The Death Of The United States - 900 Words

Ring around the rosy a pocket full of posies begins playing the dancing death song round and round inside my head every time I look back at my life. When the news of the plague began hitting other towns around me that is when I became frightened that my city was being quickly destroyed. I started pleading my husband to not leave the house but he called me insane his words were who else would bring the money to the table. He never was a good listener and it was when my husband passed away that I realized death is unavoidable. People began to question God whether he is with us or not. Chaos broke out in the towns, cities and finally the whole entire European country quickly started dying off. People began turning on the church and government for not having the medicine we need nor the love from God. As I buried my husband and looked down my street I saw people grieving, coughing, sores all over there bodies and purple-blue spots covering their arms. Mothers crying for help with their dead children hanging out of their arms, fathers dying off to quickly, and the worst part was knowing all your loved ones would drop eventually to the dancing death. I promised my self I will be strong enough and made a choice to stay inside my home to survive. I used to walk down to people laughing and kids playing. I would have conversations with my friends that I have known my whole life. Now I m scared to walk down the road, in fact I m scared to walk outside of my home. When IShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of The United States998 Words   |  4 Pagessix months to live. Imagine further, if you will, that to the best of available medical knowledge, your death will be painful and traumatic; dementia, loss of sight or hearing, and loss of bodily functions. Would you want the people you love to witness this if it caused them greater anguish? Would you want your life to end this way if you had an alternative? I believe that in the United States, all terminally ill adults who are me ntally competent should have the freedom to die with dignity the wayRead MoreThe Death Of The United States1516 Words   |  7 Pages He states that he believes the Islamic Republic will face sever external pressure and influence if he dies and a successor is not named beforehand. He request that a successor is named prior to his death, so that he can advise the successor while he is still living. He insists this necessary action prevents the Islamic Republic from facing the same situation occurring after the death of Supreme Leader Khomeini. The Assembly of Experts leaders agree with Supreme Leader Khamenei and state theyRead MoreThe Death Of The United States1216 Words   |  5 Pages Kent State University, located in Ohio, faced a tragic event on May 4th, 1970. On this day members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of students ultimately killing four and severely wounding 9. (Lewis, Hensley) This massacre stunned the country. The various reactions to these students’ deaths came in a widely range throughout the country. Many citizens sparked a voice of belief against these actions and made a significant impact on the aftermath. Neil Young produced a highly acclaimedRead MoreThe Deaths Of The United States2639 Words   |  11 PagesAccording to recent data, suicide is in on the top ten causes of death in the United States. As the staggering number of suicides increases to over 36,000 a year, and more than a 100 each day. (O’Neil 1) When looking at the data for military veterans, the numbers are even more alarming, as the increasing number, is caused for a national concern. In the past decade the demographics for veterans that committed su icide was predominantly was white male and in the age range of 18 years to 25 years oldRead MoreThe Death Of The United States1264 Words   |  6 Pagesa group of angry worker friends still carrying their picks and shovels. The angry mob gathered in front of the hospital and blocked off any exits to barricade the students and doctors inside. (Headley) With the minds of the people in this agitated state, they burst open the doors of the hospital, destroyed a valuable collection of anatomical specimens, and medical supplies. A few students and a doctor hid themselves, but were found and would have suffered the wrath of the mob if the civil officersRead MoreThe Death Of The United States874 Words   |  4 Pagesacceptable for a man to disrespect her and disown her children because her dad never taught her how a lady should be treated. To sum it up, a child’s primary relationship with his/her dad can have an affect on all of the child’s relationships from birth to death, this includes relationships with friends, family, and lovers. Those exact patterns of interaction with the father are the very patterns that will be interpreted into all relationships. Third of all, a father is well-needed in his children’s livesRead MoreThe Death Of The United States994 Words   |  4 PagesThere was a strong pungent of disinfectants and rubbing alcohol as she was rushed into the lobby. Crying out her last breath to express her agonizing pain as she lied down on the cold gurney. The nurses in a light blue uniform quickly arrived as several doctors in long white gowns rushed to the scene. Her mother was by her side, holding her hands as tight as she could, as the nurses pushed the agitating gurney towards the automatic doors. Soon her visions blurred and as the world turned into a tintRead MoreThe Death Of The United States933 Words   |  4 PagesPresident Wilson reversed his position and announced his support for a suffrage amendment, calling it a â€Å"war measure† (Myers). By 1919, the House and the Senate approved of the 19th Amendment and only needed the state ratification to finalize the process. About three-fourths of the states were needed to ratify the new amendment. The battle for ratification came down to Tennessee in 1920. The deciding vote was casted by twenty-four year-old Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee assemblyRead MoreThe Death Of The United States Essay1332 Words   |  6 PagesWhy would the residents of the United States vote to allow a killer to legally roam the streets? Why would the people of this great nation allow another poison to be offered to the general public? The past of the U.S. has not served it well in deciding the fate of the future of its generations. There are already two killers running rampant on the streets of this great nation. Tobacco and alcohol kill millions of people each year. They destroy the lives of families by spreading cancer, alcoholismRead MoreThe Death Of The United States Essay740 Words   |  3 Pages Her disappointment from not receiving the anticipated call from John had slowly morphed into anger overnight. Lacking sleep and an outlet for her anger, she rowed with her mother twice in the thirtyish minutes that their paths crossed while Rose dragged feet in getting ready for work that morning. She fumed over the arguments with her mother on the way to work planning comebacks to continue the disagreements later. She strode into the pharmacy wearing a dark upon her face. --------------- Rose

Smoking Should Be Made Illegal Free Essays

Kelvin Omogbeme CIGARETTE SMOKING SHOULD BE BANNED IN THE SAME WAY AS OTHER ILLEGAL DRUGS Tobacco is one of the most widely used drugs in the world, mainly in the form of a cigarette. Although most countries have tried to restrict the use of tobacco, people still smoke everyday despite the fact that it is poisonous and harmful to their health. Cigarette smoking has been part of our lives for many decades now. We will write a custom essay sample on Smoking Should Be Made Illegal or any similar topic only for you Order Now Whether cigarettes should be banned or not becomes an object of controversy for many countries. Smokers claim that smoking helps in reducing their stress and also it strengthens the economy. But the negative aspect of smoking outweighs the positive. Smoking is a bad habit, and it is not good for human health. Cigarette smoking has seriously negative effects and it should be banned completely because it is hazardous for smokers and non-smoker’s health, it costs a large amount of money, and also it tends to influence people around us. Firstly, smoking undoubtedly helps many people to relax. For some, it even improves concentration. Many people like to smoke before exams or when they are relaxing with friends. A further point is that governments throughout the whole world make huge profits from levying taxes on cigarettes. This provides funds which are used for building schools, hospitals and other public amenities. The tobacco industry also employs tens of thousands of people throughout the world, particularly in poorer countries. Without cigarettes, these people would have no jobs and they will be suffering. However, despite these points, the arguments against smoking are strong. Smoking has been shown to be hazardous to people’s health. Smokers are taking into their body large amount of toxic such as; nicotine, carbon monoxide, and ammonia daily. These chemicals are dangerous to our health. First of all, cigarettes contain 4000 chemicals in it, and 69 of them are known to cause cancer. Smoking too much causes first-hand smokers to get yellow teeth, swollen gum, skin disease, and bad fingernails. They are also known to get headaches, lung cancer and bad breath much more easily than nor-smokers do. Years ago, millions of people died of lung cancer because of smoking. It was a dreadful scene. Those families were sad and they went bankrupt because of the amount of money they spent on treating their loved ones illness, while they were sick in the hospital. Smoking can cause damage to the respiratory system and circulatory system. Furthermore, people who smoke get heart attacks and their kidneys no longer function properly. About 400 thousand Americans die each year, and 5. 4 million die globally from smoking related disease. The most common illness causing deaths are respiratory disease such as, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease like high blood pressure and heart attacks. From x-rays results, a smokers’ hearts is known to be much darker than a non-smokers heart. The most amazing part about a smoker is that he knows that it is terribly hazardous to him, yet he continues killing himself slowly. Cigarettes contain nicotine which is an addictive substance and that is why it is hard for smokers to stop smoking. Smokers are occasionally outside smoking, making the people beside him or her breathe in smoke too. These people are known as second-hand smokers or non-smokers. When second-hand smokers breathe in first-hand smoker’s smoke, they also get badly harmed by it. Cigarette does not just harm the people who smoke, they also harm the people who are near them and breathe the smoke. Non-smokers do not like to breathe polluted air; they feel annoyed when someone around them smokes. For instance, if you are trying to enjoy a meal in a restaurant, and you suddenly inhale the smoke from your neighbor; you will feel uncomfortable. Studies show that exposure to cigarette smoke for as little as thirty minutes a day can raise a non-smoker’s risk of suffering a heart attack. Children are being harmed by first-hand smokers and it is unfair. Children’s lives are being put at risk every day because people make the bad decision to smoke. When children breathe in cigarette smoke, they have an increased risk for childhood illnesses such as asthma and ear infections. It is also harmful to pregnant women and unborn children. If the health of a pregnant smoker is not enough for her to quit smoking, then the health of her baby should be. Smoking during pregnancy affects you and your baby’s health before, during, and after your baby is born. The nicotine (the addictive substance in cigarettes), carbon monoxide, and numerous other poisons you inhale from a cigarette are carried through your bloodstream and go directly to your baby. Another reason why smoking should be banned is because it helps to save money for better use. Many people who smoke cigarettes are not even aware of how much they spend on cigarettes every month. Depending on how much people smoke, it can run up to a couple of hundred dollars per month. People spend lots of money on buying cigarette. If people are not allowed to smoke, they gradually reduce the number of cigarette they smoke; thereby, saving lots of money. All the money they spend in buying cigarettes can be saved and used for something much more important and useful like paying off a loan or a saving for a child’s education. After all, we can better our society by educating the future generation to be financially sound and debt-free. Just try stopping smoking cigarette; you will be surprise how much amount of money will be saved. Finally, another reason why smoking should be banned is because smokers tend to influence people around them. For instance, when your son or daughter sees you smoking, he or she would become interested in trying it; thereby he or she may be addicted to it and that makes him or her become smoker. Same thing goes with a teenager, who just entered high school, and he sees his teacher smoking, or even at work when your colleagues see you smoking, he might be influenced too especially when the smoker gives it so much importance and glorifies it like it is the best thing to do. This definitely has an impact on the way a person thinks about smoking, and more often, leads people to begin smoking. As you can see, smoking causes a lot of problems in our society. The reasons why smoking should be banned is because it is dangerous for smoker’s health and non-smokers health, it helps to save a lot of money and it tends to influence other people around. What people don’t realize is that they have the power to control, and stop the terrible habit that affects them and millions of people across the globe. If smoking is banned, the food that smokers eat will begin to taste better, their sense of smell will return to normal and they will gradually be able to exercise or do normal chores such as taking out the trash without loss of breath and wheezing, their blood pressure becomes lower, the carbon monoxide level in their blood drops to normal, coughing and shortness of breath decrease and the lung cancer death rates will reduce and people will be able to save a lot of money. If smoking is banned, the environment would be a better, and a safer place to live for us and our future generations. Overall, I think the world would be a better place without cigarettes. I suggest the government take immediate action and stop the puff of smoke from coming out of a person’s mouth and make them happy and invincible from smoke! Therefore, cigarette smoking should be banned in the same way as other illegal drugs. REFERENCE Rachael Rettner. (2013, January, 25). Should cigarette smoking be illegal. Retrieved from http://www. foxnews. com/health/2013/01/25/should-cigarettes-be-illegal/ Andy Phan. (2011, July). Should Cigarette Smoking Be Banned. Retrieved from http://www. tudymode. com/essays/Should-Cigarette-Smoking-Be-Banned-707870. html Tom Head. (2009). Should cigarettes be made illegal. Retrieved from http://civilliberty. about. com/od/drugpolicy/i/cigarettes_ban_2. htm S Chapman, R Borland, M Scollo, R C Brownson, A Dominello, and S Woodward. (1999, July). The impact of smoke-free workplaces on declining cigarette consumption in Australia and the United States. American Jour nal of Public Health July 1999: Vol. 89, No. 7, pp. 1018-1023. Retrieved from http://ajph. aphapublications. org/doi/abs/10. 2105/AJPH. 89. 7. 1018 How to cite Smoking Should Be Made Illegal, Papers

