Research Methods Essay

Methodology One of the primary ways in which marketing is defined is in terms of its difference from the so-called ‘pure sciences’ such as physics, chemistry, biology etc. Its use of theory and methodology is, therefore, closely related to this distinction. Academics of marketing often emphasize what too many of us are utterly obvious, that there is no certainty in the study of marketing sciences. This is because marketing not only deals with fiscal variables but also it deals with humanity, which is inherently transient. Taking this element of transience into consideration marketing scientists has to use not just quantitative but also qualitative methods of study. For this study of Establishing Islamic Fund to issue Islamic Bonds for Infrastructure Projects both the methods would be used. A Qualitative method of study differs from the usual quantitative methods (used in the study of pure sciences) in the sense that it tends to be far more subjective. This is in sharp contrast to the methods used in pure sciences which are exclusively objective. The research methods for marketing are a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Being open to qualitative methods of study also allows social scientists to incorporate non-quantitative data (i. e. non-numerical data, such as words, images, gestures, impressions etc. ) in their study. Since human beings tend to operate in terms of such data and not in terms of the finance used in ordinary sciences this broader outlook is far more applicable in the study of social sciences. In keeping with the methodology employed in marketing researches the theories too are formulated and used keeping in mind that they aren’t necessarily applicable to all conditions. Be it psychology, history, political science or economics human events are most likely to influence the rules which define the basic theories of a marketing subject. Success in the field of marketing researches can therefore be achieved if and only if it is understood that the subject has no space or opportunity for water-tight methodologies or theories. It can always be stated that Qualitative research is a process that includes interpretative paradigm under the measures of theoretical assumptions and the entire approach is based on sustainability that is depended on people’s experience in terms of communication. It can also be mentioned that the total approach is based on the fact that reality is created on the social formulations. It can also be mentioned that the basic target of qualitative research is instrumented towards social context under normal circumstances where it would be possible to interpret, decode and describe the significances of a phenomenon. The entire process is operational under the parameter of interpretative paradigm that can minimize illusion and share subjectivity under contextualization, authenticity and complexity of the investigation. The basic advantages of qualitative measures are multifold. Firstly, it presents a completely realistic approach that the statistical analysis and numerical data used in research based on quantitative research cannot provide. Another advantage of qualitative measures is that it is more flexible in nature in terms of collected information interpretation, subsequent analysis and data collection. It also presents a holistic point of view of the investigation. Furthermore this approach of research allows the subjects to be comfortable thus be more accurate as research is carried on in accordance to the subject’s own terms. The best statistical method would be to interview long well formulated day to day working procedure at a specific and well selected location and in this case it would be the three selected events mentioned. Throughout the procedure, it should be noticed whether there are specific variables within the testable population or not. These variables would be extremely important while evaluating the basic data in the final stages where the adjustments would be made to the formulated data in accordance to the observations. However, it is important to completely take into account the aspects of fundamental variables of an individual such as ethnicity, religious belief or positive support from the sales structure of the management and individual. It is necessary to design a new experiment that test the statistical method. For the purpose it is necessary to collect a complete data of the site that would include different religion, ethnicity or gender. An open meeting with potential customers of the Islamic fund and bond would be very relevant in this context but only the upper income limits should be taken into account in the initial stages. This is because only upper sections are the groups that are most likely to be present at the upper grade cosmetics. The mixed gender of male and female potential customers could well be excluded as that would complicate matters in the context of gender variable juxtaposed with other pre mentioned variables but considering other dependable factors sustaining it would yield to be fruitful in the long run. Data would be collected in relation to the gender, colour, and religion of the potential customers in respect to the composition of the management under the same parameters. Furthermore, the favourable conditions in the context of experienced customer response would also be accounted. All these variables are considered as very relevant and important features of the statistical method and it is to be seen if these aspects are fundamentally acceptable in practical world and it could well be mentioned that service, especially Islamic fund and bond, are a very relevant manifestation of the social dimensions. As a result if the test is carried out in a proper manner with proper calculations of the population involved then there is no reason that the results would be both logical and true at the end consideration. In accordance to the basic test selected it could be stated that it could be possible that the outcome would be relatively logical in the sense that it would ultimately follow the trends of social facilitation theory in marketing and thus it would be agreeable with the statistical method and thus a well formulated marketing strategy can be constructed for the benefit of the strategies of the Islamic fund and bond. However, it should be stated that there would be few independent variables in the context of the test that could not be explained by the statistical method statements. Here the ethical consideration of the potential customers or the ethnic background of the potential customers may not be a very relevant factor. Thus there could be some flaws to the collection of the population but if these aspects are kept in mind then the shortcomings would easily be negotiated during the ultimate computations. As a result the test would appear to be a full proofed measure that would be able to define and prove the fundamental aspects and statistical method applied. However it could be stated that the most basic distinction is between a quantitative or qualitative evaluation. In a quantitative evaluation, the purpose is to come up with some objective metric of human performance that can be used to compare interaction phenomena. This can be contrasted with a qualitative evaluation, in which the purpose is to derive deeper understanding of the human interaction experience. A typical example of a quantitative evaluation is the empirical user study, a controlled experiment in which some hypothesis about interaction is tested through direct measurement. A typical example of a qualitative evaluation is an open-ended interview with relevant users. As a result this method would be used widely. As descriptions of statistical methods that will be used it could be stated that in order to isolate the results for this particular study, only a survey questionnaire done would have been utilized. These questionnaires would be delivered to potential customers and retailers along with the administrators of the events. The results were divided into these same categories to ensure validity and reliability. General information in regard to identifiers was utilized in order to ensure that there would be no bias. This information provided the researcher with a more clarified view of perceptions in regard to the possibility and impact of economic, social and market penetration in the Islamic fund and bond strategy analysis of their successes and failures of their strategy. The objective in this study was to see the possible effect of the Islamic fund and bond strategy analysis of their successes and failures of their strategy. The study would in fact be balanced in its validity and reliability by results in questionnaires delivered. The objective would be to discover whether a prior knowledge of management of market segmentation would be beneficial or detrimental toward the company and their understanding of the use of strategies as marketing tools. Data would be gained from a specific area for ease of accessibility and for targeted accuracy lending reliability and validity to the research process. The variables involved would also include age groups, amount of education, and understanding of security needs and responsibility. Other variables may be inclusive of the economic standings of the potential customers of the Islamic fund and bond along with the same standings for the customers at the edge of the market segment interviewed. A third series of variables includes the types of studies that are managed and the cultural background of the customers at each of these areas. The research paradigm considered by the researcher in regard to this work included the consideration of groups and how strategically developed planning would target them. These considerations included in management and how the different respondents would in fact classify usage of event goers. The data for this work was managed through a single questionnaire handed out to potential customers and current customers of the Islamic fund and bond. The researcher utilized gender identifiers and numbers or letters to separate each questionnaire for validity and reliability of results and to ensure bias reductions. The questionnaire is located in the Appendix section for understanding of the questions. Each question had either a yes or a no answer or followed positive or negative reactions to certain questions. The process to deliver and collect these questionnaires would be spanned around approximately two weeks. The data sampling would be randomly managed utilizing stratified means with thirty-seven questionnaires completed by both male and female potential customers. The choice to use potential and existing customers alone in this research was made for three reasons. First, it was far simpler to have access to customers in regard to the researcher’s availability. Second, the focus itself is on customers’ attitudes and understanding of the gadget. Third, the quantification of such information allows the researcher to gain a broader perspective on how customers observe and realize the validity and reliability of information received from a variety of sources and how they apply it to daily life in terms of events. It should be noted that reliability for the researcher was achieved in the assurance that only a specified group of men and women were utilized in regard to the research. That group was focused mostly on customers and retails along with administrative personnel. This gave the research a more focused view of the research goal. The validity was managed as a result of this focus and emphasized in the considerations involved in the data collection, variables, and sampling methods. Privacy and confidentiality methods included assigning numeric and alphabetic coding to each responding questionnaire. This ensured anonymity in regard to the researcher and the subjects of the research process. Thus the most important objective of the interviews regarding this study concerning the market segment of the Islamic fund and bond would be building an impact regarding the profitability of this market for the stakeholder. As a result the study would feature qualitative interviews of personnel and personalities that are well known to the arena of marketing and a huge amount of potential customers who would provide complete views of their needs through as series of open and close ended questions. The interviews and questioners would certainly include the Administrators, Managers, marketing experts and Scholar, senior managers and obviously the potential customers of the Islamic fund and bond. The involvement of the administrators is a logical conclusion as this is the main stronghold that would be able to render the impetus of the market with his valued opinions. It should be noted that the interviews of the organization managers would be very helpful as they are the personnel who directly understand the ground reality of the nature and feasibility of the game plans established in the market segments of the Islamic fund and bond Strategies. Marketing and cosmetic industry management scholars and experts are also important for the basic strategy development these are the people who would be able to provide the theoretical framework of entire project. Interviews of the senior administrators, Journalists and retailer are very important because not only these people are well respected and their words highly valued, these are the people who are able to influence the structure of the Islamic fund and bond Strategies with their experience and insights. Lastly, interview would also be taken of experienced and potential consumers because they are the key objective of the entire scenario and these are the people who would