Money Management Final-1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Money Management Final-1 - Essay Example After analyzing own risk profile, the investment decisions will be made, that in which investment vehicle I need to invest. This report will focus on the investment strategy and objectives need to be adopted, difference between ETFs and the mutual funds and how to manage the portfolio risk in order to experience good flow in investing. Further, it will also take into consideration the financial instruments which are accessible for investments, the role and influence of the main players in the financial markets, relationship between the financial markets and the macroeconomic forces and the benefits and risks of investing in different investment vehicle. Analyzing Risk Profile All investors have contradictory attitudes towards risk, so when it comes to investing, it is essential that we need to judge our own risk profile including that the returns on my investments could fluctuate broadly from year to year and also how comfortable I am with the likelihood of losing money. Understandin g personal risk tolerance will provide assistance in selecting a suitable asset allocation. My asset allocation includes stock, mutual fund, cash and property. It depends broadly on the time horizon and my risk tolerance ability. So, in order to judge own risk profile, following points need to be taken into consideration: Investment Experience The investment experience will indicate my understanding of financial markets such as just started investing or know the basics of investing or investing for several years or have enough knowledge of financial markets and have been making investment decisions boldly (See Appendix A). So, my experience is that I understand the fundamentals of investing. Risk Tolerance In order to ascertain an investment strategy that suits my risk profile, first I need to think about the likelihood that my investment value may decline although this may be temporary and must be prepared to admit the probability of negative return at any time for the purpose of l ikely higher long term returns. It will focus on the factors that whether I will neglect short term losses or interested in collecting regular income from investment or long term growth in investment value or want protection against inflation. So, I consider neglecting any short term losses and if in any case, the investment value fell by 20% in a short time then I would like to hold the investment and sell nothing (See Appendix B). Investment Goals and Objectives The investment goals include capital growth, purchase of new car, to purchase a new plot of land, to get a house and a young child’s education in future. My investment goals are for long term, so I afford to take some risk for a higher return. My investment objectives include investing in mutual funds because of its diversification benefits, property and stocks because they offer higher returns than fixed interests. It also includes investing in cash because it is highly liquid

Death of Stressman Essay Example for Free

Death of Stressman Essay One of the factors that results in the rise of Hitler is the death of a capable leader that brought stability and prosperity back to Germany. This capable leader is known as Gustav Stressman . Stressman died of a heart attack on 3rd October 1929. On behalf of the Weimar government, Stressman had negotiated the Dawes and Young Plans for more time to pay reparations to the Allies. In 1925, he also helped to end the Ruhr occupation by French and Belgian troops which had begun in 1923 and signed the 1925 Locarno Pact with France and Britain, promising to respect Germany’s Western borders. Thus, Germany’s relations with her former enemies improved and Germany was even allowed to be a member of the League of Nations. Therefore the years between 1924 and 1929 is considered as a golden age for Germany. Since then, Germany’s economic recovery depended on US loans. This made Germany vulnerable as it depended on America’s ability to keep lending. Therefore when Stressman died and The Great depression started in 1929, thousands of business closed and millions of Americans were thrown out of work. It also affected economies around the world. The loans from the United States of America on which Germany depended dried up. This resulted in the massive unemployment of many Germans which brought poverty to them. However, the Weimar government was helpless in solving the economic crisis without the leadership of Stressman which resulted in the German people to lose confidence in both the Weimar government and democracy. Therefore, the Germans started to search for any people or group that could help them . Hence ,due to the loss of confidence in the Weimar government, Hitler began to gain support from the Germans as they wanted a change of government and support Nazism which lead to the rise of Hitler.

William Blake and The Garden of Love Essay -- Garden of Love Essays

William Blake and The Garden of Love    At first glance, the poetry of William Blake may appear simplistic; he writes most often in regular metrical rhythm, apparently sticking to the rules, blunt observations on such mundane subjects as tigers, lambs and roses.   But if one were to finish with Blake and move on, left with only these initial impressions, it would be a great pity; true enjoyment of this poet can only come about through some understanding of his life, background, and skill in the manipulation of the tool of simple lyrical poetry, to convey deeper meaning.    Amongst his admirers, Blake is considered something of a renaissance man, a frustrated and hugely gifted artist and writer, a social renegade, and something of a true western mystic.  Ã‚   For our purposes here, it is sufficient to know that throughout his adult years he struggled with ideas of correct government, church corruption, unfair taxation, and Christian thought, to the point of near-lunacy.   Blake was born in London in 1857, and while still in his early teens (under 14) began privately writing poetry that is considered of high caliber.    Blake ¹s family had the wherewithal to send him to a  ³drawing school ² when he was ten, and he there began formal training in art.   He was greatly influenced by the art of the Renaissance world, and later wrote about his early total comprehension and appreciation of it.  Ã‚   He continued his formal education in art, and was apprenticed and working successfully in that world by his twenties.    But at heart Blake was a lover of words, and inclined to express his impressions of life through the pen as easily and readi... ...who would be helpful figures normally - are blindly making their rounds dressed in black.   Black is the color of death, deception, the villainous, of loss of hope, of the opposite of innocence.    It would be a mistake to read the poem as a comment on an individuals experience with the vision of a dream.   Blake always has many layers in mind: one should remember that    Blake's own mind was enormous, and capable of juggling various meanings simultaneously.   Especially where Church, Innocence, Death, and such images as demonic priests are involved, one can count on the hint of commentary on society at large.    "The Garden of Love"   stands as an excellent example of Blake ¹s ability to use simple meter and language as a foundation, and then twist the foundation ever so subtly to induce a particular idea.

Taste of Honey: From dependence to independence :: English Literature

Taste of Honey: From dependence to independence 'A Taste of Honey' was written by Shelagh Delaney when she was 18, and published in 1958. Four years later, in 1962, it was turned into a film. It shows life as it really was for many people in and around the slums of Salford, near Manchester, living with the poor housing and lack of opportunity. The characters are genuine; you can really believe in them. Some of the characters were totally different from the usual 'straight-laced' characters that were so common in the kitchen-sink dramas that were around at the time. For instance, a homosexual, a young pregnant unmarried girl, a semi-whore mother and a black sailor all living in the same areas, and some even living in the same houses as each other. This was completely different from the 'safe' plays of the time. There is hope in the play; the characters, especially Jo, are able to overcome their fears and problems and carry on with their lives. The characters in a taste of honey speak like typical working class people in the north of England. There are not many examples of regional dialect, but there are a few, such as when Helen says, 'Eee, there's a terrible draught,' showing that Helen is a resident of Lancashire. The characters drop letters, making them sound more common. There are many examples of this, including Jo saying, 'You packed 'em,' and Helen saying, 'Turn 'em all'. This shows that Helen and Jo are ordinary, common, working class or lower, people. The ancient Greeks believed that a play had to be realistic, and that to be realistic the action of the play should have one setting. The time the play took to act should be equal to the time covered in the plot and that the play should have only one main story. The Greeks called these ideas the 'three unties of time, action and place'. This is different to a taste of honey in that the play, although only having one main plot, has a sub-plot. The main story is the story of Jo, and the sub-plot being Helens story. There are many objects in the play which could contain a hidden meaning, from something a simple as darkness or a light bulb, to deeper things such as an eye patch or children singing. The list is endless. The very first instance of symbolism is the play's title, 'a taste of honey'. A taste is a very small amount for a short period of time. Honey is sweet, and therefore honey represents good. From Jo's point of view, her life is bad.

