The Meaning of Symbolism and Imagery in the Writings of Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston uses symbolism and imagery to capture emotions and guide the reader through the story through the eyes of the characters. In her short fiction story, The Gilded Six-Bits, Hurston entertains the emotional and visual senses of the reader by using several symbols and images to give light to the story and character settings. Hurston starts out the story by portraying a couples' relationship and giving it a sense of security, love and trust. However, as the story develops it is clear that know matter how true love is – greed can falter love. Symbolism is shown strongly through colors in Hurston's story. White is used as a symbol of purity. It portrays the relationship between Joe and Missie May as a clean and untouched relationship as described by Hurston, â€Å"The fence and house were whitewashed. The porch and steps scrubbed white.† (252) Joe thinks of the image of his white house on the way home from work right before he discovers Missie May and Slemmons together. Gold is used frequently throughout the short story as a symbol of social status and greed. Otis D. Slemmons is respected by Joe in the beginning of the story and depicted as being of great importance because of his gold teeth, a five-dollar gold piece for a stickpin and a ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain. Slemmons character is later disemboweled because he is caught in the act of having sex with Joe's wife. The gold symbolizes mistrust, misfortune, greed and falsehood after Slemmons, Missie May and the gold are revealed. Silver also symbolizes a social status to all three of the main characters and a personal symbol to Joe and Missy May. It is clear a little over half way through the story that Slemmons was in the same social class as Joe and Missie May because he did not really have any more money than they did. For Joe and Missie May silver was a symbol  of there relationship. It was a ritual in their relationship for Joe to give Missie May the silver dollars every Saturday. The moon is described by Hurston as a silver image on Joe's ride home from work, â€Å"†¦a lean moon rode the lake in a silver boat. If anybody had asked Joe about the moon on the lake, he would have said he hadn't paid it any attention. But he saw it with his feelings. † (255) Joe saw the lake with his â€Å"feelings† and he saw the silver moon; it is clear that he associated his relationship with his wife with silver. Numbers are also used as symbols to make a statement without actually stating it. Joe and Missie May's magic number is nine. This stands for the nine silver dollars that Joe would throw into the house every Saturday. After she and Slemmons were caught together Joe no longer threw the coins into the house on Saturdays. Slemmons is told to have two gold pieces on him in the amounts of five and ten which is the amount of coins that Joe throws into the house at the end of the story. Slemmons uses numbers in an abstract way to describe people. He associates the number forty with the word forte and Joe doesn't understand what he means by it. Slemmons ironically opens an ice cream shop. Ice cream is a universal symbol for something that is sweet but cold. Slemmons was seen as sweet and suave as was Missie May until the two got together; then Joe viewed them as being cold. Clothing is another social status symbol. Slemmons is described as someone who wore fine clothes. Later in the story Joe calls them rags. When Joe took Missie May to the ice cream parlor he wanted her to wear her Sunday clothes so that he could show her off to Slemmons. He wanted him to see his woman since Slemmons talks about all of the women that he has. Hurston writes that Joe considered Missie May to be the best dressed woman at church, â€Å"†¦church on Sunday nights when Missie outdressed any woman in town†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (255) This quote also brings up  the symbol of religion. When Joe asked Missie May to go to the ice cream parlor for the first time Hurston writes that he tells her, â€Å"†¦put on yo' Sunday-go-to-meetin' things.† (253) Hurston  writes in other quotes that refer to images from the Bible. â€Å"Like Samson awakening after his haircut.† (256) â€Å"Don't look back lak Lot's wife and turn to salt.† (257) The imagery from these q uotes make it know that Joe is a religious man in the story and Hurston herself has a religious background. Laughter is used to portray and hide feelings in Joe. Laughter shows the happiness between Joe and Missie May when they have their playful game on Saturdays. Later in the story Hurston writes that Joe's laughter is shown as an unsure feeling when he finds Slemmons with his wife, â€Å"So he just opened his mouth and laughed.† and before bed that night, â€Å"†¦and took a good laugh and went to bed.† (256) At the end of the story Joe was laughing in the store when he turned in the 4-bit piece that he pulled off of Slemmon's neck for candy. The clerk states after Joe leaves, â€Å"Wisht I could be like these darkies. Laughin' all the time. Nothin' worries 'em.† This was surely not Joe's case at all but his character tells otherwise. Hurston also uses laughter as a private symbol in another one of her writings. â€Å"They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs.† (Their Eyes Were Watching God 2) â€Å"Pearl Stone opened her mouth and laughed real hard because she didn't know what else to do.† (Their Eyes Were Watching God 2-3) Hurston's real life is story is a mystery according to Ann Ducile's book review in The New York Times. She has conflicting age and birth date documents due to her habitual lying. â€Å"†¦although she gave the year of her birth as 1910, rather than 1891, as scholars have now determined.† (The New York Times) Literature and The Writing Process has her birth date listed as 1901. Her birthplace is also not certain. She has said that she was born in Eatonville but it is assumed that she was born in Notasulga, Alaska. Nonetheless, Hurston has made a mark in the history of writing with her cultural relations and peers. According to The New York Times  article there are festivals, foundations, literary societies, endowed chairs, journals, honors and awards in the name of Zora.

