Discuss and analyse the recent global financial crisis and consequent Essay

Discuss and analyse the recent global financial crisis and consequent credit crunch - Essay Example Massive trade excesses in some nations, and deficit in trade in other nations and lastly, savings rates that were too high in some areas of the world and too low in others were also other events that led to the global financial crisis (Kirton, Oldani, and Savona 2011, p90). The recent global financial crisis events began on 9 August 2007. On that date, there was a seizure in the banking system, which was instigated by the BNP Paribas’ move, to cease its activities in three hedge funds that focused on US mortgage debt (Elliott 2011, p1). In 2008, credit markets in the Wall Street froze, and this indicated that credit crunch crisis was eminent. This affected everything in the financial markets (Szilagyi 2011, p18). Sustained low interest rates that began in 1999 up to 2004 made the adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) look very attractive to the potential buyers. The low interest rates were largely driven by the huge current deficit in the United States and other nations such as Chi na who purchased the US Treasury bonds (Marshall 2009, p10). There is strong evidence that suggests that, in most parts of the United States, it had become very easy and cheap to get a subprime mortgage (Marshall 2009, p11). The upward rise in the house prices was as a result of the property speculations. These mentioned factors led to the huge housing bubble. However, a number of factors led to the collapse of the housing bubble. These factors include; (a) stagnation and decline of the average hourly wages in the United States since 2002 until 2009, (b) the growth in housing supply that tracked price rises, and (c) as the interest rates increased, the ARMs became less attractive, and this led to the elimination from the market of most non-prime prospective buyers (Marshall 2009, p13). The macroeconomic imbalances (that is, deficits in the current accounts and low bond yields) stimulated low interest rates, which ultimately affected the housing market (Marshall 2009, p15). The event s that led to the recent global financial crisis can be summarised into three main shocks that captured the crisis. Firstly, bursting of the housing bubble caused the reallocation of capital and the consequential loss of household wealth and a drop in the consumption rates. Secondly, a sharp increase in equity risk premium caused a rise in the cost of capital, fall in private investment, and the collapse of the demand for durable goods. Thirdly and lastly, a reappraisal of risk by the households caused them to increase savings, decrease consumption, and discount their future labour income (McKibbin and Stoeckel 2009, p6). Economic and Financial Consequences The global financial crisis has had a significant effect on the public finances of most nations in the world. Fiscal revenues are decreasing because of lower commodity and asset prices, and operation of the automatic stabilizers (International Monetary Fund 2009, p3). The global financial crisis affected both the developing and d eveloped nations of the world. However, the effects were far felt in developing nations where there was further segmentation. In the advanced economies, the global financial crisis led to the drying up of credit, as susceptible financial institutions became highly risk unfavorable and very cautious in evaluating the creditworthiness of other companies (Kirton, Oldani, and Savona 2011, p91). Even with the massive bailouts to the

Art in south afric Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Art in south afric - Research Paper Example 2012, par. 3). 2) The South African design creative inspiration artwork; thus art is celebrated as a significant aspect of the cultural heritage. South Africa.info (2012, par. 2) argues that produced artifacts such as self-portraits that depicted the new world. Some of the paints had symbolic meanings and some of them had artistic vision; thus engaged the way people lived in South Africa during the colonial era (Peffer 2009, 79). 3) South African artists produced varied artifacts and many of artists emerged after the end of apartheid with fantastic features that became highly marketable across the globe. For, the artifact features become one their economic activities because some cultural groups especially the Zulu started designing beads that they sold to tourists (Peffer 2009, 79). This enabled them to generate income; hence they became well known for being an artistic society. 1) Some fork arts in South Africa have made progress into becoming high art in western style of designing modern artistic materials. For instance, some of the traditional fork artists such as Bonnie Ntshalintshali and Phutuma Seoka have made significant change on the way they design artifacts (South Africa.info. 2012, par. 3). These artists among others have nowadays become well known in producing distinctive artifacts features of western style (Museum of Modern Art and Hecker 2011, 34). 2) Art in a world of change due to cultural differences have significantly contributed to change in South Africa. This is because of globalization; thus many of the artists have nowadays started adopting the aesthetic dimensions of the western society (Shapiro 2008, 12). Most of the South African artists have now emerged with the artistic features that are of high demand. Even though globalization has created change, they still design traditional artifacts that are being sold within and outside their society. 3) Black