1960’s course work the Beatles

Source A can tell us many things about the impact of the Beatles in the 1960's; they were considered new fresh and an extremely â€Å"cool† band. They were a nation wide love, everyone seemed to be watching then as their first priority, with shops and stalls all closed when the Beatles were on television. Even in rush hour, when many people were normally trying to make their way home or get to their destinations, the streets were deserted, everyone knew where and what time the Beatles were playing. It was as though the nation was put on to pause when the Beatles were about to perform. Joanna Lumley herself remembers being in a hurry to get home in order to not miss the Beatles playing on TV. The fans watched eagerly as though the Beatles were a drug many people were addicted to. The Beatles seemed to have caught every ones hearts and eyes; they had a new approach to music which seemed to be able to attract almost everyone. Many people saw the Beatles as icons; they were ‘cool, hip, smart, lippy, charming and funny.' Definite icon qualities attractive to the young and the general public felt they could relate to them, often being called by their first names. The Beatles new approach to music , however , was not only loved by the public but was also highly influential in the entertainment and music industry providing inspiration to many bands and changing the face of music forever. For some people the 60's was seen to be the best times of the life's due to the new entertainment and what the Beatles brought in the way of fresh new music -‘it was very heaven to be alive'. Question 2 The effects of pop music in the 1960's are shown in source A, B and C, however all in slightly different ways. Source C is a description of a Beatles concert by Paul Macartney in 1984, he talks of there being a lot of screaming- therefore implying more screaming than in 1984, when people must have been more held back and more reserved than the 60's when at concerts seeing the live bands fans went crazy for seeing their star. This point was supported by source B, a description of a concert at which the stones were playing. However the audience is described a ‘maniacal, screaming mob'. They both talk of an extremely load and energetic crowd. However Paul Macartney believed many people exaggerated the crowds so they seemed like a manic mob when all they really wanted was to see their idols and the possibility of getting an autograph. It seems Macartney really knows what he is talking about and comes across as being nice and genuine to his fans talking of him chatting to his fans instead of running away from them in the manner of Jonny Ray. The way the Beatles were with their fans, being so friendly and willing to talk to them, may have been one of the reasons why the Beatles became so big. Source A really supports this fact, and tells us a lot of how big and popular they really were describing it as though they were everyone's purpose to get home when they were performing on television. Source A does support source C on this point however I don't think it supports it in any other way. Source B on the other hand doesn't really support source C as they are extremely contradictory about what is said about the effects of pop music on fans being harmful or just very enthusiastic. Macartney knew that the fan crowds were completely harmless and controllable. Where as some stars such as the stones saw them as being dangerous, when all they really wanted was to be as close as possible to their pop star. The sources were all written some time after the 1960's period, leaving time for exaggeration, source B is written closer to the 1960's than sources A and C, and to me seems to be less likely to be exaggerated and more truthful about the facts and information that is given to us in the source. Although the sources do support each other on certain aspects, they don't really give us a broad view of the effects of pop music in the 1960's telling us very little apart from how big some bands were and how the fans reacting to them. Question 3 Sources D and E are not particularly useful in helping you to understand why many young people believed that the 1960's gave them opportunities they had never had before. I think that the source were not particularly useful as they tell us only one aspect of young peoples lives at the time. However source D, and advert fro a popular music show ‘Ready, Steady, GO' in the TV times in 1965 does tell us some useful points. The presenter, Cathy McGowan, was at the time an extremely popular model and an idol for many girls in Britain. They would copy her hair styles and dress sense. So fro many people it was the one show to see if u had an idol as they were likely to be shown on this show. It was the only show at the time which showed the public their music stars performing without them having to go to a concert. People were fanatical about seeing the show, it was compulsory viewing and the one and only time in the week the public got to hear and see popular music. Although very popular the show tended to represent older tastes in music and did not cater fro teenagers. The source is good in showing that music and popular culture had a great impact upon how people viewed television and how celebrities became real stars, and were able to become idolised by the young. Source E, a description of radio in the 1960's, was written in the 1990's and there fore like some of the other source has the possibility of being exaggerated. However the source does tell us some useful point whether exaggerated or not. Radio before the 1960's did not cater to the teenage audience and the source implies that many teenagers had nothing much to listen to that was provided on the radio for them, before the invention of ‘Radio Luxembourg'saying that many teenagers were stuck with their parents. The new channel provided precisely what the young wanted, and because of that, would have been extremely popular providing a channel that played popular new music which no other radio station had done before. It was a great opportunity in the eyes of the young and the channel which was specifically directed towards them played nothing but pop music and was very commercial, the older generation were not so fond of it. But it helped music to become a much more dominant talking point for the young. Even thought reception was dismal and faded out every minute or so it was the only way to hear pop music on the radio at the time and many people now remember it fondly. The two sources both support the fact that music and celebrities were more broadcast and that for them was a huge opportunity, however neither of them tells us anything of other aspects of opportunity in teenagers' lives and are therefore not very useful in helping us to understand why many young people believed they had more opportunities. Question 4 The 1960's was a period of great changes, some for the better and others consider by some people for the worst. Some people did not like the changes that occurred and came to see the 1960'd as a period of bad influences on British society. Source F is part of an article from the Daily Mail, a conservative newspaper, reflecting right-wing political views. This shows how Mrs Whitehouse had traditional views and values and it is portrayed in the article that she was not pleased by the changes in the 1960's. The source talks about Mrs White house launching ‘a national campaign' to help writers who she believed deserved to have their work shown on television rather than the television shows she obviously disapproved of such as ‘Coronation Street' which started on ITV in the 1960's and showed everyday life. She obviously believed many programmes unsuitable to viewers and thought that they should be replaced with more Christian viewed programmes, replacing the scenes of sex, drugs and violence with more traditional valued programmes. Mrs Whitehouse would have also been a different generation, a teenager in the 1920's with less power than that of the teens of the 1960's.the 1920's were different for social Values, with a far more traditional type of society were teenagers had less freedom of expression and more responsibilities. In source G we are told of a singer, Janis Joplin who was extremely popular and at a time where music played an important part in social life popular singers were idolised. Many bands at the time were taking drugs, drinking, and staying out late in popular clubs and at the time there was a huge drug culture. Many other bands and musicians such as the top Mod band, The Who, wrote and performed what appeared to be socially dangerous music. They were also part of the ‘Psychedelia movement', encouraging experimentation with drugs. It was these people , Janis Joplin and The Who , which the young idolised and had great influence over, to people like Mrs Whitehouse they were bed role models and set the scene of drugs to seem ‘cool' and acceptable. Although Janis Joplin was a worse case scenario, she died of a drug over dose this at least showed teenagers the problems of drugs. Teenagers appeared to be following in their idols footsteps and it somewhat seemed as tough they were being encouraged to be rebellious and have freedom of expression rather than have responsibility and obligation. Many saw the introduction of the contraceptive pill and the legalisation of abortions as an increase in sexual immorality and were seen with disaprovement. The combined effect of the pill and abortion however did allow women to plan their lives with more ease and effectiveness. They could then limit the number of children and decide when they wanted them. This provided many women with more control over their lives. However Mrs Mary Whitehouse would have and I am sure did believe that they would encourage immorality and sex before marriage which were both against the Christian beliefs. Some also believed that it could lead to a break down of social values. Some people began to believe that these changes were not a good thing for society, and that the changes were undermining the family and as a result creating a weaker society, it would have been people such as Mrs Whitehouse who would have seen things in this way, people who believed in more traditional views and values. Whether this is correct I do not know, however even though something's such as drugs were more than likely a bad influence on society, without many of the changes the world would have become a very different place and women would possibly lead very different lives. Things such as the pill and abortion were definitely in my opinion great movement in science and a huge advantage fro women, however I can see why people with Christian views were opposed to it and how they later become to se the 60's as a period of bad influences with a higher rate of teenage pregnancies it is possible to blame it on the changes and a possible increase in sexual immorality. I think that many people who thought it was a period of bad influence were possibly mostly the older generation – Mrs Whitehouse's generation who felt afraid of the dramatic change in society and the behaviour of the young in the 1960 in comparison to their day. They would have also been the right age to have children of teenage to twenties who would have been experiencing all the changes the society now allowed them. Such as drugs and even dramatic changed in fashion with the introduction of the mini skirt, a huge thing at that time to be wearing a skirt 8 inches above the knee and it was so new and different. For many people change is scary and this was a period of huge change some good some bad however it is always easy to look back and see only the bad and not what was good from the 60's also. Question 5 The quote ‘Popular culture in the 1960's did more harm than good' I believe to be untrue. The 1960's did have some bad points which were possibly bad at that in that period and have not continued through to this day whereas most of the good things that were brought about in the 1960's such a new fresh exciting music ‘rock ‘n' roll' and new bands such as the Beatles, the new fashions and social ways of life have been continued and adapted to the way of life which we lead nowadays. The 1960's was highly dominated by teenagers, they had more money from a new affluence and were able to buy more music records and clothing and were respected by the entertainment industry (source H) for what they did for music and television. Source A tells us of ‘Beatle Mania' the Beatles were one of the most popular bands and were highly influential upon teenagers and the music industry. Source A is useful in telling us the extent of the effect of the Beatles upon the general public and how popular they really were. However the source is possibly exaggerated as the writer Joanna Lumley looks back on her past. I believe the public chose the Beatles to be their number one band because of their sheer personality on and off stage, but was equally as much to do with their musical style and material, and with the British youth with far more control over what was popular and what wasn't, they decided the Beatles were the best, taking the rest of the country with them. The Beatles pioneered the British cultural invasion of the states and the world and allowed many other bands and creative people to follow in their footsteps and show the world what they could do. The fact the Beatles music is still known and liked today shows they were an extraordinary band, and the way they saw their fans and audiences differently too many other bands would have help in their success. In source B a concert is described and The Stones were playing, the writer of the source ‘doubts if the stones ever played so close to their audience again.' and describes The Stones being surrounded by ‘a heaving maniacal mob'. This was not how Paul Macartney described his audiences, yes they were usually hysterical but never harmful. He describes them as screaming a lot but not appearing to be scary or in any way threatening. I believe that the Beatles and the many other bands of the sixties made the way for the way our music is now, so many bands are influenced from bands from the sixties and many bands today which try to invent their own individual style like the Beatles had. The Beatles seemed to sum up the sixties with the music they wrote, their clothes, hair, accents, and their off hand attitudes they were a recipe fro success. However their impact upon teenagers was unbelievable, they became not just performers, they were heroes. I think this type of idolising someone was harmful however, what with the drug culture in the 1960's many bands including the Beatles were taking drugs. Source G, a extract form a biography of Janis Joplin, a rebellious teenager with a powerful blues voice became highly successful and lived a life of ‘sex, dugs, and rock ‘n' roll' always taking things to excess she died of a drug over dose in 1970. It was people like these who were obviously highly covered in the media through their popularity and the drug habits and the way that all of them were doing it made it seem socially acceptable. These people were the young's idols they looked up to them and copied what they did, the example they set was not the right one and that it was probably one of the reasons some people came to see the sixties popular culture as doing harm, and I probably agree with that. However I do think that the popularity of drugs died out as the years went past and although people still take them today by no means are they considered at all socially acceptable. Television and radio were also greatly changed due to the new market of teenagers wanting to hear pop music. New radio stations were set up, such as the start of ‘Radio Luxembourg (source E) after producers realised that teenagers were the way of the future. And the teens didn't even mind if the reception was lousy and faded out every minute or so it was the only radio station that gave them the chance to hear the music they wanted to listen to, and there was nothing like that before. Then in 1964 ‘Radio Caroline' began broadcasting, this was pirate radio but was extremely popular with teenagers who could hear non stop pop music for the first time. However was extremely unpopular with the BBC and the government who tried to have them banned. The new shows introduced on to TV such as, ‘Ready, Steady, Go' (source D) and ‘Top of the Pops' showing the pop music stars performing in front of their very eyes without having to go to a concert. ‘Ready Steady Go' was compulsory viewing and had a wonderfully catchy cry,' the weekend starts here!', giving the feeling of excitement and freedom. The presenter at the time was a popular model and with fashion being very influential upon the young it was yet another reason to watch the show. To most people the music industry was just as case of the young having fun but some people saw the young losing their sense of responsibility and obligation. Others saw other programmes as being morally un-suitable such as the new programmes showing life as it really was and more scenes of sex, alcohol, and drugs. People such as Mrs Mary Whitehouse believed this (source F). She believed that the traditional family values were being lost through the wrong and influential shows on television and that they should be replaced with more Christian shows which had a sense of purpose. However the 60's didn't sacrifice things such as education as there were nearly twice as many people in full time education in 1969 than in 1961. Showing that the young were just having a good social life and were being better educated as a generation. I think overall the 60's did more good than harm, the period brought in many new and exciting things and gave women more control over their life with the introduction of the pill and legalisation of abortion. Fashion was new and exciting and always changing with the invention of the mini skirt which was controversial to say the least. I do think that young people were encouraged to act irresponsibly and it somewhat seemed almost expected of them. However I don't think it has done any real harm to society in the long run. However I think without all the changes that took place society would have been a worse place of less freedom and more constriction, I don't think the changes that took place have done any real harm and that the changes would have probably taken place in some other period if they had not happen it the 60's.

