocentric approach: “If, traditionally, Prospero's art represented the world of civility and learning in contrast to the 'natural' black magic of Caliban's mother Sycorax, anticolonial revisions of the play challenged this rather abstract Eurocentric division between art and nature” (Singh, 2016). In the book Eurocentrism, the Eurocentric perception of the Western colonisers is explained, and in this sense the Westerners view themselves as efficient, rational, democratic, whereas the colonised peoples on the other hand are perceived as underdeveloped and as individuals who have nothing to offer, yet they have to imitate the West in order to progress, albeit slowly and imperfectly (Amin, 2009, p. 180). The post-colonial reading of the play challenges this Eurocentric approach by focusing on postcolonial elements. For example, Goicoechea de Jorge (2016) mentions the postcolonial representation of Prospero as the European coloniser enslaving the indigenous people of a newly-discovered place, but also as a European person who imposes his tradition and language over the natives’ own culture. Caliban tries to resist by rejecting to learn Prospero’s tongue. Therefore, it becomes obvious that this romance play grants a better insight into the world of the 14 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić ‘civilised’ European society, and the naturalised albeit ‘savage’ realm of Caliban and the rest. The Bard gives the voice to ‘the Other’ in this dramatic work and moreover Caliban clearly reminds his colonisers that the isle once belonged to him, and Caliban says: “This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me” (1.2.331). Caliban had inherited his home from Sycorax, yet the colonisers, in this case Prospero and his daughter who had previously escaped from Europe, made the island their home and furthermore they enslaved the creatures encountered there. There exists a clear dichotomy between the two opposing sides of the island. Shylock stood against the Christian characters of Venice, and he was ‘otherised’ because of his Jewish origins, religion, outward appearance, moneylending and other activities. Similarly enough, Caliban is vividly dissimilar from the Wizard or Miranda primarily because Caliban is a non-human being. He is a mysterious creature. As such, the island-dwellers possess a particular form of personality, just like Prospero or Miranda, nonetheless they still differ from one another. Prospero and Miranda are both human characters, with their own sets of unique traits, however on the other hand, the spirit Ariel and Caliban are portrayed as monstrous perhaps on the outside, but they also develop their own personalities. Harold Bloom (1998), as one of the greatest Shakespearean scholars, further perpetuated this idea by stating that: “Caliban and Ariel are personalities, but then Caliban is only half-human, and Ariel is a sprite” (582). Both Caliban and Ariel are ‘otherised’ and by being only semi-human unlike Prospero or Miranda, both island-dwellers can be perceived as ‘the Other’ in the play. The Manichaean world can again be observed in this regard, and Fanon’s own teachings can be applied adequately. The enchanted isle is a divided setting, it is an isolated world conquered and colonised by the Europeans. The island is colonised and inherently Manichaean. Fanon (1963) openly proclaims that: “The colonial world is a Manichean world” (41). It is a world divided into segments, and it is a world where Caliban is constantly undermined. The character of ‘the Other,’ in this case Caliban, appears to be a pun in its own right. In other words, the name ‘Caliban’ actually stands for the term ‘cannibal’: “The name Caliban/Cannibal appears in Shakespeare's play and in colonial history as a cultural stereotype for the natives of the New World” (Singh, 2016). For this reason, Caliban can be observed as one of the natives of the New World, and therefore his own background, his own culture and even language, all play a significant role in post-colonial theory. Prospero uses various methods in order to keep his slave at bay; moreover, the Wizard uses colonial methodology to harm, control, beat and subjugate the ‘savage.’ Prospero even attempts to assert his dominance via linguistic capacities. It is clearly stated in the play that the colonisers, Miranda particularly, tried to teach Caliban their own, European, language. Colonisation, as such, brought with it subjugation not just on the physical level but also in regards to the cognitive sphere of the natives. Singh (2016) elaborates on this notion of Prospero’s dominance by stating that: “His mission assumed that the natives lacked any culture or formal language until the Europeans brought them the 15 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 ‘gifts’ of Western language and culture. If the natives resisted European paternal rule, then they were labelled as ‘savages,’ beyond redemption.” Miranda even insults Caliban by addressing him as ‘the abhorred slave,’ reminding him that is was her who tried to teach Caliban their language: “Abhorred slave, / Which any print of goodness wilt not take, / Being capable of all ill! I pitied thee, / Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour / One thing or other” (1.2.351). It is apparent that Miranda takes up a superior position and she is more than willing to undermine Caliban by any means necessary. However, Caliban does not even remain silent on this remark. Rather he, too, reminds Miranda that he loathes their language and that now he is only able to curse in their European mother-tongue: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t / Is, I know how to curse” (1.2.363). The assertion of language backfires, due to the fact the ‘the Other’ is now able to retort in the language of his new masters. Their imposition of power and superiority is gradually subverted. Miranda and Prospero attempt to de-humanise the native as much as it is possible, nonetheless even in his own speech, Caliban appears more sophisticated than one would perhaps expect. Primarily, it should be noted that Caliban is more of a poetic creature. He is able to utilise verse in order to transmit the message of his speech. Bloom (2008) explains that: “He never falls into the prosaic and low familiarity of his drunken associates, for he is, in his way, a poetical being; he always speaks in verse” (73). However, Miranda is not even swayed by this reply. She constantly attempts to degrade Caliban, going as far as reminding him that he was completely unaware of his own purpose. In other words, Miranda reminds Caliban that only through her education Caliban was able to realise his own existence, his own meaning: “When thou didst not, savage, / Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble” (1.2.355). It would appear that Caliban was unable to comprehend his own existence until the moment his new master came and took over. Caliban’s quintessence and merit is constantly annihilated by such claims, and more often than not he is reduced to a particularly inferior level. Bloom (2008) states that such a proclamation made by Miranda would imply that in her own perspective: “Unlike a civilized person, the savage Caliban did not know what his true meaning was as a human” (16). The colonisers use violence in order to subjugate ‘the Other,’ but this violence is both open as well as subtle. Fanon (1963) adds that: “Violence in the colonies does not only have for its aim the keeping of these enslaved men at arm's length; it seeks to dehumanize them. Everything will be done to wipe out their traditions, to substitute our language for theirs and to destroy their culture without giving them ours” (15). Only when the entire heritage of creatures originally living on the island is destroyed, only then will the complete control be established. The implicit, as well as the explicit, forms of violence presented are there to serve one purpose – to make characters such as Caliban or Ariel utterly subservient. Thus, Prospero is able to establish his governance of the isle, and the Wizard becomes the sole sovereign of the enchanted landscape. Caliban is ‘otherised’ in his own house, so to say, on his own island. He was the primary settler of the island, much earlier than Prospero or Miranda, 16 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić however even this right was taken from him. For Caliban, Prospero is the first intruder who betrayed his host’s welcome and conquered with power and might. Caliban recalls Prospero’s arrival: “When thou cam’st first, / Thou strok’st me and madest much of me, wouldst give me / Water with berries in’t, and teach me how / To name the bigger light, and how the less, / That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee / And show’d thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle” (1.2.332337). In Caliban’s own rendition of history, it is described that it was Prospero who arrived to the island but later decided to take full control over its beauties. Now, it is the Wizard who holds the utmost power. Singh (2016) focuses on this element of representing history, as such, by adding that: “It is this rendition of history that became the battle cry for the anti-colonial movements in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America – a rendition that became the staple of many revisions and appropriations of Shakespeare's play in these regions.” The Tempest is considered to be a multi-layered play which contributes greatly to the postcolonial theory, because it should be noted that: “While the play was written in 17th-century England, post-colonial criticism takes the play outwards towards its complicated transactions between European and African and Caribbean cultures in the succeeding centuries” (Singh, 2016). There exists a clear purpose in trying to define the history of the island by observing both sides. The postcolonial approach allows for a better insight when Caliban as the character is examined, because the readers or the spectators are able to fully understand his own experiences. They are able to better understand the perspective of ‘the Other.’ Post-colonialism in this case focuses on history from Caliban’s angle. Thus, the version of ‘the savage Other’ challenges the version presented by Prospero to Miranda. Singh (2016) explains this by stating: “In trying to view the conditions of Caliban's servitude from his perspective, post-colonial criticism gives legitimacy to his claims to the island, based on a reading of history that challenges the version narrated by Prospero to his daughter.” William Shakespeare allowed for the amplification of the seemingly marginalised voices of ‘the Other’ in his dramatic opus. Predominantly, the Bard presented the shifting perspective of the island from both sides, emphasising the idea that even various things or elements should be constantly considered and reconsidered from numerous perspectives, because it should be noted that: “Post-colonial criticism in the West has mined this new archive of the reception history of Shakespeare's The Tempest, questioning, once again, all normative ideas of a ‘common humanity,’ while articulating, as Shakespeare did, the voices of the seemingly marginal characters in Prospero’s grand designs” (Singh, 2016). Caliban the Native in the play is ‘Caliban the Other,’ Caliban’s home was taken from him, Prospero established his dominance and through the Wizard’s ruthless demeanour managed to forcefully command every creature encountered. Caliban’s cry stands for all those who were oppressed and stigmatised by the overwhelming power of the coloniser. Perhaps Prospero and Miranda thought that by teaching their language to Caliban they were bringing civilisation and enlightenment to the savage, however the de-humanisation, the mechanism of slavery applied, simply continue to assert Caliban’s position as ‘the Other. 17 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 CONCLUSION The most important element which is easily recognisable in Shakespearean dramas is the Bard’s universality. The dramatic plots of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest present a fertile ground for post-colonial analyses. In post-colonial terms particularly, representation of ‘the Other’ and ‘otherness’ is of paramount importance, due to the fact that Shakespeare’s message remains crucial for every day and age, surpassing and linguistic, cultural and political boundaries. In Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare added a speech which clearly presents the Bard’s opinions on the idea of the refugee issue, and through More, the Bard of Avon attempted to make his spectators render the deeds of mercy. Furthermore, The Bard endeavoured to show the plight of the immigrants who had to travel abroad in order to find a better life, en route they encounter various forms of stigmatisation. William Shakespeare managed to switch the roles, at least hypothetically, in order to remind the people of London that they could also experience great misfortunes should their own ruler turn on his own subjects. In the second chapter, this paper examined the role of Shylock in Venice. Since Shylock is a Jew, he is the epitome of the marginalised Jewish community. Shakespeare cleverly presented Shylock as ‘the Other’ in order to remind his audience/readers that Shylock had to behave in a negative manner since he was constantly undermined by the predominantly Christian society of the Venetian state. In a sense, Shylock’s stand against Antonio, Portia and the rest formulates a distinct ‘clash’ between the Old and the New Testament. In the final segment of this paper, the character of Caliban was analysed. Since Caliban was the original native of the magical island, he was subjugated by the European colonisers, primarily Prospero the Wizard. In post-colonial re-reading of the text, it became apparent that Prospero and Miranda applied all methods in order to bend the ‘savage native’ to their will. Prospero trapped, threatened and used violence against the poor creature, whereas Miranda even tried to teach him their language, therefore assimilating Caliban further. However, this paper portrayed Caliban as a poetic being, a creature which was able to distinguish things for himself. The paper also reflected on Caliban’s position as ‘the Other,’ as someone whose home had been conquered. Ariel and Caliban might be non-human characters, however it may be presumed that they hold more humanity than Prospero and the rest. In analysing William Shakespeare’s dramas through the prism of postcolonial criticism, the readers were presented with an exciting dialogue formulated between the dramatic universe and the post-colonial portrayal of the world. The post-colonial academic field of research presents the repercussions of imperialism/colonialism as the main by-products of the European rule and exploitations. Hence, Shakespearean plays are the superb replicas of the worlds and societies branded by colonialism, and moreover the Bard’s round characters transmit the suffering and experience of every inhabitant of the East subjugated by the European control. This paper determined the post-colonial ‘Other’ in three 18 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić Shakespearean dramas and it examined the story of colonial systems which exploited characters because they were perceived differently than the rest. It is the identification of the colonised and the oppressed individuals, however this article was also presented as the definition of the colonisers who attempt to assert their hegemony, relaying on all techniques necessary in order to exert utter dominance over ‘the Other.’ 