Impact of policy on practice

Impact of policy on practice In order to maintain confidentiality the names used in this piece of work have been anonymised. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the impact that policy and specifically Child Protection (CP) policy has made on professional practice. I will identify and analyse an incident associated with child protection in practice which will enable a discussion to debate appropriate local, national and international perspectives. I will also consider the impact of policy on other professionals involved in the event. Furthermore I will use PEST analysis as a framework to explore the impact of policy on practice. Pest analysis is described by Mindtools, 2009 as a simple, useful and widely-used tool that helps you understand the big picture of your Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environment. It is used by business leaders worldwide to build their vision of the future and likewise can be used by practitioners to attain best practice to achieve positive outcomes for individuals. The practice placement that is the focus of this assignment is a mixed senior school of predominantly working class white students aged 11 18. The incident that occurred was discussed between a female pupil known as Beth Jones aged 12 years and a student social worker (SSW). While in a 1:1 mentoring session Beth disclosed that her mother Elaine Jones had pushed her down the stairs in her home that morning. Beth was traumatised and stated that she was fearful to return to her home that day. Recently, the views within the UK concerning the status of children have been wide-ranging and this has had some impact on policy and practice. At a socio-cultural level children are now viewed as having the capabilities to engage in building and constructing their own lives and opinions have swayed towards autonomy of women and in particular of children. In todays society, through the emergence of feminist writers especially on issues such as patriarchy and domestic violence, children are viewed as independents rather than being the property of men. This has been reinforced through changes in the political economy of welfare where societys perceptions of children have transformed towards children being independent service users whose wishes and preferences have been given greater importance. (Armstrong, et al 1991). The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 also ensures that children now have legal rights. (WHO, 1998). The term Gillick competent is used to describe a child under the age of 16 who is judged to be of a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind on the matter requiring decision (Smith, 1996 p52) thus enabling young people like Beth to be heard. The practice implication for this is that when taking into consideration the opinions and wishes of the child, it must first be established what those wishes and views are and then whether those wishes and views are to be considered, or acted on, based on whether the child is deemed to have a full enough understanding of the implications of their decisions. Every child living in this country is entitled to protection from abuse regardless of his or her background. With the help of the Children Act 1989, and the recommendations made by Lord Laming, (Every Child Matters, 2004), child services within the UK have been given the power to act when they feel a child is being abused. Victoria Climbià © aged 8 died from 128 injuries at the hands of her carers in February 2000. The investigatory inquiry into her death conducted by Lord Laming discovered many instances where professionals including line managers had failed to fulfil their roles and numerous flaws where professional networks had failed to protect Victoria during the last months of her life. Laming criticised the lack of professionalism and cooperation between agencies (Laming, 2003 S.1.30) the Laming Enquiry, lay the foundations for the Every Child Matters Green Paper published in 2003. In the U.K. the Children Act 1989 aimed to introduce key changes for practice by focusing on principles such as paramountcy of the child, partnership and parental responsibility as well as child protection and family support and the rights of the family against the rights of the child. This has lead to increasing pressures on social workers who have to prove that they have been empowering, anti oppressive and supportive to those involved in their cases. Within the U.K. these policies afford children considerable rights as individuals and these are considered primarily before those of the parents in child protection cases. This has led to a predominantly rights-based legal approach where social workers hold considerable amounts of power. (Archard el al 2002). Farnfield (1998, p53) talks about children as consumers and the difficulty which many social workers have in balancing the rights of the parents with the rights of the child. Given the drive towards working in partnership with parents in childcare and inclusion of all relevant parties when working within a social care field, it may be difficult, when working with families, to remain focussed on the issue of whom the client is and whose interests are best being served by any particular course of action. Trevithick (2005, p229) discusses a particular case where she was having difficulty in establishing a good relationship with parents in a child protection case. The issue of having the agenda of protecting the children was identified as a stumbling block in the establishment of a rapport with the parents. Brayne and Martin (1999) however argue that, from a legal perspective, in child protection cases the primary client must always be the child. This is borne-out by the policy document Working Together to Safeguard Children which states that professionals should: work co-operatively with parents unless this is inconsistent with the need to ensure the childs safety. This is also compatible with the ethos of child centred practice in placing the child first. Article 19 of the UN convention on the rights of the child states governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. The Human Rights Act 1998 is linked to the implementation of no-smacking policies and states that every child has the right not to suffer ill treatment or cruel, unusual punishment.'(Flynn, 2004. p.41). As Beth disclosed to the SSW that she has been physically abused, the SSW refers the disclosure to the Child Protection officer. In line with the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is kept confidential as it is not necessary that any other member of staff need to know about the case at that time. As a result of the deaths of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in 2004 the Bichard Report was published and made recommendations about how information is shared and stored.Child protection information on a pupil is filed in a separate area to the school file a nd can only be accessed by the child protection officer and shared with other professionals in a need to know basis a positive impact of policy to protect confidentiality of vulnerable children. Undoubtedly the most significant development in childcare policy in Britain over the past twenty-five years has been the preoccupation with child abuse (Alcock et al 1998). Also it can be suggested that this increase in concern can be seen in all major European countries and constitutes a major key issue in this area of social policy. This concern has not only been emphasised through the formal and legal frameworks of society but also by the general public. As stated above the rise in concern with child abuse has been evident from the late 60s and early 70s. It is from then that child abuse has become identified as a social problem (Alcock et al 1998) mainly through high-publicised cases of child abuse victims. The high profile case of Maria Colwell who died in 1973 after serious injuries were inflicted upon her at her home whilst under the supervision of social services demonstrates this point effectively. Even today 30 years on this case is still being analysed and discussed. When identifying the key issues within child protection it is important to consider the concept of balance. This is a main concern for all countries who find themselves victims of either jumping in too quickly with overzealous assumptions, or on the other hand holding off too long and in the end delaying intervention until in some cases it is too late. Any major piece of legislation develops in response to a variety of influences. (Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. 1996). In the U.K. for example, the Childrens Act 1989 was the result of a number of influential factors. One of the biggest influences, which have already been mentioned, is that of the wave of child abuse tragedies that occurred over the years. The public inquiries and the amount of media attention that arose because of these cases shed light upon the inadequacies of practice and previous policies. Cases such as Jasmine Beckford and Kimberley Carlisle and the Orkney and Cleveland inquiries impacted public perceptions and professional practice and shaped the responses of the U.K.s policies to the problem of child abuse. The social reaction prompted those in power to reassess their protection schemes and to readdress the issues of evidenced based practice within their policy changes. According to Alcock et al. these high publicised inquiries, led to the promulgation of extensive procedural guidance at central and local levels to social welfare and other agencies designed to avoid repetition of tragedy and scandal (Alcock et al 1998). Back to the scenario with Beth, after discussion with the child protection officer, a decision is made to make a referral to social services. Policy states that any disclosure of physical abuse results in steps that must be taken to protect the child. This may produce an emergency protection order as she is deemed to be at risk of harm if she returns to her mothers care. A social workers main aim in the U.K. is to guarantee young people like Beths right to protection from harm and if necessary will battle with parents and other agencies to fulfil this. In comparison, Europe and specifically France, children have not been accorded as many individual rights independently of their family. Their position is a result of the traditional state and family perspective. The French policies have adapted to this cultural opinion and have enforced that child protection work should be focused on the family and that children should be considered not as an individual but as part of the family. Traditionally the focus is that the parents are superior to the children giving them the rights of decisions, protection and care. This is the view of French society where their main concern is keeping the birth family together and taking risks is acceptable. It can be suggested that in France a humanistic model (Parton ,cited in Armstrong et al 1991) is followed to a certain degree. The countrys view that social factors are very likely to be involved in child abuse cases is evident in their policies, which apply preventative, counselling and therapeutic app roaches. Examples of this can include the forcing of families to co-operate at the intervention stage, which is unheard of in Britain. One of the main concerns of this system is the fact that in most cases the Childrens Judge does not hear the childs wishes and views, and if they are heard they are poorly represented. In the U.K. as stated the protective attitude of society is reflected in their policies that recognise the state as having direct responsibility for protecting children when the parents have failed. If Beth were in France she would not be given an independent voice and a right to immediate protection without a full family investigation. The protective U.K. system appears to have disadvantages, Cooper proves this point by highlighting that in France there has never been any highly publicised cases of abuse as in Britain; therefore there has never been a lack of confidence in social work. The positive aspect of French child protection policy is a constructive public perception which eases tensions within the social worker and family relationship and also encourages co-operation of the family. It was also found that French social workers have a, consistent, trusting professional relationship at the centre of their professional aims whereas in the U.K. social workers are mainly concerned with whether parents are guilty or innocent and with the task of collecting evidence this impacts on UK social workers as they are on the receiving end of accusations and abuse and stereotypical blame. (Cooper, A. 1994 p59-67). Effective communication is essential for organisations to be successful. It is the process by which information is exchanged between one group or person and another, by computer, telephone, letter, meetings, text, fax or face to face. The deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002 sparked the Bichard enquiry into child protection procedures in the Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the light of the trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the murder of the two young girls. He had previously been suspected of committing sexual assaults on at least eight occasions and at the age of 21 Ian Huntley had sexual relationships with at least three 15-year-old girls for whom social services were aware but failed to communicate this information to the police. If the police had been aware of this information, this may have shown up when vetting checks were being carried out on Huntley and may have stopped him from getting a job at the school that the girls had atte nded. In December 2003 the Humberside Police said the main reason for this was because of the Data Protection Act. Information about dealings with Ian Huntley had not been available to them during vetting checks. This inquiry also stated that the problem was due to the police not having been told about this legislation regarding information about the person being vetted. A report stated that police officers were nervous about breaching the legislation, partly at least because too little was done to educate and reassure them about its impact. Michael Bichard labelled it an inelegant and cumbersome piece of legislation and the judiciary stated that better guidance is needed on the collection, retention, deletion, use and sharing of information, so that police officers, social workers and other professionals can feel more confident in using information properly. This simply indicates the importance of effective communication. The information system may have been used to its full potent ial if the officers had been aware of the limits of the Data Protection Act. Ian Huntleys date of birth had been entered into the system incorrectly. If this information had been entered correctly then they would have been aware of his past behaviour. This would effectively stop him working in the school and the girls trusting him as a safe adult. The PNC (Police National Computer) only checked against the name Ian Nixon (an alias) and not Ian Huntley. An Information system can fail completely without accurate information from the end user, highlighting the systems reliance on good communication with its users. (Bichard Inquiry, 2004). The Children Act 2004 empowered the Secretary of State for Education to create a database (or databases) of everyone in England who is aged under 18. In July 2007, the regulations that will bring this first national database of children into being were passed by Parliament. The government has announced that the database will be called ContactPoint. It was originally known as the Information-Sharing Index, but re-branded in February 2007 because of negative publicity about information sharing. ContactPoint is effectively a file-front that serves the whole range of agencies that may be involved with a child. It is intended to provide a complete directory of all children from birth, together with a list of the agencies with which s/he is in contact. It will not hold any case records, but will enable practitioners to indicate their involvement with a family and contact each other in order to share information. It will also show whether an eCAF (an in-depth personal profile under the Comm on Assessment Framework) has been carried out and is available for sharing. A response from teachers in local schools have indicated that agencies are finding the procedure confusing with long waiting times for an initial reply for services. Another negative criticism of this policy as stated by Searing, 2007 the danger is that once social work has become more closely aligned with an inter-agency system of surveillance and monitoring of families most people will be less open and trusting towards social workers and this will make their job more difficult thus further negative impact on the social worker role. The Governments response to the Laming Enquiry was almost immediate with the production of the Green Paper Every Child Matters 2004. In conjunction with Every Child Matters (ECM) is The Children Act 2004, which is in addition to the original Act 1989. The Act encompasses several components based on recommendations from the Laming Report and is responsible for promoting a partnership between agencies working with children including health, education and social care in a more cohesive manner (Allen, 2008). According to Smith the Children Act 1989 (CA, 1989) simplified all pre-existing legislation in relation to children and families. It imposed new duties on local authorities relating to the identification and assessment of children in need, and gave all Local Authorities new responsibilities for looked after children. The introduction of the Act also provided the Court with Emergency Protection Orders to protect children at risk of harm which replaced the Place of Safety Orders. Smith (2001) argues that the Children Act was particularly relevant because for the first time it placed more emphasis upon the importance of inter-agency collaborative working as a means of responding to the needs of both children and their families. This policy provided immediate protection to Beth, initiated within the school environment and in collaboration with social services, a good example of interagency working. If Beth had not been listened to or taken seriously she would be at risk of further abuse and may not disclose further abuse due to lack of support. It is important that professionals and agencies co-operate and work together in child protection cases so that all the relevant and correct information is available, and accurate in order to help and support the child. In recent cases, specifically that of Victoria Climbie, this was not done and therefore Victoria was put at further harm, and subsequently died when she could have been saved if the agencies had worked effectively and shared information. This is why the Every Child Matters legislation came about, to try and prevent this in the future. Children at risk need coordinated help from health, education, social services and other agencies, including youth justice services. These professionals are required to work together in order to protect the children and keep them safe, and to help bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against children. As a result of Every Child Matters, now children known to more than one agency will have a single named professional to lead their c ase. This has proved to be an effective tool in Beths scenario as guidance enables the professionals within the school to take action immediately to protect her as she was placed on an emergency protection order. Even though the policy is over five years old, when applied effectively stops a child falling through the net. Policy has shaped the care for this service user and had a significant impact on her outcome. References Allen, N. (2008) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989, 4th ed. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Alcock, P. Erskine, A. and May, M. (1998) The Students Companion to Social Policy Blackwell Publishers Armstrong, H. and Hollows, A. (1991) in Hill, M. (Ed) Social Work and the European Community: the Social Policy and Practice Contexts. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 142-161 Brayne, H. Martin, G (1999) Law for Social Workers (6ed). London: Blackstone Bichard, M. Sir. (2004 April 21), The Bichard Inquiry An Independent Inquiry arising from the Soham murders, (The Bichard Inquiry), Available: http://www.bichardinquiry.org.uk/, (Accessed: May 2009). Children Act 1989- Section 47. Children Act 1989 (c.41). www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga w19 March 2009. Cooper, A. (1994) In Care or En Famille? Child Protection, the Family and the state in France and England. Social Work in Europe. Volume1No.1. Davies, M. (2002 p107) Companion to Social Work. (2nd). London: Blackwell. (Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998). DfES (2006) What to do if youre worried a child is being abused. Summary. Crown Copyright. Department of Health, Home Office, Department for Education and Employment, 1999 Every Child Matters (2003) Every Child Matters (2005) Background to Every Child Matters (http://www.everychildmatters.co.uk/aims/background [Accessed online: 17/01/2009] Farnfield, S (1998) The rights and wrongs of social work with children and young people in Cheetham, J. and Kazi, M.A.F (eds.) The Working of Social Work. London: Jessica Kingsley Flynn, H. (2004) Protecting Children. Heinemann. Hill, M and Aldgate, J (1996) The Children Act 1989 and Recent Developments in Research in England and Wales, in Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. (Eds.) Child Welfare Services: Developments in Law, Policy, Practice and Research, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Lord Laming.2003. The Victoria Climbie inquiry. Crown London http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_09.htm Searing, H (2008). The Crisis in Social Work: The Radical Solution. Available at http://www.radical.org.uk/barefoot/crisis.htm (Accessed May 2009) Smith P (1999) Support for Children and Families: Trevithick, P. (2005) Social Work Skills.2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press. World Health Organisation (WHO) Bibliography Burton S., (1997) When Theres a Will Theres a Way: Refocusing Child Care Practice A Guide for Team Managers London: National Childrens Bureau London Borough of Greenwich and Greenwich Health Authority (1987) The Kimberley Carlile Report Cleveland Report (1988) Report of the Inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland 1987 London: HMSO General Assembly of the United Nations (1989) The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989. (UN Convention) http://www.unicef.org/crc/text.htm Parton, N. (1996) Social Work, Risk and the Blaming System in N. Parton (ed.) Social Theory, Social Change and Social Work, London: Routledge Kegan Paul. Trotter, C. (2004) Helping Abused Children And Their Families, London.