Discuss The Relationship Between Stress, Anxiety, Habits And Phobias

In this paper I aim to define what stress and anxiety are and outline the differences between them. These topics form a larger part of the essay as Stress and Anxiety underpin most cases presented to a therapist. I will move onto how phobias and habits are formed. Finally covering off options available to the therapist in order to research all these issues for a given client, understand any hidden agendas, history, treatment strategies and most importantly understand where NOT to treat. Stress ‘a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances’ (Oxford English Dictionary)This definition shows a specific circumstance; the individual involved is experiencing stress due to an event; be it in the past, current or future tense. Whilst stress can have a negative connotation in the English language, in fact most stress is positive. It is there to protect us. The feeling of ‘stress’ is a reaction which ensures we perf orm appropriately at the right moments. It is a natural reaction to a number of given situations, causing our innate animal instincts to activate and is activated by the hormone Cortizol naturally produced in all mammals.These are commonly known as Flight, Fight, and the lesser remembered, Freeze responses. As such, our sub-conscious will protect us through releasing chemicals in order that we can perform appropriately to deal with the situation. However distressed a client may be, one thing you can use to help them understand is that it is triggered in order to protect us from a threat. Stress becomes an issue when it is inappropriate to the situation. That is not to say that what the client/patient experiences is not real. It may be that the individual has experienced one or more episodes of stress that may not be representative of the subject at hand.It may also be that they are experiencing a consistent level of stress, such as workload, a particular home situation or the need t o consistently to overachieve in all parts of his/her life in a manner that is unsustainable. Avoiding the stressful situation can also be further damaging as this re-affirms the messaging in the brain around the given situation. Types of stress experienced vary and have many labels depending on how they manifest: Acute StressMost common: immediate threat(s), anticipated demand(s) or pressure(s). Episodic Acute StressRecurring: Overabundance of tasks, tends to become habitual to individual.Chronic StressPerpetual: Unable to see resolution, due to its constant nature it can go unnoticed by sufferer. HyperstressOverwhelmed: Workload, beyond limits of tasks achievable. HypostressThe ‘Bored’ Stress: Unmotivated, unchallenged. Lacks enthusiasm to innovate, start new challenges. Eustress‘Good’ Stress: Positive events or emotions, motivational, largely ignored. I have separated Traumatic Stress and Post Traumatic Stress as these sit under the title of Anxiety in t he next section. Individuals will experience physical responses to a stressful situation or ongoing stress; some common, some more specific to the individual.These include: sweating, shakes, fast heart rate, dry mouth, upset stomach, acid reflux, releasing of stools, muscles tensing, headaches, other aches, lack of sleep, fatigue, loss of self esteem. Anxiety ‘a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome’ (Oxford English Dictionary) This definition shows that instead of the specific circumstance seen in stress, anxiety is in comparison ill-defined. Sustained stress or specific traumatic event(s) can lead to anxiety. These may be rational or irrational; however, they manifest as very real to the sufferer.It may even be that the sufferer understands that their anxiety is irrational, but is unable to control it. It is important for a hypnotherapist to understand where they can and cannot treat in relation to Anxiety. The therapist sh ould discuss any anxiety cases with their supervisor, it may be that the case requires GP approval. In certain cases such as PTSD the therapist may need to refer to a multi-disciplinary team (or be part of). One way or another, the key here is caution, ask advice and make sure you are cleared to move on with treatment. There are many types of Anxiety Disorders, here are some:General AnxietyMost common: Constantly nervous, anxiousness where Disorder (GAD)there is no specific cause is obvious. GP/Supervisor Panic AttacksTriggered with no apparent cause: Response to sustained stress/anxiety. GP/Supervisor PhobiasBroad Subject: From Feathers to Flying, Social, Crowds, Spiders. Can be anything and is very real to the sufferer. Traumatic StressReactive Anxiety, similar to PST. Response to a traumatic event. THIS MUST NOT BE TREATED. GP/MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM. Post Traumatic StressReactive Anxiety Disorder, response to severe traumatic (PTSD)event.THIS MUST NOT BE TREATED. GP/MULTI-DISCIP LINARY TEAM. Obsessive-CompulsiveObsessive thoughts, released through the compulsion Disorder (OCD)to act on thoughts. Comes in many forms. As with stress there are many physical responses, which include, all those mentioned in the stress section. There are specific symptoms for specific types of anxiety, for example in a Panic Attack, the sufferer truly believes they may die and feel entirely helpless. Anxiety suffers release strong emotions at certain times such as anger or they may cry or want to run from the situation.Due to the perpetual nature of anxiety issues, nausea, extreme exhaustion, restlessness and obsessive focus on negatives are common. Essentially it shows a loss of control. Treatment of Stress and Anxiety Whilst you may have three clients showing the same symptoms the underlying the reasons will be different for each. It’s key to spend time understanding the background to the issue, to ascertain whether the client remembers the trigger and for the therapist to spend time understanding the reason they are feeling this way, when it occurs, how it occurs and the symptoms.It may be that the initial reason they believe the stress or anxiety situation occurs is a red herring and perhaps they are unaware of another reason. Regression may be required to fully understand the history, especially if it’s clear that the issue has its roots back in childhood, this may also provide positive imagery that can be re-used in a script. For example, a bad flyer may have roots in childhood experience, but similarly remember a good experience flying that may be re-used during a script.‘Problematic imagery is reported by clients with almost all anxiety disorders, with the specific content of the images relating to the clients’ main fears that are central to the clinical disorder’ (Hirsh and Holmes 2007: 161). ’ I like the suggestion of asking the client about their dreams as well as using their interests and using this image ry to work through a script appropriate to the situation. There seems to be a lot of evidence to show that there is a direct correlation between how vivid imagery is for an individual and how powerful the feeling is towards the negative situation.That’s not to say those with different modalities suffer less, but it’s a consideration. So for someone who can easily envisage the worst scenario their stress levels may considerably increase. On the flip side this also means a therapist can use this to their advantage and treat using strong visual tendencies. If the therapist can focus on a positive image from the clients key interests or dream subjects. Outside of the specific script to the given situation, helping the client learn to relax through a relaxation script (and take-home recording) is key to working through stress issues.I also like the approach of the ego-strengthening scripts for those who are experiencing stress due to self-belief, it’s a good basis to build on during treatment sessions before the therapist can move onto specific reframing or programming of a perception. Having also read a number of ‘rehearsal’ scripts I find these a very positive approach to dealing with stressful situations, although again it would be prudent to ensure you are not trying to ‘fix’ an issue up front without understanding the underlying history and cause.Also looking to take  the negative thoughts, feelings and/or images and find a way of disposing of them in some way using appropriate modality. I think this is a key action to take within a script as those suffering stress or anxiety will primarily focus on the main negative, it will consume thoughts and feelings. In ‘purging’ them, the client can symbolically get rid of those before moving onto a more positive view of their given experience. Anxiety issues require special consideration. OCD for example, requires specific training. PTSD, a specialist team w ould need to be involved. Key focus areas would be things like GAD and Phobias.Phobias will be described later in the paper. GAD still requires GP approval to treat using Hypnotherapy. Without wishing to go into too much depth it is key to mention two methods for use with PTSD; Eye Movement Desentisation Reward (EMDR) and Visual Kinesthetic Reward (VKR). Phobias A fear or phobia may root from a number of given sources. It’s possible the client knows when it occurred originally. It’s equally possible that they do not (even if they say they do). So as described above it’s key to discuss the issue and clearly understand the history, the manifestation and perhaps regression may be required.The phobia may have been caused by several sources. It may also be that whilst the individual may say they are phobic of a particular situation or object, this could be masking the real fear (hidden agenda). So whilst you have a treatment plan, keeping an open mind is key. Reasons for Phobias Occurring: Severe Stress relating to a particular object/event/location. The mind associates that with that. It could be that the object of fear is not the real issue. For example; fear of red doors. Perhaps an individual had to walk through a red door every time they went to the solicitors to meet with the estranged spouse.This issue is potentially the pain of the divorce, loss of children rather than the door, but the mind’s association is with the door. Specific Experience or Number of Experiences. Fear created through a negative experience that frightened the individual. Perhaps getting stuck in a lift once for a long period would be enough of a severe trauma to create a phobia of lifts or a number of bad experiences in lifts (feeling squashed/delays in the lift moving/jolting action) create a phobia over time. Learned Fear.Something we associate with animals, demonstrating good stress in practise in a natural environment. It can be learned from a mother or o ther significant person. So perhaps the mother has a fear of the sea and transmits it to her children. Treatment is similar to the approach for stress. The key is to understanding why/how/history. Its important to look at the root cause and in particular if there are any hidden agendas. Whilst its possible to do things like a rehearsal script and important to build in confidence building/ego-strengthening, these may only temporarily help the situation.Ultimately, indentifying and tailoring a solution based around the original cause is key to a successful treatment plan. The use of a signal from the client allows them to indicate if the therapy is moving too quickly (given they may be experiencing stressful moments in trance) or they have arrived at a certain point. This allows the therapist to ensure the pacing is correct for the client and that they gain the most from the session. Habits Similar to stress this can appear to have a negative connotation but of course we have many goo d habits in our lives.We can all develop bad habits, these may be learnt or absorbed from others. It’s also possible these have occurred over a period of time as a coping strategy for another issue. Again, in this situation its key to understand why the habit is in place and look at a reasonable alternative coping strategy. Two ways to address a habit: Client seeing themselves living without the habit, using their motivations and drivers (such as how they look, feel, etc) Detrimental effects of continuing, so the client will associate the negative affects or perhaps even a negative view (like a cigarette being a charcoal stick)

Development of Higher Education in UAE Research Paper

Development of Higher Education in UAE - Research Paper Example The thesis statement is expected to play a significant role in explaining the rationale behind the increasing focus of the government on the development of higher education. The thesis statement gained importance in the view that the economy of UAE has attained rapid growth in the last forty years due to the growth of its primary sector which is the oil and gas reserves. The recent trends have shown that UAE has started to shift towards the mode of knowledge based economy due to the economic fluctuation affecting the oil and gas sector and the emergence of tourism and knowledge based businesses as partial substitutes (Fox, 2007). There are various experts who have identified the growth of higher education in the economy of UAE and the have carried out thesis work on this topic to explore in detail the issues involved in the development of higher education in the region and the ways in which these issues have been resolved. Body   The development of higher education in UAE has been studied by analyzing the issues involved in this field. The examination of the past and present scenario in the education sector of UAE helped in detailed analysis and comparison of the present developments with the past. The researches carried out by several experts on the growth of higher education in UAE provide a comprehensive idea of the factors responsible for the development of higher education in this country. Evaluation of the issues involved in the problem The study on the development of higher education in the United Arab Emirates involves several issues associated to the economic structure of the country. The economy of UAE has experienced rapid... This paper approves that the lack of adequate financial investments in the education sector has been a major drawback for the region. The low enrolment of the students in higher education and drop out of male students in higher education as compared to female students has been prevalent. The lack of quality of teachers and restrictions to freedom of the students in the higher educational process has been addressed by these experts. This paper makes a conclusion that the research on the development of higher education in UAE suggests policy initiatives that could help to address the issues prevailing in the higher education system of UAE. Although the enrolment and attainment rates in higher education of UAE have increased significantly as compared to the past, the quality of higher education in UAE needs to further improve. This could be done by focusing on the establishment of quality educational infrastructure at the secondary level. The improvement in the quality of teaching in schools would generate interest among the students on various subjects like engineering, medicine, science, etc. Thus the enrolment of students in higher educational courses is likely to improve. The drop outs are likely to reduce as the students would realize the benefits of long term engagement through attaining higher education. The education for the male students should be made mandatory. The quality of teachers needs to be improv ed by setting more strict standards for recruitment of teachers. The admission requirements are also required to be set at higher levels in order to maintain the high quality of education standards.

Assignments 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Assignments 1 - Essay Example The company just arrived in North Sea fields several years ago. By the time LINK650 was setting up in North Sea fields, there was so much excitement about the arrival. This prompted many job seekers to apply for various technical and non-technical jobs within the company. One of the lucky people to have gotten the chance to work for LINK650 as a non-technical employee was Shaun O’Neil. Specifically, O’Neil was given a drilling job, which was dangerous but well-paying and with more time off. Having being selected among a pool of many applicants, O’Neil and his colleagues at LINK650 were so happy and enthusiastic about their new jobs. To them, this represented a great opportunity to showcase their talents, apply their knowledge, and gain some income. The new hires were initially pleased with the recruitment process that was used in selecting them. O’Neil was particularly impressed by the recruitment team because they showed concern about their welfare while working in the oil drills. It is only later on that it emerged that the recruiters were actually hired from a consulting firm with specialization in recruitment and hiring. Apparently, O’Neil and his colleagues had not actually met or interacted with any manager from the LINK Company during the entire recruitment and selection period. Just after a few months of starting work, real problems began to emerge. Although some of the new non-technical hires had previous experience on oil fields, they were shocked to find that the experience they found at LINK650 was not close to what they had anticipated. Their welfare and safety as employees working in dangerous conditions were not taken care of. They had to work under dirty and very cold conditions. This caused some of the employees to resign. As if that was not enough, the supervisors in the company were too harsh on the new hires. They treated the employees badly by being abusive blatantly