Examples of Confidence intervals for means

Examples of Confidence intervals for means One of the major parts of inferential statistics is the development of ways to calculate confidence intervals. Confidence intervals provide us with a way to estimate a population parameter. Rather than say that the parameter is equal to an exact value, we say that the parameter falls within a range of values.   This range of values is typically an estimate, along with a margin of error that we add and subtract from the estimate. Attached to every interval is a level of confidence. The level of confidence gives a measurement of how often, in the long run, the method used to obtain our confidence interval captures the true population parameter. It is helpful when learning about statistics to see some examples worked out. Below we will look at several examples of confidence intervals about a population mean. We will see that the method we use to construct a confidence interval about a mean depends on further information about our population. Specifically, the approach that we take depends on whether or not we know the population standard deviation or not. Statement of Problems We start with a simple random sample of 25 a particular species of newts and measure their tails. The mean tail length of our sample is 5 cm. If we know that 0.2 cm is the standard deviation of the tail lengths of all newts in the population, then what is a 90% confidence interval for the mean tail length of all newts in the population?If we know that 0.2 cm is the standard deviation of the tail lengths of all newts in the population, then what is a 95% confidence interval for the mean tail length of all newts in the population?If we find that that 0.2 cm is the standard deviation of the tail lengths of the newts in our sample the population, then what is a 90% confidence interval for the mean tail length of all newts in the population?If we find that that 0.2 cm is the standard deviation of the tail lengths of the newts in our sample the population, then what is a 95% confidence interval for the mean tail length of all newts in the population? Discussion of the Problems We begin by analyzing each of these problems. In the first two problems we know the value of the population standard deviation. The difference between these two problems is that the level of confidence is greater in #2 than what it is for #1. In the second two problems the population standard deviation is unknown. For these two problems we will estimate this parameter with the sample standard deviation. As we saw in the first two problems, here we also have different levels of confidence. Solutions We will calculate solutions for each of the above problems. Since we know the population standard deviation, we will use a table of z-scores. The value of z that corresponds to a 90% confidence interval is 1.645. By using the formula for the margin of error we have a confidence interval of 5 – 1.645(0.2/5) to 5 1.645(0.2/5). (The 5 in the denominator here is because we have taken the square root of 25). After carrying out the arithmetic we have 4.934 cm to 5.066 cm as a confidence interval for the population mean.Since we know the population standard deviation, we will use a table of z-scores. The value of z that corresponds to a 95% confidence interval is 1.96. By using the formula for the margin of error we have a confidence interval of 5 – 1.96(0.2/5) to 5 1.96(0.2/5). After carrying out the arithmetic we have 4.922 cm to 5.078 cm as a confidence interval for the population mean.Here we do not know the population standard deviation, only the sample standard deviation. Thus we will use a table of t-scores. When we use a tabl e of t scores we need to know how many degrees of freedom we have. In this case there are 24 degrees of freedom, which is one less than sample size of 25. The value of t that corresponds to a 90% confidence interval is 1.71. By using the formula for the margin of error we have a confidence interval of 5 – 1.71(0.2/5) to 5 1.71(0.2/5). After carrying out the arithmetic we have 4.932 cm to 5.068 cm as a confidence interval for the population mean. Here we do not know the population standard deviation, only the sample standard deviation. Thus we will again use a table of t-scores. There are 24 degrees of freedom, which is one less than sample size of 25. The value of t that corresponds to a 95% confidence interval is 2.06. By using the formula for the margin of error we have a confidence interval of 5 – 2.06(0.2/5) to 5 2.06(0.2/5). After carrying out the arithmetic we have 4.912 cm to 5.082 cm as a confidence interval for the population mean. Discussion of the Solutions There are a few things to note in comparing these solutions. The first is that in each case as our level of confidence increased, the greater the value of z or t that we ended up with. The reason for this is that in order to be more confident that we did indeed capture the population mean in our confidence interval, we need a wider interval. The other feature to note is that for a particular confidence interval, those that use t are wider than those with z. The reason for this is that a t distribution has greater variability in its tails than a standard normal distribution. The key to correct solutions of these types of problems is that if we know the population standard deviation we use a table of z-scores. If we do not know the population standard deviation then we use a table of t scores.

India Compare & Contrast essays

China/India Compare & Contrast essays The Difference Between Classical China and Classical India Classical China and Classical India were truly great civilizations known for their contributions to modern China and India. Yet as the two developed, they showed uniqueness. Some of the qualities shown were alike, and others were not as comparable. The religions produced in China and India were very unique. In China, rather than developing full-fledged religions, they created more philosophical beliefs. Confucianism, the first and most popular of the philosophies, embraced moral virtues and values. For example, it taught to respect ones leaders, and for the leaders in return to be just and moral in their leadership. Confucius, the creator of Confucianism, believed that if the leaders set a good example, his people would follow it. It also stressed to delight in knowledge, delight in learning, to be polite, and to have good manners. Its teachings were recorded in the Analects. Daoism is another Chinese religion. Daoism, created by Lao-zi, was slightly more spiritual. It embraced natures harmony and mystery and had an entirely different set of ethics. Instead of harmony with your fellow man and government, the Daoist belief harmony with nature was more compatible with frugal living and humility. India, however, was a different story. Hinduism was the major religion in India. Hinduism, unlike Confucianism and Daoism, is a full-fledged religion. It has many gods of nature like Daoism, but each god also represents something more abstract. For example, the god of wind might also be the god that blows someone to the right path in his or her life. Dharma is something taught by the Hindus as a guide to living in the world and still be able to obtain a higher spiritual level of thought. Also, Hinduism is not as one sided when it comes to balancing politics and government with humanly affairs. Confucianism was mainly based on a harmonious government, and Daoi...

Paper Draft

Paper Draft Paper Draft Nowadays we use computers, technology, and software, commonly referred to as applications or apps for short, in every facet of everyday life. We use email to stay in contact with our workmates and friends and family. Along with computers and applications on our tablets and smartphones to stay connected to social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as well as news and entertainment all to feel connected in an ever technology driven world. Beside all of this we uses these applications and computer systems to manage our financial side, whether it be everyday banking to trading stocks or checking on our retirement funds. These interconnected devices are designed to take tasks and make them as efficient as possible, thus freeing up time to perform more tasks and get more out of the day, even if the purpose of the device is to help pass the time by. With this ever evolving landscape of technology has created a new wave of interconnected devices. We can access internet virtually anywhere and once we are connect to the internet the possibilities are nearly limitless. As internet as become the backbone to our connected ways we can utilizes it to connect to our corporate office database that is held in a cloud system via a direct connection or a virtual private network (VPN) or even remotely access and control our office computer and we can even do these same things for small home networks, all with just a connected device. With technology becoming an everyday piece of daily life comes more challenges for

Effect of Mandated Testing on Education Research Paper

Effect of Mandated Testing on Education - Research Paper Example The consequences or sanctions vary in level of severity, but the implication is clear. They send vivid indications that the method gives a crystal picture of the student’s performance. However, some of the implemented tests may not offer a fair platform to pass judgment on the teachers or students using their performance results. In that, the tests may not offer full and fair credibility on the performers or the tutors. The following paper will show an elaborate analysis of articles touching on mandated testing and its effect in schools. Susan Ohanian, in her article, â€Å"Constraining Elementary Teachers' Work: Dilemmas and Paradoxes Created by State Mandated Testing,† scrutinizes this mode of testing in an elaborate manner. In her work, Susan is keen to provide the resultant effects of mandate testing on the affected individuals, who are teachers and students. She argues that teachers are pressured to act in ways that seem unprofessional to them. In turn, this forms a leading disadvantage of the program in schools. Subsequently, the teachers believe that their behavior will not yield fruits of success in the affected students. Moreover, they feel that they are acting in unprofessional ways as mandated testing seem to focus on Mathematics and English language arts more than the science-related disciplines (Ohanian, web). In addition, according to Susan’s article, the teachers do feel that the test pressure them to work the things the tests demands of the students instead of improving the student’s general performance. In relation to this, when the mandated test turns to asking the student for something previously not familiarized to the student, need to refocus ruptures. There is a need to refocus on things to feed the students’ minds, as the mandated tests requires. However, the article claim a more pressing matter is forcing the teachers to lose their professionalism. The teachers find themselves between helping the studen ts in elementary school and being loyal to their professional field. They feel that their professional training does not concur with the requirements of the mandated test. In order for a student to succeed in the mandated tests the teachers, have to comply with the requirements, which they feel they are not in line with their professional understanding of the curriculum. In turn, they end up ignoring their professional feelings and instead assist the students conform to the requirements of the mandated tests. On the other hand, within the same article, Susan reports of teachers who embraced the ideology of mandated tests and their effects. The teachers believe that the tests offer a comprehensive way of developing the writing, listening and reading skills of students. Moreover, these tests enable students to develop their thinking from a lower level to higher one. Within yet another article, by GreatSchools’ Staff, they record of reasons behind the tests from federal and stat e governments. They believe that the government offers these tests as a way of ensuring all students meet the standard level of the expected grades. As a way of encouraging students to pass in their tests, the government introduced mandated tests. In addition, they publish the results of the mandated tests giving everyone, including teachers, parents and students, an opportunity to view them and contemplate on the way

Why do people bullying Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Why do people bullying - Research Paper Example Some of his classmates revealed that he was a victim of bullying for years. Some said that they saw it coming but did not expect it to be that far. Another victim, another life was lost because of bullying. Bullying has been a social issue that concerns all people from different walks of life. It has a number of reasons as well as effects. Various experts have conducted studies and wrote manuscripts about it. Over the years, more and more people have become aware about the matter. Indeed, bullying is a serious social concern that needs to be appropriately addressed by each sector and individual. There is no single definition of bullying. Several authors have explained it in various ways. Nonetheless, the definitions boil down to similar factors such as physical, verbal, and psychological behaviors (De Voe, and Chandler 1). It is the employment of force, abuse, or intimidation. Bullying can take in different forms like hitting, sarcastic comments, and insulting gestures. Few countries have policies regarding it. Nonetheless, there are already passed bills in the United States. This kind of violence is quite common than what people usually think (Romain 90). Evidences have shown that more than a few children have been targets of bullies. From childhood, this continues to affect teenagers, and even adults in the workplace. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 20% of students in grade school suffered from bullying. Furthermore, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resources Center stated that around 25% of American students get bullied. The students having immoderate attributes such as homosexuality and obesity have higher risks of being victims. There are many factors attributing to the occurrence of bullying. These can be social issues, family factors, personal history, or provocative targets. For example, much of social recognition comes from having power or authority. In order for others to sense one’s supremacy, abuse is sometimes being utilized. Homes that do not foster respect and acceptance are likely to produce children who are not empathetic. This leads to selfish and insensitive behaviors. Researches have also revealed that people who have personally suffered from bullying are likely to bully others as well. Furthermore, there are certain people who can be really annoying for some. This kind of characteristic makes others goaded to abuse or intimidate. There are certain motives why some people become violent and demean others. Mostly, children bully because they want to ascertain their social status. They want to be perceived as â€Å"cool† or popular. This is affected by the social constructs that afflict the community. Those who appear bossy and insensitive are regarded positively by many. Another probable factor is the presence of role models. Some become bullies because of social learning. They want the recognition or reinforcements that other bullies have had. Moreover, violence in mass med ia has greatly affected young mind sets. More and more characters are being portrayed to be terrorized. Also, the mere show of violence in the contents of the films influences viewers to be likewise aggressive in their dealings with the people around them. Bullying affects an individual’s physical, social and mental, and emotional aspects. Due to the pressures involved, victims experience depression and angst (Coloroso 53). Related are emotions of sadness and seclusion. If not intervened, these negative feelings may persist until adulthood. Furthermore, a person’s sense of self lessens due to a negative concept brought about by the oppression that he has