Carolines Real Bread Company SWOT Analysis free essay sample

Caroline’s Real Bread Company are a small village bakery who produce and sell a variety of niche breads to cater for specific needs. Emphasis is placed on high-quality, fresh organic products. Their products are sold through their website, farmers markets, food festivals and other outlets. They also provide bread for specialist restaurants and cafe’s. This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current state of the grocery market, and provides recommendations on the possible actions that should be undertaken for Caroline’s Real Bread Company to expend and take advantage of the current state of the industry. Methods of analysis used in this report include PEST analysis which analyses the external factors effecting companies operating within the grocery market, and SWOT analysis which is a method used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a company, and the opportunities and threats that are currently presented to them. This research draws attention to the fact that grocery retailers have changed during the past few years in order to react to customer demand. As a result of technological advantages, the demand for convenience is increasing and all major supermarkets now sell their products online. Further research has shown that the market size for fresh organic bread is increasing, and is forecasted to increase even further in the future. The growth of the market size of their products can be attributed to two things. The increase in health awareness amongst consumers who are slowly becoming more conscious of the foods they eat due to a growth in political campaigns alongside new food labelling laws, and the increase in demand for gluten free bread as a result of a steady increase in the amount of gluten intolerant people in the UK. The store competes in an expanding, competitive niche market. It has steadily grown whilst staying true to the ideologies behind it, resulting in Caroline and her company winning many awards. We recommend that the next step that Caroline’s should take is to expand their production capacity in order to take advantage of their distribution channels already in place. They should also refrain from distributing to large supermarkets who do not share their beliefs in order to keep their unique selling point and maintain their current customer base. Instead, they should aim to increase online orders through increased marketing and promotions. We suggest they should get involved in social media in order to increase awareness of their wide variety of products, and to generate more traffic to their website. Due to their limited budget, Caroline’s Real Bread Company should directly target those with special dietary needs as the niche is expanding and these are the customers most likely to buy their products. This could bring opportunities for them to increase their number of deliveries across the UK. The report also investigates the fact that the research conducted has some limitations. Some of the limitations include the fact that secondary data has been used, and that our recommendations assume that the state of the UK economy will not severely worsen in the near future. 2. Introduction and Aims Caroline’s Real Bread Company is a small bakery in Mid/South Wales since 1992. It has two partners Nigel Devlin and Caroline Frampton. Caroline is the baker and Nigel does the accounts. Their products are sold through farmer’s markets, food festivals, local organic box schemes and other outlets. It also supplies restaurants specialist cafes, outside caterers and one off events. Caroline won the Gold Welsh True Taste Awards in 2005 after expanding her business. They offer over 30 varieties of bread which are wheat-free and yeast free. In recent years they have been trying to expand themselves through technology, through online orders which can be collected from in-store or delivered (Carolinesbreadcompany, 2013). The aims of this report are to outline the Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that impact the Grocery Market Environment. The Product specific market will be explored through a SWOT analysis. The report will highlight the recommendations to Caroline concerning her company and its current position in the market. 3. The Grocery Market 3. 1 Political The government launched an advertising campaign in early 2013 to promote healthier eating habits in the UK (BBC 2013). The main aim of this campaign is to increase the awareness of â€Å"hidden nasties† such as fat and sugar in popular foods. This campaign is the latest in a long line of government aided movements in order to increase health awareness in the UK, some examples of others being change4life and 5 A Day. This latest movement shows that healthy eating is high on the agenda of the current government. The government are under pressure to introduce new legislation to reduce the salt content in foods. The coalition is currently working with the industry, through the ‘Responsibility Deal’, to improve food content and labelling (Department of Health, 2013); however they are being challenged by labour to scrap this voluntary approach and to introduce tougher regulation and legislation in fighting foods high in fat, salt and sugar. One proposition includes a 30% cap on sugar content in cereals aimed at children. The on-going debates and propositions are increasing public awareness of healthy eating habits which benefit specialist local producers such as Caroline’s Real Bread Company. According to new government rules, the UK’s food industry will be required to include clearer information regarding the ingredients on product packaging from summer 2013 (FSA 2013). The new arrangement is front of pack labelling that combines the food content with the guideline daily amounts, showing consumers the percentage of their daily allowance that they will be consuming with the product. As a result of this, suppliers of foods high in salt, sugar or fat may need to rethink their production process or risk losing customers. This change, combined with the growing healthy eating awareness of the UK will again benefit companies who are producing organic foods with natural ingredients. 3. 2 Economic An increase in interest rates has led to less disposable income which may change their shopping pattern from buying luxury goods to necessities, thus restricting the growth of a company like Caroline’s (Times, 2013) (Keynote, 2012, p. 13). Additionally, a rise in inflation would increase the price of any grocery product, resulting in lack of growth in the overall market (Gurdian, 2012). Adverse weather conditions in Europe had a negative effect on wheat supplies, thus increasing the cost of wheat (Keynote, 2012, p. 11) (Julia Glotz, 2011). Retailers can either let their profits decrease, or raise their prices and risk losing customers, to combat this rise (Keynote, 2012, p. 33). The price of flour has also risen, by ? 75/tonne (Gyton, 2012). In recession, most companies face decreased revenue. As this particular business is more focused on providing good quality products, they charge more than supermarkets would, again resulting in a change in consumer spending habits. It has been noted (Keynote, 2012, p. 16) that people are spending over 30% more on bread but this is solely due to the rising price of bread – consumption is in decline. Corporate taxation has fallen; this provides businesses with a better financial environment in which to expand (PwC, 2011). 3. 3 Social Due to the worsening economy, consumers have increasingly attempted to recreate the restaurant experience in their own homes; thus the sales of speciality breads have increased (Keynote, 2012, p. 10). The market share for specialist breads is currently roughly 30% and it is thought that these breads are acting as replacements for the more expensive premium breads (Keynote, 2012, p. 25). Foreign breads have also increased in popularity, creating a niche (Keynote, 2012, p. 32) which could save craft bakeries that are now at risk due to the growth of the supermarket in-store alternatives (Keynote, 2012, p. 33). White bread sales are beginning to decline as consumers become increasingly health-conscious (Keynote, 2012, p. 32) and switch to brown, wholemeal, and ‘best-of-both’ type breads. These, and foreign breads, are more expensive than conventional loaves leaving retailers with the potential for greater profits. It is expected that part-baked white breads will keep white bread sales from dropping too severely (Keynote, 2012, p. 41). There are three major bakers, Warbutons covers a range of qualities while Associated British Foods and British Bakeries both have a high and a low end bread product (Mother’s Pride, Hovis and Sunblest, Kingsmill respectively). The low end products are targeting people who shop for everyday value. The premium loaves are often purchased by those looking for quality rather than value. Warburtons is the most direct competitor for small village bakeries due to the broadness of budgets it caters for and the range of qualities it produces. Small village bakers tend to hold monopolies as the villages for which they cater are often remote and without other stores. Caroline’s Real Bread Company is located in Merthyr Cynog, a village six miles from the nearest town (Brecon) and stores (Google, 2013). It is over four miles from the village to the nearest bus stop from which there is a mere thrice-daily service (Sirgarfyrddin. gov. uk, 2013), so the village is isolated and the baker has a monopoly. 3. 4 Technological Businesses use ecommerce and social media such as Facebook and Twitter to reach a wider audience. This can be used for advertising and to collect feedback from the customer, for example: Tesco has made a Facebook page where they get connected with bigger audience where they post offers of their products and gain feedback from consumers. They are targeting a wider audience, separating themselves from the norms of company (Tesco, 2013). Development in technology also means the reduction in first hand skills. Skilled workers have been replaced by technology, improving efficiency and productivity. In 2011, British Food Plc was investing millions in upgrading its baking business by installing new equipments. Thus modernising its production pattern, improving efficiency and reducing production costs (Keynote, 2012). Premier Foods has increased automation and thus laid off workers to cut costs (Edwards, 2013) after their profits fell by 48% in 2012 (Edwards, 2013). Hovis used to have the concept of using only British wheat as their unique selling point, due to a plummet in profits they have had to abandon this and redesign their packaging, to survive (Edwards, 2013) showing how challenging the bakery sector is today. 4. Description of Product Specific Market The main competitors for Caroline’s Bread Company are supermarkets, bakeries and in-store bakeries. Bread retailers have faced increasing competition over the past few years due to new entrants in the market who believe they can make a profit. The main competitors are supermarkets and convenience stores who now have in-store bakeries making them a one-stop-shop. They can further their influence by having freshly baked products in their petrol stations, increasing convenience. Supermarkets will invest in their bakeries to provide a quick, easy and fitting shopping experience (SmartCompany, 2012) as a result revenue should rise. The increasing price of wheat and fluctuations in household income due to the economic crisis has caused demand and preferences to change, leading to consumers becoming more aware of the products they buy. The main consumers targeted are a small but expanding segment of the niche market. To combat the growth of competition, more innovative loaves and marketing campaigns are needed to increase brand awareness. Caroline offers courses that cement her brand ethic of fresh organic produce making consumers aware of the health benefits associated with eating wholegrain, rye and gluten free breads. Consumers who prefer quality produce, and are concerned with chemical additives, will benefit from Caroline’s speciality breads. By carefully geographically selecting her location and creating her brand to suit this, Caroline is maximising her brand exposure to the local market encouraging a loyal customer base. The main trend in the market that Caroline specialises in is the emphasis of healthy living. This enhances her opportunity to break into the catering market and supply her products to people for special occasions offered on her website. By displaying her products without packaging she adheres to the attractive product presentation that many customers desire with their organic purchases (SmartCompany, 2012). Consumers would find this appealing as there would be enough different varieties to appeal to various customers, which expands her segmentation and increases her client base. 4. 