4. CONCLUSION The most important element which is easily recognisable in Shakespearean dramas is the Bard’s universality. The dramatic plots of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest present a fertile ground for post-colonial analyses. In post-colonial terms particularly, representation of ‘the Other’ and ‘otherness’ is of paramount importance, due to the fact that Shakespeare’s message remains crucial for every day and age, surpassing and linguistic, cultural and political boundaries. In Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare added a speech which clearly presents the Bard’s opinions on the idea of the refugee issue, and through More, the Bard of Avon attempted to make his spectators render the deeds of mercy. Furthermore, The Bard endeavoured to show the plight of the immigrants who had to travel abroad in order to find a better life, en route they encounter various forms of stigmatisation. William Shakespeare managed to switch the roles, at least hypothetically, in order to remind the people of London that they could also experience great misfortunes should their own ruler turn on his own subjects. In the second chapter, this paper examined the role of Shylock in Venice. Since Shylock is a Jew, he is the epitome of the marginalised Jewish community. Shakespeare cleverly presented Shylock as ‘the Other’ in order to remind his audience/readers that Shylock had to behave in a negative manner since he was constantly undermined by the predominantly Christian society of the Venetian state. In a sense, Shylock’s stand against Antonio, Portia and the rest formulates a distinct ‘clash’ between the Old and the New Testament. In the final segment of this paper, the character of Caliban was analysed. Since Caliban was the original native of the magical island, he was subjugated by the European colonisers, primarily Prospero the Wizard. In post-colonial re-reading of the text, it became apparent that Prospero and Miranda applied all methods in order to bend the ‘savage native’ to their will. Prospero trapped, threatened and used violence against the poor creature, whereas Miranda even tried to teach him their language, therefore assimilating Caliban further. However, this paper portrayed Caliban as a poetic being, a creature which was able to distinguish things for himself. The paper also reflected on Caliban’s position as ‘the Other,’ as someone whose home had been conquered. Ariel and Caliban might be non-human characters, however it may be presumed that they hold more humanity than Prospero and the rest. 19 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 In analysing William Shakespeare’s dramas through the prism of postcolonial criticism, the readers were presented with an exciting dialogue formulated between the dramatic universe and the post-colonial portrayal of the world. The post-colonial academic field of research presents the repercussions of imperialism/colonialism as the main by-products of the European rule and exploitations. Hence, Shakespearean plays are the superb replicas of the worlds and societies branded by colonialism, and moreover the Bard’s round characters transmit the suffering and experience of every inhabitant of the East subjugated by the European control. This paper determined the post-colonial ‘Other’ in three Shakespearean dramas and it examined the story of colonial systems which exploited characters because they were perceived differently than the rest. It is the identification of the colonised and the oppressed individuals, however this article was also presented as the definition of the colonisers who attempt to assert their hegemony, relaying on all techniques necessary in order to exert utter dominance over ‘the Other.’ 20 �The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Damir Kahrić & Nađa Muhić REFERENCES Amin, S. (2009). Eurocentrism (R. Moore and J. Membre, Trans.). New York: Monthly Review Press. (Original work published in 1988). Bambušková, T. (2019). Law and Mercy in The Merchant of Venice and the Present Refugee Crisis. Archive ouverte en Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société, pp. 1-14. Bamford, N. (2018, January). The Strangers’ Case: harnessing the power of screen entertainment to communicate between cultures. Paper presented at Cross-Cultural Communication Conference, Barcelona. Bianchi, Tina J. (2005). Shrews, Jews, and Public Dues: The High Price of Rhetorical Savvy (English Master’s Thesis). Retrieved from Digital Commons @Brockport. Bloom, H. (1998). Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books. Bloom, H. (2008). Bloom’s Shakespeare Through the Ages: The Tempest. New York: Infobase Publishing. Brons, L. (2015). Othering, an Analysis. Transcience, a Journal of Global Studies, 6(1), pp. 69-90. Dickson, A. (2016, March, 1). The Book of Sir Thomas More: Shakespeare's only surviving literary manuscript. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/collectionitems/shakespeares-handwriting-in-the-book-of-sir-thomas-more. Frantz, F. (1963). The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Weidenfeld: A division of Grove Press, Inc. Goicoechea de Jorge, M. (2016, January, 15). A Post/colonial View. Retrieved from https://thetempestcomplutense.wordpress.com/a-postcolonial-view/. Huang, L. (2019). On the Otherness of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 9(7), pp. 661-668. DOI: 10.17265/21595836/2019.07.001. Lawrence, S. (2018). Fear and the Other in Sir Thomas More. Actes des congrès de la Société française Shakespeare, 36: 1-13. DOI: 10.4000/shakespeare.4123. Loomba, A. (2002). Shakespeare, Race, and Colonialism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. Munday, A. et al. (cca. 1591-1593). Sir Thomas More. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1547/pg1547-images.html. Mushtaq, H. (2010). Othering, Stereotyping and Hybridity in Fiction: A Postcolonial Analysis of Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899) and Coetzee's Waiting For The Barbarians (1980). Journal of Language and Literature, 3: 25-30. Nahvi, A. (2015, May, 5). Shakespeare’s Shylock, the Everlasting Character of all Times. Chumhuriyet University Faculty of Science: Science Journal (CSJ), 36(3) Special Issue, pp. 1291-1299. Nowosad, K. (2017, May, 31). ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Still Relevant Today. Retrieved from https://letsgotothetheater.com/merchant-of-venice/. O’Neill, S. (2020). Shakespeare's Hand, or "the strangers' case": Remediating Sir Thomas More in the context of the Refugee Crisis. Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation, 13(1), pp. 1-23. 21 �Journal of Education and Humanities Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2020 Pettinger, T. (2014, August, 3). Biography of Thomas More. Retrieved from https://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/thomas-more.html. Popa, A. (2013). Post-colonialism in Shakespearean Work. Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuși” University of Târgu Jiu, Letter and Social Science Series, 4: 9195. Reese, M. R. (2019, October, 17). Manichaeism: The Ancient Religion that Rivaled Christianity. Retrieved from https://www.ancientorigins.net/history/manichaeism-one-most-popular-religions-ancient-world002658. Said, E. W. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Random House, Inc. (Original work published in 1978). Shakespeare, W. (Ed. by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine). (1605). The Merchant of Venice. Washington: Folger Shakespeare Library. Shakespeare, W. (1998). The Tempest. St. Paul: Minnesota. (Original work produced in 1611). Singh, J. (2016, March, 15). Post-colonial reading of The Tempest. Retrieved from https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/post-colonial-reading-of-the-tempest. Stewart, P. (Ed. by Marie-Thérèse and Jones-Davies). (1981, November, 1). Shylock, Shakespeare’s Alien (Royal Shakespeare Company). Actes des congrès de la Société française Shakespeare, 3: 137-156. DOI: 10.4000/shakespeare. 444. For more information on Thomas More, please consult the following: Pettinger, T. (2014, August 3). Biography of Thomas More. Retrieved from https://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/thomasmore.html. i 22 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Journal of Education and Humanities Subject The topic of the resource Education and Humanities Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The Bard and ‘the Other’: A Post-colonial Re-reading of Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest Author Author Damir Kahrić, Nađa Muhić Abstract A summary of the resource. The purpose of this article is to shed light on the representation of ‘the Other’ in three Shakespearean dramas: Sir Thomas More, The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest. The article describes several Shakespearean characters through the prism of post-colonialism and, therefore, the paper is structured as the postcolonial re-reading of the aforementioned dramatic texts. William Shakespeare portrayed the sad fate of immigrants in Sir Thomas More, but the Bard also tackled the refugee issue which remains relevant for the contemporary period. Additionally, Shakespeare dramatized the position of the Jewish community in Venice through the portrayal of Shylock. The re-reading of The Tempest focuses on the process of colonisation and the Manichaean division within the conquered world. In conclusion, the article portrays experiences of those dramatic individuals stigmatised and subjugated by the colonial forces, thus allowing the readers to better understand the binary division within colonial systems. Keywords Keywords. William Shakespeare, Refugee Issue, Stereotyping, Manichaean World Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2566-4638 DOI Digital object identifier 10.14706/JEH2021321 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/2e2fa9647467559f9eae58501237980c.pdf d368e3a2b626d2deff2075a777d85f5d PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The Bologna Process in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Strengthening, Re-Branding, or Undermining Higher Education? Zoë Brennan-Krohn English Language and Literature og Banja Luka BIH University of Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina zbrennankrohn@gmail.com Abstract:Several years after Bosnia-Herzegovina formally agreed to partake in the Bologna Process of higher education reform, confusion, frustration, and misconceptions still abound among the country‘s students and educators about what Bologna actually means. This paper will analyze and discuss the process of integrating the Bologna process into college and university English language programs in BiH.The paper will use a number of sources in order to facilitate an in-depth exploration of the complexities surrounding Bologna implementation. Official guidelines, texts, and declarations published by the Council of Europe about the Bologna process will be a major source of research for this paper. The paper will also incorporate interviews with students, assistants, and professors from English departments of local universities to understand the perceived reality of these changes in college-level English programs. Drawing these sources together will be the case study of a year-long Council of Europe project devoted to curricular reform in BiH, one which included participation of both education experts and local English professors. By examining these sources together, this paper will contrast and analyze the fundamental tenets of the Bologna reforms, as well as the onthe-ground perceptions of the same process among English language teachers and learners. The paper will seek to pinpoint some sources of confusion between these positions, and to discuss the broader implications of these disconnects . What is Bologna? The reforms that became the Bologna Process were initiated in 1998 by some of the countries with the longest and most illustrious histories of higher education in Europe: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. In celebration of the Sorbonne‘s 750th anniversary, education ministers from these countries called for a post-nationalist view of education, a kind of education version of the then-forthcoming common currency.354 By the time the Bologna Declaration was signed by 29 founding member-countries the next year, the concept of the border-free education area in Europe had evolved considerably. No longer a declaration of support among the old-boys club of ancient Western European universities, the 1999 Bologna Declaration made specific mention of the importance of educational cooperation in ―the development and strengthening of stable, peaceful and democratic societies‖ and made special note of the importance of this issue in South East Europe. 355 The 1999 Bologna signatory countries included the usual suspects for cooperation in Europe at the time – all of the initial Euro countries were founding members of Bologna.356 The Western European countries which notably opted out of a common currency – the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden – did choose to join Bologna. In addition, however, the founding Bologna declaration included nine countries that had emerged from behind the Iron Curtain only a decade before. 357 All of these post-socialist countries were, at the time, far from being eligible to join the European Union or the Euro zone. This approach of a remarkably inclusive zone of cooperation in education is worth noting. Despite its widespread perception today, Bologna — unlike the EU, the Euro Zone, or NATO — was never a highly exclusive club for only the richest or most developed countries. The Bologna declaration of June 1999 specified several goals for the future of European higher education, which have been expanded upon but fundamentally consistent in the years since. The declaration called for a ―Europe of Knowledge,‖ a revitalization of the continent’s intellectual and educational dominance from earlier centuries.358 It also mentioned the importance of maintaining Europe’s international appeal and competitiveness into the new century, and of building the foundation of stability and democracy that strong and cooperative education can bring. 354 ―The Official Bologna Process Website, 2010-2012, History.‖ www.ehea.info ―The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999.‖ www.ehea.info, 1. 356 European Navigator: A History of a United Europe on the Internet. www.ena.lu Accessed 15 April 2011. 357 ―The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999.‖ 358 Ibid. 355 1315 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo In pursuit of these aims, the declaration committed to adopting a system of comparable and clear degrees across the region, establishing a credit system to improve student mobility, improving quality assurance mechanisms in universities, and increasing inter-institutional cooperation.359 One of the most remarkable elements of these goals is how fundamentally unobjectionable they are. For a document that has spawned such resentment, not to mention protests, it seems notably benign. Who would disagree, on principle, with allowing for students to travel or improving the quality of education? Only the most recalcitrant and entrenched members of universities would take issue with these concepts on principle, and such people are not the typical or critical disavowers of Bologna. Biennially after the Bologna Declaration in 1999, ministers of education from member countries met for follow-up meetings, and the main points of these meetings were published in a series of ―communiqués‖. These communiqués added certain new elements to the goals of the Bologna Process, including formalizing the goal of a European Higher Education Area by 2010, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning, and affirming the important role of students as active participants in reforming and strengthening higher education. 