Radioheads OK Computer :: Music Musical Essays

Radiohead's OK Computer In the mid-1990s, rock and roll experienced another of its many transitions. During the early ‘90s, the â€Å"grunge† scene, emanating from Seattle and its surrounding area, enthralled the youth of the time with the music of such acts as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. This surge in high-distortion, high angst rock snapped the genre out of the doldrums of glam-metal, which, for a long time, dominated the â€Å"rock music† racks of record stores across America. By 1997, grunge was dead, its end spurred by the death of Kurt Cobaine, the impending breakup of Soundgarden, and the increasing vapidity of Pearl Jam. At the same time, bubble gum pop made its comeback, thanks to acts like Hanson and the Spice Girls (even today, irritatingly saccharine acts like the Backstreet Boys and their seemingly infinite clones dominate pop charts). Fortunately, in the summer of 1997, the British rock band Radiohead released OK Computer, which received both critical acclaim and commercial success, a rare combination in today’s music scene. The album caught enough attention in both respects that it was later nominated for both best alternative album and album of the year, and received the former award (Hilburn C-6). OK Computer is important because it is one of the few albums released in this decade that has an underlying message; Radiohead, while never coming out and stating it, does an excellent job a blending subtlety with clarity. By both its lyrical and musical complexity, OK Computer covers a broad emotional range, evoking, as David Cheal puts it, â€Å"gloom and alienation; but you also get warmth and yearning† (15). Dimitri Ehrlich adds that, as a whole, the album is â€Å"unglossy, unhandsome, and every bit as complex as modern life† (56). â€Å"Paranoid Android† expresses this complexity at a level in which frustration and alienation come hand in hand. The song, clocking at nearly seven minutes, begins with the elegant plucking of an acoustic guitar and lead singer Thom Yorke’s statement of bitterness: â€Å"When I am king, you will be first against the wall.† After a brief guitar break, the song begins its tremulous diatribe on the loss of identity: â€Å"Why don’t you remember my name? / Off with his head now, off with his head.

Separation of Powers

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Separation of Powers doctrine built into the Constitution. Discussion will cover the origins of the doctrine, the factors that made it attractive to the founding fathers, and the question of its usefulness in modern America. Political theorists as far back as Aristotle had discussed the merits of various forms of government. The point had been made over and over again that to have all governmental authority vested in a single person or organization is to make it easy for despots to seize power.The more a society and government aspires to democracy, broad-based suffrage, and respect for individual rights, the more it would need to disperse power over a number of institutions and officials. The theory was clear, but finding a practical way to apply it was not obvious. Congress under the Articles of Confederation had those aspirations, but found that the way it was attempting to disperse power instead produced paralysis.In fact, the American e xperience with the Confederation Congress gave the fledgling United States a set of positive reasons for wanting separation of powers, to go along with the negative reasons derived from colonial experience under the British Parliamentary system. There had once been a separation and balance of powers in the British system, at least for the upper classes. As long as the monarch and the House of Lords still had independent power and authority, they were able to counterbalance the House of Commons.But after the British Civil War, when Great Britain had the opportunity to experiment with being a republic, with unitary government, and even with military dictatorship, the Parliamentary system was fundamentally changed. The Restoration of Charles II did not reintroduce a balancing factor. Charles was perfectly clear that he reigned at the pleasure of Parliament. His unfortunate brother James did not understand this, and his obstinacy led directly to the Glorious Revolution: the day when Par liament simply had James arrested and exiled to France.One may suppose that what was most glorious about that revolution is that it was peaceful: not a shot was fired, no one was even injured. (That James later invaded northern Ireland with a French mercenary army is a different issue, most political theorists seem to think. ) Parliament next simply hired William of Orange and his bride-to-be, Princess Mary, as co-monarchs, and arranged the glorious spectacle of their arrival in London, royal wedding, and double coronation. It would next hire George I of the House of Hanover. It was this Parliament, whose authority was absolute, that governed the American colonies.Any law it passed was final; there was then no institution that could declare a law passed by Parliament to be ounconstitutional. o The only check on its authority was the will of the voters who elected the members of Parliament. This is a major reason why the American colonists made such an issue of their lack of represen tation in Parliament. The rhetoric against King George III in the Declaration of Independence is a vestige of British custom; it is Parliament that has committed all the outrageous acts agaainst the colonies, and it is Parliament that is being attacked.Americans generally fail to grasp how centralized power had become (and to some extent still is) in the British system. There were and are no state governments in the British system, not for the shires, and not for what had once been independent countries; there is only the national Parliament and tiny local governments at the town level. In the eighteenth century Parliament also wanted there to be no independent legislatures in the colonies, and felt free to override colonial legislative measures at its own pleasure.Of course, the colonial legislatures went ahead and acted independently in almost all local matters, but Parliament? s refusal to recognize their authority was another reason why the colonial legislators supported the Ame rican Rebellion, as the English called it. In the British Parliamentary system, there is also no distinction between legislative and executive powers. The Prime Minister is elected by the members of the majority party in Parliament, and thus becomes the head of government. The Prime Minister? s cabinet functions essentially as the standing Executive Committee of the Parliament.It is structurally impossible for the Prime Minister to have one policy and Parliament another. If a majority of members of Parliament disagree with the Prime Minister? s decisions, a vote of no confidence will immediately remove the Prime Minister from office and begin the process of setting up a new government, that is, a new Executive Committee. The British Parliament thus cannot be in a state of deadlock such as sometimes seems to paralyze the American government when the Democrats control Congress and the Republicans have the Presidency, or vice versa.However, there is also nothing in the British system t o keep Parliament from pursuing a disastrous policy, as it has in Northern Ireland, whenever its members are overcome by mob psychology. The unicameral Congress created by the Articles of Confederation resembled the British Parliament in not separating the legislative and executive powers. There was supposed to be a balance of power between the interests of the states represented in Congress, as well as between the state governments and the national government.However, what there was in practice was a neutralizing of power: opposing forces or concepts, when embodied in the same persons, instead of having their separate advocates, simply canceled each other out. It thus became clear that there were positive reasons for wanting separation of powers in a new form of American government. A legislature could do a better job of creating laws if it were not burdened with the task of overseeing their execution. Likewise, an executive branch could be more effective in carrying out laws if it s authority were independent of the legislative branch.Similarly, there had to be an independent judiciary that could rule on legality, not only of how laws were carried out, but also of the laws themselves, so that Parliament? s trick of passing laws that were unchallengable could not be repeated in the American system. The new American system could not have been unitary, because from the beginning it was clear that one of the structural problems that the new country faced was how to balance the authority of thirteen independent nation-states against the authority of the union that they were jointly creating.The Confederation Congress did not solve this problem because it did not grant enough authority to the central government. Powers that are not equal cannot be balanced, and so cannot be separated: the stronger will always tend to overcome the weaker. One lasting achievement of the Confederation Congress was its provision that every new state to be admitted to the union would ha ve to become fully self-sustaining as an independent nation-state before it could be admitted, so that all states within the union would deal with each other as equals.One brilliant provision of the new Constitution was the compromise that created a bicameral legislature. The Senate, where each state has two votes, recognizes the original autonomy of the states, whereas the House reflects the actual growth of the population. It was equally brilliant to provide that, whereas the authority of Congress came from the states, the authority of the President would come from the people of the whole union. Their powers would thus be equal, balanced, and separate.It is sometimes argued that American government would be more efficient, could solve problems more quickly, if there were less separation of powers, if the checks and balances did not slow the wheels of progress. It is not clear how governmental powers could be made less separate, since the principle has been woven so thoroughly into American government at every level. Aside from that, it seems unrealistic to suppose that the human frailties which called for the separation of powers when the Constitution was written have somehow been cured during the last two centuries.The checks and balances and separations of power in the American system have the overall net effect of forcing people to compromise, of preventing extremist approaches to social problems from gaining a foothold in government. It is sometimes thought that having Congress and the President be of different parties was intended to be one of the checks and balances in government. Not so: the plan was to have them be of the same party. It is also thought that the deadlocks that occur under these conditions are a problem that must be solved, for example, by having the President or a Premier be elected by the majority party in Congress.However, it is actually not obvious that there is any problem to be solved here at all. When the President is of the maj ority party in Congress, then the compromises that lead to a legislative bill being passed and signed are made between the liberal and conservative members of the majority party. When the President belongs to the minority party, then these compromises are made between the members of the two parties. Although it is commonly thought that Democrats are much more liberal than Republicans, in fact the spectra of liberal and conservative members in each of the two parties are almost identical. Europeans often comment that America is the only democracy governed by two moderate parties. ) There thus seems to be little objective reason for tampering with the current traditional system of separation of powers. Bibliography Eliot, Charles W. , ed. American Historical Documents, 1000-1904. The Harvard Classics, ed. Charles W. Eliot. New York: Collier, 1910. Bibliography Eliot, Charles W. , ed. American Historical Documents, 1000-1904. The Harvard Classics, ed. Charles W. Eliot. New York: Collie r, 1910. This valuable volume can be found in many libraries.It gives the texts (sometimes in translation) of important documents that are discussed more often than they are read. There is a freshness to read the Vinland documents and the words of Columbus and Vespucci first reporting their discoveries. It is informative to read the precise wording of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (the first written state constitution), of the Articles of Confederation, and of the 1794 Treaty with the Six Nations (of the League of the Iroquois). History should when possible be done with primary documents, of course; this volume makes some of them easier to find. Separation of Powers ‘The separation of powers, as usually understood, is not a concept to which the United Kingdom constitution adheres. ’ The doctrine of separation of powers was perhaps most thoroughly explained by the French Jurist Montesquieu (1989), who based his analysis on the British Constitution of the early 18th century. This essay will discuss the doctrine of separation of powers, its meaning and importance within the United Kingdom’s un-codified constitution. It will analyse the relationship between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary and how the United Kingdom does not strictly adhere to the doctrine. Montesquieu (1989) argued that to avoid tyranny, the three branches of Government, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary should be separated as far as possible, and their relationship governed by ‘checks and balances’ (Montesquieu, 1989), Montesquieu (1989) described the divisions of political powers between the three branches and based this model on his perception of the British Constitutional System, a system which he perceived to be based on a separation of powers between King, Parliament and the law courts. Originally it was the Monarch who had all the power, however, it has now been transferred. The Legislature, or law making function, which covers actions such as the enactment of rules for society. The Executive, or law applying function, which covers actions taken to maintain or implement the law, defend the state, and conduct internal policies. Finally, the Judiciary, or law enforcing function, which is the determining of civil disputes and the punishing of criminals by deciding issues of fact and applying the law. These functions of Government should be carried out by separate persons, or bodies and that each branch should carry out its own function. For example, the Legislature should not judge nor should the Executive make laws. The Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary should also all have equal legal status so each could control the excessive use of power by another branch. The  British  Constitution  is fundamentally different to  the  US constitutional model and its fragmented structure. The  American model is a deliberately designed political body constructed with precision by  the  18th century ‘founding fathers' and maintained to  the  present day by an entrenched codified document. By contrast, the  British constitutional model has evolved and adapted over  the  centuries, deriving from statute law, customs and monarchical power among various sources. Such contrasting constitutional evolution has led to differing interpretations and applications  of  the  theory  of  the  separation  of powers. In essence,  the  separation  of  powers  within Britain's constitutional system tends to be far less explicit and somewhat blurred in comparison to  the  more rigid US system  of  government. Indeed, some would say that  the  basic principles  of  the  separation  of  powers  are not specifically adhered to within  the British political model. The  most obvious evidence  of  this is reflected in Britain's parliamentary system  of  government, as opposed to a presidential type in the  USA, where ‘the  assemblies and executives are formally independent  of  one another and separately elected'. In practice this means that in  the  USA the  President and members  of  the  legislature (Congress) are elected separately and occupy completely different political branches, whereas in  the  UK  the most senior elected members  of  Parliament also form  the  executive branch  of  government. This more fused political structure leads to a situation where the  Prime Minister and Cabinet (the  executive) are also elected members  of  Parliament (legislature), creating a scenario that conflicts with  the  essence  of the  separation  of  powers. The  British political system also had  the  historic position  of  Lord Chancellor possessing  the  greatest theoretical power, being part  of  the  executive (Cabinet), legislature (House  of  Lords) and  the  head  of  the  judiciary simultaneously. Such a concentration  of  power is broadly prohibited in  the  USA and other western democracies due to  the  nature  of  their codified constitutions. Such constitutional developments have led to  the  creation  of  political circumstances in  the  UK  whereby  the  executive has gradually come to dominate  the legislature, despite  the  British political tradition  of  sovereignty ostensibly residing in Parliament. This scenario has led to allegations  of  excessive power within  the  executive and  of  an ‘elective dictatorship', with ‘public policy originating in cabinet and being presented to a party-dominated House  of Commons'. In such an environment, a government with a significant parliamentary majority, e. g. Labour since 1997, can maintain control  of  both  the executive and  the  legislature, with Parliament becoming a mere ‘rubber-stamp'  of  approval in  the  process  of  creating legislation. The  judiciary, symbolized by  the  role  of  the  Lord Chancellor who is a member  of  the  ruling party, has over  the  years appeared to have been manipulated by  the  governing regime in a way that  the  US Supreme Court could never be. Such trends  of  excessive executive power have been exacerbated by dominant Prime Ministers such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. However, in recent years  the  British government appears to have accepted this constitutional imbalance and has taken specific measures to enhance its version  of  the  separation  of  powers, addressing its rough edges and tackling some  of  the  growing criticisms  of  executive dominance that has been a consequence  of  the  UK's constitutional development. This process has been evident in a number  of  key constitutional reforms, starting with  the  Human Rights Act  of  1998, a piece  of  legislation that has created more explicit safeguards concerning  the  distribution  of  political power within  the  UK. In particular it appears to have provided additional  powers  to  the  branch  of  government that is often overshadowed within  the  UK's political system, namely the  judiciary. This Act has subsequently enforced  the  need for British law-makers to strictly adhere to  the  principles  of  human rights when passing legislation in order to remove  the  prospects  of  legal challenges at a later stage. After this Act was passed, one  of  the  most prominent judicial challenges under human rights legislation occurred in December 2004, when  the  Law Lords declared that  the  detention  of  eight terrorist suspects without trial at Belmarsh Prison was in conflict with  the  suspects' human rights. In practice, as evident in  the  Belmarsh case, it means that legislation that derives from Parliament, under  the control  of  the  executive, can now be more closely scrutinised and challenged by  the  judiciary, bolstered by an enhanced human rights framework. In this context, Parliament: ‘retains its sovereign status†¦.. if  the  courts cannot reconcile an Act  of  Parliament with  the  European Convention on Human Rights, they do not have  the power to override†¦.. that legislation†¦.. (but)  the  courts can declare  the  legislation incompatible with  the  European Convention on Human Rights and return  the  Act to Parliament for revision' . Thus, a clearer  separation  of  powers  now appears to be in place as a result  of  the  Human Rights Act. However, while  the  Act does provide added powers  of  judicial scrutiny over  the  executive and legislative branches in their law-making role, Parliament retains ultimate sovereignty and can change the  law as it wishes, in spite  of  judicial criticism. In terms  of  ignoring such judicial interventions, any government would probably cause itself considerable political damage in doing so, but it has  the  right to do so nevertheless. In this respect,  the  UK  Human Rights Act is not as robust in preserving fragmented government and civil liberties as  the  US Bill  of  Rights is, which it has been compared to. Indeed,  the  current British Conservative opposition has even talked  of  abolishing this legislation, and this would have implications for tackling  the  effectiveness  of  the  separation  of  in  the  UK. Britain modernised its constitutional model with further legislative and institutional reforms such as  the  Constitutional Reform Act (2005). A key element  of  this Act was  the  creation  of  a Judicial Appointments Committee that limited executive patronage in appointing  the judiciary, as well as a British Supreme Court, reflecting a more explicit  separation  of  judicial. This new court has replaced  the  Law Lords as  the  highest Court  of  Appeal in  the  UK. The  Law Lords have in many ways symbolised  the  blurring  of  the  branches  of government in  the  UK, with their dual role as interpreters  of  the  law on behalf  of  the  judiciary, but also as law-makers due to their membership  of  the House  of  Lords. This Act also significantly reduced  the powers of  the  Lord Chancellor, formerly  the  most powerful position in British politics with a foothold in all government branches. The  Law Lords and Lord Chancellor were increasingly viewed as nachronisms within  the  UK  political system and subsequently deemed to be in need  of  significant reform as part  of  the  process  of  refreshing Britain's implementation  of  the  separation  of  theory. a In conclusion, it is recognised that certain degree of power and functions between the three organ s do overlap, which suggest that although each organ functions within its own sphere, none is supreme. The sphere of power conceded to Parliament to enact law to regulate its own procedure is a clear example of the existence of Separation of Power. Therefore, the doctrine of Separation of Power is deemed to be a rule of political wisdom.