actually present the objective of the market and would be instrumental directly to make the market worth venturing. To sum it up it should be mentioned that the methodology will involve client interviews, client’s strategic customer interview, event records, secondary research through the Internet and university database, it will also use strategic analysis tools for development of the marketing plan. In this context it should also be mentioned that the purpose of the project is formulated in a mutually beneficial way such that from an academic perspective there would be a huge gain in the context of valuable experience, and simultaneously add value by providing insights as well as a fresh & objective outlook on any matter relevant to the organization. Method of Analysis Information from the interviews will be classified into meaningful categories, which can be derived from the objectives and the literature. In using this categorisation approach, the data can be ordered and summarised according to the topic areas discussed and the depth of information attained. This could be done by establishing a suitable matrix and entering the data into the appropriate cells. However, it is essential to ensure that the categories devised are a coherent set so that the analytical framework is well structured and allows for effective analysis. This approach will allow the researcher to identify the most prevalent opinions and viewpoints as well as identifying polarised opinions. The analysis will help to draw out key themes and relationships, which will hopefully establish meaning in the data set. The key themes from the two types of interviewees can often be compared and contrasted in an attempt to create a clearer understanding of meaning. Lamb suggests that when existing theory has been used to formulate objectives, the theoretical propositions that enabled the researcher do this can also be used as a framework to help organise the data analysis. A clear theoretical framework was not used to establish the research question, although the objectives do acknowledge the relevant theory, so it is possible to use some theoretical framework to assist in the data analysis. The secondary data analysis will be used to support and augment the primary data. Analysis and Findings Analysis of information in regard to research managed by the researcher must include complete and full understanding of the questionnaire. This understanding focuses in the use of the questionnaire created specifically for this process. It is the considerations realized within the questionnaires, no matter their simplicity, that will focus considerations in later chapters of this work. Within this section of Analysis and Findings there will be measurement of all responses in regard to the questionnaire. Analysis strategy included a full series of statistical diagrams of all information collected including positive and negative responses, gender variations and marital status. This strategy provided the researcher with a wider spread for the conclusions that became evident in regard to the researcher’s focus. This information was broken down into specific charts for the benefit of visual context. The visual context provided insight in regard to perceptions of credit use and considerations by collegiate consumers in regard to financial planning and execution. These perceptions and considerations provide the researcher with evidence to support the hypothesis made in that there would in fact be adverse affects in the abuse of credit and that the use of credit, if not held in check, could in fact have auxiliary outside influence on other portions of daily life for collegiate students and perhaps for those outside the realm of collegiate studies. The researcher held awareness of the potential for study in regard to Islamic fund and bonds and their use or abuse through many methods. Those methods include observation, interaction and extensive research. The awareness of the media discussions of credit usage amongst collegiate level men and women and the similar studies within this idea would in fact have influenced the choice made. The choice of analyzing how students amongst this particular collegiate population would in fact consider their credit use and knowledge allows for a singular perspective isolated from the more broadly painted view including financial advisors, professors, parents and more. The focus itself was on the students and how they absorbed this information from the various resources available before applying it to their personal financial decisions. Overall, the respondents to the questionnaires provided insight in regard to how many individuals are learning more and more about financial management. This also provides insight in regard to some steps financial entities including banks and Islamic fund and bond issuers might consider in regard to further educating the general public, starting at the younger ages including collegiate level students and providing access to learning materials in this regard. The concern for this researcher would in fact be the lack of true knowledge in regard to Islamic fund and bond debt and its downfalls. The fact that there is much higher usage of Islamic fund and bonds and other forms of credits now than in years past causes more concern in regard to how to manage that growth of Islamic fund and bond debt in future endeavours. Limitations However, it should be mentioned there are certain limitations of the study. A number of people (usually senior administrators) may also insist that the consumers have no contribution to the issue. Many of them may think that consumers come into the working formulation only during the advertising scenario and never in the development plan of the marketing procedure. As a result they do not use the requisite strategic management techniques or adaptive methods that need to be exercised while developing a study such as this. However, it creates a void in the test as this limitation can be overcome by taking the subject into better mode of confidence. However, at the same time, it should also be noted that there are certain limitations regarding the methodology of the interview aspect. It could be mentioned that past history has shown that it is not always people revealing a context in a survey or interview holds much truth in the long run in general sense. This is one variable that is able to corrupt any well formulated strategically set formulations. But this again is a possibility and not the general rule. At any case it should be noted that all steps would be taken with utmost care so that such variables are not allowed to upset the basic test of market segmentation beyond a certain permissible limit. If all these parameters are well implemented there could be no reason why a long term strategy for operation in a full length marketing penetration and procedure cannot be established. Conclusion The understanding of this information gathered is proven in the statistics within the questionnaires that were completed and submitted. The research found that all respondents understood the material being requested and filled the questionnaires accordingly in timely fashion. This information was then examined thoroughly for consistency and validity. The researcher now understands that there is a great deal of diversity in the understanding of financial matters based on how those financial matters are taught to individuals whether through personal research, a parent, a bank representative, friends or other family members. The number of participants who pursued avenues toward understanding was surprising to the researcher in that there were far more to ask advice and to heed initial learning methods in regard to financial stability and concerns. The majority of respondents claim to have been taught financial management by a parent. Twenty-six respondents gave this as their response. Twelve also claimed that a professor had been beneficial in their learning. Bank representatives comprised eleven responses to the inquiry and six employers. The numerous choices for other methods of learning financial management included one grandparent, five respondents claimed their friends, two said internet resources, and one said society while two would actually work in the field. The diverse, yet incredibly stratified methods for learning and understanding financial management provide the researcher with interesting insights on how well these financial management methods are learned. Of the thirty-seven respondents to the questionnaire, the majority, including twenty-six respondents stated that they did inquire as to advice prior to application toward credit. This is intriguing to the researcher as it proves that students are understanding more and more in regard to their financial stature. Regarding whether positive or negative effects are seen or felt in regard to credit, most respondents claimed positive effects were seen. That number included twenty-one respondents with sixteen claiming there were more negatives than positives. When asked whether the students felt targeted by credit advertisers, the overwhelming response was yes with twenty-five respondents stating this. The remaining twelve said they didn’t feel targeted. The respondents overwhelmingly responded positively toward the need of courses on financial management. When asked if credit issuers were doing enough to educate consumers, the response was negative for the majority of respondents. When asked whether college campuses should provide financial planning assistance and credit understanding for students, the overwhelming majority of thirty-six to one said yes. The same response came in regard to having financial managers from banks and other financial institutions working with the college campuses for educational purposes in regard to use and abuse of Islamic fund and bonds and other forms of credit. Factors that manage approval of studies such as this one in regard to Islamic fund and bond use and abuse on college or university campuses would include the verifiable reports of credit usage by agencies including credit issuers, banks and debt management corporations. The rise in bankruptcies and such provide a very thorough glance into the behaviour of consumers and how that behaviour in the use of credit is affected by their ready knowledge of credit facts and figures. The researcher finds that the hypotheses made in the progression of the research would indeed have been validated through responses from the selected population. This further approves the necessity for further study and research into methods toward equilibrium in the use of credit. References Asif, M A L; Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions: The Progress and Probability; Book Resonance; 2005, 337, paragraph 3Iqbal, D; Birth of Islamic Banking; Part II; HDT Ltd. 1999, 33, 5-7 Syyed, S; Thinking and Acting in Islamic Finance Market; ABP Ltd, 2001, 98, 1 Zia-ud-din, Md. A; The Market Strategy; Large Alliance Publishers; 2004, 229, 4-8 Csermely, P; (April 28, 2006); Weak Links: Stabilizers of Complex Systems from Proteins to Financial Networks; SamsiReza Trust Allison, PD; (Nov 1, 1984); Financial Industry History Analysis: Regression for Longitudinal Event Data; SamsiReza Trust Mortimer, Jeylan T. & Shanahan, Michael J; (May 30, 2006); Handbook of the Life Course; Peterson Works. Box-Steffensmeier, JM & Jones, S; (April 5, 2004); Industrial History Modeling: A Guide for Social Scientists; Trans Europe Publications Ackoff, R &Emery, F; (Nov 15, 2005); On Purposeful Systems: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Individual and Social Behavior as a System of Purposeful Events; Raduga Publication Hedstrom, Peter & Swedberg, Richard; (Jan 13, 1998); Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Management Theory; Raduga Publication Riddell, J. Palmatier, C & Gallanis, P; (Jan 2006); Meetings and other Social or Business Events; Reflex Publications. Yamaguchi, K; (Jul 18, 1991); Financial History Analysis; Batmen Class Publishers Kagle, JD; (1995); Social Work Records; Walter Vilges Habisch, A. Jonker, J. Wegner, M & Schmidpeter, R; (Nov 23, 2004); Corporate Social Responsibility Across Europe; UltraVista Rubington, E & Weinberg, MS; (Jul 26, 2002); The Study of Social Problems: Seven Perspectives; Reflex Publication Arthur, D. , Scott, D. and Woods, T. (1997) ‘A Conceptual Model of the Corporate Decision-Making Process’ Journal of Sport Management, 11, 223-233 Carrigan, M. and Carrigan, J. (1997) ‘UK Sports Sponsorship: Fair Play or Foul? ’ Business Ethics, Volume 6, Number 2 Kotler, P. , Armstrong, G. , Saunders, J. and Wong, V. (1999) Principles of Marketing Second European Edition Prentice Hall Europe Mason, J. (1998) Qualitative Researching; Sage Publications Mason, J. (2002) ‘Qualitative Interviewing: Asking, listening and Interpreting’ in Tim May Qualitative Research in Action Sage Publications Mintel (2000) ‘Sponsorship’ Mintel International Group Limited July Saunders, S. , Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students Third Edition Pearson Education Limited Yin, R. (1994) Case Study Research, Design and Methods Second Edition Sage Publications Banyard, P. 2005, Ethical Issues and Guidelines in Sociology, Flanagan, Cara Publication, London, New York Hall, T. 2006, Urban Geography, Routledge Contemporary Human Geography Series; 3rd Ed, & Francis Routledge, London, New York Hood, J. 2003, Financial Management systems, Journal of Risk Research 6 (3), 233–251 (2003), Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow Hutt, M. & Speh T. 2001, Business Financial Management: A Strategic View of Industrial and Organizational Markets, Harcourt Collage Publishers, Philadelphia. Â  