How much I like the film and reccommend it to others Movie Review

How much I like the film and reccommend it to others - Movie Review Example Depression and loneliness further segregate them. If this is the state of the normal individuals, the plight of the physically and mentally disabled people is even harder to imagine. Looking into the lives of the characters of the movie "the heart is a lonely hunter" we can understand how hard it is to live with various physical and psychological abnormalities. Disabilities differ for each and every character in the movie. Some are deaf-mute, while some are mentally impaired. I like the movie and recommend it to others as it portrays the struggles and sufferings of the disadvantaged. Comparing the disabilities and the struggles of the characters help us understand the lives of the people who are afflicted with different abnormalities. The movie also criticizes the various forms of inequalities like handicapped man vs. normal man, black vs. white, rich vs. poor and so on. I love this movie for all these reasons. The movie is centered on the admirable character John Singer who is a dea f-mute. Several other characters with other sorts of disabilities pass along his path, each striving to locate their own path of self-discovery. The physically challenged Singer however has invaluable help for each and every one of them. ... John Singer is the first example from the movie who is with a disability. John Singer the main character and the focal point of all other characters is a deaf-mute. He lives with his close friend Antonapoulos who is also a deaf-mute. Singer puts all his efforts in his friendship with Antonapoulos. When Antonapoulos is taken to an asylum Singer becomes depressed and lonely. This makes him change his residence to a rented room. Singer's devotion and love to his deaf-mute friend Antonapoulos reveals the human desire to be expressed and loved by someone. This also reveals the desperate plight of Singer who thirsts to find some love in Antonapoulos. His disability of being deaf-mute helps us understand the world of deaf mute people who live in their own isolated world with the heavy desired to give and take love. Losing the company of Antonopoulos made Singer look for another source of friendship. Singer later creates a circle of friendship where his friends are people who are disabled, l onely and afflicted. We find him surrounded by four other main characters of the movie who are also struggling with weaknesses of their own. Singer cannot speak and cannot express his thoughts or desires. This makes him helpless to disillusion or refute them. Even though Singer pour out his life to widen the world of his disabled friends, they take it for granted for Singer is a deaf-mute who cannot present his thoughts. In spite of offering the best companionship for these characters Singer’s devotion and love is less recognized by other for he is unable to express it being a deaf mute. Though he offers solace to the hearts of his friends there is none to

To what extent is deeper European integration in the national interest Essay

To what extent is deeper European integration in the national interest of Britain today - Essay Example In brief the different conceptions are: How does the term 'Europeanization' differ from 'European integration' This is a complex theoretical debate without a definite answer. My personal opinion is that European integration focuses on the process f institution building and political integration at the European level more so whereas, the phrase Europeanization is more all encompassing and is used to analyse the dynamics f European integration, how it occurs and more importantly how it impacts on the domestic politics f member states. Some academics believe that the two definitions are interchangeable and the term Europeanization should be scrapped so as to avoid further conceptual confusion. (Smith 2003, 14-16) I think all the five definitions have some relevance in helping to conceptualise the term but I particularly think that an analysis f 1) and 2) are the two most important elements to help understand the transformations currently taking place in the EU. Combined they provide a two way analysis; 'top down' and 'bottom up' allowing us to examine the interplay between the EU system and the British polity which is said to be "characterized by complex feedback loops". These loops reflect the complex interaction f global, European, national and sub-national processes. Similarly, I have conceptualised the Europeanization f UK politics as a two-way process with a slight emphasis on the downward causation from EU to domestic structure: "a process whereby domestic politics becomes increasingly subjected to European policy-making". This is a broad yet useful definition which can focus on the EU becoming part f the 'organisational logic' or administrative practices f the UK government (Evetts 1998, 438-440; Knill, 2001) and it can also include the informal rules, beliefs, paradigms, styles, ideologies and culture that infiltrate through to the member states. I will examine the extent to which this process has occurred and look at limiting factors such as globalisation and xenophobia. The domestic impact f European-level institutions The multitude f processes and mechanisms involved in EU development mean that member states are transformed differently across domestic institutions and policy areas. Policy issues There has been increased interest in European policy implementation over the course f the 1990's. Policy implementati

TV shows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

TV shows - Essay Example Though the movies have their aspects that set them apart from each other, making them two distinct tales, they share many similarities. They cover similar disasters, which involves a large object heading for Earth, how they decide to destroy the objects before they hit Earth, and men die for the sake of the people still living on Earth. In Deep Impact, a teenage stargazer, with the help of a professional astronomer, discovers that a seven-mile-wide comet is headed straight for Earth. In Armageddon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration learns that an asteroid the size of Texas, which is what remains of a meteor shower, is on a direct path for the planet. Both of these objects are large enough to completely destroy all life on Earth. Events such as these are referred to in these movies, as well as in real life, as ELEs, or Extinction Level Events. If plans are not formed and implemented in a timely manner to prevent the comet and asteroid from striking Earth, humanity will cease to exist as we know it. Both movies take a similar approach to solving their dilemma. In Deep Impact, it is determined that the only way to destroy the comet is for astronauts and scientists to plant many nuclear bombs beneath its surface and have them detonated. Armageddon refers to a similar method and decides that scientists and a drill operator should drill a single nuclear device towards the asteroid’s core. The goals are to completely destroy the comet and split the asteroid into separate pieces, which will bring about less destruction and even offer the possibility that the remaining pieces will completely miss the Earth or else burn up in the atmosphere. In both cases, the teams and their methods are only partially successful. Instead of being entirely destroyed, the comet is split into two pieces, with each piece still heading for Earth and just as dangerous when they were a whole. In Armageddon, the asteroid does break into two

To what extent is deeper European integration in the national interest Essay

To what extent is deeper European integration in the national interest of Britain today - Essay Example In brief the different conceptions are: How does the term 'Europeanization' differ from 'European integration' This is a complex theoretical debate without a definite answer. My personal opinion is that European integration focuses on the process f institution building and political integration at the European level more so whereas, the phrase Europeanization is more all encompassing and is used to analyse the dynamics f European integration, how it occurs and more importantly how it impacts on the domestic politics f member states. Some academics believe that the two definitions are interchangeable and the term Europeanization should be scrapped so as to avoid further conceptual confusion. (Smith 2003, 14-16) I think all the five definitions have some relevance in helping to conceptualise the term but I particularly think that an analysis f 1) and 2) are the two most important elements to help understand the transformations currently taking place in the EU. Combined they provide a two way analysis; 'top down' and 'bottom up' allowing us to examine the interplay between the EU system and the British polity which is said to be "characterized by complex feedback loops". These loops reflect the complex interaction f global, European, national and sub-national processes. Similarly, I have conceptualised the Europeanization f UK politics as a two-way process with a slight emphasis on the downward causation from EU to domestic structure: "a process whereby domestic politics becomes increasingly subjected to European policy-making". This is a broad yet useful definition which can focus on the EU becoming part f the 'organisational logic' or administrative practices f the UK government (Evetts 1998, 438-440; Knill, 2001) and it can also include the informal rules, beliefs, paradigms, styles, ideologies and culture that infiltrate through to the member states. I will examine the extent to which this process has occurred and look at limiting factors such as globalisation and xenophobia. The domestic impact f European-level institutions The multitude f processes and mechanisms involved in EU development mean that member states are transformed differently across domestic institutions and policy areas. Policy issues There has been increased interest in European policy implementation over the course f the 1990's. Policy implementati

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND ANALYSIS - Essay Example The 21st century has seen the emergence of adaptive organization styles to cope with these increasingly evolving changes in the economic, technological and social-cultural environment. This has had an impact on the traditional organization structure from the previous bureaucratic to today’s emerging post-bureaucratic or otherwise known as network model of organization. A closer look at today’s organizations will show that both the human and structural components have been on a constant change path (Casey 2002). Casey (2002) further observes that today’s organization has faced some form of revolution that has been created by the ever increasing quest for modernity. The issue that arises in this observation is, therefore, what are the causes of such changes and to what extent the present corporate organizations have embraced the change or shown the signs for those changes. This paper therefore examines the various factors that have led to the shift from the bureauc ratic style to that of post-modernism or network model of organization by looking at structures and the human factors. It also tries to ascertain the extent to which today’s organizations have embraced these changes. ... To begin, the revolution of the information and communication technology has been a major influencing factor in the way organizations have been operational. Processes, functions and the general environment of operations in organizations have changed and corporations have felt this change in a massive way. Organizations have encountered and experienced surprising changes in the twenty first century more than that of the industrial revolution (Castells 2011). Decisions are today made more promptly because top management have shed off some of their decision making responsibilities with the emergence of new technology or computer information systems such as decision support systems. They have improved accuracy and the time taken to make decisions and they have facilitated involvement of many people as opposed to the previous bureaucratic style where lower cadre employees had to wait several days for final decisions to be made (Heyderbrand 1989). Information technology has also effectivel y improved the way feedback is sought from the top management. For instance, today you do not have to book an appointment to meet the manager; instead you could just send him or her an email and you will be sure that there will be response soonest they access their mails. Another influence that technology has brought into organizations is the rise of professional workers who are more independent in thinking and decision making and the reduction of manual workers who depend on supervision and orders for them to perform their tasks appropriately (Frenkel 1999). This has in turn reduced bureaucratic tendencies of relying on orders and waiting for instructions from the top organs as will be further seen in this discussion. To plainly relay the