1 Strengths As a dietary staple and a cemented establishment, bread is a necessity. Caroline’s business is versatile and consumer-centric. Her company suffered losses due to under developed management skills (Guardian, 2006) but the company soon recovered and studied business management elements to become a recognised bread company. Caroline’s company has taken product innovation and expanded this to their benefit. To avoid high salt levels she ensures only organic ingredients are used, keeping salt to a minimum (Caroline’s real bread company, 2013) as 80% of UK bread is processed (LoveFood. com, 2013). Alongside organic, the company specialises in making rye and soda breads as well as gluten free and yeast free products in order to cater to precise dietary needs. These can be delivered freshly door to door via the delivery service. The company also supplies local restaurants and caterers with various breads (Caroline’s real bread company,2013). This efficiency, versatility and product care linked with their customers specific detailing alongside their expanding availability of products enlarges their segment of the bread market from local people to people that may live further away as well as those that may not have considered the purchase of organic foods before but would now as they can buy into the ideals behind organic foods. 4. 2 Weaknesses With the bread market being dominated by branded products such as ‘Hovis’ and ‘Kingsmill’, it is difficult for a business so small to penetrate this market. Many consumers are unwilling to pay extra for organic bread. Competition between craft bakeries, such as Caroline’s, and supermarkets is fierce and harsh to penetrate due to the brand association and prices (Keynote, 2012). Due to the entrenched ideological beliefs that are indoctrinated into Caroline’s real bread company, the company is restricted to a small segment of the bread market. Caroline’s is restricted to those who believe in the organic wellbeing and are willing to pay extra for it. The company produces their bread so that it can be frozen for individuals who purchase in bulk (Caroline’s real bread company, 2013) to avoid waste, however this was not their intention for the businesses they were supplying. Nigel reports â€Å"we started supplying a local specialist food shop; selling the bread at just over cost price it later turned out that the shop was freezing the bread, undermining the whole premise of the bread company† (Guardian, 2006) in turn losing a customer and revenue as an effect. Due to their target market being so limited, their market segmentation is smaller than other brands that produce and promote to all customer types. A downside to bread is the shelf life is short for mass produced bread, and even shorter for freshly baked bread, resulting in 1 million loaves of bread being thrown away (Keynote, 2012). This becomes a further disadvantage for a small business such as Caroline’s real bread company. 4. 3 Opportunities There has been an increasing demand for healthier bread and bakery products in the UK economy due to healthy living becoming a more significant factor in people’s everyday lives. Larger bread companies will already be aware of this and will have targeted products towards this; however Caroline’s company is unique in that all products are completely healthy and have already targeted their products. This company has exclusive principles unlike larger suppliers (eg Hovis) who use bulking agents to increase the shelf life of their products, and are completely against using anything that isn’t natural or fresh. On their website it says ‘our business ­ is about producing products that meet the needs of those small but growing numbers of customers who demand only the finest quality food’ (carolinesrealbreadcompany. co. uk) which shows that the quality of their products is more important than quantity. This is a perfect opportunity for Caroline’s bread company to expand and grow due to the higher demand in the products that they already offer. As there is already an increasing demand for healthier bread products, there are also an increasing number of consumers who are adopting a gluten-free diet which is pushing up the demand for these products. Caroline’s offers over 30 different varieties of bread and already offer wheat-free bread so this is another opportunity for them to break into a new market and expand their customer base. They already offer gluten free and yeast free products so it wouldn’t cost them anything more to produce these products, it would just benefit their company due to a higher demand. 4. 4 Threats The increasing niche for freshly baked produce has created further competition by supermarkets against craft bakeries matching quality for less. Consumer perceptions are stimulated through the sensory system of smell. This could result in a change of brand loyalty once people realise that freshly made products could be purchased in similar quantities for less money. Although the ‘Real Bread Campaign’ has disclosed that only Marks and Spencer out of all big supermarkets actually make their bread from scratch and even then not all of it is freshly made from scratch. These companies use the sensory perception to lure in customers from independent bakeries (LoveFood. com, 2013). According to ‘Keynote’, craft businesses are dying out in favour of in-store bakeries (Keynote, 2012) due to their parallel innovation of fresh products. Part-baked and specialised breads, e. g. half and half, dietary, brown, are now being produced by Tesco (Tesco, 2013) and other supermarkets. ‘Food prices are expected to rise after the second wettest summer on record’ (Guardian) which has resulted in a poor harvest leading to an increasing price of grain hence an increase in food prices. The National Farmers Union (NFU) reported that wheat yields in England are down by almost 15% which has added to already been rising prices caused by a heat wave in Russia that destroyed a large majority of their crops. Richard Dodd of the British Retail Consortium said: â€Å"The most recent figures are that wheat prices are up 29% compared with a year ago† (Guardian 2012). This is a major threat towards Caroline as this rise could result in a fall in profits as it would cost more for them to purchase their supplies. As a small company there will be more of an impact than larger bread companies. However, even ‘Hovis’ (premier foods) are struggling to sell their breads and they are known as the best-selling bread brand (the mirror 2012). They ‘struggled with soaring costs and cut-throat competition’ resulting in them losing its co-op contract to their rival company allied bakeries. 5. Recommendations and Conclusion Our recommendations for ‘Caroline’s Real Bread Company’ are that they should continue to distribute to the grocery market but not to large supermarkets as they do not share her ideological beliefs. As they have enough vans to distribute the products, we recommend that they should expand their production space so they are able to produce more products and try to distribute to places further across the country to establish their brand and attract more customers. In terms of their products there is an increasing demand for speciality breads which supermarkets do not sell many varieties of, so Caroline should see this as a product innovation and her bakery should focus on expanding into this market more. People are now more conscious of healthy lifestyles so we recommend that they should continue to focus on organic, dietary, gluten-free and wheat-free breads to continue to appeal to this expanding niche market. The target consumers for Caroline’s Real Bread Company should continue to be those who favour organic products over products that are not. Her beliefs on organic foods are the foundation of her business ideology and therefore this is unlikely to change. By targeting more directly those with dietary needs, such as gluten and wheat free products as these consumers already pay higher prices in supermarkets than other customers, therefore they may wish to look into Caroline’s company if she promotes these product more vigorously. Promotion can also be carried out by encouraging brand switching, existing consumers to purchase more, raising awareness of the brand and attracting new customers to her brand by trialling new products. This can be carried out by implementing multi-buys and incentives for example free vouchers and gifts. These can be promoted via online social media networks, for example Facebook, Twitter and other forms they will be able to make consumers aware of their brand and ideologies so that they can expand their customer base further. By doing this it can bring opportunities for the company to expand their delivery services to larger regions of the UK. 6. Limitations The majority of the data used was online secondary data. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of information obtained. The report evaluates long term performance; looking so far ahead, economic conditions could change affecting the PEST analysis. For instance, our economic condition could for now be described as recovering from a double-dip recession, so in the near future the economy might be at a better or worst stage of recovery and this would affect the company’s target market. The bread market is constantly evolving and is susceptible to massive changes as a result of crop failures, adverse weather conditions, or the general economic climate. While it was argued that people who no longer go to restaurants due to the cost may now be buying more specialist and foreign breads to compromise, it must be noted that the breads in the restaurant were purchased from somewhere, perhaps even from the same wholesale baker, so this may not affect overall bread sales. What is also worth noting is that Caroline’s Real Bread Company operates within a small isolated community and has a monopoly in the grocery market for that village. This means it most likely has a steady flow of repeat customers, though the company also provides a delivery service and supplies commercial clients. Therefore expansion in their wholesale/commercial supply operations might be more beneficial than the suggested expansion in consumer retail operations due to the limited customer base. Another issue is the approach of the company – Caroline’s Real Bread Company pride themselves on being independent and local, if the desired method of expansion was in any way to threaten these attributes then the expansion would be to the detriment of the company. What must also be noted along these lines is that the bread is currently handmade; the company should consider the ultimate savings of automation against the attraction of handmade bread. The former might lose former clients who chose the brand for their traditional bread, yet it might gain customers looking for more inexpensive bread by a local company.