IT & Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

IT & Entrepreneurship - Essay Example s difficulties but with the help of the marketing strategies and research and development team, the website will be able to provide profit and useful information to the people. The business idea is to design a website that would be offering details regarding dentists based in the United Kingdom. The information provided through the website will be useful for the people in order to get transparent idea about the location, price and the features provided by the private and cosmetic dentist. The website will be made with no complexity for the people to operate. The design will be simple and the information will be gathered with single mouse click without much complexity. The website will also ensure that unique experiences are shared by the customers while dealing with it. Apart from this, website will also provide customers with easy and simple navigation. The website will act as a local search engine for the information regarding the dentist both private and cosmetic for the people. The creative idea of the search engine will be that it will provide information about the dentist only and no other information and advertisement will be allowed in the website page. The business model implemented is that the website will act as a search engine. The website will act as an innovative medium of advertisement with transparency for the people. The home page will not only display the web design of the dentists but also show the names of the dentist and their phone number according to the market ranking. The market ranking will be gathered from the past history of dentists, their performance, features provided and the advanced technology used by them. This will assist the interested people to take corrective measures regarding the choice of the dentists. Moreover, the names of the dentist will be categorised as the private and the cosmetic dentist so that the search for the people becomes easier as per their need. By clicking on the names of the dentist the next page will

Definition paper. The word is Honor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition paper. The word is Honor - Essay Example variety of reasons like courage, good works, self-sacrifice and many others; though the word can also be attributed to things which are considered sacred and to gods. Respect is an equal of dignity, the value of a person to another. Being an abstract word, honor is quite difficult to explain although there are synonyms that one can use to let the word be expounded on. Probably the easiest way to understand the word honor is to point out to its value through the actions, words or other manifestations. It is like explaining the presence of air. One can not really hold air and show it to another person to let the other understand its meaning or see how it looks like. Proving there is air is done by pointing out to its effects, showing the tree move in response to the presence of air. The same method is utilized in this quest to define the word honor or honour. Honor held by a person can be seen through other people’s response to his presence. An honored man, when he speaks is taken not on a light mood but considered to speak like a god, having the authority over others, the confidence and attention of his listeners because of what is known about him. Integrity is most often the product of similar abstract things like goodness, love for others, kindness, endurance, care, hard work, determination, and other values or concepts of worthiness. Hard work may be rewarded with the honor of a position in an office. For instance, a clerk who works hard to gain the favor of his employers can be promoted to a higher level where he can enjoy more pay and more benefits as a consequence of his employers’ confidence in him because of his performance. There are also distinctions which are not brought by the hard work and confidence directly effected by the person. For instance, a prince can inherit the reputation bestowed upon his father, be coming the king next to his father after his death. Money which is one of the things that draw the respect of others can also be inherited

I.R Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

I.R - Essay Example This is clear in the theory of comparative advantage attributed to David Ricardo as well as in the â€Å"standard theory of international trade† that are both discussed in many of the undergraduate and graduate books of economics. One of the books discussing the two topics, for example, is that one by Krugman and Obstfeld (2003). A policy of trade liberalization adopted by policy makers through the political process commit a country to an economic environment that requires the conversion of tariffs to quota as well as the reduction of tariffs which are the standard policy prescriptions under the World Trade Organization (WTO). On the other hand, a policy of autarky emphasizes on the policy of â€Å"self-reliance† wherein nations produce all what they need. In contrast, the policy of trade liberalization emphasizes on interdependence among nations wherein self-reliance is achieved through domestic production as well as trade with other nations. In other words, the forego ing emphasizes that policy regimes that are adopted through the political process determine trade policy and, consequently, policy regimes or politics determine people’s access to higher welfare levels. Second, the discipline of economics recognizes that there is a definite and solid political economy dimension in the adoption of protectionism rather than trade liberalization. For example, this is clear in Salvatore (2001, p. 293-298).

Changing an Outdated Policy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Changing an Outdated Policy - Assignment Example This policy stipulates that the tutor must be present during the actual class lesions .The tutor is required to teach, make presentations in class and to evaluate the students. The evaluation is always in either in the form of short questions answered within the class. This policy enables the tutor to get direct feedback from the students on whether the topic or the lecture has been understood. The students are also able to seek clarifications of unclear points. The policy makes the classroom teaching more interactive. The student gets the chance to reason out points among themselves in class. The interactions make learning more fun and interesting. Though this policy has its own advantages, it also has some disadvantages. It has low differentiation level. That is, it does not allow students to move at their own paces. It has lower student attendance and engagement. Once a student misses a lesson, catching up will be difficult hence reduced engagement in the class activities. The stu dent and the tutor will not be about the same topics. The current method that needs to be introduced by educators to make learning more productive is the flipped classroom. ... The flipped classroom has a lot of advantages over the traditional teaching method. It allows for greater differentiation since the students are able to move at their own paces. Improved student attendance and engagement since when the teacher will be present in class, he or she will be dealing with the assignments where everyone is required to participate. It facilitates more proactive interactions between the teachers and the students. This is because both the parties will be engaged in problem solving. The flipped classroom is student centered, more economical on the part of the administrators since it allows them to hire fewer teachers since the teachers do not spend a lot of time in class. Changing the Policy The first , ISLLC standard for school leaders states that a school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development , articulation , implementation and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supp orted by the school community. This means that a school administrator should always strive to bring changes that will improve the performance of the students. This includes updating of the out of date policies. The policy that the teacher or the tutor must be present during lesions is out of date and should be replaced by flipping classroom where the teacher’s presentations are recorded on video and the tutor only discusses the assignments the student in class. The selected policy to update or change will benefit the school in many ways. Firstly, it’s economical since the school will not be required to hire more teachers since the teachers will not be required to spend a lot of time in class. Secondly, the policy change will help to improve the grades in the

Deluxe Financial Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deluxe Financial Services - Assignment Example The firm’s slogan, printing paper checks faster and better, and more economically than anyone else, has attracted many customers to the firm. The firm’s policies regarding its proceedings and its customers have made it reach the level where it is (Clancy & Hartley, 2011). Deluxe decided to change its policy from a check printing firm to a sophisticated check retailing company. The firm maintained this approach to transformation, opting to try out new services and new customers (Clancy & Hartley, 2011). The firm presented a breakthrough known as DeluxeSelect. The invention was powered by richly detailed consumer segments profiles, which comprised of information regarding what type of check a consumer wanted. The DeluxeSelect invention also catered for the way consumers needed their checks, how they wanted the firm to communicate with them and the price they were willing to pay (Clancy & Hartley, 2011). This was the ultimate invention in the check business, and this attracted a lot of customers to the firm. The firm, therefore, went ahead to erect policies, which would maintain their customers. Deluxe rule is to put employees and customers first. Everything else, according to the firm, comes second. As expected, this has attracted many clients to the fi rm and maintained them. Deluxe is capable of handling many customers with fewer hurdles, and this has enabled the firm to grow (Clancy & Hartley, 2011). The economy, today, is turning against the people who use it. Peoples’ income, today, cannot cater to everything they need, and this has made them cut some expenses from their budget (Lowry, 2012). However, as this happens, global firms such as Coca-Cola still seem to be making the large profits, which they used to make before the economic crises. In fact, it is like the firm is getting more funds at this crucial time. It is all a matter of how Coca-Cola advertises itself (Lang, 2012).

HIPAA’s Pros and Cons Essay Example for Free

HIPAA’s Pros and Cons Essay HIPAA or what is known as the â€Å"Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996† has its pros and cons (United.., 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pros include the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA guarantees dependability and promptness of â€Å"electronic patient health, administrative, and financial data† (HIPAA, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA implements rules, policies, and standards that maintain the confidentiality and soundness/constancy of â€Å"individually identifiable health information covering the past, present, as well as, the future† (HIPAA, 2006). For instance, in case where an established institution needs an individual’s record, this individual is ensured that his or her personal information is safe with that institution (HIPAA, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cons, on the other hand, include the following:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA negatively affects the access of clients to their medical records (United.., 2007). This is because information may be â€Å"pending† to those who have the right to get hold of it because of the penalties enforced (United.., 2007). This is also because of the fact several health care providers are unsure when it comes to the legalities of the Act (United.., 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   HIPAA also does not have a positive impact or effect on health research (United.., 2007). This is because of the fact that HIPAA limits or controls the researchers’ conscientiousness to carry out â€Å"retrospective, chart-based research† (United.., 2007). In addition to that, HIPAA restricts researchers to â€Å"prospectively assess patients by getting in touch with them for the purpose of follow-up† (United.., 2007). Not to mention of course that, in terms of, â€Å"informed consent† forms, wide-ranging and far-reaching detail on how confidentiality is safeguarded is necessitated making it more complicated for subjects to grasp before they could sign in, which usually ends in not signing at all because they do not know what they will be signing on (United.., 2007). References       United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). HIPAA. Retrieved December 5, 2007 from   http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ HIPAA. (2006). Unsure How to Handle HIPAA? Retrieved December 5, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hipaa.org/