Examine sociological explanations of the difference in the educational performance of ethnic minorities in Britain Essay

The connection between ethnicity and educational accomplishment is very complicated as there is a great deal of difference between achievements between each of the ethnic groups. In previous studies, such as those carried out to compile the Swann report (1985), used very simplistic classifications of each of the ethnic groups, ‘Afro-Caribbean’, ‘Asian’ and ‘All others’ (including white). There was clear ranking between these groups with all others at the top, followed by Asians, and then Afro-Caribbean. Later on more complex classification systems were introduced and so a more detailed picture of the relationships between class and education emerged. For example, Kysel (1988) used eleven classifications to measure success at 16. This study placed Indian, African, Asian and Pakistani pupils at the top, followed by South East Asian and Greek students. Students of UK origin came in the middle of the range, followed by pupils from Turkish, Arab and Caribbean origin. At the bottom were Bangladeshi pupils. Most sociological explanations point to home back ground, educational experiences and factors to do with society. However studies don’t usually apply such sophisticated classifications, as used by Kysel, so making it difficult to explain distinctions between the categories. There are three main reasons for different ethnicities achieving differently in the cultural factors, social class and school factors. Cultural factors are thought by sociologists to have a large influence on the difference in attainment of the ethnic groups. Findings of those such as Douglas have provided support for what came to be known as ‘cultural deprivation theory’. This theory states that many of the values, attitudes and skills needed for high educational success are missing in the culture of certain ethnic groups. This was a particularly popular theory in the 1960-70’s, it was notably supported by the Swann committee (1985), however evidence can be seen as weak, even the Swann report said this argument was ‘sketchy’. Driver and Ballard adopted this explanation in their study of children with parents of South Asian origin. They found that these parents quickly developed high expectations of their children’s abilities and such attitudes may have attributed to their success. Ken Pryce rejected theory. He did a study of the Afro-Caribbean community in Bristol (1979) and although he described their way of life as ‘turbulent’ he also said that Afro-Caribbean parents have great aspirations for their children, and that they were not socially deprived because their parents are supportive, interested and provide all of the educational aid the can. Rex and Tomlinson also rejected the cultural deprivation theory in their study in Handsworth. Their rejected the theory because the data they collected points to Asians achieving highest at school and yet their parents go into school the least, indicating that they are not as interested as Afro-Caribbean parents who go into school the most. In spite of their parents frequent visits to school Afro-Caribbean are achieving the least in school. Another important theory is cultural difference theory, this about children being disadvantaged because their culture differs from the schools, the main example of this is if a child go to an English speaking school and speaks a different language at home, this means that they will not be as practiced as the children for whom English is their first language, they will be subjected to constant correction by teacher and their confidence and self esteem may suffer as a result. This theory is rejected by Driver and Ballard who found that by sixteen Asian children’s command of English is at least as good as their class mate, and in some cases, much better. The Swann report also noted that linguistic factors held back some Afro-Caribbean students but most did not have a problem. Social class is another important factor to consider. Some research suggests that much of the differential educational advantage that Afro-Caribbean’s face is due to the fact that most Afro-Caribbean’s are working class, disproportionately so. Swann said social class adds up to half of the reason behind educational achievement. Smith and Tomlinson agreed with this with their study of inner city junior schools and found a large variation due to class but a much smaller discrepancy due to ethnicity. The only problem with this is Asian pupils are primarily working class yet they achieve better that their white middle class counterparts. Many researchers have looked at the impact a range of school factors; this idea takes the stance that the difference in attainment between the ethnic groups is due to school environment. In studying school factors researches may have looked at curriculum content, teacher’s attitudes, ethnocentric resources, banding, language and many other things. Mac and Ghaill found that there was no clearly defined relationship between students who have been the victims of racism and the ones who have been predicted a fail. What he found was how well students did was influenced mainly by the schools they had come from. Pupils from suburban schools did better than pupils from inner city schools. Most studies showed that teachers were not racist to ethnic minorities. Taylor saw that many teachers were very sensitive in their handling of cultural issues and Hammersley went on to say most racist teachers did not bring this into the classroom. Wright studied primary schools and noticed how Asian pupils were largely ‘invisible’ to the teacher and was treated insensitively by both staff and peers. Coard said that institutional racism lead to ethic minority children having self-esteem problems, which developed into low achievement. This is extremely apt with Afro-Caribbean students who are seen as ‘a threat to classroom management’ and because they have been treated like this they start to conform to the labels they have been given. The DfEE found in a recent study that Afro-Caribbean pupils were four times more likely be permanently excluded from school than white children. To conclude, the area of ethnicity is a very delicate one and it is important to view it in the context of individuals and not stereotype people. More research is needed in to the experience of small, specific racial groups, not just ‘Asian’ or ‘White’. It is also important to note that it can never be seen as just one factor, it is always going to be a combination of factors and also age and gender can not be ignored, no one factor can never be measured accurately on its own.

Capital Account Convertibility

Capital Account Convertibility. Should India adopt full convertibility? Capital Account Convertibility-or a floating exchange rate-is a feature of a nations financial regime that centers around the ability to conduct transactions of local financial assets into foreign financial assets freely and at market determined exchange rates. It is sometimes referred to as Capital Asset Liberation or CAC. CAC is mostly a guideline to changes of ownership in foreign or domestic financial assets and liabilities. Tangentially, it covers and extends the framework of the creation and liquidation of laims on, or by the rest of the world, on local asset and currency markets. Current account convertibility allows free inflows and outflows for all purposes other than for capital purposes such as investments and loans. In other words, it allows residents to make and receive trade-related payments receive dollars (or any other foreign currency) for export of goods and services and pay dollars for import of goods and services, make sundry remittances, access foreign currency for travel, studies abroad, medical treatment and gifts, etc. Capital account convertibility is considered to be one of the major features of a developed economy. It helps attract foreign investment. It offers foreign investors a lot of comfort as they can re-convert local currency into foreign currency anytime they want to and take their money away. At the same time, capital account convertibility makes it easier for domestic companies to tap foreign markets. At the moment, India has current account convertibility. This means one can import and export goods or receive or make payments for services rendered. However, investments and borrowings are restricted. But economists say that Jumping into capital account convertibility game without considering the downside of the step could harm the economy. The East Asian economic crisis is cited as an example by those opposed to capital account convertibility. Even the World Bank has said that embracing capital account convertibility without adequate preparation could be catastrophic. But India is now on firm ground given its strong financial sector reform and fiscal consolidation, and can now slowly but steadily move towards fuller capital account convertibility. CAC has 5 basic statements designed as points of All types of liquid capital assets must be able to be exchanged freely, between any two nations, with standardized exchange rates. The amounts must be a significant mount (in excess of $500,000). Capital inflows should be invested in semi-liquid assets, to prevent churning and excessive outflow. Institutional investors should not use CAC to manipulate fiscal policy or exchange rates. Excessive inflows and outflows should be buffered by national banks to provide collateral. Prior to its implementation, foreign investment was hindered by uneven exchange rates due to transactions, and national banks were disassociated from fiscal exchange policy and incurred high costs in supplying hard-currency loans for those few local companies that wished to do business abroad. Due to the low exchange rates and lower costs associated with Third World nations, this was expected to spur domestic capital, which would lead to welfare gains, and in turn lead to higher GDP growth. The tradeoff for such growth was seen as a lack of sustainable internal GNP growth and a decrease in domestic capital investments. When CAC is used with the proper restraints, this is exactly what happens. The entire outsourcing movement with Jobs and factories going oversees is a direct result of the foreign investment aspect of CAC. The Tarapore Committees recommendation of tying liquid assets to static assets (i. e. investing in long term government bonds, etc) was seen by many economists as directly responsible for stabilizing the idea of capital account liberalization. The Reserve Bank of India has appointed a committee to set out the framework for fuller Capital Account Convertibility. The Committee, chaired by former RBI governor S S Tarapore, was set up by the Reserve Bank of India in consultation with the Government of India to revisit the subject of fuller capital account convertibility in the context of the progress in economic reforms, the stability of the external and financial sectors, accelerated growth and global integration. Economists Surjit S Bhalla, M G Bhide, R H Patil, A V RaJwade and Alit Ranade were the members of the Committee. The Reserve Bank of India has also constituted an internal task force to re-examine the extant regulations and make recommendations to remove the operational impediments in the path of liberalisation already in place. The task force will make its recommendations on an ongoing basis and the processes are expected to be completed by December 4, 2006. The Task Force has been set up following a recommendation of the Committee. The Task Force will be convened by Salim Gangadharan, chief general manager, in- harge, foreign exchange department, Reserve Bank of India, and will have the following terms of reference: Undertake a review of the extant regulations that straddle current and capital accounts, especially items in one account that have implication for the other account, and iron out inconsistencies in such regulations. Examine existing repatriation/ surrender requirements in the context of current account convertibility and management of capital account. Identify areas where streamlining and simplification of procedure is possible and remove the operational impediments, especially in espect of the ease with which transactions at the level of authorized entities are regulations are consistent with regulatory intent. Review the delegation of powers on foreign exchange regulations between Central Office and Regional offices of the RBI and examine, selectively, the efficacy in the functioning of the delegation of powers by RBI to Authorised Dealers (banks). Consider any other matter of relevance to the above. The Task Force is empowered to devise its work procedure, constitute working groups in various areas, co-opt permanent/special invitees and meet various trade ssociations, representative bodies or individuals to facilitate its work.

