Causes of current recession Essay

The America’s economy has been booming, all along before the recession, many questioned has been raised by the experts some even suggesting that, free marketplace as well as free ventures might take the effects wherever the law had unfavourable implications. The recession was first visualized when, the sub-leading mortgagees went ahead to evade on their payments since either they had no enough cash most likely for the reason that the interest rates went up or else they were at a risk of begin given a loan to start business with otherwise they choose a appalling loan whose rate was not fixed (Rigby 3). Each economist suppose that recessions are economic issues that cannot be evaded, they can only be managed to control there level of occurrences (Baveja et al 1). This is because, there are periods of high growth in a healthy economy as well as slow growth and some times no growth. The truth is that, some contracting and expanding has to occur for the economy to be healthy. However, for an economy to be considered in a recession the period for contracting is required to last for at least for two quarters consecutively in a year or a half a year. It is difficult for many people to predict the possibility of occurrence of the next recession. The exact causes of economic recession tend to be a mystery to many people but there are a number of mysteries that give information concerning the causes of economic recession. Some people tend to think that recession is brought by events that are deemed to have a great economic impact in the economy. Some of these events would involve the increase in interest rates or a decline in the confidence of a consumer.   Generally, recession is primarily seen to occur due to the actions that are taken when controlling the supply of money in the economy (Stephen et al 3). The above believe comes with different views from different people, for example, many economists in the United States have believed that economic recession is caused by Federal Reserve. This is because; it is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve to take charge in maintaining an ideal balance between money supply, interest rates and inflation in the United States. Rigby (3) advocates that failure of the Federal Reserve to maintain balance in the above areas it will result to the economy losing control. This is a case that has happened recently in the year 2007. During this year, the Federal Reserve Monetary policy that was used to bring in large amounts of money supply into the market, kept the interest rates below the expected rates but the rising of inflation continued to rise drastically. This problem came together with easy methods of borrowing money that could lead to the crisis of the economy until last year. Most of the economists have believed that America is already in recession and others that the country is heading towards a recession. However, people believe that each recession has its own cause while others believe that recession has only based on one ground. For example, bad investments by business are a single cause of recession in the country. In addition, recessions and depressions such as that of the great Depression are said to be caused by stock market crashes. A sharp increase in oil prices or even going to war are factors that inhibit short term growth in the economy (Harmesh et al 16). It is evident that globalization has changed the nature of business cycle. However, regardless of which theory one would believe in there is no definite answers to the causes of a recession. There is little evidence that recession is brought up by a number of factors. This means that there are many events that take place that result to recession. An example for numerous factor theories is the recession that had taken place after the prices of oil increased dramatically in the 1970’s (Stephen et al 3). This helps in setting off a recession since the prices set off a big economy decline in oil demand. This was because real income had been reduced due to higher costs of the imports of oil. In addition, there was more tight monetary policy that dampened the inflationary pressures which came after the increase of prices. These factors brought down the overall demand that in turn led to a recession. Currently, in America, banks are scared of giving loans to customers. The reason for this is that, the banks are terrified that giving out loans will lead to loosing the money and defaulting if loans. There is the existence of credit crunch that has caused money to be real tight and this is making many banks such as the Lehman brothers to go bankrupt. Another bank known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bailout for the purpose of keeping it from standing bottom. This has led to the current loss of money by the stock market because of the major credit crunch that is making investors nervous that a major recession is on the way. A recession is considered to be the goods and services that are down from the previous two quarters or more (Baveja et al 1). The recession being experienced in America has to the number of taxpayers buying out all the dead mortgages to approximate 700 billion. This is a sign that the banks will start once more lending money freely to people. However, currently loans are still given out although at a much higher rate. According to Rigby (6) in order to make more money available and flow freely, central banks across the whole world are cutting the rates if giving loans. To add on this, the effect of crisis in many industries is great due to the consideration of banks as the major capitalist society. This leads to difficult to loan money since it becomes increasingly tight in the borrowing market. Hence less homes are bought as well as cars and even small businesses are affected in the sense that they cannot do payroll. Small businesses spend a lot of time in taking temporary small loans until they are paid for the product or service. In early 2000, there existed a deregulation that caught up greedy banks and the ways in which they were handling out credit and loans to people who cannot afford them hence leading to financial meltdown. The rise of inflation rates that creped very fast led to difficulties for people in paying back loans and credit hence creating a slow meltdown effect. America is considered to be the largest world’s economy and its economy has been seen to be weak and it’s drifting as a result of a collapse of the housing market. There is also the problem of sub prime mortgage turmoil, a severe credit crunch, high oil prices and the deep devaluation of the dollar (Baveja et al 1). Possible solutions in eradicating economic recession People can be disappointed in the fact that there is no cure for economic recession. However, some people argue that fiscal and monetary stimulus should shorten the downturn but patience is needed for it to happen. There is need for changing the legal framework governing the various aspects of economy. It is important for people in the country to be well versed with corporation and banking as well as economics to enhance education among people affected by the results of recession. Learning on the above areas makes people more educated, smart and qualified to deal with economic recession (Stephen et al 3). Recently during the Obama week, there was the introduction of the rescue gains team. In this team there are seven people known as the fixers who are in charge of rescuing the economy. In order to rescue, the teams takes into consideration various issues. During the tenth week of Obama administration, the treasury secretary Tim Geithner unveiled the next phase of the bank bailout (Baveja et al 1). A plan for overhauling regulation of the financial system was outlined by the government. The administration effort is determined to produce economic conditions that are stable. This has helped in improving the sentiment on Wall Street where stocks posted gains for the week. In Capitol Hill, the committees involved in the house and the senate largely supported the Obama plan for 2010 with positive caution. It has been a long debate in the American country to take issues concerning the solution to economic recession. The administration is also concerned with the prevention of future meltdowns through increasing the supervision of the financial markets and prevention of companies from growing too big posing the possibility of failing. The need for investing highly in health care, education and energy was also one of the long term agendas mentioned by the president for the purpose of fighting economic recession in the country The issue of drawing a budget proposal that cannot be separated from the broader themes of economic recovery and future growth was addressed. This budget is referred as laying foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity for economy. My opinion on the best way of dealing with economic recession There is need for changing the legal framework governing the various aspects of economy. It is important for people in the country to be well versed with corporation and banking as well as economics to enhance education among people affected by the results of recession. Learning on the above areas makes people more educated, smart and qualified to deal with economic recession (Harmesh et al 16). Work cited. Baveja Sign Sarabijr, Ellis Steve, Rigby K. Darrell, â€Å"Taking advantage in a down turn,† 2002, 1. â€Å"Havard management update,† leadership & managing, 2001, 8-12. Hamermesh G. Richard, & Dann B. Jeremy, â€Å"STT Aerospace,† 1998, 10-20. Stephen C. Michael, Pearce A. John, â€Å"strategies to prevent economic recessions from causing business failure†, 2006, 1-9. Rigby K. Darrell, â€Å"Moving upward in a down turn,† strategy and execution, 2001, 1-8.

Analysis of the Rocking Horse Winner Essay

A literary analysis of ‘The Rocking Horse Winner’ by D H Lawrence cannot fail to mention the strong metaphor of the toy rocking horse itself. Other strong metaphors include the race horses and the idea of gambling in general.. The image of a boy rocking himself to illness and death on a toy horse suggests a powerful and upsetting metaphor for a child’s burning ambition and distress, and to understand the metaphor we must look more closely at the story itself. In â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† short story by D H Lawrence, a child gets the feeling that circumstances in his family are deteriorating financially and feels utterly powerless to improve the situation. He sees the bitterness of his mother’s discontent and tries to improve her lot, although she seems to pay him little regard. All her attention seems concentrated on a husband who, despite his efforts, can never provide enough for her insatiable appetite for material things. Horses in general, gambling on their races and in particular, the rocking horse itself become metaphors for the child’s ambition, and the driven quality of his determination to succeed – at all costs. The child, Paul, decides that there will never be means to support his family unless he assumes some sort of control himself. Paul decides to resolve the financial crisis through luck, chance, fate and gambling on horses. He thinks that he can divine winning horses in races by riding his own toy rocking horse. The horse metaphors suggest the themes of ambition in life turning to a blinkered disregard for the costs and consequences in a narrow given area, a drive bordering on obsession. Either by luck or by judgement, Paul actually starts to win money and hopes it will make his mother happy. What he doesn’t realise is that she is the sort of person whose appetite will simply grow and whose discontent is of her own making. The need for money just balloons out of control and family members start to put pressure on him. The strain of duty, loyalty, responsibility, guilt, repression and denial of affection and reward becomes so unbearable that he rides his rocking horse so madly that he gets sick and collapses as his chosen horse is about to win a famous race. D H Lawrence’s own relationship with his mother – one of love, but also of control – is relevant to the story too. In his drive to succeed, Paul echoes the need of the young Lawrence to please his own mother – and of course, highlights another form of ambition, that of her hopes and dreams for a gifted young son in avoiding the pit life and aiming for something arguably higher and more academic. The horse metaphor it seems, has deep roots in Lawrence’s own childhood.