Education is a significant tool Essay Example for Free

Education is a significant tool Essay Rodriguez and Freire could share an agreement on the fact that education is a significant tool on the path leading to success. Freire would disagree with Rodriguez on the fact that there is no â€Å"end of education†. Richard Rodriguez and Paolo Freire write of education as the core factor in ones life. Two Million Minutes, the film makes the argument that U.S. students are performing at a mediocre level, at best, in math and science, and that this cannot stand, given the growing economic and educational might of nations like China and India. U.S. student’s aren’t being pushed hard enough and are just getting by through high school, with the help of The Banking Concept of Education and The Achievement of Desire we can make a change in the student’s education and attitudes towards wanting to be successful in life. Through Freire’s lens, Richard Rodriguez would be seen as a banking student, but could later be seen as a problem-posing student throughout the course of his life; in the eyes of Freire, Rodriguez was considered a receptacle which he did not understand the knowledge he absorbed. With this comparison, the reader can conclude that the banking education is a great part of a student’s life; as seen in the documentary, 2 Million Minutes, students use all their time they have in high school, studying, memorizing their school curriculum in order to get a great education at a high level university to become very successful in their lives. This all ties into how the political aspect of the classroom has an impact on the society as a whole and having this power can change generations to come. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life was affected by specific styles of education and as he looked through Freire’s lens of the banking concept, he came to realized that that method of education had a detrimental effect on his life. Early on in Rodriguez’s essay he illustrates the characteristics of an automaton which confirmed Freire’s views regarding the banking concept. Despite his definition of a â€Å"scholarship boy†, Rodriguez lacked self-confidence which led him to be overpowered by his teachers and his books. Through Freire’s lens, Rodriguez would be considered a waste basket. He was filled not only with his  teacher’s knowledge, but also with information obtained from his â€Å"important† books. Rodriguez seems to be a classic student of Freire’s banking system. Rodriguez shows signs of fleeing away from the ways of the banking concept early on. He concedes by saying, â€Å"I became the prized student anxious and eager to learn. â€Å"Too eager, too anxious an imitative and unoriginal pupil.† At the time Rodriguez was simply just absorbing the narrated information that he obtained from his teachers and books. Even though he was able to narrate the information he received, he did not truly know or understand the knowledge he absorbed. Rodriguez and Freire both state that education is vital for success. Freire states that, Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry (Freire 3).Rodriguez did not question or analyze the information; he simply accepted and deposited the knowledge without any doubts. By learning to use his education wisely and make connections between different texts, he heightened his intelligence. In 2 Million Minutes the featured American students Neil and Brittany are certainly intelligent, but they seem more concerned with extracurricular activities and friends than with their studies. Indian students Rohit and Apoorva, however, and Chinese students Xiaoyuan and Ruizhang all plan careers in math or science, and their families and schools support these goals. The film incorporates these students’ descriptions of their high school experiences and future aspirations with the hopes of their parents, and filmmakers juxtapose scenes from the different homes and schools. As it states â€Å"knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing.†(pg.1) Freire is stating that the students do not know anything and that the job of the teacher is to fill the piggy bank of the students minds with coins of knowledge. If we just give the students what they want and don’t allow them to engage back then they aren’t really learning anything. They should both be able to state their opinions, have conversations in which both students and teachers participate, and the students should have the opportunity to lead discussions. This way students develop a relationship with their teachers, their peers, and the world. This will enable them to receive an education where the teachers do not oppress the students, and there is a dialectical relationship between the two;  showing that they care and really want to be informed and learn something new. Although Freire and Rodriguez have different opinions, they both agree that education is the dominating event in the shaping of an adult life. Paulo Freire and Richard Rodriguez opinions of education are almost completely opposed, but they come to a conclusion of agreement in that the primary educational goal is to form a relationship with oneself, and with the world. Rodriguez spent many years of education fulfilling the â€Å"banking† concept, and although he later recognizes the loss it entailed, he primarily believes that imitation plays an important role in the process of education for one must do this to succeed. Here, Freire would argue that the educational system is currently oppressive towards the students, and that there is a sense of necrophilia behind it all, that being the love of death. This love of death, he explains, is the technique of teaching based on memory. Rodriguez would contradict this explanation of education, relaying that â€Å"banking† plays a large role in the success of the student. Freire and Rodriguez have opposing views on the ideas of imitation, alienation, and power, Freire believing all of these concepts need to be removed or reformed and Rodriguez believing that they are important aspects for academic success. Freire’s view on Rodriguez is that he truly didn’t understand what he was being taught, and that’s where The Banking Concept of Education comes in which Rodriguez isn’t communicating with his teachers he’s just listening to what he’s being taught. Paulo Freire and Richard Rodriguez have contradictory views concerning education. Paulo Freire discusses the negativities of present education and explains how it should be reformed, whereas Rodriguez illustrates his own life in education, and how it led him to be the person he is today. Freire believes in â€Å"problem posing education† which consists of an alive, dynamic change in students, allowing them to become humanized with a relationship with the world. 2 Million Minutes it stated that U.S. students aren’t focused and determined to do well in school like those in other countries like India and china. In comparison between the United States with China and India, there is a definite difference between the difficulties of the curriculum within the educational system. Even though we would believe that the educational system in U.S. is the complete and the most perfect one in the world; the amount of the curriculum contents students learn are actually a lot less than students in China and  India. Freire would argue that if Rodriguez was educated under the method of problem-posing he would have embraced his home life and would have developed as an individual. In the end Rodriguez had balanced his life out and reconnected with his family. Education in the end helped Rodriguez realize that other elements of his life are important. Both Freire and Rodriguez believe that a person cannot be without education.

Progression of economic value for coffee

Progression of economic value for coffee Chapter 3: The origin of the idea Progression of Economic Value for Coffee â€Å"Goods and services are no longer enough. To be successful in todays increasingly competitive environment, companies must learn to stage experiences for each one of their individual customers. We have entered the Experience Economy, a new economic era in which all businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers that engage each one of them in an inherently personal way.† Pine Gilmore, 1999 This is undoubtedly also true for the coffee industry. The economic value of coffee begins with extracting the commodity. Companies that harvest or trade coffee, receive about a 1 euro per pound. When a manufacturer grinds, packages, and sells those same beans to a grocery store, turning them into goods, the price to the consumer is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬8 per pound, or about 7 ¢ to 18 ¢ a cup, depending on the brand and package size. When the coffee is brewed in a diner it will sell for about à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 per cup. Businesses offer the coffee in an experience such as a fine restaurant orStarbucks get à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2 to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬4 a cup. This means that atStarbucks, the customer is not only paying for the coffee, but also for theStarbucks experience. Interestingly, when you move a product up the progression of economic value to an experience, as can be seen in figure 1, you rarely see discounting.This is because Starbucksdoes not need to offer price cuts in order to generate business. Consumers expect better quality when willing to pay a higher price. Retailing is therefore facing an increased challenge from the experience economy. The problem being that there is a great amount of shops in the world, all basically selling the same things, causing only stores that sell values and experiences to stand out. According to Pine and Gilmore (1999), Starbucks has succeeded precisely because it is not limited to only selling a good, being coffee beans, or a service, such as a cup of coffee to-go. Instead, as a Third Place, being not the home or the office but the place between, Starbucks strives to sell a one-of-a-kind experience, which it hopes to keep its customers satisfied enough to want to keep coming back for more. Karababa Ger (2011) argue that pleasure and leisure are two important characteristics of todays consumer culture. Masses of consumers enjoy leisure away from home and work in these so-called â€Å"third places†. Nowadays there are many different cafà ©s, all with different styles. Some are global-branded like Starbucks, while some are more local. Most local coffee houses are defined as either being anti-corporate, or are a hybrid of multiple local and global traditions, such as our own business case example, the Dutch coffee house Doppio-Espresso. The origin of Starbucks Several factors contributed to the opportunity for Starbucks to develop a new, successful retail chain, with the most important one being the fact that founder Howard Schultz had an insight that the other players in the coffee market did not. He realized that Americans were lacking a relaxed, social atmosphere where they could savor a good cup of coffee. After a trip to Italy in 1987 he purchased Starbucks, because he was convinced that Americans were ready to embrace the Italian coffee house culture. Prior to that time, coffee consumption in the US was gradually declining, while the three major coffee manufacturers, Proctor Gamble, Nestle, and Kraft, fought for market share in a saturated market, all the while decreasing the quality of the beans in their blends in order to maintain profits (Berry et al., 2006). The Starbucks brand has since then become ever-present, so much so that it may be hard to remember a time when coffee houses were not part of every major city in the world. Even though coffee houses existed in abundance before Starbucks came along, the quality of both the coffee and the customer experience has never been as consistent as today. Since the beginning, the company aimed at offering a better experience for coffee lovers. They did this by brewing coffee of uniform quality and developed the idea of charging premium prices for coffee drinks. But most importantly, they focused on creating a relaxing atmosphere for the customer. Tables were purposely spaced apart in order to ensure the customers their privacy. More specifically, round tables were used since research indicated that a person can sit alone at a round table without having to feel secluded or awkward. Furthermore, Starbucks aimed at opening as many stores as possible as a way to make each new store just a few steps more convenient for new customers. The stock value of Starbucks has since then increased by more than 3,000% (Berry et al., 2006). The origin of Doppio Chapter 5: Experiential Services Incremental improvements are added to services all the time, but few companies succeed in creating service innovation that create new markets or convert existing ones. To move in that direction, it is important for companies to embody the capacity to successfully implement the nine drivers of successful service innovations as can be seen in figure 2. In the case Starbucks, one of the most important success factors, which aided in creating a new service market, is their comprehensive customer-experience management. According to Zomerdijk Voss (2010), services differ from manufactured goods, because they generally offer many more distinct experiences to the customer. These experiences are called â€Å"touchpoints†, and they depend on three â€Å"experience clues†. The first one are functional clues, which point to the technical quality of the offering; the second being mechanical clues, which relate to nonhuman elements such as the design of the store; and the third being human clues, which come from the behavior and appearance of employees.When these three clues are combined, a total experience is created that has direct influence on how the customer will assess quality and value. The reason that Customer Experience Management is so crucial to the success of inseparable services, is due to the fact that with these kinds of services the customer is directly exposed to the production as well as the delivery of the service, and can thus experience everything that occurs there (Berry et al., 2006). Therefore, the success of Starbucks has to depend the quality of the product (functional clues), a relaxing atmosphere in the store (mechanical clues), and service-oriented employees (human clues). To implement its core strategy, Starbucks must therefore excel in managing all of these customer experience clues. In addition to serving sit-down coffee drinkers, Starbucks also serves another big market segment, namely, takeout customers who want fast service. In order to cater to both consumer groups Starbucks is constantly trying to find new ways to reduce the average waiting time without reducing quality. Some of the companys timesaving innovations are providing customers with special paying cards for fast transactions, more efficient coffee machines, and creating a way for employees to able to shift through the store to wherever he or she is needed at that time (Berry et al., 2006). Some Starbucks shops are also strategically located in areas where there are a lot of potential takeout customers. When Starbucks first started out in The Netherlands they focused solely on placing small shops located near public transportation areas, such as train stations, to cater almost exclusively to these takeout customers. Customers visiting a Starbucks store, however, do not only buy coffee, but they also buy the company brand. The way they experience the service has direct influence on how they perceive the brand. Starbucks founder Howard Schultz quickly realized that in order to achieve brand power in a service business, the employees must take center stage. When a product is sold in a supermarket, there is no personal interaction, but in a Starbucks store, you are presented with real people who produce and deliver the product as a service in a friendly and exclusive manner. As was explained in Chapter 4 with the Zomerdijk Voss (2010) model, employees are thus utilized at the frontstage of the experience. Starbucks success proves that a multimillion-dollar advertising program isnt a prerequisite for building a national brand; it can be done one customer at a time, one store at a time, one market at a time (Berry, 2000). Values-based Service Quality The four dimensions of the Values-based Service Quality model proposed by Enquist et al. (2007) are the technical, functional, experiential, and the human resources (HR) corporate climate dimension. According to the model Starbucks is a values-based company becomes it encompasses a strong commitment to all its stakeholders; customers, shareholders, employees, its suppliers, strategic partners, local communities and global society in general. The four dimensions can also be seen through the strong Starbucks concept, which relies on the premium coffee, and the â€Å"Starbucks experience†. More specifically, the first two dimensions technical and functional quality relate to the quality of processing and producing the coffee bean. High-quality coffee beans are purchased, roasted, and sold as fresh, richly-brewed, Italian-style espresso beverages. Starbucks also offer a variety of foods, and coffee-related accessories in its stores. They also ensure that all parties in their value chain are operating at optimal quality, and sometimes even take over some of the manufacturing duties, such as roasting plants (Enquist et al., 2007). With Starbucks expanding throughout Europe and Asia, the company has strategically chosen Amsterdam for building a roasting plant, since the industrial area is relatively small and self-contained, providing specialized service. The facility houses equipment and operations to receive, roast, package and ship Starbucks coffee to retail stores in current and emerging markets. As with all Starbucks roasting plants, the Port of Amsterdam Roasting Pla nt also has a tasting room, which serves as the main center where Starbucks coffee experts taste and test the Starbucks coffee (Burnson, 2002). This further stresses the importance and commitment Starbucks places on innovating and improving its products and services throughout the value chain. The experiential quality dimension can be symbolized by the concept of the Starbucks experience, which amounts to more than just the store. It provides the customer with a â€Å"Third Place†, where he or she can relax away from home and work, and enjoy the services offered. The fourth and final values-based quality dimension HR corporate climate is related to workplace and society. One of the main goals of Starbucks management is to maintain a safe, productive and diverse work environment for its employees, and to provide them with opportunities for training and career growth. Starbucks also provides incentives for its employees to become shareholders of the company, and thus introduced the title of ‘partner instead of employee. Starbucks has also ventured into the sustainable service business by introducing a code of conduct in 2001, labeled C. A. F. E. Practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices), which promises to â€Å"deliver a premium coffee farmed, distributed and cultivated in an ethical, social and environmental way† (Enquist et al., 2007). The Future of Starbucks Starbucks led by the visions of Howard Schultz, has revolutionized the coffee industry and the perception of coffee when they first introduced their coffee experience concept, and has since then been setting industry standards. However, this radical way of offering coffee has in general become so widely accessible and common to consumers, that it no longer seems special. Furthermore, some strategic decisions made by Starbucks have caused the brand to become less flexible, and more standardized, compared to smaller, local and independent competitors. Aggressive expansions, and attempts to deal with intensified competition from the fast-food sector, have created negative associations with the Starbucks brand. This has caused Starbucks to be perceived by some as a mainstream and standardized brand, which no longer possesses the distinct character of a local authentic coffeehouse.