360 The concept of a ―Europe of Knowledge‖ and a subsequent focus on strengthening research and doctoral programs were added to the agenda in 2003.361 Even looking at all of the goals laid out in the Bologna Declaration and five subsequent communiqués, there are relatively few points that seem clearly contentious, certainly not to that extent that protests and anger have suggested. The 2009 Leuven Communiqué responded to the global financial crisis by emphasizing employability and noting universities’ responsibility to respond to labor market demands, and these elements could certainly be objectionable if one took the purest and most philosophical view of what education should be for and about. The backlash against the Bologna process began long before 2009, however, and so these elements of the Leuven Communiqué cannot be seen as the catalyst or the fundamental problem with the process. At most, this document may have strengthened opposition, although in reality most students, professors, and administrators, were probably not aware of the document at all. How did Bologna come about in Bosnia-Herzegovina? Bosnia-Herzegovina joined the Bologna process in 2003, along with Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia. With the addition of these countries, the entire former Yugoslavia became part of the Bologna Process. 362 Although theoretically a voluntary commitment, international community pressure is widely believed to be the impetus for Bosnia’s 2003 entry into the Bologna Process. Although higher education in Bosnia-Herzegovina suffered significantly during the 1992-1995 war, most universities continued to function during the war, albeit under highly strained circumstances. Most notably, the University of Sarajevo continued to hold courses throughout the nearly four-year siege, in spite of extreme danger and hardship for students and faculty. Additionally, the University of East Sarajevo (originally called the Serb University of Sarajevo), and separate Croat and Bosniak Universities of Mostar were actually founded during the war, in an effort to establish ethnically identified institutions to replace the formerly multiethnic universities in these cities. During and after the war, primary and secondary schools in BiH were formally segregated by ethnicity, resulting in some instances of ―two schools under one roof,‖ where one building and schoolyard were physically divided and transformed into separate schools, and students were sorted on the basis of ethnicity. Curricula, especially language and history, became ethnically based. These measures were very successful at solidifying and re-entrenching ethnic tensions throughout the country. At the level of higher education, universities in BiH are not formally segregated – there is no official ethnic identity of any university. The divisions from earlier years of school, however, as well as broader societal segregation, create de facto ethnic segregation at universities as well. While the University of Sarajevo maintains something of a multi-ethnic identity (although predominantly Bosniak), the country’s seven other public universities have an overwhelming predominance of one ethnicity. Pervasive ethnic tensions and divisions are a major element of life in Bosnia-Herzegovina, education being no exception. The Bologna Process aims indirectly to facilitate a more integrated education system through student and faculty mobility and cooperation among universities. As a Europe-wide initiative, however, Bologna has no specific provisions for tackling the major and often traumatic repercussions and tensions that have grown out of war. 359 Ibid. ―Towards the European Higher Education Area.‖ Prague, 19 May 2001. www.ehea.info 361 ―Realising the European Higher Education Area.‖ Berlin, 19 September 2003. www.ehea.info 362 This is no longer true since Kosovo‘s declaration of independence in 2008. Because of tensions regarding the recognition of an independent Kosovo, it is no longer a participant in the Bologna reforms. Montenegro, which became independent from Serbia in 2006, however, successfully joined Bologna as an independent state in 2007. 360 1316 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Into this ethnically identified conflict, Bologna’s indirect attempts to integrate education in the country have not done nearly enough to actively heal the gaps left by the war and meaningfully recreate a single functioning system of education. The goals of Bologna in BiH in many ways parallel the broader goals of European Union integration for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both seek to move beyond internal struggles by making them obsolete through Europeanizing the education system and the country as a whole. While an idealistic goal, post-conflict reconstruction rarely seems to be cured by simply skimming over the traumas and troubles remaining in the wake of the war. What are students’ perceptions of Bologna? Eighty-one students of in the English Language and Literature departments in Banja Luka and Tuzla were surveyed for this project. Respondents were second, third, and fourth year undergraduate students who were asked to reflect on their understanding and opinion of Bologna in their departments, in BosniaHerzegovina, and in Europe. One of the most striking elements of the survey results was the students’ understanding of what the intended purpose of Bologna actually is. Only one of eighty-one students mentioned student or faculty mobility as part of the goal of Bologna, and only seven (9%) referred to standardizing and harmonizing education, either within BiH or across Europe. It is remarkable that less than 10% of respondents mentioned either of the two main facets and goals of Bologna, although it has been present in their education and influencing their lives for upwards of four years. What did students think that Bologna was designed to do? There was a wide variety of theories presented by students. The two most common responses were the purposes of forcing students to study constantly, and making their studies easier, suggested by 40% and 35% of respondents, respectively. The former response was almost certainly informed by the establishment of grades based on a point system comprised of midterm test results, class participation, and homework, rather than the old system of final grades based entirely on written and oral final exams. Making programs easier to pass was a sentiment echoed by several teaching assistants and professors, as well. The continuous study element of the reforms is not entirely unrelated to Bologna’s goals, but nor is it the primary aim of the project. Increasing the transparency of grading policies is part of Bologna’s mission, and creating standardized formulas based on a variety of criteria is a common way of working towards that goal. The specific outcome of making students study continuously, rather than cramming before exams is, while probably a positive change, not in any specific way connected to Bologna. Asked about their overall opinions of Bologna in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the overwhelming majority of responses were either partly or entirely negative. Indeed, only a very small percentage of students described their opinion about Bologna in BiH in only positive terms, while many more described them as entirely negative. A very common student observation was that the reforms in Bosnia-Herzegovina were either not ―real‖ or not ―complete‖ Bologna. 62% of students referred in some way to their belief that Bosnian Bologna was incomplete, misapplied, or lacking unified implementation. This is particularly unusual because there was no question directly related to this point in the survey. It is clear that this is an opinion that many students hold strongly and went out of their way to express in their surveys. 363 The main causes suggested for this ―fake‖ Bologna were lack of resources, organization, and professor support. One student wrote, ―Bologna in BiH is impossible! They started some reforms which cannot be done in our country and they made it even harder for us students.‖ Another commented that, ―In BiH this system [is] a good idea but it’s not really applicable. Our education system is too disorganized and messy.‖ A third student mused, ―I would personally like…to know what the real Bologna Process is like.‖ These spontaneous and adamant observations reflect the perception that professors, deans, rectors and politicians often cherry-pick elements of reforms to implement in their institutions, and that the changes they do implement are often primarily cosmetic. Yet the students’ comments also suggest an erroneous belief that ―Bologna‖ is a unified, cookie-cutter mandate that is either implemented or not. Commonly echoed among teaching staff and politicians, this view of the process is primarily counterproductive. It prevents education stakeholders from becoming actively involved in education reforms because they believe that the process is one of enacting a demand rather than adapting reforms based on individual goals, institutions, and realities. For many in BiH, the role of being the passive site or recipient of projects, reforms, and systems has become a kind of default and assumed position. In the nearly two decades since the war, Bosnia-Herzegovina has frequently been the subject of mandates and intensive international interventions. Regardless of their opinions about these projects, the scenario of imposed reforms has become commonplace. In the case of Bologna, this assumption often precludes any meaningful engagement that might actually be possible. What are faculty perceptions of Bologna? Perceptions of the Bologna Process among teaching staff vary widely. As with students, faculty tended to focus on the elements of the changes that influenced them the most. Of twelve professors and teaching 363 Most instances of this sentiment were in response to the survey question ―What is your opinion about Bologna in BiH?‖ 1317 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo assistants interviewed, only two identified harmonization or mobility among the goals of Bologna as they understood them. Students’ comments that Bologna is different in different universities were clearly echoed through comments from Banja Luka and Tuzla. Many professors and students in Tuzla noted the change with Bologna that students can only attempt an exam three times before being required to re-take the course. In Banja Luka, this change is not yet regularly enforced or agreed upon, and so, not surprisingly, was infrequently mentioned as an element of Bologna. Another common observation from faculty at both universities was a change in the grading scale so that it became easier to pass classes but more difficult to get the highest grades of nine or ten. In some ways, this perception reflects one of Bologna’s general goals to make a college degree more accessible continent-wide, such that simply passing classes is no longer the sometimes-monumental feat that it once was. Like students, many members of the teaching staff cited continuous studying as a key point in Bologna, and many also noted that there was not enough money in BiH to have ―real‖ Bologna. Surprisingly, several faculty members said that their teaching methods and content had changed little or not at all since Bologna, and that only assessment and administrative elements were changed. This helps to explain the sense of Bologna as a set of cosmetic reforms. Either out of confusion or choice, most professors do not see Bologna as an opportunity or a requirement to meaningfully assess and potentially modify their courses. Where students often blamed professors for failing to give enough information about the process, professors often lay this blame with their superiors – deans and rectors. In sum, faculty opinions, like those of students, represented a wide range of opinions about Bologna. While the majority of opinions were primarily negative, either in the theory or the execution of Bologna in BiH, some people felt that the changes had improved education. One teaching assistant, expressing this more optimistic perspective of the changes, noted, ―I think – I don’t think, I see – that students take it more seriously when they have fewer exams and they know they’ll be checked, so they study continuously.‖ Students and teaching staff in Tuzla were, on the whole, more positive about the changes brought by Bologna, while people in Banja Luka were more likely to describe the process in very negative terms. Within the scope of this small survey, it is not possible to tell whether this difference represents variations between these two individual universities in their approach to the reforms, or whether it is indicative of broader, entity-based patterns through which universities in Republika Srpska would be predisposed to more negative attitudes toward international involvement than institutions in the Federation. Analyzing Perceptions and Realities; Theory and Practice of Bologna in BiH One of the most common observations among students and teaching staff was that Bosnia-Herzegovina does not have the money to adequately resource ―real‖ Bologna. While there is no question that financial constraints pose serious limitations to education reforms, there does not seem to be significant awareness of the elements of Bologna which could be implemented without large amounts of money. There is no question that large classes, shortages of classrooms, poor libraries and limited internet access combine to hobble some educational reforms. Some reforms, though, can proceed irrespective of funding, such as encouraging externallyfunded student and professor exchanges throughout Europe; extending the role and scope of student advising; and structuring courses with a greater focus on student needs and learning outcomes. While surely these changes would be progress more smoothly with large quantities of money, they are not dependent on it. What seems like the possibility for true reform in spite of financial constraints is reduced to a theoretical possibility when the perceptions of the potential implementers of these reforms are taken into account. As there are so few professors or students who view the process in these – perhaps idealistic – terms, then the perceived limitations become a reinforced and entrenched reality. The long history of international community involvement in Bosnia-Herzegovina also plays a major role in perceptions of, and openness to, the Bologna Reforms. Especially in Republika Srpska, where international interventions are generally seen in a particularly negative light, impositions or any project that resembles the perceived history of unjust impositions are treated with serious suspicion. The degree to which this dynamic was or was not present in reality as Bosnia joined Bologna is largely irrelevant because this is so universally believed to be the case. As we have seen throughout this paper, there is widespread confusion and misunderstanding about the ultimate purpose of Bologna. This disconnect is pervasive at the level of students and teaching staff, and likely continues even up to the level of deans, rectors, and politicians. Without a clear conception of the ultimate purpose of Bologna, and with no clear efforts to mend this problem of public relations, it is hard to envision the kind of meaningful collaboration that Bologna requires among stakeholders at all levels. Analyzing student and faculty interviews and surveys, it becomes clear that most people understand Bologna based on its functional implications for them. Bologna is whatever has happened to these people: a watering down of the curriculum from the perspective of professors who feel that the scope and content of their courses have been curtailed; a demand to study constantly from the perspective of students who must now 1318 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo prepare for a myriad of partial examinations and projects; a sadistic bureaucratic nightmare from the point of view of teaching staff who are now required to accompany their work with many times the paperwork than was once demanded. Although all of these realities are connected in some ways to the big-picture goals of the Bologna reforms, it is troubling that nearly all of the students and teaching staff contacted for this paper understood Bologna entirely based on how it had already affected them, and not based on how it could impact their future or how they themselves could be active members of it. A combination of disinterest, assumptions specific to the Bosnian context and history, and poor information