Adaptation Mcdonalds

McDonald's Going International International Marketing Mag. K. Roth Group 2 Florian Antos Vladimir Slon Christoph Gluszko 1 Christian Schromm ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT McDonald's 2 History †¢ McDonald's Corporation – is the world's largest chain of fastfood restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, French fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. More recently, it also offers salads, fruit and carrot sticks. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California.Their introduction of the â€Å"Speedee Service System† in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion. 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What are the advantages and disadvantages of adaptation strategy used by McDonald’s? 4 1.Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Advantages: †¢ Different cultures have different consumer needs and tastes †¢ Political and legal environment of the international market that they plan to enter †¢ Differences among nations in terms of cultures, religious believes, political and legal systems, customer values and lifestyles, and stages of economic and market development †¢ Differences in the advancement of technology †¢ Competition plays a major role in determining if a company will adopt a product adaptation scheme 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Disadvantages: †¢ The costs associated with adaptation can also play a major role in determining whether or not a firm chooses to standardize their product 6 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy †¢ †¢ †¢ Cross any boarder and you will find multiple variations from price to product, starting with the presentation. Misconception that McDonalds is the same everywhere.Country teams have considerable autonomy to develop and market new product lines. Menu differences: Netherlands and Austria– Beer Germany – Chinese Week Canada – Mc Pizza India – Goat and lamb burgers half of menu vegetarian Japan – ingredients such as cabbage and Teriyaki USA – Barbecue bacon Burgers, sausage breakfast burritos 7 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? 8 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized?Truly global Brands : †¢ In general we can say that straight extension (=standardization) has been implemented and already been successful with cameras, consumer electronics, and many machine tools. Stihl ( machinery and chainsaw producer) Nikon Olympus, Canon ( camera producers) Kitchen Aid (consumer electronics ) Caterpillar (trucks, bulldozers) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 9 What have been the key factors that have led to McDonald’s global success? 10 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ Fast service enabled by a limited menu, focus on cleanliness, family friendly facilities, good value for money Emergence of cash-rich, time-poor lifestyle Societal acceptance of a more casual approach to eating on the run underscored the emergence of McDonalds Innovations in food preparation technology and service delivery providing a fast- service format that customers appreciate as well as a cost base that competitors found hard to match Waiter labor cost savings passed on directly to the consumers through lower prices McDonalds was the leader to introduce franchising in the global marketplace, augmenting the organic restaurant growth by harnessing the management, cultural and entrepreneurial capabilities and capital of local businesspeople around the world.Expanding across the globe Increasing res taurant penetration in already existing markets †¢ †¢ †¢ 11 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? Key Faktors: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Economies of scale in production and distribution Power and scope Brand image was country suited Ability to leverage ideas quickly and efficiently Uniformity of marketing practices Pervasiveness of McDonalds brand 12 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ McDonald's is seen as the number one representative of the all American lifestyle, which at the time when the expansion began was very popular. In some countries it is still a status symbol to go and have a meal at McDonald's.Generally the cooperation is at pains to offer a selection of standardized core products ( Big Mac, Soft drinks, French Fries) in addition to locally accepted alternatives. Giving the multinational cooperation a local Face ( thinking of Salzburg's restaurant) In order to use synergies on the one hand and reduce national competences on the other a supranational administrative department had been set up in Europe. McDonald's. has always been supported by US foreign policy Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s; Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 13 What are the risks and benefits of choosing the franchising system for franchisor? 14 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for franchisor: The franchisor profits from the strongly motivated franchisee as a self-dependent entrepreneur †¢ The franchising as a way to overcome the resource scarcity through the direct market access †¢ The ability to overcome the high costs of arranging the new distribution network through using the well tailored network of franchisor †¢ Low capital investments for the product placement and region marketing through the franchisee †¢ The benefits from using a recognized brand name and trade marks through the reputation of the franchisor †¢ Extended expansion possibility through franchising 15 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisor: †¢ The existence of multiple, geographically dispersed owner-managers makes the control difficult †¢ Possible high costs of training development, promotional and support activities of franchisee †¢ Service delivery may be inconsistent because of geographically dispersed franchisees 16 What are the key issues by setting up a McDonald’s Franchisee? 17 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for the franchisee: †¢ Your business is based on a proven idea.You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. †¢ You can use a recognized brand name and trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the â€Å"franchisor†. †¢ The franchisor gives you support – usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. †¢ Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. †¢ Risk is reduced and is shared by the franchisor. †¢ If you have an existing customer base you will not have to invest time looking to set one up. Relationships with suppliers have already been established. †¢ The ability to overcome the resource constrains. 18 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisee: †¢ Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing royalties and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. †¢ The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. †¢ The franchisor might go out of business, or change the way they do things. †¢ Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation. You may find it difficult to sell your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. 19 4. Costs and Restrictions Costs: Financial Requirements/Down Payment : Initial down payment for opening (40% of the total cost) or an existing restaurant (25% of the total cost) about 200. 000 $ nonborrowed resources Financing: McDonald’s does not offer financing; McDonald’s Owner/Operators enjoy the benefits of our established relationships with many national lending institutions 20 4. Costs and Restrictions Restrictions: During the term of the franchise, you pay McDonald’s the following fees: †¢ Service fee: a monthly fee based upon the restaurant’s sales performance (currently a service fee of 4. 0% of monthly sales). Rent: a monthly based rent or percentage rent that is a percentage of monthly sales. †¢ Application: Personal, non-borrowed res ources to be invested in a McDonald's restaurant business. †¢ Business experience in the market where they are seeking a franchise 21 What strategy would you adopt to ensure a great exposure for McDonald’s to a growing trend towards healthier eating? 22 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Currently: †¢ †¢ Low fat products in UK outlet Canadian light choices of Menu with a Soya bean McVeggie Burger, salads with a fat free dressing and a granola topped fruit yoghurt On packaging calorie and fat content information for the first time as it tries to counter the obesity lobby †¢ 23 5.Healthier eating at McDonald’s Future perspectives: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using biologically grown resources Fat reduced meals Healthier ways of processing the food (eg. : don’t fry chips but bake them, less white bread burgers, regular vegetarian dishes,) Healthy, freshly squeezed Mc Shakes etc. Healthier Drinks not only Sodas To ensure high-quality, fresh ingredients, farms are set up in order to supply restaurants 24 Sources: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ www. McDonalds. com www. freeforessays. com/show_essay/55461. html D. Jobber â€Å"Principles and Practice of Marketing† Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 25 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION 26

Skype anaylsis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Skype anaylsis - Research Paper Example Over the year, the company has experienced rapid growth with a substantial increase in the number of customers each year. While most of the services are free, the company requires customers pay for land line and mobile calls through the Skype credit card. The company leverages on the current technological development to push its product to the customers. In the era of technological revolution, communication has become an important aspect of the globalized population. The public intends to stay in contact no matter their large geographical separation. As a result, Skype creates the link to sustain communication within the world by providing an online communication platform. Since its foundation, the company has become a hot product within the market. Two years after its release, eBay announced its willingness to acquire it for $2.5 billion with other potential performance-based consideration. In 2009, eBay announced its intention to sell 65% of its Skype shares to Silver Lake for $1.9 billion (Curwen 11-23). Later in 2011Microsoft acquired Skype Communications for $8.5 billion. Microsoft established Skype as one of its division replacing the old Microsoft Live messenger. Today, the application has over 60 million users being one of th e highest preferred communication website. The Skype division is a company that now delivers all its surfaces online to the international market. Users can download applications in their hardware to acquire the platform to communicate. The company provides a wide range of service from messaging, voice and video transfer services. The company’s business model is different to other social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp that are that are majorly used in social communication (Curwen 11-23). Skype has become a favorable communication tool within the business environment due to its ability to support telecommunication services. However, there is evidence that the company is still facing competition within

Response paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Response paper - Essay Example In fact, there are more women pursuing degrees in science and technology in Norway than men. I think the Norwegian government should be credited for enforcing the law that stipulate, every company should at least have forty percent of their corporate board seats occupied by women. In my opinion, this is vital and effective since there are thousands of women who are capable and wiling of becoming the top brass. (Chris p20) The gain of workplace assortment is huge, thus investors and share holders should be swayed to give women these opportunities in the panel positions. The trend should be passed across every country in the world, since it will benefit both the investors and the economy in the long run. I believe that women have what it takes to escort key companies at the positions of managers and chairwomen. In a few years we shall be able to see the full prospective of women who shall rise to the occasion and be successive. According to the Norwegians women executives, legislation is the only way forward. I think that the quota structure will facilitate bring the intellectual women to the forefront. (Chris p20) In my closing opinion, I think that managers are the key players in ensuring that women are encouraged day to day, to pursue for the managerial position, and also facilitate opportunities for the upcoming talents, regardless of sex. I think that women should work to ensure that they are visible in their place of work. They should also be patient if they wand to climb up the ladder. Through the quota system, a new dawn of corporate world led by women will emerge in a few years, thus we should all appreciate and welcome the

Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) Term Paper

Fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) - Term Paper Example Furthermore, it supposes that the chromatographic column contains an infinite number of separate layers (theoretical plates). Separate equilibrations of the sample between the stationary and mobile phase occur in these layers. The analyte moves down the column by transfer of equilibrated mobile phase from one ‘plate’ to the next. There is a more convincing theory, ‘the rate theory.’ This theory depends on the speed of elution and thus speeds of diffusion of the dissolved particles. The analysis and application of this theory leads to the Van Deemter equation. This equation relates the variance per unit length of a separation column to the linear mobile phase velocity by considering several factors. They are physical, kinetic, and thermodynamic properties of a separation. The physical factors are such as; A) Eddy diffusion. B) Longitudinal diffusion C) Resistance to mass transfer It (chromatography) is thus seen to exploit the differences in partitioning beha vior between a mobile phase and a stationary phase to separate the components in a mixture. These components contained within a mixture may interact with the stationary phase based on charge, differing solubility or adsorption capability. Several terminologies are associated with the process of chromatography; a) The analyte- this is the substance to be separated during chromatography. b) Bonded phase- this is a stationary phase that is covalently bonded to the support particles or to the inside wall of the tube being utilized.. c) A chromatogram is the visual output of the chromatograph. d) The eluate is the mobile phase that is leaving the separation column. e) The eluent is the solvent that carries/dissolves the analyte. f) The immobilized phase is a stationary phase that is immobilized on the support particles, or on the inner wall of the column tubing. It is similar to the bonded phase g) The mobile phase is the phase that moves in a definite direction. h) The  solute  refe rs to the sample components in a solvent. i) The  solvent  refers to any substance capable of solubilizing another substance. This is important especially in the liquid mobile phase in liquid chromatography. Several methods of chromatography exist as well (singh). They include; 1) Chiral chromatography 2) Countercurrent chromatography 3) Pyrolysis gas chromatography 4) Simulated moving bed chromatography 5) Reversed phase chromatography 6) Two dimensional chromatography 7) Expanded bed adsorption chromatography 8) Size exclusion chromatography 9) Ion exchange chromatography 10) Supercritical fluid chromatography 11) FPLC The FPLC is the method of interest in this case. The FPLC method was developed and marketed in Sweden by the Pharmacia Company in 1982. It was originally called fast performance liquid chromatography. Principle of functioning The purpose of purifying proteins with FPLC is to deliver quantities of the target protein at sufficient purity. This is done in a way tha t ensures the protein is in a biologically active state to suit its further use. Furthermore this can mean pure enough that the biological activity of the target is retained. This high level of purity requires preliminary preparation of the sample. This is mostly by IEC. In most FPLC systems, there are two solvents/ buffers (A, B). There is also a resin that is chosen so that the protein of interest will bind to it by a charge interaction. When the sample and mix of buffer (100% A) and protein is introduced, the protein will bind to

Efficient Markets Hypothesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Efficient Markets Hypothesis - Essay Example The essence of the efficient markets hypothesis evolved from an earlier capital assetpricing model or CAPM based on investors’ unobservable beliefs about future returns. The CAPM predicts a linear relationship between the expected rate of return on an asset and that asset’s systematic risk, often termed â€Å"beta.† The CAPM model in turn led to the arbitrage pricing theory which is more general than the CAPM by including a set of unspecified factors which influence capital valuations. The CAPM in turn has been expanded into a broader format including such factors as the size of the company and the ratio of book value to market value; this version has gained wider support over the past ten years (Negakis, page 3). The efficient market hypothesis, as defined by Fama going back to 1970, â€Å"defines an Efficient Market as the one in which ‘security prices fully reflect all available information’†. Fama, in 1970, identified three forms of Market Efficiency. In the weak form, no investor can expect to gain from analyzing historical data as that data would already be reflected in capital asset prices. In the semi-strong form, no investor can expect to gain from analyzing publicly available information for the same reason. In the strong form, no investor can expect to gain from analyzing information from any source (Negakis, page 3). The efficient market hypothesis requires the existence of a highly-competitive market. with a large number of very-well-informed traders and in which transactions are costless. It would then not matter how many shares or other capital assets a trader sells - the price would remain unaffected by his actions as the market would already have taken them into account. The market would already reflect all available information, which would be included automatically in the price of the shares or other assets under consideration. The advent of portfolio theory has strengthened the efficient market hypothesis by focusing 3 on the valuation of an entire portfolio of many securities rather than on each one's value. In a fully-diversified portfolio, the trader or investor need not be as concerned over each security or capital asset but rather on the risk and return of the total range of those assets. According to Fama, the strong version of the efficient mar

Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Macbeth - Essay Example It is under this contemporary socio-political ambience that one has to re-read William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Macbeth. Its relevance is in our own socio-political scenario. It shows that though there is enough goodness in the society, the evil forces often dominate. The rulers are more concerned about their self achievements and gains than the collective progress of the society. This leads to the dominance of the evil over the goodness around. But Shakespeare predicts the failure of the evil and final victory for the good. It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384BC -322 BC) who defined the dramatic form of Tragedy in his great work â€Å"Poetics†. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero should never be perfect. The fall of a completely virtuous person from a height will create only moral anger among the audience. The fall of a villainous person will only satisfy the moral sense among the audience for the appropriate punishment for the villain .Thus Aristotle in sists that the best tragic hero exists in between such extremes. â€Å"A person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice nor one who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather one who succumbs through some miscalculation† (Poetics, Chapter 13). According to the Aristotelian standards Shakespeare’s Macbeth falls into one of the best tragic heroes possible. ... Macbeth is a Scottish general who is depicted as a courageous soldier. Macbeth appears in the play first as wounded captain who narrates his courageous acts in the battle field. So the initial impression created is that he is a brave and efficient soldier. Such a man is not, by natural logic prone to commit evil deeds. But this perspective about him gets upset once he interacts with the three witches who prophecies that he is to be the future king. With this prophecy, his physical courage gives away as a mask to the hunger for more and more power and advancement in the power structure. This forces him to commit evil deeds. Just the prediction that he will become the king was enough to trigger these inner self full of ambitions. Ambitions also lead him to self doubts too. Thus the character of Macbeth is a battle field of three strong attributes of his character – Physical strength and courage, ambition for more power, and self doubt. All these attributes are so strong that thr ough out the play they battle with each other for supremacy. Finally his ambitions take over leading to a sense of guilt too. What emerges out is a man of very weak character. Thus Macbeth turns out to be not a Shakespearean villain, but a tragic hero, who perishes by his own doings. The villains of Shakespeare like Edmund in King Lear or Iago in Othello or Richard the third in the play by the same name are mere villains and not tragic heroes, because they have the inner strength to subdue any sort of sense of guilt and self doubt. They are sure characters who knew what they are doing. Macbeth on the other hand is not equipped mentally to face the after effects of the crimes he commits. His courage and strength are more

Humanitarianism and Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Humanitarianism and Security - Essay Example This essay declares that humanitarianism operates in the best historical of emancipator ethics. It aspires to keep people alive, to expand their opportunities, and to provide them much control over their fates. It does that through various interventions, all defended on the basis that they improve the welfare and health of others who are too powerless and weak to help themselves. A variety of private and public actors contributes to humanitarian action, among them states, commercial outfits, religious bodies, philanthropies and various individuals. This paper makes a conclusion that humanitarian action they play a crucial function in saving lives across the globe. Humanitarianism as a doctrine ought to be man's duty to strive to promote the welfare of fellow mankind. In practicality, this has not been the case in many countries. Many academicians and other professional have questioned whether development and humanitarianism conventionally related. They have critic the ever increasingly involvement of government in humanitarian assistance and their motives. Humanitarian aid has been seen to be used as a political tool. However in recent years there has been hope in ‘new humanitarianism’. There exist a ‘new humanitarianism’ for the new century. ‘New humanitarianism’ is ‘principled,' ‘human rights focused and always politically sensitive. ‘New humanitarianism’ marks a break from the historical governance of humanitarian programs. It is a new concept in humanitarians a nd advocates for the system claims it can only get better with time.

Tempering Justice With Mercy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Tempering Justice With Mercy - Essay Example When arguing on the basis of proportionality of punishment, people tend to question the effect of mercy on justice, whether mercy makes victims receive more punishment in legal the system than they deserve or that people receive less punishment than they deserve. This is because when mercy is considered in the process of delivering justice, it would either lead to a sentence being either lower than deserving of a victim or make a victim get lesser sentence than a crime deserves. This dilemma has made many question the appropriateness of fusing justice with mercy and thus tempering justice with mercy. Whiles some reason that mercy is necessary in ensuring that people receive the most proportionate form of punishment due to the nature and circumstances surrounding their crime, there are others who have said that mercy often make people take less than they deserve for their crime and thus serve as an indictment on the legal system. In this paper, the issue of tempering justice with mercy is given a very critical and well researched overview. This is because it is commonly thought that if judges in criminal cases are obliged to do justice, justice must always be allowed to prevail without any disruptions with mercy. In the same manner, prosecutors and parole boards are expected to exercise discretion with maximum justice.