Poverty Race Gender free essay sample

Examines relationship between race (black vs. white), gender (female-headed households) poverty rates. History since 1960, statistics, unemployment, earnings, welfare. This paper will discuss the disparity in poverty rates between blacks and whites, focusing upon the issue of female-headed households. Specifically, this paper will argue that the increase in female-headed households in the black community has not in itself contributed to increased rates of black poverty. Rather, this phenomenon is largely the result of increased poverty among young back men. The first part of the paper will examine the trends in poverty since 1959, looking at the poverty rates for the population overall and comparing the rates for blacks and whites. The second part of the paper will discuss the relationship between poverty and the increase in female-headed households, comparing the situation in the black community with that in the white community and arguing that poverty leads to more female

Free Essays on Gift Of Game

The Gift of Game By: SupraWill â€Å"Playboy isn't like the downscale, male bonding, beer-swilling phenomena that is being promoted now by (some men's magazines). My whole notion was the romantic connection between male and female†. Hugh Hefner Appearance Appearance is very important; you wouldn’t go to a business meeting in your pajamas. We’ll start out at you’re the males feet, If you decide to wear sandals make sure your toe nails are trimmed and the grime from your toenails is scraped out properly. Many men underestimate the eyes of a female, They notice everything. Light colored khaki shorts are a good idea with sandals. If your selection is shoes or boots, go with blue jeans. Loose fitting jeans are important, that is unless you’re a cowboy going to the saloon. If this is the case put this paper down now and walk away. Onto the rest of us dark loose fitting jeans with a pair of boots is a good idea. Make sure your jeans are loose enough to cover the top of the boot. Make sure your boots are clean ( not shiny though). Your jeans should be clean and ironed, never starched. A matching belt is also a good thing to remember, you can never go wrong with leather. Moving on up the selection of your shirt is also important. Basically the thing to remember here is not to express anything political or athletic by it. American Eagle has a great line of shirts that express nothing but their logo, which is just short of an advertisement. Avoid dark or flashy colors, your goal is to be approachable. Now then lets have a look at those things at the end of your arms you call hands. Are they clean ? Are your nails trimmed ? If you forget these to important elements you are telling the girl that you cant take care of yourself then she’ll think â€Å"If he cant take care of his-self how can he take care of me†? Once again moving on up, lets have a look at your head, have you brushed yo... Free Essays on Gift Of Game Free Essays on Gift Of Game The Gift of Game By: SupraWill â€Å"Playboy isn't like the downscale, male bonding, beer-swilling phenomena that is being promoted now by (some men's magazines). My whole notion was the romantic connection between male and female†. Hugh Hefner Appearance Appearance is very important; you wouldn’t go to a business meeting in your pajamas. We’ll start out at you’re the males feet, If you decide to wear sandals make sure your toe nails are trimmed and the grime from your toenails is scraped out properly. Many men underestimate the eyes of a female, They notice everything. Light colored khaki shorts are a good idea with sandals. If your selection is shoes or boots, go with blue jeans. Loose fitting jeans are important, that is unless you’re a cowboy going to the saloon. If this is the case put this paper down now and walk away. Onto the rest of us dark loose fitting jeans with a pair of boots is a good idea. Make sure your jeans are loose enough to cover the top of the boot. Make sure your boots are clean ( not shiny though). Your jeans should be clean and ironed, never starched. A matching belt is also a good thing to remember, you can never go wrong with leather. Moving on up the selection of your shirt is also important. Basically the thing to remember here is not to express anything political or athletic by it. American Eagle has a great line of shirts that express nothing but their logo, which is just short of an advertisement. Avoid dark or flashy colors, your goal is to be approachable. Now then lets have a look at those things at the end of your arms you call hands. Are they clean ? Are your nails trimmed ? If you forget these to important elements you are telling the girl that you cant take care of yourself then she’ll think â€Å"If he cant take care of his-self how can he take care of me†? Once again moving on up, lets have a look at your head, have you brushed yo...

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria The famed Lighthouse of Alexandria, called Pharos, was built around 250 B.C.  to help mariners navigate the harbor of Alexandria in Egypt. It was truly a marvel of engineering, standing at least 400 feet tall, making it one of the tallest structures in the ancient world. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was also solidly built, standing tall for over 1,500 years, until it was finally toppled by earthquakes around 1375 A.D.  The Lighthouse of Alexandria was exceptional and considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Purpose The city of Alexandria was founded in 332 B.C.  by Alexander the Great. Located in Egypt, just 20 miles west of the Nile River, Alexandria was perfectly situated to become a major Mediterranean port, helping the city to flourish. Soon, Alexandria became one of the most important cities of the ancient world, known far and wide for its famous library. The only stumbling block was that mariners found it difficult to avoid the rocks and shoals when approaching Alexandria’s harbor. To help with that, as well as to make a very grand statement, Ptolemy Soter (Alexander the Great’s successor) ordered a lighthouse to be built. This was to be the first building ever built solely to be a lighthouse. It was to take approximately 40 years for the Lighthouse at Alexandria to be built, finally being finished around 250 B.C. Architecture There’s a lot we don’t know about the Lighthouse of Alexandria, but we do know what it looked like. Since the Lighthouse was an icon of Alexandria, its image appeared in many places, including on ancient coins. Designed by Sostrates of Knidos, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was a strikingly tall structure. Located on the eastern end of the island of Pharos near the entrance of Alexandria’s harbor, the Lighthouse was soon itself called â€Å"Pharos.† The Lighthouse was at least 450 feet high and made of three sections. The bottommost section was square and held government offices and stables. The middle section was an octagon and held a balcony where tourists could sit, enjoy the view, and be served refreshments. The top section was cylindrical and held the fire that was continually lit to keep mariners safe. At the very top was a large statue of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Amazingly, inside this giant lighthouse was a spiraling ramp that led up to the top of the bottommost section. This allowed horses and wagons to carry supplies to the top sections. It is unknown what exactly was used to make the fire at the top of the Lighthouse. Wood was unlikely because it was scarce in the region. Whatever was used, the light was effective – mariners could easily see the light from miles away and could thus find their way safely to port. Destruction The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood for 1,500 years - an astounding number considering it was a hollowed out structure the height of a 40-story building. Interestingly, most lighthouses today resemble the shape and structure of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Ultimately, the Lighthouse outlived the Greek and Roman empires. It was then absorbed into the Arab empire, but its importance waned when Egypt’s capital was moved from Alexandria to Cairo. Having kept mariners safe for centuries, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was finally destroyed by an earthquake sometime around 1375 A.D. Some of its blocks were taken and used to build a castle for the sultan of Egypt; others fell into the ocean. In 1994, French archeologist Jean Yves Empereur, of the French National Research Center,  investigated the harbor of Alexandria and found at least a few of these blocks still in the water. Sources Curlee, Lynn. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Atheneum Books, 2002.Silverberg, Robert. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Macmillan Company, 1970.

The control of the Exercise of Proprio Motu Powers by the Prosecutor Case Study

The control of the Exercise of Proprio Motu Powers by the Prosecutor of the ICC - Case Study Example At this point, all the investigations that had been opened were either received from the Security Council or referred by State in reaction to Darfur. Earlier before this case, the Prosecutor turned down the request to open investigations in Venezuela and Iraq. This step resulted to both fears and jokes of the Article 15 opponents as they felt that it might get to the point of politicizing OTP operations who might in turn utilize his powers to get back to the western powers1. Such fears still exist till now especially with more investigations being opened in Africa. Article 15 provides that in an event that the Prosecutor has the mandate to conclude that there exists reasonable basis for an investigation to proceed, then he or she shall have to table an authorization request before the Pre-Trail Chamber of an investigation. This submission has to be accompanied with concrete supporting material. At this point, the victims can now make representations according to the Rules of Procedur e and Evidence to the Pre-Trail Chamber (Amediola, 2006, 349). ... This is to determine if the crime committed falls under the courts jurisdiction, whether the court can be considered as being admissible according to Article 17 and whether that particular investigation will not be to the interest of justice. Based on the above, the PTC II believes that it has the right to authorize an investigation to commence on condition it is in control of all the mentioned elements; the most important of all being the jurisdiction of the court and the admissibility of the case. The Admissibility Issue The PTC II acknowledges the need for a Prosecutor supervision to ensure that his or her obligations under the Statute are mirrored. It requires that if the statue expects the Prosecutor to evaluate admissibility, then the PTC has to control this evaluation2. However, this contradicts with the Court law case with relation to Pre-Trail Chambers in assessing issuance admissibility of a warrant of arrest under Article 58 (Bruce 2004, 13). In a situation where there cri mes are widespread and the victims are many, like what happened in Kenya, then the Prosecutor has to insist on the crimes scale. Hence the gravity threshold has to be refined further for it to have an ICC procedural rule. Crimes against Humanity The crimes that were allegedly committed in Kenya are believed to be crimes against humanity because the situation did not leave the prosecutor with many options as its scope did not fall under war crimes or genocide as there were no armed conflicts involved. The question that remains is to determine whether the attacks that took place amounted to what was termed as crime against humanity as stated in Article 7 Statute of the ICC (Bolton 1999, 71). According to the Rome Statute, crime against humanity means the acts committed

Managing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Managing - Assignment Example Jacques Derrida similarly presents his lingual dilemma in an influential phrase. H says that although he uses a particular language, he does not own the very language. Jacques is interested in language as a mark of identity and view the two spheres as inseparable. These quotes provides a philosophical onset which an organization can use in fine-tuning their management. Wittgenstein’s view and Derrida’s views are irreconcilable because of notable reasons. Wittgenstein argues that individuals still confront the same philosophical problems because language does not change to reflect new realities. Although the philosopher’s arguments are abstract, he believes that language should adapt to transforming social contexts rather than inform the social contexts. Language arises to express the meaning already embedded in the social contexts. He explains that words have a role beyond representing objects (Wittgenstein 1973, p. 43). This higher role pertains to meaning, which is the most essential part of philosophical discussions. Wittgenstein aspires to give language a liberating from the traditional perceptions that binds its growth. In addition, he emphasizes on the role of contexts in bringing out different meanings of the same word. The philosopher, therefore, pays attention to the contexts from which language grow. In this sense, l anguage may not have any distinct formula as espoused by Western traditional standards. In the contemporary context, Wittgenstein explains the meaning of a word as referring to the sense in which individuals hold the meaning as true. This explains why the philosopher highlights logic as only concerned with the conforming meaning of a sign. The meaning that comes forth emanate from the given rules that guide the usage of the sign (Muhr, Sorensen & Vallentin 2010, p. 82). This refers to the common term of grammatical sense. By describing the use pf

The Trait Approach to Leadership Essay Example for Free

The Trait Approach to Leadership Essay Which of the following statements is correct regarding the trait approach to leadership? good leaders are born, not made good leaders have the same set of identifiable traits leadership and management are terms for the same activity leadership ability cannot be explained by an individuals traits some common traits found in studies make finding leaders easy The trait approach to leadership is a theory, according to which all effective leaders must possess a set of the same principal personality traits [Answer B]. This approach is one of the oldest concepts in management theory, which was based on an early assumption that good leaders are born, not made [Answer A]. During the 1920s-1930s management specialists tried to specify a list of traits universal for all leaders, which would help to distinguish potentially effective leaders from other people. Nevertheless, in general, the attempts to create such a list can be considered unsuccessful. Numerous studies and researches on this subject were carried out, but the majority of the findings proved to be quite contradictory and inconsistent. Many researches, including Lombardo and McCall, Stogdill and others, identified certain sets of necessary personality traits that every successful leader must possess, but many specialists noticed that the effective leaders showed different personal qualities in different situations. However, this approach is taken into account in modern management theory. In particular, according to Samuel C. Certo and S. Trevis Certo, all successful leaders must: (1) be intelligent and intellectual; (2) have perfect communication skills and persuading abilities; (3) have a drive for achieving high socioeconomic status and attain the goals and objectives; (4) be emotionally stable and mature; (5) have good adaptive and participative skills; (6) be persistent and dependable, and so on (Certo Certo, 2005). References Certo, S. C. Certo, S. T. (2005, April). Modern Management. Tenth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Self-Reflective :: essays research papers

As I was flipping through my weekly subscription of US Weekly, I noticed a crossword puzzle featuring my favorite superstar, Britney Spears. The crossword was offering a $1 million prize to the 25th correct entry received. Breezing through the questions, I quickly mailed in my entry. About three weeks later, I received a check in the mail for $1 million! I decided to spend my prize money wisely by sharing with my family, investing it in a small business, and spending the rest for myself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First and most importantly, I gave my parents $300,000 so they can retire, put my brother through college, and maybe take a long vacation. I also gave both my brother and sister $50,000 each, so they can pay bills, or buy whatever they want. My extended family is also very important to me, so I gave each family a $10,000 Visa Gift Card, totaling $100,000 for 10 families.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After my family was taken care of, I thought very carefully about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I decided to open a beauty salon because cosmetology interests me and it can be good money. With the building costs, supplies, and licenses, I spent about $95,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, after my financial situation and family has been taken care of, I could then concentrate on myself. The first thing I did was sold my car, which got me $6,000 cash. With this money and about $86,000 more, I was bought myself a silver BMW 745i, with black leather interior and a V8 engine. I moved out and purchased a condominium in Highlands Ranch that was well furnished for $250,000. Of course with my new car and a new home, I had to go shopping for a brand new wardrobe and accessories. After five rough days of shopping, my expenses totaled out to $40,000. At this point, I was left with $29,000, which I put in a savings account for emergency purposes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although it’s sad that most of the million dollars is now gone, and I was once considered a â€Å"millionaire,† the things I spent the money on turned out to make everyone who is important to me happy.