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact

Ineffective Unworkable Stability Growth Pact Abstract The paper presented provides a discussion and evaluation of the functioning of the fiscal discipline instrument; it was designed in the early 1990s for inclusion in the Maastricht Treaty, refined in 1997 with the creation of the Stability Growth Pact (hereafter, ‘SGP), and reformed in 2005. Assuming that we need it for reasons rehearsed in literature, the SGP will be evaluated and discussed in relation to its effectiveness to date. Although case law is not studied extensively, a brief overview of the SGP crisis in 2003 will be provided, followed by a legal/economic analytical framework perspective with the SGP examined under the lens of soft and hard law primarily. With the legal principles exposing the economics behind the SGP, the rules and discretion debate is followed supporting evidence that the current framework has proved to be inadequate. The methodology continues to analyse the SGP framework with a particular focus on the economic crisis of Greece. The lessons illumin ated from this particular case study will further provide possible recommendations to help the SGP become a more effective regime, in face of ageing populations and a need for growth enhancing forms. 1. Introduction While monetary policy is delegated to the European Central Bank (ECB) who face a challenge of convincing speculators that they are serious about the maintaining of exchange rate stability and that they will not use the option of devaluing (Jacquet 1998), fiscal policy remains in the hands of national authorities. Member States (MS) should however, according to the Treaty on European Union (hereafter, Maastricht) comply with the principle of sound public finances. To ensure this, the Treaty presents a no bail-out clause which prohibits the ECB, and other nations of rescuing a MS in financial trouble. This was further protected by the introduction of the Stability Growth Pact (SGP) which further specified rules and procedures. A primary source of European Union law is provided for by the power-giving EU treaties which set broad policy goals and establish institutions that, amongst other things, can enact legislation in order to achieve these goals. The SGP is precisely this further legislation that is required to give force and credibility to the Treaty. The legislative acts of the EU may come in two forms; directives and regulations. In the case of the SGP, it consists of two council regulations 1466/97 and 1467/97 which are directly applicable and binding in all MSs without the need for any further domestic legislation. The fundamental objective for the SGP is to identify excessive deficits and end them as soon as possible[1]. However, the SGP, in its original, reformed and current form is not effective. Whilst initiating debt and deficit cuts, it fails to stimulate and enhance growth. It has no end to criticisms in applying fiscal discipline. This has led to not only the SGP crisis facing the European Court of Justice in 2003 where the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) failed to impose sanctions on delinquent MSs but more significantly the recent crisis of Greece, where the failure of the SGP to discipline their budgetary discipline has led to spiralling debts forcing the EU to possibly ‘eat its own words in relation to the ‘no bail-out clause. This not only undermines the credibility of the SGP as a framework, but calls into question the functioning of the European Monetary Union as a whole. With the pact being described as an operational recipe and repeatedly being consi dered as too weak, will this finally spur policy-makers into producing a much harder pact? 2. Designing, Building and Naming the Ship From Maastricht to SGP[2] The aim of the following chapter is to provide a brief focused review of how the SGP framework was formed. The debate leading up to the creation of the SGP began long before the Maastricht treaty was signed in 1992. After the experience of the 1970s and 1980s it became clear that a new focus was required on medium term stability and fiscal discipline, and it became certain that there was a need for institutional mechanisms. In particular, the absence of a fiscal rule meant that the free rider problem was feared as MS may be tempted to run excessive deficits in the expectation that the Monetary Union will bail them out (Begg Schelkle, 2005). Later, this became the one of the most compelling rationales for the SGP; to prevent the European Central Bank (ECB) from being pressurised for an inflationary bail out (Eichengreen Wyplosz, 1998). In 1989, The Delors Committee composed of central bankers reported that economic and fiscal decisions â€Å"would have to be placed within an agreed macroeconomic framework and be subject to binding procedures and rules† (Delors Report, 1989). This would also help to avoid differences in public sector borrowing requirements between MSs and present obligatory constraints on the size of budget debt and deficits (Delors Report, 1989), therefore limiting the use of fiscal policy itself. This not only combined but reflected both the Keynesian coordination and fiscal discipline arguments. The vital question was how? The European Union (EU) was faced with key players representing different rationales. Whilst France wanted an ‘economic government the Germans central focus was on price stability, and they were adamant that excessive deficits must be avoided. Thus the result was the Treaty on European Union 1992. Whilst Article 99 states that MSs shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate them with the Council, Article 104 states that â€Å"Member States shall avoid excessive government deficits†. The Treaty requires MSs to satisfy two fiscal convergence criteria to qualify fully as EMU members: to keep general budget deficit/GDP below 3% and nominal gross debt/GDP below 60% (Article 104c Protocol) (hereafter the ‘rules of the SGP). Furthermore, the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) is defined and shaped by the interaction between the Council and the Commission. For Euro MSs, this can lead to financial sanctions because of possible negative spillover occurring throughout the Monetary Union as a result of established excessive deficits. However the procedure, as laid down by the Treaty, is in no sense mechanistic. Ultimately it leaves the discretion of whether to take action to the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The EDP protects MSs from action in the form of ‘forgiveness clauses which accommodate deviations from the rules, for example resulting from an idiosyncratic shock, given that MSs meet specified conditions. This means MSs are still able to participate in EMU (Article 104(c) 2a Article 104(c) 2b). For the debt ratio rule, the escape clause is ambiguous in its wording as the ‘satisfactory pace for approaching the reference value has not been defined and this has been interpret ed very freely and at the discretion of each MS. It has proved difficult to devise a formal rule covering all possible events. It was interesting to note, that the SGP provided a further detailed specification regarding the interpretation of the deficit ratio emphasising the importance placed on it, yet it remained silent on the debt criterion. This can be interpreted as the SGP effectively overlooking the debt/GDP ratio as being unimportant in the application of fiscal discipline. As Maastricht aimed at bringing into line the states whose fiscal history in previous periods had given rise to problems, Maastricht offered a great incentive of joining EMU successfully.[3] However, pessimists worried that ‘Maastricht fatigue would set in once countries were admitted to EMU. It was thought that countries had been forced to suck their stomachs in to squeeze into Maastrichts tightly tailored trousers, but upon EMU entry, they would expel their breath violently (Eichengreen 1997). Beyond doubt, a further mechanism was required to ensure that MSs sustained compliance. The EU faced two options; they could either continue to rely on voluntary agreements where MSs agreed to meet convergence criteria after EMU was fully operational or the EU could impose explicit rules that would elaborate on and give further instructions from Maastricht. Although the introduction of the SGP implied that the EU chose the latter, it soon came to light that in fact the EU had implicitly chosen the former. The Original Stability and Growth Pact Prior to the introduction of the Euro, the German government became extremely anxious about giving up the reputable Deutschmark in favour of the new single currency that would include fragile economies who lacked stability culture. Germany already maintained a low inflation policy, and through the SGP the German government hoped to limit the pressure other MSs could exert on the European economy. They hoped to remove the margin for discretion left by Article 104 of Maastricht by ensuring that the EDP would be implemented according to a predetermined timetable and the eventual sanctions would be levied according to a predetermined formula (Costello, 2001). However such an automatic sanctioning mechanism was considered inappropriate by some MSs. In 1996, the SGP was finally concluded[4] as being â€Å"far less mechanical than the initial proposal† (Fischer et al 2006). Based on two council regulations, it took the force of law, with decisions to be taken within the original standard legislative framework of the Treaty. Fiscal policy remained decentralised but the SGP hoped to combine restraint with flexibility, whilst representing a backbone of fiscal discipline in EMU to primarily address negative spill-overs from MSs (Fischer et al 2006). Although the Commission reserved its ‘right of initiative, the Council ultimately retained discretion in making decisions within an overall rule based framework. Whilst some argued that the SGP was â€Å"no more than a clear affirmation of Article 4† (Jacquet 1998), others suggested that the SGP builds on the Maastricht provisions (Fischer et al 2006), by presenting a monitoring process, based on Article 99, which combines surveillance through stability programmes and a quasi automatic warning system for countries suffering from excessive deficits based on Article 104, often referred to as the ‘preventive and ‘corrective arm. The preventive arm requires Euro members to submit stability programmes while non-Euro members present convergence programmes. Both are required to include the medium term objective (MTO), and if applicable, an adjustment path towards it. The MTO is required to be ‘close to balance or in surplus and the rationale is to ensure sustainable fiscal positions in the long run whilst also creating sufficient room for fiscal policy to smooth out fluctuations in the short run without violating the 3% deficit ceiling as specified in the SGP regulations. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that although the programmes must be submitted to the Commission, it may be examined by the ECOFIN Council which may choose to make its opinion public, and this can be understood as ‘naming and shaming. In addition, if the Council forecasts a deviance from the budgetary position it may choose to address a recommendation to the respective MS. However this is not obligatory, highlighting the Coun cils power as it can take it upon itself to apply peer pressure. The corrective arm however, in contrast to Maastricht, provides for a much stricter and formal procedure, designed with a rigorous course of action set with time limits, to enforce fiscal discipline in the SGP (Dutzler Hable 2005). Whilst an excessive deficit is established upon a breach of the 3% deficit or 60% debt rule under the Treaty provisions, the SGP nonetheless focuses on the 3% deficit ceiling. This is arguably, a mistake on the part of the SGP creators. The inability of monitoring deficits due to difficulty in time lags means that data is imprecise. It can take more than four years to detect disobedience reliably, which means that disciplining MSs is even more unlikely.[5] Therefore, focusing on the debt/GDP ratio would be more sensible. After all, it is the total debt stock that needs to be financed. Focusing on the short term requirement does not do much in preventing MSs from getting themselves into situations where they may need to be rescued as the Greek experience illustrates. Because debt is a persistent stock and not a flow, it can help policymakers in nation states to choose more suitable and reasonable plans, which will help lower the probability of nations facing a crisis such as the one faced by Greece. The persistence of a debt will help give governments an incentive to keep debt at lower levels in order to be able to adjust to unforeseen circumstances more ea sily. There is a question of how to set that debt limit; but that can easily be done using the empirical work of Reinhart and Rogoff (2009), and others, on the links between debt and growth rates. Nevertheless, the EDP clarified the following. Firstly, the ‘exceptional circumstances are defined as ‘an annual fall of real GDP of at least 2% meaning that countries will be automatically exempt from further action. Furthermore, a fall of between 0.75% and 2% may be deemed exceptional if MS provide evidence. The deadline for correction of excessive deficits should be completed in the year following its identification unless there are ‘special circumstances; these were not defined. As the rules in the SGP are insufficiently flexible, they allow for breaches that ultimately may undermine the operation of the SGP. However, because the procedural steps clarify that the timing between reporting a deficit above 3% GDP and imposition of sanctions should be no more than 10months, it means that, if no corrective action is taken in adequate time to correct the deficit by the year following its identification, sanctions will be imposed. Financial sanctions will be in the for m of non-remunerated deposits which will take the value of 0.2% of GDP and rise by one-tenth of the excess deficit up to a maximum of 0.5% of GDP. Additional deposits will be required each year until the excessive deficit is removed. If the excess is not corrected within two years the deposit will be converted into a fine; otherwise it will be returned. Ultimately, this means a MS can run excessive deficits for at least three years before their deposit is converted into a fine. Although the inability of monitoring deficits is unfortunate, the effect of legal and institutional weight given to the corrective arm means that the short term requirement of keeping government deficit below 3% is treated with much more seriousness than the preventive arm. This is ironic since in practice, the excessive deficit procedure is not properly enforced as no MS has yet been fined. The preventive arm on the other hand is enforced, yet its lack of formal and legal basis and no procedure to punish a failure to comply with the objective of a medium term balance further emphasises the lack of importance placed on the preventive arm. (Rostowski 2004). 