The Security payment in E- commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Security payment in E- commerce - Essay Example Internet can be considered as one of the most revolutionary inventions of the last century [2]. It is used by different people for different reasons; some people use it to communicate with the other end of the world, some use it to increase their knowledge with the vast information available online [1]. Another area that has made a prominent name in the World Wide Web is E-commerce. E-commerce, which is the process of business transactions on the web; is preferred for its simplicity and ease [3]. However, one of the factors that cause a great degree of concern for customers and merchants is the level of security involved with these business transactions [4], [15]. The mode of payment in e-commerce transactions is through ‘credit cards’; which have established more opportunities for businessmen but at the same time introduced new problems in the whole process of selling goods. The fear of fraud in online business transactions keeps on increasing every year due to the increase in the respective crime [8], [39], [40]. According to National Consumers League statistics for the year 2007; millions of dollars were lost in e-shopping transactions and have exposed the weakness of the credit card payment system [5]. Credit card fraud and identity theft [11] are the two most prevalent security risks. In the past, many efforts have been done to secure online transactions and make this medium a trusting one. During such efforts, the protocol of Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) was developed to secure credit card information from several kinds of attacks present online [6]. Secure Socket Layer (SSL) also helps in providing a secure environment as it provides an encrypted medium to transfer credit card information [7]. The use of biometric has also been proposed by one of the researchers; this proved helpful to prevent identity theft and any false authorization regarding the credit card information. Numerous aspects have to be considered

The Emotions Explored in the Poems Essay Example for Free

The Emotions Explored in the Poems Essay What Emotions does Tennyson explore in the poems ‘Mariana’ and ‘In the Valley of Cauteretz’ and what methods does he use to convey a range of emotions effectively? Tennyson explores many emotions throughout Marianna, In the Valley of Cauteretz which have been reflected from his life. Born to a large family of 12, Alfred Tennyson had many fears and worries in his life. Some of these worries included money due to the fact that Aunt Elizabeth Russell and Uncle Charles Tennyson had a great deal of wealth than that of his own family. Tennyson also had a lifelong fear of developing a mental illness as several of the men in his family had a mild form of epilepsy. In those days it was thought to be a shameful disease which was made worse by the fact that his father was an alcoholic. His fathers’ condition worsened and he became paranoid, abusive, and violent. Marianna is a poem about Marianna, a woman who has been waiting for her true love and has become more and more desperate in an old lonely grange with a moat. Tennyson uses a range of techniques to portray Marianna’s emotions. The idea of loneliness and grief is highlighted with the use of pathetic fallacy and nature ‘after the flitting of the bats when the thickest dark did trance the sky’. Tennyson stresses her desperation at the last four lines of each stanza which recurs but with slight modifications ‘She only said,’ my life is dreary, He cometh not,’ she said; She said, ‘I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead! ’ It is almost a death wish which slowly she believes. In ‘In the valley of Cauteretz’ it is clear that grief, sorrow and loneliness are recurring themes in Tennyson’s work. Right from the beginning of this short poem the effect the reader gets is that he is writing about a time in his life from experience and he is trying to go back to when he was happiest. ‘I walked with one I loved two and thirty years ago. All along the valley, while I walked today’. Tennyson tries to hide the bad times and think about the positive ‘the voice of the dead was a living voice to me’ showing that even though someone is dead, to him he is still alive. Tennyson had a friend called Arthur Hallam who died at a very young age hich was a great shock, because of this he presented the preciousness of youth in his poems by creating images which stress youthful joy. In the valley of Cauteretz describes an experience on revisiting a valley in the Pyrenees, years after he had been there with his now dead friend. This valley appears to shoe the reader a great psychological significance. As Tennyson describes himself travelling the valley, there are different elements which are triggered and crafter to create a lasting sense of how his friends’ death still affects himself decades later. Tennyson uses a range of different poetic techniques to convey all these emotions effectively. Some may think that the use of repetition highlights the desperation and sadness of the ‘characters’ he writes about in his poems however the dactylic, experimental rhythm in my opinion helps make sentences stand out and in ‘in the valley of Cauteretz’ makes him want to portray his friend as different and that they didn’t have just an ordinary friendship but a very string bond. Tennyson makes it clear to the reader that the valley was a place he had been before and had many memories from that place and he goes back in time using language making it seem as though the past has come alive ‘i walked with one I loves two and thirty years ago. All along the valley, while i walked today; two and thirty years were a mist that rolls away. Tennyson also used rhyming couplets which add effect of time passing by and to show that nothing has changed. In Mariana Tennyson also uses some of these techniques but for different reasons. He uses nature and sounds to show that there was nothing there, no feeling, no life. The mood of ‘Marianna’ does contrast to that of ‘In the Valley of Cauteretz’ however the themes throughout both are the same and based on Tennyson’s life experiences. Marianna is a poem about a woman in a daydream that she will be rescued by her love and swept away from this forlorn, dreary place. It is clear that in the final stanza Marianna has finally accepted that she will not be rescued by her true love and her final death wish is flooded with sadness ‘The sparrows chirrup on the roof, The slow clock ticking and the sound, Which to the wooing wind aloof, The poplar made, did all confound, Her sense; but most she loathed the hour, When the thick-moted sunbeam lay, Athwart the chambers, and the day, Was sloping toward his western bower. Then, said she, I am very dreary, He will not come, she said; she wept, I am aweary, aweary, Oh God, that I were dead! In conclusion Tennyson explored many emotions linked to grief, sadness and loneliness effectively with the use of exciting language, repetition and metaphors referring to all the good times with his friend. Word Count: 886