7 Deadly Sins Of Fantasy :: essays research papers

Seven Deadly Sins of Fantasy Imagination is the key to the universe. In order for one to use it, they may create a world of their own. Fantasy literature uses imagination as its key source, and everyday life as its secondary. Not one element can bring a piece of the art form together. Society lives on both factors as well. Fantasy art can either make or brake a world, just by the ideas and thoughts that are used with the imagination. This fantasized world is mainly inspired by reality and especially religious beliefs. Considering that fantasy literature is one of the oldest works, that any period of history can relate to; many stories seem to be fictional, if analyzed they become parallel to any cultural society. The characters in fantasy art works may represent actual people in everyday life, for example an evil witch may be compared to a mean motherly figure. One major contribution to fairy tales is the religious influence of all societies. Gluttony, greed, sloth, envy, wrath, pride, and lust are the seven most deadliest sins of the Biblical universe, all these examples are related to the idea of temptation, which brings the fairy world happiness. Chesterton wrote, "The whole happiness of fairyland hangs upon a thread, upon one thread. Cinderella may have a dress woven on supernatural looms and blazing with unearthly brilliance; but she must be back when the clock strikes twelve. The king may invite fairies to the christening, but he must invite all the fairies of frightful results will follow. Bluebeard's wife may open all doors but one. A promise is broken to a cat, and the whole world goes wrong. A promise is broken to a yellow dwarf, and the whole world goes wrong. A girl may be the bride of the God of Love himself if Green 2 she never tries to see him; she sees him, and he vanishes away. A girl is given a box on condition she does not open it; she opens it, and all the evils of this world rush out at her. A man and woman are put in a garden on condition that they do not eat one fruit; they eat it, and lose their joy in all the fruits of the earth," (256). "Wrath 1: violent anger: RAGE 2: divine punishment," (Web. dictionary, 609), in other words, revenge. Take Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the wicked stepmother hated her stepdaughter with such anger that she became angry enough to commit violence.

Social Change Theories Essay -- Sociology

Social Change Theories Richard Roberts said, "As long as our social order regards the good of institutions rather than the good of men, so long will there be a vocation for the rebel." Moreover, the theories of functionalism, the conflict theory, and punctuated equilibrium enable rebels to emerge due to their theories' misplaced sense of value. Functionalism, largely influenced by Talcott Parsons, can be interpreted in several ways, creating the different versions of functionalism such as biocultural functionalism and structural-functionalism, which have different main aspects of belief. Bicultural functionalism expresses the belief that because of physiological needs social institutions were created in order to fulfill these needs. This belief suggests that functionalism, the belief that anything simply occurs because it serves a function, is based upon the individual's needs which include reproduction, food and shelter. Alternatively, the social structure and society as a "system of relationships" is also part of functionalism as the structural-functionalism view. According to the structural-functionalism it is not the individual that is important, but society as a whole. "He suggested that a society is a system of relationships maintaining itself through cybernetic feedback, while institutions are orderly sets of relati onships whose function is to maintain the society as a system." Overall functionalism in the idea that there is a disconnect between the mental states and the physical, and that mental states can only be identified through their functional role ("Functionalism." Web. N.p.). Parsons "[†¦] contributed to the structural-functionalist school conceptualized the social universe in terms of four types and levels of '... ...ll College. N.p., 21 Feb. 2000. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Morrow, Sarah , and Robert Lusteck. "Marxist Anthropology - Anthropological Theories." Department of Anthropology - The University of Alabama. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Porth, Eric, Kimberley Neutzling, and Jessica Edwards. "Functionalism - Anthropological Theories." Department of Anthropology - The University of Alabama. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . "Punctuated Equilibrium | Academic Room." Educational Websites | Online Books | Online Classes | Open Access. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. .

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 25

Anger was all I had left, and I let rage fuel me the way human blood had in my first weeks as a vampire. I couldn't believe Damon's indifference, couldn't understand who he'd become. But him not helping didn't change what I needed to do: save Lexi. Across the street a gentleman upon a coal-black mare was talking amiably down to a shopkeeper. The moment the shopkeeper went in to get something I grabbed the horse's reins and, breaking my vow for the second time in twenty-four hours, I compelled the rider to dismount and enjoy a nice long walk back home. Though normally I'd be faster than a horse, I was hungry and drained, so with gentle whispers and a crack of the reins I was off uptown, loudly galloping upon the New York City streets. She was a fine beast and responded to my every gentle nudge, the slightest clench of my knees. With the wind in my hair and the leather in my grip, I almost felt like my old self again. But the sky was beginning to lighten, in that hushed crystal blue of early morning, and I had to urge every last bit of speed out of the horse. Lexi's life might depend on it. As we mounted the long drive up to the Richards' and took the small path to the family chapel on the right, I knew I had made the right decision. I could smell the old one's presence, the miasma of old blood, death, and decay that followed around him like a shadow. My horse whinnied in terror. I leaped off the horse before she had really stopped and gave her a gentle spank. â€Å"Go home,† I ordered. She reared up, as if unwilling to give up her newfound freedom, then turned and galloped away. I ran into the great hall where I was wed, pushing aside a lone servant who stood in my way. Lexi was there, tied to the altar like an ancient sacrifice. The smell of vervain burned my nose – her ropes had clearly been soaked in it. The sun had risen, and its presence came in the form of a bloodred puddle from an east-facing stained glass window. As the light slowly moved toward her feet she squirmed and gasped, trying to pull her legs out of the way. A wisp of smoke rose up where the deadly sun had just begun to touch her toes, and the strange smell of burning flesh filled the room. â€Å"Lexi!† I yelled. â€Å"Stefan!† she sobbed in pain and relief. I thought fast. It would take me far too long to figure out how to remove the vervain-soaked ropes, and there was nothing I could cover the windows with, no tapestries or easily pulled-up rugs or runners. Without thinking of my own safety, I ran over and grabbed her small white hand, slipping my ring over her finger. â€Å"But, Stefan,† Lexi protested. â€Å"You need it if you're going to keep chasing after and saving me,† I said, pulling all her ropes off. The vervain burned my fingers raw, but preserved her until she was free. Despite the pain in my fingers, I felt light and hopeful. I had done it. I'd saved Lexi. â€Å"Now let's get you – â€Å" But at that moment, a vervain-soaked net fell on us both, searing every inch of my body. â€Å"Run!† I shouted, pushing Lexi out of the way. She rolled to the floor, then reached for the edge of a pew to help right herself. As she extended her arm, though, it passed through a shaft of sunlight. Her eyes widened in wonder, clearly shocked that no smoke appeared and her skin didn't burn. And then she disappeared, blurring with vampire speed away from the scene. I put up my hands, trying to keep the netting off my face, but I twisted and cried out wherever the poisoned rope touched me. The ancient vampire appeared, giant leather gloves on his hands and a big grin on his pale face. â€Å"Hello.† The corners of his mouth pulled back too far, revealing a set of strong white teeth wedged in decaying gums. â€Å"So predictable, coming to rescue a damsel in distress.† That foul odor of a slaughterhouse enveloped me like a hot wind in August: inescapable, absolute, and horrible. Despite the burning nets, I tried to turn away from it. That only made him chuckle. â€Å"Where is the one who is always near you and just out of your grasp, like a shadow? Where is your brother?† I clenched my jaw. Knowing Damon, he was swilling his third whiskey, preparing to feast on a saloon girl or two. Lucius studied my silent face, seeming to mistake it for bravado. â€Å"Well, it is no matter. I will get him eventually. Your brother is more like a real vampyr than you, no interest in anything outside his little world, no desire to do good. He may survive for a trifle longer.† â€Å"What do you plan to do with me?† I demanded. Though in truth, now that Lexi was safe, I didn't fear for my own safety. I wished only to have the chance to kill the monster, to stop him from exacting further revenge and preying on more humans. But the vervain was drawing out my Power like a siphon, and I knew even scratching the old one would be a small victory. The beast grabbed the net and threw me over his shoulder like I was nothing more than a bag of mice or feathers. â€Å"My plans are not particularly spectacular,† he said as he lumbered down the church's aisle. There were still rose petals on the floor, I noted, drying away into thin scraps of nothing. The flowers in vases were wilted, everything left to wither after the murder of the brides. â€Å"But they will be enduring. Vampires can survive a very, very long time. Without food. Slowly starving over the centuries and still not dying.† The net shifted as he shrugged. â€Å"Well, eventually, perhaps. I've never seen it happen, but I suppose we'll find out.† He took a sudden left into the private chapel, stopping in front of a set of double doors – the crypt, I suddenly realized with mounting dread. Although the doors were solid, carved marble, Lucius had no problem throwing them open, dumping me out of the net, and tossing me into a tiny stone room, barely larger than the dozen coffins interred there. For one brief moment, I relished the feel of the cool air rushing over my burned skin. But then he let out a low growl. â€Å"When your hunger for blood eats you from the inside and makes you go mad, do not worry – I will be there, listening. Watching. And laughing.† My last sight was of the ancient standing, outlined in a bright halo of the living world, waving. Then he threw the doors closed with a slam that echoed to the very heavens, and I was in utter darkness. I raced to the doors and threw my weight against them. They didn't even rattle. Trying to quell my rising hysteria, I took in the dank, musty room, searching for an opening, a secret exit, an out, even though a voice at the back of my mind screamed, â€Å"It's a crypt, Stefan! Death is the only way out!† I wove through the maze of coffins and sarcophagi. Even in my panic I noticed the ornate carvings and brass hinges. One of the marble tombs had the portrait of a young girl engraved in high relief. She had wide eyes and bow-shaped lips. I slumped over the carving, as though I could hug the girl resting beneath it. At least Lexi was safe, I told myself. If nothing else, at least I could spend the centuries knowing that she was out there somewhere, living her life – protected by my ring. And maybe, just maybe, trying to find me. â€Å"So long,† I whispered to Lexi in the silence of the tomb. As if on cue, the doors to the crypt opened one last time, and a petite blonde came hurtling through, landing with a thud at my feet. â€Å"Lexi!† I cried as the doors slammed shut behind her, plunging us into darkness again. â€Å"Hey there,† she said weakly. â€Å"Fancy meeting you here.†