Leisure sailing clothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leisure sailing clothing - Essay Example The Company under analysis belongs to the latter scenario rather than the former one. There are four factors that will be examined under the titles shown below as follows; There are both big and small political forces that affect the way a company runs. This is especially in regard to the leisure sailing industry. First of all, since the person considering opening up the business under study is a foreign investor, then government regulations concerning foreign investment in the UK should be considered. This is because there will be some tariffs that have to be paid by the investor. But there are relatively few regulations in this area of trade currently in the UK. (Assmus and Farley, 1984) The government passed a competition policy in the year 1998 to regulate players or investors within industries that may have undue advantage over others in their arena of operation. This is an advantage for the investor because he is protected from unfavourable competition. Besides this, the investor also has to consider the fact that the UK is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol; therefore he must make sure that the Company complies with environmental regulations set up by the government. The investor has to consider the country... Economic factors There are many economic factors that will affect the new investment. These may either be related to national issues or may be caused by some international factors too. There are very many players in the leisure sailing clothing industry and some of them may not be seen directly. This is because most companies in the UK that offer leisure sailing clothes do this as only apportion of their product offering. It may therefore not be very easy to detect such Companies as competitors in the market. The investor must put this in mind because he can be able to adjust his marketing strategies depending on what some of these competitors do. (Assmus and Farley, 1984) Another important factor that the Company should incorporate into its operation is the fact that the UK economy is relatively stable. This means that consumers have strong purchasing power. The Company can therefore engage in mass supplies because there is a ready and able market in the UK. In addition, the economy has long term prospects of improving. This implies the Company also has an opportunity to expand into there areas that have previously not been dealt with. The investor has to remember that the United Kingdom is part of the European Union. There are a number of implications that this has on any business running in that area. The first is that there may be stiff competition from other countries that belong to the region since trade barriers have been lifted. Also the introduction of a common currency will also affect the strength of the pound if the Company will be located in Britain. The Company can deal with stiff competition from other members of the EU through incorporation of outsourcing and knowledge management. The Company

Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example The only way for him to locate his mother is her telephone number. The theme of the story however revolves around the danger, the boy faces while traveling atop freight trains in order to cross Mexico. These freight trains are usually hunted by gangsters who take control of the train top and mercilessly kill and rob the migrants. Mexican police in the route are corrupt and the boys have to jump on and off the train to keep away from the cops and immigration officials. Hence it is called the Train of Death. Enrique overcomes all the hassles and dangers on his way with courage, wit, hope and the consideration of strangers. This story correlates with thousands of immigrant children who risk their lives to go the United States to reunite with their parents (Nazario). The April 2006 report of USAID Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean/Office of Regional Sustainable Development (LAC/RSD) and USAID Missions in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua indicates that there is an unprecedented increase in the rate of crime in Central America and Mexico that slows down the pace of democratic and economic progress in the region. The report recommends a multi national mission to combat the situation. Gangsters in the region are exploiting technology, traveling facilities and globalization to escalate the activities from their locale and trespass international borders. These gangsters spread their wings to the United States, Mexico and Central America by inflicting damages to national security and involve in drug trafficking. The report suggests various policies and programs to restrict the increase in gangs and related activities. Besides, gangsters, another rising concern in the region are deportation and migration. The solution rec ommended by the report begins from settling disputes like domestic violence and inter-family violence that serve as the beginning stage of gangs. The report calls

Architecture and the Critique of Ideology Essay

Architecture and the Critique of Ideology - Essay Example In effect, architecture can serve as critique of ideological beliefs as much as it is a testament to it by its design and object. Relating these concepts to that of architecture one realizes that as architecture characterizes ideology it also drives it. Therefore it can be expected that given enough time the ideology that drives the precepts of ideology today will eventually off shoot to contradict it self or diverge to form a totally new ideology. Jameson cites that "The new Utopianism for high modernism thus unwittingly and against the very spirit of its own revolutionary and Utopian affirmations prepared the terrain for the omnipotence of the full "rationalized" technocratic plan" (457). The promotion of ideology needs a high degree of economics and it can not be conclusively be considered a representative of the whole society. Instead, it can be simply driven as the interest of those who control the greatest interest in society (Pinker). For example, the emphasis in the ideal Utopian society may be in the theme of creating a model society but there is an underlying motivation by those who control the construction and organization of the city (Jameson 452). For city administrators, they will likely benefit from the organization by easing management burden. For those constructing the city itself, there are driven by the assumption that the Utopian settings will provide them limitless potential for expansion. This supports Richard Lewis' view that ideology is a practical means of defining society and delineating its identity from that of others (30). By channeling these ideologies in architecture, the ideologies are given concrete and substantial testament when they are adapted or shunned by other cultures. Constraints Karl Marx's view on ideology presented it as the ideas of the ruling class, that legitimate the rule of the bourgeois class, as a means of hiding the true state of social conditions such as oppression and inequality. He believed that these ideologies produced a false sense of consciousness and furthered bourgeois class domination over the disenfranchised in society (Goldman 71). In this way, ideology is structured as the foundation of the state of power in a society giving legitimacy to the action in support of the ideology. At the same time, Marxian ideologies also serve as a contradiction to the existing system particularly in economics (Jameson 450). The distinction of an ideology does not lie on the utility of the ideology but rather should be on the ideas that constitute the ideology itself. Otherwise, the tendency is for the development of far-reaching interpretations that can prompt action against others. According to Ernst Bloch, one of the main dilemmas in the concept of ideology is that when it is "broached from the side of the problem of cultural inheritance, of the problem as to how works of the superstructure progressively reproduce themselves in cultural consciousness even after disappearance of their social bases". Therefore, the ideologies may contain the same core ideas like in the case of religions but the cultural components that influence the practice of the religion and the individuals who practice it create the variances that delineate them

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

Questions - Assignment Example Secondly, many of the practices of Ancient Egypt still exists in various forms in African societies. And although most of these practices have systematically disappeared over the past 500 years due to Islamic and Christian influences, most African tribes continue to pay homage to the dead and some even worship ancestors. This is the exact traditions that were held sacred in Ancient Egypt. This is because the Egyptians saw their leaders as a link between the contemporary society and the supernatural world. Hence, there was a lot of attention that was given to the leaders of the community. The beliefs in the Afterlife led to the creation of pyramids which exist to this day as a way of keeping the Pharaohs eternally alive. Although Africans moved from these regions many years ago, they still have traditions like preserving the dead, having very elaborate funerals and the beliefs in spiritual systems and structures similar to what existed in Ancient Egypt. The culture and political struc tures of Africa continue to show resemblance with what existed in Egypt. Paleontology primarily shows evidence of changes in weather and other natural conditions that explains the need for Africans to move in various directions from the Nile Valley. Global warming and other challenges like war caused Africans to move in other directions. Then the desertification of the mid-section of Africa led to the creation of what is now the world’s largest desert. This caused Africans to move further south. And when the Sahara was fully formed, most Africans could not move to North Africa to link up to mainstream activities and technologies. Therefore, they moved in small scattered communities that were in the interior of West Africa and East Africa. Other conditions caused Africans to move further down south to places like the coast of West Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa. After the decline of Classical Egypt, persons

Mathicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Research Paper

Mathicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - Research Paper Example Methicillin resistant S. aureus is an antibiotic resistant form of S. aureus that has emerged as a significant strain of this bacterium. The first outbreak was reported in 1980 in the region of Detroit and since then MRSA has established itself as a clinically dominant community pathogen. In 2004, a study of adult patients who presented with purulent staphylococcal infections in the emergency, MRSA constituted a 78% of S. aureus infections (Crossley et al 272, 275). The community associated MRSA has been defined on the basis of the criteria provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the criteria, infections are classified as MRSA if (a) MRSA is isolated within 48 hours from a hospitalized patient, (b) the patient presents with a history of hospital admission, dialysis, surgery or long term care facility residence, (c) patient has an indwelling device during the time of culture isolation, (d) previous history of MRSA infection (Crossley et al 272). It is i mportant to differentiate the microbiological characteristics of the MRSA strains from the S. aureus, the disease spectrum and manifestations so that a correct diagnosis and treatment plan can be devised. Fig 1 :Prevalence of MRSA shown in relation to the age of the patients performed by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2004 (Crossley et al 281). The microbiological characteristics of the staphylococcus aureus are significant in understanding the clinical course of the disease. Staphylococci are included in the Gram positive bacteria which are signified by their catalase-positive and facultative anaerobic properties. Staphylococci measure 0.2-1.5 micro-meters in diameter and produce golden yellow colonies on agar or broth cultures within 12-24 hours at 37 C. The colonies are formed in grape like cluster formation or in the form of pairs, chains or even single bacterium (Weston 128). MRSA is a type of S. aureus that is resistant to a group of antibiotics call ed beta-lactams. This group includes Methicillin and others such as oxacillin, amoxicillin and penicillin (Centers for disease control and prevention n.p.). Fig 2: Representation of the MRSA colonies on the cultures agar observed through microscopic examination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention n.p.). The epidemiology of MRSA is mostly significant in health-care facilities. MRSA is typically introduced through patients who are transferred from other health care settings. Doctors are also considered as important sources of inter-hospital spread of MRSA infections. Spouses of patients can also act as reservoirs of infections at several times. Colonization occurs rapidly once MRSA is introduced into a hospital. Open wound diseases such as skin diseases including chronic dermatitis, ulcers, burns, surgical wounds and decubitus ulcers predispose the patients to the MRSA colonization. Aged and debilitated patients, patients on poor anti-microbial therapy, intensive-care patients , patients of chronic hemodialysis or long-term hospitalized patients are at higher risks for MRSA infection development (Gantz et al 264,265). Apart from patients in health care facilities, visitors of infected patients are also at high risk. Disease is transmitted through casual contact such as hugging, touching or kissing. Close skin to skin contact or contact of open wounds with contaminated items and surfaces also predisposes to MRSA infections. Crowded living conditions and locations

Ba financial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ba financial - Essay Example Liability products consist of checking and savings account, fixed deposits, certificate of deposits, etc. These products are by nature liabilities for banks as a result of which banks are obliged to pay interest to the customers for all these products. Except for checking accounts all other liability products provide interest to the customers. In short liability products are intended to raise fund for providing asset products. Asset products: Asset products are the revenue earning products for the banks because such products are by nature, assets for the banks. The most common asset products offered by banks are loans (personal and business), credit cards and mortgages. Among these, loans are the most revenue generating asset products of the banks. Banks use the funds raised through their liability products for providing liability products. Therefore, both asset and liability products are equally important for commercial banks. Two liability and asset products that will be discussed further in this essay are Savings account, Certificate of deposits, Mortgage loans and Credit cards. Savings account and Certificate of deposits: Savings account and Certificate of Deposits (CD) are the two main liability products of commercial banks. Savings account provides modest interest rates to the account holders of the bank. It is a very liquid form of asset to the customers as they provide withdrawal of amount at any point of time. Savings account is the primary source for commercial banks to raise money for lending. For the customers it provides a liquid asset with modest interest. A certificate of deposit provides higher interest rates than that of a savings account. CD is a promissory note issued by a bank that entitles the bearer to receive interest. Unlike savings account there is restriction on the withdrawal of funds from CD until the end of the term. For the customers, CD’s provide a safe and high interest bearing investment though it is less liquid. For the banks it provides a source of fund for longer period as early withdrawals by the customers are not entertained. Mortgage loans and credit cards: Mortgage loan is a secured loan provided by the banks to the customers. Such loans are secured by real assets of the customers. Therefore, for the banks the risk of loss is limited compared to usual unsecured loans. Mortgage loans usually bear less interest rate than unsecured loans. Such loans are mostly used by customer for acquiring properties, (residential and commercial). Credit card is growing to be one of the most revenue generating products for commercial banks. Credit card provides the customers with a line of credit which can be used by them to purchase goods or services. There is a credit limit attached to the card beyond which the customers are restricted to use. It provides the banks with revenue from annual card fee and interest on the purchases of not repaid within the billing period. Change in market interest rates and impac t on Asset products Change in the market interest rates will have a direct impact on the products of commercial banks. â€Å"A bank’s interest rate risk reflects the extend to which its financial condition is affected by changes in market interest rates.† (English, 2002) An increase in the market interest rates will have an adverse impact on the asset products of banks. Some of the main asset products of the banks are personal and business

Each of the novels focused on in this class examines the role of power Research Paper

Each of the novels focused on in this class examines the role of power in relation to the human condition. The characters in the - Research Paper Example Power is a very important and significant concept as well as a very confusing and relative term at the same time. This is because it depends on the kind of power that a person possesses in a certain situation and specific role. A person, at any one time is very likely to experience different forms of power such as expert power, referent, reward or coercive power (Flyvbjerg, 2009). There are also several sources to exercise power which include knowledge and expertise, charisma, coercion, persuasion, knowledge, social class, aggressive or manipulative. Power is not necessarily negative. It exists in both forms, positive as well as negative (Noordin Yahaya, 2011). A person who has a high authority can always use a positive way to exercise power and can also use a negative way to exercise his powers. Power can be used by using different tactics such as the concept of using soft power and hard power (Galbraith, 1983). Soft power refers to more collaborative ways of exercising power while hard power uses more harsh ways of displaying one’s power in a more manipulative manner. Moreover, power can be used in other ways like rational and irrational. Power is a good and a bad thing at the same time. When used in a productive way, that is to help others, to help humanity, to help society leaving apart all the desires that have power, it can produce great results. On the other hand if power is used in a negative way that is to get what you desire and that also might be unethical, by hurting people or by using power to take coercive actions can lead into a disaster (Ghandchi, 1998). As clear from their names, rational power means to influence others with logic while irrational power means coercing them to do something without any logical explanation or understanding. Another way is to use power in a unilateral or bilateral way. Bilateral use of power involves two way communication and ways of convincing people, negotiating with them, listening to what they have to sa y and implementing things that seem right. On the other hand, unilateral power involves person making decisions of his choice regardless of caring about others opinions and considering oneself as absolutely correct; not ready to face any kind of criticism. In the three novels that will be under consideration for this analysis; The Alienist", "The Thin Man", and "Snow in August", we will see what they have in common and how they can relate to concept of role of power with respect to human condition. All the three novels being discussed below have some form of power under discussion and each of them refers to a different form of power, how it affected the individual and how it can help achieve one’s goals, or how it has negatively affected a person in achieving what he wanted to. To begin with â€Å"The Alienist†, which is a psychological thriller and revolves around a diverse forensic team to help investigate on the issue and find a serial killer. In the context of this topic, what is important here is the fact that the forensic team constituted of a police secretary, a journalist, two detectives and the alienist himself. This means that the power of decision making in human context belonged to these 5 members regardless of what their roles in other contexts of life were. For instance, the journalist has a different position of authority in his job and so does the police secretary. However

Changes in Technology Essay Example for Free

Changes in Technology Essay The many changes in technology over the years greatly impacted the development of early human societies. Agriculture, religion, and competition between groups are just a few of the many things that were greatly impacted by the changes in technology. New inventions and ways of thinking of things made a huge difference in the world. There have been many changes in technology through out the years and in the development of early human societies. There were many changes during and after the classical age when it comes to agriculture. The invention of crop rotation and irrigation helped a lot in agriculture. They made farming much quicker and easier. Jethro Tull’s inventions of the seed drill and horseshoe also helped speed up the farming process. The seed drill made planting easier by planting seeds deep in the ground so they aren’t washed away. Horseshoes allowed horses to plow much quicker than before, which increased productivity. The increase of farming also made life a lot easier by allowing for less nomadic living due to the crops being so close to home. These inventions, as well as having more food from farming, are the reason for agriculture being as technologically advanced as it is today. Like agriculture, religion was also hugely impacted. Religion has always been very important in human societies. In the early years, religions such as Christianity and Buddhism introduced the idea of mutual intolerance. Mutual intolerance was the acceptance of disagreeing with another religion. Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity are just a few examples of the religions in this time. Things such as improvements in tools and weapons changed competition between groups. As time went on, there were more and more developments when it came to agriculture, engineering, and tools. The tools becoming more advanced led to the ideas of better weapons. Because weapons and tools kept improving, they began to be used to obtain power more regularly. In turn, groups like the Aztecs, Toltec, Mayans, and Oaxaca began fighting with these weapons in competition between groups. These examples of change in agriculture, religion, and competition between groups show that technology greatly impacted the development of early human societies. Whether it was because of inventions or different perspectives on things, these societies were obviously greatly impacted. With this information, it is clear that there have been many changes in technology through out the years and in the development of early human societies.