Energy and Society Essay

Energy is a vital aspect in human life. Ever since the dawn of human civilization, energy has also been there to support survival and foster development and progress. The human society’s survival is greatly dependent on the energy that is abundantly present in the environment and this is evidently supported by many historical events such as the discovery of fire and the discovery of fossil fuel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ever since humankind discovered the availability of energy learned ways of using it for their advantage, society’s development in every aspect never stopped. They continue to discover different forms of energy and harness its power and transform it to significant form to fuel their machineries and every activity. Thus, society has indeed becomes dependent with energy in every aspect making it an important component in life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is an evident fact that energy and its usage are present in all aspect of society’s life. Considering economic, energy is a moving factor in the international market making it a common good between the country’s trade relationships. This energy in economic is often manifest in the form of fossil fuels such as oil, gasoline and coal. In addition to those, electricity’s economic value and significance is also firmly accelerating because of the its vital usage in economic aspects such as manufacturing and production. Also, since the society’s trends at the present become electrical and computerized, electrical energy and its market are rapidly expanding thus increasing further its value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Energy also plays an important part to the basic activities of the societies such as transportation, food production and even in leisure and entertainment. Common transportation modes at the present use fossil fuels and electricity for their energy source. These transportation modes are very vital to the society because human mobility, exploration, food distribution and others depend greatly on it. Food production also uses energy such to fuel the machineries that humanity uses to hasten their productivity thus increasing their food availability. Leisure and entertainment also at the present depends greatly on energy because it has developed to become electronic and computerized in nature as favored by the present trend in the society. Politics and warfare also in international and local grounds has been innovated to use energy in different forms such as electric, fossil, chemical and nuclear to become its main fuel source. All of these society’s activities involve the usage of energy thus the demand for it greatly increases in every moment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since the society’s demand for energy continues to increase, they have developed means to accelerate its production to satisfy their demand for it.   Humanity developed way to source out energy from various environmental means such as the thermal energy, solar energy, wind energy and nuclear energy. All of these major source and other minor ones with also valuable contributions continue to supply humanity’s needs for energy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, energy already became an important part of the society as their ally in their development and progress. However, energy also posts certain risks in the society like a double- edged blade. Energy can foster life and society’s growth but its improper usage and uncontrollably craving can also result to dire consequences posing harm and even death to the people who utilized and developed its potential.

The eNotes Blog Top Ten Tattoos Inspired by Childrens Books

Top Ten Tattoos Inspired by Childrens Books Our favorite childhood books stay with us in our minds and our hearts forever. Theyre the reason why, mid-life, you can look at the bald patch of the man at your side and think only of the velveteen rabbit, with all his fur loved off. But the only way to really show your love for them is to have them permanently inked on your skin, as the folks below can attest to. Heres a round up of ten very devoted childrens lit fans: 1. Beatrix Potters Peter Rabbit 2. Stuart Little by E. B. White 3. Eloise 4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar 5. An amazing sleeve depicting the mad hatter scene from Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland 6. The opening lines of Watership Down 7. Matilda by Roald Dahl 8. Maurice Sendaks Where the Wild Things Are  had two astounding entries, so we just had to credit both. 9. The Velveteen Rabbit (definitely a rabbit theme going on here) 10. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis Oh and just for good measure because itll make you smile A little game of Wheres Waldo? Explore more at Flavorwires round-up, and tell us what book from your childhood youd pay tribute to in a comment below.