3. Soft Law to Softer Law This chapter will provide a review of the SGP as a form of proper regulation up until the SGP crisis in 2003 which led to the consequent reforms. The hard versus soft law debate will be discussed. Difficulties facing the SGP after its Inception Whilst several Euro countries bettered their fiscal outcome by moving their budgetary positions into surplus, others such as Germany, France, Italy and Portugal remained trapped in high deficits (Fischer et al 2006). The implied emphasis on correcting deficits rather than preventing them (because on its sanctioning nature) induced a failure to achieve ‘medium term balance meaning that they had little scope to allow automatic stabilisers to operate once economic conditions deteriorated (Rostowski 2004). They were criticised as not being tuned into the pact and this failure of key MSs to respect the requirements of the SGP just a few years after its inception, triggered a heated debate regarding a potential reform on the architecture of the SGP (Fischer et al 2006). Though some may argue that countries would have faired worse had there not been a SGP[6], the operation of the pact brought to light issues which where nevertheless important. A continued period of low growth levels t riggered by the dot-com crisis in 2000, eroded budget balances to the point where fiscal policies had to become strongly pro-cyclical to respect the 3% limit (Wyplosz, 2008), highlighting the fact that the SGP encourages pro-cyclical behaviour. In addition, the SGP discouraged growth and economic reform, most importantly in the labour market. REFERENCE? Although these are major criticisms of the functioning nature of the SGP itself, whats more is that the SGP is perceived as being contradictory; although created as hard law it takes the effect of soft law. With a legally binding nature, there should be little room for discretion, however as mentioned the sanctioning is not automatically applied (Schelkle 2005) to countries who are in breach of the EDP but rather, the members of the Council are required to vote, and only by qualified majority can countries be declared to have excessive deficits (Rostowski 2004). The council composing of finance ministers from MSs, implies that not only is ECOFIN dependant but it is also partial (Schuknecht 2004). As concluded by Eichengreen and Wyplosz (1998), the SGP will in this respect have some, but not maximum, effect. As long as imposition of sanction remains a political decision in the hands of national governments, it is highly unlikely that large and influential states will be punished (Rost owski 2004). This was proven in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) crisis of 2003. Due to the fact that EU officials will be reluctant to levy fines and lose goodwill, EU decision makers will compromise, allowing the 3% deficit ceiling to be violated. MSs will be reluctant to incur fines and suffer embarrassment, and therefore governments will also compromise by modifying their fiscal policies just enough to obey the rules, and avoid forcing the EU to impose sanctions. Thus although the lack of hard law perhaps implies that the sanctions were to act as a deterrent for MSs from violating the rules, the presence of the sanctions which will ‘never be imposed provides no incentive whatsoever for countries to comply with fiscal discipline. This is not only in the best interests of the respective MS but for the best interests of EMU as a whole. Furthermore fines may adversely affect a MS, causing conditions to worsen, leading â€Å"to recrimination and dealing a blow to EU solidar ity† (Eichengreen Wyplosz 1998). It makes no sense to place emphasis on penalising MSs after the rules have been breached; rather the EU needs to do more to prevent these breaches from occurring. Not surprisingly, to date no country has yet incurred fines. Evidence suggests that the SGP has created divergence between different sized MSs (von Hagen 2005). With the three largest countries seemingly unwilling to push for underlying balance, the Pact seems to have worked well for a group of smaller countries (as well as Spain) (Annett, 2006).[7] This demonstrates that enforceability is not uniformly weak; generally small countries have respected the SGP provisions, the only exception being Portugal (Rostowski 2004). This suggests that either enforceability needs to be applied equally, or the pact must regain the support of the larger MSs, especially Germany and France who fought for the creation of the pact. Perhaps a more vital question is why the pact lost support of the key players in the EU. If governments do not believe fines will be imposed in bad times, what incentive do they have to run fiscal surpluses in good times? The following SGP crisis was therefore inevitable. The Original SGP Crisis In 2003, Germany and France established excessive deficits. However, the European Council (described as the ‘dozing watchdog in Heipertz Verdun 2004) voted to hold the EDP in abeyance as it is permitted to do so by the articles in the Maastricht Treaty, causing great uproar for the ‘existence of the pact. As described by Begg Schelkle (2004), â€Å"The ECOFIN council decision was widely interpreted as the death-knell for the Stability Growth Pact.† The Commission challenged this decision by presenting the case to the ECJ whose judgement[8] left many unanswered questions. This in turn led to legal uncertainty and the loss of credibility for the EU fiscal framework (Dutzler Hable 2005). More specifically the Council stated that France Germany had established excessive deficits. In the case of France, Council recommendations on basis of art 104(7) set a deadline for taking appropriate measures to reduce their deficit. Once the deadline was reached, the Commission observed France had not taken effective action upon the recommendations (Dutzler Hable 2005). The case of Germany differed slightly; although another deadline was established, in face of the economic slowdown facing Germany, the content of the recommendations was moderate. Upon reaching the deadline, Germany had, from the Commissions point of view, taken inadequate measures to implement Council recommendations. Thereafter the Commission issued further recommendations to the Council in order to advance with proceedings with regard to both MSs, and in particular, to take action in face of art 104(8) and art 104(9) EC respectively (Dutzler Hable 2005). Although, from the Commissions point of view, this shoul d have resulted in the Council immediately resuming the EDP (Dutzler Hable 2005), the Council upon voting, chose to suspend the EDP for both Germany and France. This decision was not unanimous; most of the smaller countries (who incidentally hold better fiscal positions) voted in favour of the Commissions recommendation, but the larger countries formed a blocking minority (Fischer et al 2006). As commented by Dutzler Hable (2005), in essence, the ECJ had to deal with two claims by the Commission. On one hand it was asked to annul the decision of the Council of not adopting the formal instruments contained in the Commissions recommendations pursuant to art 104(8) and 104 (9). On the other hand it was asked to annul the Councils conclusions, because it involved the decision to hold EDP in abeyance. The Court, in its judgement[9], demonstrated an appreciation of both parties. It ruled that the Council can and must hold the EDP in abeyance if the majority in Council does not vote to sanction the MS in question. However, it ruled in favour of the Commission in stating that the Council cannot adopt political conclusions (Dutzler Hable 2005).The judgement proved fatal to the existence of the pact as it failed to address important questions and clarify the institutional balance of powers between the Council and the Commission. It not only called into question the political willingness of countries to adhere to the prior agreed fiscal rules but it remains unsettled if the issue is to arise again in the future. Although Dutzler Hable (2005) comment that it remains unclear whether the EDP can be continued without the Councils approval, it is likely that the sanctions will never be applied without the backing of MSs as this would never be politically accepted. Therefore the question of whether the SGP effectively enforces MSs to obey fiscal rules is brought to light. The extent to which the system of fiscal surveillance and economic policy coordination binds the MSs and institutions remains unclear. The 2003 crisis called for a refocusing of the SGP and a need for political agreement opening the path to reform the SGP architecture (Begg Schelkle 2004), as supported by many of its critics. Question of Reform? To restore the credibility of the so called ‘hard-law fiscal coordination, in 2004 the Commission â€Å"suggested that an enriched common fiscal framework with a strong economic rationale would allow differences in economic situations across the enlarged EU to be better catered for and would contribute to greater credibility and ownership of the SGP in the MSs building on the culture of sound fiscal policy established in the EU over the last decade† (Commission 2006). In 2005 the reforms took place (legal provisions in EU Council (2005a,b)). The revised version arguably offers some answers to what was known as the inadequate SGP. There are changes in the preventive/corrective arms and the EDP, for example a variety of standards such as the position in the cycle, the nature of expenditure and the level of public debt must be taken into account to calculate whether a MS is in breach of the 3% deficit rule (Couere Pisani-Ferry, 2005), emphasising further flexibility. Contrastingly, there are no changes in governance. The voting methods and basic procedures remain the same, as changes to these would require modifications to the Maastricht treaty. Though the changes are welcomed (Fatas Mihov 2003), the SGP may still be identified as the ‘dog that would never bite (Heipertz Verdun 2004). For many critics, it was unruly that a softer pact was coming into existence, as a harder pact was desirable. However the Commission role has been strengthened considerably in that it can now give early policy advice and is under obligation to file a report if a budget deficit has been violated. The changes are summarized in Table 1. Original Pact Reformed Pact Preventive Rule: Medium-term Objective (MTO) All MS have an MTO of â€Å"close to balance or in surplus† Country-specific differentiation of MTO depending on debt level and potential growth, allows for 1% deficit if debt is low In case of Deviation from MTO No adjustment path or action Specified Commission can issue direct â€Å"early policy advice;† adjustment path specified as a minimum fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP and countercyclical; structural reforms can be taken into account to allow for deviation Corrective Rule: Monitoring if Deficit Exceeds 3% No obligation for Commission to prepare report; no mitigating other relevant factors (ORF) specified Commission will always prepare report, taking into account whether deficit exceeds investment expenditure. ORF can justify temporary â€Å"excess† Debt Position No specific provisions â€Å"Sufficiently diminishing† debt can be taken into account qualitatively; Systemic pension reforms can be taken into account for five years if reform improves long-term debt position Excessive Deficit Procedure Excessive deficit must be fixed in year following identification; if not, a noninterest bearing deposit must be made with the Commission that is turned into an â€Å"appropriate size† fine if situation persists; No ‘minimal fiscal effort defined; No repetition of steps foreseen Correction can be postponed for one year if ORF applies; Minimal fiscal effort of 0.5% of GDP to reduce excessive deficit required; Deadlines for correcting deficit can be extended if necessary steps are taken or if unforeseen adverse circumstances occur Table 1: Schelkle 2007 Analysis Under Soft and Hard Law Hard law instruments can be distinguished from soft law in that they are fully binding. When MSs do not comply with these laws they are breaking the law and may be sanctioned accordingly. Contrastingly soft law instruments are negotiated in good faith and provide a new framework for cooperation between MSs. Whilst favouring openness and flexibility, policy processes follow a codified practice of benchmarking, target setting and peer review. This allows national policies to be directed towards certain common objectives. The essence of it is not to provide a single common framework but instead to share experiences and to encourage the spread of best practice. By avoiding regulatory requirements, it allows experimentation whilst fostering policy improvement and possibly policy convergence. These can be seen as managing techniques which provide means to promote policy coordination without further undermining sovereignty. An example in the general EU context is the OMC method used under t he Lisbon strategy. Whilst soft law is easy to agree on but hard to enforce, hard law instruments on the contrary are difficult to agree on but easy to enforce. According to Wessels and Linsenmann (2001), EMU introduced both hard coordination in fiscal policy in the form of the SGP and soft coordination in economic policy in the form of Broad Economic Policy guidelines (BEPG). If a country deviates from the guidelines the Council can as in the case of Ireland adopt a non-binding recommendation against the respective MS (Jacquet Pisani-Ferry 2005). Unlike the EDP, the guidelines are not supported by any sanction. However, there is a fixed format of reporting and a predetermined timetable is followed, rather than allowing for ad hoc decisions by policy makers that set the agenda for discussion and action. Therefore, upon this insight, it suggests the SGP takes the form of hard law in that it is legally binding, but soft law in that enforcement is not automatic. Of course there are m any shades of softness in the SGP framework. The preventive arm with its close to balance or surplus provision, without sanctions is rather soft. By contrast the corrective arm with the ultimate threat of sanctions comes much closer to hard law (ESB working paper 2004.)This is not effective as it implies that only when things are wrong, is it time to sanction and this is an ultimate downfall of the SGP design. It is therefore confusing that following the reforms, critics claimed that the ‘hard law institution for fiscal surveillance has become soft. Furthermore, critics claim that the SGP has become so soft that the functioning of the SGP is jeopardized (Schelkle 2007). Schelkle (2007) refutes this claim by arguing that the revised pact will be better suited in constraining MSs in their fiscal behaviour since the new rules will be perceived as binding constraints that shape domestic efforts. An apparent paradox exists; the weakening of obligation to the pact may in fact make it difficult to evade, although it implies a softening of the governance framework. Abbott et al (2000) have proposed that there are three dimensions of governance all of which characterise the degrees of legislation; obligation, delegation and precision. This allows one to compare and contrast the original SGP with the reformed version for effectiveness of instruments and for the relationship between these dimensions. Obligation has been defined as a commitment arising under rules. At the two ends of spectrum, hard law is defined as sanction-able obligations whereas soft law are norms which are too general to create specific duties. Delegation, whilst at the hard law end of spectrum would mean an international court or organization given powers to resolve a dispute, contrastingly with the soft law end, which implies diplomacy. Precision defines whether a rule indicates the type of action that needs to be taken and by whom it needs to be taken in order to comply with the rule. For example, the BEPG state the objectives, but not how these objectives could be met. As the following table summarises the changes from the original to the revised pact, it can be understood the changes were not a uniform move from hard to soft law. Original Pact Revised Pact Obligation high to medium: Quasi-automatic sanctions under EDP but political de