Choosing Hardware Essay

T he computer system that is already installed will not meet the Theme Park’s requirements because it is inadequate. The RAM (system memory) is about 4000 megabytes too small and would only last for a very short period of time, thus making it a rather expensive mistake. The hard drive is only 10 gigabytes, making it 990 gigabytes short of what you would need. The optical drive is out of date – it is the equivalent of video in today’s world. The USB is out of date and with the new USB 3, which has been dubbed the super speed USB3, can transport files in seconds not minutes or hours. The CPU goes at a snail’s pace. There is no graphics editing programme – it only has Windows media centre, which can only let you print photos out and pretty soon, they will stop making updates for Windows XP. The printer only prints out 18ppm when I would recommend having â€Å"Brother HL-5370DW Mono† because the first page can come out in 8. 5 seconds, with a maximum of 30 ppm with a resolution of 1200 x 1200 which means you can print out visitors’ photos quicker than the old system and prevents annoyed customers having to wait for their souvenir photos, thus increasing business. I would suggest upgrading to â€Å"HP Touchsmart 600†. With a touchscreen, there is no need to have a mouse. It is 10 times quicker, for the particular requirements the Theme Park will need – which is an improvement over the old VDU. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor which is an improvement on the old system. As far as the RAM is concerned, I recommend having 4GB which is a substantial improvement on the 64MB. The hard drive has a huge improvement to 1TB over the old system of only 10 GB. The optical drive would be brought up to the 21st century by having the new computer’s optical drive DVD rewriter which is a great improvement over the previous system. The DVD rewriter means you can record to it and play which is not possible on the CD-Rom. The graphics card can be improved to the GeForce G2000 which is yet another improvement over the old system. The improved graphics card helps you to have quicker and better graphical enhancements on your VDU. The software I would recommend loading onto the new system, which the old system didn’t have, is a graphical editing programme. The programme I would recommend is called CorelDraw X3, which has a professional artist working on the making of the programme, so you can have professionally done films with intuitive drawing features and an easy to follow instruction manual. The new system comes with Windows 7, which has features such as touchscreen capabilities and I mentioned how useful these could be above. They have features like Snap and Aero which are not found in XP. It is also more secure than XP with data encryption built into Windows 7. I would also recommend a Super Speed USB 3, which can transfer files in the blink of an eye, making it quicker to transfer to digital photo frames for a technologically advanced souvenir. I believe that the new system meets and exceeds the specification, with plenty of time saving devices meaning that business would increase and higher quality photos would be produced, and you can improve photos using CorelDraw Users may need training in the new recommended system because Windows 7 is new and not many people will have used it, but once the expense of training and buying the equipment has passed, it will be quicker and easier to use. Simple Report to David and rest of staff. The reasons why the new system has computer parts that they are quicker and with more memory, is that the old system has the equivalent memory of a goldfish. My recommended system has the memory of an elephant. The programmes recommended may be complicated but after training, make life much easier and more amazing compared to the XP Media centre edition. The improvements will be speed, usability and memory requirements. The speed is quicker because it has a processor (CPU) which is a newer one and unlike the one in the old processor, has one processor within the unit. The new one has double the processors in the unit. The usability of the old system needed a mouse and partially sighted people would find it difficult to see the mouse cursor, so the Touchscreen I have recommended would get rid of the need for a mouse, so it is much easier for everyone to use. The memory in the old system was poor. The memory in the new system is vastly increased, more than 10 times. Once trained in the new editing package I have recommended, â€Å"CorelDraw†, the Staff can produce great looking professional photos like the ones in magazines. . The resolution is the same for both printers, but the speed is massively improved which will help you with editing as you can print it off much quicker. The printer in the old system is slow to print, resulting in annoyed employees and customers. The printer I recommended for the new system is just over double the speed and prints at 33 ppm, and with the first page printing in 8. 4 seconds for a speedy delivery, this will provide a superior service with an increased profit margin. The old system is slow and not very user-friendly and the new system allows an increased productivity and an increased target audience, e. g. , help for dyslexics, partially-sighted people, and even blind people. The CorelDraw programme will allow you to edit photos 10 times easier than with your old system, with increased tools to add to the overall effect of the photos.