The eNotes Blog 5 Mary Oliver Poems to Use in theClassroom

5 Mary Oliver Poems to Use in theClassroom Do you have a hard time getting students excited about poetry? The work of Mary Oliver has long been celebrated for its simplicity, beauty, and clarity. Her rich, sensory language, exploration of the line between human and non-human worlds, and the frank philosophy that accompanies them, make Oliver’s poems fast favorites with students and teachers alike. In honor of her memory, lets look at five illuminating pieces to weave into your lesson plans today: 1. The Summer Day Why its a great pick: Arguably Oliver’s most famous poem, The Summer Day is as simple and accessible as it is wondrous and profound. The poem combines metaphysical questions (â€Å"Who made the world? / Who made the swan, and the black bear?†) with the distilled image of a grasshopper in the speaker’s hand. But its the poems final lines that adorn t-shirts, coffee mugs, and the walls of countless college dorms: â€Å"Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?† Teaching points: Study how Oliver uses sensory language to characterize the grasshopper. When the speaker describes the grasshoppers â€Å"enormous and complicated eyes,† the grasshopper’s curious gaze is personified to mimic the philosophical inquiries of the speaker. Pairs well with: To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, or The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. 2. Wild Geese Why its a great pick: In Wild Geese, Oliver uses her iconic natural imagery to address one of life’s most challenging and common experiences: loneliness. As the speaker considers a flock of wild geese flying overhead, she describes all the events on earth that occur in the meantime. Ultimately, the poem offers solace to even the most solitary reader: â€Å"Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, / the world offers itself to your imagination. Teaching points: Discuss the way Oliver uses anaphora- the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of sequential lines- to distinguish between the three phases of the poem. The first five lines begin with â€Å"You,† with the final â€Å"yours† falling mid-line to signal the upcoming shift. Lines 6 through 12 use â€Å"Meanwhile,† emphasizing the multitude of concurrent events. The final five lines avoid anaphora altogether, signaling that the poem has reached its thematic resolution. Pairs well with:  The Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, or The Outsiders. 3. The Shark Why its a great pick: The Shark is an exciting poem with a Jaws-like plot great for attracting the attention of students who are intimidated by poetry. Oliver asks the reader to consider the essence of humanity. What is it that causes humans to hold themselves above all other animals? â€Å"Speech,† the poem answers. â€Å"The wilderness of our wit.† Teaching points: A poem with a plot provides a unique opportunity to study line breaks. After you’ve read the poem as published, present it to students in paragraph form. Then, ask students to consider how line breaks alter the reading experience and create meaning within the poem. Pairs well with: Moby-Dick, The Old Man and the Sea, Silent Spring, or The Odyssey 4. Singapore Why its a great pick: In Singapore, Oliver turns her keen powers of observation indoors, focusing them on a working-class woman scrubbing an ashtray in a toilet stall. With the same reverence Oliver uses to describe her iconic grasshopper and wild geese, the speaker in this poem studies and respects the laborer as she works. For students, Singapore illustrates a poem’s ability to imbue even dark, dingy moments of the human experience with meaning. Teaching points: Use this poem as an opportunity to study symbolism. The â€Å"bird† appears at least three times in this poem, taking on a different connotative resonance with each appearance. Ask students to consider how the meaning of the bird changes over the course of the poem, and how these shifts affect students’ understanding of the poem. Pairs well with: The Grapes of Wrath, The Color Purple, or Tess of the d’Urbervilles 5. In Blackwater Woods Why its a great pick: In Blackwater Woods reveals poetry’s capacity to philosophize, making explicit truths that readers can use to navigate the difficult experiences of life: â€Å"To live in this world / you must be able // to do three things:// To love what is mortal; / to hold it against your bones / knowing your own life depends on it; / and, when the time comes to let it go, // to let it go.† Teaching points: Use this poem to distinguish between personification and anthropomorphism. Personification gives non-human entities the thoughts and feelings of a human. Anthropomorphism gives non-human entities the form of the physical human body. For example, â€Å"the trees are turning their own bodies into pillars of light† and â€Å"the blue shoulders / of the ponds.† While the trees and pond aren’t fully characterized, the reader is nevertheless prepared for the fleetingness of nature to be linked with the fleetingness of human life by the poem’s end. Pairs well with: The Stranger, Walden, or A Tale of Two Cities

Analysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, And The Aeneid Essay

a. Gods and goddesses intervention plays a key role in many of the stories, including The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and The Aeneid. Apollo, god of sun and art, intervenes multiple times in The Iliad. He is known for sending the plague to the Greeks. Aruru, goddess of creation, made Gilgamesh and Enkidu in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Aeolus, god of wind, is persuaded by Juno, goddess of marriage, to build a storm. 2. Discuss the importance of the "voices of reason" in three of the stories. (Who or what group emerges that seems to be more rational than the stories ' characters?) a. â€Å"Voice of reason† is important in many stories including The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Song of Roland, and _____. Gilgamesh is a cruel king. He rapes women of all ages and does whatever it takes to get his way. If the men of Uruk had not complained about Gilgamesh then Enkidu would not have been created. Throughout the Song of Roland Oliver suggested that Roland blow the olifant but Roland refused. Although Roland’s actions did result in his death, Oliver knew it was what needed to happen. Oliver was the voice of reason throughout the story. 3. Discuss the theme of strength (inner or outer) in three of the stories. Use specific examples to support your answer. a. The theme of strength can be seen in many stories including Confession, The Song of Roland, and . St. Augustine had behavioral problems as a child but as he grew older became more mature. During his later years he finds the inner strength and courage to believe in God and put all of his faith into Him. Roland’s strength in The Song of Rolarent stories or the same story. a. Three symbols are the ark, olifant, and the inferno. In The Hebrew Bible, God commanded Noah to build an ark. The ark symbolizes God’s promise to Noah and all of the Israelites. The olifant in The Song of Roland is what kills Roland. It symbolizes his death. Dante’s Inferno includes many symbols. The story itself symbolizes one’s spiritual search. 10. What was your favorite story or character? Give at least three specific reasons/examples to support your answer. a. My favorite character was Joseph. Joseph’s brothers hated him very much and because of that they sold him to the Ishmaelites. Even though Joseph’s early years were not pleasant that did not stop him from believing in God. He kept the faith. He is such an inspiration to many because of his love for God. We can learn from him that if we put faith in God we can become a su

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Business management - Essay Example Each source of finance must function within the need of an organisation in order for it to be remarkably useful. Any business cannot just simply function without cash. That is why it is important to understand the current state of liquidity of a certain company. There is a need to understand the level of its cash flow. Understanding this will pave way to the basic knowledge on how much money needs to be considered prior to taking into account the assurance that business will continue to function and grow. In this paper, the proponent considers to critically assess some common sources of finance employed within different organisations and critically consider the sources of finance of Vodafone. Thus, prior to understanding the sources of finance of Vodafone, it is important to take a look at some sources of finance commonly used in most organisations. To continue business operation, capital is indeed needed. In the case of Vodafone, capital and fixed assets are not the same since the nature of its business is much more in the offering of services. This is eventually far from categorising the capital which is also known as fixed assets if used in production (Brigham, 1992). Vodafone certainly remains focus on the essential aspects in business. After all, it is clear that a business should operate with substantial amount of cash in which it shall be invested in land, facilities, personnel, equipment and other materials for the continuation of work and investment associated with businesses and subsidiaries. Vodafone clearly operates business through borrowing and equity which are parts of the three ways in which cash can be acquired. Mostly, firm’s reserves, disposal of assets or by borrowing are essential sources of funds. In the case of Vodafone, greater weights are clearly given to equity and borrowing. And in order to make them profitable there is a need to increase on revenue (Fess and Warren,

Asset Assesment and E-Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Asset Assesment and E-Commerce - Essay Example early internal audit reports Delineation of Authorities and Responsibilities Roles defined and responsibilities delineated for: Overall fixed asset officer: 1. planning and overseeing of system asset management 2. involving in the implementation of asset management plan 3. taking action of defective or obsolete assets Hardware and software custodians (as related): 1. obtaining resources 2. performing functions 3. documenting and maintaining records 4. deployment and controls 5. managing contract agreements, internal and external customers’ relationships Asset Management manual and strategic plans, roles and responsibilities specified in the job description Organization-wide communication of the specified responsibilities Minutes of meetings, e-mails, posting in bulletin board Policies and Procedures Availability of policy and procedure development, periodic review, approvals, issuance, and control Approved policy and documented implementation Documented policies including: 1. Employees and leadership responsibilities on of software and hardware in use 2. limitations on the use of assets and software for personal use 3. compliance to legal and regulatory requirements, propriety and protection of data 4. asset acquisition 5. approval on installation and use of software 6. consequences of violating the policies Review of policies and documents on implementation Organization-wide communication of policies including: 1. newly joined employees during orientation period 2. continuing annually through in-house trainings 3. signing on acknowledgement 4. accessible to all anytime needed Publications through the e-mails, system database for manuals, adding to the code of conduct, e-mailing and minutes of meeting MANAGEMENT OF ASSETS INVENTORY Identification of Software Asset... This study shows that per audit checklist used, internal audit is not conducted periodically. Hardware changes are not covered in internal audit. Technology resources were not considered in the current year budget plan. Functions in control of assets overlap with overall fixed custodian and software and hardware custodians. Purchasing officer has nothing to do with assets contracts. Computer games are installed in the computer networks. No regular training of employees related to information technology. Positive findings deserve appreciation from the management to the responsible employees. â€Å"Keep up the good work.† On the other hand, all employees should get training on information technology. IT Department should be part of orientation program presenters for new employees. The human Resources yearly training program should include information technology topics. All employees should sign the â€Å"statement of confidentiality†. Storage of software, backup system an d consequences of information system violations should be included in the security policy.Findings from Belarc Advisor system audit recommendation should configure settings on account lockout, passwords, event logs, files permission, security options, user-right assignment and system services. Define policies for password issuance and usage, audit, the Internet, Explorer Seven and local computer. Impose restrictions on local computer administration templates, network, systems, and Windows. Create profiles for Windows firewall, domain, and standard.

Supply chain management at Toyota motors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Supply chain management at Toyota motors - Essay Example However, Toyota commenced its automobile manufacturing as early as 1934 functioning under Toyota Industries (Toyota, 1996). The first product of the company was Type A engines and Toyota AA passengers car which were manufactured in 1936. The company is celebrated as one of the world’s largest automakers mainly because of the company’s stupendous sales record over the last two decades. Toyota also ventures into the financial service provision, an exercise supervised by Toyota Financial Services. The company also produces robots. Alongside the father company (Toyota Industries), Toyota forms the majority shareholders in Toyota Group. Being the Leading shareholder in Daihatsu Motors, Toyota owns the operations of Lexus, Scion, and Toyota brands. The company is also the minority shareholder in Isuzu Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries, Hino Motors, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, and Yamaha Motors and craft manufacturers. In india, Toyota established a partnership agreement with Kirloskar Group to forming Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM); a company formed with sole objectives of creating employment to the unemployed youths as well as serving the automobile industry. As at March 2012, Toyota had about 529 subsidiaries globally, and manufactured more than 11.5 million vehicles (Toyota, 1996). SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN TOYOTA            Toyota supply chain management is one of the elements of the operational strategy which is founded on Toyota Production System (TPS). The system was proposed by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo in 1940’s as the company gained global success in the automotive industry. TPS was founded on the principle â€Å"lean manufacturing†. The two partners indentified the components of this tool as: mutual trust and understanding, interlocking structures, compatible capabilities, control systems, joint improvement activities, learning, and information sharing. As stated by Krajewski, Ritzman & Malhotra (200 9), â€Å"JIT system – a system that organizes the resources information flows and decision rules that enable a firm to realize the benefits of JIT principles† (Burnes & New, 1996). Total Quality Management, reduces waste, and inventory by involving suppliers in continuous improvement, planning process, focusing on co-operation and improving machinery. The capacity planning method adopted by Toyota was based on inventory elimination. To achieve a zero-inventory, the company heavily depended on pull systems. Toyota also pioneered an operational excellence commonly referred to as â€Å"Lean Concept†. This concept was adopted by a number of companies in the manufacturing sector. The philosophy of this principle (lean philosophy) aimed at eliminating all wastes, and prioritizes customer care (Burnes & New, 1997). Lean philosophy closed linked with the JIS inventory management system to add to the competitive edge of Toyota. Therefore, the production of new material was only possible when the existing stock of inventory is exhausted. Toyota operated under â€Å"non-value-adding waste in business and manufacturing† (Liker, 2004) which were overproduction, unnecessary transport/ conveyance, waiting, over-processing, unnecessary movement, excess inventory, unused employee creativity, and defects. The improvements in the supply chain management at Toyota are cited as the key element for the increased competitiveness of the company in the fierce motor market. Besides, the improvements made in the supply cha