The Effects Of Speed Humps On Vehicles

The Effects Of Speed Humps On Vehicles Abstract This project will examine the effects of speed humps on vehicles within the United Kingdom. Intensive investigation and reviews will be carried out on traffic calming measures used in the UK and a number of different aspects within the topic such as those currently in use and how improvements can be made to reducing traffic. The report also takes a close look at how speed bumps have affected commuters and its impact on the environment as a whole and businesses around the country. As the number of vehicles on the roads increase faster than new roads that can be constructed, a serious problem has been created that is highly visible in urban and residential areas around the country. This problem is caused by fast driving motorist who do not take care on the road and it occurs on a daily basis. Conceding the fact that there are no single solutions to this problem and no quick fix, it is very important in assessing the success of the project. The understanding of why speed bumps were put in place on the road is a major factor in tackling the issue of speeding. To do this, time was invested in collecting data information from urban roads and residential roads in Islington and Hackney. This was very important as it helped me to provide an insight into how different motorist approach speed bumps and speed cameras, and what speed they approached the bumps and camera at different times of the day throughout the day. Three major problems were identified with speed humps, the first being effectiveness of speed bumps. On residential roads the speed limit is 20mph. Although many motorist were at constant speeds of approximately 20mph, many vehicles had to alter their speed limit whilst travelling over the speed bumps as they are unaware of which bumps are too high of the required speed limit. Drivers, who did not take the precaution of slowing down, would result in them scraping underneath their vehicles. Motorist are unable to identify weather a bump is too high or weather a constant velocity can be applied. The second problem was the damaged caused to vehicles when drivers make the wrong judgement of speed when approaching the speed bumps. Third being modern speed cameras on urban roads. Although they incorporate the latest in detection technology, the system were unable to provide efficient co-ordination of the direction of speeding vehicles. Vehicles speeding from the opposite side of the speed camera still get flashed, even though the motorist is aware that no potential speeding fines would occur as its the opposite side. The result of the review is a concept which imbeds intelligence into the current traffic signalling system. Introduction Speed Bumps (sometimes called a sleeping policeman) are a traffic calming tool designed to slow traffic. A Speed Bump is a bump on a roadway that may be circular, parabolic, or sinusoidal, and it may have gaps near the curb to allow drainage. Speed bumps are widely used across the United Kingdom, and are gradually increasing on the roads year by year. Speed Bump heights range from as little as 50 mm, to as much as 152 mm and they can vary in length from less than 300 mm to as much as 3x103mm. Speed Bumps longer than 3103 mm are usually called speed humps, and they are often used to slow traffic in residential neighbourhoods. Some drivers could say that they prefer to go over these types of traffic calming tool as it is easier on the car. Although Speed Bumps are very effective in keeping vehicle speed down, their use is sometimes controversial as they can cause noise and possibly vehicle damage. Poorly designed Speed Bumps are too tall, too sharp an angle for the expected speed and can be hard to negotiate in vehicles with low ground clearance, such as sports cars, even at very slow speeds. The driver can sometimes hear the Speed Bumps scrap the bottom of the car. Project Aims The aim of this project is to design an effective and efficient speed hump system that can be used in the United Kingdom. The design must be futuristic in its approach and incorporated a wide range of different technologies, both present and those in the development stage. These technologies must not only perform the role of slowing down vehicles but also reducing the effects on vehicles and to those who drive the vehicle. The speed hump design must be able to differentiate between high and low velocity and small and large vehicles i.e. (cars, buses, lorries). The dimensions of the hump must be within the UK regulations. People tend to approach speed-bumps in one of three ways. They remain at their current speed and drive straight through without a care or thought for the cars undercarriage or suspension. They slow down to an appropriate speed and glide over the top. Or they slow down so much they cause drivers behind them to break. A new design will change the way drivers approach speed humps in general. The design must allow drivers who are travelling at the right speed limit to pass over the hump without difficulty but will remind drivers travelling above the limit to slow down by creating the same feeling that they get when passing over a speed-bump but without the usual speed-bump impact. (Jude Garvey, The Bumpfree Dynamic Speedbump gives drivers a smooth ride,2010) The speed hump will be design to reward drivers who are travelling at the correct speed by offering an almost unnoticeable pass. Internal cells within the speed bump will contain non-Newtonian Thixotropic fluids which will instantly react with the speed at which a driver makes contact with the speed-bump immediately reminding them if they are going too fast. for the speed hump to be effective, A double-layer bladder protection will help to ensure a long product life and allow the speed bump to be used in various conditions. if this is not done, the speed hump will not be durable and would need to be replaced regularly. this is not cost effective. The design of the hump is expected to be most useful in environments where speed needs to be kept at a safe level, for example hospitals, school zones, or where vehicles are entering and exiting with precious cargo or people onboard. It can be placed against a piece of shaped bitumen or be in a bolt down form of plastic. Made mostly from recycled rubber, the design will be textured and suited for the environment in which they are placed. (. (Jude Garvey, The Bumpfree Dynamic Speedbump gives drivers a smooth ride,2010) Historical development Traffic humps have been in existence in the UK since the early 1970s, but following criticism of the speed deterrents, lead to a new way of alternatives being developed. There are currently around 50,000 traffic humps on British roads today, which can be said to be a lot. however, there are a lot of vehicles on the road and if they were not there as a deterrent, there would have been a lot more accidents on the road due to drivers who do not follow the rules of the road. The round-top hump can be said to be the most familiar in the hump family. The round-top was developed in the Netherlands and landed on British roads in the early seventies. Still the most common, the round-top hump is between 25mm and 100mm high and up to 3.7m long. (Dave Wilson, 2001 Inflatable rubber policeman gives drivers the hump) To pass over speed bumps without causing any damage to the vehicle or causing discomfort to the driver and passengers, the driver must slow down almost to a complete stop. Speed humps are 76-100 mm high and 3.5 to 6.5 m long, therefore to avoid driver discomfort, the driver slows to a speed of 15-20 mph. Unlike speed bumps, at excessive speeds, the effects of speed humps are increased sometimes to the point of acting like a bump and jolting both the driver and their cargo. This causes discomfort to some drivers and could even lead to the damage of the products which they may have in their vehicle. There is nothing that they can do about it unless they have insurance for the products on board. An example of a type of business that uses a vehicle all the time is removals. When having expensive and precious objects in the car, it is very important that time and care is taken over speed humps and speed bumps. Otherwise it could lead to damages which could affect the business and its reputation. Location The first speed hump in a series should be placed 15-60 meters from a small radius curve or stop signs assuring that vehicles are not approaching at high speeds. If installed on a street with a significant grade line, the first hump in a series should be placed at the top of the grade. Research has shown that speed humps, when designed and installed properly, reduce vehicle speeds to 15-20 mph when travelling over speed humps and 25-30 mph in between properly spaced speed humps. When travelling over a speed hump, the vehicle experiences a gentle rocking motion that increases with speed. This enables the speed humps to be self-enforced because the vehicle occupants will experience discomfort when passing over a hump at higher speeds and a jolting when passing over at excessive speeds. (Duane E. Smith, P.E. Karen L. Giese, 1997, effects of speed humps) Although speed humps have been proven to be effective at reducing speeds, they also come with their own drawbacks. Installed speed humps have actually been removed in response to resident complaints. The major complaints have been aesthetics of having speed humps and the increased noise level at each hump although the net noise change throughout the controlled strip is insignificant. Speed humps are not the best thing to have own ones road. Also if people are not happy, the council have to hear the complaints of the residents. It would not be nice to be living on a road where you can hear cars going over speed humps and scratching the humps as well as their car. It is not aesthetically pleasing when you leave your front door and see scratches on your road. Although they are the most important group, more than just the residents are affected by the installation of speed humps. Other groups such as emergency service providers, street maintenance providers, school districts, transit operators, refuse collection agencies will be affected and should, therefore, be informed and consulted concerning the installation of speed humps. Emergency providers may have casualties in their vehicles and going over the humps may affect the injuries which the casualties have. Especially if they are in life threatening situation, they may need to move as far as possible. CHAPTER 1 REVIEW OF TRAFFIC CALMING The design used in modern speed humps is not as advanced as it should be although it has been around for many years. With not a fair amount of improvement in terms of design a constant review of the system is always required. Speed hump plays it toll with traffic and congestion and the effects are mostly visible at peak time. Traffic congestion has many side-effects and does not just impact on motorist. The impact of growing congestion can be felt by businesses, local councils and mostly the environment. Huge efforts are being made to ease traffic congestion in the United Kingdom and where introducing congestion charges, building new roads and improving the public transport are all viable solutions. Recent studies have shown that the general public prefers to own their own form of transport i.e. car as current public transport systems are unreliable. Building new roads is very costly and is not an option in major cities, and although congestion charges have seen a decrease in the amount of motorist on the roads in central London, traffic jams is still a regular occurrence at peak times. Although forecasted figures shows the road traffic will rise in coming years. My project aims to comprehensively review the current speed humps system in the UK and to develop accordingly, a system that increases efficiency and maximise the flow of traffic as well as reducing impact. My project will also form a comprehensive review of congestion, looking at how traffic builds up at speed humps. Types of speed hump currently used. The flat-topped hump This squarer version became fashionable in 1990 when traffic humps became regulated by the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations Act. Between 25mm and 100mm high and a minimum length of 2.5 m the optimum angle of tapered sides is a gradient of 1 in 4. Thumps Thumps are hard, triangular, thermoplastic strips approximately 37mm high and 900mm wide. Speed cushions Speed cushions are rectangular humps which laid across roads in twos or threes. Cushions are wide enough to slow cars but not buses and emergency vehicles. Rumble strips Not really a traffic calming measure, more a warning to drivers of something ahead. Chicanes Is a single lane sections and road markings represent a more recent attempt to slow down speeding motorists and modify the original traffic hump into a more comfortable disruption. Congestion Traffic and congestion caused by speed hump is a problematic condition on road networks that restricts the flow of traffic to extremely slow speeds. The problem occurs as the volume of vehicles increase to within close proximity of maximum the road network capacity. Traffic condition can be characterise by a number of different factors, namely increase queuing, increase journey time and relatively slow speeds. This problem is a regular occurrence in modern urban cities, where the demand is at its highest. The demand in these areas is such that the interaction between vehicles causes the average speed of traffic to fall noticeably. Figure 1 (UK figures for road traffic)  [i]   Figure 1.2 (Graph showing the trend of car ownership in the UK)  [ii]   The level of traffic congestion in the United Kingdom is considered to be one of the worse in whole of Europe. More worrying is the fact that it continues to get worse year after year. The increase rate of new vehicles on the road is considered to be unsustainable, as the increase rate is faster than the rate of which new road infrastructure can be constructed. The issue is a long term one, the solution to which cannot be seen due to lack of feasible measures to combat or event control the problem. It has already been conceded that it is infeasible to match a roadwork infrastructure program to the unconstrained inclination of current and future traffic growth. Figure 1.3 (Central Forecast Figures Made By the Department Of Transport for the UK)  [iii]   Figure 1.4 (Graph Shows Trend of the Number Vehicles Licensed Each Year in the UK)  [iv]   causes of congestion A major issue in modern times is travel efficiency. Speed humps clearly make travel less efficient. A particular problem is traffic that has diverted to avoid a scheme of humps. Such diversions tend to exacerbate congestion on through routes where there are less likely to be humps. Apart from the rapid increase in the number of vehicles on the road, there are several other factors contributing to the problem. Some of which are can be solved with time, while some are control by financial constraint. Other solutions are not considered to be feasible in terms of the level resources needed as they involve relocating home owners and local businesses. More often than not traffic congestion due to speed bump but propagates from junction