Harold Brighouses Hobsons Choice Essay -- Brighouse Hobsons Choic

Harold Brighouse's "Hobson's Choice" In Act two, Alice tells Maggie â€Å"I don’t know what you’re aiming at.† She replies, â€Å"The difference between us is I do, I always did.† Explain the differences between Maggie and her sisters. ‘Hobson’s Choice’ is set in Salford in 1880, at a time when women tended to occupy largely domestic roles. However, the leading character, Maggie Hobson, is a woman way ahead of her time. Unlike her sisters, she is a demanding and domineering character. She knows what she wants in life and is not afraid to strive for it. Alice and Vicky stand up to Hobson, their father, about small and trivial matters. After Hobson has complained about the bustles the girls wear, Alice says to her father: â€Å"We shall continue to dress fashionably, Father.† However, Alice and Vicky are very intimidated by Hobson and so when it comes to bigger and more important matters the talking is left to Maggie. Jim Heeler calls on Hobson to take him to the ‘Moonrakers’. This is a bar where he spends most of his time drinking a lot of alcohol. Whilst Jim is around, Hobson seeks some advice from him. He requires advice on how to manage the girls. In the end he decides to get Alice and Vicky ‘wed’. After Hobson has told Alice and Vicky that he will be choosing husbands for them, the girls are extremely unhappy. They wish to choose their own partners: â€Å"Can we not choose husbands for ourselves?† But are told: â€Å"I’ve been telling you for the last five minutes, you’re not even fit to pick dresses for yourselves† Because this is an important matter Maggie takes centre stage: â€Å"If you’re dealing husbands around, don’t I get one?† To which he replies: â€Å"Well that’s a good one, (laugh) you, with a husband† Wi... ...w â€Å"brother in law†. The girls were not happy but still they were overruled by Maggie’s domineering character. To conclude, Maggie is different to her sisters in the way that she knows how to achieve the good things in life, she tries to bring out the good in every person. She makes her future good and she does it on her own. She stands up for what is right and for what she believes in. Maggie is not influenced at all by men and their opinions, she gains things by her own determination and will power. She is a person who values the fact that starting off small can lead to great success. Her sisters keep themselves to themselves and are too cowardly to stand up for themselves, therefore due to remaining passive characters, their future will be what the future makes it, not what they make for themselves as they do not intervene in order to make it better.

Hucks Conflicted Character in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleber

Huck's Conflicted Character in Twain’s Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn The first eleven chapters of Adventures establish Huck's character prior to his journey on the river with Jim. Dealing with external difficulty is easy for Huck, as he consistently adapts to his environments; however, his actions contradict his desires, revealing that Huck is conflicted. Initially, religion is appealing to Huck when the Widow Douglas tries teaching him: "After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers; and I was in a sweat to find out all about him" (220). Salvation seems possible to Huck, but he prefers to go to the "bad place" instead of spending eternity with Miss Watson (221); also, he abandons the concept of morality as a result of Miss Watson imposing it upon him. "I couldn't see no advantage about [helping others]...so at last I reckoned I wouldn't worry about it anymore, but just let it go" (226). Huck does not realize that he is not a selfish person, but resolves to sacrifice salvation instead of living selflessly simply because of the source and c...

When Harry Met Sally Essay -- essays papers

When Harry Met Sally The film I chose to view for this Romantic Comedy paper was When Harry met Sally. I enjoyed this movie. The two main characters were Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally Allbright (Meg Ryan). When first introduced to these characters, Sally is driving to New York, and Harry, who is the boyfriend of Sally's friend, is catching a ride with her. Sally is a very structured person. To quote Harry, she is a "high maintenance" women. Harry, on the other hand, has a more laid back attitude. This causes some tension between them on the long drive to New York. This fits well into the romantic comedy genre. In a romantic comedy there is usually tension between the two charcters in the beginning. Part of this pattern is for them to soften toward one another and by the end they fall in love. On the way to New York, Harry tells Sally some things about men she doesn't know and is reluctant to believe. One thing he tells her is "men and women can't be friends because sex gets in the way." This only increases the tension between them. By the time they reach New York, Sally doesn't appear too happy with him. She seems angry with him, but anger is sometimes used to cover other feeling. This is also a classic feeling in the genre. A gap of several years passes before they see each other again. They see each other at the airport, but they both pretend not to know the other. The next time they meet is a couple of years after they saw each other at the airpo...