dissemination has created a country of educators and students who see Bologna as something happening to them. In this context, those who should be the active reformers and participants in meaningful reform become entirely passivized. This passivity ensures that reforms will continue to be decided not by those with the most direct and practical understanding of what needs to changed, but by tangential stakeholders with much less information and experience, thus ensuring that Bologna will continue to have a disconnect between theory and practice. Can Bologna in Bosnia-Herzegovina Survive? It is clear from this research that there are serious problems and challenges facing Bologna’s implementation and sustainability in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Looking to the future, many questions and doubts linger. One approach to these problems is simply pushing through them. The joint European Union/Council of Europe project ―Strengthening Higher Education in Bosnia-Herzegovina‖ is an example of this approach. In the third part of this multi-year project, teaching staff from universities across BiH were brought together to learn about the Bologna approach to education and tasked with developing a pilot curriculum based on learning outcomes, flexibility and mobility, and student-centered approaches. Over the course of more than a year, these working groups met monthly and ostensibly succeeded in creating Bologna-friendly pilot courses, curricula, and degree programs. Yet in spite of this seeming success, most of the participants in this program from the English language and literature departments do not hesitate to express their belief that the whole project was mainly an exercise in futility. Although the EU/CoE organizers have said that the project participants should now be viewed as on-theground experts in the field of adapting programs into this European framework, informal conversations suggest that this has not been the case, and that participants themselves would not be eager to take on this role. Without rejecting the possibility that in some subtle ways this project may have been important and may still be a vehicle for success indirectly, it is widely believed by participants that the project was largely useless. Assessing the successes and challenges of the Bologna Process across Europe, a report noted that smaller countries have generally seen greater success in implementing reforms than larger countries like Germany and France, which have diverse and autonomous regions and universities. Although BosniaHerzegovina is certainly small in terms of population and land area, it has many of the divisions and intense local autonomy more commonly found in large, decentralized countries. The geographic proximity between Sarajevo and Pale, for example, does not mitigate the deep tensions that remain for many people in both cities, and this is true for their universities as well. The almost crippling autonomy granted to each entity in the Dayton Peace Accords is proving a major hindrance to harmonizing education country-wide, and within this dynamic Bosnia has perhaps more in common with large, decentralized European countries than with places that are more similar in population and physical size. In many ways the problems of Bologna in BiH reflect larger problems of the country as a whole. On paper, Bologna could be construed as a successful project in BiH: if one chooses not to look too deep or find out too much, the superficial and partial changes that Bologna has created could be perceived as evidence of a broadly successful process. Likewise, the Dayton Peace Accords have superficially ―solved‖ the problems of the war while leaving crucial issues festering. Bologna seems to be working in Bosnia, if that is the answer one hopes to find; in the same way that Dayton seems to have been a success. In both cases, serious problems are left unaddressed or solved in a primarily cosmetic way. In the case of both Bologna and Dayton, the unsolved issues that remain are by their nature the stickiest, most vague, and most contentious. Meaningfully addressing these problems will require an in-depth, countryspecific plan that brings key players on board and persuades them of the possibility of substantive reform. In the case of Bologna, this will mean that stakeholders will need to genuinely believe that changes are possible, that their opinions will be taken into account, and that reforms will not represent a threat to their work. Is this possible in the case of either Bologna or post-Dayton Bosnia as a whole? Optimism seems hard to come by, especially as an outsider in a place where enthusiastic and often ill-informed outsiders have bungled so many projects. The universal European nature of Bologna means that formally opting out of the process could further isolate students, professors, and higher education institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Yet stumbling through the process with haphazard and erratic cosmetic reforms without seriously making changes or discussing potential challenges seems to be undermining every element of pride and confidence that exists among educators and students. It is not without precedent in history that ―fake it until you make it‖ can be a successful philosophy 1319 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo even on an international geopolitical scale. Yet in Bosnia there are politicians and others working very hard against this, and that is a troubling reality. 1320 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 682 Title A name given to the resource The Bologna Process in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Strengthening, Re-Branding, or Undermining Higher Education? Author Author Krohn, Zoë Brennan Abstract A summary of the resource. Several years after Bosnia-Herzegovina formally agreed to partake in the Bologna Process of higher education reform, confusion, frustration, and misconceptions still abound among the country‘s students and educators about what Bologna actually means. This paper will analyze and discuss the process of integrating the Bologna process into college and university English language programs in BiH.The paper will use a number of sources in order to facilitate an in-depth exploration of the complexities surrounding Bologna implementation. Official guidelines, texts, and declarations published by the Council of Europe about the Bologna process will be a major source of research for this paper. The paper will also incorporate interviews with students, assistants, and professors from English departments of local universities to understand the perceived reality of these changes in college-level English programs. Drawing these sources together will be the case study of a year-long Council of Europe project devoted to curricular reform in BiH, one which included participation of both education experts and local English professors. By examining these sources together, this paper will contrast and analyze the fundamental tenets of the Bologna reforms, as well as the onthe- ground perceptions of the same process among English language teachers and learners. The paper will seek to pinpoint some sources of confusion between these positions, and to discuss the broader implications of these disconnects. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3436 Title A name given to the resource THE BOOK EVOLUTION IN TOKUGAWA JAPAN (1603-1867) Author Author Borriello, Giovanni Abstract A summary of the resource. For about 265 years in Edo there was a period of relative peace. The four successors of Ieyasu (15431616), the first Tokugawa shōgun, through the bakufu, ruled the country organized in a rigid social system that saw society divided into four classes: 1) aristocracy divided into civil (kuge) and military (buke), 2) peasants, 3) craftsmen and 4) merchants.1 As philosophy of state the shōguns adopted the so-called Neo-Confucianism of Chu Hsi (1130-1200). This philosopher, who lived under the Sung and whose doctrines were disseminated in Japan by Fujiwara Seika (1561-1619), argued that the supreme good consisted in the social order, in the stability of the institutions and in the obedience to the authorities, philosophy that well suited to the spirit of the supremacy of the bakufu. The phenomenon that characterized and influenced the most the whole period was the rise and the success of a new social class, the chōnin (lit. “townspeople” or more precisely “people in the city wards”), the city merchants, who at first were the users and then the authors of the so-called “chōnin culture”, which developed especially among the merchant classes of Edo and Ōsaka. The cultural phenomenon was fed in particular, by three factors: the spread of printing, the organization of the pleasure districts and the great impact of the kabuki and the jōruri theatre. In this paper in particular we will deal with printing. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed PE English https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/ad9f0048adf845d5a3444df8847c316b.doc b30e4db87619f48ce01edabe715d47e5 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/835f8b31c5f76ea0276bb53c303faa9d.pdf 0c2ac2e183a5cd9a55b269f86ee552e6 PDF Text Text 1st International Annual Student Symposium The Business Impacts of Social Networking Sumeja Softić International Burch University / Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Keywords: Social networking, organizational performance, business outcomes, Twitter, Facebook ABSTRACT Social networks are used as tools for building links to business websites which opens many possibilities for entrepreneurs and people engaged in business. Due to the widespread personal use of social networks today, it is forcing organizations and their leaders to effectively connect with employees and customers. A survey in the UK revealed that the cost to economy due to the use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook by office workers during office hours could be over GBP 1.38 billion per year. This paper aims at explaining the opportunities of using internal social networks, the advantages and disadvantages of using them and how to enhance collaboration and improve organizational performance and business outcomes while using them. Web-based platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn allow the personal business networks online to improve business relations among people and give access to jobs and career opportunities like never before. As such, it is in our main interest to keep up with the social network revolution and use the best out of it. 14 | � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1442 Title A name given to the resource The Business Impacts of Social Networking Author Author SOFTIC, Sumeja Abstract A summary of the resource. Social networks are used as tools for building links to business websites which opens many possibilities for entrepreneurs and people engaged in business. Due to the widespread personal use of social networks today, it is forcing organizations and their leaders to effectively connect with employees and customers. A survey in the UK revealed that the cost to economy due to the use of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook by office workers during office hours could be over GBP 1.38 billion per year. This paper aims at explaining the opportunities of using internal social networks, the advantages and disadvantages of using them and how to enhance collaboration and improve organizational performance and business outcomes while using them. Web-based platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn allow the personal business networks online to improve business relations among people and give access to jobs and career opportunities like never before. As such, it is in our main interest to keep up with the social network revolution and use the best out of it. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/17a084e728eacb77d968252ce3a00ad6.pdf 516a5c5f924a9315b2395c8582c5ade8 PDF Text Text The Capacity of the evaluation of linguistic abilities of FLE examinations applied in Turkey by OSYM ∗ Şeref Kara Uludag University, Bursa/Turkey serefk@uludag.edu.tr Melih Karakuzu Atatürk University, Erzurum/Turkey karakuzu@atauni.edu.tr Abstract : Since the ultimate object of the assessment and the evaluation in foreign language is the communication competence, it remains custom to determine the parameters and the performance criteria of the foreign language users. However, the multiple choice items used in Turkey generally do not allow us to measure different types of learners such as oral communication. It is limited only to the measurement of mental processes such as knowledge comprehension and application. En the contrary, the multiple choice items are still mostly preferred. Within the framework of this research, our aim is to analyze the multiple choice tests prepared and applied in Turkey by the OSYM in various examinations such as the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Key words: evaluation, competence, communication, test, validity. 1. Introduction The evaluation means certain number of various things in various contexts. Sometimes, as teachers, we evaluate our classes as spaces of study and as in teaching; other times, we evaluate the tests or written work that our learners produce. By many theories of language evaluation the institutional character of the evaluation means is taken into account rather than the learners needs. It is well known that evaluation is an extremely complex field where there are various human and teaching variables. The evaluation helps an educational system to provide the data which is needed to renew itself. So what to evaluate: knowledge or competence? Which type of evaluation use: formative/summative, direct/indirect? How to evaluate: questions/responses, free expression/expression, open questionnaire/questionnaire with multiple choices? It should be noted that it is very difficult to be able to find a real answer miracle, because each teaching method privileges such or such type of evaluation with a precise aim. However, it is not impossible to set up referents to recognize the learners’ acquisitions according to equivalences of levels. The convergent validity with existing tests should not be significant. According to Morrow (1979), it is significant to consider 1) the validity of the contents (items of which the test made up constitute a representative sample for a linguistic capacity?), 2) validity of the psycholinguistic concepts (does the test reflect with precision the principles of a valid theory of a foreign language learners?) and 3) predictive validity (can one determine by the result of the test foreseeable success in a given discipline). False objectivity will not be determining any more, even if, in certain situations it is advantageous to have formats of possible tests corrected by using a machine. Gary Buck (2001) is among the most known specialists for construction and the evaluation in tests in written comprehension. He quotes Bachman and Palmer (1996) by saying that the most significant characteristic of a test is its utility. According to their definition, this concept includes the following features: validity of psycholinguistic concepts, interactivity, authenticity, reliability, practice and impact. Buck adds the effectiveness to it. To build a test and to evaluate it, it is necessary to start firstly by defining the "pattern" or psycholinguistic concept: aptitudes and the capacities on which must carry the test and what it must measure. In the curricular area of the languages, particularly in programs of FLE, there are many proposals on the way of applying evaluations to the activities of class and the evaluation of program. The teachers and learners can objectively look at their work and their execution during the course. In the second place, they can understand the progression of the course and its relation with the goals of the program ∗ The center of selection and placement of the students to the higher education in Turkey 135 �more thoroughly. Thirdly, the teachers and learners can benefit from the evaluation to modify their teaching or study strategies whilst improving their achievements. By taking part in the continuing programme of evaluation, teachers and learners become more implied in the program. In short, the project of evaluation can help to create a good relationship between the teachers and learners. Continual evaluation is a systematic and reflective process to measure the program. With the difference in other evaluations, this approach comprises only teachers it and learners. One can regard it as a process of auto evaluation. 