and roundabouts. environmental impact Humps cause wider variations in vehicle speeds, with many vehicles slowing to a crawl to negotiate each hump. A natural consequence of a wider variation in speed with more acceleration and more braking is that more fuel will be used. If more fuel is used then more pollution is created. If traffic speeds are reduced journey times will increase and a baseline level of pollution will be delivered for longer periods. The impact on health via polluted air the most common, as vehicles emissions contributes up to 40% of the total amount toxic gases emitted each year. Emitting a wide a variety harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and other bi-products of partial contribution. Humans as well as animals are directly affected by the immediate environment and being exposed to polluted air on a regular basis can lead to short and long term health related illnesses such as lung decease. economical impact Estate agents say there has been a decrease in property value due to speed humps, many potential buyers who notice many speed humps within the neighbourhood are less welling to purchases the property as they feel that speed hump make the neighbourhood unattractive. Different types of businesses are affected in different ways, business that relies on delivery of goods looses out as deliveries arrives late, causes delays in the time products can be process and put out shop floors. Late deliveries increase shift duration adding extra cost to employees wages. A BUS operator says the increasing number of speed humps in the town is costing the firm  £500 a month in repairs. Bosses at the Stagecoach Midland Red depot, say their vehicles are being repeatedly damaged by the humps. Fuel tanks have been knocked off buses, causing diesel to spill across the road, something which the company believes could leave them liable to bills running into thousands of pounds if it were to cause an accident. Engineering staff understand the speed reduction measures installed by Warwickshire County Council need to be taken but feel cameras would be more beneficial. Mick Merriman, engineering manager for the firm, said: The spate of damage from road humps is an on-going cost. Speed cameras would be preferable, certainly as far as our buses are concerned. The humps also cause discomfort to passengers and drivers, who would be pleased to see the end of them. Manager Bill Breen added: Weve written to the county council about this issue and our operations director is in talks with the council. Dec 18 2001 Coventry Evening Telegraph www.coventrytelegraph.net/new Experts have estimated the annual maintenance cost of speed humps to road to be in the region of 1.3 million pounds, the majority of which is related to repair cost and maintenance. There are also indirect costs of speed humps associated with the effectiveness of logistical operations at either ends of the transportation process. These additional costs are estimated to be very significant however they are considered to be intangible variables like additional scheduling costs and journey reliability are very difficult to quantify. Figure 1.5 is a photograph taken by myself, which illustrates a speed hump under different weather condition and vehicle weight. A large quantity of speed humps in the UK are damaged, where one of the major reasons is weather conditions; whenever rain falls on to speed humps creaks that have been created by frequent hard impact on the hump, then get filled with water, as temperature decreases this water then turn into ice, causing the hump become fatigue, ev entually the creak will spread and can cause the hump to completely separate in this case a huge portion of the hump has been worn away, as its internal properties has weaken due to separation vehicles have continuously driven over this weak area and has eventually got to this stage of completely deterioration on one side of the hump. C:UsersPublicPicturesSpeed bumpDSC01888.JPG Figure 1.5 (Picture Shows damaged speed hump due to weather change and vehicle impact.) measures to reduce congestion Tackling congestion is very difficult both in theory and in practice. Theoretical concepts are very difficult to implement as they can sometimes damage public relation which can lead to protests. These concepts sometimes derive from models and computer simulated data and analysis which does not always reflect the unpredictability of the real world situation. Since congestion is judged on cost, ample efforts have been concentrated on reducing the annual cost. Some efforts tackle the problem head on by addressing the main issues where as other aim at charging motorist to balance the annual cost. Congestion charge is one such method that aims to cut congestion by cutting the cost. The cost of which is worth approximately 6 billion pounds per year. A large proportion current and futuristic solution to ease traffic congestion, are aimed directly at reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. The focus of major campaigns has been on persuading motorist to utilise other forms of transport. The difficulty in this is that substitutes to the car are not considered to be feasible as public transport one of the main and only substitute is not very reliable. For this to be seen as a suitable substitute there must be an increase in arrival and departure times for both buses and trains. The service must also be reliable cost effective to customers and operators alike. Two areas that have seen reasonable levels of success and support are cycling for those making short journeys and transferring road freight to the rail. The combined effects of numerous supportive complementary solutions represent the best way forward in the short term and could slow the rise of road traffic y 25% 45%. CHAPTER 3 RESULTS AND FINDINGS Traffic Data Gathering Gathering real time data is vital in understanding the flow of vehicles passing over speed humps, on residential road and urban roads. The data will help to understanding and identifying the factors affecting speed humps in more details, such as time of the day and days of the week. Understanding how the speed bump deals with fluctuating weight and speed levels at peak and off-peak times also provide an insight into how efficient the design is. The main reason for conducting investigation in this form is mainly to identify flaws in operation if any. Hump profiles The dimensions of the profiles chosen for evaluation are shown in Table 1. The five hump profiles used in the trials included three profiles not commonly used: a 3.7m long sinusoidal profile, a 5m long round-top profile and an 8m long flat-top with sinusoidal ramps. Two standard profiles were included for comparison: a 3.7m long round-top profile and an 8m long flat-top hump with straight ramps. All the hump profiles were 75 mm high. Fig 2: Profile dimensions Vehicles tested A range of vehicles was used in the trials to assess discomfort, noise and ground borne vibrations. These included five different bicycle types, a small, medium and large car, five different buses, including a low floor bus, three different goods vehicles with steel or air suspension, a fire appliance and three different ambulances. Figure 2.1 Unladen cyclists Figure 2.2 Motorcycles combined results from small, medium and large motor cycles Figure 2.3 Minibus (Optare City Pacer all passengers sitting) Figure 2.4 large single-deck buses (Optare Low Rider Low floor bus) Figure 2.5 Double-deck buses (Optare Spectra) Discussion Analasys Of Resusts For cyclists, motor cyclists and all occupants of cars, buses, goods vehicles and emergency service vehicles, a subjective assessment of discomfort (DR) was made on a scale 0 to 6. A discomfort rating of0 means comfortable, and 6 very uncomfortable. Additionally, for all but cyclists and motor cyclists, an accelerometer was used. For each of the tests, this measured the vertical acceleration experienced by one occupant in every vehicle. Cyclists In promoting an increase in cycling it is important that, as far as possible, cyclists are offered a comfortable ride. Figure 1 shows the average discomfort ratings for unladen cyclists crossing the various hump profiles at 10 mph and 20 mph. similar results were found for laden cyclists (5kg load). It can be seen from Figure 1 that cyclists experienced the most discomfort when crossing the flat-top humps and that the 5m long round-top profile gave the least discomfort. This profile also gave the least discomfort to the car occupants but its use would be likely to result in higher car speeds than with the other hump profiles. For humps of a similar length (3.7m), the sinusoidal hump was more comfortable for the cyclists than the round-top profile. Motor cyclists Stability and comfort are important to motorcyclists, but where motorcyclists report discomfort crossing road humps; this may be due to inappropriate speeds. The tests were made using carefully controlled speeds, judged to be appropriate to the circumstances. Average discomfort ratings (DR) for motorcyclists are shown in Figure 2.2. For motor cyclists, there was less difference in the discomfort experienced between the hump profiles than for the cyclists. However, the 5m round-top hump was clearly the most comfortable and the flat-top humps were the most uncomfortable. Buses The average discomfort rating experienced by passengers sitting in a minibus, a low floor single deck bus and a double-deck bus is shown in Figures 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5. These illustrate how a small change in speed can lead to a large increase in discomfort, particularly in minibuses and double-deck buses. There was less variation in the discomfort experienced when crossing the different profiles in the double-deck bus than for other bus types. For all three bus types at speeds of 15 mph or less, passengers generally experienced less discomfort with the round-top and sinusoidal profiles than with the flat-top profiles. At speeds above 15 mph, general levels of discomfort were unacceptable for all the profiles tested. Low floor buses Low floor buses are of particular interest, as it has been claimed that these vehicles are more susceptible to grounding when passing over road humps. In fact, the clearance of low floor buses above the carriageway was found to be very similar to that for other buses. The main problem would seem to occur where there is a greater overhang at the front and/or rear of the vehicle. With the bus used (Optare low-rider) the track trials did not reveal any grounding problems with the 75mm height humps used, although the driver declined to cross the flat-top profiles at 25 mph because of concern about possible damage. As pointed out above, this speed would generally be considered unsuitable in terms of the discomfort likely to be experienced. Noise Light vehicles For the passenger cars tested, the differences in the maximum A-weighted noise levels generated alongside the different profiles were relatively small, and were not likely to be of practical significance. Noise levels when crossing humps generally increased as the speed increased, and tended to be slightly less than that measured on a level surface. For light vehicles, maximum noise levels would not be expected to increase as a result of installing any of the profiles tested. Double deck bus The double deck bus also showed a general increase in the maximum noise level with increasing speed. There were differences, with the sinusoidal profile giving lower noise levels than the non-sinusoidal profiles. The highest noise levels were measured alongside the flat-top (straight ramp) profile. All the profiles gave lower noise levels at typical crossing speeds than measurements taken next to the level surface, where speeds were higher. Large Goods vehicles At typical crossing speeds, the noise levels for goods vehicles tested were highest alongside the flat-top profiles. The noise levels for sinusoidal profiles were slightly lower than their non-sinusoidal equivalents. The 5m long round-top profile was similar to the3.7m round-top profile with respect to noise generation. Large goods vehicles may have either air or steel spring suspension. The maximum noise levels generated along the hump profiles by the 38t articulated tipper vehicle with steel spring suspension were higher than the equivalent vehicle with air suspension. For air suspension vehicles, the unladen state generated higher noise levels than the laden state, for all the profiles tested. For steel spring suspension vehicles, the difference between the laden and unladen states was less distinct: the sinusoidal profiles generated higher noise levels for the laden vehicle, and the 5m round-top profile and the flat-top profiles resulted in higher noise levels for the unladen vehicle Ground-borne vibration Levels of ground-borne vibration generated by light vehicles showed no distinct difference alongside the different profiles. For the double-deck bus, the highest vibration level obtained at typical crossing speeds was for them flat-top (straight ramp) profile. For heavy goods vehicles, the highest mean and maximum ground-borne vibration levels at typical crossing speeds were also at the flat-top (straight ramp) profile. The flat-top (sinusoidal ramps) was slightly less, and the round-top and sinusoidal profiles had significantly lower levels. Higher levels of vibration were noted for the heavy goods vehicles running unladen, than when loaded. C:UsersPublicPictureshumpsHPIM0971.JPG Discussion Analasys Of Resusts The charts bellow are constructed from data celected from speed humps on a residential road, the first of which looks at the link between number vehicles passig over speed hump at speccfic time intervals during the day. The second graph looks at the influence on traffic levels, which shows connection between the number of vehecles and the day of the week. Figure 3 (Pie-Chart, Showing Variation of vehicle passing over speed humps In Relation To Time of Day) From the pie-chart it is evident that there are two periods during the 12 hours traffic levels are high. This is to be expected as peak times in the United Kingdom are between 7 11am, and 3 7pm. These two periods highlight a high level of activity that can be attributed to morning an evening school runs as well as commuters travelling to and from work. Figure 3.1 (Pyramid Chart, Showing Variation Traffic Level In Relation To Day of the Week) From the tables of results and the chart is clear that traffic fluctuate for reasons already stated. There are several other factors affecting the flow of traffic; however these variables cannot equated for in the data collection. Variables such as accidents and special events like football matches can also affect these figures. Road works is another of those variables that cannot be accounted for and can affect the figures. It is unclear of the role played by the weather on the figures as the weather can affect traffic in two different ways. Bad weather causing difficult driving condition can reduce traffic as motorist can decide not to travel if the journey is compulsory. Conversely it can also increase queuing as the average speed falls there by affecting traffic. Commuters cycling to and from work can also be affected prompting the switch from bicycle to car. <