Working in a group Essay

As noted in the lead group’s forum, â€Å"through observation, [Florence Nightingale] collected empirical evidence that supported her environmental theory and used it to develop evidence-based guidelines that other nurses faced with similar circumstances might find useful† (Selanders, 2010). Nightingale, in essence, was a pioneer to evidence-based nursing practice. She focused on the patient’s symptoms and examined possible environmental causes of these symptoms to steer the care given. McCurry, Revell, and Roy (2009) state that â€Å"nursing as a profession has a social mandate to contribute to the good of society through knowledge-based practice† (p. 42). No moves, however, can be made without a vision, or a formulation of what is wanted as the end result. This vision starts the process of producing a thought, or a philosophy; which can advance to a theory. Silva (1977) examines the research process by exploring the relationships among philosophy, science and theory. As a result of this analysis, she suggests that all nursing theory and research derives from our leads, or data, to philosophy. Silva also argues that information gleaned from philosophical introspection and intuition should be valued as much as that provided by scientific experimentation. Silva proposes that philosophical intuition is gained by having a thorough understanding of a subject; it is not simply a belief or idea without evidence. This is supported by advances in other fields, such as mathematics, that rely on reasoning, experience and logic and not solely on observation or experimentation. As a result, philosophical intuition can complement the scientific method and serve as another valid and promising means to obtain nursing knowledge. These steps are all intertwined to form future nursing care. Knowledge is built upon theories, for as Lauden (1984) noted, â€Å"problems constitute the questions of science, but theories constitute the answers† (McCurry et. al 2009, pg. 42). Theories are based on a hypothesis, data and research, as well as formulated models, or in essence paradigms. Whall and Hicks (2002) assert that for the discipline of nursing to maximize its research potential, multiple paradigms should be considered. Recognition of the value of philosophy in nursing is an important first step, after which the choice of how to use philosophical paradigms to frame research efforts can be made. As argued by the authors, the current generation of nursing students is integral in affecting change from a rigid either/or approach to positivist and postmodern influence in research to a more applicable both/and approach. Nursing affords researchers and clinicians the opportunity to appreciate the positivist medical model- A leads to B leads to C- while maintaining that each situation is subject to circumstance, culture, and an endless array of nuances, and these variables must be considered in research. Thus, the most appropriate approach is flexibility and utilization of both positivist and postmodernist philosophies, which will yield the most pertinent scientific results to apply to clinical settings. Experience in clinical settings will then inform philosophical approaches and theory development to facilitate best practice research. Despite the inarguable necessity of implementing well-researched, knowledge-based evidence in clinical practice, these readings suggest the importance of maintaining the holistic approach that defines nursing care throughout the process. References McCurry, M. K., Hunter Revell, S. M., Callista Roy, S. (2009). Knowledge for the good of the individual and society: linking philosophy, disciplinary goals, theory, and practice. Nursing Philosophy, 11(1), 42-52. Selanders, L. C. (2010). The power of the environmental adaptation: Florence Nightingale’s original theory for nursing practice. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 28(1), 81-88. Silva, M. (1977). Philosophy, science, theory: Interrelationships and implications for nursing research. Image, Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 29(3), 210-3. Whall, A.L., & Hicks, F.D. (2002). The unrecognized paradigm shift within nursing: implications, problems, and possibilities. Nursing Outlook, 50(2), 72-6.

Ethical Decision Making Essay

Ethics are important in business and the leader has important role in ethical decision making. A success leader is who has the courage to build his or her company to meet the needs of all the stakeholders, and who recognizes the importance of the service to society. The common theme for the leader play in ethical decision making is trust, fairness, and transparency. First, trust is based on ethical behavior of firm to form a strong base of any long-term business. Thus, leaders must act what they believe based on their strong value of religion, education, and family. Secondly, ethics refer to the fairness for making any decision or adjustment. Therefore, leaders should consider would their decision be fair for everyone affected by it before any action taken. Finally, it is important in such a way that is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Leader with well transparency would be happy to make the decision in public, especially to the people affected by it. Making the ethical decision is the duty of ethical leaders to instill these principles and face its sequential challenges. Business leaders must energize employees at all levels, utilizing a comprehensive set of methods to promote and recognize ethical actions. What must be in place for ethical decision making to occur in a business? In business, ethics is an essential configuration of leadership. The leader needs to make ethical decision when the business operators make competitive, strategic and tactical decisions that affect both stockholders and stakeholders such as downsizing and outsourcing. According to â€Å"How leader can be ethical role models† article, 79 percent of teens surveyed said they felt prepared to make ethical decisions when they enter the workforce. However, 38 percent said it is sometimes necessary to cheat, steal, lie or behave violently to succeed. Many leaders are now torn between company profits and doing the right thing. They are also torn between doing what is right for the company long-term and what is good for their careers in the short-term.

The Context Of Behaviour Issues Education Essay

To analyze the manner pupils are larning, I have chosen to research the Blooms Taxonomy theory completed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist. This taxonomy classifies rational operations mobilized during acquisition, the easiest ( underside of the pyramid ) to the complex ( top of the pyramid ) . Here is below an illustration of that pyramid: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.learnnc.org/lp/media/misc/2008/blooms_old.png The 6 degrees of Bloom ‘s pyramid allow the instructor to better form the patterned advance of his class, but besides help to explicate specific larning aims. In 1991, Lorin Anderson a former pupil of Bloom, has significantly changed the degrees of the pyramid maestro with the coaction of David R. Krathwohl, co-author of the original taxonomy ( Anderson & A ; Krathwohl, 2001 ) .A speedy penetration of the theory†¦The involvement of the work of Bloom is that it offers a series of verbs that describe the rational behaviour of each degree of the pyramid. These verbs refer to discernible and let such instructors to compose to specific larning aims. Despite the forsaking of course of study based on specific aims, Bloom ‘s taxonomy is utile. On the one manus, Bloom recognized the complementarity of affectional and psychomotor spheres, although the descriptions he has made aˆâ€ ¹aˆâ€ ¹today seem so superficial. But more significantly, his categorization of the cognitive sphere into six degrees of complexness is a simple manner to stand for the activities of idea for pupils. It combines really good the relationship between cognition ( memory, comprehension, application ) and accomplishments ( application, analysis, synthesis, rating ) . Higher degrees of Bloom ‘s categorization correspond exactly to the creativeness that instruction reform is to develop and redemption which is the best for the hereafter of pupils. In this respect, there are a figure of intriguing schemes and techniques to further creativeness. Bloom ‘s Taxonomy is for me an assistance to explicate inquiries that can find the degree of pupil apprehension. For illustration, a inquiry may be used to find a pupil is adept in factual cognition, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and rating. In my position, instructors are better able to cognize the failings and strengths of their pupils, which help advance larning patterned advance to higher degrees.Some critiquesaTop of Form Since its preparation in 1956, critics of Bloom ‘s taxonomy have by and large focused non on the being of six classs, but the world of a consecutive hierarchal relationship between them. Some consider the three lowest degrees ( cognition, comprehension, and application ) as hierarchically ordered, but the upper three degrees ( analysis, synthesis and rating ) as equal. Others suggest it is sometimes more appropriate to get down the application, before the debut of new constructs. How do I use Bloom ‘s Taxonomy? I would personally state that for the classs that I presently teach I consider chiefly four degrees of acquisition and command of cognition, which correspond approximately to the first four degrees of Bloom ‘s taxonomy: 1. Information degree ( Knowledge ) : cognition is comparative to the apprehensiveness of an overview of a topic: the worlds are shown in some facets in partial or entire. 2. Expression degree ( Comprehension ) : cognition is related to the acquisition of the agencies of look and communicating: define, use the footings component subject. These control cognition. 3. Mastering tools Level ( Application ) : cognition is related to the control of procedures and tools for survey or action: usage, manipulate regulations or sets of regulations ( algorithms ) rules, in order to a consequence to be achieved. It is to get the hang a accomplishment. 4. Master methodological cognition degree ( Analysis ) , which is comparative to the control a methodological analysis of installing and troubleshooting: assemble, organize points in a subject, place relationships, concluding from these relationships, and make up one's mind towards a end. It is an attack to command initiation, tax write-off, proving, certification. Each degree includes the old 1s and with the experience that I am presently constructing as a instructor, synthesis and rating are non truly expected from pupils chiefly because of their bing degree of cognition and the class degree. As good, there is no rigorous order to see in utilizing these different degrees as pupils can be asked to get down a subject at the mastering tools degree, merely to look into their old cognition and construct the lesson harmonizing to the findings. The good facet of Bloom ‘s Taxonomy is that there are sequences in the acquisition procedure that we can play with. So, in footings of learning schemes, depending on the topic, I can get down or present the subject at any degree of Bloom ‘s pyramid. If I teach basic accounting rules to finish novices, I would be given to get down with Bloom ‘s Comprehension degree ( expression degree for me ) , where I try to demo the scholars that they already know some facets of the theory: Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘s state that I intend to learn the double-entry clerking rule. The first measure will be to hold the pupils set in braces and make up one's mind themselves which type of dealing they want to finish. From at that place, they will hold to calculate out the journey of the money which will be different depending on the side where the dealing will hold to be recorded. By pulling a simple map on an activity sheet or the board, they will understand easy how the completed dealing must be recorded. Merely after that measure, will I present the theoretical accounting facet to put the regulation ( Bloo m ‘s Knowledge phase ) . Then the â€Å" usage and manipulate † phase ( Bloom ‘s Application phase ) where pupils will hold tools in manus to work out practical exercisings is introduced. In footings of resources and planning, I use what Rogers ( 2002 ) explained sing a theoretical account of patterned advance in larning associating to different results of acquisition: it implies motor accomplishments which require pattern, verbal information ( facts, rules and generalization ) ; for illustration in concern topics, lesson programs are built in a â€Å" learner-centred manner † : scholars are given the chance to recognize existent and bing concern entities and have to delve deep down in their bing cognition to demo what they already know about the concern environment and rules. They are provided bit by bit throughout the class with the necessary resources: ne'er all of them at one time. Then rational accomplishments come in when scholars have to utilize cognition to know apart, understand theories, constructs and regulations. Straight after that, cognitive schemes help scholars to â€Å" retrieve † , â€Å" think † and â€Å" manage † their freshly acquired accomplishments to specify and work out jobs, which are most of the clip in concern or direction classs instance surveies to be analysed ( Application and analysis phases in Bloom ‘s Taxonomy ) . Top of Form In footings of appraisal and from experiences carried out in category, I can state that each phase of Bloom ‘s pyramid gives chance for appraisal. I have the clear feeling that class bundles provided by most awarding organic structures, when looking at larning results and appraisal standards, are utilizing Bloom ‘s rules particularly when utilizing specific verbs ( describe, buttocks, discuss, explicate aˆÂ ¦ ) to bespeak what scholars need to â€Å" be able to † make in order to demo that they have achieved or understood the topic. Indeed, in the Double-entry clerking topic, I assess bing cognition foremost, and so I follow Bloom ‘s following degrees of larning to do certain pupils are get the hanging specific practical cognition like computations or hard currency flow prognosiss to give an illustration. To come back purely to Bloom ( 1956 ) , a larning nonsubjective describes a general accomplishment or set of accomplishments that the pupil must get at the terminal of a learning sequence. However, the general educational aims can non give rise to a strict rating unless they are made concrete. This requires that they be translated into operational aims. This is cardinal for the advancement and accomplishment of scholars. A end can be considered operational if the followers are specified: – Performance to be achieved ( result ) identifiable by discernible behaviour ( described by action verbs ) and quantifiable or apt to measure up, the scholar can make and he can be evaluated. – The conditions ( context ) in which the behaviour must happen ( limitations, mandates, what equipment to utilize, how long, etc. ) . – Performance standard ( pass grade ) on whether the end is reached ( Level of demand which acquisition is required to turn up and standards used in the rating of larning ) . Inspired by behaviourist, this manner of seeing things has provoked reactions, expostulations, unfavorable judgment sometimes really strong, particularly among advocates of constructivist epistemology towards Bloom ‘s Taxonomy. Nevertheless, the impression of end is cardinal in any methodological attack to the instruction and appraisal. The procedure of rating is hence to put ends ( mentioning to a taxonomy ) to operationalize and specify appropriate agencies ( instruments ) which will find whether aims are achieved by the pupils or non. It will so continue to an analysis of the consequences ( formative rating ) , which will take to a determination which shall be communicated to different stakeholders ( the clip of the communicating ) . However it is non ever didactically clear: how to put ends easy? What preparations to utilize? Should I needfully integrate action verbs? How to verify that the aims are efficaciously operational? From my point of position, the good intelligence is that there are two great and simple tools that, when combined, can assist me accomplish this: the association of Bloom ‘s taxonomy and the SMART method.Top of Form Once the demands and outlooks of a course of study are analysed, specifying the educational ends is a cardinal measure in developing a preparation program. This measure non merely allows me to tag my path ( strategy of work & A ; lesson programs ) , and besides to ease the appraisal. When explicating educational ends, I ask myself the undermentioned inquiry: â€Å" At the terminal of the training/module/course, I would wish my pupils to be able toaˆÂ ¦ ? † . And, depending on the type of accomplishment I want to develop in my pupils, I keep my preparation utilizing a verb of action. At this point, I choose to brainstorm without inquiring myself excessively many inquiries and I try to give free rein to my spontaneousness! The rule of this taxonomy is that scholars must make a specific degree and must be capable of executing the operations matching to ( x ) degree ( s ) . These degrees are therefore hierarchically ordered in cognitive procedures and to supply a model for puting ends for themselves. The accent is non on the course of study content but on how scholars can turn to and get the better of barriers to achievement ( Knowles, 1984 ) . This taxonomy besides allows the designation of the nature of the abilities sought by the aim of preparation and grade of complexness. Identifying the type of larning nonsubjective covered by a resource can see its practical integrating in a pedagogical sequence. An of import point is separating undertaking and end: the indispensable in the educational activity is ne'er the † merchandise â€Å" , the consequence straight discernible ( the papers prepared entirely or in groups, prep, classs and trial tonss ) , even if that is the lone manner to judge pupils ‘ abilities. The of import thing is the advancement made towards each larning result, if it is appropriate and can be reinvested, how it is put into drama and how it allowed scholars to turn. The relationship between the undertaking and the end differentiates developing state of affairs and location of production: in preparation, the end is first in production, it is the undertaking.