The systems development life cycle Essay Example for Free

The systems development life cycle Essay THE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE A system has various stages of development called the system development life cycle. This cycle consists of four stages: Planning and investigation, analysis, design and implementation, follow up, and maintenance stages. Planning and investigation involves an investigation of an already created system, organizing a system study team and developing strategic plans for the rest of the study. The analysis portion of the life cycle consists of analyzing the company’s current system in order to determine the information needs, strengths, and weaknesses of the existing system. The design stage of the life cycle consists of the changes that eliminate or minimize the current systems flaws and weaknesses while increasing or preserving the strengths. Implementation, follow up and maintenance includes obtaining resources for the new systems as well as training new or existing employees to use it. Companies then conduct follow up studies to determine whether or not the new system is successful and to identify any new problems with it. Of course, businesses must maintain the system like correcting minor flaws and updating the system. There is not really a distinct way to determine when the stage is reached or even completed, which is why it is called a cycle because it is continuous. For example, follow up studies of a system should be a continuous process. Companies constantly reevaluate systems to make sure they work the way they should because if problems in the system  re-surface or a new problem appears the life cycle starts over again starting with the system study. Also, since the system study is based off of already existing systems it is a never ending cycle so there is no real way to know when the cycle is completed or a certain stage reached. Often businesses will perform two or more stages of the life cycle simultaneously so multiple stages can be reached at once and the steps of the life cycle do not necessarily always happen in order. These stages of system development make up its life style, planning and investigation, analysis, design and implementation, follow up, and maintenance and are all necessary stages for a systems success.