Development of Singapores Economy

Development of Singapores Economy Introduction In the past three decades have witnessed Singapore’s economy has been developing at an extremely high speed. As the most important part of the economics, banking and finance services contribute a lot to the gross domestic product. The government document (Banking and finance, 2007) show that the Banking and Finance provides a description of the complex nature of the sector and an overview of the sector’s provision of products and services, which are: (1) deposit, consumer credit, and payment systems; (2) credit and liquidity products; (3) investment products; and (4) risk-transfer products (including insurance). Banking and finance services sectors play an important role in the Singapore economics, in 2013, the financial industry contributed around 12% to Singapore’s GDP (Singaporean- German Chamber of industry and commerce, 2014.). And Singapore isn’t an industrialized and agricultural country, it depends on the tourism and financial business, therefore t he Singapore cannot leave Banking and finance services sectors. Contribution GDP stands for gross domestic product, which is used to measure a country economics, it includes everything produced by all the people and companies that are in the country. Singapore has enjoyed robust economic growth with an average growth rate of 6.1% since 2000 and a GDP per capita of S$65,048 (US$52,051) in 2012, one of the highest in the world. This strong economic performance is driven by 4 key sectors, namely Manufacturing, Wholesale Retail Trade, Business Services and Finance Insurance. These 4 key sectors collectively contributed to more than 64% of Singapore’s GDP in 2012 (Meng Kit, 2014). Nowadays, Singapore has hundreds of banking and finance companies, and most of them are foreign. Because Singapore geographical condition and social status, more and more company set up a branch company in Singapore, for example, Huawei, HSBC and Citibank, etc. In the report (Anonymous, 2014) according to City think-tank Z/Yen’s Global Financial Services, both are challenging the leaders as the top global finance hubs, with Hong Kong in third place behind London and New York, and Singapore only eight points behind in fourth. When they set a company in Singapore, they need to recruit the best of the best employees to their company, in the other worlds; they create a lot of job opportunity. It solves the problem of employment, and that’s why Singapore’s unemployment rate so low. The Manpower Research Statistics Department (2015) shows that Singapore’s unemployment rates in 2012 to 2014 are 2.0%, 1.9% and 2.0%. Those represent Singapore job market are not too much unemployed people, it’s beneficial to maintain social stability and development. Challenges With the development of the economics, different issues and problems will emerge in the market such as 1997 Asian economics crisis and 2007 American Subprime mortgage crisis. People cannot predicate these economics crises, they just can try their best to decrease economics crises damage to the economy and revive the economics as soon as possible. The same as the banking and finance services sectors, these sectors will be the first industry affected. In that period of time, many people was fired by the company so that the company can save more money and especially, Singapore stock market also affected by the economics crises, many companies and investors loss money. Inmoderntimes, everyone get a smartphone and people use Internet to communicate, but it’s very dangerous when you use Internet to transfer document or money. They don’t need to go to rob the bank to get money or even know the details of the targets; they can get everything through the Internet. The hacker can hack the Internet and see all the information in your account, and after that they will steal or sell your information to the market. The report said that (Jones, 2013), the police conservatively estimate that the group of five men from Russia and Ukraine helped steal at least 160 million payment card numbers, resulting in losses in excess of $300 million. Therefore, it’s very risky to transfer through the Internet, but it’s the future of the banking and finance services sectors. When the foreign companies join the Singapore market, there must have more competitions to the local company. When the foreign banks come to Singapore, the costumer have more choices to choose which one to use and which one they will get more benefit. In the other word, the number of the customers will decrease. When Citibank, standard chartered bank and HSBC etc. come into Singapore, the POSB, DBS and OCBC etc. suffer some certain of impact and loss. This will be a big challenge that banking need to fact it, as well as the financial services. Strategic planning When banking and finance services sectors start their business, they need to have a scheme so that while the business encounter the risky, the company can loss lesser. First they need to study and analysis the high developed in each continent. Secondly, they can predicate the future trend so that can prepare the back-up plan in case of an emergency, it benefits these sectors run their company while the economics crises come, and prevent the company become chaos when it comes, the employee and top manager can run as they plan that they did in advanced. In the plan, if the company has to reduce a surplus, they can use following ways, downsizing, demotions, early retirement and demotions. These methods can reduce company’s expenditure and the company can use this money to other ways, it’s the best way to reduce the damage from the economics crises. When the banking and finance services sectors use the Internet to transaction, they need to ensure their Internet is safe and need to check the firewall is work so that kill the virus and stop the hacker hack in the system or not the company will loss millions of money. After the company releases the application for the services, they need to guarantee that the application is safe enough; otherwise the costumers will ask the company compensation for their loss. The company needs to fix the bug immediately when costumers’ feedback the problem to the company in case the criminal seizes the opportunity to steal the money and information. In the meantime, the company can work with cyber-police; it can avoid the cyber-crime effectively. When the cyber-crime happen, the company need to contract cyber-police immediately, tell each details to them so that cyber-police can trace criminal’s trace. The situation of the local company will become more and more difficult while the foreign company come to share the market together. When the company competes with local and foreign company, they need to release more and more convenience and cheaper services so that to attract more and more costumers use your service. In order to hoisting competitiveness, OCBC publish a card called ‘Plus! Visa Credit Card’, the owner of this kind of credit card can enjoy a lot of promotion in different places, for example the costumers pay by this credit card with 5% off everything at FairPrice and FairPrice Online, 18.3% fuel savings and earn Smiles Points at Esso, 3% off at Popular, etc. (OCBC, n.d.). Conclusion MAS stand for Monetary Authority of Singapore, which is a central bank of Singapore. MAS is the place that to promote sustainednon-inflationary economic growth,anda sound and progressive financial center, therefore from 1987 MAS started to enact different act so that Singapore market can develop healthily and rapidly. In these act, MAS manage the different kinds of statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well ascurrency issuance. It leads a success road for those banking and finance services sectors, and also provide a platform to them, let them to discuss and determined the important movement to the Singapore market. Singapore’s successful cannot leave the MAS. Banking and finance services sectors is one of the major contribution to Singapore’s GDP, therefore it definitely has a great future. But in the meantime, these sectors should prevent the crisis from occurring in the first place. They need to learn from the pervious mistake and also learn from other country like America, China, Ireland, etc. so that these sectors will not make the same mistake that happened before. In the future, the government should publish a safe platform so that the commercial tenant can trade on it and no need to worried about the cyber-crime. And more and more company will come to Singapore to start their branch company, there will more competitive and contribute higher GDP to Singapore together.