An Assessment of the Impact of Mortgage and Non-Mortgage Loans

Toby Clark a senior financial analyst in MINTEL comments â€Å"There is a major need for financial education and for a drive to prompt borrowers to take a fresh look at their debts. Without a detailed understanding of exactly how much they owe and what rates they are paying, it is easy to see how the situation could spiral out of control†. This statement clearly highlights the position of the average British consumers as far as their mortgage and non-mortgage debts are concerned.It is observed by the report from MINTEL that the British consumers who have outstanding mortgage debts have a better control on the amount of their outstanding than the non-mortgage debt consumers. When the mortgage holders were asked to estimate the amount of the outstanding loan they could estimate the figure at ? 92,200 which matched with the estimation of ? 95,000 made by Bank of England and mortgage lenders. There are different purposes for which the consumers obtain mortgage and non-mortgage loa ns.The purposes also differ between different income earners. The high income earners borrow for paying a house, buying a second home or for paying the university or school fees of their children. Whereas the low income earners have totally different purposes of taking the loans like bringing up their children; paying their tax bills or meeting their regular commitments. Irrespective of the purpose for which the loans are taken the loans do have an impact on the financial soundness of the borrowers.On few occasions and for few consumers the loans become handy to take care of their financial struggle but in most of the cases the loans have had adverse impact only on the lives and finances of the consumers. Especially when the average consumer does not even know the extent of their debts the impact would be still worse. â€Å"Many debt problems are caused by poor decision making, with taking on more debt to pay back what debt you already have not always a wise move, according to the free and impartial debt advice organisation Debt Free Direct.† (Linkroll) In most of the cases the consumers get in to debt traps either due to poor decision making or not being accurately able to assess the impact the debts have on their financial capabilities and standing. This includes the decisions of debt consolidation. Quite often consumers think that debt consolidation is the best solution for solving their debt problems which will only aggravate the burden to the already debt trapped consumers. The loan burden on the borrowers is made to increase by the actions of the lenders also.Luring the customers in tot taking additional loans with the intention of just increasing their lending activities and without assessing the capabilities of the borrowers to pay back the loans often take the borrowers to a point of no return. â€Å"A number of Britons report that their debt problems are causing them difficulties in other areas of their life, according to a new study. In rese arch carried out by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals – one out of six consumers are said to be unable to manage with repayments on secured loans and credit cards†. (Loan Arrangers)With this background I intend to make an analytical study of the British Loan Market and its impact on the average British consumers. In the process I also intend to study the kinds of mortgage and non-mortgage loans available to the consumers in the UK. 1. 1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES This study has among other things the following central objectives: 1. Studying the psychological and economical reasons for the British consumers getting in to the debt trap. 2. Analytical study of the impact of the various loans on the lives and financial wellbeing of the average consumers – including mortgage and non-mortgage loans.3. Studying the role of the banks and other lending institutions on extending the debt burden of the average British consumer 1. 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study by undertaking a detailed research in the subject tries to find plausible answers for the following research questions: 1. What are the prime reasons that make the British consumers to get into the debt trap? 2. What are the major impacts that the mortgage and non-mortgage loans have on the lives of the average British consumers? 3. What are the different ways that an average British consumer can manage the debts effectively? 1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION In order to present a comprehensive paper I intend to divide the paper into the different chapters. While chapter 1 introduces the subject matter of the study to the readers along with stating the research objectives and questions, chapter 2 makes a detailed review of the available literature on the subject of the impact of debts on the British consumer. Chapter 3 makes a detailed presentation of the research methodology adopted by this study for conducting the research. In chapter 4 I have included the findings of t he research and a detailed discussion on the analysis of the findings.Concluding remarks recapitulating the issues discussed in the paper and few suggestions which will enable the British consumer to manage his debts are included in the chapter 5. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CAPM, Bonds, Securities, Economics, Finance This chapter presents a detailed review of the available literature on the debt creation by the British consumers and the impact of such debt creation on the bond and securities market, on the finance and monetary policy and economic situation of the country apart from the life styles and financial status of the individual consumers. 2.1 IMPACT OF DEBT CREATION ON BOND AND SECURITIES MARKET: A latest report from Bloomberg. com says â€Å"European 10-year bond yields held near a three-month low as an Australian hedge fund filed for bankruptcy protection on losses related to a slump in U. S. home loans, prompting speculation global economic expansion will slow. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) There has been a widespread skepticism about the future of the bond market because of the higher levels of failure in the sub prime mortgage repayments. This phenomenon has also been felt in the UK which is evident from the statement of the credit rating firm Standard & Poor.â€Å"Standard & Poor's said business conditions for securities firms are worse than in the second half of 1998 when trading revenue slumped 31 percent after Russia's debt default. Revenue from investment banking and trading could fall 47 percent in the final six months of this year, the ratings company said. † (Lukanyo Mnyanda, 2007) 2. 1. 1USE OF OPTIMIZING MODELS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONSUMER DEBT: On the basis of micro economic foundations there are certain models that analyse the likely economic consequences of structural changes in the economy.Though in general these models help the analysts to comment upon microeconomic foundations, sometimes these models are found inappropriat e for analyzing such consequences. â€Å"This is because their parameters are generally complicated functions of an economy’s technology, institutions and government policy, and the preferences of economic agents. Subsequent changes in any of these structural characteristics would mean that those parameters, and hence the relationships between key economic variables, would be expected to change. † (Bank of England)However the optimizing models enable the analysis of the deep structural relationship which is dependent upon the individual variables in relation to the economic shocks and their identification. The optimizing models â€Å"describe the intertemporal optimisation problems facing economic agents. They often try to capture the interactions between the different types of agent in the economy (consumers, firms, government, foreign sector), each of which is assumed to solve well-defined dynamic optimisation problems, subject to certain informational and technolog ical constraints.These models can be used to analyse how economic agents might optimally respond to various demand and supply shocks that have or might hit the economy, or to changes in the structure of the economy. Equally, they can be used to examine likely explanations for observed patterns of behaviour in the data. † (Bank of England) These models are useful in †¢ Modeling consumer behaviour including consumer spending †¢ Applications to financial markets †¢ Analysis of the labour market †¢ Analysis of the role of money One of such models being widely used is the CAPM which can provide useful insights into the reasons behind the financial market changes.However there is a serious limitation of this model is that it does not perform well in the empirical tests. 2. 2 IMPLICATION OF THE RISE ON THE HOUSEHOLD DEBT ON THE MONETARY POLICY: It is observed that the increase in the household debt in the UK over the last three decades was the result of the contin ued increase in the owner-occupied buildings and the number of mortgages created as a proportion of the total households. The rise in the prices till the time of the sub prime mortgage issue was also because of this increased private ownership of the houses.However it is interesting to note that the increase in the household debt didn’t have much impact on the consumption growth. This was due to the fact that the households were focused on the accumulation of financial assets during the recent past. â€Å"Finally, while it is possible that higher levels of debt may make household consumption more sensitive to interest rate changes, this may easily be offset simply by moderating these same changes. † (Stephen Nickell) While there was some contraction in the economies of US and Germany, the UK economy remained strong during the year 2001.There was a significant relaxation in the monetary policies of the country during this period and hence the UK economy witnessed an inc rease in the domestic demand though the situation was different with the world economy which was weak and was suffering a fall in investments. The increase in the domestic demand made the overall growth rate of the economy positive. However some of the economists were of the view that such a growth in the UK GDP as against the widespread recession in other developed countries was possible only at certain implied costs.For Example in an article in ‘The Observer’ dated 27th March 2005 Fred Harrison noted that â€Å"Encouraged by low interest rates, people went on a spending spree. They reduced savings and extracted equity from their homes to fuel a consumption boom† A similar view was expressed by Hamish McRae in his article in the ‘The Independent’ stated â€Å"What is, however, clear is that the credit-fuelled spending boom is, one way or another, coming to an end†. (The Independent dated 16th March 2005). Hence it was observed that booming co nsumption resulted in a rapid expansion of debt.Thus there has been a significant increase in the debt to income ratio which was a matter of serious concern to the analysts and the financial economists. In this context Philip Thornton made the following remark in the ‘The Independent’ issue dated 30th July 2003 â€Å"Britons piled on an all-time record amount of debt last month, triggering fears that consumers have embarked on an unsustainable borrowing binge that will end in a crash reminiscent of the early 1990s† 2. 2. 1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INCOME, CONSUMPTION AND HOUSEHOLD DEBTS:Generally it is assumed that the macroeconomic policies of the UK government had resulted in a house price bubble coupled with a boom of the consumer spending. Thus the economy got missed out from the impact of the global recessionary trends. However Stephen Nickell argues that over the period 2000 to 2003 which was supposed to be the consumption boom the average quarterly consumption growth was only 0. 77 percent very similar to the average consumption rate of 0. 72 percent that was existed over the last twenty five years.The consumption rate was also below the average consumption rate in the previous period 0f 1996 to 1999. â€Å"From 1998 to the end of 2003, the proportion of post-tax income that was consumed was relatively flat, hardly evidence of a debt fuelled consumption boom. Nevertheless, mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) plus unsecured credit growth rose from around 2% of post-tax household income in 1998 to over 10% in 2003. So there was indeed a significant rise in the rate of household debt accumulation from 1998 to 2003 despite the fact that the ratio of consumption to post-tax income remained stable throughout.† (Stephen Nickell) With this argument the author proceeds to state the majority of mortgage equity withdrawal leads to increased financial assets accumulation and not to increased consumption. Further it is also argued that there is a strong relationship between the aggregate secured debt accumulation and aggregate financial asset accumulation especially in a period of rapidly spiraling house prices. Similarly there is no strong relationship between the factors of aggregate consumption growth and debt accumulation. In that case the following will be the effect of the household debt on the monetary policy.2. 2. 2 HIGHER LEVELS OF DEBT AND MONETARY POLICY: May et al (2004) observed â€Å"In 1975, household debt was around 38% of household post-tax income. By 2004, this had risen to around 125%. Currently, over four-fifths of household debt is secured on property, ie. consists of mortgages, and around 95% of all household debt is held by mortgagors. † As already stated the important factor causing the rise in the household debt was the increase in the number of owner-occupied buildings and the proportion of the houses carrying a mortgage.Another factor that contributed the increase in secured debts is the ch ange in the mode of financing by leaving the front end loading of the repayment of mortgages. Such a method of financing has lead to higher loan to income ratios. It also resulted in higher mortgages relative to income. Based on these basic premise there are three arguments that can be support the view that the household debt is a predominant factor in the determination of the monetary policies. 