Free Education Essay

Performance of students is a product of socio-economic, psychological and environmental factors. Education plays a significant role in political, economic and social realms of development. Secondary school placement, and to some extent admission, depend on the achievement in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination in standard eight. This study aimed at finding out factors that contribute to poor performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination in public day primary schools in Mwimbi Division, Maara District, Kenya. Descriptive survey design was used and a sample of 6 head teachers, 51 teachers and 146 standard eight pupils participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data obtained. The study realized the following as factors contributing to poor performance in primary national examination; inadequate learning resources, inadequate monitoring by head teachers, understaffing, high teacher turnover rate, inadequate prior preparation, lack of motivation for teachers, large workload, absenteeism by both teachers and pupils, pupils lateness, lack of support from parents. The following recommendations were made; more teachers to be employed to reduce workload, Ministry of Education to organize induction courses for head teachers to equip them with managerial skills, parents to be educated on the importance of basic education for their children, mode of rewarding teachers to be established. The study is expected to give insight reference to policy makers, scholars and researchers in order to improve the weak areas. Key terms: Examination, Factors, Performance, Primary Schools 1. Introduction The development of the education sector has been a long standing objective of the Government of Kenya since independence in 1963. Education is considered by various stakeholders and players as a basic need and a basic right. Performance ranks high on the national agenda, with educators and policymakers focusing on testing, accountability, curriculum reform, and teacher quality, school choice and related concerns. Conspicuously absent has been an examination of how school conditions affect teaching and  learning, even though extensive literature exists that links school facilities to the quality of education and to teacher morale and teacher productivity (Mark, 2003). This study documents factors in school and in the community that affects teaching and learning negatively to an extent of poor performance in KCPE in Mwimbi Division of Maara District.  © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www. ijhssnet. com. The introduction of Free Primary Education (FPE) in January 2003, following the passing of the Children’s Act in 2001, has led to vital educational achievements. Enrolments in public schools increased significantly from 5.9 million in 2002 to 6. 9 million in 2003- a 17% increase; representing a Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) of 99% (102% girls and 97% boys). The Government provides funds, through both the School Instructional Management Book Account (SIMBA) and the General Purpose Account (GPA) to procure need based materials and improve on some infrastructure, thereby raising the quality of education. The Kenya’s education system is dominated by examination-oriented teaching, where passing examinations is the only benchmark for performance because there is no internal system of monitoring learning achievements at other levels within an education cycle. It is generally agreed that the most important manifestations of quality education have to do with literacy, cognitive abilities, performance and progression to higher levels of learning. There is reliance on scores and transition rates as core measures of achievement. In Kenya, examinations are generally acceptable as valid measures of achievement (Maiyo, 2009). Secondary school placement, and to some extent admission, depend on performance of Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination in standard eight (Michael, Miguel & Rebecca, 2004). Although the government has channeled funds into basic education, performance at KCPE shows that most of the students making transition to top schools are from private schools; this creates inequality to access of opportunities to national and top performing provincial schools (Ngugi, 2007). In 2009 KCPE results out of 1374 candidates who sat for the examination in public day primary schools, none gained admission to the well endowed national schools in the country. The KCPE examination is marked out of a maximum mark of 500. Information on Table 1 shows the mean score for some schools from 2005 to 2009 in Mwimbi Division. Table 1: KCPE Mean Grades from 2005 to 2009Public Primary School 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Mutindwa 213. 24 210. 44 214. 11 200. 67 178. 75Wiru 222. 08 203. 79 219. 47 212. 04 198. 08 Ndunguri 195. 54 223. 94 213. 69 208. 41 199. 57Kirumi 228. 04 217. 17 187. 30 193. 74 200. 91 Source: DEO Maara District (2011)Results on Table1 indicate that KCPE performance in the public day primary schools is poor. Pupils may not be admitted to national schools or provincial schools with this kind of performance as it is too low. Therefore, these trends needs reversing and improve performance in national examinations by day public primary schools. 2. Statement of the Problem Performance in national examinations by day primary schools has been poor. Therefore, this study sought to establish factors that contribute to thier poor performance in KCPE in Mwimbi Division, Maara District, Kenya. 3. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study on factors that contribute to poor performance in KCPE in Mwimbi Division were to:- i. Investigate the school based factors ii. Find out teacher based factors iii. Determine the community based factors iv. Establish the pupil based factors 4. Methodology. Descriptive survey design was used in conducting the study. The participants were six head teachers, 51 teachers and 146 standard eight pupils. Questionnaires for the head teachers, teachers and pupils were used to provide the needed data. Data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics. 5. Results The following results were obtained from the study; 5. 1 School-Based Factors that Contribute to Poor Performance in KCPE Various school based factors were identified as contributing to poor performance in KCPE examinations. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 5; March 2012 129 a) Commencement of Learning The time allocated for teaching and learning is a factor influencing pupils’ academic performance. There are three school terms every year with holidays in between in the months of April, August and December. The study therefore sought to find out when learning begins after a holiday. Results obtained indicate that majority of pupils (55. 5%) start learning in the second week after school opens and 43. 8% indicated that they start learning after the first week of the school term. This indicates that there is a lot of time wastage before learning begins. Eshiwani (1983) noted that most schools loose many teaching/ learning hours at the beginning of the term, this wastage leads to less work being covered and syllabi not being completed on time hence, contributing to poor performance in KCPE examinations. b) Adequacy of Learning Resources The adequacy and use of teaching and learning materials affects the effectiveness of a teacher’s lesson. Teaching and learning resources enhances understanding of abstract ideas and improves performance. The study sought adequacy of learning resources like text books, library books, wall maps and the exercise books. Data on Table 2 shows that text books provided in class and exercise books are adequate to but library books and wall maps are not adequate. Table 2: Adequacy of Learning Resources Learning Resource Adequate F % Inadequate F % Text Books Provided in the Class 80 54. 8 66 45. 2 Library Books 14 9. 6 132 90. 4 Wall Maps 11 7. 5 135 92. 5 Exercise Books 121 82. 9 25 17. 1 This makes learning of subjects like Social Studies very abstract to the pupils and could be a factor contributing to poor performance in national examinations. Schneider (2003) found out that school facilities have a direct effect on teaching and learning. Text books enable the pupils to follow the teacher’s sequence of presentation and aids in understanding of lessons (Ubogu, 2004). c) School Administration The quality of school administration plays a vital role in academic performance as it is concerned with pupils, teachers, rules, regulations and policies that govern the school system. In analyzing the efficiency of school administration, the following aspects were looked into: Frequency of staff meetings, frequency of checking teachers’ schemes of work and lesson plans, adequacy of teachers’ prior preparation, frequency of class observation by the head teacher.i. Frequency of Staff Meetings in a Term Data obtained shows that majority of the respondents (64. 7%) indicated that staff meetings are held twice a term, 19. 6% indicated once only in a term and 15. 7% indicated that they hold staff meetings more than twice in a term. Few staff meetings may lead to less co-ordination of curriculum implementation. Findings by Kathuri (1986) asserted that the first aspect of administration is staff meetings as they facilitate co-ordination of various activities in the school. This implies that there was less monitoring and reporting of the progress of the schools activities to the teachers and this could be a factor contributing to poor performance in national examinations. ii. Frequency of Checking Teachers’ Schemes of work The responsibility of checking the professional documents like teachers’ schemes of work and lesson plans lies in the hands of the head teacher. This may be done in person or he may delegate to the deputy head teacher or the senior teacher. Preparation and use of schemes of work by the teachers enhances sequential teaching and results to improved achievement. The frequency of checking teachers’ schemes of work was therefore looked into and allhead teachers (100%) indicated that they randomly check the teachers’ schemes of work only once a term. This reflects that head teachers do not do any follow up on curriculum implementation during the course of the term. Checking of teachers schemes of work should be done frequently to allow the head teacher monitor curriculum implementation. Lack of this close monitoring could be a factor contributing to poor performance in national examinations.  © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www. ijhssnet. com iii. Frequency of Checking the Teachers’ Lessons Plans Teachers’ lesson plan is a professional document prepared by teachers for the purpose of presentation of a lesson. The teacher indicates whether the lesson has been taught and objectives achieved; if the lesson is not taught, then the teacher indicates the reason why and when he intends to cover it; if the lesson objectives are not achieved, the teacher plans for remedial lesson in order to make the concept understood by the pupils. Table 3: Frequency of Checking Teachers’ Lesson Plans Number of Times Percent Once a month 83. 3 Once a term 16. 7 Total 100. 0. Information on Table 3 shows that majority of the head teachers (83. 3%) check teachers lesson plans once a month and 16. 7% indicated that they are checked once a term. Head teachers should monitor lesson plan preparation frequently; otherwise it may lead to poor performance by in national examinations. iv. Adequacy of Teachers’ Prior Preparation Adequate prior preparation before a teacher goes to class leads to good performance by the pupils. This promotes sequential presentation of concepts by the teacher to the learners. Information on Table 4, head teachers indicate that teachers’ prior preparation is fair (66.7%). Table 4: The Adequacy of Teachers’ Prior Preparation This is an indication that head teachers are not satisfied with the teachers’ prior preparation. Always, prior preparation by the teachers leads to systematic delivery of concepts to pupils and enhances performance. Therefore, teachers prior preparation was not sufficient and could be a factor leading to poor performance by the pupils. v. Observation of Classes by Head teachers One of the roles of the head teacher is to carry out internal supervision of curriculum implementation in his/her school. This involves physical observation of teachers’ lessons in progress. Results on Table 5 shows the frequency at which the head teachers observed classes conducted by the teachers. Table 5: Observation of Classes by the Head-teachers Number of Times Percent More than twice 33. 3 Not at all 66. 7 Total 100. 0 Majority of the head teachers (66. 7%) do not at all observe classes conducted by the teachers in a given term. One of the head teachers’ roles is regular class supervision in order to promote curriculum goals. Failure to do so may lead to poor performance in national examinations. d) Teacher-Based Factors. These are the factors within the teachers that could hinder or promote academic performance of pupils in their schools. The study sought to analyze the following aspects of teacher based factors: teacher commitment, teachers’ frequency of absenteeism, teachers’ motivation and teachers’ work load. i. Teacher Commitment Level Good performance is as a result of high commitment levels by the teachers. All head teachers (100%) indicated teachers’ commitment as moderate. Rating Percent Good 33. 3 Fair 66. 7 Total 100. 0International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 5; March 2012 131. No teacher was rated as having high commitment to their work. Ubogu (2004) asserts that teachers who lack enthusiasm are unable to teach effectively, making pupils not to learn well. This could be a contributing factor to poor performance by the pupils in national examinations. ii. Frequency of Absenteeism among Teachers Teachers’ rate of absenteeism was looked into and majority of the head teachers (66. 7%) rated them as moderate, while 33. 3% indicated their rate of absenteeism as low. When teachers absent themselves from school frequently, pupils go unattended and do not do well in examinations. Absenteeism by teachers reduces the amount of instructional time and this result in the syllabi not being completed. This in return results to lower output of work by the pupils (Ubogu, 2004). iii. Teachers’ Motivation Majority of the head teachers (66. 7%) said that teachers were not motivated, while 33. 3% indicated they are. World Bank Report (1986) acknowledges that teacher satisfaction is generally related to achievement†¦ satisfied teachers would concentrate hence enhancing academic performance of their pupils. iv. Teacher Turn-over Rate The teacher turnover rate in the last one year was also looked into. Results obtained indicate that 50% of teachers were transferred once, 33. 3% twice and 16. 7% were transferred five times in a year. This is a factor that contributes to poor performance in examinations. According to Schneider (2003) high teacher turn over forces schools to devote attention, time and financial resources attracting replacement of teachers. v. Teachers’ Workload The number of lessons teachers take per week out of possible 40 lessons was looked into and majority of the teachers (80. 32%) had a work load of between 36 and 40 lessons, 19. 68% had lessons between 31 and 35 lessons out of a possible 40 lessons. This implies that teachers are not overloaded hence; their output in terms of national examinations performance should be good. 5. 2 Pupil-Based Factors These are the factors within the pupils that could enhance or hinder their academic performance. In the pupil based factors; the following aspects were looked into: pupils’ language use, pupils’ rate of absenteeism and pupils’ lateness to school. a) Pupils’ Language Use Data on language used by pupils in class among themselves is indicated on Table 6. Table 6: Pupils’ Language Use. Language Used F % Mother Tongue 18 35. 3 English 5 9. 8 Kiswahili 26 51. 0 English and Kiswahili 2 3. 9 Total 51 100. 0 Majority of the pupils (51%) used Kiswahili to communicate among themselves, 35. 3% use their mother tongue, 9. 8% use English, and 3. 9% use both Kiswahili and English. Pupils who interact using English language tend to understand it better and do well in examinations as all examinations are written in English language; pupils who use mother tongue for interaction are disadvantaged as they end performing poorly in examinations which are written in English. Ubogu (2004) asserts that the prevalence of the use of local language means that pupils would lack a lot of vocabularies in English, which would be needed to understand teachers’ lessons and the textbooks they read. b) Pupils’ Frequency of Absenteeism The aspect of how frequent pupils absented themselves from school was looked into and 41% indicated they moderately miss school, 29. 4% indicated their rate of absenteeism is high and 29. 4% indicated low. When pupils absent themselves from school, they tend to lose many concepts and definitely may not do well in exams.  © Centre for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijhssnet. com 132 The effect of absenteeism and irregular school attendance is that materials taught is difficult to understand when studied on one’s own. Continued loss of classes results to loss of content and knowledge. Assignments and exercises would not be properly and correctly done leading to poor performance (Ubogu, 2004). From the analysis above, quite a number of pupils absent themselves from school and therefore this could be a factor contributing to poor performance. c) Pupils’ Lateness Information on Table 7 shows majority of teachers indicated pupils’ rate of lateness as frequent. This would definitely lead to poor performance in examinations. Table 7: Frequency of Lateness among Pupils Frequency Percent Very Frequent 31 60. 8 Not Frequent 20 39. 2 Total 51 100. 0 5. 3 Community-Based Factors Community based factors are factors within the community that impede or enhance pupils’ academic performance. In analyzing the community based factors, the following aspects were looked into; a) Parents’ Consultation with Teachers Good performance is realized when parents work in consultation with the teachers in order to understand their children better. The study therefore sought to find out how often parents consult the teachers on matters pertaining their children’s education. Data obtained indicate that majority of parents (62%) rarely consult teachers on education matters of their children, 20% indicated they sometimes consult and 8% do often consult but 10% never consulted teachers. This is an indication that most parents were not so much concerned about education of the children. Ubogu (2004) indicated that parents’ interaction with teachers enables them to know what their children are encountering in school and what could be done to deal with the problems. It would also put pupils on alert and study in school as they would know that their parents would inquire about their performance. Parents may not be able to provide much guidance and help their children’s performance improve when they are ignorant of what happens in school. b) Parental Response to Provision of Learning Materials Results on Table 8 shows, parents’ poor response to provision of learning materials. Table 8: Parental Response to Provision of Learning Materials Rating F % Good 5 10. 0 Satisfactory 17 34. 0 Poor 28 56. 0 Total 50 100. 0 Ubogu (2004) asserts that lack of basic school needs like learning materials  could not provide a stable mind and conducive environment for the pupils to study. Lack of learning materials contribute to poor performance in national examinations. c) Parents’ Willingness to Participate in School Development Results on Table 9 indicate Parents are not willingness to participate in the general school development. Schools where parents are actively involved in school development do well in exams as pupils are encouraged by both the teachers and the parents. Table 9: Parents Willingness to Participate in School Development F % Willing 2 33. 3 Not willing 4 66. 7 Total 6 100. 0International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 5; March 2012 133 d) Assistance Pupils get at Home Majority of the pupils (69. 2%) did not get assistance to do homework at home, but 30. 8% does. Those students who do not receive assistance at home to do homework end up performing poorly in national examinations. References Eshiwani, G. S. (1983). Factors Influencing Performance among Primary and Secondary School Pupils in Western Kenya Province. A policy study. Bureau of Educational Research, Kenyatta University. Kathuri, M. J. (1986). Factors that Influence the Performance of Pupils in CPE. KERA Research Report. Nairobi: Kenyatta University, Bureau of Educational Research. Maiyo. J. A. & Ashioya, L. A. (2009). Poverty Alleviation: The Educational Planning Perspective. Department of Educational Planning and Management, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology. Michael, K. Miguel, E. & Rebecca, T. (2004). Incentives to Learn, BREAD working paper Number 086, Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development, U. S. A. Ngugi, P. (4th January, 2007). â€Å"400,000 Assured of Places †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . In the Daily Nation. Nairobi: Nation Media Group Ltd. Schneider, M. (2003). Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes? Washington, D. C. :National Clearing house for Educational Facilities Strategic Public Relations and Research LTD, (2005). Review of the Status of Provision of Education to all Children in Kenya. ANPPCAN. Ubogu, R. E, (2004). The Causes of Absenteeism and Dropout among Secondary School Students in Delta Central Senatorial Districtof Delta State. Unpublished Ph. D Thesis, Delta State University, Nigeria: Abraka. World Bank. (1986). A Report on School Quality and Achievement. Washington DC: World Bank.