Youth problems

I believe that the graduate study would be able to help me achieve this dream This program . graduate study . uld help me become more develop and equip on the things that I want to learn that I can be able to use In my teaching career In the future . I believe that It is not sufficient to be a graduate of a normal school or college , or to stand high in the profession of teaching . Like the students , the teacher must grow , and this growth must be long lines both professional and general _ The teacher must have knowledge of educational movements and a familiarity with the progress in educational thought and research . Hence . ith the rogress In education literature and new educauon textbooks , and adopt the new Ideas that are sound that I can learn from the graduate school The zeal with which the teacher takes up and tests them in is one of the most helpful features of education work . The graduate school would help me become an earnest searcher and investigator in my own profession al field _ Thus , this program would develop my ability to create effective learning situation youth problems By bosya TermPaperWarehouse. com – Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents TheHome Page? » Social Issues Since childhood , it is my dream to be a teacher . It is the noblest Job in the world there are no teachers thus , the future of our nation lies on the teacher ‘s hands . This principle is inculcated in my mind and it motivates me to pursue this dream of profession I have chosen which is to be a good teacher someday because I want to to further my studies in education where I can be a competitive teacher and a role This program , graduate study , would help me become more develop and equip on he things that I want to learn that I can be able to use in my teaching career in the future .I believe that it is not sufficient to be a graduate of a normal school or general . The teacher must have knowledge of educational movements and a familiarity with th e progress in educational thought and research . Hence , with the progress in education literature and new education textbooks , and adopt the new ideas that are sound that I can learn from the graduate school The zeal with which and investigator in my own professional field . Thus , this program would develop my Youth problems I believe that the graduate study would be able to help me achieve this dream This program . graduate study . uld help me become more develop and equip on the things that I want to learn that I can be able to use In my teaching career In the future . I believe that It is not sufficient to be a graduate of a normal school or college , or to stand high in the profession of teaching . Like the students , the teacher must grow , and this growth must be long lines both professional and general _ The teacher must have knowledge of educational movements and a familiarity with the progress in educational thought and research . Hence . ith the rogress In education literature and new educauon textbooks , and adopt the new Ideas that are sound that I can learn from the graduate school The zeal with which the teacher takes up and tests them in is one of the most helpful features of education work . The graduate school would help me become an earnest searcher and investigator in my own profession al field _ Thus , this program would develop my ability to create effective learning situation youth problems By bosya TermPaperWarehouse. com – Free Term Papers, Essays and Research Documents TheHome Page? » Social Issues Since childhood , it is my dream to be a teacher . It is the noblest Job in the world there are no teachers thus , the future of our nation lies on the teacher ‘s hands . This principle is inculcated in my mind and it motivates me to pursue this dream of profession I have chosen which is to be a good teacher someday because I want to to further my studies in education where I can be a competitive teacher and a role This program , graduate study , would help me become more develop and equip on he things that I want to learn that I can be able to use in my teaching career in the future .I believe that it is not sufficient to be a graduate of a normal school or general . The teacher must have knowledge of educational movements and a familiarity with th e progress in educational thought and research . Hence , with the progress in education literature and new education textbooks , and adopt the new ideas that are sound that I can learn from the graduate school The zeal with which and investigator in my own professional field . Thus , this program would develop my

Managing the brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing the brand - Essay Example Once this phase is achieved the brand needs to ensure that the customer appreciates the brand. Finally the customer needs to become familiar with the brand such that it chooses the brand again and again (Chernatony, McDonald & Wallace, 2010, p.452). Perception: Human beings perceive based on their interpretation. According to the concepts of perception, the sense organs of human beings allow them to create interpretations of various situations, other human beings, and objects. Although theoretically it might be true that two individuals observing a same thing have same perception, but in practicality the perceptions might be different. Such perceptions might occur consciously or at times unconsciously (Ott, 2003). Competitive Positioning: Michael Porter’s five forces model explains how the positioning of a brand depends on the five forces. These five forces include the new entrants in the market, the bargaining power of the buyers, bargaining power of the suppliers, the substitutes and the competitors in the industry. These five factors together decide how a brand is positioned in the market as well as in the minds of the consumers with respect to its competitors (Hax, 2009, pp.208-210). Brand: The meaning of a brand can be understood from the perceptions and impressions that get reflected by a company and its products or services. It is the pledge that a company undertakes in order to serve its customers and provide them with their needs and demands. Thus a brand represents a company and a company is known to its customers by the name of the brand that it carries (Brand Definition, 2011). In the current business world of huge competition accompanied by the varying changes in the needs and demands of the customers, it can be understood that the perceptions of the customers are also changing, particularly with newer brands entering the market in greater levels. The competitive positioning also