Electrical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electrical - Essay Example This section explains how to measure the velocity of propagation of a signal in a transmission line. This is done by using the step response method. Also, determining the relative permittivity of the dielectric material used to construct this line, which is based on the measured velocity of propagation. This section focuses on the actions of a transmission line terminated by various resistive load impedances when voltage steps are introduced into the line. Also, checking the characteristic impedance of a line can be carried out by two different methods: (1) with a variable load resistor; or (2) through measurement of the rising edge of the launched step. The definition of attenuation and distortion is provided in this section. The causes of attenuation and distortion, and how they affect the shape of the transmitted signal are also discussed. Finally, evaluating signal quality in high-speed transmission systems by using the eye-pattern method is explained in detail. This instruction booklet gives students the necessary theory and measurement skills to implement and test transmission lines. First, students will learn the principles and operational characteristics of transmission lines. Then, they will discover how to perform transmission line measurements through step testing and a sinusoidal steady-state setting. Lastly, students will build a foundation in theory and practice of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) as well as impedance matching and transformation. Another inclusion is an exercise that focuses solely on troubleshooting. For this exercise, students must establish and recognize the nature of faults introduced by the instructor along the transmission lines through using TDR. This way, students can develop their troubleshooting skills and test what they have learned. – Detailed laboratory procedure where the student

Classical composer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Classical composer - Essay Example in the fourth year of his age, father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.†(Deutsch pp.  454–462) He was about five years old when he begun making his own music which he played to his father who annotated them. Recognizing the special abilities of his children, Leopold devoted more time to teaching his children. He was a loving father as he was an exacting teacher. Wolfgang, though, found pleasure in learning. He â€Å"was motivated to make progress even beyond what his father was teaching him. His first independent (and ink-spattered) composition, and his initial ability to play the violin, were both his own doing and were a great surprise to Leopold.† (Deutsch pp.  452–453) At that point, Leopold started to consider ambitious plans in his mind. Partly perhaps out of parental pride, partly perhaps out of duty as he did not doubt his children’s talent were God-given, he set forth to bring his young prodigies on tour to the courts of Europe. Wolfgang was six when in January, 1762, his father brought them to the nearby Munich court of Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria. It was Wolfgang’s first exposition. The following three years were hectic for the young Mozarts. Leopold Mozart took his family to a long concert tour to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London and The Hague. This foreshadowed the eight more years ahead of traveling Europe.. It was during these travels and performances when the young Wolfgang also met other musicians and got acquainted with their works. A prolific writer, Mozart wrote many of his music during that period of travel. â€Å"Most composers created music at the point of a pencil, writing and erasing over and over until they got down what they wanted.   Mozart, however, created exclusively in his head; then he wrote it all out once, once only, never erasing a note.†Ã‚  (Shepherd, pg. 5) Following their final return to Salzburg in 1773, Mozart, who was seventeen then, was

Supply chain management at Toyota motors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Supply chain management at Toyota motors - Essay Example However, Toyota commenced its automobile manufacturing as early as 1934 functioning under Toyota Industries (Toyota, 1996). The first product of the company was Type A engines and Toyota AA passengers car which were manufactured in 1936. The company is celebrated as one of the world’s largest automakers mainly because of the company’s stupendous sales record over the last two decades. Toyota also ventures into the financial service provision, an exercise supervised by Toyota Financial Services. The company also produces robots. Alongside the father company (Toyota Industries), Toyota forms the majority shareholders in Toyota Group. Being the Leading shareholder in Daihatsu Motors, Toyota owns the operations of Lexus, Scion, and Toyota brands. The company is also the minority shareholder in Isuzu Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries, Hino Motors, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, and Yamaha Motors and craft manufacturers. In india, Toyota established a partnership agreement with Kirloskar Group to forming Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited (TKM); a company formed with sole objectives of creating employment to the unemployed youths as well as serving the automobile industry. As at March 2012, Toyota had about 529 subsidiaries globally, and manufactured more than 11.5 million vehicles (Toyota, 1996). SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN TOYOTA            Toyota supply chain management is one of the elements of the operational strategy which is founded on Toyota Production System (TPS). The system was proposed by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo in 1940’s as the company gained global success in the automotive industry. TPS was founded on the principle â€Å"lean manufacturing†. The two partners indentified the components of this tool as: mutual trust and understanding, interlocking structures, compatible capabilities, control systems, joint improvement activities, learning, and information sharing. As stated by Krajewski, Ritzman & Malhotra (200 9), â€Å"JIT system – a system that organizes the resources information flows and decision rules that enable a firm to realize the benefits of JIT principles† (Burnes & New, 1996). Total Quality Management, reduces waste, and inventory by involving suppliers in continuous improvement, planning process, focusing on co-operation and improving machinery. The capacity planning method adopted by Toyota was based on inventory elimination. To achieve a zero-inventory, the company heavily depended on pull systems. Toyota also pioneered an operational excellence commonly referred to as â€Å"Lean Concept†. This concept was adopted by a number of companies in the manufacturing sector. The philosophy of this principle (lean philosophy) aimed at eliminating all wastes, and prioritizes customer care (Burnes & New, 1997). Lean philosophy closed linked with the JIS inventory management system to add to the competitive edge of Toyota. Therefore, the production of new material was only possible when the existing stock of inventory is exhausted. Toyota operated under â€Å"non-value-adding waste in business and manufacturing† (Liker, 2004) which were overproduction, unnecessary transport/ conveyance, waiting, over-processing, unnecessary movement, excess inventory, unused employee creativity, and defects. The improvements in the supply chain management at Toyota are cited as the key element for the increased competitiveness of the company in the fierce motor market. Besides, the improvements made in the supply cha

Classical composer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Classical composer - Essay Example in the fourth year of his age, father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.†(Deutsch pp.  454–462) He was about five years old when he begun making his own music which he played to his father who annotated them. Recognizing the special abilities of his children, Leopold devoted more time to teaching his children. He was a loving father as he was an exacting teacher. Wolfgang, though, found pleasure in learning. He â€Å"was motivated to make progress even beyond what his father was teaching him. His first independent (and ink-spattered) composition, and his initial ability to play the violin, were both his own doing and were a great surprise to Leopold.† (Deutsch pp.  452–453) At that point, Leopold started to consider ambitious plans in his mind. Partly perhaps out of parental pride, partly perhaps out of duty as he did not doubt his children’s talent were God-given, he set forth to bring his young prodigies on tour to the courts of Europe. Wolfgang was six when in January, 1762, his father brought them to the nearby Munich court of Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria. It was Wolfgang’s first exposition. The following three years were hectic for the young Mozarts. Leopold Mozart took his family to a long concert tour to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London and The Hague. This foreshadowed the eight more years ahead of traveling Europe.. It was during these travels and performances when the young Wolfgang also met other musicians and got acquainted with their works. A prolific writer, Mozart wrote many of his music during that period of travel. â€Å"Most composers created music at the point of a pencil, writing and erasing over and over until they got down what they wanted.   Mozart, however, created exclusively in his head; then he wrote it all out once, once only, never erasing a note.†Ã‚  (Shepherd, pg. 5) Following their final return to Salzburg in 1773, Mozart, who was seventeen then, was

Applied Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Applied Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay 1) Why do you think Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy? â€Å"I think that Starbucks has been concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy because in the long run it affects the bottom line. By being socially responsible, the business is also showing that they care about more than their profits. Caring about more than just profits allows for greater employee commitment, investor loyalty, as well as higher customer satisfaction. Research has also shown that social responsibility and good business ethics contributes to higher profits. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2013)† 2) Is Starbucks unique in being able to provide a high level of benefits to its employees? â€Å"No, Starbucks is not unique in being able to provide a high level of benefits to its employees. Business ethics has become more important in the business world and it has been found that if a company is dedicated to taking care of its employees, the more dedicated the employees will be. If an employee sees that the company is acting and treats them in an ethical manner, the employee is more likely to act in an ethical manner. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2013)† 3) Do you think that Starbucks has grown rapidly because of its ethical and socially responsible activities or because it provides products and an environment that customers want? â€Å"I think that Starbucks has grown rapidly because it has combined a product and environment that people want with great business ethics and social responsibility. This combination has allowed the company to expand exponentially during a good economy and maintain in a bad economy. By being socially responsible and treating their employee’s right, the company has less of a turnover rate and in the long run has been able to avoid large layoffs and shutting down a large amount of stores. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2013)† 4) In what other ways does this case relate to the concepts that we have learned in the chapters so far? â€Å"This first chapter has shown that ethics is a big part of business. It can basically make or break a company. In the case of Starbucks, it has made them. They have based their business around social responsibility and ethics and have been able to maintain in an economy that has tanked because they treat their employees and customers right. According to our textbook, being ethical pays off with better employee performance, and higher employee honesty and integrity. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2013)† Bibliography Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. (2013). The Importance of Business Ethics. In O. C. Ferrell, J. Fraedrich, L. Ferrell, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (pp. 17-22). Mason: South-Westen.