Eco 100 †Principles of Economics Essay Example

Eco 100 – Principles of Economics Essay Example Eco 100 – Principles of Economics Essay Eco 100 – Principles of Economics Essay Essay Topic: Economics ECO 100 – Principles of Economics Week 9 Articles – The Federal Reserve Federal financial regulation in the United States has evolved through a series of piecemeal responses to developments and crises in the markets. This report provides an overview of current U. S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. United States banking regulation is largely based on a quid pro quo that was adopted in the 1930s in response to widespread bank failures. The government provides deposit insurance, to reduce customers’ incentive to withdraw their funds at the first sign of trouble, and in return the banks accept direct regulation of their operations, including the amount of risk they may incur. Bank regulators can order a stop to â€Å"unsafe and unsound† banking practices and can take prompt corrective action with troubled banks, including closing the institution. There are five federal bank regulators, each supervising different (and often overlapping) sets of depository institutions. Reference: http://bespacific. com/mt/archives/020771. html Moral hazard occurs when one side of an economic relationship takes undesirable or costly actions that the other side of the relationship cannot observe. 1 Adverse-selection problem is a situation in which the uninformed side of the market must choose from an undesirable or adverse selection of goods. Congress created the Federal Reserve System to be a central bank, or a banker’s bank. When it was crated, on of the Fed’s primary jobs was to serve as a lender of last resort. When banks need to borrow money during a financial crisis, they can turn to the central bank as â€Å"a last resort† for these funds. Reference: Textbook Principles of Economics The real key to what was going on is revealed by the components of the monetary base. It consists of reserves held by the banks and other depositories, either in their accounts at the Fed or as vault cash, plus currency in circulation among the general public. The annual growth rate of the monetary base, the magnitude over which the Fed has the most control, fell from 10% in 2001 to below 5% in 2006. Nearly all of the growth in the monetary base went into currency, an increasing proportion of which is held aboard. The Fed controls overnight interest rates, but not â€Å"long-term interest rates and the home-mortgage rates drove by them†; and a global excess of savings was â€Å"the presumptive cause of the world-wide decline in long-term rates. The Fed only determines the overnight, federal-funds rate, but movements in that rate substantially influence the rates on such mortgages. 2 Maturity-mismatches abounded and were the source of much of the current financial stress. Short-dated commercial paper funded investment banks and other entitles dealing in mortgage-backed securities. Global savings and investment as a share of world GDP have been declining since the 1970s. Reference: http://vizedhtmlcontent. next. ecollege. com/(NEXT(1 e41df9156)/Main/CourseMode/Vized

The Guard Family

The Guard Family The Guard Family The Guard Family By Mark Nichol Guard is the basis of a family of words pertaining to protection; these terms are listed and defined in the post below. Guard, from the French verb garder (formerly also spelled guarder and warder), meaning â€Å"defend† and related to the Old High German term warten, meaning â€Å"take care,† has several senses: It refers to someone (or a group) assigned to protect someone or watch something or to the act of defending someone or keeping an eye on something, or the state of being protected. It also pertains to a protective component or device, to an athlete who has a defensive or protective role in competition, or to a defensive attitude, position, or state. One can be said to be on guard, or in a state of readiness, or to be off guard; the latter phrase is generally seen in the phrase â€Å"catch (or â€Å"caught†) off guard.† It is also a verb, and the adjective is guarded, guardedly is the adverbial form, and guardedness describes the state of being alert. Guard appears in the open compound â€Å"guard dog† and the closed compound guardrail. It is the root of guardian, a word describing a person in a protective role (such as an adult who serves as a surrogate parent for a minor); the state of being a guardian is guardianship. The phrase â€Å"guardian angel,† based on the notion of a protective supernatural being, now often refers to a flesh-and-blood person in such a role. â€Å"En garde,† taken directly from French, means â€Å"on (your) guard† and serves in fencing as a spoken warning for competitors to be prepared to defend themselves. Regard, as a noun meaning â€Å"consideration† or â€Å"judgment† (with the antonym disregard) or, as a verb, â€Å"consider† or â€Å"judge,† is from the French verb regarder, meaning â€Å"look at.† As a noun, it also has the sense of â€Å"respect,† and as such is used in correspondence in plural form as a sign-off. Self-regard refers to consideration of oneself or one’s interests. Regardless is an adjective with the sense of â€Å"in spite of† or â€Å"without consideration†; irregardless is an unfortunate and unnecessary variant careful writers will assiduously be on their guard to avoid. An advance guard or vanguard was originally a military unit that preceded the main body of troops into battle; the latter term now usually refers to a person or group at the forefront of a movement. Avant-garde is the French equivalent, borrowed into English with that sense but now figuratively describing an innovative artist, musician, or writer, or a work of art or literary or musical composition that is ground-breaking, or an entire creative movement considered as such. A rearguard, by contrast with a vanguard, protects a retreating force, and by analogy the word also pertains to resistance to an overwhelming phenomenon. â€Å"Honor guard† refers to a member of the military who has a ceremonial function or to a small unit of military personnel with such a role. Closed compounds with guard as the second element include bodyguard, referring to an individual assigned or hired to protect someone or to a group or unit in that role; lifeguard, originally a synonym for bodyguard but now the designation for a person trained to rescue people from a body of water when they are at risk of drowning; and safeguard, which means â€Å"something that provides protection.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceStory Writing 101Drama vs. Melodrama

What is meant by the phrase classical contract law To what extent are Essay

What is meant by the phrase classical contract law To what extent are such ideas still relevant in contemporary contractual relations - Essay Example This ranges from the independence of contracts to the bargaining powers through to the formal elements of contracts. We do this examination by looking at various debates and dominant ideas and conceptions as they play out in academia and in practice. The inherent advantage of using the classical model to analyse contracts is one that cannot be overlooked. This is because it makes it easier and more convenient to define the parties of contracts and their expectations. This promotes justice. However, the whole idea has been challenged through the dynamism of the post-world war society. This has led to some important modifications and this is what the paper seeks to examine in-depth through the proposed objectives. The balance between the traditionalist and modern positions on the subject are brought to bear in this paper. Holmes states that law uses deductive systems through which logic can be induced and applied to examine things in a fair manner1. In other words the science of law in itself requires the establishment of frameworks and parameters within which issues and matters can be evaluated justly and deductions made. This is the essence of law. This idea is described as the axiomatic of law by Eisenberg. The classical school of thought used the principle logic and deduction to draw frameworks for different branches of law2. This way, they played a crucial role in setting up a system of justice which ensured that cases were separated into the most appropriate classes and dealt with according to the right principles and the application of correct jurisprudence. Classical contract law developed between the mid-19th Century through to the first part of the 20th Century3. It laid down a framework which defined an airtight genre known as contract law which was strictly adhered to in that era during cases involving contract. Classical Contract Law contained three main elements:

Wall Street Journal Section Review Research Paper

Wall Street Journal Section Review - Research Paper Example A subheading on Columns present news articles written by WSJ columnists such as Brett Arends, Karen Blumenthal, Kelly Greene, Laura Saunders, and Jason Zweig, to name just a few. Other relevant and captivating sections appear as subtopics ranging from Real Estate, Autos, Fitness & Health, and Careers. Finally, at the bottom portion are Offers that promote products and services at discounts and good bargains for interested customers. There is a portion for sponsored links and all the comprehensive information on WSJ in a separate highlighted portion to include data such as WSJ.com Account, About, WSJ.com, Tools & Formats, Create an Account, and Help & Information Center. The right side column gives additional details regarding WSJ Digital Network with Foreign Language Editions. Appendix A: Specific Observations Personal Finance Observation 1: Ensign, Rachel Louise. 15 May 2011. â€Å"Maybe We'll Charge an Extra Fee to Read This.† Wall Street Journal, Top Stories in Personal Fin ance: Money.

Persuasive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Persuasive - Research Paper Example iated with drug use is via a lens of public health applying accurate, drug based education to the society and efficient drug treatment for problematic appliance. Harm reduction policies centers and focus on personal choices and safe habits for drug use (Klebber, 1994). Harm reduction policies have proved to be a better and viable approach in dealing with drug related problems in society since its main approached to dealing with the issue involves using individuals and community without necessary reducing or stopping drug use but educating the public on the harms associated with drug use. Decision makers and practitioners are accountable for their decisions and intervention measures. Principles of harm reduction encourage consultation, debate and dialogue which gives room to wide range of stakeholders to be engaged in policy development, delivery, evaluation and program implementation. During this process, people who use drugs and the entire community are involved in making decisions that affect them. Harm reduction is very essential in fighting drug use in that it uses a humane approach to assist people change risky behaviors. It is humane since you have to meet people in their own terms rather than confronting them on yours by encouraging them to give up on risky behaviors. Harm reduction is a realistic approach because it advocates for responsible use of currently illegal drugs (Nadelman, 1994). Harm reduction practitioners advocate for the importance of nay positive change that drug users and affected communities make in their lives. More so, harm reductions intervention measures are more facilitative rather than forceful and based on the needs of the individual. As such, harm reduction policies are made to meet people’s demands. Some public laws or policies aims at reducing the harms linked to the use of tobacco and alcohol involve tightening restrictions imposed on intoxicated drinking and smoking restrictions. In addition, harm reduction policies have