2. Scales of levels In this study, we will present the principal tests, certifications and scales of levels used in foreign language (LT) in Turkey. There are three types of tests in FLT prepared and applied by the OSYM which is the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Intended to choose candidates and historically to place them in the sections of FLE of the universities according to the points obtained and the preferences, oldest of these tests is that of the OSS which is more than 20 years old. The OSS is a test of French language, conceived and created to evaluate the people of an intermediate level. It validates about 250 hours of formation. One can qualify it like a diagnostic test which has a paramount objective to classify and to select the participants. The second, KPDS has existed for 12 years. The third, most recent, the UDS is addressed to those who want to make academic studies after the diploma of licence at the end of 5 years. The test of the KPDS follows the same format as the test of the OSS and measurement mainly knowledge in general language It covers subjects accessible to the candidates concerned. It should be noted that the idea of the creation of the KPDS comes from the request of the official institutions for the living languages. The KPDS and the OSS consist of multiple choice questions which last 3 hours, divided into six sections from 20 to 15 questions each one. The three hours of the test prove indeed often long and discouraging. It is presented in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire, comprising 100 questions for which only one answer is possible among the 5 choices suggested. The questions are conceived according to a principle of progressive difficulty. But the test of the UDS is composed of 80 questions for which 3 hours also allocated Though reliable the KPDS is not a reference recognized on an international scale. The total objective is thus well targeted: linguistic abilities in writing. The certificate given to each candidate indicates a total score spreading out between 0 and 100. But the disadvantage is that none of these three tests provides detailed certificate of linguistic competences in grammar, vocabulary, or written comprehension in order to accompany progress and to personalize the teaching course. As we announced above the obligatory tests appear as a multiple-choice questionnaire of 100 questions, for a fine evaluation of linguistic competences. The first part of the tests treats the words of the lexicon: (comprehension of the words according to their usual or rare character); of morphosyntax: (the agreement of the adjectives, the substantives, the past participle, simplest); elements of the nominal group: (determinants, adjectives, possessive phrases), the pronouns in general, relate to the relative ones (differences who/which); the most current times; adverbs of time, place, the prepositions; of syntax: construction negative, interrogative, the simple sentence. In 2003, there were 100 questions with multiple choices as in the preceding tests. The tests, built by the commission of the OSS, were distributed to the schools with the optical cards of answers and then they were sent to the OSYM in Ankara for the final evaluation. The answers of the participants are corrected and recorded on computers and the results of all the participants are announced on the Internet. Then the test of the KPDS which aims to evaluate candidates the linguistic level in foreign language in an occupational context is intended to the civil servants, to professionals who would like to know their linguistic level, to companies who would like to determine French level of their current or future employees, it is also intended to organizations of formation for the installation of homogeneous groups or continuous or final evaluation. At the end of the test candidate obtains a certificate of level. The texts of questionnaire relate to the social sciences, economic and legal, mathematical sciences and sciences of the matter, life sciences. These tests are a measuring instrument of general knowledge in French. They make it possible to get a detailed vision of the learner or employees level in writing and operation of the language. But oral competence is not evaluated. As KPDS is the validation of knowledge, the certificate is valid only for 5 years, knowledge being able to undergo positive or negative changes. In fact tests give little information would enable us to comprehend the candidate’s difficulties. The opinions and interpretations must be changed, and their exchange and evaluation are an essential part of the interactive training, comprising the development of the language, the cultural conscience and the increase of learners in general terms of education. Because very often there is not only one correct answer to a question. 136 �While preparing this work we were relied on our experiments as well as well as on testimonies of the participants of various levels at the exit of the examination rooms. Although a large audience is concerned with these tests, unfortunately we did not find a serious study which relates to them. Normally a tool for evaluation in FLE must measure all the linguistic abilities. But unfortunately the tests of languages of the OSYM completely neglect the oral competence which is of primary importance for the linguistic communication. Within the framework of this work our objective is to highlight some axes which could help the decision makers and the inspectors to change their policy and their approach simply by taking account the communicative function of the language. Rather than to analyze and highlight the gaps or the weaknesses of these tests about which we spoke here, let us try to propose some ways for their future improvement. 3. Stages in the evaluation The teacher and learners should carry out continuous evaluations periodically. First continuous evaluation can be carried out in the first week. In a language program, there are many factors which must be considered and studied in order to obtain an objective sight of the process of teaching (Braskamp and others, 1984). These factors can be classified in four categories. 4. Gathering of the data Manners of gathering data are changed. In our own practice, we employed questionnaires of the tests of the OSYM. 5. Feedback and advantages The continuous evaluations should not ever be means of sanction for the teacher or learner. They should rather help the two parts in their practices. The teachers and learners them should adopt positive attitudes and concentrate on the achievement of the objectives of the texts, but they can also get information about the models of study and the strategies of learners. In addition, learners find out about teaching style of the teacher and can understand why certain methods are employed. By mutual observations and the exchange of the ideas learners and teachers help each other to improve the learning. Learners can also profit from different studying strategies and the teachers will be able to see learner models and can adjust their methods to satisfy learner needs. A continuous evaluation is a systematic examination of a language program. By changing the roles of teacher and learner in a program, teaching and the study can be improved. The process should include teachers and learners and various kinds of activities at the various stages of the evaluation. The evaluation also benefits the teacher who becomes a researcher. All the methods of evaluation have some disadvantages, and it is essential to determine which MCQ can play an essential role in the strategy of total evaluation by examining the results of the study envisaged by module. However it should be remembered that any form of valid evaluation is likely to require learner to show a certain form of the basic knowledge which is acquired by memorisation. The questions based on basic knowledge are also a formative evaluation tool to check if learner has comprehended it. The preparation of MCQ which tests the knowledge in depth of the learner is more difficult to realize than traditional questions. 6. Comprehension and the application It is necessary to formulate as clear and concise questions as possible, while avoiding the complex language and the composition of the axes which give more than one indication. It is better also to concentrate on common errors of learner like sectors for questions and/or options. One must accept both answers as correct if two of the choices are possible. But if necessary, if the question requires it, it should be specified that there is only one correct answer. How can one provide effective feedback for the MCQ? The assistance of feedback can be desirable in the sommative and essential evaluation in the formative evaluation. Contrary to the traditional evaluations where feedback depends on various answers, the closed range of response for MCQ means that the tutors know the possible errors which can be made before the test. Thus the proposal of a MCQ is an excellent chance for the tutor to get focused generic feedback. This can be in the form of oral test of the answers following a written test or feedback on the questions, where learners can identify their errors by themselves. The effective feedback does not indicate simply to learners where they were mistaken but also gives the reasons as to why. 137 �7. Useful indicators for feedback: In the best of the cases, it is to better to write feedback while writing the questions. The principal strengths and the weaknesses of the multiple choice questions are as follows: they examine a wide range of subjects in little time. The evaluation is not affected by a capacity of writing or orthography of learner. They can be surely pointed while all the answers are predetermined. They can also quickly be marked by computer. The inscription on computer gives the easy access to an analysis of article of the questions in the specific problematic fields for learners. A large bank of the questions which reduces the future preparation time can be made up. They can be employed for the fast revision at the beginning or the end of a class and to be marked by learners. 8. Conclusion One of the advantages of MCQ is the documentation of the statistics on the tests which are easily accessible, especially if these tests are marked by a computer. Multiple choices questions can be employed to examine the comprehension of a reading passage. Inscription of the MCQ, as mentioned above, is often difficult. As for true/false items, they should not directly quote the words of the passage and they should reflect a certain possible ambiguity of the text. None of the possible answers should stand out for example in comparison, having one longer or shorter than the others. None of the possible answers should be the opposite of correct answers. (as that states that usually one of the opposites is the correct answers). The distracters should not have similar meaning, since they can not both be correct, they must both be false. On the other hand the items should equally examine the information which can be implied from reading passage and require the candidates to reassemble the information from more than one place in the passage. The pre-tests are always significant but in particular with MCQ because obtaining a fresh prospect about the test is significant. The effectiveness is a feature added by Buck, which stresses the importance to be able to draw from a test as mach information as possible on the capacities of written comprehension of the participants within the limited time. Thus it could be possible to avoid it by making easier tests. In MCQ, it is very significant to write good correct and incorrect replacement choices. The correct choice in question should not come directly from the text. It should be reformulated, so that participant can understand the significance of the text and not simply to identify the repeated words. Incorrect replacement choices should be based on a possible misunderstanding of the text. They should be clearly incorrect, but not illogical. If they are illogical, tested will eliminate them, even if they do not understand the text. The problem in writing goods items is often that it is difficult to write three or four good replacement choices which are logical and clearly incorrect. By writing MCG, one should avoid giving indications for the correct response the multiple choice test preparers have a tendency to put the correct response to the medium, C-to-D., if there are four choices, they prefer B or C, or if there are five choices C is preferred. One must make sure that the correct answers are not prevalent matter in the medium of the solutions of replacement. As mentioned above, one must also avoid employing the opposites of the correct answers as incorrect alternative, and it is better to employ two incorrect replacement choices with very similar significances. While preparing the items, one must consider carefully which qualifications or knowledge are necessary to answer the question. If a competence other than that that we want to examine is necessary, this type of item is probably not a good item. By considering what we said about our test, we can conclude that the test functions relatively well in its context. Principal criticism comes owing to the fact that the written text does not represent the authentic spoken language clearly enough and that the texts could be varied with regard to the topic and the type of text. But one also needs radical changes so that these tests have conformity and an international validity Finally, there are two significant points that we want to draw from this discussion. First of all, considering the established concept in the specifications of the test, MCT can be useful at least as a part of written comprehension tests. It can show the validity even according to communicative approaches. What is significant and what constitutes a challenge for the specialists. From which our second point comes, is to be able to build a valid test which measures the targeted concept. The difficulty lies in other factors; finding a representative sample of texts and tasks, having as result a degree of interactivity and satisfactory effectiveness. Especially by building a big relatively significant test like the test of the OSS for about of 45000 participants, it is necessary to analyze and check the results before and after the test with people similar to the target group of the test and with the specialists of the discipline, considering the answers and the results obtained. Conceived and developed by the OSYM, the tree tests of evaluation of French language in Turkey allow testing only competences in written comprehension and completely neglecting competences in oral and written expression in non specialized French language. This causes a great weakness with regard to the reliability and the validity of these tests. 138 �"How can I evaluate myself?", "I am not a teacher!