France and Great Birtains Political Systems Essay -- Politics Governm

France and Great Birtain's Political Systems INTRODUCTION I chose these two systems, which interest me for different reasons. The British system is one that has evolved over many centuries, with both small and large adjustments along the way to keep in on course. In contrast to this, the French model has changed dramatically on several occasions, and can rarely have been described as stable. However, in 1958 Charles de Gaulle made some brave changes to the constitution, which after being approved by the French public, set the scene for the classic semi-presidential system that we see today. Despite these opposing histories, there are many similarities between the two systems, which I intend to discuss. BRITAIN The United Kingdom is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with a system of government often known as the Westminster Model. It has been used as a model of governance in many countries, and undoubtedly indirectly inspired many more. Somewhat unusually, the constitution is unwritten, consisting of conventions along with statutory law and common law, which are collectively referred to as British constitutional law. The head of state and theoretical source of executive and legislative power in the UK is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. In theory, the British sovereign can dissolve Parliament whenever they desire. They can in theory choose any British citizen to be Prime Minister, even if they are not a member of the House of Commons or House of Lords. Theoretically, the Sovereign possesses the ability to refrain from granting Royal Assent to a Bill from Parliament, in addition to being able to declare war and appoint ministers. In practice, the head of state is a largely ceremonial role, with powers restricted by convention. However, the monarch holds three essential rights, the right to be consulted, the right to advise and the right to warn. Also, as the position of head of state tends to be held for a longer period of time than that of Prime Minister, the monarch builds up lots of experience and wisdom which is at the disposal of the government. Thus the political head of the UK is the Prime Minister(PM), who must be supported by the House of Commons. The executive branch of the UK system is the Government (or more formally, Her Majesty’s Government). The monarch appoints (or in reality, approves) ... ...l Government This is another area that comparison to the UK bears fruit. Both countries are highly regionalised, with distinct languages and cultures differing from the main national identity. However, Britain has made great strides to offer representation to its regions, whereas France has traditionally been very highly centralised, with each of France's departments headed by a prefect appointed by the central government. The process of decentralisation in France is making progress, although very slowly. In 1982, the national government granted a wide range of administrative and fiscal powers to local elected officials. In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for the first time. In March 2003, a constitutional revision has changed very significantly the legal framework and could lead to more decentralisation in the coming years. Bibliography Contemporary France: An Introduction to French Politics and Society ~Catherine Fieschi, et al France Since 1945 ~Robert Gildea The Globalization of World Politics ~John Baylis (Editor), Steve Smith (Editor) How Parliament Works ~Paul Silk, et al Longman Political Institutions in Europe ~ MÃ ©ny, Y et al France and Great Birtain's Political Systems Essay -- Politics Governm France and Great Birtain's Political Systems INTRODUCTION I chose these two systems, which interest me for different reasons. The British system is one that has evolved over many centuries, with both small and large adjustments along the way to keep in on course. In contrast to this, the French model has changed dramatically on several occasions, and can rarely have been described as stable. However, in 1958 Charles de Gaulle made some brave changes to the constitution, which after being approved by the French public, set the scene for the classic semi-presidential system that we see today. Despite these opposing histories, there are many similarities between the two systems, which I intend to discuss. BRITAIN The United Kingdom is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with a system of government often known as the Westminster Model. It has been used as a model of governance in many countries, and undoubtedly indirectly inspired many more. Somewhat unusually, the constitution is unwritten, consisting of conventions along with statutory law and common law, which are collectively referred to as British constitutional law. The head of state and theoretical source of executive and legislative power in the UK is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. In theory, the British sovereign can dissolve Parliament whenever they desire. They can in theory choose any British citizen to be Prime Minister, even if they are not a member of the House of Commons or House of Lords. Theoretically, the Sovereign possesses the ability to refrain from granting Royal Assent to a Bill from Parliament, in addition to being able to declare war and appoint ministers. In practice, the head of state is a largely ceremonial role, with powers restricted by convention. However, the monarch holds three essential rights, the right to be consulted, the right to advise and the right to warn. Also, as the position of head of state tends to be held for a longer period of time than that of Prime Minister, the monarch builds up lots of experience and wisdom which is at the disposal of the government. Thus the political head of the UK is the Prime Minister(PM), who must be supported by the House of Commons. The executive branch of the UK system is the Government (or more formally, Her Majesty’s Government). The monarch appoints (or in reality, approves) ... ...l Government This is another area that comparison to the UK bears fruit. Both countries are highly regionalised, with distinct languages and cultures differing from the main national identity. However, Britain has made great strides to offer representation to its regions, whereas France has traditionally been very highly centralised, with each of France's departments headed by a prefect appointed by the central government. The process of decentralisation in France is making progress, although very slowly. In 1982, the national government granted a wide range of administrative and fiscal powers to local elected officials. In March 1986, regional councils were directly elected for the first time. In March 2003, a constitutional revision has changed very significantly the legal framework and could lead to more decentralisation in the coming years. Bibliography Contemporary France: An Introduction to French Politics and Society ~Catherine Fieschi, et al France Since 1945 ~Robert Gildea The Globalization of World Politics ~John Baylis (Editor), Steve Smith (Editor) How Parliament Works ~Paul Silk, et al Longman Political Institutions in Europe ~ MÃ ©ny, Y et al

Individuation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Sir Gawain G

Individuation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain. The greatest part of these studies have involved the middle-English text Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Extensive work has been done on this alliterative four-part poem written by an anonymous contemporary of Chaucer: feminists have attacked his diatribe against women at the end, or analyzed the interaction between Gawain and the women of Bercilak’s court; those of the D. W. Robertson school seek the inevitable biblical allusions and allegory concealed within the medieval text; Formalists and philologists find endless enjoyment in discovering the exact meaning of certain ambiguous and archaic words within the story. Another approach that yields interesting, if somewhat dated, results, is a Psychological or Archetypal analysis of the poem. By casting the Green Knight in the role of the Jungian Shadow, Sir Gawain’s adventure to the Green Chapel becomes a journey of self-discovery and a quest - a not entirely successful one - for personal individuation. The Jungian process of individuation involves â€Å". . . a psychological growing up, the process of discovering those aspects of one’s self that make one an individual differe... ... until he does complete his quest of individuation, he shall never be nor feel whole. Works Cited and Consulted Anonymous, â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, eds. Abrams, et al. (New York: Norton, 1993), 200. Carl Gustav Jung, â€Å"The Principle Archetypes† in The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, ed. David H. Richter (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989), 666. Guerin, Wilfred L., et al., eds. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1992. Lacy, Norris J. and Geoffrey Ashe. The Arthurian Handbook. New York: Garland Publishing, 1988. Stephen Manning, â€Å"A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† in Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, eds. Donald R. Howard and Christian Zacher (Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1968), 279. Individuation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Sir Gawain G Individuation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain is, undoubtably, the most varied of the Arthurian characters: from his first minor appearance as Gwalchmei in the Welsh tales to his usually side-line participation in the modern retelling of the tales, no other character has gone from such exalted heights (being regarded as a paragon of virtue) to such dismal depths (being reduced to a borderline rapist, murderer, and uncouth bore), as he. This degree of metamorphosis in character, however, has allowed for a staggering number of different approaches and studies in Gawain. The greatest part of these studies have involved the middle-English text Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Extensive work has been done on this alliterative four-part poem written by an anonymous contemporary of Chaucer: feminists have attacked his diatribe against women at the end, or analyzed the interaction between Gawain and the women of Bercilak’s court; those of the D. W. Robertson school seek the inevitable biblical allusions and allegory concealed within the medieval text; Formalists and philologists find endless enjoyment in discovering the exact meaning of certain ambiguous and archaic words within the story. Another approach that yields interesting, if somewhat dated, results, is a Psychological or Archetypal analysis of the poem. By casting the Green Knight in the role of the Jungian Shadow, Sir Gawain’s adventure to the Green Chapel becomes a journey of self-discovery and a quest - a not entirely successful one - for personal individuation. The Jungian process of individuation involves â€Å". . . a psychological growing up, the process of discovering those aspects of one’s self that make one an individual differe... ... until he does complete his quest of individuation, he shall never be nor feel whole. Works Cited and Consulted Anonymous, â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, eds. Abrams, et al. (New York: Norton, 1993), 200. Carl Gustav Jung, â€Å"The Principle Archetypes† in The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, ed. David H. Richter (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989), 666. Guerin, Wilfred L., et al., eds. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1992. Lacy, Norris J. and Geoffrey Ashe. The Arthurian Handbook. New York: Garland Publishing, 1988. Stephen Manning, â€Å"A Psychological Interpretation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† in Critical Studies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, eds. Donald R. Howard and Christian Zacher (Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1968), 279.

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Same-sex Marriage :: Argumentative Persuasive Essay Examples

Same-sex Marriage The argument of same-sex marriage is important, not only for the religious and legal precedent, but because the welfare of families, especially the interest of children now and in the future, may be profoundly affected by the proposals before Hawaii's courts and the state legislature relating to same-sex marriage. Marriage is a unique practice, in that it is both a religious sacrament and legal registration controlled by the state. For the time being, marriage is defined by "84% of the population as the union of two people of the opposite sex" (Johnson p.49). Therefore, by definition, marriage has to be different sex. Whereas, the definition of homosexuality is "exhibiting sexual desire toward another of the same sex" (Webster's New World Dictionary p.673). Throughout human history, according to religious tradition and as a matter of natural law, marriage has been tied to potential procreative sexuality, which is a monopoly held by different-sex couples. Under this definitional objection, "the state cannot recognize something that is an impossibility" (Eskridge p.87). "In 1993, three same-sex couples (Ninia Baehr, Genora Dancel, Tammy Rodrigues, Antoinette Pregil, Pat Lagon and Joseph Melilio) applied for marriage licenses from the State of Hawaii. They were refused. They then challenged the state's decision in court. This set in motion a chain of events: the case was appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court (Baehr v. Miike; action #15689) which ruled on May 27, 1993 that the state's refusal to grant marriage licenses was unconstitutional. It violated the Hawaiian Constitution's equal protection guarantees (Article I, Section 5) against gender discrimination. The court remanded the case to the Circuit Court, stating that licenses should be issued to same-sex couples, unless the state can show a compelling interest in banning such marriages" (Hawai'is Future Today). The Hawaiian Legislature passed a bill in 1994 stating that "the state's policy is that marriage must only be permitted between a man and a woman" (Hawai'is Future Today). On December 3, 1996, Judge Kevin Chang issued a 46 page ruling. He has determined that "the State of Hawaii failed to show a compelling state interest to justify the continuation of the ban against same-sex marriages" (Chang). Same sex marriages are now theoretically legal in Hawaii. However, the state refused to recognize the courts decision until it was formally filed. The attorney general obtained a stay of Judge Chang's court order, pending a decision by the state Supreme Court.