Determining Rates of Interest in the Money Market

Determining Rates of Interest in the Money Market Explain in detail how interest rates are determined in the money market. Examine the likely consequences for the macroeconomy of a reduction in the rate of interest and highlight the factors that might limit the effects. This essay is going to demonstrate how the rate of interest is determined in the money market. It will examine the impact that a reduction in the interest rate has on the economy. The framework used will be the interest rate mechanism, where an increase in the money supply will change interest rates and stimulate interest-sensitive expenditures. It will then highlight the factors that can limit and offset the effects of a reduction in the interest rate. The interest rate is defined by Sloman et al. (2012) as the price paid for borrowing money. Two factors that determine the interest rate is the supply of money and the demand for money. The supply of and demand for money in the economy interact together to reach a level of equilibrium. According to Sloman et al. (2012) the money market is a market for short-term debt instruments in which financial institutions are active participants. Figure 1 and 2 illustrates the money market and the demand for money. The demand for money refers to an individual’s desire to hold their wealth in the form of money instead of using it to purchase goods or financial assets. The money demand curve is downward sloping as an increase in the interest rate leads to a decrease in the quantity of money demanded. Money supply is the entire stock of currency and other liquid instruments in the economy. The money supply is set by the central bank (Bank of England) and is exogenous (does not depend on the demand for money). The money supply is fixed and is not influenced by the rate of interest. In figure 1, the x-axis measures the money supply, the y-axis represent the rate of interest and the L curve represents the liquidity preference curve (demand for money). The money supply is represented by the vertical line Ms. The intersection of the money supply and money demand curves reveals the equilibrium rate of interest and is fixed at that point where they equate. According to Keynes the intersection of the curves is purely a monetary phenomenon. John Maynard Keynes (1936) in his book the General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money described the demand for money through liquidity preference framework. According to this theory, the primary reasons for holding money are for transactional, precautionary and speculative demands. The sum of all three demands make up the total demand for money. According to the theory, if interest rates are high individuals demand for money (liquidity preference) is low and when interest rates are low, the demand for holding money increases. In figure 2, the curve L1 is the transaction plus precautionary demand for holding money. L stands for the liquidity preference and by definition; the liquidity preference is the demand for holding assets in the form of money. L is the total demand for money balances and is derived by the horizontal addition of curves L1 (the transactions plus precautionary demand for money) and L2 (the speculative demand for money). The shift from L1 to L2 illustrates a s hift in the liquidity preference (an increase in the demand for holding assets in the form of money). The interest rate mechanism is graphed in a three-stage process. Stage 1 illustrates the money market, where an increase in the money supply from M to M’ (with everything else being equal) leads to a fall in the rate of interest from r1 to r2. At stage 2, the fall in the interest rate leads to an increase in the level of investment from I1 to I2. The increase in the level of investment translates in the third diagram shown in stage 3. Lower interest rates increases investment as it becomes relatively cheaper for firms to invest and businesses to take out loans to finance greater spending and investment. Stage 3 shows how a rise in investment leads to a multiplied rise in the national income from Y1 to Y2. Stage 3 shows the Keynesian withdrawals and injections function where an increase in investment has increased the level of injections J1 to J2. This excess in injections over withdrawals will lead to a rise in the national income from Y1 to Y2. Interestingly, an increase in t he level of income means that consumers will have more disposable income for consumption purposes (Sloman et al. 2012). Consumption is the largest component of aggregate demand and has an effect on other components of aggregate demand such as net exports and investment Griffiths and Wall (2007). Lower interest rates increases the level of consumption by making the opportunity cost of consumption is lower. This encourages greater expenditure as borrowing through credit cards becomes cheaper. Lower interest rates makes saving less attractive by reducing an individual’s incentive to save. This lower incentive to save encourages consumers to spend rather than to hold onto money. It also reduces the income from savings and the interest rate that is due on loans taken out. However, borrowing now becomes more attractive and this stimulates an increase in spending. Lower Interest rates can boost the prices of assets such as shares and houses. Higher house prices means that current home owners must extend their mortgages which further enables them to finance higher consumption. Interestingly, the higher asset prices increases the wealth of households (through the wealth effect) which increases their incentive to spend as confidence will be higher. Higher asset prices means that businesses are also able to finance their investment (purchase of capital) at a lower cost. Lower interest rates also reduces the cost of interest payments on mortgages by reducing the monthly cost of mortgage payments. This increases the disposable income of householders which increases their level of spending. Moreover, lower interest rate can reduce the value of the Pound Sterling. If UK interest rates fall relative to overseas, saving money in UK becomes less attractive as higher returns can be earned in another country. This reduces the demand for the pound sterling and causes the reduction in the value. In figure 6 at stage 2, the fall in the currency is due to a decrease in the demand for the Pound Sterling in the foreign exchange market. The rise in the supply of the domestic currency from S1 to S2 leads to a fall in the demand for the currency from D1 to D2 and this causes a depreciation in the exchange rate from er1 to er2. This fall leads to a rise in the demand for exports as UK exports become relatively cheaper and more attractive overseas. There will also be a fall in demand for imports (as they become more expensive) and thus causing an increase in the national income (which further increases spending). What if other factors can offset the full extent of a reduction in interest rates? There exist time lags in the economy that can limit the impact of rate cuts on the level on interest-sensitive expenditures. In figure 4, the increase in the money supply lead to a multiplied effect and resulted in a rise in the national income. However, the mechanism failed to highlight how a rise in income will also lead to a rise in the transactional demand of money (L1). In this circumstance, at stage 1, L1 would shift to the right and thus lead to a smaller fall in the interest rate than illustrated. Thus, the level of investment at stage 2 and the national income at stage 3 will not rise as much as shown as well. The overall effect of the money supply on national income will depend on the size of each stage. Their relative sizes depend on the shapes of the liquidity preference and investment curves (as in figure 6 and 7). A bigger change in the interest rate will be caused if the liquidity prefer ence is less elastic. The more interest-elastic the investment curve is, the bigger the change in investment. If the marginal propensity to withdraw is lower and therefore the curve is flatter, this will cause a bigger multiplied change in the national income than illustrated (Sloman et al. 2012). Keynesian economists stress how volatile stages 1 and 2 are in the interest rate mechanism. What if increasing the money supply leads to no interest rate reductions? What if investment is inelastic and cannot be influenced by changes in rates. Figure 6 illustrates an elastic liquidity preference curve. The less elastic the liquidity preference is, the bigger the change that will be caused in the interest rate. Due to its gently sloping curve, a rise in the money supply from M to M’ will lead to an only small fall in the interest rate. This will them limit the impact that the interest rate has on consumption, saving decisions and any other interest-sensitive expenditures. According to Keynesians, the demand for money (L) can be very elastic in response to changes in the interest rates and the liquidity preference curve can become relatively flat. The full effect of a rate cut can be limited greatly by the nature of the demand curve. At r2, if individuals perceive and expect no further rate cuts, any increase in the money (from M’ to M’’) will have no impact on r. The liquidity trap is where Keynes believed this additional money will be lost in. within this theory, interest rates have a floor where an increase in the money supply has no further impact. The financial crisis 2008-09 was a predicament where policy makers feared that increases in the money supply will lead to idle balances lost in the liquidity trap. The central bank used an unconventional monetary policy known as quantitative easing, where they deliberately increased the base rate via the purchase of bonds and other securities in exchange for money. This process of credit creation was used to increase bond prices and thus reduce the interest rate and stimulate growth. Arguably, increases in the money supply will have some impact on the rate of interest as we have seen in the financial crisis where deliberate increases in the money supply lead to further increases in the i nterest rate and thus spending as well (Sloman et al. 2012). Figure 8 illustrates the effect on interest rates of an unstable liquidity preference curve. This figure further explains how the liquidity preference curve fluctuates due to factors such as expectations in the inflation rate and direction of the interest rate (to name a few). Therefore, due to its instability it is difficult to predict the effect on interest rates of a change in the money supply. Another factor that can influence the investment schedule are changes in investor confidence. An increase in investor confidence can shift the investment curve to the right and at any given interest rates, firms will want to invest more. A decrease in their confidence would shift the curve to the left. If investors believe that the economy is going to get out of recession, their confidence and level of investment will increase. If firms believe that inflation will rise and that the central bank will soon increase the interest rate, confidence and investment in the economy will be low (Sloman et al 2012). In Figure 7, a bigger change in investment will be caused if the investment curve is more interest-elastic. In the liquidity preference framework, investment demand is unresponsive to interest rate changes and that a large change in the interest rate is detrimental to affect investment. Evidence to confirm this was illustrated through the impact of investor confidence. This consensus on the behaviour of investment can be argued in that the focus should be more on how volatile and erratic investment is in response to confidence than its responsiveness to the interest rate. For example, in figure 9, the impact of a fall in interest rates is limited by business confidence. Initially, the reduction in the interest rate has increased investment. However, if the fall in interest rates is accompanied by an increase in business confidence by investors, the investment curve will shift from l1 to l2. On the other hand, if the fall in the interest rate is accompanied by a decrease in confidence then the investment curve will decrease and fall shift from l1 to l3. This impact is contrary to what was illustrated when the investment curve was believed to be inelastic. Therefore, expansionary monetary policy is likely to be more effective if firms have confidence in its effectiveness (Sloman et al. 2012). In the liquidity preference framework, the assumption is that an increase in the money supply leads to lower interest rates if everything else remains equal. However, in reality an increase in the money supply might impact other factors in the economy that could increase the interest rate instead of decreasing it. Two factors to highlight are the income effect and the price-level effect. The income effect describes how an increase in the money supply has an expansionary influence on the economy and this in effect raises the national income and wealth. The liquidity preference theory predicts that an increase in the national income and wealth will increase the interest rate and offset the original impact of an increase in the money supply. Another effect that can limit the impact of a reduction in interest rates is the price-level effect. In this effect, an increase in the money supply increases the overall price level which also increases the interest rate. In conclusion, economics is a social science where theories are constantly examined and redrafted. In the interest rate mechanism theory, an increase in the money supply will lower interest rates and stimulate interest-sensitive expenditures. This stimulation will have a multiplied effect on the level consumption, business investment, mortgage payments and asset prices. However, the impact of a reduction in the interest rate on the economy is quite a complex subject to address. Many determinants must be factored in for the full impact to be noticeable. Even if the overall effect of a reduction in the interest rate is quite strong, it is highly unpredictable to measure and estimate the magnitude of it. Investment is influenced by confidence and on elasticity to the interest rate. This changes the original impact of a rate cut. The nature liquidity preference curve can be highly unstable and not be impacted by any changes in the interest rate. There also other factors like the price-le vel, expectations and income that can impact and offset the intended purpose of an increase in the money supply. All the factors highlighted in this essay can limit and offset the impact of a reduction in interest rates on interest-sensitive expenditures and the growth of the economy. REFERENCES Keynes, J.M. (1936), The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Griffiths, A. and Wall, S. (2007) Applied economics, 11th ed. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman. Sloman, J., Wride, A. and Garratt, D. (2012) Economics, 8th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/Pages/overview.aspx http://www.macrobasics.com/chapters/chapter8/lesson83/ http://harbert.auburn.edu/~thommsn/FINC-3700/ME7-WebChapters/WebApp04_4.pdf http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/articles/?id=2505 http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarterlybulletin/qb120104.pdf https://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/10/on-liquidity-traps-and-quantitative-easing.html