″ The traditional school culture does not encourage the learners taking responsibility in the evaluation, the only person who really knows if you understood something is you! At school and university you can often pass from the examinations if you know only 50% of a subject. If you carry out your own test, you can discover what you really know. The evaluation is the responsibility of the teacher at the school and the university partly "yes". However, after the university you’ll have to learn from new things for your profession. You’ll have to be evaluated yourself to discover what you do not know, so that you can project what you have to learn. That is called "needs analysis”. For what is known as in the evaluation of oneself, one needs many supports and counselling from the teachers The examinations are not a goal but they are means. They measure simply the degree of what learners know. If education has ten essential objectives the examinations and their result constitute simply one of them. But in Turkish education system, the examinations became the only objective in itself. The other objectives lost all their importance. All the actors of education concentrated only on the examinations. The children grow up simply with examinations. They are completely isolated from everyday life and they lost their creativity because of the memorisation system. Everything is evaluated and relied on the result obtained from one examination. The state as well as the parents does not see anything beyond the examinations. The results are not questioned. On the other hand the results are worse for the participants as well as the educational establishments. We insist on something wrong just because of the increase in number of students at the university gates. Because of the examinations the life of the parents is upside down as that of the thousands of youngsters. Here is a debate for the awakening of the utility of the evaluation and the validity of the written comprehension test. It is clear that there is still a lot to do make in this field, to arrive at the interesting but complex process of written comprehension, and at its valid measurement. This is why the tests should rather be conceived so as to encourage the recourse to activities of acquisition. The tests of use must measure before all the competence of communication of the learners. For this reason they are especially the abilities of comprehension and communication of the ideas which must be tested. Contest of selection and placement of the students. 1 Examination of competence of foreign language of the employees of state. 1 Examination of foreign language of the council interuniversitaire. 139 �References: Bachman, L., Palmer, A. (1996). Language Testing in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Buck, G. (2001). Assessing Listening. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bolton, S.(1991). Évaluation de la compétence communicative en langue étrangère. Paris: Les Éditions Didier. Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues:apprendre, enseigner, évaluer (2001) Didier. Chapelle, C.A.(1998). Construct definition and validity inquiry in SLA research. In: Bachman L.F, A.D. Cohen: Interfaces Between Second Language Acquisition and Language. Cornaire, C. (1998). La compréhension écrite. CLE International. Galisson, R,D.Coste (1986). Dictionnaire de didactiques des langues Hachette Germain,C.(1993). Evolution de l’enseignement des langues: 5000 ans d’histoire Cle Int. Hilton,S C.Veltcheff (2003). L’évaluation en FLE Hachette. Hymes D., (1984). Vers la compétence de communication, CREDIF-Hatier. Hutchinson, J.A. et Pauline M. Rankin (1987). “Employement profiles and compensation for educational technologists:1983-86” Educational Media and technologie yearbook:1987. Littleton, Co: Librairies Unlimited. Landsheere, G. (1992). Dictionnaire de l’évaluation et de la recherche en éducation, PUF Lhote, E. (1995). Enseigner l’écrit en interaction. Paris: Hachette. Lussier, D.(1992). Évaluer les apprentissages dans une approche communicative. Paris, Hachette. Nimier, J. (1996). La formation psychologique des enseignants: Collection Formation Permanente en Sciences Humaines. Edition: E.S.F Morrow, K. (1979). Communicative Language testing: revolution or evolution? in: Brumfit. Porcher, L. (1995). Le français langue étrangère Hachette. 140 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 664 Title A name given to the resource The Capacity of the evaluation of linguistic abilities of FLE examinations applied in Turkey by OSYM Author Author KARA, Seref Karakuzu, Melih Abstract A summary of the resource. Since the ultimate object of the assessment and the evaluation in foreign language is the communication competence, it remains custom to determine the parameters and the performance criteria of the foreign language users. However, the multiple choice items used in Turkey generally do not allow us to measure different types of learners such as oral communication. It is limited only to the measurement of mental processes such as knowledge comprehension and application. En the contrary, the multiple choice items are still mostly preferred. Within the framework of this research, our aim is to analyze the multiple choice tests prepared and applied in Turkey by the OSYM in various examinations such as the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed L Education (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/749f12a474708538ab790e388dc9dc18.pdf 6f39ccc386fdcb6bda3beffd26d4d842 PDF Text Text The Capacity of the Evaluation of Linguistic Abilities of FLE Examinations Applied in Turkey by OSYM Şeref Kara Uludag University, Bursa/Turkey serefk@uludag.edu.tr Melih Karakuzu Atatürk University, Erzurum/Turkey karakuzu@atauni.edu.tr Abstract : Since the ultimate object of the assessment and the evaluation in foreign language is the communication competence, it remains custom to determine the parameters and the performance criteria of the foreign language users. However, the multiple choice items used in Turkey generally do not allow us to measure different types of learners such as oral communication. It is limited only to the measurement of mental processes such as knowledge comprehension and application. En the contrary, the multiple choice items are still mostly preferred. Within the framework of this research, our aim is to analyze the multiple choice tests prepared and applied in Turkey by the OSYM in various examinations such as the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Key words: evaluation, competence, communication, test, validity. 1. Introduction The evaluation means certain number of various things in various contexts. Sometimes, as teachers, we evaluate our classes as spaces of study and as in teaching; other times, we evaluate the tests or written work that our learners produce. By many theories of language evaluation the institutional character of the evaluation means is taken into account rather than the learners needs. It is well known that evaluation is an extremely complex field where there are various human and teaching variables. The evaluation helps an educational system to provide the data which is needed to renew itself. So what to evaluate: knowledge or competence? Which type of evaluation use: formative/sommative, directe/indirecte? How to evaluate: questions/responses, free expression/expression, open questionnaire/questionnaire with multiple choices? It should be noted that it is very difficult to be able to find a real answer miracle, because each teaching method privileges such or such type of evaluation with a precise aim. However, it is not impossible to set up referents to recognize the learners acquisitions according to equivalences of levels. The convergent validity with existing tests should not be significant. According to Morrow (1979), it is significant to consider 1) the validity of the contents (items of which the test made up constitute a representative sample for a linguistic capacity?), 2) validity of the psycholinguistic concepts (does the test reflect with precision the principles of a valid theory of a foreign language learners?) and 3) predictive validity (can one determine by the result of the test foreseeable success in a given discipline). False objectivity will not be determining any more, even if, in certain situations it is advantageous to have formats of possible tests corrected by using a machine. Gary Buck (2001) is among the most known specialists for construction and the evaluation in tests in written comprehension. He quotes Bachman and Palmer (1996) by saying that the most significant characteristic of a test is its utility. According to their definition, this concept includes the following features: validity of psycholinguistic concepts, interactivity, authenticity, reliability, practice and impact. Buck adds the effectiveness to it. To build a test and to evaluate it, it is necessary to start firstly by defining the "pattern" or psycholinguistic concept: aptitudes and the capacities on which must carry the test and what it must measure. In the curricular area of the languages, particularly in programs of FLE, there are many proposals on the way of applying evaluations to the activities of class and the evaluation of program. The teachers and learners can objectively look at their work and their execution during the course. In the second place, they can understand the progression of the course and its relation with the goals of the program more thoroughly. Thirdly, the teachers and learners can benefit from the evaluation to modify their teaching or study 155 �strategies whilst improving their achievements. By taking part in the continuing programme of evaluation, teachers and learners become more implied in the program. In short, the project of evaluation can help to create a good relationship between the teachers and learners. Continual evaluation is a systematic and reflective process to measure the program. With the difference in other evaluations, this approach comprises only teachers it and learners. One can regard it as a process of auto evaluation. 2. Scales of levels In this study, we will present the principal tests, certifications and scales of levels used in foreign language (LT) in Turkey. There are three types of tests in FLT prepared and applied by the OSYM which is the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Intended to choose candidates and historically to place them in the sections of FLE of the universities according to the points obtained and the preferences, oldest of these test is that of the OSS which is more than 20 years old. The OSS is a test of French language, conceived and created to evaluate the people of an intermediate level. It validates about 250 hours of formation. One can qualify it like a diagnostic test which has a paramount objective to classify and to select the participants. The second, KPDS has existed for 12 years. The third, most recent, the UDS is addressed to those who want to make academic studies after the diploma of licence at the end of 5 years. The test of the KPDS follows the same format as the test of the OSS and measurement mainly knowledge in general language It covers subjects accessible to the candidates concerned. It should be noted that the idea of the creation of the KPDS comes from the request of the official institutions for the living languages. The KPDS and the OSS consist of multiple choice questions which last 3 hours, divided into six sections from 20 to 15 questions each one. The three hours of the test prove indeed often long and discouraging. It is presented in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire, comprising 100 questions for which only one answer is possible among the 5 choices suggested. The questions are conceived according to a principle of progressive difficulty. But the test of the UDS is composed of 80 questions for which 3 hours also allocated Though reliable the KPDS is not a reference recognized on an international scale. The total objective is thus well targeted: linguistic abilities in writing. The certificate given to each candidate indicates a total score spreading out between 0 and 100. But the disadvantage is that none of these three tests provides detailed certificate of linguistic competences in grammar, vocabulary, or written comprehension in order to accompany progress and to personalize the teaching course. As we announced above the obligatory tests appear as a multiple-choice questionnaire of 100 questions, for a fine evaluation of linguistic competences. The first part of the tests treats the words of the lexicon: (comprehension of the words according to their usual or rare character); of morphosyntaxe: (the agreement of the adjectives, the substantives, the past participle, simplest); elements of the nominal group: (determinants, adjectives, possessive phrases), the pronouns in general, relate to the relative ones (differences who/which); the most current times; adverbs of time, place, the prepositions; of syntax: construction negative, interrogative, the simple sentence. In 2003, there were 100 questions with multiple choices as in the preceding tests. The tests, built by the commission of the OSS, were distributed to the schools with the optical cards of answers and then they were sent to the OSYM in Ankara for the final evaluation. The answers of the participants are corrected and recorded on computers and the results of all the participants are announced on the Internet. Then the test of the KPDS which aims to evaluate candidates the linguistic level in foreign language in an occupational context is intended to the civil servants, to professionals who would like to know their linguistic level, to companies who would like to determine French level of their current or future employees, it is also intended to organizations of formation for the installation of homogeneous groups or continuous or final evaluation. At the end of the test candidate obtains a certificate of level. The texts of questionnaire relate to the social sciences, economic and legal, mathematical sciences and sciences of the matter, life sciences. These tests are a measuring instrument of general knowledge in French. They make it possible to get a detailed vision of the learner or employees level in writing and operation of the language. But oral competence is not evaluated. As KPDS is the validation of knowledge, the certificate is valid only for 5 years, knowledge being able to undergo positive or negative changes. In fact tests give little information would enable us to comprehend the candidate’s difficulties. The opinions and interpretations must be changed, and their exchange and evaluation are an essential part of the interactive training, comprising the development of the language, the cultural conscience and the 156 �increase of learners in general terms of education. Because very often there is not only one correct answer to a question. While preparing this work we were relied on our experiments as well as well as on testimonies of the participants of various levels at the exit of the examination rooms. Although a large audience is concerned with these tests, unfortunately we did not find a serious study which relates to them. Normally a tool for evaluation in FLE must measure all the linguistic abilities. But unfortunately the tests of languages of the OSYM completely neglect the oral competence which is of primary importance for the linguistic communication. Within the framework of this work our objective is to highlight some axes which could help the decision makers and the inspectors to change their policy and their approach simply by taking account the communicative function of the language. Rather than to analyze and highlight the gaps or the weaknesses of these tests about which we spoke here, let us try to propose some ways for their future improvement. 3. Stages in the evaluation The teacher and learners should carry out continuous evaluations periodically. First continuous evaluation can be carried out in the first week. In a language program, there are many factors which must be considered and studied in order to obtain an objective sight of the process of teaching (Braskamp and others, 1984). These factors can be classified in four categories. 