1. The first argument is based on the concept that the there will be significant impact on the bahaviour of the economy due to shocks if there is a high level of household debts.As observed by Griffiths commission â€Å"Debt is a time-bomb which could be triggered by any number of shocks to the economy at any time† (The Griffiths’ Commission, 2005, Executive Summary). Though any adverse economic shock will have the impact on the employment and the consumption levels, higher levels of debts will make the conditions worse. â€Å"The excessive debt may still induce greater precau tionary saving and a larger drop in consumption. Overall, it is hard to tell whether higher debt levels will generate a significant additional cut back in consumption which cannot be modified by easier monetary policy†2. The second argument is based on the possibility that the there may be a cut in the consumption due to the sudden realization of the debtors about the real interest on the debts and their extent of exposure to the debts in spite of their efforts to reduce the level of debts. This will create severe macro economic problems leading to large scale adjustments in the monetary policies. However this argument is countered by indicating that the inexperience of the secured debt holders being young and there may be occasions that these people may behave in an irrational way to reduce the consumption.But such phenomenon can not be identified with a majority of debts. 3. The third argument was based on the fear that with more number of people the more will be the trouble when there is a collapse in the housing market. This fear has become true presently with housing boom bubble exploding. â€Å"If house prices fall by 30 or 40 per cent, more people with mortgages means more people in negative equity. Of course, the consequences of this depend to some extent on the behaviour of lenders.If the mortgage debt continues to be treated as secured, even though some is not, then debt service costs remain unchanged. So a lot will then depend on the collateral damage associated with the collapse in the housing market and what caused it in the first place. The issue is, if some disaster happens in the housing market, does the fact that more people have mortgages make the consequences very much worse? So much worse, indeed, that monetary policy should be used to discourage individuals from taking out mortgages. † 2. 3 DIFFICULTIES OF CONSUMERS BECAUSE OF DEBT CREATION – AN OVERVIEWAccording to a research conducted by R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals one out of six consumers find it difficult to manage the repayment of their secured loans and credit card payments. â€Å"Of those struggling the most with their day-to-day finances, 21 per cent of respondents were reported to have encountered debt problems as a result of becoming ill, with a third (33 per cent) highlighting redundancy as the source of their monetary difficulties. † (Secured Loan News) Educational loans taken for higher studies form a major proportion of debts to be repaid by the 50 percent people in the age group of 18 – 24 years.The same is the case with one third of the people in the age group of 25 – 34 years still struggling to settle the loans taken for their educational purposes. A study carried out by Abbey in early 2007 showed that the British consumers had to pay ? 48. 7 billion by way of unexpected bills and charges over the previous year. On an average 79 percent of the British people have spent money on unbudgeted things and the average cost of such spending is estimated at ? 1375. Some of the issues identified with the debt creation in the UK are:? The personal lending figures stood at ? 1,318 billion as of July 2007 signifying that the British consumers are indebted on an average twice as the citizens of other European Countries. The people with serious debt management problem are estimated at 7 to 9 million Britons. ? A majority of the people have no savings or definite plans for savings to meet any unexpected future expenditure. A proportion of less than 50 percent of the people only have made adequate provisions for meeting the exigencies of a drop in their income level or other serious financial difficulties.? Some important statistics indicate that a substantial proportion of the population suffer from serious financial worries and resultant stress due to the increase of their debt burden. These statistics show that â€Å"74% of British couples find money the most diffi cult subject to talk about; 32% lie to their partners about how much they spend on credit cards; 35% are kept awake at night worrying about their finances†. ? According to the estimate from Bank of England around 50 percent of the people who have identified their debts as a serious burden on them belong to the lower income groups.It is the case with those people who live in the housing provided by the loca authorities are likely to live in debt burden at two times the average person has. ? Debts being burdensome on their own are also responsible for several other social problems and debt and these problems are interdependent on each other in terms of their cause and effect. Groups of people like those out of work, school dropouts, people from single parent families or unemployed parents are more likely to have serious debt management problems. 2. 4 REASONS FOR DEBT CREATION Consumers obtain loans for different purposes.Similarly people in different income groups and different strata of life opt for secured and unsecured loans for various purposes depending on their life styles and needs for different purposes. The main reasons cited for increase in the debts of the consumers is the increased availability of the loans, overspending and the desire to ‘buy instantly’ doing major purchases like purchase of cars or spending on a foreign vacation. The debt management problems of majority of the British consumers have arisen due to these and other reasons most of which are emotional spending.However why people get into serious debt problem is a very complicated question to find the answers there for. Though there are several factors responsible for leading the consumers to severe debt problems the following are some of the major causes that create a ‘debt trap’ for the British consumers: 2. 4. 1EASY AVAILABILITY OF DEBT: In recent years the economy of the country was doing extremely well resulting in lower rates of inflation, low inter est rates and low levels of unemployment.This economic buoyancy there had been an increased demand for the credit and the cost of such credit was low. The highly competitive financial services industry had been innovative to find many a number of products to suit the needs of various strata of people. â€Å"Today over 400 mainstream financial institutions compete fiercely to satisfy consumer demand. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) In this background it can be said that the easy availability of credit was the main reason for the creation of more debts by the average consumer.2. 4. 2 DIFFERENT TACTICS OF THE LENDERS TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE Although the banks do not explicitly solicit or lure the vulnerable people to sell their financial services products, the products themselves have been so designed in addition to the lending practices of the banks to target the vulnerable people. Such practices include â€Å"aggressive marketing; a lack of transparency in calculating the cos t of borrowing; undue care in lending and a lack of data-sharing. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach)Though it cannot be said that the banks and other lending institutions purposely target the vulnerable people â€Å"customers are often enticed into over-borrowing with disastrous consequences; research evidence suggests there is a strong correlation between serious indebtedness, drug and alcohol addictions and family breakdown. † (Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach) This often leads to a situation where the vulnerable people stand the chances of more likely to get into serious debt problems. 2. 2. 3 LOW FINANCIAL CAPABILITIESIt is observed out of a poll conducted in the year 2004 that 33 percent of the people in the UK are not confident enough to handle money issues and only 30 percent of them even knew the basic interest calculations which forms the basis financial intelligence. If this is kind of financial knowledge that an average British consumer has then there is no doubt that such people may not be in a position to make sound financial decisions concerning their personal finances including availing of secured and unsecured loans.Such lack of financial knowledge will make them drown in serious financial struggle as a result of unmanageable debts they have contracted. 2. 4. 4 LACK OF SAVING CULTURE: The trend of today’s Britain is ‘buy now and pay later’ as against the traditional way of living of saving money to buy assets. This has seriously disturbed the saving habit of the people over the period of time. In the current scenario more than 50 percent of the British pensioners make a cut on their other needs to settle their annual fuel bills.The decline in the habit of saving is one of the main reasons for the increased debt problems. Unless the saving habit of the people change drastically the situation of debt problems is likely to grow into greater magnitude. 2. 4. 5 MATERIALISTIC ATTITUDE OF THE MODERN SOCIETY The attitude of the society towards borrowing and its effects on life has considerably changed over the last few decades. Credit is no more considered as dangerous as it was perceived once upon a time. Now it is considered as more neutral and beneficial to the society.With this change in the attitude people have become more materialistic to obtain loans to buy the things irrespective of the need for such things in their lives. This is evident from the buying habits of British consumers exhibited in the following section. In one of the surveys conducted by Abbey, the financial service provider, it is learnt that â€Å"Britons have spent more than ? 169 billion on items that they rarely, if at all, use. Overall the average consumer has paid out some ? 3,685 through unnecessary objects, which could consequently impact upon their ability to handle their day-to-day finances.† (Secured Loan News) The survey also revealed that half of all consumers own an expensive clothing item which they wear on ly occasionally and over 35 percent of them have unworn shoes. â€Å"However, women were reported to be driving pointless fashion spending. Some 58 per cent of females were said to have unused garments, with this figure falling to 45 per cent for footwear. Meanwhile, spending on such products accounted for 45 and 23 per cent respectively among men. † (Secured Loan News)Electronic items, computer game console or video cameras and cooking equipments, repeated purchase of fine china items, exercise equipments, beauty gadgets that are not frequently used are some of the other items on which the British consumers spend their money and create debts for themselves. â€Å"However, financial problems could be particularly increased for those 288,000 people who have bought a second home in Britain which they claim to make little use of, which as a result may see them to struggle to make secured loan repayments. † (Secured Loan News) 2. 5 LEVEL OF CONSUMER CREDITThere has been a steady growth in the consumer lending in the period during the 1990s to early 2000s. But the growth has been sluggish after the climb in the last decade. According to the statistics released by Datamonitor â€Å"unsecured Loans and borrowing via other forms of consumer credit fell by 4. 5 per cent over the course of last year (2006) to ? 207. 8 billion†. (Secured Loan News) Maya Imberg the financial service analyst from Datamonitor says â€Å"A weaker labour market, combined with high consumer debts and weakened consumer confidence, meant that consumers cut down considerably on spending and aimed to repay more of their debts over 2006.† The study also indicated that the debt outstanding for an average customer stood at ? 4,522 in Consumer credit debt for the year 2006, which is against the ? 4,510 recorded for the year 2005. This outstanding debt figure was corroborated by the statistics released by the financial charity Credit Action which estimated the debt due by an average Briton at ? 4,550 by way of debts obtained on unsecured personal loans, credit cards, overdrafts and other forms of borrowing. This amount was estimated as at the end of March 2007.Credit Action has compiled the following statistics on the UK personal debt as on 1st of September 2007 which is alarming: ? â€Å"Total UK personal debt at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,355bn. The growth rate increased to 10. 1% for the previous 12 months which equates to an increase of ? 117bn. ? Total secured lending on homes at the end of July 2007 stood at ? 1,140bn. This has increased 11. 0% in the last 12 months. ? Total consumer credit lending to individuals in July 2007 was ? 214bn. This has increased 5. 3% in the last 12 months.? Total lending in July 2007 grew by ? 10. 3bn. Secured lending grew by ? 9. 2bn in the month. Consumer credit lending grew by ? 1. 1bn. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 8,856 (excluding mortgages). This figure increases to ? 20,600 if the average is based on the number of households who actually have some form of unsecured loan. ? Average household debt in the UK is ? 56,000 (including mortgages). ? Average owed by every UK adult is ? 28,550 (including mortgages). This grew by ? 210 last month. ? Average outstanding mortgage for the 11.8m households who currently have mortgages is ? 96,560 ? Average interest paid by each household on their total debt is approximately ? 3,700 each year (this equates to 9% of take home pay). ? Average consumer borrowing via credit cards, motor and retail finance deals, overdrafts and unsecured personal loans has risen to ? 4,515 per average UK adult at the end of July 2007. ? Britain's personal debt is increasing by ? 1 million every 4 minutes. † (Credit Action) A pictorial representation of the growth in the UK personal debt is depicted below