Iberia group

Iberia group 1. Iberia Group Iberia is Spains largest air transport group and the fourth-largest in Europe. It is also the leading airline on routes between Europe and Latin America, with the most flights and destinations. And is member of Oneworld, a global alliance of leading airlines. Company is in business from 1927. And is only European airline has posted profit from last 13 years. In 2008 its main activities; Transport of passengers and cargo Aircraft maintenance Handling services in airports It flies to more than 118 destinations in 45 countries. But it reaches 189 destinations in more than 70 countries with membership with Oneworld alliance and code sharing accords with other airlines. Worlds 9th largest aircraft maintenance and engineering firm. In 2008, company completed deep inspections of1,384 aircraft,208 engines, 30 APU (auxiliary motors) and 68,396 components, among other tasks. It offers its service in 41 Spanish airports. And has fleet of nearly 8,500 ground vehicles and employs more than 8,500 people. In 2008, it attended 223 airlines,79.9 millions of passengers and about 420,000 aircraft, in Spain. In 2008,28.5 million people chose Iberia or its regional franchise partner for their air travel. 1.1. Iberia Shareholders 2. British Airways On 25August1919, BritishAirways forerunner company, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (ATT), launched the worlds first daily international scheduled air service between London and Paris. They completed its successive 90 years in airline industry. British Airways is world leading and flagship carrier of UK. That fly to more than 300 destinations worldwide and company carried 33 million passengers in 2008/09. And it is also member of Oneworld a global alliance of leading airlines. Company carried 777,000 tonnes of cargo to destinations in Europe, the Americas and throughout the world. At the end of March 2009 Company had 245 aircraft in service. 2.1. History In 1924, Britains four main fledgling airlines, which had by then evolved into Instone, Handley Page, The Daimler Airway and British Marine Air Navigation Company, merged to form ImperialAirways Limited. By 1925, ImperialAirways was providing services to Paris, Brussels, Basle, Cologne and Zurich. In the mid 1930s, a handful of smaller UK air transport companies merged to form the original privately-owned BritishAirways Limited, which became Imperial Airways principal UK competitor on European routes, operating out of another new airport, Gatwick. Following a government review, ImperialAirways and BritishAirways were nationalised in 1939 to form BritishOverseasAirwaysCorporation (BOAC). In 1972 Government announced its intention to merge BEA and BOAC to form BritishAirways. The BritishAirways Group was established, which would eventually result in BOAC and BEA being dissolved on 31 March 1974 upon the formation of BritishAirways. In 1976 Worlds first passenger supersonic services were inaugurated simultaneously by BritishAirways to Bahrain (Concorde G-BOAA) and AirFrance to RiodeJaneiro via Dakar. Concorde flights to WashingtonDulles commenced, but problems with noise levels delayed operations to New YorksJFK airport. In 1984 British Airways became PLC. And in 1987 British Airways privatised and completed merger with British Caledonian which was financially troubled that time. In 2000 British Airways completed its acquisition of 9% of the shares in Iberia, at a total of Ptas41 billion ( £155m). In 2003 British Airways withdrew Concorde, signalling the closure of the worlds only supersonic passenger services. The last scheduled commercial flight was BA2 from JFK operated by G-BOAG. 2.2. British Airways Shareholders 3. Destinations of Iberia and BA 3.1. Iberia Group Destinations Spain 38 Destinations Europe 47Destinations Africa 9Destinations America 22 Destinations Near and Far East 1Destination Oceania 1 Destination Total 118 Destinations 3.2. BA Group Destination UK 9 Destinations Europe 67Destinations Africa 15Destinations America 38 Destinations Middle East and South Asia 12Destination Asia/Pacific 7 Destination Total 148 Destinations 3.3. BA and Iberia Fleet Aeroplane Iberia British Airways Airbus A-340/600 12 Airbus A340/300 21 Airbus A-321 19 11 Airbus A-320 45 35 Airbus A-319 22 33 Boeing 747 55 Boeing 777 42 Boeing 767 21 Boeing 757 15 Boeing 737 22 Avro RJ100 9 Avro RJ85 2 Total 119 245 According to 2009 3rd quarter report, Iberia operating with 114 Airbus fleet. 3.4. Iberia and BA Facts and Figures of 2008 and 2008/09 Iberia and BA Iberia Financial Year Ended on 31 Dec. 2008 BA Financial Year Ended on 31 Mar. 2009 Noncurrent asset 2450 8142 Current asset 3184 2346 Total asset 5634 10488 Equity 1564 1846 Noncurrent liability 1765 4500 Current liability 2305 4142 Total Equity and Liability 5634 10488 Revenue 5223 8992 Total recognise income/(Expense) (236) (358) Fuel cost 1666 2969 Pensions (307) Number of employees 21578 44987 3.5. Iberia and BA Accumulated Facts and Figures of 2009 Iberia and BA Iberia 3rd Quarter Statement 30 Sep. 09 BA 2nd Quarter Statement 30 Sep. 09 Noncurrent asset 2400.1 8074 Current asset 2034.3 2354 Total asset 4434.4 10444 Equity 1582.5 2161 Noncurrent liability 4652 Current liability 3631 Total Equity and Liability 10444 Revenue 3333.0 4102 Total recognise income/(Expense) (181.9) (208) Net Debt (1520.8) (2362) Fuel cost 889.6 1228 Pensions (2633) BA has 2 pension schemes called Airways Pension Scheme (APS) and New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS). That in the past six months, the surplus in APS scheme fell from  £860m to  £27m, while the deficit in the NAPS scheme ballooned from  £1.2bn to  £2.7bn. However, Iberia says it can pull out of the deal if BA fails to resolve its pension deficit problem. 4. SWOT Analysis SWOT is strategic analysis tool which help us to scan micro and macro environment of an organisation. Which includes; Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. Where Strength and Weakness is called micro environment factors and Opportunity and Threat is called macro environment factors, in which Strength and Opportunity is helpful to achieve company goals and Weakness and Threats is harmful to achieve company goals. 5. PESTLE Analysis PEST analysis stands for Political, Economical, Socio-culture, and technological and is framework of scanning tool for macro environmental forces of strategic management. Which is later extended by Legal and Environmental forces and called by PESTLE. This can help to start new investments or business. Political: How Government get involved in business to make certain change in laws. Political factors which has effects on any organisation or business such as Political Stability, Tax Laws, and Labour Laws. Economical: Economical factors such as economical growth, interest rate, exchange rate or inflation rate have major impact on policy making on decision making that how to run business in future. Socio-Cultural: It includes cultural aspects how people will behave towards product. Such as health consciousness, population rate, religion, or age. Technological: Technological aspects includes; research and development, new emerging technologies. Furthermore it can have affect cost, quality and lead to innovation. Legal: factors include discrimination law, consumer law, employment law, and health and safety law. These factors can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products. Environmental aspects includes; Weather, Climate or Climate change. It may affect such as tourism and farming. Growing awareness to climate change is affecting companies. It both can create and destroys existing market. 6. Iberia 6.1. Strength Iberia is Spains largest air transport group and the fourth-largest in Europe. And is member of Oneworld, a global alliance of leading airlines. It flies to more than 118 destinations in 45 countries. And have 119 plains fleet. In 2008,28.5 million people choose Iberia or its regional franchise partner for their air travel. Iberia is the first European airline and third in the world best prepared to face the crisis, according to the â€Å"Top Performing Companies† ranking compiled by Aviation Week. 6.2. Weakness Iberias cabin crew have just finished one round of strikes and are promising more in a dispute over changes to their jobs. BAs attempts to cut cabin crew and freeze pay could also result in strikes. Ground staff and pilots are equally willing to use industrial action to get their way. 6.3. Opportunity Iberia is going for merger with BA which would save them 400 million Euros yearly. Increase in technology is playing important role such as online ticketing, and online check-in system is saving time and cost on operations. On 5 February 2006 the new Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas was given over to Iberia and the Oneworld alliance members. This provided much-needed expansion capabilities for Iberia. Iberia is responsible for around 60% of the airports traffic. 6.4. Threats Credit crunch and increase in fuel prices and global warming are creating threats to airline industry. Because of credit crunch people are focusing on savings. Cheap airlines emerging which offers good services to travellers and people like to travel with these airlines. Climate change is another factor people are very conscious about environment friendly products. And airlines have big contribution in increase of CO2 emission in world. 6.5. Political/Legal During the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, the aviation companies in Spain were combined and become state-controlled as a general interest public utility, coming into effect in early 1928. The airline was nationalised on 30 September 1944 and became part of INI. In 2001 Iberia once again privatised and listed on stock exchange. On January 9, 2009 the European Commissions Competition Service authorised BA and Iberia merger. 6.6. Economical Economical situation on the globe is not good it hits worst every business specially banking sector and airline industry. Because aircrafts is expensive mean of travel and people are pointing their attention to saving. Holidays operators such as XL tour operator were filed bank corrupt due to credit crunch and high fuel prices. Iberia worst hit by credit crunch it post 236 million Euros and 182 million Euros net loss respectively in financial year of 2008 and till 3rd quarter 2009. And Iberia and BA are trying to merger and save more than 400 million Euros per annum from their operations. 6.7. Socio-Cultural Iberia is flagship carrier of Spain and assumes its social responsibility by converting social action into a priority strategy through projects relating to the access to the transportation of passengers that require any manner of assistance and the giving over of hold space to transport humanitarian aid. During 2008 around EUR 3 million were earmarked for social action projects. It should be noted that Iberia continues to encourage its customers to participate in projects of this nature through the agreements entered into with the Spanish Red Cross and the Special Olympics and to involve its suppliers in social action projects such as the well-established collection of funds during the Christmas Campaign. 6.8. Technological Iberia has always been among the first to pass on to its customers any improvements offered by the new technologies to improve their comfort and save time. Electronic tickets; online check-in through a simple, procedure on Iberia.com; auto check-in machines at the main airports; an SMS information service of scheduled times and arrivals of flights via mobile. Apart from the auto check-in (check-in plus seat reservation) to more than 70 destinations, other advantages include the possibility of buying shuttle tickets, consulting bookings on any Iberia flight or accessing the Iberia Plus point programme. In 2008 close to 3.5 million boarding cards were issued by using auto check-in online facility. 6.9. Environmental According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the aviation sector contributes only 2% of the total CO 2 emissions generated by the consumption of fossil fuels. Internal audits were conducted in 2008 to check adequate environmental management in the areas with significant environmental impacts. A total of 39 internal environmental audits were made in Iberia during 2008, entailing the equivalent of 42 days work. Iberia currently has a very modern fleet of aircraft. Just in the past five years it has retired 76 aircraft and incorporated 60 new ones. Which reduce fuel consumptions by 20% compared to earlier generation aircrafts. Company made 1 million Euros environmental investment. 7. British Airways 7.1. Strength Strength of airline is bringing perfect service in new fleet. And best aircraft have to provide comfortable service to customers. Level of BA operations is amazing and BA gets an advantage on its competitors to provide wider variety of service to travellers. BA has 245 plains of fleet and provides services to 550 destinations around the globe with code sharing and as member of Oneworld alliance and in 2008/09 company carried 33 million passengers. BA has its own terminal at London Heathrow Airport which gives them competitive advantage to its main competitors such as Virgin Atlantic airline. 7.2. Weakness British Airways opened officially terminal 5 on 14th march 2008 but the facilities for staff and customers were unorganised. Staff faced problems for car parking that effect the work duties and other side the technical problems with bag loading in the flights. BA still having problems with missing baggage. According to AEA BA missing baggage ratio is 15.6% per 1000. BA pension schemes is big issue for management they post  £2.7 billion loss in last financial year for pension scheme. And Iberia SA told them if BA will not control Pension losses they will discontinue merger process. 7.3. Opportunity BA is going for merger with Iberia SA which would save them 400 million Euros yearly. Increase in technology is playing important role such as online ticketing, and online check-in system is saving time and cost on operations. BA own terminal at Heathrow Airport is helping to increase flights and company is able to provide more relaxed environment. The luxurious lounge has also been well received with an increase of 20% for customer satisfaction. Around 21 million people used terminal during the year. 7.4. Threats BA has threats such as unreasonable increase in competition, oil prices, credit crunch, and environmental changing or global warming. BA post  £358 million and  £208 million net loss respectively in 2008/09 financial year and in second quarter of 2009 due to credit crunch and increase of oil prices. Carbon emission is big issue for airline industry. BA is leading airline in the world and had carbon footprint of 17.6 million tons in 2008. So many other airlines are offering similar products in cheap prices. In UK Virgin Atlantic Airline is main rival for BA which is trying to have its own terminal at Gatwik Airport. 7.5. Political/Legal Government review, ImperialAirways and BritishAirways were nationalised in 1939 to form BritishOverseasAirwaysCorporation (BOAC). In 1972 Government announced its intention to merge BEA and BOAC to form BritishAirways. The BritishAirways Group was established, which would eventually result in BOAC and BEA being dissolved on 31 March 1974 upon the formation of BritishAirways. In 1984 British Airways became PLC. And in 1987 British Airways privatised and completed merger with British Caledonian which was financially troubled that time. On January 9, 2009 the European Commissions Competition Service authorised BA and Iberia merger. 7.6. Economical Economical situation all around the globe is not good. Organisations are having problems with their finances and people are losing jobs companies are spending less for their survival in this credit crunch. People have not savings to spend on holidays. if people have to travel they are using other sources of transports or other cheap air lines. That is why BA posts a net loss of  £358 million and  £208 million in current financial year in 2nd quarter. And BA and Iberia are trying to merger and save more than 400 million Euros per annum from their operations. Interest rate is historically low in UK by Bank of England as 0.5%. 7.7. Socio-Culture Our Community Learning Centre close to our Waterside headquarters at Heathrow has welcomed nearly 50,000 young people and adult learners on a range of education programmes since its opening in 1999. Last years BA Fun Run raised in excess of  £55,000 for Cancer Research UK. BITC reported our total direct and in-kind donations for 2008/09 at  £5.4 million (2008:  £5.7 million). Of these, direct charitable donations amounted to  £444,000 (2008:  £398,000). 7.8. Technology BA does around 57000 surveys every month to get best knowledge what their customers want from them. Almost third of airline booking are now made online. With almost half of all Europe from UK site. Travellers can have access to their bookings or any changes via their mobile phone. They can check-in and also access real time arrival and departure information with online system. System is saving time as well as money of travellers and company. 7.9. Environmental Climate change is an issue of huge importance to us and company have long term commitment to address it. Company climate change programme covers four main areas: Policy measures to curb emissions growth Voluntary carbon offsetting Fuel efficiency Support for scientific research In March 2009 company carbon offset scheme became first airline offset product to meet the requirements of the UK Governments Quality Assurance Scheme. Company target is reduce company net CO2 emission by 50% by 2050.Meeting this target will require investment in new technology, sustainable bio-jet fuels and in cost-effective emissions reductions in other sectors of the economy through the creation of effective global carbon trading markets. Company continue to look for ways to improve fuel efficiency and over 600 projects have so far been assessed. Of these, 55 have been implemented. 8. Corporate changes On July 29, the Board of Directors of Iberia resolved to begin talks with British Airways on a potential merger between the two airlines through an exchange of shares. In relation to this transaction, Iberia acquired a strategic ownership interest in the share capital of British Airways in 2008, which represented 9.99% of British Airways share capital at December 31. Both companies continue to work on the complex process of negotiating an agreement and planning the transaction. On January 9, 2009 the European Commissions Competition Service authorised this merger. 9. Acquisition and Merger Merger is a complete absorption of one company by another, wherein the acquiring firm retains its identity and the acquired firm ceases to exist as a separate entity. (Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan. 2007) Acquisition is generic term used to describe transfer for ownership. Merger is narrow, technical term for particular legal procedure that may or may not follow an acquisition. (Reed and Lajoux. 1999) 9.1. Merger of Iberia and BA The proposed merger will result in the creation of a new holding company (TopCo) that will own both the existing airlines and whose shareholders will be the current British Airways and Iberia shareholders. Under the terms of the proposed merger, British Airways shareholders will receive one new ordinary share in TopCo for every existing British Airways ordinary share held by them and Iberia shareholders will receive 1.0205 new ordinary shares for every existing Iberia ordinary share held by them. On the basis of this exchange ratio, and after cancellation of the treasury shares held by Iberia and prior to the cancellation of the cross-shareholdings held by British Airways and Iberia in each other, British Airways shareholders will hold 55 per cent of TopCo and Iberia shareholders will hold 45 per cent. Iberia or TopCo will not provide any guarantee or use any cash or credit facilities to fund the BA pension schemes. Merger is expected to be completed in late 2010. 9.2. Benefits of Merger The combined firm would have 419 aircraft flying to 205 destinations, and strengthen the Oneworld alliance. British Airways customers will gain access to up to 59 new destinations, of which 13 will be in Latin America, while Iberias customers will gain up to 98 new destinations across the British Airways network. They will also be offered better frequencies and connections, more competitive prices, access to more VIP lounges and enhanced frequent flyer benefits BA and Iberia said it would save them a total of 400m Euros ($594m;  £358m) in costs a year. The new group will combine the two companies leading positions in the UK and Spain and enhance their strong presence in the international long haul markets, while retaining the individual brands and current operations of each airline. Enhanced customer benefits with a larger combined network for passengers and cargo and continued investment in new customer products and services. Highly complementary network fit worldwide, in particular combining British Airways strong presence in North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa with Iberias strong Latin American presence. Greater potential for future growth by optimising the dual hubs of London and Madrid. Enhanced scale and ability to compete with other major airlines and participate in future industry consolidation. Annual synergies of approximately â‚ ¬400m at budgeted exchange rates are expected by the end of the fifth year after the completion of the merger at cash cost of up to â‚ ¬350m. The synergies will be incremental to the existing value from the airlines joint business between the UK and Spain. Approximately one third of the synergies are expected to be revenue related (joint selling, network and revenue management benefits) with the balance coming from cost synergies in areas such as IT, fleet, maintenance and back office functions. Strong group management team to maximize the combined groups earnings potential and deliver synergy benefits while maintaining localised operational focus and accountability. 10. Stake Holders BA CEO Willie Walsh said This is good news for BA, our customers and our shareholders; we recognize we have strong brands and these will be retained. Iberia CEO Vazquez, who will become chairman of TopCo, said â€Å"The merger expected synergies should help both carriers return to profitability. This project represents a very significant potential benefit for the stakeholders of both companies.† Steve Turner, Unite national officer for civil aviation, said We need assurances from the outset from British Airways and Iberia that compulsory redundancies will be avoided and that the new airline will be the best in the business in terms of passenger service. It is imperative that both companies sit down as soon as possible with the unions here and in Spain to discuss how jobs and standards can be safeguarded. The main pilots union has given the agreement a cautious welcome, with the warning to act further that the announce parity between the two airlines must be real. Spanish cabin crew, who are currently involved in strike action, have demanded that two plus two equals four in terms of