Analysis Of Trends For Honeymoon Tourists

Analysis Of Trends For Honeymoon Tourists In the previous, it is explained that a wedding trip or honeymoon was become easier along the way with the improvement on ways of going places that no longer hardship to stir from home to go to other places and it was a new concept of traveling for leisure purposes. The transportation kept improving and producing newer and better destinations until there was more place than the visitors. There was no record who was the first couple going for honeymoon, but no doubt they go honeymoon because everybody else did and it seems as a challenge for them to do the same as others. At the first time honeymoon was considered only for the rich, and as a cachet for distinction and further glory (Hoke, 1933). However, as time goes by, the travel get cheaper, transportation keep improving and more destination enhanced, number of couples take their honeymoon also increasing. There are many various variables that todays honeymooners may be looking for. They may be looking for the atmosphere, facility provided, romantic places, and so on. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, most couples are willing to spend more money on honeymoon rather than the regular trips. Moreover, some honeymooners also looking for the unique places for honeymoon. They want to feel a different experience once in a lifetime. For these travelers, its the time for a fantasy journey to destinations whose very names mean romance. They are choosing to go further away on their honeymoon to a different environment and that includes everything: a different language, culture, and food. However, for some couples who have a fulltime job and, as work schedules become more and more hectic, many couples are choosing to honeymoon close to home, enjoying a long weekend at local bed-and-breakfasts and country inns (Perementer and Bigley, 2000) According to MacNair Travel Management survey, it is suggested that Hawaii is the top honeymoon destination. And it is supported by Hoke (1933), Niagara Falls and Washington were the first outstanding honeymoon resort. The honeymooners are most anticipating to beach and dining as a part of their honeymoon activity. Other than that spa also was the couples preferred activity on their honeymoon. With the evolution and innovation that spa could make health better, spa becomes ideal to enjoy and fashionable newlyweds often choose it for honeymoon. 2.2. Hotel Classification Along with the desires of traveler that keep growing, Tourism Industry along with all the attributes in it also needs to be developed to meet their needs. The hotel industry is so vast that many hotels do not fit into single well defined category. Industry can be classified in various ways, based on location, size of property etc. Based on location, for example is city hotel, is the hotel which is located in the heart of city within a short distance from business center, shopping complex. Airport hotels, these hotels are set up near by the airport. They have transit guest who stay over between flights. Resort hotel, is the hotel that cater consumer who wants to relax, enjoy themselves. They could be located in beach side, hill, and recreational area. Most resort work to full capacity during peak season Based in size of property, this category is divided according to the number of rooms available in the hotel. Small hotel is a hotel with 100 rooms or less. Medium sized hotel, hotel which has 100 rooms to 300 rooms. Large hotel, is the hotel which has more than 300 rooms. Mega hotel is a hotel which has more than 1000 rooms available. Based on the level of service there are three types of hotel which are upscale or luxury, midscale, and budget hotel. Budget hotel meets only provide the basic needs of the guest compared to the midscale and upscale hotel which provide a better service than the budget. Luxury hotel offers world class service providing restaurant and lounges, concierge service, meeting rooms, dining facilities. It is easy also to identify those types of hotel from the design of the hotel itself. Based on theme, there are Heritage hotels, Ecohotels, Boutique hotels. Heritage hotel offers rooms that have their own history, serve traditional cuisine and are entertained by folk artist. Ecohotel, is an environment friendly hotels which usually use eco friendly items in the room. Boutique hotel is a hotel that provides exceptional accommodation, furniture in a themed and stylish, unique manner. Based on target market, hotels are classified into commercial hotel, convention hotels, resort hotel, suite hotel and casino hotel. First, commercial hotel, they are situated in the heart of the city in busy commercial areas so as to get good and high business. They cater mostly businessmen. Second, convention hotel usually provide a large convention complex and cater guest who are attending conference, etc. Third, resort hotel, is a leisure hotel which are mainly for vacationers, leisure traveler, who want to relax and enjoy with their family. The atmosphere is more relaxed. Fourth, suite hotel offers rooms that may include compact kitchenette. They cater to people who are relocating act as executives who are away from home for a long business stay. Last but not least casino hotel, is a hotel with a gambling facility. This hotel usually attracts those leisure and vacation travelers. Honeymooners as consumer could choose the type of hotel for them to stay in their honeymoon. They can choose to stay whether in city hotel, resort, large hotel, small hotel, upscale, midscale, budget hotel, theme hotel, and many more. However, wherever they choose the hotel to stay, there must be the reason behind why they choose particular hotel. In choosing hotel for honeymoon, there must be a decision between couples. Therefore it is important to observe on how husband and wife decision making. ( http://hotel-industry.learnhub.com/lesson/8842-classification-of-hotels) 2.3. Decision Making 2.3.1. Consumer Decision Making Process In our daily life we will always faced with various decision. When we want to purchase product or services is also a part of decision. No one purchase or consume something unless they have a problem, a need, a want or a purposes.There are seven major stage that consumer typically go through in decision making but however in this study will only explain six stage such as need recognition, search information, pre-purchased evalutaion, purchase, consumption, post-consumption evaluation. Need recognition, is the stage when the consumers will sense the things that they believe the product have the ability to solve a problem is worth more than the cost of buying it. Therefore the marketers could make a product that can fulfill the desire of the consumers but they also have to keep the cost in line with the market they are targeted. At this stage, the consumer are influenced with many variables such as, personality, social class, income, past experience, prior brand perception. Source of Information, is the stage when the consumers are obtaining informations they need to make a product choices are suitable with them. The source of informations could be obtained from marketer dominated or non-marketer dominated. Advertising, sales person, website, travel agentcy are the source of information that refers to marketer dominated. Friends, family and the words of mouth refers to non-marketer source of information. Pre-Purchase Evaluation, is the stage when the consumers are comparing the various choices of brands, products, and services that which will most likely result in their satisfaction with the consumption. In this stage the consumers will influenced with their motivation, knowledge, attitudes and personality, lifestyle. Other than that they also will consider on the price, and quality of the product. Purchase and Consumption, is the stage when the consumers have decided the ideal product or services for them and after that they consume the product or services. Post-Consumption Evaluation, the stage when the consumers have experience the product or services and they will sense whether they are satisfied or not satisfied. They will feel satisfied when the performance of the products or services are matched by the precieved performance, when the performance fall below the precieve performance there will be dissatisfaction. Those the stages above are might be went through by the individual or couples decision making process in general. During the decision making process there will be a negotiation between the husband and wife. The stages before the purchasing stage, couples will affected by push and pull factors which is come from the internal and external. (Blackwell, Miniard and Mason, 2001) 2.3.2 The Choice-sets Model Research on individuals decision making process is explained by applying the choice-sets model. There are three stages in individual choice-sets model. The final decision made by the individual is the result of consecutive process of reducing some alternatives in the consideration from large number in the early consideration set to just a few in the late consideration set. The process from the early consideration set to the late consideration set is affected by the push and pull factors. After that the situational inhibitors also influence the individual from late consideration set to the final decision. According to Jang, et al. (2006) couples and family are the substantial objects in analyzing decision making in the existing choice-sets model. In family decision making process, there are many individuals different preferences involve for the final decision. The choice-sets selection process of an individual is different from couples choice-set process in several way. First, there are two people are involved in the decision making process. Each partner brings their own preferences regarding the possible choices. Second, it is possible for conflict to be occurred because of the differences of idea and perceptions regarding the alternatives. Therefore there will be a discussion among them to find out which is the best option match for them. Third, couples will formulate ones own early consideration set, based on elements of their own preferences and their partners preferences that already mutually identified through discussion. Thus, the couple choice-sets model consist of four stages , while individual choice-sets model consist of three stages, from the early consideration set to the final choice. In addition, as explained by the individual choice-sets model, the relevant process is also competent in the couples choice-sets model in choosing honeymoon hotel. The number of hotel alternatives under each individuals consideration will be lessening at each stage, before the final decision is made. The choice-sets model below is adopted from Jang, et al. (2006) study and will be used as a reference on the following literature review. Comparing the individual destination choice-sets model to a destination choice-sets model for couples 2.3.3. Couples Decision Making within the Household The way of couple decision making is also found in a household. It is interesting to observe a relationship between household decisions making with its consuming behavior. A research on entire consumption and saving behavior can be as an example to be combined with the findings on household decision making (Ferber, 1973). Beside that the other simple example to be observed in household decision making is about economic. Every household must have put economy as their main primary concern. In traditional families, the role of householder is hold by the husband. Therefore logically all the decision within the household is decided by the husband respectively. Based on the data collection from Davis (1976), it has been proved that the decision making in the household are mostly done by the husband. He has a significant influence in the household consumption for frequently purchased on goods and services and for durable. Most of the time the husband gives his suggestion and his preferences for something and the wife is the one who purchase and spent the money for purchases of goods such as beer, liquor, shaving cream, and others. Same goes to the decision making for contraceptive usage. The husband has the important role and greater influence to the final decision (Davis, 1976; Bankole and Singh, 1998). In families today, there is more negotiation between husbands and wives occur in consumer decision making. The increasing number of career woman create the increasing number of dual-income family that leads to the influence of women have on consumer decision making (Razzouk, et al., 2007). The presence of women in the workforce today makes the women no longer seen as just homemakers and men as just breadwinner. As mentioned by Qualls (1987, pp.269) husband and wife established their own position and preferences as individual, through discussion, individual preferences evolve into joint decisions. Therefore there are some household decision making which is done by joint decision making which means that there is a corporation between the husband and wife in making decision. The simple example can be found in making decision on purchasing durable goods which is jointly consumed such as buying cars, home, villa, and many more (Davis, 1976). It is not an easy thing to make a decision by two people. Sometimes there are some different desires or preferences on each of them. Even though they make decision together, actually they still have a different tendency for each aspect to decide. For example like husband will be more on deciding the price differences, whether the price worth it or not for some items to buy and wife will be more on how many items to buy, how the design, etc. (Bernhardt, 1974 in Davis, 1976). In other words, husband tends to have a control in all decision which is taking a consideration of functional attributes, and wife would be considering on aesthetic aspect or beauty. Overall, the decision making within the household depends on the decision made by the spouse and also depends on what thing to decide. Sometimes husband has a significant influence in making a decision, and sometimes wife the one who taking a control in decision making, or sometimes both husband and wife put their idea and making a decision together, joint decision making. And how about couples decision in choosing honeymoon hotel? Is that would be the same situation with the decision making on regular consuming behavior within the household or not. Based on the notion explained, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis A1. There is a joint decision making between husband and wife in choosing honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis A2. There is a different area on making decision between husband and wife in choosing honeymoon hotel. 