4. Gathering of the data Manners of gathering data are changed. In our own practice, we employed questionnaires of the tests of the OSYM. 5. Feedback and advantages The continuous evaluations should not ever be means of sanction for the teacher or learner. They should rather help the two parts in their practices. The teachers and learners them should adopt positive attitudes and concentrate on the achievement of the objectives of the texts, but they can also get information about the models of study and the strategies of learners. In addition, learners find out about teaching style of the teacher and can understand why certain methods are employed. By mutual observations and the exchange of the ideas learners and teachers help each other to improve the learning. Learners can also profit from different studying strategies and the teachers will be able to see learner models and can adjust their methods to satisfy learner needs. A continuous evaluation is a systematic examination of a language program. By changing the roles of teacher and learner in a program, teaching and the study can be improved. The process should include teachers and learners and various kinds of activities at the various stages of the evaluation. The evaluation also benefits the teacher who becomes a researcher. All the methods of evaluation have some disadvantages, and it is essential to determine which MCQ can play an essential role in the strategy of total evaluation by examining the results of the study envisaged by module. However it should be remembered that any form of valid evaluation is likely to require learner to show a certain form of the basic knowledge which is acquired by memorisation. The questions based on basic knowledge are also a formative evaluation tool to check if learner has comprehended it. The preparation of MCQ which tests the knowledge in depth of the learner is more difficult to realize than traditional questions. 6. Comprehension and the application It is necessary to formulate as clear and concise questions as possible, while avoiding the complex language and the composition of the axes which give more than one indication. It is better also to concentrate on common errors of learner like sectors for questions and/or options. One must accept both answers as correct if two of the choices are possible. But if necessary, if the question requires it, it should be specified that there is only one correct answer. How can one provide effective feedback for the MCQ? The assistance of feedback can be desirable in the sommative and essential evaluation in the formative evaluation. Contrary to the traditional evaluations where feedback depends on various answers, the closed range of response for MCQ means that the tutors know the possible 157 �errors which can be made before the test. Thus the proposal of a MCQ is an excellent chance for the tutor to get focused generic feedback. This can be in the form of oral test of the answers following a written test or feedback on the questions, where learners can identify their errors by themselves. The effective feedback does not indicate simply to learners where they were mistaken but also gives the reasons as to why. 7. Useful indicators for feedback: In the best of the cases, it is to better to write feedback while writing the questions. The principal strengths and the weaknesses of the multiple choice questions are as follows: they examine a wide range of subjects in little time. The evaluation is not affected by a capacity of writing or orthography of learner. They can be surely pointed while all the answers are predetermined. They can also quickly be marked by computer. The inscription on computer gives the easy access to an analysis of article of the questions in the specific problematic fields for learners. A large bank of the questions which reduces the future preparation time can be made up. They can be employed for the fast revision at the beginning or the end of a class and to be marked by learners. 8. Conclusion One of the advantages of MCQ is the documentation of the statistics on the tests which are easily accessible, especially if these tests are marked by a computer. Multiple choices questions can be employed to examine the comprehension of a reading passage. Inscription of the MCQ, as mentioned above, is often difficult. As for true/false items, they should not directly quote the words of the passage and they should reflect a certain possible ambiguity of the text. None of the possible answers should stand out for example in comparison, having one longer or shorter than the others. None of the possible answers should be the opposite of correct answers. (as that states that usually one of the opposites is the correct answers). The distracters should not have similar meaning, since they can not both be correct, they must both be false. On the other hand the items should equally examine the information which can be implied from reading passage and require the candidates to reassemble the information from more than one place in the passage. The pretests are always significant but in particular with MCQ because obtaining a fresh prospect about the test is significant. The effectiveness is a feature added by Buck, which stresses the importance to be able to draw from a test as mach information as possible on the capacities of written comprehension of the participants within the limited time. Thus it could be possible to avoid it by making easier tests. In MCG, it is very significant to write good correct and incorrect replacement choices. The correct choice in question should not come directly from the text. It should be reformulated, so that participant can understand the significance of the text and not simply to identify the repeated words. Incorrect replacement choices should be based on a possible misunderstanding of the text. They should be clearly incorrect, but not illogical. If they are illogical, tested will eliminate them, even if they do not understand the text. The problem in writing goods items is often that it is difficult to write three or four good replacement choices which are logical and clearly incorrect. By writing MCG, one should avoid giving indications for the correct response the multiple choice test preparers have a tendency to put the correct response to the medium, C-to-D., if there are four choices, they prefer B or C, or if there are five choices C is preferred. One must make sure that the correct answers are not prevalent matter in the medium of the solutions of replacement. As mentioned above, one must also avoid employing the opposites of the correct answers as incorrect alternative, and it is better to employ two incorrect replacement choices with very similar significances. While preparing the items, one must consider carefully which qualifications or knowledge are necessary to answer the question. If a competence other than that that we want to examine is necessary, this type of item is probably not a good item. By considering what we said about our test, we can conclude that the test functions relatively well in its context. Principal criticism comes owing to the fact that the written text does not represent the authentic spoken language clearly enough and that the texts could be varied with regard to the topic and the type of text. But one also needs radical changes so that these tests have conformity and an international validity Finally, there are two significant points that we want to draw from this discussion. First of all, considering the established concept in the specifications of the test, MCT can be useful at least as a part of written comprehension tests. It can show the validity even according to communicative approaches. What is significant and what constitutes a challenge for the specialists. From which our second point comes, is to be able to build a valid test which measures the targeted concept. The difficulty lies in other factors; finding a representative sample of texts and 158 �tasks, having as result a degree of interactivity and satisfactory effectiveness. Especially by building a big relatively significant test like the test of the OSS for about of 45000 participants, it is necessary to analyze and check the results before and after the test with people similar to the target group of the test and with the specialists of the discipline, considering the answers and the results obtained. Conceived and developed by the OSYM, the tree tests of evaluation of French language in Turkey allow to test only competences in written comprehension and completely neglect competences in oral and written expression in non specialized French language. This causes a great weakness with regard to the reliability and the validity of these tests. "How can I evaluate myself?", "I am not a teacher!″ The traditional school culture does not encourage the learners taking responsibility in the evaluation, the only person who really knows if you understood something is you! At school and university you can often pass from the examinations if you know only 50% of a subject. If you carry out your own test, you can discover what you really know. The evaluation is the responsibility of the teacher at the school and the university partly "yes". However, after the university you’ll have to learn from new things for your profession. You’ll have to be evaluated yourself to discover what you do not know, so that you can project what you have to learn. That is called "needs analysis”. For what is known as in the evaluation of oneself, one needs many supports and counselling from the teachers The examinations are not a goal but they are means. They measure simply the degree of what learners know. If education has ten essential objectives the examinations and their result constitute simply one of them. But in Turkish education system, the examinations became the only objective in itself. The other objectives lost all their importance. All the actors of education concentrated only on the examinations. The children grow up simply with examinations. They are completely isolated from everyday life and they lost their creativity because of the memorisation system. Everything is evaluated and relied on the result obtained from one examination. The state as well as the parents does not see anything beyond the examinations. The results are not questioned. On the other hand the results are worse for the participants as well as the educational establishments. We insist on something wrong just because of the increase in number of students at the university gates. Because of the examinations the life of the parents is upside down as that of the thousands of youngsters. Here is a debate for the awakening of the utility of the evaluation and the validity of the written comprehension test. It is clear that there is still a lot to do make in this field, to arrive at the interesting but complex process of written comprehension, and at its valid measurement. C’est pourquoi les tests devraient plutôt être conçus de manière à encourager le recours à des activités d’acquisition. Les tests en usage se doivent de mesurer avant tout la compétence de communication des learners. Pour cette raison ce sont surtout les habilités de compréhension et de communication des idées qui doivent être testées. This is why the tests should rather be conceived so as to encourage the recourse to activities of acquisition. The tests of use must measure before all the competence of communication of the learners. For this reason they are especially the abilities of comprehension and communication of the ideas which must be tested. This is why the tests should rather be conceived so as to encourage the recourse to activities of acquisition. The tests of use must measure before all the competence of communication of the learners. For this reason they are especially the abilities of comprehension and communication of the ideas which must be tested. Contest of selection and placement of the students. 1 Examination of competence of foreign language of the employees of state. 1 Examination of foreign language of the council interuniversitaire. References Bachman, L., Palmer, A. (1996). Language Testing in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Buck, G. (2001). Assessing Listening. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bolton, S.(1991). Évaluation de la compétence communicative en langue étrangère. Paris: Les Éditions Didier. Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues:apprendre, enseigner, évaluer (2001) Didier. Chapelle, C.A.(1998). Construct definition and validity inquiry in SLA research. In: Bachman L.F, A.D. Cohen: Interfaces Between Second Language Acquisition and Language. Cornaire, C. (1998). La compréhension écrite. CLE International. 159 �Galisson, R,D.Coste (1986). Dictionnaire de didactiques des langues Hachette Germain,C.(1993). Evolution de l’enseignement des langues: 5000 ans d’histoire Cle Int. Hilton,S C.Veltcheff (2003). L’évaluation en FLE Hachette. Hymes D., (1984). Vers la compétence de communication, CREDIF-Hatier. Hutchinson, J.A. et Pauline M. Rankin (1987). “Employement profiles and compensation for educational technologists:1983-86” Educational Media and technologie yearbook:1987. Littleton, Co: Librairies Unlimited. Landsheere, G. (1992). Dictionnaire de l’évaluation et de la recherche en éducation, PUF Lhote, E. (1995). Enseigner l’écrit en interaction. Paris: Hachette. Lussier, D.(1992). Évaluer les apprentissages dans une approche communicative. Paris ,Hachette. Nimier, J. (1996). La formation psychologique des enseignants: Collection Formation Permanente en Sciences Humaines. Edition: E.S.F Morrow, K. (1979). Communicative Language testing: revolution or evolution?, in: Brumfit. Porcher, L. (1995). Le français langue étrangère Hachette. 160 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 376 Title A name given to the resource The Capacity of the Evaluation of Linguistic Abilities of FLE Examinations Applied in Turkey by OSYM Author Author Kara, Şeref Karakuzu, Melih Abstract A summary of the resource. : Since the ultimate object of the assessment and the evaluation in foreign language is the communication competence, it remains custom to determine the parameters and the performance criteria of the foreign language users. However, the multiple choice items used in Turkey generally do not allow us to measure different types of learners such as oral communication. It is limited only to the measurement of mental processes such as knowledge comprehension and application. En the contrary, the multiple choice items are still mostly preferred. Within the framework of this research, our aim is to analyze the multiple choice tests prepared and applied in Turkey by the OSYM in various examinations such as the OSS, the KPDS and the UDS. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed L Education (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/38b69d8d510b14e5dcbcd47d2b49ff36.pdf be7ea415a530623ffbddf0b0e5f4e3c9 PDF Text Text The Case, Problems and Solution Suggestions of The Greenhousing In Biga Hasan Kocabiyik Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Biga Vocational College hkocabiyik@comu.edu.tr Abstract : The greenhousing activity in Biga firstly started in an area of 500 m2 in 1985. In a review study, it was observed that total green housing area of 52.000 m2 and 42 greenhousing cooperations were reached. Greenhouses in Biga are in the structure of bow roof, with plastic cover and high tunnel cold greenhouses. As the first investment expenses are low and high productivity in a unit area, producers can make much money at a short time. Due to all enterprises are small family cooperations, producers don’t pay to workers. The distribution of productive power is regular in year and all enterprises use dripping irrigation system. Lettuce is cultivated in greenhouses in winter. In spring, summer and autumn cucumber, tomato and bean are cultivated. While some of the produced yields are consumed in Biga and around villages, many parts of the yields are marketed in Bandırma. The big problems in greenhousing cooperations; increasing of entry prices, soil tiring, unconciously manurig and giving pesticides, structural problems, insufficient of technique knowledge, packing and marketing. In this presentation, the present case of greenhousing enterprises in Biga as alternative incoming resource, its mainly problems and its possible solutions will be discussed. Keywords: Biga, Greenhouse, family enterprise, plant production Introduction The first greenhouse in Biga was established in the village of Çeşmealtı in 1985 by a manufacturer. Currenty in Biga 42 manufacturer is engaged in greenhouse and 52 decare greenhouse space and 155 greenhouses are present. These enterprises, 19 of them are in the center of the Biga and other manufacturers are operating in the village. Biga plain, by the presence of 89.000 hectares watered, 640.000 hectares not watered, totally 729.000 hectares farmland is the most important district of Çanakkale from the agricultural aspects (Çavuşgil and et al., 2005: 4). According to the long years of climate data, average rainfall in the region is 765.7 mm and average relative humidity is 74.5%. Annual average temperature is 14.2 0C, the highest temperature and lowest temperature are 39.8 0C and -11.4 0C respectively. (Yavuz and et al., 2004:163) The purpose of this research is the development of Biga on the greenhouse industry, to identify the problems facing in the sector and to bring solutions to these problems. For this purpose, all owners of greenhouse in Biga were discussed and all inventory owned by businesses were prepared. Materials and Methods In this study, all greenhouse enterprises in Biga and village were selected as the main material. A survey comprising 18 questions were asked to business owners for the development of greenhouses and to identify problems in greenhouses in Biga and villages. The data obtained from the sera owners were evaluated through % rates and analyzed under the main heading. 174 �Results In the inventory study, 42 greenhouse owners were interviewed in Biga and surrounding villages, and the inventory information about greenhouse and greenhouse manufacturers were given. Greenhouse Site Selection and Distribution of Greenhouse Enterprises When all the ecological and economic factors that effect the greenhouse site selection taken into consideration, definition of the location of the greenhouse can be made as follows: in autumn, winter and spring months, it has high light intensity, with the winter is mild, good transport facilities, market demand with cheap fuel, constant electricity, good-quality irrigation water and soil with heavy winds closed and qualified workers can be found where appropriate are the places for greenhouse.(Sevgican et al., 1989 : 34). 19 of them in the greenhouse business (45.23%) are in the center of the Biga, 23 of them (54.76%) showed activity in the village. Observations Related to The Manufacturer Experience of manufacturers in the industry ranged with 1 from 23. The average number of years of dealing with greenhouse growers is 8. The educational level is often high school. For nine of them (21.4%) the greenhouse business is a additional work. None of the greenhouse producer did not use credits, incentives, support. New developments in the greenhouse can be examined in three groups: the greenhouse structure improvements, new ways to reduce greenhouse labor and using the greenhouse except growing plants (Yüksel et al., 2000: 233). Although manufacturers are open to innovation of the manufacturers and to search of an alternative open to innovation, they did not participate in activity about agricultural information (conferences, symposia, etc.) in the area. Many manufacturers have no information on modern agricultural practices such as using computer in greenhouses, soilless agriculture, organic agriculture, GAP, EUREPGAP. Many manufacturers do not hold any record of fertilizers, drugs and yield. Hence the best evaluation method for small fragmented land is greenhouse, farmers having small land turned to this sector. Structural Features Greenhouses are classified according to their size, organization forms, temperatures, roof shapes, types of materials used in the skeleton and mask and also mobility status. According to their size greenhouses are separated from big, medium and small greenhouses. If floor area greater than 1000 m2, greenhouse is big greenhouse. If area between 100-1000 m2, greenhouse is medium greenhouse and if area smaller than 100 m2, greenhouse is small greenhouse (Yüksel et al., 2000: 36). Sizes of the greenhouse range in between 50 m2 to 3250 m2. The average size of the greenhouse was found to be 344 m2. Total greenhouse area is 52 000 m2 and average greenhouse area per farm is 1238 m2. 6 greenhouse enterprises (14.28%) have block greenhouses and the other 36 enterprises (85.72%) have individual greenhouses. Because of less snowfall, the block greenhouse was established in villages near the sea. Greenhouses in Biga are usually structured as a spring-roofed, plastic covered high-tunnel shapping and cold. In individual greenhouses, base of greenhouse is thee oak piles and in block greenhouses, base of greenhouse is a concrete pillar. In all skeletal material used in pipes but wooden greenhouses profiles were not found. As greenhouse covering materials in all of the ultraviolet (UV) doped with 3 to 3.5 years in life are using plastic sheeting. Because of lightweight, inexpensive, easily workable, durable, good light transmission plastic was preferred. Depending on the vegetable side elevation varies between 1.75 to 3.00 meters in vegetable greenhouses. As the issue of width and length in the plastic greenhouses was relatively free movement, usually width of 6-9 m and length of 30-60 m are used (Sevgican et al., 1989: 35). It was observed that the width and length of greenhouse changing in a very large extent. The ridge height of greenhouse ranged 2 m and 4 m. The side elevation in greenhouse cultivation is 2 m and also in seedling greenhouse is 1.5 m. In cultivation greenhouse, width is 8.2 m in the 29 companies (69%) and height is 3.5 m in the 35 business (83.3%) were observed. In individual greenhouses, width varies between 6 m and 12 m, and in block greenhouse it varies between 20 m and 50 m. 175 �Ventilation and Moisture Control For propose of natural ventilation is adequate, total area of roof windows should be between 1620 % of the greenhouse floor area and the openings should be set according to environmental conditions (Yüksel et al., 2000: 71). In four greenhouses (2.58%) of examined 155 greenhouses, the roof is ventilated, but ventilation of the roof is not in others. 36 (23.22%) greenhouses were included in the side ventilation, and the remaining 119 greenhouses (76.77%) are not included in the side ventilation. In all of the greenhouse has been equipped with front and back air conditioning, hot summer weather when fully open front and back surfaces have tried to improve the ventilation efficiency. Generally poor ventilation was observed. Mandatory ventilation (ventilator-Extractor) has not been found. Ventilation was not getting control CO2 and humidity but in order to reduce greenhouse temperature. As a result of this, mildiyö and root rot disease was observed to be effective in the greenhouse. Heating & Cooling So the greenhouse effect of sunlight in the summer, especially growing greenhouse inside temperature, outside air temperature may be higher than 50-10 0C. This reduction of assimilation in plants and may lead to arrest. That is gained with assimilation of the plant material, may be less than that lost through respiration (Yüksel et al., 2000: 128). Heating is made in three greenhouses with a total area of 4470 m2 (8.6%). Heating is not to ensure optimum temperature for the plant needed but only to ensure earliness in February and March. Central heating system is used in the two companies, stove is used.one company. Cooling system is not used in any business. Whereas the type of greenhouse warming is too important to be cooled even in winter. Irrigation and Drainage Review of the greenhouse is used all the drip irrigation method. Taken from artesian well water is filtered and purified by passing hidrosiklondan thus prevents clogging of drip breast. Chelate fertilizers are added to the system with fertilizer tanks and soil pesticides are injected into the system. Only one of the greenhouses used in the internal drainage system, both internal and external drainage was not used in others. Supply of Seed-Seedling All greenhouses were used in the hybrid seeds. In recent years, the craftsmanship of local producers as well as less healthy because they are directed to prepare the seedlings were observed. The producers also were grafted on seedlings. Production Pattern 784 m2 areas (1.5%) of review of the greenhouse were grown ornamental plants. In all of the other greenhouse vegetables are grown. Type usually cucumbers in summer and lettuce(curly) -salad in winter were grown. Moreover, purslane, eggplant, beans, peppers and tomatoes are grown by the manufacturer. Fertilizing and Spraying Soil pH values of Biga Plains ranged from 7.49 to 5.85. (Çavuşgil et al. 2005: 17). The cucumber plants that are sensitive to acidity in the structure like the neutral or slightly alkaline soil (Sevgican et al., 1989: 128). Salad grows well in soils with pH = 6.0-7.0 , lettuce grows well in soils with pH = 5.5-7.0 (Aybak et al. 2002: 46). In review, 14 manufacturers (26.9%) analyzed their soil at least once. According to the results of this greenhouse soil pH values were found to vary between 4.5 and 7, the average value was found to be 5.98. 176 �According to the analysis of the Biga Plains soil lime content is very low and many samples were found to contain quantities of lime (Çavuşgil et al. 2005: 18). Greenhouse manufacturers in the investigation they were often used on fertilizer: Before starting the production of cucumber in soil , 10 ton/da of burnt.manure used were found. 15-15-15 compound fertilizer as base fertilizer is used often. Drip irrigation system with ammonium nitrate, urea, potassium nitrate, MAP and humic acids are used. In addition, some manufacturers are using magnesium nitrate and ammonium sulfate fertilizers. Against micro-nutrient deficiency is the use of foliar fertilizers. In greenhouses rest rotation is not applied. Usually removed product immediately the soil has been processed with machines then the floor manure thrown and new products planted. Examined business are to spray once the average 7-8 day. the production of cucumber is commonly used systemic drugs in particular have been identified. Especially, cucumber production commonly used systemic drugs were determined. Because of the hybrid seeds are used to fertilize itself, hormones are not used. However, they are kind of some plant growth by the regulators were used. Some producers are spraying gas engine, some spray back with a portion had been found. Diseases and Pests Cucumber and salads widely grown in greenhouses mostly determined diseases; cucumber angular leaf spot disease (Pseudomonas syringae pv. Lachrymans), cucumber downy mildew (Pseudoperenospora cubensis), the powdery mildew on cucumber and lettuce (Erysiphe cichoracearum), the gray mold disease on cucumber and lettuce ( botrytis cinerea), white mold disease on cucumber and lettuce (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), mildiyö disease in lettuce (Bremia lactucae), such as bacterial and fungal diseases. Most identified harmful pests are red spider (Tetranychus spp.), Leaf lice (Aphis gossypii), leaf gallery beetle (Liriomyza spp.), Green worm (Heliothis armigera), thrips (Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis Bouche). In the examined greenhouse, soil solarization is not done, and most were not known. Harvesting, packaging and marketing Cucumbers harvested are put into bananas boxes so that the reduced sweating and moisture loss. 15-20 pieces of Salad and lettuce in a big plastic bag were shown to be introduced to the market. The biggest problem in marketing the market could not be a regular supply of goods because the supply / demand balance against the manufacturer of the disruption caused by the instability of the prices that have been identified. Solution Proposals Although it is aimed to enhance the efficiency in production, today's product quality 'and' food security 'phenomenon has gained importance. Due to consumer demand for safe food, production technology has also affected (Tüzel et al., 2004: 17). Biga's greenhouse producers should give up being the small family businesses to be more healthy and more modern facilities for certified products. In the coming years it will become necessary. It will be possible to getting consolidation and institutionalization for small businesses. The most important deficiency in Biga’s greenhouses is ventilation. Therefore length of the greenhouse should be short and planting should not be frequent. Otherwise, due to beig the excess moisture inside, fungal and bacterial diseases are steadily increasing. For an effective ventilation of the greenhouses, length is more than 30 m and the greenhouse should be in the prevailing wind direction. Producers have little information about fertilizers and fertilization, disease, pests, pesticides. Fort his reason, it is recommended to take advice. One of the biggest problem is marketing. To overcome this problem, new markets should find or production planning should be done well. References Aybak, H. Ç. 2002 Salata ve Marul Yetiştiriciliği. Đstanbul: Hasad Yayıncılık Ltd. Şti. (In Turkish) http://www.biga.gov.tr/biga.php?sayfa_id=102&id=24&1=1, 16.07.2008 (In Turkish) 177 �Çavuşgil, V. S., Ekinci, H., Özcan, H., Kavdır, Y., Yiğini, Y., Çolakoğlu, H. 2005 Biga Ovası Tarım Arazilerinin Bitki Besin Elementi Đçerikleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma. Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Yayınlanmamış Bilimsel Araştırma Projesi. (In Turkish) Sevgican, A. 1989 Örtüaltı Sebzeciliği. Yalova: TAV Yayınları (In Turkish) Tüzel, Y. 2004 “Türkiye’de seracılığın gelişimi.” V. Sebze Tarımı Sempozyumu Bildiriler, 21-24 Eylül 2004, Çanakkale. F. C. Kuzucu, C. Öztokat Kuzucu (editör). Çanakkale: Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, 16-18. (In Turkish) Yavuz, M. Y., Altay, H., Erken, O., Çamoğlu, G. 2004 “Organik madde içeriği düşük topraklarda analiz sonuçlarına göre uygulanan gübre dozunun Biga yöresinde yetiştirilen sanayi tipi domateste verim ve kalite parametrelerine etkisi.”V. Sebze Tarımı Sempozyumu Bildiriler, 21-24 Eylül 2004, Çanakkale. F. C. Kuzucu, C. Öztokat Kuzucu (editör). Çanakkale: Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, 162-164. (In Turkish) Yüksel, A.N. 2000 Sera Yapım Tekniği. Đstanbul: Hasad Yayıncılık Ltd. Şti. (In Turkish) 178 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 367 Title A name given to the resource The Case, Problems and Solution Suggestions of The Greenhousing In Biga Author Author Kocabiyik, Hasan Abstract A summary of the resource. The greenhousing activity in Biga firstly started in an area of 500 m2 in 1985. In a review study, it was observed that total green housing area of 52.000 m2 and 42 greenhousing cooperations were reached. Greenhouses in Biga are in the structure of bow roof, with plastic cover and high tunnel cold greenhouses. As the first investment expenses are low and high productivity in a unit area, producers can make much money at a short time. Due to all enterprises are small family cooperations, producers don’t pay to workers. The distribution of productive power is regular in year and all enterprises use dripping irrigation system. Lettuce is cultivated in greenhouses in winter. In spring, summer and autumn cucumber, tomato and bean are cultivated. While some of the produced yields are consumed in Biga and around villages, many parts of the yields are marketed in Bandırma. The big problems in greenhousing cooperations; increasing of entry prices, soil tiring, unconciously manurig and giving pesticides, structural problems, insufficient of technique knowledge, packing and marketing. In this presentation, the present case of greenhousing enterprises in Biga as alternative incoming resource, its mainly problems and its possible solutions will be discussed. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed Q Science (General)