Trinity Church :: essays papers

Trinity Church Henry Hobson Richardson designed his most famous building, Trinity Church in Copley Square, after winning a competition in 1972. James O’Gorman described Trinity as â€Å"a cultural even of the first importance in American history.† â€Å"The building both represents a departure of the Boston’s mind from its Puritan past, and emergence of American creativity as a force in architecture.† Born in 1838, Richardson was raised just outside New Orleans and surrounded by the colorful stucco buildings of New Orleans. He was from an American family but was greatly influenced by the French culture of his area. After being denied admission to West Point, Richardson graduated Harvard, class of 1859. After Henry Hobson Richardson graduated Harvard University, he decided to remain in the North to study rather than return to New Orleans. He had the opportunity to study in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, travel to London, travel through rural England, and through Southern France and Spain, making some trips with his friend Henry Adams. Richardson collected postcards throughout his trips that would eventually amount to over 3000 images. Later, he returned to the US and began practicing in New York. Richardson served on the Staten Island Commission, and then moved to Brookline, MA in 1874 after completing several commissions in Boston. Richardson then designed Trinity Church during his remaining twelve years that he spent in Massachusetts. Trinity Church is a prime example of revival architecture. When the â€Å"New Republic† of the United States gained its independence, the â€Å"New Democratic Citizens† wanted their place in history reflected in their architecture. The people of the 18th century were proud people, with rights, rights to build homes and communities of their own. And so, the revival style was born, a style built upon the perceptions of their predecessors, the Greeks and Romans. The difference was they had more freedom than their predecessors. This revival style continued into the 19th century when Trinity Church was designed in a Romanesque Revival Style. The primary difference was scale as churches grew dramatically in size. Furthermore, the construction of the Trinity Church brought about the Richardsonian Romanesque Style. This architecture style remained prevalent during the Victorian period, primarily as a result of the widespread influence of the Trinity Church that displayed bold stonework, complex roof patterns, and arched openings. One defining feature of Romanesque architecture is a round-headed arch. Trinity is articulated with many round-head arches that frame its windows and entrances.

The Effects of the Industrial Revolution :: Expository Essays Research Papers

The Effects of the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was absolutely beneficial to the progress of the world from the 1800s all the way to present day. Sacrifices were made which allowed technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution, which in turn, created happiness, life opportunities, and an over-all, definite amelioration of life. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, many hardships had to be overcome, causing great grief to most of the population. Faith was lost, patience was tried, and a blanket of oppression covered the people of Europe. When new inventions arose to facilitate the producing and mass-producing of goods that supplied the people of Europe, nearly everyone was forced to begin a new career within a factory. These are just some of the hardships that many loyal, hardworking citizens were faced with. The reverberations of these new inventions caused a dramatic plummet of the life expectancy of an average citizen to an alarming 15 years of age. Women and children were expected to work up to 16 hours a day and doing labor that could cause serious injury, like carrying extremely heavy loads. For their work, they were paid ridiculous wages, women around 5 shillings per week, and children about 1. One can easily recognize the negative aspects of such a dramatic event. However, if one "steps bac k" to view the revolution as a whole, he will notice that the positive aspects completely out-weigh the negative aspects. The revolution began when inventors introduced their creations to improve the way people were producing goods. Machines such as the cotton gin, water frame, power loom, and spinning jenny allowed textile products to be produced in mass quantities. These techniques of mass-production made other methods such as cottage industry, where families produce items by hand, obsolete. As a result of this, people began to work in factories with these machines. Factories became so dominant that eventually the cottage industry no longer played a part in people's lives. This dramatically changed people's lifestyles, and for a long period of time, there were terrible work conditions. These factories had its positive and negative aspects. The work conditions were very dangerous, there were no safety devices, and many had to work long hours. However, due to the mass production, many jobs were available, and the prices of goods considerably decreased because of the extreme availability. The job opportunities and price decrease definitely improved the lives of the people, giving them a chance to be a part of the society and be able to purchase products at a price that wasn't too bad.

Boys Antisocial Behavior Essay -- Education Argumentative Persuasive

Boys' Antisocial Behavior In almost any college class you walk into you will find that there are more female students than male. This wasn't the case years ago. David Thomas' article " The Mind of Man" points out that women are progressing readily in today's society, but where are the men? Years ago men were the only ones permitted into colleges. But as time went by people's ways of thinking changed dramatically. People began to realize that girls were not getting the education boys were, and things had to be changed. I think of this change, that society made, as a pendulum. Years ago, the pendulum hung to one side. The side of boys' education. This side completely dismissed girls education. Society wanted to fix this wrong by moving the pendulum towards girls' education. The ideal thing would have been for the pendulum to have hung in the middle, with equal educational opportunities for both sexes. The problem though, according to Thomas' article, is that the pendulum went too far, and now the boys are being disregarded as the girls once were. There isn't a problem with girls being educated and getting ahead in the world, that's fantastic; the problem is, boys are not getting the same education. Thomas' believes that the problem begins in grade school. Something is occurring in elementary schools that is turning boys away from education. This something is, predominantly, female teachers. Being female myself I don't think that female teachers are bad, rather that most of them are unconsciously encouraging the anti-social behavior of boys. "Women teachers consistently praised girls more than boys, and equally consistently criticized the boys' behavior, often regarding it as a serious problem requiring remedial treatme... ...school teachers was increasing. Boys, however continued to out-perform girls in scientific and technical subjects where teaching was still dominated by men" (122). With the statistics provided we can see that boys are performing poorly academically when in the hands of women. It isn't known for sure what's causing this problem or how it can be fixed, but one must start by realizing that there is a problem. The only solution that I can think of is that each and every teacher must work at putting positive ideas and positive feelings into each and every child. It is a hard task, especially living in today's world, but if teachers can show children that there is a bright future waiting for them they will work towards getting there. Work Cited Thomas, David. "The Mind Of Man." The Presence of Others 3rd Edition. Bedford/St. Martins, New York. (2000) : 120-25. Boys' Antisocial Behavior Essay -- Education Argumentative Persuasive Boys' Antisocial Behavior In almost any college class you walk into you will find that there are more female students than male. This wasn't the case years ago. David Thomas' article " The Mind of Man" points out that women are progressing readily in today's society, but where are the men? Years ago men were the only ones permitted into colleges. But as time went by people's ways of thinking changed dramatically. People began to realize that girls were not getting the education boys were, and things had to be changed. I think of this change, that society made, as a pendulum. Years ago, the pendulum hung to one side. The side of boys' education. This side completely dismissed girls education. Society wanted to fix this wrong by moving the pendulum towards girls' education. The ideal thing would have been for the pendulum to have hung in the middle, with equal educational opportunities for both sexes. The problem though, according to Thomas' article, is that the pendulum went too far, and now the boys are being disregarded as the girls once were. There isn't a problem with girls being educated and getting ahead in the world, that's fantastic; the problem is, boys are not getting the same education. Thomas' believes that the problem begins in grade school. Something is occurring in elementary schools that is turning boys away from education. This something is, predominantly, female teachers. Being female myself I don't think that female teachers are bad, rather that most of them are unconsciously encouraging the anti-social behavior of boys. "Women teachers consistently praised girls more than boys, and equally consistently criticized the boys' behavior, often regarding it as a serious problem requiring remedial treatme... ...school teachers was increasing. Boys, however continued to out-perform girls in scientific and technical subjects where teaching was still dominated by men" (122). With the statistics provided we can see that boys are performing poorly academically when in the hands of women. It isn't known for sure what's causing this problem or how it can be fixed, but one must start by realizing that there is a problem. The only solution that I can think of is that each and every teacher must work at putting positive ideas and positive feelings into each and every child. It is a hard task, especially living in today's world, but if teachers can show children that there is a bright future waiting for them they will work towards getting there. Work Cited Thomas, David. "The Mind Of Man." The Presence of Others 3rd Edition. Bedford/St. Martins, New York. (2000) : 120-25.