2.3.4. Gender Differences towards Travel Behavior There had been several studies conducted in the area of tourism and gender. It covers the role of women in tourism decision within the family. The various result gained depends on the difference roles among the family members, etc. (Fraj-Andres, 2010). Gender roles vary across cultures. There are behavioral differences between men and women that reflect the culturally determined differing roles of men and women. In some cultures, the traditional values point out the need for women to stay at home and take care of children. Women depend on men as breadwinners and womens responsibility is to take care of a family and home (Jackson Henderson, 1995). Nichols and Snepenger (1988) compared men and womens travel patterns and found that women preferred shorter trips, having fewer sports activities on their journeys and spending less money. Other than that women prefer on cultural and educational experiences when travelling, and men looked for action and adventure (McArthur ,1999). The other previous research result found that, in the choice of a hotel, expectations varied according to gender. Additionally, some demographic variables such as educational level, income level, have been useful for explaining the tourist behavior (Kastenholz et al., 2005) Based on the notion explained, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis A3. Each husband and wife has different preferences towards honeymoon hotel in the early consideration set. 2.3.4. Influence in Family Decision Making In family decision making process is often dynamic and complicated. Suggested by Jang, et al. (2006) in family decision making, individuals different preferences plays an important role deciding the final decision. These different preferences can result from the differences objective and differences perception towards the relevant topic discussed. There are might be some disagreements created in the decision making process. However, those disagreements may indicate an attempt to accommodate and resolve the problem, so that the joint decision could be made (Spiro, 1983). As mentioned by Strodtbeck (1951) in Spiro (1983), he tried to measure the power or influence of the husband and wife in the decision making. He observe the interaction between husband and wife in resolving the differences in the decision making process. There many influence strategy that might be used to make joint decision making. Spiro (1983) emphasize on six influence strategy that can be used to determine the type of influence strategy which is commonly use by couples to have a joint decision making. The result of his study was explained that there are many types of influencer strategies used by husbands and wives in attempting to resolve the differences of opinion or preferences. And some of the strategies that focus on this research are: Expert influence refers to the influence that a spouse has specific information concerning the various alternatives. She or he can try to convince the other that she or he is more knowledgeable concerning the product by giving the detailed information under the consideration. Legitimate influence reflects from one spouses attempt to shared the values concerning their role upon others feelings. The spouse is influenced by the shared belief that she or he should make the decision. For example husband is the man of the house, therefore he should make some particular decision. Individuals may use many different combination of influence strategy simultaneously during their attempt to persuade one another in discussion to reach the modification consideration set. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis A4. Husband has greater influence in making decision for modification consideration set Hypothesis A5. Wife has greater influence in the in making decision for modification consideration set 2.3.5. Conflict in Couples Decision Making Process Not only couples but also all the consumer will have a consideration and negotiation when they want to make a decision. The simple practice is how consumer selecting a product such as normal product, house, or travel destination. An individual will likely to interact with others during the decision making process and it will affect the final decision. In a couple, the husband and wife will discuss on the matters that they want to decide and undeniable that each of them should change their preference to the other alternative to reach the final decision and they will share their opinions on the desirable alternatives since they individually have different preferences (Spiro, 1983 in Jang, et al., 2007). There is a possibility that conflict might happened within the couple decision making process. Conflicts may be happened because the impact of gender role orientation reflects the atitude of the spouses toward roles played by husbands and wives (Qualls, 1987) or primarily due to the difference of perception on objectives (Frikha, 2010). However, couples will have a discussion, negotiation, to seek an agreement to the final decision. Hypothesis A5. Conflicts occur during the discussion due to the different preferences. 2.4. Push-Pull Factors Affected the Decision Making Process In decision making process, there are many variables that could affect the consumers to reach the final decision. As mention in the concept of couples choice-sets model, the final decision is made by passing through several stages which are early consideration set, modified early consideration set or discussion, late consideration set to the final decision. As suggested by Crompton and Kim (1999) in Jang, et al. (2006) those continuous processes are affected by push factors and pull factors. 2.4.1. Push Factors In making decision, consumers generally have some internal factor that will affect them in the process to find the ideal final decision. The internal factor which is the push factor, the needs and wants of traveler, are the reason of why traveler wants to get out from their home or regular place. Moreover, push factors also concern to the desire to travel (Dann, 1977 in Decrop 2006) and predispose consumer to travel. Asserted by Decrop (2006) push factors develop travelers internally causing them looking for something, situation, and events. To make it easier, push factor is a foundation of motivations (Kent,1990 in Decrop, 2006). While there are many study on attitudes, images, perceptions and learning committed on the understanding on travelers behavior, motivation seems to be liable for describing much of the consumers tourism consumption behavior (Sirakaya, et al., 2003). Another suggestion said that motivation is a driving behind the consumers consumptions behavior, therefore motivated consumers try to fulfill their needs by acting on physiology and psychology. In previous research on tourism, the researcher was emphasized on the motivation-based because it could gives idea and comprehension for the marketers in developing and promoting the tourist attraction. Without an understanding on the consumers motivation, the marketers will not be able to generate efficient tourism marketing (Fodness, 1994) and will allow researchers to have a better explain on future travel pattern and behavior (Uysal and Hagan, 1993). Iso-Ahola (1982) also pointed out that motivation is one of the crucial elements of leisure tra veler. Exploring the leisure travelers motive that affected the choice of destinations or alternatives, Crompton (1979) mentioned that variability of consumers social, cultural and psychological needs could be the main motivation for travel. He also analytically mentioned seven motives as push factors for travel which are escape from the day to day environment, exploration and evaluation of self, relaxing, prestige, regression, enhancement of kinship relationship, and facilitation of social interaction. Escape from the day to day environment, refers to the situation where the physically and socially different from the normal lives environment. Exploration and evaluation of self, motivations which travelers will get from the changes into new surroundings by physically and socially that could not be achieved by staying in their own environment. Relaxing, referred to a mental relaxation rather than physical relaxation. Prestige, it is a motive when travelers have a frequent travel, for them it is perceived to be less prestige. Regression, motive when consumers respond that leisure vacation provides a chance to do things extraordinary, different from their usual life. Enhancement of kinship relationship refers to a perceived value of leisure travel as a medium to enrich the relationship. Facilitation of social interaction, when the travelers bring motive to meet new people, therefore the travel will be people oriented rather than place oriented. According to the description above, those motives also applicable on couples in choosing honeymoon hotel. Therefore, based on this concept, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis B1. There is a motive of escape from the day to day environment when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B2. There is a motive of exploration and evaluation of self when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B3. There is a motive of relaxing when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B4. There is a motive of prestige when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B5. There is a motive of regression when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B6. There is a motive of enhancement of kinship when couples choose honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis B7. There is a motive of facilitation of social interaction when couples choose honeymoon hotel. 2.4.2. Pull Factors Not only push factors that affecting consumer in making decision but also the pull factors. Pull factor is an external factor which created by the information of the goal objective, tourist holds and products attraction power (Gnoth, 1997 in Decrop, 2006). Different from the push factor which concern to the desire of travel, Dann (1977) explained that pull factor concern on the destination choice and attributes, that attracts traveler to a given hotel or destination and whose value is visible to stay on the object of travel. Furthermore, pull factors are those that appears as a result of attractiveness of a travel attributes. There are a lot of pull factors which affect traveler on the hotel selection process for travel which are novelty (Crompton, 1979), heritage/culture, entertainment, nature, rural (Uysal and Jurowski, 1994), facilities, easy accessibility (Kim et al., 2003), safety (Bogari et al., 2003) and so on. 2.4.2.1. Hotel Attributes as Pull Factors Nowadays there are many tourist destination spread out over countries. Tourism industry has become increasingly growing and a highly competitive market. In the hotel environment, where competition dominates, hoteliers must study the strengths and weaknesses of the product or service they provide and accurately define their importance and performance. Many choices of product and services attract tourist differently in each destination. However, each tourist has their freedom to choose amongst a set of destination according to their motivation, preference and attitude to determine a destination to be selected. According to Kozak (1999), tourist mentally categorize destination into three categories. First is consideration, where all destination that consumer is aware and likely to visit. Second is inert, where all destination that consumer is aware but no decision is made to visit in a specific period. Third is inept, refer to destination that consumer is aware of but has no intention to visit in a specific time. Various type of consumer profile such as level of age, income, occupation and personality significantly affect the choice to vacation and select the destination. In choosing destination for vacation, there several factors attract consumer externally. Regarding the hotel industry, Chu and Choi (2000) mentioned that room rates have been considered as the main factor that increases the cost for a trip. Other than that, price also affects consumers motivation to travel. The price for a destination becomes one of main attributes for motivation to travel. And usually price directly affected by the exchange rates (Kozak, 1999). Some tourists are preferred to travel to a destination that has a lower value than their own currency (Witt and Martin, 1987 in Kozak, 1999). The positive or negative variance of exchange rate of a country or destination may lead to the increase or decrease in the level of tourist product or services prices. Following by facility and services are the major thing that consumer meet during the vacation. An adequate and qualified of both facility and services in a particular destination will affect consumer to revisit the destination itself (Kozak, 1999). The services and facilities offered by a hotel or are those features of products or services that lead consumers to choose one product over others (Lewis, 1983 in Chu and Choi, 2000). The previous study have shown that tourists satisfaction with hotel properties, including services, facilities and price, seems to be one of the factors that could bring the hotel successful and create many patronages or loyal customers (Stevens, 1992 in Chu and Choi, 2000). Safety and security also becomes an important thing to be considered in choosing destination for vacation. Making tourist feel secure will become the plus point for the destination itself to be selected (Kozak,1999). Consumer will prefer to go to a place that has a lower rate of crime and high in safety and security matters. Hotel image also one of the factors that influence the consumers choice. LeBlanc and Nguyen (1996) mentioned the five hotel factors that may determine a hotels image to travelers. These five factors are physical environment, corporate identity, service personnel, quality of services and accessibility. Moreover, it is found that that cleanliness of the accommodation, followed by safety and security, accommodation value for money, courtesy and helpfulness of staff were identified as top attributes for travelers in hotel choice selection (Atkinson, 1988 in Chu and Choi, 2000). The previous study shows that There are a lot of studies have attempted to analyze customer satisfaction in terms of both expectations that relate to certain important attributes and value of the attribute performance (Chu and Choi, 2000). According to Barsky (1992) the terms importance is accepted by customers as satisfaction. When a customer perceives an attribute as important, the customer will believe that the attribute will play an important role in influencing his or her choice (MacKenzie, 1986 in Chu and Choi, 2000). Those attributes will influence consumers purchase intention and as a comparison from competitors providing. A comprehensive review of the literature for the hospitality industry suggests that attributes such as cleanliness, location, room rate, security, service quality, and the reputation of the hotel have been considered by most tourists in hotel choice decision. Those factors above are some of the pull factors that may be taken as consideration by consumer in choosing destination for vacation. However, there are many factors to be considered which may be affected couples in honeymoon hotel and no doubt those factors above are possible as well become the factors that affected their decision making. Based on the description above the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis C1. Hotel attributes which falls under facilities and services are influencing couples late consideration set in choosing honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis C2. Hotel attributes which is room rates are influencing couples late consideration set in choosing honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis C3. Hotel attributes which is falls under safety and security are influencing couples late consideration set in choosing honeymoon hotel. Hypothesis C4. Hotel attributes which is falls under hotel image are influencing couples late consideration set in choosing honeymoon hotel. 2.4.2.2. Advertising In todays globalization, marketing aspect has become an aspect which is keeps growing follow the world trends. Business to consumer e-commerce is fast replacing the traditional way of marketing. The electronic commerce is slowly changing the way businesses operating. The spread of web facility and the acceptance of the internet have requested businesses to establish internet website to maintain the relationship with customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders. The development of the internet has been a major event in the hospitality industry and it will gradually revolutioniz